86 



JOUKNAL OP HOKTICOLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 31, 1873. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*,' We request that no one will write privately to any of the 

 correspondents of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. AU 

 communications should therefore be addressed solelij to 

 The Editors of tlw Journal of Horticulture, ifc, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.C. 



We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the 

 same sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on 

 Poultry and Bee subjects, if they expect to get them 

 answered promptly and conveniently, but write them on 

 separate communications. Also never to send more than 

 two or three questions at once. 



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

 week. 



Grvpes Mildewed (Julia').— Joxir LiSy Downe's Grapes are attacked by 

 the mildew ; lose no time ia dirstius the whole of the Vines affected with 

 flowers of sulphur before the disease spreads to the other varieties. 



BosE-BDDS DaoppiNO (J. .S.).— Heine du Portusal and some others of the 

 same class of Rose do not seem to have the power of developing their buds ; 

 the petals are too crowded, and there is not sufticient vigour to bring them to 

 maturity, especially on standards. Occasioualiy by judicious treatment and 

 thiuuing the buds, with favourable weather, good blooms may be obtained, 

 bat, generally speaiting, it is better to change for free-flowerers and free- 

 openers. When there are one hundred or more better sorts it is not of much 

 use to persevere with a bad one. 



Name op Rose— Striking Cotti.vos (J. R. B-irton, CraniinH).— We tbiuk 

 it IS Louis XtV., but the specimen was too far gone to decide. It might be 

 Le Rhone, though darker than it usually is. For treatment of Roses from 

 cuttings. Bee answers pp. 50 and 51, to " Rose " and " .^htdrcs." 



Statoes is GiRDBMS |.?iiitii!/).— We have often remarked the grotesque 

 effect produced by stains upon light-coloured statuary in the open air, such 

 as you complain of. These effects may already be noticed on the fine marble 

 figures of the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park. The fact is, our moist climate 

 IS unfavourable to the erection of light-coloured statuary in grounds, and we 

 always think that an imitation of bronze would be much more suitable than 

 either white or stone colour. 



Moving Plants (J. F.I.— Hedysarum gyrans is a native of Bengal near 

 the Gauges, and is called there Buram Ohadali, or Burram Chandali. This 

 is a wonderful plant, Linnreus observes, on account of its voluntary motion, 

 which is not occasioned by any touch, irritation, or movemsut in the air. as 

 in Mimosa, Oxalis. aud Dionsa ; nor is it so evanescent as in ."imorpha. No 

 sooner had the plants raised from seed acquired their ternate leaves, than 

 they began to be in motion this way and that ; this movement did not cease 

 during the whole course of their vegetation, nor were they observant of any 

 time, order, or direction ; one leaflet frequently revolved, whilst the other oil 

 the same petiole was quiescent ; sometimes a few leaflets only were in motion, 

 then almost all of them would be in movement at once: the whole plant was 

 very seldom agitated, and that only during the first year. It continued to 

 move in the stove during the second year of its growth, and was not at rest 

 even in winter. (Supp. Linn.) Swartz observes that the motion is irregular, 

 and that it sometimes ceases entirely; that in a very hot day it is immove- 

 able, being agitated only in ihe evening, aud that slowly. In our climate, the 

 leaves, in general, only make a faint and feeble attempt towards the middle 

 ol the day at eierting their extraordinary faculty. This motion does not 

 depend upon any external cause that we can trace, aud we are not able to 

 excite it by any art that we possess. It is not the action of the sun's rays, 

 for this plant is fond of shade, and the leaves revolve well on rainy days, and 

 during the night : exposed to too much wind or sun, it is quiet. Perhaps, 

 says Linnseus, there may be some part in vegetables, as in animals, where the 

 cause of motion resides. 



Unhealthy Vines (E. i?.).— The Black Hamburgh and Buckland Sweet- 

 water Grape Vines that were planted two years ago in an outside b irder of a 

 hothouse, producing a crop o( fruit the first year, but failing since then to 

 make much growth, or to produce auy fruit, are evidently in their present 

 lamentable condition through mismanagement. By taking a crop of fruit 

 the first year you have so weakened the constitution of the Vines that con- 

 siderable time and great care will be required to bring them into the healthy 

 condition in which you first of all received them from the nursery. Whoever 

 advised you to take up the Vines aud pot them, as a curative, knows nothing 

 of Vine-culture, If the soil of the border is, as we suspect, of a rich, close, 

 adhesive texture, replace it immediately with turf sods chopped roughly into 

 large pieces, or with any sweet loamy soil of an open texture, liftin- the 

 roots clean out of the soil, and shading the Vines with matting or by white- 

 washing the glass, syringing the stem and branches plentifully with water 

 during the operation, aud as often afterwards as appears necessary. The 

 foliage may droop for a few days, but it will soon recover. Spread each root 

 out to its full length in the fresh soil, pruning off all decayed parts. See 

 that they do not want water— pure water, not liquid manure. Avoid deep 

 planting; 6 inches of soil over the roots is ample. Do not be discouraged 

 if no great advance is perceptible this season ; the most pressing and imme- 

 diate want is a healthy root-action ; secure this and all will be well. In 

 autumn, when the leaves are fallen, cut the Vines back to the bottom of the 

 rafter, and every shoot that appears next year should be en iouraged to ramble 

 as far as possible. Avoid ail stopping or pinching of the growth. If the 

 shoots grow to the top of the house and down the back wall, becoming a 

 perfect thicket, as is very likely, so much the better. If all his gone welU in 

 the autumn of 1874 yim will have a fine sturdy lot of canes to select from. 

