JODBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAG-K GARDENER. 



[ September 5, 1867. 



but that did nothing to rid ns of the enemy. By the time the 

 plants had borne some good fruit they began to show signs 

 that they must ere long be succeeded by others, and we saw 

 no other method of keeping up a supply. As if to disprove 

 the seed theory, though in itself well worth attending to. we 

 happened to have our seed that furnished the plants this sea- 

 son, that have borne well up to the present time in frame and 

 pit, and showed no signs of disease, from a gentleman whose 

 house we have sometime ago chronicled as a picture and ex- 

 ample of Cucumber-growing, and where, up to this season, 

 there had been no trace of disease. We say we bad the seed 

 from the same packet as that gentleman saved himself from 

 healthy fruit, and yet for the first time, his plants sown in suc- 

 cession as he would, he could not escape the disease, could not 

 obtain Cucumbers, and the other day had not a single producing 

 plant in the place; fnl though able and willing enough pre- 

 viously to estimate in our case and in others the cause of the 

 disease, he confessed that now he was completely nonplussed. 

 He was merely having his empty houses thoroughly cleaned, 

 and was hoping his young plants intended for the winter would 

 be more prosperous. As our seeds and his own were saved by 

 himself and taken out of the same heap, there could not by 

 any possibility be a great deal in the seed as a cause. What, 

 then, can be the reason or cause of the visitation ? We are 

 left in even greater darkness than in the case of the dread 

 Potato disease. Without egotistically saying anything of our- 

 selves, no one for many years, to our knowledge, has cultivated 

 Cucumbers more successfully than our friend from whom we 

 had the seed that yielded us such healthy, prolific plants, and 

 yet this season with, as far as he knows, the same treatment, 

 the same soil, the same attention to watering, ventilation, and 

 temperature, he has had his plants diseased in every place 

 about the premises, in-dnors and out of doors. What is also 

 very perplexing is, that the disease will manifest itself in one 

 place and keep away from another place at a short distance, 

 and then in another year it will appear at the last place and 

 disappear from the former, and in either case the managers 

 will be as unable, as we confess ourselves to be, to assign k suffi- 

 cient reapon for the result. 



Will chemical and other learned correspondents endeavour 

 to help us in this matter ? When driven into a corner with 

 nothing to lean on but fresh poor soil, and frequent planting, 

 we tried small portions of ingredients in the soil and in the 

 atmosphere of the place, but without the smallest benefit. In 

 one case we did think we derived a little benefit from using a 

 dusting of sulphur in the soil, but in that case, on removing 

 the plants we found the roots attacked with fungus, which had 

 spread from some half-rotten tree leaves placed in the botlom, 

 just beneath the soil. 



One moral we should like to draw in the meantime, both for 

 employers and employed. To the latter we would say, Until the 

 evil leaves you, plant often. To the former we would say, Be 

 not too hard on your servant, if he cannot give yon the usual 

 complement of nice fresh Cucumbers, owing to the disease 

 manifesting ilself — and this, we hear, has been done in not a 

 few instances — for the gardener himself will suSer enough from 

 the disappointment ; and we urge this all the more, because, 

 however learnedly those may talk who have never grappled 

 with the disease, our candid opinion is that as yet neither the 

 philosopher nor the plodding working man has discovered, 

 or at least made the discovery known, as to what are the 

 causes or the remedies of the evil. 



Celery. — Since planting we have hardly had a water-pail in 

 our flower garden. Our Celery has looked after itself too, thanks 

 to the frequent refreshing showers. We could not help think- 

 ing where we would have been if we had been under the 

 necessity of watering freely, as we are anything but too forward 

 as it is. There is something very interesting in the law of 

 compensation. If we had been obliged to water more we should 

 have bad less trouble with weeds, less time taken up with 

 keeping the lawns short and carpet-like. Went over part of 

 oar Celery, cleaning it, removing a stray sucker, tying it up, 

 and earthing-up a portion. For the present we will earth-up 

 no more than is wanted three weeks or a month hence, and 

 just doing a little at a time. For reasons previously given we 

 never earth-up our main crops until the remaining un- 

 earthed would render the crops liable to be injured by frost. 

 Tying up the plant loosely is very different. The earthing-up 

 bit by bit, as most calendars recommend, is the fruitful cause 

 of disappointment. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPAKTMENT. 



Have been very busy with cutting-making, but would have 



done much more but for the necessity of making all presentable. 

