466  JOURNAL  %0F  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  December  l-s,  1893. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to“  The  Editor,”  d,  Bose  Hill  Road, 
Wandsworth,  s.w.,  and  NOT  to  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers, 
Fleet  Street.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately  to 
any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to 
unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense,  and  departmental  writers 
are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters  they  may  receive  on 
Gardening  and  Bee  subjects  through  the  post.  If  information 
be  desired  on  any  particular  subject  from  any  particular 
authority  who  may  be  named,  endeavour  will  be  made  to  obtain 
it  by  the  Editor.  Letters  of  inquiry  must  be  accompanied  by 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  writers,  but  these  will  neither  be 
published  nor  disclosed  when  initials  or  nom  de  plumes  are  given 
for  the  purpose  of  replies. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  it  is  convenient  when 
each  question  is  written  on  a  separate  sheet.  All  articles  intended 
for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only  ;  and 
the  name  and  address  of  each  writer  must  be  known  by  the 
Editor,  though  not  necessarily  for  insertion.  We  cannot,  as  a 
rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do  not  under¬ 
take  to  return  communications  which,  for  any  reason,  cannot 
be  inserted. 
Books  ( J. .  D.). — If  you  send  Is.  6d.  to  Mr.  Elliot  Stock,  63,  Paternoster 
Row,  London,  E.C.,  and  ask  for“Hoppus’s  Timber  Measurer,”  you  will 
not  have  much  difficulty  in  ascertaining  the  cubic  contents  of  trees. 
The  Heaviest  Bunch  of  Grapes  ((7.  E.  2?.). — In  one  part  of  our  reply 
last  week  we  are  made  to  say  that  “  24  lbs.”  4  ozs.  was  the  weight  given 
by  Mr.  Curror  of  his  wonderful  bunch.  In  other  parts  of  the  reply  the 
weight  stated  by  him  was  given  as  26  lbs.  4  ozs.  when  the  bunch  was  cut. 
This  is  correct.  While  the  error  might  thus  not  mislead  many,  if  any, 
readers,  it  ought  not  to  have  occurred. 
Forcing  Roses — Wood  not  Ripening  ( S .  S.). — There  should  be  no 
difficulty  in  having  Roses  sufficiently  ripened  for  forcing  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year,  and  we  think  .you  cannot  expose  your  plants  to  the  open  soon 
enough.  So  long  as  pot  Roses  keep  in  healthy  growth  and  produce 
flowers — especially  the  Tea-scented  varieties — under  glass,  many  growers 
are  apt  to  keep  them  in  the  house  too  long.  A  plant  started  by  January 
or  February  bhould  have  made  ample  growth  for  the  following  season  by 
the  end  of  August,  and  may  then  be  assisted  to  ripen  by  a  careful  use  of 
the  watering  pot.  Why  not  start  your  plants  a  month  earlier  ?  You  do 
not  say,  however,  what  heat  or  conveniences  you  have.  Much  depends 
upon  the  varieties  grown.  We  expect  to  publish  a  short  article  upon  this 
subject  in  a  subsequent  issue. 
Tenancy  ( A  Gardener). —  Under  the  Agricultural  Holdings  Act  you 
are  entitled  to  a  full  year’s  notice.  If  your  tenancy  dates  from  the 
1st  January  the  notice  must  have  been  given  you  on  or  before  December 
31st,  twelve  months  before  the  date  of  your  leaving.  You  cannot  be 
compelled  to  leave  at  any  quarter  day  but  that  on  which  your  tenancy 
begins.  You  are  entitled  to  receive  compensation  for  all  your  furnaces, 
greenhouses,  trees,  and  shrubs,  unless  the  landlord  chooses  to  pay  you  for 
the  damage  done  to  them  in  requiring  you  to  take  them  away  with  you. 
lie  must  also  compensate  you  for  the  value  of  fertilisers  put  into  the 
soil  by  you.  Under  the  present  circumstances  it  would  be  best  for  you 
to  agree  to  take  away  all  the  plants  and  things  peculiar  to  your  nursery 
business,  receiving  compensation  for  their  forced  removal,  and  also  for 
the  manure  sunk  in  the  soil.  Your  landlord  is  the  purchaser  of  the 
land  if  he  has  given  you  notice  or  your  old  landlord  has  referred  you 
to  him. 
