Marcli 28, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOUTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



off the front wall, thus reducmg it to 13 mches, anil to i-aise the back two 

 courses, by which means you will obtain the pi-oper incline of the lights, and 

 will not have any drip — that is, if the glaring be good. The fermenting 

 materials must come quite up to the beai-ers of the lights, and have a slope 

 coiTesponding with that of the h„'ht•^, but at such a distance as to admit of 

 soil and space for the growth of {hn 'Molon<; The spafc at bick foi hnm; 



need not be emptied until tbf 

 should be filled with hot 1 

 lining in fi-ont of the pit i 

 first, foUowing with the b i 

 heat of the front lining i^ „i_ t 

 turves, grass side dowuwoids, i 

 will accommodate six plants. 



1 \h> 



\ hiif and then it 



pio 



. foi 



1 lioiild be hUed 

 lit oi when the 

 I i.ut a layei of 

 ^ith i,oiI. Yoiu pit 

 should plant me- 

 each end, and then 



ithcdim^ lJLluleLO^Lllu^' 

 iwo in eaLh li^ht, but ^ve 

 spective of the lights, along the centre, and 9 mthes fiom 

 you will have the othei plants veiy neaily 18 inches apart. 



Tritoma Uvaria Culture {J. R. P.). — It is propagated by division, by 

 suckers, and by seeds. The first is done in spiing when the plants are begin- 

 ning to grow ; by suckers in autumn or spiing, in the former case potting 

 and wintei-ing them in a pit. Seeda may also be sown in spring in a hotbed, 

 the plants potted-ofE singly when lai'ge enough to handle, and removed to a 

 cold frame when well estabUshed. They should be shifted into lai'ger pots 

 as requh'ed, ■wintered in a cold pit, and planted cnit in spring. This plant 

 requires a situation sheltered from high winds, and should have a good, rich, 

 deep, loamy soil, well diained, and intermixed with a liberal amount of leaf 

 soil and well-rotted manure, including sand if the soil is deficient in that 

 materi;il. Water them hbei-ally with liquid manui-e in dry weathei-, and 

 especially when the flower-spikes are beginning to appeal". Mulch around the 

 plant in autumn with partially-decayed leaves and short litter, and do not 

 cut off the top or decayed leaves imtil spring. 



NeiiVly- PLANTED Fruit Trees PRUNING (A Sub$cHber). — The trees will 

 need some kind of pi-uning, but it is difficult for us to say to what extent, as 

 much depends on the present form of the trees, or that which they are intended 

 to have. They should, however, be pruned, and at this time. Now is a good 

 time to plant Strawberries. They should he well-rooted runners of last year 

 and the fom- kinds we recommend are Pi-esident, Sir Joseph Paxton, Dr. Hogg 

 and Fi-ogmore Late Pine. 



Seeds from Indla (S. W.). — Ci-otalai-ia maybe a stove annual, as C. jiincea 

 is one ; HeUcteres Isora is an evergi-een stove shrub ; Hj-poxis are pretty small 

 bulbs and may succeed in a greenhouse, but we do not know the species named. 

 Tiy it in a stove first, and when you have duplicates you can tiy it in a 

 greenliouse. Eruea alba requires a stove. Tatrapia is not known to us, and 

 Cassi Flower is probably Cassine escelsa from Nepaul, and would do in a 

 gieenhouse. Lime will requii'e a wai*ni greenhouse or cool stove. Bauhinia 

 tomentosa is a stove evcrgieen. Canna indica should be sown in strong heat, 

 gi'own on, and when well established will succeed in a greenhouse. The last 

 you name would be best sown and grown in a stove. Thunbergia is a 

 perennial. 



Mi>aNG Lime WITH Mud {T. C).— It is a great advantage to lay mud 

 taken from a pond in a heap, and when it has dried sufficiently for working, 

 tui-u it over and mix it with lime, in the proportion of about a cartload of lime 

 to about ten of mud. It ■will not do to mJT lime with the mud fi'esh taken 

 from the pond, nor ought the mud to be put on the gi'ass until it has laid at 

 least sis months. 



Phlox Drummondi Sowing (A Subscriber), — There are a number of veiy 

 fine varieties of this flower, which should bo sown in a gentle hotbed now, 

 pricked oS about an inch apart when lai'ge enough to handle, forwarded in a 

 gentle heat, and hardened off so as to plant out in May. Cineraiias for spring 

 flowering should be sown in May, and Primulas at the same time. You may 

 sow in June, but the plants w^ not be so large nor so good. Cabbage for 

 late summer use should be sown early in April. Cauliflower should be sown 

 at the same time and also at the beginning of May, whilst the 20th of May 

 is soon enough to sow it for a late autumn supply. Cabbage for eai-ly sum- 

 mer should be sown about the middle of July and the 10th of August. 



