344 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
April  27,  1899. 
Raspberries,  and  Strawberries,  were  all  represented  in  greater  or  lesser 
numbers,  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  establishment  and  their 
suitability  to  the  position  and  the  climate.  No  attempt  will  be  made  to 
name  varieties,  or  to  compare  this  with  that,  as  such  a  course  would 
necessitate  each  fruit  being  taken  separately,  and  a  special  article  being 
devoted  to  every  one.  There  they  were  last  year,  and  remain  now,  and 
it  is  more  than  probable  that  to  the  really  interested  Mr.  McPherson 
would  be  ready  to  open  up  the  stores  of  his  knowledge  and  illustrate  his 
remarks  with  living  examples. 
Notwithstanding  the  unassailable  fact  that  the  attention  given  to  the 
fruits,  flowers,  and  vegetables  within  doors  is  of  the  best,  there  is  no 
diminution  in  the  careful  details  when  hardy  vegetables  are  concerned. 
There  is  a  certain  amount  of  ground,  and  if  sufficient  crops  of  all  sorts 
are  to  be  forthcoming  at  the  proper  time,  every  foot  of  it  must  be  brought 
into  requisition,  and  be  made  to  produce  the  best  possible  results.  The 
consequence  is  that  the  laud  is  thoroughly  tilled,  and  as  the  stores  of 
available  food  become  exhausted  they  are  replenished  again  and  again. 
It  is  by  such  methods  of  procedure  that  the  practical  gardener  continues 
year  after  year  to  do  such  excellent  w'ork  in  a  department  that  is 
«ow  unfortunately  regarded  as  not  demanding  any  special  knowledge 
or  ability.  But  for  the  present  no  more  can  be  said,  save  to  express  the 
pleasure  and  profit  that  the  visit  brought,  and  to  thank  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McPherson  for  their  kindly  reception. — H.  J.  WEIGHT. 
CULTIVATION  OF  BEET. 
Beet  is  a  crop  which  does  not  under  ordinary  circumstances  require 
sowing  earlier  than  the  beginning  of  May.  The  seeds  ought  not  to 
'lie  long  in  the  ground  after  sowing,  for  they  are  liable  to  rot  should 
the  ground  be  cold  and  -wet.  If  sown  in  May  sunny  days  will  heat 
the  soil  sufficiently  for  germination,  and  by  the  time  the  late  spring 
frosts  are  over  the  young  plants  will  be  above  the  soil,  and  advance 
rapidly  in  growth. 
The  details  of  culture  are  simple,  and  it  is  no  difficult  matter  to 
grow  roots  of  serviceable  size,  atid  at  the  same  time  secure  them  of 
good  shape  and  colour.  With  regard  to  colour,  the  small  roots,  if 
fairly  well  grown,  are  the  richest.  In  an  open  position  handsome, 
profitable,  and  useful  crops  of  Beet  may  be  grown  providing  the  soil  is 
«uitable  and  properly  prepared.  In  addition  to  being  open  the  position 
must  be  warm,  though  not  where  adjoining  trees  may  cause  shade, 
and  be  drained.  Though  Beet  likes  a  rich  staple  it  does  not  succeed 
in  the  best  manner  in  recently  manured  soil.  There  may  be  no 
apparent  difference  in  appearance  of  foliage,  but  when  the  crop  from 
soil  which  has  been  manured  near  the  surface  is  lifted  it  will  be  found 
that  the  roots  are  in  numerous  cases  ugly,  forked,  or  coarse.  Probably 
in  some  soils  the  roots  may  be  cankered ;  such  produce  is  neither 
desirable  nor  profitable. 
To  obviate  these  results  the  ground  for  growing  Beet  ought  to  be 
•chosen  where  a  previous  crop  has  been  grown  with  a  liberal  amount  of 
manure.  The  manuring  and  preparation  of  the  ground  for  Celery 
form  an  excellent  foundation  for  the  Beet  crop.  The  ground  should 
be  well  broken  up  two  spades  deep  after  the  Celery  has  been  used,  no 
manure  being  added.  Failing  this  sort  of  ground,  thorough  prepara¬ 
tion  ought  to  be  made  of  another  plot,  trenching  it  two  spades  deep, 
and  placing  the  manure  used  at  the  bottom.  Broken  up  and  pulverised 
fioil  is  friable  and  mellow  for  sowinor. 
