Auffust 29, 18^7. ] 



JOURNAIi OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



161 



Vine Leaves Spotted (E. R).— The Vine loaf la Bpottod chiefly l.y 

 Bnaldinc the result of condRn'ied moisture, and tho Run strikintr the 

 hrjusc bofoFL- air was «Iven. The P[)ottins2 nii tho Ciicmniier Icnf is partlv 

 tho rpfiutt of the Biime rauso. hut thoucU none nro visible on tho l"if 

 Kont. wo have nn doubt they have also boon nttankcd by thrips— a small 

 lonffifih 'nspct that wil> jump as you approach it, SmokinR, airl pyrincinir 

 nfterwarls with n-cak. donr snap water, aro the chief remedieH. If all 

 the leaves nro lilce tho saniple, the best plan would be to destroy the 

 plants, clean the place, and plant afresh. 



Vine Leavf.s Sroncnrn-MF-LON Leaves CtniLiNo up.— See answer 

 to /■;. B. We think it v**rv likelv tliat vnu liave both Ihrins and red 

 spider on the Jleion^j. It has been vcrv diftirult to keep the latter clean 

 this season, ns tho rhan^'es have been extreme, from shade tobri(,'ht sun. 

 The thrips when fall crown will be fullv a quarter of an inch Inner, and of 

 no preat<-r width thnn the bftir stroke nf a pen ; it i^ whitish at tlrsl. and 

 tarns of a darker colour. Nothintf does more mischief, and hardly nnv 

 msect i8 worse to eradicate, as fresh broods cnmo when you have killed the 

 oldest. In the early part nf the season we found it a Ro<td plan to etch 

 thorn on tho leaf with a wot finper or a piece of wet sponu'e. The Vinos 

 were injured by the heat, and chieflv because, as wo think, air had not 

 been Riven early eno«t.'h. On such days we threw whitened water over 

 Bonie of our houses withn syrinpe. 



_ MYoponnsi thnctifomum (.Vri. 3/.).— This wo do not know ; but unless 

 it is a new introduction we suspect vou have Mvopni-uin parvifolium. a 

 small, neat, ovorprecn shrub, a native of New Holland, and nroducing its 

 white flowers in sprinp and carlv summer. Very probably the plant was 

 none the lietter of its journey from Paris. At anv rate, wo should have 

 expeetod it to stop tlowerinc by this time. The ropottinc would be riffht 

 orwronKaccordinKtocircurastaiicca. To recover it from its drooping state, 

 make sure that tho roots are damp, and keep tho plant for a few days in 

 n cool shariy place It will do in such a place out of doors from June to 

 October. It requires a preenhouso or pit in tho other months of the year. 

 Sandy loam und a little peat or heath soil will answer for it. 



Cutting oovm a Laurel Hedoe (/f. r.).— The Laurel hedpe, which 

 has been much nepleoted, and has tfiown very hii?h. mav now have anv very 

 long irregular ffrowths cut in. but not to any pi-eat extent at this season, 

 the main euttinp beinp deferred until the hepinninp of next April, when 

 the whole of tho branches should bo reduced in length : and as vou wish 

 for a hedjre (J feet in height we would cut it down to 3 feet, leaving any 

 yoimggrowths that come from the bottom a foot or 18 inches longer than 

 the very strong old branches. The stumps will push very strong shoots, 

 and next August yon may shorten the side shoots so as to tjive th" width 

 of hedge you require, and the height mnv he reduced to 4 feet. Yon will 

 ^".'■s obtain a close liedge from tho bottom, adding to the beisht and 

 width by leaving the annual growths a few inches longer tlian they were 

 tho year before, until the height and width required be attained. 



Weeds on Lawn (77. M. M. P.) —We advise theremovnl of the Planttins 

 and other weeds with a knife, gi-ubbing them up bv the root any time 

 betw-een now and April during moist weather: and in that monlli wo 

 would sow over the lawn a mixture per acre of 4 lbs. Festnca tenuifolia, 

 ^ m*^-' *^'f°'*s"r"« cristntus, 2 lbs. Festuea duriuscnhi. 1 lb. Foi ncmoralig. 

 4 Trifolium niinu^, antl 1 lb. Lotus eorniculatus minor. After sowing, 

 roll well, and do not mow for three weeks. 



Oamei.i.tas UNirFALxnT iAUcnra}.~\o\\T Camellias having lost many 

 of their leaves, wo would repot the plants, removing most of the old soli, 

 or as much of it as comes away fi-eely from the roots, and select pota 

 that will hold the roots without cramping them or cramming them in. 

