466 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  30,  1901. 
injury  to  Strawberry  Leaves  and  Blooms  ( County  Armagh  Strawberry 
Grower). — The  leaves  have  small  holes  in  them,  and  are  probably  caused 
by  some  weevil,  good  traps  for  which  are  condensed  milk  or  similar 
tins  sunk  in  the  ground  level  with  the  surface,  and  a  little  tar  water 
plaoed  in  each.  The  weevils  hide  by  day,  and  come  out  at  night  to  feed. 
They  readily  find  the  darkness  of  the  tins,  drop  in,  and  never  come  out 
again.  The  flower  buds  and  set  berries  are  more  or  less  browned  and 
blackened,  as  if  by  frost,  there  not  at  present  being  any  traces  of 
disease.  This  we  consider  the  cause  of  the  mischief,  some  being  similarly 
affected  in  low-lying  districts,  while  those  on  higher  ground  are  not 
injured  in  the  least. 
Peaches  Unsatisfactory  (N.  A.). — It  is  difficult  to  account  for  three 
of  the  six  trees  in  the  house  having  a  “  nice  crop  ”  of  fruit  whilst  the 
other  three  “  have  lost  nearly  all  their  fruit  ”  when  about  the  size  of 
Peas.  The  oause  is  imperfeot  fertilisation,  although  the  whole  of  the 
trees  flowered  well  and  the  fruit  set  all  right.  There  is  a  difference  in 
variety,  some  varieties  being  more  prone  to  cast  the  fruit  before  taking 
the  first  swelling  after  setting  than  others  ;  but,  apart  from  varietal 
proclivities,  the  casting  of  the  fruit  chiefly  arises  from  imperfeot 
ripening  of  the  wood  in  the  previous  season,  the  trees  being  too 
vigorous,  and  prone  to  make  wood  rather  than  swell  the  crop.  It  is 
certain  that  a  check  to  growth,  such  as  that  induoed  by  careful  lifting 
of  the  trees  in  the  autumn  as  soon  as  the  leaves  commence  falling,  and 
replanting  in  firm  soil  of  a  rather  strong  oalcareous  nature,  insures  not 
only  a  good  setting,  but  also  certain  swelling  and  stoning  of  the  fruit. 
This  we  advise  in 
your  case,  with  the 
inducing  of  a  sturdy 
short-jointed  growth 
by  well  exposure  of 
the  shoots  to  light 
and  air,  and  top- 
dressingsof  fertiliser 
of  a  phosphoric  and 
p  o  t  a  s  8  i  c  nature 
rather  than  nitro- 
genic,  say  super¬ 
phosphate  of  lime 
five  parts,  sulphate 
of  potash  three  parts 
and  sulphate  of  mag¬ 
nesia  two  parts, 
mixed,  applyiog  4 
ozs.  of  the  mixture 
per  square  yard  at 
the  time  of  prun¬ 
ing  the  trees  or 
before  starting  into 
growth. 
Treatment  of  As¬ 
paragus  Plants  in 
Second  Year  after 
Planting  ( G.F.O.B. ). 
— We  are  glad  our 
advisements  have 
been  useful  to  you, 
and  we  like  bother¬ 
ing,  so  as  to  be 
useful  to  our  readers. 
It  certainly  is  not  a 
good  plan  to  allow 
the  grass  to  be  blown 
over, as  it  injures  the 
plants  when  the  grass  is  broken,  but  at  the  same  time  it  hardly  pays  to 
stake  the  plants,  and  indeed  we  have  not  found  it  necessary  in  growing 
for  market,  or  even  home  use  on  a  rather  extensive  scale.  It  is  certain 
the  roots  will  run  into  the  gangway  between  each  bed  (and  all  the 
better),  and  it  is  well  to  feed  these  with  Mushroom-bed  manure,  not, 
however,  bringing  the  alleys  quite  level  with  the  beds,  as  this  may  cause 
water  to  lodge  about  the  corms  and  induce  decay,  though  this  is  not 
very  likely,  as  the  soil  is  of  a  rather  dry  nature.  Do  not  allow  the 
plants  to  seed,  but  strip  off  the  berries  as  soon  as  they  can  be  handled 
readily,  seeding  being  an  extremely  weakening  process.  The  plants 
are  quite  close  enough  already  to  produoe  good  heads,  and  to  crowd  the 
beds  with  seedlings  is  a  very  bad  praotice.  Yes,  there  are  artificial 
manures  that  greatly  assist  Asparagus  growth.  One  of  the  best  is 
composed  of  nitrate  of  soda,  1£  part  (lb.  or  owt.)  ;  dissolved  bones, 
2£  parts ;  muriate  of  potash,  f  part ;  dried  blood,  £  part ;  and  best 
quality  kainit,  2  parts,  mixed,  applying  4  ozs.  of  the  mixture  (as  soon  as 
made)  per  square  yard,  or  7  lbs.  per  rod,  or  8  cwt.  per  acre.  It  is  best 
to  give  the  top-dressing  twice,  say  in  March  sand  again  at  the 
beginning  of  June,  using,  of  course,  half  quantity  each  time.  Next 
spring  you  may  rely  on  good  heads  for  cutting,  but  it  is  not  good 
practice  to  out  too  heavily  the  first  season,  and  not  later  than  the  early 
part  or  middle  of  June.  For  autumn  you  could  not  have  anything  better 
than  the  Mushroom-bed  manure,  giving  them  a  top-dressing  of  dissolved 
bones,  1  part ;  basic  slag  phosphate,  2  parts  ;  and  kainit,  3  parts,  mixed, 
I  applying  4  ozs.  of  the  mixture  per  square  yard. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  EDITOR,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.c.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
Horns  and  Hoof  Parings  (Reader). — They  are  of  particular  value  in 
supplying  nitrogen  to  the  roots  of  trees. 
