252 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



are unproductive on open walls the climate 

 is most to blame, and the mere protection 

 of glass, even without fire-heat, suffices to 

 convert barren into fruitful trees ; hesides 

 the fact which must always be borne 

 in mind that trees under glass invariably 

 get more attention than those in the open 

 air. River's Early Victoria is the earliest 

 peach known, a week earlier than Early 

 York. The same raiser's Early Albert is a 

 good peach for forcing, but of less value 

 than the former. Other good varieties to 

 force are Mignonne Grosse, Galande, Early 

 York, and Med Nutmeg. In planting peaches 

 on open borders, let attention be first given 

 to drainage ; if the soil is light, lay down 

 six inches of tenacious loam or clay, or 

 turf from a ioamy pasture, and about three 

 inches of rotten dung, and then stir the 

 whole, and mix this material with the staple 

 to a depth of two feet, mixing the ingredients 

 well together. The peach, nectarine, and 

 apricot all require a firm, substantial, and 

 somewhat adhesive soil, a south aspect, and 

 a dry bottom. 



Flower Garden. — Planting on Mounds 

 is beginning to be better understood, and 

 more generally practised, and consequently 

 we less frequently hear of losses among 

 ornamental trees of delicate constitution. 

 Three years since we had to advise on some 

 trees of Wellingtonia in a suburban garden. 

 They had been planted out on the lawn to 

 form a group, and by sure and not slow 

 degrees had lost all their freshness of colour, 

 the lower branches and the tips of the new 

 growth becoming browned during winter, so 

 as to have a most unsightly appearance. 

 Araucarias in the same style of planting 

 were in a similar bad condition. We had 

 them all lifted, the earth entirely shaken off 

 the roots, and then replanted on mounds made 

 up of yellow loam from Wanstead. The 

 mounds were two feet high, the roots of the 

 trees were carefully spread out, covered 

 only just sufficient to hide them from the 

 daylight, and then staked with three stakes, 

 each placed at an angle, in the style in 

 which soldiers stand their muskets in groups 

 of three on parade. They are now pictures 

 of health and beauty. All choice conifers 

 that require a dry soil, or that are in any 

 way susceptible of the effects of damp, 

 should be planted in this way, and with a 

 little management their lower branches can 

 be trained down so as to sweep the ground 

 all round, and make pictures of them. 



Hoses planted now, though with leaves 

 still on them, will begin to make fresh roots 

 at once. In any case make the ground 

 ready by manuring liberally where roses 

 are to be planted. Briers worked this sea- 

 son may be lifted now, but they shculd 



never have a place in the rosery till they 

 have made at least one full season's growth 

 from the first starting of the buds. Plant 

 firm, and stake at once. 



Slugs and Snails are now very active 

 during mild weather, preparing perhaps to 

 make a good fill before hybernating for the 

 winter. It happens that most people have 

 time now to trap them, which they gene- 

 rally say they have not at other seasons. 

 Brewers' grains or buttered cabbage leaves 

 are the best traps known for these destruc- 

 tive vermin. They will leave any other 

 food for these attractive baits, and may be 

 trapped wholesale by inverting large flower- 

 pots tilted off the ground by means of a few 

 sticks over heaps of fresh brewers' grains. 



Tulip beds now to have the hoops placed 

 over to be ready for mats or other covering 

 in case of heavy rains. But the bed should 

 be freely exposed for the present ; there is 

 nothing gained by covering too soon. 



Greenhouse. — Camellias dropping their 

 buds are the subject of frequent complaint. 

 We have frequently advised the use of 

 liberal waterings after the buds are set and 

 the wood as hard as necessary, and we can 

 only repeat that in the majority of cases the 

 buds drop because the roots are dry. But 

 watering on the ordinary plan is not always 

 a remedy, for while the plants were out of 

 doors in the summer the soil about the roots 

 may have got hard and impervious to water, 

 and now when water is given it all runs 

 away next the side of the pot without moist- 

 ening the roots at all. The remedy is easy 

 I enough. Fill a tub with soft water, to 

 which add a quart or so of boiling water, 

 to make the whole nearly tepid. Then 

 lower the plants into it a few at a time, and 

 let them soak for an hour. The rush of 

 air bubbles from the pots will prove what a 

 dry state the roots had come to. After tins 

 soaking they will take water kindly until 

 they get their next baking, which we shall 

 suppose will not take place till next sum- 

 mer again. We serve all hard wood plants 

 this way that have been sometime in the 

 same pots, as it is next to impossible to 

 prevent the occasional hardening of the 

 earth about their roots, and this sometimes 

 happens in winter, when, owing to long- 

 continued frost, water is withheld for a 

 week or two. 



Frozen Plants. — As with the best pre- 

 cautions valuable plants will sometimes get 

 wholly or partially frozen, a word of advice 

 now may be useful all the winter through. 

 To recover frozen plants the safest proce- 

 dure is to keep them in the darlc till they 

 thaw, and to let the thawing take place 

 slowly. A dry still air is also essential ; a 

 frozen plant placed in a draught, in the sun- 



