Angoat 22, 1867. 1 



JOUKNAIi OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



143 



show the folly of deciding lonR beforehand what wo should do 

 in our gardens and fields. The cironmstancea of every-day 

 require to bo considered in arranging to the best advantage the 

 labours of that day. 



KITCHEN OARDEN. 



The heavy rains saved us the trouble of watering;, and en- 

 abled us to turn our attention to planting all open spaces, and 

 sowing more Lettuces, Turnips, and Itadishos, as the Turnips, 

 though small, will bo useful and sweeter than those sown 

 earlier. We will as soon as possible pull up a piece of Peas 

 and Beans, and plant Celery for the last time — line strong 

 plants which will come in useful in spring. The Peas being a 

 favourite kind wo were anxious to save some good ripe seed ; but 

 we must be content with a portion, as, despite all our trapping and 

 tarring, wo find the rata climb tho sticks, cut off the best pods, 

 and collect them in heaps to bo devoured at leisure. lu this 

 respect birds and mice are a trifle to tho rats. The first rat 

 we trap, but with little harm done, we will tar and feather, to 

 give an example to his brethren, and that will release us for a 

 time from tho visits of the community to which ho belongs. 

 The tarring would be more ellectual but for tho simple fact 

 that the rats come from different directions, if not from entirely 

 distinct communities ; and as far as observation has enabled 

 us to judge, we should come to tho conclusion tliat between 

 these communities there is as little friendship or mutual 

 interest and intelligence existing as among warlike savage 

 tribes of mankind, each of which looks on a neighbour tribe 

 less as a friend than an enemy. 



Several times we have seen an emigrating army of rats 

 going off to found a new settlement. Only once havo wo seen 

 a meeting of such emigrants, but in fact they did not meet. 

 Long ago, on a bright mooulight night, wo were crossing 

 a narrow foot-bridge over a river, and noticed a long moving 

 line coming towards iis. To mount the stone ledge of the 

 bridge was tho work of a moment; but we had not been long 

 there when the moving lino stood still, and on looking back 

 we saw a similar moving line coming from the opposite di- 

 rection. Both sides stood still when about G yardi from each 

 other. There was the erecting of tho back, a sort of hiss- 

 ing and screeching defiance, and then each side — as far as wo 

 could see about twenty-four rats — thinking discretion the better 

 part of valour, turned, and wont back the road they came. It 

 is just possible they might havo scented the presence of a 

 common enemy. Tho scene of the bridge led us to think, 

 however, that rats, like other wild and even tame animals, do 

 not like others even of tho same family to intrude upon their 

 peculiar territory ; and thus it is, that though by tarring a rat, 

 and then giving him his liberty, you may send consternation 

 and strong motives for change of quarters into that community 

 to which the rat belonged, you will not be freed from the visits 

 from another community, who havo received no such broad 

 hints to be on the out-lojk. Be this as it may, most likely we 

 shall have visits of rats uutil some of the best grain is stacked. 

 When all corn-stacks shall be built on platforms, and rats pre- 

 vented ascending to them, then wo may expect that gardens will 

 suffer more than they now do, unless the numbers of the rats 

 are vastly thinned, and less encouragement given them, not 

 designedly but adventitiously, to multiply. 



Walks have needed much cleaning this season to keep them 

 bright. Wo shall take tho first opportunity, with shears, to 

 nip off all the twigs on the top and tho sides oE the Bjx-edging 

 that extend beyond the main bulk, and then the edgings will 

 bo regular and green all tho winter. Little will need to bo done 

 after the clipping they had in spring, as they were becoming 

 too large. Gone over now they will need but little attention in 

 spring to keep them in good order. Many things in tho way 

 of tiles and slates answer better than Box for edgings, be- 

 cause they harbour no vermin, but nothing is so pleasant to 

 the eye as a neat Box-edging. Our walks are rather smooth to 

 permit of salting for weeds, and even if they were salted 

 it would be, as it always is, advisable to keep the salt from 6 to 

 12 inches from the Box. We lately saw some fine walks in a 

 pleasure ground greatly marred, as respects effect, from a salt- 

 ing followed by rains, that washed over the edgings and de- 

 stroyed very irregularly the verdure at the sides. 



FUCIT DErARTMKST. 



Many Apples have fallen prematurely, but in most cases it 

 is just an effort of Nature to do what we should have done to 

 help her by thinning out the super-abundant crop. We also 

 find that Pears on low bushes and pyramids are considerably 

 marked by the frequent hailstorms they have encountered, and ' 



could we find time we should thin many of them out, which 

 would enable those sound and unspotted to swell more freely. 

