August  24,  1899. 
ICO 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND 
COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
should  he  made  smooth  with  a  rake,  and  this  is  the  best  time  to  apply 
a  dressing  of  salt,  not  only  for  its  saline  qualities  as  a  manure,  but  it 
also  kills  insects  and  weeds.  Of  art’Ticial  manures  I  have  found  nitrate 
of  rod  a  to  produce  a  marked  effect  when  applied  early  in  the  spring,  to 
old  beds  past  their  best.  Where  the  soil  is  not  of  so  calcareous  a 
nature  as  desired,  a  dressing  of  fresh  lime  applied  early  in  the  spring 
will  supply  the  defect. 
Cutting. 
On  the  cutting  of  the  crop  there  is  but  one  opinion  of  the  time  to 
begin  on  a  new  plantation,  and  that  is  not  until  the  third  season  of 
growth  ;  and  my  advice  is  to  cut  them  but  very  sparingly,  only  taking 
about  two  early  cuttings  ot  the  strongest  shoots.  After  the  third  year 
they  may  be  considered  in  bearing  order,  and,  with  liberal  and  careful 
management,  will  continue  so  for  a  dozen  years  or  more.  Of  how  to 
cut,  different  rules  have  been  advocated  by  different  growers ;  some 
cut  all  that  rises  above  ground  until  the  middle  or  end  of  June,  others 
only  take  the  strongest  shoots  and  leave  the  others  to  grow  up,  and  no 
doubt  this  latter  is  the  best  rule,  only  then  more  ground  must  be 
devoted  to  Asparagus,  a  matter  which  all  growers  cannot  afford. 
Personally,  I  adopt  a  medium  rule,  by  cutting  all  that  rises  till  the 
middle  of  the  season — i.e.,  about  the  middle  of  May,  and  after  that 
only  the  strongest  shoots  till  June  15th,  and  if,  by  any  chance, 
emergency  demands  a  cutting  later,  it  is  very  reluctantly  supplied. 
Summer  Growth. 
After  the  cutting  season,  growth  must  have  time  to  develop  and 
ripen  before  the  autumn.  On  the  vigour  of  the  growth  to  a  large 
extent  depends  not  only  tne  size  of  the  shoots  tie  following  year,  but 
oven  the  life  of  the  plants.  Many  beds  are  ruined  through  over¬ 
cutting.  I  have  even  heard  a  gardener  say  that  to  have  good 
Asparagus,  beds  should  be  cut  from  only  in  alternate  seasons. 
As  so  much  depends  on  the  maturing  of  strong  growths,  care  must 
be  taken  to  protect  them  against  wind.  A  few  Pea  stakes  stuck  into 
the  ground  amongst  them,  for  the  tops  to  lean  against,  form  a  good 
wind  guard. 
Green  and  Blanched  Produce. 
The  t.nste  in  England  hitherto  has  been  for  green  Asparagus,  and 
to  have  it  in  this  condition  it  is  allowed  to  grow  3  or  4  inches  above 
ihe  surface  of  the  ground,  and  then  cut  2  or  3  inches  below  it.  The 
French  prefer  it  blanched,  and  their  method  seems  to  be  gaining  favour 
in  England.  To  have  it  in  the  French  style  a  greater  depth  of  soil  is 
required  over  the  roots,  and  the  shoots  must  be  cut  when  they  are 
seen  to  be  heaving  up  the  surface  of  the  soil.  The  plot  system  is  the 
"best  for  this ;  the  soil  may  be  drawn  over  the  rows  on  both  sides,  in 
the  way  in  which  Potatoes  are  earthed  ur>,  and  the  time  to  do  this  is 
just  before  the  shoots  begin  to  push.  At  Hatfield  we  usually  begin 
>to  cut  Asparagus  outdoors  about  April  15th,  a  few  days  earlier  or  later 
according  to  the  season. 
NOTES  ON  THE  VEGETABLE  CROPS. 
This  has  not  been  a  favourable  season  for  the  growth  of  vegetables 
■in  this  neighbourhood,  and  many  of  the  crops  are  unsatisfactory. 
This  state  of  affairs  may  be  attributed  more  to  the  unfavourable  season 
than  to  injury  caused  by  insect  pests.  The  weather  has  been  very 
changeable,  and  we  have  had  such  extremes  of  temperatures.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  May  was  wet  and  cold ;  the  rainfall  was  by.no  means  exces¬ 
sive,  but  there  were  so  many  wet  days  in  succession,  with  an  absence  of 
sgnshine  and  low  temperatures,  that  vegetation  was  ajipost  at  a  stand¬ 
still  ;  in  fact  some  crops  appeared  to  be  dwindling  away  altogether. 
