October  15,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
359 
Autumn  Decorations. 
At  this  season  a  wealth  of  artistic  material  lies  to  the 
hand  of  the  decorator.  Nature  is  in  her  most  harmonious 
mood  in  the  studies  she  gives  in  browns,  and  russet,  and  dull 
reds,  mingled  with  the  intense  crimson  of  many  berries.  The 
multi-coloured  tints  in  the  fronds  of  the  Bracken  are  simply 
enchanting,  and  the  Traveller’s  Joy  flings  its  long  trails  in  a, 
cloud  of  easy  gracefulness.  In  hedgerow  and  woodland  the 
artist  may  find  much  that  is  both  useful  and  beautiful  for  room 
and  table  decoration.  Let  him  leave  the  hothouse  beauties 
and  use  these  rustic  wares  while  he  may,  for  soon  blustering 
gales  will  sweep  away  much  of  this  dainty  shading  and  toning. 
I  wonder  how  many  people  have  noticed  the  lovely  hues  taken 
on  by  the  foliage  of  Rosa  rugosa  before  falling  ?  They  are  at 
times  most  delicate. — Decorator. 
- - 
Potatoes :  Northern  Star,  Evergood,  and  King  Edward  YII. 
In  reply  to  your  correspondent,  Mr.  Yates  (page  337),  who 
inquires  as  to  the  merits  of  Northern  Star  Potato,  I  shall  be 
glad  to  give  my  experience  of  it.  In  this  particularly  wet 
and  sunless  season  it  has  yielded  with  me  at  the  rate  of  14  tons 
per  acre.  The  sets  were  planted  3ft  apart  each  way  on  April  24, 
on  rather  heavy  land,  not  by  any  means  ideal  soil  for  Potatoes. 
The  land  had  been  previously  well  dressed  with  farmyard 
manure,  about  20  tons  per  acre.  [See  Farm  page  this  week. 
■ — Ed.]  At  the  time  of  planting  it  received  a  mixture  of  bones, 
muriate  of  potash,  and  sulphate  of  ammonia  at  the  rate, 
respectively,  of  6cwt,  Icwt,  and  Icwt  per  acre.  When  the 
Potatoes  were  hilled  they  had  a  top-dressing  of  the  same 
quantity  of  muriate  of  potash  and  sulphate  of  ammonia.  When 
I  tell  yon  our  rainfall  here  for  August  and  September  amounted 
te  8.37in,  and  that  the  number  of  bad  or  doubtful  Potatoes 
amounted  to  four  tubers  to  the  ton,  I  think  Northern  Star’s 
disease-resisting  capability  speaks  for  itself. 
“  Evergood  ”  was  raised  also  by  Mr.  Findlay,  but  previous 
to  Northern  Star.  It  is  a  first-rate  main  crop,  and  seems  to 
improve  year  by  year,  but  it  does  not  yield  like  its  younger 
competitor.  [According  to  the  Spalding  test,  “Evergood”  was 
the  best  cropper.  See  page  3.51. — Ed.]  As  to  “Edward  Y"II.,” 
a  very  large  grower  of  it  has  lately  offered  to  exchange  10  tons 
Edward  VII.  for  1  ton  Northern  Star,  i  Comment  is  needless. 
— Alex.  M.  Wilson,  Bulb  Grower,  East  Keal,  Spilsby. 
Last  season  I  purchased  11b  of  Northern  Star  from  Alex. 
Dickson  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  Belfast,  for  10s.  I  had  nine  small 
sets  which  were  divided  and  planted  in  the  usual  way,  and  left 
to  grow  as  they  might.  I  must  confess  to  doubting  that  they 
would  produce  much,  especially  as  they  received  a  check,  the 
tops  being  blackened  by  frost  when  about  6in  above  ground. 
A  surprise  awaited  me  when  they  were  lifted,  the  yield  being 
771b,  which,  I  think,  one  may  conclude  is  a  splendid  return. 
At  present  they  are  being  offered  from  3s.  6d.  per  lb  and  up¬ 
wards,  and  I  advise  everyone  desiring  good  value  for  their 
money  to  invest  in  the  “Northern  Star.”  From  what  I  have 
seen  of  “  Evergood  ”  I  conclude  it  is  an  equally  good  variety, 
and  I  shall  plant  a  good  quantity  of  these  next  season. — J.  W. 
