166 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 28, 1867. 



Radishes between the rows of Carrots, which will be pulled 

 before the Carrots need the whole space. To succeed these, 

 Radishes are sown between the rows of Potatoes in frames, to 

 be followed by others sown between Potatoes in an earth pit, 

 •with a board back and front, on which to rest old sashes or 

 hurdles, the latter thatched or with evergreen boughs drawn 

 through them. 



Botlom Heat. — For all such accelerating processes in spring, 

 a little bottom heat is of great importance — that is, a heat rang- 

 ing from 70° to 75°, and even to 80°, as more than that would 

 be injurious rather than otherwise. This heat we speak of as 

 from 9 to 12 inches below the surface. There is no difficulty 

 in keeping the surface cool enough by the free admission of 

 air. There is little difficulty iii securing the requisite bottom 

 heat where there is an abundance of tree leaves and ferment- 

 ing material from the stables, duly wrought, prep.ared, and 

 sweetened for the purpose. Where old beds from last season 

 still remain, enough of bottom heat may be obtained for such 

 purposes with but little addition of fresh material, and with 

 little or no previous preparation. Some details respecting 

 such work may be useful to those who are short of material, 

 and wish to make the most of it. 



First, as to the two frames filled with Potatoes and Radishes ; 

 the bed beneath them was formed of the clearings of the flower 

 garden. Salvias, Ageratums, Calceolarias, Ac, with the sweep- 

 ings of the lawn, the leaves kept chiefly to the surface. These 

 gave out a sweet, mild heat as they slowly decomposed, and the 

 surface of the bed, covered with screenings from the furnaces, 

 helped forward some bedding plants which were just late enough. 

 When room could be found for these plants in the houses, the 

 surface of the bed was stirred, some fresh ashes added; and as 

 the heat was, though mild, too much for plunging Strawberry- 

 pots in, the frames were filled with pots merely set on the sur- 

 face, each pot being nicely cleaned, decayed and old leaves 

 twisted off, some surface soil removed, and fresh rich compost 

 added. This position gave the Strawberry plants a nice start, 

 and when heat was applied to houses, as Peach-houses, &o., 

 the Strawberry-pots were removed thither. Owing to the rough- 

 ness 01 the material, the frames had sunk more at the back 

 than was desirable at this early period ; so they were taken 

 off, the bed forked over to the depth of a foot or so, adding 

 a few harrowloads of fresh leaves to give the bed a better 

 slope, the frame put on, nice mellow soil put in, and Po- 

 tatoes, previously started in pots, planted, and the Radishes 

 sown between. We need not follow these frames further at 

 present. Close to them were two frames set on old hotbeds, 

 now empty, after having contained Lettuces, etc., during winter. 

 We wanted to obtain a little heat beneath the glass of these 

 frames, and could obtain nothing but a couple of loads or so of 

 the litter and dung .just as it came from the stables. The 

 frames were hfted off, and all the very rotten material, which 

 could be easily spitted from the outsid'es of the beds, removed, 

 which left a good sized core, or centre, wet indeed, but not more 

 than half decayed. This was thoroughly mixed with the long, 

 littery, dry dung, the dry and the moist being just sufficient 

 to cause and to keep for a long time a gentle heat from a slow 

 fermentation, and the whole was surfaced with a layer of a few 

 inches of the more than half-rotten material. 'The frames 

 were replaced, and filled with turves sown with Peas, as noticed 

 last week, and when these are removed the beds will be fit for 

 Potatoes or Beans, or, with the addition of some prepared 

 dung or leaves, for Cucumbers and Melons. 



A long earth pit has just been treated much in the same 

 ■way. Last year about this time, or earUer, that pit, with a 

 board at back and front for sashes to be laid on, hurdles, &c., 

 had about 18 inches of hot fermenting material, chiefly con- 

 sisting of fresh leaves with a little dung, placed on the bottom, 

 and then soil was put on for Potatoes ; and when these were re- 

 moved, Cucumbers, principally for pickling, were planted, also 

 ridge Cucumbers for table use,'Vegetable Marrows, &a. These 

 were followed by late Kidney Beans, which with protection con- 

 tinued to produce till late in November, and then by Cauli- 

 flowers taken up from the quarters and put in thickly. The soil 

 in front of the bed had become sodden and soured, so it was 

 removed. A space was also cleared entirely of soil, and an 

 opening made into the fermenting material, now a twelvemonth 

 old. This, though damp, was far from being decayed, and only 

 needed turning and mixing with some fresh material to afford 

 all the heat necessary, the lurning itself admitting air and its 

 oxygen to carry on the process of slow combustion, or fermen- 

 tation. A few loads of this long litter from the stables, and a few 

 barrowloads of fresh leaves, just suited the purpose. As a piece 



was done and well trodden, mixing the old and the new, the soil 

 from behind was thrown on the part finished, and then what 

 was laid aside at first completed the last part. ' There is no 

 danger from steam with such an earth covering, and there is 

 the gentle heat beneath which is wanted. A little lime was 

 thrown on the old soil, fresh light loam added, and all mixed 

 together, and the place will be filled with Potatoes before this 

 is in piint, and will cume in for many purposes afterwards. 