Tecoma  radicans  ( Young  Grower ).  —  Sometimes  this  climbing  plant 
is  pruned  in  the  winter,  cutting  the  young  shoots  back  as  may  be 
necessary,  but  the  better  plan  is  to  keep  the  young  growths  thinly 
disposed  in  the  summer.  They  will  then  mature  and  produce  flowers 
if  trained  on  a  sunny  south  wall.  It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  when  this 
beautiful  deciduous  climber  was  introduced  to  this  country  from  North 
America,  its  native  place  of  growth.  It  was  evidently  cultivated  in  this 
country  by  Parkinson  in  1640,  as  he  described  it  minutely,  adding, 
This  never  bore  flower  with  mee,  nor  any  other  that  hath  it  in  our 
country  that  I  could  heare  of.”  From  that  we  may  infer  it  could  not 
have  been  long  and  generally  cultivated,  as  the  plant  blooms  freely 
enough  when  a  few  years  old  and  the  wood  is  well  ripened.  It  used  to 
be  called  Bignonia  radicans,  but  was  transferred  to  Tecoma,  the  difference 
in  the  genera  consisting  chiefly  in  the  partition  of  the  fruit.  Plants  are 
raised  from  cuttings  and  layers  in  the  autumn,  and  grow  luxuriantly 
in  rich  soil,  but  firm  growth  in  firm  soil  containing  chalk  promotes 
flowering.  It  is  popularly  known  as  the  Ash-leaved  Trumpet  Flower 
Crickets  in  Plant  Houses  (W.  P.  and  Anxious).— The  most  effective 
exterminator  of  these  pests  with  us  has  been  phosphor  paste,  spread  on 
slices  of  bread.  The  pests  usually  eat  this  readily,  especially  when 
mixed  with  a  little  honey.  The  phosphor  paste  may  be  procured  of  any 
chemist.  Other  preparations  are  also  sold  for  the  purpose,  but  both 
crickets  and  cockroaches  will  not  always  eat  the  same  thing,  and,  there- 
foie,  if  one  remedy  fails  another  should  be  tried.  Chocolate,  used  in 
Birkenhead’s  beetle  trap,  captures  many',  and  the  trap  may  be  had  from 
ironmongers. 
Colours  of  Flowers  (An  Apprentice ). — We  do  not  know  of  any  work 
treating  on  the  colours  of  flowers  with  illustrations.  The  process  of 
colouration  is  a  chemical  one,  and  was  gone  fully  into  by  Chevreul,  who 
in  his  book  has  something  to  say  as  regards  flower  colouring.  The 
arrangement  of,  different  coloured  flowers  in  beds  is  treated  in  Mr.  D. 
Thomson’s  “  Handy  Book  on  the  Flower  Garden  ”  (Blackwood  &  Sons, 
7s.  6d.).  Chevreul’s  book  may  possibly  be  procured  through  a  second¬ 
hand  bookseller.  Wo  do  not  think,  however,  it  would  be  of  much  service 
unless  you  have  some  knowledge  of  chemistry  and  kindred  sciences. 
Dissolving  Bones  (F.  J.  B.). — To  2  lbs.  of  bonemeal,  perfectly  dry', 
add  lb.  of  water  and  1J  lb.  of  sulphuric  acid,  mix,  and  these  if  left  to 
act  on  each  other  for  twenty-four  hours,  should  form  superphosphate 
of  lime,  nothing  else  remaining.  The  bones  used  to  form  the  super¬ 
phosphate  must  contain  the  essential  phosphate  of  lime  (55  per  cent, 
or  more),  that  is,  they  must  be  fresh,  or  at  least  sound,  for  it  is  useless 
expecting  the  sulphuric  acid  to  act  on  old  and  decayed  bones  that 
have  lost  the  greater  part  of  the  phosphate  of  lime  through  the  acids 
of  the  soil  and  abstraction  by  the  roots  of  plants,  leaving  little  beyond 
carbonate  of  lime. 
Are  Laurustinus  Prunings  injurious  to  Cattle?  QC.  P.,  Dorking). — We 
are  not  aware  that  fresh  growths  have  any  injurious  properties,  though 
the  prunings  smell  very  offensively  shortly  after  being  cut.  In  such  state 
they  may  contain  some  deleterious  properties,  as  we  have  noticed  that 
both  rabbits,  hares,  and  cattle  leave  them  severely  alone,  whilst  they 
browse  freely'  upon  the  bushes  without  any  evil  effects.  The  berries 
contain  an  acrid  principle  and  are  very  hot,  inflaming  the  mouth  ;  they 
are  also  violently  purgative,  with  action  on  the  utera,  which  may  cause  cows 
to  throw  their  calves  prematurely'.  We  have  not,  however,  any  direct 
evidence  of  this,  for  in  a  supposed  case  the  mishap  was  traced  to  “ergot  ’ 
on  grasses  in  a  plantation  to  which  the  cattle  gained  access  by  a  gap  in 
the  fence.  We  have  also  known  “  calf  picking  ’’  to  follow  in  heifers  after 
partaking  of  Savin  (Juniperus  sabina),  and  to  suffer  seriously  from  chewing 
partially  dried  or  recently  cut  Yew  hedge  clippings,  in  some  instances 
death  resulting. 
