36 
JOUBNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  14,  1904. 
timber  planks,  and  an  inner  corrugated  iron  facing,  leaving  4in 
of  vacant  space  between,  The  roof  is  of  corrugated  iron.  Such 
houses  could  practically  be  made  by  estate  men,  for  they  are  of 
very  simple  construction. — Wandeking  Willie. 
Raising  Tomatoes. 
Those  who  require  ripe  Tomatoes  very  early  in  the  season 
must,  of  course,  practi.se  autumn  sowing,  but  the  majority  of 
cultivators  are  content  to  wait  till  January  before  inserting  the 
seed,  because  they  know  that  from  that  time  onivard  the  young 
plants  grow  steadily  and  .sturdily,  with  comparatively  little 
trouble,  and  produce  good  crops  in  less  time  from  the  date  of 
sowing  than  autumn  sown  plants.  Given  the  necessary  amount 
of  heat,  and  suitable  treatment  in  other  respects,  raising  large 
batches  of  Tomato  plants  early  in  the  year  is  by  no  means  a 
difficult  matter,  and  yet  I  have  seen  dismal  examples  of  failure 
through  failing  to  attend  to  a  few  simple  yet  necessary 
matters.  The  first  essential  is  to  get  sweet  soil  free  from 
minute  insects,  because  under  the  best  of  conditions  root  action 
is  not  particularly  vigorous  early  in  the  season,  and  anything 
which  tends  to  check  it  in  the  slightest  degree  may  be  fatal  to 
the  young  plants.  I  have  always  found  it  an  excellent  plan 
to  partially  burn  all  soil  intended  for  sowing  seeds  in  early  in 
the  season. 
This  can  easily  be  done  by  placing  it  for  a  few  days  in  a 
stokehole  on  the  top  of  a  boiler  at  work,  and  turning  it  a  few 
times.  If  everybody  would  adopt  a  similar  plan,  half  the  diffi¬ 
culties  connected  with  raising  tender  seedlings  would  disappear. 
For  Tomatoes  a  suitable  mixture  is  equal  parts  loam  and  leaf 
soil,  with  a  little  shai'p  sand  and  wood  ashes  added.  Prepare 
pans  or  shallow  boxes  by  draining  them  with  an  inch  layer  of 
cinders  or  broken  pot.sherds,  fill  them  to  within  an  inch  of 
their  rims  with  the  prepared  compo.st,  which  should  be  pressed 
moderately  firmly  with  a  board,  or  anything  with  a  smooth 
surface. 
Sow  the  seeds  thinly  and  just  cover  them  with  soil,  or,  better 
still,  insert  them  with  a  “dibble”  an  inch  apart.  Give  one 
thorough  watering  through  a  rose,  cover  the  surface  of  the 
receptacles  with  glass,  and  stand  them  on  a  bed  w’here  there 
is  a  slight  bottom  heat,  or  on  the  hot-water  pipes  in  a  light 
house  where  a  temperature  of  from  GOdeg  to  65deg  is  main¬ 
tained.  So  soon  as  the  seedlings  push  through  the  soil,  place 
a  stone  under  one  end  of  the  glass  to  admit  air,  and  the  follow  ■ 
ing  day  set  the  boxes  on  a  shelf  near  the  glass,  and  remove  the 
loose  squares  of  glass  entirely  at  night.  Under  this  treatment 
the  seedlings  will  come  along  sturdily,  and  before  they  get 
crowded  should  be  transplanted. 
It  is  at  this  stage  that  the  inexperienced  often  make  a 
mistake  which  proves  a  costly  one.  The  error  consists  of  trans¬ 
ferring  the  young  seedlings  from  the  seed-box  to  3in  pots. 
Under  favourable  circumstances,  wuth  every  convenience  at 
command,  and  fine  clear  weather,  this  may  .sometimes  be  done 
with  good  results,  but  I  have  proved  over  and  over  again  that 
a  far  better  plan  to  adopt  is  to  prick  out  in  boxes  2in  apart, 
and  then  when  the  plants  have  become  well  rooted,  pot  into 
Sin  pots,  and  eventually  into  J^in  or  Sin  ones.  The  reason  for 
this  is  that  the  weather  in  the  depth  of  winter  is  often  cold  and 
misty,  and  the  young  iilants  establish  themselves  much  more 
quickly  in  shallow  boxes  than  when  each  is  given  a  separate 
pot ;  indeed,  in  some  eases  when  the  latter  plan  is  followed  they 
get  stunted,  or  die  off  entirely.  The  pricking  off  before  pot¬ 
ting  entails  a  little  extra  labour,  but  good  plants  are  ready  for 
planting  in  their  permanent  position  at  an  earlier  date  than 
when  less  trouble  is  bestowed  upon  them. 
