408 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  29,  1903. 
ing  the  soil  to  the  extent  of  making  it  sodden.  Keep  the  house 
cool,  admitting  air  freely,  except  when  frost  prevails.  If  the 
house  is  occupied  with  plants,  employ  fire  heat  only  to  exclude 
fro.st.  St.  Albaxs. 
Hardy  Fruit  Garden. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES.— These  are  not  generally 
suitable  for  any  irosition  other  than  against  warm  walls,  with  a 
south  or  south-west  aspect,  fully  exposed  to  sun.  The  soil  must 
be  well  prepared,  and  free  drainage  afforded.  It  should  be  deep, 
and  of  a  sandy,  loamy  character,  with  no  manure  added.  The 
best  trees  to  i^lant  are  fan  trained,  either  as  dwarfs  or  standards, 
giving  them  a  distance  of  15ft  between  each.  They  may  be 
obtained  from  reliable  fruit  nurseries  two  or  three  years  old, 
vith  an  equal  number  of  branches  trained  at  a  nice  distance 
apart,  of  medium  strength  and  healthy  character,  and  possessing 
good  tibrous  roots.  When  obtained,  keep  the  roots  from  di’ying, 
pruning  away  injured  parts,  and  plant  as  soon  as  possible.  The 
holes  should  be  made  wide  and  shallow,  a  depth  of  not  more  than 
six  inches  being  the  extent  to  which  the  roots  should  spread. 
Some  of  them  may  be  three  or  four  inches  only  from  the  surface. 
Lay  them  out  to  their  full  extent,  and  cover  a  few  at  a  time  with 
soil  spread  outwards  from  the  stem.  Make  the  soil  firm.  Only 
lightly  secure  the  stems  to  the  wall,  so  as  to  admit  of  the  trees 
settling  along  with  the  soil.  A  little  shortening  of  the  .shoots  will 
be  needed  in  spring.  As  a  preventive  against  severe  frost, 
spread  over  the  roots  a  light  mulching  of  manure. 
GOOSEBERRIES  AND  CURRANTS.— The  autumn  planting 
of  these,  whether  as  bushes  in  the  open  or  cordons  again.st  walls 
and  fences,  is  almost  certain  to  result  in  their  making  a  strong 
and  good  start  the  following  season.  The  reason  for  this  is  that 
they  become  partly  well  established  by  freely  forming  fibrous 
roots  in  the  warm  and  fertile  soil  they  find  when  planting  early. 
Deeply  dug  and  well  manured  soil  must  be  prepared.  They  are 
upon  the  whole  gross  growers,  and  require  a  fairly  rich  root  run. 
Over-luxuriance  in  growth  does  not,  as  a  rule,  result  in  unfruit¬ 
fulness,  especially  if  plenty  of  .space  is  allowed  the  trees,  branches 
are  not  overcrowded,  and  pruning  generally  judiciously  carried 
out. 
RASPBERRIES. — The  ground  for  these,  as  for  Gooseberries 
and  Currants,  may  be  prepared  deeply,  working  in  a  liberal 
quantity  of  manure.  Suckers  are  obtainable  from  between  old 
•stools,  selecting  those  at  a  distance  away,  rather  than  imme¬ 
diately  surrounding  them,  but  the  main  thing  is  to  see  that  they 
are  furnished  with  plenty  of  fibrous  roots,  though  the  canes  may 
to  all  appearances  be  weakly.  Plant  in  rows  not  less  than  five 
feet  apart,  the  suckers  being  placed  two  feet  apart  in  the  rows. 
A  trellis  should  be  fixed  for  training  the  canes  to,  two  or  three 
lengths  of  wire  .strained  between  posts  being  suitable.  The 
highest  wire  may  be  at  the  height  of  five  feet.  There  will  be  no 
fruiting  the  first  season,  as  the  canes  must  be  cut  down  to  the 
ground  in  early  spring,  in  order  that  a  strong  growth  may  be 
made  the  first  season. 
