108 



JOtiRNAii OF HOETICULTUEE &.tT> COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



i Fobraary 1, 1873. 



from a late piece of Brussels Sprouts, as these heads are very 

 sweet and different in flavour from the knobs at the sules. 

 The earUost have produced plentifully. Cauhflowers under 

 classes have had the soU priol^ed over with a small fork, and a 

 little dry sandy compost added ; for though uninjured as yet, 

 such continued damp is apt to affect them. Lettuces on ndges 

 are not so large as they were, but a change of weather wiU 

 revive thorn. All under glass will be the better of a httle dry 

 surfacint', which will give them a drier atmosphere. _ 



• The weather has afforded a good opportunity for pomting 

 sticks and stakes, making tallies, washing pots, cleaamg glass, 

 and washing and Umewashing the walls of pits and houses. 



WasUnq Pots.— On the whole nothing is better than a 

 vigorous scrubbing with water heated enough to be comfort- 

 able We have used other means to remove the green and 

 slimy matter that will accumulate, and though the cleamng is 

 more quickly done, the pots often retained something unde- 

 shrable from the processes used. The same may be said of 

 woodwork and glass. For them weak warm soap water wiU be 

 an improvement, but if the soap water is strong, or contains 

 much soda, paint and putty wiU suffer less or more. _ 



Umewashing loalk is often done very inefficiently. I* is easy 

 to draw the lithe-brush over, and thus hide for a time all the tilth 

 beneath, but though this is better than nothing in a cottage, it 

 is but a poor makeshift, as the dirt is not removed, but for a 

 time merely covered up. It is just the same as respects the 

 waUs of our plant houses. Such washing, even, does not greatly 

 protect us against insects, as repeated coats are sure to crack 

 and admit the air to the eggs of insects. Though requiring 

 more time, it is time well spent, to wash away most of the old 

 limewash with warm water before adding the fresh hme. iliis 

 limewash should not be so thick but that it will enter freely 

 into every hoe and cranny of the walls. The fresher the hme 

 the more firmly it wiU adhere. To secure this object much 

 also depends on the temperature of the water used in making 

 the limewash ; hot water is in every way superior to cold water. 

 Limewash will set all the more firmly from having a portion 

 of Portland cement mixed with it immediately before usmg it. 



FKUIT GAEDEN. 



In fine dry days we proceeded with pruning, and prepara- 

 tions were made for plantmg, but the ground was too wet to 

 pack roots as they ought to be. Excess of moisture is any- 

 thing but advantageous to smaU fibres. It helps to rot them 

 instead of to encourage growth. Late Grapes hanging, retiuned 

 a brisk fire and air in the early part of the day. The only 

 thins to be done with Peaches in bloom was to give more heat 

 and air during the day, and to keep them rather cool at mght. 

 A few hours' sun would do much good. 



The gales here have been very severe. Early on the morn- 

 iu" of the 24th our barometer was considerably below 28 inches 

 the lowest we had ever seen it, but as day began to break it 

 rose, and in the forenoon ciuickly. Such a gale would try 

 some of our new modes of glazing, and reports would be very 

 interesting. By using smaU wedges to sashes we suffered no 

 breakage of glass, with the exception of one small ventilator, 

 20 by 24 inches, hinged by two screws as. pivots, which was 

 blown out and smashed. The great danger of using large 

 squares, as for orchard houses, and glazing in the usual way, is 

 that if a large square or two go out, the wmd gets m and un- 

 settles a number more. So long as the wmd is kept out there 

 is Uttle danger. In this respect placing the g ass m grooves 

 instead of on rebates with putty, is safer, provided the grooves 

 aUow of expansion, and the glass is still firm enough not to 

 sUde or rattle and let the air in. We have heard much about 

 havmg a breeze, if not a gale, in our fruit and plant houses, 

 but it is often the wisest poUoy to keep such rough visitors 

 outside. 



OENAMENTAL DEPAETMENT. 



IVooden noUet-s.—The mild weather has encouraged worms 

 to throw up their heaps on the lawns, and thus disfigure the 

 bri"ht green the grass would otherwise present. Sweeping is not 

 to be thought of in such weather, nor in any weather if there 

 are no leaves or bits of wood, as well as the worm heaps, ihe 

 wooden roller soon puts the latter out of sight. A young man 

 can walk quickly with a roller a foot m diameter and 3i to 

 4 feet long behind him, and the comparative lightness of the 

 roUer is an advantage for this purpose. Part of the woi-m 

 he.aps is squeezed down out of sight, and part adheres to the 

 roller, and must frequently be scraped off with a piece of hoop 

 iron or wood kept on purpose. Next, or even equal to the 

 Daisy-knife in summer, nothmg will so soon improve the 

 appearance of a lawn in winter as a light wooden roller. 



Planting and Transplanting. —We proceeded with these 

 operations, though in the latter case we had to bale the water 

 out of the holes that had been made previously. When the 

 soil is too wet the packing of the smaU roots and fibres cannot 

 be done in a satisfactory manner. Drenching the roots of 

 large specimens on planting in winter we have long considered 

 a mistake as it keeps the roots long wet and cold as if em- 

 bedded in a morass. The water would be beneficial if judiciously 

 given just as the buds and roots begin to move. _ 



The weather furnished an opportunity for potting, tying, 

 training, and washing plants that otherwise might have had 

 nothing more than a skiff from the syringe. A good syringmg, 

 a wash, and then another syruiging, by keepmg fobage clean 

 and healthy, are the best safegu?rds against insects. Iwo 

 great preservatives against insects are a comparatively low 

 temperature at night, and avoidmg a high temperature and a 

 dry atmosphere during the day. Unless these conditions are 

 secured red spider and thrips will soon be your acquaintances. 

