580 



THE GARDENER. 



[Dec. 



Cucumbers. — See last month's Cal- 

 endar. Avoid, hard forcing in cold 

 weather ; and if a covering of canvas 

 or frigidomo can be applied to the 

 glass, so much the better. Keep the 

 air moderately moist, and see that the 

 soil does not become over-dry where 

 close to hot pipes. Do not allow the 

 plants to bear heavily at this dull sea- 

 son. Give more or less air every day. 

 In mild weather keep the heat at 70°; 

 when very cold, a few degrees less. 



Strawberries in Pots. — Put a 

 quantity of these in heat, according 

 to the stock of plants and room. We 



prefer, for very early forcing, plants 

 that are in 5-inch pots. If a ferment- 

 ing bed of leaves in a light pit, on 

 which the plants can be placed near 

 the glass, can be afforded, it is an ex- 

 cellent place for starting them at this 

 season. Begin with a heat of 50°, and 

 give a little air every day. See that 

 the stock of plants are where frost will 

 not break the pots, and where at the 

 same time they are cool and moist at 

 the root. Worms in the pots should 

 also be guarded against, and no plant 

 with a worm about its roots should be 

 placed in heat. 



Unices to CtfrrtsjHrnbmts- 



All business communications and all Advertisements should be addressed to 

 the Publishers, and communications for insertion in ' The Gardener ' to David 

 Thomson, Drumlanrig Gardens, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. It will further 

 oblige if all matter intended for publication, and questions to be replied to, 

 be received by the 14th of the month, and written on one side of the paper 

 only. It is also requested that writers forward their name and address, not for 

 publication, unless they wish it, but for the sake of that mutual confidence 

 which should exist between the Editor and those who address him. We decline 

 noticing any communication which is not accompanied with name and address 

 of writer. 



L. A. — Send your name and address, and we will give you our opinion of 

 the Grape you have sent. 



T. Falkner. — Give your soil a dressing of caustic lime. If the soil is light, 

 make it firm, and make a puddle of equal parts soot, cow-manure, and mould, 

 and dip the roots of the plants in it before planting. 



A. M. — Grow your Lilium in three-parts maiden loam ; top-spit from an 

 old pasture, one part rotten cow-manure, and a sixth of the whole of sand. 

 The same compost, with the addition of a little bone-meal, will suit for Pot- 

 Vines. 



Pi. McF. — We do not know of a society that adopts the rule you state, but 

 we know of no particular objection to it. It will have a tendency to check the 

 too common and disreputable practice of entering and not coming forward. 