 Drain the pots well, and employ for potting the surface of a pasture where 

 the soil is a Ijght loam, takinjj no more than an inch of the surface ; and 

 this turf, torn in small pieces by the hand, mny be placed around the 

 roots, making it firm about them.' The neck of the plant should bo level 

 with tho rim of tho pot. A good watering may bo given after potting, 

 and tho soil should at all times be kept moist," but not watered exces- 

 sively. The plants may ho lightlv sj-rinfTcd overhead morning and 

 evening until they recover from tho pottinL'. and slight shade from 

 bright sun should bo all'orded them. We think your almost leafless plants 

 will have made fresh roots before autumn, and with careful watering in 

 winter will in sprint? make many young shoots. You cannot do anything 

 now with those plants tliat have many leaves but show no appearance nf 

 bloom, beyond repotting them if they require it; and your plan next 

 year will be, when they commence making new growths, to keep them 

 well supjilicd with water, securing to them a moist atmosi>here with 

 partial shade and a slight increase of temperature, under which condi- 

 tions they should he continued until the growths are made, when the 

 admission of more air, a less moist atmosphere, and n situation more 

 fully exposed to light, will secure the ripening of tho wood, and we think 

 you will have a plentiful show of buds. 



Boxes roR Pelahoonium Cuttinos (Fred).— Hhc boxes may ho of any 

 eize, but wo prefer them for Imndiness not more than 3 feet long and 

 from 9 to 12 inches in width. We simply have a hoard of 9 or 11 inches 

 wide cut into as many lengths approaching to 3 feet as it will make 

 without waste, and place sides S inches deep upon the bottom, and nail 

 them securely. We then till in the ends with boards placed on tho 

 bottom, well nailing the ends to the sides and the bottom to the ends. 

 We u«e nothing hut a saw, hammer, and nails, and care nothing about 

 close joints, as any <lefects in this respect answer admirably for drainage 

 After inserting the cuttings in tho boxes we place them out-doors in an 

 open sunny situation, the hotter tho better, and keep the soil moist. 

 The cuttings will strike with certaintv. Wo remove them to a sheltered 

 situation in October, and take them in-doors when there is a likelihood of 

 severe frost. 



Pit for Wintkbtng PT.AVTg (Mrm).—Yotir proposed nrrftngements will 

 answer admirably for the hardier kinds of bedding plants. Wo do not 

 seo the necessity for a wall 2 feet above ground, but wo would take out 

 the soil to tho depth of 18 inches, and merely have a wall above ground 

 of 6 or n inches in hoitrht. and 9 inches of the space below in*ound \^e 

 would fill with rough cinders. The height at back mi«ht be diminished 

 so as to correspond with that of the front, for tho closer you have the 

 glass to tho ground the safer the plants will bo frnm fro-t. It will bo 

 necessary to cover the glass with mats and straw during severe wo\ther. 

 and tho cround in front of the pit should be covered with U inches of 

 ashes or litter in winter. 



Old Hotbed for Calceolaria Cuttings (7"d^m).— Your hotbed sunk 

 in the gi-ound will answer perfectly for Calceolaria cuttings, placing 



fl inches of rich soil over the dung, and thon 2 or 8 inchas of sand. The 

 cuttings need not he put in until the bcBinninp of October, and after 

 gn-ing a t'uod wiiteriug they cannot have too mnch air, protection being 

 afforded from rains and frost. 



Ve.;etable Marrows Mildewed fC. K. Wi//rr).— Mildew is apt to 

 appear when they are grown in too rich soil, and upon a bed nf decaying 

 VL->.;etablo matter without a sufficient depth of soil over It for the roots to 

 grow in. A close wet soil containing an exccB'iivc amount of vegetable 

 matter, and dr>' weather, are very favourable to the development of mildew 

 The dusting of the leaves and Ht«mis witli flowers of sulphur will, to a 

 certain extent, keep it in check. It is not caused by honeydew. 



Violet Culture in Pots (/?. £.).— We hope to answer your questions 

 fully next week. 



^ yiv_r IN AN OEcnARD-iiocsE {Soutk Crvudon).—li you have room, plant 

 it inside. 



Strawuerries for Forcing iJ. W. J.).— Of the kinds of Strawberries 

 named by yuu. none of them will ho useful for forcing to come in at 

 Christmas. Tho only kinds that we have found of any value for such 

 earlv forcing were May Queen and Elack Princ-o. These, however, are 

 not in your list, whilst those named will, we are sure, do no good if you 

 were to force them for frnit to be ripe at Christmas. The time you name 

 as wishing for the fruit to ripen is as early as you may succossfully com- 

 mence forcing tho kinds you have in pots f^jr tho purpose, and they will 

 give yon ripe fruit in March. You must afTord the plants after October 

 the protection of a cold pit or cool house, keeping thera near the glass. 

 Of the kinds you have — Sir .Toseph Paxton and Marguerite are heat for 

 early forcing, and wo should introduce a batch of tbom early in Decem- 

 ber into a house from which frost is merely excluded, assigning them a 

 light and airy situation near the glass, and being careful not to over- 

 water, and not to force them much before Christmas, after which tbo 

 temperature may he gradually increased. Early in January we wonld in- 

 troduce a hatch of Keens' Seedling and Empress Eugi'mie, and the re- 

 mainder, if any, of Sir J. Paxton and Marguerite, following with President 

 and Wonderful in about three weeks or a month, and at a similar in- 

 terval. Prince of Wales and La Constante may follow, concluding with 

 Sir Charles Napier and British Queen. 



