462 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER .  November  21,  1901. 
Potatoes. 
I  have  been  recommended  to  start  at  once  digging  up  my  land 
ready  for  the  next  Potato  crop.  I  was  told  to  put  manure  in 
just  as  we  do  in  the  spring,  but  to  stick  a  twig  at  the  ends  of 
rows  of  manure,  and  then  in  the  spring  put  a  line  down  and  make 
a  small  drill  or  trench  and  lay  seed  Potatoes  in,  covering  them 
with  earth  by  means  of  a  hoe ;  this  would  partly  mould  them  up. 
Could  any  of  my  fellow  readers  give  their  experience  of  this 
method  of  autumn  cultivation  for  Potatoes  P — J.  T.  Thurston. 
Blinds  for  Glass  Houses. 
This  is  hardly  the  season  to  discuss  methods  of  shading  glass 
houses,  but  in  the  reply  to  “  Ignoramus  ”  on  “  Blinds  for  Glass 
House,”  page  432,  November  7,  it  is  stated  that  Parisian  blinds 
are  too  clumsy  and  not  serviceable  for  greenhouse  roofs,  but  will 
do  for  the  upright  parts.  In  my  opinion  the  Parisian  blinds  are 
quite  equal,  if  not  better,  than  the  old-fashioned  wooden  roller 
and  canvas  blinds.  The  Parisian  blinds  are  made  of  wooden 
laths  fin  broad,  connected  together  with  flat  zinc  chains.  They 
are  readily  drawn  up  and  down  by  cord  and  pulley.  They  are 
made  in  convenient  widths,  which  enables  them  to  be  worked 
much  better  than  the  long  wooden  rollers,  which  cannot  easily 
be  manipulated,  especially  on'  long  houses. 
A  great  fault  in  fixing  the  wooden  roller  blinds  is  in  allowing 
the  roller,  with  its  own  heavy  weight,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
blind,  to  rest  upon  the  ventilators,  which  in  some  houses  open 
at  full  length  along  the  top.  The  Parisian  blinds  may  be  placed 
on  the  roof  of  a  span  or  lean-to  below  the  ventilator,  and,  being 
fixed  in  convenient  widths,  with  a  cord  and  pulley  attached  to 
each,  the  working  is  simple  and  easily  done.  The  arrangement 
of  blinds  to  work  quickly  and  conveniently,  and  act  efficiently, 
requires  a  considerable  amount  of  care  and  attention,  and  fre¬ 
quently  means  much  expense.  Though  not  having  actually  used 
the  Parisian  blinds,  I  have  seen  how  they  work,  and  am  favour¬ 
ably  impressed  by  their  neat,  pleasing  appearance,  and  the 
diffused  shade  they  give. 
The  great  advantage  of  movable  blinds  is  that  they  need 
not  be  used  in  dull  weather,  while  permanent  shading  must  re¬ 
main.  Some  good  gardeners,  however,  like  the  latter,  even  with 
its  disadvantages,  and  I  have  known  Orchid  growers  have  very 
diverse  opinions  as  to  the  use  of  movable  blinds  and  permanent 
shading.  In  spring,  doubtless,  this  subject  would  excite  more 
interest  than  it  is  likely  to  do  now. — Light  and  Shade. 
The  Name,  Ha!  Ha! 
To  designate  sunk  fences,  which  are  found  on  all  country 
estates,  by  the  combination  of  two  pert  exclamations  that  are 
liable  to  convey  the  feelings  of  varied  moods,  particularly  satire, 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  joviality,  seems  to  require  some  investiga¬ 
tion.  I  am  impelled  to  pen  this  note  after  reading  your  storyette 
in  the  correspondence  column,  page  432,  of  November  7.  The 
tale  of  the  ladies  flying  from  the  neighbourship  of  the  cattle,  and 
finding  later  on  that  the  oxen  could  not  have  reached  them 
because  of  a  sunk  fence,  is  humorous,  and  might  well  have  been 
the  factor  which  called  up  the  ironical  title  conveyed  in  Ha !  Ha ! 
