152 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 21, 18G7. 



pAiiPAS Gr.^R'? Frosted (Han/cv).— The Pampas Grass, killed to the 

 j^TOund by the Ititi; Bcvere frosts, tihould not be cut down until the end of 

 April or bet,'iuniiig of May, when the withered and dead folia(,'e may be 

 removed. The plant should have, a mulehinK all round it. whieh may be 

 neatly pointed in wheu the old foliage is cut away. Copiouy waterings 

 with hquid maniu'c are advantageous during dry hot weather. 



EARLV■F^■o^\^:nI^'G Uhododendroks {Beta, a Suhscr!be>K~The kinds 

 which bloain at this early season are practically worthlesn, being in most 

 seasons injured by frost to a greater or loss extent ; but they nrc good for 

 conservatory culture, or where protection is afforded. We know of no 

 means of retarding their flowering. Pinching off the flower-buds would 

 I)revent their ilowering in the following year. 



Anncals foh Bedding (/Jcih)-— Annuals would have a good effect and 

 assist you to liU your beds — for instance, you may have Perilla nankinen- 

 sia in the centre of a bed, your pale yellow Calceolaria round it, and 

 Lobelia erinus .speciosa as an edging. If your beds are narrow we should 

 plant them in match beds or pairs, as follows :— In the two outside beds 

 a line of Cineraria maritima in the centre, with a band -of Tom Thumb 

 Scai-let Pelargonium on ench side, edged with Cerastinm tomentosum; 

 the next two bods from the opposite sides inwards, Heliotrope, edged 

 with Saponnvia calabrici; the next two yellow Calceolariii, edged with 

 Perilla nankinenwis, peggtd down and pinched, or Lobelia speciosa ; the 

 next two Pelargonium Cerise Unique, edged with Cerastinm tomentosum 

 or Saponaria calabrica alba; and the two adjoining beds Tagctes signata 

 7>nmi!a, edgtd with Oxalis troprooloides fcorniculata rubra)- Some of 

 these are perennials, but sown early they bloom or have effeetivo foliage 

 in the first year. .^.11, with the exception of the Saponaria. which should 

 be so\va where it is to remain, require the treatment of half-hardy an- 

 nuab". If you do not like the above arrangement, or have not plants of 

 the Heliotropes, Pelargoniums, and Calceolarias, you may have as half- 

 hardy annuals the following:— Stocks New Lai-gb-flowering Ten-Week, 

 interspersed with the autumnal-flowering, which flower late, or either 

 separately. The iJwarf German Ten-Week Stocks are good ; one or two 

 beds of Stocks are fine. The Victoria Aster will furnish materials for a 

 pah- of beds. Viola cornuta will have a good effect as an edging ; it is 

 a perennial. Also Amnranthus melancholicns ruber for its foliage, Cal- 

 ceolaria seabiosa-folin, I'blox Drummondi, Petunia ; and of hnrdy annuals 

 double Sanvjtalia procumbens, double Jacobasa, Tropieolum Tom Thumb 

 Scarlet, yellow and crimson Beauty, Coreopsis marmorata nana, and 

 C. nigra speciosa nana. 



Caladicm Culture (A Novice).~'The compost may consist of equal 

 parts of turfy loam and peat, tnc-third leaf mould, and one-sixth silver 

 sand, and one-sixth pieces of charcoal about the sizo of a hazel nut, all 

 well incorporated. It is desirable to afford a temperature of 65° at night, 

 and from 75- to 8.'.- by dny, with air. The M'atering slionld be very mo- 

 derate at first, but when in full growth the plants require very copious 

 supplies of water, and they luxuriate iu liquid manure. The rhizomes 

 should he buried about an inch. 



Lapageeia rosea Seed Sowing {W.H. 3/.)-— Sow the seeds in pots or 

 pnns in a compost of turfy peat two-thirds and loam one-third, with a free 

 admixture of sand. Tlie not should be well drained. The surface l)eing 

 levelled, sow the seed, and cover with its own thickness of fine soil. Place 

 the pots in a hotbed of 70°. and keep the soil moist. When the young 

 plants are large enough to handle, pot them off, and gi-ow them on 'in the 



hotbed for a time, or until established, then harden them off, and place 

 thorn In a warm greenbouso. For training a plant in a pan tho best 

 form of trellis is that of an umbrella, but n2ai-ly flat like a table. 



Sweet Altssum for an Edgino (7nf/itir/>r).— If the seeds be sown in 

 the second week of April iu a flat-bottomed shallow drill the plant will 

 make a pretty edging, lai^ting until late in autumn. Unless tho soil ia 

 light it is one of the latest of flowering annuals. In heavy soils tho seed 

 should not be sown later than the second week of April. Sow moderately 

 thickly, and when the plants aro an inch in height thin them out to an 

 inch or an inch and a half apart. For a line 50 yards long we should 

 think 2 ozs. of seed suflicient. 



