March 21, 1867. ] 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



217 



Ou) VnfEs Breaking Weakly (Live andLeam).~l, With the vigorous 

 state of the old Vines, lirae rubbish nnd a little well-aired loam would 

 have been your best dressing. 2, The Vines being exposed to the open 

 air so long, the roots would most likely have a tendency to go duwn. 

 3, The wood formed in such circum^itances \vill require more ripening in 

 the autumn, than wood on Vines with the roots nearer the surface, 4, The 

 fact of the Vines bearing well-coloured fruit last season, is a proof, so 

 far, that there is nothiuji very much wrong with the Vines. 5, We attri- 

 bute the failure, the Vines breaking so weakly, and showing tendril-like 

 fruit, chiefly to your hurry in commencing to force in February, and 

 feeling impatient that they did not break freely in a month. You had 

 better have given them six or seven weeks, more especially if, so far as 

 we can make out, the bulk of the roots are Ju the outside sodden border. 

 6, As three-parts of the plump-looking buds have not yet broken, and as 

 there is no chance of those which have broken doing any good, we would 

 pull or tear off all the sb.iots that have come— do not cut or use a knife- 

 lower the temperature of the house to from 50- to 55", and increase it 

 gradually to 60° in the course of a fortnight, keeping the atmosphere 

 moist, and if your wood was well ripened last autumn (which we rather 

 doubt), you will obtain a crop. 7, The covering of furze on the border, if 

 you had nothing better, ^^e would have let alone. 



Sulphur in Coals (Bob). — If your watch did really stop fi-om the sul- 

 phur fumes coming from a furnace when cleaning it out, it is the first 

 case that has come tn our knowledge. That the outside of your watch if 

 silver should become black and tawny in colour we should not have been 

 at all surprised. When we used to have sulphury coals to deal with, we 

 have had the shillings and half-crowns which we earned in our pockets, 

 refused at the shops, and once or twice were threatened with the con- 

 sequences of attempting to pass bad money. In one place we used 

 very sulphur;- coals for most of the houses without doing them much 

 injury, but in a stove where a high temperature was required, coals free 

 from sulphur had to be brought from a distance, for if the sulj^hurous 

 coals were used there would be yellow marks all over the glass in the 

 morning. The houses were all heated by flues, and though no smoke 

 escaped the sulphur fumes would do so wben the flues were more than 

 usu^y hot. There can be no question that all such sulphur fumes are 

 dangerous to animal life. We have frequently had to run out of a stoke- 

 hole, to save ourselves from suffocation, when removing clinkers and 

 cleaning out. We knew of no remedy except tying a cravat or handker- 

 chief over mouth and nose when performing the operation, pulling it 

 down as we went from furnace to furnace, and putting it over both noi^e 

 and mouth before opening the doors of a fi-esh furnace. We have not 

 a donbt, that simply by neglecting such a precaution, and carelessly 

 going without preparation from a very hot to a very cold atmosphere 

 many gardeners, humanly speaking, have shortened their days. 



Flower-garden Plantitng (D. W.l. — With the exception of the Hollies 

 in the centre of the large bed, and Roses for the first ring, followed by 

 Jferllla, Calceolaria, &c., we like your planting. The centre of your large 

 bed will be tame in autumn, when all the rest are at their best. The 

 position of your chain beds will gi-eatly modify their planting The cross 

 system is adopted, as No. 1 and No. 13 to pair, but if the two chains are 

 one on each side of an open space, we would prefer 1 and 12 to corre- 

 spond, 2, o— 16, 17, Ac., but this is a matter of taste. We think the plant- 

 ing will look very well. 