Jones,  Knockin,  Oswestry. _ _ 
Results  so  far  go  to  prove  that  the  Northern  Star  is  uphold¬ 
ing  its  reputation,  which  was  at  first  thought  to  be  artificial 
and  only  so  much  boasting  to  keep  up  its  price.  My  own 
experience  goes  to  prove  that  it  is  a  most  prodigious  cropper, 
also  a  disease  resister,  for  whereas  several  other  varieties  were 
blackened  upwards  of  a  month  ago,  the  “Northern  Star”  re¬ 
mained  green  until  they  died  off  naturally.  Last  spring  I  pur¬ 
chased  21bs  of  “  Northern  Star  ”  and  received  six  Potatoes. 
These  were  placed  in  a  greenhouse,  and  when  all  the  eyes  had 
commenced  to  grow  the  Potatoes  were  cut  up,  each  slice  having 
a  growth  attached,  and  potted  into  3in  pots,  the  number  of 
growths  being  55.  When  they  had  become  established,  the 
greater  portion  of  them  threw  up  other  shoots,  which  I  took 
off  and  inserted  as  cuttings,  and  when  planting  time  came  I 
had  90  plants. 
They  w’ere  planted  out  during  the  last  week  in  May,  at  a 
distance  of  .30in  from  row  to  row  and  18in  in  the  row  (which 
looked  far  too  much  space  at  the  time,  but  which  proved  far 
too  little).  Subsequent  treatment  lay  in  earthing  up,  each  one 
being  done  individually,  by  bencling  down  the  growths  and 
filling  up  the  middle  with  fresh  soil  until  they  were  growing  in 
mounds  a  foot  high,  and  which  caused  them  to  send  out  innu¬ 
merable  roots  from  the  stems. 
By  the  middle  of  July  they  had  covered  all  the  space,  and 
you  could  not  see  between  the  rows;  and  at  the  end  of  August 
.some  of  the  growths  held  upright  measured  Oft.  They  were 
taken  up  on  Saturday  last,  October  10,  and  weighed,  there 
being  3031bs  of  tubers.  The  largest  root  turned  the  scale  at 
71bs,  and  several  roots  had  40  to  50  tubers  attached.  The 
cuttings  produced  as  heavy  a  weight  as  the  sfts,  but  not  so 
many  tubers  at  a  root,  they  not  having  “run”  to  the,  same 
extent  as  the  original  sets.  When  this  variety  becomes  cheap 
enough  to  plant  whole  sets  in  the  ordinai’y  way  the  crops  pro¬ 
duced  will  be  enormous. 
Some  “  Evergoods  ”  that  were  tried  in  the  same  way  a.s  the 
“Northern  Star”  only  averaged  41bs  to  each  root,  grew  only 
18in  high,  and  never  looked  happy  all  the  summer  under  such 
treatment,  although  it  was  similar  to  that  described. — 
F.  K.  D.,  Cheshire. 
- - 
The  Colouring  of  Apples. 
May  I  ask-  a  few  questions  ?  What  are  the  conditions  that 
favour  the  colouring  of  fruits,  but  more  particularly  Apples  ? 
I  had,  from  experience,  concluded  that  sunshine  was  the 
greatest  factor,  especially  where  the  trees  are  mulched  or 
otherwise  fed,  and  thus  have  an  abundant  supply  of  nutritive 
material.  Sun.shine  has  not  the  same  effect  on  fruits  where 
the  .soil  is  poor,  and  no  feeding  is  supplied. 
Then,  again,  one  has  noted  the  quick  changes  to  a  ruddy 
tone  caused  by  sharp,  cold  nights,  and  certainly  cold  is  recog¬ 
nised  as  one  factor  that  causes  the  colour-changes,  by  culti¬ 
vators  in  general.  But,  lastly.  What  amount  of  effect  has  wind 
and  rain  ?  Are  their  influences  (in  the  case  of  pot  trees  at  all 
events)  greater  than  either  sun  or  sharp  nights?  I  ask  because 
lately  I  was  informed  by  a  firm  of  fruit  growers  that  “  they 
would  rather  be  Avithout  the  sun  than  the  wind  and  rain,  for 
the  colouring  of  fruit.”  Can  Mr.  Willis  bring  science  to  bear 
on  the  question?  Can  “H.  D.,”  or  George  Abbey,  or  “W.  S.,” 
or  any  of  your  many  readers,  give  me  (and  others)  the  benefit 
of  their  opinions?  The  matter  is  one  of  much  interest.— 
"  Lamasool.” 
