r>2  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  January  2C,  1899.  -- 
because  of  its  iaftrior  quality.  It  is  in  my  experience  the  most  dis¬ 
appointing  Apple  of  modern  times  for  eating  in  either  a  cooked  or 
uncooked  state.  It  is  as  judged  for  quality  absolutely  bad — nasty  ; 
and  yet  the  Koyal  Horticultural  Society  place  it  in  their  list  of  dessert 
Apples  in  their  “  Itules  for  Judging.”  It  is  unworthy  of  its  position 
there,  and  ought  to  be  expunged. 
]\Ir.  Picker  describes  Dutch  Mignonne  as  “an  excellent  Apple  for 
private  use.”  I  have  grown  it  for  years,  but  have  never  found  it  to 
find  favour  at  the  dessert  table.  The  tree  bears  abundantly,  and  is 
handy  for  affording  a  basketful  of  fruit  now  and  then  for  the  servants’ 
hall,  or  it  would  have  been  cut  down  and  grafted  long  ago. 
dravenstein  is  an  ideal  Apple  for  persons  with  bad  teeth,  as  the 
flesh  is  so  tender  and  melting,  also  pleasantly  flavoured.  Mr.  Picker 
correctly  describes  the  true  Gravenstein.  I  have  seen  trees  and  fruit 
under  this  name  which  are  not  true,  and  the  genuine  variety  docs  not 
seem  to  be  grown  in  many  gardens. 
Margil  Mr.  Picker  correctly  describes  as  a  first-class  de  sert  Apple, 
and  such  it  undoubtedly  is.  It  requires  free  generous  soil  and  a 
sheltered  position.  In  api'rearance  it  suggests  a  combination  of 
American  Mother  and  Eihston  Pippin.  In  quality  it  is  as  good  as 
either,  but  differs  somewhat  fi’om  both.  It  is  not  a  market  Apple,  but 
a  choice  dessert  fruit. — A  Lincolnshike  Grower. 
TOMATO  CULTURE. 
{.Continued  from  page  44.) 
In  the  nursery  catalogue  of  Messrs.  Thomas  and  James  Backhouse? 
York,  1827,  Tomato  is  not  mentioned,  but  is  referred  to  as  a 
“  culinary  ”  under  the  name  of  Love  Apple,  Solanum  Lycopersicum. 
Mr.  W.  Masters,  in  “  Ilortus  Duroverni,”  a  catalogue  of  plants  and 
seeds,  1831,  includes  it  among  “flower  seeds”  under  the  specific 
name  of  Lycopersicum  esculentum,  Red  Love  Apple,  and  enumerates 
a  variety,  L.  e.  chrysocarpum,  yellow-fruited,  both  tender  annuals, 
growing  3  feet  in  height,  flow^ering  or  fruiting  from  July  to  September, 
and  natives  of  South  America.  Loudon’s  “Encyclopaedia  of  Plants,” 
new  edition,  edited  by  George  Don,  F.L.S.,  1858,  stilt  has  Solanum 
Lycopersicum,  Love  Apple,  and  in  the  footnote  gives  the  name  in 
French— viz.,  Tomate,  which  accounts  for  the  name  Tomato,  and  the 
market  growers  “Toms.”  Loudon  says: — “  Its  use  for  sauce  in  this 
country  is  greatly  on  the  increase,  and  it  is  cultivated  to  a  considerable 
extent  near  London,  against  walls  and  artificial  banks,  being  raised  on 
a  hotbed  and  transplanted  like  other  tender  annuals.”  This,  as  the 
editors  and  revisers  were  only  responsible  for  the  supplements  of  the 
Encyclopaedia,  would  be  written  by  Loudon  in  1829.  Then,  according 
to V Macintosh’s  “Practical  Gardener,”  Love  Apples  were  as  well 
grown  outdoors,  if  not  better  than  now,  especially  near  London,  to 
which  the  culture  appears  to  have  been  for  a  considerable  time  mainly 
centred.  Thomiison’s  “  Gardener’s  Assistant,”  1859,  supersedes  Love 
Apple  by  Tomato,  and  says  a  w^all  with  a  south  aspect  “  is  indis¬ 
pensable  in  cold  localities,  both  in  England  and  Scotland”  for  it 
outdoors.  In  the  same  excellent  work  the  author  says,  “  The  Tomato 
is  very  rarely  forced  in  this  country.  Fruit  may,  however,  be  produced 
as  early  as  April  or  ]\Iay  by  sowing  in  October  in  pots  of  light  rich 
soil  placed  in  a  Pino  stove.”  'I'he  first  separate  work  on  “The 
Tomato,  with  Cultural  Directions  for  Maintaining  a  Continuous  Supply 
of  Fruit,”  was  published  at  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  office  in  1881, 
the  author  being  Mr.  W.  Iggulden. 