We may mention, that in growing Potatoes and Radishes 

 under frames, it is well not to have the soil more than from 

 6 to inches from the glass at first. This keeps the Radishes 

 short-topped, and as the Potatoes grow the frames can be raised 

 at the four corners on blocks or bricks. In such an earth pit 

 as last described, and of such materials, we may expect the 

 bed to sink gradually about 'J inches before the plants come to 

 maturity, and. therefore, the height at planting-time may be 

 fully inches more than it would be desirable it should be 

 when the Potatoes are full-grown. 



These details may help those who would like to have certain 

 vegetables early and cannot afford quantities of sweetened fer- 

 menting material. In many cases the heat lost in sweetening 

 might have been utilised, and often we have seen the remains 

 of hotbeds wheeled away when if turned, miugled with fresh 

 litter and dung, and covered over with a part of the old, they 

 would have been quite sufficient for all such purposes as above 

 referred to in winter and spring, and saved many an unavail- 

 ing complaint about being unable to obtain fermenting ma- 

 terial for this or that purpose, and, therefore, being under the 

 necessity of waiting until the ground became warm by the 

 heat of the sun. By such arrangements help con be obtained by 

 heat beneath long before the sun will do much in a similar way. 



FKUIT OAEBEN. 



Went on with pruning, nailing, watching birds, &c., the 

 general work being much the same as in preceding weeks. 



Orcliard-lwuses. — As soon as possible we will have these 

 fresh arranged, fresh surfaced, and Peas planted in them. 

 The chief matter we are careful about now is to keep them as 

 cool as possible, with all the air on in safe weather night and 

 day. The longer the blooms are in opening the better we shall 

 like it. The dull weather has also helped to retard the swell- 

 ing buds. All fruit-buds seem to come earlier than usual 

 this season, whether under glass or in the open air. If we 

 have some bright days soon we sh^U be tempted, as respects 

 orchard-houses, to dull the colour of the glass a little, by 

 syringing it outside with water coloured by whiteniifg. Forthe 

 sake of convenience in re-ai ranging the orchard-houses, we have 

 removed the Strawberry plants in pots from them ; and what we 

 could not find room for under frames to come on gently, we 

 have plunged in a bed of litter out of doors, and if a severe 

 frost come we can throw a little litter over them, or clean 

 straw. Our plants in pots had too much wet last autumn, but 

 after being dried in the orchard-houses they seem to be all 

 right. Many complaints reach us of the havoc done by the 

 frost in breaking pots, and killing all the outside roots. There 

 is so much trouble in securing good plants in pots that the 

 pots ought to be protected from frost by some means. 



It is a long time since we have used fumigating for green 

 fly on Strawberry plants, though we may soon find we are 

 not quite secure, and much of the freedom from insects we 

 attribute to air-giving and a comparatively cool temperature, 

 especially before the fruit is sweUiug. After that the plants 

 will bear a much higher temperature, but if the air is moist the 

 flavour will be inferior. We should not forget that the plant 

 blooms out of doors early, and the fruit sets when the tempera- 

 ture at night is comparatively low. Had we our will at all 

 times with forced Strawberries, we would never care to have 

 the plants in a higher temperature than from 50° to 55° until 

 the flower-trusses appeared, and never higher when in bloom 

 than 60°, sinking to 55° at night, and rising with sunshine and 

 air to 75°, and a few degrees more if the sun was bright. 



ORNAMENTAI. DEPAllTMENT. 



The chief work has been digging, potting, putting in cut- 

 tings, and removing plants. Bulbs out of doors will want 

 filming in the soil, and those under glass must be kept near 

 the light to improve the colour. Azaleas, Deutzias, Rhodo- 

 dendrons, Lilacs, &c., will come on fast now if placed in Peach- 

 houses or vineries at work, and just require a warm place in 

 the greenhouse or conservatory when moved there at first. 

 Next mouth is a good time for potting young plants of deci- 

 duous shrubs for forcing, plunging them in a bed during the 

 summer, and mulching with litter until the spring frosts are 

 over. The better such plants are estabhshed in the pots, and 