WINEBERRY. — The  Japanese  Wineberry  may  be  advan¬ 
tageously  added  to  the  usual  selection  of  hardy  fruits,  growing 
a  few  rows  in  lines  running  north  and  south.  Fix  a  trellis  or 
wires,  the  same  as  for  Raspberries.  Prepare  the  ground,  too, 
in  the  same  manner.  Imsert  the  plants  three  feet  apart  in  the 
rows,  and  cut  down  closely  the  first  season.  Train  the  young 
.shoots  to  the  trellis,  giving  them  every  facility  to  become  well 
ripened  by  free  expo.sure,  and  prevent  crowdnig.  The  shoots 
made  one  season  will  bear  fruit  the  next,  hence  the  pruning 
mainly  consists  of  cutting  out  the  .shoots  that  have  borne  fruit 
immediately  the  crop  is  over.  The  plants  will  repay  good  treat¬ 
ment,  and  may  receive  during  the  summer  a  liberal  mulching  of 
manure,  as  well  as  applications  of  liquid  manure.  The  fruit  is 
borne  in  sprays  containing  thirty  or  forty  separate  fruits  of  a 
clear,  transparent  wine  colour,  and  of  the  size  of  very  fine  Black¬ 
berries.  They  are  fully  ripe  early  in  September,  and  are  not  only 
good  for  eating  raw,  but  excellent  for  preserving — altogether  an 
excellent  fruit  to  follow  Raspberries  and  precede  Blackberries. — 
East  Kext. 
Publications  Received. — Toogood’s  “  Culture  of  Hardy  Tree 
and  Bush  Fruits,”  6d.  *  *  “Beautiful  Flowering  Trees  and 
Shrubs,”  by  J.  Weathers,  6s.  *  *  Prospectuses  on  horticul¬ 
tural  teaching,  by  the  following  County  Councils  :  East  Sussex, 
Staffordshire,  Hampshire,  Northumberland,  and  Oxfordshire. 
^  Agricultural  Scheme  for  AVomen,  Lady  'Warwick  College, 
Studley  Castle,  'Warwickshire,  price  6d.  *  *  “The  British 
Inventor,”  Id.  *  *  “Agricultural  Economist,”  October,  con¬ 
taining  Cuticles  on  Motors  in  Agriculture.  Welsh  Sy.stem  of  Har¬ 
vesting  in  “ 'V\  indricks,”  Portraits  and  Notes  (Right  Hon.  A.  J. 
Balfour  and  Right  Hon.  Jo'oph  Chamberlain).  *  *  “Canadian 
Florist,”  \  ol.  I.,  No.  12,  Toronto,  4s.  2d.  per  annum.  *  »  “ 
^  Horticulture,”  Paris,  October  10,  with  coloured  plate 
of  Ins  Kiempferi  varieties.  *  *  “  Floralia,”  containing  coloured 
plate  of  Dimorphotheca  Eckloni. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
tp  “The  Editob,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifi¬ 
able  trouble  and  expense.  In  naming  plants  we  only  undertake 
to  name  species,  or  well-marked  varieties,  and  only  six  on  any 
one  occasion.  Florists’  flowers  we  do  not  name. 
A  QUERY. — “  Our  gardener  has  grown  a  vegetable  which  is 
new  to  us,  called  Asparagu.s  Kale,  and  we  shall  be  much  obliged 
if  you,  or  any  readers  of  your  valuable  paper,  can  tell  us  (1)  What 
part  of  it  should  be  cooked?  and  (2)  How  it  should  be  cooked? 
— E.  F.  T.,  Larkfield.” 
SHOW  BOARD  FOR  EXHIBITING  CHRYSANTHEMUMS 
(Inquirer). — The  show  board  or  stand  for  twelve  blooms  is  two 
feet  long,  eighteen  inches  wide,  six  inches  high  at  the  back,  and 
three  inches  in  the  front.  The  top  is  made  of  deal  half-inch 
thick,  and  sloping  sides  three-quarter  inch  thick.  The  hole.s — 
three  rows — are  three  inches  from  the  back  and  front,  and  .six 
inches  between  the  rows  and  in  the  row,  the  distances  being 
from  centre  to  centre  in  marking  for  cutting  the  holes  for  the 
cups.  The  size  given  is  that  u.sually  insisted  upon  at  the  jirin- 
cipal  .shows,  and  known  as  “  regulation  ”  size. 
