298 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  27,  1900. 
force  the  plants  naust  never  be  allowed  to  want  for  water,  and  to 
keep  down  red  spider  or  other  insects  occasional  syringings  will  be 
necessary.* 
After  flowering,  and  when  the  plants  commence  to  fade,  the  supply 
of  water  should  gradually  be  reduced,  but  they  must  not  be  kept  too 
dry  when  in  their  winter  quarters,  or  the  fasciculated  masses  of 
fleshy  roots  will  shrivel.  When  repotting  is  required,  a  portion  of  the 
old  soil  should  he  removed,  withput  disturbing  the  roots  more  than 
may  be  necessary,  and  returned  into  the  same  or  larger  pots  according 
to  requirement. 
Among  the  more  desirable  of  the  hardier  kinds  the  following,  in 
addition  to  aurea  already  mentioned,  are  valuable: — A.  chdensis, 
which  flowers  in  July;  versicolor,  early  autumn;  psittacina,  early 
autumn.  Of  tenderer  species,  pelegrina,  flowering  in  July  ; 
■caryophylloea,  very  fragrant;  and  pelegrina  alba,  which  latter  is  sdd 
to  be  the  most  chaste  of  all  the  Alstionaerias.  Some  of  the  species, 
such  as  densiflora,  acutifolia,  acutifolia  aurea,  edulis,  oculata, 
pauciflora  and  hirtella  are  climbers.  For  ordinary  purposes, 
comjiaratively  cheap  mixed  varieties  may  be  obtained  from  trade 
gjrowers. —  W.  G. 
- - 
Amongst  tlie  Vegetables. 
The  present  is  not  a  particularly  busy  month  in  the  vegetable 
garden,  no  work  being  of  an  exceptionally  pressing  character;  yet 
several  matters  should  have  attention.  It  is  not  too  late  to  sow 
seed  of  several  crops  for  next  year’s  supply  ;  white  seedlings  from  seed 
sown  last  month  will  require  thinning-out.  Onions  must  be  harvested 
too,  and  Celery  earthed-up. 
A  supply  of  wholesome  well-flavoured  Cabbages  in  spring  is  worth 
considerable  trouble  in  procuring,  and  home-grown  plants  are  generally 
preferred.  This  crop  is,  in  fact,  the  most  important  of  all.  The  young 
plants  which  have  resulted  from  previous  sowings  may  now  be  removed 
from  the  seed  bed.  At  this  season  of  the  year  a  sharp  frost  may  come 
at  any  moment,  and  tender  young  plants  crowded  together  are  liable 
to  suffer  very  severely  by  it.  Plant  them  out,  therefore,  at  once,  so 
that  they  may  be  as  strong  as  possible  when  frost  arrives.  Tuey 
should  be  planted  18  inches  apart  in  their  final  quarters,  in  rows  the 
same  distance  asunder.  Plants  with  stems  of  a  hard  woody  texture 
will  stand  any  amount  of  frost — in  fact,  the  more  exposed  they  are  the 
better  they  seem  to  thrive.  If  left  too  long  in  the  seed  bed  t  ey 
become  spindly  and  succulent,  and  are  destroyed  by  thousands.  Seed 
may  still  be  sown,  but  it  is  very  late  in  the  stason,  ai  d  the  work 
should  not  be  delayed  a  day  longer  than  is  necessary.  Sow  it  thinly 
in  drills,  and  transplant  the  seedlings  when  a  few  leaves  have  beeu 
formed.  No  special  soil  or  position  need  be  prepared  lor  them. 
Now  is  the  t’me  for  insuring  the  blanching  of  the  heart  and  stems 
of  Celery  by  earlhing-up  the  plants — i.e.,  drawing  soil  around  ihem 
and  banking  it  up.  The  roots  of  the  plants  should  receive  a  good 
soaking  with  water  previously  to  earthing  them  up;  but  it  must  imt 
fall  upon  the  stems,  otherwise  they  will  decay  when  the  s  il  has  been 
drawn  around  them.  All  suckers  should  be  removed,  and  also  any 
small  yellow  outer  Jeaves,  but  no  healthy  green  leaves  ought  to  be  t  iken 
off.  The  stems  should  be  first  drawn  round  the  h  art  of  the  plant  sn  1 
tied  with  matting,  or  the  plant  must  be  held  together  with  one  hand 
while  the  earth  is  placed  around  it  with  the  other.  No  particles  of  soil 
must  be  allowed  to  fall  into  the  centres  of  the  plants  during  the 
operation.  Water  should  be  given  to  the  Celery  copiously,  and 
occasional  doses  of  liquid  manure  will  be  attended  w  th  beneticial 
results.  Liquid  prepared  Irom  farmyard  manure  will  be  hest ;  failing 
this,  soot  dusted  on  the  soil  and  watered-in  will  prove  useful,  an  !  it 
will  be  distasteful  to  worms  and  slugs. 
