346 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  9,  1902. 
none  of  the  tap  root  preserved.  Treat  Turnips  similarly.  Very 
dry  sand,  soil,  or  wood  ashes  are  excellent  materials  for  storing 
roots  in,  but  the  place  of  storage  must  be  dry,  or  they  will 
absorb  the  moisture  to  a  great  extent.  Store  Potatoes  on  a 
wooden  floor,  and  cover  with  clean,  dry  straw.  Carrots,  Turnips, 
and  Beetroot  may  be  placed  in  layers  between  any  of  the  dry 
materials  above  referred  to. 
OU  TDOOR  TOMATOES. — Any  Tomatoes  still  remaining  out¬ 
doors  ought  to  be  cut,  stem  and  all,  and  placed  in  a  dry,  warm 
position  under  glass  to  fully  ripen.  Many  of  the  small,  green 
fruits  will  not  colour,  but  those  that  are  tinged  when  the  stems 
are  cut  will  gradually  do  so  under  the  influence  of  artificial 
warmth. 
LIFTING  ENDIVE  AND  LETTUCE.— Unless  favoured  with 
a  sheltered,  warm  spot  some  of  the  fully  grown  plants  may  be 
lifted  and  placed  in  frames,  though  the  same  object  will  be 
attained  if  glass  lights,  elevated  on  bricks  or  blocks  of  wood, 
are  used  to  cover  them.  Protection  at  the  sides,  is  not  needed. 
Cold  will  not  harm  them,  but  continued  wet  causes  the  hearts 
to  rot. 
BLANCHING  ENDIVE.- — There  are  several  methods  of 
blanching,  without  which  Endive  is  of  little  practical  use.  Those 
varieties  having  sufficiently  long  outer  leaves  may  have  these 
drawn  together  over  the  centre,  and  tied  together  at  the 
points.  This  will  help  the  hearts  to  blanch,  especially  if  large 
pots  are  placed  over,  with  the  hole  stopped  up  to  exclude  light 
entirely.  The  curly,  short  leaved  varieties  may  be  blanched  by 
laying  a  slate  or  tile  over  the  plants,  placing  it  on  them  when  the 
plants  are  dry. 
LEEKS.— Many  of  the  most  forward  plants  have  advanced  to 
a  sufficient  size  when  they  may  be  earthed  up  so  as  to  thoroughly 
blanch  the  stems  as  high  as  possible,  at  least  as  high  as  the 
bottom  leaves.  A  soaking  of  liquid  manure  may  be  given  before 
the  final  earthing,  as  well  as  to  later  plants  still  progressing  in 
growth.  Shorten  the  straggling  ends  of  all  the  leaves,  cutting 
the  basal  leaves  closer.  The  finest  Leeks  are  grown  in  trenches, 
in  which  they  are  readily  fed  and  soil  added. 
PARSLEY. — It  is  important  to  have  a  good  supply  of  Parsley 
during  the  winter  and  early  spring  months.  Plants  from  an  early 
summer  sowing  should  now  be  in  good  condition,  being  furnished 
with  luxuriant,  short- jointed  leaves.  Some  of  the  strongest  of 
these  plants  may  be  lifted  and  potted,  standing  the  pots  in  a 
sheltered  position  outdoors  until  later  in  the  year,  when  place 
in  a  cool  house.  A  Parsley  bed  may  often  be  sufficiently  pro¬ 
tected  by  laying  lights  over  when  the  weather  sets  in  hard  and 
frosty,  usually  in  December.  The  bed  of  young  plants  from  an 
August  sowing  should  be  kept  clear  of  weeds  and  dead  leaves. 
Severe  thinning  of  the  plants  which  are  small  is  not  necessary  at 
present. 
DUTCH  HOEING. — The  soil  between  the  rows  of  Spinach, 
autumn  sown  Turnips,  Lettuce,  Onions,  and  Cabbage  should  be 
freely  hoed  over,  so  as  to  maintain  a  fresh,  sweet  surface,  and  to 
destroy  seedling  weeds.  The  hoeing  admits  warmth  and  air, 
thus  promoting  steady  and  healthy  growth. 
