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JOUBNAL OF HOETICDLTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



f AprU 11, 1867. 



growths of the old oncR do not become entangled for want of 

 training. Every plant that in intended for a specimen should 

 have the best situation in the greenhouse, and should be turned 

 round two or three times a-week, the .shoots should bo stopped 

 from time to time, and it should have freedom on all sides. 

 Epacrises and spring-flowering Heaths will bear close pruning 

 after they have done flowering. Oorreas that have been flower- 

 ing during the winter should now be rather closely pruned and 

 kept jn-doors all the summer, where they will take the place of 

 Fuchsias after September. Luculias that have been at rest 

 since flowering are now beginning to grow again, and should 

 be kept in a low moist atmosphere till the eyes break. Forcing 

 the Lueulia at this stage, or even encouraging it to make an 

 early growth, was the principal cause of failure on its first 

 introduction. 



STOTE. 



The lately-shifted plants will now be making roots, therefore 

 attend to watering, and see that they do not suffer from want 

 of this. Maintain a warm and moist atmospherp, especially 

 during the day, that the growth may be accelerated as much 

 as possible. Shading will also be requisite when the sun 

 shines fiercely, but dispense with it as much as possible, and 

 admit air when the temperature exceeds 90° ; but with such 

 a temperature the humidity must be kept up, or the plants 

 ■will soon suffer in their foliage, and as the foliage of the plants 

 is just as important as the flowers, great attention will be 

 necessary at this critical period ; the young leaves are very 

 BUBceptible of injury, and one half-hour'u negligence may place 

 you six months in arrear. 



FOKCING-PIT. 



In many places these pits are now as full as at any former 

 period. The overstocks of duplicates and condemned speci- 

 mens, parcelled out at potting-time, are put in here to see what 

 flowers or cuttings they may produce before they are finally 

 ihrown away. Hedychiums to flower late in the summer may 

 BOW be started, and another crop of Tuberoses put in for suc- 

 Bassion. Primula sinensis for flowering in September should 

 now form little stocky plants fit to be planted out in cold frames 

 Jjy the middle of May, and more seeds of it should now be 

 sown. Gesnera zebrina and longiflora, both tall flowers, should 

 now be pushed on by all the heat and moisture at command. 

 As these pits are generally the last places for spring propaga- 

 tion, and as the work does not admit of large portions of air 

 Jbeing given, they must he regularly shaded in hot, dry weather : 

 thin bunting or calico should bo used for the purpose ; mats 

 darken too much. 



PITS AKD FRAMES. 



Proceed with potting-off all plants for bedding-out ; those 

 which have been establisrbed and hardened may be removed 

 into temporary pits, and covered with mats. Some neat and 

 yery convenient permanent structures for protecting plants in 

 Fmall pots may be seen in the nursery of Messrs. Eivers. — 

 W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



EITCHEN GARDEN. 



Tnis has been a very busy week as regards out-door work. 

 Bowed in excellent condition a good breadth of Onions, and will 

 wait until the seedlings begin to peep up before giving the 

 ground a rolling. In light soil and in such dry weather would 

 have rolled at once. In either case, as soon as the seedlings 

 show above ground it is advisable to run a Dutch hoe between 

 the rows, to cut down young weeds, and prevent the ground 

 cracking ; this hoeing to be as shallow as possible, so that 

 the ground may be left firm though having a rough surface. 

 We shall select a poor hard piece of grouud merely loosened on 

 the surface, for sowing the Silver-skinned Onion for buttons 

 and pickling. There is often a diftieulty in obtaining these 

 small enough in heavy gi-oiind — so much so, that it is not 

 uncommon to give large Onions for less than half the bulk 

 of small ones. We have often secured small bulbs by taking 

 the thinnings of the main crop, and laying them in thickly in 

 sandy sol!, so that they could grow but little ; but these are 

 not so well and flatly formed as those obtained in hungry soil 

 from the Silver-skinned. Transplanted also a piece of winter 

 Onions in rows 1 foot apart and 4 inches asunder in the row, 

 chiefly White Spanish and Tripoli. These were not quite so 

 large as a crowquill, and at that size thoy generally do admir- 

 ably transplanted — in fact better than if left where sown in the 

 previous autumn, and where those left wUi be useful for salads 



until those sown under protection come in for that purpose. 

