628 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  18,  1903. 
the  fruit  was  thinned  than  where  ’t  was  not  so.  Further, 
that  No.  2  Apples  from  trees  which  were  thinned  were  much 
superior  to  the  No.  2  fruit  from  trees  not  thinned.  The 
grower  in  whose  orchard  the  tests  were  made  estimated  that 
the  fruit  from  the  trees  which  were  thinned  would  generally 
bring  10  per  cent,  to  15  per  cent.,  money  value,  moi’e  in 
market  than  the  same  grade  from  trees  which  were  not 
thinned. 
Thinning  Tomatoes  to  Increase  Size  of  Fruit. 
At  the  Arkansas  Experiment  Station  experiments  have 
recently  been  conducted  to  determine  the  effects  of 
systematic  thinning  of  Tomato  crops  on  the  size  of  the  fruit. 
In  cultivating  the  plants  under  trial  all  lateral  branches 
below  the  first  cluster  of  blossoms  were  pruned  off  with  a 
sharp  knife.  The  plants  were  tied  to  stakes,  and  the  lot 
that  were  allowed  to  produce  what  fruit  they  would,  received 
no  further  attention  than  the  necessary  cultivation  of  the 
surrounding  soil  and  occasional  re-tying  to  the  stakes  as  the 
plants  grew.  The  plants  were  all  sprayed  occasionally  with 
Bordeaux  mixture,  and  while  the  leaves  and  stems  were  wet 
with  spray  were  dusted  with  Paris  green  mixed  with  four 
parts  of  flour  or  road  dust.  The  thinned  lot  were  given  the 
same  treatment,  except  that  not  more  than  three  fruits  were 
allowed  to  i-emain  upon  one  cluster,  and  generally  only  two. 
The  thinning  was  done  as  soon  as  the  young  Tomatoes  were 
half  or  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  dead 
blossoms  were  removed  as  soon  as  possible  to  prevent  de¬ 
forming.  Frequently  the  young  Tomatoes,  when  not  more 
than  one-fourth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  would  show  an 
irregular  or  improper  shape,  and  this  was  of  considerable 
advantage  in  enabling  the  selection  of  only  the  best  fruit  to 
remain  on  the  Vines.  The  thinning  was  done  with  a  sharp 
knife.  The  following  table  shows  the  results:  — 
Name  of 
variety. 
Average 
numlicr  of 
fruits 
per  vino. 
1 
Total  : 
weight  of 
fruit 
per  vine. 
Average 
weight 
of  single 
fruit. 
Weight 
;  [of  largest 
single 
[fruit. 
imriT  THINNED. 
lb. 
oz. 
OZ. 
Favourite  ... 
9-5 
8-10 
13-60 
17-0 
Imperial 
10-0 
8-50 
13-60 
15-5 
Mikado . 
9  0 
11-00 
19-50 
24-0 
Ponderosa  ... 
10-0 
13-00 
20-80 
23-0 
Stone  . 
100 
7-25 
11-60 
15-0 
Ave,..,.e: 
9-7 
9-57 
15-82 
■  18-9 
FUriT  NOT  THINNED. 
Favourite  ... 
23-0 
9-75 
6-70 
12-5 
Imperial 
18-5 
7-25 
6-20 
16-0 
Mikado . 
26-5 
12-50 
7-50 
19-0 
Ponderosa  ... 
29-0 
14-00 
7-70 
17-3 
Stone  . 
26-0 
9-50 
6-20 
13-0 
Average ; 
24-6 
10-60 
6-86 
15-6 
These  results  are  interesting  as  showing  what  can  be 
done  in  the  way  of  producing  large  Tomatoes.  For  com¬ 
mercial  requirements  usually  enormous  fruits  are  not  so 
much  required,  nor  nearly  so  profitable,  as  an  even  grade  of 
medium  size,  the  buyer  being  influenced  more  by  the  weight 
of  the  case  than  anything  else.— J.  J.  Willis,  Harpenden. 
Eremurus  robustus  Elwesianus  and  Himalaicus. 
Yearly  these  very  handsome  and  uncommonly  distinctive 
hardy  border  plants  are  becoming  more  cultivated.  The  Messrs. 
Veitch  of  Chelsea  have  done  much  to  encourage  their  rise  by 
their  annual  fine  exhibits  in  London  and  elsewhere.  Eremuri 
being  robust  and  rapid  growers,  demand  a  rich  fibrous  and  sandy 
loam,  and  even  on  heavier  soils,  if  well  drained,  they  succeed. 
Dampness  during  winter  must  be  guarded  against,  and  both  for 
this  and  to  save  the  plants  from  slugs,  a  sprinkling  of  sifted  ashes 
around  the  growing  crowns  is  advisable.  The  roots  shoidd  be 
planted  about  a  foot  deep,  in  September  or  October.  The  photo¬ 
graph  sliows  flower  spikes  of  those  named  above,  and  in  the 
gardens  at  Adhurst  St.  Marv,  Petersfield,  Hants,  grown  by  Mr. 
U.  Silcock.  ’ 
Begonia  semperflorens. 
The  ever-blooming  Begonias  are  not  so  often'  seen  as  bedding 
plants  as  it  would  seem  their  merits  deserve.  This  type  of 
Begonia  attracted  attention  first,  I  believe,  soon  after  the  variety 
Vernon  was  introduced.  It  is,  however,  very  seldom  seen  in 
quantity  in  greenhouses  nowadays  in  spring  for  some  unaccount¬ 
able  reason.  If  a  florist  may  happen  to  have  a  plentiful  supply 
one  year  it  is  not  safe  to  expect  to  find  a  similar  supply  the 
following  year,  as  I  know  to  my  own  disappointment. 
