492 



JOURNAL OF HORTICOLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



[ December 18, 1873. 



littery manure placed on the surface prevented any more frost 

 from getting to it, so that the work was not stopped. 



FBUIT .\ND FOltCING HOUSES. 



Cucumhers now require careful management; it is easy enough 

 to maintain a sufficiently high temperature to keep the plants 

 growing, but this cannot make up for the want of sun ; indeed 

 too much excitement now is injurious to the plants and weakens 

 the growths. In very cold nights it is better for the health of 

 the plants to let the temperature fall below 0.f than to have it up 

 to 70 by overheating the pipes. No insect pests should be 

 allowed in the house, and the plaoita being free from red spider, 

 it is better not to use the syringe. 



Strnioherries in pots are throwing-up strong trusses of flowers. 

 The variety we use for early work is Black Prince ; no other is 

 so certain, and the fruit produced though only medium-sized is 

 always of a good colour. The plants are thoroughly syringed 

 every forenoon, which keeps red spider in check. They are in 

 .'i-iuch pots, and these are packed quite full of roots, so that 

 copious supplies of water are necessary to maintain a vigorous 

 growth, and every alternate watering should be of weak liquid 

 manure. The composition of this is of some importance ; the 

 best we have tried is of cow and horse manure in equal pro- 

 portions steeped in water, two good handfuls of soot to be 

 added to each bushel of the manure. The whole is soaked in a 

 cask that holds thirty-six gallons of water, and after it has 

 stood twenty-four hours it is ready for use, and will be strong 

 enough if dUuted with three times the quantity of rain water. 

 The manure water should be used as soon as the flower trusses 

 appear. 



COOL STOVE AND GREENHOHSE. 



In the cool stove, where the temperature is kept at from 50° 

 to .0.5" as a minimum, many of the choice Palms, Orchids, Ferns, 

 itc, thrive better than they do in the warmer house. Amongst 

 Orchids Odontoglossum crispum (Alexan(h-ie), blooms coutiuu- 

 ously throughout the winter months. In our small collection 

 quite a dozen spikes are in various stages of development. 

 Slugs and green fly are very troublesome to them, and must 

 both be destroyed as soon as any trace of them is observed. We 

 have fumigated for the fly, but have sometimes foimd the cure 

 more disastrous to the plants than the fly would have been. 

 The best and safest way to destroy it is to wash vhe plants with 

 a sponge dipped in water in which soft soap has been dissolved. 

 This must be done very carefully, and no water should be 

 allowed to run into the hearts of the plants. Slugs must be 

 watched for at night with a light. We have found most of 

 them about ten o'clock. East Indian and Brazilian Orchids wiU 

 not long continue in good health, such as Vandas, Aerides, 

 Cattleyas, itc, if they have not a season of rest ; but the New 

 Grenadan Odontoglots, MasdevaUias, &c., seem never to be at 

 rest. ^ If the pots are allowed to become dry the plants suffer, 

 and in all our experience with Orchids requiring copious sup- 

 plies of water, they certainly do best in small pots. The treat- 

 ment required is of the simplest description, fill the pots three- 

 parts full of clean potsherds, over this place a layer of sphagnum, 

 then pot the plants in a compost of equal parts fibrous peat, 

 sphagnum, and broken crocks. A dressing of fresh sphagnum 

 is then placed over the surface. This is dewed over as often as 

 it is necessai-y to do so with a fine syringe, using raiu water 

 that has been standing for some time near the hot-water pipes. 

 If surrounding circumstances are favourable, the plants will 

 very soon after being potted throw-out thick fleshy roots 

 amongst the moist, growing sphagnum. The house should he 

 ventilated every day, but extreme caution is necessary ; tlie 

 plants must on no account be in a draught, which is very in- 

 jurious ; the top ventilators only should be opened. 



(GREENHOUSE. 



Tying and training specimen jjlants has occupied our time. 

 If on looking over hardwooded specunens mildew can be de- 

 tected, dusting with flowers of sulphur is a siife and effectual 

 remedy. During such dull cold weather as we have had recently 

 flowers have not opened well, and it has been necessary to re- 

 move a few plants of tree Carnations, Cyclamens, etc., into a 

 house where they could have a higher temperature. This ought 

 not to exceed 5.5°, otherwise the flowers are iuferior in quality 

 and wanting in colour. Chinese Primulas also make a good 

 show, and well repay us for the little attention they require 

 during the summer months. They require an open compost 

 moderately rich, one part of well-rotted leaf mould to three parts 

 of good turfy loam, with a little rotted manure and sand, grows 

 them well ; and until the flower-trusses liave considerably ad- 

 vanced the plants must be kept near the glass, and the house in 

 which they are grown freely ventilated. At the present time 

 they are very liable to become mouldy round the neck, especially 

 where old leaves have been removed, causing a wound; this, if 

 not attended to in tune, will very soon destroy the plant. If a 

 little dry lime is applied to the wound it wiU prevent the mould 

 from appearing, or will check its progress and save the plant if 

 it has not gone too far. 



Bouvardias come in useful aa a variety in'^the greenhouse, but 

 it IS best to grow the plaats to the flowering stage in a tempera- 



ture of 55' ; they wiU remain in bloom a long time in the green- 

 house, and the ilowers will continue to open. B. Vreelandii is 

 the most useful. B. longiflora is pretty as a plant, but the 

 flowers will not stand so well after being cut. Ciittiugs struck in 

 the previous spring or early summer throw-up the best trusses. 



