Febraaty 29, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



etl by 



G.vBDENERs' Ex.onxATiONS {A. E. J.). — Gardeners may he 

 the Royal Horticultural Society of London, and you will h.- f 

 pai-ticulars if you write to J. Richards, Esq., Assistant S.vi. i.:\y\ K . il Flor- 

 ticultui-al Society, South Kensington. Thegi-eat adTanta-i -i i i ;[j ii-noiir- 

 ably such an examination is, that it is known that you liUMii i iir r. tkal, 

 and so far a practical, knowledge of gai'deuing. If there has been a tlisad- 

 vantage, it has been from the fact, too general, that young men cram for 

 such examinations, are apt to trust too much to certificates, and hence to be 

 outshone in practice by plodding attentive men, who have far less real 

 scientific knowledge. The test is results. 



Vale Koyai. (Constant Su6»crt6fr).— We had no scale. 



Gardener and Helps (ilf. Denton). — We should say, at n ran'lorn guess* 

 that three men would be required for such a place, but iiin<}i -i.- -mi^ .>n the 



quantity of grass, how it is kept, and on the means fork-'i-Mi t' ii^ri-va- 



tory gay in winter, as there seem to be little means foi i! i- p ^ ■ . ■ xcept 

 the Melon and Cucumber house. Pleasure gi'ounds can ui - ii.> .;i i.iii ^ iiiea. 

 According to the grass and beds, one place of the same sizL uiii\ iLi|unu tluee 

 times more labour than another. Then there is such a diliercncc iii keeping 

 a place tolerably neat, and having it always in first-rate order. We have 

 known places such as you describe managed by two men. We have known 

 places of similar size underworked with sis men. 



BcLB Suo-w (Coleus). — We know of none except those at the Royal Horti- 

 cultural and Botanic Societies. 



Vine for Stable-yard {A Regular Subscriber). — If the soil is not a light 

 friable loam it will be necessary to remove it to a depth of 3 feet, but if it 

 is so it will only be necessaiy to take care that water does not lodge. If 

 wet, drain the ground efficiently, and trench it 2 feet 6 inches deep, mixing 

 with it a moderate amount of manui-e and some old lime rvibbish ; or, failing 

 that, broken sandstone or freestone. If the soil is veiy strong take it out to 

 the depth of 3 feet for about 6 feet in width, placing 9 inches of drainage at 

 the bottom— any stones or brickbats will answer— and below these there 

 should be a drain. The border may be formed of the top 3 inches of a 

 pasture, the soil a light loam, and to ever)' ten parts of this add four of 

 lime rubbish from an old building, two of "manure, one of charcoal, one 

 of crushed bones, and two of sandstone or freestone not broken very small, 

 but without removing the small parts. Mix the whole well, and then place it 

 in the border, 9 inches higher than the intended level, to allow for settling. 

 You may cover the border with gravel, but it is well to leave a space of a foot 

 or 18 inches next the wall. Black Cluster or Royal Muscadine is the variety 

 we would plant. Of either you can procure a Vine with a cane the length you 

 name, at any of the principal nurserymen, but we would not plant until the 

 Vine had begun to grow; then turn it out of the pot, spread out the roots, 

 and cover them about 6 -inches deep with fine soil, giving a good supply of 

 water at a temperatiu-e of 70-. 



Roses — Mancrixg, &c. {T. W. W.). — I did not speak of supci-phosphate, 

 but of nitrophosphate blood manuie. I adWse you to pulverise the nitro- 

 -phosphate, put as much as a man can hold in his hand into three gallons 

 of water, and pour the contents over the roots of six plants. That is how 

 I use nitrophosphate. Put the stuff on when the plants are in a growing 

 state. Cut down some of the naked stalks of Marguerite de St. Amand and 

 Madame Clemence Joigneaux close to the ground, andmerely shorten the other 

 long stems by instalments. Cut down closely all weak gi'owers. Gloire de 

 Dijon could not have given cracked blooms for want of water last season. You 

 should have stirred the ground, it is a good plan whether the season is wet or 

 dry. I keep the hoe going among my Roses. Charles Lefebvre is a fine 

 grower here. I have at least 170 plants of it on Manetti— all good growers. I 

 consider Charles Lefebvre and Maurice Bemardin, taken at all points, to be 

 the best among crimsons.— W. F. Radclyffe. 



Prcning Markchal Niel and Souvenir d'un Ami Roses (St. Edmunds). 

 ■ — They do not require to be cut hard. If their wood is weak and bad, cut 

 them dovm tolerably closely, othenvise only cut out the weak wood and shorten 

 the remainder a little.— W. F. Radclyffe. 