 Prune all away but the permanent cane, and shorten it in proportion to its 

 strength; then in the following years you may reasonably expect a regular 

 supply of fruit. Do not, however, be tempted to overcrop; only let the con- 

 dition and general appearance of the Vines be your guide, and you can hardly 



I to obtain the success which we wish you. 



Carrots Destroyed ry Wireworm (f.!.-m).— As the Carrots are pro- 

 bably worthless, take them up now, destroying every wireworm that is found 

 upon the Carrots and in the soil. As winter approaches throw up the soil 

 oughly in ridges, and during a severe frost again stir aud turn it up deeply, 

 o as to expose as much of it as is possible to the action of the frost, which 

 will destroy the wireworm. 



Turf Growing over the Roots of SHRnB.s (E. 2!.).— It is adrisable 

 to keep a circle about 3 feet in diameter around the stems of newly-plauted 

 shrubs unturfed for two years after planting, to facilitate watering, but after 

 that time the turf may be continued close up to the stems. 



Arr.inoeiient of a Spring Garden (C. D.).—ThB general arrangement 

 is very good. The only beds we object to are 1, 1, in which there are too 

 many colours to be effective in such small beds. Discard the Crocus and Ivy, 

 filling the centre with Clematis montana, and replacing the Ivy with a broad 

 edging of Viola cornuta. For an edging of green-foUaged Ivy to be effective, 

 the beds should be on gravel. 



Growing Cijcombers in a House Heated by a Flue (IT. B.). — Vfe 

 fancy that your proposed plan will answer. We would place a double layer of 

 bricks over that part of the flue underneath the beds, otherwise there wiU 

 be danger of too mach bottom heat. The evaporating troughs will be neces- 

 sary over the flues, and you will require to maintain a night temperature of 

 from 60^ to 65-. 



Vine Leaf Diseased (H.).— The affection on the back of the leaf is 

 probably caused by a current of air in the house. We have frequently seen it 

 in our own houses to a limited extent. It is not, as far as we are aware, in- 

 jurious. It is quite different from the warty excrescences formed on the under 

 sides of the leaves from the atmosphere being over-moist. 



Rose-leaves E.iten-out at the Edges IB. L. r.).— Tours is a beauti- 

 fully perfect example of the operations of the Leaf-cutter Bee (Apis or Mca- 

 chile centuncularis), which we figured and thus described in the ttrst volume 

 of our new series:— "Every cultivator of theRo.se must have noticed semi- 

 circular cuts (.71, made in the edge of its leavjs with as much accuracy as if 

 done by a mathematical instrument. These segmental are the work of the 

 Leaf-cutter Bee (/i), and made by its mandibles. The process which one 

 of theje bees employs in cutting the pieces of leaf that compose her 

 nest 13 worthy of attention. Nothing can be more expeditious. With her 

 strong mandibles she cuts without intermission in a cun-ed line so as to 



Megachile centuncularis. 



detach a triangular portion. When this hangs by the last fibre, lo^t its 

 weight should carry her to the ground, she balances her little wings for flight, 

 and the very moment it parts from the leaf flies off with it in triumph ; the 

 detached portion remaining bent between her legs in a direction perpendicular 

 to her body. This bee lives alone, belonging to the group of solitaries. The 

 body is about half an inch long. The female, which is the loaf-ctitter, is 

 black, covered with ashv-coloured hairs; jaws or mandibles large, terminating 

 in four teeth; antennae black, rather longer than the heal; wings slightly 

 transparent, dark tipped, veins black ; legs hairy, spurs dull red. pollen-brushes 

 of hind legs golden ; abdomen heart-shaped. The male's body thickly-covered 

 with yellow hair; antennae longer than head ; jaws two-toothed; dense yellow 

 beard between the autenniB ; fore thighs dirty yellow at the outward tip ; 

 abdomen rather oval, extremity infleied, obsoletely toothed." 



CocnjiBERS Diseased (IF. D.).— The leaf you sent us shows that the 

 plants have had but little air, and are not vigorous. Give them more air, 

 maidtainiog a temperature of 65^ to 70- at night and 75- by day, and 85' to 

 no- with sun and abundance of air. Slight shade from bright sun is bene- 

 ficial, but excepting during the last few days has not been needed. In other 

 respects we think your treatment right, only stiff loam is not ho good for 

 Cucumbers as that of a medium texture inclining to be light rather than 

 heavy. The shoots should be trained 16 inches from the glass, and in no 

 case touching it. The leaves show evidence of the disease. 



