June  8,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENEIL 
475 
The  only  remedy  for  this  sort  of  thing,  and  it  is  very  common  at 
■summer  flower  shows,  is  to  be  found  in  liberal  top  ventilation.  But  that 
is  never  supplied.  Tent  makers  turn  out  their  canvases  in  huge  pieces 
without  opening  of  any  kind,  and  the  pent  up  air  becomes  superheated. 
"We  want  large  openings  in  the  roof,  which  can  be  opened  or  closed  in  a 
moment,  as  needed,  by  long  cords.  Any  such  arrangement  would  be 
intensely  welcome.  Probably  if  flower  show  committees  would  insist 
upon  good  ventilation  being  an  absolute  condition  of  payment  for  use, 
tent  makers  would  soon  meet  the  difficulty  satisfactorily. — A.  D, 
[We  have  had  letters  of  complaint  too  strongly  worded  for  publi¬ 
cation,  on  the  overheated  and  unhealthy  atmosphere  of  the  tents  of  the 
^bove  show.  The  greater  the  faultiness  of  tent  construction,  the  greater 
the  necessity  for  doing  the  utmost  that  can  be  done  to  reduce  the  incon¬ 
venience,  or  we  might  almost  say  the  sufferings,  of  the  dense  crowds 
wedged  together  in  a  long  range  of  overheated  marquees,  from  which 
<iuick  escape  is  impossible.  The  Temple  Show  is  only  one  among  many 
during  hot  weather  at  which  visitors  have  serious  cause  to  complain.  It 
is  true  that  in  some  instances  the  upright  canvas  is  unlooped  from  the 
coofs  here  and  there,  as  was  done  at  the  Temple  ;  but  in  nine  cases  out 
of  ten  this  relief  is  resorted  to  hours  too  late  to  be  effective.  If  venti¬ 
lation  is  afforded  in  the  simple  manner  indicated  an  hour  before  the 
atmosphere  becomes  overheated  on  a  sunny  morning  the  benefit  resulting 
■to  products  and  visitors  remains  all  the  day  ;  but  it  the  unlooping  is 
done  an  hour  or  more  too  late,  when  the  atmosphere  is  already  stifling, 
only  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  good  is  or  can  be  effected.  Every 
gardener  knows  that  if  a  vinery  is  allowed  t  >  get  20°  too  high  before 
the  sashes  r.re  opened  the  excessive  heat  cannot  be  subdued  without 
injury  to  the  Vines  ;  but  with  timely  ventilation  the  oppressive  heat 
can  be  either  preventel  or  reduced  to  a  minimum.  It  is  the  same  with 
a  marquee,  only  in  this  case  the  matter  of  early  ventilation  is  of  even 
more  importam-e,  because  nrovision  is  so  rarely  made  for  the  escape 
■of  hot,  vitiate  1  air  thrniiah  openintrs  in  the  roofs,  though  there  are 
exceptions.  The  subject  of  tent  ventilation  requires  the  serious  attention 
of  all  managers  of  flower  shows.] 
SHORTIA  GALACIFOLIA. 
J.  Bennett’s  question  relative  this  pretty  plant  can  be  best  answered 
^jy  quoting  from  Mr.  Bobinson’s ‘‘ English  Flower  Garden,"  a  work  that 
■ought  to  find  a  place  in  every  horticultural  library.  Wo  there  find  it 
described  as  ‘‘an  interesting  and  beautiful  plant.  It  was  first  discovered 
over  a  hundred  years  ago  by  Michaux  in  the  mountains  of  North  Caro¬ 
lina,  and  re-discovered  in  1877.  It  was  found  growing  with  Galax 
aphylla,  and  forms  runners  like  this  plant,  being  propagated  by  this 
means.  The  plant  is  of  tufted  hab  t,  the  flowers  reminding  one  of  those 
of  a  Soldanella,  but  large,  with  cut  edges  to  the  segments,  like  a  frill,  so 
to  say,  and  pure  white,  passing  to  rose  as  they  get  older.  There  is  much 
beauty,  too,  in  the  leaves,  which  are  of  rather  oval  shape,  deep  green, 
tinged  with  brownish  crimson,  changing  in  winter  to  quite  a  crimson, 
when  it  forms  a  bright  bit  of  colour  in  the  rock  garden  or  border.  It 
succeeds  well  in  various  soils  and  is  hardy.  It  is  also  a  delightful  plant 
in  a  pot,  as  the  flowers  on  their  crimson  stems  are  pretW,  and  one  gets  a’so 
the  prettily  tinted  leaves.”  The  woodcut  (fig.  10(3)  will  be  of  interest  to 
our  enquiring  correspondent. 
PACKING  PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES. 
Many  and  various  are  the  methods  of  packing  Peaches  and  Nectarines 
adopted,  but  if  all  presumably  answer  the  purpose  of  those  who  follow 
them  it  cannot  be  truthfully  asserted  that  there  is  no  room  for  improve¬ 
ment.  in  some  of  them  at  any  rate.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  much  valuable 
fruit  is  practically  spoilt  owing  to  either  careless  or  fault3’  packing.  No 
fruit  is  more  easily  bruised  and  disfigured  than  ripe  Peaches  ;  and  what 
is  also  a  very  important  point,  no  fruit  is  more  quickly  tainted  in  flavour 
owing  to  being  surrounded  or  enclosed  in  either  scented  boxes  or  strong- 
smelling  packing  material.  So  susceptible  are  they  of  being  affected  in 
flavour  by  contact  with  scented  or  musty  material  that  Peaches,  and  in  a 
Sesser  degree  Nectarines,  after  being  gathered  ought  never  to  rest  on 
anything  but  fresh  tissue  paper  with  a  padding  of  some  kind  underneath. 