I  have  heard  another  story — that  of  a  horseman  in  full  gallop 
across  country,  who  came  suddenly  to  the  margin  of  a  sunk  fence, 
and  whose  wary  nag  reared  on  its  haunches,  which  performance 
brought  forth  from  its  rider  a  “  Ha!  Ha!”  of  mighty  surprise,  in  a 
tone  that  conveyed  to  poor  horsie  that,  though  rearing  on  hind 
legs  was  a  good  and  proper  thing  when  such  a  sudden  change  from 
an  onward  gallop  had  to  be  undertaken,  yet  the  breach  must  be 
crossed  when  the  facts  of  the  course  were  discovered.  Both 
explanations  of  the  name  are  fairly  reasonable,  and  either  of 
them  may  be  correct.  There  is,  however,  another  derivation  that 
may  receive  consideration. 
Referring  to  Webster’s  “  International  Dictionary,”  I  find  Ha- 
Ha  given,  and  referred  to  Haw-haw,  which  is  said  to  be  a  duplica¬ 
tion  of  haw,  a  hedge.  The  Hague,  capital  of  the  Netherlands, 
signifies  “  The  Hedge,”  and  may  we  not  assume  that  the  Dutch 
word  hage  (English,  hedge ;  German,  hag)  was  directly  applied 
to  a  sunk  fence  as  being  a  hedge,  or  limit,  and  this  name,  through 
time’s  corrupting  influence,  been  transformed  to  the  Ha-ha,  or 
Ha  !  Ha  !  as  now  employed  ?  In  Scotland  haugh  (pronounced 
with  the  gutteral)  is  the  name  given  to  a  level  piece  of  grass  land 
lying  between  two  ridges  or  the  banks  of  a  glen.  But,  after  all, 
under  any  or  all  names  or  designations,  a  sunk  fence  in  practical 
English  is  still  that  and  nothing  else. — D. 
Hybridising  the  Rubns  Tribe. 
An  old,  yet  enthusiastic  gardener  and  reader  of  the  Journal, 
writes  as  follows: — “  With  your  permission,  allow  me  to  tell  Mr. 
Burbidge  that  ‘  the  happy  marriage  ’  between  a  garden  Raspberry 
and  Rubus  phcenicolasius,  has  taken  place,  bearing  fruits  this  last 
season  for  the  first  time,  and  very  fine  fruits  they  were.  Four 
crosses  were  made  with  varieties  of  Blackberries  and  Wineberries, 
but  the  plants  were  too  small  to  fruit.  They  are,  however,  making 
splendid  canes.”  Samples  of  each  accompanied  the  above  letter, 
and  we  can  vouch  for  the  vigour  of  them  as  judged  by  the  pieces 
sent. 
Maggots  in  Grapes. 
I  am  sorry  to  say  the  maggots  in  Grapes,  an  instance  of  which 
is  dealt  with  in  the  “  Journal  ”  of  October  24,  have  been  observed 
here,  and  this  also  for  the  first  time.  The  examples  coincide 
entirely  with  those  so  exhaustively  described  by  Mr.  Abbey.  I 
had  previously  noted,  the  rubbed  appearance  of  some  of  the 
bunches,  and  also  the  maggots ;  but,  without  close  examination, 
had  blamed  wasps  and  mice,  both  of  which  were  in  evidence, 
for  the  trouble.  A  new  man,  going  over  them  with  the  scissors, 
soon  informed  me  that  the  small  particles  on  the  berries,  which 
I  had  casually  supposed  to  be  nibblings  of  Grape  skins,  were,  in 
Yorkshire  phraseology,  “  wick.”  In  our  case  there  is  no  inside 
border,  simply  ashes  for  a  few  plants  to  stand  upon the  outside 
border  had  been  mulched  with  stable  manure  in  spring,  but  was. 
apparently  little  more  than  straw  when  the  attack  was  noticed. 
Bones  have  not  been  used  for  some  years. — J.  C.  A.,  E.  Yorks. 
