May  25,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
423 
them.  The  place  has  long  been  noted  for  early  Potatoes,  and  for 
little  else  in  modern  times  that  I  am  aware  of ;  now  the  bulb  industry 
has  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  having  passed  the  experimental  stage 
is  likely  to  remain.  Sand — sand  everywhere,  and  not  a  bit  of  soil — 
barring  banks  thrown  up  some  4  L^et  high,  apparently  built  of  turves 
brought  from  a  distance,  as  wind-guards  to  the  cultivated  plots. 
Potatoes  are  grown  on  flat  beds  about  6  feet  wide,  with  narrow  alleys 
between,  and  very  sparse  and  pale  coloured  is  the  foliage  of  what 
appeared  to  be  Puritans.  Lady  Rushians  are  kneeling  in  the  alleys 
busily  engaged  in  stirring  the  sand  with  Dutch  hoes  quite  innocent  of 
handles.  Quiet,  thoughtful  looking  people  they  are,  and,  I  understand, 
possessed  of  a  strongly  marked  individuality  of  character.  The 
naturalist  B.  deduces  that  as  we  are  on  historic  ground  (sand,  I  mean), 
Danish  blood — very  much  diluted,  of  course  —  probably  accounts  for 
the  feature.  One  trait  of  character  is  particularly  pleasing — viz.,  not 
only  do  they  refrain  from  coveting  their  neighbour’s  goods,  his  Tulips, 
or  his  Daffodils,  or  anything  that  is  his,  but  wme  belile  the  stranger 
within  the  district  who  dares  lo  meddle  with  property  practically 
unprotectel.  No  notice  boards,  no  spring  guns,  man-traps,  or  even  a 
policeman  are  seen,  and  the  moral  salubrity  of  Kush  is  unquestionable. 
Daffodils  and  Hyacinths. 
The  first  plot,  of  some  2  or  more  acres  in  e.xtent,  is  chiefly  devoted 
to  Daffodils,  practically  over,  although  a  few  late  blooms  nod  in  the 
breeze.  Judging  by  the  foliage  they  are  happy,  and  the  critics 
express  themselves  satisfied.  I  alone  am  surprised  that  they  should 
flourish  in  pure  sand ;  at  which  a  young  bulb-farmer,  Mr.  Robertson’s 
manager,  drops  on  his  knee?,  and  thrusting  his  hands  into  the  loose 
sand,  hoists  up  an  Emperor  bodily,  to  show  his  offsets  and  clean 
fleshy  roots.  “Ah!  well,  seeing  is  believing;  but  it’s  dreadfully 
dry.”  “No;  things  are  not  what  they  seem;  you  will  get  water 
at  a  foot  in  depth  anywhere,”  says  the  manager,  as  he  reinstates  the 
evicted  root.  Here  a  concrete  building  is  in  course  of  erection  for 
d lying  the  bulb?,  and  an  open  shed  near  at  hand  is  packed  with 
shallow  trays  ready  to  receive  them.  Through  a  gap  another  field  is 
entered,  which  seems  to  consist  mainly  of  the  great  trumpet  types. 
Hyacinths  have  merely  to  be  mentioned.  The  foliage  is  luxuriant, 
and  the  naked  flower  stems  show  where  the  blooms  have  been  stripped 
off  for  the  benefit  of  the  bulbs. 
Tulip  Talk. 
The  Tulips  of  May  are  in  all  their  glory  as  we  flit  from  division 
to  division,  and  the  busy  B.’s  improve  the  shining  hour  by  prying 
into  their  cups  ;  the  scientific  one  settling  vexed  questions  of  nomen¬ 
clature,  and  flies  home,  later  on,  with  a  bundle  of  blooms  under  his 
wing.  No  attempt  was  made  to  comiule  a  list  of  those  seen  in  bloom 
to-day.  Early  Dutch  Tulips  were,  of  course,  over,  but  the  names  of  such 
varieties  most  striking  to  a  novice  were  jotted  down.  Golden  Crown, 
a  bronzy  yellow,  large  bloom  and  dwarf  habit,  is  very  showy  ;  Bouton 
d’Or,  a  pleasing  yellow  cf  tiller  form.  Masses  of  the  delicate  tinted 
Picotee  are  charming  ;  this  is  a  very  refined  flower;  and  fulgens  is  a 
fiery  fellow  besides  which  even  the  gorgeous  Gesneriana  pales.  Both 
the  type  and  the  major  varieties  of  the  latter  are  seen,  as  well  as 
lutea,  its  yellow  form.  Very  attractive  are  raacrospila,  dwarf  crimson; 
Oliver  Goldsmith,  rosy  crimson;  Medusa,  bronzy  red  ;  and  narbonense 
alba.  Viridiflora  prrecox  is,  as  the  name  implies,  a  decided  green, 
but  of  elegant  shape  and  vigorous  constitution.  Two  primrose-yellow 
varieties  stand  out  pre-eminent ;  the  one  is  vitelina,  the  palest  of  the 
two,  the  other,  jaune  pure,  a  truly  noble  flower.  Fairy  Queen  belUs 
its  name,  being  a  dull  smoked  purple. 
