Moi-ch 14, 1867. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



I'.iy 



Boiler Heated bv G-as (P. ff.l.— A oJist-iron boilor will be durnble. 

 The sulphurous ncid ra the giis, if not much purer than it usually ia, 

 would corrode the boK^m of the boiler outHide fts you describe. 



Pea Protectors.— " Your correspondent, * R. F.,' iu ' DoinRs of the 

 Last Week.' lately asked a (lueRtion about Pea protectors. I have tried 

 them and found th«m answer as au effectual protection from pparrowst, 

 which lire sure to attsick Peas as soon as they nppcar above uromid. The 

 protectors ara ninde of K"lvanised wire, twenty meshes to tlip font, and 

 are 8 inches wide, and 5 inches hi;zh. Enough protectors are retiuired 

 for one sowing, and as soon ha tho plants have crown an inch or two high 

 the protectors may be moved to the next sowing, which will bo coming 

 through tho gi'ouu'd. As soon as the protectors arc moved away from the 

 Peas these ought to be stikecl, as the birds will then not be so apt to 

 attack them.— -J. Douglas.' 



Ants in a Peach-itouse (C. J?.). —They arc driven awny by sprinkling 

 ft little guano over their liaunts. or by waierint,' those haunts with ammo- 

 niacal liijuor from tho gasworks. Either of tho applications must be 

 repeated daily until the ants have departed. 



Tarcor^rjcnED Pelargoniuji Leaves {E. S.).— Nos. 5 and 3 aro of un- 

 nsual colours, but 5 is by much the most richly and peculiarly coloured — 

 one-half dark gi-oen gmund, tho other half yellow ground, and each with 

 the scarlet and other markings, the midrib exactly dividing the special 

 colouring. 



Deodorisino Night Soil (A FlorhtC Flower). — No chemical mixture 

 is needed. C.iver it over with earth immediately; enrth is the most 

 effective of deodorisers. Sulphate of iron mixed with night soil, and used 

 as a liquid manure, will not injurn your Roses and Pansies. The other 

 chemicals which you mention would kill or seriously injure plants. 



Grafting Weeping Ash (li. H. .^,1.— Tho best time to gi-aft stocks of 

 the common Ash with scions of the Weeping Ash is when the buds of 

 the stock begin to grow. Grafting may, however, be done when the sap 

 is flowing freely, which will bo the case by the end of April or early in 

 Hay. 



AIarrow Peas for August or Beginning of Septembep. (Idem). — You 

 should make a sowing of Ne Plus Ultra in the third week in May, or if 

 your soil is heavy a week earlier. To make certain, when everything 

 depends on the weather, you should sow Ne Plus Ultra in the second 

 week in May, and iu ten days make a sowing of Ne Plus Ultra and British 

 Queen. The above are tall growers (6 to 7 feet) iu good soil ; if you wish 

 for dwarfer sorts, then sow Veiteh's Perfection, Yorkshire Hero, and 

 Hairs' Dwarf Mammoth. The ground should be in good heart. 



Pruning Old Vine {J. TTM.— Your old Vine with shoots G or 7 feet long 

 should be at once pruned. If the stem is very old, and one of the long 

 shoots come from it at the bottom of the rafter, wo would cut away tho 

 old stem to v>ithiu n. short distance of the point from which the shoot 

 takes it<! rise, iiare the stem smooth, and cover it with Thomson's styptic 

 to stop the bleeding tliat must fuUow pruning at this season. We would 

 leave the shoot at its full length, bending it down in front of the house to 

 induce the eyes to break throughout its full length, and when these are a 

 few inches long we would tie it, to the wire, and the shoots right and left 

 of it, stopping tliem one joint above the fruit, or if there were none at 

 the sixth joint or leaf, a strong shoot from the upper pirt being retained 

 as a leader. If there is no eligible shoot from the bottom, prune the long 

 shoots to two eyes, and you will, if the wood has been well ripened, pro- 

 bably have fruit this season. 



Yucca Drooping iA SubucribcT).— The lower leaves of the plants droop 

 from the exposure of the roots to the dr^-ing iufluence of the atmosphere. 

 Water it, giving it a thorough soaking, and place it outside, the tub 

 being protected from froat and the air by plunging, or by placing some 

 material around it. 



Beurre Clairgeau Pear (.5. S. S.).—You can have it from any of the 

 large nurserymen near London. 



Angle of Vinery Roof G. P.).— There is no better general angle for 

 the roof of a house than 45^, which does well for early, late, and inter- 

 mediate crops. When vinerie« liave flat roofs, as in lofty houses, with 

 upright glass in front, the upright glass compensates for the fl;xtne6S of 

 the roof, receiving, as the upright glass doe?, the rays of light almost 

 perpendicularly in the early and late months oi the year. 



Vegetable Marrow Raising (S. 21f.).— It is too early to sow seeds of 

 this plant in tho open ground, affording them but a temporary protection 

 of boards. Your best plan would be to ask some gardener to raise a few 

 plants for you, or perhaps a neighbouring gardener would give you tv.'O. 

