October  14,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
359 
but,  on  tlie  other  hand,  to  take  them  up  on  the  appearance  of  severe 
veather  and  store  them  in  moist  sand  as  recommended  for  tap-rooted 
vegetables,  under  which  treatment  they  will  keep  for  some  time. 
Though  large  roots  are  in  requisition  for  exhibition  purposes,  those 
of  moderate  size  are  better  for  keef>ing,  and  therefore  careful  manage¬ 
ment  in  thinning  and  transplanting  is  necessary.  Tn  this  operation 
lies  the  only  secret  in  successful  Leek  culture;  weak,  half-Starvcd 
looking  specimens  are  the  result  of  neglect,  and  sound  healthy  white 
stems,  prized  alike  in  the  kitchen  and  on  the  exhibition  table,  are  the 
reward  of  prompt  and  careful  attention.  Variety  among  Leeks  is 
somewhat  limited,  and  there  is  perhaps  none  to  surpass  the  Lyon  for 
exhibition. 
If  Celery  is  not  grown  well  it  is  better  not  to  attempt  its  culti¬ 
vation  at  all,  as  the  result  is  disappointing  in  all  respects.  The  best 
samples  that  can  be  obtained  for  home  use  are  also  the  best  for  exhi¬ 
bition,  though,  unfortunately,  one  often  sees  the  first  prize  card  placed 
on  gigantic  sticks  which  have  only  size  to  recommend  them,  as  in 
flavour  tliey  are  invariably  tough,  and  with  very  little  of  that  sweet 
nutty  taste  which  makes  Celery  palatable.  Sound,  well  blanched 
sticks  of  moderate  size  are  always  the  best  to  eat,  and  this  is  the  end 
that  all  cultivators  should  aim  at.  Thousands  of  miserable  specimens 
are  sold  in  London  every  year  bearing  the  name  of  Celery.  The  name, 
however,  is  a  libel,  as  they  will  not  bear  comparison  with  the  well- 
grown  produce  that  is  produced  in  many  gentlemen’s  gardens.  Gene¬ 
rally  speaking,  the  metropolis  is  supplied  with  excellent  vegetables, 
but  Celery  is  an  exception,  and  it  is  questionable  whether  hundreds 
of  people  who  are  in  the  habit  of  purchasing  so-called  Celery  every 
week,  know  what  the  real  article  is  like.  Quantity  seems  to  be  the 
aim  with  most  market  growers,  and  for  some  reason  or  other  the  crop 
does  not  get  that  close  attention  to  detail  that  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  produce  really  wholesome  and  thoroughly  palatable  produce. 
To  produce  good  Ceh-ry  a  few  simple  rules  should  be  rigidly 
followed.  In  the  first  place  there  must  be  no  check  in  the  growth,  or 
this  causes  the  plants  to  “bolt”  or  run  into  flower,  and  the  result  is 
uselessness.  The  plants  must  be  kept  free  from  suckers  or  side  growths, 
or  the  nourishment  requisite  to  full  development  is  divided  into  the 
various  channels,  and  no  heart  is  formed.  Then,  again,  it  is  a 
mistake  to  sow  too  early,  as  planting  is  then  often  delayed  till  that 
checis  has  ta^en  place,  which  the  cultivator  should  endeavour  to  avoid. 
In  most  gardens  early  Celery  is  re(piired  either  for  table  use  or  the 
summer  exhibitions,  and  for  this  ]iurpose  seeds  should  be  sown  of  an 
early  white  variety  at  the  end  of  February  or  the  beginning  of  IMarcli. 
Sow  thinly  in  a  propagating  box  in  a  temperature  ranging  from  60°  to 
65°.  When  the  seedlings  are  large  enough  for  removal  they  may  be 
pricked  off  into  other  boxes  and  grown  close  to  the  glass  in  a  moist 
atmosphere  or  else  be  transplanted  in  a  hotbed  frame.  With  the 
advent  of  genial  weather,  the  plants  must  be  gradually  hardened  by 
leaving  off  the  lights,  and  if  finally  transplanted  in  well-prepared 
trenches  an  early  and  useful  supply  may  be  obtained. 
The  middle  of  March  is  early  enough  for  sowing  for  the  main 
supply,  and  it  is  a  good  plan  to  prick  out  a  portion  of  the  seedlings  in 
a  frame  that  has  been  used  for  raising  early  vegetables,  where  they 
can  be  kept  close  if  necessary,  and  the  remainder  will  come  on  for  Qnally 
planting  a  little  later  if  pricked  out  in  sheltered  position  outdoors. 
