October 0, 1663. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOETICUXTTJEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



277 



GKEENHOUSE AND CONSEEVATOET. 



Begin gradually to diminish tlie quantity of water, and 

 water the plants in the morning so as to have the houses dry 

 dm-ing the day. Do not, however, suppose that growing plants 

 require to be dried-oii' during the donuant season : what they 

 want is sufficient to prevent their drooping, saturation, of 

 coui'se, being avoided. Conservatoiy and stove creepers 

 trained under the roof will require an additional ciitting-in 

 to allow mox'e light to pass to the plants underneath. Such 

 as have done blooming may be well thinned-out at once, 

 and the remaining shoots tied somewhat closer together. 

 Hardenbergias, Kennedyas, and other eai-ly spring-flowering 

 climbers should, however, not be distm-bed at this season, or 

 it wiE materially aifect their beauty in spring. The present 

 is a good time to procure from the niu-series or from the 

 reserve gai-den a supply of Rhododendrons, Belgian Azaleas, 

 and Kalmias for forcing ; select plants well set with bloom 

 and of the desh-ed size. A portion of the stock of Roses, 

 Lilacs, Honeysuckles, &c., in pots, may soon be placed in a 

 pit to have a slight advance of temperatiu-e. The Chinese 

 Primroses to be removed to a shelf in the greenhouse as 

 near the glass as possible, with plenty of aii- at all favom-- 

 able opportunities. Herbaceous Calceolarias to be treated 

 in the same manner and duly attended to -svith water. Cine- 

 rai'ias to be protected from the ravages of green fly by fumi- 

 gations of tobacco or by syi-inging with tobacco water. 



PITS A^'D FEAJTES. 



Regulate the general bedding stock, and get the majority 

 established in small pots. Give as much air as possible, and 

 resti'ict the supplies of water to matiu-e the growth as far 

 as possible. All temporary pits for then- accommodation 

 should be completed by this time, glazing and other repaii-s 

 must be forthwith finished. Common mats aflbrd scarcely 

 sufficient protection to the half-hardy plants in store-pits. 

 For such pui'poses a stock of straw or reed mats should be 

 made in wet weather. W. Keane. 



Domes OF THE LAST WEEE. 



KITCHEN GAKDEN. 



Kept moving the surface of the ground amongst all 

 grovring crops. Find that most of the gi-ubs have done 

 then- worst amongst Cabbage plants ; made sure to kfll evei-y 

 one before he had a chance to reach a second plant. Just 

 moved the ground among such young plants with the point 

 of a fine-tined fork. No vermin in the ground like to have 

 it disturbed about them. Threw some lime and soot over 

 and amongst the foliage of Celeiy, as gi-nbs, slugs, and 

 worms had begun to mark the leafstalks, which interferes 

 with the look of the vegetable, at least when partly dressed, 

 even if the heart is all sound and iintouched. In stiff soils a 

 layer of ashes round the stalks in earthing-up is a good thing, 

 as none of these interlopers care much to pass through it. 

 Fresh sawdust we have also used, but we cannot say we like 

 that for two reasons : it is not good when undecomposed, or 

 uncharred, for mixing with the soil, and if obtained at all 

 from resinous wood it is apt to taint the Celery. Much the 

 same may be said of tan. Next to ashes, the produce of a 

 chaiTed heap, burnt clay, &c., ai'e very good for keeping the 

 stems of the Celery clean. 3Ien used to it put in the earth 

 loosely fii'st, then the ashes, &c., round the stem, and squeeze 

 the earth to the ashes, so that no great quantity of ashes is 

 wanted. For those not used to the work two pieces of sheet 

 iron or zinc 1 foot or 15 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 

 rounded so as to resemble half-cu-eiilar drain-tiles, answer 

 very well. The pieces are placed loosely on each side of the 

 Celery plant, the inside filled with ashes, and the earth 

 applied outside in the usual way, when the iron sheaths 

 are drawn up and taken to another plant, the soil being 

 firmed-up to the ashes. Six of these semicircular pieces, it 

 matters not what they are made of, will do for a row of three 

 plants across a bed. 



