September 4, 1S73. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



179 



morning, and give no more of it to any of the stove plants which 

 are brought into this house for their flowers, than jvist enough 

 to keep them from drooping their leaves. The few species of 

 Lantana which we cultivate in this country, are well suited for 

 flowering in this house in the summer and through the autumn, 

 and there is no doubt some kinds of them would interbreed and 

 make fine hybrids. There are between forty and fifty sorts of 

 Lantanas iii the BerUn Botanic Garden, many of which, no 

 doubt, would be welcome in this country, and might be easily 

 procured through the nurserymen. The old Turnera elegans is 

 a very useful and gay plant, it flowers from April to October in 

 the conservatory, and even out of doors in summer, but it re- 

 quires a house rather warmer than a greenhouse in winter, and 

 is the first to go off in damp winters. Young plants of it iu 

 small pots well drained and filled with sandy loam only, might 

 now be put in a spare Melon frame to ripen them off. When 

 they have flUed the pots with roots harden them by admitting 

 plenty of air. In winter place them on a shelf near the glass 

 in a cool part of the stove. 



STOVE. 



The beginning of September, when night fires will be neces- 

 B»ry in dull or cold weather, is a critical time for stove plants. 

 The house must now be kept more close, air being given in the 

 middle of the day. An increase of heat by artificial means is 

 more likely to retard the ripening of plants now than if they 

 were left cool and dry. The thermometer should not, however, 

 be allowed to fall below 60° for the next six weeks, and during 

 this time it is of as much importance to keep the atmosphere of 

 the house dry as in the dead of winter. These rules, however, 

 do not apply to plants whose habit is to grow iu winter, as in 

 the case of many bulbs, Orchids, and a few other plants. Clero- 

 dendron splendens is one which grows late iu the autumn, and 

 may now be encouraged ; it will flower for a long time in winter, 

 and established plants of it should not be forced to grow in the 

 spring or early summer. Like some other plants, it requires a 

 long time of rest after flowering. Prune and tie-in the climbing 

 plants, and prepare for those plants which have been placed in 

 the conservatory. 



PITS AND FBAMES. 



Keep up a gentle heat in the cutting frames ; give air to allow 

 the cuttings to dry; pot-ofE seedling plants, and also rooted 

 cnttings. Always use very small pots for the pui-pose at this 

 season of the year. 



FKUIT BOOM. 



Pat this in good order for the reception of fruit, and gather 

 not only the finest wall fruit as it ripens, but also some fa- 

 vourite Apples and Pears, so that by sweating part of them 

 by dry, sweet hay, you will be enabled to prolong their season. 

 Keep the fruit room cool and airy in order to allow of the escape 

 of moisture given off by the fruit, which is considerable for a 

 few weeks at first. Look over the fruit remaining out of doors 

 frequently, and gather it as it becomes fit. Also examine that 

 stored in the fruit-room, as there will occasionally be found a 

 few decaying for some weeks after housing, and these should be 

 removed as soon as possible. — W. Kease. 



DOIXGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 

 We have had hazy weather accompanied by drizzling rains 

 — weather especially favourable for the spread of the Potato 

 disease, and, as a consequence, it is showing itself in the haulm, 

 which is much affected in places. No diseased tubers have as 

 yet been found. 



FBUir AND KITCHIN GARDEN. 



The young Strawberry plants which were put out early in 

 August are making rapid progress, consequently they produce 

 runners freely ; these are not allowed to remain, but are piui k -d- 

 off once a-week. A large crop of weeds was springing up be- 

 tween the rows, and the Dutch hoe, run through amongst them, 

 loosened the surface, which had become caked by the heavy 

 rains, and the weeds were thus destroyed. We saved a small 

 bed of old plants, which were treated in the following manner : 

 All outside leaves and runners were cut away from the plants , 

 the ground had become quite matted with runners and the 

 leaves of the old plants ; these were cut up with a draw-hoe. 

 The ground was then raked over with a small rake, and a dress- 

 ing of decayed manure appUed. Except hoeing to keep down 

 weeds, no other attention is needed. 



We are attentive to gathering Apples and Pears as they ripen. 

 It is better to gather Pears before they become quite ripe, and 

 where the collection is limited, two or three gatherings at inter- 

 vals of five or six days will prolong the season of certain sorts. 

 Of Williams's Bon Chrrtien, than which there is no better 

 bearer as a standard, bush, or jjyramid, the first gathering has 

 just been made. This fine Pear is mealy, and has a disagreeable 

 flavour if allowed to remain on the trees until the fruit is quite 

 ripe. 



Kept the hoe at work amongst all kitchen-garden crops, such 

 as Sprouting Broccoli and Coleworts. Clearedoff Pea haulm 

 after the pods had been gathered, and dug over the ground. 



This takes very little more time than it does to hoe and rake 

 the ground, and it is, besides, better for succeeding crops. 



CONSERVATORY AND PLANT STOVE. 