In  these  early  stages,  keep  to  the  burnt  soil,  and  thus  take 
no  risks  in  regard  to  insects.  In  all  instances  keep  the  plants 
near  the  glass  in  a  light  position,  to  prevent  them  from  becom¬ 
ing  in  the  least  drawn.  Usually  after  having  been  pricked  off 
and  started  in  the  fresh  soil,  a  slightly  lower  temperature 
should  be  given  if  the  days  are  bright ;  55deg  to  GOdeg  is  a 
suitable  night  temperature,  as  the  days  by  that  time  are 
lengthening,  and  the  pushing  on  should  be  done  by  day  rather 
than  night. 
Careful  watering  shoidd  of  course  be  iiractised  in  the  early 
stages.  On  dull  days  a  .slight  “dewing”  with  the  syringe  will 
often  be  preferable  to  a  thorough  watering,  but  when  the  plants 
are  thoroughly  established  and  the  weather  is  bright,  it  is  an 
easy  matter  to  keeii  them  drier  at  the  root  than  is  consistent 
with  their  welfare. 
A  suitable  time  for  setting  plants  in  cool  houses  is  the 
middle  of  April,  and  the  middle  of  February  will  be  soon  enough 
to  sow  for  this  purpo.se.  To  raise  plants  for  the  open  air  the 
first  or  second  week  in  Mai'ch  is  an  excellent  time  to  sow.  For 
growing  in  the  open  air  I  have  not  found  anything  to  beat 
Holmes’  Supreme.  This  variety  is  also  one  of  the  best  market 
kinds  for  indoor  culture.  Two  other  good  ones  for  private 
gardens  are  Dobbie’s  Champion  and  Be.st  of  All.  For  early 
crops  Winter  Beauty  is  hard  to  beat.  All  who  can  should  give 
the  new  Lord  Roberts  a  trial.— H.  D. 
Societies. 
R.H.S.  Scientific  Committee,  January  5tti. 
Present ;  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters,  F.Il.S.  (in  the  chair) ;  Messrs.  Gordon. 
Baker,  Saunders,  Hooper,  Veiteh,  Hudson,  and  Massee  ;  Drs.  Cooke 
and  Rendle  ;  Prof.  Boulger ;  Revs.  W.  Wilks  and  G.  Henslow,  lion.  sec. 
Pear  shoots  diseased. — Dr.  Cooke  reported  upon  some  samples  sent 
by  Mrs.  Cure,  of  Coombe,  Oxon.  They  were  attacked  by  Cystospora 
in  patches.  This  fungus  would  subsequently  pass  into  the  Enpatella 
stage.  The  trees  should  be  sprayed  with  Bordeaux  mixture  at 
intervals,  and  if  this  was  unsuccessful,  the  places  should  be  cut  out 
and  burnt,  the  wounds  well  protected  with  tar. 
Proposed  scientific  investigations  at  Wisley. — The  following  was  the 
substance  of  the  reply  received  from  the  Council  to  the  communication 
addressed  to  them  by  the  Scientific  Committee  on  this  subject :  The 
Council  saw  the  desirability  of  almost  all  that  was  urged  therein,  and 
they  hoped  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  w’hen  much  of  it  may  be 
accomplished.  They  felt  sure,  however,  that  the  Scientific  Committee 
would  understand  that  all  the  desirable  things  cannot  be  carried  out 
simultaneously,  and  that  financial  considerations  compel  them  to  see 
the  new  hall  finished  and  paid  for  first. 
The  Ccdlin  moth. — Mr.  Hooper  raised  the  cjuestion  as  to  whether 
the  grease  bands,  if  kept  till  the  end  of  May,  would  catch  the  cater¬ 
pillars  at  that  time.  It  was  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Saunders  that  the 
caterpillars  would  not  have  left  the  Apples  in  May ;  but  Mr.  Massee 
observed  that  there  is  a  spring  brood  in  America,  but  he  was  not  aware 
of  its  existence  in  England,  and  recommended  observations  to  test  the 
fact. 
