April  7,  1904. 
JOURJSAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
301 
II'  once  the  plants  get  high  enongh  to  tninble  over,  they  will 
never  do  so  well  afterwards.  Being  sown  in  trenches,  they 
will  require  no  earthing  np  before  staking.  Mulching  is  very 
beneficial  to  Peas.  Old  stable  manure  is  good,  affording  a  fine 
stimulant  to  the  plant,  as  well  as  conserving  the  moistnre  in 
dry,  hot  weather.  For  onr  earliest  supply,  we  sow  in  pots  and 
grow  on  nnder  glass.  The  seeds  ai’e  sown  in  large  GO-pots,  and 
when  well  rooted  are  potted  on  np  to  the  IG  size  pot.  They  are 
kept  in  a  cool  house  or  pit,  and  as  near  the  glass  as  possible. 
When  grown  in  this  way  very  good  results  are  obtained.  For 
thiN  jmi'pose  I  prefer  Carter’s  Daisy  and  Sutton’s  Perfection, 
both  sjdendid  varieties  for  pot  work  or  frame. 
The  next  sowing  shonld  be  on  a  south  border  ow  in  some 
sheltered  position  facing  south.  I  do  not  think  anything  is  to 
be  gained  by  antnmn  sowing.  If  the  ground  is  in  good  con¬ 
dition,  danuary  is  a  good  time  to  sow  the  first  lot,  and 
February  will  be  soon  enongh  to  commence  sowing  the  main 
crop.  In  order  to  keep  np  a  good  sncce.ssion,  I  find  it  a  good 
plan  to  sow  again  just  as  the  previous  sowing  is  peeping  through 
the  ground.  If  possible,  we  sow  two  varieties  at  the  same 
time,  one  kind  being  ready  a  little  before  the  other,  and  so 
helping  to  keep  up  a  continuous  supply. 
For  our  last  sowing  we  depend  on  Autocrat  and  that  good 
old  variety  Xe  Plus  Ultra,  both  excellent  varieties  for  late 
work.  The  Pea,  being  a  moisture-loving  plant,  should  be 
plentifully  supplied  with  wate}'  in  dry  weather,  no  crop  suffering 
more  quickly  when  allowed  to  become  exhausted  from  lack  of 
water. 
The  Be.\n  Tribe. 
Beans,  Broad,  Dwarf,  and  Runner,  are  very  popular  vege¬ 
tables,  and  should  be  grown  well  in  all  gardens.  The  most 
useful  of  all,  I  should  say,  are  the  Dwarf  French  varieties. 
If  the  cultivator  has  the  convenience,  they  may  be  had  the 
whole  year  round,  planting  them  in  frames  or  pots  in  batches 
for  succession,  and  outside  for  the  earliest  crop  before  the 
Runners  come  in.  There  have  been  many  so-called  improved 
varieties  of  Dwarf  Beans  brought  out  of  late  years,  but  I  do 
not  think  any  of  them  are  better  than,  or  even  as  good  as, 
Canadian  Wonder  for  outside  work. 
The  new  climbing  P’rench  Bean  is  good,  and  worth  growing, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  most  useful  and  reliable  crop 
for  the  summer  is  the  Scarlet  Runner.  These  should  have  a 
good  open  position  in  well-trenched  ground,  not  under  trees,  as 
is  often  the  case.  X^o  other  ‘  vegetable  gives  such  a  generous 
return  if  well  looked  after.  They  must  on  no  account  be 
allowed  to  become  dry,  or  the  pods  will  not  set.  In  field  culture 
for  market,  the  plants  are  topped,  when  about  a  foot  high,  and 
again  afterwards ;  but  the  most  profitable  way  to  gi'ow  them 
in  the  garden  is  undoubtedly  by  placing  sticks  for  them  to 
climb.  I  never  lose  an  opportunity  if  I  can  help  it  of  pointing 
out  what  I  consider  to  be  a  very  gieat  mistake  made  in  the 
cooking  of  Beans,  both  Dwarf  and  Runners.  I  refer  to  tlie 
way  in  which  they  are  snipped  np  into  little  bits.  I  know  it 
is  the  fashion  to  do  so,  but  that  is  about  all  the  method  has 
to  recommend  itself. 
