October  15,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
351 
to  Southampton  at  the  beginning  of  each  Strawberry  season, 
and  shifted  his  ground  northward  as  the  Strawberries  gave  way 
at  the  south,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  longest  possible  season,  may 
also  be  fiction,  but  there  are  none  of  us  who  do  not  love  an 
odorous,  melting,  sweet  and  briskly-flavoured  Fraisier,  as  the 
French  name  it.  The  Latin,  or  generic,  name  is  Fragaria,  and 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Highland  clan  name  “  Fraser  ” 
comes  from  this.  The  Perpetual  Strawberries  are  the  out¬ 
come  of  crosses  with  F.  tardissima  and  varieties  of  the  Per¬ 
petual  Pines,  Hautbois,  and  Alpines. — J.  H.  D. 
Vines  in  Pots. 
Well  managed  Vines  in  pots  produce  useful  Grapes,  and  often 
better  than  \  ines  planted  in  borders,  from  the  condition.s  of 
culture  being  more  favourable.  This  is  the  case  where  the  Vines 
are  given  bottom  heat.  To  insure  success  the  canes  must  be 
strong,  thoroughly  ripened,  and  duly  rested. 
As  a  start  must  be  made  about  November  1  to  have  ripe 
Grapes  in  March  or  early  in  April,  the  tree-leaves  and  litter 
should  be  in  due  course  of  preparation  for  affording  a  mild, 
.sweet  bottom  heat.  The  heat  about  the  pots  should  not  exceed 
65deg  at  the  start,  bringing  up  the  fermenting  materials  to  the 
level  of  the  pots  by  degrees,  so  as  to  augment  the  temperature 
to  70deg  to  75deg  by  the  time  the  Vines  are  in  leaf. 
Any  Vines  in  pots  for  starting  later  should  be  placed  under 
cover,  an  open  shed  with  a  north  a.spect  being  suitable,  but  the 
pots  must  be  protected  with  dry  hay  or  straw,  and  mice  and 
rats  kept  down,  or  the  animals  may  render  the  Vines  useless  by 
girdling  them  at  the  collar. — A. 
Cherry  House. 
A  structure  devoted  to  Cherries  is  not  common,  and  is  re¬ 
markable,  as  no  fruit  proves  more  useful  for  dessert  in  the 
spring.  The  house  for  Cherries  should  be  light,  well  ventilated 
top  and  bottom^  and  efficiently  heated.  A  lean-to  or  thi'ee- 
quarter  span  facing  south  is  most  suitable  for  early  forcing,  say 
to  have  the  fruit  ripe  in  April,  or  a  span  roof  with  the  ends 
north  and  south  for  affording  fruit  in  May  and  June.  The  trees 
may  be  trained  to  a  trellis  fixed  12in  from  the  glass,  border  in¬ 
side,  and  not  made  all  at  once.  A  4ft  to  6ft  width  of  border, 
arcording  to  the  size  of  the  trees,  is  sufficient  to  commence  with, 
draining  it  with  rubble  9in  deep,  and  oti  that  a  3in  thickness  of 
old  mortar  rubbish.  From  20in  to  24in  depth  of  soil  is  ample, 
but  deeper  at  first  to  allow  for  settling.  Good  turfy  loam,  pre¬ 
ferably  rather  strong,  with  lime  rubbish  from  an  old  building 
one-fifth,  and  a  sixth  of  road  scrapings,  form  a  suitable  compost. 
The  trees  may  be  planted  as  soon  as  the  leaves  fall.  Those 
trained  to  walls  four  to  six  years,  and  in  a  fruitful,  healthy 
state,  also  recently  lifted  so  as  to  bear  removal  safely  and  with¬ 
out  check,  are  the  most  suitable.  The  border  being  put  to¬ 
gether  compactly,  and  the  trees  firmly  planted,  following  with  a 
good  watering,  and  mulching  with  stable  manure,  duly  sweetened 
and  about  lin  thick,  will  give  a  fair  crop  the  first  season.  The 
most  suitable  varieties  are  Early  Rivers,  Governor  Wood,  and 
Black  Tartarian.  The  roof  lights  should  be  taken  off  and  ree 
main  so  till  the  beginning  of  next  year. 
Cherries  are  readily  forced  in  pots,  and  give  a  long  succession 
of  fruit.  The  house  may  be  heated  for  forcing,  or  a  cool  one, 
well  ventilated,  and  as  the  trees  ripen  their  crops  they  can  be 
placed  outdoors.  The  trees  should  be  secured  at  once.  In 
potting,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  good  drainage,  and  ram 
the  soil  firmly.  Trees  that  are  in  as  large  pots  as  desired  need 
only  have  the  drainage  rectified  and  the  surface  dressed,  or  the 
drainage  may  be  cleared  away,  a  few  inches  from  the  base  re¬ 
moved,  the  roots  shortened  back,  and  fresh  soil  given  as  advised 
for  borders,  with  a  fifth  of  well  decayed  manure,  removing  also 
the  loose  surface  material  and  supplying  rich  compost.  For 
forcing  in  pots.  Early  Rivers,  Belle  d’Orleans,  Empress  Eugenie, 
Governor  Wood,  Black  Tartarian,  Black  Eagle,  Elton,  and  Mam¬ 
moth  are  good.  For  a  cool  house.  Belle  d’Orleans,  Early  Rivers, 
Early  Red  Bigarreau,  Empress  Eugenie,  Bigarreau  de  Schreken, 
Governor  Wood,  May  Duke,  Black  Eagle,  Archduke,  Nouvelle 
Royale,  Florence,  and  Late  Duke.  These  are  compact  growers, 
and  the  following  large  growers ;  Early  Jaboulay,  Black  Tar¬ 
tarian,  Bohemian,  Black  Bigarreau,  Elton,  Reine  Hortense,  Bi¬ 
garreau,  Bigarreau  de  Mezel,  Mammoth,  Duche.sse  de  Palluau, 
Bigarreau  Napoleon,  Belle  Magnifique,  Tradescant’s  Heart. — G.  A. 
