358 



JOCTENAIi OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t NoTember s, 1863. 



water be limited to that quantity only which is requisite to 

 keep tliem from flagging, and let them be ft-equeutly gone 

 over, and aU dead leaves removed. Give theui all the au' 

 possible dm-ing the day, if dry. and shut up tolerably early 

 in the afternoon. Finish pottinsf Dutcli bulbs if not already 

 'l«ie. W. Keane. 



DOIiS'GS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEH GAEDEN. 



For general details in all departments we would refer to 

 last and previous weeks, as the work has chiefly been of a 

 routine chai-acter. One object of importance now is to secure 



.SALADING FOR THE WINTER. 



For this purpose half or three-parts-gi-own Cabbage Let- 

 tuce should be taken up with good baUs and planted about 

 10 inches apart, so that the air can pass freely between them, 

 in cold pits or frauies. Tliere they should have ah- given 

 UberaUy every day, and the glasses left off in fine days and 

 air given at night, except in frosty weather. The hardier 

 they are kept and the drier the atmosphere in the mu-^o-y 

 weather of winter the better wiQ the plants do. and the mTre 

 free will they be from everything like mildew. For this 

 purpose, m transplanting them place them in trenches water 

 pretty well at the root, and cover up so as to have di^ earth on 

 the sui-face. To help this still more, burnt cla.y or dry chaiTed 

 refuse may with much advantage be strewn between the 

 plants after planting. Last season we noticed a clever youno- 

 man di-enc)iing such a planted bed. by sending a stream over 

 it from the rose of a watering-pot, held at least a yard above 

 the plants. We were not sai-prised to learn th'at most of 

 the plants rotted or mildewed, and, of coui-se, it was a mis- 

 fortune, but no one was to be blamed. 



Endive wiU stand weU in ordinaiy winters on slopin" 

 banks. In fact, the best for standing we ever had wal 

 planted on ridges 2i feet apai-t, the plants inserted on the 

 top of the ridge. A few leaves or a Httle rough hay not 

 only blanches them, but keeps out the frost. On the top 

 of these ridges and on sloping banks with the surface 

 stirred. Endive m general winters will stand green untU 

 spiing, ready then to be blanched. To make sure, how- 

 ever, a lot ot plants not quite full gi-own sliould be taken 

 up with balls and planted thickly under protection. -Wliere 

 glass cannot be had, straw, cloth, canvass, and wooden covers, 

 such as those used at Keele Hall and Trentham for borders, 

 ic, answer remarkably weU, as they can be moved off in fine 

 weather ; and the covers especiaUy, even when the weather 

 IS unsettled, may be elevated in front, or even back and front, 

 and allow air and bght too to pass freely beneath them. For 



"^v^^^^" * J'"'^'"^''''^ '"'^ "°"^'^ ?'■*'''«"' «'Ooden covers if we could 

 obtain them. It is now getting on for twenty years since 

 we recommended them to a gentleman of very refined taste, 

 who abominated the fitter from mats and even straw covers, 

 and we lately saw them very little the worse for the wear 

 and teai- they had imdergone. They were made of thi-ee- 

 quarter-mch best deal, with three cross-pieces beneath, and 

 a ledge 1 inch deep all round, to rest on tlie lack and the 

 i-alters between liglit^, as they were previously used for cover- 

 ing pits and frames, but they came in for all kinds of pro- 

 tection. As far as we recoUect, they were 6.'. feet by i, well 

 painted and neatly finished, and cost altogether about 7s 

 each-a good outlay at first; but they were neat, and to 

 secure the same protection fi-om mats would have cost about 

 as much m ten years, and nothing to look at but tatters, in- 

 stead oi a nice cover as good as ever. 



