74 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOULTUEB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 24, 1867. 



Plants Injured nv Fumioatpno (T. S. L.).~TLe miscbiot is to bo 

 attribnted to your liaviiig used live coals for iguitiny the tobacco. The 

 scorched loaves will for the moat part fall, and the others will be so un- 

 sightly and so liable to mildew that wo would have them picked off. 

 Your plants will recover, though it will be some time before they do so. 

 In future place a few pieces of charcoal in a tiro, and when r|uito red use 

 them instead of live coals for placing at the bottom of the cage, and put 

 the tobacco upon the charcoal. 



^ SOLPHun AND Clav FOR ViNEs (7oto).— 1, The composition should con- 

 sist of two-thirds tnlpliur and one-third clay, by bulk, with enough water 

 to give it the consistency of paint. 2, It is very desirable to limcwash 

 the walls, adding to the lime one-third of its biUk of sulphur. 8, A mix- 

 ture of lime and sulphur is not so good for painting the Vines as sulphur 

 and clay, and we do not recommend it for such purposes. 



ASPBODKH-S COLTCRE (Irfcm).— You do not say which of the species 

 you have, but we presume it is hardy, and, if so, its treatment will be 

 that of a perennial thriving in an open but sheltered sunny situation. Use 

 a compost of sandy loam, mixed with one-third leaf mould. Give it a 

 top-dressing of the same kind of soil every autumn, neatly pointing it in 

 around the plant in spring. 



Book M»;mrno?(.»).— " The Garden Maniol." Yon can have it free by 

 post if you enclose twenty postage stamps with your addi-ess. It is quite 

 suitable to your requirements. 



Hot Air rnoM a Kitchen Range (HmUcis'i.—Vfe are rather surprised 

 that the opening of the usual valve did not help vou a little, but they are 

 generally too high-placed for the puniose. You have to some extent mis- 

 understood what we said as to the position of the second hole we advised. 

 According to your section you have a hole made for a two-inch pipe at 

 the top of the left-hand side of the back of the oven, and what we advised 

 you to do was to make a similar hole for a pipe communicating with the 

 iwHom of the right-hand side of the back of the oven. Hence, too, the 

 necessity for the two plugs when cooking in the oven was re(inired. We 

 know the ditEculty of arranging these matters when the mistress of the 

 house has to be consulted, and, of course, the interests of the oven and 

 of the greenhouse might thus often clash : therefore, we also proposed 

 closing in a chamber over the oven, and taking the heat from that 

 instead, but even then you would mostly lose the place above the oven 

 lor general purposes. The heat from the oven is not by any means lost 

 m ordinary eases, as it greatly tends to warm the room. " Wethink as you 

 managed the first hole in tho back of the oven, vou might manage 

 another, but at its bottom. If not, however, we would advise a small 

 stove, uron or brick, for your glazed building. If the place is small you 

 will obtain much heat from tho chimnev. We would do what we could 

 to obhge. 



Mrs. Pince's Black Mpsoat (G. p.),— It does not require so much 

 heat as do the common Muscats, but can be grown in an ordinary 

 vinery. It is a very robust grower, and abundant bearer, not requiring 

 to be grafted. * 



Vines and Dwarf Kidney Beans (C. S., ChichrtUr).— The honse has 

 l3een kept too close ; more air should be admitted, and more moisture 

 kept in it, and not so high a temperature either during dull davs or 

 during the nights. In tho stage of growth which the Vines are now in, 

 shoots 6 inches long and drawn, 75^ by dav and 60' or 65° at night 

 should be the extremes. 



Ehkor.— At page 44, column ,1, line 13 from bottom, for " south" rend 

 "north." 



CmswicK Temperature (/mjuirfr).— The temperature recorded on the 

 morning of the 5th inst. as the lowest diu-ing the preceding twenty-four 

 hours IS coiTcotly given by us in our Journals of the Sth and 15th, as 11^ 

 below zero. You did not notice tho minus sign preceding the figures on 

 the 15th. 



Black Currant Bud Insect (W. r.).— The Black Currant buds in the 

 neighbourhood of Glasgow are at this season of the vear infested by im- 

 mense numbers of an exceedingly minute, undes"cribed, four-legged 

 species of mite, which causes the buds to swell, and renders them un- 

 fruitful. We cannot advise any plan for the prevention of this injury, 

 except that of picking off and burning the infested buds.— W. 



