October 2, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



259 



of flowers lato in the spring. It will show the value of these 



Slants when we state that we can cut flowers of Carnations any 

 ay in the year, or "all the j-ear round." But, perhaps, this 

 makes them too commoD, ami, as a consequence, they are not 

 so much thought of. It maj' also be noted here that the plants 

 should not be overpotted if abundance of flowers and not large 

 specimens be desired ; S4-inch pots are the largest size used, but 

 nice flowering plants can be grown in G-inch pots. Some of the 

 varieties are also much more free-flowering in winter than 

 others. Our favourite sorts are Proserpiue, Avalanche, Ascot 

 Yellow, Prince of Orange, Gloire de Lyon, and Boule de Feu. 

 To follow these in the spring we grow a goodly number of 

 Turner's Bride ; it is a magnificent white flower, smooth-edged, 

 sometimes delicately tinged with pink, and of good substance. 



Zonal Pelargoniums, with their gay and brilliant colours, are 

 also very showy now; they are specially grown to flower at tbia 

 season, and serve well to keep up a 'display until the Chrys- 

 anthemums come iu. 



FLOWER GAUDEX. 



TVe have pnt in all our cuttings except Calceolarias, and the 

 plants intended to be lifted and potted must not remain out 

 much longer, as so much rain having fallen, early frosts must 

 be looked for. — J. Douglas. 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



"William Paul, "Waltham Cross, Loudon, N. — Bose Catalogue, 

 1873-74. 



Ellwanger & Barry, Mount Hope Nurseries, Rochester, New 

 York. — Descriptive Catalogue of Ornamental Trees^ Shrubs, 

 Roses y ii-c. 



Butler, McCulloch, & Co., South Row, Covent Garden Market, 

 London, W.C. — Autumn Catalogue of Dutch and Cape Bulbs. 



"William Hooper, 88, 0-\ford Street, London, "W. — Catalogue 

 of Dutch Bulbs and other Flower Boots. 



R. Dean, Ranelagh Road, Eahug, London, "W. — Catalogue of 

 Hyacinths and other Bulbs^ Hardy Bedding Plants, (Cc. — Cata- 

 logue of Bedding Violas, Parisies, d-c. 



B. J. Edwards, 222, Strand, London, "W.C, and 25, Bishops- 

 gate "Within, E.G. — Autumn Catalogue of Hyacinths, Dutch 

 and Cape Flowering BulhSy d-c. 



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. All 

 communications should therefore be addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, dx., 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.C, 

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

 week. 



Book for a YorsG GARnnsKn (Mm. .V.)-— Give him the "Cottage Gar- 

 deners' Dictionarj ;" it includes every department. 



Gbape PcRrnASERs {(r. S('jrit). — Write to Messrs. Webber & Co., Central 

 Aveaae, Covent Garden Market. 



Peat (ff. T.).— The sample sent is not equal to the best uanally employed 

 for potting purposed, but mixed with an equal qaantity of sharp sand it will 

 answer. 



PanirLA japoxica (C. M.).—li is nnusnal for it to bloom in autumn as 

 well as in spring ; but like all other plants, it is liable to such an eccentricity, 

 especially, &i i^ probable, the flowering iu May was checked or injured by 

 unfavourable weather. 



Peach Blotched {L. M.S.). — An answer is on page 223 of our number 

 published September iHth. 



A5IAR1-LLIS (T., Collum}>ion).—li is a cross-bred of A. fulstda, a portrait of 

 which is in the "Botanical Register," 226. The cross-bred is called vittata 

 by gardeners. 



Depth of Water for a Water Lily in Winter (Hiohfield).— 'ThB 

 roots of a water Lily wiU be quite safe in any pond having' water a foot deep 

 over the mud in which it is growing. It is very hardy. We had a quantity 

 of the rhizomes of this plant h-ing on a damp place and covered with a 

 little soil, but out of water, during the greater part of last winter, and they 

 have grown freely, producing both foliage and flowers this summer. Your 

 flower.bed planting is con»idered more fully in a previous page. 



Pot-trcck.— Mr, Gamett says, "The advantages that my pot-tmck has 

 over the one you speak of as of " simpler construction (see p. l33), are first, it 

 requires oniy one man to umc it ; and second, you con remove a largo tree in a 

 pot out of a crowded orchard bouse without tlistarbing any of the others." 



