196 



JODKNAL OP HORTICULTUKK AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ September 11, 1873. 



them severed from the mother plant. Detach them by cutting 

 close to the part where they are layered, retaining as much of 

 the soil as will adhere to the roots, and allot each a pot accord- 

 ing to the size of its roots. The soil for this purpose should be 

 two parts rich loam, one of sharp sand, and one of leaf mould. 

 Plunge the pots in a cold frame in coal ashes, and supply 

 water enough to saturate the soil in the pots. Keep the sashes 

 entirely up to admit air, but shade gently for the succeeding 

 ten days in strong sunshine. 



The commencement of November is quite soon enough to 

 afford the protection of glass, and this only in sharp frost. 

 Continue to supply unlimited ventilation — unless in frost — day 

 and night all through the winter, remembering also that every 

 blink of sun is acceptable, causing a quiet flow of s.ap in circu- 

 lation, by which the health of the plants is improved. Under 

 this winter treatment there is little to be feared from damping- 

 off, or mildew, or any other malady, if the roots have made a 

 proper move before frost sets in. 



Insects. — When Carnations are exposed to a closely-con- 

 fined atmosphere, it invariably follows that they are attacked 

 by green fly. The first appearance of these should be the 

 signal to effectually destroy them by a smart application of 

 tobacco smoke, or by syringing overhead for a few days together 

 with a weak infusion of tobacco water. There are other safe 

 expedients — namely, puffing with Pooley's tobacco powder, or 

 even dry snuff. Wireworm at the roots is assuredly the most 

 destructive enemy to which this plant is subject, therefore it 

 should be the cultivator's careful look-out first to ascertain 

 that none exist in the compost before using it. Sometimes it 

 is a difficulty to get loam quite clear of wireworm, as whole 

 districts are often infested ; but where they must be contended 

 with, an effectual cure may be obtained by spreading the soil 

 into a body of a foot deep some weeks prior to using it. Into 

 every few feet of surface insert a piece of Carrot or Turnip, and 

 after a few days, so that the worms have been attracted to the 

 feast, look over the traps, and treat those caught to an ex- 

 ceedingly " warm bath." Continue daily to give the creatures 

 your attention until the entertainment thus provided them is 

 wholly forsaken, when it may be concluded that the last has 

 been killed. 



General Culture out of Doors. — That the Carnation may grow 

 luxuriantly it must have an aspect sheltered from cold winds, 

 free exposure to sunlight, a rich and perfectly-drained bed, 

 that has been previously enriched with well-rotted cow manure, 

 and the soil trenched at least 15 inches deep. The bed should 

 contain a good per-centage of rich fresh loam taken from old 

 pasture, which has been rotted iu a heap and frequently 

 turned before being mixed with the bed. The ground should 

 be trenched in the autumn, and allowed to lie rough until 

 early the following March, when it ought to be forked and 

 levelled down, and the plants put-in in rows, 1 foot apart in 

 the rows, and 14 inches between rows. Should severe frost set 

 in after planting, the plants must be protected by means of 

 hoops extended across the bed, and a covering of mats securely 

 put over tliem. When the flower-stems have advanced in 

 growth a bit, have them all secured to neatly-dressed stakes, 

 tying them at intervals as they require, to prevent the wind 

 breaking them ; and should the weather prove dry and hot, an 

 occasional watering of weak liquid manure will aid in improv- 

 ing the quality of the flowers. Stir the surface now and then, 

 and keep the ground free of weeds. 



As the blossoms approach opening, it will be found that a 

 number of the more double kinds show a tendency to rend 

 their calyx by being too severely distended. To obviate this 

 it is necessary to tie a thread of matting securely around the 

 calyx, which will be quite hid when the flower expands, and 

 the character of the flower preserved. 



Propagation by Pipinrjs. — The general fault and reason for 

 faUure by this mode is the season being too far advanced 

 before the pipings are put in ; and it will be found that propa- 

 gating by this mode can be turned into a success if the pipings 

 are put into gentle heat at the time when the plant shows a 

 disposition to grow, instead of waiting until the usual time for 

 layering. In preparing the pipings they ought to have the lower 

 leaves cleanly cut away close to the stem, and the shoot cut 

 across below the second or third joint ; and without allowing 

 them to flag in any degree, have them inserted into a rather 

 firmly-prepared bed of sand and leaf mould, with a thin cover- 

 ing of sand over the surface. A gentle bottom heat is essen- 

 tial, and the bed prs'\iouEly watered, but the superfluous water 

 drained off. The house or frame must be kept both close 

 and shaded, and moderately moist until the pipings are 



rooted, which will, in all probability, be in three weeks or a 

 month. 



Bi/ Seed. — Sow the seed in October in well-drained pans iu, 

 light porous soil, and place in greenhouse temperature over 

 winter ; put the seedlings into small pots when they have 

 reached a size making them capable of being bandied ; repot,, 

 if necessary, in the spring, and plant out at the latter end of 

 April, and the most of them will flower before September. 



