260 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
March  19,  1896. 
fine  ornamental  foliage  not  equalled  by  any  we  know.  The  flowers  are 
produced  in  bnnchea  of  from  six  to  eighteen,  umbel  fashion,  on  longish 
scapes.  The  flowers  are  rarely  less  than  an  inch  in  diameter,  pure  white, 
firm-textured,  and  lasting  a  considerable  time  in  a  cut  state.  It  loves 
shade,  plenty  of  moisture  in  rather  a  heavy  but  rich  soil.  The  leaves 
are  deciduous  ;  the  crown,  though  exposed,  requiring  no  protection,  as 
it  is  found  at  altitudes  of  from  10,000  to  12,000  feet  above  sea  level  from 
Kashmir  to  Sikkim,  flowering  during  the  early  summer  months. — 
Flora. 
THE  ENGLISH  SHOW  TULIP. 
The  foliage  of  the  above,  in  most  situations  will,  consequent  on  the 
unusually  mild  season,  be  6  inches  above  the  ground  ;  the  growers  will, 
therefore,  be  able  to  judge  as  to  the  number  of  their  bulbs  which  will 
produce  blooms.  I  may  state,  for  the  information  of  amateurs  who  may 
have  only  just  started  upon  the  cultivation  of  Tulips,  that  all  bulbs 
which  produce  blooms  show  double  leaves,  while  those  which  will  not 
produce  blooms  only  bear  a  single  leaf,  and  these  are  designated 
“  Widows  I  ” 
The  growth  having  thus  far  advanced  it  will  be  beneficial  to  the 
health  of  the  plants  that  the  surface  of  the  soil  between  the  rows  be 
loosened  ;  to  accomplish  this,  without  injury  to  the  foliage,  a  specially 
made  fork  should  be  used  with  only  two  prongs,  4  inches  long  and 
2  inches  apart,  the  former  being  bent  at  right  angles  with  the  handle,  so 
that  standing  on  one  side  of  the  bed  and  striking  the  prongR  into  the 
soil  about  half  way  across  the  bed,  then  quietly  drawing  the  fork  towards 
the  side  the  soil  will  be  thoroughly  loosened.  As  soon  as  the  whole  of 
the  rows  have  been  gone  through  on  one  side  the  other  side  is  proceeded 
with  in  a  similar  manner. 
Nothing  further  need  be  done  to  the  bed  or  plants,  except  protecting 
them  from  cats  or  dogs  (which  can  easily  be  doDe  by  placing  wire  netting, 
18  inches  high,  all  round  the  bed)  until  the  blooms  begin  showing  their 
colour  and  markings.  At  this  period  an  awning,  consisting  of  calico, 
should  be  placed  over  the  bed  so  as  to  reach  within  18  inches  of  the 
ground  on  each  side.  On  all  occasions  it  is  most  essential  for  the 
purpose  of  insuring  brightness  of  colour  that  as  much  air  as  possible  be 
given  to  the  bed  ;  this  can  be  arranged  by  only  keeping  one  side  of  the 
cover  down  during  the  daytime  and  fine  weather.  The  side  to  be  kept 
covered  is  the  one  during  which  the  sun  shines  upon,  so  that,  it  is 
necessary  to  watch  the  sun,  aDd  attend  to  the  covering  accordingly. 
In  all  cases  during  rain  the  covers  must  be  down  on  both  sides,  and 
likewise  during  the  night. 
The  bed  should  never  be  watered  whilst  the  bloom  is  on,  or  the 
moisture  rising  from  soil  will  cause  the  colouring  of  the  blooms  to 
become  dull  or  washy.  A  good  watering  after  the  bloom  is  over,  and  the 
covers  are  removed,  will  tend  to  strengthen  the  growth  of  the  new  bulbs. 
—James  Thurstan,  The  Green ,  Cannock. 
MODERN  GRAPE  GROWING— ESTIMATE  of  VARIETIES. 
( Continued  from  page  166.) 
Of  the  varieties  already  referred  to  four  stand  out  prominently  as 
being  of  the  first  quality,  and  at  the  same  time  in  general  cultivation. 
