214 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ March 21, 1B67. 



grown may now be divided, the exterior portions of the stools 

 should be reserved and the interior rejected. Be sure in plant- 

 ing again to introduce fresh soil. Cut in all coarse evergreens 

 or shrubs before the buds become too much advanced. This 

 is a good time to clip Holly hedges. Should the weather con- 

 tinue unfavourable very little can be done to florists' flowers ; 

 still, if the suu break out warmly iu the middle of the day it 

 will be well to protect the frames containing Carnations, Auri- 

 culas, &c., at night. 



GKEENnOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



The climbers in the conservatory will now want attention, at 

 least once a-wcek, whether under the roof or on pillars or 

 trellises, in tubs or in pots. Prune off superfluous shoots, stop 

 or pinch the points of gross leaders, to induce a flowering 

 habit in those which produce blossoms from the axils of their 

 leaves, and keep them neatly tied and trained. Large Acacias 

 or gross climbers will require abundance of water; those grow- 

 ing beneath the floor level or under stone covers should, when 

 watered, have a thorough soaking. In the greenhouse keep up 

 a lively circulation of air all the early part of the day, and 

 dispense with fire heat as much as possible. Where a green- 

 house of a mixed character has stove as well as common green- 

 house plants in it, a climate superior in point of heat to the 

 common greenhouse must be maintained, and in order to do 

 as little mischief as possible through the compromise necessary, 

 let the advances in point of extra heat be made at all times 

 during a considerable degree of light. To this end practice 

 the early shutting-up, so much insisted on by all good gardeners, 

 and on such occasions take care that the fire has been very low 

 or out for an hour or two previously. The heat thus secured 

 for the evening, if accompanied by sufficient atmospheric 

 moisture, will establish a healthy and short-jointed growth. 

 Make a sowing of tender annuals if not already done. Pot ofi 

 Balsams, Cockscombs, i-c. These plants, however, will do 

 better by far in a frame with fermenting materials, close to the 

 glass, and well matted up at night. If the weather continue 

 unfavourable, and the potting-shed is situated so that injury is 

 likely to result from carrying the plants to and fro, erect under 

 the stages, or in some other convenient place, a temporary 

 potting-bench, take in soil, and allow it to acquire the warmth 

 of the house before using it. Look over every plant carefully, 

 and let all that may require it receive attention. After potting 

 keep the house rather close and warm — that is, warmer and 

 closer than usual for a week or so, and at any rate increase the 

 temperature of all plaut-structures a few degrees, and slightly 

 shade the newly-potted plants should the sun be bright and 

 warm. 



.STOVE. 



Attend to regular shifting, watering, and a free healthy cir- 

 culation of air early in the morning, but take care to avoid 

 draughts. Continue to cut down, disroot, and repot those 

 plants which have been flowering through the winter. These 

 will be better removed to a bottom heat of 80° in some spare 

 pit or frame and shaded, treating them as young Pines until 

 they break, when they maj', if necessary, be returned to the 

 stove for a time. Follow up the shifting and top-dressing of 

 Orchids in general ; syringe freely those on blocks and in 

 baskets. Let this be done early on lively and sunny mornings, 

 giving additional air, with a little fire heat, on such occasions 

 to correct any excess of moisture. Growing Orchids should 

 now I'i- shaded for two or three hours in bright days, more es- 

 pecially those which have been disturbed at the root. These 

 would be far better removed to a house or pit by themselves, as 

 the established plants which have remained undistiu'bed will 

 enjoy more sunshine. 



PITS ANB FRAMES. 



This being the season for the importation of Tuberoses, 

 they should be procured at once and potted in a mixture of 

 sandy loam, and a small portion of either very rotten sheep 

 or cow dung. They should then be placed in a hotbed or 

 forcing-house. They do not require any water' for many days 

 after potting, and but little nutil they begin to grow, when 

 manure water should be occasionally used. As the plants 

 advance in growth they may be removed to a warm conservatory 

 for blooming, or planted out in a clump after being hardened 

 off a little if the season is warm. Look over the pits and 

 frames, and attend strictly to watering any plants that are dry. 

 If any plants require a shift before bedding-out time it should 

 be now given to them. Continue potting off from cutting-pots, 

 &c. Attend to shifting Lobelias as they advance in growth. 

