February  13, 1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
135 
Winter  Spinach,  and  the  latter  is  merely  hoed  down,  allowed  to 
dry  for  a  few  days,  the  ground  cleaned,  and  the  Brassica  without 
other  preparation  planted.  Late  Peas  generally  succeed  Broccoli. 
Here  we  have  three  crops  in  succession  with  one  good  preparation 
of  the  ground.  Ground  cleared  of  Onions  also  forms  a  perfectly 
good  soil  without  re-digging.  Celery  also  is  a  good  preparatory 
crop. 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  ground  subjected  to  a  thorough  breaking 
up  is  greatly  benefited  by  being  trodden  somewhat  firmly  when 
dry.  This  is  invariably  the  case  with  summer  cultivation,  and  the 
addition  of  moisture  before  seed-sowing  is  also  important.  In  thi3 
matter,  however,  the  soil  should  be  slightly  dried  before  covering 
seeds.  Provided  the  ground  has  been  thoroughly  prepared  the  hoe 
as  an  instrument  of  cultivation  during  the  summer  is  a  factor  not 
to  be  lightly  esteemed.  It  not  infrequently  occurs  in  early  spring 
that  the  surface  of  winter-dug  soil  is  somewhat  wet,  and  cannot 
safely  be  re-dug  in  the  usual  way.  In  the  case  of  borders,  or  of 
ground  that  may  easily  be  reached  without  trampling,  the  Dutch 
hoe  pushed  somewhat  deeply  through  the  part  required  for 
cropping  is  quickly  followed  by  an  access  of  dryness,  so 
that  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  it  is  possible  to  get  the 
crop  in.  It  is,  however,  as  an  agent  in  summer  cultivation 
that  the  value  of  the  hoe  is  greatest.  A  layer  of  loose 
surface  soil  stirred  at  intervals  forms  to  the  ground  the 
best  natural  means  for  the  conservation  of  moisture.  It 
acts,  at  the  same  time,  as  a  medium  for  the  transmission 
of  atmospheric  heat,  and  it  absorbs  every  drop  of  rain  that 
falls,  while  it  also  abstracts  from  the  atmosphere  a  greater 
proportion  of  fertilising  gases  than  ground  in  a  more  or 
less  hardened  condition  on  the  surface.  Therefore,  apart 
altogether  from  the  position  it  holds  as  a  destroyer  of 
noxious  vegetation,  the  use  of  the  hoe  is  largely  conducive 
to  fertility. — B. 
APPLE  ROYAL  LATE  COOKING. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  on 
January  14th,  the  Fruit  Committee  granted  an  award  of  merit 
for  this  Apple.  It  is  one  of  the  seedlings  which  Mr.  Powell 
raised  at  Frogmore,  but  has  been  long  established  as  a  favourite 
late  cooking  variety  in  the  Royal  household.  Tbe  fruits 
exhibited  were  remarkably  fine  as  the  produce  of  a  large 
standard  tree,  and  were  thus  not  assisted  by  thinning  and 
feeding  as  many  fruits  are,  and  should  be,  for  developing  their 
fullest  size  and  beauty  for  exhibition,  and,  in  fact,  for  market 
purposes.  The  best  fruit  of  all  kinds  pays  the  best,  and 
attention  to  the  points  in  culture  indicated  acts  in  the  same 
beneficial  way  in  the  case  of  Apples,  Pears  and  Plums  as  in 
Grapes.  The  fruits  of  Royal  Late  Cooking  exhibited  were  what 
may  be  termed  good  ordinary  samples.  They  had  some  re¬ 
semblance  to  Lord  Derby,  but  were  more  symmetrical,  firmer 
and  heavier.  As  was  stated  in  our  report  of  the  meeting 
alluded  to,  Mr.  B unyard  thought  he  could  detect  a  trace  of 
Tower  of  Glamis  and  Alfriston  in  the  Royal  Late  Cooking ; 
but,  be  that  as  it  may,  the  fruits  were  fine.  The  illustration 
(fig.  20)  does  not  represent  the  largest  specimen  that  was  examined 
by  the  Committee,  but  a  typical  example  of  the  variety. 
ERANTHEMUM  PULCHELLUM. 
It  is  probable  that  no  winter-flowering  plant  is  more  popular 
than  Eranthemum  pulchellum.  It  is  of  very  easy  culture,  grows 
freely  to  a  height  of  2  or  3  feet,  and  produces  its  blue  inflorescence 
in  extraordinary  numbers.  A  stove  temperature  is  best  suited  to 
its  requirements,  though  I  have  grown  it  with  fair  success  in  an 
intermediate  structure.  I  have  tried  several  systems  of  cultivation, 
and  have  found  that  detailed  herewith  to  give  the  most  satisfactory 
returns. 
