August  9,  1900 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
129 
•Apple  Early  Strawberry. 
Some  ten  years  back  Mr.  James  Walker,  of  Naroiss  fame,  was  with 
me  in  our  nurseries,  and  was  greatly  taken  with  the  bright  scarlet  fruit 
of  this  variety.  But  alas !  beauty  was  only  skin  deep,  and  both  he  and 
myself  had  reason  to  alter  our  opinion,  for  it  proved  a  poor  bearer. 
The  quality  was  third-rate,  and  the  fruits  are  very  liable  to  spot,  so 
that  it  has  never  been  propagated  here.  Had  it  been  a  heavy  regular 
bearer,  it  would  have  “  done  ”  for  the  market  men.  There  is  also 
Summer  Strawberry,  a  striped  flattish  fruit,  but  quite  second-rate. 
Early  Strawberry  is  small  and  pointed,  with  a  very  long  stalk.  It 
came,  I  think,  originally  from  Sawbridgeworth,  and  promised  well. 
The  growth  is  thin  and  upright. — Geo.  Bunyard,  Maidstone. 
Exliibition  Classes  for  Scented  Roses  and  Carnatioiis. 
Apropos  of  the  exhibition  classification  of  Eoses  and  Carnations,  it 
occurred  to  me  when  inspecting  these  flowers  at  the  recent  shows  held 
at  Birmingham,  that  in  addition  to  those  supplementary  classes  which 
have  been  introduced  of  late  years  beyond  the  old  stereotyped  forms, 
prizes  might  well  be  offered  fur  collections  of  perfumed  varieties. 
Scent,  of  course,  is  an  additional  virtue  in  a  beautiful  flower,  and  such 
an  innovation  would,  I  believe,  be  appreciated  by  would-be  amateur 
purchasers  of  scented  blooms.  The  good  old  Clove  Carnation  might 
well  be  taken  as  the  standard  for  scent  in  the  Carnation  and  Picotee 
class,  and  for  Tea-scented  Roses  the  old  Devoniensis,  for  instance, 
might  be  selected ;  while  for  other  varieties  the  old  Cabbage  Rose 
(Rosa  centifolia)  could  be  selected.  There  may,  of  course,  be  others 
equally  suitable  for  the  purpose  indicated,  but  these  occur  to  my  mind 
at  the  moment. — W.  G. 
A  Farewell  to  %  Auricula. 
Partings  have  always  a  touch  of  melancholy  about  them,  and  when 
we  have  no  hope  of  again  seeing  those  from  whom  we  part  an  additional 
dash  of  sadness  is  the  result.  Now  if  anyone  has  read  the  papers 
which  from  time  to  time  I  have  written  in  the  Journal,  they  will 
remember  how  long  and  how  strong  has  been  my  affection  for  the 
Auricula.  It  has  ever  seemed  to  me  to  take  the  highest  place  in  florists 
flowers;  and  when  we  remember  from  what  it  originated,  I  think  we 
may  consider  a  perfect  green  edged  Auricula  is  the  highest  achievement 
of  horticultural  skill.  Moreover,  there  has  always  been  a  sort  of 
personal  interest  in  the  plant.  It  is  not  like  other  florist  flowers,  of 
which  a  collection  is  grown  for  a  time,  the  greater  number  of  which 
are  discarded  because  other  and  better  flowers  of  the  class  have  been 
raised  ;  but  with  the  Auricula,  the  plants  of  forty  or  fifty  years  ago 
still  hold  their  place  in  our  collections.  No  one,  for  instance,  of  our 
recent  raisers — few  alas  !  in  number — ^has  given  us  a  flower  to  equal 
George  Lightbody  amongst  the  grey  edges,  or  Prince  of  Greens 
amongst  the  green  edges,  although,  perhaps,  neither  of  these  flowers 
is  absolutely  perfect  in  the  florists’  eyes. 