Petunias in Pots (An Amateur). — You do not say in what sizeof pot your 

 plants are, but we presume them to be in 3 or 4i-inch pots, and to have been 

 stopped ; if not, stop them now to about four joints. You will thus secure two 

 or three shoots. Shift the plants when the shoots are an inch long into 6-inch 

 pots, and when the shoots have thiee joints take out their points, and again 

 whenever those resxUting from the stopping have grown to that extent, up to 

 within ten weeks of l-he time of exhibition. Have the plants in their bloom- 

 ing pots by the middle of June, shifting into 8-inch, and finally into 10-inch 

 pots. The drainage should be good, and the compost may consist of two 

 parts light fibrous loam, one part leaf soil, half a part of old manure, and a 

 quarter of a pai't of charcoal, from the size of a pea to a hazel nut, and 

 silver sand, well mixed, but not sifted, though it must be broken small. Water 

 moderately, and only when dj7, but before the foliage flags, and then give a 

 thorough supply. ^Tien the pots ai-e full of roots weak liquid manure may 

 be given at every alternate watering. Keep the plants in a cold pit after 

 April, not more than 16 inches from the glass, and admit air abundantly, ex- 

 cluding frost. In mild weather the hghts may be diawn ofE after May, but 

 when the plants are advancing for flowering the lights will be needed to pro- 

 tect them from heavy rains, yet ailmit air abundantly. To have Gesnera 

 zebrina in good order at the time named, start the plants at once, and grow 

 them in a brisk heat with plenty of moisture. 



Boiler for Greenhouse (A. Aitken). — Our opinion is that not one beats 

 n saddle-back boiler. If not much more than 3 feet in length we prefer cast 

 iron. If much larger we prefer wmught iron, but we have no gi'eat preference. 



BoTTOii Heat from Hot-v^-ater Pipes (A. D.). — By enclosing the pipes 

 in a close chamber you will have bottom heat in the ' bed over them. The 

 proposed openings ox-e good, hut the doors must fit closely. As the pipes are 

 heated by gas we would propose the top of the chamber, i. therwise the bottom 

 of the bed, to be of zinc or galvanised iron, and without perforations. The 

 supports across may be of wood or iron, and the closer they are, say 18 inches 

 apart, the less will the iron give way. We woiUd have the zinc vessel tm-ned 

 up at the edges for from 1 to 2 inches, so that a Uttle water would stand 

 at the bottom when required. A few pebbles or bits of charcoal might be 

 placed along the bottom for the bottom of the pots to stand on, with a little 

 moisture beneath them when deemed necessary. There is not the slightest 

 danger, as you have been told, of the zinc melting. We would use the cocoa- 

 nut refuse "between, not below, the pots. The zinc maybe nearer the pipes 

 than 3 inches. Your success will much depend on having hand-lights, or 

 moveable wooden boxes with glass tops, over the bed. 



Crocus Stigma PROMrNEST (R. K. C.).— The white Crocus flowers you 

 enclosed to us do not differ from the usual type, only the stigmas 



eiy 



ange colour contrasts well with the pme 

 a will find the stigmas are present in the 

 not BO conspicuous. The specimens are 



—It ha^, no special merit. 

 -(^u your narrow north border Violets, 

 K nots would do admirably in spring, and 

 in summer. For fruit, Blask Cun-ants, 

 lid succeed well against the wall, and so 

 _„ ...^_ For the ribbon border, with a better ex- 

 far change the aiTangement — Cineiuiia maritima at the 

 back, then low scarlet Geranium, and vellow Pyrethrum, blue LobeUa edged 

 with Cerastium tomentosum. . The cuttmgs now rooted of Alteraanthera 

 would make nice stubby plants in a cool greenhouse in s umm er, and so they 

 would if planted out in a sunny spot at the end of May. Purple Verbena, or 

 a dwai-f Scarlet Geranium, would come in well behind the Mesembijanthemum. 

 FiGURE-OF-FouR Trap ( IT. IF.),— This is the cheapest and most effective 

 trap we know, and, from what we have observed, the animals killed by it 

 seem to suffer Uttle pain. We give an engraving of it; essentially it consists 

 of two tUes, one at the bottom, one at the top, the latter supported by a 



prominent; their deep yellow or o 

 white of the rest of the flower. Y( 

 colom-ed vaiieties as well, but aie 

 pei-fect and very pretty. 



Seedling Violet (J. Goda-ard). 

 • Floa'ers for Eoi;m l:^ <-i. -I.I. 

