June 13, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEK. 



iSu 



for succession shouUl at once be sbifted. Gesneras, Achimenes, 

 and Begonias, for the same purpose should also he repotted 

 progressively. Kegulate Orchids, so that those refiuhiug most 

 humidity or air may occupy those suitable positions. Avoid 

 watei-ing plants which are not in activity. Look well thi'ough 

 the stands of Stanhopeas and Oncitiiums now about blooming, 

 to see that no snails are concealed. — W. Keaxe. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN CiBDEN. 



Theee could have been no better weather for mere growth, 

 and therefore all vegetables to be used for theh' leaves advanced 

 fast ; but Peas and Beans go on slowly, the blooms refusing 

 to set, and the embryo pods to swell out of doors. Where the 

 plants were dry above, as in an orchard house, they did remark- 

 ably weU. 



We proceeded with thinning various crops, such as Onions, 

 for the hea\-y rains had made the work more easy. We also 

 nipped the centre out of some of the strongest winter Onions, 

 to cause the bulb to swell more freely. We sowed Onions for 

 salads ; this we generally do every month up to September. 

 Sowed also more Coleworts and CauUtiower. We cut a fine 

 specimen of late Broccoli on the 7th inst., the last for this 

 season, and not to be regretted now, as the eai'Uest Cauliflower 

 is coming in freely ; it is all the stronger and more compact 

 fi'om having received a free soaking of strong sewage before 

 the heavy rains came on. Our Cabbages seemed at one 

 time standing still, as we planted rather late, our stronger 

 plauts the year before being much injured in winter. This 

 season we have not lost a plant, nor has a plant run to bloom. 

 We have some lai'ge sorts for variety, but our earUest was 

 Veitch's Matchless, and then Little Pixie, both taking httle 

 room and hearting well. One soaking of sewage did wonders 

 with them. We know of nothing that has a greater effect on 

 the gi'owth of Cabbages and CauUllowers than rather strong 

 house sewage. 



Time may often be gained where ground, as with us, is 

 scarce, by pricking-ont all winter stuff some 3 or -1 inches 

 apart ; the plants become stouter than when staniling thickly 

 in a seed bed. If we had plenty of ground we should plant out 

 at once. 



Potatoes Frosted. — Our most forward Potatoes out of doors on 

 sloping banks facing the south were cut down by the frost. 

 Extra cai'e might have prevented this, but httle could be done 

 when all above ground was thoroughly blackened. Ere long 

 the fresh tops appeared again, but we have frequently noticed 

 that after such a frost the early tubering is retarded from a 

 fortnight to three weeks ; also, that very frequently the tubers 

 are not individually so fine. This we attribute to the multiplica- 

 tion of the shoots that takes place after the first shoots are 

 destroyed by frost. When growing Potatoes in pots and in 

 beds under glass, we have long satisfied ourselves that one or 

 two stout shoots from a set gave a better yield than a number 

 of shoots. Hence, if a moderate-sized Potato were used, 

 we found it true economy to rub or cut out all the buds or 

 eyes except one or two. If we could have spared the time we 

 would have gone over these Potatoes on the bank, and thinned 

 out the shoots as they broke from the old stem after the frost. 

 We can only recollect of two instances in which we did this, 

 and there was an interval of some years between them. In a 

 given space of thinned and untliinned shoots the produce in 

 the first case was one-sixth more in weight, and the quahty 

 was better. In the second case the weight was rather in favour 

 of those left to themselves, but the quality was very infei-ior, a 

 gi'eat many being so small that the}" could not be used for table, 

 whilst the crop from those where the fresh shoots were thinned 

 was of good and more uniform quahty, the tubers being more 

 equal in size, and aU ripening about the same time. It would 

 be desirable if some of our readers would state their experience 

 of having only one or two shoots to a set of Potatoes, or when 

 such was cut down by frost, thinning out greatly the small 

 shoots that would break, and doing this eaiiy, when 1 or 2 inches 

 in length, as regards not so much the mere weight as the even 

 serviceable quality of the tubers. 



FKUIT G.iBDEM. 



We had some fine lines of Strawherries in pots from which 

 we expected great results, and what has been left of them has 

 not lUsappointed us ; but we were much chagrmed to find, that 

 for two consecutive nights the half-swelled fruit, quite green, 

 was either cut off' and lay on pots or shelves, or many not cut 

 had the httle seeds nipped out, and the berry, therefore, was of 



j no use afterwards. In both cases the object of plimder seemed 

 to be the Uttle seeds, as the berries were not touched. We tried 

 the usual remedies — traps, various kinds of poison, &c., and 

 though the poison told a Uttle, we still found the devastation 

 going on, and were obhged to move the plants elsewhere, and, 

 almost against rules, domicile a cat in one house for a part of 

 a night, and in another house where there were Strawberries 

 for the other part of the night. The pots of Strawben-ies have 

 been let alone since, and the cat has been the chief cause. 

