42 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  ANt)  COTTAGE  GARBEKER.- 
^iily  l6,  1^9?. 
the  surface  of  land  which  has  been  for  years  exposed  to  atmospheric 
influences,  as  well  as  to  continual  digging  and  stirring,  is  compara¬ 
tively  rich  and  sweet,  and  therefore  more  capable  of  inducing 
active  root  action  in  plants  and  finer  crops  of  frait  than  is  the  soil 
beneath  it,  for  however  deep  and  ^naturally  fertile  soil  may  be,  the 
penetration  of  air  is  necessary  to  bring  out  its  full  capabilities.  It 
is,  therefore,  not  difficult  to  see  the  immense  advantage  of  periodical 
trenching,  which  sweetens  and  enriches  soils  to  a  great  depth,  and 
gives  to  crops  a  double  sized  larder  to  draw  their  supplies  of  food 
from.  One  reason  why  very  light  soils  are  less  fertile  than  heavy 
ones  is  that  they  do  not  possess  the  power  to  retain,  for  any  length 
of  time,  the  food  stored  in  them,  as  water  goes  through  them  too 
rapidly,  carrying  with  it  the  elements  of  fertility  far  away  from 
the  reach  of  roots.  A  surface  dressing  of  clay  applied  to  land  of 
this  description  is  of  great  advantage  by  gradually  making  it  more 
“  holding  ”  in  texture.  When  this  is  applied  in  winter,  it  should 
be  spread  roughly  upon  the  surface,  and  allowed  to  lie  for  some 
weeks  till  the  action  of  frost  has  reduced  it  to  small  particles.  If 
applied  during  the  summer,  it  should  be  dried  and  crushed.  Manure 
from  cowsheds  is  preferable  to  that  obtained  from  other  sources 
for  light  soils,  as  it  is  not  only  a  powerful  fertiliser,  but  is  close  in 
texture,  and  therefore  tends  to  make  light  soils  more  retentive  of 
moisture. 
In  dealing  with  very  heavy  land,  we  have  in  many  respects  to 
reverse  our  plan  of  action,  so  as  to  render  the  soil  more  open  and 
workable,  and  prevent  it  from  becoming  hard  and  brick-like  under 
the  influence  of  sun,  or  soft  and  sodden  during  and  long  after 
heavy  rains.  The  first  step  toward  improving  these  very  heavy 
soils  is  to  drain  them  ;  then  trenching  must  follow,  working  in 
freely  during  the  operation  burnt  refuse,  old  m  )rtar  rubble,  coal 
ashes,  or  any  materials  of  a  like  description,  which  will  serve  to 
keep  the  soil  open  and  sweet.  The  most  suitable  manure  to  uie 
in  such  cases  it  fresh  strawy  material,  just  as  it  comes  from  the 
stable.  Land  well  prepared  in  this  way  will,  especially  in  dry 
seasons,  bear  grand  crops  of  Strawberries,  if  other  details  of  culturg 
are  well  carried  out. 
An  old  plan  of  growing  Strawberries  on  heavy  land  was  to 
plant  them  on  raised  beds.  Drainage  was  in  this  way  secured  ; 
but  in  dry  seasons  the  soil  caked  and  cracked  badly,  while  watering 
could  not  be  satisfactorily  done.  It  proved  to  be  an  expensive 
method  of  making  beds,  and  all  operations  were  performed  at  a 
disadvantage.  The  principle  to  work  on  in  the  improvement  of 
heavy  soils  is  to  make  them  open  and  friable  ;  the  raised  bed 
system  does  not  do  this,  hence  its  failure,  and  therefore  almost 
total  abandonment  by  our  foremost  cul.ivators. 
Raising  Plants. 
It  is  important  that  plants  be  established  early,  so  as  to  be  ready 
for  planting  in  the  prepared  ground  by  the  first  or  second  week  in 
August.  Those  who  raise  large  numbers  of  plants  yearly  make  a 
practice  of  having  a  row  or  plot  of  young  plants  in  a  warm  position, 
which  are  grown  principally  for  supplying  early  runners.  Those 
who  watch  Strawberry  plants  closely  will  observe  that  young 
plantlets  usually  form  just  before  the  fruit  begins  to  change.  To 
layer  these  in  the  usual  way  would  greatly  interfere  with  the 
gathering  of  the  fruits,  and  yet  it  is  from  such  early  runners  that 
the  best  plants  are  obtained.  It  is,  therefore,  obviously  a  good 
plan  to  grow  plants  entirely  for  supplying  early  runners.  Where, 
however,  this  is  not  done,  layering  should  commence  directly  fruit 
picking  is  completed.  Only  the  best  and  strongest  runners  ought 
to  be  layered,  the  others  being  cut  away.  Some  cultivators  peg 
the  young  plantlets  into  small  pots  filled  with  soil,  others  use 
turves  cut  into  pieces  about  3  inches  square,  and  many  successful 
growers  simply  loosen  the  soil  round  the  old  plants  and  peg  the 
young  ones  into  the  loosened  surface.  Either  plan  answers  well 
provided  regular  waterings  are  given  during  the  absence  of  rain 
until  the  plants  are  well  established.  As  the  work  of  layering 
proceeds  a  sharp  look-out  must  he  kept  for  barren  plants.  These 
must  on  no  account  be  propagated  from,  although  they  usually 
produce  extra  good  plantlets,  and  seem  to  invite  attention  on 
account  of  their  exuberant  growth.  Those  who  have  only  a 
limited  number  of  plants  to  raise  their  stock  from,  and  these 
perhaps  not  being  in  good  condition,  should  purchase  young  plants 
from  a  reliable  Strawberry  grower  or  nurseryman.  Such  can  be 
obtained  at  a  wonderfully  cheap  rate,  and  an  occasional  change  of 
stock  is  a  distinct  advantage. — Pomona. 
