404  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  November  i,  1900. 
The  Mulberry  Tree. — Much  interest  is  taken  nowadays  in 
country  things  which  grow  in  London.  Fig  trees  flourish,  as  is  very 
well  known,  in  almost  any  part  of  London,  though  their  fruit  ripens 
not,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Grape  Vine.  But  there  is  certainly 
one  tree  which  will  flourish  in  the  dingiest  of  London  gardens,  and, 
what  is  more,  bear  fruit  there — the  Mulberry.  It  is  not  long  ago  since 
a  writer  in  a  daily  contemporary  saw  a  Mulberry  tree  covered  with 
fruit,  black  and  red,  in  a  back  garden  in  Chelsea.  Two  men  were 
climbing  about  the  tree,  relieving  it  of  the  black  fruit,  of  which  there 
was  a  large  quantity,  and  a  crowd  of  young  urchins  was  gathered 
together  in  the  street  begging  for  a  few  berries.  That  is  not  a  sight 
you  see  every  day  or  year  in  town. 
Potato  Cultivation'^ In  iVssam. — The  following  paragraph  occurs 
in  the  annual  administration  report  of  Sylheb  for  1S99-1900 :  “  Potato 
cultivation  on  the  Upper  Shillong  Experimental  Farm  was  attended 
with  success.  In  March  1900,  over  2  acres  were  planted,  and  the  crop 
gathered  in  July  gave  a  yield  of  316  maunds,  or  more  than  fourteen 
times  the  seed  used.  One  English  variety.  Abundance,  gave  a  twenty - 
fold  return,  and  as  it  is  a  hardy  variety,  will  probably  do  well  in  the 
Khasi  Hills.  The  average  outturn  per  acre  was  158  maunds,  con¬ 
siderably  more  than  the  ordinary  outturn  in  the  Khasi  and  Jaintia 
Hills,  which  is  stated  to  be  45  maunds  for  the  first  and  18  maunds  for 
the  second  sowing.  This  large  outturn  was  due  to  the  use  of  oil-cake  and 
Bordeaux  mixture.”  The  oil-cake  was,  of  course,  the  manure  used,  the 
Bordeaux  mixture  being  an  insecticide,  probably  helped  to  keep  down 
insect  pests.  [A  maund  varies  from  ^  to  f  of  a  cwt.]. 
Disease  of  Birch  Trees  In  Epplng  Forest, — In  Epping  Forest, 
and  in  other  districts  around  London,  Birch  trees  have  been  attacked 
during  the  late  summer  by  a  disease  which  causes  them  to  die  very 
rapidly.  In  a  portion  of  the  Forest  known  as  Lord’s  Bushes  thirteen 
diseased  and  twenty-four  completely  dead  trees  were  noted  on 
June  10th  within  an  area  of  about  1^  acre.  A  few  were  attacked 
in  the  Forest  in  the  summer  of  1899,  but  it  was  not  till  this  year  that 
the  disease  appeared  in  such  a  destructive  form.  On  Chislehurst 
Common,  Hayes  Common,  and  Keston  Common  no  signs  of  the  disease 
were  evident  in  the  early  summer,  but  now  dead  or  diseased  trees  may 
be  found  in  great  numbers.  Trees  attacked  in  a  similar  manner  occur 
at  Walton -on -Thames,  by  the  canal  between  Weybridge  and  Woking, 
at  Lewisham,  and  at  Westerham.  The  disease  is  probably  due  to  a 
micro  fungus,  Melanconis  stilbostoma,  Tid.,  for  it  appears  on  the 
branches  of  both  living  and  dead  trees.  The  diagnosis  of  the 
disease  is  almost  precisely  that  of  Valsa  oxystoma,  described  as  the 
destroyer  of  Alnus  viridis  in  some  parts  of  the  Tyrol.  It  would 
be  interesting,  says  Mr.  R.  Paulson  in  “  Nature,”  to  know  if  any 
readers  have  observed  the  disease  in  the  Midlands  or  in  the  North 
of  England. 
