July  17,  1902. 
JOURNAL 
OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
57 
the  long  run  than  making  a  study  of  sporting  life.  And  I 
should  like  to  impress  upon  young  men  in  the  garden  that  when 
they  seek  for  an  appointment  as  head  gardener  they  will  not 
be  asked  if  they  know  the  name  of  the  horse  that  is  to  win 
the  Derby ;  but  rather  if  they  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
their  profession  in  all  its  branches ;  and  that  knowledge  can  be 
acquired  by  a  perseverance  and  study  in  a  well  conducted  bothy 
in  the  quiet  of  a  gentleman’s  garden  much  better  than  in  a 
lodging-house  where  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  are  put  up. — 
D.  Donald. 
Rose  Frau  Karl  Druschki. 
We  are  interested  to  read  your  appreciation  of  this  Rose  as 
shown  on  the  8th  inst.,  and  as  the  first  exhibitors  of  it,  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  on  the  8th  April 
last  (although  we  did  not  enter  it  then  for  an  award  of  merit), 
we  think  that  your  readers  may  like  to  know  something  of  its 
history.  It  was  raised  by  Mr.  P.  Lambert,  of  Treves,  in  Rhenish 
Prussia,  as  the  result  of  a  cross  between  Merveille  de  Lyon  and 
Caroline  Testout,  and  made  its  debut  at  the  show  of  the  German 
Rose  Association  at  Treves  in  June,  1900,  when  it  was  named 
after  the  wife  of  the  esteemed  president  of  the  association  on 
that  occasion.  Our  Mr.  Arthur  William  Paul,  who  attended  the 
show  in  question  in  the  capacity  of  a  judge,  saw  the  Rose  also 
growing  in  the  grounds  of  the  raiser,  and  was  thus  enabled  to 
correctly  estimate  its  merits  on  the  spot,  and  as  a  result  we 
secured  an  early  supply  of  plants.  It  is  without  doubt  one  of 
the  most  valuable  white  Roses;  the  flowers  are  large,  with 
beautifully-shaped  petals,  while  the  semi-climbing  habit  of 
growth  and  freedom  in  blooming  render  it  most  effective  for 
garden  decoration.  As  a  white  forcing  Rose  it  is  excellent. — 
Wm.  Paul  and  Son,  Waltham  Cross. 
Culinary  Peas. 
Perhaps  a  slightly  lengthy  reply  to  “  N.  N.’s  ”  kindly  criticism 
made  on  page  55/  of  last  volume  may  be  permitted,  as  the  subject 
is  one  of  prime  importance.  I  may  say  I  am  not  at  all  surprised 
that  “  N.  N.”  should  hold  on  to  Ne  Plus  Ultra  against  all  others, 
especially  as  he  cultivates  a  carefully  selected  strain,  and  no  one 
I  am  sure  would  venture  to  dispute  the  sterling  good  qualities  of 
that  variety.  At  the  same  time,  if  he  continues  to  grow  Auto¬ 
crat,  and  treats  it  according  to  its  individual  wants,  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  he  will  find  it  the  better  variety.  Two 
years  is  too  short  trial.  Howt  long  I  have  grown  Autocrat  I 
cannot  well  say;  but  Mr.  Ward,  writing  in  the  “Gardeners’ 
Chronicle  ”  last  winter,  mentions  having  seen  it  here  seventeen 
years  ago,  a  proof  that  I  ought  to  know  the  good  and  bad 
qualities  of  the  Pea  by  this  time.  I  am  quite  at  one  with 
“  N.  N.”  as  regards  the  varying  effects  produced  by  different 
soils,  and,  I  might  add,  climate  too,  though  I  see  Mr.  W.  P. 
Wright,  Kent,  the  other  day  named  Autocrat  as  the  best  late 
variety ;  so  that  we  may  conclude  it  succeeds  in  a  widely  varying 
climate  too.  But  in  addition  to  these  items,  there  is  another 
feature  of  this  Pea  it  is  essential  to  study,  which  I  may  be 
allowed  to  call  its  pei'sonal  peculiarities.  I  discovered  long  ago 
that  Autocrat  and  Ne  Plus  Ultra  required,  in  one  point  at  least, 
different  treatment.  The  latter  can  be  sown  a  week  later  than 
the  former,  and  if  they  are  sown  both  together  at  the  latest  dates 
suitable  to  Ne  Plus  Ultra,  Autocrat  most  certainly  will  fail. 
