324 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  14,  1904. 
Violet  Sport. 
I  enclose  a  few  blooms  of  a  pale  bine  sport  of  the  double 
white  Violet,  Swanley  White  (syn.  Comte  de  Brazza).  The 
sport  occurred  the  year  before  last  in  another  garden  in  this 
parish  as  well  as  in  my  own,  and  I  believe  has  also  originated 
elsewhere  and  been  named.  I  showed  some  specimens  to  the 
late  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Ipswich,  and  he  did  not  think  the  sport 
worth  keeping.  However,  the  plants  have  much  improved,  and 
I  think  the  variety  is  worth  growing.  The  colour  is  pleasing, 
size  and  scent  are  good,  and  the  plants  seem  strong  and  healthy. 
But  they  follow  the  habit  of  Comte  de  Brazza  of  not  blooming 
freely  till  the  spring. — W.  R.  R.\illem. 
Vine  Roots  and  Their  Action. 
The  timely  remarks  of  iVIr.  Taylor  on  page  279  are  most 
interesting  and  instructive,  especially  coming  from  one  so 
strictly  observant  of  the  ways  of  the  Vine.  The  young  Vines 
referred  to  in  my  earlier  notes  I  found  had  reached  a  length  of 
new  growth,  measuring  almost  2ft  before  root-hairs  w'ere  visible. 
It  might  he  rightly  accounted  an  extraordinary  occurrence  that 
such  a  length  of  growth  can  issue  without  the  aid  of  new  and 
active  roots.  The  reference  by  Mr.  Taylor  to  the  formation  of 
autumn  roots  on  young  Vines  brings  to  my  recollection  a  similar 
instance  volunteered  by  a  gardening  friend  during  the  past 
winter.  A  house  for  some  time  unprofitably  occupied  by  lan¬ 
guishing  Vines  was  a  means  of  petition  for  their  dismissal,  and 
permission  was  sought  and  gained  for  clearing  out  both  Vines 
and  border,  and  a  new  and  clean  start  w^as  made.  Vines  were 
purchased  from  the  nursery,  and  w’ere  received  while  the  recon¬ 
struction  of  the  border  was  in  progress,  and  an  examination  of 
the  roots  revealed  exactly  what  Mr.  Taylor  recounted  in  bygone 
days  at  Longleat.  Whether  such  instances  are  accidental,  of 
rare,  or  of  common  occurrence,  it  does  not  seem  quite  clear ; 
but  the  gardener  referred  to,  on  finding  new  loots,  at  once 
decided  to  plant  forthwith,  and  thus  foster  this  precocity  of  root 
movement.  Possibly,  had  further  research  been  made,  and 
planting  deferred  for  a  time,  it  would  have  been  found  that 
these  auturnn  root  extensions  were  of  brief  season,  and  served  a 
purpose  which  is  not  at  present  clearly  understood. 
The  remark  of  Mr.  Taylor  anent  the  droughty  state  of  Vine 
borders  in  winter  is  one  that  enforces  another  and  broader 
thought.  Pot  Vines,  grown  by  the  trade  or  private  gardeners 
for  the  production  of  early  forced  crops,  are  subject  to  a  course 
of  drying-off  as  a  means  of  enforcing  maturity  and  restj  prior 
to  their  being  again  started  into  growth  in  the  forcing-pit ;  yet 
a  similar  state  of  dryness  in  the  established  border  is  considered 
inimical  to  real  success.  The  question  that  arises  is.  Ought  not 
these  autumn  roots  to  be  more  carefullj^  preserved,  and  the 
drying  off  made  less  severe  ?  The  functions  of  such  active 
autumn  feeders  is  not  at  present  clear,  but  it  might  be  reason¬ 
ably  assumed  they  in  some  degree  apply  the  finishing  course  in 
perfecting  latent  buds  both  of  fruit  and  leaf. 
