October  25,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
377 
Asparagus  Beds  with  Manure. 
I  NOTICE  in  the  Journal  of  October  11th  (page  336),  that  “  G.” 
recommends  mulching  Asparagus  beds  with  manure.  It  was  practised 
here  for  a  number  of  years — in  fact,  I  believe  at  one  time  it  was 
considered  absolutely  necessary,  and  of  course  I  thought  so,  until  I  was 
taught  by  Nature’s  laws  that  it  was  not,  bnt,  on  the  other  hand, 
injurious  to  the  roots  during  winter.  I  had  a  few  roots  at  the  end  of 
one  of  my  beds  that  strayed,  and  consequently  missed  the  mulching  of 
manure,  and  they  came  in  the  spring  quite  a  week  earlier,  and  much 
stronger.  I  therefore  gave  up  the  mulching.  I  fancy  I  hear  someone 
saying,  “  What  sort  of  a  soil  has  he  ?  ”  Well,  it  is  a  heavy,  loamy  soil, 
adapted  for  Rose  and  fruit  growing.  Others  may  say  that  with  a  dry 
gravelly  snbsoil  to  contend  with  mulching  would  be  necessary  and 
beneficial.  But  I  have  an  old  friend  and  neighbour  who  has  a  light 
soil  and  gravelly  subsoil,  and  his  Asparagus  beds  we»e  anything  but 
satisfactory  until  he  gave  up  the  autumn  mulching.  It  is  now  five  or 
six  years  since  he  gave  it  up,  and  he  recently  told  me  that  the  last 
season  had  been  the  best  one  he  had  ever  had.  Some  of  my  beds  I 
know  are  more  than  eighty  years  ol  I,  and  possibly  a  hundred,  as  the 
gardens  here  were  made  in  1798,  and  I  can  say  they  are  in  every  way 
satisfactory. — T.  Welch,  Qrove  Hall,  Retford,  Notts. 
Autumii  Primrose  Flowers. 
What  a  melancholy  jeremiad  the  “  Morning  Post  ”  seems  to  have 
uttered,  according  to  the  short  paragraph  on  the  above  subject  quoted 
from  that  journal  last  week.  A  less  lugubrious  or  pessimistic  winter  would 
have  deduced  from  the  report  of  Primroses  being  in  bloom  now  very 
favourable  omens  of  the  success  of  a  certain  political  pirty  at  the 
polls.  But  in  either  case  the  deductions  would  be  nonsense,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  the  Primroses  in  question  are  not  those  of  P.  vulgaris, 
but  of  the  garden  forms  of  Polyanthus  or  Primrose,  which  differ 
materially  from  the  prototype.  But  this  autumn  blooming  is  nothing 
unusual.  I  have  had  plants  that  during  such  seasons  as  the  past  have 
retained  their  leafage  well,  that  have  bloomed  by  hundreds  at  this  time 
of  the  year,  and,  if  the  weather  has  been  mild,  literally  all  through 
the  winter.  I  have  no  doubt  there  are  hundreds  of  gardens  where  the 
blue  Primroses  are  flowering  now,  and  certainly  vast  numbers  where  the 
Polyanthuses  are  in  bloom. 
It  is  amusing  to  find  some  person  who  has  perhaps  a  score  of  plants 
in  a  garden  of  10  rods  in  area  getting  one  or  two  into  bloom,  thus,  as  it 
were,  out  of  season,  and  at  once  rushing  headlong  into  print  with  the 
little  incident  related,  as  though  it  were  a  wonder,  or  perhaps  more 
marvellously,  an  important  political  omen.  How  many  persons  who 
grow  Tiolets  have  not  on  their  plants  precocious  blooms.  The  fiowers 
can  now  be  purchased  cheaply  because  plentiful. — A.  D. 
Automobiles  and  Fruit  Transit. 
I  NATURALLY  wondered  when  I  read  your  note  of  Mr.  Bunyard’s 
paper  read  before  the  Horticultural  Club  and  the  discussion  which 
followed,  what  would  have  to  be  the  nature  of  the  motor  or  automobile 
service  which  could  compete  with  railways  and  convey  fruit  from  the 
orchards  to  London  or  other  market  centres.  Does  not  the  idea 
suggest  to  practical  minds  something  of  Utopia?  Imagine  one  locality 
having  a  daily  consignment  of  say  1000  bushels  of  fruit,  how  many  of 
these  contemplated  motors  would  be  needed  to  cart  them  distances  of 
from  twenty  to  fifty  miles,  and  how  long  would  they  be  in  the  doing  it  ? 
