Jmii»iy 18, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



55 



P. 148. 



33 feet from the last point, which, added to the 13 feet 

 6 inches, gives the total of i6 feet 6 inches from station 

 B. Set dovna 46 feet 6 inches 

 in the next division of the 

 coliunn, and above it the dis- 

 tance to the next point, as 

 17 feet, add the numbers 

 together, carry the product 

 (which is the distance from 

 station b) to the nest division 

 above. Measure the distance 

 to the next point, add them 

 together, and so proceed until 

 the whole of the gromid is 

 measured. The columus on 

 the left and right sides are 

 used to denote the offsets 

 and insets respectively, and 

 the position of any object 

 that may occur. They must 

 be filled in as the measure- 

 ments on hue B c (denoted in 

 the middle column) are taken. 

 Thus, the first point on Une 

 E c being, as before described, 13 feet 6 inches from station B, 

 it will be found that there is here an offset of 1 foot. Set 

 down in column 1 the offset 1 foot in a line with 13 feet 

 <) inches in column 2 ; again, at the distance 46 feet 6 inches, 

 set down ia column 1 the offset 3 feet in a line with 46 feet 

 6 inches in column 2, and so proceed. As there are no insets 

 on the line given by way of illustration, the first observation 

 made in column 3 is the position of the circle a, this being at 

 a distance of 10 feet perpendicular to Une e c. At the point 

 13 feet 6 inches set down 10 feet in P (perpendicular) in 

 column 3 in a line with 13 feet 6 inches in column 2, and pro- 

 ceed with other objects in the same manner. 



In taking the dimensions of a piece of ground it is neces- 

 sary to measure the length of the diagonal line as shown in 

 dotted Une .4. c, the distance in this case being 140 feet. The 

 lengths of lines a b and b c having been already found, the 

 length of the diagonal line connecting them will at once 

 denote the angle at which they stand to each other. 



The pupil wiU find that it wiU be of great assistance to him 

 if, when taking measurements, he makes a rough sketch of the 

 ground on the spot, taking a note of any object that may be 

 included in it ; it wiU act as a guide, and greatly assist his 

 memory iu drawing a correct plan. — M. O'Donnell, Gardener 

 to E. Leeming, Esq., Spring Grove, Richmond. 



IBON IN SOIL FOE EOSES, AND AUTUJfN 

 PEUNING. 



In November, 1870, 1 planted three Margchal Niel Eoses ; 

 one in a bed about 4 feet from a south waU, another in a 

 more exposed site, and No. 3 outside the south-east end of a 

 iean-to greenhouse. AU grew pretty much alike, rather slowly, 

 «ntU the middle of April, when a sheet-iron flue from the 

 greenhouse had to be replaced Dy a cast-iron one, the former 

 Having crumbled away into rusty laminfe, which were scattered 

 around and over the mulched roots of No. 3. Very soon after 

 this strange top-dressing I found that four strong shoots had 

 issued from the base of the plant, one of wliich grew so rapidly 

 that in about three weeks it had reached the top of the green- 

 house, although trained obUquely, and has now several branch- 

 lets ; the other shoots lawfully deserve a "vig.," though in- 

 ferior to the leading one. I cut away the slowcoach to make 

 -way for such railroad progress. 



Attributing, rightly or wrongly, this sudden start to the 

 accidental mixture of iron with the soU, I collected the frag- 

 ments of the flue and other iron, old hoop, etc., and strewed them 

 over the roots of three Hybrid " Perpets " (the name I give to 

 my pets), planted in 1870, but not robust with me — viz., 

 Marquise de Mortemart, Madame C. Wood, and Xavier OUbo, 

 and the effect was very visible in the growth and in the colour 

 of the foUage, which became dark and rich ; but the experi- 

 ment was not made until the early part of June; too late, I 

 think, to obtain the same favourable results. 



I hope next spring to get a ferruginous Uquid by steeping, 

 and to try its effect, with and without guano in the mixture, 

 on all sorts of Roses, Teas, Perpetuals, ilc. 



The results noticed may be owing to a deficiency in my soil 

 of properties which may exist or even be present in excess in 



other soils ; but a cautious trial can do no great harm in any, 

 and may do good in some, cases. I should be very glad to get 

 a lesson about pruning Eoses iu autumn for the second bloom. 

 — H. N. 0. 



