July  23,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  EOB.TIGULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDFjNER. 
75 
To  keep  red  spider  in  check  syringe  the  foliage  once  a  day 
whenever  it  can  be  done  without  wetting  fruit  which  is  approach¬ 
ing  ripeness.  Water  the  borders  whenever  the  soil  is  fairly  dry, 
and  apply  stimulants  in  the  form  of  artificial  or  natural  liquid 
manures.  When  fruits  can  be  picked  from  the  trees  and  staged 
the  same  day  it  is  not  a  serious  drawback  for  them  to  have  burst 
their  skins  so  as  to  show  the  fresh,  luscious-looking  flesh  beneath, 
but  for  distant  shows  always  select  fruits  with  whole  skins. 
In  warm  districts  those  who  have  good  trees  of  Brunswick  in 
the  open  air  will  find  them  of  great  service  for  supplying  grand 
fruits  during  August  and  September.  The  shoots  should  be 
trained  very  thinly,  and  the  trees  watered  freely  when  necessary, 
and  it  is  always  wise  to  enclose  the  best  specimens  in  muslin  bags 
as  they  approach  ripeness,  as  wasps  will  often  ruin  them  in  a  day. 
In  close  competition  a  grand  dish  of  this  fine  Fig  in  a  collection 
of  fruit  will  sometimes  just  enable  the  exhibitor  to  snatch 
victory  from  an  opponent. 
Apples. — Gascoigne’s  Scarlet  Seedling,  Lady  Sudeley,  Beauty 
of  Bath,  and  Worcester  Pearmain  are  favourite  dessert  varieties 
for  August  and  September.  It  is  always  an  advantage  to  have 
a  few  trees  growing  in  pots,  as  they  can,  of  course,  be.  ripened 
earlier,  and  the  colour  i.s'  generally  brighter,  too,  than  when 
grown  in  the  open  air.  When  grown  under  glass  there  is  usually 
not  much  superfluous  growth  to  prevent  the  fruits  from  getting 
full  exposure.  Those  growing  on  bushes  in  the  open  air  should, 
of  course,  be  thinned  early  (this  year  I  am  afraid  few  have  needed 
thinning)  and  special  at¬ 
tention  paid  to  stopping. 
The  great  point  is  to  give 
every  selected  fruit  full 
exposure,  to  ensure  early 
ripening  and  even  colour¬ 
ing,  and  to  secure  these 
essentials  the  shoots  may, 
where  necessary,  be 
pinched  somewhat  earlier 
and  closer  than  is  desir¬ 
able  under  ordinary  con¬ 
ditions.  Superphosphate, 
given  at  the  rate  of  3oz 
per  square  yard,  and 
watered  in,  is  also  of  great 
advantage  in  helping  for¬ 
ward  the  colouring  pro¬ 
cess. 
Pears.  —  Jargonelle, 
Clapps’  Favourite,  Wil¬ 
liams’  Bon  Chretien,  and 
Souvenir  du  Congres 
figure  frequently  on  the 
exhibition  table  during 
August  and  Seirtember. 
In  their  case  it  is  an  even 
greater  advantage  to  have 
trees  in  pots  than  with 
Apples.  However,  whether 
growing  in  the  open  air 
or  under  glass,  the  chief 
points  to  aim  at  are  to  ^  a.  cl 
Lpose  the  fruits  fully  to  Southampton  Show:  Messrs. 
sunshine  and  feed  liberally 
while  they  are  swelling,  sulphate  of  potash  being  the  be.st  of  all 
manure  for  Pears. — H.  D. 
- - 
Saxifraga  aspera. 
Among  the  entangling  mazes  which  obstruct  the  path  of  the 
cultivator  of  the  Saxifrage  in  its  varied  forms,  there  are  none 
so  perplexing  as  that  of  nomenclature  and  classification.  Yet 
there  are  certain  distinctions,  not  easily  described,  but  evident 
to  an  observer,  which  help  one  largely  in  selecting  plants  which 
are  distinct  in  their  way.  Among  the  members  of  the  genus 
which  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  a  small  group  is  S.  aspera,  a 
representative  of  the  .section  called  Trachyphyllum  by  some 
authorities,  the  leading  features  of  its  plants  being  broadly 
described  as  being  of  dwarf,  tufted  habit,  with  fleshy  or  leathei-y 
small  entire  leaves.  Some,  such  as  S.  aspera  and  its  variety 
bryoides,  are  hard  to  the  touch,  and  look  like  short,  thick,  grey- 
green  pieces  of  cord.  The  species  aspera  may  be  said  to  approach 
the  Mossy  section,  though  botanically  it  is  somewhat  far  apart 
from  it.  "it  forms  a  small,  prostrate,  tuft  of  grey-green  lance¬ 
shaped  ciliated  leaves,  and  growing  only  about  3in  high.  As  a 
flowering  Rockfoil  it  is  of  little  value,  as  its  blooms,  which  are 
whitish,  are  spansely  produced,  and  I  grew  a  plant  for  years 
without  it  riving  me  a  single  bloom.  It  forms  little  stolons, 
and  differs  in  this,  as  well  as  in  the  colour  of  the  flowers,  from 
its  reputed  variety,  brymides.  The  latter  forms  rounded  rosettes 
of  leaves,  and  the  blooms  are  yellow.  It  might  almost  have 
been  retained  as  a  species.  S.  aspera  and  S.  a.  bryoides  are  not 
very  particular  as  to  the  soil  in  which  they  will  grow,  and  a 
compo.st  of  loam  and  leaf  mould,  with  a  little  sand  and  grit,  I 
have  found  to  airswer  well.  Both  are  perfectly  hardy.— S.  Arnott. 
