Supplement  to  j 
March  14, 1901.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  209 
Double  Cinerarias. 
On  page  150  of  your  issue  of  February  21st  I  observe  what  must 
certainly  be  a  lapsvs  calami  on  the  part  of  your  able  correspondent 
R.  Dean.  In  the  paragraph  dealing  with  Cinerarias  he  says,  “  Very 
fine  double  strains  have  been  secured,  but  they  are  scarcely  popular,  as 
they  can  be  increased  only  by  division  or  cuttings.’’  As  such  a 
statement  as  this,  coming  from  so  able  an  authority  as  Mr.  Dean,  is 
likely  to  cause  some  confusion,  I  shall  feel  obliged  if  you  will  kindly 
allow  me  to  state  that  the  seed  of  double  Cinerarias  can  be  obtained 
frcm  any  respectable  seed  merchant  in  Europe,  and  while  some  of  the 
plants  produced  revert  to  the  single  type,  a  good  proportion  of  them 
produce  beautiful  double  flowers.  Being  a  composite  flower  there  is 
nothing  unusual  in  this. 
As  regards  the  improvement  that  has  been  made  in  the  size  of  the 
blooms  of  the  single  varieties,  the  following  extract  from  an  article  by 
A.  Kendall  of  Stoke  Newington  (one  of  the  foremost  raisers  of  the 
hybrid  forms)  in  “  The  Florist  ”  for  April,  1849,  may  be  of  interest  to 
your  readers.  The  article  is  entitled  “  Properties  of  a  Good  Cineraria,” 
and  states,  “  The  size  of  the  flower  is  a  secondary  consideration ;  but 
where  every  other  property  is  equally  good  a  large  flower  will  always 
take  the  lead,  and  I  do  hope  yet  to  see  every  pip  as  large  as  a  half- 
crown  and  as  round  as  a  full  moon.  The  petals  should  slightly  cup  ; 
a  perfectly  flat  flower  will  pass,  but  if  the  petals  reflex  it  is  a  fatal 
point.  The  habit  of  the  plant  should  be  close,  throwing  up  a  large 
compact  mass  of  flower.  Colour  must  of  necessity  take  a  last  place, 
but  as  a  general  rule  the  high  colours  have  most  admirers  ;  .  .  .  yellow 
and  scarlet  are  perhaps  not  altogether  hopeless  colours  for  the 
Cineraria.  ...  In  the  tipped  or  parti-coloured  ones  a  mazarine  blue 
and  a  rich  purple  are  much  wanted.”  In  the  same  work  appears  a 
coloured  plate  of  three  new  varieties  raised  by  A.  Kendall,  and  one  by 
E.  G.  Henderson.  The  extreme  width  of  the  largest  flower,  named 
Richard  Cobden,  is  exactly  that  of  the  modern  half-crown. — S.  B.  Dicks. 
Late  Dessert  Fruits. 
It  is  only  due  to  Mr.  Cballis  that  I  should  acknowledge  the  favour 
he  has  done  me  and  other  readers  of  the  Journal  in  describing  the 
means  for  providing  such  a  wealth  of  late  dessert  in  outdoor  fruits  last 
autumn,  and  the  varieties  that  furnished  it.  If  Mr.  Cballis  detected  in 
my  comments  a  “  spice  of  satire,  if  not  of  slight  censure,”  he  certainly 
misjudged  me,  for  Mr.  Cballis’s  age  and  wide  experience  would  buoy 
one’s  thoughts  and  feelings  well  above  such  an  undesirable  water  mark. 
Many  will  agree  that  it  is  admittedly  more  satisfactory  and  pleasant  to 
know  who  one’s  combatant  is,  whether  to  agree  or  disagree,  but  the 
initial  signature  often  conveys  a  virtue  which,  1  am  sure,  Mr.  Challis 
will  not  despise  even  in  a  supposed  opponent — namely,  modesty.  The 
object  was  the  gain,  not  only  for  the  writer  who  assumes  an  initial 
signature  only,  but  other  readers  as  well,  because  the  subject  is  one  of 
such  vital  importance  to  every  gardener  responsible  for  a  fruit  crop. 