It  is  well  remembered,  and  in  some  seasons  oft-repeated,  that 
Nature  has  occasional  freaks,  and  cannot  always  be  depended  on 
to  do  everything  correctly  year  by  year  as  seasons  recur,  hence 
Mr.  Taylor’s  and  my  own  informants’  cases  may,  by  chance,  have 
met  Nature  playing  loose,  as  it  were,  wuth  her  common  customs. 
Instances  are  not  wanting  where  fine  Grapes  are  produced 
annually,  and  where,  too,  the  borders  and  waterpot  are  by  com- 
divorced  in  winter.  Such  facts  go  to  show  that 
withholding  water  inflicts  no  particular  injury,  contrary  though 
it  is  to  natural  laws.  It  is  equally  true  also  that  no  uniform 
rule  or  custom  can  be  made  to  satisfy  in  every  class  of  soil, 
situation,  or  structure. 
There  is  now,  and  always  will  be,  a  large  amount  of  mystery 
a.ssociated  with  the  growth  and  forcing  of  Vines  and  other  trees 
under  glass.  Theories  well-learned  and  derived  from  much  close 
observation,  may  be  reversed  in  the  course  of  one’s  career,  and 
the  intelligible  “rules  of  the  road”  disturbed  by  unfamiliar 
passages.  Many  past  and  present  exponents  of  the  craft  have 
scored  exceedingly  well,  leaving  landmarks  for  the  emulation  of 
the  rising  generations,  and  examples  that  cannot  but  inspire 
well,  if  not  better.  The  functions  of  Vine  roots 
afford  .so  interesting  a  subject  for  discussion  that  it  should  not 
be  allowed  to  slumber.— W.  S. 
Potato  Disease,  and  Prejudice  against  Spraying. 
"When  the  means  of  warding  off  disease  in  the  Potato  crop 
is  known,  will  the  British  public  act  upon  the  information  I-’ 
In  Ea.st  Suffolk  and  in  Devomshire  I  have  demonstrated  tlie 
good  that  conies  of  using  sulphate  of  copper  and  lime  two  or 
three  times  in  the  season.  One  woman  in  East  Suffolk  (near 
Bungay)  said  as  I  left  the  village:  “That  there  man  have 
pizoned  my  taters.  My  husband  gave  him  leave  to  do  ’em.  He 
may  ate  ’em;  I  doant.”  A  man  not  far  from  the  same  place  said 
to  me  :  “  No.  I’m  not  coming  to  see  your  spraying,  for  neither 
you  nor  any  other  man  can  stop  the  disease  when  God  Almighty 
sends  it!  ”  In  a  village  not  far  from  Exeter  a  farmer  was 
invited  to  come  and  see  the  demonstration  about  six  years  ago. 
“  No,  I  do  not  believe  in  it,”  said  he.  “  If  the  County  Council 
will  send  a  man  to  catch  the  farmers’  rats,  then  I  will  thank 
them.”  The  rector  of  Stokenham,  South  Devon,  tells  me  that 
his  Potato  crop  was  much  helped  by  spraying  during  last  year’s 
wet  summer.  Mr.  Dutton’s  sprayings  came  out  well  in  Devon ; 
but  I  need  not  tell  of  my  personal  work  at  present.  I  wish  to 
call  special  attention  to  the  need  of  using  information  that 
most  County  Councils  have,  on  the  subject  of  growing  crops  of 
sound  Potatoes  with  a  small — a  very  small — chance  of  lo.ss  by 
disease.  Surely  it  is  not  too  much  to  ask  that  farmers  and 
gardeners  shall  show  a  more  decided  readiness  to  accept 
teaching  that  will  safeguard  their  crops? — X. 
- - 
Chelsea  Cedars. 
Some  special  interest  attaches  itself  to  the  decease  of  the 
last  of  Chelsea’s  famous  Cedars,  which  has,  indeed,  lived  rather 
longer  than  many  persons  expected.  This  survivor  of  the 
original  four  must  have  been  at  least  220  years  old,  therefore  we 
must  presume  it  to  be  the  most  venerable  of  British  Cedars,  if  it 
be  the  fact  that  the  four  of  Chelsea  Physic  Garden  were  the  first 
that  arrived  in  this  country.  Certainly  there  have  been,  and 
are  yet,  some,  we  believe,  of  larger  size  than  the  Chelsea  ones, 
though  younger. 
