Uarch 14, 1867. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



197 



other hardy annuals as soon as they are ready, and continue 

 to sow seeds of all kinds of annuals that are most wanted, the 

 more hardy kinds in beds or borders under hand-glasses. — 

 W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAEDEN'. 



For general details see last week. In addition, our chief 

 work out of doors was Potato planting in the driest days. 

 Planted the earth-pit, which, prepared as previously described, 

 was in excellent condition, and the Potatoes were also in a 

 good state for planting, being sprung about 2 inches, and had 

 plenty of leaf mould about their roots, as the sets, mostly 

 whole, had been set on shallow wooden boxes with leaf mould 

 about them. As the open ground was not in first-rate order 

 for Potatoes, except where it was well aired and dry, as at the 

 foot of walls, we spread a little light dry soil and ashes and a 

 little lime over the sets. 



Peas. — Planted a row of Dillistoue's Early and a kind with 

 a local name, but almost if not quite identical, near the front 

 of our two orchard-houses, the Peas turned out from semi- 

 circular drain-tiles, and placed about a yard from the front of 

 the house. These are growing as if they had never been re- 

 moved. In one house we had to take up a row of Lettuce, 

 nearly half grown, in order to make room for the Peas, and 

 planted the Lettuces with balls out of doors. There is a row of 

 good-sized Lettuces behind the Peas, another row in front of 

 them, and then a row of Parsley, that has done good service 

 this winter. The Lettuces will soon be out of the way of the 

 Peas, and by the time the latter need more room the Parsley 

 will be of little value, as the plants out of doors will be grow- 

 ing freely by that time. Nothing will be done with these Peas 

 but running a line along the back of the row, or some low 

 twiggy sticks, to prevent the Peas leaning inwards to the house, 

 the object being to encourage them to grow and cover the 

 ground to the front of the house, the wooden ventilator being 

 only a few inches above the groimd level. Vt'e have had fine 

 early gatherings with little trouble by this mode, the flowers 

 and the pods standing well above the foliage and recumbent 

 stems. We think it may be useful to some to say, that after 

 trying a number of sorts for this purpose we have found none 

 so good as Dillistoue's Early, which, thus protected by a roof of 

 glass, pods freely, whilst other early sorts, even Sangster's 

 No. 1, podded but indifferently, though in general it far ex- 

 ceeds Dillistoue's in produce out of doors, but is usually three 

 or four days later. We have also placed in one house a row of 

 Tom Thumb in pots close to the back wall. These Peas gene- 

 rally do well ; but when of the same age as Dillistone's they 

 will not be so early. Their dwarfness is a great recommenda- 

 tion for such positions, and for growing in frames or pits. 

 They stand a moderate heat well, and succeed admirably in 

 well-aired soil with the protection of sashes, the air removed 

 early in the afternoon. We prefer them in pots at the back of 

 an orchard-house or late Peach-house to planting thom out 

 near the trees, as, to make them succeed well, the ground would 

 require to be more deeply stirred than we would like for the 

 trees, and if planted on shallow-stirred soil they are subject to 

 fly and mildew. They are also rather impatient of the syring- 

 ing with different waters which the trees may require after the 

 fruit is fairly set, and when in pots they may be lifted out of 

 the way until the syringing is over. 



The weather has been cold enough, and the ground has been 

 too wet and unkind yet for turning out other Peas in tiles and 

 turf, protecting and staking as we go on ; but these are being 

 hardened off to be ready as soon as the ground shall be in better 

 condition. This plan, though involving a little more labour 

 row, saves much seed, as well as looking after slugs and mice 

 in winter. 



In one of the driest days of last week sowed a piece of Peas 

 and Broad Beans, the Peas fully 5 feet apart from row to row, 

 and the garden Beans between them, the Peas being moderate 

 growers. Taught by pheasants and partridges last year, we 

 ran some hooped wood on each side of the piece sown, with a 

 row of similar hoops in the middle, and then strained a piece 

 of cord netting all over, fixed the net all round, and as yet the 

 depredators have obtained no entrance. 



We lately alluded to a first-rate, small-meshed. Pea-guard. 

 Having used some two-inch-mesh galvanised wire netting, as 

 advertised in the Journal, for keeping out rabbits, &c., and a 

 little of it being left, we mean to bend its two-feet width into a 

 semicircular shape, and fix it at each side with pins over a row 



of Peas, and we feel confident that, though the mesh will not 

 keep out small birds, it will prevent such wholesale pilferers 

 as pheasants attacking the Peas. The meshes will let the head 

 and neck of the pheasant in, and there will be no danger of 

 the bird being hanged, but the shoulders wiU prevent its 

 reaching the Peas. We would, however, prefer the Pea-guards 

 alluded to. 