The  Beans  shonld  be  gatheied  when  quite  young,  simpiv 
topped  and  tailed,  and  then  be  cooked  whole.  In  this  way  the 
goodness  of  the  Bean  is  retained,  ivhereas  by  cutting  them 
up  info  little  shreds  all  the  nourishment  is  boiled  out  and  thrown 
away  in  the  v'ater.  M  hy  Beans  are  not  cooked  whole  I  cannot 
understand.  They  are  much  less  trouble  to  prepare,  and  bettei' 
in  every  way  than  when  they  are  cut  up  into  chaff.  Of  course, 
persons  purchasing  their  Beans  at  a  shop  have  an  excuse  for 
cutting  them  np,  as  they  are,  more  often  than  not,  tough  and 
old,  but  pensons  who  grow  their  own  have  not  this  excuse. 
The  Broad  Bean  is  a  useful  vegetable,  but  the  .season  is  a 
short  one,  unless  special  care  is  taken  with  the  later  crops. 
They  are  liable  to  be  infe.sted  with  the  black  fly,  and  unless 
these  are  dislodged  by  .some  means  they  will  soon  make  the 
plants  u.seless.  Beans  like  a  good,  rich  .soil,  well  dug  and 
manured.  We  sow  onr  first  crop  as  early  in  the  year  as  we  can 
get  the  ground  in  good  condition.  'Nothing'  is  gained  by 
planting  in  soil  that  is  too  wet.  A  good  season  for  planting 
fi'ill  show  itself  all  through  the  year. 
The  Onion  Crop. 
Onions  are  a  crop  that  we  cannot  well  do  without,  but  to 
]>roduce  a  good  crop  a  lot  of  forethought  in  preparing  the 
ground  pievious  to  .sowing  or  planting  is  required,  f  was 
told  when  I  came  into  this  neighbourhood  fifteen  years  ago  tliat 
()nions  could  not  be  grown  succe.ssfully — that  the  .soil  was  too 
light  and  sandy.  However,  I  have  'always  l>een  succe.ssful, 
and  have  never  failed  to  rai.se  a  good  crop.  We  all  know  that 
the  great  enemy  of  the  Onion  is  the  Onion  fly.  Now,  we  say 
that  “  prevention  is  better  than  cure.”  In  this  case  “  preven¬ 
tion  is  the  oidy  cure.” 
The  fly  must  not  be  allowed  to  deposit  its  eggs  on  the 
plants.  The  eggs  ai-e  laid  just  inside  of  one  or  two  of  the 
lower  leaves,  and  as  .soon  as  hatched  the  maggots  go  straight 
to  the  root  of  the  plant,  and  begin  their  deadly  work.  When 
the  plants  begin  to  flag  and  show  that  something  is  wrong. 
it  is  too  late  to  remedy  the  evil.  The  only  way  to  be  suc¬ 
cessful  is  to  prevent  the  fly  fiom  laying  its  eggs  on  the  plant. 
To  do  this  the  plants  must  l)e  madt'  distasteful  to  the  fly.  I 
find  nothing  better  than  dusting  the  plants  over  occasionally 
with  soot  on  dewy  mornings  or  when  the  plants  are  damp,  sa 
that  the  soot  will  adhei'e  to  them. 
Si)raying  with  (piassia  extract,  half  pint  to  a  gallon  of  water, 
is  also  a  good  jireventive.  The  bitter  ta.ste  remains  for  a  long 
time.  The  ground  for  the  Onion  bed  shonld  be  deeply  dug  oi 
trenched  in  tin*  winter,  leaving  the  surface  as  rough  and 
uneven  as  po.ssible.  We  put  on  a  good  dressing  of  soot,  lime, 
and  salt.  This  is  allowed  to  remain  on  the  ground  until  sowing 
time  in  March.  It  is  then  lightly  forked  in,  the  giound  I’aked 
down  line,  and  well  trodden  oi’  rolled  until  it  is  (|uite  him.  In 
our  light  soil  it  cannot  be  too  solid  foi'  this  crop.  In  order  to 
obtain  very  large  bulbs,  such  as  we  see  at  our  .shows,  the  .seeds 
must  be  sown  as  early  in  the  year  as  possible  in  pans  or  pots 
under  gla.ss.  AVhen  laige  enough  to  handle  they  should  be 
pricked  off  into  boxes,  and  hardened  off  for  planting  outside  in 
April,  or  earlier  if  the  weather  is  favourable. 
Carrots. 
The  Carrot  is  another  vegetable  which  often  gives  a  lot  of 
trouble  to  grow  successfully.  They  are  .snl)ject  to  the  attack 
of  the  Cari-ot  fly.  This  pest  works  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Onion  fly,  and  the  same  means  of  prevention  should  be  adopted. 