These  are  Madresfield  Court,  Black  Hamburgh,  Muscat  of  Alexandria, 
and  Gros  Colman.  Duke  of  Buccleuch  is  also  of  the  best  quality,  but 
is  not  in  general  cultivation  and  is  not  likely  to  be.  Next  comes  a 
variety  which,  although  not  so  popular  for  market  purposes  as  it  once 
was,  having  been  pushed  aside  by  the  more  showy  and  easier-cultivated 
Gros  Colman,  yet  is  indispensable  in  all  large  private  establishments 
where  Grapes  are  wanted  through  every  month  of  the  year,  owing  to  its 
being  tbe  best  late-keeping  variety  in  existence.  I  refer  to  Lady 
Downe’s  Seedling.  Its  greatest  drawback  is  in  the  time  it  takes  to  thin, 
one  bunch  occupying  an  expert  probably  ten  times  as  long  as  a  bunch 
of  Gros  Colman.  But  I  have  seen  Lady  Downe’s  good  and  plump  in 
the  month  of  June,  and  certainly  during  April  and  the  early  part  of 
May  it  is  of  better  flavour  and  sweeter  than  forced  Hamburghs,  while  the 
cost  of  producing  it  is  very  much  less. 
The  best  house  of  Ladv  Downe’s  I  ever  saw  was  grown  by  my  late 
friend  Mr.  Wildsmith  at  Heckfield.  The  time  referred  to  was  before 
they  were  made  to  stand  on  their  heads.  I  had  not  the  opportunity 
of  seeing  them  after  that,  but  was  told  they  did  equally  well  For  those 
readers  who  may  not  know  the  circumstances  I  may  mention  that  the 
Vines  having  grown  up  one  side  of  the  house  and  down  the  other,  their 
ends  were  fastened  down  to  a  prepared  border,  where  they  took  root  and 
became  rejuvenised.  For  a  while  the  roots  remained  at  each  end,  but 
after  a  time  some  of  the  Vines,  if  not  all  of  them,  were  severed  from  the 
ground  at  their  thickest  end,  and  they  went  on  feeding  and  luxuriating 
backwards.  The  best  two  bunches  of  Lady  Downe’s  I  have  seen  were 
grown  by  myself  and  exhibited  at  Shrewsbury  some  eight  or  nine  years 
ago,  the  largest  of  the  two  weighing  lbs.  and  measured  1C  inches  in 
length. 
Gros  Maroc  has  had  its  merits  much  discussed,  and  several  growers 
have  discarded  it.  Though  not  possessing  all  the  good  qualities  some  of 
its  advocates  claimed  for  it,  it  nevertheless  is  a  very  useful  and  beautiful 
Grape  of  easy  cultivation.  It  colours  much  earlier  than  Gros  Colman, 
and  as  there  is  a  constant  demand  for  large  showy  berries  it  must  be 
grown  to  meet  that  demand.  Its  flavour  during  summer  and  early 
autumn  is  not  all  that  could  be  desired,  but  when  November  comes  it  is 
quite  equal  to  Alicante,  and  much  more  showy.  I  have  never  tested  its 
keeping  qualities  after  January,  but  at  the  end  of  that  month  it  had  all 
tbe  appearance  of  keeping  as  well  as  Gros  Colman.  It  takes  a  hard  rub 
to  remove  its  bloom,  and  as  its  skin  is  thick  it  ought  to  be  a  good 
traveller.  Gros  Colman,  on  the  other  hand,  by  tbe  time  it  has  been  sent 
to  London  and  re-distributed  to  the  provincial  towns  is  generally  as 
innocent  of  bloom  as  a  scraped  Carrot. 
Alicante  is  a  variety  of  easy  culture,  and  will  do  with  either  green¬ 
house  or  stove  temperatures.  It  is  popular  as  a  market  Grape,  travels 
and  keeps  well,  carries  a  good  bloom,  and  is  altogether  of  handsome 
appearance.  Mrs.  Pince  is  of  very  good  flavour,  but  its  berries  are  not 
sufficiently  large  to  suit  the  present  taste,  and  it  is  a  very  rare  thing  to 
see  it  black  ;  in  fact,  I  have  only  once  seen  it  carry  the  desired  colour, 
and  that  was  in  1868,  when  some  grafts  I  had  worked  on  White  Tokay 
at  Mr.  Meredith’s  vineyard  produced  small  bunches  the  same  season, 
and  1  remember  sending  a  sample  to  the  “  Gardeners’ Chronicle,”  and 
obtaining  a  favourable  comment  in  answers  to  correspondents. 
Muscat  Hamburgh  is  not  of  good  constitution,  is  a  bad  setter,  and 
we  have  the  authority  of  Mr.  Barron  for  saying  it  “does  not  keep  long 
in  good  condition  after  becoming  ripe.”  Altogether  I  consider  it  inferior 
to  Madresfield  Court.  The  only  other  variety  I  shall  mention  is  Alnwick 
Seedling,  and  the  only  recommendation  I  shall  give  it  is  that  it  will 
colour  well  anywhere,  the  comparatively  close  atmosphere  of  the  Muscat 
house  suiting  it  perfectly,  and  it  is  the  only  Grape  that  will  become 
really  black  under  such  conditions. — Wm.  Taylor. 