When  the  weather  did  change  it  became  very  hot,  and  for  four  weeks 
we  had  no  rain,  indeed  there  has  been  very  little  rain  since  May. 
l’eas  have  been  the  greatest  sufferers,  and  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  rows  each  of  William  I.  and  Exonian  growing  on  a  warm  border 
and  sheltered  from  the  cold  winds,  this  crop  has  been  the  worst  I  have 
had  for  several  years.  Most  varieties  germinated  well,  but  when  about 
■G  iuches  high  stopped  growing,  and  for  some  time  presented  a  very 
stunted  appearance.  They  appeared  to  be  affected  by  a  kind  of  blight, 
the  young  growths  being  quite  browned  and  the  leaves  curled.  Several 
varieties  only  attained  to  about  half  their  usual  height,  and  the  produce 
.is  inferior  in  quality  as  well  as  small  in  size. 
Spring  sown  Onions  have  done  remarkably  well  considering  the 
season,  although  like  Peas  they  presented  a  sorry  appearance  in  their 
young  state.  During  the  cold  time  in  May  they  turned  quite  yellow, 
and  many  of  the  plants  succumbed.  On  the  advent  of  better  weather, 
however,  and  the  application  of  a  few  dressings  of  a  suitable  fertiliser 
they  have  improved,  and  there  will  be  a  fair  crop,  but  the  bulbs 
generally  are  undersized.  The  maggot  has  not  been  very  troublesome. 
This  year  tap-rooted  vegetables,  on  the  whole,  have  made  the  best 
progress,  and  so  far  are  clean  and  healthy,  especially  Parsnips.  Carrots 
are  an  uncertain  crop  in  this  soil,  and  in  a  very  dry  season  they  all  go 
off.  This  year,  strange  to  say,  they  are  standing  the  drought  well, 
the  roots  being  clean  and  bright ;  but  unless  we  soon  have  a  good 
rain,  I  am  afraid  they  will  not  survive. 
Celery  is  doing  well,  and  though  greatly  in  need  of  rain,  is  making 
good  growth.  During  its  early  stage  it  received  good  waterings,  and 
a  thick  mulching  of  lawn  mowings,  which  have  greatly  assisted  the 
plants.  Last  year  the  Celery  fly  did  much  damage,  and  the  plants 
were  looked  over  several  times,  and  all  infested  leaves  pinched  off 
and  burnt.  This  season,  I  am  glad  to  say,  the  plants  are  so  far  free 
from  this  pest.  The  Turnip  fly  has  done  a  considerable  amount  of 
injury,  and  we  have  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  not  only  a  crop 
of  Turnips,  but  nearly  all  the  Brassica  tribe  as  well.  The  intensely 
hot  and  dry  weather  coming  just  after  our  greens  were  planted  has 
caused  the  death  of  hundreds,  they  being  completely  devoured  by  the 
fly.  We  have  had  to  plant  Cauliflowers,  Broccoli,  Savoys,  and,  in 
fact,  nearly  all  kinds  of  greens  a  second  time. 
Gooseberry  and  Currant  bushes,  wall  trees,  and  most  things  in 
the  garden  wrere  infested  with  the  flies,  although  no  harm  was 
done  to  these.  This  is  the  first  time  that  the  fly  has  destroyed 
my  crops  of  greens,  and  I  was  under  the  impression  that  it  was 
rather  an  uncommon  occurrence. 
A  short  time  since,  however,  I  noticed  in  the  Journal  (page  4) 
a  case  where  the  writer  was  complaining  of  the  injury  done  in  his 
garden,  and  stated  that  he  nearly  always  had  a  difficulty  in  getting 
good  crops.  I  have  tried  several  things  against  the  pest,  such  as  soot, 
lime,  quassia  extract,  and  petroleum  emulsion.  The  latter  has  proved 
the  most  successful,  and  though  applied  during  bright  sunshine,  it 
has  not  injured  the  plants;  in  cases  of  very  bad  attack,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  spray  the  crops  twice  a  day. 