Proi'AOATISO the .\ppi,e (/o'jufr/'r).— Some of the cboiccHt varieticH of 

 Apples have been grafted for centurios upon the Crab stock without the fruit 

 being deteriorated. Cuttings of the shoots of some varieties, such as tho 

 Codlin, Burr-knot, and Joanueting, readily strike root, and we have made 

 those of many other varieties similarly strike by merely taking care that at 

 the bottom of the annual shoot employed there should be a portion of tho 

 old wood allowed to remain. Let the cuttini^s be (i or H inche? long; cut off 

 the extreme i>oint, and allow no more tban two bud^ at the part above tho 

 soil to remain, cutting away all the bnd-t covered by it. Let the soil be very 

 li^t. pre.'is the soil about tho cutting, 4 inches of which should be buried 

 by the earth: water moderately, and cover with a hand-glass. If planted in 

 a pot and planged in a very gentle hotbed, the rooting tokos place faster and 



more certainly. Plant the cuttings iu February, and do not move the hand- 

 ulasd, except to give water, uuiU therootiui; is effected. Air may be admitted 

 in July, and the glass liually removed iu August, aud the whole transplanted 

 iato tho uursory rows during Oi:tobei-. Trees raised from cuttings always are 

 more dwarf thau those propagated iu any other mode, aud excelieut specimens 

 may be thus gi-own for foreicg in pots. 



'Le.xv {Li'adswcll). — It seems like a leaf of White Beet, but we cannot he 

 certain. If it is, the stalks may be cooked as Sea-kale, and the expanse of 

 the leaf as Spinach. 



Viola— Pansy (W. W.). — The Pansy is a species of the genus Viola. The 

 Violet and Pausy belong to the same botanical genus. 



Pears Cracked (G. HiuUo}i).—U there is no trace of fungoid growth on 

 the ekiu, it is caused by the fruit being exposed to sudden variations of tem- 

 perature when in an early stage of development, or by being esposed to cold 

 east winds. In our own garden we had fruit much cracked on the east side 

 of the tree, and on the west side it was of excellent quality, aud nearly free 

 from cracks. 



Grapes SHRiVELLrNG pefore They are Ripe (Itocklynn).~U the stalks 

 of the berries are dead, then your Grapes are shanked ; and unless we know 

 something of the treatment the Vines have received we casnot propose a 

 remedy. If the berry-stalks, on tho other hand, are sound, then in all pro- 

 bability the Vines have not received sufficient water at the roots. 



Grapes not Colouring (Fourtecn-yi-arg Subscriber). — When the borders 

 first showed signs of cracking, the Dutch hoe should have been run over them, 

 or the surface lightly broken with a fork. A dressing of frame manure would 

 prevent it. You should water more fieely at the roots. Iu future give a good 

 soaking of manure water as soon as tho Grapes begin to colour ; this will be 

 sufficient to finish them off. 



Planting Cordon Trees and Eoot-pruning (Amateur). — November is 

 the best month to plant. It would be advantageous to root-prune the Nut 

 trees. Do it in October or November. 

 \ Vinery for Profit— Rendering Pits Profitable (C. S.).— We presume 

 from your letter that you do not intend to destroy the Vines, but that you 

 would also like to grow something else in the vineries. The Grapes would 

 pay best if you forced very early, so that they would be ripe in April or May ; 

 but in that case you could not grow anything advantageously under them, 

 except that the house could be used to force auy plants put in when the 

 Vines were started. If you do not force the Vines the house would be well 

 adapted for wintering bedding plants, which might be transferred to frames 

 in the spring. Messrs. Salter, of Hammersmith, made good use of such a 

 vinery as youi's to flower their Chrysauthemums. The haU-span forcing 

 house would he well adapted for growing winter Cucumbers; they could be 

 turned to profitable account in yoiu- neighbourhood. Or, if you would rather 

 grow flowers, train Stephanotis floribunda to the rafters, and grow Gardenia 

 florida underneath. Then, as to the small pits, you can either use them to 

 force flowers, or grow plants that do not require forcing. It the latter. 