I,  in  fact,  sow  it  twice,  at  intervals  of  ten  days,  that  is  for  late 
gathering,  and  its  habit  of  flowering  continuously  secures  that 
plants  from  the  earliest  sowing  continue  bearing  as  Jong  as 
those  sown  later. 
The  main  drawback  to  securing  late  Peas  here  are  late  autumn 
frosts.  Annually  the  late  Peas  are  cut  down  bearing  abundant 
crops  of  pods,  as  well  as  quantities  of  bloom,  and  in  the  treat¬ 
ment  of  this  crop  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  produce  a 
hardy  plant.  It  is  a  marked  peculiarity  of  Peas  that  when  young 
in  spring  they  come  unscathed,  or  little  damaged,  through  a 
frost  that  annihilates  them  in  autumn.  Another  point  about 
early  Peas  is  that  it  is  decidedly  advantageous  to  employ  manure 
for  the  crop  in  order  to  carry  it  successfully  through  the  dry,  hot 
weather  they  have  to  encounter  when  podding.  In  the  case  of 
late  Peas  I  fail  to  discover  any  good  reason  for  applying  manure 
in  any  form  to  the  soil.  Its  effect  is  to  cause  a  stronger  and  less 
hardy  growth,  which  is  in  this  case  just  what  is  not  required. 
If  the  seeds  are  sown  a  little  deeper  than  usual,  to  insure  against 
root  dryness,  that  is  generally  sufficient,  though  in  a  hot,  dry 
season  like  last  year,  watering  could  not  be  avoided  in  July. 
As  to  depth  of  soil,  that  is  a  consideration  of  much  importance, 
but  the  seed  should  not  be  placed  on  a  loose  substratum.  If  the 
ground  is  prepared  for  the  crop  just  previous  to  sowing,  and  the 
soil  is  at  all  light,  then  it  ought  to  suffer  compression  first.  This, 
too,  is  an  aid  to  sturdy  growth. 
Thin  seeding  is  no  doubt  all-important.  I  sow  in  double 
lines  with  the  seeds  at  3in  apart  in  the  lines.  As  to  tall  Peas, 
I  feel  so  little  pleasure  in  them,  that  aspiring  tops  are  invariably 
switched  off  by  means  of  a  hook.  In  addition  to  preserving  them 
in  a  desirable  medium  as  to  height,  this  treatment  has  also  the 
effect  of  causing  the  Peas  to  swell  and  to  induce  the  production 
of  a  larger  quantity  of  bloom  than  occurs  with  Peas  left  to  climb 
unchecked.  There  is  just  another  point  I  wish  to  indicate. 
Whoever  wishes  to  have  late  Peas  in  quantity  sufficient  to  pro¬ 
duce  one  or  two  dishes  daily  must  largely  increase  the  sowing 
beyond  that  usual  for  summer  uses.  I  have  350  yards  run  of 
Autocrat  coming  on  for  late  use,  which  allows  50  yards  for  each 
day,  and  a  week  to  elapse  before  it  is  again  gathered.  Great 
care  in  gathering  is  needful,  because  if  any  but  full  swelled  pods 
are  gathered,  the  supply  will  be  certain  to  suffer  later.  It  is, 
moreover,  a  commendable  practice,  should  frost  appear  immi¬ 
nent,  to  gather  as  many  full  pods  as  possible  and  place  them  in 
the  fruit  room  or  other  perfectly  cool  building  until  required. 
If  the  frost  does  no  harm,  nothing  is  lost;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  sufficiently  hard  to  destroy  the  crop,  the  supply  will  be 
insured  for  a  week  or  a  fortnight  longer. — R.  P.  Brotherston. 
Sir  Thomas  More’s  Mulberry  Tree. 