 Snowdrops, Crocuses. :Mrl l.i ■ r 

 Daisies and low htil'i" •" - plm 

 Red Currants, and G'".i-'.!H_n !>.- vv. 

 would Moreilo Chemes ktqi 

 posure, we would 



triangle such as is represented in the accompanying figure. The upright 

 piece stands for itself, the long base of the triangle (larying the bait at one end 



(best clear of the bot- 

 tom for deUcate ma- 

 ua;u\Tes) notched to fit 

 to it, and notched in 

 front to receive the 

 short front piece, or 

 h>T)otbenuse, of the 

 triangle bearing the 

 crushing tile. The 

 mouse nibbles at the 

 bait, disturbs the hold 

 of the fi'ont piece ou 

 the base, and dovra 

 comes the whole- 

 Another good trap is 

 a flower-pot invertetl 

 in the soil over a 

 baucer, a& represented 

 in the accompanying figure, and slightly coveied with leases Of course Peas 

 or some other bait should be placed in the saucers 



Flow-er-beds (Kittie).—\\hat we chiefly adnme m ^ ui fl wei gaidyn is 

 the simpHcity of the design and the great simplait mi i i 1 1 ' tmg.. 

 Thus, you have a rather long octagon in the Ltuti \ i 1 ui 



to leave eight points, eight circles round, the tin ii i the 



curve in the octagon, and then eight clumps, i unU \\\ i \ i i j aily 



semicircles, except that a cm-ved line passes fiom thi.<<nti i tht hametei 

 to join the circumference, the shai-p angle of each of these lacing the shai-p 

 point of the octagon, a supposed line passmg between these t\\ o points ha\ing 

 a circle on each side. Then the proposed planting is equally simple. Several 

 bands for the large centre, fhe eight circles to be filled with Calceolarias, 

 edged with purple Verbena ; and of the eight outside beds, four to be filled 

 with scarlet Geraniums edged with Flower of the Day, and four with pink 

 Geraniums, edged with Periila pegged down. Here simplicity is so far 

 departed from, and the edging of Periila would come in between two beds 

 with an edging of pui-ple Verbena. If we had all the circles ahke we would 

 make all the outsides alike ; but here, again, we fear that simphcity would be 

 gained at the cost of sameness. We would rather take the key-note from the 

 outside beds, and if we had not four distinct pau-s we would at least have 

 four beds of a sort in each ring. Without some such bieaking-up, and if the 

 different rounds of beds were planted alike, we do not see why as good an, 

 effect woxUd not be produced by having one large bed, and the colours anranged 

 in massive bands. But now to a few particulars. As the place is so windy, 

 we would not use Coleus for the centre bed, but Iresine Lindeni, and one 

 point in its favour is that it will stand a month or six weeks longer than the 

 Coleus in ordinary autumns. The arrangement then woxild be, beginning at 

 the centre, Centaurea, Ii-esine, Polemonium variegatum. Another arrange- 

 ment is very good, only we would alter it so as to stand thus :— Centaurea, 

 Ii-esine, Mrs. Pollock, blue LobeUa, with just a string of Cerastium tomen- 

 tosum. Then, as to the circles, we would plant each alfomate one, as you 

 propose, with strong yellow Calceolaria, and edge with Pnrp'" Kiiv- V.-rbena.' 

 The other alternate four might be Purple King and alnw v^ : ■. . ,k, , .inia. as 

 Aui*ea floribunda. We would, however, prefer Imperial I* i \ i- inj ;tud 

 Am-ea floribunda Calceolaria. Then, for the outside bi-4 . i. i ii i .* f'tur 



bright scarlet Geranium beds edged with a white varit.-a.'- i Liul. a.^^ bijnii, 

 and four alternate beds of Christine or Amy Hogg, edged with Flower uf the 

 Day. As you have Mangles' Variegated you might use it, but it requires a 

 broader band than you can give it in these beds to make it effective. 



Hotbed for Cuttings (ItZ^m).— We prefer a bed of dung and leaves to dung 

 alone, it is so much more lastmg ; and if a coating of leaves is kept at the sur- 

 face, there is little danger of noxious steam. 



Pr v^TTvr. s;f a-kale {.^cmo). — The best time to plant Sea-kale is at the 

 OU'] 1 Mn>ii >.i ii.irinnin" of Apiil. The ground should be trenched 2 feet 

 (1, ., , . , V. lu have good soil, adding niamue, leaf soil, and decayed 



V, liberally, mixing them well with the soil, and if the 



'tui;uI i- L^:i y udd a quantity of sand. Sea-kale likes rich, light, sandy 