Illustrations  from  Southampton  Show. 
On  four  of  our  pages  to-day,  we  give  features  from  the  recent 
horticultural  exhibition  held  at  Southampton,  and  whicli  wo  fully 
repoi’ted  on  pages  oQ  and  60.  The  group  of  Gloxinia.s  herewith 
shown  was  staged  by  Me.ssrs.  John  Peed  and  Son,  of  tlie  Roupell 
Park  Nursery,  West  Norwood,  London.  The  colour  of  this  col¬ 
lection  was  magnificent,  and  certainly  it  was  one  of  the  foatnre.s 
of  the  show.  An  inspection  of  the  photo  shows  the  light  and 
shade  of  the  blooms,  which,  to  an  experienced  eye,  will  reveal  the 
high  cla.ss  merits  of  the  collection.  The  varieties  were  Mrs.  W. 
Weaver,  Howard  Preed,  Boule  de  Neige,  Mrs.  J.  Preed,  Counte.s3 
of  Mrirwick,  Empress  of  India,  and  otliers.  The  group  received 
a  silver-gilt  medal. 
The  exhibit  of  vegetables  (from  Sutton’s  seeds),  shown  on  a 
back  page,  came  from  Lord  Aldenham  (gardener^  Mr.  E.  Beckett), 
Aldenham  House,  Elstree,  and  received  first  prize.  It  contained 
Early  Giant  Cauliflowers,  Duke  of  Albany  Peas,  White  Leviathan 
Onions,  New  Red  Intermediate  Carrot,  and  Perfection  Tomato. 
It  will  serve  as  a  guide  how  to  stage  vegetables  effectively.  Ev^ery 
care  is  taken  to  have  even  samples,  to  .set  them  out  with  taste, 
giving  each  subject  sufficient  space  and  freedom  from  its  neigh¬ 
bour,  and  to  have  everything  well  finished  off.  What  is  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  good  culture,  if  judgment  and  care  are  lacking  in  the 
disposition  of  the  produce  H 
Then  there  are  four 
views  of  the  Rose  ex¬ 
hibits.  The  Roses  were 
backward  on  the  whole, 
but  the  blooms  in  the 
photograph.s  are  credit¬ 
able.  Mr.  F.  W.  Flight 
(gardener,  W.  Neville), 
Cornstiles,  Twyford,  was 
leading  prize  winner  in 
classes  2,  18,  and  23  for 
the  18,  12,  9  distinct 
varieties  respectively. 
The  gentleman  to  whom  we 
owe  these  photographs 
names  the  following 
as  the  best  in  these 
classes  :  Mrs.  E.  Mawley, 
Madame  Cusin,  Maman 
Cochet,  Anna  Olivier, 
Golden  Gate,  White 
IMaman  Cochet,  Madame 
Hoste,  Ernest  Metz,  Gus¬ 
tave  Piganeau.  A.  K.  Wil¬ 
liams,  Bessie  Brown.  Mrs. 
J.  Laing,  Marquise  Litta, 
Caroline  Te.stout,  Ulrich 
Brunner,  Marchioness  of 
Londonderry,  Comtesse 
de  Nadaiilac.  Muriel 
Grahame,  Medea,  and 
r,  •••  ,a  Niplietos.  He  remarks; 
Pesd’s  Gloxinias.  (See  page  75.)  «  exhibitor,  who  is  a 
well-known  gardener,  in¬ 
formed  me  that  out  of  500  plants,  he  could  only  gather  enough 
blooms  to  enter  in  one  or  two  classes,  and  even  then  without  suc¬ 
cess.  All  along  the  south  coast,  the  same  as  elsewhere,  the  winds 
and  rain  have  played  havoc  with  the  Roses.  The  exhibits  of  Roses, 
taken  as  a  whole,  were  very  poor,  the  blooms  being  imperfect  in 
shape  and  badly  coloured.” 
The  winner  for  the  six  blooms  (class  20)  was  Mr.s.  E.  Croft 
(gardener,  G.  H.  Kent).  Perwate  Murray,  Ryde,  I.W.,  who  had 
finelj’  formed,  well  coloured  flowers  of  Marquise,  de  Castellane, 
Her  Majesty.  Le  Havre.  White  Maman  Cochet,  Ulster,  and 
Kai.serin  Augusta  Victoria. 
I  Fruit  Crop  in  Biairgowrie  District. 
I  During  last  week  over  forty  tons  of  Strawberries  and  Rasp¬ 
berries  were  despatched  by  rail  from  Blairgowrie.  Prices  for 
Strawberries  are  still  rising,  the  top  being  £25  to  £26  per  ton, 
free  on  rail.  There  has  been  a  very  keen  demand  for  Raspberries, 
which  are  turning  out  a  good  average  crop,  and  of  about  2,000 
tons  grown  in  this  district  there  are  pj-obably  only  about  100 
tons  still  unsold.  As  there  is  no  surplus  fruit  in  England  pre¬ 
serve  manufacturers,  fearing  a  scarcity  of  Scottish  fruit,  and  tluir 
inability  to  secure  sufficient  to  meet  their  requirements,  Avere  on 
Saturday  buying  at  £40  per  ton  on  rail,  which  is  an  exceptionally 
high  figure.  '  Raspberry  picking  will  be  in  full  swing  next  week. 
Ah  a  beginning  in  the  AA’ay  of  doing  aAA'ay  with  “  tramp  ”  labour 
in  the  finiit  fields,  one  large  firm  of  growers  have  erected  and 
fitted  up  excellent  housing  accommodation,  and  have  arranged 
Avith  the  Scottish  Council  for  Women’s  Trades,  GlasgoAV,  for 
about  one  hundred  female  pickers. 
