62i 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  3,  1903. 
porarily  covered  from  the  effects  of  lieavy  clamp  and  stiff  frost. 
Those  with  heads  now  three  inches  or  more  across  are  worth 
preserving. 
CHICORY. — Strong  roots  of  Chicory  will  readily  force  in  a 
temperature  of  55deg.  Plant  a  number  iu  deep  pots,  surround¬ 
ing  with  soil,  and  give  a  watering.  Invert  a  jmt  cv'er,  and  place 
in  a  warm  cellar.  Boxes  deep  enough  to  hold  the  roots  will  do 
crjually  well.  Growth  must  be  made,  however,  in  absolute 
darknass,  so  that  it  may  be  in  a  properly  ^blanched  state,  when  it 
is  excellent  for  salads. 
HORSERADISH. — A  portion  of  the  Horseradish  cjuarter 
•should  be  trenched  up,  taking  out  the  whole  of  the  roots,  both 
large  and  small.  A  selection  may  then  be  made  from  these  for 
culinary  use,  and  planting  purposes  to  form  new  beds.  The 
thick,  strong  roots  are,  of  course,  the  best  for  use,  while  tho 
more  slender  with  good  crowns  attached  may  be  placed  on  one 
side  for  .spring  planting. 
FORMING  MFSHROOAI  BEDS. — Manure  for  Alushrcom 
beds  should  be  fresh  horse  droppings  from  which  the  fiery  heat 
has  been  expelled;  then,  in  a  ivc?  condition  as  regards  moi.sture, 
being  neither  wet  nor  dry,  form  into  a  bed,  which  may  be  3ft  or 
4ft  wide  and  not  less  than  Gft  long  and  1ft  deep.  Place  the 
manure  in  layers  and  make  firm.  This  may  be  done  with  the 
fork  or  gentle  treading  with  the  feet. 
SPAWNING  MUSHROOM  BEDS.-Should  the  manure  not 
be  likely  to  become  excessively  hot,  the  spawn  may  be  inserted 
immediately  after  the  bed  is  formed.  Obtain  bricks  of  healthy 
spawn,  and  break  into  pieces  the  size  of  walnuts  or  rather  larger. 
Place  these  firmly  in  the  manure  about  an  inch  below  tlie  surface. 
Then  surface  with  an  inch  of  good,  fresh,  loamy  .soil  ;  beat  firm 
and  level,  and  smooth  with  the  back  of  the  spade.  The  surfaco 
of  the  bed  should  be  covered  with  a  layer  of  hay,  and  a 
temperature  of  50deg  maintained  in  the  structure. — East  Kent. 
- - 
Weather  Notes. 
Weather  in  Perthshire. 
Frosts  varying  from  2deg  to  9deg  have  been  intermittent 
during  all  the  past  month,  but  not  till  the  2(5th  ult.  did  winter 
appear  to  settle  down  upon  us.  On  the  27th  snow  was  general 
over  the  country,  from  2in  to-  5in  being  reported.  All  the  hills 
are  still  covered  in  a  greater  or  lesrs  degree.  The  partial  thaw 
that  occurred  on  the  28th  was  followed  by  5deg  of  frost  on  Sunday 
morning,  and  13deg  were  registered  mi  the  30th.  On  Monday 
everything  looked  like  a  continued  spell  of  wintry  weather. — 
B  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
Temple  House  Gardens,  Great  Marlow,  Bucks. 
The  rainfall  here  for  November,  1903,  was  1.93  ;  the  maximum 
temperature  5odeg  on  the  9th,  and  the  minimum  24deg  on  the 
19th.  There  were  8  fogg:s'  mornings,  viz.,  on  the  4th,  oth,  6th, 
7th,  8th,  9th,  and  15th,  and  a  foggy  day  with  misty  rain  on  the 
11th.  The  maximum  temperature  for  November,  1902,  was 
58deg  on  the  12th,  and  the  minimum  24deg  on  the  20th.  The 
rainfall  for  November,  1902,  was  2.1 5in.  The  river  Thames  is 
rising  rapidly  again. — G.  G.,  December  1. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chis¬ 
wick,  height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
- 
-t-a 
<U  ^ 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
.5 
’5 
At 
4-£t. 
deep. 
