August  15,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
149 
I  do  not  think  sufficient  6mphasis  is  laid  on  the  value  of  summer  or 
-early  autumn  pruning  with  the  view  of  increasing  the  size  and  improving 
the  quality  of  fruit.  Under  glass  you  remove  th&  laterals  and  stop 
growths,  as  well  as  thin  the  bunches  of  Grapes,  to  secure  fine  berries 
and  keep  the  growth  in  proportion.  Outdoors,  during  the  months  of 
July  and  August,  I  shorten  baok  exuberant  and  precocious  growths  of 
Apricots,  Neetarines,  Plums,  and  Pears  on  walls,  and  standard  and 
dwarf  Apples,  Pears,  and  Plums  in  the  open.  In  every  instanoe  where 
this  is  done  the  fruit  is  larger,  of  finer  colour,  and  superior  flavour,  as 
compared  with  those  not  so  treated,  besides  the  advantage  to  the 
trees. — W.  J.  Murphy,  Clonmel. 
A  Problem  in  Heating. 
In  your  issue'of  August  1st,  under  the  above  heading,  a  note  appeared 
from  Mr.  H.  Riohards.  Not  having  read  this  correspondence,  I  cannot 
oritioise  it,  but  I  will  just  say  my  experience  with  dipped  pipes  under 
doorways  and  walks  lasted  eighteen  years,  and  I  never  found  the  least 
obstruction  to  a  quick  and  regular  circulation.  In  this  place  a  large 
conservatory  and  plant  house  were  heated  from  one  boiler,  and  those 
two  houses  contained  nine  dips  under  doorways  and  walks.  Not  alone  ; 
other  houses  adjoining  had  several  dips,  and  the  circulation  in  those 
bouses  was  also  in  every  way  quite  satisfactory.  In  confirmation  of 
what  Mr.  R.  says,  I  would  certainly  recommend  a  dip  under  a  doorway 
or  walk  in  preference  to  stepping  or  falling  over  obstructions  where 
they  ought  not  to  be.  Of  course,  no  sensible  man  would  think  of 
putting  in  a  dip  where  the  boiler  and  pipes  are  nearly  on  a  level,  but, 
where  circumstances  admitted,  I  should  not  hesitate  to  put  in  dips. 
The  main  portion  of  the  apparatus  mentioned  above  has  been  erected 
about  forty  years,  showing  it  to  be  no  new  idea.  During  my  time  there 
additions  were  made  to  the  piping,  also  adding  three  more  dips  under 
walks. — J.  Easter,  Nostell  Priory  Gardens. 
Strawberries :  Tried  Sorts, 
The  past  two  months’  tropical  weather  has  been  very  trying  for 
gardeners,  most  kinds  of  vegetation  suffering  severely  from  drought, 
and  Strawberries — a  most  important  crop — suffered  considerably  in  this 
respect,  especially  on  hot  porous  soils.  I  was  unable  to  give  any  of 
my  Strawberry  plants  water  this  year,  but  I  mulohed  the  rows  rather 
thickly  with  long  stable-stained  straw  quite  early  in  the  season, 
otherwise  failure  in  maturing  the  crop  would  have  been  quite  certain, 
for  I  could  not  have  spared  the  labour  or  water  to  keep  them  in  a 
healthy  condition  if  mulched  late,  or  when  in  bloom.  St.  Joseph 
commenced  to  ripen  first,  but  it  is  very  insipid  as  a  dessert  fruit.  It 
is  now  (August  9th)  commencing  to  throw  up  flower  spikes  again,  so 
I  may  get  an  autumn  crop  of  fruits. 
King  of  the  Earlies  ripened  its  first  fruits  a  few  days  later,  but  this 
variety  grows  very  weak  in  this  soil,  and  consequently  is  a  poor  fruiter, 
and  I  shall  not  grow  it  again.  Royal  Sovereign  came  next  in  the  order 
of  ripening,  and  its  characteristics  are  the  exact  reverse  ;  it  is  a 
prodigious  oropper  ahd  excellent  in  flavour,  and  its  strong  dark  foliage 
withstands  drought  and  red  spider  well.  Monarch  is  a  splendid  doer  ; 
its  fruits  are  of  good  shape,  size,  and  flavour,  and  withstood  drought 
and  spider  to  the  last.  On  the  other  hand  Veitch’s  Prolific,  Dr.  Hogg, 
and  Lord  Suffield  suffered  severely  from  this  pest.  The  former  of  the 
trio  was  entirely  unable  to  resist  red  spider,  which  commenced  its 
ravages  early  in  May.  These  three  I  shall  also  discard.  Stevens’ 
Wonder  has  excellent  foliage  and  good  sized  fruits,  and  its  flavour 
reminds  me  somewhat  of  that  old  favourite,  Keen’s  Seedling ;  its  fruits 
•are  too  soft  for  packing,  and  I  think  this  variety  can  be  done  without. 