As  far  as  my  own  taste  is  concerned  I  think  I  may  say  that  the 
flower  has  held  the  strongest  place  in  my  affections.  Prom  my  very 
earliest  horticultural  days  I  have  loved  and  cherished  it  and  cultivated 
it  under  very  different  circumstances.  At  one  time  I  have  had  flourish¬ 
ing  collections,  and  at  another  my  collection  has  been  very  much  reduced 
by  some  untoward  circumstance.  I  remember  once  for  instance  (when 
my  plants  could  all  be  put  into  a  small  frame)  I  had  to  leave  home,  and 
left  them  in  charge  of  an  old  man  who  pretended  to  look  after  my 
garden,  and  gave  him,  as  I  thought,  very  plain  directions  as  to  what  he 
was  to  do,  or  rather  not  to  do  ;  but  when  on  my  return  I  went  to  look  at 
them  I  found  that  instead  of  giving  them  air,  as  I  told  him  to  do,  he 
kept  the  frames  shut  close,  and  as  the  weather  had  been  tolerably 
warm  and  sunshiny  I  found  the  plants  looking  like  pieces  of  parchment. 
By  the  kindness  of  friends  I  partially  recovered  my  losses,  and  for  the 
last  thirty  years  I  have  grown  them  with  a  good  degree  of  pleasure  and 
comfort.  Latterly  that  pleasure  has  to  a  great  extent  ceased. 
I  need  hardly  say  that  the  flower  is  one  that  requires  a  sharp  and 
critical  eye,  and  so  when  my  eyesight  failed,  and  I  could  not  readily 
distinguish  the  flowers,  I  thought  it  was  time  to  give  them  up ;  and  as 
there  happened  to  be  in  my  neighbourhood  a  lady  who  is  very  much 
interested  in  them,  and  who  has  a  very  experienced  gardener  in  the 
person  of  the  son  of  one  of  Mr.  Charles  Turner’s  most  experienced 
foremen,  it  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  when  she  expressed  her  wish 
to  become  their  possessor.  Hence  a  few  weeks  ago  they  all  passed  into 
her  keeping,  and  the  small  collection  has  not  been  dispersed. 
As  I  saw  them  being  taken  away  I  felt  that  a  strong  link  with  the 
past  was  broken ;  I  knew  it  could  not  be  helped,  and  so  I  have  quietly 
acquiesced  in  the  inevitable,  and  thus  ends  a  long  acquaintance  of  nearly 
seventy  years.  This,  like  all  acquaintances,  has  given  me  times  of 
pleasure,  and  has  sometimes  been  associated  with  much  anxiety.  Of 
course  I  shall  not  cease  to  have  an  interest  in  the  flower,  but  I  do  not 
think  that  the  prospects  of  the  Auricula  are  very  bright.  I  fear  there 
is  not  much  hope  of  its  regaining  the  position  which  we  enthusiasts 
would  wish  to  see  it  occupy  ;  and  so  I  regretfully  bid  farewell  to  what 
has  for  many  years  been  a  source  of  great  enjoyment  to  me. — D.,  Deal. 
- - 
Failure  of  a  Strawberry  Crop. 
Report  says  that  the  Strawberry  crop  this  season  throughout  the 
country  was  of  an  unusually  variable  character,  particularly  in  the 
Midlands.  Upon  a  somewhat  extensive  market  garden  belonging  to 
Mr.  H.  Nicholls,  who  owns  three  large  farms  near  Kidderminster, 
about  50  acres  of  Strawberry  plants,  comprising  chiefly  Royal 
Sovereign,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  Latest  of  All,  and  Monarch,  of  which 
latter  Mr.  Nicholls  has  formed  a  high  opinion  both  as  to  its  flavour  and 
heavy  bearing  qualities,  insomuch  that  he  purposes  greatly  extending 
its  cultivation,  the  whole  of  the  sorts  failed  to  produce  a  good  crop 
of  ripened  fruit,  a  very  large  proportion  having  failed  to  reach 
the  swelling  process  prior  to  colouring — owing  to  some  inexplicable 
cause,  unless  it  were  the  prolonged  dry  weather.  This  resulted  in  a 
deficiency  of  crop  to  nearly  £600  in  value.  Mr.  Nicholls  remarked 
that  as  a  cultivator  of  Hops,  Peas,  and  Potatoes,  as  well  as  Straw¬ 
berries,  he  never  experienced  such  a  failure  of  the  latter  before.  It 
will,  however,  not  deter  him  from  extending  the  cultivation  of  the 
Strawberry,  especially  of  Royal  Sovereign  and  Monarch. — W.  G. 