(To  be  continued.) 
HONOURS  IN  HORTICULTURE. 
Under  this  beading  last  week  we  made  reference  to  the 
“  Victoria  Medal  of  Honour,”  which  has  been  founded  by  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  to  commemorate  the  Queen’s  long 
reign,  and  we  published  a  list  of  (as  we  supposed)  the  first 
recipients  of  the  honour.  We  much  regret  that  the  list  was  not 
accurate. '  Some  names  were  included  which  ought  not  to  have 
appeared  in  accordance  with  the  final  decision  of  the  Council, 
while  others  were  left  out  which  ought  to  have  been  there. 
In  response  to  our  application  a  list  was  obligingly  supplied  to 
us  shortly  before  going  to  press,  but  in  his  haste  to  supply  it  to  us 
in  time  the  Secretary  made  use  of  an  old  printed  list  of  many 
names,  some  of  which  were  erased,  and  others  were  added  in 
writing,  and  unfortunately  the  explanation  as  to  which  of  the 
erasures  and  additions  were  to  stand  and  which  to  be  ignored 
was  misunderstood.  It  was  simply  a  list  sent  most  kindly,  but 
in  a  hurry,  and  equally  printed  in  a  hurry,  time  not  permitting 
a  proof  being  submitted  to  the  Sscretary,  the  result  admirably 
illustrating  the  truth  of  the  maxim — ‘‘  the  more  baste  the  less 
speed.”  Our  list  contained  the  names  of  several  members  of  the 
Council,  who,  in  our  opinion,  were  fully  entitled  to  the  distinction, 
and  who  might  well  have  received  the  honour  but  for  the  self- 
sacrifice  they  have  preferred  to  make.  The  sentiment  is  admirable, 
and  though  we  are  pleased  to  see  the  additions,  we  cannot  but 
regret  that  gentlemen  who  have  rendered  signal  services  to  horti¬ 
culture  in  various  ways,  and  over  many  years,  should  have  deemed 
themselves  ineligible  for  the  distinction  simply  because  they 
happen  to  have  been  elected  to  a  position  of  honour — a  seat  at  the 
Council  table  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
In  one  sense,  therefore,  we  are  glad  that  the  mistake  occurred, 
as  it  has  given  us  an  opportunity  of  expressing  the  estimation  in 
which  we,  in  common  with  all  the  gardening  world,  hold  those 
gentlemen  whose  names  do  not  now  appear  in  the  final  list 
But  since  we  have  said  thus  much  we  feel  entitled  to  say  a 
little  more — namely,  that  as  some  of  our  remarks  may,  at  least  in 
a  negative  way,  be  regarded  as  a  reflection  on  those  recipients  of 
the  honour  whose  names  should  have  appeared  in  our  list  last  week, 
but  did  not,  we  have  the  pleasure  of  stating  that  with  two 
exceptions  the  names  of  all  the  gentlemen  omitted  were  included 
in  a  list  that  we  drew  up  for  the  purpose  of  comparison  with  the 
final  selection. 
We  are  requested  by  the  Secretary  to  say  that  the  erroneous 
list  accidentally  puhl  shed  last  week  was  one  of  numerous  lists 
subuiitted  to  the  Council  some  time  ago,  but  was  never  at  any 
time  adopted  or  approved  by  them.  It  was  only  carefully  con- 
sidered,  as  were  all  the  others  submitted. 
As  we  accidentally  published  an  incorrect  list  of  what  one 
gentleman  calls  the  “  Academy,”  it  is  incumbent  that  we  publish 
a  correct  one  as  follows  : —  ^ 
«  The  following  are  the  names  of  the  first  sixty  recipients  of  the 
Victoria  Medal  :  — 
Baker,  John  Gilbert,  F.K.S.,  F.L  S.,  Royal  Herbarium,  Kew. 
Balfour,  Prof.  Isaac  Bayley,  M  A.,  Sc.D.,  M.D.,  C.M.,  F.R.S.,  F.L.S.,&c., 
Rojal  Botanic  Gardens,  Edinburgh. 
Barr,  Peter,  King  Street,  Cjvent  Garden. 
Barron,  Archibald  F..  Sutton  Court  Road,  Chiswick. 
Beale,  Edward  John,  F.L.S.,  Stoneydeep  House,  Teddington  Grove, 
Boxall,  W..  186,  Brook  Road,  Upper  Clapton,  N  E. 
Bunyard,  George.  Royal  Nurseries,  Maidstone. 
Bull,  William,  F.L  8.,  Kirg’s  Road.  Chelsea. 
Burbidge,  Frederick  William,  M.A.,  F.L  S.,  Trinity  College  Bot. 
Gardens,  Dublin. 
Crump.  William,  Madresfield  Court  Gardens,  Malvern. 
Dean,  Richard,  Ranelagh  Road,  Ealing. 
Dickson,  George,  Chester. 
D'Ombrain,  Rev.  H.  H.,  Westwell  Vicarage,  Ashford,  Kent. 
Dunn,  Malcolm,  Palace  Gardens.  Dalkeith. 
Druery,  Charles  T.,  F.L.S.,  11,  Shaw  Road,  Acton,  W. 
Ellacombe,  Rev.  Canon,  Bitton  Vicarage,  Bristol. 
Elwes,  H.  J.,  F.L.S.,  Colesborne,  Andoversford,  Glos. 
Foster,  Prof.  Michael,  M.A.,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S. 
Fraser,  John,  Soath  Woodford, 
