Maj’  15,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
425 
■shoots  are  much  stronger  than  the  early  ones,  and  on  cut-backs 
the  latest  blooms  of  the  first  crops  are  generally  the  best,  the 
first  buds  being  much  liable  to  injury  from  cold  nights  in  May. 
More  liable  to  orange  fungus  than  to  mildew,  and  can  stand  rain 
pretty  well.  The  flowers  generally  come  good,  fine  in 
petal,  centre,  and  size,  lovely  in  colour,  very  fragrant, 
and  beautifully  round  and  smooth  in  appearance.  The 
shape  is  open  and  semi-imbricated,  which  is  very  effective,  but 
not  a  good  form  to  last.  I  have  a  good  report  of  it  from  Australia, 
but  a  bad  one  from  America.  Free  in  bloom  and  a  good  autumnal. 
This  is  the  G.O.M.  of  the  dark  crimson  Roses.  Longfellow’s 
‘  Hiawatha  ’  metre  always  seems  to  me  to  suggest 
“Charles  Lefebvre,  the  king  of  Roses.” 
We  count  ninety-three  varieties  of  Hybrid  Perpetual  Roses 
that  are  thus  treated;  then  follow  the  Teas  and  Hybrid  Teas. 
The  book  opens  with  an  interesting  history  of  the  Rose,  and 
the  classification  will  prove  useful  to  many.  In  his  chapter  on 
planting  and  laying  out  beds,  much  succinct  advice  of  that 
chatty,  friendly,  and  experienced  character  that  is  pronounced 
in  the  author  is  found,  and,  under  “  Soils,”  he  discusses  the 
clay  soil,  the  sandy  soil,  the  chalk,  and  others.  need 
give  up  in  despair  who  has  even  a  poor  gravel  soil,”  says  Mr. 
Foster  Melliar.  Manures,  pruning,  pests,  Roses  under  glass, 
exhibiting,  stocks,  propagation,  selections  of  varieties,  and  a 
calendar  of  operations,  form  the  matter  for  other  highly  interest¬ 
ing  and  useful  chapters.  We  feel  we  must  abstain  from  selecting 
any  “points”  out  of  these  chapters,  for  they  are  full  of  just 
that  information  the  rosarian  most  ardentl.y  desires  and  requires. 
To  read  Mr.  Foster  Melliar  is  just  like  walking  round  his  beautiful 
garden  at  Sproughton  on  a  sunny  summer’s  day,  with  himself  as 
guide,  which  is  an  experience  full  of  pleasure.  The  illustrations, 
the  typography,  the  paper,  and  the  book  as  a  whole,  is  one  that 
commends  itself  to  all  lovers  and  growers  of  the  Queen  of  Floweis. 
The  Journal  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
Briefly  we  referred  to  the  arrival  of  the  above  on  our  last^ 
printing  day,  this  issue  representing  part  4  of  volume  xxyi. 
Besides  the  Common-place  Notes  by  the  _Rev.  W.  Wilks,  M.A., 
the  Society’s  secretary',  and  Mr.  S.  T.  Wright,  the  garden  super¬ 
intendent,  and  the  Abstracts,  Reports  on  Trials  at  Ghiswuck  p-i^d 
various  notices,  the  following  articles  are  printed  in  this  latest 
volume :  “  Fungus  Pests  of  the  Carnation  Family,  illustiated 
by  two  coloured  plates,  the  first  we  rememeber  seeing  in  the 
Society’s  Journal.  This  would  mark  an  advance.  Following  this 
article,  which  is  by  Dr.  Cooke,  M.A.,  come  three  short  essays  on 
“  Hardy  Fruit  Culture  in  various  parts  of  Scotland.  Mr. 
Massee’s  concise  contribution,  entitled  “Plant  Diseases,  is  very 
useful  reading.  We  had  the  privilege  to  attend  the  deliyei^  of 
the  lectures  at  Chiswick,  of  which  this  essay  in  the  R.H.S. 
Journal  is  a  summary.  It  is  amply  illustrated,  and  gardeners  in 
the  country  would  do  well  to  secure  “  Part  4  ”  and  study  the 
remarks  of  one  of  the  foremost  mycologists  of  the  moment. 
“  Whole  Fruit  Preservation,”  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Austin,  is  disappoint¬ 
ing,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  no  serriceable  information  on  how 
to  preserve  is  forthcoming  from  him.  Notes  on  the  bottling 
process  are  appended  by  a  Mr.  de  Luca,  of  Aldersgate  Street, 
London. 