O 
Sowing  thinly  in  drills,  and  not  dibbling  in  the  seeds,  is  the  best 
method,  as  they  can  be  placed  at  an  even  depth.  Draw  the  drills 
2  inches  deep,  and  scatter  three  seeds  at  distances  of  9  inches  along 
each  drill,  or  the  seeds  may  be  sown  thinly  along  the  whole  length, 
eventually  thinning  the  seedlings  to  9  inches.  The  drills  must  be  a 
foot  apart  to  allow  room  for  the  cultural  operations  of  hoeing  and 
weeding,  and  afford  space  for  the  spread  of  the  leaves.  The  thinning 
must  be  carried  out  early.  If  there  are  blank  spaces  it  is  useless  to 
fill  them  up  with  thinnings,  as  these  never  develop  fine  roots.  It 
would  be  better  to  resow,  or  leave  the  spacts  unfilled.  Hoe  the 
ground  as  soon  as  possible  to  destroy  seedling  weeds.  Those  coming 
<up  with  the  plants  should  be  abstracted  when  thinning.  Persist  in 
•the  hoeing  until  the  growth  of  the  plants  will  permit  of  no  more  being 
done.  In  dry  w'^eather  a  light  application  of  salt  may  be  hoed  in 
along  the  rows,  as  Beet  is  a  seaside  plant  naturally. 
In  well-prepared  soil  Beet  needs  no  water  during  the  whole  course 
cf  the  summer.  Should  dry  weather  occur  the  tap  root  will  descend 
further  in  search  of  moisture  in  the  subsoil.  Where  rich  light  loam 
does  not  exist  in  gardens,  but  only  a  stiff  unkind  clayey  material, 
Beet  may  be  grown  by  making  deep  holes  with  a  crowbar,  and  filling 
these  with  good  sandy  compost,  sowing  seeds  on  the  surface,  and 
■eventually  thinning  to  the  best  plant. 
On  shallow  soils  round  Beet  may  be  employed,  as  there  will  not  be 
depth  enough  for  the  long-rooted  varieties.  Dell’s  Crimson  is  still  one 
of  the  best  varieties  of  long  Beet,  and  the  Globe  an  excellent  round 
variety.— E.  D.  S. 
AMERICAN  BLIGHT. 
When  I  wrote  the  few  notes  published  in  your  issue  of  the 
13th  inst.  (page  298),  I  hoped  that  someone  would  take  the  matter 
up,  and  give  their  experience  upon  the  subject  of  blight-proof  stocks, 
and  I  am  amply  rewarded  by  the  very  interesting  notes  which  you, 
Mr.  Editor,  have  appended.  I  do  not  know  that  your  remarks  need 
any  reply  from  me,  for  although  you  differ  from  me  in  experience 
there  is  nothing  new  about  that,  as  experiences  often  differ,  and  it  is 
only  by  comparing  experiences  and  results  that  facts  are  arrived  at, 
but  I  think  I  might  just  say  a  word  by  way  of  explanation. 
Although  you  carefully  guard  against  the  reader  gathering  that 
Crab  stocks  are  better  than  Paradise  for  growing  trees  which  will 
resist  the  attacks  of  Aphis  lanigera,  yet  I  fear  the  casual  reader  might 
draw  that  inference ;  and  whilst  I  do  not  say  that  trcei  worked  upon 
Paradise  are  free  from  attacks,  I  do  most  distinctly  affirm  that  under 
ordinary  conditions  they  are  much  less  liable  to  them. 
The  trees  you  mention  were  scarcely  in  a  normal  condition,  being 
in  a  hot  and  dry  situation,  and  as  everyone  knows,  trees  that  are  in 
anyway  rendered  unhealthy  are  the  happy  homes  of  insect  life. 
The  trees  instanced  at  Chiswick  are  likewise  growing  under  conditions 
most  favourable  to  insect  attacks,  being  in  an  impoverished  and 
excessively  dry  soil. 
But  another  question  arises.  AVe  are  agreed  that  the  woolly  aphis 
thrives  better  on  some  varieties  of  Apples  than  upon  others,  may  not 
the  various  kinds  of  Paradise  which  are  used  as  stocks  exert  a  some¬ 
what  different  influence  upon  the  Apples  worked  upon  them  ?  I  know 
of  five  kinds  of  Paradise  which  are  used  as  stocks,  and  some  of  them 
vary  a  good  deal  in  habit  and  appearance.  Very  possibly  trees  worked 
upon  some  of  the  weaker  growing  varieties  may  bo  more  liable  to 
attack  than  those  worked  upon  the  more  robust  ones. 
