February  18,  1904. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
153 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  Fditor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  F.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  mil  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifi¬ 
able  trouble  and  expense.  In  naming  plants  wo  only  undertake 
to  name  species,  or  well-marked  varieties,  and  only  six  on  any 
one  occasion.  Florists’  dowrrs  we  do  not  name. 
PLANTS  AFFECTED  (Rust).— We  are  unable  to  reply  this 
week,  but  will  do  so  in  our  next. 
BOOKS  (A.  B.).--We  do  not  know  of  any  book  on  seed 
saving  for  commerce,  but  advise  you  to  write  to  B.  Wynne, 
30,  Wellington  Street,  Strand,  London.  The  books  on  floral 
decorations  are  all  at  present  out  of  print,  and  only  procurable 
second-hand.  We  believe  a  work  will  shortly  be  produced. 
LECTURES  DELIVERED  ABOUT  THE  COUNTRY 
(Itlem). — The  lectures  delivered  by  county  council  lecturers  are' 
not  usually  printed,  though  sometimes  reported  in  newspapers 
and  horticultural  periodicals  ;  the  most  important  are  frequently 
alluded  to  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture. 
BEGONIA  SOCOTRANA :  CORRECTION.— Unfortunately 
a  mistake  occurred  in  the  notes  under  the  above  heading  on 
page  114,  lines  45  and  4G.  “  Dew  overhead,  but  hot  water 
them  for  a  few  days,”  should  read:  “Dew  overhead,  but  not 
water  them  for  a  few  days.”  Line  23:  “If  from  a  32  size  (oin) 
pot,  into  a  54  size  ”  ;  the  “  (5in)  ”  is  not  mine.  I  intended  by 
saying  a  32  size  to  mean  a  pot  Gin  across  the  top  inside  the 
l  im,  which  I  think  is  most  generally  known  as  a  32  size,  although 
size.s  vary  in  different  districts  and  lotteries. — E.  F. 
ROSES  (A.  B.  C.). — Assuming  jmur  Roses  were  correctly 
named  we  are  not  able  to  account  for  the  lack  of  richness  in 
the  colours.  A  trace  of  iron  in  the  soil  is  said  to  deepen  the 
colours  of  dark  Roses,  and  liberal  aiiplieations  of  wood — not  coal 
—  ashes  or  broken  charcoal  to  the  soil  might  be  of  benefit  in 
your  ca.se.  You  may  spread  it  on  the  surface  an  inch  thick  if 
you  have  sufficient,  pointing  in  lightly  with  a  fork.  Failing  a 
supply  of  charred  material  you  may  with  advantage  give  a 
good  dressing  of  soot,  making  the  soil  black  with  it  and  pointing 
it  in.  Copious  applications  of  liquid  manure,  such  as  the  drain¬ 
ings  from  manure  heaps,  or  soot  water,  when  the  buds  are 
swelling,  would  increase  the  size  and  deepen  and  brighten  the 
colours  of  your  Roses. 
BRIAR  CUTTINGS  (A.  M.  B.). — We  prefer  inserting  them 
in  November,  but  you  may  try  some  now,  choosing  firm  matured 
portions  of  last  year’s  wood,  cutting  in  lengths  of  about  8  inches 
the'  lower  end  of  each  smoothly  close  under  a  joint,  and  insert 
firmly  in  sandj'  soil,  only  one,  or  at  the  most  two,  buds  being 
above  the  surface ;  but  all  the  buds  must  be  cut  clean  out 
except  those,  or  suckers  will  spring  up.  If  the'  cuttings  root 
and  grow  well  the  stocks  may  be  grafted  next  spring,  attaching 
the  .scions  to  the  upper  part  of  the  stock  within  the  soil, 
which  must  of  course  be  cleared  away  for  that  purpose  if  the 
plants  arc  not  taken  up  and  potted  for  grafting.  To  facilitate 
budding  and  grafting  in  situ  it  is  usual  to  insert  the  cuttings 
firmly  about  half  their  length,  and  draw  soil  up  the  remaining 
pertion  as  if  earthing  Potatoes,  their  ridges  being  easily  levelled 
elown  for  operating  on  the  stocks.  They  often  have  to  remain 
two  years  to  get  strong  enough,  and  the  more  roots  the  stocks 
have  the  better  is  the  growth  of  the  attached  Roses. 
OLD  FRUIT  TREES  (W.  B.).— Limewash,  or  dusting  the 
trees  with  dry  lime  when  the  branches  and  twigs  are  wet,  as 
they  are  on  a  damp,  still,  foggy  day,  will  destroy  moss  on  them, 
and  any  lime  falling  to  the  ground  will  also  be  of  benefit  to  the 
roots.  Old  healthy  Plum  trees  with  long  spurs  often  bear  well, 
and  it  is  certain  if  you  cut  back  all  those  spurs  you  will  liave  no 
fruit  this  year.  If  much  crowded  if  may  be  desirable  to  thin 
some  of  them  out,  retaining  the  best  placed  and  most  pi'omising, 
and  some  of  them  may  possibly  be  tied  back  to  the  main 
branches.  It  is  important  to  so  prune  and  dispose  the  growths 
that  the  foliage  will  be  fully  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air  in 
summer,  a  thicket  of  leaves  being  the  reverse  of  conducive  to 
fruitful  wood.  Fresh  roots  near  the  .surface  of  the  ground  also 
promote  fruitfulne.-s,  and  they  may  be  incited  by  removing 
some  soil,  just  baring  some  of  the  roots,  and  adding  fresh,  con¬ 
taining  a  good  proportion  of  charred  material  and  some  lime 
rubbish,  pressing  it  down  pretty  firmly,  and  mulching  with 
manure  to  prevent  the  escape  of  moisture  from  the  soil  in 
sumnier. 
