588 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  December  26,  1901. 
RAMIE,  OR  RHEA  FIBRE. — In  answer  to  a  query  asked 
through  the  Journal  by  a  correspondent  on  page  524,  December  5, 
Mr.  John  Courts,  gardener  at  Killerton,  Broadclyst,  Devon, 
kindly  writes :  “  Ramie,  or  Rhea  fibre,  is  made  from  Bcehmeria 
nivea  var.  tenacissima.  It  is  a  native  of  Assam  and  the  Malay 
Islands,  and  thrives  only  in  tropical  countries.  On  the  other 
hand,  Bcehmeria  nivea  has  so  far  proved  hardy  in  the  south  of 
England  and  is  the  so-called  China-grass  of  commerce.  It 
(B.  nivea)  has  broad,  heart-shaped  leaves,  downy  white  on  the 
under  side,  whereas  in  B.  tenacissima  the  leaves  are  green  on 
both  sides.  In  this  country  China-grass  will  produce  one  crop  of 
stems  per  year,  in  a  warmer  climate  two  or  three  crops.  So  far 
as  is  known  at  present,  “  Ramie  55  from  India  has  not  proved  so 
valuable  as  China-grass.  The  latter,  when  properly  cleaned  and 
prepared,  stands  pre-eminent  amongst  vegetable  fibres  for 
strength  and  firmness.  A  fine  series  of  the  prepared  fibre  can  be 
seen  in  the  Museum  at  Kew  Gardens.  Your  correspondent  can 
learn  all  about  fibres  if  he  care  to  get  ‘  Commercial  Fibres ;  their 
History  and  Origin,5  by  Dr.  Morris,  C.M.G.,  &c.  late  assistant 
director  Kew  Gardens.  It  is  printed  by  Wm.  Trounce,  10,  Gough 
Square,  Fleet  Street,  E.C.,  price  Is.55 
FORCED  STRAWBERRIES  (T.  P.  R.).—“Will  you  please 
tell  me  if  Strawberry  plants  started  now  -would  produce  ripe  fruit 
about  the  middle  of  March,  and  what  would  likely  to  be  about  the 
price  for  the  fruit  then?  In  looking  over  old  numbers  of  the 
Journal  I  do  not  notice  market  quotations  at  that  time  of  year.” 
[Strawberry  plants  started  now  or  at  the  new  year  will  not 
afford  ripe  fruit  until  the  early  part  of  April,  and  only  plants  with 
well-formed  and  ripened  crowns  of  the  early  varieties  are  likely 
to  do  it,  such  as  La  Gross©  Sucree  and  Royal  Sovereign,  the  price 
ranging  from  about  2s.  per  lb,  only  fine  fruit  command¬ 
ing  higher  prices.  To  ripen  at  the  middle  of  March  the 
plants  should  be  started  early  in  December,  the  fruit  then  com¬ 
manding  good  and  sometimes  fancy  prices,  as  much  sometimes  as 
Is.  per  ounce;  but  at  other  times  the  price  brought  is  not  more 
than  5s.  to  8s.  per  pound.] 
STABLE-MANURE  (H.  B.).— “We  have  here  the  stable- 
manure  from  six  horses,  half  straw  manure  and  half  peat  moss 
litter.  Would  you  recommend  mixing  it  together,  or  keeping  it 
separate  ?  If  separate,  what  crops  would  the  peat  moss  be  most 
suitable  for  ?  55 
[It  is  advisable  to  keep  stable  manure  when  straw  is  used  for 
bedding  by  itself,  so  that  when  rotted  it  can  be  used  for  mixing 
with  compost  for  potting  or  dressing  borders  or  even  forming 
them.  If  mixed  together,  the  straw  manure  and  the  peat  moss 
litter  manure,  we  should  not  care  to  use  the  resultant  rotted 
manure  in  compost  for  potting  plants  or  making  borders,  or  top¬ 
dressing  them,  for  plants  and  fruit  trees  generally,  though  it  would 
be  suitable  for  general  manurial  purposes  in  the  kitchen  garden 
and  outdoor  crops.  By  keeping  the  moss  litter  manure  separate 
it  can  be  thrown  into  a  heap,  turned  as  soon  as  in  good  heat,  and 
when  the  heat  subsides  after  turning  once  or  twice  add  to  it 
about  one-tenth  of  air  slaked  chalk  lime,  and  mix  well.  This  will 
tend  to  correct  any  tendency  to  sourness,  and  the  manure  can 
safely  be  used  for  all  kinds  of  flower,  plant,  fruit,  and  vegetable 
crops,  especially  those  grown  outdoors.  It  has  particular  fitness 
for  light,  sandy,  or  gravelly  soils  on  account  of  its  retentive  power 
of  moisture,  and  also  in  supplying  humus.] 
