50 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
July  17,  1S02. 
A  house  newly  cleared  of  Melons  or  Cucumbers  is  just  the 
place  for  a  winter  crop  of  Tomatoes,  the  young  plants  being 
sturdy  and  ready  for  planting  now.  The  crops  must  be  set  on 
the  plants  before  the  days  become  short  and  dull,  otherwise 
they  will  probably  be  very  light.  First  give  the  house  a  thorough 
cleaning  in  order  to  get  rid  of  insect  pests,  and  freshen  up  the 
soil  previously  used  for  either  Melons  or  Cucumbers  for  the 
Tomatoes.  Plant  15in  or  16in  distance  apart,  and  train  to  a 
single^stem  up  the  roof,  rubbing  off  all  side  growths  or  laterals 
as  they  appear.  Nothing  is  gained  by  disposing  the  plants  more 
closely  together;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  greatest  weight  of 
fruit  is  borne  by  those  more  thinly  planted.  Frogmore  Selected, 
Chemin  Rouge,  and  Ham  Green  Favourite  are  amongst  the  best 
for  present  planting. — A. 
- - 
Fruit  Trees. 
The  Value  of  Feeding. 
The  great  advantages  to  be  obtained  by  feeding  wall  trees 
when  they  are  carrying  heavy  crops  has  long  been  recognised 
and  acted  upon  in  British  gardens,  and  it  is  a.  pity  that  the 
practice  is  not  more  generally  extended  to  hardy  fruits  grown  as 
bushes  and  standards.  In  the  case  of  young,  vigorous  trees  of 
Apples  and  Pears  feeding  is  sometimes  unnecessary,  if,  when 
the  crops  are  heavy,  the  fruit  is  thinned ;  but  when  they  get 
older  high  feeding  does  wonders  in  securing  samples  of  high 
quality,  and  there  are  thousands,  of  trees  in  this  country  which 
should  be  in  their  prime,  yet  which  only  bear  inferior  fruits 
simply  because  they  are  starved. 
A  few  years  ago  I  saw  a  large  tree  carrying  one  of  the  heaviest 
crops  of  really  good,  highly  coloured  Apples  that  I  have  ever 
seen,  and,  in  addition  to  receiving  a  good  coating  of  manure 
after  the  fruit  was  set,  the  tree  was  watered  regularly  with 
liquid  manure  throughout  the  season.  The  variety  was  Bess 
Pool,  and  in  a  plentiful  season  they  realised  a  good  price  in 
the  market.  Now,  if  this  tree  had  received  but  ordinary  attend 
tion  quite  an  inferior  sample  of  Apples  would  have  been  pro¬ 
duced,  which  probably  would  scarcely  have  paid  to  send  to 
market.  This  one  illustration  is  quite  enough  to  “  point  the 
moral,”  though  many  others  might  be  advanced. 
Neither  Apples  nor  Pears  are  generally  a  heavy  crop  this 
year,  though  in  some  instances  they  do  occur;  and' now  is  the 
time  to  make  the  best  of  them  by  feeding  liberally  so  as  to 
swell  them  up  to  full  size.  In  gardens,  and  in  some  orchards, 
liquid  manure  can  be  easily  applied,  because  it  is  near  at  hand. 
In  such  cases  nothing  is  better  for  the  purpose,  as  it  acts  quickly 
on  both  fruit  and  trees,  giving  vigour  to  the  one,  and  size  and 
colour  to  the  other.  Two  or  three  applications  during  the  season 
would  work  winders  with  such  trees,  provided  the  liquid  is  given 
in  sufficient  quantities  to  thoroughly  moisten  the  soil  as  far  as 
the  branches  extend,  and  that  it  is  not  used  in  too  strong  a 
state.  Judgment  in  this  respect  is  necessary ;  sometimes  it  may 
be  used  at  half  strength,  at  others  it  needs  diluting  with  from 
four  to  six  times  its  bulk  of  water.  In  large  plantations  watering 
with  liquid  manure  is,  of  course,  not  practicable,  neither  can 
the  trees  in  some  private  gardens  have  such  attention,  but  dung, 
or  artificial  manure  can  generally  be  applied.  A  thin  coating  of 
the  former  in  a  well-decayed  state  would  conserve  the  moisture 
in  the  soil,  and,  by  bringing  active  roots  to  the  surface,  keep 
the  fruit  swelling  freely.  A  heavy  dressing  of  manure  is  not  to 
be  commended,  as  it  prevents  the  sun  and  air  from  acting  on 
the  soil,  and,  in  a  cold  season,  retards  the  colouring  of  the  fruits. 
