82 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GABDEXER. 
January  22,  1903. 
death  intruders  on  the  small  domain  he  has  marked  out  as 
his  own  ;  he  has  also  one  blot  on  his  character,  his  principles 
failing  to  keep  him  in  the  path  of  honesty  when  ripe  Cherries 
are  about.  Among  the  migratory  hosts  all  the  warblers,  the 
chift'-chaff,  willow-wren,  white-throat,  fly-catchers,  &c..  are 
without  reproach  and  ought  to  be  carefully  protected.  The 
cuckoo,  too,  though  needing  a  kindly  veil  over  its  domestic 
affairs,  is  a  gardener’s  friend,  being  a  destroyer  of  cater¬ 
pillars,  and  is  the  only  bird  I  know  of  which  will  tackle  the 
long-haired  section  of  them. 
.  It  is  a  misfortune  that  several  of  our  most  actively  useful 
birds  have  at  times  lapses  from  their  ordinary  standard  of 
life,  which  bring  them  under  the  ban  of  the  gardener,  who  is 
apt  on  such  occasions  to  forget  their  iDrevious  good  deeds  and 
insert  them  on  his  black  list.  The  starling,  for  instance,  is 
one  of  our  very  finest  grub  and  caterpillar  destroyers,  but 
his  extraordinary  infatuation  for  Cherries  often  leads  him 
to  an  untimely  end,  as  nothing  but  shot  will  keep  him  from 
them.  I  have  had  starlings  come  and  sit  on  the  same  branch 
with  me  and  share  the  feast  as  coolly  as  if  they  were  there 
by  special  invitation.  Of  all  Nature’s  checks  on  insect  life 
the  tit  family,  are  (among  birds)  the  most  effective,  and  to 
watch  a  pair  of  blue  tits  when  feeding  a  big  family  (a  dozen 
or  fourteen  is  not  uncommon)  is  a  wonderful  lesson  ;  one 
would  think  some  good-natured  friend  had  shot  a  cartload 
of  caterpillars  close  to  their  nest,  so  many  do  they  bring,  and 
so  marvellously  short  is  the  time  occupied  in  procuring  a 
beakful.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  it  discounts  its  many 
undoubted  services  by  that  most  annoying  trick  of  pecking 
little  holes  in  the  stalk  end  of  all  oip-  very  best  Pears  in  the 
autumn,  spoiling  their  appearance  and  inducing  premature 
decay. 
The  great  tit,  too,  though  equally  useful,  is  often  shot 
by  bee-keepers  owing  to  its  penchant  for  bees,  which  he 
devours  one  by  one  as  they  aiDpear  at  the  entrance  to  the 
hive  in  answer  to  his  taps  on  the  alighting  board.  However, 
in  spite  of  these  delinquencies  we  have  no  greater  friend 
than  the  tits,  and  I  always  help  them  through  the  winter  by 
suspending  a  few  bones  and  a  small  net  of  suet  bn  a  tempo¬ 
rary  gallows  as  soon  as  cold  weather  sets  in,  taking  care  that 
it  "is  commanded  by  the  breakfast-room  window,  their 
acrobatic  feats  as  they  remove  the  scraps  of  meat  from  the 
bones  being  a  constant  source  of  amusement.  The  great, 
blue,  and  coal  tits  are  constant  visitors,  and  they  are  some¬ 
times  joined  by  the  shyer  marsh  tit. 
The  song  thrush  is  perhaps  the  commonest  of  all  our 
garden  visitors,  but  I  have  not  mentioned  it  previously,  as 
its  tendencies  are  neutral  rather  than  very  active  for  or 
against  gardening.  Its  partiality  for  snails  is  too  well  known 
to  need  mention,  and  the  favourite  stone  upon  which  it 
cracks  their  shells  is  a  familiar  feature  ;  but  worms  appear 
to  form  the  major  part  of  its  dietary,  and  as  these  cair 
scarcely  be  classed  as  pests  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  claim 
on  our  gratitude  in  this  direction.  Strawberries  and  bush 
fruits  suffer  rather  heavily  from  the  thrush’s  attentions, 
especially  in  dry  seasons  ;  but  the  trouble  only  lasts  a  short 
time,  and  is  so  fully  compensated  for  by  its  glorious  song 
that  a  small  investment  in  herring  netting  is  vastly  prefer¬ 
able  to  the  destruction  of  the  best  of  our  common  songsters. 
