iiarch 7, 1873. ] 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE GAEDEXEE. 



219 



Calceolarias, together with the cull of the flower-forciug pit. — 



\V. KZAXL. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAKDEX. 



Owiyo to the wet state of the ground we could do little 

 beyond keeping the walks neat. The weather has been so 

 mild, although on one or two mornings glass and mats freely 

 exposed have been slightly crusted, that we have given more 

 ah- than usual to such vegetables as Potatoes and Eadishes in 

 frames and pits. 



l-'ramcs versus Fits. — For safety from such vermin as rats 

 we prefer pits, as with sound wall-plates there is no danger 

 of intruders at night, whilst into small hotbeds covered with 

 frames they easily make their way. As regards vermin, then, 

 pits are to be preferred to frames, but if a temporary hotbed is 

 made iu them there must be head-room for the plants, and 

 often seedlings of others coming tlu-ough the ground must, as 

 a cousecjueuce, be too far from the glass in dull wintry weather. 

 Therefore, except for safety from vermin, for early Potatoes, 

 Piadishes, Carrots, Turnips, and similar crops, we prefer a 

 slight hotbed covered with sashes, as the plants, from being 

 nearer-the light, are more robust in gr-owth than those faither 

 from the glass, and as they grow the sashes can be raised from 

 time to time. The easiest way to do this is to put a piece of 

 wood under each corner of the frame, say 1-5 inches in length, \ 

 8 inches in width, and 1 inch in depth, le\'el and askew at j 

 each corner, and on each piece to place as may be needed one, 

 two, or more bricks. Of course the soil must be secured in- 

 side round the sides of the frame. 



Even with Potatoes this raising of the frame will be less 

 recjuiied if, after the shoots are 9 inches or a foot in length, 

 the terminal bud of the shoot be picked out with the point of 

 a small knife. This keeps the shoots shorter and bushier, and 

 does not affect the early tubering, so far as our experience 

 goes. It is nuite different if you stop the shoots of such Pota- 

 toes by removing 2 or more inches of the top, as you would 

 top Beans in bloom to cause them to set more freely. Such 

 topping of Potatoes, according to om- experience, always acts 

 injuriously on the crop. The mere nipping-out of the terminal 

 bud arrests elongation, and gives no unpleasant check to the 

 plant. 



FRUIT GABDEN. 



We have not yet quite finished pruning and w-ashing out of 

 doors ; nailing has yet to be done. 



Fluiitiiiri must now be completed as soon as possible, and if 

 properly done will often prove more successfiU than that per- 

 formed' in the middle of winter. The end of October and 

 beginning of November may be considered the best times for 

 planting fruit trees in general, as the ground is then warm 

 enough to encourage early rooting. After it has been once 

 cooled we have often found, in planting of fruit and forest trees, 

 that the success was rather greater iu March than in January 

 and Febru.arj-, the reason, no doubt, being that as the warmth 

 of the advancing spring told upon the buds, their swelUng and 

 expansion also reciprocally affected the roots. Merely as an 

 evidence of the mUdness of the season we may mention that a 

 lai'ge Horse Chestnut tree, transplanted a mouth ago, is break- 

 ing freely into leaf. We are afraid of this tine tree being killed 

 if we have a sharp frost. If in an ordinai-y season, the buds 

 had expanded six weeks or more later, we should have felt 

 sme that the roots would have met the wants of the expand- 

 ing leaves. 



Protecting and Retarding. — A little frost would greatly help 

 fruit trees out of doors by keeping them back. If this weather 

 continue, a Uttle protection should be in readiness. If a sharp 

 frost come at the end of the month, Cm-rants, Gooseberries, 

 and Easpberries may be saved by sprinkli n g over them rough 

 hay or dry litter. " Whitening them with limewash now, or 

 earher, will help to retard them. Apricots, Peaches, Plums, 

 itc, against walls, that often do w-eU without auy protection, 

 especially if the weather is dry, though a little frosty, will most 

 Ukely need some protection this season, as the buds are so for- 

 ward. Though we have none, yet on the whole for protecting 

 pm-poses nothing is better than calico sheeting, easily moved 

 by pulleys and rings. One reason why it is the best protector 

 is because it is the best retarder. If we had it we would use 

 it every sunny day to retard the blooms before they opened, 

 and leave the trees fully exposed in dull days and all night, 

 unless there should be a frost severe enough to injure the buds 

 before they were fully expanded. \Yhen the bloom opens the 



practice must be reversed, so as to give the bloom all the sun- 

 shine possible. We feel sure that the retarding principle has 

 not been sufficiently acted on as respects our finer fruits. An- 

 other object is also secured by the sheeting, if it is at all strained 

 and kept 18 to 21 inches from the wall — namely, keeping the 

 blooms diy. Then, again, the soil becomes heated, whilst the 

 wall can be kept cool, before the bloom opens, and there is, there- 

 fore, a better reciprocal influence between the roots and branches. 

