Septcmbci  17,  1903.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
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A  breadth  of  Sharpe’s  Victor,  -which  gave  a  splendid  crop 
■when  turned  out  early  in  August,  sliowed  but  small  trace  of 
disease.  The.se  were  stored  in  hampers  holding  about  2cwt  each,' 
and  placed  in  a  dark,  dry,  well-ventilated  shed  tor  present  use. 
\\  e  felt  rather  liappy  about  them,  for  here  Avas  something  to  hand 
whatever  might  happen  to  later  lots.  Alas!  for  the  sequel. 
Fully  50  per  cent.  Avent  bad  in  the  hampers.  As  for  later  lots, 
.still  in  the  ground,  Avith  reputed  disease  resisting  sorts  amongst 
them,  judging  by  the  burnt  up  haulm,  sound  tubers  are  not  in 
it,  in  spite  of  heaA'y  sprayings  of  orthodox  mixtures.  “  Dig  ’em, 
of  course,  at  once.”  Exactly  so.  We  are  just  Avaiting  for  a  dry 
daj'  to  do  it,  and  in  saying  that  all  is  said  that  need  be  said  about 
the  present  state  of  Irish  Aveather. 
Looking  ahead  through  a  literal  Scotch  mist,  Avhich,  in  its 
continuity,  ought  to  have  suited  those  crops  intended  for  Avinter 
and  spring  supplies,  the  fact  is  apparent  that  it  has  not  done 
.so.  Celery,  Broccoli,  and  others  of  that  ilk,  are  making  but 
iniserable  groAvth ;  but,  and  it  is  Avorth  noting,  for  the  first  time 
in  six  years  the  periodical  plague  of  flies  came  not,  and  Onions 
and  Turnips  have  escaped  their  kindly  attentions.  Wasps,  too, 
until  but  recently,  Avere  missing.  When  they  did  come  they 
meant  business  by  promptly  attacking  the  Grape.s — Black  Ham- 
burghs — Avhich  Avere  as  promptly  bagged  in  stiff  muslin.  The 
tough-hided  Colmans  and  Alicantes  being  untoothsome  to  the 
Vespa  family  escape.  Bags  are  a  necessary  nuisance,  un¬ 
doubtedly  ;  one  never  knoAvs  Avhat  is  going  on  inside,  and  Avith 
Hamburghs  fully  ripe  a  bad  berry  makes  heaps  of  mischief,  so 
Avhen  the  bag  is  opened  hard  Avords  are  apt  to  come  out. 
Less  perversity  and  more  comfort,  perhaps,  is  deriA^ed  from 
thoughts  among  the  floAvers.  Never  Avere  SAveet  Peas  finer  or 
more  persistent  in  blooming,  being  still  as  big  and  bright  a.s  eA'er, 
though  someAvhat  skimpier  of  stem.  They  Avere  planted  in 
heavily  manured  trenches,  being  previouslj'^  raised  under  glass, 
in  pots,  a  feAv  seeds  in  each  pot,  and  then  transferred  to  the 
trenches,  each  potful  placed  a  foot  apart.  Sixteen  .of  the  brightest 
seifs  Avere  selected  from  the  seed  list,  and  it  is  just  a.  question 
noAv  Avhether  six  kinds  Avill  not  be  sufficient  for  next  year,  as 
the  best  reds,  Avhites,  and  blues  are  most  appreciated  for  cutting. 
Red.  Avhite,  and  blue  Avere  our  company  colours  during  the  King’s 
visit  to  Dublin,  and  patriotic  fingers  picked  out  the  brightest 
for  loyal  effect,  Avhich.  Avith  natural  grasses  and  a  feAv  light 
sprays  of  Asparagus  (they  just  escaped  being  “  gypsophilised  ”), 
left  nothing  to  be  desired.  Six  kinds  only  for  the  seed  list  next 
season!  Unless  weakness  yields  tO'  temptation;  Tavo  blues,  tAvo 
bright  reds,  two  clear  AA’hites.  For  the  first  couple.  Lady  Grizel 
Hamilton  and  Captain  of  the  Blues;  reds,  Prince  of  Wales  and 
Salopian ;  Avhites,  Emily  Henderson  and — and,  probably,  Emily 
Henderson  again,  these  varieties  for  A'igour  and  all  round  good- 
ne.ss  standing  out  pre-eminent,  here  at  least.  Opinions  may  differ, 
but  alloAvance  must  be  made  for  local  circumstances,  Avhich  alter 
cases. 
MildeAV  is  rife  among  the  Roses,  and  autumn  blooms  are 
nothing  to  brag  about.  One  H.P.,  hoAvever,  groAvn  in  quantity, 
stands  out  far  and  aAvay  above  the  felloAvs  of  its  tribe  in  its  clean, 
broad,,  glossy  foliage  and  perfect  autumnal  blooms,  Avhich  rival 
in  quality,  and  almost  in  quantity,  its  summer  di-splay.  Dare 
one  mention  its  name,  having  praised  it  so  often  before?  It  is, 
of  course,  Ulrich  Brunner,  still  sending  up  groAvtlis  like  Avalking 
.sticks  after  being  planted  six  yeans.  La  France  is  equally  as 
good  in  its  own  Avay,  and  more  floriferous.  So  Avith  the  charming 
species,  hermosa;  but,  alas!  for  the  refined  and  elegant  Mrs. 