Although  the  Vernon,  for  instance,  has  the  merit  of  being 
free  and  continuous  blooming  both  winter  and  summer,  it  is  not 
sufficiently  attractive  or  effective  apparently  to  catch  the  popular 
fanej^  Although  fairly  showy  under  glass  when  in  full  bloom,, 
when  planted  otitdoors  the  bright  green  foliage  assumes  a  bronzy 
hue,  giving  it  a  somewhat  dull  and  not  altogether  cheerful 
appearance,  and  it  is  presumed  if  we  would  get  the  very  best 
out  of  it,  it  must  be  planted  in  conjunction  with  something; 
brighter,  that  is  to  say,  to  get  a  more  pleasing  though  not  a 
very  pronounced  contrast. 
I  am  inclined  to  the  belief,  somehow,  that  this  class  of 
Begonia  will  be  more  planted  in  the  future  than  it  has  been  in 
the  past.  It  is  breaking  up  into  many  different  types.  From 
the  A'ernon,  which  in  colour  might  be  termed  a  cherry  red,  or, 
as  Parisians  would  say,  cerise,  has  come  a  variety  known  as 
Vulcan,  which  is  much  darker  in  colour,  approaching  crimson. 
But  whether  this  has  been  tried  for  outdoor  decoration  to  the 
same  extent  as  Vernon  I  do  not  know.  It  ought  to  be  tried- 
An  error  in  some  unaccountable  way  has  crept  into  the  nomen¬ 
clature  of  this  Begonia  until  all  varieties  of  the  same  free  bloom¬ 
ing  character  are  called  Vernon.  B.  semperflorens  they  all 
might  be,  but  when  other  in  colour  than  the  original  Vernon 
is  produced  they  are  entitled  to  another  name.  For  instance, 
an  Fngli.sh  variety  called  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  has  white  flowers 
edged  with  pink  ;  Coral  Gem  is  pink ;  and  Snowflake  is  white. 
There  is  also  one  known  as  Zulu  King,  the  foliage  of  which  is 
said  to'  be  almost  black,  and  others  with  yellow  leaves.  How 
the  latter  come  through  our  hot  summers  perhaps  some  of  your 
readers  who  have  had  experience  with  them  will  tell  us. 
B.  Erfordi,  which  is  said  to  be  the  result  of  systematic  crossing 
between  Vernon  and  Schmidti,  is  also  very  pretty.  There  are 
two  distinct  varieties  by  the  name  of  Bijou  in  existence,  both 
of  which  are  quite  dwarf  in  habit  but  quite  distinct  in  other 
respects;  one  has  double  flowers  which  are  similar  in  colour  to 
Vernon,  the  other  has  single  flowers  very  much  like  Vulcan  in 
colour.  Some  of  those  with  yellow  leaves  vary  very  much,  some 
having  pure  white  flowers,  others  delicate  pink,  and  others 
again  white  suffused  with  pink.  Some  are  strong  and  tall 
growers,  while  others  are  dwarf  and  compact. 
There  is  a  field  wide  open  heire  for  some  enthusiast  to  work 
in.  While  the  different  varieties  come  fairly  true  to  colour  and 
type  from  seed,  here  and  there  will  be  found  variations.  One 
of  the  great  faults  with  this  Begonia  is  that  it  seeds  too  freely, 
and  when  we  realise  that  from  one  pod  of  seed  under  favourable 
conditions  hundreds  of  plants  will  result,  there  is  no  real  necessity 
for  it  to  pi’oduce  so  much  seed,  and,  as  is  generally  understood 
when  a  plant  seeds  freely,  it  is  at  the  expense  of  freedom  of 
growth  or  bloom.  One  of  the  reasons  for  the  freedom  of  bloom 
of  Gloire  de  Lorraine  is  because  it  refuses  to  produce  seed,  for, 
so  far  as  publicly  known,  fertile  seed  has  not  been  secured;  so 
that  if  we  could  breed  a  class  from  the  semperflorens  type  which 
did  not  produce  so  much  seed,  it  ought,  in  the  natural  order  of 
things,  to  be  very  much  superior  to  anything  so  far  generally 
known.  It  has  been  said  that  the  semperflorens  make  the  most 
satisfactory  plants  from  seed,  still  it  has  been  proven  that  equally 
as  good  plants  have  been  raised  fi'oni  cuttings.  Care  must, 
however,  be  taken,  if  the  best  success  is  to  be  attained,  in  thcf 
selection  of  a  cutting  to  see  that  a  growth  bud  is  at  the  base- 
of  the  same  instead  of  a  flowering  bud. 
B.  gracilis  is  quite  similar  to  Erfordi.  It  has  the  advantage, 
so  it  is  said,  over  the  latter  variety  by  coming  comparatively 
true  from  seed.  Without  knowing  positively  the  origin  of 
gracilis,  it  is  quite  possible  that  its  tendency  to  come  compara¬ 
tively  true  from  seed  has  been  brought  about  by  selection,  and' 
has  now  become  fixed.  For  it  is  understood  scientifically  that 
by  careful  and  intelligent  selection  any  type  may  be  fixed  to  le.ss 
or  more  extent  if  persi.stently  persevered  with.  If  the  type 
producing  yellow  leaves  were  taken  in  hand  until  a  sun-proof 
race  is  fixed,  a  valuable  addition  to  our  outdoor  decorative  plants, 
would  soon  be,  I  firmly  believe,  a  matter  of  record.  Zulu  King^ 
as  now  existing  and  Klondyke  Queen,  yet  to  be  produced,  ought 
TO  make  a  sufficiently  pronounced  contrast  to  strike  the  popular 
fancy  in  many  parts  of  this  great  country  with  the  varied  tastes, 
influential  environment,  and  extreme  climatic  conditions. — • 
Edwin  Lonsdale  (in  the  “  American  Florist  ”)• 