 Bouvardias should be shaken out and repotted in light sandy 



soil, and placed in a growing heat of about 65°. Continue 

 making cuttings constantly of Verbenas, Fuchsias, Petunias, 

 Dahlias.Pelargoniums; and shade carefully newly-potted Stocks, 

 and, more especially, cuttings. Remember, in making cuttings, 

 that the 'leaf should not be first allowed to flag, and then an 

 attempt be made to restore it by abundance of water ; the leaf 

 must never be allowed to droop. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



A SECOND winter, and that too when many buds of fruit trees 

 were in a forward state, and, when wet from rain, snow, and 

 sleet, in not the 'jCst condition for resisting such a severe frost 

 as visited us on Saturday morning. Some of the days were 

 too wet and slushy to do anything out of doors. When mode- 

 rately warm a lot of Pelargoniums were potted, and a number of 

 Scarlet Pelargoniums were shaken out of the pots in which they 

 had stood thickly all the winter, and placed singly iu turf pots, 

 made by cutting the turf with a sharp knife into pieces about 

 Si inches square, and between 2 J and 8 inches deep, a piece being 

 taken out of the centre. Into these the roots were placed along 

 with rich light soU, and the plants were then set under some old 

 lights on the vinery border, as alluded to last week, after re- 

 pairing these lights in the shed. The end of last week, how- 

 ever, was too cold for such work, and therefore when dry and, 

 as on Saturday, with a bright suu melting the frozen ground in 

 places where it could have access, opportunity was taken to 

 point Pea-stakes out of doors, make up hotbeds, &c. ; and in- 

 doors, when the weather was unfavourable, washed pots, cut 

 shreds, made tallies, repaired boxes, and prepared flower-stakes, 

 after cleaning snow from the paths, gutters of houses, &o. We 

 will just allude to pots and sticks in passing. 



Clfaidiifi Puts. — Independently of appearances, all plants do 

 best when the pots in which they are grown are clean. No 

 rubbing of pots will ever be a substitute for washing them. 

 If a dirty pot or a wet one is employed in potting, it is almost 

 impossible for the ball afterwards to turn out clean. When 

 pots are very dirty and covered with green slime, a httle soda 

 may be used with propriety in the water ; but, except in such 

 extreme cases, we prefer clean hot water, frequently renewed, 

 and no assistance beyond a brush or coarse cloth and plenty of 

 muscular power. We like the water pretty warm at this season 

 for three reasons : it is much more comfortable for the washers, 

 the work is better and more quickly done than with cold water, 

 and the hotter the water the sooner will the pots be thoroughly 

 dried. Old pots, however frequently used, when thus well 

 cleaned, are quite as good as new ones from the kiln, iu one 

 sense better, as the latter for particular purposes require to be 

 soaked and then dried before being used. In general cases the 

 pots are thoroughly washed inside and outside ; but in many 

 cases of small pots that will be filled and emptied often in a 

 few months, and more especially if the pots are to be set or 

 plunged in a bed, we direct our attention chiefly to the inside 

 of the pot. We would wish all amateurs who might chance 

 to forget all this, to have it written up at their potting-iench, 

 '■ Never use a pot twice without washing." We know the injunc- 

 tion is too much neglected, and bad pots are often blamed 

 when the fault ought to be ascribed to want of cleanliness. 



3Iaki)ui Tallies is one of those operations with which vre 

 would advise amateurs with small gardens to have nothing 

 whatever to do, as tallies of all sizes are advertised at prices 

 at which neither the amateur nor his man could ever hope to 

 make them. In larger gardens, when an odd piece of good 

 splitting deal can be obtained for smaller tallies, and a piece 

 of oak or ash for large out-door ones, the making of them occu- 

 pies time, when inside work might be scarce in unfavourable 

 weather, and it is well when such matters do not require to be 

 attended to in fine weather. Besides, for many temporary 

 purposes tallies require but little making, little more than cut- 

 ting them smooth on one side with one or two strokes of the 

 knife. Keat tallies are bought at a much cheaper rate than 

 they can be made in gardens. 



Sticlis. The same as a matter of economy may be said of 



sticks. AVhen they must be bought, those advertised at certain 

 sizes are cheaper than they could be made at home, not only 

 on the principle of the division of labour, but because odd 

 pieces of wood can be made the most of. Why then make or 

 point sticks at home at all ? First, because as a matter of 

 taste we like them better, and secondly, because in the case of 

 all small sticks, if collected at home, they cost nothing but the 

 preparation. We have nothing to say against the little sticks 