W.  J.  Grant,  Avhich  is  fast  dying  out. 
So  one  might  go  on,  speaking  of  joys  and  disappointments, 
the  balance,  probably  in  faA'our  of  the  former  so  far  as  the  floAA'ers 
are  concerned,  for,  somehoAV,  we  unconsciou-sly  turn  to  them  for 
comfort,  and  perhaps  it  was  never  more  needed,  or  more  easily 
found  than  noAV  amongst  the  bright  autumn  bravery  of  Tritomas, 
C’actus,  and  single  Dahlias,  Avith  the  insinuating  blue  of  Erigeron 
speciesum  ;  the  mingling  odours  Avafted  from  modest  Mignonette, 
luscious  Heliotrope,  and  all  the  odds  and  ends  of  beauty  and 
interest  Avhich  go  to  make  our  kitchen  garden  a  thing  of  beauty. 
’I'he  floAver  garden  proper,  Avith  its  bedding,  is  simply  “  not  in  it.” 
HoAvever,  it  has  its  OAvn  peculiar  right  of  being,  and  has  to 
be,  on  our  terraced  front;  and  it  must  be  noted,  too,  that  the 
bedders,  except  Begonias,  haAm  behaved  badly.  Geraniums,  dying 
out  in  patches  under  the  affliction  of  “black  spot.”  One  feels 
better.  hoAvever,  on  hearing  from  the  Gunner.sbury  boys  (again 
home  for  a  holiday),  “  it’s  the  same  around  London,  only  AA’orse.” 
“Back  to  the  land” — momentarily;  and  to  the  seamy  side  of 
.soil  production  in  Ireland — 
“  Are  Italy’s  fleUls  more  green, 
Do  they  team  Avith  a  richer  store, 
Tnan  the  bright  green  breast  of  this  Isle  of  the  AVest, . 
Aiul  its  Avil  1  luxuriant  shore?” 
No,  emphatically  no,  so  far  as  greenne.ss  is  concerned,  for  there 
is  a  plethora  of  grass  and  uninterrupted  groAvth  on  the  great 
grazing  grounds  of  Dublin,  Kildare,  and  Meath.  Be.vond  that  there 
IS  but  little  to  add  to  Avhat  has  been  said  of  tlie  disastrous  con¬ 
dition  of  the  corn  and  Potato  crop,  except  that  as  regards  the 
latter  spraying  Avith  antiblights  has  been,  practically,  valueless 
this  year  oAving  to  the  continuous  Avashing  off  by  rain. 
Po.ssibly  there  is  a  lesson  in  this  pointing  to  the  necessity  of 
■some  adhe.siv'e  being  employed  Avith  the  ordinary  solutions  of 
copper  and  lime.  Spraying  is  not  an  easy  task,  and  it  is  not  only 
a  question  of  Avhether  our  ca.sy-going  people  after  the  second 
application — they  seldom  reach  that,  it  is  feared^ — Avould  persist 
any  further  Avith  the  preventive,  but  Avhether  anybody  else  Avquld, 
and  if  they  did,  the  ultimate  result  of  introducing  an  appreciable 
quantity  of  such  highly  poi.sonous  matter  to  the  soil.  A  recent 
run  bv  rail  to  Skerries,  on  the  north-east  coast  of  our  country, 
revealed  much  that  Avas  pitiful  to  see  in  the  breadths  of  Oats  and 
Barle,y  flattened  to  the  ground,  and  unless  this  month  of  Septem¬ 
ber  goes  on  better  than  it  began,  it  will  take  a  lot  more  motor¬ 
ing,  Royal  visiting,,  and  Liptonian  yacht  racing  to  cheer  up 
Ireland  in  the  opinion  of — K.,  Dublin. 
Vitis  Thomson!. 
This  ncAV  species,  Avhich  Ave  figure  on  this  page,  is  one  of  those 
sent  liome  from  Central  China  by  Me.ssrs.  J.  V'eitch  and  Sons’ 
collector  (avIio  is  out  there  noAv),  and,  along  Avith  five  others, 
received  certificates  Avlieii  staged  in  the  James  Street  Drill  Hall 
before  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  on  September  1st.  It 
receiA'cd  a  First  Class  Certificate.  We  have  already  described  the 
plant  (see  page  247),  and  the  reduced  draAving  AA’ill  further  serve 
to  elucidate  the  subject.  The  leaves  are  reddish  above,  and  violet 
purple  beneath.  The  stalks  are  about  five  inches  Iqng.  As  it 
climbs,  and  clings  by  its  OAvn  tendrils,  the  ncAvcoiner  is  a  valuable 
(hardy)  acquisition. 