In these structures we admit more air, and do not shade so 

 closely, as it is highly desirable to have the wood well ripened 

 for the winter. We have repotted all Ferns requiring it, and 

 small specimens of hardwooded stove plants have had a final 

 shift for the season. Such subjects as Ixoras, Gardenias, Dipla- 

 denias, i'C, should not be stinted for pot room in the earliest 

 stages, if healthy handsome specimens are desired. We have 

 been washing the leaves of Orchids and some other plants on 

 which mealy bug had appeared ; we use only clear rain water 

 and soft soap. Training climbers iu the conservatory, such as 

 Laparjeria rosea and L. alba. These are by far the best au- 

 tumn-flowering greenhouse climbers, and under proper treat- 

 ment tliey are of very free growth. One often sees them iu an 

 unhealthy condition, and on looking for the cause it will be 

 found in the potting material used. Many persons pot them la 

 turfy loam, or loam and peat mixed together, neither of which, 

 composts suits them. We have grown both varieties (and of the 

 two L. alba is, perhaps, the stronger grower), for many years iu 

 turfy peat, and sandifthepeat does not naturally contain enough ; 

 and the pots used should be large in proportion to the size of the 

 plants. A good supply of water at the roots is essential ; the 

 leaves should likewise bo freely syringed at least once a-day iu 

 summer. Under such treatment thick fleshy roots will be formed, 

 and strong shoots as thick as a man's little finger will bethrown- 

 up from the base. Amateurs ought not to bo deterred from 

 purchasing this fine plant owing to its being difiicult of culti- 

 vation ; it is one of the easiest grown of plants treated as above. 



Ti/ing and Training Chri/santhemiwis.—Vfe grow a great; 

 number of this useful winter flower to fill our large orchard 

 house. The largest proportion are grown specially to produce 

 fine flowers ; we pot three plants iu an 11-iuch pot, or two in a, 

 9-inch pot ; each plant will bear from six to nine flowers, and 

 the treatment requisite to produce these causes the plants to 

 grow very tall— from 5 to 8 feet. They require very stout sticks, 

 otherwise the shoots are damaged by the wind. Dwarf-trained 

 specimens, both of the large-flowered and Pompon sections, are 

 now being trained ; the shoots have to be much bent to get the 

 plants into a dwarf character, but it is bad management if the 

 bent shoots are conspicuous when the plant is iu flower. A 

 handsome specimen fit for the exhibition-table should present 

 a rounded surface of foliage and flowers. The flowers, standing 

 well up above the leaves, should be of large size and well-shaped, 

 as one good flower on a specimen plant is worth a dozen inferior 

 ones. As soon as the buds were visible we watered with weak 

 liquid manure water. A pinch of guano in the water-pot suits 

 them well. 



FRUIT AND FORCING HOUSES. 



Pineries. — We have a fair supply of nice fruit from our small 

 houses, and it is of good quality, a sure sign of which is that it 

 keeps well after it is ripe. Some Queens cut and laid iu a bos 

 in the fruit room, which box was very nearly air-tight, were 

 quite as good at the end of fourteen days as when they were cut. 

 We have done nothing to the plants except attending to water- 

 ing them, and this in the autumn requires much care ; it is 

 better to give them too little moisture rather than too much. 



Vineries. — In the late houses a few berries had become cracked 

 very slightly at the apex ; these were cut out, as they soon 

 mould, and if not attended to will damage the sound berries. 

 We have not used any artificial heat this year to ripen the fruit, 

 not even in the Muscat house, and the fruit is, we think, as good 

 or perhaps better than we ever had it when more fuel was con- 

 sumed. Alicante, Mrs. Pince's Black Muscat, and Muscat of 

 Alexandria are all that can be desired. Gros Guillaume haa 

 not ripened so well, but if we find the first-named three do 

 succeed perfectly in ordinary seasons without any artificial heat, 

 the last will be cut out, as it is not first-rate iu every respect. 

 The Vines make but little growth now, and little attention has 

 been required as regards pinching and training the shoots. Pot 

 Vines, which had made good growth in one of the Pine houses, 

 have been turned out of doors ; we like to see the wood quite 

 brown and hard before turning them out. A sure sigu of the 

 wood being ripe is the leaves at the base taking on an autumn 

 tint. Now is a good time to bud Vines. Inarching is best done 

 in summer, when the wood is green and the Vine in full growth. 

 Grafting should be performed when the Vines start into growth 

 in the spring. 



Strawberries in Pots.— The latest of these are now bemg 

 potted. The sorts are mostly new ; and it may be noticed here 

 that when a new sort is introduced it has every justice done it. 

 A large number of plants, say fifty, more or less, are planted 

 out, and a similar number are grown in pots, and compared 

 with the old-established sorts, and very few stand the test of 

 this mode of comparison. Mr. C. Turner asks in last week's 

 .Journal how it is we never meet with the varieties raised by 

 Dr. Roden. Early Prolific, Duke of Edinburgh, and I think 

 another of his varieties were tested here, and not being of any 

 great merit were thrown out. It is late now to pot them, but 



