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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  November  28,  1901. 
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  matter 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiabb 
trouble  and  expense. 
“  THE  FRUIT  MANUAL  ”  (G.  Waters). — You  should  adver¬ 
tise  for  a  copy  of  this  book,  which,  as  you  know,  is  now  out  of 
print.  When  another  issue  will  be  undertaken  has  not  been 
decided. 
BOOK  OF  FLOWER  GARDENING  DESIGNS  (P.  K.).-We 
have  overlooked  your  former  query.  The  book  best  suited  to 
your  requirements,  though  perhaps  not  quite  up  to  date,  con¬ 
taining  many  carpet  bedding  designs,  is  the  one  named  “  The 
Royal  Parks  and  Gardens  of  London,”  price  2s.  6d.  post  free,  to 
be  had  from  this  office.  This  book  is  serviceable  to  all  who  have 
beds  to  lay  out  on  turf. 
ZINC  AND  “  ACME  ”  LABELS  (W.  M.).— We  furnish  illus¬ 
trations  of  two  kinds  of  labels,  (1)  the  Acme,  for  trees  and  large 
subjects  where  a  bold  name  is  desired; 
and  (2)  the  zinc  label,  with  patent 
fastener  suitable  for  Roses.  In  Pinches’ 
Acme  Tree  label  the  following  advan¬ 
tages  are  claimed :  First,  the  letters  are 
composed  of  ,  a  non-oxidisable  alloy, 
amalgamated  with  the  surface  of  hard 
rolled  zinc.  Second,  the  names  stand 
out  clearly,  the  letters  being  half  an 
inch  high,  light  on  a  black  ground. 
Third,  there  is  no  raised  border,  thus  the 
water  runs  off  freely.  Fourth,  the 
“  Acme  ”  is  half  the  weight  of  most  other 
labels,  without  diminution  of  strength. 
Our  illustration  shows  the  character  of 
the  label  better  than  long  descriptions 
can  convey.  The  stem  is  a  foot  long, 
the  lower  half  galvanised,  and  1  inch 
wide;  the  plate  on  which  the  name  is, 
is  5in  by  2-2-in.  To  support  the  zinc 
labels,  holes  are  pierced  in  the  stems,  and  the  wire  passed  through 
them  as  shown  in  the  figure.  The  top-end  of  the  wire  is  beaten 
flat,  and  the  pointed  piece  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  label 
pressed  down  over  it.  The  wire  should  be  about  a  foot  long,  and 
passed  into  the  ground  till  the  base  of  the  label  just  enters  the 
surface. 
VINES  NOT  THRIVING  (York). — We  think  that  there  is 
something  pernicious  in  the  soil,  and  that  the  border  is  quite  rich 
enough.  The  indifferent  colouring  of  the  berries  would  indicate 
that  the  border  is  a  little  too  rich  rather  than  that  it  is  not 
sufficiently  so  ;  or  the  unthriving  state  may  be  caused  through  an 
insufficiency  of  air,  and  the  Vines  carrying  too  heavy  a  crop. 
The  reason  of  the  soil  being  obnoxious  to  the  roots  is,  that  it  is 
strong  dark  soil.  It  ought  to  have  been  sound  lighUcoloured  loam 
the  top  spit  of  a  pasture  being  best.  To  it  were  added  one  cartload 
of  rotten  manure  to  every  four  of  soil ;  a  cartload  of  brick  and 
lime  rubbish  from  an  old  building  to  every  three  of  soil  would 
have  been  better  especially  with  dark  strong  soil.  The  crushed 
bones  are  good,  and  that  was  all  we  would  have  enriched  the 
border  with  at  the  time  of  making,  for  the  rotten  manure  could 
not  retain  its  fertilising  properties  longer  than  a  couple  of  years, 
and  then  they  are  gone,  and  a  close  soap-like  mass,  in  which 
Vine  roots  do  not  like  to  run,  is  left  behind.  We  presume  the 
border  is  drained  with  rough  stones  to  the  depth  of  a  foot,  and  that 
there  is  a  drain  along  the  border,  and  having  an  outlet,  to  take 
away  the  superfluous  water.  This  being  the  case,  and  you  being 
satisfied  that  the  border  is  not  a  close,  wet,  soapy  mass,  but  free 
and  open,  we  would  cover  the  outside  border  now  with  a  few 
inches  of  litter  to  protect  any  roots  that  may  be  near  the  surface, 
and  in  February  or  March  we  would  spread  over  the  inside 
border  3in  of  partially  decomposed  short  manure,  and  any  nutri¬ 
ment  the  latter  contains  wj.ll  be  washed  down  to  the  roots 
with  the  waterings.  We  would  also  place  from  6in  to '  9in  of 
littery  manure  on  the  outside  border  at  the  same  time,  and  any 
enriching  matter  that  it  may  contain  will  be  washed  down  to  the 
roots  by  the  rains  that  occur  between  then  and  June,  when  the 
litter  may  be  removed,  but  the  covering  on  the  inside  must  be 
allowed  to  remain.  This,  if  the  border  is  not  rich  enough,  will 
flo  much  to  give  the  berries  size,  thinning  them  well  when  smaller 
jb 
k 
rather  than  larger  than  Peas  being  another  essential  to  obtain¬ 
ing  large  berries.  Taking  a  moderate  rather  than  a  large  crop, 
will  do  much  towards  securing  proper  colouring  if  accompanied 
by  free  air  daily,  and  a  little  at  night  when  the  berries  are  colour¬ 
ing.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  border  is  wet  and  close,  and 
the  roots  running  badly  in  consequence  of  its  not  being  drained, 
we  can  only  recommend  you  to  take  up  the  Vines  and  make  a 
fresh  border,  but  you  must  draw  your  own  conclusions  as  to  that, 
as  we  can  only  form  an  opinion  from  the  data  furnished. 