. 
a  CO 
fl5  03  ^ 
li:  *-• 
&  <11  r'i 
November. 
u 
5 
Drv 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
-43 
en 
0) 
K 
05 
lU 
& 
o 
a 
A 1 
i-ft. 
deep. 
A 1 
2-ft. 
deep. 
l-H  S  9 
ffl  o 
B 
Sunday  ...22 
W.S.AV. 
flegr. 
469 
dep. 
43-7 
deg. 
53-3 
deg. 
43-5 
Ins. 
0-02 
deg. 
45  2 
deg. 
47-7 
deg. 
51-0 
deg. 
34  5 
Monday  ...23 
AV.S.AV. 
50  0 
48-2 
54  2 
46  7 
46-4 
47  9 
50-8 
39'3 
Tuesday  ...24 
W.N.AV. 
rt2-7 
51-2 
50  7 
49  8 
0-01 
47-9 
43-2 
50-5 
39  3 
AVed’sday  25 
S.W 
37  0 
35-5 
47-5 
31-5 
45-4 
48-4 
50-5 
23  0 
Thursday  26 
W.N.W. 
41-5 
38-3 
48-8 
36  8 
0-02 
44-4 
48  0 
EO-5 
30-3 
Friday  ...27 
S.AV. 
47-7 
46  7 
50-3 
38  9 
0'72 
44  7 
47  5 
50  4 
34-5 
Saturday  28 
W.S.AV. 
43-5 
42-4 
46  3 
42-2 
0-35 
45  7 
47-5 
£0  4 
41-3 
Means  ... 
45*6 
43-7 
50-2 
413 
Total. 
1-15 
45  7 
47-9 
50-e 
34  6 
The  weather  for  the  past  week  has  been  dull  and  wet. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  he  directed 
to  “The  J'Iditok,”  12,  Mitke  Court  Chamber.s,  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. 
SCHEDULE  RECEIVED  (H.  A.  A.).— We  thank  you  for  the 
(Schedule  of  the  Aberystwith  Show. 
APPLE  TREES  CANKERED  (J.  H.). — We  are  obliged  by 
yopr  letter  and  enclosures,  wdiich  shall  have  our  attention.  The 
question  for  you  to  determine  is  this.  Are  the  insects  the  cause 
of  the  canker  or  the  re&ult  of  it?  This  you  can  determine  by 
experiment.  Your  theory  is  not  new.  As  regards  hundreds  of 
trues  and  thousands  of  cases  of  canker  that  we  have  examined, 
we  indicated  the  cause  to  be  a  fungoid  infestation. 
BOOK  ON  HEATING  (A.  L.), — You  will  find  the  book  on 
“Heating  by  Hot  Water,”  by  Walter  Jone,s,  which  has  ninety- 
six  illu.strations,  and  the  second  edition  of  which  was  published 
in  1894  by  Crosby,  Lockwood  and  Son,  7,  Stationers’  Hall  Court, 
Ludgate  Hill,  London,  a  useful  book.  The  price  i.si  2s.  6d.  net. 
CYPRIPEDIUM  LEAF  INJURED  (L.  T.  K.) _ Two  causes 
may  have  contributed  to  the  rusty  appearance  of  the  foliage — 
first,  the  employment  of  water  containing  some  injurious  sub¬ 
stance,  and  placing  the  plants  in  too  low  a  temperature.  The 
•  former  is  probably  the  chief  cause',  as  the  injury  seems  to  be 
confined  to  the  lower  portions  of  the  leaf  where  the  water  would 
accumulate  in  the  axils.  Rain  water  is  the  best,  and  very  little 
will  be  needed  on  the  foliage  at  this  time  of  rear.  The  tempera¬ 
ture  should  not  bei  less  than  55deg,  and  a  shady  position  is  pre¬ 
ferable  for  most  Cypripediums,  as  for  other  Orchids  which  do 
not  possess  pseudo-bulbs. 
