96 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



Salsafy. — B. W. B. — This excellent root is not sufficiently appreciated, or It 

 would be much more commonly grown. Any ordinary good sandy loam will suit 

 it, if deeply dug some time ago, and laid up in ridges to the frost. In the event of 

 having to prepare ground for it now, trench two feet deep, and put manure at the 

 bottom of the trench. Sow in April, in drills fifteen inches apart; when the plants 

 are up, thin to six inches in poor soil, and to nine inches in rich soil. The roots 

 are usually taken up in November, and stored the same as carrots ; but some culti- 

 vators leave a few in the ground for the sake of the shoots they produce in the 

 spring, and which, if cooked before they become stringy, are by many highly 

 esteemed. To convert the root of salsafy into vegetable oyster, it must first be 

 boiled till tender, then be mashed up with butter, and lastly be fried a nice brown. 

 It is then said to resemble oyster patties. It is certainly a very tasty dish, without 

 any reference to its imitation of oyster. 



Planting a Grove. — Sir G. 8. — In the planting of a grove, a great variety 

 of trees is not desirable ; indeed, we should consider a variety fatal to the one- 

 ness of effect, which is the best and principal feature of a grove. One kind 

 should predominate, whether oak, beech, alder, or what else, and there are not 

 many kinds of trees suited for forming a grove. Regular planting, too, should 

 be avoided. A grove must not be made to imitate an avenue, nor should it be 

 a coppice or a thicket. Over some spaces the trees should be dotted with some 

 degree of uniformity ; in some others they should stand far apart, to allow of 

 open spaces between, and from these open spaces should be seen some bold 

 rounded groups, well defined, differing in outline, and in some one direction 

 thickening together into a mass, to give deep shade and a rich wall of leafage. 

 A few distinct kinds towering up above the general mass will improve the sky- 

 line, and prevent the insipidity that results from tameness, but this must be 

 sparingly and cautiously done, for repetition is an essential feature of a grove, 

 which it is impossible to plant as an arboretum. 



Ivy Edgings. — A New Subscriber. — The tree-ivies would make good edgings in 

 time in skilful hands, but the trailing kinds are best, and there is none to equal the 

 common Irish grandifs, if a rich effect is required to be produced quickly. To make 

 one of these edgings, a good breadth must be allowed, the ground must be deeply 

 duo-, and if poor, manure must be added; then the lines should be pegged out for 

 the planting. Whatever sort it is intended to use, the best way to obtain the 

 plants is at some good nursery, where usually plants three or four years old, with 

 long rods, may be found in pots. These carefully turned out, and pegged down, 

 make a good edging at once. They may be a yard apart if the edging is from one to 

 two feet wide ; but if wider, two feet apart would be better, because a thick growth 

 is required, which necessitates cutting back the longest shoots. Any of the strong- 

 growing green-leaved varieties of the English ivies may be used to advantage, as 

 they make fine edgings. Still more beautiful— in fact, remarkably beautiful— are 

 the variegated ivies. In preparing the ground for the variegated kinds, do not 

 apply any manure ; they are more beautiful in a poor than a rich soil. As these are 

 slow growers, plant them a foot apart. 



House Case. — J. B. G. — The following will be found very useful, namely : — 

 Andromeda flortbunda, Aucuba limbata, A. foemina viridis, Evergieen Tree Box, 

 Ligustrum japonicum, Osmanthus ilicifolius, Pernettya mncronata, Raphiolepis, 

 Skimmia japonica, S. oblata ovata, Laurestinus. For the back plant Hedera helix 

 minor, and H. h. digitata. The demands upon our time are too great to admit of 

 our answering correspondents through the post. 



C. H., Hath. — Cineraria acanthifolia would be a giod substitute, but the seed is 

 rather expensive to purchase in quantity. C. maritima would also do, and the seed 

 is cheaper. If a golden plant would be admissible we should recommend Pyrethrum 

 Golden Feather, because of its effectiveness and the ease with which a stock can be 

 raised. Ageratums will flower the same year if sown early, as also will Delphinium 

 formosum. The Dianthuses are useful for bedding purposes, but the other plants 

 named are not. Prune the Datura at once. 



Planting Potatoes. — J. W. — The sooner the heavy ground is dug the better ; 

 let it be laid up ridge and trench by a good workman. At planting time, instead of 

 dibbing in the sets, lay them in the trenches and throw the soil from the ridges down 

 upon them. This plan produces a well-pulverized and aerated seed-bed. Of course 

 the trenches should be as far apart, or half as far apart, as the rows are to be. 