Stable  Ilannre. 
Nitrogen  exists  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent  in  what  we  name 
“  garden  manures,”  but  it  is  only  in  manures  that  contain  much  pure 
droppings,  and  which  have  been  carefully  made  and  protected,  that  it 
exists  to  any  extent  worth  mentioning.  Even  good  leaf  soil  seldom 
contains  a  quarter  per  cent,  of  nitrogen,  and  an  ordinary  sample  of 
farmyard  manure  gives  something  like  a  half  per  cent.  When  properly 
made  and  cared  for,  manure  containing  even  more  than  the  usual 
quantity  of  straw  will  often  contain  1^  per  cent.,  or  even  more,  and  is, 
of  course,  three  times  the  value  of  that  only  containing  half  per  cent. 
Stableyard  manure  from  stables  where  horses  are  “hard  fed,” 
and  where  abundance  of  straw  is  used,  when  thrown  together  in  a  heap 
heats  with  extreme  violence,  and  this  causes  “firing,”  or  “fire- 
fanging  ”  as  it  is  called  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  This  excessive 
heat  drives  off  the  ammonia  as  fast  as  it  forms  into  the  air,  and  the 
residue  is  of  very  little  value.  That  which  gave  it  its  value  is  gone  ;  “  its 
spirit  has  fled.”  When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  heap  is  made  thoroughly 
moist,  but  not  wet,  with  urine  preferably,  and  occasionally  turned  to 
prevent  it  heating  too  much,  the  ammonia  formed  is  absorbed  by  the 
mass,  and  in  time  becomes  converted  into  nitric  acid.  Even  when 
this  is  done  it  is  frequently  lost.  During  the  fermentation  organic 
acids  (humic,  ulmic,  carbonic)  are  formed  and  combined  with  the 
ammonia.  The  resulting  salts  are  very  soluble  and  are  easily  washed 
away. 
Indeed,  there  are  few  even  well-cared-for  manure  heaps  from  which 
a  rich  brown  liquid  may  not  be  seen  draining  away.  This- liquid 
is  largely  impregnated  with  the  valuable  nitrogen  in  different  forms. 
Heaps  of  manure  spread  thinly,  especially  in  wet  districts,  frequently 
have  all  that  is  worth  retaining  washed  out  of  them  by  rain.  Careful 
building  will  reduce  this  waste  to  a  minimum,  but  thatching,  covering 
with  soil  placed  ridge  fashion,  or  placing  under  cover  is  better  still. 
Ma,nure  so  managed  is  at  least  worth  double  that  which  is  first 
“fired”  and  then  “  washed.” 
Urine  is  especially  rich  in  nitrogen.  Of  course  the  bulk  of  urine  is 
water,  but  when  pure  a  ton  of  it  is  worth  from  two  to  three  times  as 
much  as  an  equal  amount  of  ordinary  manure,  even  though  it  is 
deficient  in  phosphoric  anhydride.  The  nitrogen  in  urine  is  present  in 
the  form  of  urea,  which  is  a  substance  as  valuable  as  ammonia.  It  is 
soluble  in  water,  cannot  be  precipitated  by  ordinary  means,  and  can  be 
utilised  at  once  by  plants  instead  of  requiring  to  be  converted  into 
nitric  acid,  as  ammonia  has,  although  it  also  assumes  that  form.  It  is 
a  very  different  substance  from  ammonia,  but  is  readily  converted  into 
it  by  fermentation. — F. 
