August  6,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
127 
on  another  Madame  Isaac  Pereire.  Close  by,  on  the  trellis,  is 
Madame  Alfred  Carriere,  one  of  the  most  lovely  and  most  depend¬ 
able  of  all  my  Roses.  Further  away  is  the  climbing  form  of  the 
lovely  Mrs.  W.  J.  Grant ;  while  opposite  it  again  are  the  great, 
deep-coloured  blooms  of  Noella  Nabonnand,  and  the  fine  flowers 
of  Souvenir  de  Madame  Joseph  Metral.  Tip  and  down  are  these 
and  other  Roses ;  for  the  Roseless  garden  is  an  anachronism  in  a 
summer  day. — S.  F. 
- - 
Metliods  of  Propagation. 
Runners. — Some  plants  ai’e  increased  by  runners,  good 
examples  being  seen  in  the  Violet  and  Strawberry:  the 
latter  is  invariably  propagated  in  this  way.  Runners  pro¬ 
ceed  along  the  ground,  and  form  small  plants,  which  are  at 
first  nourished  by  the  parent,  but  afterwards  root  and  sup¬ 
port  themselves.  Roots  are  formed  naturally,  but  the  pro¬ 
cess  may  be  hastened  by  pegging  the  runner  in  the  soil.  The 
Strawberry  often  makes  very  long  runners,  from  which  pro¬ 
ceed  several  plantlets.  The  strongest  must  be  selected, 
which  will  generally  be  the  one  nearest  to  the  parent  plant ; 
the  part  of  the  runner  above  the  plantlet  must  be  cut  off ; 
it  may  then  be  secured  in  the  soil  by  means  of  a  peg.  Some 
make  a  pi’actice  of  twdsting  the  runner  ;  this  operation  rup¬ 
tures  the  vessels,  and  checks  the  flow  of  nourishment  from 
the  parent  plant,  and  is  said  to  hasten  the  rooting  process 
of  the  plantlet.  Runners  are  often  rooted  in  pots  ;  indeed, 
this  is  the  best  way  for  many  purposes.  Water  must  be 
applied  when  required  until  the  plants  are  well  rooted,  when 
they  may  be  severed  from  the  parent  plant.  It  is  best  to 
give  them  a  shady  position  for  a  few  days  before  planting- 
out  or  potting,  as  the  case  may  be.  Runners  may  be  taken 
off  before  roots  are  formed ;  it  will  then  be  necessai’y  to 
insert  them  in  a  frame.  The  latter  must  be  kept  close  and 
shaded  until  the  plants  take  root,  afterwards  gradually  inure 
to  light  and  air. 
Suckers. — These  are  branches  or  shoots  of  underground 
origin,  and  wdien  furnished  with  a  good  number  of  roots  may 
be  detached  and  planted  without  further  preparation.  This 
is  a  very  simple  method,  by  which  many  plants  may  be  pro¬ 
pagated,  and  is  much  practised  by  nurserymen.  We  have 
good  examples  in  such  plants  as  Lilac,  Berberis,  Spiraea, 
Raspberries,  Filberts,  and  Black  Currants.  This  method  is 
not  at  all  times  desirable,  as  plants  produced  fi’om  suckers 
will  generally  throw  out  suckers  themselves  ;  and  we  cannot 
therefore  get  plants  with  a  clean  stem.  Black  Currants  are 
increased  in  this  way  as  a  ready  means  of  securing  young 
wood,  which  invariably  produces  the  finest  fruit.  Market 
grow'ers,  I  believe,  generally  grow  their  bushes  on  this 
principle.  It  sometimes,  however,  makes  a  great  deal  of 
extra  labour  at  pruning  time,  and  the  ground  is  more  diffi¬ 
cult  to  keep  clean.  There  are  plants  propagated  in  this  way 
that  would  be  better  raised  from  cuttings. 