Raising Hornbeam (H. H. .4.).— Hornbeam is raised very abimdantly 

 by seed. Cuttings may possibly he struck, but th.at mode is less likely 

 to afford good healthy plants. In Hertfordshire, where the tree is ex- 

 tensively giown as copsewood, it is customaiT to bend down some of 

 the poles as layers when there is a lack of stubs, and by fastening them 

 to the giound they strike root, but we think all the young trees are 

 roared from seed. Its reputation as copse-wood is due to its making 

 excellent firewood, otherwise as a timber tree it is of slower growth than 

 the Beech, and never attains the size of that tree. It also cuts better as 

 a coppice tree. 



Uses of Frame (Nemo) .—Yon may use your frame as vou propose for 

 raising Lettuce plants by filling it to within 1-2 inches of the glass 

 with dung, and placing 8 inches of soil over the latter. We would make 

 a. bed of hot dung from 18 inches to 2 feet in height, and a foot wider 

 than the frame all roimd ; put the frame on, fill it to within 9 inches of 

 the glass with hot dung, and on that place 3 inches of loam and leaf 

 mould in equal parts, with an inch of flue soil over it. The bed should 

 be made evenly and well trodden down, but not the soil. We would then, 

 after levelling the surface, sow some Lettuce, Cauliflower, and Celerv 

 seed, appropriating one-third of the frame to each. The light may bo put 

 on, and kept close until tho plants appear, when it should be tilted in 

 mild weather until the plants show their rough or second leaves, for if 

 the frame be kept close the plants will become drawn. When the air is 

 frosty keep on the light, and protect at night with a covering of mats. 

 The bed may be made in the last week in February or first week in 

 March. TJio Lettuce and Cauliflower plants, when s'uffieiently large to 

 handle, may be taken up and pricked off in a sunny sheltered situa- 

 tion. This will give those left in the frame more room, and by the time 

 the Lettuces and Cauliflowers are cleared out the Celery will need 

 pricking off, which may be done within the frame. Y'ou may use the 

 frame in summer for Cucumbers, and in winter for protecting Cauli- 

 flower plants. 



Making Vine Border (F. S.).— It would be well to make the border as 

 inuch above the ground level as you can for dr>'ness and warmth, and it 

 should be 3 feet deep. If the subsoil is wet, clayey, and unfavourable, the 

 bottom of the border should be sovcred with a thin layer of lime rubbish, 



slope from the house, and a drain should run lengthwise at two-thirds of 

 the width of the border. Tho lime rubbish must be beaten quite firm, 

 and two more layers of similar thickness laid on and rammed hard. 

 Upon the concrete bottom place 9 inches of brickbats or stones, the 

 roughest at the bottom. A layer of sods, grass side downwards, may ba 

 placed on tin. drainage, and the border may be composed ol turf cut from 

 a pasture, 3 inches thick, where the soil is a good hazel or yellow loam 

 inilined to be sandy rather than clayey. Tliis is to be chopped roughly 

 with a spade, mixed with one-sixth old mortar rubbish or chalk, and one- 

 tenth half-inch bones. The compostshould be carried up 1o a thickness of 

 2 feet 6 inches, and may be beaten with a fork as the work pr.iceods, but 

 under no eircumstancea trodden down. The border will settle down 

 gradually. Thompson's "Gardener's Assistant" is a good work foe 

 general purjioses, and may bo had through any bookseller. 



Camellias Propagating {A .Su(..wri6fr).— Camellias may bo propa- 

 gated from cuttings, and, indeed, are largely propagated in that manner, 

 but it is only the Single Red for stocks. The double kinds grow very in- 

 differently from cuttings, hence they are grafted on stocks of the Single 

 Red, which is the only eligible mode of propagation to secure a free- 

 growing plant. 



Watering Pelargonium Cuttings (C^-lin).— The plants with thelenTCS 

 flagging and the soil in tho pots dry, ought to be watered. Whenever 

 the soil becomes dry, and the leaves of tho plants are affected thereby, 

 give as much water as will come through the pots. Water will not ba 

 necessary so long as the leaves do not flag, but in your greenhouse it 

 ought to be given before they do so to any great extent. Water the 

 plants at once, and again when they require it. 



Evergreen Hedge iH. A. flijim).— You may form a hedge at once of 

 American Arbor Vita; (Thuja oceidentalis), by procuring plants 4 or 5 feet 

 high ; they are kept in stock at that height by tho principal nurserymen. 

 They should be planted 1 foot apart. This Arbor Vitie will not do for a 

 fence to keep out cuttle. Privet makes a good hedge when planted alter- 

 nately with Thorn, and it will do for an outer fence : so will Thorn and 

 Holly, which make tho best of all hedges. Arbor Vita and Yew make 

 the best evergreen hedges, but Yew foliage is poisonous to cattle. 