FLO\\'EB GARDEN. 



Little can be done here except to keep the grass and borders 

 tidy. We make it a rule to brush-up, and, if there is time, to 

 roll the gi'ass ouce a- week, but not if the grass is frozen. Flower 

 roots, such as Gladiolus and Dahlias, must be noticed in severe 

 weather. We have seen bulbs of the former and tubers of the 

 latter much injured through not being stored in a proper place. 

 A dry room from which frost is excluded is the best place. If 

 there is too much heat they are excited into growth before the 

 j)roper time. The Gladiolus are best packed away in a box after 

 being wrapped-up in paper, each sort by itself. — J. Douglas. 



TEADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 



Dickson & Robertson, 23, Market Place, Manchester. — Cata- 

 logue of Select Stove and Greenhouse Plants, Ferns, Orchids, 

 Palms, tic. — Catalogue of Select Bases. 



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, d'c, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.C. 



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

 week. 



Bank op Roses [Namr Lost]. — There is no Rose of a pale pink colour that 

 would lio as a match against your house with Gloire de Dijou, except it is 

 Apolline (Bourbon), which is only a shy bloomer. We advise you to try a 

 good plant of Maivchal Niel budded on the Manetti stock, and planted 3 inches 

 below the junction of the scion aud bud. The aspect ought to suit it, aud in 

 very severe weather it might be protected with a few spru e branches fastened 

 over the plant. It does not matter about getting your Roses from nursei7meu 

 who have the same kind of soil as yours. Yours being a sand is as bad for 

 Roses as anything can be. There are not four different kinds of China — 

 white, pale pink, deep pink, and red. The nearest approacli would be — Wli ite 

 and Liijht Blush, Madame Eosauquet ; Pink, Common China; Salmon Pink, 

 La France; Kcd, Cramoisie Supirieure. Plant 2 feet Ij inches apor-t. Clara 

 .Sylvaiu is a pure white but a weak grower, aud has no substance of petal. 



Potato Blight and Creosote. — It is veiy important to ascertain all the 

 particulars respecting the experiments that have been made for the de- 

 struction of the spores of the fungus causmg the Potato blight. Perhaps the 

 Rev. J. Crawford could inlorm us at what period of the growth of the eye of 

 the seed Potato he applied the creosote ; probably the safest time would be be- 

 fore the eye began to he developed, as when dormant it would be most likely to 

 resist the effects of the creosote, if used undiluted. I have heard of its being 

 used with wafer at the rate of only live percent, of creosote, but then the seed 

 PotatODS were steeped in the mixture. AVhat creosote did Mr. Crawford use, 

 and did he grow hia crop on infected soil, or on fresh ground ? — Observer. 



Best Earlv and Late Potatoes (J. Elliott). — Kidiit'if-slufjR'il : Ross's 

 Early and Fluke. Round : Fcnn's Ouwards aud Rector of Woodstock. 



Rating Nurseryman's Greenhouses iJoUn Carter). — In our opinion 

 they are not rateable, but if you refer to our No. 622, page 183, yon will see a 

 jeugtheued notice. 



Roses in Pots [D. Murraii). — If you enclose five postage stamps with yom- 

 address, aud order "Florists' Flowers" to be sent you by post, you will in that 

 little pamphlet find fuller details than we can spare room for. 



Peach Trees on Wall and in Lean-to (Fun). — Those on the wall will 

 continue to have blistered leaves, and rarely bear unless a glass shelter be 

 put over them. Those in the house would be injured by burning chai-coal in 

 a brazier. The leaves would turn yellow. 



Net-m.akinCi Machine. — I saw some time ago a question asked if there 

 were any netting machines. AVe have seventeen at work making herring- 

 nets, weaving on an average 20 yards per day, of fifteen aud eighteen score 

 meshes broad. This rather beats your subscriber, whose winter work was 

 only 10 yards, and I suppose perhaps only forty meshes deep. Old herring- 

 nets are most desii'able for Strawberries or for fruit trees of every description. 

 I shall be glad to have an order either for such or new pieces. — D. Mdruay, 

 Cellm-dijke, N.B. 



Early Grapes for Ground Vineries (Spero). — The best eaily Grapes 

 you can have for a gi-ound vinery are Madeleine Royale, Early White Mal- 

 vasia, and Eai-ly Ascot Frontignan. AU of these wiR ripen early and well. 



Asphalt Flooring [B. H. H). — The asphalt cemented over as you pro- 

 pose doing will not injure the plants. 



BuLR Catalogue (Waudfrlnri Willie). — Write to two or three of the chief 

 florists who advertise in oar colimins, and ask each to scud a catalogue. 



Fruit-border Management [F. J.). — We only hoe our fruit borders 

 when it is necessaiy to destroy weeds. All sorts of stone fruits, .\pples. 

 Pears, and Vines like a hard surface. If the sui'face of the bordei-.s is cracked, 

 we would also run the hoe over them. 



Propagating Chrysanthemums ( T. M. H.). — The best mode of propaga- 

 tion is by short stiff cuttings about 3 inches in length, inserted singly in 

 siuall pot.s, aud kept in a house or frame safe from frost daring the winter. 

 Suckers taken off with " a little root " are also good, the main point being to 

 have them stiff and short-jointed. 



Propagating Primulas, Cinerarias, and Calceolarias (Idan). — Except 

 the double aud a few other kinds of Primulas, we have given up the propaga- 