 We have finished our protecting by netting tho most of the 

 Morello Cherries wo mean to hang any time, gathering the rest, 

 as tho birds had begun on them, sour as they were. We find 

 we shall not be able to keep late Gooseberries, as the Warring- 

 ton, so long as usual this season, which is a little singular, as 

 in most things we find the season is fully a fortnight later 

 than the generality of years. Small birds have penetrated 

 through our netting, but after all have had little more than 

 tlieir share of the very heavy crops of Gooseberries. To keep 

 small birds out would require half-inch-mesh netting. Many 

 pass easily through one-inch mesh, though how, without be- 

 coming entangled, we can scarcely make out. 



Wasps have annoyed us little this season ; but we scarcely had 

 a visit until September last year, and then all at once they came 

 in myriads. Tbey showed rather strongly in May, but we have 

 seen little of them sinco. A paragraph has been going the 

 round of the papers that, provided tlie hole or holes to a wasp's 

 nest be closed up, those outside when they come to find an 

 entrance will not sting you, though any who find their way out 

 will be sure to do so. Our own experience with swollen cheeks 

 and head as a boy would point to the contrary — that the wasp 

 never forgets tho power in its sting ; but we would bo glad to 

 know the experience of others in this respect. 



In the orchard-house to make sure, we spread a thin sprinkling 

 of guano near the walls and on tho borders before watering, to 

 drive away any ants that might bo present, and stuck bean- 

 stalks among the branches to entice earwigs and woodlice. We 

 have had a few fine Peaches spoiled as to their appearance by 

 the attacks of the latter, and it is always a great annoyance to 

 gather a fine fruit and then find a hole in it. 



Errors will happen both in writing and printing. In the first 



paragraph on the Fruit Garden, page 123, the beginning of a 



sentence, reads thus — " Jlost likely those shoots will push 



again from near the fruit, &c." Change " fruit " into " point," 



and all will be clear. When these summer shoots are stopped, 



when, say, 1 foot in length or less, the earlier they are stopped 



! tho more likely will they be to break again, but in such a 



' case the fresh growth will come from near tho point of the 



' shoot stopped, and the buds neir tho base will not start ; but 



the nipping out the point at first of such a shoot will have the 



tendency to make the small buds at the base fruit-buds instead 



of wood-buds. Wo havo now removed the most of the shoots 



that wo had left as outlets to prevent tho starting of what we 



wish to be fruit-buds. 



OKXAMENT.IL DEPARTMENT. 



The display in the flower garden has, as respects Pelargo- 

 niums, beenlater than usual. The fine weather last week 

 made a great difference in their appearance, as all the colours 

 seemed so much brighter after basking in successive days' sun. 

 Tho heavy raius did much less harm to their appearance than 

 wo expected. In the partial outbursts of sunshine they looked 

 with something of their accustomed brilliancy on Saturday. 

 This was in a great measure owing to the simple fact, that 

 before tho heavy rains of Thursday the most of the beds had 

 been gone over, edgings cut, any weed removed, blotched 

 leaves, decayed petals, and trusses taken away, and all made 

 rather as they ought always to bo ; and that is, with the con- 

 flicting demands on our attention, what we seldom can say. 

 In anticipation of the hot weather continuing. Calceolarias had 

 received a little rough mulching, and they have been quite up 

 to the mark all the season, as plenty of moisture and a fair 

 amount of sunshine just suit them. 



What, however, we wish to impress on those who consult 

 these pages for instruction is this simple fact, that when a bed 

 of flowers, be it what it may, but especially if tho several 

 shades of Pelargoniums of tho varied-coloured scarlet type form 

 a portion, is kept well trimmed as it ought to be, removing every 

 coloured leaf, every leaf of extraordinary dimensions, every 

 faded petal as well as truss, then variations of weather wiU 

 have less effect on tho brilliancy of the bed. Wo say advisedly 

 above, as respects Pelargoniums, faded flowers as well as 

 trusses, because in many kinds of these fine bedding Pelar- 

 goniums, a truss will often have two or three scores of flowers. 

 Tho central flowers will generally expand first, and, of course, 

 will decay first, and these may be several times nipped out 

 with the point of a knife, learing those in full bloom to stand, 

 and the unopened flowers to succeed them, and only removing 

 the truss when few unopened flowers are left. Now, if this is 

 done, the difference in the result in changeable showery 