Apricot versus Peach Treatment (A. 2.).— Y'our gardener nnnflilg 

 your Peach and Nectarine trees, so that he may cut out the wood that 

 has borne fruit in the previous year, and any old, worn-out, and useless 

 shoots ; also to give each shoot and branch its proper share of the space, 

 and secure the proper covering of the wall. It is evident your gardener 

 acts on the long-pruning system with the Peach and Nectarine. Ho does 

 not unnail the Apricot tree, because the tree chiefly produces its fruit on 

 spurs, and a branch once made continues to furnish fruit-spurs so long 

 as it exists. He will nail in a young shoot where practicable, and occa- 

 sionally cut out a spurless branch, training a young one in its place ; 

 beyond that he will not interfere with the unnaiiing of the tree, and con- 

 sequently no readjustment of the branches and shoots is needed. 



Forcing Vines (.4 Suffolk Siihscriher).—1o have the Grapes ripe by 

 July it will be necessary to start the Vines the beginning of February, 

 To secure this the border ought to be protected, and you will require fire 

 heat from February to July inclusive : hence we conclude it would hardly 

 be a profitable unduTtakiug, considering the smallness of the house. 



Annuals for ORNAaiENT and Bouquets {H. F, F.). — We are making 

 inquiry, and will answ er your questions fully next week. 



Sowing Latania and Cham-T^rops Reed (Helen). — The seeds maybe 

 sown singly in three-inch pots, in a compost of sandy peat, loam, and 

 leaf mould in equal parts, adding one-sixth of silver sand. The pots 

 should be well-drained, and the seeds sown so as to be covered twice their 

 diameter with soil. The soil should be kept moist, but not saturated. 

 The pots may be plunged in a hotbed of 90^ if you have such, and, if not, 

 in one of not less than 75° ; tho atmosphere should have a mean tem- 

 perature of 70 '. You will have to exercise patience in waiting for the 

 appearance of the plants, for the seeds are slow in vegetating. 



Camellia and Azalea Management (A Noe'iee). — The Camellias and 

 Azaleas will do excellently in your greenhouse from which frost is ex- 

 cluded. Give them a hght and airy situation, yet free from currents of 

 cold air, and water when the soil shows signs of dryness ; but it must not 

 be allowed to become so dry as to cause the foliage of the .\zaleas to flag, 

 and that of the Camellias to become limp, nor, on tho other hand, should 

 repeated and regular waterings be given when moisture is not required. 

 Air should be given whenever the external atmosphere is mild, and pro- 

 tection from frost should be afforded. The above has reference to the 

 winter treatment, which will continue in your case from September to 

 May. After the plants have bloomed pot them if necessary. The house 

 being cleared of bediling plants, the Camellias and Azaleas, if out of 

 bloom, should be sjTinged morning and evening, and the floors, walls, &c., 

 kept moist, so as to encourage growth. Air should be given early in the 

 morning, but not nearly so much as during other periods, and the house 

 should be closed early. The temperature being 55' at night, and from 

 75- to 80° by day, your plants will gi'ow freely. They should have plentiful 

 supplies of water when making new growths, also whilst in bloom. When 

 the plants have made a good gi'owth and show their terminal buds, or the 

 Azaleas their points distinctly, discontinue the morning syringing, but 

 continue the sprinkling of the fl()ors, Ac, and tho evening syringing until 

 the buds are formed, paying particular attention to the giving of air early 

 in the morning, so as to have tho foliage dry by the time the sun shines 

 powerfully upon it. This treatment is to be continued until the buda are 

 set, when more air must be giveu, and the house kept cool and moist, 

 though twice as dry as when the plants were making new growth. They 

 need not interfere with the bedding plants, for both only require protec- 

 tion from fiost. 



Names of Fruits {Subscriber^ C [P.). — The Pear, Easter Beurre; th6 

 Apple, Court of Wick. 



Names of Plants {Editin Tatilor), — 1, Nephrodium patens; 2, Aspidium 

 coriaceum ; 8, .^diantum concinnum; 4, Nephrodium mollo. (G. B.). — 

 Ageratum glaucum, otherwise Kupatorium nitidum. (K, T,\ — Dactylls 

 glomerata, war. variegata. (C. S. F.). — J^olanum eiliatnm. (^1 Youngster), 

 — You should send better specimens, and Ferns in fruit only. 1. Eraothe- 

 mum leuconeurum ; 4, .\diantum hispidulum. The other specimens in- 

 sufiicient. iPteria). — 1, Lastrea Shepherdii; 2, L. decomposita ; 3, Asple- 

 nium sp. insufiicient ; 4, Aspidium coriaceum ; 5, Pteris serrulata ; 

 6, Sageuia ap. in»afiicient for identification. (^. .B«).^OdOQtoglo3S12Ja 

 I BhrenbergU. 