Planting  Mint  (/.  K.).— If  as  you  say,  the  present  bed  is  beginning  to 
fail,  by  all  means  plant  a  new  one.  In  some  soils  this  valuable  culinary 
herb  is  liable  to  be  more  or  less  seriously  attacked  by  a  fungus  after  a  bed 
has  been  established  three  years.  Choose  a  fresh  site,  work  the  land 
deeply,  and  enrich  it.  A  quantity  of  charred  vegetable  refuse,  including 
wood  ashes,  is  a  good  addition  to  ordinary  manure,  as  also  is  lime  in  most 
gardens.  Do  not  plant  until  the  Mint  grows  to  the  height  of  3  or  4  inches 
in  the  present  bed,  then  in  dull  showery  weather  loosen  number  of 
these  shoots  with  a  small  hand  fork,  and  draw  them  out.  You  will  find 
more  or  less  of  white  roots  bristling  from  the  stems.  Plant  these  rooted 
sucker  growths  rather  deeply  and  firmly  with  a  dibber,  6  inches  apart  in 
rows  a  foot  asunder,  water  them  well  in  and  a  few  times  subsequently, 
as  may  be  needed  ;  also  run  a  small  hoe  between  the  rows  occasionally, 
and  you  will  soon  have  a  strong  Mint  bed.  We  have  found  this  plan 
much  better  than  planting  dormant  underground  stems.  Do  not  cut  trom 
the  new  bed  during  the  season  of  planting. 
Books  ( Young  Gardener). — Any  intending  candidate  for  the  R.H.S. 
examinations  can  obtain  a  list  of  books  by  writing  to  the  Secretary 
Royal  Horticultural  Society,  117,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster. 
The  prices  are  not  given.  The  books,  you  will  find,  are 
mostly  of  a  scientific  character,  and  some  of  them  too  costly 
for  a  large  number  of  young  gardeners.  A  good  “  general  book  on 
flowers,  fruits,  and  vegetables,  giving  also  the  natural  orders  of  plants,’’ 
will  be  found  in  the  “Gardeners’  Dictionary”  (Bells  and  Sons),  price,, 
we  think,  about  8s.  If  you  want  the  most  practical  information  on  the 
cultivation  of  vegetables,  fruit,  and  florists’  flowers  for  the  least  amount 
of  money,  send  Is.  9d.  in  stamps  to  the  publisher  of  the  “  Garden 
Manual,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street,  London.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  add  the  book  on  botany  you  mention  to  those  you  have. 
Masters’  “Plant  Life”  would  be  better.  Cousin’s  “Chemistry  of  the 
Garden”  contains  much  valuable  information  for  Is.  (Macmillans).  Write- 
to  this  firm  for  their  list  of  gardening  books  (St.  Martin’s  Street,  London, 
W.C.)  and  judge  for  yourself.  Selection  has  to  be  considered  with  the 
amount  of  money  you  are  prepared  to  invest. 
Nainas  of  Fruits.  —  Notice,  —  We  have  pleasure  in  naming  good- 
typical  fruits  (when  the  names  are  discoverable)  for  the  convenience  of 
regular  subscribers,  who  are  the  growers  of  such  fruit,  and  not  col¬ 
lectors  of  specimens  from  non-subscribers.  This  latter  procedure  is 
wholly  irregular,  and  we  trust  that  none  of  our  readers  will  allow 
themselves  to  be  made  the  mediums  in  infringing  our  rules.  Special 
attention  is  directed  to  the  following  decision,  the  object  of  which,  is 
to  discourage  the  growth  of  inferior  and  promote  the  culture  of  superior 
varieties.  In  consequence  of  the  large  number  of  worthless  Apples  and  Pears 
sent  to  this  office  to  be  named,  it  has  been  decided  to  name  only  specimens  and 
varieties  of  approved  merit,  and  to  reject  the  inferior,  which  are  not  worth 
sending  or  growing.  The  names  and  addresses  of  senders  of  fruits  or 
flowers  to  be  named  must  in  all  cases  be  enclosed  with  the  specimens, 