Border  Carnation,  Mrs.  Lora  Armstrong. 
During  the  period  of  the  open-air  display  of  Carnations  this 
year,  we  were  favoured  by  the  introducers  of  this  new  Carna¬ 
tion  with  a  beautiful  posy  of  the  richly  distinctive  flowers. 
Now  we  are  able  to  represent  in  print,  a  photographic  repro¬ 
duction  of  the  vai-iety,  and  we  might  again  remark  that  this 
is  one  of  the  most  handsome  Carnations  we  have  lately  handled. 
The  smooth-petalled,  strongly-built  flowers  are  a  rich  brick-red 
•salmon,  and  delightfully  scented.  The  raiser  was  Mr.  J.  Dow¬ 
ling,  gardener  to  Mrs.  Lora  Armstrong,  Carrickmines,  and  the 
introducers  are  Messrs.  Wm.  W'atson  and  Sons,  Clontarf  Nur- 
•series,  Dublin.  It  has  been  certificated  both  at  Gla.sgow  and 
Dublin. 
Potato  Challenges. 
The  Potato  market  has  been  distinctly  excited  during  the 
past  few  weeks.  The  world  lias  been  startled  by  the  vigorous 
booming  of  new  varieties,  reports  of  fabulous  prices,  and  pro¬ 
phesies  in  regard  to  yields  which  have  fairly  taken  away  the 
breath  of  the  old-time  farmers.  When  a  Spalding  tradesman 
can  command  £20  a  .stone  for  Potatoes,  as  has  been  done  on 
more  than  one  occasion  recently  ;  when,  in  a  specially,  trying 
.season,  it  is  demanded  for  a  new'  Potato  that  it  is  absolutely 
disease-resisting;  when,  in  a  single  week,  there  appear  three 
•separate  challenges  in  connection  with  three  different  varieties 
of  Potatoes;  when  there  are  all  sorts  of  rumours  of  extraordinary 
yields  and  of  huge  profits  made  by  raisers,  it  is  not  at  all 
surpi'ising  that  more  than  ordinary  curiosity  is  excited. 
So  important  have  been  the  Potato  developments  in  this 
(Spalding)  great  tuber-producing  district  of  late,  that  during  the 
past  week  or  two  experts  and  large  grow'ers  from  all  parts  of 
Great  Britain  have  been  visiting  the  district,  and  instituting 
inquiries  on  the  spot.  Not  only  so;  but  these  gentlemeni  meant 
business,  and  they  have  been  keenly  struggling  one  against 
another  to  capture  large  acreages  of  the  Potatoes  grown  here- 
From  a  photo.  Jl'ulso?!  J: 
Border  Carnation,  Mrs.  Lora  Armstrong. 
about.  The  chief  point  of  controversy,  however,  has  been— 
Which  of  the  new^  varieties  is  the  coming  Potato  ?  Which  will 
last  longest,  go  tlie  farthest,  pay  the  be.st  ? 
Interest  amongst  Potato  growers  reached  fever  heat  wlieu 
there  appeared  three  challenges,  the  Potato  championed  being 
the  Northern  Star,  the  Evergood,  and  King  Edward  VII.  We 
are  not  experts;  and,  where  these  gentlemen  differ  so  widely, 
as  is  shown  by  the  letters  received  by  the  Editor,  we  are  not 
inclined  to  dogmatise.  One  thing  is  quite  clear,  however,  that, 
in  the  test  which  was  applied  last  week,  the  Evergood  scored 
triumphantly.  Mr.  W.  J.  Atkinson,  of  AVeston.  gave  a  fair 
challenge,  and  what  w'as  the  result?  That  in  tliis  ti-eacherous 
year,  when  so  many  acres  of  Potatoes  are  blighted,  in  llijcwt.  of 
Evergood  Potatoes  dug  in  a  single  field,  after  the  most  careful 
scrutiny,  less  than  21b  of  blights  were  discovered.  The  chal¬ 
lenges  were  the  talk  of  the  Corn  Exehange  at  Spalding  on  Tue,s- 
day ;  the  result  of  tlie  Evergood  test  was  the  one  tlieme 
in  agricultural  circles  on  Wednesday,  and  in  subsequent  days 
of  the  week.  .  „  _ 
Lincoln  is  the  champion  Potato  growing  county;  il,o/o  acres 
being  planted  tliis  year,  and  the  largest  proportion  of  these  aro 
groum  in  South  Lincolnshire.  To  this  district,  therefore,  the 
question  of  great  moment  is:  Which  is  the  safest,  soundest,  and 
most  profitable  Potato  to  grow?  I  he  more  discii.ssion  and  ex¬ 
periment  we  have,  the  more  likely  are  Potato  growers  to  secure 
a  satisfactory  answer  to  their  inquiry.  (“  The  Lincolnshire, 
Boston,  and  Spalding  Free  Press.”) 
