July 58 , 1863. ] 



JOUEXAL OF HORTICULTITEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



75 



not to allow weeds to grow an inch in Iicight. Sowed fresh 

 pa,tohes of Endive. Lettuce. Turnips, Kadishes, Onions, and 

 Spinach. The Spinach will be the last we will sow until we 

 sow for the winter in a fortnight. Sowed also Matchless 

 Cabbage for the main early crop, a few Eed Cabbage, and a 

 pinch of Cauliflower, in case it should be needed. Were pretty 

 well done up for water ; but Tuesday and Wednesday brought 

 us delightful rains, that set us planting Coleworts. Broccolis, 

 Borecoles, Bi-ussels Sprouts, 4c., and Celery, that formerly 

 planted having been well watered from the heavens. With 

 warm weather after the rains everything will grow amazingly. 

 Com will fill the bushel, and Turnips wiU soon protect them- 

 selves. 



Pricked-out Parsley in beds where there were missed 

 places, and sowed a little more to go under protection. 

 Regulated Tomatoes, Capsicums, and Cucumbers, letting 

 the latter get a good watering from the rain. We had been 

 obliged to shade those in frames to keep the sun from them, 

 as we dreaded to give them any water. Now we shall be 

 .ill right again for some time. Spawned a bit more of a 

 Mushroom-bed, and covered with fresh di-oppings and a 

 Uttle sheep-dung. The first bed in the shed is doing wonders, 

 though made of rubbish cliiefly. Peas and Beans, and Cauli- 

 flowers will now be aU right. With all our care we could 

 not prevent the latter heading prematurely, and the dry 

 heat caused the heads to come more open than we like. For 

 several hot days the butterflies were in myi'iads ; but as 

 some boys caught several hundi-eds, we hope to escape a 

 glut of caterpillars among the vegetables. Eaised early 

 Potatoes before the rain. 



FKUIT GARDEN. 



Eemoved nets from Chen-ies and Strawbon-ies that were 

 •gathered, and put them on Goosebenies, &c. This rain will i 

 give soft food to the birds, and we shall not be quite so ] 

 much eaten up. For a week in the dry weather the bird- 

 fanciers might have had a treat. A clap of the hands, or ^ 

 the snap of a gun, would cause soiue half a hundred of i 

 thrushes and blackbfrds to darken the afr, singing out de- I 

 fiance to you as they rose and .just cleared the wall. We ' 

 fancied they woidd not meddle with a border of Elton 

 Strawbenies planted as undergrowth in a late border of , 

 Gooseberries, because the aforesaid Strawberries are i-ather 

 sour ; but though the Gooseberries are untouched, they have 

 pretty well cleared the Strawberries in a day. When once I 

 they tasted them it was all up — they were busy at them by 

 three in the morning. We notice to-day that they have ; 

 beg^n to look after slvigs and worms below Laurels, &.G., and 

 we wish them every success in their beneficial change of 

 occupation. 



Gathered the bulk of Black Currants, and especially Easp- 

 berries, as other-n-ise the birds would have had the whole. 

 There wiU be a good supply after the rain. Eegidated fr-uit 

 trees, fastened Fig trees out of doors, watered those in 

 house, watered Vine-border before the rain came, and gave 

 a little fire heat to late Grapes, to prevent them being 

 chilled by the change in the weather. Other matters much 

 in the way of routine of previous weeks. Before watering 

 the Vine-border, as the crops are heavy, threw a bushel of 

 soot, and more than a bushel of supei-phosphate of lime over 

 the border. The rain coming soon aft.er has left no appear- 

 ance of the manures on the surface. Would have given 

 a few pounds of the nitrate of soda, if we could have 

 obtained it conveniently, just to give a fillip to the foliage 

 in the later houses. 



OENAMENTAL DEPABTMENT. 



The rain has changed the appearance of everything. The 

 lawn had been knifed several times to decapitate a stray 

 daisy or plantain ; but it was beginning to get such a rusty 

 appearance that we were afraid to make it worse by passing 

 a moiving machine lightly over it. AVe never knew a lawn 

 need so little doing to it for the last month. Now it will 

 get as green as leeks again, and will require our cropping 

 care after being well rolled. The same as to beds. Calceo- 

 larias that were beginning to hang their heads, notwith- 

 standing oui- efforts at mulching and surface-stirring, are 

 now holding up theu- masses of fiower boldly, and the rain 

 has as yet come so mildly that scarcely a bloom has been 

 ■wflshed off. We hardly expect that any sorts of flowers wiU 



again suffer so much from drought this season ; and if the 

 autumn be fine, from all we have heard and the little we 

 have seen, flower-beds will be very attractive this seaaon. 

