452 



JOUBNAIi OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ December 8, 1663. 



to take in 4 feet, and a third piece in the middle. These 

 three pieces bear all the weight of the cover. Then across 

 these at each end tack or naU down a foui--feet piece across, 

 divide the space from the ends into four equal divisions, and 

 give a cross piece to each. Fasten all these down, and you 

 have a skeleton of three longitudinal iind six transverse 

 pieces. Tui'n this skeleton frame upside down and you have 

 what may be called the bed for the straw to be laid on. Wheat 

 straw drawn .and the heads cut off before thrashing is best. 

 Lay the straw on regularly so that the ends shall not pro- 

 tmde between the cross pieces, and rather more than 1 inch 

 thick, to permit of squeezing tight to the thickness of the 

 side and centr;il pieces. Then a cross piece of 4 feet in 

 length is put across at each end, over the straw, opposite to 

 the cross pieces beneath, and a nail is passed through hold- 

 ing the upper and lower cross pieces and the longitudinal 

 pieces firmly together. Opposite the other four transverse 

 pieces a tar string goes ft-oni side to side, and is made very 

 tight so as to keep the straw fii-m and with a smooth surface. 

 A very good way is to have fine tacks for each string. Fix 

 the string on a side piece with a tack, let it be held by one 

 on a cross piece halfway to the middle piece, one on the 

 middle longitudinal piece, one again between, .ind the last 

 at the farther side piece. This is one of the best ways of 

 making all secure, but there are other simpler modes. The 

 great object is to hold the ni<;e clean straw as firm as in a 

 blacksmith's vice. 



There might be six. cross pieces on the upper side as well 

 as the lower side ; but then the weight is increased, and the 

 cross pieces keep the damp against the straw and rot it 

 sooner. Well made as above, if the covers have much 

 of a slope, the water runs off them beautifully, and it would 

 requii-e a strong frost to go through them. These straw 

 covers have sometimes been tarred with a brush on the 

 upper side, which rendered them still better conductors of 

 water; but it was thought that the straw did not last so long, 

 as when exposed to much sun it became more brittle. One of 

 these covers when fresh or a yeai- or two old is considered 

 as good a protection as two or three mats. The cross pieces 

 beneath keep the straw from the glass sashes when so used. 

 For commoner pm-poses, such as temporary protection to 

 cold pits where there is no glass, straw is often used, when 

 merely fastened to old hurdles without so much nicety. If 

 to be made of fresh wood, they ai-e worthy of the above 

 trouble. There can be no question that wood altogether 

 would be more economical in the end. There is no gTeater 

 mistake than to suppose that gardeners can always act up 

 to then- convictions and belief as to what is best. — E. F.] 



with this view I took down the names of the most showy 

 varieties, which I give as near as I can fi'om a rapid glance. 



CHEYSANTHEMUMS IN THE CEYSTAL 

 PALACE. 



As all oxu- local shows are now over, and out-door border- 

 flowers are looking very shabby, I took a stroll to the Crystal 

 Palace on Friday, to see what remained there ; and to my 

 astonishment, I found the centre avenue a perfect blaze of 

 beautiful fresh blooms in beds, round, oval, and diamond- 

 shaped. The flowers were tastefully ai-ranged and inter- 

 mixed, displaying a great variety of showy colom-s. They 

 vaxied from the size of a button to that of the largest Dahlia, 

 and were beautifully incui-ved, especially the gem of all the 

 Chrysanthemums the Jardin des Plantes, which stood tower- 

 ing above all the rest, four or five pots in a bed bearing 

 five or six blooms. 



Mr. Williams, the superintendent, informed me that he 

 grew all the blooms on the second bud, which he commenced 

 selecting from the end of August, that he watered with 

 weak guano water, and that he housed them in the begioning 

 of October. The Pompones ai'e all well bloomed, and Mi-. 

 Williams's system of training is very good. Many of them 

 are grown on one stem of from afoot to 18 inches high ; they 

 then branch out pyramidally, and, nc sticks being used, then- 

 appearance is exceedingly pretty. Look at the plant fi-om 

 whichever side you please it is all well bloomed. I like 3Ir. 

 Williams's mode of training very much. 



My object in sending you this notice, is for the information 

 of some of your readers that may wish to have a coUectiou 

 to Tsloom in conservatories from November to Chi-istmas, and 



Yellow, 

 Little Harry 

 Jardin des Plantes 

 Che.valier Domagc 

 Annie Salter 

 Cherub (g:olden amber) 



PlUtUB 



Golden Trilby 

 Golden Queen. 



Jied and Orange. 

 Sparkler 

 Mr. Jay 

 .\bb('' Paasaglia 

 Dupont de i'Eure 

 Fabius. 



Jied. 



