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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  29,  1901. 
attended  to.  Pall  up  the  bulbs  on  a  dry  day,  and  leave  them  for  several 
days  to  fully  ripen  if  the  weather  continues  dry.  Should  wet  weather 
occur  they  ought  to  be  placed  on  mats,  and  carried  under  shelter  when 
too  damp  to  remain  in  the  open.  They  must  be  stored  in  a  dry 
condition  and  thinly  in  the  coolest  and  driest  structure  possible. 
Warmth  and  damp  impair  their  keeping  qualities. 
Lettuce. — The  best  Lettuces  for  autumn  sowing  are  Winter  White 
Cos,  Black-seeded  Bath  Cos,  Hammersmith  Hardy  Green,  and  All  the 
Year  Round.  Should  previous  sowings  made  recently  not  be  producing 
a  fair  number  of  plants,  more  seed  should  be  sown  without  further 
delay,  as  it  is  important  to  secure  a  good  bed  of  winter  Lettuce. 
Seedlings  advanced  in  size  may  be  lifted,  and  planted  out  in  rows 
6  inches  apart  and  4  to  6  inches  from  plant  to  plant.  Give  a  good 
watering  in  dry  weather.  It  is  better  to  plant  in  dull  and  moist 
weather,  rather  than  when  dry  and  sunny. 
Endive  is  a  useful  winter  salad  plant,  and  when  in  demand  a  few 
rows  ought  to  be  sown  now.  The  curled  varieties  are  undoubtedly  the 
best,  of  which  the  Winter  Curled  and  the  Moss  Curled  are  excellent 
varieties.  Sow  in  drills  a  foot  apart,  and  thin  the  plants  as  they 
advance  in  size  freely,  well  grown  Endive  plants  needing  abundance  of 
room,  the  growth  being  largely  of  a  spreading  character.  The  growth 
may  be  blanched  by  placing  slates  over  them,  or  inverting  a  flower  pot ; 
tying  the  points  of  the  outer  leaves 
together  is  effectual.  Plant  out  young 
seedlings  from  the  earlier  sowings. 
Outdoor  Tomatoes. — The  main  crop 
of  these,  growing  singly  to  stakes  or 
against  walls  or  fences,  should  be 
commencing  to  ripen.  When  the  fruits 
Bhow  colour  they  may  be  picked,  and 
ripened  on  a  shelf  in  a  warm  house. 
Some  of  the  large  lower  leaves  on 
the  plants  may  be  shortened  back  or 
removed  entirely,  especially  those  below 
the  fruit.  Where  a  good  crop  has  been 
secured  it  is  now  desirable  to  stop  any 
further  extension  of  the  plants,  so  as 
to  confine  the  energies  in  swelling  and 
•finishing  off  the  crop  already  secured. 
Indoor  Tomatoes. — Less  water  may 
be  given  to  plants  under  glass  where 
the  whole  of  the  fruit  is  far  advanced 
towards  ripening.  Stop  the  main 
extension  growth,  remove  yellow  and  • 
exhausted  leaves,  and  shorten  exuberant 
foliage  gradually.  Plants  still  flower¬ 
ing  and  setting  fruits  confine  strictly 
to  one  stem,  rubbing  out  side  shoots. 
The  roots  of  these  must  be  kept 
moist,  therefore  to  prevent  ripe  fruit 
cracking  gather  and  finish  on  a  shelf. — 
Lymington,  Hants. 
TO  CORRESPONDENTS 
•  • 
Trees  that  Attract  Iilgtatnlng*. 
• — If  you  are  caught  by  a  thunder¬ 
storm  in  the  woods,  avoid  the  Oak 
tree,  flee  from  the  Fir  trees,  but  seek 
the  Beech  trees.  In  order  to  put  the 
worth  of  this  note  of  advice  to  the 
test,  a  statistical  examination  was  made  in  Canton  Lucerne,  Switzer¬ 
land,  by  the  forest  authorities.  Out  of  eighty  trees  struck  by 
lightning  in  a  forest  district  where  seventeen  of  the  trees  were 
Beeches,  fifty. six  Oaks  were  struck  by  lightning,  and  twenty-four 
Firs  and  Larches,  but  not  one  single  Beech.  The  next  inquiry  needed 
is  to  discover  the  peculiar  quality  in  the  Beech  to  which  it  owes  its 
comparative  immunity. 
Publications  Received.  —  “The  American  Cultivator.”  “The 
Florists’  Exchange,”  containing  report  on  the  Society  of  American 
Florists’  Convention.  “  The  Canadian  Horticulturist,”  speoial  features  : 
the  Riqua  Grape,  Pan-American  horticulture,  the  Fruit  Marks  Act, 
timely  topics.  “  Gartenflora,”  a  reference  is  made  to  the  death  of  the 
Empress  Frederick  ;  illustrations  of  Ostrowskia  magnifioa  and  Inoar- 
villea  Delavayi  are  presented.  “  American  Gardening.”  “  Meehan’s 
Monthly,”  with  coloured  plate  of  Vitis  incisa.  “  North  British 
Agriculturist.”  “  Pacific  Coast  Fruit  World.”  “  Florists’  Exchange.” 
“  Le  Mois  Scientifique.”  “  Live  Stock  Journal.”  “  Agricultural 
Economist.”  “  Twenty-sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Com¬ 
missioners  of  the  City  of  Boston  (U.S.A.)  Department  of  Parks.” 