It  may  be  propagated  by  cuttings  of  the  points  of  the  shoots 
when  the  base  is  a  little  firm,  as  will  be  the  case  about  June,  taken 
off  with  two  joints  and  the  growing  point.  Remove  the  lowest 
pair  of  leaves,  and  insert  the  cuttings  up  to  the  next  pair 
of  leaves,  singly  in  small  pots.  These  should  be  filled  with  a 
compost  two  parts  loam  and  one  part  leaf  soil,  with  a  half  part 
silver  sand.  Make  a  hole  in  the  soil,  place  some  sand  in  the  bottom, 
then  fill  round  the  cutting  with  silver  sand  and  press  firm.  Place 
the  pots  in  a  bottom  heat  of  75°,  cover  them  with  a  hand  or  bell- 
glass,  and  keep  them  close  and  shaded  until  the  plants  are  rooted  ; 
then  gradually  withdraw  the  hand  or  bell-glass,  by  degrees  remove 
the  pots  from  the  bottom  heat,  and  afterwards  transfer  them  to 
the  stove  or  a  vinery  at  work.  The  plants  should  be  shifted  into 
larger  pots  when  the  roots  become  slightly  matted  round  the  sides 
of  the  cutting  pots;  4^-inch  or  5-incb  pots  will  be  suitable.  The 
compost  may  now  consist  of  two  parts  fibrous  light  loam,  one  part 
leaf  soil,  half  a  part  of  sandy  peat,  and  a  sixth  part  each  of 
silver  sand  and  charcoal  in  lumps  from  the  size  of  a  pea  to  that  of 
a  hazel  nut.  The  whole  should  be  well  mixed  and  broken  fine, 
but  not  sifted.  The  drainage  should  be  good.  The  plants  need 
not  be  again  shifted  into  larger  pots  during  the  first  season. 
If  plants  with  a  single  stem  are  required  they  must  not  be 
pinched,  and  they  will  attain  a  height  of  about  a  foot,  and  bloom 
from  the  axils  of  the  leaves  on  the  upper  part  of  the  shoot  as  well 
&s  at  its  point.  If  two  or  more  shoots  are  required,  we  nip  out 
the  point  of  the  shoot  at  the  second  pair  of  leaves,  which  will  be 
all  the  stopping  we  ought  to  give  if  the  plants  are  to  flower  in  the 
following  winter.  The  shoots  will  not  need  any  staking  or  tying, 
but  they  should  be  kept  about  1  foot  fiom  the  glass,  and  the 
situation  should  be  light  and  moderately  airy.  They  are  the  better 
of  a  moist  atmosphere  and  of  a  light  sprinkling  overhead  morning 
and  evening ;  but  this  sprinkling  with  water  should  not  be 
continued  after  the  leaves  are  full  sized,  for  the  water  dripping 
or  hanging  from  the  points  of  the  leaves  causes  them  to  become 
black  and  dry  up,  marring  the  beauty  of  the  flowers  whether  on  the 
plant  or  in  a  cut  state. 
Copious  supplies  of  water  are  required  ;  the  main  point  is  to 
keep  the  leaves  from  flagging  and  yet  not  give  any  water  before 
the  soil  becomes  dry.  If  the  plants  are  allowed  to  become 
dry  the  lower  leaves  will  fall  and  the  heads  of  bloom  will 
be  small.  After  September  only  enough  water  should  be 
given  to  keep  the  leaves  fresh,  for,  so  long  as  this  object  is 
attained,  the  drier  the  plants  are  kept  the  more  strongly  they  will 
flower.  After  they  are  advancing  for  flowering  the  soil  should  be 
kept  moist. 
Flowering  commences  with  me  in  November,  is  at  its  best  in 
December  and  early  in  January,  and  continues  until  March.  To 
have  the  longest  continuance  of  bloom  the  plants  should  be  in  two 
stages  or  more  of  growth — that  is,  there  should  be  young  plants, 
two-year-old,  and  old  plants.  The  old  plants  will  bloom  earlier 
than  the  youngest,  or  the  plants  may  be  kept  in  winter  in  a 
temperature  at  night  of  50°,  and  introduced  to  one  of  55°  to  60°  as 
they  are  required  to  bloom.  In  a  temperature  of  45°  to  50°  at 
night  they  will  not  suffer  if  the  soil  and  atmosphere  be  dry,  and 
plants  so  kept  flower  in  March. 
After  the  flowering  is  over  the  plants  should  be  cut  back  to 
two  joints,  or  if  the  growths  are  weak  to  one,  leaving,  however, 
the  shoots  at  various  lengths,  so  as  to  give  the  desired  bush 
form.  When  the  fresh  shoots  are  2  or  3  inches  long,  turn  the 
FIG.  20, — APPLE  EOYAL  LATE  COOKING. 