UTILISING  STALE  GAS  LIME  (R.).— “  A  large  quantity  of 
gas  lime  has  accumulated  at  the  gas  house  here.  I  would  feel 
very  thankful  for  your  opinion  as  to  its  value  as  a  manure,  either 
as  a  top-dressing  on  grass  land,  or  ploughed  in  for  crops ;  and  in 
what  proportion  it  would  be  best  to  apply  it.  The  land  is  light, 
on  a  gravel  subsoil.” 
[The  gas  lime  which  has  accumulated  at  the  gas  house  will  be 
valuable  for  mixing  with  compost  in  the  proportion  of  one  part 
gas  lime  to  six  parts  compost,  such  as  roadside  parings,  ditch 
scourings,  rubbish  from  fields,  Ac.,  mixing  evenly,  and  turning 
once  or  twice  before  applying  to  the  land  as  a  top-dressing,  about 
twenty  cartloads  being  applied  to  grass  land  per  acre.  Alone,  it 
may  be  applied  to  grass  land  at  the  rate  of  three  to  five  tons  or 
cartloads  per  acre,  preferably  in  the  autumn  or  early  in  the 
winter,  though  it  may  be  applied  now,  bush  harrowing  well  in 
March,  and  rolled  shortly  afterwards.  On  arable  land  it  may  be 
applied  at  the  above  rates,  and  is  preferably  left  on  the  surface  a 
month  or  six  weeks  before  ploughing  in.  If  not  used  until  spring, 
the  lesser  quantity  should  be  applied,  as  the  cropping  will  sooner 
take  place.  It  is  valuable  for  supplying  lime,  and  is  one  of  the 
best  dressings  for  freeing  the  ground  of  various  insect  pests  or 
their  larvse  injurious  to  crops,  and  particularly  so  against  clubbing 
in  the  Brassica  tribe.] 
CROTON  LEAVES  DISEASED  (F.  C.).— Inadvertently  the 
leaves  (which  we  took  to  be  a  specimen  for  name,  and  had  not 
read  your  letter)  were  placed  amongst  other  matter  that  has 
since  been  cleared  away.  We  regret  the  haste  that  has  thus 
deprived  you  of  what  advice  we  may  have  had  to  tender ;  but 
if  you  can  select  another  sample  we  will  do  our  best  to  assist  you. 
CLEANSING  TOMATO  HOUSES  (T.  P.  R.).— “With  refe¬ 
rence  to  your  reply  to  ‘  Germicide,5  in  a  recent  issue  (Decem¬ 
ber  12),  do  you  advise  your  formula  for  cleansing  houses  where 
all  kinds  of  Tomato  diseases  have  existed?  We  always  limewash 
our  walls.  How  would  this  be  affected  by  using  the  iron  sulphate 
solution,  and  do  you  advise  applying  with  a  brush,  as  with  lime- 
wash?  Recently  I  was  given  the  following  recipe  for  the  pre¬ 
vention  or  cure  of  ‘  black-spot 5  in  Tomato  fruit :  ‘  Dissolve  loz 
of  sulphate  potash  (liver  of  sulphur)  in  1  quart  of  ivater,  dilute  with 
2\  gallons  of  water,  spraying  the  plants.5  Do  you  know  of  its 
being  of  any  good?  Black  spot  is  by  far  our  worse  disease  here. 
[Yes,  we  advise  the  formula  given  to  “  Germicide  ”  for  dis¬ 
infecting  houses  where  all  kinds  of  Tomato  diseases  have  existed. 
The  walls  would  not  be  in  anywise  injuriously  affected  by  using 
the  iron  sulphate  solution — indeed,  it  is  the  old-fashioned  wash 
used  by  housewives  for  house  walls,  with  the  addition  of  the 
sulphuric  acid  to  render  it  more  potent.  It  should  be  applied 
with  a  brash,  as  in  whitewashing.  The  recipe  for  the  prevention 
or  cure  of  black  spot  in  Tomato  consisting  of  sulphate  of  potash 
and  water  is  no  use,  only  on  the  soil  as  a  fertiliser;  but  loz  of 
sulphide  of  potassium,  commonly  called  liver  of  sulphur,  dis¬ 
solved  in  1  quart  of  hot  water,  then  diluted  with  2i  gallons  of 
cold  water,  sprayed  on  the  nlants  at  short  intervals,  coating  all 
the  surfaces,  especially  the  under  side  of  the  leaves  and  eye  of 
the  fruit  as  well  as  the  heel,  with  the  finest  possible  film  of  the 
solution,  repeated  at  short  intervals,  has  been  attended  with 
good  results  as  a  preventive.  Indeed,  it  can  only  act  as 
a  deterrent  of  the  disease  spreading,  for  there  is  only  one  cure — 
that  of  destroying  the  diseased  parts  by  fire.  In  the  case  of  young 
foliage  the  solution  should  only  be  loz  of  liver  of  sulphur  to 
6  gallons  of  water,  as  the  stronger  solution  cripples  the  foliage 
and  young  fruit;  indeed,  it  is  safer  to  use  a  solution  of  loz.  to 
10  gallons  of  water,  spraying  at  intervals  of  ten  days  to  a 
fortnight.] 