Fruiterers  sometimes  display  them  on  fresh  Vine  leaves,  but  those  who 
"know  their  business  take  good  care  to  remove  th?  leaves  before  night 
arrives.  Naturally  some  varieties  are  superior  in  point  of  quality  to  others, 
Boyal  George,  Bellegarde,  Crimson  Galande,  and  Grosse  Mianonne  being 
•among  the  best,  but  the  majority  of  other  sorts  are  quite  grod  enough  for 
most  people,  and  if  not  first-rate  in  flavour  there  is  all  the  more  reason 
why  every  care  should  be  taken  to  guard  against  tainting  them. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines  to  travel  well  ought  not  to  be  quite  ripe  when 
packed  ;  nor  in  any  case  should  thej’  be  left  on  the  trees  till  the  falling 
stage  is  reached.  They  keep  better,  travel  with  least  damage,  and  are 
really  more  luscious  and  richly  flavoured  when  the  full  ripe  state  is 
anticipated  b^’  at  least  one  daj'.  Lightly  pressing  the  under  side  of  a 
fruit  that  appears  to  be  ripe  enough  to  test  will  not  injure  it,  but  there 
must  be  no  finger  or  thumb  marks.  For  the  markets  an  appearance  of 
ripeness,  and  in  particular  pienty  of  colour,  are  most  needed  ;  slightly 
under-ripe  fruit  best  meeting  the  case.  Fruit  that  is  inclined  to  cline  to 
the  trees  must  net  be  roughly  dragged  away,  or  thumb  marks  will  detract 
considerably  from  their  value  ;  but  the  gatherer  s’nould  have  a  pad  of  1 
cotton  wool  in  his  left  hand  with  which  to  firmly  grasp  the  fruit,  and 
then,  w'here  possible,  to  cut  through  the  footstalk  witti  a  pair  of  Grufio 
scissors.  Nectarine  Lord  Napier  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  gather 
without  bruising,  and  the  pad  and  scissors  ought  certainly  to  be  used 
for  detaching  the  variety  from  the  trees.  If  all  the  trees  are  examineil 
every  morning,  and  each  fruit  fit  is  gathered,  there  will  be  no  necessity 
for  suspending  nets  under  them.  The  latter  will  only  break  the  fall,  and 
do  not  wholly’  prevent  bruising. 
Opinions  vary  both  as  to  the  form  of  box  and  packing  material  for 
Peaches  and  Nectarines.  The  fruits  vary  greatly  in  size  and  form,  some 
being  extra  large  both  as  regards  depth  and  circumference,  others  being 
flat  and  of  a  good  breadth,  and  still  more  comparativelj'  small  in  every 
w’ay.  The  boxes,  therefore,  ought  also  to  vary  considerabl}’,  it  being 
little  short  of  madness  to  pack  deep  fruit  in  shallow  boxes  with  an 
insufficiency’  of  packing  both  above  and  below  to  prevent  bruising,  while 
very  deep  boxes  are  unsuitable  for  small  or  flat  fruit,  owing  to  the 
nnavcidable  springiness  and  eventual  shrinkage  of  the  packing  material. 
What  market  salesmen  favour  are  boxes  24  inches  long,  14  inches  wide. 
Fig.  106. — Shortia  galacifolia. 
and  inches  deep,  these  holding  twenty-four  fairly  large  Peaches  and 
rather  more  Nectarines,  These,  however,  are  scarcely  deep  enough  for 
Sea  Eagle,  Walburton  Admirable,  and  large  fruits  of  Barrington  Peaches, 
and  are  larger  than  are  required  for  fruit  from  very  heavily  laden  trees. 
It  is  advisable  to  have  boxes  made  for  private  use  in  sets,  the  depih.s 
being  varied.  If  there  are  no  opportunities  of  getting  them  made  very 
cheaply  in  the  neighbourhood  they  can  be  obtained  for  surprisingly  low 
figures  from  advertising  makers.  I  find  cheap  light  boxes  from  grocers 
and  confectioners  answer  well  for  sending  by  post,  being  also  frequently 
used  when  there  is  no  likelihood  of  the  receivers  returning  the  emptie.a. 
Market  salesmen  and  leading  fruiterers  now-a-days  r re  always  ready  to 
send  boxes  and  baskets  suitable  for  any  kind  of  fruit  that  is  to  be  con¬ 
signed  to  them,  and  all  things  considered  it  is  much  better  to  have  their 
boxes  than  to  provide  for  oneself.  Boxes  with  separate  compartments 
for  each  fruit  are  a  great  mistake. 
We  have  next  to  consider  which  is  the  best  kind  of  packing  material 
out  of  the  several  available.  Experienced  packers  largely  favour  moss 
for  Poaches  and  Nectarines,  and  it  is  rxiensively  used  for  the  purpose, 
especially  by  senders  to  markets.  When  abundance  of  clean  springy 
moss  can  be  raked  up  from  lawns,  or  otherwise  collected,  and  dried,  ■well 
beaten,  and  thoroughly  cleared  of  rubbish,  it  answers  well,  and  is  the 
cheapest  material  that  can  be  had.  Unfortunately  moss  is  by  no  means 
generally  plentiful,  at  least  not  such  as  may  be  sa'd  t  >  be  fit  tor  packing 
soft,  easily  tainted  fruit  in.  Coarse,  earthy-smelling  moss  will  not  do, 
and  small  quantities  of  that  which  is  suitable  are  of  little  value.  Moss 