[We think your system of pruning quite right, and sufliciently 

 hard. Last season was an exceptionaDy bad one, and even 

 the finest growth in many cases did not give good blooms, as 

 the buds, owing to the cold and wet, were too long in develop- 

 ing, and many of the petals were rough and unformed. If 

 you erred you erred on the right side, though, perhaps, owing 

 to the season, you gave too much guano. Your cultivation 

 may certainly be fairly caUed high cultivation, and we have 

 Uttie doubt but that with a favourable season you will suc- 

 ceed. We should advise, as the young growth from the base 

 last year was so strong and healthy, to cut away the old 

 wood freely, and to shorten the young wood to good sound 

 buds, but not to prune them too closely, alio wing the shoots 

 on the same tree different lengths, and leaving the stronger 

 shoots the longest. This gives more room for blooms, and 

 prolongs the blooming season. Manetti stocks do not, as a 

 rule, require such hard pruning as the old Briar system, where 

 it was necessary to cut back freely to reduce the size of the 

 head to a sj-mmetrical shape, and where old wood could not be 

 cut out ; whereas on a Manetti stock, where young wood pushes 

 freely from the base every year, the older growths can be re- 

 moved, and there is no necessity to cut the yotmger wood too 

 severely ; but stUl they ought to be cut back to weU-ripened 

 stiff wood. 



Your postscript is very interesting, and we fhaU be glad to 

 hear the results of your further trial with iron as a manure. 

 There is Uttle doubt that yeUow loam and clay soils which are 

 rich in iron are good for Eoses. In the case you name, the 

 iron being corroded by the action of the smoke would be in a 

 very soluble form, and then would be both carbonate of iron 

 and sulphuret of iron, as weU as oxide. The soot adhering to 

 the sides of the old pipes would also contain sulphate of am- 

 monia, which would act at once as a powerful stimulant. Sul- 

 phate of iron applied in a very diluted form is a good remedy 

 for mUdew, and in our opinion often acts as a tonic (if we may 

 use the expression), and this also may be the action of iron iu 

 soils which form so great a proportion of the colouring matter 

 of earth, it may help in many instances to strengthen the 

 plant ; but we fear the chemical effects of many substances on 

 the growth of plants is as yet but Uttle understood. — Eds.] 



THE PEICE OF VEGETABLES. 



Some Uttle idea may be formed of the necessity of a reform 

 in our greengrocery arrangements by the following passage, 

 which occurs in the report of Mr. H. J. Morgan, on the culti- 

 vation by means of sewage irrigation of the Lodge Farm, Bark- 

 ing, for the year ending August 31st last, which has just been 

 pubUshed. " The average price," says Mr. Morgan, " which 

 our best Potatoes last year reaUsed was from £6 to £7 per 

 ton. This year we have obtained no more than £2 to £2 10s. 

 Onions, wliich sold last yeaj for £43 per acre in the ground, and 

 reaUsed a great deal more by marketing, have tliis year been 

 sold by us at £28, the highest price I have heard of being 

 £30 per acre. Iu the autimin of last year cut Cabbages (Col- 

 lard's) fetched from Is. to Is. 3d. per dozen, wlule this year 

 there has been a difficulty to obtain 3d. and 4(7. per dozen, 

 some having even been sold, I hear, as low as Gd. for five 

 dozen. Scarlet Runners, which made 8s., 10s., and lis. a-sieve 

 last year, only brought 3d. and &d. and Is., until lately, when 

 they have made 2s. and 2s. 6d. a-sieve. Bunching Greens have 

 not paid us to market, and we have hitherto fed cattle on thern. 

 I have been told by several farmers that they have ploughed-in 

 their crops, as it would pay them better to use them as manure 

 than to market them. Strange to say," adds Mr. Morgan, 

 with refreshing natt'cfe, " that in the face of aU this the retail 

 prices are as high as ever, a cut Cabbage orcUnarily costing 

 lid., and a small dish of Beans id. and 6d., with everything 

 else in proportion." — [Pall Mall Gazette.) 



THE CAETEE CHALLENGE CUP. 

 This Cup, of the value of fifty guineas, is offered by Messrs. 

 James Carter & Co., the Royal Seedsmen, 237 and 238, High 

 Holborn, London, for competition with vegetables at the great 

 provincial Shows of the Eoyal Horticultural Society, commenc- 

 ing this year at Birmingham. The ChaUenge Cup is to be in 

 the possession of the employer, not of the gardener, and when. 