Onions  from  spring-sown  seed  must  be  removed  from  the  ground  and 
spread  on  the  surface  to  dry  if  the  weather  is  not  wet ;  m  ihe  la  ter 
case  they  must  be  spread  in  a  shed  or  empty  room.  When  dry,  the 
loose  rough  outer  skin  and  long  coarse  roots  raty  be  renioved,  and  ihe 
bulbs  stored  m  any  dry  out-ol-the-way  place  to  be  kept,  for  use.  Or 
they  may  be  tied  ui)  in  bunches  and  strung  on  sticks,  which  miy  be 
hung  up  until  the  bulbs  are  nee  led.  Decaying  bulbs  must  be 
carefully  excluded,  otherwise  they  will  contaminate  the  rest. 
A  supply  of  Radishes  may  be  procured  throughout  the  winter  by 
sowing  seed  of  the  two  winter  varieties  Black  Spanish  and  I  hiua 
Rose.  The  latter  is  an  excellently  flavoured  oval-shaped  kind,  and  is 
largely  grown  for  maiket  during  winter.  Seeds  of  both  the  sorts 
named  may  be  sown  thinly  at  once  on  a  warm  sheltered  horde' ,  or, 
better  still,  in  a  frame.  Thin  the  seedlings  out  as  they  attain  siz  ■, 
finallv  leiving  them  about  3  inches  apart.  About  the  middle  ol 
October  another  sowing  may  be  made  to  procure  a  succession. 
Sjinach  is  a  favourite  vegetable  with  many  peisons,  and  it  is 
certainly  a  very  wholesome  one.  If  seed  has  not  yet  been  sown  there 
is  just  time  to  repair  the  neglect,  but  no  time  must  be  lost.  Seed  of 
either  the  round  or  the  pricklv-seeded  varieties  may  be  sown,  for  they 
aie  equally  hardy.  Sow  it  thinly  in  drills  12  inches- apart,  and  when 
the  seedlings  appear  thin  some  out,  leaving  the  remainder  about 
6  inches  asunder  in  the  rows.  If  allowed  plenty  of  room  they  will 
become  sturdy  and  hardy  plants. — W. 
Frnit  Growing  for  Profit. 
From  the  Gardener’s  Standpoint. 
The  fruit  crops  of  the  jyear  have  formed  a  theme  in  which  every 
class  of  the  community  has  taken  part.  The  masses  have  no  cause 
for  complaint  in  the  abundance  and  cheapness  of  the  varied  fruits 
which  have  been  furnished  in  their  season,  but  there  is  scarcely  a  crop 
on  which  market  growers  as  a  whole  can  compliment  themselves  upon 
as  furnii-hing  a  useful  profit  on  their  investments  and  the  labour 
employed. 
Although  fruit  tree  planting  will,  and  must  of  necessity,  proceed, 
there  arises  more  than  ever  the  doubtful  thought  as  to  what  is  best  to 
plant,  and  the  extent  to  which  it  can  be  usefully  carried  out.  Markets 
everywhere  are  at  the  present  time  overdone  with  Plums,  and  their 
value  is  so  low  that  the  growers  scarcely  repay  themselves  for 
gathering  and  cartage.  No  doubt  among  the  higher  grades  of 
purchasers  the  large  imports  and  cheap  sale  of  foreign  fruit  have  done 
much  to  damage  the  home  growers’  and  retailers’  i>rospects,  and 
colonial  shipments  add  to  the  weight  of  competi'ion,  all  of  which 
trend  in  the  direction  of  low  prices  and  small  profits.  If  it  were 
possible  for  English  growers  to  ship  their  now  abundant  crops  to  other 
European  countries,  and  so  relieve  the  home  markets  of  the  prevailing 
glut,  much  good  would  result  ;  export  dues,  howiwer,  decree  other¬ 
wise,  and  so  long  as  prohibitive  taxes  are  imposed  by  other  countries 
on  English  goods,  and  their  products  are  allowed  to  flood  our  markets 
duty  free,  so  long  will  this  undesirable  state  of  competition  have  to  be 
reckoned  with  in  years  of  plenty. 
d'he  private  gardener’s  mind  is  not  so  much  disturbed  by  the  state 
of  the  market  when  the  supply  of  one  family  only  is  expected  of  him. 
