434 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER,  November  12,  1903. 
like  as  to  what  they  foretell  :  hnt  to  spring  the  possibility  of 
having  two  cr  three  seasons  lilce  this  on  a  hopeful  community 
is  altogether  too  bad,  and  should  ho  at  once  suppressed- 
Taking  a  serious  view  of  the  matter,  however,  the  out¬ 
look  at  present  could  hardly  be  more  disappointing. 
Thoughts  chase  each  other  back  to  the  disastrous  spring, 
when  we  hoped  that  the  summer  would  make  up  for  it  ;  but 
it  did  not,  and  tlien  wo  huj’ged  ourselves  with  the  thought 
that  we  inust  surely  have  a  fine  autumn.  October  has 
proved  qriite  otherwise  to  be  the  case,  and  now  all  hope  has 
gone.  What  the  winter  will  prove  to  be  seems  a  matter  of  in-- 
difference,  for  a  spirit  of  stoicism  has  come  over  the  com¬ 
munity,  for  which  the  rnisfortunes  and  disappointments 
of  the  season  are  responsible. 
First  of  all,  we  have  had  little  or  noi  fruit,  and  though 
we  cannot  blame  the  rain  for,  that,  the  responsibility  rests 
with  another  vagary  of  the  weather— spring  frosts.-  Sttlk^^ 
if  orchards  and  fruit  gardens  had  returned  even  a  moderate 
supply  of  their  bounties  it  would  have  made  up  for  dis¬ 
appointment  in  other  directions. 
Taking  the  garden  as  a  whole  the  story  of  the  season 
appears  to  be  a  mixture  of  good  and  ill  results,  and  so  far 
as  vegetables  are  concerned,  we  have  ample  evidence  to 
shovv  that  the  kitchen  garden  suffers  much  more  at  the 
hands  of  a  very  dry  season  than  a  very  wet  one.  Indeed, 
with  few  exceptions,  vegetable  crops  have  done  well.  It  is 
true  that  in  many  gardens  there  is  a  shortage  of  root 
vegetable;?,  such  as  Cavvots  and  Beetroot,  but  for  some  un¬ 
explained  reason  the,  seeds  of  these  crops  failed  to  ger- 
minate,  or  there  would  have  doubtless  been  ample  growth. 
f  Potatoes  is  not  altogether  cheerful,  on  accauiit  • 
of  the  presence  of  the  disease,  and  those  who  lifted  their  ' 
crops  early  have  scored  a  point  this  year.  When  disease 
is  prevalent  it  is  considered  by  some  to  be  the  best  plan 
to  leave  the  tubers  in  the  ground  as  lon*T  as  possible,  as 
the  disease  spreads  more  rapidly  after  the  crop  is  lifted. 
If  this  may  be  regarded  as  a  rule,  then  the  present  season 
pioves  the  exception,  for  apart  from  the  fact  that  the  ground 
has  hardly  ever  been  dry  enough  in  October  for  Potato 
digging,  1  am  told  of  many  instances  where  it  is  hardly  worth 
trouble  of  lifting  the  crop  on  account 
oh  the  prevalence  of  di.sease.  At  any  rate,  I  feel  relieved 
that  my  Potatoes  were  lifted  and  stored  during  the  few  fine 
days  we  had  during  the  latter  half  of  September. 
So  far  as  other  crops  are  concerned,  we  have  had  an 
abundance  of,  green  Peas  and  Beans  of  all  kinds,  without 
recourse  to  the  labour  of  watering  and  mulching,  which 
adds  so  much  to  the  labour  item  in  drv  seasons.  Onions 
have  done  well  in  most  gardens,  though  the  rain*  was  doubt¬ 
less  responsible  for  many  glass-raised  bulbs  running  to 
seed,  and  after  getting  over  the  bad  attack  of  maggot,  which 
checked  progress  for  some  time.  Celery  has  gro-^vn  away 
rampantly.  In  all  well-arranged  gardens  there  are  winter 
greens  enough  to  stand  a  siege,  though  it  must  be  said  that 
the  growth  very  succulent  and  the  plants  would  not  stand 
much  severe  frost.  Turnip-growing  has  been  a,  b,  c  this 
season,  simply  because  we  have  no  opposing  force  in  the 
shape  of  flea,  and  all  through  the  summer  the  supply  has 
been  unfailing.  Some  crops  have  failed  us,  it  is  true,  as 
the  wet  sunless  days  were  disastrous  to  outdoor  Tomatoes, 
^  VI  cold  nights  in  June  checked  the  progress  of  Vege¬ 
table  Marrews.  Slugs  have  been  the  common  bane  through¬ 
out,  and  I  have  never  known  a  season  when  they  hav6 
been  more  troublesome  in  the  kitchen  garden.  In  spite  of 
all  things,  however,  now  that  we  have  arrived  at  a  time 
it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  the 
vegetable  division  is  the  one  redeeming  feature  of  a  season 
ot  disaster. 