The  chronicle  of  the  garden  fixes  the  date  of  1683  as  that 
when  they  were  planted,  being  about  3ft  high,  one  of  the  many 
gifts  to  the  establishment  for  which  the  Apothecaries  had  to 
thank  Sir  Hans  Sloane.  Just  then  Mr.  Watts  was  the  curator, 
who  did  much  to  improve  the  garden  and  its  houses,  though 
subsequently  he  was  accused  of  treating  the  place  with  neglect. 
Whether  the  position  that  the  trees  occupied  on  the  Thames 
bank  was  a  good  one  may  be  doubtful ;  it  was  somewhat  exposed. 
Also,  this  species  might  do  better  on  chalk  or  gravel  than  on  the 
cold  clay  of  Chelsea. 
We  know  of  a  flourishing  Cedar  near  the  edge  of  the  river  at 
Gravesend  which  is  in  a  much  more  exposed  position.  Anyhow, 
the  four  trees  of  the  Physic  Garden  had  attained  to  a  growth 
of  about  lift  in  1750,  nearly  70  years  old  then,  and  in  1771  two 
had  to  be  cut  down,  decay  having  set  in  rapidly.  This  was 
attributed  partly  to  the  pre.ssure  of  a  quantity  of  snow  durijtg 
a  severe  winter.  The  third  lingered  till  1878,  when  it  and  the 
companion  left  had  reached  the  size  of  12ft,  measured  three 
from  the  ground.  Now  the  fourth  has  succumbed. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
Commercial  Fruit  Production. 
Trees  are  bought  in  increasing  numbers  yearly ;  and  they 
cost,  say,  £17  10s.  per  100;  good  trees  are  not  clear  at  that 
price.  At  30ft  apart,  48  trees  would  be  wanted  to  the  Imperial 
acre,  61  Scottish,  and  79  Irish.  Therefore  a  new  orchard  of 
three  acres,  at  30ft  from  tree  to  tree,  woqld  be  supplied  for 
£15  15s.  ;  digging  holes  20in  deep,  £2  5s.  ;  manures  (vdiere 
wanted),  £2  5s.  ;  and  stakes  (I  will  not  mention  these  in  detail, 
their  cost  varies  so  much),  say,  £1.  The  above  is  a  fair  estimate 
for  good  work.  Hundreds  of  acres  are  planted  for  much  less 
cost,  I  know,  and  that  is  a  main  cause  of  failure  among  farmers. 
A  thorough  breaking  up  and  mixing  of  soils  does  much  to 
increase  their  feeding  power  for  years  to  come.  A  fair  amount 
of  basic  slag,  superphosphate,  and  kainit,  mixed  throughout  the 
20in  depth  of  soil  will  be  a  storehouse  of  food  for  the  future.  An 
outlay  similar  to  this  is  an  outlay  that  any  landlord  worthy  of 
the  name  could  profitably  meet,  and  he  is  the  right  man  to  meet 
it.  Here  and  there  the  work  is  clone  well.  When  orchards  are  pro¬ 
perly  planted  with  Bramley’s  Seedling,  Alfriston,  Cox’s  Orange 
Pippin,  or  other  Apple  trees,  ten  years’  growth  becomes  of  an 
annual  value  equal  to  from  10s.  to  30s.  per  tree.  With  trees 
at  30ft  apart  the  farmer  can  wait  for  his  crop  with  the  satisfac¬ 
tion  that  he  is  taking,  in  feed  for  his  sheep,  pigs,  fowls,  almost 
the  whole  value  of  his  pasture.  He  thus  grows  his  Apples  fpr 
the  looking  after  the  trees  to  a  considerable  extent.  Mr.  J. 
Cheal,  of  Crawley,  in  “  Fruit  Culture,”  1894,  says :  “  The  quality 
of  our  fruit  of  the  best  varieties,  when  grown  cvith  care  and 
