February 22, 1872. ] 



JOUKNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AKD COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



177 



65'. Keep the soil moist, and shade from bright sunshine. Great 

 care must be exercised to prevent the plants from damping-off 

 or getting " ih'awn " from want of ah'. As soon as they can 

 be handled prick-off singly into small pots, or place them 

 round the edge of a -1-inch pot, plunging them in a gentle 

 heat till they can be safely trusted in the open borders. They 

 may also be pricked-out in rows in a spent hotbed, shaded 

 carefully, and give plenty of air when the weather will permit 

 of it. It is of the greatest importance to sow early to 

 secure fine plants and a profusion of bloom. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST WEEK. 

 By placing our earth in narrow stacks and thatching them 

 with tui'f, we generally obtain it di'y and sweet enough for 

 using a year after being so treated. Finely broken charred 

 rubbish, with lime and soot, wUl be found effectual in keeping 

 away all obnoxious animals from those spots where they are 

 hkely to do harm. Sth'red the sui'face soil among vegetables, 

 sowed Beans and Peas, and prepared the ground mteuded for 

 roots and Onions. Potatoes we shall plant as soon as the soil 

 is more mellow and drier. If the weather continue to be wet 

 sow them in shallow drills, and cover them with such dry 

 sifted material as charred rubbish. 



FRUIT GAKDEX. 



Pruning should be done now, as trees are hkely to be weak- 

 ened if it is put off until late. Wash the earliest Pears and 

 Cherries, by means of an ordinary syringe, with a solution of 

 quicklime to keep the birds away. We are keeping back our 

 orchard-house trees as much as possible, by giving them ah both 

 by day, and by night so long as we can do so with safety. Soft 

 soap and quassia water w-Ul destroy the Aphis persiea; should 

 it make its appearance. The smoke formed by burning tobacco 

 and bruised laurel leaves together ^vill be found very effective ; 

 but there should be but few ah'-holes for it to escape by, and 

 great care should be taken, by covering \rith damp moss, that it 

 does not break into a flame, as thence comes the hot smoke that 

 injures the plants. This treatment is generally very success- 

 ful, as the prussic acid of the lam-el and the nicotine of the to- 

 bacco, being conveyed into every httle nook by means of the 

 smoke, are doubly fatal to the insects. It is better to do it 

 when the buds are just swelhng, as the trees will stand it 

 better than when they are in leaf and the young fruit is just 

 set. We prefer several shght smokings to one heavy one, as 

 the latter is likely to do harm. To thoroughly clean an empty 

 house the old liiue shoukl be washed oft' by scrabbing and 

 using boUiug water, and new put on so as to fill iip all cracks 

 which might serve as harbours for insects or their eggs. We 

 generally mix a httle lampblack mth the whitewash to lessen 

 its brightness, and thus reduce the reflection of heat from the 

 wall, which is sometimes so powerful as to cause burning. A 

 mixture of softsoap water and sulphur laid along the top 

 part of the back wall will also be found of use for keeping away 

 insects. 



We have not tried to obtain fruit from Strawberry plants 

 very early, and have therefore had scarcely a blind plant. No 

 water should be allowed to remain in the saucer before the fruit 

 begins to swell ; indeed it would perhaps be better if beginners 

 kept then- plants altogether on boards. 



0KNA3IENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



It is better. to keep for a year or two young plants which have 

 been just bought, and transplant them to theh positions when 

 wanted, instead of doing so directly they arrive. In the de- 

 scription of the manner of fixing trees b.y means of fir poles 

 (page 1.5.5) the word " driven " was incorrectly substituted for the 

 simple one " sunk " — tliat is, the young Firs are taken up as 

 roughly as they can be brought away, and placed just as they 

 are in holes triangularly around the tree that is to be secured. 

 Tills does away with all the trouble of " driving them in," and 

 they, as a rule, last much longer than those which are so fixed. 

 Should the ground be soft the base of the supports can be 

 steadied by stones placed on the outside of them, if the smaller 

 ends are jouied to stem of the tree. For smaller trees with 

 only one pole the same plan may be persisted in — that is, the 

 sohtary support should be placed in a hole 3 or 4 feet from the 

 tree in a contrary direction to the prevailing wind. Even hi 

 this case it is more effectual than if it were diiven into the 

 groimd near the bole of the tree. 



iHc/i-irt.-f. — We repotted and placed in shght bottom heat 

 small plants just breaking. Large ones kept in a dark shed 

 had broken so freely as to requhe pruning and then repotting 



in fresh soil. Such plants kept hi the dark should be stopped 

 back rather than pruned, if their owners wish to have a good 

 display of flowers with but little trouble. 



Scarlft Geranium'--. — Put well-top-dressed plants in a httle 

 dry heat to obtain flowers for cutting. We have found this 

 tribe invaluable throughout the winter. 



