150 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



t Febracny 15i 18^3; 



paratioii of the wine. Tliat recommended by Evelyn can hardly 

 fail to produce an agreeable beverage. He directs that it should 

 be boifed for an hour, with a quart of honey to every gallon of 

 juice, a few cloves, some lemou-peel, and a small proportion of 

 cinnamon and mace. It should then be fermented mth yeast, 

 and bottled. This process, according to the same author, does 

 not injure the tree, for lie mentions having observed a Birch 

 whic-h was so treated for very many years, and nevertheless grew 

 to an unusual size. 



" The wood of the Birch is white shaded with red, and, if 

 gi'own in a very cold climate, lasts a long while. It is used for 

 packing-cases, turnery, wooden shoes, and the felloes of wheels, 

 but is inferior to other kinds of timber for all these purposes. 

 A piece of Birch wood was once found in Siberia, changed 

 entirely into stone, while the cuticle, or outer coating of the 

 bark, of a satiny whiteness, was exactly in its natural state, 

 perfectly well-preserved. This proves what was before said of 

 the dm'ability of the bark. Thin pieces of the cuticle are some- 

 times placed between the soles of shoes, and are found to resist 

 wet. The bark is even wrapped round the lower end of posts 

 which are inserted in the ground, to prevent the moisture from 

 penetrating them. The bark of large trees is used by the Lap- 

 landers as a idnd of cloak, a hole being made in the centre to 

 admit the head. From smaller trees, about the size of a man's 

 leg, they make boots by removing the wood and leaving a seam- 

 less tube of bark. In seasons of scarcity the inner bark is some- 

 times ground with corn and made into bread; but this, we 

 must hope, happens but rarely. 



" From the leaves a yellow dye may be prepared. The wood 

 makes escelleut charcoal for gunpowder ancl crayons ; and in 

 northern countries, other parts of the tree are applied to various 

 uses, not, indeed, from any particular fitness of the Birch, but 

 from the absence of trees of any other kind. * The Highlanders 

 of Scotland make everything of it ; they build their houses, 

 make their beds, chairs, tables, dishes, and spoons ; construct 

 their mills ; make their carts, ploughs, harrows, gates, and 

 fences, and even manufacture ropes of it. The branches are 

 employed as fuel in the distillation of whisky ; the spray is used 

 for smoking hams and herrings, for which last purpose it is 

 jireferred to evei-y other kind of wood. The bark is used for 

 tanning leather, and sometimes, when diied and twisted into a 

 rope, instead of candles. The spray is used for thatching 

 houses : and, dried in summer, with the leaves on, makes a good 

 bed where Heath is scarce.' — ihondon.) 



"In Russia au oil is extracted from the Birch, which is used 

 in the preparation of Russian leather. For this purpose, the 

 white bark, taken either fi-om recent trees or from the decayed 

 trees which are found in the woods, is gathered into a heap, 

 and pressed into a pit shaped like a funnel ; it is then set on fire, 

 and covered with turf. 



" The oil which tricldes down the sides drops into a vessel 

 placed to receive it, and is then stowed away in casks. The 

 purest oil swims at the top, and when used for anointing leather 

 not only imparts a fragrant odour, but makes it durable. Owing 

 to the presence of this oil, books bound in Russian leather are 

 not liable to become mouldy ; they also prevent mouldiuess in 

 books bound in other leather which happen to be near them. 



" The Birch is liable to a disease which shows itself by pro- 

 ducing on the upper branches large tufts of twig.-i, which seen 

 at a distance resemble crows' nests. How it originates is uu- 

 lojoivn, some persons assigning it to the punctm-e of an insect, 

 others to iieculiarity in the soil. 



" A district species of Birch, Betula nana. Dwarf Birch, is 

 found in Scotland and in all the northern countries of conti- 

 nental Europe and America. It is a low wiry shrub, rarely ex- 

 ceeding a feet in height, with numerous round notched leaves, 

 which are beautifully veined. By the Laplander it is applied to 

 the same pui-pose as the twigs of the larger kind." 



EOSES AND THEIR NOMENCLATURE. 

 I SEE that a discussion has arisen as to the correctness of 

 the term Hybrid Perpetual, and the advisability of changing 

 it. It would seem that no one denies that the name is not 

 scientifically exact. Nearly every garden flower is a hybrid, so 

 that part of the designation is not distinctive, whUe no Rose 

 is perpetual, strictly speaking. But, on the other hand, we 

 have flowers called "everlasting," that wiU only last a long 

 time, and every day names equally inconsistent are on our 

 tongue. To remedy this would demand a reform of our enth'e 

 vocabulary, to be rejected in ten or twenty years when our 

 knowledge would be extended beyond what we should look 

 on then as our ignorance of 1872. The French have a very 

 good word for these Roses, but unfortunately we have no equi- 

 valent, while as for adopting the word bodily as it stands, it is 

 not expedient, nor is it any argument to the contrary to say 

 we have ah'eady adopted several French words into the lan- 

 guage. So much the worse for the language, and for the cars 



of those conversant ■«'ith French, other than that of " Stratford- 

 atte Bowe," so often tortured by such words as " amachewer " 

 (amateur), " trussou " (troiisxcnu), and similar barbarities. 