CULTURE  OF  HELLEBORES  (H.  T.  H.).— A  deep,  fertile, 
rather  .strong,  yet  porous  soil  is  enjoyed  by  these  plants,  and  a 
position  shaded  from  the  mid-day  sun.  For  choice  we  prefer  a 
border  that  is  shaded  by  a  wall  or  distant  trees  at  mid-day.  It 
is  important,  too,  that  the  roots  be  not  spread  out  near  the 
surface,  but  as  far  a,s  possible  they  should  be  made  to  point 
directly  downwards,  the  same  as  Carrots.  This  hint  we  had  from 
a  person  who  grew  these  in  plants  by  the  acre  and  sold  ihe 
fiowere  in  thousands.  In  growing  the  plants  in  pots,  place  them 
in  a  compost  of  good  loam  with  a  little  decayed  manure  and  wood 
ashes  added.  Plunge  the  pots  over  their  rims  in  a  partially 
shaded  position  in  your  garden,  and  water  the  plants  liberally 
during  dry  weather,  giving  them  weak  liquid  manure  occasionally 
when  they  are  in  full  growth.  The  morning  sun  and  afternoon 
shade  appear  to  suit  them  admirably.  The  foliage  should  be  well 
sprinkled,  and  the  ground  surrounding  the  plants  bo  made  moist 
during  the  evenings  of  sultry  days  in  summer.  A  good  time  for 
dividing  and  planting  is  immediately  after  flowering. 
GLADIOLUS  DISEASED  (S.  R.,  Brummagem).— The 
leaves  are  infected  by  a  species  of  Heterosporium,  probably 
H.  gracile,  though  the  fruits  are  not  very  distinct,  the  black 
mould  not  being  yet  fully  developed,  and  the  conns  are  slightly 
affected  by  a  fungus  which  forms  black  crustaceous  patches  on 
the  outer  sheaths,  and  the  hyphse  gradually  extending  to  every 
part.  It  is  called  the  bulb  scab  (Mystrosporium  adustum).  The 
conns  also  swarm  with  black  slugs,  these  probably  accounting  for 
the  destruction  of  the  tender  roots,  and  to  some  extent  for  the 
dying  back  of  the  foliage  and  very  indifferent  formation  of  the 
young  conns. 
Probably  the  Avet  weather  has  favoured  the  fungi  and  cer¬ 
tainly  the  slugs.  The  ground  should  be  given  a  good  dressing 
of  quicklime,  slaked  with  the  smallest  quantity  of  Avater  neces¬ 
sary  to  cause  it  to  fall  into  an  apparently  dry  poAvder,  and  the 
lilants  may  be  sprayed  Avith  ammoniacal  carbonate  of  copper 
solution.  The  season,  hoAvever,  is  so  far  advanced  that  there 
is  little  prospect  of  the  plants  forming  good  conns.  The  tops 
should  be  burned  Avhen  died  doAvn,  and  the  Avorst  or  dead  parts 
noAv  cut  off  and  destroyed  by  fire.  Before  planting  the  conns, 
they,  Avhen  only  slightly  attacked  by  the  scab,  should  be  soaked 
for  tAvo  hours  in  a  solution  of  one  part  formalin  to  three  hundred 
parts  Avater,  so  as  to  destroy  the  fungus  before  it  enters  the 
deeper  parts  of  the  conn.  The  thing,  hoAA'ever,  is  to  get  rid  of 
the  slugs,  as  there  can  be  no  good  root  formation  Avhilst  these 
pests  exist.  The  dressings  of  lime  should  be  repeated 
occasionally. 