 There are some insect enemies that you can hardly eradicate, 

 unless you cru*h them, bury them, or freeze them out of 

 existence. The mealy bug is one of those, ^ou may manage 

 to clean every plant in a house, but if every crack and joint of 

 vour platforms of stone, slate, or wood be not thoroughly 

 examined the enemy will soon reappear i" ,as ^t™"? ^°''f ,f 

 ever. If there wore no clunbers, and the plants could be re- 

 moved from the house, a free application of hot water alter- 

 nately with exposure to frost, would be the most effectual 

 remedies. — B. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUES EECEIVED. 



p. Lawaon & Son, 20, Budge Bow, Cannon Street, London, 

 E.G., and George IV. Bridge, -EAinhm^h.— Catalogue of Kitclieti 

 Garden and Flower Seeds, if;c. „ ,^, „ t .,,,!„„ V 



W. Emnsey, Joyning's Nursery, Waltham Cross, London, IS. 

 —Select List of Garden, Flower, and Farm Seeds, Border 

 Plants, Evergreens, if'C. ,,.,., .»t ■ -n i, 



Edwin Cooling, 18, Iron Gate, and Mile Ash Nurseries, Derby. 

 — Cataloque of Seeds. , „, -n i, c 



Smith & Simons, 36 and 38, Howard Street, St. Enoch Square, 

 Glasgow.— CUiumJ Guide and Descriptive Seed Catalogue. 



E G Henderson & Son, Wellington Boad, St. John s Wood, 

 London, N.W. — Catalogue of Flower, Vegetable, and Agri- 

 cultural Seeds. .^ 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



• * AVe request that no one will write privately to any of the 

 * correspondents of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore be addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, dx., 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.C. 



CnAa.^R0P9 EXCELSA CcLTUBE (/. S G.).-TU8 ^^^ ';™^»",«°^f £^ J 



qucceed in a Wardian caso with but little attention. Bnt -why put it in a 

 case? S om- opinion it is only taking up valuable space uuneccssaij^y, 

 because it wiU Uve and thrive admirably in any JP"'-^^"' °' ;!t^*,S 

 temperat.ire does not fall lower than 88- or40», and few rooms '"'^ «'l™' J*™ 

 tMs Wo have had many species of Pahns, Chamsrops oicelsa amro»st 

 them, m our rooms for three years or more, and they grow weU, and »r8 realb^ 

 charmins objects for such situations. C. eicelsa reqmres to t° f o™ "S 

 about eiual parts of loam and peat mould; the drainage "tould be ^°f;^J^ 

 enjoys copious waterings during summer. Jl"'' .i^f „=J"Xthe attention 

 ociasionaUy with warm water to remove dust and 'i^' ?J° ''" '„^,^""J'o(e"t 

 renuned. It is a native of the Himalayas, attaming a height of about 3U Icot. 

 MiNETTi Stock fob T?orceb Koses (T. J^''r.')--'r'i« M,metti stock is 

 weUaXptedforthe forcing of Hoses cmo being t»\^°/° .^^ '^%°°^i" °l 

 the plant at least 2 mches below the junction of '^e scion and stock. A 

 liberal treatment is requu-cd, and proper »"?°"™ ""»' ^^ I™'i t° remmejU 

 the doi-mant buds in the Manetti stock previous to pottmg, ''d'1 '» ™ "'^'"'^ 

 not to let a sucker appear. Use good-sized pots, P'""«^„,7* ^Se to do 

 summer, and weU ripen the wood. Avoid worms, which are veiy liable 10 ao 

 damage when pots are plunged. 



Troffles (TT J. TT.).— Write to Messrs. Webber, Central Avenue, Covent 

 Garden Market, and ask for tho information you need. 



TisT OF Koses (T. IFnlsoii)-— Though your Hoses, as per hst sent, ai-e not 

 entitled to raiA on the whole very high, 'yet with the exception PO'taP' » 

 General WashS^on, which is too unceitam to trust to, we should not 

 adrtse vou to cast an^ away, but recommend you to procure a dozen mo.e if 

 vou cai find room fir them, selecting them from the hst o the thnrty-si-x 

 best.^by the retm-n sent by Mr Peach Souvenir de Mateiaison wiU take^a 

 inn^ time to cover a wall 8 feet liigh and 4 feet wide, if ever it do so. we 

 sSd^-ecommend Gloire de Dijon. Your suggestion °' Pl»°"^8 ^^^^f jj 

 Jackmanni alongside will do, il you train the Clematis uj, at ™™ »"*f ^^J,J' 

 cJvCT the top ptrt of the wall. Madame "le Cambaccrcs, good horg Boso 

 rough petals; Lord Kaglon, pmThsh red, t""^"';""!'';""^ ^ soodj^nnt^ss 

 llo Mnrnv fine bright pink, good; General Washmgton, very unccuam , 

 Bea!fty^tmitham%o?d, cireV ^d; Geant des Bataillcs veig Jree-blc«m- 

 to"; Anna de Diesbach, fine pmk, too looso-peta led ; 5Iis. Knois wusii 

 while <hv grower; Empereur de Maroc, daik plum, smaU flowei Anna 

 IleSfl flneTn^dcnKose; Souvenir dc Chas. Montanlt, un«atam, occasion- 