•Sir  Joseph  Paxton  had  a  heavy  crop,  and  its  foliage  suffered  very  much 
from  red  spider,  and  the  fruits  were  not  of  the  best  flavour.  Leader 
had  an  enormous  crop  of  huge  fruits  of  a  sharp  brisk  flavour,  and  it 
appears  to  require  a  heavy  soil,  for  it  was  the  first  to  show  signs  of 
■drought.  Gunton  Park  withstood  the  dry,  hot  weather  very  well 
indeed,  and  its  fruits  are  well  protected  by  its  foliage  ;  the  fruits  were 
of  many  shapes,  some  being  very  handsome,  and  all  of  good  flavour. 
Scarlet  Queen  is  a  useful  variety  for  preserving.  Next  comes  my 
favourite,  Veitoh’s  Perfection.  It  does  not  grow  very  strong,  but  the 
fruits  were  of  large  size  and  nearly  as  dark  as  Waterloo  j  the  flesh  is 
firm,  and  of  an  exceedingly  rich  sweet  flavour,  and  it  should  be  grown 
by  everybody.  British  Queen  treated  as  an  annual  does  very  well. 
I  can  strongly  recommend  anyone  who  has  previously  failed  to  fruit 
this  variety  to  try  this  method,  but  early  propagation  and  planting 
must  be  oarried  out  if  a  good  crop  is  expected  the  following  year. 
Waterloo  did  very  well,  its  large  handsome  fruits  being  muoh 
appreciated.  The  plants  withstood  the  drought  and  red  spider  very 
well.  Elton  Pine  was  very  good  in  this  respect,  but  it  cropped  very 
poorly.  Where  this  sort  does  well  it  is  valuable  for  preserving  and 
kitchen  purposes.  The  soil  in  the  quarters  where  the  Strawberries 
were  grown  is  very  hot  and  porous. — A.  Jefferies. 
Fly  on  tl\e  Chrysanthemum. 
When,  a  few  days  ago,  I  was  walking  round  the  nurseries  of 
Messrs.  Thos.  Hewitt  &  Oo.,  Ltd.,  at  Solihull,  where  a  very  large 
number  of  Chrysanthemums  are  grown  in  pots  for  various  purposes, 
I  was  informed  by  the  foreman  that  the  best  remedy  for  the  fly  is 
the  Abol  insecticide,  applied  through  the  Abol  syringe.  The  spray  is 
produced  from  a  single  hole  by  an  ingeniously  arranged  screw  plug 
in  the  inside  of  the  nozzle,  and  by  screwing  the  plug  slightly  baok  or 
forward  the  spray  produoed  can  be  regulated  to  various  degrees  of 
fineness,  while  if  the  plug  be  entirely  removed  a  straight  jet  of  con¬ 
siderable  power  is  the  result.  An  examination  of  the  plants  showed 
their  clean  character,  and  the  Abol  insecticide  is  now  employed  in 
preference  to  all  others.  It  was  said  to  be  muoh  more  efficaoious,  and 
quicker  in  its  action,  than  any  other  insecticide  which  had  been  tried. 
I  hear  that  in  places  collections  have  become  muoh  affected  by  green 
fly,  and  a  mention  of  this  remedy  may  prove  of  use  to  some  cultivators 
of  the  Chrysanthemum. — R.  D. 
The  Auricula. 
