November 17, 1863. ] JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTHEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



397 



and store Dahlias, Maa'vel of Peru, Salvia jjatens, if not 

 already done, and finish planting b\ilbs. The best place to 

 keep Dahlias is under the stage in the greenhouse. Where 

 this convenience is not to be had, perhaps the next best 

 ■way to preserve the tubers is in a cool cellar ; at all events 

 they must be kept from damp. Beds intended for Eanun- 

 culuses in February, to be turned over, and any fresh com- 

 post or soil will be better added now. Choice plants in the 

 borders, intended to be protected for the ivinter by slightly 

 covering the roots, &c., should be seen to at once. Eoses of 

 the tender kinds, especially standards, to have a bunch of 

 diy moss, or a wisp of hay or straw, or some dried Fern 

 bound round the head, and the whole well fastened to a 

 stake. 



FEUIT GARDEN. 



Fig trees must now have some di-y fern or spruce boughs' 

 nailed over them to prevent injury from severe frost. Some 

 prefer gathering the shoots into several bundles after being 

 unnaUed, and then wrapping mats round them. Prune and 

 nail Vines, and other fruit trees as before recommended. 

 Brush the leaves off the Peach and Nectaa-ine trees mth a 

 new bii-ch broom, and unnail the small shoots. The plant- 

 ing of young fruit trees, and transplanting or raising those 

 of larger growth, to be vigorously prosecuted : the season is 

 very favourable, and the earUer these operations are per- 

 formed, the greater is the chance of success. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Sunshine and clear skies are not the traditional enjoy- 

 ments of November in England. The inmates of these 

 structures usually suffer from the diminished light and the 

 fogs and mists of this duU, di'eary month. The frosty nights 

 will render a recourse to fii-e absolutely necessary, while the 

 succeeding bright days will allow the advantage of a free 

 circulation of fresh and wholesome air. Eegnlarly remove 

 all dead leaves, and prevent the spread of moss in aU 

 situations. Creepers to be closely tied that they may in- 

 terfere as little as possible with the action of light on the 

 plants. The bulbs of the Japan Lilies to be shaken out of 

 their pots, and to be repotted in half good fibrous loam, and 

 half peat sod, or decomposed leaf mould, as a substitute for 

 peat, with a small portion of silver sand. As the bulbs, 

 when making their spring growth, emit roots for 2 or 

 3 inches np the stem, they wiU now require to be planted 

 that depth from the surface of the pot, and to be earthed- 

 up with the compost in the spring. All plants in these 

 structures to be kept rather dry, giving whatever water 

 may be necessary on the mornings of fine days, so that the 

 superfluous moisture may be removed before the evening. 

 Pelai'goniums, herbaceous Calceolarias, Cinerarias, <S:c., for 

 late blooming to be kept cool and airy, and shoidd not be 

 allowed to suffer for want of pot-room. Plants intended to 

 flower early should be encouraged with a gentle heat, keep- 

 ing them near the glass, and admitting air at every favom-- 

 able opi^ortunity. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Abundance of air to be continued as long as possible, 

 avoiding, however, the least wet. As long as the thermo- 

 meter stands above 32°, give air. W. Keane. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Weather, with the exception of Lord Mayor' s-day, which 

 was fine throughout, windy, wet, with fi-osty mornings, 

 which have at length settled ovu- DahUas. AVe have some 

 Dwarf Kidney Beans, sown in July under protection, and 

 which are stiU, on the whole, fail-, without any artificial 

 heat ; but we notice that the elder pods ai-e becoming a 

 little hoUow and do not crack easily. For a number of 

 yeai-s we have generally wanted a good supply about the 

 beginning of this month, and this sowing used to give us a 

 good yield without any help from hot beds or hot pits, &c. 

 We may keep them to the end of the month, but we do not 

 think they will be so crisp as they ought to be. A Dwarf 

 Kidney Bean is one of those things that are rather the 

 better for being forced. To succeed those under protection 

 we used to sow in pots in the end of August out of doors, 

 and place them under glass where a little heat could be 

 given them by the end of September if needed. To keep up 



a succession sow now. We generally, to save room, sow 

 in boxes, say 3 feet by 1 foot and 6 inches deep, as little 

 space is occupied unta the shoots begin to come, when the 

 Ijlants may be turned out in a bed or in pots in warm sod. 