 ■The nearest approach to Remontant as used for Roses, would 

 be, perhaps, " Reflorescent " or " Evcr-bloom." " Cut-and- 

 come-again " might suit, were it not rather disrespectful to the 

 queen of flowers. A similai- objection applies to a Greek com.- 

 pound " poly " sometliing or other. The French have more 

 than one word to express this ; their perpetual Strawberries 

 they call i''rn/.scs (/t'.f Qitatrcs Saisons, or of the four seasons; 

 but their perpetual Carnations are lEillets rcmoiitants. 



I think, then, the best plan is to strive to improve the 

 flowers, and let the names alone ; at least, untU we reach the 

 goal of perfection, and coming to a stand-still be enabled to 

 make a final reform in everything without fear of further cause 

 for change. My only regret is, that I have none of these Roses, 

 to trouble me with their names or to delight me with their 

 beauty. My garden is very small, it contains Cabbage Roses, 

 giving a supply of blooms for one month in the year. There 

 is no room for both, and fearing lest the Perpetuals should 

 fail I am mindful of the old adage that tells us to keep the 

 clii'ty water tUl we have made sure of the clean. — Fak West. 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 



The Strawberry is one of the most easily cultivated aud de- 

 suable of fruits, and yet, though it is so valuable and whole- 

 some that even the invalid may partake of it freely, not half 

 the attention is bestowed on its culture which its merits de- 

 serve, nor so much as is often paid to a crop of spring Cab- 

 bages. How often do we find old worn-out beds occupy the 

 same ground year after year, producing only a poor crop o£ 

 miserable fruit, which does not half pay for the grounil the' 

 plants occupy. This state of matters is in many cases owing; 

 to ignorance of the requirements of the plant, and sometimes, 

 also it results from people f aucyiug that the beds, teq-uire to be- 

 planted for a year or two before they come ijftto, iull, beaiiiuy. 

 I wUl, therefore, state as concisely as possible the method 

 which 1 have found succeed best, both for oulture in pots and 

 out of doors. 



There is one thing of considerable importance, a knowledge 

 of which can only be obtained by experience, and that is to 

 be able to tell which are the best, sorts to cultivate in par- 

 ticular soils and situations. Practical experience is always the> 

 most useful ; I will, therefore, state mine. Some years pre- 

 vious to my taking my present situation the gaideu had beeu 

 totally neglected, the Strawberry beds were in a bad plight, 

 and I found two sorts only were grown; oiitf ot therm 

 proved to be Black Prmce, the other a large late variety of 

 little value, which was soon discarded. The kitchen garcjen 

 ground is very light and stony on a gravel bottom, and has 

 very little holding jjower. My employer told me that the 

 ground was not adapted for growing Strawberries, and the old 

 gardener hold a similar opinion. However, I meant to try,, 

 and selected the most suitable piece of ground in the gai-deu 

 for the base of operations. The first effort was to trench the 

 ground 2 feet deep. Tliis afforded me an excellent opportunity" 

 for adding jilenty of manure, and a quantity of stiff loam which' 

 was procured at considerable cost, but in such soil as I had tO' 

 deal with the loam was au absolute necessity. I planted the 

 ground with Keens' Seedling, Sh- Harry, Rivers's Eliza, Due 

 de Malakoff, and Prolific Hautbois. They succeeded tolerably 

 well, but did not come up to my expectations. Sii' Haiiy was' 

 the only variety retained when the bed was destroyed. Keens' 

 Seedling is so generally good that I am again trying it ; from 

 the appeai-ance of the loaves the variety I now have is distinct- 

 from that I obtained from the nursery. In unsuitable soils- 

 like that which I have to deal with, the only way to obtain 

 satisfactory results is by planting frequently. I destroy the 

 beds after the second crop is gathered. 



Many persons are not aware that the best crop of Straw- 

 berries is obtained the first season after planting. Good strong 

 runners must be selected, layered in small pots about the 

 middle of July, and planted out in well-prepared ground the 

 first week in August. This ■will aUow the plants to be weU 

 established, and the cro-ffus to be matured before winter. 



AVith a few exceptions 2 feet from phrut to plant is the best 

 distance. Stir the ground frequently between the rows to- 

 keep do'ivai weeds, but never dig between them as is sometimes 

 done. All runners should be pinched off as fast as they appeal-, 

 for they iujurc the plants if .allowed to remain. Of course, a 

 sufficient number of those that arc formed when the flower- 



