December  4,  1902. 
516  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Pergolas  and  Roses  for  Them. 
The  following  notes  are  from  an  essay  by  Miss  Jekyll, 
which  appears  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s 
Journal,  vol.  xxvii.,  part  1  : 
“  It  is  only  of  comparatively  late  years  that  we  have  borrowed 
the  pergola  from  the  gardens  of  Italy.  The  simplest  form  of 
pergola,  in  Italy  is  made  of  stout  poles  guiding  and  supporting 
the  trunks  of  the  vines,  connected  across  the  path  by  others  of 
less  diameter,  with  a  roofing  of  any  long  rods  laid  lengthways 
along  the  top.  This  is  repaired  from  time  to  time  by  putting 
in  fresh  uprights  or  other  portions  in  the  careless,  happy-go- 
lucky  way  that  characterises  the  methods  of  domestic  and  rural 
economy  of  the  Italian  peasant  or  small  proprietor.  Often  in 
Italy  one  sees  solid  piers  of  rubble  masonry  coarsely  plastered, 
either  round  or  square  in  plan,  or  even  marble  columns  from 
ancient  buildings.  These  have  a  more  solid  wooden  beam  con¬ 
necting  them  in  pairs  across  the  path;  and  stouter  stuff  running 
along  the  length.  For  our  English  gardens  we  have  the  choice 
of  various  materials  for  the  main  structure.  If  the  pergola  is 
to  be  near  enough  to  the  house  to  be  in  any  sort  of  designed 
relation  to  it,  and  especially  if  the  house  be  of  some  importance, 
the  piers  should  be  of  the  same  material  as  the  house  walls- — 
brick  or  stone,  as  the  case  may  be.  Fourteen-inch  brick  piers 
laid  in  cement  are  excellent  and  easily  made.  Such  piers  may 
be  said  to  last  for  ever,  and  if  it  is  desirable  that  they  should  not 
be  red,  or  whatever  may  be  the  normal  colour  of  the  brick  used, 
it  is  easy  to  colour  them  in  limewash  to  suit  any  near  building. 
For  association  with  refined  brick  building  bricks  are  sometimes 
moulded  on  purpose  of  thinner  shape,  either  square  or  half-round 
in  plan,  the  latter  being  for  piers  that  are  to  show  as  round 
columns.  Brick,  stone  or  marble,  or  wooden  columns  are  also 
used  in  refined  designs.  For  more  ordinary  work  the  piers  may 
be  of  Oak  trunks  of  a  diameter  of  Sin  to  lOin.  These,  if  tarred 
or  charred  at  the  butts  high  enough  up  to  show  a  charred  space 
of  a  foot  above  the  ground-line,  and  put  into  the  ground  like 
gate-posts,  will  last  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  years,  or  have  about 
the  lifetime  of  an  ordinary  field  gate-post.  A  better  and  more 
enduring  way  is  to  have  the  posts  of  Oak  8in  square,  set  on 
squared  stones  that  stand  a  foot  out  of  the  ground,  with  a  stout 
iron  dowel  let  into  the  foot  of  the  post  and  the  top  of  the  stone. 
Unless  the  appearance  of  the  Oak  post  is  desired,  there  is  little, 
if  anything,'  to  choose  in  point  of  cost  between  this  and  the  solid 
brick  pier,  as  the  Oak  has  to  be  squared  and  the  plinth  shaped 
and  bedded  on  a  concrete  foundation. 
“  Whatever  may  be  the  kind  of  post  or  pier,  it  is  important 
to  have  them  connected  by  good  beams.  The  beam  ties  the  oppo¬ 
site  pairs  of  posts  or  piers  together  across  the  path.  In  the  case 
of  brick  or  stone  piers  it  should  be  of  Oak  or  Larch  7in  to  8in 
square,  not  quite'  horizontal,  but  slightly  rising  in  the  middle. 
This  is  of  some  importance,  as  it  satisfies  the  eye  with  the  feeling 
of  strong  structure,  and  is  actually  of  structural  utility.  It  is, 
of  course,  possible  to  make  a  pergola  of  iron  with  very  flat  arches, 
and  supporting  rods  and  wires  or  wire  netting  for  the  top ;  but 
it  is  the  material  least  recommended,  and  the  one  that  is  the 
least  sympathetic  to  the  plants;  indeed,  in  many  cases  contact 
with  the  cold  iron  is  actually  harmful. 