TERM  COLLARD  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  CABBAGE 
(H.  A.).  In  many  gardens  the  supply  of  Cabbages  is  .secured  by 
one  sowing  of  a  large  kind,  usually'  in  July  or  August.  The 
plants  are  pricked  out  from  the  seed  bed  as  soon  as’  possible, 
and  are  drawn  from  as  wanted,  from  the  time  they  become  .suit¬ 
able  to  use  as  collards,  until  the  latest  "  turn  in  ”  and  go  to  the 
heu-e  as  Cabbages. 
PARAFEIN  OIL  FUMES  AND  ARUM  LILIES  (A.  1).).— 
The  syringing  of  any  ])lant  with  neat  paraffin  oil  is  a  certai:u 
way  of  killing  it,  as  the  oil  sink.s  into  the  tissues  and  kills 
the  cells  as  well  as  retai'ds  the  performing  of  the  functions  of 
the  plants.  The  washing  of  the  wall  with  paraffin  oil  and  lime 
where  the  Camellia  had  been  killed  with  paraffin,  removed,  and 
burnt,  would  be  likely  to  give  off  fumes  injurious  to  vegetation, 
especially  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  clressing,  and 
we  do  not  wonder  at  the  Arums  put  in  the  position,  some  in 
bloom,  others  coming  into  flower,  turning  a  luisty  colour  and 
the  leaves  shrivelling.  Indeed,  we  should  consider  the  fumes 
from  the  i>araffin  oil  the  cause  of  the  mischief. 
TIME  REQUIRED  TO  BRING  SPIR-TIAS,  DEUTZIAS, 
GUELDER  ROSES,  AND  LILY  OF  THE  VALLEY  INTO 
FLOWER  (Puvile).— The  time  required  depends  upon  the  time 
of  year  and  the  convenience  at  command  as  regards  heat.  To 
have  the  plants  in  flower  by  Easter  they  must  be  placed  in  heat 
without  delay,  a  period  of  not  less  than  a  month  being  required, 
even  in  a  temperature  of  55deg  to  G5deg,  advancing  lOdeg  to 
15deg  from  sun  heat,  and  to  make  sure,  it  is  better  to  allow 
a  longer  time,  say  six  weeks,  the  plants  being  all  the  better 
for  Inu'dening  off  after  advanced  in  flowering,  it  being  necessary 
to  exercise  judgment  in  these  matters,  retarding  or  forwarding 
according  to  the  forwardness  or  backwardness  of  the  plants  for 
a  given  purpose.  This  means  varied  convenience,  it  being  all- 
important  to  have  the  plants  quite  forward  enough. 
NAMES  OF  PLANTS.  —  Correspondents  whose  queries  are 
unanswered  in  the  vresent  issue  are  respectfully  requested  to  considt 
the  followinq  number.  (F.  S.).— 1,  Cypripedium  insigne;  2.  C.  venim- 
tum.  (S.  P.). — Erica  earnea  ;  Cunninghamia  sinensis.  (L.  F.).— 1, 
Ledum  palustre ;  2,  Peperomia  arifolia  ;  3,  Catasetum  tridentatum. 
(J.  J.). — Goodyera  diseoloi’. 
Sheffield  Chrysanthem’  m  Society. 
The  schedule  for  the  1904  .show  has  ow  been  arranged,  and 
one  of  the  principal  features  will  be  a  \  ..se  class  (8  vases),  for 
which  prizes  of  £10,  £7  10s.,  £5,  and  £2  10s.  will  be  offered; 
the  usual  boards  of  24’s  and  12’s  will  be  retained  in  addition,  but 
G’s  are  dropped.  In  the  District  Class  .some  of  the  smaller  cla.sses 
are  dispensed  with  and  others  made  more  valuable,  va.«es  again 
being  encouraged.  Altogether  an  attractive  prize  list  ha.s  been 
adopted,  and  the  schedule  will  be  more  up  to  date. 
Tie  Cattle  Question. 
Meat  and  milk,  we  want  them  both,  and  we  want  them 
both  to  be  home  bred.  There  is  room  for  them  in  these 
islands  ;  room  made  by  the  lessening  of  the  corn  ai’ea.  In 
1846  we  grew  22,000.U()0  quarters  of  wheat  ;  in  1902  the 
quantity  was  7,000,060  quarters.  The  land  has  not  dis¬ 
appeared— a  portion  has  certainly  been  built  over— but  on 
that  corn  area  we  want  stock,  which  is  the  farmer’s  strong¬ 
hold.  We  do  not  suppose,  indeed  we  know  to  the  contrary, 
that  per  acre  more  wheat  is  grown  than  .was  produced  in 
1846,  so  that  it  is  not  our  methods  which  have  deteriorated, 
but  simply  we  have  been  nushed  out  of  corn  growing  by 
free  imports.  The  cattle  and  where  they  come  from  part 
are  bred  at  home,  and  a  great  part  come  from  Ireland— 
and  good  stuff  they  are.  Thank  Heaven !  we  still  keep  our 
ports  closed  to  Canadian  stores.  We  ought  not  to  desire 
them.  We  can  breed  plenty  of  our  own,  and  run  no  risk 
of  importing  disease.  ,  ,, 
But  about  those  Irish?  Tliey  used  to  be  rather  a 
reproach  than  otherwise.  They  might  start  from  home 
pretty  fit,  but  the  rough  passage  and  the  long  journeys 
inland  made  them  look  sorry  stock  when  they  reached  our 
markets.  Now  the  cattle  boats  are  well  equipped,  and  a 