Bulbs  consist  of  three  parts.  In  the  first  place  we  have 
a  more  or  less  fleshy  disc,  from  the  under  side  of  which  the 
roots  arise  ;  secondly  the  fleshy  coats  or  scales  borne  on  the 
disk  ;  thirdly  the  central  shoot,  also  borne  by  the  disk,  which 
is  composed  of  rudimentary  leaves  and  flow^ers  and  is  pro¬ 
tected  bj’^  the  coats  or  scales.  In  Lilies  there  is  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  small  scales,  which  only  partially  overlap.  These  are 
termed  scaly  bulbs — tunicated  bulbs — examples  of  which  are 
found  in  the  Hyacinth  and  Onion.  The  scales  form  a  com¬ 
plete  sheath,  one  within  the  other.  The  number  of  scales 
constituting  the  mass  of  a  bulb  varies  much  in  different 
plants.  As  already  stated,  the  Lily  has  numerous  scales  ; 
so,  also,  has  the  Hyacinth.  The  garden  Tulip  and  Crown 
Imperial  have  comparatively  few  scales,  while  in  Gagea  and 
other  plants  there  exists  only  one.  There  are  annual, 
biennial,  and  perennial  bulbs.  The  garden  Tulip  is  an 
example  of  an  annual  bulb.  Fritillaria  imperialis  (the 
Cro-wn  Imperial)  of  a  biennial  bulb,  and  the  garden  Hya¬ 
cinth  is  a  perennial  bulb.  Bulbs  are  multiplied  by  buds 
developed  in  the  axils  of  the  scales  in  the  form  of  new  bulbs. 
These  are  produced,  in  many  instances,  in  great  abundance  •, 
Lilies,  for  example,  Avhere  we  find  a  number  of  small  bulbs 
around  the  old  ones,  as  well  as  those  within  the  scales.  Most 
kinds  of  Lilies  may  also  be  propagated  by  bulb  scales.  They 
should  be  carefully  detached  and  bedded  in  sandy  loam.  If 
placed  in  a  warm  temperature  most  of  them  will  make  one 
little  bulbil,  sometimes  more.  These  wdll  in  time  develop 
into  flow’ering  bulbs.  Lilium  bulbiferum  and  L.  trigynum 
bear  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves  quantities  of  bulblets.  They 
may  be  easily  collected  in  summer,  and  if  treated  in  the 
usual  manner  will  eventually  form  flowering  bulbs.  Den- 
taria  bulbifera,  one  of  our  native  Cruciferous  plants,  may 
be  increased  in  the  same  w-ay.  Vallota  purpurea,  Hippeas- 
trums,  the  bulbous  Irises,  and  other  bulbous  plants 
(although  many  may  be  easily  propagated  by  seed)  are 
usually  increased  by  this  method.  Starving  the  plants  is 
said  to  induce  them  to  make  offset  bulbs,  splitting  the  bulb 
into  segments  will  also  cause  the  production  of  small  bulbs. 
This  operation  should  take  place  when  the  bulb  is  in  full 
growTh  and  vigour.  The  small  bulbs  may  be  bedded  in 
boxes  or  pans,  or  in  some  cases  in  lines  in  the  open  ground. 
They  should  be  kept  free  from  w-eeds,  and  apply  w'ater  when 
required.— J.  S.  U. 
The  Carrot  Crop. 
“  W.  S.”  has  undoubtedly  done  good  service  in  dmwing 
attention  to  the  generally  unsatisfactory  condition  of  this  crop 
during  the  present  season,  because  it  is  important  to  take  every 
possible  precaution  to  prevent  a  similar  occurrence  another 
year.  During  the  last  few  weeks  I  have  visited  upwards  of  200 
gardens,  and  in  very  few  have  the  Carrot  beds  been  quite  satis¬ 
factory.  In  many  instances  the  Carrot  grub  had  wrought  great 
havoc,  and  the  rows  were  in  consequence  “  j)atchy.”  In  other 
cases,  although  the  rows  were  fairly  even,  the  aphis  had  pre¬ 
vented  the  plants  from  growing  with  their  usual  freedom. 
Since  the  recent  rains,  however,  matters  have  considerably  ini- 
f)roved,  and  where  the  j-oung  roots  had  not  been  attacked  by 
grub  the  crops  will,  I  think,  eventually  turn  out  fairly  well. 