Burned Tcuf [Calcaria).— The turf that has been burnt if not reduced 

 to ashes but only charred, will form one of the best of composts for 

 Pelargoniums, Fuehsia^-, and Cinerarias, if used in the proportion of 

 two-thirds to one-third leaf mould ; but if the turf was hard burned, then 

 the roots would not run well iu it, iind accordingly it should not form 

 the stnplfi of the compost. We may state that we have used the charred 

 sods which had covered a heap of charcoal in the proportiorf*f one-third 

 of the compost, and it answered admirably. We should give it a trial. 



Prkventing Heat R»DiATiNrj FROri Hot-water Pipes (F. F.) — How 

 do you manage to have the heat in your hot-water pipes up to 21G*' ? The 

 whitening of the pipes exposed will arrest radiation. If done with 

 quicklime it will stand for a considerable time; but wo would prefer 

 doing it with white or light-coloured paint. No coloiu*, however, will pre- 

 vent the radiation of the heat, though it will lessen it. In addition, 

 wrapping the pipes in bands of wool or flunuel will help you much ; but 

 even that will be much inferior to placing boxes of wood — say 5>. inches 

 square inside measure round the pipes, and packing them lightly with 

 sawdust. We have seen pipes exposed to the open air used for heating 

 premises at the distance of 40 feet thus encased in wood, but without 

 thick sawdust, and an opening left from the funnel into the house to be 

 heated, and thus the he^it given off by the connecting piping was canied 

 along into the premises to be heated. 



Queensland (Old Colonist].— yVe shall be very much obliged by your 

 proffered communication. We always keep in mind the wants of our 

 colonists, and publish anything connected with the culture of the noil 

 that ivG think will be useful to them. If any colonist will write to ns for 

 information we will spare no efforts to obtain it for him. The sprig you 

 enclosed is usually called the C:ipe Gooseberry, Pbysalis pubescens. The 

 following is our note on Scbizostylis coccinea (Crimson Scbizostylis : — 

 " Nat. ord , IridaeeEC. Ltnti., Triandrla Monogynia. Native of watery 

 pltices in British laffraria. Flowers crimson, blooming late in autumn." 

 A drawing of it is in the " Botanical Magazine " for l&iJ4. t. 5-122. 



Prisiulas Diseased (If'.). — They are indeed in a miserable plight. The 

 roots must be nearly destroyed, either by vermin, or over-watering, or 

 unsuitable soil. As we have no information on which to found an opi- 

 nion wo cannot suggest a remedy. 



Na3if. of Fruit {Briissica). — Your Apple No. 2 is Ho.ary Morning. 



Names of Plants (G. B.) — Hardenbergia Comptoniana. (Snphia). — 

 Polystichum angulare, not uncommon in the south and west of England. 

 {J. H. C). — 1, Aspleuium flaccidum; 2, A. umbrosum ; 3, Adiantum 

 teucrium ; 4, A. hispidulum ; 5, Acacia undnlata ; 6, Cypripedinminsigne. 

 (G. M.). — It is impossible to identify plants from sprigs of leaves. (Dick- 

 son), — Cephalotaxus Fortuni. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the AVeek ending February li»th. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHEONICLE. 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S POULTRY 

 SHOW. 

 We have great pleasure in calling the attention of our 

 readers to tlie liberal prize list offered by the Koyal Agricul- 

 tural Society of England, at their meeting in July at Bury St. 

 Edmunds. We trust it will be responded to by 'the amateurs 

 of the United Kiugdom. We know that if such be the case, 

 the Show will be gladly continued by the Council ; but if the 

 poultry world be but badly represented, it cannot be expected 

 that a Society such as this should be content with a small 

 display. Tho hst of prizes amounts to f 20(). They are chiefly 

 offered to the breeds most kept by, or most likely to be profit- 

 able to, those engaged in agriculture. For the first time a 

 separate class is offered for Houdans, and numerous prizes for 

 Turkeys and Geese. We hope Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge- 

 shire will respond to the call, and that numerous entries will 

 justify the amounts offered. The rules are assimilntei as 



nearly as possible to those of any other show, and sales are 

 recognised and encouraged. 



The only objection that can be raised is, that the time of 

 year is unfavourable ; but we do not think it by any means 

 great, much less insuperable. We do not look for the brilliant 

 plumage of March in July, but we have never seen the time 

 when we could not pick out good pens in condition to exhibit. 

 Forward chickens are also fit to show ; and although there are 

 no separate classes for them, yet it is staled in the printed in- 

 structions, that wherever chickens are shown the Judges will 

 be requested to take especial note of them, allowing for age. 

 There are suflicient prizes for all ages to share in the awards, 

 and the entries do not close till the 1st of June. 



We cannot help thinking this is a step in the right direction, 

 and we heartily wish it full success. None can shut their cyea 

 to the importance of poultry in the present day. It ceases to 

 be an article of mere luxury, and is part of the food of the 

 country. Four hundred millions of eggs aro imported every- 

 year; France, Belgium, and Holland are ransacked for food. 

 It is true Babbits do not enter into the category of farm pro- 

 duce, but it is not less a fact that they are imported into Eng- 