FKUIT DEPARTMENT. 



Proceeded with pruning and nailing in the most favourable 

 days, and especially when there was any sun, as it was easy to 

 vary the position. We have not yet done with the Peaches 

 and Apricots. The latter are freely swelling their flower-buds, 

 but none are open yet, and we wish to keep them back, as 

 March is yet young, but we have a lot of Laurel branches ready 

 to place against them if we should have a severe night. Had 

 we a cloth we would cover at present on every sunny day, and 

 uncover in all weather not very frosty, until the blossom-buds 

 began to open. The great advantage of a cloth for Apricots is 

 that the blossom can be kept dry in cold sleety weather. The 

 blossom if dry will stand a considerable degree of frost. Eevu 

 a rather close net will do good, as the rain is caught in the net 

 without freely reachiug the wall. Laurel twigs used rather 

 thinly imake a fair protection when litter is not to be had. 



Orchard-Jiouset;. — Had these cleaned out, as alluded to the 

 other week, removing the litter that had been used for covering 

 the pots, and taking off about half an inch of the diy surface 

 soil, chiefly as a precautionary measure ; slightly broke the 

 surface with the points of a steel fork, gave a dressing all over 

 of decayed Mushroom-bed manure that had been long enough 

 exposed to kill every particle of spawn, and to make sure, as 

 well as to help to enrich, mixed with it a bushel of soot and a 

 bushel of quicklime, the latter settling any worms that might 

 be present ; patted this down, and then covered with a slight 

 casing of fresh loam, the pots being also fresh surfaced to make 

 all look well. Here we are reminded of a few matters we could 

 not enter into last week. 



1st, With regard to the firmness or looseness of soil about 

 the roots of fruit trees in general and of Peach trees in parti- 

 cular. Could we always have our way we would prefer, after 

 the trees had grown enough to be and continue to be fruitful, 

 that the soil about the roots should be firm : hence, but for 

 the necessity of watering and keeping the soil moist enough, 

 we would not break even the surface often ; but for such pur- 

 poses breaking the surface is necessary, and then the manuring 

 material being put on the surface, the water passes through it 

 to the roots, which are thus encouraged to turn their mouths 

 nearer to the atmosphere. Just as with propriety we make the 

 soil tirm in the pots for fruit trees thus grown, so on the same 

 principle it holds that trees planted out should have their roots 

 equally firmly packed. Why, even with a Cabbage plant, if we 

 wish it to grow very fast we keep loosening and airing the soil 

 about it, and giving it as much moisture, &c., as it can take in ; 

 but if we wished it to bloom and produce seed as soon as 

 possible, we would teat the soil closely and firmly about the 

 roots. 



2nd, It is very mortifying, but yet it is very necessary, that 

 gardeners who attempt to write for the pleasure and the profit 

 of others should be obliged too often to say, " Do not always 

 do as I do, but do as I tell you ;" and consistently enough too, 

 as circumstances may often be too strong for permitting the 

 development of the intelligence gained in the school of ex- 

 perience. Thus, with a want of consistency, we have been 

 telling of planting Potatoes at the foot of walls ; lately of cover- 

 ing a bed of Endive in front of such a wall ; now of planting 

 out Peas, and of Lettuces in an orchard-house ; and in addi- 

 tion all the fruit-tree borders will most Ukely be cropped. Now 

 all this is done by hundreds of gardeners who would rather do 

 otherwise if they could — and why ? because they never have too 

 much from the ground, crop as they may, and these borders in 

 front of walls are so well protected. It has often seemed to 

 us a strange anomaly, that a gentleman who lays no great store 

 on his land, and lets it at 2ns. or 30.i. per acre, though such land 

 generally carries no more than one crop in the season, shotild 

 expect such wonders in the way of produce, and so many crops 

 in a season from an acre or two of land which is called 

 the garden. We would not advocate large walled gardens if 

 much of the commoner produce were cultivated in fields, for 

 then fruit-tree borders might be left to the fruit trees, and 

 if that even could not be, then it would be better in every 

 way that these bordejs should be cropped, and the roots 

 of the trees confined to a space .5 or 6 feet from the wall 

 where surface-dreseiogs could be given, and the soil kept 