Camellia Euds Black and Falling (C. B.).— The Camellia buds sent 

 are black at the points, which aiises fi'om a defective state of the roots and a 

 low moist temperature. Ecpot the plant now, removing most of the old soil, 

 and encourage fresh growth with a rather close and moist atmosphere of 50^ 

 to 55" at night. Provide good drainage, and a compost of the top inch of a 

 pastui'e where the soil is a good, rich, light, sandy soil, and pot in this, 

 chopped up rather small, without admixtm-e of any kind, at the same time 

 water abundantly. The plants when floweilng, or swelling the buds for 

 flowei-ing, should have a tomperatm-e of 45- to ^ from fire heat. 



Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, Verbenas, and Calceglaiuas for Bedding 

 and Pot Culture {R. A. P.). — PelargoJiitims—Golden-YSiViegiited: *Lady 

 Cullum, *Lucy Grieve, ■'Red Admiral, ^SophiaCusack, '''Goldfinch, and *Sophia 

 Dumaiesque. Gold and Bronze: *Egj-ptian Queen, *Ossian, and *Neatness ; 

 and for beds, Beauty of Calderdale, Luna, and Perilla. Gold-edged or Golden- 

 leaved: Jason, Crystal Palace Gem, and Golden Chain. Silver- variegated: 

 Italia tJnita, Mi's. John Glutton, and Prince Silverwings. Silver-edged : 

 Flower of Spring, May Queen, and Snowdrop, the last three for bedding. 

 Plain-leaved or Zonal Bedtling Sorts: Bayard, Jean Sisley, Vesuvius, Waltham 

 Seedling, Vesta, Mrs. William Paul, Evening Stai", and Duchess. Double- 

 flowered : Imperatrice Eugenie, Marie Lemoiue, and Wilhelm Pfitzer. 

 Fuchsias : Avalanche, Fairest of the Fan-, Corallina, Purple Piince, White 

 Lady, and Mr. Lyndoe. Vei-benas : Ada King, Butterfly, Ciimson King, 

 Edwin Day, Joseph Sanders, Kate Lawden, Le Grand Boule de Neige, Mauve 

 Queen, Mrs. Day, Kev. S. R. Hole, Eev. J. Dix, and Rev. P. M. Smyth. Cal- 

 ceolarias : Am-ea floribunda. Prince of Orange, Beauty of Montreal. Spai'kler, 

 Superb, and Yellow Dwarf. Those marked with an asterisk not suitable for 

 bedding, but all the others, except Fuchsias, ai'e good for bedding, also pot 

 culture. We cannot recommend dealers, and we can only refei* you to our 

 advertising columns. 



EosEs FOR Early Flowering in a Conservatory {E. F. H').— Maiechal 

 Kiel, La Boule d'Or, Madame Willermoz, Adam, Souvenh- d'un Ami, Alfred 

 Colomb, Charles Lefebvre, Baroness Rothschild, La France, General Jacque- 

 minot, Countess of Oxford, Princess Christian. 



Insects Attacking Flowers of Orchids (C. J. IT.).— The beetle which 

 has devoured the flowers of yom- Lycaste, Cattleya, and Odontoglossum, is 

 the omnivorous Otiorhynchus sulcatus, as destmctive in the perfect as in the 

 lana state. Y'ou must search for it after dusk with a lanthora, having 

 previously laid down a sheet under the plants, upon which the beetles, 

 alarmed by the light, will fall. — I. O. W. Our correspondent says — "The only 

 way which we destroy them is by well looking over the moss that is gro'wing 

 on the top of the pots in which they bide themselves, and by the aid of a 



littiug then' dexu'edations, which i 



3 equal 



Insects {Gardener^ Waiuhicorth). — The insect attacking the Vine is a 

 Weevil, Cm-culio picipes. Spread a sheet under the Vine at night and shake 

 the Vine. 



Names of Plants i S. £. i.— Your " English Caper," is Euphorbia Lathyi-is. 

 We know it i : ir ; i -.;iy, but the tendency of the whole race 



of Eupboii.,,. I 1'. the system, if not actually poisonous. 



We depri-i !'■ I vil qualities are much corrected by the 



free use of l': im i i ; iili;iequeut thorough saturation in vinegar. 