Camellia  leaf  diseased. — Mr.  Saunders  shoived  specimens  badly 
attacked  by  Pestolozzia  Guepini,  a  fungus  which  damages  the  Tea 
plant.  It  has  been  known  here  for  the  last  fifty  years.  Spraying 
w’ould  only  partially  arrest  it,  as  the  fungus  is  below  the  epidermis. 
Orchids  malformed. — Mr.  Bidgood,  Saltwell  View,  Gateshead,  sent 
some  excellent  coloured  photos  of  Orchids,  showing  certain  pecu¬ 
liarities  ;  (1)  An  Odontoglossum  citrosmum  had  the  basal  flower  of  a 
spray  with  two  well  formed  columns,  three  labella,  and  eight  other 
perianth  segments.  The  ovarian  section  had  no  ovary  cells,  but 
numerous  clusters  of  fibro-vaseular  cords,  showing  that  it  was  a 
“  multifold  ”  flower,  the  cords  of  each  perianth-segment  branching  and 
entering  tivo,  instead  of  a  single  segment ;  so  that,  excepting  one,  all 
the  parts  of  the  perianth  were  doubled.  (2)  Phaius  Humblotti  X 
P.  Wallichi,  received  from  Mr.  Cookson’s  collection.  One  photo 
showed  the  inflorescence,  one  flower  of  which  had  the  lower  portion  of 
one  of  the  lateral  sepals  petaloid  like  a  labellum  ;  the  placenta  of  the 
ovary  next  to  the  position  of  the  labellum  was  absent.  A  second  flower 
had  no  labellum,  the  lateral  sepals  were  fused,  making  one  wide,  median 
sepal,  and  both  the  lateral  petals  were  slightly  labellate. 
Scottish  HorticDltoral  Association. 
Tlie  annual  business  meeting  of  this  association  ivas  held 
on  tlie  evening  of  Tuesday  last,  the  I2th  inst.,  in  Dowell’s 
Rooms,  Mr.  McHattie,  president,  in  the  chair.  The  meeting 
was  very  numerously  attended,  about  150  members  being 
present.  Thirty-six  new  members  were  propo.sed  for  election. 
The  secretary  read  the  report  of  the  council  for  the  pa.st  year, 
which  showed  that  in  all  departments  of  its  operations  con¬ 
tinued  most  successful.  The  membership  had  increased  to  the 
large  total  of  1,295.  The  papers  read  at  the  monthly  meetings 
had  been  of  a  most  interesting  and  instructive  character,  and 
the  meetings  had  been  very  largely  attended.  The  Chrysanthe¬ 
mum  Show  had  been  most  successful,  notivithstanding  the  un¬ 
favourable  nature  of  la.st  season.  The  competition  had  beeji 
keen,  and  the  quality  of  the  show  all  over  was  equal  to  any 
previous  show. 
The  financial  report  was  read  by  the  treasurer,  and  was  also 
of  a  most  favourable  nature.  The  total  income  of  the  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  Show  amounted  to  £1,253  IGs.,  and  the  total  ex¬ 
penditure  to  £1,225  2s.  7d.,  leaving  a  credit  balance  of 
£28  13s.  Gd.  The  income  of  the  association  amounted  to 
£224  2s.  9d.  ;  the  expenditure  to  £127  2s.  lid.  The  total 
balance  on  the  year’s  proceedings  amounting  to  £125  13s.  Cd. 
The  total  balance  at  the  credit  of  the  association  now  amounts 
to  the  magnificent  total  of  £1,104  5s.  Gd. 
Mr.  McHattie  was  re-elected  president  for  the  coming  year. 
Mr.  A.  Mackenzie,  Warriston  Nurseries,  and  Mr.  Sclater,  15, 
Princes  Street,  were  elected  vice-presidents.  The  vacancies  in 
the  council  were  filled  up.  It  was  unanimously  agreed  to  vote 
the  sum  of  £G0  towards  the  prize  fund  of  the  Royal  Caledonian 
Horticultural  Society  for  the  International  Exhibition  of  1905. 
It  was  also  agreed  to  contribute  £5  5s.  to  each  of  the  follow¬ 
ing  charitable  institutions :  The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan 
Fund,  the  Gardeners’  Benevolent  Fund,  and  the  Royal  Infir¬ 
mary  of  Edinburgh.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  president  brought 
a  most  enth.usiastic  meeting  to  a  close. 