Hardy  Fuchsias. 
Referring  to  your  paragraph  on  page  305,  I  think  that 
amongst  cultivators  of  hardy  Fuchsias  there  seems  to  be  no 
general  agreement  Avhich  is  the  true  Riccartoni  variety.  I  have 
known  as  many  as  four  names  given  to  the  one  variety,  viz.  : 
globosa,  Riccartoni,  tomentosa  and  sanguinea.  Mr.  Nicholson, 
I  note,  says  F.  Riccartoni  is  a  seedling  from  F.  macro.stemma 
globosa,  which  is  Cjuite  sufficient  to  account  for  these  two 
names  being  given  to  the  one  plant.  Personally,  I  do  not 
think  sanguinea  or  tomentosa  in  any  way  applicable  to  the 
variety,  and  am  inclined  to  think  globosa  is  the  correct  name. 
Whether  or  not  I  am  wrong  I  cannot  say,  but  I  should  like 
someone  to  give  information  on  the  point. 
Nowhere  have  I  seen  these  hardy  Fuchsias  (globosa  especi¬ 
ally)  luxuriating  so  much  as  in  Norfolk.  Ai’ound  Cromer,  close 
to  the  sea,  they  succeed  splendidly.  In  Lord  Battersea’s  garden 
at  Overstrand,  evithin  a  stone’s  throw  from  the  sea,  plants  8ft 
high,  and  double  that  width,  are  to  be  seen.  In  a  small  church¬ 
yard  close  by,  too,  they  are  groAving  and  floAvering  amazingly 
every  year.  Of  course  the  hardier  and  sturdier  the  plants  are 
grown  the  better  they  pass  through  a  sevei’e  winter.  Much 
rank  manure  cannot  be  good  for  that  purpose,  although  free¬ 
dom  of  growth  is  necessary  to  give  a  profusion  of  blossom 
which  these  hardy  Amrieties  are  characteristic  of. — E.  M. 
- «»■»>■ - 
A  Hint  for  Mutual  Improvement  Societies. 
You  Avill  see  from  the  leaflet  I  .send  that  at  least  one  society 
goes  the  proper  Avay  to  business,  and  besides  preparing  one  to 
receive  a  lecture,  by  giving  the  briefly  outlined  frame  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  it  greatly  assists  one  afterwards  in  remembering 
the  aspects  of  the  discourse.  The  Ip.swich  Gardeners’  Society 
Avill  be  favoured  by  a  lecture  from  Mr.  A.  Martinelli  on  the 
15th  inst.,  and  the 'following  synopsis  has  been  sent  out,  and  is 
what  I  think  ought  tO'  be  made  a  general  rule.  It  is  done  in  a 
few  cases,  but  not  often  enough. — Lantern  lecture  on  the  ‘  Evo¬ 
lution  of  a  Flower.”  Synopsis  : 
I. — Earth’s  ba!5is  a  crystalline  rock  ;  absence  of  organic  remains. 
First  trace  of  vegetation.  Primary  types  of  land  plants, — 
Lichens;  Fungi.  “  Livem-ort  ” — its  fructification,  stomata 
and  viviparous  buds.  Scale  and  true  Mosses. 
II.  — Old  Red  Sandstone. 
Ferns  anti  Conifers.  Silver  Tree. 
III.  — Carboniferous. 
Coal-forming  plants ;  Lepidodendron,  Sigillaria,  Calamites, 
&c. 
IV.  — Oolite,  roe  stone  of  Dorset. 
Cycads;  Conifers  and  Ferns.  Fossil  forest  of  Cycads. 
V.  — Tertiary,  vegetation  tropical. 
Tree  Palms;  Custard-apple,  Cinnamon;  Wellingtonia,  &c. 
VI.  — Recent  Vegetation. 
EqUiseta;  parts  of  a  floAver  ;  pollen,  its  form;  sculpture  and 
germination.  Bloom  of  MeadoAV  Grass.  Inflorescence  of 
YeAV.  Cuckoo-pint.  Venus’  Fly-trap.  Water  Crowfoot. 
Lesser  Celandine.  Formation  of  petals.  Evolution  of 
carpels  and  their  retrogression  to  leaves.— F. 