“  Bullettino  della  R.  Societa  Toscana  di  Ortioultura.”  “  The  Canadian 
Horticulturist,”  special  features  :  the  Crosby  Peach,  Orcharding,  Apple 
Canker,  Tulip  Culture,  Pteonies,  Monthly  Review.  “  La  Gymnostique 
Soolaire.”  “  Vine  Culture,”  as  exemplified  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  by 
Sir  James  Blythe,  Bart.  ;  written  by  request  of  the  London  Chamber  of 
Commerce  as  a  guide  to  Vine  production  in  the  Colonies  of  the  British 
Empire.  Cassell’s  “  Dictionary  of  Gardening.”  “  Moniteur  d’Horti- 
culture.”  “  American  Agriculturist.” 
MeRTENSIA  PULMONARIOIDES. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  EDITOR,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.c.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
Mertensia  pulmonarioides  (Head). — Pulmonarias  and  Merten sias 
being  nearly  allied  botanioally  have  in  the  past  been  a  good  deal  mixed 
up.  The  flower  figured  on  this  page  is  the  true  Mertensia  pulmonarioides, 
or  M.  virginica  of  gardens.  It  is  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best,  of  the 
genus.  Being  hardy  and  easy  to  grow,  we  strongly  advise  you  to  give 
it  a  trial.  Seeds  may  now  be  sown,  and 
the  young  plantlets  kept  till  the  spring 
under  cover,  or  cuttings  may  be  taken 
next  month  and  treated  as  Calceolarias 
are.  The  rookery  or  open  border  suits  it. 
Sulphuring  Fruit. — The  sulphuring  of 
fruit  is  practised  by  the  large  Amerioan 
growers  before  packing  Apples  and  the 
like  for  shipment.  The  following  is  an 
interesting  query  and  answer  on  this 
subject,  taken  from  “  The  Pacific  Coast 
Fruit  World.”— “A.  MoC.”  says:  “A 
question  has  arisen  here  (Lemore)  as 
to  how  long  fruit  should  be  left  in  the 
sulphur  house  to  make  the  best  dried 
fruit  for  the  market;  also,  is  reason¬ 
able  sulphuring  injurious  to  the  fruit  ? 
Answer. — Satisfying  the  last  question 
first,  I  might  ask  you  what  yon  con¬ 
sider  ‘  reasonable  sulphuring.’  What 
most  orchardists  cill  ‘reasonable’  is 
simply  excessive.  Most  of  the  sulphured 
fruit  that  is  placed  on  the  market  is 
injured  as  a  tasteful  and  nutritious 
food  product  by  the  sulphuring.  With 
reference  to  how  long  fruit  should  be 
left  in  the  sulphur  bath  depends  upon 
many  conditions;  as  lightness  of  sul¬ 
phur  house,  amount  of  sulphur  used, 
kind  of  fruit  to  be  sulphured,  degree  of 
ripeness,  length  of  time  from  cutter’s 
knife  to  bath,  &c.  All  of  these  con¬ 
ditions  must  be  carefully  observed  by 
the  operator,  and  much  judgment  must 
be  used  in  the  details  of  manipulation. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  all  of  the  work 
should  be  so  conducted  as  to  leave  the 
fruit  in  the  sulphur  bath  the  minimum 
length  of  time.  It  is  most  important 
that  fruit  should  be  well  graded  as  to 
degree  of  ripeness,  also  that  the  cut  fruit  should  be  exposed  to 
evaporation  as  short  a  time  as  possible.  Plan  to  make  the  time  from 
knife  of  cutter  to  bath  as  short  as  possible-  No  general  rule  can  be  laid 
down  for  the  time  fruit  should  be  kept  in  the  sulphur  bath.  As  long  as 
consumers  consult  the  eye  rather  than  the  taste  and  the  nutritious 
qualities  of  onr  cured  fruit,  orchardists  will  supply  the  bleached  products 
demanded  by  the  trade.” 
Rearing  Dates  ( A .  O.  B.,  Hornsey).  —  The  seeds  or  stones  should 
be  sown  thickly  in  clean,  well  drained,  pots  or  pans,  and  oovered  with 
about  their  own  depth  of  soil ;  this  latter  should  consist  of  about  two 
parts  of  yellow  loam  and  one  part  sharp  silver  sand.  The  pots  or  pans 
should  be  plunged  in,  or  plaoed  immediately  above,  a  brisk  bottom 
heat,  and  kept  watered,  though  not  sufficient  to  cause  sourness.  The 
seed,  however,  may  be  sown,  and  the  plants  reared,  without  bottom 
heat,  in  a  stove  or  greenhouse,  only  the  prooess  will  be  much  slower. 
When  two  or  three  leaves  are  formed  on  the  seedling  plants  they  should 
be  placed  in  the  smallest  sized  pots  that  will  contain  their  roots  without 
injury,  and  be  arranged  close  together  in  a  house  where  a  high 
temperature  and  moist  atmosphere  are  maintained.  Failing  this,  place 
in  the  best  position  at  command,  whether  in  stove  or  greenhouse.  At 
the  first,  and  also  subsequent  potting,  it  is  important  that  no  part  of 
the  stem  be  buried  ;  the  plant’s  base  should  merely  rest  on  the  surface 
of  the  soil,  which  should  be  rendered  firm  throughout.  If  the  plantR 
are  reared  in  a  high  temperature,  they  should  be  gradually  hardened  off 
when  established,  and  removed  to  a  greenhouse,  in  which  the  Date 
Palm,  Phoenix  daotylifera,  succeeds  fairly  well,  but  soon  outgrows  the 
space  usually  at  command. 