Pear  Conference. — It  may  interest  many  of  the  readers  of  the 
Journal  of  Horticulture  to  hear  how  this  comparatively  new  Pear  does 
in  a  town  garden.  The  late  Mr.  T.  F.  Rivers,  whose  memory  will 
always  be  green  with  fruit  growers,  sent  me  this  Pear  a  few  years 
since  for  trial,  shortly  after  the  gieat  Fruit  Couferenoe,  after  which 
it  is  called,  and  which  had  received  a  first-class  certificate.  For 
the  last  two  years  the  crop  was  comparatively  light,  but  this  year 
was  unusually  heavy,  and  the  fruits  magnificent.  I  am  forwarding 
you  specimens  to  see.  I  am  satisfied  you  cannot  do  Pear  growers 
a  greater  favour  than  by  making  this  variety  better  known.  The 
following  description  exactly  corresponds  with  my  experience : — 
“Fruit  large,  pyriform;  skin  dark  green  and  russet;  flesh  salmon 
coloured,  melting,  juicy,  and  rich.  Tree  robust  and  hardy ;  very 
prolific  ;  a  good  garden  and  orchard  fruit.  November  Ist  to  end  of 
third  week.”  I  have  found  some  of  mine  ripe  three  weeks  ago.  It 
may  interest  owners  of  town  gardens  like  mine  to  know  the  soil 
with  which  I  have  had  such  fine  fruit.  The  soil  is  shallow,  and 
mostly  made  soil,  with  a  large  percentage  of  lime  and  brick  rubbish, 
and  a  third  of  road  scrapings  and  street  sweepings.  It  is  grown  as  a 
bush,  and  with  an  aspect  due  south. — W.  J.  Murphy,  Clonmel.  [The 
specimens  sent  were  excellent.] 
The  Gardener. — The  term  gardener,  says  Mr.  Meehan,  implied 
much  more  a  few  generations  ago  than  it  does  to-day.  Toung  men 
paid  heavy  premiums  to  get  in  as  apprentices  under  learned  gardeners, 
and  when  at  the  end  of  the. term  they  were  invested  with  the  “blue 
apron,”  most  of  them  would  compare  favourably,  in  general  intelligence, 
with  the  graduates  of  our  modern  universities.  The  “  Florist’s  Exchange  ” 
replies  : — “  Is  not  the  analogy  a  little  far-fetched,  and  whether  is 
the  joke  on  the  graduate  or  the  gardener  ?  There  are  some  who  yet 
hold  to  Burns’  opinion  of  graduates,  himself  the  son  of  a  gardener,  that 
these  individuals  ‘  go  into  college  stirks  and  come  out  asses.’  Despite 
the  abolition  of  the  premium  system,  we  firmly  believe  the  average  of 
general  intelligence  among  gardeners  is  as  high  to-day  as  it  was  two 
generations  ago.  The  same  fountains  of  learning  at  which  wisdom  may 
be  drunk  are  available  ;  the  same  indomitable  perseverance  in  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge  is  still  extant,  and  certainly,  in  many  ways,  a 
higher  degree  of  cultural  skill  has  been  attained,  with  attendant 
improvement  in  accruing  results  consequent  upon  advancement  along 
educational  lines.  We  do  not  think  that  the  passing  years  have  in  any 
way  altered  the  significance  of  the  term  ‘  gardener,’  accepted  in  its 
truest  sense,  and  in  countries  where  a  gardener  is  a  gardener.  Of 
course,  the  world  over,  there  are  gardeners  and  gardeners,  just  as  there 
are  graduates  of  universities  and  graduates.” 
