August  12,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
155 
■  prize;  Mr.  C.  Silk  being  second.  A  notable  feature  was  the  display  of 
table  decorations  by  ladies,  baskets  of  flowers,  and  epergnes,  Mrs. 
Theodore  Pritchett,  Mrs.  J.  G.  Pritchett,  Miss  Wolsley,  and  Miss  Ellis 
distinguishing  themselves  in  these  classes. 
Fruit  and  vegetables  were  well  shown.  The  Black  Hamburgh  and 
Muscat  of  Alexandria  Grapes,  by  Mr.  W.  Abbey,  gardener  to  B.  Chatrain, 
'Esq.,  Northfield,  being  very  creditable  examples,  Mr.  E.  Winchester  was 
placed  second  with  also  good  bunches.  Mr.  T.  Cox,  gardener  to  J.  B. 
Moseley,  was  the  most  successful  exhibitor  in  the  Melon  class,  and  Mr. 
T.  Farmer  had  the  best  Peaches.  Mr.  E.  Winchester,  gardener  to  F. 
Impey,  Esq.,  won  first  honours  with  an  excellent  collection  of  vegetables. 
There  was  keen  competition  for  the  substantial  prizes  offered 
for  vegetables  by  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons  ;  also  for  those  by  Messrs. 
Simpson  &  Sons.  Messrs.  Pope  &  Sons  were  accorded  a  silver  medal  for 
a  group  of  plants,  and  Messrs.  Ellis  and  Johnson  a  bronze  medal  for 
a  collection  of  miscellaneous  plants. 
THE  YOUNG  GARDENERS’  DOMAIN. 
Strawberries. 
Our  soil  is  a  light  sandy  loam,  while  our  plants  are  mostly  three 
years  old.  The  plantations  are  open  and  sheltered  on  all  sides,  and 
receive  due  attention.  The  earliest  fruits  were  gathered  this  year  from 
John  Buskin.  These  were  gathered  about  Jubilee  day.  Royal  Sovereign 
followed  three  days  later.  At  an  exhibition  of  Scotch-grown  Straw¬ 
berries,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Scottish  Horticultural  Association, 
Mr.  Dunn,  Dalkeith  Palace,  characterising  the  varieties  shown,  stated 
that  John  Buskin  is  much  finer  and  better  treated  as  an  annual.  No 
doubt,  but  with  the  enormous  demand  upon  us  for  Strawberries  we 
believe  in  quantitv  more  than  in  purity  of  quality,  especially  in  our 
restricted  space.  We  have  a  number  of  fine  young  plants  which  gave  us 
a  fair  show  of  fruit,  but  I  am  bound  to  say  of  no  superior  quality  to 
these  three  years  old.  John  Buskin,  too,  has  borne  prodigiously.  For 
weeks  and  weeks  past  we  have  had  laden  trusses,  fruit  of  moderate  size, 
though  not  so  firm  fleshed  or  well  flavoured  as  we  wish.  Royal 
Sovereign,  like  all  large  Strawberries,  does  best  on  a  light  or  medium 
soil.  At  Dalkeith  Palace  this  variety  was  inferior  till  warm  weather  set 
in.  With  us  it  is  good. 
Garibaldi  has  a  heavy  crop  of  small  sized  fruit,  but  the  flavour  is 
next  to  perfection.  Evidently  younger  plants  and  more  liberal  nourishment 
would  aid  it  on  our  soil.  During  the  recent  rains  its  flavour,  to  my 
taste,  never  altered,  while  better  ones  became  watery.  Would  “  Pomona,  ’ 
or  the  Editor,  state  why  the  Italian  hero’s  name  is  superseded  by  the 
French  Countess’s  ?  Our  Scotch  authorities  hold  there  is  no  difference 
between  the  Vicomtesse  H^ricart  de  Thury  of  Englishmen  and  the 
Gariballi  of  Scotch  growers,  and  prefer  the  simpler  name.  “Pomona” 
saves  me  describing  Scarlet  Queen  ;  it  has  yielded  a  good  crop,  only  it 
shrivelled  worse  after  setting  than  the  others  during  the  early  dry 
weather. 
“  British  Queen,”  said  Mr.  Dunn,  "  is  the  type  of  Strawberry,”  I  sup¬ 
pose  his  ideal  type,  and  urges  all  to  judge  new  varieties  from  and  by  it  ; 
whoever  raises  a  better  one  must  be  in  the  circle  of  perfection.  To  this 
Mr.  D.  T.  Fish  gave  an  audible  “hear,  hear.”  It  has  done  good  service. 