Still  farther,  after  being  jolted  over  our  roads  by  such  method,  what 
would  be  the  condition  of  the  fruit  when  it  reached  its  destination  ? 
Should,  too,  a  leading  motor  break  down,  and  that  seems  a  common 
occurrence,  what  a  fine  block  of  all  the  later  traffic  would  be  created. 
The  proposal  seems  even  less  feasible  than  is  that  suggested 
previously  of  utilising  water  transit,  which,  apart  from  being  terribly 
slow,  is  not  available  for  the  more  remote  fruit  growing  districts. 
But  the  vote  showed  that  because  of  the  immense  strain  put  upon  the 
metropolitan  markets  and  salesmen  through  the  immense  quantities  of 
fruit  sent  in,  it  was  clear  that  to  send  still  more  of  fruit  to  the 
metropolis  would  be  sheer  folly ;  as  it  was  the  enormous  quantity  sent 
reduced  prices  far  below  profit  capacities.  The  defects  of  our  fruit 
growing  methods  are  that  we  produce  far  too  much  inferior  fruit  and  not 
nearly  enough  of  the  best.  The  inferior  bulks  pull  down  prices,  and 
the  best,  when  it  is  found,  suffers  in  consequence.  But  really  it  is 
impossible  for  fruit  in  any  appreciable  quantity  to  find  its  way  to 
market  unless  through  the  railways,  and  the  aim  of  fruit  growers  should 
be  to  improve  that  mode  of  transit. — Onlooker. 
Birds  ¥.  Fruit. 
With  the  approach  of  the  ripening  season  of  many  or  almost 
all  fruits,  the  worries  of  the  fruit  grower  are  set  in  motion  by  the 
persistent  visitations  of  birds — blackbirds,  thrushes,  and  tomtits  in 
particular.  At  the  present  season,  or  from  August  onwards,  when 
Pears  as  they  approach  their  matured  stage,  tomtits  are  sure  to  make 
their  presence  felt  by  the  spoiling  of  the  best  samples,  both  in  the 
matter  of  variety  and  specimen.  They  are  extremely  good  judges  of 
the  best,  and  Pears  of  any  particular  merit  are  the  first  to  be  molested. 
As  a  role  we  have  had  not  only  the  birds  in  question,  but  wasps  and 
hornets  following  in  their  train,  the  holes  made  in  the  fruit  by  the  birds 
being  just  what  the  wasps  and  hornets  require,  hence  one  is  a 
convenience  for  the  other,  and  the  gardener  finds  much  of  his  fruit 
dwindling  away  as  food  for  these  intruders  instead  of  filling  his  fruit 
store  shelves.  My  experience  this  year  has  been  a  pleasant  surprise, 
tomtits  for  some  reason  having  been  absent.  Perhaps  in  the  country’s 
wealth  of  Apples  and  Pears  they  may  have  found  “  other  fields  and 
pastures  new.”  Pears  like  Marie  Louise,  Doyenne  du  Comice,  and 
Seckle  it  has  been  useless  attempting  to  cultivate  unless  the  fruit  could 
be  pro'rected  with  fine-meshed  nets  or  muslin  bags.  Though  wasps  have 
been  numerous  they  have  given  no  trouble  whatever  among  Pears, 
but  Plums  as  usual  have  received  a  share  of  attention.  The  wealth 
of  these,  however,  made  it  such  that  the  proportion  spoilt  by  them  has 
scarcely  been  felt.  There  is  a  little  mystery  about  the  absence  of 
“  tits,”  because  for  several  seasons  war  has  been  waged  against  them 
without  any  apparent  diminution  of  their  numbers  in  autumn.  A  few 
stray  birds  have  been  seen  occasionally  this  autumn,  but  they  did  not 
stay.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  if  other  readers  have  had  a 
similar  exemption  from  the  raids  of  tomtits  and  wasps  as  affecting 
Apples  and  Pears,  or  whether  it  has  only  a  local  bearing. — W.  S.,  Wilts. 