 You may plant them in the bed; the boards nailed round the bed, and 

 the oiloii paper frames for covering tho latter, would bo useful. Plant about 

 the middle of May. Two plants will be ampie for the space you nnme. If 

 you cannot procure plants yon may sow the seed early in May, and cover 

 with the oiled paper frames. You should afford them from 9 inches to a 

 foot of good, rich, rather light soil. You could rai>.e Cauliflower plants on 

 the bed before it was wanted for the Vegetable Marrows. 



Melon for Exhibition (CZcricu^).— Oulton Park Hybrid is one of 

 tho tinest of the Scarlet-fleshed kinds, and Green Pine-Apple Gem of 

 tho Green-fleshed kinds. 



Mulberry Unfruitful (Irfcm).— The cutting back or down of the tree 



would cause tho production of strong unfruitful growth. W' e apprehend 



its vigour will now be spent ; the shoots must be kept moderately thin, 



I and the foreright and side shot)ts closely pinched at tho third leaf. It 



j will fruit in a year ; if not, root-prune it. 



Climbing Plants fob Greenhouse with Vines (Tnquir/'r). — The 



! following will do well tr.-Jnert to fan, conical, or b.illoon-sbaped trellises, 



i which should be made of wire, and painted green. Lapageria rosea* 



Mibbertia dentata, Kennedya inophylla fioribunda, K. MariT^att.-e, and 



1 K. bimaculatavariegata, Jasmin umgracilo variegatum, Rhyncbosperrauni 



jasminoides, Pergularia odoratissiiua, Tropa-olum aznrcum, bracby- 



ceras, and tricolorum, and Sollya linearis. They cannot have too light 



I and airy a situation. 



Indian Corn (Idem).— The best plan is to sow the seed in pots placed 

 I in the greenhouse, or, better, in a hotbed, from which, when the plants 

 I are a few inches high, they should be removed to the greenhouse. After- 

 I wards hardi'u ofT, and plant out in the open ground in good soil and in a 

 I warm situation early in June. You mny grow it in the greenhouse, using 

 I nine-inch pots ; but, unless well syi'inged, you will have a pliigue of red 

 spider, and under no circumstances is it worth the trouble. i>o not be 

 misled by Mr. Hullett. 



Gentiana acaulis and Alpine Rose Seed Sowisg (Xovice). — The seed 

 of both the Gentiana and Rock Rose, or Cistus. may be sown now in pans 

 three parts filled with crocks, and then to the rim with a compost of turfy 

 loam and sandy peat in equal parts, adding a third of silver sand. The 

 compost should be chopped fine and sifted, the roughest parts being 

 placed over the crocks or drainage, and the finely-sifted soil on the top. 

 Make the surface smooth, scatter the seeds over it, and cover very lightly 

 with fine soil. Give a gentle watering througli a fine rose, and place the 

 pans in a cold frame, which should be kept close until the plants appear, 

 when air may be freely admitted ; expose fully in a few days. The soil 

 bhould be kept moist, but not saturated with water. 

 Name of Fruit (C. B,, Baa-try).— Pear, Bergamotte Esperen. 

 Names op Plants (A. K.). — We cannot name plants from the mere tips 

 of shoots beaten flat by the post-office punches.' iF. (?.).— The two leaves 

 are of tho Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica). Trained against a south wall 

 it will endure our winters. See our last volume, pnge '226, for directions 

 as to culture, &c. (W. F. ii.).— Ai-abis verna, or Spring Wall Cress. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSEKVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for tbe Week ending March l-3th. 



POULTRY. BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHROmCLE. 



BRAHMA'S USURPATION OF THE DORKINGS 

 THRONE. 

 Sir, — I am a Dorking cock of the purest blood and proiidest 

 lineage. My ancestors have been settled in Surrey since, we 

 believe, shortly after the Deluge ; we never have quite forgiven 

 that upstart, William the Norman, for first intruding himself, 

 and then intruding French eggs into England. Nature en- 

 dowed us with an extra claw to each foot, to mark that we were 

 superior to every other fowl. When Mrs. Oame calls upon my 

 wife, she does, indeed, treat her as an equal, and is mighty civil 

 to her : but then Mrs. Game saw good society until the last 

 few years, when her husband, being deserted by noble lords, 



took to low public-houses. Still, though we are sorry, we al- 

 waj's say, "Game is a gentleman by birth," though even he 

 has never been admitted, as we always have been, to the tables 

 of the great, where every one expects to meet us, and is sorely 

 disappointed if any other fowl is present in our stead. 



Well, sir, knowing my place, as I am thankful to say I do, 

 judge my indignation when I learnt that Brabmas are to have 

 a prize of £6 at the Bury St. Edmund's Show, and Dorkings, 

 and all other varieties only £5. I have crowed myself hoarse, 

 sir, about it. I have been so angry, and become so red in the 

 gills, that my wife, fearing apoplexy, said to me, " My dear 

 Dorking, go to Mrs. Goose, and beg her to give you one of her 

 quills, she is very good-natured, and write off to ' our Journal ' 

 about it, that will ease your mind." So, sir, here I am, pen 

 in foot, and my indignation is so great that I fear my scratches 

 will sorely puzzle youi" printer's devil. 



'\^'hat can that Committee mean by putting these Brahmas 