Dark  Tulips  are  adequately  represented  by  Alphonse  Daudeb 
Herschell,  and  The  Sultan  ;  in  the  order  named  they  are  expressed  by 
dark,  darker,  and  darkest.  The  Sultan  which,  by-the-by,  is  not 
nearly  of  such  fine  form  as  its  rivals,  appears  to  be  well  on  the  road 
to  that  desideratum  (?)  a  black  Tulip.  Laurentia  is  a  bright  satiny 
rose,  and  the  gay  Parrot  Tulips  are  well  to  the  front  in  perfecta, 
lutea,  Mark  Graf,  and  Admiral  Constantinople.  Miniature  gems  of 
the  tribe  are  found  in  Bafalini  with  grassy  foliage,  and  others  yet  to 
bloom  at  the  time  of  our  trip.  T.  Kolpakowskyana,  orange-scarlet,  is 
a  name  to  conjure  with  in  pronunciation,  and  should  fittingly  close 
our  brief  list.  For  health,  vigour,  and  cleanliness  the  Rush  Tulips 
are  remarkable,  the  foliage  in  some  instances  being  for  Tulips  of 
gigantic  dimensions ;  but  the  secret,  if  there  is  one,  is  locked  in  Nature’s 
breast.  “What  manure  do  you  use?”  is  a  pertinent  query  with 
such  results.  The  answer  is,  “Seaweed  is  the  only  manure  used  in 
this  neighbourhood.” 
Au  Revoir. 
The  Great  Northern  express  is  to  pick  us  up  at  Rush  Station  if — if 
we’re  there.  Our  host  is  equal  to  all  emergencies  ;  here’s  a  car.  “  Can 
you  do  it  ?  ”  The  driver  looks  at  his  load,  and,  apparentl}^  defers 
answ'ering  till  the  station  is  reached.  Too  gallant  a  start,  I  fear  ! 
Poor  Rosinante’s  mind  seems  .spent  on  a  spirited  spurt,  so  we  amble 
along  as  best  we  may,  limp  and  deflated.  That  white  flower  stud¬ 
ding  the  banks  is  Cerastium  arvense,  as  good  in  its  way  as  Arenaria 
montana.  Here  we  aro  at  the  station,  whose  inaster  looks  quite 
relieved  at  having  something  to  show  when  the  express,  not  yet  in 
sight,  stops.  “  Here  she  comes;  be  ready  ;  she  won’t  stop  a  minute.” 
She  didn’t.  We  trained  at  the  rate  of  one  per  second,  to  detrain  at 
Malahide,  ere  which  is  reached  the  tree-embowere  I  ancient  castle  of 
Lord  Talbot  de  Malahide  is  pointed  out.  La  !Mincha,  Mr.  Robertson’s 
residence,  is  distant  a  few  minutes’  walk,  whither  we  repair  to  find  a. 
table  adorned  with  Tulips,  and  more  also,  and  return  like  giants 
refreshed  to  board  another  train  for  Dublin.  Amiens  Street  again, 
electric  tram  passing.  B.’s  won’t  walk  the  short  distance  to  Nelson's 
Pillar,  where  we  part.  An,  revoir,  as  one  flies  off  to  the  green  plains 
of  Kildare,  the  other,  with  a  bundle  of  blooms,  to  an  horticultu  ai 
council  meeting. — K.,  Dublin. 
NIGHT  TEMPERATURES  FOR  VINES. 
Hoav  varied  are  the  conditions  under  wdiich  Vines — and  goo\ 
Grapes — are  growm.  Some  of  the  best  examples  of  Grapes  which  fin  I 
their  way  to  the  markets  are  grown  under  conditions  diametric  illy 
opposed  to  the  cut-and-dried  formula  often  advanced  as  the  best  meth  id. 
to  pursue.  In  pruning,  stopping,  manuring,  and  watering,  some  good 
growers  seem  to  delight  in  defying  recognised  principles,  and  yet  they 
succeed,  sometimes  to  a  remarkable  degree. 