 The Amaranthus melancholiciis does no great things with 

 us out of doors, but it is a nice plant for a cool plant-house. 

 Some amateur would make a sensation by filling his little 

 greenhouse with fine-foliaged plants alone. After this the 

 whole of the fine-foliaged Begonias will stand well in a 

 greenhouse, especially if the position is a little close and 

 shady. 



Kept striking Pinks, Cloves, Carnations, Antirrhinums, 

 &c. Now is a good time to lay Carnations and Picotees. 

 They do not strike weU as cuttings or pipings unless they 

 have a little bottom heat. Secivred Hollyhocks, Phloxes, 

 strong herbaceoiis plants. Dahlias, and other flowers need- 

 ing support, and stuck a pin in the top of a good number 

 of stakes to prevent bu-ds sitting on them and sending 

 theu- droppings over the foliage. Eobins and linnets 

 are rather the worst bii-ds for doing this, and they ai-e not 

 easily dislodged from theii- favourite perch. Some bfrds 

 will take the hint if you have even the head of the pin up- 

 permost, but others \vill wriggle round the pin unless you 

 place the point upwards, or, at least, take otf the head, and 

 in either case the little things are apt to be injured, which 

 we wovdd avoid doing if we could. 



Eemove 1 a portion of the fo'iage from some of the Dahlias, or 

 rather shortened a few of the leaves in order to give more relief 

 to the flower-buds, and throw additional strength into them. 

 A little disleafing of extra-kixmiant plants wiQ secure extra 

 abundance of bloom. Went round some edgings of Nas- 

 turtium for a similar purpose. The stems of these are so 

 succulent that they will bloom all the better from not 

 having too much foliage. We have some good wreaths of 

 some kinds ; but others are as yet rather unequal, owing to 

 a little neglect in the warm weather. These plants generally 

 grow so strong that we did not think of watering them, and 

 some plants are three times the size of others. The large 

 ones wiU fill aU the allotted space if we only give them time 

 enough ; but. to our eye, one great beauty in flower-gToups 

 is their regularity, from whatever point viewed. Regulated 

 most of the Geranium-beds before the rain came, and wiU 

 finish these and others as soon as the soU is a little dry ; 

 and in doing this and keeping edgings distinct, much more 

 time is requfred than a passing visitor would imagine. We 

 find even now it is necessary to insert a plant now and then, 

 though very few have died this season, hot and dry though 

 it has been. 



In most cases all our brushwood sticks, or stakes, are 

 now concealed. Our walks, which had not been broken for 

 years, were fu-m and smooth on the sm-face ; but the surface 

 in many places was of a dull colour, and to remedy it we 

 threw a slight sprinkling of fine-sifted salt all over them, and 

 then a slight sprinkling of fine siftings of gravel, which, 

 j when swept, would give a fresh appearance to the walks ; 

 after that the passing of a roUer, as we did to-day after the 

 ] rain, would secure as firm and smooth a surface as before. 

 Now these simple operations are the result of experience. 

 I Supposing we put the salt on, and a sudden rain came, it 

 would be washed away, and do no good in clearing off the 

 dark patches. Supposing the salt remained and was absorbed 

 gi-adually by the dews, the walk would be apt to be damp 

 and cloggy in moist weather. Now the throwing the fine sift- 

 ings over the salt— and we only had very Httle altogether- 

 prevents the salt being washed away, and then it is gradu- 

 ally absorbed, whilst the fi-esh sui-facing secures a dry, clear, 

 firm surface to walk upon. We should not like to use salt 

 for cleaning walks after next month, as we shoidd expect 

 them to be damp all the winter. 



Potted Scarlet and other Geraniums, Pelargoniums, &c. 

 Sowed Primulas and Cinerarias. Pricked-off first sowings 

 of Cinerarias. Potted Chinese Primulas, Cassia corymbosa. 

 Feathered Cockscombs, Browallias, Gesneras, ie. ; and fresh 

 set conservatoi-y, taking away most of the Pelargomums, 

 and replacing ynfh others. Fuchsias, and a bank of Begomas, 

 &c., in a shady place. Eegulated climbers, and gave them 

 extra watering, as Bignonias and Passifloras, &c., were be- 

 ginning to feel the drought. Went on with watering, pottmg. 

 and cutting-making as opportunity presented itself, and 

 found it a reUef to have a dripping day to get pots and pans 

 properly washed.— E. F. 