If  a  little  manure  from  a  spent  Mushroom  bed  is  worked  beneath  the 
surface  of  the  soil  when  ])ricking  out,  it  will  be  found  that  the  plants 
will  lift  with  excellent  balls,  and  suffer  little  from  the  removal.  It  is 
well  when  pricking  out  the  tiny  plants  to  imagine  what  they  will  be 
like  by  the  time  they  have  to  be  removed  to  the  trench,  and  dispose 
them  accordingly.  If  grown  too  closely  together  in  the  nureery  bed  the 
roots  naturally  get  matted  with  each  other,  and  a  check  at  the  time 
of  planting  through  excessive  damage  to  these  fibres  is  the  result. — 
Grower  and  Judge. 
8AXIF]{AGA  BITERXATA. 
Despite  its  utility  and  great  beauty  this  species,  which  blooms  in  the 
spring,  is  seldom  met  with,  though  it  cannot  be  considered  a  new  plant. 
It  belongs  to  the  section  Nephrophyllum,  of  which  the  best  known  repre¬ 
sentative  is  the  common  S.  granulata.  All  the  species  composing  this 
section  are  deciduous,  and  of  a  more  or  less  hulbiferous  habit.  S.  biternata 
has,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  accompanying  engraving  (fig.  54),  very 
distinct  biternate  leaves,  which  form  fine  tufts  of  bright  green  colour. 
The  flowers  are  pure  white,  comparatively  large,  and  are  borne  on  short 
stalks.  Like  the  other  members  of  the  section,  S.  biternata  prefers  a 
damp  shady  position  in  sandy  peaty  soil.  It  is  a  native  of  Spain  and 
Algeria. 
If  “  .1.  Harrison  ”  desire  more  information  relative  to  this  or  any 
plant  we  shall  be  pleased  to  give  it  to  him,  but  he  must  address  his 
letters  to  8,  Rose  Hill  Road,  Wandsworth,  as  directed,  and  not  to 
171,  Fleet  Street,  as  formerly. 
THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANKER. 
What  is  canker  that  we  should  make  so  fearsome  a  bogey  of  it, 
as  Mr.  Abbey  seems  inclined  to  do  ?  Is  it  some  dread  thing  that  has 
to  be  exorcised  with  yard-long  lists  of  vile  chemicals  ?  Let  me  come 
honestly  and  promptly  to  one  pregnant  admission :  it  is  the  most 
destructive  pest  that  our  gardens  and  orchards  know,  and  it  is  far 
from  my  intention  to  throw  ridicule  or  contumely  on  the  patient 
investigations  which  our  good  fi'iend  has  made,  doubtless  at  the  cost 
of  many  an  hour  which  others  who  have  reached  his  years  think  well 
to  spend  in  repose.  True  it  is,  beyond  any  reasonable  doubt,  that  no 
Fig.  54.— Saxifraga  biternata. 
other  hand  of  the  old  practical  school  could  have  ferreted  out  such 
minuteness  of  detail,  drawn  such  a  series  of  admirable  sketches,  and 
then  explained  (on  page  292)  the  whole  thing  in  so  clear  a  way  that 
the  veriest  tyro  could  understand.  But — for  a  big  but  there  is — there 
is  a  tendency  to  elevate  canker  into  a  thing  so  formidable  that  only 
those  who  can  put  their  hands  on  a  whole  laboratory  of  chemicals, 
plus  magnifying  power  of  first  10,  then  40,  and  next  a  jump  up  to  400, 
can  feel  that  they  have  a  chance  of  coping  with  it. 
We  all  know  about  the  tablet  which  is  going  to  sustain  an  army, 
but  all  of  us  do  not  know  that  as  a  result  of  some  extraordinarily 
complete  and  sagacious  calculations,  a  pilule  was  compounded  which, 
going  into  one  tiny  corner  of  a  soldier’s  knapsack,  was  yet  enough  to 
keep  him  in  brisk  marching  order,  and  so  full  of  fight,  that  the  very 
sight  of  him  was  calculated  to  frighten  off  a  whcle  regiment.  Yes,  it 
was  tried,  that  pilule,  the  expectant  inventor  rubbing  his  hands  as  he 
watched  its  disajipearance  ;  but  alas  !  Tommy  Atkins  was  ravenously 
demanding  a  beafsteak  within  a  quarter  of  an  hour  afterwards,  and  my 
Lords  have,  therefore,  decided  to  keep  for  the  present  to  the  old  style 
of  fare. 