In  consequence  of  the  damage  by  fly  and  the  continued  dry  weather, 
our  crops  of  greens,  with  the  exception  of  Brussels  Sprouts,  are  most 
unsatisfactory.  Many  plants  have  died,  while  others  are  making  very 
irregular  growth.  Amongst  the  Cauliflowers  there  are  many  blind 
plants,  although  they  were  carefully  examined  prior  to  planting. 
Broad  Beans,  as  well  as  Kidney  and  Scarlet  Runners,  are  doing  well. 
Early  Potatoes  have  been  good,  especially  Sharpe’s  Victor,  and  are 
quite  free  from  disease.  Second  early  and  late  varieties  were  good 
until  about  the  last  fortnight,  but  now  show  signs  of  distress  from  the 
drought,  and  I  am  afraid  the  tubers  will  be  small. 
A  short  time  since  I  was  through  a  number  of  cottage  gardens  on 
two  different  estates.  The  crops  on  the  whole  were  looking  very  well, 
and  appeared  to  be  free  from  insect  pests,  but  the  effects  of  the 
unfavourable  season  were  plainly  apparent.  Peas  made  a  poor  show, 
and  in  only  a  very  few  cases  was  a  good  row  to  be  found.  I  should 
be  glad  to  hear  if  Peas  have  been  similarly  affected  in  other  parts 
of  the  country. — -J.  S.  UTex,  York. 
QUALITY  IN  FRUIT. 
The  best  judges  of  fruit  usually  admit  that  colour  and  flavour  are 
the  test  of  quality,  and  leave  size  out  of  the  question,  or  rather,  give  it 
a  very  secondary  place.  This  is  quite  right ;  size  in  the  abstract  is  a 
fault  in  many  fruits,  but  then  size  often  means  improved  quality. 
Take  that  excellent  Peach  Alexandra  Noblesse.  There  are  often  very 
large  fruits  of  it;  they  usually  lack  coL  ur,  and  possibly  anyone 
unacquainted  with  varieties  would  be  apt  to  choose  a  brighter-looking, 
perhaps  a  smaller  Peach.  They  would  do  wrong.  A  large  Peach  is 
better  than  two  half  the  size,  for  there  is  only  one  stone  and  only  one 
rind,  the  outer  surface  of  one  large  fruit  bemg  less  than  that  of  two 
small  ones.  '  This  means  an  additional  quantity  of  edible  flesh,  a  great 
advantage  fo  the  fruit. 
Agkin,’take  a  large  bunch  of  any  good  quality  Grape,  such  as 
Madresfield  Court.  The  individual  berries  will  be  larger  if  the  bunch 
has  been  properly  thinned,  and  the  flavour  is  not  harmed  in  the  least. 
The  large  bunch  shows  superior  culture  and  is  the  better.  Gros 
Maroc  may  be  better  in  colour,  the  bunches  may  be  compact  and  -well 
made,  but  no  one  could  say  that  Madresfields  of  good  quality  are  not 
better  than  the  best  Gros  Maroc  ever  growm. 
Size  may  often,  as  I  have  said,  be  a  disadvantage.  For  a  small 
number  of  gue-ts  it  is  wrong  to  grow  extra  large  Melons.  This 
luscious  fruit  may^be  of  the  very  best  quality  when  opened,  but  the 
rich  flavour  soon  goes’after  cutting.  It  is  best,  then,  to  grow  Melons 
that  will  be  nearly  all  eaten  at  a  single  meal,  so  that  the  flesh  is 
enjoyed  at  its  best.  Very  large  Strawberries  are  seldom  so  good  in 
flavour  as  smaller  ones,  although  there  are  exceptions,  and  a  true 
opinion  can  only  be  formed  by  an  intimate  knowledge  of  varieties  and 
their  peculiarities. 
As  to  the  conditions  necessary  to  bring  flavour  into  fruits,  any¬ 
thing  that  maintains  the  tree  or  plant  in  perfect  health  will  usually  be 
the  proper  method.  Unnatural  drying  off  or  sudden  alterations  in  the 
temperature  and  atmospheric  conditions  caused  by  throwing  fruit 
houses  widely  open,  are  wrong  in  principle  and  bad  in  effect.  There 
may  be  occasions  on  which  it  is  necessary  to  effect  changes  that  are 
not  altogether  in  favour  of  the  plant,  but  they  are  few,  aud  as  a  rule 
what  is  good  for  the  plant  or  tree  is  good  also  for  the  fruit. — 
H.  Richards. 