Duke  of  Edinburgh  is  a  worthy  Scotch-raised  Strawberry  of  large  size, 
good  flavour,  and  fine  shape.  I  have  seen  it  produce  well  on  what  we 
termed  a  gravelly  soil.  On  the  same  soil  Land  o’ Scot,  Sir  J.  Paxton, 
and  Laxton’s  Noble  were  grown  and  favoured  ;  the  latter  was  very  firm 
fleshed.  Auguste  Nicaise  has  not  large  fruit  with  us,  the  appearance 
and  flavour,  however,  are  reciprocative.  Lord  Suffield  with  light  foliage 
of  medium  strength  has  a  poor  crop  and  unpleasant  flavour,  Mr.  Dunn 
pronounced  it  coarse.  Lord  Lyon,  thick  black  leathery  foliaee,  very 
strong  and  dense,  with  poor  shrivelled  trusses  newly  set.  We  have 
determined  to  give  these  two  Lords  a  holiday  in  the  “Home  of 
Refuse  I  ” 
Soon  after  the  fruit  is  gathered  we  mulch  all  with  short  manure,  and 
fork  this  into  the  soil  just  before  growth  starts  in  spring.  The  soil  dry¬ 
ing  speedily,  we  give  liquid  manure  occasionally  and  frequently  use  the 
hose  and  spray. — A  Young  Scot, 
[Vicomtesse  H4ricart  de  Thury  is  the  proper  name  of  the  hardy  and 
useful  French  Strawberry  to  which  it  is  applied.  It  is  the  first  recog¬ 
nised  name,  and  priority  is  the  determining  factor  in  all  such  cases. 
Garibaldi,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  late  Dr.  Hogg’s  “  Fruit  Manual,”  is  a 
synonym.] 
Cultivation  of  Drao^nas. 
Dracaenas  are  very  useful  plants,  both  for  beautifying  the  stove 
and  conservatories,  and  for  house  and  table  decoration.  A  stove  I 
temperature,  where  they  can  obtain  plenty  of  heat  and  moisture,  is  the 
most  suitable  for  the  coloured-leaved  varieties,  and  a  cooler  temperature 
for  the  green  section.  Propagation  may  be  effected  by  several  different 
methods.  I  will  first  describe  what  I  consider  the  most  effective  process 
for  plants  that  have  lost  their  bottom  leaves,  and  have  become  what  is 
termed  “  leggy.”  First,  take  a  pot  of  a  size  according  to  the  top  of  the 
plant  that  is  to  be  propagated,  and  break  it  in  half.  This  may  be  done 
by  first  giving  the  pot  a  few  gentle  taps  with  a  hammer  along  the  place 
required  for  it  to  break,  gradually  hitting  harder,  especially  at  the  edges 
of  the  bottom,  until  it  breaks.  If  the  pots  are  thin  and  sound  previous 
to  attempting  to  break  them  an  expert  hand  will  spoil  very  few. 
The  stem  of  the  plant  should  then  be  cut  upwards  with  a  sharp  knife 
for  about  2  inches,  gradually  working  into  the  centre,  so  as  to  forma 
tongue  ;  and  before  the  knife  is  withdrawn  insert  a  thin  piece  of  char¬ 
coal  to  keep  the  cut  open.  Insert  two  stakes  in  the  pot  opposite  each 
other,  and  place  the  halves  of  the  broken  pot  one  on  each  side  of  the 
incision,  fastening  them  securely  together,  and  also  to  the  stakes,  with 
wire.  Two  short  pieces  of  wood  placed  under  the  pot,  one  on  each  side 
of  the  stem,  will  help  to  keep  the  halves  from  slipping  down.  It  will  be 
necessary  for  two  pairs  of  hands  to  be  available  at  this  stage,  one  to  hold 
the  top  of  the  plant,  to  prevent  it  overbalancing  and  breaking  off, 
whilst  the  other  fixes  the  stakes. 
When  the  halves-  of  the  pot  are  made  secure  in  their  position  place  a 
small  quantity  of  charcoal  in  the  spliced  pot,  and  round  the  incision  a 
compost  of  fibrous  loam  and  peat,  broken  into  small  lumps,  with  a 
liberal  addition  of  silver  sand.  When  signs  of  roots  are  apparent  cut 
the  stem  half  way  through  just  below  the  pot,  and  in  a  week  or  so  the 
top  may  be  taken  off  and  placed  in  a  larger  sized  pot. 
Another  method  of  rooting  the  tops  is  after  the  stem  has  been  cut, 
and  a  piece  of  charcoal  inserted,  place  some  sphagnum  moss  round  the 
incision,  fastening  it  with  twine  or  fine  wire.  If  this  is  kept  moist  the 
stem  will  soon  emit  roots  into  it.  When  propagated  in  this  way  the 
plants  when  taken  off  are  placed  in  small  pots,  and  afterwards  in 
others  of  a  larger  size.  Another  method  of  propagation  is  by  “topping  ” 
— that  is,  the  top  of  the  plant  is  cut  off,  inserted  in  a  small  pot,  and 
placed  in  a  propagating  frame. 