DAHLIA  BOOKS  (W.  R.).— -Mr.  Chas.  E.  Wilkins  has 
favoured  us  with  the  following  titles  of  books  on  the  culture  of 
the  Dahlia.  The  latter  work  you  will  find  as  cheap  and  useful  as 
any.  “  Practical  Observations  on  the  Culture  of  the  Dahlia,”  by 
Chas.  Turner  (Chalvey,  near  Windsor).  “The  Dahlia:  its  Cul¬ 
ture,  Uses,  and  History,”  George  W.  Johnson  and  Chas.  Turner 
(London,  1847).  “  Garden  Favourites.  The  Dahlia  :  its  History, 
&c,”  Shirley  Hibberd  (London.  1857).  “The  Dahlia:  its  History 
and  Cultivation,”  edited  by  Win.  Cuthbertson,  Rothesay,  N.B. 
(London,  1897). 
COATING  FOR  HOT-WATER  PIPES  (C.  K.).— Before  laying 
the  pipes  we  coat  them  with  black  paint,  composed  of  lamp¬ 
black  and  boiled  linseed  oil  sufficient  to  be  of  the  consistency  of 
thin  paint.  This  is  applied  with  a  brush,  working  it  in  well, 
so  that  every  part  of  the  iron  may  be  covered,  and  it  is  allowed 
to  become  thoroughly  dry  before  the  pipes  are  fixed  or  jointed 
together.  When  the  boiler  is  first  set  to  work  and  the  pipes  as 
hot  as  they  can  be  made,  we  give  another  coat  with  the  same 
Acme  Tree  Label. 
composition  as  thick  as  it  can  be  put  on,  as  it  becomes  much 
thinner  when  applied  to  the  pipes.  The  oil  paint  applied  on  & 
hot  surface  finds  the  bottom  of  the- uneven  surface  of  the  iron, 
and  the  heat  being  kept  up  until  the  paint  is  dry,  it  will 
last  a  long  time  without  the  iron  rusting.  We  have  it  good  at 
the  end  of  ten  years,  and  when  it  gives  way  we  repaint  the  pipes 
as  before  whilst  hot.  Applying  the  paint  to  the  pipes  whilst 
hot  creates  an  intolerable  smell,  and  is  not  good  for  vegetation. 
The  painting  should  therefore  be  done  when  the  house  is  un¬ 
occupied  by  plants,  and  air  being  given  the  operator  will  be 
enabled  to  paint  the  pipes  while  hot,  otherwise  it  is  pernicious 
to  breathe  the  atmosphere.  If  the  pipes  are  not  painted  whilst 
hot,  the  paint  is  apt  to  peel  off,  but  by  heating  the  pipes  they 
are  made  thoroughly  dry,  and  the  paint  runs  to  the  bottom  of 
every  hole  or  crevice  ;  besides,  though  there  is  a  strong  smell  it 
is  gone  all  at  once.  This  is  our  mode  of  painting  pipes  in  cool 
dry  houses — as  stoves  and  greenhouses.  We  have  another  for 
pipes  in  moist  houses,  it  is  the  best  for  any  description  of  iron 
exposed  to  wet,  and  we  only  name  the  preceding,  as  it  is  a 
practice  we  followed  successfully  before  we  were  aware  of  the 
latter,  which  is  to  coat  the  pipes  whilst  hot  with  genuine  red 
lead  paint.  This  is  the  best  coating  for  ironwork  of  any  de¬ 
scription  that  we  have  tried,  and  we  therefore  recommend  it  in 
preference  to  black  paint,  or  any  paint  that  has  nothing  anti¬ 
corrosive  in  it  except  oil.  Years  ago  we  removed  about  400ft 
of  4in  hot-water  piping  that  had  been  down  thirty  years,  and 
exteriorally  they  were  as  good  as  when  put  down,  and  this  with  a 
good  coat  of  white  lead  paint.  They  had  not  been  painted  during 
that  period.  Whether  white  lead  years  ago  was  different  from 
that  which  is  now  sold  we  cannot  say,  but  it  is  certain  that  it 
will  not  at  the  present  day  preserve  hot-water  pipes  from  rust  for 
half  that  period.  Red  lead  paint,  then,  is  what  we  recommend, 
and  it  should  be  put  on  whilst  the  pipes  are  hot,  or  they  ought 
to  be  heated  immediately  afterwards  and  kept  hot  until  dry,  all 