Reviewing  my  note  with  a  critical  eye,  Mr.  Challis  evidently  over¬ 
looked  some  of  the  points  raised,  for  he  says,  “  With  reference  to  the 
flavour  of  late  fruits  there  are  diverse  opinions,  but  as  beauty  is  said 
to  be  in  the  eye  of  the  gazer,  so  flavour  is  on  the  palate  of  each 
individual.  .  .  .  Should  we  not  let  the  test  of  flavour  rest  with 
whom  it  is  our  duty  to  endeavour  to  please  ?  ”  Most  certainly  this 
should  be  every  gardener’s  aim,  and  might  it  not  be  further  said  that 
gardeners’  ideas  become  largely  the  concentrated  opinions  of  their 
employers  ?  There  are  a  great  many  kinds  of  fruits  that,  speaking 
personally,  I  do  not  even  taste,  and  an  expressed  opinion  of  the  merits 
of  these  is,  more  often  than  otherwise,  based  on  the  opinions  of  others. 
If  Mr.  Challis  refers  to  my  previous  comments  he  will  find  that 
Golden  Eagle  was  grown  here,  but  found  wanting  in  flavour,  and  thus 
a  request  was  given  for  its  place  to  be  filled  with  another.  This  was 
from  a  cold  Peach  case,  probably  from  outdoors  it  may  be  of  better 
flavour.  There  are  plenty  of  cases  where  Salwey  has  been  planted  and 
rooted  out  again,  simply  on  the  score  of  quality  ;  but  the  prospect  of 
having  Peaches  in  November  for  shooting  parties  is  so  tempting  that 
1  feel  sure  those  even  who  have  discarded  these  late  ones  will  reinstate 
them ;  at  any  rate,  speaking  for  myself,  I  shall  not  be  surprised  if 
another  autumn  order  for  fruit  trees  will  not  contain  these  late  Peaches 
among  the  number.  With  a  varying  season  there  comes  to  some  extent 
a  correspondingly  varying  depth  of  quality,  and  thus  what  in  one  season 
may  be  despised,  would  in  another  pass  without  such  censure. 
I  must  admit  that  in  the  successful  keeping  of  Coe’s  Golden  Drop 
Plums  I  have  not  been  successful  in  maintaining  a  supply  of  sound 
fruit  later  than  the  beginning  of  November.  With  me  Coe’s  Late  Red 
last  autumn  was  in  mid-November  of  excellent  quality,  firm  and  better 
in  flavour  than  Golden  Drop.  These  were  gathered  from  an  east  wall, 
the  Golden  Dmp  from  a  west  aspect.  I  have  since  planted  the  latter  on 
an  east  wall  so  as  to,  if  possible,  find  a  site  that  may  be  favourable  for 
a  few  days’  later  use.  Coping  would  be  a  decided  gain  in  the  preserva¬ 
tion  of  the  fruit  from  rain  and  frost,  but  this,  unfortunately,  does  not 
come  within  the  means  of  many  gardeners,  not  even  for  Peach  growth. 
A  portion  of  a  south  wall  planted  with  Peaches  was  such  a  failure  here 
from  leaf  blister  in  spring  that  they  were  replaced  by  other  trees.  A 
coping  of  glass  has  quite  altered  this,  and  now  Peaches  and  Apricots 
which  are  reinstated  have  changed  the  once  attendant  worries  into 
successful  crops,  with  far  less  labour  and  anxiety. — R.  A. 
- +•«*♦> - 
Immature  Tomatoes. 
I  read  with  considerable  interest  the  article  on  immature  Tomatoes. 
Last  year  my  plants  were  affected  in  a  similar  manner.  They  were 
grown  in  pots,  in  an  unheated  house,  and  bore  a  very  heavy  crop.  But 
with  very  few  exceptions,  the  upper  part  of  the  fruit  remained  quite 
green  and  hard,  while  the  other  portion  was  perfectly  ripe.  It  did  not 
appear  to  affect  the  quality  of  the  fruit,  but  the  appearance  was  quite 
spoilt,  which  for  table  use  is  quite  as  important.  As  regards  feeding, 
they  were  watered  with  weak  manure  water,  drainings  from  the  manure 
heap,  with  an  occasional  sprinkle  of  Thomson’s  manure.  I  have  been 
much  puzzled  as  to  the  cause,  and  would  be  glad  if  someone  would  give 
their  opinion  on  the  matter. — W.  T.  C. 