Mutual  Improvement  Societies. 
“  H.  K.”  touches  on  an  interesting  subject  in  the  Journal  for 
November  7,  page  422,  when  he  enlarges  upon  the  great  advan¬ 
tages  accruing  to  gardeners  who  belong  to  mutual  improvement, 
societies.  I,  for  one,  can  fully  endorse  what  he  says,  as  I 
think  they  are  great  aids  to  a  gardener  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
calling,  and  are  as  indispensable  as  an  horticultural  paper.  Many 
young  men,  and  older  men  too,  go  considerable  distances  to 
attend  the  meetings.  Not  only  are  interesting  papers  read  at 
the  meetings,  but  much  information  is  gained  by  the  discussions 
which  invariably  ensue  upon  the  papers,  which  bring  out  points 
of  much  value  to  a  large  number  of  the  members.  Good  tem¬ 
pered  and  fair  criticism  is  invited  by  readers  of  papers,  who 
oftentimes  are  not  the  least  to  benefit  by  the  opinion*  expressed. 
The  meetings  not  only  afford  means  of  the  interchange  of  views 
on  cultural  methods,  but  afford  facilities  for  eliciting  information 
on  doubtful  points,  the  interchange  of  cuttings,  seed  and  seed¬ 
lings,  and  the  naming  of  plants.  Some  of  the  most  successful 
societies  I  have  known  possess  a  circulating  library,  containing 
a  large  number  of  the  best  standard  works  on  horticulture.  This 
is  a  boon  to  many  garden  workers,  and  should  be  taken  advan¬ 
tage  of  by  the  younger  members,  who  cannot  study  the  best, 
literature  too  much. 
The  gardening  charities  and  benefit  societies  ought  to  adver¬ 
tise  themselves  in  every  mutual  improvement  society  meeting 
room,  either  by  prominent  posters,  or  by  circulating  pamphlets 
detailing  their  objects,  so  that  all  the  members  may  become 
familiarised  with  the  movements  afoot  for  their  benefit.  Every 
incentive  should  be  offered  to  the  younger  members  to  read 
papers,  however  short  they  may  be,  or  to  ask  questions  on  any 
subject  pertaining  to  gardening.  Replies  will  be  forthcoming  by 
the  more  experienced  men  present,  or  if  the  subject  needs  re¬ 
search,  this  may  be  undertaken  by  some  of  the  officials,  and  a 
reply  given  at  the  next  meeting.  Some  very  interesting  points 
might  in  this  way  be  cleared  up,  and  ideas  started  which  might 
provoke  considerable  discussion.  More  will  probably  be  said  by 
qualified  men  on  the  advantages  of  these  societies,  which  are 
filling  a  long  felt  want  in  some  of  the  populous  districts  round 
London  and  other  large  towns  and  cities  throughout  the. 
country. — E. 
Garrya  elliptica  feemina. 
It  is  seldom  that  the  female  Garrya  bears  fruit.  A  fruiting 
spray  is  reproduced  on  page  463.  Nearly  everyone  knows  the 
elegant  form  of  the  male  plant,  Garrya  elliptica,  whose  beautiful 
pale,  greenish-white  or  yellowish  drooping  catkins  appear  even 
so  early  as  December  in  mild  winters.  They  are  always  to  be 
seen  by  mid-January.  The  dark,  smooth  foliage  is  also  particu¬ 
larly  pleasing.  The  berries  of  the  female  plant  are  black  in 
colour;  to  obtain  fruiting  specimens  it  is  necessary,  of  course,  to 
possess  plants  of  both  the  sexes.  Garrya  elliptica.  is  a  Cali¬ 
fornian  shrub,  and  consequently  requires  a  dry,  or,  at  least,  well- 
drained,  friable  soil  in  this  country,  and  in  most  cases  it  derives 
benefit  from  the  protection  of  a  wall.  Tassel-bush  is  a  popular 
name  bestowed  on  it.  Cuttings  or  seeds  are  the  means  for  pro¬ 
pagating  it. 
