Korember 14, 1667. ] 



JOUBKAL OF HORTICULTORE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



371 



with clear sansbine and dryness during the day. famished a 

 good opportunity for housing most of the vegetable roots, and 

 patting the tiaishing strokes to Celery so far as the earthing-np 

 is concerned ; for, rather than earth-up high with soil, we 

 prefer before tlio frost comes to put between the plants a few 

 inches of dry litter xhaken out from the stable dung. This 

 litter in the case of Celery beds, as most of ours are, we leave 

 highest in the middle, and thns it acts as a rude thatching in 

 throwing the water to the trench at the sides. In severe frost 

 we Uke to have a few heaps of dry litter to throw thinly over 

 the tops of the plants, but that is carefully removed and left 

 for future use as soon ti^ the frost is gone. Before earthing-up 

 we generally throw a little mild lime and ashes among the 

 plants and over the beds, and in earthingnp work in some 

 fine-sifted cinder ashes round each plant. This is easily done 

 by placing the well-pulverised earth not close to the plants, 

 and then throwing in n little ashes before firming the soil round 

 the separate heads. W'hfn long ago we grew Celery in sunk 

 beds from 4 to G feet in width, we used boards to place across 

 between the rows when earthingnp, and then a little ashes 

 could be trickled down inside of the boards before moving 

 them ; but we seldom use boards now, as, unless the workman 

 is careful, he is apt to let the boards lean too much against the 

 Celery, and thus crack the leaves. By merely loosely tying-up 

 each plant we save all this trouble. 



If there are some of our readers who wish to do their beds 

 or even rows more neatly and effectually, then we would recom- 

 mend them to have half a dozen semicircular tin or ziuc pipes, 

 3 or 4 inches wide, and some 15 inches in length. Old spout- 

 ing that is too worn out to take the water from a building, cut 

 into lengths, will suit very well. Two of these placed against 

 a plant, so as to enclose it, will permit of a thin layer of ashes 

 round it. and the earth may be placed round before removing 

 these semicircuLir pipes. The object of .all this care, but 

 which in reality and in practice involves but little more labour, 

 is to keep slugs, snails, and worms from nibbling and discolour- 

 ing the Celery. Even the tying up each head, besides helping 

 to blanch early, is not labour lost, as the earthing-up is done so 

 much more easily. Generally we are content with beds 4J feet 

 in width, in which we grow three rows. Our Celery looks very 

 well and turns out well, and never gave us less trouble, as the 

 rains in summer saved us all, or nearly all watering. After 

 watering at planting-time we think we only watered once 

 afterwards, 



Mushroom-hed. — Earthed down the first piece in the Mnsh- 

 room-house, which will come in to succeed the beds in the out- 

 side shed, and have thrown a lot of droppings and a rather larger 

 portion of short litter in a heap in a shed to heat and become 

 somewhat drier. We would have preferred drying it in thin 

 layers, but we did not want to wait so long, and hardly expected 

 we would have had so much fine weather. The placing in 

 a heap will ensure dryness at the loss of some of the richest 

 properties of the manure. When manure has thus been 

 heated, and is used for shallow beds, say from 9 to 14 inches 

 in thickness, and thick juicy Mushrooms are liked, then it 

 would be advisable to u-se a casing, after spawning, of moister 

 droppings, or of cowdung a little sweetened, fully 1 inch in 

 thickness. Thick fleshy Mushrooms, however, are often ob- 

 jected to, as requiring much more pains to cook them thoroughly. 



Fr.riT DKPABTMEXT. 



We have had little but a continuation of previous work here. 

 Never was there better weather for fresh planting all kinds of 

 fruit tree?, and so far as our limited observation extends, the 

 buds and wood in general are well ripened. For directions for 

 doing this work, we cannot improve on what was said in pre- 

 vious numbers. To all with small gardens, we would say, 

 riant some bush or pyramidal fruit trees, and keep them small 

 and a mass of fruit-buds, by the pinching system during 

 summer. 