I  am  afraid  my  paper  is  getting  too  long,  or  I  should  like 
to  say  a  word  or  two  in  favour  of  the  owl  and  kestrel,  both 
common  victims  of  igirorant  game  preservers  ;  the  first  never 
and  the  second  seldom  offends  in  this  direction,  and  yet  w^e 
are  constantly  overrun  with  mice,  which  destroy  our  Crocuses 
and  devour  our  newly  sown  seeds  before  they  have  a  chance 
to  grow  because  the  two  birds  which  live  almost  entirely 
upon  them  are  never  allowed  a  fair  chance.  In  closing  it 
is  scarcely  necessary  to  recommend  the  protection  of  our 
feathered  friends  to  any  intelligent  audience,  but  I  may 
remind  you  of  one  of  the  best  methods  of  encouraging  them 
which  has  up  to  the  present  been  much  neglected  in  this 
country,  viz.,  the  placing  of  nesting  boxes  up  and  down  the 
garden  and  orchard.  These  are  now  sold,  made  out  of  un¬ 
barked  wood,  so  as  to  have  a  natural  and  not  too  conspicuous 
appearance,  and  in  various  shapes  and  sizes,  from  those 
suitable  to  starling,  to  fly-catcher,  and  blue  tit. 
My  remarks  on  injurious  birds  would  seem  to  want  their 
logical  conclusion  without  some  suggestioir  as  to  lessening 
their  depredations,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  cannot  offer 
much  for  your  consideration  in  this  line.  As  regards  the 
sparrow  I  should  like  to  see  a  national  society  for  his  sup¬ 
pression,  but  am  afraid  our  individual  powers  are  very 
limited.  The  trap,  in  form  of  a  lobster  pot,  which  is  much 
advertised,  is  effective  where  pheasant  or  laoultry  feeding 
Vnings  flocks  together,  but  is  almost  useless  otherwise  ; 
poison  is  unlawful  and  dangerous,  and  the  indiscriminate 
use  of  the  gun  has  the  disadvantage  that  it  scares  away  our 
friends  while  reducing  the  number  of  our  enemies.  Scaring 
devices  for  driving  birds  away  become  familiar  so  soon  as 
scarcely  to  repaj'-  the  trouble  of  erection,  witness  the  old  tale 
of  the  nest  up  the  scarecrow’s  sleeve.  I  think  the  best  plan 
is  to  protect  the  choicer  fruits,  and  if  possible  grow  enough 
of  the  common  ones  to  spare  a  share  to  the  birds  without 
too  much  regret.  I  may  mention  under  the  heading  of  pro¬ 
tectors  that  a  small  card  with  a  slit  in  it  may  be  fixed  over 
a  Pear  in  a  second  by  simply  opening  the  slit  and  pushing  it 
on  to  the  stalk,  and  that  this  is  an  efficient  guard  against 
tits. 
With  regard  to  Strawberries,  one  of  our  foremen  evolved 
one  of  the  best  guards  last  summer  which  I  have  seen  out  of 
some  lengths  of  old  wire  netting.  This  was  3ft  wide, 
and  by  bending  it  down  the  centre  he  formed  an  arch  wide 
enough  to  cover  a  row,  with  the  great  advantage  that  the 
birds  could  not  weigh  it  down  by  sitting  on  it  and  peck  the 
fruit  through  the  meshes,  as  they  do  with  herring-netting  ; 
it  was  also  much  easier  to  remove  and  replace.  I  might  add 
a  word  of  approval  for  the  “  Gooseberry  garden,”  a  small 
quarter  planted  with  the  best  flavoured  varieties  and  pro¬ 
tected  by  a  house,  so  to  sjoeak,  of  wire  netting  high  enough 
to  walk  under.  This  is  highly  recommended  to  those  who 
prefer  to  eat  their  own  fruit  from  the  bushes  instead  of  after 
it  has  been  spoilt  by  gathering  and  keeping.  As  a  ride  seed 
and  fruit  protection  is  vastly  to  be  preferred  to  wholesale 
destruction  of  birds  ;  it  is  almost  as  cheap  in  the  long  run  ; 
while  every  lover  of  Nature  will  admit  that,  though  bird 
ravages  are  trjdng  at  times  to  temper  and  pocket,  a  garden 
without  its  natural  and  proper  feathered  population  w'ould 
lose  more  than  half  its  charm. — A  pai>er  read  at  the  Horti¬ 
cultural  Club.  Alarch  11,  1902,  by  Charles  E.  Pearson, 
F.K.H.S.,  M.B.O.U. 