It  is  simp'y  a  matter  of  manufacturing  Grapes  by  the  aid  of 
“  brains.”  Careful  observation  will  continually  teach  us  how  to  coerce 
a  Vine  into  giving  us  a  bountiful  harvest,  under  conditions  by  no  means 
natural.  In  other  instances,  a  departure  from  the  beaten  track 
often  insures  more  natural  conditions  than  obtain  under  methods 
universally  practised.  This  seems  to  me  to  be  the  case  in  regard  to 
the  night  temperatures  given  to  Vines  during  the  growing  and  fruiting 
period?.  In  Vine-growing  countries  the  nights  are  cold  by  comparison 
with  the  tropical  heat  of  the  days,  and  I  am  convinced  that  many 
growers  might,  with  advantage,  give  their  \  ines  less  fire  heat  at  nigiit 
than  they  "do,  and  yet  secure  as  rapid  and  satisfactory  progress  by 
admitting  less  air  during  the  day  till  the  Grapes  are  nearly  ripe.  If 
air  is  given  in  sufficient  quantities,  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent 
“scald”  in  the  berries  or  “scomh”  in  the  leaves,  the  treatment  is 
suitable,  except  in  cases  when  it  is  desirable  to  retard  the  Vines  as 
much  as  possible.  Much  fuel  is  uselessly  consumed  in  keeping  up 
h'gh  night  temperatures,  instead  of  regulating  the  degrees  of  heat  by 
the  outside  conditions. 
I  do  not  pay  nearly  so  much  regard  to  thermometer  readings  as  I 
used  to  think  necessary,  but  rely  to  a  great  extent  upon  placing  the 
hand  on  the  hot-wniter  pipes  ;  during  cold  nights  I  aim  at  having  them 
hot,  and  vary  the  degree  of  heat  in  them  according  to  the  state  of  the 
weather.  Some  might  advance— in  condemnation  of  this  practice — 
the  fact  that  vineries  vary  considerably  in  the  proportionate  amount  of 
piping  they  contain,  but  it  is  quite  easy  to  get  accustomed  to  the 
capabilities  of  any  house  in  this  respect,  and  the  experienced  man  can 
readily  detect  cn  entering  the  house  if  the  temperature  is  or  is  not 
suitable  for  the  Vines. 
Younger  men,  who  perhaps  need  the  thermometer  to  guide 
them,  should  be  allowed  considerable  latitude  in  the  matter  of  night 
temperatures.  It  is  far  better  to  allow  the  thermometer  to  faU  5* 
during  co’d  nights  than  to  overheat  the  pipes  to  maintain  a  given 
decree  of  heat.  Let  it,  however,  be  clearly  understood  that  I  make  a 
di^inction  between  the  above  practices  and  that  of  allowing  the  hot- 
w'ater  pipes  to  become  quite  cool  on  cold  nights,  for  it  is  such  mistakes 
which  cause  damage  to  crops.  In  a  nutshell,  the  matter  stands  thus, 
Do  not  be  too  particalar  in  regard  to  temperature,  as  long  as  the 
hot-water  pipes  are  well  heated  in  cold  weather,  and  only  moderately 
during  warm  nights. 
Thermometers  are  useful  instruments,  which  wm  could  not  well  da 
without,  but  they  are  only  partial  guides  to  the  requirements  of 
plants,  fruit  trees,  or  Vines.  In  Nature  temperatures  fluctuate  greatl.y, 
and  it  is  with  my  early  forced  Vines  that  thermometers  are  most 
useful.  We  have  a  late  Hamburgh  house  in  which  no  thermometer  i* 
kept,  yet  the  Grapes  grown  in  it  are  as  satisfactory  as  they  well  can 
be  from  a  market  point  of  view. 
Now  for  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  night  temperature  under 
which  Vines  succeed.  In  an  early  Hamburgh  house  we  succeeded  in 
o'etting  a  splendid  set,  although  the  night  temperature  frequently  fell 
below'  55°.  There  are  also  two  rods  of  Muscats  in  this  house,  and 
wi!h  exactly  the  same  treatment  the  bunches  have  set  as  well  as  I 
have  generally  found  them  do  in  instances  when  a_  mght  temperature 
of  from  70°  to  75°  has  been  maintained,  I  am  being  more  than  ever 
convinced  that  high  night  temperatures  for  Vines  are  a  mistake.  _  At 
the  flowering  period  the  vital  points  to  observe  are  to  maintam  a 
buoyant  atmosphere  during  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  not  to  unduly 
excite  them  by  high  temperatures  at  night. — H.  D. 
