3^4 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[December, 



My cellar has furnace pipes all through it, and I 

 fear it is too hot. Would an attic do for storage 

 place ? 



[We leave the list of many palms adapted to 

 house culture to some of our correspondents, as 

 requested ; but as the chrysantliemums must be 

 attended to at once, take occasion to say that they 

 will not do much in a cellar where there is 

 warmth much above freezing. They grow under 

 low temperature, and rest is desirable. A mode- 

 rate degree of frost will not huit them, and it 

 would be better to place them in a place where 

 there was just enough of frost to arrest growth, 

 than above. A barn or cold cellar would be 

 better than a warm cellar, and in the absence of 

 these a sheltered corner in the open ground, with 

 some protection to keep off extremes of cold. — 

 Ed. G. M.] 



Spineless Cactuses. — "Amateur" writes: "I 

 notice in the September number ol the 

 G.iRDENERs' MoNTHLy Mr. Blanc's interesting 

 paper on Cactuses. In speaking of the Astro- 



phytum he says he believes it to be the only 

 cactus without spines. I expect this was rather a 

 slip of the pen on the part of Mr. Blanc, because 

 in so large a collection as his he can scarcely fail 

 to have some of the Epiphyllum truncatums 

 which are without spines. Likewise, the common 

 Rhipsalis salicornioides, Pelecyphora aselliformis, 

 at least has no visible spines, if it has any at all. 

 Among my own small collection I have an 

 Echinocactus WiUiamsii, which is entirely devoid 

 of this usual characteristic — looking not unlike an 

 unripe tomato. 



Soft Soap. — A Pittsburgh (Pa.) correspondent 

 asks : " Where can I procure soft soap for green- 

 house use in Philadelphia or elsewhere ? I cannot 

 get it in Pittsburgh fit to use ; nothing but rubbish. 

 Or is there a good recipe for a home-made article ? 



[There are so many firms in Philadelphia who 

 supply this that we could not name one more 

 than another without being invidious. An appli- 

 cation to any one dealing in florists' supplies 

 ought to bring the article. ^Ed. G. M.] 



Fruit and Vegetable Gardening. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Very little can be done now in this department, 

 •except by way of preparation for another year. 



Manure can be placed on the ground wherever 

 required, and asparagus beds, if not already 

 •done, should have a slight covering of it. Bean 

 poles, pea-brush, and stakes of all kinds should be 

 got now, the tool house gone over and put in 

 order, and everything kept in good order and 

 studiously in its place. Wlien the season of 

 operation commences, there will then be nothing 

 to hold back the attention. 



If there is abundance of leaves or manure at 

 command, and small frames, beds may be put up 

 for early spring salads, at the end of the month. 

 Radi^hes and lettuces are, however, very im- 

 patient of too much heat; they will come on well 

 if the temperature be kept at 45°. When it goes 

 above that, the sashes should be lifted entirely off. 

 The same remarks apply to the potato and Early 

 Horn carrot. 



For those who have time to do it, nothing pays 

 better than an annual washing of the stems of 



fruit trees. It helps to keep the tree clear of dead 

 bark, and that is an advantage in itself, and then 

 it keeps away the shelter for insect eggs, and the 

 spores of injurious funguses. The old-fashioned 

 lime-wash with sulphur, and some soot or clay to 

 keep down the glare of the lime, is very good, 

 but if even this covering be objected to, there is 

 soft soap, potash, or any of the numerous articles 

 which have been found to be not injurious to the 

 tree itself. The mere wash is a benefit. Surface 

 manuring is also a benefit, and even here the ex- 

 act material is not such a very momentous ques- 

 tion. The leafy vegetable matter, with the sand of 

 roadside clearings, has been found to be very 

 beneficial. We have rarely seen a tree suffer 

 from too rich feeding when that food was applied 

 to the surface. 



The pruning of fruit trees should have prompt 

 attention. Apple or pear seldom need more than 

 a thinning out of the weaker branches, except 

 when the growth is weak from insect attacks, 

 over-bearing, or poverty, or bad management. 

 Shortening in, so as to get a new, vigorous growth, 

 will then be a benefit. Just how much pruning 