- - 
Notes  on  Fruit. 
Pine-apples. 
Though  Pine-apples  have  given  place  to  otlier  fruits  in  niany 
o.stablishnients,  they  are  still  grown  to  niucli  higher  pre.sentable 
appearance  and  of  better  quality  than  imported  fruit  in  some 
gardens,  hence  a  few  notes  from  time  to  time  will  be  useful. 
Plants  for  Early  Summer  Fruiting. 
The  plants  which  completed  their  growth  early  last  autumn, 
and  have  been  treated  by  re.sting,  so  as  to  start  promptly  when 
subjected  to  more  heat,  and  thus  push  fruit  early  in  the  year, 
will  now  be  doing  so;  if  not.  they  must  be  accelerated  by  extra 
care  and  attention,  which  will  be  fully  repaid  by  the  fruit  ripening 
at  a  time  when  it  is  most  in  request  for  parties,  during  what  i^ 
known  as  the  London  season,  good  Enville  and  Queens,  with 
neat  crowns  and  good  bright  colour,  being  appreciated.  Take 
every  advantage,  therefore,  of  suitable  weather  to  afford  in- 
crea'<cd  heat  during  the  day.  Allow  the  temperature  to  rise 
to  80deg  before  giving  air.  then  .with  moderate'  ventilation,  let 
it_rise  to  8-jdeg  or  90deg.  closing  at  8odeg,  the  night  temperature 
being  gradually  raised  to  70deg  and  Todeg  by  day  by  artificial 
means,  unless  the  weather  he  dull  and  cold,  wdien  odeg  le.ss 
will  be  more  suitable.  The  moisture  will  need  to  be  increased 
correspondingly  with  the  temperature,  but  do  not  syringe  the 
plants  or  the  hot-water  pipes,  yet  maintain  a  genial  condition 
of  the  atmosphere  by  damping  unheated  surfaces  two  or  three 
times  a  day.  Keep  the  bottom  heat  steady  at  8odeg  to  90deg 
for  Queens,  other  varieties  about  bdeg  less.  Look  the  plants 
over  onee  a  week  for  watering,  and  when  they  need  a  supply 
afford  weak  liquid  manure,  such  as  11b  Peruvian  guano  to  twenty 
gallons  of  water,  strained  before  irse,  at  the  same  temperaturo 
as  the  plunging  material. 
Fruiting  Plants. 
Ordinary  fruiting  plants  should  have  a  temperature  at  night 
of  (iOdeg  to  65deg,  Gldeg  by  day  in  dull  weather,  especially  cold, 
70deg  to  7.jdeg  in  mild,  with  a  little  sun,  ventilating  at  75deg, 
allowing  an  advance  to  80deg  with  sun,  at  which  close  the  house, 
sprinkling  the  paths  and  walls  at  the  same  time. 
SuccESSioNAL  Plants. 
Sufficient  heat  to  maintain  the  plant.s  in  slow,  yet  steady 
development  of  growth  is  neces.sary  in  this  department.  That 
will  be  secured  by  a  night  temperature  of  oodeg  to  GOdeg,  and 
GOdeg  to  Godeg  by  day,  advancing  to  70deg  to  75deg  from  sun 
heat,  with  moderate  ventilation,  so  as  to  secure  a  sturdy  plant, 
keeping  the  atmosphere  moderately  dry,  as  too  much  moisture 
at  the  pre.sent  time,  either  at  the  roots  or  in  the  air,  tends 
to  a  soft  attenuated  growth. — Practice. 