^1^0  story  of  the  flower  garden  is  a  mournful  one,  and  I 
look  almost  in  vain  for  a  gleam  of  brightness.  I  have  it 
now,  for  on  a  bed  in  front  of  me  I  see  tuberous  Begonias  still 
gay  with  bloom.  Yes,  these  i^lants  have  saved  the  situation 
this  year  in  the  bedding  department,  and  have  proved 
beyond  doubt  their  superiority  over  the  older  Geranium 
in  a  wet  season.  All  the  latter  plants  have  made  rampant 
sappy  growth,  but  have  produced  very  little  flow’er,  and 
have  been  disappointing  in  consequence^  while  the  weather 
has  been  too  wet  and  sunless  for  subtropical  subjects  to 
acquit  themselves  with  any  credit.  The  echo  of  the 
rosarian’s  wail  at  midsummer,  when  he  looked  in  vain  for 
blooms  for  the  show,  has  hardly  died  away,  but  the  cjiieen 
of  flowers  has  redeemed  her  reputation  by  giving  a  charm¬ 
ing  display  of  autumnal  blooms.  In  fact,  these  hav’e  been 
so  good  and  plentiful  as  to  fully  merit  the  idea  of  the 
National  Rose  Society  liolding  an  aiiturau  show. 
I  have  reason  to  complain  of  annuals,  which  damped  off, 
ran  away  to  rampant  growth,  or  fell  a  prey  to  slugs,  but.the 
wet  season  of  19U3  has  proved  once  more  the  value  of 
herbaceous  borders.  Most  of  the  inmates  of  these  are 
never  failing,  and  in  rain  or  shine  there  is  something  to 
look  at  and  something  to  cut.  The  cosmopolitan  Dahlia 
has  proved  that  it  possesses  a  secret  liking  for  an  abun¬ 
dance  of  moisture,  though  late  blooms  -have  been  scarce  for 
the  want  of  sunshine,  and  leaf  and  stem  growth  on  the 
other  hand  errs  on  the  side  of  superabundance.  Michaelmas 
Daisies  have  been  charming,  but  they  would  have  been 
better  if  Old  Sol  had  put  in  an  appearance  more  frequently; 
and,  at  the  moment  of  writing,  the  outdoor  Chrysanthemums 
are  unfurling  their  flowers  in  all  the  front  gardens-  round 
about.  I  hope  Jack  Frost  will  keep  away  till  the  display 
is  over. 
Finally,  there  are  stupendoixs  mountains  of  work  loom¬ 
ing  in  front  of  us,  but  the  daily  rain  puts  the  veto  on  all 
outdoor  operations.  Cleaning  up  is  out  of  the  question, 
and  when  the  autumn  diggiug  is  to  be  done,  is  eutirely  a 
matter  for  speculation.  There  are  alterations  to  be  made, 
shrubs  to  be  moved,  fruit  trees  to  be  planted,  borders  to  be 
renovated,  and  a  score  of  other  operations  waiting  to  be  taken 
in  hand  ;  but  what  can  be  done  when  the  lower  portions  of 
the  garden  are  under  water,  and  the  soil  elsewhere  is  .  a 
quagmire  of  mud  1  No  one  but  a  gardening  Mark  Tapley 
could  be  cheerful  under  existing  circumstances,"  and  the 
aspect  at  present  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the  miseries 
.already  suffered  in  this  sodden  year.— G.  H.  H. 