 Heated soil is of importance. The replanting causes the 

 plants to bear sooner. Eich light soU should at this season 

 be used, and syringing with warm clear soot water in a 

 sunny day is good for keeping the foliage all right. 



Gathered aU the remainder of Chilis and Capsicums, and 

 were sorry to throw away the plants, as they v/ould have 

 produced a hea^'y crop early next season if we could have 

 kept them over the winter, but it was of no use thinking 

 to find room for them. The tops of the plants and all the 

 greenest fr-uit wiU be capital for mixing with tobacco or 

 laui-el leaves for smoking insects when they show them- 

 selves. Sowed on a slight hotbed Eadishes and a sprinkling 

 of Lettuce seeds in case anything happens to those plants 

 out of doors. Pilled a fr-ame with nice Lettuce rather 

 more than half grown. Took up a lot of fuU-grown plants 

 and put them under the thatched roof where our first out-of- 

 door Mushroom-bed was. In severe fi-ost a little litter or 

 dry hay may be laid over them. Covered up a piece more 

 Endive, cvu-led and plain, with boards, slates, pieces of old 

 tan, and then a slight covering with leaves, to give a large 

 supply in a fortnight. Took up also a good lot of fine- 

 grown plants with good balls from a bank, and turned them 

 in close together on a boi-der made into an earth pit, water- 

 ing them at the bottom and putting dry earth on the 

 top. Here we can shelter fi'om much wet, protect from 

 frost, give fuU aii- when fine, and just cover ixp a little 

 piece for blanching as needed. The great enemy in such a 

 place has been mice — both house and field or grass mice. 

 Who win tell how to destroy whole flocks of the latter in 

 the best manner without exposing any other animals to risk 

 fr'om poison ? 



Took up as many roots of Asparagus as filled one light of 

 a frame closely packed, and will fill the other light in a week 

 or two as the ground gets drier. Cut down the Asparagus- 

 stems after gathering a lot of seed, chopping it at two or 

 three times with an old scythe, as that and everything else 

 that win heat must go into the fermenting-heap. We must 

 rise the whole of the beds in the fiower garden for the same 

 pui-pose. Such things as Calceolaria amplexicaulis. Salvia 

 fulgens, &c., are all the better of being thus chopped over, 

 so that the length shall not exceed a ioot. All these Ver- 

 benas, &c., fi-om beds, when mixed with leaves, sweepings of 

 grass, and a little dung, make a very nice fermenting-heap. 

 Perhaps the least valuable for this purpose are frosted Dahlia- 

 stems, but even they are better than nothing. We depend 

 much on a few tree leaves, and we wish now we had collected 

 a few before the late tremendous winds, as in om' high place 

 they have mostly been carried away to enrich the farm -fields 

 in the valleys. It is important, however, that the stems of 

 these flowering-plants. Asparagus, etc., should not be too 

 long. We recollect when a heap was tui-ned and some Holly- 

 hock-stems, &c., had been used rather long, a stout young 

 chap grumbling sadly, said, " That it was only to annoy he." 

 As soon as the frosty nights showed themselves, we removed 

 a muuber of barrowloads of Cauliflowers with heads nice and 

 compact, about the size of a good fist, and placed them in 

 the shed where we had pi^t some the other week, and also 

 the Lettuces mentioned above. We did not trouble much 

 with balls in their case, but stuck the roots in the dung of 

 the Mushroom-beds, watered them, and then trod the ma- 

 terial of the bed firmly about them, and leaving only a few of 

 the top leaves, as these wiU protect fi-om fi-ost. These we 

 had partly protected previously by placing some of their 

 own larger leaves over them ; but after such rains vei-y little 

 frost injures them. A younger lot we wdl try and lift ere 

 long with balls, and place under the protection of old sashes 

 or straw covers. Wood covers, moveable, or that could be 

 tUted-up on fine days, would be the best. Pricked-out also 

 a lot of young Cauliflowers in a fr-ame, in case those imder 

 hand-lights, &c., should faU. Put a few scores also in small 

 pots. They came after repotting very early last season. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



The ground has been too wet to proceed with pruning. 

 We had some straw ready to lay over Strawberry pots if the- 

 weather should be at all severe, as we have not yet put 

 them under protection, but wiU try and make room for 