 We have bad a severe task with the entrance fi'ont ffiavel. At 

 first we made it a square in unison with the mansion. To meet 

 the requirements of several coachmen the square was so far de- 

 parted from at different times, by rounding the sides, as to 

 make a little alteration in the levels. For more tlian twenty 

 years nothing had been done to it, but adding a little smaU 

 gravelly sand to the surface, to freshen it up. In drizzling 

 weather this became soft, and mortar-hke. We cleared away 

 this soft surface, which answered for helping to cover slightly, 

 and bind a rough road, picked over the surf.ace left, going 

 deeper where there were inequalities, and sitting all that over, 

 so as to dispose of the earthy and mere sandy particles, and 

 sinking the gravel some 6 inches deeper at the farther end, so 

 as to make a more rapid and regular descent from the door o{ 

 the mansion to the farther extremity. With other work de- 

 manding attention, it was necessary that this affair should not 

 last long, in other words, that there should be no doing and 

 undoing, no lifting a spadeful, putting it down, and taking it 

 up again. Hardly any fresh material was to be had, so with a 

 fine sieve getting rid of the fine material, we were to make the 

 most of the old, and yet secure dryness in all weathers, and 

 with merely a good drain at the lowest point, the turf being 

 levelled down to it there. Now, in all such work the gentleman 

 and the gardener should be well aware that every yard of soil 

 taken away will be a fair cartload, a matter easily forgotten in 

 ground work, and fertile at times of much unpleasantness, 

 when the work is of much extent. Secondly, in answer to some 

 inquiries that have been lying past, we would say as the result 

 of considerable experience, that in all such work performed by 

 fair-labouring worlcmen, the best plan is to settle first on the 

 level at different parts, have strings or lines to connect these 

 transversely and longitudinally, and then it will at once be ap- 

 parent what is to be reduced, and what is to be elevated, and 

 no spadeful will want moving twice. In a width of some 

 85 feet we shall have a fall of about 21 inches, and with a firm 

 surface, we see no reason why the gravel should not be always 

 for a long time cleau and di'y. The surface is now covered with 

 the sifted rough gravel, and lightly rolled. At the first good 

 shower we shall roll it firmly with a heavy roller, and then wiU 

 just cover it as thinly as possible with fine-sifted sandy gravel, 

 so as to make it easy for the feet, but so thinly that it will not 

 sink with the feet however wet. A carriage -wheel and horses' 

 hoofs will make little impression. Much the same object could 

 be gained by an open bottom for such a large space of gravel, and 

 drains through it, to the main drain at the farther extremity; 

 but we had not the material nor the time at command. We 

 intend to secure the same object of dryness and comfort in all 

 Tceathers, by the hard level surface, which will cause the rains 

 to pass over it quickly, instead of passing into it. Heavy rains 

 did so well enough formerly, but the drizzling raius sank into 

 the too fine surface mado deeper than it ought to have been by 

 the repeated dustings in summer for years to give it a clean, 

 fresh appearance. Our opinion is, that it is a mistake to dig 

 out a great hole fi)r a road, and then fill it up with costly 

 stones, &c. We would rather have the hard natur.al bottom, 

 excavate but little except at the sides, and keep the hard ma- 

 terial on the surface, aiid that so regulated as to become bard, 

 rounded, and smooth, so that water shall pass over it, instead of 

 sinkiug into it, or standing on it. It is the groimd after all, 

 and not the mere stones, that bears the weight. A road thus 

 made about ten years ago, has given little trouble since, except 

 as regards occasionally levelling heavy cart-wheel marks. — 

 E. F. 



COVENT GARDEN IVIARKET.— September 4. 



Our avciMge prices nre scarcely equal to those of last week, and we 

 have a larpe quantity of goods on hand The same varieties of Pears and 

 Apples continue to be supplied. Peaches and Nectarines are abundant. 

 The Potato trade is rather heavy. 



s. d. 



Apples i sieve 1 Ot 



.\pricots doE 2 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 



CuiTants i sieve S G 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 2 



Filberts lb. 1 



Cobs lb. II 



Gooseberries . . quart 



Grapes, Hothouse, .lb. 1 6 



Lemons 100 8 



s. d. 8. d 



Melons each 3 0to5 



Nectarines doz. 3 6 



Oranges 100 8 14 



Peaches doz. 4 8 



Pears (dessert) . . doz. 2 3 



Pino .\pples lb. 4 



Plums J sieve 2 6 5 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 9 10 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bush. 10 20 



Green per 100 