Pclurfioniums, Florixts' mid Fancy. — The most forward ones 

 which we want to blow early will not be repotted, but accele- 

 rated by means of manure water as soon as the flower-trusses 

 show. The next lot we wUl repot shortly without stopping 

 them, whilst the next we will stop once more, after which the 

 younger plants will come in. 



Kept dividuig and repotthig Ferns. 



Chrysanthemums. — We will take off cuttings of these in a 

 few days, as it is weU to get the plants forward for early flow- 

 ering. Will make preparations for sowing seeds and stiiking 

 numbers of plants next week. In such duU weather as we 

 have had cuttings ai'e apt to come weak even with air. The 

 chief thing is to get them to root downwards without drawing 

 upwards thin and weak. 



Bulbs seem to bloom more easOy than usual this season, 

 requh-hig less heat than ordinary to bring them in early. I find 

 it is best to hai'den-off Hyacinths as soon as a few flowers are 

 expanded at the base, so that when removed to a room or a 

 house they continue to open, and therefore remain pleasing 

 for a longer time than when taken when in perfection. 



Camellias in flower and opening their buds should be assisted 

 with weak manure. There are many opinions as to the best 

 time of potting them. On the whole, we prefer examining 

 them just when they begin to grow a httle after they have 

 done flowerhig. — E. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



HaiTison it Sous, Leicester. — Select Seed Catalogue. 



Laird & Sinclair, Dundee. — Vegetable and Flower Seeds, i(-e. 



W. S. Boultou & Co., Rose Lane Works, Norwich. — Descriptive 

 Catalogue of Lawn Mowers, Wire Netting, Implements, tCc. 



Alban Goodman, Londonderry. — Descriptive Catalogue of 

 Vegetable, Flower, and Farm Seeds. — Descriptive Catalogue of 

 Hoses, Fruit Trees, Vines, Flowering Shrubs, tt-c. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

 N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



Books [E. M.L.). — There is no elementaiy book on ffai'deuing with, coloui-ed 

 illustrations, nor is such a bjok needed. Our* "Garden Manual" details the 

 cultivation needed. {R, H. C). — "We never heai-d of such a sixpenny bjok on 

 butterflies. (W. irf«(on).— The '^Handbook of British Plants," by ill-. Not- 

 cutt, we think will suit you. 



Seedling Cineraria (I W. D.). — The colour- is veiy rich, and petals (florets) 

 stout and fx-ee fi-om notch, hut we can say no more from seeing a single pip. 



SooLY QrA Cucumber tCiimbfrhtnd). — It may be cultivated like any other 

 variety. See puge 130 of om- present volume. 



DissoLvaNG Boxes IF. Corbohl). — The meaninj^ of " imleached " is %ex- 

 plaiued in answer to another con-espondeut. If sulphiu-ic acid is used instead 

 of the alkaline ashes, the best vessel to dissolve the hones in is an old hogs- 

 head that is watertight. Yon will requil-e a weight of sulphiuic acid equal to 

 one-half that of the bones. The finer the bones ai-e, the sooner will they 

 dissolve. 



Watercresses (It. H. C.).— I'ou must use offsets. The mode of cultuie 

 is described in our No. 474. 



M.viDEN Peach in a Pot {A Young Beginner). — Shoi-ten the side shoots to 

 9 inches and the leader one-third, and if you pinch the young shoots judici- 

 ously this Sl imm er you will have fi-uit next year. 



Hardv Conifers {Sitftscrifter). — Gordon's "ThePinetum" -mil suit you. 



Plants near Laurel Hedge {A Constant Subscriber). — In so nan-ow a 

 border as 1| foot we do not think anytbiii;,' will grow, and wo should only 

 have a marginal line of A'iuca tli /initi^^iinu, wliich would contrast well with 

 the green of the Laurel. It is <>I littl-j nst. attempting anything in the way 

 of flowers where rabbits are so destructive, but you may have Geraniums in 

 the border in summer. If the border had had an east or west aspect we 

 should have advised Primi-oses, Oxlips, and Violets, and they would do on 

 tb^ south if they were shaded with gi-ass in summer. 



S.U.T FOR ASPAKAOUS (i!. T. S.).— ^We consider two diessulgs quite sufli- 

 cient — namely, one about the middle of Mai-ch, and another the second or 

 thu-d week in May, each at the rate of half a pound per square yai-d. 



Violets for Succession {Idem).—Vfe grow the Single Russian, Czar, 

 Double Russian, Reiue des Violets, King of Violets, Devoniensis, and Nea- 

 politan. These include eaily and fate kinds. 



CiNER.ARiA Drooping — Potting Achimenes (Antony). — This, no doubt, is 

 due to the di-y atmosphei-e cau:.ed by the gas, which is veiy injurious to plant 

 life. Could you not leiive the plants in the window -? Plant the Achimeues 

 in a pan well drauied, and tilled with a compost of two parts fibrous loam, 

 one part leaf soil, half a part of silver sand, and the like quantity of sandy 

 peat, sifting and placing the rough over the di-ainage, and over it the flue soil 

 to within half an inch of the rim. Then place the roots about li inch apart- 