Tree Carnations. — These are best multiplied early in the 

 spring, when they root with speed, and with few failures. The 

 plants should be potted without delay, into sizes of from 4 to 

 6 inches diameter, according to the extension of the ball of soil 

 adhering to them when taken out of the cutting-bed. AUow 

 them generous diet, but the prevailing material iu the compost 

 must be fresh fibry loam ; second to loam in importance is a 

 sufficiency of properly-reduced cow dung ; drain extra, and pot 

 firmly without ramming. Bepot as soon as the roots net the 

 exterior of the ball, repeating the same again and again, to 

 whatever size of pot the roots require to contain them. Have 

 no thought of limiting the size of pot to induce the plant tO' 

 flower ; flowers will come by-and-by, and the bigger the plant 

 the greater the success both in size of blossoms and in numbers. 



SELECTIONS FROM THE BEST COLLECTIONS. 



Scarlet Bizarres. — Admiral Curzon (Easom), Coriolanus (May}> 

 Dreadnought (Daniels), Duke of Wellington (Bragg), Lord Derby 

 (Heap), Oliver Goldsmith (Turner), Splendid (Martin), William 

 Pitt (Puxley). 



Crimson Bizarres. — Black Diamond (Haines), Eccentric Jack 

 (Wood), a magnificent flower of large size, finely marked ; Grace- 

 less Tom (Wood), Hope (Puxley), pretty ; Lord Baglan (Bowers), 

 fine ; Phidias (Wood), Rifleman (Wood), iu crimson bizarres 

 one of the most beautifully marked ; The Lamplighter, another 

 splendid flower, by the same raiser as Rifleman (Wood). 



Fink and Purple Bizarres. — John of Gaunt (May), Master- 

 piece (Schofield), Purity (Wood), Shakespeare (Puxley). 



Purple Flakes.— Br. Foster (Foster), Earl Stamford (Elliott), 

 Florence Nightingale (Sealej-), Mayor of Nottingham (Taylor), 

 True Blue (Taylor). 



Scarlet Flakes. — Annihilator (Jackson), Christopher Sly (May), 

 Illuminator (Puxley), first-rate ; Marshal St. Arnaud (Puxley), 

 Mr. Battersby (Gibbons), one of the best ; William Cowper 

 (Wood), a clear and beautifully-marked flower. 



Pose Flakes. — James Merryweather (Wood), Lord Belper 

 (Turner), Mr. Martin (Elkiugtou), Nymph (Puxley), Rosabella 

 (Schofield), Rose of Castille (Headly), Samuel Moreton (Addis). 



Cloves. — Bride (Hodges), pure white, splendid flower, robust 

 grower; Ghost (Turner), a lovely white ; Hindoo (Turner), deep 

 ci'imson, extra; Pioneer (Turner), salmon and scarlet; Purplo 

 Prince, extra ; Scotch Clove, dark, neat habit ; Napoleon III., 

 brilliant scarlet, &c. ; Old Crimson, rich maroon-crimson. — 

 A. Kbsb..— {The Gardener.) 



THE KENTISH FBUIT CROP OF 1873. 



In a district like that which surrounds Maidstone the im- 

 portance of a good fruit season is greater, perhaps, than that 

 of a good crop of Hops, for although the money value of the 

 latter may be larger, the community benefit more by the former 

 in the increased labour the ingathering involves, as well as the 

 advantages which large towns and remote and less favoured 

 districts obtain by fruit being plentiful. As the present season 

 has, on the whole, furnished us so far with better crops than 

 either of the last two, a brief allusion to the causes which seem 

 to have led to this result may not be out of place, especially 

 as the spring was certainly not favourable to the fruit crop iu 

 general. 



With the exception of Plums and Pears most fruits seem to be 

 plentiful. To some it may appear strange that a season that 

 has proved favourable to the Apple should not also have been so 

 to the Pear and Plum, but such has not been the case. Theso 

 fruits bloom earlier than the Apple and the Plum in particular, 

 but severe weather may have told on them before the Apple 

 was far enough advanced to suffer ; for I find we had a suc- 

 cession of frosty nights following the 22nd of April, with occa- 

 sional showers of snow, hail, and rain, also ice one-third of an 

 inch in thickness on the morning of the 2Gth of that month. 

 This, followed by a bright sun on the same morning, proved 

 fatal to the Pear and Plum blossom, likewise doing much 

 damage to other crops. The wonder was that anything escaped. 

 Certainly grass and other herbage suffered as well as the fruit 

 crop, and at the end of April everything might be pronounced 

 late. Matters did not mend much in May. True, there were 

 no severe frosts like that on April 2Ctb, nor yet so disastrous- 