TREES  AND  SHRUBS  FOR  BOWLING  GREEN  BORDER 
(W.  J.  C.). — “  What  will  it  cost  to  plant  a  border  round  a  bowling 
m-een  ?  My  committee  only  allow  £7  for  ornamental  shrubs  and 
trees  and  a  few  forest  trees.  The  following  is  the  measurement : 
45yd  long  by  5yd,  a  sloping  border  40yd  long  by  2yd  deep,  and 
another  42yd  by  5ft;  also  the  fourth  side,  45yd  by  5ft.  The 
plants  are  to  be  2ft  and  over.  What  shrubs  would  you'  plant  to 
make  it  green  and  nice  at  the  cost  of  £7?  Please  state  the 
cheapest,  and  how  many  of  each  kind  to  fill  the  ground  of  a 
mixed  collection  ;  or  bow  many  of  smaller  shrubs,  say  about  18in, 
and  what  distance  apart.  The  ground  is  rather  exposed,  but 
there  is  a  wall  6ft  high.”  . 
[In  the  border  45yd  long  and  5yd  wide  you  may  plap£  bib 
from  the  back  at  12ft  distance  apart  two  Silver  Birch,  two  Moun¬ 
tain  Ash,  two  scarlet  Chestnut,  two  Scotch  Laburnum,  two 
Siberian  Crabs,  and  two  Double  Scarlet  Thoms,  all  6ft  standards, 
costing  from  Is.  to  Is.  6d.  each.  Between  these  in  the  same 
line,  Portugal  Laurel,  twelve  bushy  plants,  2£ft  to  3ft,  12s.  per 
dozen,  and  in  front  of  these  have  flowering  shrubs,  such  as 
Berberis  dulcis,  purple-leaved  Berberry,  comnion  white  and 
purple  Lilac,  Ribes  sanguineum  and  its  var.  albiduuq  Viburnum 
Opulus  sterilis  (Snowball  Tree),  Golden  Elder,  Weigela  rosea, 
white  Broom,  Philadelphus  coronarius,  and  Forsythia  vm- 
dissima,  costing  about  Is.  each  in  good  plants.  These  should  be 
planted  6ft  from  the  back  row,  12ft  apart,  and  between  these,  m 
the  same  row,  Aucuba  japonica,  tree  Box,  C  otoneaster 
Simonsi,  Euonymus  aureus  variegata,  Ligustrum  coriaceum, 
Rhamnus  Alaternus,  Osmanthus  illicif olius,  Spartium  junceum, 
double-flowered  Furze,  Laurastinus,  Garrya  elliptica,  eleven 
plants,  costing  Is.  each.  In  front  of  these,  and  3ft  from  the 
middle  row,  planting  quincunx  or  opposite  vacancy ,  Berbens 
Darwini,  B.  Aquifolium,  Daphne  .  Fioniana,  Hypericum 
calycinum,  Weigela  rosea  nana,  and  Genista  prsecox,  two  of  each, 
costing  Is.  each.  On  the  border  40yd  long  by  2yd  wide  we  should 
have  Cotoneaster  Simonsi,  6ft  apart  and  2ft  from  the  back,  and 
4ft.  from  the  back  in  front  have  Berberis  Darwini  in  the  vacancies, 
which  will  take  twenty  plants  of  each,  costing  Is.  each.  The 
border  42yd  by  5ft  may  be  similarly  planted  with  Berberis  dulcrs 
at  back  and  Berberis  Aquifolium  in  front,  22  plants  at  6d.  each. 
The  border  45yd  long  by  5ft  may  be  planted  with  common  Laurel 
2ft  6in  from  back  4 [ft  apart  in  the  row,  thirty  plants  at  6d.  each, 
and  these  will  soon  meet  and  form  a  fine  bank  or  hedge.  All  the 
shrubs  except  those  of  which  the  heights  are  given  should  be 
bushy  plants  recently  transplanted,  and  2ft  to  2[ft  in  height. 
The  cost,  as  foreshown,  will  be  £5  to  £7,  but  they  may  be  had  in 
nlants  under  2ft.  or  even  the  sizes  named  for  a  little  less. 
It  is,  however,  false  economy,  and  no  satisfaction  to  the  planter, 
to  make  use  of  cheap  plants,  it  being  far  more  satisfactory  to 
secure  hardily-grown  and  well-furnished,  rather  than  drawn  and 
weakly,  plants  at  a  cheap  rate,  they  scarcely  being  worth  the 
trouble  of  planting.] 