Tl}e  Persimmon 
I  have  been  interested  in  reading  the  recent  allusions  to  the 
Persimmon  in  the  Journal,  as  it  is  an  old  friend  of  mine.  When 
resident  at  Hong  Kong  many  years  ago  it  figured  prominently  amid 
the  many  fruits  in  the  market  there.  Together  with  the  Pine  Apple, 
the  Mango,  the  Litchi,  and  the  Banana,  it  forms  a  refreshing 
concomitant  of  every  meal  during  the  hot  summer  months,  when  the 
temperature  is  above  80°  night  and  day  and  the  air  drenching  with 
mist  and  rain.  Under  these  circumstances  the  pulpy  and  acidulous 
flesh  of  the  Persimmon  is  more  grateful  and  better  adapted  to  please 
the  palate  than  any  of  our  temperate  fruits.  But  it  by  no  means 
possesses  the  ambiguous  and  unflattering  character  given  it  in  your 
paragraph  of  last  week,  being  there  perfectly  ripened.  I  believe  the  unripe 
Persimmon  is  used  figuratively  in  the  southern  United  States  to  express 
the  quintessence  of  all  that  is  nauseous,  much  as  assafoetida  is  here  ;  but 
1  have  never  encountered  it  in  this  condition.  When  grown  naturally 
in  its  proper  habitat  it  is  more  agreeable  and  less  cloying  than  most 
tropical  frnits.  It  is  very  like  a  medium-si-zed  foreign  Tomato  of  a  dull 
brick-red  colour,  and  when  cut  across  shows  no  dissepiments,  but  a 
mass  of  flesh-coloured  seedless  pulp.  It  has  this  superiority  to  the 
Mango  that  you  can  eat  it  with  ease,  while  to  watch  the  efforts  made  by 
a  novice  to  gnaw  the  flesh  off  the  flat-seeded  Mango  suggests  the  antics 
of  a  hungry  dog  attacking  a  bladebone,  and  an  expenditure  of  energy 
incompatible  with  the  climatic  conditions  of  the  Hong  Kong  summer. 
— Bungalow. 
Cyclamens. 
A  few  months  ago  a  correspondent  to  the  Journal  remarked  that 
he  intended  placing  his  Cyclamens  for  their  flowering  period  upon  a 
gentle  hotbed,  so  that  the  moisture  rising  from  the  fermenting  material 
would  keep  the  soil  in  the  pots  moist,  and  render  watering  in  the 
usual  way  almost  unnecessary,  it  being  his  opinion  that  watering 
upon  the  crowns  amongst  the  leaves  and  flowers  is  the  main  cause  of 
damping.  Perhaps  others  have,  like  myself,  been  looking  for  an 
account  of  the  result  of  such  treatment.  It  is  customary  when  potting 
Cyclamens  not  to  cover  more  than  one-third  of  the  corm  with  soil, 
leaving  two-thirds  of  it  and  all  the  leaves  it  has  on  quite  bare.  When 
a  plant  is  watered  from  a  can,  even  if  the  stream  is  directed  into  the 
centre  of  the  growths,  if  the  drainage  be  good  it  will  all  have  passed 
through  the  soil,  moistening  it,  and  wash  away  acids  which  would  if 
allowed  to  remain  cause  sourness  and  injure  the  roots  and  rootlets. 
If  the  atmosphere  be  dry  the  parts  of  the  plants  exposed  which  got 
wetted  will  quickly  dry  again.  Keeping  the  soil  moist  by  standing  the 
plants  on  a  bed  of  damp  material  the  moisture  is  stagnant  in  the  soil, 
rendering  it  very  liable  to  acid-sourness,  also  a  moist  atmosphere  is 
maintained  continually,  which  will  be  far  more  liable  to  cause  flower 
and  leaf  buds  to  damp  off  than  being  wetted  for  a  short  time  only  by 
watering  in  the  ordinary  way  in  a  dry  atmosphere.  Having  discovered 
the  practice  of  placing  Cyclamens  during  their  flowering  period  on 
stages  and  beds  of  dry  ashes  in  structures  where  a  dry  atmosphere 
prevails  productive  of  good  results,  I  conclude  it  is  a  commendable 
one.  I  have  found  that  when  prominent  markings  in  the  foliage  is 
desired  a  little  extra  peat  added  to  the  compost  of  the  final  potting  will 
be  found  useful.  Perhaps  your  aforesaid  correspondent  might  give  us 
his  experience. — H.  C.  H. 