Julie Lagravere 

 Madame Poggi 



Yellow. 

 GC'n<?ral Caniobert 

 Soliaterre 

 Golden Ceilo NuUi 

 Mr. Aatie (Anemone; 

 Priscilla 

 Golden Drop. 



Jied and Chestnut. 

 Bob 

 Fanny 

 Saint Thais 

 Must.iphd 



CalKope (Anemone) 

 M..dame Pepin. 



LARGE VAIUETIICS. 

 Jied. 

 Augui^te Mil' 

 Oliver Cromwell 

 Victor Hugo (chestnut 



and red). 



White. 

 Novelty 

 Beverley 

 Venta 



Mrs. W. Holboru 

 Lucid um. 



Jiose. 

 Pilot 

 Alma 



Mr. Murray 

 Grand Sultan 

 Lord Piilmeraton. 



Bitish and Pink. 

 Julia Gcisi 



P0.\1P0NES. 

 White and Hiiljih ur. 

 •Argentine 

 Cedo Nulli 

 Bijou d'Horticulture 

 .Viidromeda 

 .ModOle. 



Jiose and Lilac. 

 HC-lune 



Fairest of the Fair 

 Salamon 

 Duruflet 

 Galatea, 



Blush and Fink, 

 Alfred Sjilter 

 (lueen of England 

 Ariadne 

 Orpheus 

 Cassandra 

 Christine. 



Indian Red, 

 General Slade 



Redt Orange, and 

 Jiose. 

 Boadicea 

 Fair Rosamond. 



Aniarajith. 

 .\rigena 

 I'rogne 

 Beaute du Nord. 



Shaded. 

 Adf^le Prisette, fringed. 



lilac 

 Madame Rousselou, white 



and rose 

 Madame Montels, white 



and yellow Anemone 

 Madame Carnac, rose and 



yellow Anemone 

 Perle, rose Anemone 

 President Morel, red and 



crimson Anemone 

 Aurore Boreale, orange 



-Saml. Broome, Temitle Gardens. 



POTATOES. 



(Concluded from page 428.) 



THIRD PLANTING. 



March 20th. — Planted the Negro, Freebeai-er, Haigh's 

 Kidney, Fluke, and the Lambton Castle Kidney. The last 

 three were too limited in quantity, and grown on a piece of 

 shaded gi'ound from which it woiild not be fail' to take the 

 weight of crop as a criterion ; nevertheless they were a fair 

 crop, the Lambtous especially. They averaged 13-J tons per 

 acre. I stOl dub them the Lambton Castle Kidney, having 

 had them fr-om the Earl of Diu'ham's ; but I feel almost 

 certain that their real name is the Jackson's Seedling. My 

 brother, who was paying me a visit, declai-ed they were the 

 best Potato for eating of aU my kinds. They are a second 

 early. 



September 28th. — Lifted the above sorts, the rector, Mr. 

 Morris, and my brother being there to see. The first root 

 of Negro weighed exactly 13 J lbs., and gave thirty tubers. 

 The largest weighed Iflb. ; foiu' from IJ- to lib.; eight 

 from half-a-pound to a quarter of a pound ; sixteen from 

 4 to 2 ozs. ; and one half an ounce. A considerable number 

 of diminutive tubers I did not count, wliich I am sorry for on 

 account of a statement fi'om near Moreton-in-the-Marsh, 

 which I copied out of the Oxford Chronicle : — 



" A Pi'olifio Potato. — An extraordinai-y root of Potatoes 

 was recently dug up in the gai'den of the Kev. G. D. Wheeler, 

 of Wolford, which produced over seventy to the root, one of 

 them weighing over 2.V lbs., nine half a pound each; and 

 there were ten large sets. The residue consisted of smaller 

 ones, many of which might be used as seed." Now allowing 

 one tuber to weigh 2.ilbs; nine, 4Mbs; ten large sets, 

 siij^pose them to weigh 3 ozs. each, say 2 lbs. ; and IJ lb. 

 for the " residue," the total weight will be 10^ lbs. Now 

 as I allow no weight to my root for residue, I think the 

 Negro may lay claim to be the heavier by 3.1 lbs. The 

 average weight of the crop was 3O4 lbs. per 4 square yards, 

 or rather better than 16.V tons per acre. The heaviest root 

 of the Freebeai'ers weighed 3 J lbs., and gave four tubers 

 only. This variety throws but few small Potatoes. The 

 crop averaged 26 lbs. per 4 square yards. 



These two varieties I cultivated on account of their tubers 

 arriving at a large size and being consequently appropriate 

 for baking. They are both of them of good quality for 

 boiling, and of the best and latest-keeping sorts. I will 

 merely observe in passing that the gj-ound ocoupied by the 