POTATOES. — The  prevalence  of  disease  among  the  crops  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  will  necessitate  extra  attention 
being  paid  to  examining  the  tubers  from  time  to  time.  Although 
the  greatest  care  may  have  been  expended  in  picking  out  affected 
specimens  at  the  time  of  storing,  it  is  wise  to  look  over  them 
again,  so  as  to  maintain  the  stocks  of  the  various  varieties  as 
sound  as  possible. — East  Kent. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chis¬ 
wick,  height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
<D 
f-i  M 
-5  S 
£  curt 
1902. 
ection  < 
Wind. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
Rain. 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
September 
and 
October. 
U 
5 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
Highest. 
Lowest. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Q)  O 
EH 
Sunday  ...28 
E.N.E. 
deg. 
55-9 
deg. 
50  7 
deg. 
58-2 
deg. 
46-0 
Ins. 
deg. 
55-0 
deg. 
56-1 
deg. 
56-5 
deg.* 
35-5 
Monday  ...29 
E.N.E. 
51-9 
49-0 
55'9 
45-5 
_ 
545 
56-0 
56-3 
35*0 
Tuesday  ...30 
N.E. 
52-4 
47’9 
56-5 
47-5 
_ 
53-8 
55-6 
56-2 
39  0 
Wed’sday  1 
E.N.E. 
55-4 
50-6 
592 
50.0 
0-03 
54-0 
55-3 
560 
46‘2 
Thursday  2 
E.N.E. 
51-9 
48-9 
53-1 
502 
002 
541 
55-3 
560 
45-8 
Friday  ...  3 
E.N.E. 
44-7 
41-2 
<91 
42-4 
523 
55  0 
55-8 
33-2 
Saturday  4 
E.N.E. 
45'9 
42-1 
466 
43-2 
— 
51-5 
53-8 
55-7 
320 
Means  ... 
51*2 
47-2 
54-4 
46-4 
Total. 
005 
536 
55-3 
561 
38-2 
The  days  have  been  dull  and  dark,  with  cold  biting  north-easterly 
winds.  i 
*  *  *  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. 
BOOK  WANTED  (J.  D.). — It  would  be  entirely  unnecessary 
to  publish  a  book  on  the  subject  of  grouping  Chrysanthemums 
and  that  only.  Any  gardener  with  experience,  or  without  experi¬ 
ence,  but  with  good,  sound  judgment  and  a  perception  of  what 
is  tasteful,  can  arrange  groups.  We  have  given  illustrations 
through  the  Journal  of  good  groups.  We  will  endeavour  to 
furnish  a  descriptive  article  soon  which  may  be  of  use  in  affording 
you  suggestions. 
GRAPES  AND  LEAVES  FOR  IDENTIFICATION  (A.  A.  T.). 
— The  Grapes  are  only  about  two-thirds  the  size  in  berry  of 
Maclresfield  Court,  and  the  leaves  are  not  rugose,  as  that  variety 
is.  It  certainly  is  a  late  Grape  of  first-rate  quality,  and  we 
think  West’s  St.  Peter’s,  though  the  foliage  is  large  for  this 
variety,  but  that  may  be  owing  to  the  vigour  of  the  Vine,  and 
the  veins  of  the  leaves  are  not  red.  The  leaves  of  West’s  St. 
Peter’s  usually  die  off  yellow,  but  sometimes  they  are  highly 
coloured,  of  which  we  notice  the  latter  in  one  of  your  leaves, 
the  other  being  without  traces.  Certainly  Maclresfield  Court 
would  not  so  change  from  the  house  being  kept  too  hot;  indeed, 
it  would  ripen  about  same  time  as  Muscat  of  Alexandria  and 
Alicante. 