Captain  Hurst,  F.L.S.,  discusses  “Mendel’s  Law  and  Orchid 
Hybrids  ”  ;  Mr.  J.  Gurney  Fowler,  the  treasurer,  treats  of  Hybrid 
Orchids,  this  being  a  valuable  record  of  a  list  of  Orchids  used  in 
the  fertilisation  of  hybrids  which  have  received  either  First  Class 
Certificates  or  Awards  of  Merit  from  the  R.H.S.  to  December  31, 
1901,  and  will  be  a  ready  guide  to  hybridisers.  Twenty-eight 
pages  of  names  are  the  result  of  Mr.  Fowler’s  industry. 
Mr.  Newstead,  the  able  curator  of  the  Chester  Museum,  keeps 
us  up  to  date  on  the  subject  of  “Insecticides”  ;  and  Mr.  J .  Forsyth 
Johnson  emphasises  the  utility  of  a  “  Public  Horticultural  Garden 
for  experiments,  &c.  There  are  other  essays  on  scientific  and 
practical  subjects,  each  of  the  utmost  interest  and  value.  The 
volume  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  brightest  and  best  that^  could 
be  secured  to  horticulturists  and  others  at  the  price — viz.,  7s.  6d. 
to  non-Fellows.  Those  who  are  Fellows  obtain  copies  gratis,  and 
post  free. 
“Practical  Botany  for  Beginners.”' 
An  essentially  practical  little  book,  serving  the  great  army 
of  science  teachers  or  students  as  a  valuable  self-instructor.  It 
is  a  book  that  begins  at  the  beginning  and  goes  to  the  end  of 
the  scale  of  botanical  “  types,”  and  teaches  the  user  of  it  what  to 
look  for  when  he  has  the  various  type-plants  that  are  referred 
to,  under  his  lens  or  his  microscope.  The  authors  begin  with  i  he 
higher  plants,  however,  and  work  down  the  scale  to  the  Bryophytes 
and  Thallophytes.  The  book  contains  in  an  abridged  form  the 
more  essential  pa^t^s  of  the  text  of  their  larger  “  Course  of 
Practical  Instruction  in  Botany.”  It  is  intended  essentially  as 
1  “Practical  Botany  for  Beginners,”  by  J'.  O.  Bower,  T).>Sc.,  F.R,S.,  and 
1).  T.  Owynne-Vaughau,'M.A.  Second  edition.  Macmillan  &  Co.  Price  3s.  6d. 
a  guide  to  the  student’s  first  steps  in  laboratory  work,  and  this 
must  be  borne  in  mind.  Not  the  least  useful  are  the  preliminary 
instructions  on  preparing  material  for  the  microscope,  its  mount¬ 
ing,  staining  with  micro-chemical  reactions,  and  manipulation  of 
the  microscope.  Books  that  are  so  easy  to  follow,  and  which 
really  lead  one  on,  and  teach  practical  botany,  are  remarkably 
rare,  and  that  is  why  we  welcome  this  primer  of  307  pages. 
“Pictorial  Greenhouse  Mmagement.” ' 
By  the  issue  of  this  serA'iceable  little  book  on  the  culture  of 
plants  and  routine  Avork  of  the  greenhouse,  Mr.  Walter  P. 
Wright  completes  the  quadrate  of  the  art  of  horticulture,  for  he 
has  also  furnished  similar  Avorks  on  vegetable  and  fruit  groAving, 
and  another  on  general  practical  gardening.  Tlie  style  of  the 
books  is  such  that  the  least  experienced  can  read  and  understand 
them — can  put  their  teaching  into  actual  and  safe  practice  right 
away,  while  even  those  Avho  are  not  inexperienced  can  discoA'er 
much  that  is  of  value  and  interest  within  the  covers.  As  the 
name  suggests,  the  book  before  us  is  illustrated,  and  this  largely 
■with  simple  yet  effectual  pen  and  ink  sketches,  detailing  the 
■various  processes  of  seed-soAving,  the  pruning  of  indoor  shrubs, 
stepping  of  Chi*ysanthemums,  pricking  out  seedlings,  potting, 
inserting  cuttings,  dividing  plants,  and  other  operations.  Along 
with  these  sketch  illustrations,  Avliich  are  very  numerous,  there 
are  photographic  representations  of  good  varieties  of  green¬ 
house*  plants.  The  months  of  the  calendar  and  the  floAvers 
typical  of  them  are  successively  treated,  and  the  hints  thus  given 
entail  94  pages  of  the  140  that  comprise  the  book.  Other  chapters 
are  devoted  to  The  Greenhouse  alAvays  Gay,  Practical  Matters, 
Tlie  Heating  Problem,  Glass  Structures,  Propagation,  Soil, 
Watering,  and  other  tables ;  while  the  concluding  chapter  fur¬ 
nishes  an  alphabetical  list  of  plants,  with  culture  and  selection  of 
varieties,  prepared  in  tabular  form.  An  index  is  also  provided. 