Among  chemical  manures  fish  guano  is  excellent  for  assisting 
fruit  trees  carrying  a  heavy  crop.  It  should  be  applied,  if 
possible,  when  the  soil  is  damp,  at  from  4oz  to  6oz  per  yard.  As 
a  substitute  superphosphate  (four  parts)  and  sulphate  of  ammonia 
(one  part)  may  be  mixed  together,  and  applied  at  the  rate  of 
3oz  per  yard.  One  ounce  of  nitrate  of  soda  per  yard  if  given  in 
showery  weather  will  often  prove  of  great  assistance  to  the  swell¬ 
ing  fruits,  but,  of  course,  it  will  not  do  to  depend  on  the  nitrate 
alone  year  after  year.  The  above  remarks  on  feeding  are  in¬ 
tended  to  apply  to  trees  carrying  heavy  crops,  which,  therefore, 
need  extra  assistance  to  enable  them  to  produce  really  good 
fruit  instead  of  mediocre  samples. 
This  summer  feeding  ought,  however,  in  no  way  to  interfere 
with  the  winter  manuring.  Nearly  all  fruit  trees,  when  they 
begin  to  bear  full  crops,  are  benefited  by  the  application  of  super¬ 
phosphate  or  basic  slag,  in  autumn  or  winter,  in  addition  to 
dung,  chopped  rags,  shoddy,  or  sprats;  but  judgment  is  neces¬ 
sary  in  the  matter.  Those  which  continue  to  grow  vigorously 
should  not  be  manured,  while  others  growing  in  poor  soil  some¬ 
times  need  feeding  before  they  begin  to  bear  much  fruit.  Each 
tree  must  be  treated  individually  if  the  best  results  are  to  be 
obtained. 
As  things  stand  at  present,  we  hear  on  the  one  hand  complaints 
about  trees  making  strong  sappy  growth  which  dies  back  during 
a  sharp  winter;  and,  on  the  other,  the  cry  is  that  the  growth 
is  so  stunted  that  young  and  middle-aged  trees  fail  to  increase  in 
size. — H.  D. 
Examination  in  Horticulture,  1902. 
The  annual  examination  in  the  Principles  and  Practice  of 
Horticulture  was  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society  on  April  23,  1902,  when  229  papers  were  sent 
in.  Three  hundred  marks  wrere  allotted  as  a  maximum,  and  all 
candidates  who  obtained  200  marks  and  upwards  were  placed  in 
the  first  class.  The  total  number  w'as  97,  or  about  42.3  per 
cent.  The  highest  number  of  marks,  285,  was  awarded  to  Miss 
W.  M.  Buttenshaw,  of  the  Horticultural  College,  Swanley, 
Kent.  Those  who  secured  150  and  less  than  200  marks  were 
placed  in  the  second  class.  The  number  was  98,  or  about 
42.7  per  cent.  Those  who  obtained  100  marks  and  upwards  were 
ranked  in  the  third  class.  The  number  was  28,  or  about  12  per 
cent.  Six  candidates  obtaining  less  than  100  marks  were  not 
placed. 
A  slight  increase  in  the  number  of  entries  has  occurred,  225 
being  that  of  1901 ;  but  still  it  falls  considerably  short  of  that 
in  1900,  viz.,  236.  The  percentage  of  the  first  class  was  48  in 
1901,  So  that  it  has  somewhat  fallen  ;  while  that  of  the  second 
class  has  risen  from  about  38  to  42.  The  percentage  of  the 
third  class  is  nearly  stationary,  having  only  slightly  improved 
from  11  to  12. 
The  lowering  of  the  percentage  of  the  first  class,  as  well  as 
only  two  candidates  obtaining  more  marks  than  275,  is  attribut¬ 
able  to  the  somewhat  higher  standard  in  the  character  of  the 
questions.  Some  students  had  evidently  prepared  themselves 
for  meeting  such  questions  as  might  be  asked  upon  the  revised 
“  Requirements.” 
In  the  “  Principles  ”  there  were  no  serious  mistakes,  but 
merely  varying  degrees  of  knowledge  upon  the  matter  treated 
of  in  the  replies.  The  answers  as  a  whole  were  wTell  expressed, 
showing  considerable  care  in  preparation. 