The  .soil  in  this  neighbourhood  is  a  .splendid  one  for  Carrots, 
and  a  large  quantity  are  grown  foi-  the  London  markets.  The 
best  and  surest  way  to  obtain  a  good  crop  of  Carrots  for  winter 
use  is  to  sow  late  in  ay,  or  even  in  June.  By  this  time  the 
Carrot  fly  will  have  deposited  its  eggs,  ,so  no  danger  is  to  be 
feared  from  that  quarter.  The  roots,  being  later,  are  more 
tender  than  early  sown  ones.  Carrots  do  not  like  a^  wet  season, 
hence  in  1903  the  Carrot  crop  was  unsatisfactory — G.  Carpenter, 
Byfleet,  Surrey. 
(To  be  continued.) 
Some  Notes  on  Crocuses. 
This  season  one  was  rather  despondent  as  to  the  success  pf  the 
Ci'ocuses,  so  wet  and  cheerle.ss  was  it  for  the  early  species,  Vhich 
need  all  the  sunshine  they  can  obtain  in  our  climate.  Some 
few  did  little  good,  but  those  which  dallied  long  were  rewarded 
by  better  weather,  and,  as  this  is  written,  are  mo.st  delightful. 
The  Dutch  Crocuses. 
It  is  almost  needle.ss  to  say  that  there  is  nothing  .so  bright  as 
the  old  Golden  Yellow,  as  we  familiarly  call  that  form  of  C. 
aureus  vhich  used  to  be  called  C.  ma^siacus.  It  is  glorious  on 
a  fine  day,  and  one  can  well  understand  how  Dr.  Forbes  AVatson 
was  inspired  by  it  to  write  in  praise  of  its  beauty.  Beside  it 
there  is  nothing  so  gorgeous  or  so  cheering  in  these  days  of 
spring.  The  many  varieties  of  Crocus  vernus,  which  we  term 
the  “  Dutch  Crocu.ses,”  are  charming  as  well,  with  their  floweis 
of  white,  purple,  lilac,  or  striped  or  marked  in  various  ways. 
Here,  too,  there  are  a  number  of  varieties  not  .s(?  well  known, 
such  as  George  iVlaw,  Leedsii,  Leucorhyncus,  and  .several  others, 
smaller  than  the  Dutch  ones  as  a  rule,  but  very  beautiful. 
Then  many  other  species  and  their  varieties  have  opened,  and 
are  very  delightful.  One  can  only  select  one  here  and  there 
among  the  least  plentiful  or  the  most  beautiful  for  notice. 
Crocus  canhidus. 
This  is  a  lovely  white  Crocus  fiom  the  Troad,  not  at  all  well 
known,  but  among  the  mo.st  delightful  of  all  spring  species. 
In  the  form  here  the  outside  of  the  segments  is  grained  with 
a  pale  purple  in  a  delightful  way,  which  adds  much  to  the 
appearance  of  the  Crocus  when  not  open  to  the  sun. 
Crocus  Korolkowi  Fusco-tinctx's. 
One  mu.st  di.sclaim  all  responsibility  for  giving  such  a  name  to 
a  charming  little  yellow  Crocus,  which  is  here  blooming  in  front 
of  a  clump  of  Daffodils,  not  veiy  far  advanced.  The  Crocus  is 
a  little  late,  so  that  it  comes  into  rivalry  with  the  grand  old 
Golden  A'ellow.  As  a  newcomer,  it  may  thus  well  keep  in  the 
background,  but  it  is  valuable  for  its  small  size  and  free  bloom¬ 
ing.  It  has  proved  the  best  of  the  forms  of  C.  Korolkowi  that 
I  have  cultivated  here  ;  in  fact,  it  has  been  the  only  really  satis¬ 
factory  one  as  yet.  It  has  small,  bright  yellow  flowers,'  which 
are  not  marked  on  the  outside  with  such  a  dark  brown  colouring 
as  the  typical  C.  Korolkowi,  but  instead  are  grained  or  tinged 
with  a  pale  brown,  something  after  the  way  of  that  on  C.  aureus 
fusco-thictus,  but  (piite  distinct.  I  think  it  fully  a  neater 
flower  than  that.  It  is  a  Turkestan,  species,  but  probably 
extends  to  some  extent  beyond  Turkestan. 
,  Crocus  Tauri  Melanthera. 
■  This  black-anthered  Crocus,  with  lilac-blue  flowers,  is  a  rare 
form,  although  Air.  K.  A.  Bowles,  our  gieat  Crocus  specialist  of 
;  the  iiresent  day,  considers  it  quite  distinct  from  Crocus  tauri, 
I  and  supports  his  views  hy  convincing  proofs  to  those  who  have 
an  opportunity  of  examining  the  plants.  It  is  a  rare  plant,  and 