Potatoes  and  Manures _ One  of  the  finest  and  cleanest  samples 
of  that  popular  Potato  Up-to-Date  I  have  seen  at  any  time  is 
annually  grown  in  a  large  kitchen  garden.  The  soil,  changed  every 
year  from  Ctlery  or  some  similar  crop,  gets  very  little  other 
manuring  than  is  furnished  by  leaf  soil.  Leaves  abound  in  plenty, 
and  labour  is  well  utilised  during  the  winter  in  collecting  them  and 
putting  them  into  large  heaps.  They  are  used  in  diverse  ways,  but 
especially  as  plunging  material  in  helping  to  form  beds  for  frames, 
promoting  gentle  heat,  and  in  other  ways,  such  as  help  to  decomposition. 
When  applied  to  the  soil  the  material  has  been  in  process  of  decay  for 
two  years,  and  is  therefore  in  fine  condition  as  manure.  I  have  been 
into  really  good  vegetable  gardens  where  leaf  matter  and  decayed 
garden  refuse  has  been  the  sole  manure  given  to  the  ground,  horses  or 
cows  not  being  kept,  yet  capital  crops  have  resulted.  Now,  in  tree 
leaves  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  we  furnish  to  the  soil  nutriment 
hardly  less  valuable  than  is  that  obtained  from  animal  manure.  Really 
the  decayed  vegetable  matter  is  nutriment  for  vegetation  first  hand. 
Magnificent  forests  have  resulted  almost  solely  from  leaf  matter  being 
by  decay  converted  into  plant  food,  and  thus  trees  have  been  their  own 
manufacturers,  abstracting  from  the  soil  and  from  the  atmosphere 
elements  which  in  constructing  leafage  have  enabled  the  trees  the 
following  year  to  reconstruct  leafage  and  growth  in  even  a  greater  area, 
and  thus  trees  or  forests  have  groivn.  No  doubt  if  we  use  leaves  largely 
as  manure  for  vegetable  crops  we  rob  the  trees.  But  the  utilisation  of 
the  waste  leaves  in  vegetable  crop  manuring  at  least  renders  man  the 
greatest  service. — A. 
Votes  on  Pines. — At  this  time  of  year  young  plants  are  apt  to 
become  drawn  and  weak  through  the  moisture  so  prevalent  during  the 
autumn  months.  As  growth  advances  in  young  plants  they  should 
be  placed  so  as  to  obtain  all  the  light  possible.  Owing  to  decom¬ 
position  the  beds  of  fermenting  materials  subside  considerably.  Tan 
does  not  sink  to  anytting  like  the  same  extent,  but  in  either  case 
attention  must  be  promptly  given  to  raising  the  plants.  New  beds 
should  be  prepared  when  necessary.  Tan  is  the  best  material  for 
affoi  ding  bottom  heat  for  Pines,  but  Oak  and  Beech  leaves  are  durable, 
and  the  heat  from  them  is  milder  and  lasts  longer.  It  is  good  practice 
to  assist  the  plants  at  this  time  of  year  by  arranging  them  according 
to  their  requirements  respectively  for  the  winter.  The  fruiting  plants 
must  have  a  night  temperature  of  65°,  and  70°  to  75°  by  day  from 
artificial  means,  losing  no  opportunity  of  admitting  air  at  80°,  closing  at 
that  temperature.  Successional  plants  require  a  night  temperature  of 
60°  to  65°  in  the  daytime  from  fire  heat,  advancing  from  sun  heat  to 
75°  or  more,  but  air  must  be  admitted  between  70°  and  75°.  Suckers 
or  stock  not  in  fruiting  pots  must  not  be  brought  forward  too 
rapidly,  as  they  are  not  prepared  to  make  growth  until  well  rooted 
and  have  formed  a  sturdy  base.  They  will  progress  satisfactorily  in  a 
night  temperature  of  55°  to  60°,  and  60°  to  65°  in  the  daytime,  but 
avoid  chills  or  anything  likely  to  cause  a  stunted  growth.  As  regards 
moisture,  fruiting  plants  require  a  genial  atmosphere  at  all  times. 
Succession  plants  will  only  require  sprinkling  occasionally,  as  they 
will  derive  moisture  from  the  fermenting  beds.  Suckers  will  have 
sufiicient  moisture  in  pits  without  recourse  to  syringing. — Practice. 
