THE 1-LOKAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



183 



the position of the machine; in doing this it i8 

 necessary to first loosen the sis-sided uiit, which 

 will be found on the screw under the horizontal 

 wheel, then tighten ihe nut when the proper 

 height for cutting is lixed. Set the brush by 

 means of the thumb screws at each end of that 

 apparatus, so that the bristles just touch the 

 knives as tliey revolve. This brush not only 

 cleanses and siiarpe s t'.ie cutters, but enables 

 the machii;e to be use.l in all weathers without 

 clogs;ing. The spiral cutters should just touch 

 but dot press upon the flat blade ; when the 

 edges are worn so as not to tou^h it, lower the 

 cutters by means of the adjusting screws at 

 each side of the inichine immediately over the 

 bearings of the roller on which the knives re- 

 volve, until they again touch he ilat blade ab )ve 

 referred to. To sharpen the cutters, you can 

 occasionally place a little emery powder along 

 the length of the brush, previous to working 

 the machine, and should the knives require 

 IjnndiiKj, put a litile oil and emery on the bot- 

 tom bl ide, screw the iron handle (sent with the 

 machine) in its place in the large toothed wheel, 

 and turn it backwards for a minute or two, 

 then take off the handle, wipe the cutters, and 

 go on with your work. Lubricate the ends of 

 the different axles and other pirts of the ma- 

 chine frequently, and when out of use, .screw 

 the knives as high from the ground as possiule, 

 this will keep theiti from being injured by stones 

 and other impediments wneji wheeling to or 

 from the grass. Oil the cutters and blades, and 

 all the bright parts of the machine wlien out of 

 use, and put it under cover. 



Schedules of Exhibitions. — TheHyliou Floral 

 and Horticultural Society will hold an exhibi- 

 tion on the 20th of August. The list of oiEceis 

 is a guarantee of good management ; there are 

 two active secretaries, a simple and practical 

 body of rules, and a liberal list of prizes. 

 Besides the usual entries, ladies are encouraged 

 to compete in the exhibition of wax flowers, 

 wax fruit, and bouquets of natural flowers. — 

 The Cottingham and District Exhibition will be 

 held on the 21st, and will include flowers, fruit, 

 cottasfers' and farmers' produce, and poultry, 

 -•'othing in the way of exhibitions gives us more 

 pleasure than tho.^e that are strictly /oco?; they 

 promote good neighbourship, improve the social 

 character of the disirict, and aid in the spread 

 of us'ful knowledge in horticulture and agri- 

 culture alike. One small local show is, we 

 believe, ten times more beneficial in enlar^'iug 

 the national resources, and improving the tone 

 of society than half-a-dozen of the great and 

 grand exhibitions that draw together miscel- 

 laneous gatherings of sight-seers. 



De KaEiMs' Papee. — E. T. J'.— We are glad you 

 made the inquiry, because it enables iis to say 

 that with the paper we received a sample of the 

 product, a thin sheet of shining paper, from 

 which, when tlie tongue was applied, there was 

 a strong tiste of Cayenne pepper. We had a 

 wound in the hand, occasioned whdo grafting 

 some plums, and talking to two or three friends 

 at the same time, and to that wound we imme- 

 diately applied a strip of the paper, and the 

 •vound was healed as if bj' ma^ic. So much 

 jbr one experience of its value. In regard 

 to chilblains we can give no testimony, not 

 knowing practically what they are. The cap- 

 sicums may be used either fresh or dry, but 

 th-y must he ripe, or they have not their proper 

 virtue. The mixture of the tincture with the 

 gum-water must be a matter of individual trial, 

 because the tincture and the gum m.iy vary in 

 strength acsoriing to ihe ri|)ene.-s of the cap- 

 sicums and the quality of tiie gum. As the 

 gum is merely to make tlie paper adhere, the 

 proportions will be discovered without diffi- 

 culty. This part of the process is like putting 



salt in soup ; no one can say how much, because 

 one soup will require more or le.is than another, 

 and even then palates ditler. 

 lIosEY DEW — Jack ix the Ghebn. — This is some- 

 tim s regarded as the deposit of aphides; al 

 other times as an extravas.'.tion of sap. Doubt- 

 less, b.ith causes oper.ite to cause appearances 

 dift'erent in their nature, but wiiieh are classed 

 togethei: because of their resemblance as one 

 and the same phenomenon. If hoaeydew is the 

 exudation of apbides, tiien the ti-ees must be 

 treated so as to remove tlie flies from them. 