Aphides  on  Peach  Trees  (A.  L.  S.). — We  should  try  light  fumigations 
on  three  consecutive  nights,  as  a  strong  volume  of  tobacco  smoke  is 
injurious  to  the  foliage  of  Peach  trees. 
Gymnogramma  schizophylla  (F.  R.  S.). — This  is  one  of  the  best 
known  and  most  graceful  of  the  “  Gold  Ferns,”  and  our  illustration 
shows  its  oharaoter 
well.  Pot  in  a  com¬ 
post  of  peat,  1  part ; 
fibrous  yellow  loam, 
1  part;  and  say  a  half 
part  of  coarse  sand 
and  some  crushed 
charcoal.  Maintain 
a  temperature  be¬ 
tween  65°  and  75°, 
or  higher  with  sun 
heat.  Shade  from 
bright  sun,  but  do 
not  syringe  the 
plants.  Moisture  is 
essential  in  the 
atmosphere. 
Birds  and  Pears 
(M.  M.).  —  Some 
stout  circular  pieces 
of  cardboard  similar 
to  the  collars  that 
are  used  for  sup¬ 
porting  the  petals 
of  Carnations,  with 
a  slit  made  from  the 
side  to  the  centre, 
with  a  very  small 
hole,  so  that  the 
collars  can  be  fitted 
round  the  stalk, 
would  surely  pre¬ 
vent  the  birds  from 
pecking  round  the 
stalk.  We  have 
known  the  good 
effects  of  these  col¬ 
lars  in  baffling  the 
mischievous  tits  that  seem  to  delight  in  spoiling  as  many  Pears  as 
they  can. 
Grapes  Spotted  (H.  N.  if.).  — The  berries  are  what  is  termed  “  spotted,” 
which  has  been  regarded  by  some  cultivators  as  constitutional,  inasmuch 
as  the  connection  between  the  affected  parts  and  the  seeds  and  axis 
may  be  traced.  On  its  first  appearance,  whioh  is  when  the  Grapes  are 
young,  tender,  and  swelling  fast,  a  small  irregular  whitish  mark  is  seen 
on  the  side  of  the  berry,  as  if  it  had  been  bruised  in  some  way,  the 
pulp  beneath  dries  up,  and  a  sort  of  contraction  occurs,  the  berry  soon 
assuming  a  one-sided  appearance  or  irregular  form,  and  in  this  respect 
has  a  close  resemblance  to  scalding.  Indeed,  some  cultivators  believe 
the  spot  to  be  caused  by  sudden  chills,  such  as  having  the  house  very 
close  and  moist,  and  then  suddenly,  on  some  bright  morning,  admitting 
the  external  cold  air  too  freely  and  too  abundantly.  This  is  practically 
the  same  as  scalding — late  or  imperfect  ventilation  on  some 
bright  sunny  morning  whilst  the  internal  atmosphere,  and  even  the 
berries,  are  saturated  with  moisture.  The  preventive  upon  these 
grounds  is  a  little  ventilation  constantly,  increasing  the  ventilation 
early  in  the  morning  before  the  sun  acts  powerfully  upon  the  bouse, 
and  keeping  a  gentle  warmth  in  the  hot- water  pipes,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
deposition  of  moisture  on  the  berries.  But  the  real  canse  of  spot  is  a 
fungus,  Gioeosporium  laeticolor,  for  which  there  is  no  remedy,  but  the 
infested  berries  should  be  cut  out,  and  the  conditions  of  cultural 
treatment  foreshown  avoided,  then  spot  seldom  cr  never  makes  its 
appearance. 
Gymnogramma  schizophyli^. 