 It is said that slitting a cat's ears — that is, nipping a triangular 

 piece out of the tip of each ear, which seems to give httle 

 trouble to the cat when young — wiU be a preventive against 

 game-hunting, as the slit draws into the ear the damp and dews 

 from the grass, and this the cat abominates. We think there 

 is some truth in the statement, and should be glad to meet 

 with corroborative proof, as some game authorities say that 

 it is aU nonsense. Be this as it may, we can safely afiii'm 

 that where the cat is banished from a garden the gai'dener is 

 deprived of one of his best and most efficient friends. Years 

 ago we noticed, in going round some gardens, fruit untouched, 

 and hardly a bhd to be seen. The secret was half a dozen 

 well-fed cats, which, being fed regularly, seldom went beyond 

 the gai'den, but hardly allowed a bh-d, mouse, or rat to be seen. 



With regard to Strawberries, we wish our readers would 

 assist us. Ur. Hogg has been with us good and flourishing in 

 pots, but our plants out of doors ai'e only about half the number 

 they were last season. Having good plants in pots we can 

 secure plants for forcing, but we should be glad to know 

 more of its relative hardiness out of doors, as that is a matter 

 of importance as respects this elegant, fine-flavoured fruit. 

 Were we assm-ed of its equal hardiness few Strawberries would 

 beat it. Our best and heaviest returns have been from what 

 are called 40-sized pots — a size between 5-inch and 6-inch pots 

 — and they have pleased us in size, colour, and flavour. It 

 wiU, however, be a gi'eat drawback if it do not withstand our 

 damp and frosty winters out of doors. Some rows that yielded 

 fine fruit out of doors last year look very badly this season, 

 nearly half of the plants being gone ; and we should only be 

 glad to leai-n that that was more owing to some fault in oiu- 

 treatment than to the rather tender nature of the variety. 

 As a forcer it sets so freely as to require a considerable amount 

 of thinning so as to get fine fi-uit, and we find its appearance 

 and flavour are much appreciated. 



We have some large fruit of Marguerite coming on — the 

 first season we have forced it, but, though fine-looking, we ds> 

 not consider it equal in quality to Dr. Hogg. Between these 

 and tine fruit of Keens' Seedling, a first-rate sort for more than 

 forty years, we have rehed for size on an enlarged Keens', 

 the Empress Eugenie, and the flavour is very fair when the 

 fruit is gathered dry and the soil rather di-y. This was intro- 

 duced to our notice by Mr. Dewsbury some years ago, when 

 gardener at Stockwood. We recorded our opinion of his Straw- 

 berries at the time. A visitor lately asked if we could stUl 

 endorse the high opinion we expressed of these Strawberries 

 for that year, and we answered. Undoubtedly. Our Strawberry 

 pots that morning happened to be very fair, but they were not 

 equal to those we described at Stockwood at the time. In 

 fact, we had never before nor have we since seen such crops 

 in 5 and 6-inch pots, especially of Empress Eugenie. We 

 hope that Mr. Dewsbury wiU be as successful at Cobham HaU 

 iu Kent (Lord Damley's). If, as the gentleman told us, it is 

 a benefit to contend against obstacles, we hold it to be a greater 

 benefit to see successes gained which you never have reached. 

 In our time we have grown British Queen Strawberry in pots 

 so as to give pleasure to all concerned, but there are two friends 

 who hi cultivating this vai-iety we never could equal — Mr. 

 Bogue and Jlr. Judd, both well known to the readers of the 

 Journal. There must be some Uttle secret which enables them 

 to grow this variety so weU ; and when weU grown what can beat 

 it ? We cannot satisfy ourselves with it, and therefore grow 

 less of it. 



Last year was, perhaps, the best year we have ever had as 

 respects quantity of fruit from plants in pots, and the worst 

 year for produce out of doors. We assigned as the reason for 

 a thin crop, that wet and frost together had destroyed the 

 flower-buds in embiyo. Some visitors said we must have been 

 getting a barren lot of plants. To show we were so far right, 

 the same plauts that were deficient in bloom last year, are 

 loaded this season, and show every sign of producing heavily. 

 One thing, however, we omitted to state, and it was that 

 from press of other matters the Strawberry plants were cleaned 

 and mulched much later than usual, and that, we beUeve, gave 



