94i 



THE FLORAL WORLD AJS^D GARDEN GUIDE, 



do double work. The aaud keeps moist three 

 or four days, and is then drenched with hot 

 water. Geranium cuttings never turn mouldy, 

 unless shut too close, and in a dormant state, 

 and even then it is generally of little conse- 

 quence ; they break in time, the knive removes 

 the mouldy piece above the bud, and, with a 

 little patience, roots are sure to be formed. But 

 geraniums are the wor.st of plants to stand the 

 drench of moisture that most other plants re- 

 quire while rooting. T. E. should put his ver- 

 bena cuttings in sand and water, the water a 

 quarter of an inch deep over the sand, and by 

 the time it dries away to a moderate moisture, 

 the cuttings will be rooted. As to watering, it 

 aU depends on the plants ; it is no trouble to 

 give a little to any pot that is rather dry, or 

 that needs more tliun others, and whatever is 

 put in should come out again as soon as a fnir 

 growth of both root and branch is started. Put 

 in plenty of sund, wet it thoroughly, and press 

 the pots dawn upon it ; there is not depth enough 

 for plunging. A heat of 70' is plenty for any 

 ordmary purposes. At Mr. Hibberd's sug- 

 gestion, Price's tatfnt Caudle Company are 

 niuuufacturing a candle to burn twelve hours, 

 expressly to heat Waltonian Cases, so as to re- 

 lieve those who cannot manage the lamp fiom 

 the uncertainty and dii t that attends it. Sim- 

 ple as is the WaJtoniau case, no one can appre- 

 ciate its value the first season ; it improves with 

 practice. 

 Forcing Sea-kale and. Ehubakb. — iV. S. — 

 Dung heat is the best when weU managed, but 

 hot-water pipes are now much used on accouiit 

 of the greater ease and certainty in manage- 

 itsent. They may be forced in the open ground 

 by putting sea-Kale pots over, and heaping hot 

 dung upon them. But a better way is to con- 

 struct a pit on the plan represented in last 

 month's number of the " iLOKAL Woeld," 

 p. 57. When the heat is steady, pack the plants 

 together in a mixture of old dung and leaf 

 mould, and lay bo^a-ds over the frame to keep 

 out the lii^ht. A still better method is to take 

 up the plants, and pot them into Pascall's sea- 

 kale pots, which totidly exclude light, and enable 

 the gardener to gather the crop without soiling 

 his fingers. Khubaib should be placed in the 

 hght, as darkness spoils its flavour. Our sup- 

 ply began with the new-year from old stools 

 potted into 15-inoh pots, not in soil, but waste 

 fern and moss, tucked in round the roots, and 

 heaped up over the crown ; the pots were placed 

 under the stage of a warm greenhouse, and the 

 stalks pushed directly, and had enough light to be 

 well-flavoured and of a beautiful colour. A s the 

 supply from the open ground is now abundant, 

 the potted stools have been planted out in 

 trenches richly manured, and will not be ga- 

 thered Irom all the season, so as to be strong for 

 forcinif next winter in the same manner. To 

 save potatoes for seed, sort out at taking-up 

 time well-ripened potatoes of a middling size, 

 neiiher the very smallest nor the largest. Lay 

 them in the sun till they are green and dry, then 

 sprinkle a little dry hay in some shallow baskets, 

 and strew the potatoes in a thin layer upon the 

 hay, and put the baskets on a dry shelf out of 

 the reach of frost. At the end of the year place 

 the baskets in a full light in a warm place, 

 fill the sets have made little purple shoots of 

 half an inch in length, and then plant them. 

 Stocks toe Appies.— iV. JIX.— The terms, Para- 

 dise, Codbng, etc., apply to particular kinds of 

 apples used as stocks to graft others upon. If 

 you cannot find the terms in your books, you 

 may find the sorts in any good nursery. We 

 do not employ such terms to look wise or to 

 perplex our readers, but simply because if a 

 thing has a name, and a name generally used 



and understood, there is no simpler way of de- 

 scribing it than to give it its proper name at 

 once. And the reason why those Idnds are used 

 for grafting apples on for dwarf -trees is because 

 their habit of growth is what is required for 

 that purpose. Stocks raised from cuttings are 

 sometimes fit for grafting the second season; 

 sometimes may be budded the same season as 

 they are put in to root, that is, cuLtings planted 

 last February may, or may not, be fit for the 

 insertion of buds in July ; it depends upon 

 their strength and the skill of the cultivator. 

 If left to grow on without being budded or 

 grafted, some would blossom and bear their 

 own fruit in three or four years, some in not less 

 than seven years ; but the fruit is rarely worth 

 anything on sorts used for stocks. Such sorts are 

 chosen lor stocks, not in regard to their fruit, 

 which we don't want, but for their roots, which 

 we do want to feed the sorts that are grafted on 

 them. Grafting promotes early bearing. If 

 you intend to try to root such scions as are left 

 when you have done grafting, pay particular 

 attention to the instructions given last month. 

 If )iut in in the careless way which sufiices for 

 gooseberries and currants, every one will perish. 



Greenhouse Plants. — Sosa. — To meet your 

 wishes would occupy a\»hoie numbe' ; but we 

 will meet them if you will give us a little time. 

 Your stragpling CameUias should be cut back 

 at once, and, i]f they are right at the root, you 

 will get new growth to m;ike bettcr-shajied 

 plants of them. A good plan to iurnish the 

 lower stems is to graft or inarch the same or 

 other sorts upon them, after which they should 

 be kept warm and moist. You have not ma- 

 naged the pruning of your passion-flower right. 

 It should be cut back very close every year in 

 April, until it has been planted five yeais. At 

 the last close pruning, cutting it to one-third 

 its height will be sufficient. Y'ou had better 

 cut close away the old shoots, and shorten the 

 new ones to half their length ; then train right 

 and left along the top of the front glass, and 

 next year cut them back to five feet from the 

 former pruning, and so carry tho rods along the 

 main lines intended for them by degrees, and 

 cut back the shoots from them to two eyes every 

 year afterwards, and always prune in April. The 

 Azaleas are diseased at the root, and will never 

 recover. TheHardenbergiahas been too damp. 

 Kindly send the plants of A. capiUus to 5, 

 Paternoster Eow, carriage not paid. 



Catalogues and Books Keceived. — " Sutton's 

 Farm Seed List, 1859. Messrs. Sutton, Read- 

 ing." This is a good fist of agricultural seeds, 

 and wiU be found of great service as a book of 

 reference for farmers, holders of allotment 

 grounds, and all interested in the culture of mar- 

 ket crops, and the management of grass-lands. 

 Besides the beets, mangolds, turnips, etc., for 

 which Messrs. Sutton annually win honours at 

 the agricultural shows, the list contains a good 

 catalogue of pasture grasses and clovers, short 

 descriptions of the most important grasses, 

 advices on laying down grass in various kinds of 

 soil, and on the improvement of pastures, the 

 culture of Holcus sacoharatus, and the Chinese 

 potatoe. — "Butler and M'CuUoch's Spring 

 Catalogue of Flower, Shrub, Tree, and Vege- 

 table Seeds. Covent Garden, London, 1859." A 

 beautifully printed catalogue of eighty-four 

 pages, the entries arranged alphabetically, with 

 columns descriptive of habit, height, native 

 country, etc., of each. Some sections are de- 

 voted to selections of the most popular and 

 generally useful kinds, for the use of those who 

 might not be able to select them from the gene- 

 ral list. This house also sends out the Carna- 

 tion and Picotee seeds of the Sardinian Corres- 

 pondent, and every packet of seeds is accom- 