 If the (so-called) homydew is an extravasation 

 of sap, a dressing of the ground with salt, or 

 better still, a good watering, with a solutmn of 

 salt, in the propoi-tion of a quarter of apoimd 

 to every gallon of water, will put a stop to it alto- 

 gether; the water to be applied only to the root. 

 Spot on Geeanicms. — Beginner. — Your gera- 

 niums are aClio;edwith two complaints. Their 

 leavus have been " burnt," perhaps through 

 faults in the glass, jic-rliaps through drops of 

 "Water lying on them during bright suastiiue, 

 ■when every drop becomes a lens, and concen- 

 trates the rays of the sua to where it rests . 

 They are also afi'ected with '• spot," an in- 

 curable disease. Your management has been 

 bad, and you would do well to refer to the in- 

 dexes of former volumes, and read over all that 

 has been said on geranium culture. Your only 

 course now is to take cuttings from the 

 healthiett shoots, and root them in pots filled 

 half full of drainage, and the rest piat and 

 silver-sand in equal proportions. Vi^hen rooted, 

 put each into a small sixty-sized pot, in a com- 

 post of tiu'.fy loam and leaf-mould without 

 dung, and with enough sand to render the stutt' 

 porous, according as the loam may be heavy or 

 light. After that proceed to shut on, and grov,- 

 them liberally wittiout any check, and by cireful 

 stopping j'ou win obtain good plants 'ibr next 

 season. As for the old plants, cut them down 

 and place them in a pit ty themselves, and if 

 they breik with clean leaves you may remove 

 them to the house, and give them a shift into 

 shiall pots : if they show spot again, put them 

 on the fire and annihilate them. After cutting 

 down, give very little water to the roots, but 

 occasionally sprinkle their tops. 

 Stbawbebet Plantaxions. — Jupiter. — So po- 

 tent a god takes interest, we presume, in such 

 an earthly subject in consideration of the nec- 

 tar that accompanies the fi Ufjivorous banquet- 

 injs in which ttie poets iulbrui us the diviniti'^s 

 delight. May it please your sublime majesty to 

 hear that our respected contributor, Mr. Hol- 

 land, gardener to R.W. Peake, Esq., of Spring 

 Grove, Isleworth, has in his tine garden a piece 

 of British Queen strawberry, planted in rows 

 about eig'oteen inches apart, that have not been 

 lilted or renewed for ten years, and they still 

 bear well and grow luxuriantly. As soon as the 

 fruit is off, Mr. Holland mows them over, re- 

 moves the rooted runners from between tho 

 rows, and then top-dresses them with half rot- 

 ten dung. We saw that piece in ISB'J ; it was 

 then nine years old from tne first plantmg, and 

 was bearing a splendid crop. Such a case, how- 

 ever, is an excejition, but one worth recording. 

 As a rule, strawberry plantations should be re- 

 newed every three years, and the best time is as 

 soon as good rooted runners can be g ■t, that is, 

 curing July and August. Ihe ground shouM 

 be trenched deeply, and a liberal dressing of 

 manure well chopped over and dug in wlih it. 

 If your divine majesty can obtain a little lei- 

 sure in this peaoi ful season to put aside thun- 

 derbolts, and attend to the planting youself, 

 it will be found an ai;reeable cliauge from the 

 jealousies and rival les with whieh the inino- 

 deities perplex your supreme inttlhgence, aud 

 something of an insight into the ways an J wants 