We have two inquiries from amateurs similarly eitnafed. who 

 have each a small glass-house unheated, and would like to have 

 some fruit from trc/-^ in pots next season, but they say they can- 

 not afford to buy plants already estabUshed in pots, that plants 

 apparently as fine in the open ground in the nursery arc much 

 cheaper, and the inquiry is. Would not these, if carefully potted 

 now, answer their purpose equally well ? To this we sav, De- 

 cidedly not, or what would pay the nurseryman for potting and 

 watering these trees in pots for a season before he had much or 

 any fruit from them ? The establishing of the roots in the pots 

 is of great importance. Unless that is done, your plants will 

 seem to thrive well euongh, but it is a great chance, though the 

 bloom-buds open, that they will faU to set the fruit ; not but 



that success may be attained with extra care and labour, as we 

 have had a good crop of Cherries in May and June, from 

 plants sent in a straw bundle without earth in March, or but 

 little earth hanging about the roots, as the weather was dry 

 when they were lifted from the nursery. Tour only chance, if 

 you have plants taken up from the ground, and with little of a 

 ball, but possessing well-ripened wood, and prominent fruit- 

 buds, is to do as soon as you can, what we did rather late, but 

 which, nevertheless, suited our purpose — namely, pot the 

 plants as soon as you can obtain them, and in pots not too 

 large, but so as to get the roots in, spread out the fibres, and 

 pack them as firmly as possible in fresh and sweet fibry loam, 

 with but a little sweet, decayed manure in it, and a few bones at 

 the bottom of the pot. Water, and allow the water to drain off. 

 Then with any material you can easily command, dung, litter, 

 tree leaves, or any thing of that kind, make a bed in the open 

 air from 15 to liS inches deep, so that as it ferments slowly it 

 will yield a heat of from 70° to 75", or even 80° just at first, as 

 it will soon begin to decline, but not higher than 80' even at 

 first. In this bed plunge the pots up to the rim, and as the 

 heat sinks to 60°, cover the bed and the surface of the pots all 

 over with 2 or 3 inches of dry litter. If the winter should prove 

 severe, and a trial stick or a thermometer in the bed shows 

 that your bed is little or no warmer than the common garden 

 soil, take the plants up in a mild day, turn over the heap 

 again, add a little more fermenting material, rcf lunge, and 

 I again cover the surface of the pots and the bed with litter. The 

 j top of the tree being fully exposed, will show little of the effects 

 i of this treatment, but the roots will be progressing in your 

 fresh soil, and, therefore, ready to meet the demands of the 

 I swelling and opening buds, when you have taken these pots into 

 I your houses. This operation requires a little attention, but 

 I unless something of this preparation is given, or you can ob- 

 tain plants with good balls, we would advise you not to he very 

 sanguine as to the results to be obtained from plants taken up 

 from a nursery, and potted between this and the spring. They 

 1 will, if fairly managed, give a good return in the second year, 

 but will not do to be depended on the first summer. Were it 

 otherwise, dealers wotJd not pot, and pinch, and water their 

 , trees. 



We may also add that every fruit tree and bush will thrive 



I in such a house, but Apricots, Gooseberries, and Currants, will 



j want almost constant ventilation before setting their fruit, and 



that, perhaps, of all other trees. Cherries, Plums, and Teaches, 



give the greatest yield with least trouble. Cherries and Plums 



also require plenty of ventilation, and freedom from a close at- 



1 mosphere until the fruit is set, and then the fruit may be 



brought on quicker, by shutting mostly np early in the after- 



' noon, and opening, or giving air, early in the morning. 



I OP.XAJIZXTiL DErAETMEST. 



We have been busy moving shrubs and trees, fresh turfing, 

 laying-out lawns, &c. We never experienced better weather 

 for such operations. We were surprised that some large shrubs, 

 I after all the rains in summer and autumn, had the soil about 

 I them so dry, that had we known it, we would have made some 

 holes, and given the earth a good watering eight or ten days 

 before moving them. There is hardly, however, a disadvantage 

 but has its countervailing advantages. The soil being dry and 

 firm, rather better balls were obtained than if it had been 

 wetter and heavier, and the plants from being lighter were more 

 easily moved, and then the watering and fresh soil would set 

 the roots moving at once. For shrubs and trees of a good 

 size, but not so large as to require horse power, and the moving 

 of which with a ball is of importance, nothing is better than a 

 low, narrow truck, with wheels about 1 foot in diameter. When 

 this is brought nndcmcath the ball, or far enough under one 

 side to bring the bulk of the ball and the top on it, it is easy 

 to take a heavy shrub to a good distance. It is as well to have 

 the wheels broad, so as not to cut lawns, &c. Ours are merely 

 of wood from 2 to ."i inches thick, but then we choose dry 

 days, and when walks and lawns are hard. But for being cum- 

 bersome the wheels would be better if double or treble the 

 breadth. 



For turfing and levelling, the weather has been most suitable. 

 Nearly double the work could be done that could be performed 

 in sloppy weather, and there would be little danger of workmen 

 becoming aflected with lumbago and rheumatism from contact 

 with the cold, wet earth. 



There is an old proverb that " Nothing is so straight as a 

 gardener's eye," but we have had many proofs that from trust- 

 ing to that in groundwork much work has to be done and un- 

 done, and done again, before it can be left at all satisfactory. 