Iris  Sasiana. 
A  CORRESPONDENT  some  months  ago  requested  information  regarding 
the  proper  treatment  of  this  grand  flower.  It  was  touched  upon  in  the 
Journal  in  1899,  but  what  was  written  then  may  be  supplemented  at 
the  present  time,  when  planting  should  be  effected.  Iris  Susiana  is  a 
native  of  the  Levant,  and  consequently  is  not  so  hardy  as  Continental 
species. 
The  difficulty  attending  its  cultivation  is  increased  from  the  plant 
commencing  to  grow  in  late  autumn  and  continuing  in  growth  throughout 
winter  and  spring  till  its  foliage  dies  back  in  summer,  when  the 
rhizomes  must  have  complete  rest.  These  points  indicate  a  dry  position 
as  a  first  essential,  because  if  wet  in  winter  the  growth  would  be  of  a 
nature  to  succumb  to  a  moderately  severe  frost,  and  unless  very  dry  in 
summer  the  plant  would  not  secure  the  period  of  rest  so  necessary  to 
its  existence.  Water  during  the  period  between  April  and  June  is  so 
needful  that  its  application  cannot  be  neglected.  The  base  of  a  south 
wall,  and  in  as  dry  a  position  as  oxn  be  secured,  is  of  first  importance. 
The  plant  undoubtedly  prefers  a  good  bolding  soil,  but  it  is  wise  to 
plant  on  a  slightly  raised  mound  of  potting  compost. 
During  frosty  weather  the  foliage  must  be  protected  by  means  of 
dry  fern  or  mats  placed  over  the  plants.  I  find  some  plants  are  more 
susceptible  to  frost  than  others,  and  doubtless  this  points  to  imported 
roots  being  seedlings,  which  is  borne  out  by  variations  apparent  in 
foliage  and  flowers  of  different  plants.  Like  other  Irises  this  one 
appreciates  an  annual  application  of  manure  to  the  surface  of  the  soil 
above  its  roots. — B. 
Tomatoes  and  Coal  Ashes. 
One  day  during  the  early  part  of  the  summer  I  called  on  my 
neighbour,  Mr.  A.  E.  Sutton,  the  gardener  at  Castle  Howard,  the 
Yorkshire  seat  of  the  Eirl  of  Carlisle.  After  looking  through  the 
outdoor  departments  the  houses  were  inspected,  and  although  this  is 
really  a  note  on  Tomatoes,  I  should  like  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the 
excellence  of  the  Peach  houses  and  their  occupants.  Mr.  Sutton  drew 
my  attention  to  some  Tomato  plants  that  were  growing  in  a  span-roof 
house,  remarking  that  they  were  the  strongest  and  best  he  had  had  for 
some  time,  but  could  hardly  account  for  it  as  they  had  only  4  inches 
of  soil  to  support  them.  They  were,  indeed,  as  good  as  one  need  wish 
to  see ;  as  well  as  being  strong  and  healthy  they  carried  large  trusses 
of  fruit. 
There  is  a  bed  on  each  side  of  the  house  about  5  feet  wide.  These 
had  been  in  previous  years,  I  was  informed,  filled  with  soil  the  whole 
width,  but  I  am  not  sure  about  the  depth.  This  season  a  different  plan 
has  been  tried.  In  the  spring  the  old  soil  was  taken  out  and  the  bed 
filled  in  with  ashes,  made  very  firm,  allowing  enough  room  for  the  soil 
to  be  laid  on  the  top.  Two  rows  of  plants  are  accommodated,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  bed  ;  the  one  nearest  the  pathway  being  trained  upright, 
the  other  up  the  side  of  house  and  the  roof.  The  roots  are  not,  however, 
allowed  the  whole  width  of  the  bed,  but  are  restricted  to  a  width  of 
about  14  inches  by  running  planks  along.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that 
the  space  allotted  to  the  plants  was  14  inches  wide,  and  4  inches  deep. 
Having  read  in  our  Journal  that  coal  ashes  were  excellent  material  for 
Tomatoes,  I  intimated  to  Mr.  Sutton  that  no  doubt  they  had  a  great 
deal  to  do  with  his  good  plants.  No  further  soil  has  been  added  a 