The  daily  journals  have  noted  the  fact  that  Beaufort  Street, 
Chelsea,  built  early  in  the  reign  of  George  III.,  which  has  some 
curious  old-fashioned  gardens,  is  now  doomed.  Amongst  the 
trees  and  shrubs  to  be  removed  is  “  More’s  Mulberry  Tree.”  Cer¬ 
tainly  this  street  crosses  the  site  of  Beaufort  House  and  part 
of  its  gardens,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  tree  dates  back  to 
the  days  of  More.  Probably  it  is  a  descendant  of  one  existing 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  There  is,  or  was,  another  old, 
twisted  Mulberry  in  the  grounds  attached  to  the  Clockhouse, 
which  had  also  once  belonged  to  the  Beaufort  House  Gardens, 
and  contained  a  “  herbary,”  with  various  interesting  plants  and 
fruit  trees.  In  the  garden  of  Chelsea  Rectory  there  is  another 
ancient  Mulberry — indeed,  the  village  was  formerly  famous  for 
this  tree,  and  over  at  Chelsea  Park  about  2,000  were  planted  by 
James  I.,  a  few  of  which  yet  exist.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
the  Romans  brought  the  Mulberry  to  Britain,  but  we  have  no 
mention  of  it  in  books  till  the  sixteenth  century.  The  oldest 
trees  are  (or  were)  three  at  Sion  House,  Middlesex,  and  one  at 
Canterbury,  Kent,  these  have  been  estimated  at  300  or  350 
years  old.  Some  assert  the  Mulberry  may  attain  to  the  ago  of 
400  years.  It  is  singular  to  how  many  of  these  trees  has  attached 
a  tradition  that  Queen  Elizabeth  sat  under  them  and  regaled 
herself  upon  their  fruits. — C. 
Points  about  Vine?* 
In  his  remarks  under  the  heading,  “Seasonable  Hints  on 
Vines,”  page  24,  July  10,  “  H.  D.”  states  the  following  :  “  In  case 
of  a  bad  attack  of  red  spider  which  is  general  throughout  the 
house,  a  strong  fumigating  with  XL  All  on  two  successive  nights 
will  usually  kill  every  red  spider  present.”  This  is  quite  the 
contrary  to  my  experience.  I  have  frequently  vaporised  Melons 
with  XL  All  compound  at  double  strength  to  that  recommended 
on  bottle,  also  Black  Hamburgh  Vines  at  extra  strength  on  suc¬ 
cessive  nights,  but  I  was  never  able  to  kill  red  spider  with  this 
otherwise  indispensable  insecticide.  I  found  also  that  Adiantum 
cuneatum,  A.  Farleyense,  Muscats,  and  Lady  Downe’s  Vines  are 
very  seriously  injured  if  vaporised  with  XL  All  nicotine  com¬ 
pound.  Even  when  the  leaves  are  fairly  ripe  on  these  varieties 
of  Grapes,  they  will  curl,  and  the  edges  .for  an  inch  in  depth 
will  dry  up.  Anyone  who  has  to  fill  vineries  containing  these 
two  varieties  of  Grapes  with  Chrysanthemums  in  October  can 
easily  put  my  assertion  to  the  test,  if  they  vaporise  the  Chrys¬ 
anthemums  in  them  to  destroy  green  fly,  which  generally  infests 
these  autumn  flowering  plants  after  being  housed.  I  had  some 
young  Crotons  in  a  propagating  case  on  which  were  a  goodly 
number  of  red  spiders.  In  the  case  was,  perhaps  twenty  cubic 
feet  of  space.  I  put  enough  XL  All  compound  in  the  vessel  to 
kill  green  fly  in  a  1,000  cubic  feet  house  or  pit,  and  strange 
though  true,  the  red  spider  was  still  alive  and  frisky  when 
examined  next  morning.  I  should  be  glad  if  “  H.  D.”  would 
state  the  size  of  his  vineries  and  quantity  of  XL  All  used,  in 
which  he  caused  red  spider  to  succumb  so  easily. 
A  remarkable  fact  which  may  interest  some  readers  may  be 
worth  noting,  and  prove  that  spiders  of  a  larger  size  are  also 
difficult  to  kill.  After  clearing  out  the  early  lot  of  Melons  from 
some  heated  pits  last  month,  and  as  a  precaution  against  red 
spider  being  present  when  replanting  immediately,  we  burnt  a 
quantity  of  flowers  of  sulphur  on  some  hot  coals  taken  from  the 
boiler  fire  and  quite  filled  the  pits  with  the  fumes.  The  same 
evening,  on  lifting  up  the  lights,  there  were  two  large  spiders  in 
their  webs  in  the  corners  of  the  brickwork  as  full  or  life  and 
vigour  as  possible.  I  think  the  fumes  would  have  suffocated  any 
human  being  in  fifty  minutes. — A  Jefferies,  Moor  Hall  Gardens, 
J  Essex. 