In  the  horticultural  practice  department  the  candidates  kept 
well  to  the  questions  they  had  to  deal  with,  except  in  the  one 
relating  to  landscape  gardening;  on  this  subject  there  is  con¬ 
siderable  room  for  improvement.  It  is  a  subject  that  might 
be  dealt  with  in  various  phases,  and  some  of  the  candidates 
were  fully  alive  to  the  main  points  they  were  asked  to  deal 
with.  Some  of  the  other  questions  were  not  so  much  dealt  with 
in  detail  as  they  ought  to  have  been  ;  owing  to  this  very  few 
obtained  the  full  number  of  marks.  Upon  the  whole  the  answers 
were  very  satisfactory,  and,  as  the  questions  were  rather  more 
difficult  than  on  previous  occasions,  the  result  is  quite  as  good 
as  we  expected. 
Examiners 
f  George  Henslow. 
i  James  Douglas. 
First  Class. 
No.  of  Marks 
gained. 
1.  Buttenshaw,  W.  M.,  Swanley  College  . 285 
2.  Moore,  Harold,  17,  Mundania  Road,  Honor  Oak,  S.E.  ...  280 
3.  Crabtree,  G.  H.,  Kirklees  Park  Gardens,  Brigkouse .  275 
4.  Bowden.  M.  A.,  Reading  College  and  Lady  Warwick  Hostel  270 
Brown,  W.  R.,  Cally  Gardens,  Gatehouse,  Kirkcudbrightshire  270 
English,  M.,  Swanley  College  . 270 
Huckle,  M.  ,T.,  53,  Birkenhead  Avenue,  Kingston  .  270 
Humphrey,  L.  J.,  Essex  County  School  of  Horticulture  ...  270 
Smith,  S.  P.,  Benson  School,  near  Wallingford  .  270 
Turner,  J.  S.,  The  Gardens,  Doehfour,  Inverness-shire  ...  270 
Warner,  J.,  The  School,  Burleydam,  Whitchurch  .  270 
12.  Bebbington,  L.,  The  School,  Pulford,  Wrexham  .  265 
Butler,  E.  W.,  Swanley  College  . . 265 
Turner,  F.,  The  School,  Eccleston,  Chester  .  265 
15.  Ardington,  M.,  Swanley  College  ...  .'. . 26o 
Hicks,  George,  Ardington,  Wantage  .  260 
17.  Selden,  G.  P.,  Woodhatch  House  Gardens,  Reigate .  255 
18.  Donoghue,  J.,  Tranby  Croft  Gardens,  Hull  .  250 
Learoyd,  T.  W.,  The  School,  Rostherne,  Knutsford .  250 
Swift,  J.  W.,  County  Technical  School,  Stafford  .  250 
21.  Darby,  T.  W.,  C.C.  Farm  School,  Old  Basing,  Basingstoke  ...  245 
Day,  William,  Long  Wittenham,  Abingdon  .  245 
Driver,  J.,  School  House,  Crowton,  Northwich  .  245 
Lloyd,  G.  E.,  The  School,  Tattenhall,  Cheshire  .  245 
Lowe,  J.  L.,  The  School,  Disley,  Stockport  .  245 
Nicholls,  IT.  R.,  School  House,  Warborough,  Wallingford  ...  245 
Oddic,  E.  M.,  County  Oak,  Crawley,  Sussex  .  245 
Pollard,  G.  E.,  Swanley  College  . 245 
Powell,  E.  H.,  Swanley  College  . 245 
Smith,  F.,  The  School,  Worleston,  Nantwich  ...  .  245 
Wimpress,  PI.,  Swanley  College  . 245 
32.  Clewley,  C.  H.,  County  Technical  School,  Stafford  .  240 
Langmore,  E.,  Reading  College  and  Lady  Warwick  Hostel...  240 
Ross.  E.,  The  School,  Hale  Barns,  Altrincham...  ...  ...  240 
35.  Humphreys,  F.  W.,  County  Technical  School,  Stafford  ...  235 
36.  Bourne,  E.  B.,  Swanley  College  .  .  230 
Brown,  Stanton,  Edwinstowe,  Newark,  Notts .  230 
Cleeves,  Vincent,  6,  Garth  Hill,  Bassaleg,  Mon.  .  230 
Schneider,  E.,  Swanley  College  . 230 
Silvers,  A.  .T..  County  Technical  School,  Stafford  .  230 
Trollope,  T.,  Middleton  Park  Gardens,  Bicester  .  230 