The  old  stems,  after  the  tons  have  been  removed,  may  be  allowed 
to  break,  and  the  growths,  when  large  enough,  inserted  singly  in 
small  pots  as  cuttings  ;  or  a  stem  may  be  cut  into  pieces  1  or  2  inches 
long,  and  placed  lengthwise  in  pans,  giving  them  a  light  covering  of 
soil.  If  these  are  placed  in  a  gentle  bottom  heat  they  will  soon  start 
into  growth  at  the  joints.  Dracaenas  may  also  be  propagated  by  taking 
off  pieces  of  the  thick,  tuberous-looking  roots,  and  placing  them  in  pots. 
The  most  suitable  compost  for  the  final  potting  is  fibrous  loam  and 
peat  in  equal  parts  broken  into  small  lumps  with  a  small  quantity  of 
charcoal,  with  silver  sand  and  bonemeal,  or  any  approved  artificial 
manure  added.  Never  allow  the  plants  to  get  dry,  and  when  the  pots  are 
filled  with  roots  liquid  manure  may  be  given  them,  also  an  occasional 
top-dressing  with  artificial  manure.  During  the  spring  and  summer 
months  syringing  will  be  necessary,  but  it  must  be  discontinued  during 
the  winter,  for  at  this  period  water  lodging  in  the  axils  is  apt  to  cause 
the  leaves  to  damp  off.  The  plants  also  require  shading  from  the  bright 
sun. 
Varieties. — These  are  numerous  and  vary  both  in  height  and 
character  of  growth.  For  tall  specimens  Shepherd!,  Baptisi,  nigro-iubra, 
Massangeana  and  amabilis  rank  among  the  best  ;  and  for  decorative 
purposes  Goldieana,  terminalis,  metallica,  magnifica,  Lindeni,  Guilfoylei, 
Banks!,  and  superba.  The  best  of  the  green  varieties  are  gracilis,  indi  visa, 
i.  Veitchi,  australis,  and  stricta  congesta.  The  pretty  little  D.  Sander- 
iana,  with  its  green  and  white  foliage,  is  useful  as  an  edging  plant 
for  groups,  and  for  this  purpose  3J-inch  pots  are  large  enough  for  the 
plants. 
Enemies. — Green  fly  attacks  the  points  of  the  young  leaves  and 
may  be  removed  by  sponging  with  an  insecticide  or  fumigating.  Thrips 
are  the  worst  enemies  the  Dracmna  has  to  contend  with,  and  when 
plants  are  attacked  with  these  they  should  be  dipped  or  sponged  with 
strong  tobacco  water. — Elveden. 
HARDY  FRUIT  GARDEN. 
Planting  Strawberries. — The  earliest  raised  plants  rooted  in  pots 
or  turves  may  now  be  planted  permanently  on  suitably  prepared  and 
liberally  enriched  ground.  The  plants  should  be  well  furnished  with 
roots,  and  have  bold  healthy  crowns.  Previous  to  planting  thoroughly 
moisten  the  ball  of  roots.  Should  the  weather  be  extremely  dry  each 
plant  must  be  copiously  watered  when  inserted,  forming  a  basin  round 
it  and  filling  with  water,  after  which  cover  in  with  dry  soil. 
Moist,  dull  weather  is  really  the  best  time  to  plant,  but  with  care  in 
affording  moisture  planting  may  be  successfully  carried  out  in  the  driest 
time,  providing  the  plants  are  strong  and  vigorous  and  the  roots  adhere 
to  balls  of  earth.  Those  rooted  in  pots  or  turves  fully  occupy  the  rooting 
medium,  and  are  well  equipped  for  making  a  start  in  the  fresh  soil. 
In  inserting  the  plants  form  excavations,  so  that  the  roots  are  not 
cramped.  Press  the  soil  firmly  about  them,  and  water  before  finally 
filling  in.  In  continued  dry  weather  water  frequently  until  fairly 
established. 
/Soil  Preparation  for  Later  Planting. — Later  plantings  of  Straw¬ 
berries  may  be  carried  out  towards  the  end  of  present  month,  also  in 
September.  In  the  meantime  prepare  the  soil  by  deeply  digging  or 
bastard  trenching,  adding  liberally  some  rich  substantial  manure.  By 
the  time  the  plants  are  ready  for  insertion  the  soil  will  have  become 
consolidated,  and  in  excellent  condition  for  their  reception.  Poor  light 
soils  must  be  liberally  supplied  with  manure,  worked  well  into  the 
surface  and  lower  layers.  Heavy  retentive  soils  naturally  require  well 
breaking  up  to  a  good  depth  rather  than  the  addition  of  mnch  manure. 