SHEEP  ON  CRICKET  GROUND  (A.  J.).— Unless  the  ground 
is  unu.sually  wet  and  the  sheep  are  penned  on  the  pitch,  so  as 
to  practically  kill  the  grass  crowns,  the  sheep  are  an  advantage, 
as  they  tread  and  manure  the  surface  so  that  the  grass  grows 
better  in  consequence,  is  less  liable  to  .suffer  from  drought,  and 
is  better  every  way  for  the  game.  In  a  certain  recreation  ground 
the  cricket  talile — some  five  or  six  acres — is  kept  constantly  under 
the  mowing  machine,  and  the  county  club,  who  rent  the  ground, 
are  annually  grumbling  about  its  being  poor  in  grass  and  most 
annoying  by  the  abundance  of  the  White  Clover — this,  too,  in 
this  remarkably  wet  summer  of  1903.  Not  half  a  mile  away,  and 
on  higher  ground — hence  naturally  drier — there  are  two  cricket 
pitches  in  a  large  field,  perhaps  twenty  acres  in  extent,  and  the.se 
are  open  to  cattle  and  .sheep  from  October  to  March  inclusive. 
These  pitches,  separated  from  the  remainder  of  grass  during  the 
cricketing  season  by  moveable  hurdles,  and  the  grass  enclosed 
kept  under  by  hor.se  mowing  machine,  are  much  better  for  the 
game  than  the  county  club  ground  referred  to — indeed,  they  are 
everything  the  cricketer  desires,  not  a  complaint  being  made 
against  the  grounds,  while  in  the  other  case  the  grumblings  arc 
often  and  loud — indeed,  referred  to  in  the  local  papers.  As  the 
season  is  so  wet,  it  is  matter  for  judgment  as  to  whether  the 
sheep  should  be  allowed  on  the  ground  or  not.  If  not  likely  to 
destroy  the  grass  by  folding  in  one  iilace,  the  sheep  will  do  good — 
at  least,  such  is  the  case  where  we  have  seen  them  have  the  run, 
in  the  autumn  and  up  to  March,  of  cricket  tables. 
STRAWBERRIES  FOR  FORCING,  THROWING  UP 
FLOWERING  TRUSSES  (J.  R.  E.). — The  dam^j  weather  is, 
perhaps,  responsible  for  the  Strawberries  in  pots,  and  intended 
for  forcing,  throwing  up  the  tru.sses  of  bloom  at  this  early  .stage, 
the  plants  being  jirompted  to  growth  instead  of  resting  and 
maturing  the  crowns  by  the  moist  and  relatively  mild  autumn. 
In  similar  cases  we  have  found  it  best  to  nip  off  the  premature 
show.s  for  bloom,  as  this  onlj" — or  at  least  in  our  experience — 
occurs  in  the  case  of  a  crown  here  and  there  ;  and  as  there  are 
generally  other  buds  on  the  plant,  these  will  push  the  trusses  of 
bloom  they  hav^e  formed  in  embryo  in  due  course.  It  is  seldom, 
however,  that  the  plants  throwing  up  bloom  prematurely  give 
i  as  good  re.sults  when  forced  as  those  that  have  not  started  the 
crowns,  especially  the  chief  ones,  in  the  late  summer  and  autumn. 
Nevertheless,  we  have  known  them  give  u.seful  fruit  from  the 
small  or  side  buds.  In  some  cases  there  are  few  or  no  side  buds ; 
then  the  plants,  when  the  trusses  showing  in  autumn  are  pinched 
off,  give  little  beyond  leaves.  The  plants  sometimes  only  show 
the  trusses  in  the  crown,  and  do  not  develop  beyond  the  extent 
of  a  flower  or  two.  In  such  cases  the  plants  should  be  kept  as 
cool  as  possible,  not  pinching  off  the  trus.ses,  but  plunging  in 
ashes  in  a  cold  frame,  air  being  given  day  and  night,  except 
when  frost  prevails,  and  drawing  off  the  lights  in  mild  and  fair 
weather.  The  plants  will  make  very  little,  if  any,  further  pro¬ 
gress,  and  a  selection  being  made  of  all  that  have  shown  the 
trusses  for  bloom,  these  plants  can  be  used  for  the  earlie.st  batches 
in  forcing,  .'^ay  at  the  beginning  of  December,  for  affording  fruit 
in  late  February  or  early  in  March. 