 In some places they are relished at table when not larger than 

 good-sized stocking-needles, and for those who liko Onions the 

 flavour is said to be very rich when the Onions are of that 

 small size. When used so young frequent sowings are wanted 

 in-doors all the winter. In transplanting Onions the chief con- 

 sideration is to fasten the roots firmly in the ground without 

 burying any more of the bottoiQ of the stem than can be 

 avoided. 



Sowed also Parsnips and Carrots, and will sow more of the 

 latter and Beet, Scorzonera, &e., a fortnight hence. Sowed 

 Pine Apple fieet under protection, to be afterwards trans- 

 planted, as for a number of years, even with the precaution of 

 netting, we have not been able to secure a good crop of Beet, 

 nor of Prince's Feather or Love-lies-bleeding in the flower 

 garden, without planting out good-sized plants. The birds 

 here seem determined to nip up each of these coloured plants 

 as soon as the seed-leaves appear. 



Peas and Beans. — Sowed more of these, the former generally 

 at good distances apart, with lower crops between, as Potatoes 

 and Cauliflowers. For Peas, we have used some of the cheap 

 2}-inch-meshcd wire netting, 24 inches in height, advertised 

 in our pages, merely bending it in semicircular fashion over 

 the rows, and fastening it at the sides with a few hooked sticks, 

 and as yet neither partridges nor pheasants have looked near 

 the netting ; neither of them wiU be able to push their necks 

 far enough in to reach the Peas. Peas planted out are grow- 

 ing very well. 



Cauliflowers under glasses have been finally thinned out to 

 four or five large plants in a light. The glasses were raised 

 considerably to give the plants room, and the soil well mulched 

 with rotten dung, and well watered with manure water. The 

 plants were kept sturdy and hardy all the winter. In the two 

 periods of severe cold attended with snow they were kept 

 covered up with litter until the frost was over ; but now in the 

 fine weather we care not how fast they gi'ow, and early Cauli- 

 flowers will be acceptable this season. Not a plant has been 

 touched this winter or spring. Last season we had scarcely a 

 plant that was not levelled to the surface of the ground with 

 rats and mice. The vermin have been pretty well thinned 

 since then ; but there are no doubt other reasons why ver- 

 min commit great ravages at one time and refrain from doing 

 so at another. Ere long these Cauliflowers will be freed from 

 the glasses entirely, the plants bent outwards to give them 

 full room, the ground between used for banking them up well, 

 and then a fair allowance of manure water causes them to head 

 well. Planted out a good piece in the open ground, and, not 

 being sure of the weather, stuck some Laurel branches be- 

 tween the rows. Pricked out a lot sowed on a bed along with 

 Celery. 



Cabbages. — Gave a good deep hoeing among the most for- 

 ward, because we want to encourage tops here instead of bot- 

 toms, as in the case of the Onions. With all our care oui 

 Cabbages will be but moderately early. We detailed some 

 time ago that of our plantation made in the autumn not one 

 plaut was left by midwinter ; the rabbits and hares had cleared 

 the piece, though surrounded by twiue netting, but which they 

 bit and tore to make their way through. They in their ravages 

 served this good purpose, that a web of galvanised wire net- 

 ting was placed round this rather open part of the kitchen 

 garden, and no four-footed intruders have found their way 

 in since then, though they have tried very hard at the gates. 

 Our most forward Cabbages, owing to these circumstances, 

 will be from plants much smaller than those planted out, 

 taken up, potted in GO-sized pots, and turned out when the 

 pots were full of roots, the rooting being encouraged under 

 glass. The most forward of thesu will be little behind those 

 planted in autumn, but of course Ihey have cost more trouble. 

 Planted out a piece of small plants, autumn sown, to succeed 

 these. 



Some of our Broccoli has been much injured ; even of the 

 hardy Purple Sprouting many plants aro killed outright, whilst 

 in the same rows other plants are in great luxuriance, though 

 exposed in every way to the sanu: circumstances during the 

 winter. Our London Colewort.'-, tuo, which, alter yielding 

 young Cabbages up to the new ^ eiir, would often have their 

 stumps killed by the frosts after 11 at period, have mostly stood 

 this season, and aro well furnJj-ljed with young sprouts all 

 round the stem. This result is, nn doubt, owing partly to the 

 protection they received from the suow. 



Took the opportunity of planting a good piece with Potatoes. 

 and would have done more only the grouud was moister than 



