Febraary 7, 1B67. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



m 



ZoNALE PEtAROosiCM I/BAvEs (J. B. H.).— They aro very interior in 

 variety and brilliancy of colours to those of many others now so common. 

 SoROBCH TARTABICCM (E. J5.).— There is no species so named, and any 

 one attending to sugfiestions from the same source will be deluded. 



Pipraa FOR ViNEnv— Produce of Vines Iff. If.).— To force a lean-to 

 Tinery, 80 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 18 feet high at the back, and 4 feet 

 in front, would require four four-inch pipes to begin, say in February ; 

 but for earlier work vou would require at least one more. 2, This piping 

 would be most effective if spread over the floor of the house— say four Hows 

 iind one return. If that were unsuitable, then the ue\t best plan would 

 be to have them all on a level near the front of the h.nise. The pipes 

 will tell more if on the level than if piled above each other. If such a 

 house were in two or three divisions, then the best plan would be to take 

 a flow and return all the length, and take from these the necessary pipes 

 for each division. 3, The best fuel is the best coal, banked up at night 

 with ashes and cinders. This will be the cheapest, too. if there is no 

 waste ; but of course all extra heat will be waste, ami hence, when 

 depending on others, it is as well to use inferior coal ; but a little coal, 

 cinders, and coke, make economical fuel. There will be no difficulty in 

 jour man regulating the beat at night when he is used to the furnace and 

 the boiler, and knows how to apply the damper. There would be no occa- 

 sion for leaving air on now at night ; but after the Vines .ire set a very 

 little at the top would be advisable. 4, A moderate crop would be from 

 10 lbs. to 12 or 15 lbs. for each Vine of the thirty, if in good order. The 

 depth of the roots will be unfavourable to early forcing. Deep as they 

 ftre, we would rather keep the frost out of the ground. 



Fowls' Dung as a Manure (A Constant liender). — It is one of the 

 most powerful fertilisers. Vines require neither that nor any other 

 stimulating manure. Fowls' duug is much more fitted for making 

 liquid manure for some plants, or as food for Asparagus and other kitchen 

 garden crops. 



Apple-tree Branches Sawn off tA. B.). — Not only should the edges 

 of the bark be smoothly cut with a sharp knife, but the whole face of the 

 wound should he covered with melted pitch to exclude wet. 



Vines in a Vinery {Coti^tant Reader). — We approve of Vines being 

 planted inside for several reasons often given, and one of them is, the 

 securing the stems from vermin, for many a fine Vine we have had de- 

 stroyed by the uibblings of mice and rats ; bnt in your case we decidedly 



I would plant ontaido, and take the Vines in either above or below the wall- 

 plate, doing it in the latter mode if you do not contemplate taking tha 

 Vines out of the house. In such a case, if any of the stems of the Vinea 

 outside are not covered, it is best to place the three sides of a wooden box 

 against each Vine, with the wall for a fourth aide, and a lid fastened on, 

 so that neither rats nor mice, neither frost nor wot, can reach them, and 

 then with your old sashes for the border you may grow and force them 

 exceedingly well. In your case we would be perfectly satisfied with soch 

 a good outside border. 



Proiectino RlloDODENDnoNS (Amateur).— Fat your protecting belt we 

 would recommend a mixture of common Laurels, Lilacs, Philadelphus, 

 and Ribes. with a front of the Rhododendron ponticum, which would 

 come in well with the groups of finer Rhododendrons. 



PINCUSHION-BEDS (/Jcm).- The centering of the pincushion-beds with 

 a fine plant of Bijuu Pelargonium would improve them if they harmonised 

 well. They would suit well with Viola cornuta. 



Alkaline Manures for Potatoes (D., of Headcarn). — I did not try 

 them for two reasons:— Firstly, I wrote about them and failed to get a 

 reply ; secondly, I did not see the cogency of the reasoning which re- 

 commended them. I found certain Potatoes in my garden close and 

 waxy, which others said were mealy ; but others were all that could be 

 desireil. I coull not understand that my ground was in fault, for then 

 1 should have thought all would have shared alike : hence I did not try 

 the alkalies.- D., Deal. 



Select Delphiniums ( ). — Three good double Delphiniums: — 



Alopecuroides, Triompbe de Poutoise, Madame Henri Jacotot. Three 

 good single Delphiniums :— Bicolor grandiflorum, Hendersonii, Bella- 

 donua. 



Names of Plants (J. B. M.).— Your Conifer is Thuja occidentalls. 

 IG. A.). — We cannot name plants from mere leaves. We ought to have 

 flowers sent to ns. i.lf. P. D.).— Excoecaria discolor. (Mrs. T. P.).— 

 Nerine pulchella, a native of South .Africa, [A. R. T.).—\, Helichrysum 

 vestitum: 2, Phjenocomaprolifera. (.Sophia). — Lastreadilatata, W.S.). 