(To  be  continued.) 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
March  10th. 
Scientific  Committee. — Present :  R.  McLachlan,  Esq.,  in  the 
chair,  and  four  other  members. 
The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and  confirmed. 
A  further  specimen  of  a  diseased  trunk  of  a  Peach  tree  was  sent 
from  Chiswick.  The  bark  was  covered  with  exudations  of  gum,  and 
spotted  all  over  with  the  expelled  excreta  of  a  small  caterpillar,  which 
was  found  burrowing  under  the  bark,  and  penetrating  only  a  very  short 
distance  into  the  wood.  The  insect  was  found  to  be  the  larva  of 
Semasia  Woberana,  the  Apple  or  Pear  tree  Bark  Moth.  It  was  suggested 
that  a  plaster  of  clay  mixed  with  paraffin,  and  applied  to  the  trunk  of 
tbe  trees,  might  prove  a  remedy,  or  rather,  a  prevention.  As  the  insect 
never  penetrates  to  any  great  depth,  it  was  thought  that  the  trees  would 
survive  many  years,  even  when  seriously  affected. 
Specimens  of  Carnations  sent  from  M.  Peters,  Givan’s  Grove, 
Leatherhead,  were  found  to  be  affected  with  a  fungoid  disease  attacking 
the  main  stem.  They  were  referred  to  Dr.  Masters  for  identification  of 
the  fungus,  but  it  was  not  thought  that  any  practical  remedy  could  be 
suggested  other  than  burning  the  affected  plants  and  starting  fresh  ones 
on  fresh  soil. 
Mrs.  Milled  of  Winestead  Rectory,  Hull,  sent  blossoms  of  Crocus  and 
Hellebores  for  identification.  Mr.  Yeitch  offered  to  endeavour  to 
do  this. 
M.  Godefroy  Lebeuf  of  Paris  exhibited  some  sprays  of  metallised 
Odontoglossum  crispum  with  foliage  of  Ivy  and  Euonymus.  They 
were  beautifully  executed,  the  natural  form  of  the  flowers  being 
admirably  preserved,  and  the  venation  of  the  leaves  perfectly  distinct. 
PROPAGATION  OF  THE  DAHLIA. 
As  an  amateur  grower  of  Dahlias  I  should  be  very  glad  if  any  of 
your  correspondents  would  explain  a  difficulty  which  I  experience  in 
preserving  my  plants  from  year  to  year.  Tbe  system  I  adopt  is  to  store 
the  old  roots  in  a  dry  place  safe  from  frost,  covering  them  over  with 
ashes  or  sand.  In  the  early  spring  I  put  them  under  the  stage  of  the 
greenhouse,  covered  or  nearly  so  with  earth.  As  soon  as  they  produce 
shoots  I  cut  them  out  with  a  bit  of  the  old  stalk  and  a  small  piece  of 
tbe  tuber,  and  pot  them  in  small  pots.  This  plan  answers  well ;  the 
plants  grow,  and  moat  of  them  make  fine  tubers  for  another  year. 
Each  year  I  have  to  get  about  twenty-four  fresh  plants  from  my 
florist’s,  some  being  new  and  expensive  varieties  ;  and  although  these 
fresh  plants  thrive  and  flower  in  every  way  I  could  wish,  very  few  of 
them  form  tuberous  roots,  and  consequently  they  have  to  be  renewed 
each  year.  But  my  plants,  propagated  as  above,  very  seldom  miss 
doing  so. 
These  remarks  apply  only  to  Show  and  Fancy,  and  not  to  Cactus 
varieties.  If  every  grower  has  the  same  difficulty  he  must  lose  a  great 
many  varieties  each  year.  Then  bow  is  the  stock  kept  up  ?  It  appears 
to  me  that  the  reason  the  plants  do  not  tuber  miv  be  that  they  are  grown 
from  cuttings  and  not  from  the  old  stalk  and  bulb. 
Whilst  l  am  on  the  subject  of  Dahlias  I  may  mention  another  thing, 
which  is,  that  if  ever  I  get  a  plant  which  does  not  open  its  flowers  well 
with  good  centres  1  invariably  find  the  new  plants  from  it  are  like  their 
parent,  so  that  all  such  should  be  destroyed  ;  but  I  fear  some  florists  do 
not  destroy  them.  I  should  also  like  to  know  whether  the  new  white 
Cactus,  “  Mrs.  A.  Peart,”  has  naturally  a  bad  centre,  or  whether  it  is 
only  my  individual  plants  which  do  so,  as  they  have  disappointed  me. — 
Thomas  Pender  eh. 