{R. B. L.).— 1, Ptevis stvamiuoa ; '1, Aspidium capense ; 3, Asplenium flacci- 

 dum; 4, Platyloma rotundifolia. {Camjee). — We should aippose it to be 

 Beaucamea recui-vata. {T. Han-ison).—lt is the Japan Quince, Cydonia 

 japiinica. (.1/. Iiich''s).^Thc blue flower is Omphalodes verna, the Fern 

 I'ol' r i l:um Ki;..!!'. ■/■,'. /','. '\\i'- 1 ;iii ■ liuv's Broomdocs at times bear 

 I'i I : 1 !, , '.'. propagation of Begonias, all the 



.li i ,: I ! . ' , ' 1;. ;i, I , !■ i | ■ I'td by laying a vigorous leaf on 



a ■•uii.i.-,' ,,1" s;m>l ill 111 .l;. ]H ■■■■ill- li'i.Mi 111.' principal neiTCS or veins, which 

 it is ad\-isablo to snap aeinss at intervals. All the shi'ubby sorts are most 

 readily propagated by cuttings in heat. In reference to Begonia "Elegance," 

 we do not know it, and think it is one of the hybrids fi'om B. Kex. By some 

 inadvertence the Dianthus flower was lost before we determined what species 

 it was. (B. Smyth).— The red-flowered Maple, Acer rubnim. (E. A,).— 

 1, PittospoiTim umbeUatum; 2, Sempenivuni fiEonium) baibatum; 3, Pit- 

 tospoiTim undulatum ; 4, An Erica in young bud; 5, Teucrium fruticans; 

 6, Staphylea pinuata. {R. T.). — l,Niphobolus lingua; *2, Neplirolepisexaltata; 

 3, Kephrodium decorapositiim, var., (Lastrea glabella). {Pinery). — CupressUB 

 semperviieus. (G. H. Cooke). — It is Epimedium macrauthum. 



POULTET, BEE, AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



EGGS. 

 In a recent issue of the Chicago Times, -we find the following 

 interesting collection of facts in relation to this important 

 article of human diet. 



Eggs -were used by the ancient Hebrews, and there ai'e fre- 

 quent allusions to the gaJlinaceous tribes both in the Old and 

 New Testaments. The people were also familiar with the 

 Ostrich, Partridge, and other egg-producing animals. Job 

 showed that he understood something about eggs when he 

 said, " Is there any taste in the white of an egg? " Moses, 

 Isaiah, and Jeremiah make mention of the produce of the hen 

 in a manner which leaves no doubt as to theu' knowledge of 

 the pleasures derived from eating eggs. 



Use of Eggs. — In medicine, the shell is used sometimes as 

 an antacid, and the white is employed as an antidote to cor- 

 rosive sublimate and the salts of copper ; and it is also used 

 for clarifying Ucjuors and syrups. But the chief use of the egg 

 is as food for the millions, being easily cooked and veiy 

 nutritious. 



The Egg as Food. — The relative weights of the portions of 

 the egg as given by Dr. Thomson are : Shell and membrane, 

 106.9; albumen, 604.2; yolk, 288.9. About one-half of the 

 eutii-e weight may be regarded as nitrogenous and nutritious 

 matter. This is a greater proportion than that of meat, which 

 is rated at 25 to 28 per cent., showing that, as food, a pound of 

 egg is worth nearly 2 lbs. of meat. The white of the egg, from 

 its tendency to coagulate into a hard, indigestible substance, is 

 apt to disagree ■with the stomachs of invalids, when the yolk 

 may be harmless. Kaw eggs ai'e more wholesome than boiled. 

 The longer an egg is kept the more indigestible it becomes, 

 and hence the desire for new-laid eggs. 



Size and Weight. — The largest-sized eggs of which any 

 accounts are given were found in 1850, in Madiigascar. They 

 belonged to a bud now extinct, and to which M. Saint-Hilaire 

 has given the name of .Eprornis maximus. Two of these eggs 

 are preserved by the French Academy. One of them is 

 l.SJ inches in its longest diameter, and 8J inches in the 

 shortest. Its capacity is 8J quarts — six times that of the 

 Ostrich's egg, and equal to 148 hens' eggs, or 50,000 of those 

 of the Humming Bird. The chicken which laid these eggs was 

 12 feet high. No sale could be foimd for such eggs, and the 

 fowls ijroducing them were wisely allowed to become extinct. 



The specific gravity of a new-laid hen's egg is from 1.08 to 

 1.09. By keeping, the weight diminishes, from evaporation 

 of the water and the substitution of ah- thi-ough the pores of 

 the shell. This diminution has been observed to continue 

 untU an egg weighing originally 907.25 grains has fallen to 

 36.3.2. The weight depends, of course, more upon the size of 

 the egg than its age ; and there is such variation that it is a 

 wonder they are not sold by weight. " An egg is an egg,/ 

 eveiybody says; and the facility of counting* any given num- 

 ber at 1'2 cents per dozen will probably always render it im- 

 possible to make a change in the manner of selling. A dozen 

 eggs from a Brahma fowl will weigh sometimes 26 ozs., while 

 the same number from a common dunghill fowl will not exceed 