“  A  modification  of  the  continuous  pergola  is  in  many  cases 
as  good  as,  or  even  better  than,  the  more  complete  kind.  This  is 
the  series  of  posts  and  beams  without  any  connection  in  the 
direction  of  the  length  of  the  path,  making  a  succession  of 
flowering  arches;  either  standing  quite  clear  or  only  connected 
by  garlands  swinging  from  one  pair  of  piers  to  the  next  along  the 
sides  of  the  path,  and  perhaps  light  horizontal  rails  also  running 
lengthwise  from  pier  to  pier.  This  is  the  best  arrangement  for 
Roses,  as  they  have  plenty  of  air  and  light,  and  can  be  more 
conveniently  trained  as  pillars  and  arches,  while  the  most  free- 
growing  of  the  Ayrshires  and  hybrid  multiflora  ramblers  wbllingly 
make  Swinging  garlands.  Roses  are  not  so  good  for  the  com¬ 
plete  pergola. 
"  For  the  open  pergola  without  top,  Roses  are  among  the 
best  of  plants ;  on  one  post  a  pillar  Rose  and  on  the  other  a 
rambler.  A  select  list  for  this  use  would  be  :  as  pillars,  Alister 
Stella  Gray,  nankeen  yellow ;  Reine  Marie  Henriette,  red ; 
Climbing  Aimee  Vibert,  white;  Carmine  Pillar  and  Waltham 
Climber,  No.  1,  reds;  and  for  ramblers,  the  Garland,  Dundee 
Rambler,  Bennett’s  Seedling,  and  Madame  Alfred  Carriere,  all 
white  or  flesh  white;  Crimson  Rambler,  Reine  Olga  de  Wurtem- 
berg,  Longworth  Rambler,  and  Dawson,  reds;  as  well  as  multi- 
flora  single  and  double,  the  large-flowered  multiflora,  and  R. 
Brunoni.  To  keep  the  bases  of  the  piers  clothed,  some  strong 
young  shoots  of  the  current  year  should  be  shortened  so  as  best 
to  cover  the  space,  when,  instead  of  making  the  whole  length 
they  would  otherwise  have  attained,  they  will  stop  growing  at 
the  tips  and  throw  their  strength  into  preparation  for  flowering 
shoots  at  the  lower  levels.” 
National  Rose  Society. 
The  annual  dinner,  with  Mr.  E.  Mawley  in  the  chair,  will 
take  place  on  December  11,  at  5.30  p.m.,  after  the  annual 
general  meeting  in  the  Hotel  Windsor.  In  the  business  to  be 
brought  before  the  general  meeting  there  is  a  proposed  addition 
to  Regulation  13,  as  follows:  “A  Sub-Committee  has  been  ap¬ 
pointed  to  draw  up  a  proposed  addition  to  Regulation  13,  tvhich- 
will  give  further  directions  as  to  the  award  of  Gold  Medals  to  new 
seedling  Roses.”  A  copy  of  the  proposed  addition  to  Regula¬ 
tion  13  will  be  distributed  at  the  meeting,  or  can  be  had  pre¬ 
viously  on  application  to  the  hon.  secretary. 
- »  <»'  » - 
THE  OUTDOOR  TOMATO  CROP. 
Outdoor  Tomatoes  have  always  been  considered  to  be  a  crop 
which  depends  very  much  on  the  season  for  its  success,  or  other¬ 
wise  ;  but  the  series  of  ten,  more  or  less  dry  years,  during  each 
of  which  it  has  been  possible  to  grow  this  crop  with  some  success, 
had  gone  far  to  remove  this  impression,  and  tempt  growers  to 
plant  more  and  more.  This  season,  however,  again  brings  the 
fact  very  forcibly  on  our  notice,  and  shows  that  it  must  always 
be  a  risky  undertaking,  for  outside  Tomatoes  have  been  an 
almost  universal  failure.  Even  in  sheltered  gardens,  where  they 
have  every  chance,  they  have  only  done  well  in  a  comparatively 
few  favoured  spots ;  and  in  most  places  where  field  crops  have 
been  attempted  scarcely  any,  and  in  some  cases  no  fruit,  has 
been  ripened  on  the  plants.  The  writer  has  seen  one  case  in 
which  a  grower/encouraged  by  the  success  of  a  crop,  one  acre 
in  extent,  in  the  previous  year,  this  year  covered  five  acres  with 
some  40,000  plants,  which  did  not  produce  sufficient  fruit  to 
nearly  pay  the  heavy  expenses  of  producing,  planting,  and  other 
attention,  to  which  must  be  added  a  considerable  expenditure 
on  pots  and  stakes.  In  this  case  the  planting-out  was  done 
under  very  promising  conditions  at  the  end  of  May  and  beginning 
of  June,  the  soil  being  in  excellent  tilth,  and  several  light 
showers  following  the  operation  to  give  the  plants  a  good  start. 