Cyanophvllum SIAGNIPICU3I PROPAGATION {Tim).— The culture of his 

 plant was not given in the " Cottage Gardeners' Dictionary," because the 

 plant was not introduced when the first edition was published. It is pro- 

 pagated by cuttings, the tops of the shoots being taken off below the 

 second joint, not counting the extreme point. Cut them across below 

 the lowest joint, and remove the lowest pair of leaves. Drain a pot well, 

 and (ill it to three-fourths its depth with a compost of sandy peat two- 

 thirds, and one-third sandy loam, then to the rim with silver sand. A. 

 hole is then made in the centre of the pot, the cutting inserted to the 

 joint next above that at which it was cut over, and the hole around the 

 cutting tilled with sund. A gentle watering should then be (riven, and 

 the pot plunged in a hotbed of from 70' to 75', ond covered witli a bell- 

 glass. Shade from bright sun, and with a brisk iieat, und the soil 

 kept moist but not wet, the cutting will be well rooted in about six weeks, 

 and should bo hardened off, potted, and grown on. Kemp's " How to Lay 

 out a Garden." will suit you. You will find instructions for Melon and 

 Cucumber culture in the " ICitchen Garden Manual." which you can have 

 free by post from our office for live postage stamps. If you will inform 

 us more precisely to what your other question refers, we will endeavoui- to 

 answer it. 



Pit FOR Bedding Plants (L. P.).— Yon might make a very good span- 

 roofed pit to answer the purpose proposed thus — sink it 2 feet below th© 

 cround-level, make it 12 feet wide, height to ridge from floor 9 feet, 

 height of the side walls altogether 4 feet, height above the ground-level 

 outside 2 feet, and have ventilators placed in the wall. The cheapest 

 plan would be to have all tbo roof fixed, and SJ-inch deep sash-bars 

 would do, so placed as to receive glass IG or iw inches wide. The best 

 plan for top air in such a short house would be to have two ventilators a 

 y.-.rd wide, and a good opening a yard deep at each end just below tho 

 ridge. If the house had been much larger wo would have recommended 

 a double ridge-board, kept 6 inches apart by blocks, and between these 

 blocks, a pivot-hung wooden ventilator, and all secured by two hoards 

 outside fomiing a copine, with plenty of space to let the air in. We think 

 the simpler one will do for such a short bouse. With your walk down the 

 middle, of 3 feet, yovi will have a platform -table on each side 4A feet 

 wide, and you will have stowage-room beneath the table for storing plants 

 at rest, and also for setting plants along the side of tho path. With, say 

 fonr rafters 3 inches thick, oue at each end. and two divided equally over 

 the roof, you could have over the headway a suspended platform of 

 18 inches in width, which would hold many little plants. We have a 

 doubt, hftwevcr, as you propose heating the place fi*nm your present 

 boiler, whether a house all above ground would not answer your imrposc 

 better, so far as the heating was concerned. In a pit yoa would gain a 

 little as respects warmth, from having less wall exposed, but that wonld 

 be gi-eatly counteracted by the greater dampness you would have, even 

 if tho hot-water pipes were placed on the floor. The expense of remov- 

 ing the soil is also something, and then there is tho constant unpleasant- 

 ness of stepping down into a such a house, instead of stepping up on the 

 floor, which, on tiiat account, would always be more jdcasant and dry. A 

 small house, therefore, we would think about before sinking for the pit. 

 In the latter case d:imp is dispelled in winter with more dithculty. The 

 chief advantage of a i>it so little above the ground level is, that you could 

 more easily give it protection in very severe weather in ^vinter. There 

 will he no difficulty in your heating, provided the boiler is beneath the 

 place to bo heated— that is, lower in level. Of course, yon will want taps 

 or valves to shut off or let on the heat as necessary. The expense of such 

 a house will depend on the finishing. Yo\i can buy very good glass for 

 such a purpose, cut to the sii-.e you want, at id. per foot, and wood Ij inch 

 wide ond inches deep, with wall-plates. Ac, planed and cut to size. 

 We think what is called IG-oz. glass would do, but if you want to be sorer 

 21-oz. will co&t about one-third more. 



Exhibiting Dahlias and Gladiolus (Inqutrfr^. — Size of box for 

 twelve Dahlias, 2 feet by 18 inches. 6 inches high at back, and 4 inches in 

 front. Per Gladiolus abont tho same. Both of these flowers may be cut 

 tho evening before. Dahlias carry best in their tubes as they are to be 

 shown, Gladioli laid gently in the box. Do not trust to the tender 

 mcrcicEi of porters or all will be a mass of ruin. 