Once  more,  Mr.  Editor,  had  the  Mistletoe  anything  to  do  with 
making  the  trees  blight-proof  ?  Is  it  possible  that  it  had  affected  the 
tree  so  as  to  make  it  distasteful  to  the  next  parasite  ? 
Lastly,  you  say  that  I  do  not  state  with  what  success  I  have  waged 
war  with  the  enemy.  I  thought  it  would  be  out  of  place  for  me  to  do 
so,  but  you  most  kindly  supplied  the  deficiency  by  saying  that  “  the 
trees  received  were  clem.” — A.  H.  Pearson,  Ghilwell,  Notts 
[As  affording  proof  of  our  readiness  to  publish  records  of  experience 
on  the  subject  of  “  blight-proof  stocks  ”  for  Apples,  we  insert  a  note 
from  an  experienced  grower  of  many  varieties  of  Apples  in  support  of 
Mr.  Pearson’s  proposition  that  the  Duchess  of  Oldenburg  is  with  him 
free  from  attacks  of  the  American  blight.  This,  however,  is  not  a 
case  of  stock,  but  of  scion  deterring  the  enemy ;  and  for  all  Mr.  Pearson 
said  to  the  contrary  on  page  298,  it  was  so  in  trees  of  the  Duchess 
under  his  own  observation. 
This  view  of  the  case  we  can  understand  cn  the  ground  that  the 
leaves,  and  not  the  roots  of  the  tree,  having  paramount  influence  in 
determining  the  character  of  the  juices  peculiar  to  varieties,  and  which 
juices  may  be  more  or  less  objectionable  to  the  trees  attacking  foes. 
This  Mr.  Pearson  seems  to  admit  by  his  suggestion  of  the  Mistletoe 
affecting  a  tree,  so  as  to  “  make  it  distasteful  to  the  next  parasite.” 
As  a  matter  cf  fact,  neither  the  Mistletoe  nor  the  tree’s  own  roots  saved 
the  branches  from  attack.  The  woolly  aphis  is  on,  it  now.  It  was 
left  there  last  year  to  see  if  it  would  pass  to  the  Mistletoe.  So  far  it 
has  not  done  so,  nor  will  it  to  any  Apple  trees  within  sight,  for  not  one 
is  to  be  seen. 
Mr.  Pearson  raises  another  legitimate  question — namely,  that  some 
of  the  weaker  forms  of  the  Paradise  stock  may  so  enfeeble  the  growth 
of  the  weaker-growing  varieties  as  to  render  them  more  liable  to  attack 
than  if  they  were  making  better  growth  on  stronger  stocks.  There 
may  be  something  in  this,  but  if  there  is  he  cannot  very  logically  stop 
at  the  Paradise.  We  know  of  trees  that  have  been  more  or  less 
weakened  by  bearing  which  are  much  more  persistently  attacked  by 
the  pest  in  question  than  are  others  growing  by  their  side,  but  younger 
and  much  stronger,  on  both  Paradise  and  Crab  stocks. 
The  trees  previously  referred  to  that  were  experimented  with  till 
they  were  burnt  were  all  on  the  same  kind  of  stock — a  rather  broad¬ 
leaved  form  of  the  Paradise.  They^  were,  like  trees  obtained  from 
Ghilwell  some  years  ago,  clean.  Not  an  insect  was  seen  on  them  the 
first  year,  sheltered  as  was  the  position,  and  we  quite  believe  they  did 
not  bring  the  enemy  with  them. 
How  and  whence  did  it  come  ?  Perhaps  on  the  wings  of  the  wind 
from  an  ancient  orchard  half  a  mile  away,  but  much  more  likely  on 
the  wings  of  those  (by  some)  much  loved  birds — sparrows.  We  do 
not  blame  the  stocks  at  all,  and  do  not  believe  they  had  anything  to 
do  with  the  invasion,  but  we  found  out  that  some  varieties  of  Apples 
were  preferred  to  others  by  the  enemy.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we 
became  more  interested  in  the  progress  of  the  woolly  aphis  than  the 
trees.  Duchess  of  Oldenburg  was  the  last  to  be  seized  upon,  but  fell 
a  prey  at  last,  and  then  came  the  clearance  and  the  fire. 
We  can  understand  well  grown  young  Apple  trees  on  a  good  form 
of  Paradise  making  shorter,  firmer,  sounder  growth  than  the  varieties 