 —specimens insufficient. ( W. X)— The pod you received as " Calvary 

 Clover "is a Medic;vgo; but we cannot identify the species from the frag- 

 ment sent. (An Old .Subscriber). — The specimens you enclosed are the 

 catkins of the common .4lder. They, as well as the leaves and bark, have 

 for ages been used by the Highlanders and others for dylug black. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the Week ending February 5th. 



Wed. . 30 

 Thurs. 31 

 Fri. .. 1 

 Sat. .. 2 

 Sun... 3 

 Mon... 4 

 Tnes, . 5 



Mean 



babometeb. 



Hax. Min. 



29.859 

 29.122 

 30.062 

 30.413 

 30.457 

 29.700 

 29 417 



29.581 

 29.985 

 30.031 

 30.176 

 30.195 

 29,482 

 29.014 



30.004 29.780 49.00 



thbruometer. 



32.14 



1 ft. dp. 2 fl. dp. 



46 

 46 

 45 

 46 

 45 

 45 

 45 



45.43 43.43 



46 

 43 

 43 

 43 

 43 

 43 

 43 



S.W. 

 W. 



S.W. 



w. 



s. 



S.W. 



s. 



Rain in 

 inches. 



.47 

 .10 

 .00 

 .00 

 .01 

 .08 

 .14 



Gbner^l Reuaseb. 



0.80 



Overcast ; cloudy ; heavy rain. ^ 



Fine ; very clear ; overcast ; rain at night. 



Hazy ; drizzly and foggy ; overcast. 



Fine ; exceedingly fine throughout. 



Clear and frosty; very fine ; overcast at night. 



Densely clouded ; very boisterous and wet ; fine at night. 



Fine ; rain ; boisterous ; hurricane in the night. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



THE EFFECTS OF THE SEASON. 



Most poultry yards are in arrears. Broody liens are hard to 

 find, eggs are scarce, and there are no chickens yet. It is won- 

 derful how people who ought to know better rail at their fowls 

 if after forty-eight hours they have not shaken off the effects 

 of a month's frost and begun laying. It has been an unusually 

 trying season for poultry ; not only has the earth been bound 

 as it were with iron, not only has water been in many places 

 unattainable, not only have combs and toes been frozen, but 

 the fowls have had to eat snow with all their food, and to 

 drink it when melted. This last lays the foundation of many 

 diseases. Snow is a violent purgative to all birds. The good, 

 fat, matronly Wild Duck, witb her ample rounded bows, rises 

 and falls on the lake as the little waves heave, happy that she 

 has avoided in her new home the extreme weather that drove 

 her from the north ; but the snow comes. Three days are 

 sufficient to make her sharp as the sharpest that ever crossed 

 the Atlantic. The Lark that fattens on two days' rime of the 

 white frost, becomes a " bag of bones " after two days' snow. 

 Partridges suffer, and so do fowls. They cannot lay till they 

 have repaired and replaced that which they lost. As soon as 

 the bones are well covered with flesh, there is something to 

 spare to go to internal formations. 



There are few in the present day who do not keep more than 

 one breed. Some are in confinement, and these have less 

 opportunity than the others of obtaining necessaries. They 

 have only that which is given to them, and the most lavish 

 provision that can be made falls far short of that which is ne- 

 cessary, or which nature demands. Nothing expensive is 

 demanded or necessary. Follow nature as closely as you can. 



If your fowls are shut up where they have no green food, cut 

 large sods of growing grass, let lots of earth adhere to it, and 

 you will not only see them eat the grass and great part of the 

 mould, but they will roll and dust themselves in the powdered 

 earth that remains after the shaking. Have the bottoms of the 

 pens dug up, and left as rough and uneven as possible, scatter 

 some whole corn, and you will see with pleasure how your 

 birds delight in it, and how they find all sorts of good things 

 while seeking the scattered grains. It is not the piling up of 

 food, nor the throwing down of sacks of corn, that constitutes 

 profitable feeding. Attentions like these make combs red, and 

 fill the egg-basket. 



RESULTS OF POULTRY-KEEPING. 



In accordance with your request, I send you the summary of 

 my poultry journal for the past year. 



I have two houses for my poultry, one built against a warm 

 flue for winter accommodation, and one considerably cooler and 

 better ventil.ited for the summer months. The fowls have a 

 field of about two .acres to ramble in, besides a small plantation. 

 I feed them twice a-day, in the morning at 8.30 with wheat, 

 barley, or oats ; and in the evening at 4.30, with a warm meal 

 of boiled potatoes and fine middlings. I have another ad- 

 vantage which I think highly conducive to their health — viz., 

 a stream of pure water. 



I do not know that anything extraordinary has happened in 

 my yard, except that a Cochin hen laid two eggs in one day on 

 two separate occasions. The first time she laid both the day 

 before and the day after the feat ; on the second occasion she 

 missed the day after. I have also had several eggs weighing 

 •ii and 4| ozs. I have had very little disease in my yard during 

 the past year, and this I attribute to careful feeding, clean- 

 liness, and the use of the solution of sulphate of iron ia 