Tomatoes  can  be  easily  grown,  either  indoors  or  outdoors.  It  is  no 
use  making  excuses  about  means,  for  as  the  author  of  “  The  Tomato  ” 
observe?,  “Those  who  expect  to  have  everything  ‘cut  and  dried’  for 
them,  or,  in  other  words,  expect  facilities  of  the  best  description  for 
every  undertaking,  are  very  liable  to  ho  out-distanced  in  the  ‘  long- 
run  ’  by  those  of  a  mere  inventive  and  persevering  turn  of  mind.” 
The  culture  of  the  Tomato  may  be  divided  into  indoor  and  outdoor, 
and  these  again  be  subdivided  into  several  sections,  which  w’ill  be  best 
refjrred  to  in  successional  order  of  crop  production. 
Indoor  Culture. 
The  Tomato  requires  a  light,  airy,  well  heated  structure,  and  so 
placed  as  to  receive  all  the  sun  possible  from  its  rising  to  setting  at  all 
times  of  the  year.  A  Ican-to,  or,  better,  a  three-quarters  span-roof  small 
bouse  or  pit  facing  due  south,  answers  for  early  crops.  Sjxan- 
roofed  houses,  however,  are  most  in  vogue,  their  low'  sides,  whether  of 
masonry  or  wood,  being  a  consideration,  while  they  expose  a  large 
surface  of  glass  to  the  light.  They  range  in  width  from  about  10  feet 
to  30  feet,  and  in  length  from  20  feet  to  100,  or  even  300  feet  respec¬ 
tively.  The  small  houses  are  usually  found  in  private  establishments, 
a  house  10  feet  wide  and  20  feet  long  affording  a  supply  of  Tomatoes 
equal  to  the  requirements  of  a  fair-sized  family  for  two  or  three 
months.  Such  houses  er  pits  arc  of  the  ordinary  type  used  for  growing 
Cucumbers,  Melons,  forcing  Slraw'berrie.®,  French  Beans,  or  growing 
small  plants  for  decorative  purposes,  and  the  mest  useful  a  gardener 
can  command  apart  from  the  Peach  houses  and  vineries.  They  are 
sometimes  placed  with  the  ends  east  and  west,  when  the  southern  side 
of  the  roof  proves  much  the  best  for  early  Tomatoes.  In  other  cases 
the  houses  have  the  ends  north  and  south,  when  there  is  not  much  to 
choose  between  the  cast  or  west  side  of  the  roof;  but  I  think  the  east 
has  the  advantage  if  anything  in  earliness. 
Large  structures  have  considerable  advantages  over  small  houses. 
1,  They  cost  less  relatively  to  construct,  there  being  a  much  smaller 
extent  of  sides  and  ends.  2,  They  entail  less  expense  in  heating 
appliances,  narrow  houses  requiring  more  piping  than  wdde  ones. 
3,  Enclosing  a  larger  body  of  air  they  are  less  affected  by  climatic 
vicissitudes,  neither  heating  so  quickly  by  the  sun,  nor  losing  heat  so 
rapidly  when  it  is  obscured.  4,  The  temperature  is  more  evenly  and 
economically  maintained  under  any  and  all  circumstances,  so  that  the 
market  grower,  with  his  acres  of  large  Tomato  houses,  has  an  immense 
advantage  ovir  the  private  grower  with  his  small  houses.  For  this 
reason,  and  often  no  other.  Tomatoes  can  be  more  cheaply  bought 
than  grown  in  the  heydiy  of  the  Tomato  season;  but  where  there 
are  a  number  of  houses,  p'ant  and  fruit,  the  heating  of  a  small  house 
makes  little  difference,  and  the  fruit  comes  in  so  much  earlier  when 
given  the  best  advantage  of  aspect  that  the  big  house  is  easily 
superseded. 