There  are  those,  however,  and  they  are  not  a  few,  who  must  perforce 
dispose  of  their  surplus  in  order  to  reduce  the  expenses  of  the  garden 
and  its  satisfactory  up  keep.  Low  prices,  th  mgh  they  do  not  affect 
these  gardeners  directly,  carryaconsiderableamouiitofindirect  influence. 
Many  owners  of  gardens,  not  being  men  ot  commerce,  do  not  readily 
undi  rstand  the  comparative  value  in  seasons  of  dearth  and  plenty. 
While  a  good  crop  is  the  annual  desideratum  of  the  private  gardener — 
and  the  fuller  it  is  the  better — this  latter  phase  is  in  reality  a  fatal 
one  for  the  market  grower.  This  year,  for  instance,  it  is  said  that  in 
the  large  fruit  orchards  of  Kent  it  does  not  pay  even  to  gather  up 
the  fruit  Irom  the  ground  for  sale,  and  it  is  thus  allowed  to  remain  to 
d  cay.  This  is  the  sequel  which  the  speculating  planter  has  to  face, 
and  though  such  seas  ns  as  the  present  do  not  occur  in  unbroken 
succession,  the  averages  of  better  years  are  brought  down  in  their 
val  Lie. 
For  fome  years  English  markets  have  dealt  in  French  fruits  with  so 
open  a  hai  d,  and  English  cu>tom  is  evidently  so  go  >d,  that  planting 
has  been  extensive  y  carried  on,  and  larger  exports  made.  Now  there 
ar  tne  colonial  shipments  brought  into  the  conflict,  and  the  wonder  is 
t  at  all  cm  find  a  remunerative  sale  in  so  small  a  country.  What  can 
the  prospects  of  the  future  be  for  the  Bri  i>h  planter  when  he  has  to 
are  such  a  growing  duty  free  import  Irorn  other  countries  ?  Exorbitant 
rates  charged  by  railway  companies,  too,  have  imp  'sed  an  unfair 
condition  in  the  past,  but  this  grievance  his  to  some  extent  been 
mended,  but  will  need  still  further  relaxa'ion.  It  is  a  curious 
c  incidence  that  foreign  goods  should  be  allowed  so  much  favour, 
espec  ady  when  brought  into  competition  with  tint  of  British  growth,  _ 
and  also  be  shown  so  much  favour  by  c  'naomers.  It  has  been  oft 
repeated  that  the  packing  and  grading  ot  English  fruit  have  brought 
their  own  cnn  iemnation,  but  conviction  is  not  so  easily  carried.  No 
•  louht  in  times  past  such  may  have  been  the  case,  but  surely  the 
British  m  nd  is  not  so  dull  that  in  fruit  growing  n  i  heed  is  paid  to  the 
dema  i  s  of  the  sellers  and  buyers  of  their  goods. 
The  year  19C)0  has  been  a  mem  .irable  one  in  many  respects,  and 
there  will  be  mmy  amended  resolutions,  as  well  as  fresh  ones,  brought 
to  bear  on  ihe  coming  winter’s  wo' k.  Th-re  is  nothing  that  will 
e  ucate  -o  effectively  the  progress  of  the  future  as  failure.  The  most 
valuable  object  lessons  often  come  in  this  way,  aod  no  doubt  the 
present  year  has  furnished  more  than  its  average  portion  -  f  losses  over 
and  above  that  ot  success.  Planting  has  been  advocited  as  a  means 
of  snnttiiig  out  the  foreigner,  but  apparently  without  effect.  The  low 
price  at  which  much  f  reign  fruit  is  retailed  rn  st  proviue  but  small 
returns  for  tiie  actual  grower  after  so  many  dues  have  been  paid  out 
of  it.— R.  A.  W. 