 For protection we have used almost everything that has been 

 tried — broom, spruce, evergreens, beech twigs, common net- 

 ting, wooUen netting, fine Nottingham lace netting, and next 

 to sheeting we should prefer the last, used as a fixture, as it 

 lets plenty of Ught through, retards a little, and in wet weather 

 the wet tnckles down from top to bottom. All these modes in- 

 volve so much trouble, and expense too, that we feel convinced 

 by fai' the most economical way in the end for Peaches, Apri- 

 cots, etc., would be to face the wall with glass iu the orchard- 

 house style. Instead of having a narrow house with upright 

 glass we" should prefer a lean-to from 10 to 12 feet iu width, 

 and then there is so much more valuable room enclosed. 



Oreliard Hoiisex. — As far as can be done with safety as re- 

 spects wind, we keep these open night and day so as to retard 

 the trees as much as possible. Little more excitement would 

 cause the buds to bm'st. If we have a very bright sun for several 

 days we shall be tempted to shade the roof with a sprinkling 

 all over of whitened water from a syringe. It is just possible 

 that we may not have much more frost, but it is also possible 

 that we may have sharp nights at the end of March, and even 

 iu April. In unheated houses we should then have no help 

 but the calm air in a shut-up house. '^Miere such houses are 

 fmnished with hot-water pipes or flue we may take the 

 natural advantage of the forwardness of the season, as the 

 means of heating wiU keep all safe. 



We gave about a quart of water to each pot fruit tree, and 

 w-m follow shortly mth more. It is bad poUcy to allow the 

 roots to become too dry while the buds swell, as they might 

 di'op. 



Pepotting Fruit Trees. — On this subject we have manyin- 

 quh-ies, and to all, whether the trees in pots are at home, or 

 have to be received from the tree merchant, w-e give one reply- 

 Do not repot if you wish to have a crop of fruit. If the pot is 

 small make the" hole in the bottom larger, pluuge the pot less 

 or more, put a rim round it for rich top-dressing, and defer 

 repotting until the trait is gathered. If, nevertheless, repot- 

 ting is resolved on, the soU round the ball cannot be made 

 firm, but even then you must not be too sanguine as to results. 



The same principle applies to pyramid trees taken up out of 

 the gi-ormd ; it is too late in this forward season to pot and ex- 

 pect a good crop if the trees have ordinary treatment. We 

 have several times succeeded by potting in March, when the 

 season was not so forward as this. The roots were placed in 

 pots as small as woirld hold them, and the soil packed firm. 

 The pots were plunged over theh- rims in a mUd hotbed out of 

 doors, ranging from C5= to 70 . The tops of the trees were 

 fidly exposed, only shaded from bright sunshine. By the time 

 the" flower-buds expanded the bed had cooled dowTi, but the 

 object aimed at had previously been attained— namely, the 

 formation of fresh roots to meet the wants of the sweUing and 

 opening buds. If such plants had been potted in October 

 they would have requii-ed much less trouble and care. Fre- 

 quently we must make the best of unfavourable circumstances. 

 — E. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUE BECEIVED. 



Daniels Brothers, Eaton, Xoni-ich. — Illustrated Seed Cata- 

 logue and Amateurs' Guide. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

 ,', We request that no one will write privately to auy of th3 

 correspondents of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gai-dener, and Country Gentleman." By so doiug they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore be addi-essed solely to 

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

 Street, London, E.C. 

 X.B. — Many -questions must remain unanswered untU next 

 week. 

 Books (J. A. K.].— The '■ Cottage Gaideael's' DictiouaiT," ana Keane'i 

 " In-door Garaening," and Keanc's " Out-door Qardening " wtuld give all the 

 inlormation you retjuire. They can be had post free fi-om our office, the Dic- 

 tionary for 7s. -2(1., and the other two lor Is. lid. each. (Jfiss B. D.).—y>e 

 do not puhlish either of the works you name, nor do we know them. 