Chicory also makes an exceUeut salad, and when left in the 

 gi;ound should have some branches laid over it, to be covered 

 with straw in severe weather, in case there should be a difli- 

 cuity m takmg it up, or the roots may be taken up and packed 

 closely m eai-th until they are wanted. A good plan to o-et 

 It quickly IS to fill a 12-inch pot with good roots— say eight 

 or ten, water well, set the pot in a wai-m dark place, or in 

 any warm place provided you place an empty similar-sized 

 pot over it, daub round at the junction with clay putty, and 

 daub up all the holes secm-ely to exclude light, and cut when 

 the yellow leaves are not more than 6 or 7 inches Ion"- For 

 a regular supply no plan is neater or better than Ssing a 

 narrow barrel or upright box, with holes three-quarters of 

 an inch in diameter in layers 4 inches apart aU round. PUce 



the plants in layers in the barrel or bos, packing with earth 

 and giving a little water as you go on, merely leaving the 

 crowns of the plants or roots outside the holes, and then 

 place the box in a dark cellar, and, just as in the above case, 

 cut before the leaves grow too long. Six inches is a good size, 

 if longer they become drawn and insipid. When hard driven 

 we have taken up Dandelion roots, where we knew they 

 grew strong, by the sides of a highway, and but for size 

 think them quite as good as the Chicory. Our own im- 

 pression is, that the Chicory is a shade the better of the two, 

 that Endive is better than either, and a good Lettuce 

 best of all. 



Where Rampion is much esteemed, a parcel of roots should 

 be taken up and packed in sand ready for use. Took means 

 to protect Radishes, and will sow a bed under glass with 

 a slight bottom heat, as about the new year these will be 

 more tender than those sown in autumn, however protected. 

 Nothing is better than Wood's Early Frame, though every 

 district has its own pecuhai' favourite kind. The smaller 

 the tops, other requisites being equal, the better the variety, 

 as thus gi-eat quantities can be obtained in little space. 

 After the seedlings appear, the plants cannot have too much 

 ah' in favourable weather. If kept close the3' will come 

 with long unsightly necks. In most families Beetroot is 

 relished when of a middling instead of a large size. It will 

 grow to little more advantage now, and therefore should be 

 taken up before frosted. In taking up, use strong forks, so 

 as not to break a fibre if possible, and merely twist off the 

 long leaves from the crown. It must also be boiled in that 

 state, as the smallest incision is fatal to eveiything Uke 

 quality. A great object in most establishments during 

 winter is a good supply of small salading, but for what 

 reason we know not. We have not been required to do 

 much in tliis way for some time, but it is one of those 

 matters in which it is easy to commence and have a good 

 supply in a short time, as nothing but the seed-leaves and 

 the smaller finer leaves alone are used, such as Mustard 

 Cress, American Cress, Rape, &e. These may aU be grown 

 freely where there is protection from frost ; but, on the 

 whole, small naiTOW boxes — say 2 feet in length, 4 inches 

 deep, and 4 inches wide — are as good as any. Small four- 

 inch pots are also veiy good. These should be half filled 

 with roughish leaf mould and loam, and filled up to within an 

 eighth of an inch of the top with sandy loam and leaf mould 

 pressed level, the seeds sown thieily, pressed level on the 

 mould, watered, and set in a dark place, or covered with a 

 cloth or paper. We have dusted the seed with a Uttle 

 sand, but it makes the seedlings bad to wash. When the 

 seeds are merely pressed level on the surface, and not 

 pressed into the soil, the seedlings rise clear and free from 

 grit, and in most cases water would injure rather than help 

 them. We think, too, that when served separately, the 

 salading will look best with the leaves all one way, instead 

 of the head and heel way, in which it is generally presented. 



We suppose we must finish with Celery. We have not, 

 since the end of August, taken up a single head but what 

 has been in first-rate order for the table for cheese or salad- 

 ing. Not one head has been ran or hurt in any way. From 

 what we said formerly, we have had several private letters 

 complaining of the Celery bolting and running, and being 

 diseased, &.C., and one or two, in badinage we presume, ask 

 how much it would cost to buy the secret of preventing 

 early Celery from bolting. WeU, as to secrets, nobody 

 that wants a secret kept about gaidening should tell us 

 about it, for, if it is worth being made known, we are 

 sure to tell everything about it. Tears ago, and more 

 recently, we have stated everything we knew about the 

 matter, and may repeat all again in time for next season, 

 as the reasons would not apply now. Took the opportunity 

 of dry days to add a little more earth to the plants in beds. 

 We have no objection to bit-by-bit earthing-up now, but we 

 would none of it in August and September. In stiff soils, 

 instead of earthing-up very high, it is better to have some 

 stubble or tree leaves placed lightly between the plants, as 

 that lets the air in and keeps the light out. The leaves 

 shoidd have a little litter over them. Put a few Potatoes 

 in small pots to forward them. 



FRUTT GARDEN. 



As already referred to in late Numbers, no time should be 

 lost in lifting, transplanting, root-pruning, or making fresh 