Piled up into a long heap lots of prunings, thinnings, 

 &c, collected during the summer, covered with weeds, earth, 

 and sawdust, and set fire to it to char part, and bum up 

 the other into ashes, clay being the outside coveiing. Took 

 the opportunity to do this when our employer was from 

 home a couple of days, as, if the wind set towards the 



mansion, it would carry with it something different from 

 the spices of Araby. Such heaps, however firmly you may 

 tread them, emit a great smoke at first, but as the heat 

 di-aws the contents into little compass, and they are more 

 securely covered, the smoke and the fiimes afterwards given 

 off are of less consequence. In opening such heaps when, 

 the charring is about done, the men should cover their nose 

 and mouth with a thin handkerchief, and keep their head 

 away from the opening as much as possible. A little care- 

 lessness is quite sufficient to make the workers iU. Turned 

 over also a rubbish heap in which waste vegetables, &c., 

 had been placed, adding short grass, brushings of leaves, 

 and sunUar materials, chiefly at the bottom so as to cause 

 the whole heap to ferment considerably, which has a ten- 

 dency to destroy vermin and seeds of weeds, whilst the top 

 being covered with earth prevents most of what is valuable 

 in gases from escaping. 



Proceeded with routine much as last week, pricking out, 

 j)lanting out, and commenced third piece of bed in the 

 Mushroom-house. 



FKUIT gakden. 



Much the same as last week. Gathering, storing, and 

 preparing for alterations, &c. 



OKNAMENTAL GARDEN. 



Here, also, the work was much the same, in housing, 

 cleaning, taking cuttings off, and gathering seeds, marking 

 Dahlias, placing a Uttle earth round stems, cutting down 

 the forwardest Hollyhocks, the stems to be charred, &c. 

 the chief work is, what we alluded to last week — preparing 

 for the Calceolaria cuttings. We have just prepared ten 

 Uo-hts of a cold pit, which though very shallow has the 

 bottom below the ground level. To g\iard against too much 

 damp -we placed about 9 inches of dry litter over the bottom, 

 such as that fr-om which all the droppings and shorter straw 

 had been shaken clean for Mushroom-beds. This long dry 

 litter, therefore, was used more as a security against the 

 damp rising than for any little heat it would yield. A little 

 shorter and older litter was placed over the long stuff and 

 firmly trodden. Upon that was placed about 3 inches of 

 half-decayed leaf mould, or three-parts decayed leaf mould, 

 mixed with the ridcUings of the soil used, with a baiTOwload 

 of lime previously added, and all well mixed together so as 

 to settle any worms or slugs there might be in the leaf 

 mould, &e. This was also fli-mly trodden. On this was 

 placed 3 inches of sandy soil also well trodden again, being 

 made of scrapings from the roadside a year old, rather loamy 

 soil from the roadside, with about one-fifth of road-drift — 

 mostly sand fr-om flints ground by wheels of vehicles. This 

 when levelled was covered -n-ith about one-quarter of an inch 

 of that sandy road-drift, beaten all over with the back of the 

 spade. The soil being dampish we give no water until the 

 cuttings are inserted, and the one watering will serve them a 

 long tune. On Thursday we commenced putting-in the out- 

 tings — say. It inch apart, and in rows less than 2 inches 

 apart. We wiU not be so successful as usual if we lose 1 per 

 cent. Here the cuttings will remain protected fr-om severe 

 frost iiTitil they are given more i-oom in temporary beds in the 

 beginning of March. Some of our Calceolarias are still as 

 fine as they were in the middle of July or the beginning of 

 August, and striking late and keeping cool we consider the 

 main causes of success. Will make arrangements for taking- 

 Ln some of the tenderer subjects fi-om the flower garden. As 

 for Scarlet Geraniums in general, cuttings struck before the 

 middle of October generally do as well if not better than 

 old plants taken up unless good treatment can be given to- 

 them.— R. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUES EECEIVED. 



John Cranston, King's Acre, Hereford.— Besm^tiw Cata-: 

 logve of Roses. 1 SGS-lSe*. 



Fafrhead & Son, 7, Borough Mai-ket, hondon.— Catalogue 

 of Dutch Bulbs and Flovjer Soots. 



William Paul, Waltham Cross. — Rose Catalcgne. 1863-64_ 



Sutton & Sons, Reading.— 4uteiim CatajA)gue of Bulbous 

 Floiuer Roots, Geraniums, Fruit Trees, S^c. 



Smith & Simons, Argyle Arcade, Glasgow. — List of 

 Gladioli. 1863-186'1. 