I  am  fully  aware  that  both  Mr.  A.  Dean  and  “  W.  S.”  are 
well  up  in  the  many  “  wrinkles  ”  connected  with  Carrot  culture, 
but  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  both  take  a  somewhat  too 
gloomy  view  of  the  matter  in  intimating  that  there  is  anything 
very  'mysterious  about  the  many  failures  recorded,  or  that 
really  effectual  methods  of  prevention  have  yet  to  be  brought 
forward.  The  season  has  been  a  peculiar  one.,  After  the  seed 
was  sown  we  experienced  a  long  spell  of  Avet,  cold  weather,  and 
in  some  cases  the  seed  rotted  instead  of  germinating.  In  others, 
although  the  young  seedlings  pushed  through  the  soil,  they 
could  make  but  little  headway  against  the  hordes  of  slugs  which 
were  waiting  to  devour  anything  in  the  shape  of  young  vegeta¬ 
tion.  These  conditions  accounted  for  many  of  the  early  failures. 
The  young  plants  Avere  simply  eaten  as  soon  as  they  pushed 
through  the  soil,  and  those  Avho  at  that  stage  Avere  Avise  enough 
to  fork  over  the  ground  and  soav  again  have,  as  a  rule,  suc¬ 
ceeded  much  better  since.  Many  groAvers  managed  to  get  oyer 
the  difficulty  of  the  early  part  of  the  season,  and  had  fairly 
even  beds  until  tbe  spell  of  hot  Aveather  set  in,  then  aphis  and 
grub  soon  Avrought  havoc  Avith  plants  Aveakened  through  having 
an  unfavourable  start. 
My  firm  eoiiA'iction  is  that  Avliere  the  crop  has  been  a  real 
failure,  either  early  or  late  in  the  season,  it  could  have  been 
prevented  by  due  attention  to  Avell  known  methods  of  culture, 
and  by  adopting  precautions  against  insect  pests.  During  some 
seasons  Carrots  groAV  so  easily,  and  are  troubled  with  neither 
insect  pests  nor  diseases,  Avith  the  result  that  under  pressure  of 
other  Avork  we  are  inclined  to  neglect  such  methods  of  culture 
which  entail  a  little  extra  trouble,  and  then,  when  unfavourable 
Aveather  comes,  the  crop  sufixu’s  in  consequence.  It  ahvays  pays 
to  giA-e  a  little  extra  attention  to  soil  preparation  on  land 
intended  for  Carrots.  Apply  soot  and  throAv  it  up  roughly  early 
in  the  season  ;  then  before  .soAving  giA^e  c^other  dressing  of  soot 
and  fork  the  soil  over  again,  choosing,  if  possible,  a  .sunny  day 
for  the  purpose.  After  soAving,  if  the  land  is  light,  tread  or  roll 
the  .surface,  and  finish  off  with  a  light  raking.  Run  the  hoe 
through  the  bed  as  scon  as  the  roAvs  can  be  distinguished,  and 
hoe  regularly  once  a  Aveek  after,  until  the  tops  become  too 
large  to  alloAV  this  to  be  done.  I  hac^e  great  faith  in  the 
regular  use  of  the  hoe.  Early  in  the  season  it  helps  the  young 
plants  forAvard,  and  prevents  slugs  from  Avorking,  as  they 
detest  freshly  loosened  soil ;  and  later  on  it  prevents  to  a  great 
extent  the  laA'ages  of  the  grub.  One  prolific  cause  of  trouble 
Avith  this  pest  is  that  cultivators  Avill  neglect  to  thin  their 
crops  early,  in  order  to  get  roots  for  pulling  young.  When 
these  are  pulled  during  the  actiA-e  season  of  the  Ckirrot  fly, 
especially  during  hot  Aveather,  the  insect  meets  with  holes 
ready  prepared  for  the  reception  of  their  eggs,  and  Avho  can 
blame  them  for  turning  them  to  good  (?)  account? 
Those  Avho  Avanf  a  supply  of  ^mung  Carrots  .should  soav  a 
bed  specially  for  that  purpose,  and  pull  the  Avhole  of  them 
while  they  are  A-oung.  The  main  crop  for  autumn  and  Avinter 
use  ought  to  be  partially  thinned  as  soon  as  they  are  an  inch  in 
height.  After  this  first  thinnine  there  should  bo  about  twice 
as  many  plants  as  will  eventually  be  required.  A  few  weeks 
later  remove  every  alternate  plant,  ti*ead  the  soil  firmly  around 