Besides,  the  large  growers — that  is,  the  most  “cute”  of  them — 
have  small  houses,  extra  well  heated,  as  well  as  monster  structures, 
that  may  well  be  called  “fields”  in  comparison  with  the  “gardens” 
cf  the  small  grow'ers,  and  they  utilise  these  pits  or  small  houses  for 
raising  the  plants,  fl'he  market  grower  has  still  the  further  advantage 
of  drafting  his  plant.s  as  they  grow  into  the  all-light  structures,  where 
they  cannot  do  anything  but  grow  into  sturdy,  short-jointed,  early 
fruit-showing  specimens,  whereas  the  private  grower  has  to  make  shift 
with  any  positions  that  are  vacant,  and  as  near  suitable  as  circum¬ 
stances  permit.  Still  difficulties  only  exist  to  be  surmounted,  and  by 
hook  or  crook  the  patient  plodder  overcom'’s  disadvantages  by  con¬ 
siderable  scheming,  of  which  the  large  grower  has  not  the  least 
inkling,  and  after  all  secures  a  good  result  with  mostly  far  less  trouble 
from  diseases.  I  think  it  desirable  to  make  these  distinctions  between 
the  market  grower  and  the  private  gardener,  in  order  to  prevent 
confusion,  and  place  both  on  an  equal  footing  as  to  expiectations  and 
results  from  commanded  means. 
Early  Crojs. — The  fruit  is  most  valued  during  the  winter  and 
early  in  spring,  but  it,  like  winter  Cucumbers,  is  far  easier  to  write 
about  than  to  secure.  To  try,  cuttings  rooted  in  August  in  small 
single  pots  should  be  grown  in  the  full  light  and  repotted  as  necessary 
until  a  10  or  12-inch  size  is  reached,  which  will  be  sufficiently  large 
for  fruiting  them  in.  If  it  is  intended  to  plant  in  narrow  borders  or 
boxes  the  plants  should  first  be  grown  in  pots,  and  not  be  transferred 
to  the  final  quarters  until  some  of  the  earliest  fruits  are  set,  then  there 
is  a  chance  of  some  winter  fruit,  not  otherwise,  for  the  plants  are  so 
liable  to  grow  to  leaves  and  cease  to  set  and  swell  fruit  in  November 
and  December  and  January. 
Those  who  have  such  plants,  often  healthy  enough,  may,  if  in  pots 
and  tall,  root  the  promising  shoots  in  gentle  heat  ^  and  grow 
them,  or  if  the  stock  is  planted  out  and  the  growths  trained  not  far 
from  the  glass,  the  leaders  may  be  allowed  to  extend  where  there  is 
room.  When  strong  bunches  of  well  formed  flowers  open  on  these- 
particular  care  must  be  taken  in  fertilising  them,  transferring  the 
pollen  from  the  stamens  to  the  stigmas  about  midday.  A  few  side 
shoots  being  also  laid  in,  these  commence  flowering  in  due  course,  and 
give  a  succoision  of  fruit.  A  dry  atmosphere  is  important,  the 
temperature  not  falling  below  55°  at  night  unless  very  cold,  and 
keeping  C0°  to  65°  by  day  in  dull  weather,  and  70°  to  75°  with  gleams 
of  sun.  Give  a  little  air  during  mild  days,  and  do  not  pinch  the 
plants  for  fresh  air  when  the  sun  admits  of  free  but  judicious  ventila¬ 
tion,  and  water  very  sparingly. — G.  Abrey. 
(To  be  continued.) 
EARLY  PEAS. 
The  extremely  heavy  rainfall  of  the  present  month  will  retard  tho- 
usual  early  sowing  of  outdoor  Peas.  Tho  spring  prospects,  too,  of  other 
vegetables  are  not  of  an  assuring  char.icter  in  point  of  variety  or  quantity, 
and  there  will  be  need  for  prompt  action  in  preparing  for  a  crop  at  tlio 
earliest  date. 
Various  means  are  adopted  in  forwarding  Peas  under  glass  for  outdoor 
planting,  some  being  very  careful  that  none,  or  but  the  slightest  dis¬ 
turbance  of  tho  roots  happens.  It  is  surprising  how  quickly  Peas  resumo 
active  growth  when  planted  out  ot  shallow  boxes  during  genial  weather 
in  spring,  and  a  slight  check  thus  brought  about  is  soon  overtaken. 
It  is  a  inistako  to  hurry  the  growth  of  Pens  in  forcing  houses  ;  time 
is  gained  by  placing  them  in  cold  pits  or  cool  houses,  where  their  advance¬ 
ment  is  more  natural.  Grown  under  these  conditions  there^  is  little 
trouble  in  the  final  planting,  because  the  course  of  hardening  is  so 
simple,  and  between  now  and  the  middle  of  March  there  is  ample  time  to 
get  a  sufficiency  of  top  growth,  while  the  roots  will  not  be  so  closely  matted 
as  to  render  planting  difficult.  Tho  early  and  hardy  IMarrow  varieties- 
are  best  for  this  sowing. — W.  S. 