Vinery ( H'. B. il.).— Pro\ided you mean to take in the space of 16 feet 

 in width, then from the top of your 7 feet 9 inches wall you could have a 

 hipped-roof of 6 feet resting on a ridge about 12 feet froiii the floor, and 

 which ridge would be about 5 feet from the back wall. If your front wall 

 of brick and glass were 6 feet high, you would thus have a sloping roof 

 of about 12 feet. If your house were narrower and designed chiefly for 

 plants, the simplest mode would be to have your south front, of glas 

 chiefly, the same height as the back wall, and then a span roof. Those 



Making aBowung-geeen (J. G.).— The dimensions must vary according 



to circumstances but where there is scope of gronnd sufficient, bowling- 

 greens should not be less than from half an acre to an acre. The most 

 common form is that of a square moderately extended ; but some are made 

 oblong, others circular, though, to suit the general plan or figure of the 

 ground, they mav be of any other form The surface of the greens should 

 be perfectlv level, "not rising at all in the centre," and as high, at least, 

 as the general level of the adjoinina ground, so that it may be always 

 preserved from stagnant moisture The surface should be levelled m the 

 mostexftct manner.andlaidwiththefinest fn'ass turf that can be procured 

 from a close pasture, common, or down. The extent and proper levels are 

 then set out with stakes placed round the extremities or boundaries, at 15 

 or 20 feet distance, on which should be marked the determinate levels of the 

 ground, and from which, on the opposite sides, levels in other crosswaya 

 at the same distance should be made ; and then, according to these levels, 

 proceed by line and spade to form the ground to a proper surface, making 

 it up firmly in lines from sttike to stake ; the panels or spaces between 

 being made up equallv firm and regular, so that no part may sink m a 

 hollow afterwards. The whole should then be raked level, and finished 

 off evenly and smooth 2 or 3 inches deep of Ught sandy soil, or any Ught 

 dry poor earth may then, if necessary, be laid evenly over the surface, as 

 equal in quantity as possible. Laying with fresh cut turf, is much 

 superior to sowing with Grass seeds. The turves should be cut each a foot 

 wide, a vard lont;. and about an inch thick, and laid with exactness, closely 

 joining'them edse to edge, then beating t hem well down with large wooden 

 beaters, repeatedlv rolling them with a larce heavy iron roller. The best 

 season for performing work of this sort is the autumn, or very early m the 

 spring; but the first is to be preferred when it can be conveniently done, 

 as the turf has time to estabUsh itself well before the hot season sets in. 

 —{liecs'a Cyvl). 



PoMME Pakadis Stock (A Subscriber).— You will find the subject fully 

 discussed in our tenth Volume. 



Rainfall (W.Biogm ""d Others;).~'Wo have received many meteoro- 

 logical returns for which we cannot aftord space at present. 



Clerodendron Balfourii Culture (B. P.).— Pot in a compost of 

 turfy peat, loam, and leaf mould in equal parts, adding one-fourth silver 

 sand. Sift the leaf mould, but merely chop the peat and loam with a 

 spade. The pot should be well drained. Give a shift into a pot a size 

 larger ; and when the plant has grown and made six leaves take out the 

 points of the shoots ; or if the plant has not been stopped, cut it back to 

 four joints previous to potting, and when the young shoots are an inch 

 long pot the plant. When the pot is full of roots shift into a pot a size 

 larger, or from a seven-inch into a nine-inch pot, and this will be suffi- 

 cient for the first season. In spring repot into the same size of pot aa 

 that in which the plants were wintered, and when it begins to push afresh 

 cut it back to two or three eyes. When the pot is full of roots shift into 

 one 11 or 13 inches in diameter ; and do not stop the shoots, as the plant 

 will most likely flower, but tie them out. Afford a plentiful supply of 

 water, but before any is given let its want be apparent, and maintain a 

 moist, moderately well-ventilated atmosphere, and place the plant near 

 the glass in an unshaded part of the house. "SVhen the growth is com- 

 pleted keep the plant dry at the root, and let the atmosphere be dry as 

 well, in order that the wood may become well ripened ; but the leaves 

 should not be allowed to flag, nor the shoots to shrivel for want of water. 

 It requires the temperature of a stove. 



Watering Inside Vine Border {A Youna^^ter).— Yon should give the 

 border a good watering now and everv fortnight until the end of July; 

 then water once a-month will be suflicient, the last watering being given 

 in September. You will not require liquid manure this season. A little 

 fire heat now when the Vines are breaking until danger from frosts and 

 cold weather is past, and again in autumn to ripen the wood, will be be- 

 neficial and necessarv. 



who advertise in our columns would <rive estimates, but the expense will i ^ _ __" „ .„^^,-c io.^t tvio hn~t tim*. tn r«nf 



deoend on the finishmL'. aud whether the sashes of the roof are moveable i . Cuttixg Eox--Pru>iko EvEp;nEENs (B. r) -pe bo,t time to cut 



depend on the finishing, and whether the sashes of the roof are moveable 

 or fixed. 



Completion of a Greenhouse (A Subscriber'.- We should not con- 

 sider that your greenhouse was finished in either the best or a workman- 

 Uke manner, if the panes of glass were merely placed on the rebates of 

 the sash-bars, and a tack put in above them on each side, without putty 

 either for bedding or above them. There are modes of dispensing with 

 putty, such as Beard's and others, having the squares to go in a well- 

 fitting groove on each side, or when the glass is fitted in the usual way, 

 but with something softer than wood to rest on, and indian-rubber or 

 some similar material between the tack and the glass. We can hardly 

 say without knowing more of these particulars how the matter would Ije 

 decided. We would on a common-sense vievf consider that glazing was 

 understood, putty included, in finishing in the best manner. We have 

 little hesitation in saying, that if the tacks fixing the squares press at 

 once on the glass, you run the risk of having the glass broken and falling 

 ont from the want of proper finishing. 