Growth  was  rapigl,  and  fine  large  plants  were  quickly  produced, 
and  subsequently  gave  a  very  good  show  of  bloom,  so  that  thus 
far  everything  iooked  very  hopeful ;  but  when  the  time  came 
for  stopping  the  growth  by  nipping  out  the  growing  point,  which 
usually  takes  place  about  the  middle  of  August,  when  four 
trusses  of  bloom  have  been  formed  on  most  plants,  it  was  evident 
that  unless  there  should  be  an  extraordinary  change  in  the 
weather  there-  could  not  be  a  great  amount  of  fruit  ripened, 
for  very  little  had  set  ;  whereas  at  this  time  the  lower  trusses 
would,  under  normal  conditions,  consist  of  fruit  already  swelled 
to  a  considerable  size. 
Thus,  a  certain  amount  of  disappointment  was  anticipated  ; 
but  only  on  the  score  that  the  warm,  sunny  season  would  not 
extend  far  enough  into  the  autumn  to  allow  of  any  great  quan¬ 
tity  of  fruit  coming  to  perfection.  Nothing  was  thought  about 
disease,  which  now  began  to  make  its  appearance;  first  attacking 
the  leaves,  then  the  fruit,  and  ultimately  sweeping  off  the  whole 
crop,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  fruits  here  and  there.  The 
disease  which  attacked  this  crop,  and  many  others  as  well,  was 
the  common  Potato  disease  (Phytophora  infestans),  which  has 
been  so  very  prevalent  among  Potatoes  all  over  this  country 
and  part  of  the  Continent  this  year,  and  which  is  well  known  to 
attack  other  species  of  Solanum,  and  particularly  the  Tomato. 
It  first  makes  itself  evident  in  brown  blotches  on  the  leaves. 
These  blotches  soon  spread  over  the  entire  surface  of  the 
leaf,  causing  it  to  curl  up.  At  length  the  leaves  and  stem  are 
turned  black,  ancl  blotches  appear  on  the  fruit,  even  green  fruit' 
being  affected  when  the  disease  is  very  bad,  as  it  was  this  year. 
No  doubt  this  could  have  been  checked  to  a  great  extent  if 
spraying  had  been  resorted  to  when  the  disease  first  made  its 
appearance,  and  thus  the  fruit  saved  and  part  of  it  ripened. 
Bordeaux  mixture  would  have  been  the  most  efficient  fungicide 
to  use  for  this  purpose  ;  but  it  has  the  great  disadvantage  of 
spotting  the  fruit,  so  that,  unless  washed  by  rain,  it  would  have 
to  be  wiped  before  being  fit  for  market  or  the  table. 
It  is,  probably,  not  wise  to  save  seed  from  infected  Tomatoes 
or  from  fruit  taken  from  infested  plants,  though  it  has  not  yet 
been  proved  whether  this  disease,  and  others,  can  be  passed 
on  in  this  way.  This  fact  ought  to  be  settled  by  experiment, 
for  the  case  is  not  analogous  to  that  of  the  Potato,  with  which 
the  Avliole  infected  tuber  is  used  for  seed,  and  remains  in  the 
soil  in  contact  with  the  newly-formed  tubers,  so  that  the  disease 
has  every  chance  of  spreading.  In  the  case  of  the  Tomato  only 
the  fleshy  part  of  the  fruit  is  apparently  affected,  whilst  the 
seeds  are  to  all  appearance  clean,  so  that  there  is  a  chance  that 
they  may  not  carry  disease  spores,  especially  as  they  can  easily 
be  dressed  so  as  to  kill  any  spores  adhering  to  the  outside.  How¬ 
ever,  it  is  not  good  policy  to  take  seed  from  a  weakened  stock 
unless  there  is  some  particular  reason  for  it,  such  as  the  mainte¬ 
nance  of  some  special  stock  or  variety. — B. 