Although  there  does  not  seem  to  be  much  increase  in  the  number 
of  those  who  cultivate  this  flower,  so  much  prized  in  former  days  (and 
this  was  one  of  my  earliest  loves  in  floriculture),  yet  it  is  valued  by 
many  who  love  their  gardens ;  it  does  not  lend  itself  to  the  aesthetic 
aspect  of  gardens,  and  it  has  to  be  cultivated  in  pots  and  grown  iD 
frames.  My  own  interest  in  them  has  greatly  diminished  sinoe  I  wf 
obliged,  on  account  of  my  failing  eyesight,  to  part  with  my  own 
collection,  which  I  have  cherished  for  many  years,  and  now  I  hear  that 
the  clever  gardener  under  whose  charge  they  were  placed  has  left  the 
situation  ;  and  as  in  all  changes  one  cannot  tell  whether  things  will  be 
equally  prized  by  the  gardener  who  succeeds,  I  might  have  been 
anxious  about  my  old  favourites  did  I  not  know  that  the  employer  was 
herself  very  enthusiastic,  and  so  will  not  fail  to  see  that  their  culture 
is  well  cared  for.  I  hear  also  that  the  fine  collection  lately  owned  by 
Miss  Woodhead  of  Hipperholme,  near  Halifax,  has  found  its  way  to 
the  Royal  Nurseries,  Slough,  and  I  suppose  will  soon  be  dispersed,  for 
although  Mr.  Harry  Turner  delights  in  them,  be  oonnot,  as  a  business 
man,  refuse  to  part  with  his  most  cherished  plants  if  he  receive  a  good 
offer  for  them. — D.,  Peal. 
- »♦«•* - 
Vines. 
Calling  on  a  local  grower  of  Grapes  for  market  in  the  vicinity  of 
this  neighbourhood  a  few  days  ago,  I  could  not  but  help  commenting  on 
the  splendid  crops  the  Tines  were  carrying;  also  the  siz9,  fine  finish, 
and  colour  were  in  my  opinion  all  that  could  be  desired  from  a  market 
grower’s  point  of  view,  and  when  I  add  that  Grapes  of  the  variety 
Black  Hamburgh  have  realised  as  much  as  3s.  6d.  per  lb.  in  Covent 
Garden  Market,  readers  will  readily  admit,  judging  by  the  returns 
home,  not  much  the  matter  with  them.  But  it  is  not  so  muoh  with  the 
crops  they  are  carrying,  good  though  they  be,  that  induced  me  to  send 
this  note  respecting  them ;  it  is  more  the  extraordinary  way  in  which 
the  grower  treats  his  Vines,  at  least  so  it  always  appears  to  me  when 
on  the  different  occasions  I  have  visited  him.  I  will  now  endeavour 
to  explain  my  meaning  in  reference  to  the  above  statement.  The 
Vines  are  planted  in  two  span-roofed  houses,  each  150  feet  in  length 
by  12  feet  wide,  and  were  originally  built  some  years  ago  for  the 
growing  of  Cucumbers  for  market,  and  for  such  a  purpose  were,  no 
doubt,  highly  adaptable,  but  the  decline  of  the  latter  in  price  so 
disgusted  the  grower  with  his  returns  that  he  decided  to  give  up  their 
culture  and  utilise  the  structures  by  planting  Grapes  for  the  same 
purpose ;  a  start  was  therefore  made  with  Vines  raised  from  eyes  in 
the  usual  way,  the  brick  pits  being  drained  and  filled  with  compost 
suitable  for  their  reception.  The  rods  were  planted  at  a  distance  of 
3  feet  apart,  trained  up  one  side  of  the  roof  and  down  the  other, 
while  the  apex  of  the  rod  is  rooted  in  a  similar  bed  on  the  other  side  ; 
it  will  be  noted,  therefore,  they  are  rooted  both  ends. 
Again,  another  point  was  noted  in  respect  of  the  main  laterals  ; 
these  were  inarched  on  to  one  another,  putting  one  very  muoh  in  mind 
of  trelliswork ;  certainly  it  appeared  rather  a  novel  way  of  treating 
them,  the  sub-laterals  being  kept  rigidly  pinched.  I  inquired  the 
grower’s  reasons  for  the  above  treatment ;  the  answer  was  that  it 
prevented  the  waste  of  any  superfluous  energy  on  the  part  of  the  Vines, 
thus  throwing  their  whole  strength  towards  the  bringing  of  the  crop  to 
maturity. 
I  noticed  a  young  rod  of  Muscat  of  Alexandria  carrying  a  crop  of 
medium-sized  bunches ;  this  was  planted  at  one  end  of  a  house,  the 
main  rod  being  carried  along  the  top  of  the  house  on  the  extension 
system,  sub-branches  being  taken  alternately  down  each  side  of  the 
roof,  and  I  understood  would  have  the  apexes  of  the  rods  rooted  in  a 
similar  manner  to  that  already  described. — Geo.  Hagon. 
