SliO 



THE GARDE NE IV S MONTHLY 



[ A ugust, 



petals are (»f tlie same size, :iiul the two upper- 

 most streak'd with red. It flourishes most part 

 of the year at Chelsea, Fulham, En field, &c. It 

 grows wild in the ilistricts of llaycoon at the 

 Cape of Good Hope." — Qardener's Magazine. 



To Prki'ake Vec.ktable Moulu Quickly. — As 

 early in November as the leaves of trees can be 

 collected, let them be brought in a considerable 

 quantity, into a close place, and dressed up there 

 in the form of a hot-bed. Let this be well satu- 

 rated with the draiiiiiigs from the dung-heap, 

 with suds from the wasli-house, with urine from 

 the stable and cow-house, where this latter article 

 can be procured. Let this bed or heap be cov- 

 ered and lined with fresh stable dung, to make it 

 heat. When the heat is sufficiently subsided, let 

 the leaves be uncovered and turned over, to mix 

 the dry and the wet well together, and if moisture 

 be required, let them have it of the same descrip- 

 tion, repeating the process till all be reduced to fine 

 mould. This will be ready for use in two months 

 from the time of collecting the leaves, and to pre- 

 vent any waste of the liquid recommended, a layer 

 of maiden earth, of two feet thick, should be made 

 the substratum, which would receive any of the 

 valuable liquid that would otherwise run to 

 waste. Leaves of slow decomposition should be 

 avoided, as those of the oak, &c., which, how- 

 ever, are the best for retaining heat in hot-beds 

 and pits. The leaves of Fir should also be 

 avoided, but those of the Sycamore, Elm, Alder, 

 Maple, and all the soft kinds are better suited for 

 the purpose. This compost should be kept dry, 

 in an airy place, and ridged up, so that the rain 

 cannot wash out the salts with which it abounds. 

 — Gardener's Record. 



SoLANUMS. — The berry-bearing Solanum capsi- 

 castrum and S. Pseudo-capsicum have a very 

 much better appearance when grown in the open 

 ground and transferred to pots in the Autumn 

 than when grown all through the Summer under 

 glass, as outside they assume a much closer 

 habit, and the foliage becomes more dense and 

 better in color, than it can be liad in pots, even 

 with the best attention. Under pot culture if 

 ever the plants be allowed to suffer from want of 

 water the leaves always turn to a yellow, sickly 

 color ; besides there is invariably a difficulty in 

 keeping down red spider; under open ground 

 cultivation it is essential to plant them out early 

 if their bei-ries be required in a ripe state early 

 in the Autumn. Solanums are much hardier 

 tlian they are generally supposed to be ; K»° or 



12' of frost will not seriously injure them. Plants 

 that have been used through the Winter should 

 be cut back, reducing them to one-third their 

 size, turned out of the pots (removing most of 

 the soil without breaking the roots more than 

 can be avoided), and at once planted IS in. apart 

 in a sheltered situation fully exposed to the sun. 

 If the soil be not of a loose, open nature, it must 

 be made so by the addition of sand or vegetable 

 mould of some kind, for if the material in which 

 they are grown be of an adhesive character, 

 when they are taken up for potting, the roots will 

 get broken to an extent that will seriously injure 

 them. Young plants of these Solanums struck 

 from cuttings and raised from seeds some weeks 

 back may be planted out in a similar manner, 

 but previously they must be sufficiently hard- 

 ened oflf. — Garden. 



Leaves for Garnishing Fruit. — Some kinds 

 of leaves are more suitable than others for this 

 purpose. Strawberries for instance, look best 

 associated with their own foliage ; Grapes may be 

 laid on their own leaves, but there are others 

 which suit them quite as well. One of the best 

 plants for furnishing leaves for garnishing all 

 kinds of fruit is the Curled Mallow, an annual 

 of which I make three sowings in a year in rich 

 soil — the first early in April, the second about 

 the beginning of May, and the third about the 

 same time in June. The leaves are about the 

 size of small vine leaves, and beautifully frilled. 

 Wherever fruit has to be garnished, this plant 

 should always be grown. The Ice-plant also fur- 

 nishes good leaves for Summer garnishing, its 

 glistening, icy appearance having a cool and 

 pretty effi^ct on the table. It should be sown in 

 a pan or box, in heat, in the first or second week 

 in April, and planted out in the open border in 

 May. These are the only plants which I grow 

 for garnishing fruit in Summer and Autumn. In 

 Winter and until this time variegated Kale and 

 Bay leaves answer the purpose. Bay leaves are 

 rather siiff" for Grapes, but for Oranges, Apples, 

 &c.,they may always be used with good eflFect. — A 

 Northern Gardener, in Garden. 



To Preserve the Natural Colors of Dried 

 Plants. — The following method of doing this is 

 given in a German pharmaceutical journal, and 

 will interest botanists and others : Dissolve one 

 part of salicylic acid in 600 parts of alcohol, heat 

 the solution to boiling in an evaporating-dish, 

 and draw the whole plant slowly through it, — 

 prolonged exposure discolors violet flowers j 