Turnips. 
The  Turnip  belongs  to  the  Brassica  family,  Avhich  is  indigenous 
to  England  and  other  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom,  but  high- 
class  cultivation  had  not  been  given  to  it  until  the  countries  of 
Flanders  and  Holland  sent  over  improved  varieties,  thus 
inducing  cultivators  to  pay  more  attention  to  it.  The  Anrieties 
in  cultivation  now  are  all  high  class,  but  some  possess  more 
merit  than  others.  The  Avhite  varieties,  such  as  Early  SnoAvball, 
are  considered  of  superior  merit,  but  some  prefer  the  yelloAV- 
fleshed  Turnips,  Avhich  are  undoubtedly  good  Avhen  Avell  grown. 
Success  in  Turnip  groAving  largely  depends  on  securing 
faA’onrable  Aveather  from  the  time  the  seed  is  soAvn  until  the 
plants  are  Avell  established.  The  seed  germinates  very  quickly 
in  moist  ground,  but  the  seedlings  are  vei'y  liable  to  suffer  in 
the  early  stages  from  attacks  of  fly.  It  is,  therefore,  absolutely 
necessary  to  soav  seed  on  well  prepared  gi’ound — that  is,  ground 
that  has  been  dug  deeply  and  is  in  a  fertile  condition.  Such 
ground  Avill  retain  moisture  and  provide  food  for  a  longer  period 
than  ill-prepared  soil  of  a  shalloAv,  poor  character.  _  The  great 
essential  in  the  cultivation  of  Turnips  is  a  steady,  quick  groAvth. 
To  ensure  this,  break  up  the  surface  Avell,  making  it  fine,  and 
form  shalloAV  drills,  in  which  may  be  scattered  a  dusting  of  super¬ 
phosphate,  Avhich  is  a  capital  maimi-e  for  Turnips  in  the  early 
stages,  as  it  accelerates  growth  just  at  the  period  Avhen  the 
slightest  check  to  growth  almost  invariably  results  in  an  attack 
of  fly. 
During  a  dry,  hot  period  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see 
seedling  Turnips  i>erforated  through  the  seed  leaA'es  to  .such  an 
extent  as  to  destroy  half  the  green  tissue,  and  thus  cause  a  check 
to  groAvth  of  a  serious  character.  Lack  of  moisture  and  poorness 
of  soil  are  the  causes  of  this.  It  may  be  averted  by  the  timely 
preparation  alluded  to,  affording  moisture  by  AA-atering  overhead, 
and  giving  dustings  of  soot.  If  the  soAving  can  be  accomplished 
just  before  rain  all  the  better,  or  in  showeiy  weather.  During 
a  veiy  dry  time  AA'ater  three  times  Aveekly.  This  may  save  the 
plants  from  the  attacks  of  fly. 
Thin  the  seetllings  as  soon  as  possible  after  three  leaves  haA'e 
formed  to  Sin  apart.  Maintain  the  ground  clean  by  frequent 
hoeing,  Avhich  also  promotes  growth,  and  continue  to  do  so  until 
the  plants  meet  in  the  rows.  The  opportunity  may  be  taken  also 
to  promote  groAvth  by  occasional  dressings  of  artificial  manure, 
Avhich  may  bo  hoed  in.  Where  tender  Turnips  are  largely  m 
demand  small  sowings  ought  to  be  made  at  fortnightly  int ^vals, 
especially  during  the  hottest  and  driest  months  of  the 
year. — ^E.  D.  S. _ _ 
1  “Pictorial  Greenhouse  Maiinseinent,”  ilhistrated,  by  AA'alter  P.  '.Aright, 
Cassell  &  Co.,  Ltd.  Is.,  or  in  cloth  la.  6d. 