Hats's Stove {Economti). — We think one of the GGx. stoves would 

 exclude frost from a greenhouse 12 feet by 10- It is more economical and 

 less troublesome than a stove consuming eituer coal or coke. 



Langelier's Ncrserv, Jersey. — We were in error when we stated 

 there is now no such firm in the island of Jersey. The direction is, Mrs. 

 Langelier, Offices of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Jersev, 

 19, Bath Street, &t. HeUer's, Jersey. 



Heating from a Kitchen Boiler (J. M. 0.). — To convey hot water 

 from the kitchen boiler up-stairs to heat a small greenhouse, we should 

 prefer the flow-pipe going from the top of the boiler, but it will do very 

 well if taken from the side, but the nearer the top the better. Of course, 

 yon are aware that the return-pipe should enter the boiler near its bottom. 



Liquid Manure of Fowls' Dung (0. D.).— At the rate 1 oz. of dry 

 fowls' dung to a gallon of water a very excellent liquid manure is formed 

 for plants in pots. A Vine does not require it. The book you refer to is 

 "Manores." You can have it free by post from our office if you enclose 

 fonr postage stamps with your address. 



Vine Shoots [T. C). — When two shoots proceed from one eye wait 

 imtil you see which is fruitful, and then remove that which is unfruitful. 

 If both are fruitful remove the weakest. 



AuccBA (B. B.).—lt is a female plant. You will see by Mr. Standish'a 

 advertisement in our Journal last week, that you caa have male flow* rs 

 btMD him by jiost. 



large overgrown Box-edging is the middle of April, and for Box in good 

 order the end of Jime is preferable. Evergreens of all kinds are best cut 

 in spring a little before they begin to grow, when they may be cut in 

 close with every prospect of securing a good growth. If the shrubs are 

 required to have a close symmetrical head they should be gone over in 

 August, and any uTCgular groTiVths removed. 



Gardenia fragrans not Flowering f.-I Yonufj Gardiner).— We pre- 

 sume your plant casts its buds in consequence of not having sufficiency 

 of heat. If you were to plmige the pots in a mild hotbed it would pro- 

 bably flower freely. Pot it after flowering in a compost of turfy sandy 

 peat'and loam, adding sand Ubernllv, and place it in a moist growing 

 heat, such as that of a vinerv at work, and when the growths are made 

 afibrd a Ught airy situation. "When growing water liberally, and in winter 

 keep moderatelv diT in a temperature of from 5(1" to 5o from fire heat. 

 In Februarv or'ilarch afford an increase of temperature, plunging the pot 

 in a hotbed" if you have one ; if not, keep it well watered and in a moist 

 atmosphere. 



Philadelphus ^iexicancs not Flowering (Id^-nil.- Your plants of 

 this we suppose to be in the open ground, and to have a light open situ- 

 ation linshaded by trees, and plenty of room. If so they will bloom when 

 large enough ; but vou mav hasten their flowering by digging out a trench 

 all around at about'l foot o'r 1 foot 6 inches from the stems and below the 

 roots, cutting ofi'any of these that may go doyra immediately under the 

 stem. 



Verbenas Flowering in Pots (Tifecd^id>^).— The best way to flower 

 Verbenas in pots is to place them into their blooming pots in May, and to 

 peg down the shoots as they grow, bringing them to the rim of the pot. 

 You may stop them to make them bushv up to within six or eight weeks 

 of the time at which vou wish them to bl.»om, tying the shoots neatly to 

 supports. Water freely and overhead dailv, using the lights only as protec- 

 tion from hea\T rains. When the plants show for bloom liquid manure 

 mav be given at every alternate watering. A compost of turfy loam and 

 leaf mould in equal parts suits them well. The pots should be well 

 drained. 



Tricyrtis hirta {Jd«m).— This is a hardy herbaceous Japanese plant, 

 but is not hardy in exposed bleak places. It has fine open corymbs of 

 starry flowers, of large size, and sputted with purple. It is as yet scarce. 



Charcoal Fiek in Fernery (P^Ws).- The carbonic acid would injme 

 the Fema and would not kill the insects. You do not state the kind cf 

 insects. 