■■  ■  ■  $  - 
Midland  Reafforesting  Associa'ion. 
This  a.ssociation  has  been  formed  to  promote  the  reaffore.sting 
of  wa.ste  grounds  in  the  Midlands,  particularly  in  the  parts  of 
Staffordshire  and  Worcestershire  known  as  the  Black  Country. 
It .  is  the  result  of  a  public  meeting  held  in  Birmingham  on 
February  12,  1903.  The  association  has  to  bring  home  to  the 
public  certain  facts.  These  can  only  be  outlined  here;  they 
will  be  fully  dealt  with  in  lectures  or  in  future  pamphlets: 
(1)  An  enormous  area  lies  wholly  waste.  (2)  Pit-tips  and  spoil 
banks  are  ugly,  and  should  be  concealed  if  po,ssible.  (3)  The 
greater  part  of  this  waste  land  can  be  planted  with  no  great 
trouble,  and  will  readily  support  trees  of  appropriate  kinds. 
(4)  Plantations  so  made  will  be  commercially  profitable ;  directly 
as  producing  timber,  indirectly  as  increasing  the  value  of  build¬ 
ing  land  in  their  neighbourhood.  (5)  The  presence  of  trees, 
besides  being  pleasant  to  the  eye,  and  refreshing  to  tired  workers, 
will  improve  the  general  health  of  the  district. 
’  'Can  30,000  acres — that  is,  roughly,  a  square  seven  miles  each 
way — be  .spared  for  the  mere  heaping  of  rubbish?  Yet  the  waste 
lands  of  the  Black  Country  amount  to  far  more  than  this.  The 
association  estimates  that  quite  30,000  acres  may  ultimately  bp 
planted,  and  that  14,000  acres  are  ready  for  immediate  develop¬ 
ment.  It  lfa|  been  too  often  taken  for  granted  that  the  Black 
Country  is'fdied  to  be  ever  a  desert,  but  forest  trees  can- grow 
and  thrive  Upon  pit  waste,  upon  furnace  slag,  and  even  upcit 
the  a.sh  of  burnt-out  shale.  Suitability  of  soil  is  not,  therefore, 
in  ciuestion  at  all,  ancl  it  can  be  asserted,  without  fear  of  contra¬ 
diction,  that  the  sole  con.sideration  is  the  state  of  the  atmo¬ 
sphere.  Even  then  it  is  not  a  general  .smokiness  that  does  harm, 
so  much  as  actual  contact  with  the  sulphurous  fumes  ari.sing  from 
certain  quite  local  industries.  But  the  atmosphere  of  the  Black 
Country  is  not  so  impure  as  it  once  was,  and  it  tends  to  become 
purer  ev^ery  day. 
In  certain  places  trees  havm  been  planted  and  have  failed, 
but  careful  investigation  has  generally  shown  either  that’ kinds 
unsuited  to  the  .soil  have  been  tried,  or  that,  in  ignorance  cf 
proper  methods  of  forestry,  trees  too  large  have  been  planted. 
This  latter  mistake  is  the  commoner  of  the  two,  and  if  cannet 
be  too  often  repeated,  as  being  sound  forestry,  though  contrary 
to  the  rule.s  of  goocl  gardening,  that  the  quickest,  be.st,  and 
cheapest  way  to  grow  timber  for  profit  is  to  sow  the  seed  broad¬ 
cast,  the  thicker  the  better,  in  the  spot  where  the  trees  arc 
meant  to  mature,  and  to  leave  it  to  Nature  to  thin,  out  the 
weaklings.  No  manure  or  imported  soil  is  needed,  nor  any  pre¬ 
paration  save  a  mere  forking  of  the  surface.  If,  however,  it  is 
thought  necessary  to  plant  instead  of  sowing,  trees  of  two  years 
or  less  should  be  chosen,  and  the  ground  must  be  broken  for  a 
spade’s  depth  under  each  plant. 
The  Oak  and  the  Conifers  are  not  suited  to  the  district,  but, 
among  other  kinds,  the  Poplar,  the  Willow,  the  Ash,  and  the 
Sycamore  may  be  relied  upon  to  grow  freely.  Of  these  the  two 
last  have  the  highest  economic  value,  tons  of  the  wood  being 