SCALE  INSECTS  ON  PALM  LEAF  (T.  L.).— The  long  narrow 
coccid  (scale)  has  been  designated  the  black  thread  scale 
(Ischnaspis  filiformis,  Douglas).  The  species  was  first  discovered 
in  this  country7  by  Mr.  Douglas  in  1887,  since  when  it  has  been 
gradually  on  the  increase,  and  now  'occurs  in  many  parts  of  the 
British  Isles.  Unfortunately,  it  is  a  very  pernicious  pest,  and 
most  difficult  to  destroy  in  the  adult  stage.  In  its  young  stage, 
however,  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  kill,  and  frequent  sponging, 
spraying,  or  dipping  should  be  resorted  to.  The  ordinary  paraffin 
and  soap  emulsion  has  met  with  the  best  results.  (See  Journal 
Royal  Horticultural  Society,  vol.  xxiii.,  pp.  219-262.)  Nothing 
but  the  hydrocyanic  gas  treatment  will  kill  the  old  scales,  which 
are  insoluble  in  potash.  The  Palm  leaf  is  also  attacked  by  the 
so-called  black  seed  scale  (Ceraataphis  latanise),  easily  distin¬ 
guished  by  the  pure  white  fringe;  but  this  is  a  true  aphis, 
although  it  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  coccid. 
FORMING  LEAF  MOULD  (Cantab).— The  leaves  now  falling 
should  be  gathered  into  a  heap,  a  place  being  selected  where  they 
can  be  spread  rather  thinly,  so  as  to  prevent  any  excessive  heat¬ 
ing  by  fermentation.  The  whole  should  be  turned  over  occa¬ 
sionally  so  as  to  expose  all  parts  in  turn  to  the  influence  of  the 
weather  and  air.  Where  air  cannot  reach  leaves  that  are  of  a 
somewhat  hard,  dry  nature,  such  as  Beech,  Oak,  and  Spanish 
Chestnut,  their  decay  is  exceeding  slow  unless  there  are  softer 
textured  leaves  intermixed  to  hasten  decomposition.  Water 
may  be  applied  artificially  for  the  purpose,  but  it  never  has  the 
same  effect  as  rain,  and  if  a  large  heap  is  made  this  latter 
cannot  penetrate  far  into  the  interior.  The  leaves  should  be 
collected  free  from  sticks  and  bark  if  possible,  as  these  are  liable 
to  encourage  fungoid  growth,  which  may  render  it  more  or  less 
useless  for  plant  cultivation.  The  time  taken  in  reducing  leaves 
to  a  mould  or  fine  soil  depends  greatly  on  the  amount  of  turning 
over  and  other  attention  devoted  to  the  preparation.  Much 
may  be  effected  in  the  course  of  a  year,  or  even  less,  but  the 
quality  is  usually  better  if  a  longer  time  is  allowed. 
SAVOY  STEMS  AFFECTED  WITH  CABBAGE  FLY  AND 
CLUBBING  (J.  R.). — The  attack  of  the  cabbage-fly,  Anthomyia 
brassicse,  of  which  we  found  some  maggots,  has  no  doubt  been 
greatly  accelerated  by  heavy  manuring;  indeed,  the  maggots 
live  in  dung  as  well  as  feed  on  Brassica  tribe  underground 
stems,  and  the  season  being  a  wet  one  has  probably  favoured 
the  maggots — at  any  rate,  your  specimens  show  the  attack  to 
have  been  severe.  The  clubbed  root  is  due  to  attack  of  club- 
root  fungus,  Plasmodiophora-  brassicse,  and  for  both  the  root- 
maggot  and  clubbing  a  dressing  of  gas  lime  is  the  best  preventive. 
It  should  be  applied  as  soon  as  the  crop  is  cleared  off  the  ground 
at  the  rate  of  24  to  5  tons  per  acre,  and  should  be  fresh  from 
gas  works,  spreading  evenly,  and  left  on  the  surface  a  month 
or  six  weeks  before  ploughing  in.  If  cleared  in  autumn  the 
heavier  dressing  may  be  given,  and  if  intended  as  a  preventive 
on  new  ground  the  lesser  amount  may  be  applied  in  late  winter 