 Cinerarias, Primulas, Cyclamens, and herbace^ms Calceolarias are profitable. 

 Lily of the Valley, Spiraea japonica, Roman Hyacinths, Tulips, Hyacinths, 

 Deutzia gracilis, and all such subjects, may be forced if early flowers of that 

 sort are required. 



Plants for Window-boxes in Winter (iioxn).— Edge the boxes with 

 Arabis alpina variegata, and fill-in with low plants of Skimmia japonica, 

 which has clusters of red berries; or you may have an edging of Aubrietia 

 gneca, aud fill-in with Erica herbacea carnea. Small plants of Andromeda 

 lioribuuda. Gulden and Silver variegated Box, Euonymus radicans variegatus, 

 .ruuiperus tamariscifolia, Thuja aiirea, aud Vinca elegantissima, are very 

 pretty, and far more effective than flowering plants. Plants of low growth 

 and suitable are Saxifraga umbrosa (London Pride) and its variegated variety, 

 Sciila sibirica (blue), Adonis vernalis (yellow), Alyssum saxatile compactum 

 (yellow), Arabis alpina (white), Bellis aucubfi^folia (red), Cheiranthus Mar- 

 shalli (yellow), Hepaticas (double red, double blue, and single white), Myosotis 

 dissitiflora. andPrimula(double crimson, white, hlac.aud purple), few subjects 

 being prettier than the common Primrose. By all means have a few Snow- 

 drops, Crocuses, and early Tulips, as the Due Van Thols. 



PRCNING Laurel Hedges {E. S.).— You may now cut off the rugged tops 

 of the Laurel hedge, but we should leave as many leaves as you can at the 

 base of the shoots, so as to give a cheerful appearance to the hedge in winter, 

 deferring the main pruning until spring, and then cut-in to the required 

 form, and go over the hedge again in September, cutting any strong growths, 

 so as to give a trim appeart*nce. 



Hardy Annuals for Spring-flowering (Idtrm).— Candytuft, purple, lilac, 

 and white; Asperula azurea setosa, Colliusia verna, Limaanthes Douglasii, 

 Nemophila insignis, SUene pendula ruberrima. 



FrrcHsiAS Infested with Insects (H. 7'.).— On the leaves you sent were 

 evidences of thrips, and one alive; their eggs are the spots to which you 

 allude. To exterminate them, fumigation with tobacco is the best means ; 

 but as you cannot adopt it we should syringe the plants, especially the under 

 sides of their leaves, making every part thorouglily wet, with a solution of 

 soft soap, 2 ozs. to a gallon, adding to every gallon a pint of tobacco juice, 

 which may be had of the druggists. Tho plants may be laid on their sides and 

 turned over. 



Black Hamburgh Grapes not Colouring {E. Ji.).— The only means are 

 to have the Vines healthy, to be careful not to overcrop, to allow a goodly 

 amount of foliage, and to keep it free from insects. With this you will 

 hardly fall to have well-coloured Grapes. Bad colouring mainly arises from 

 too hco\7 cropping; indeed, our experience induces us to consider it the solo 

 cause, if the treatment is otherwise good and the Vines healthy. This year 

 we allowed au extra-vigorous Vine to carry eight more bunches than others 

 in tho same house, and whilst tho Grapes on the latter are black as jet, those 

 of the one Vino with eight more bunches are no more than red. 



Crinums riparium and striatum (^I. £.).— We think that they are not 

 suthcicntly hardy to endure the winter *' planted m a moderately dry 

 f^lieltered bed iu front of a greenhouse with a glasH covering, sides and ends 

 open," but they would probably succeed if tha sides and ends were closed, 

 ond a protection of mats given in sovoro weather, admitting air in mild 

 periods. 



Krspawnino Mushroom Bed {Burton Joyce).— X bed made in a pigstye 

 coming into bearing five weeks ago, will continue to produce until Novem- 

 ber, or probably later if covered with some dry hay or straw, and the openmg 

 cloned by a door. It will not do to respawn the bed, nor the old Cucumber 

 bed, as a gentle warmth is necessary for tho spread of the spawn. It is 

 probable that both beds will yield Mushrooms for a considerable time, not 



