FOREIGN NOTICES, 



189 



I.|vart sharp river sand ; mixed and well incorpo- 

 raied at least 12 months previous to using.] Gar- 

 deners^ Chron. .... 



Celery. — Horticultural shows have introduced 

 the iashion of growing celery to an enormous size, 

 and if the amateur wishes to be a successful com- 

 petitor he must follow in the train of other candi- 

 dates. But this custom is vicious, and ought not 

 to be tolerated, for such gigantic specimens of veg- 

 etable growth are seldom good, and certainly never 

 so acceptable on tlie table as those of moderate di- 

 mensions. A stick of celery 4 feet long and 4 in- 

 ches iu diameter may astonish by the attention ne- 

 cessary to raise it, but few would enjoy the taste 

 of it so much as that of a smaller one. Besides, 

 the eatable portion is often very small, not larger, 

 indeed, than that of a stick of dimiiiuitive propor- 

 tions ; all the rest is nothing worth, and conse- 

 quently the energies expended on its growth are 

 wasted. What the gardener should aim at is a 

 succession of celery free from a rank or earthy 

 taste, free from toughness or stringiness, and of 

 good color. Most persons will be found to prefer 

 that which is of medium size, as possessing these 

 properties in the greatest degree. 



Most gardeners sow a little seed in a hot bed 

 frame, to secure an early crop. The plants are 

 pricked out as soon as possible, and when large 

 enough are transferred to the trenches. But very 

 early celery is not so esteemed as the main crop, 

 which comes into use in the late autumn and winter 

 months ; and for this purpose, a seed bed in a warm 

 situation in the open air is all that is needed. We 

 have had a plentiful supply of celery from a bed 

 about a yard square, the young seedlings being 

 thinned out until the bed contained about 324 plants, 

 that is, eacii plant having two square inches to 

 grow in. These may be either transplanted into a 

 nursery bed, as is commonly done, the tap root be- 

 ing removed previously ; or they may be at once 

 removed to the trenches. By the latter mode time 

 and labor are spared, and the celery is quite as 

 fine. Amateurs who work in their own gardens 

 will often find that the established modes of doing 

 things often rest more on custom than reason, and 

 may be advantageousl}' departed from. 



Celery trenches should be about 12 inches deep 

 in ordinary soils, and at the bottom a good supply 

 of well rotted manure may be incorporated with the 

 mould. Care must be taken that no coarse ma- 

 nures are put in, for the celery will imbibe a taste 

 from the matters it is grown in. Leaf-mould is 

 perhaps preferable to any other compost, and by it 

 the finest flavor will be secured. If the trenches 

 are 18 inches wide, two rows may be put in, and 

 much space will thus be economised. We always 

 put two rows in a trench ourselves, and find the 

 plan as advantageous for the plants as any other, 

 besides the saving of time in moulding up. In one 

 garden under our observation the plants are put in 

 six or a dozen in a row. and when earthed up pre- 

 sent a compact mass. This process of moulding 

 up must be performed gradually, a little at a time, 

 and we have found it useful to throw in some lime 

 or ashes at each operation to correct the ravages 

 of worms and slugs. H. B. — The Gardentr's 

 Chronicle. 



Preserving Currant Juice. — England is al- 

 most the only country where a refreshing beverage 

 can rarely be obtained, and yet fruits adapted to 

 this purpose grow there most luxuriantly ; namely, 

 the currant, raspberry, &c. The following is the 

 way currant juice can be kept without the expense 

 of sugar. Pick any quantity of red or white cue- 

 rants from the stalk, place them in open jars, and 

 put these jars in a pan of cold water ; heat the 

 water to boiling, and until the currants are quite 

 soft ; leave them to cool gradually. When cold, 

 squecEC the juice out through a coarse cloth or 

 sieve : replace the juice only in jars, and boil it 

 again gradually as before. When perfectly cold, 

 bottle in half-pint bottles, to be well corked and 

 kept in a cellar. N. B. — Take care not to let the 

 water get to the currants. If not too much squeezed 

 the pulp may be reboiled with coarse sugar to 

 serve for tarts. Everyone who has been in France 

 knows how exquisite sirop de groscelle framboise 

 is on a hot day — that is made with sugar and some 

 raspberry, added to the currant, and is of course 

 more expensive. 4, Al'pha-place. — lb. 



Cologne, July 4, 1848. — As an Englishman, 

 fancying that we are the gardeners of the world, 

 you may judge my surprise on visiting the garden 

 of Mr. Koch, which is situated in the midst of this 

 city, to find ourselves fairly beaten. This gentle- 

 man, who is a silk manufacturer, devotes his entire 

 time to his garden, and may be said to live in it, so 

 passionately fond is he of his flowers. He showed 

 me at one coup d' ceil 30,000 Camellias, of which 

 he possesses 7oO varieties. After walking through 

 a splendid avenue of Magnolia trees, we came to 

 several beds of Tree Pajonies of 14 years' growth, 

 consisting of 120 varieties, and at the end of the 

 path was a fine specimen of the Pawlownia impe- 

 rialis. The Azalea beds were no less remarkable, 

 containing 300 varieties, and under glass were 

 lf),0(tO Cacti. To produce these varieties he has 

 an apiary of 400 hives, which yield 1200 lbs. of 

 honey annually ; and by the system pursued by 

 him, the bees are never destroyed. To visit this 

 gentleman's garden iu the month of May, would be 

 a treat for your travelling readers, who may be 

 pleased to know that such a garden is to be seen, 

 and is willingly shown by its polite owner. — lb. 



Propagation of the Hollyhock. — Of late 

 years the hollyhock has assumed a prominent place 

 in the flower garden, especially in the south of 

 Scotland, and as this plant is very ornamental, both 

 for the garden and the shrubbery, I send you the 

 mode of propagating it, which I have found to be 

 very successful, and at the same time very simple. 

 In the month of July, or beginning of August, take 

 a stem of the sort you wish to increase, and having 

 divided that into lengths of two inches each cut, 

 including an eye or bud, slice the stem through the 

 middle and pare the central pith entirely out, so 

 as to prevent rotting, leaving about three inches of 

 the leaf-stalk remaining at the bud, in the manner 

 of fruit budding ; having prepared a little sandy 

 soil suitable for striking cuttings, these buds are to 

 be inserted therein horizontally, about one inch be- 



