April 25, 1867. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



301 



Insects in Hotbed {L. 0. P.). — The insects yon sent are common 

 mites or Acari, feeding on decayed vegetable matter, and not on living 

 plants. 



Cucumbers and Mushrooms (Idem).— Yon may have the Cucnmbers 

 as you propose, making for them a bed of horse-droppings or litter. The 

 encumbers should be planted when your frame is at liberty owing to the 

 bedding plants being cleared out, and you may in August wrap pieces of 

 Mushroom spawn in a little dry Lay and insert them 6 or 9 inches apart 

 over the bed, and 3 inches beneath the surface ; but you must not water 

 the bed very much after the spaw^l is inserted, or it will perish. You 

 may look for Mushrooms in about six weeks. We have, before soiling 

 the bed for Cucumbers and Melons, placed pieces of Mushroom spawn, 

 abont the size of a hen's egg, 6 inches or so apart all over the surface 

 npon the dimg, having previously placed a thin layer of chopped straw 

 over the bed, and after putting on the spawn covered it with a thin 

 layer of the straw, and then with soil. This has been chiefly done inthe 

 case of beds for late Melons, and we have had splendid crops of Mush- 

 rooms in autumn and up to Christmas from the beds after the Melon 

 plants were removed, the lights being protected from frost by mats and 

 straw. 



Gardeners' RovAt Benevolent Institution (Albert).~Any person 

 upon payment of £1 1^., annual subscription, may become a member; it 

 is not limited to any age; under gardeners are of course eligible. For 

 particulars i\Tite to Mr. Cutler, the Secretary, 14, Tavistock Row, Covent 

 Garden, London, W.C. 



Zamia elliptica Culture (Wcm).— The plant should now be potted, 

 using a compos-t of turfy loam, sandy fibry peat, and leaf mould, in equal 

 parts, with a freo admixture of sand. Proiiide good drainage, and place 

 it in a temperature of from 60*- to 65' at night, and from 75^ or 80 ' by day, 

 with sun and air, preserving a moist atmosphere to encourage growth. 

 Syringe the plant overhead morning and evening, and when growth 

 commences water copiously until it is perfected, then reduce the amount, 

 still keeping the soil moist, but not nearly so much so as when growing. 

 Afford a lii^bt and moderately airy situation. In other respects its treat- 

 ment is not different from that of ordinarj* stove plants. 



Making Asparagus-beds (L. T. £.}.— In "Doings of the Last Week," 

 page 282, you will find remarks to suit your case. Taking out a trench ! 

 and filling with prunings and other .rubbish, so as to sccui-e good drain- j 

 age, is a matter of importance, as in such stiff soils as youis, dampness 

 at the roots is a great enemy to the Asparagus. If you cannot well do this 

 we would trench the ground as deeply as the good soil goes, and pick up 

 the subsoil and leave it. We would iuake narrow beds, by putting a few 

 inches of the si>il from the alleys on the bed. We would give no manure 

 when trenching, but when the beds were set off we would place abont 

 6 inches of rotten manure on the surface of eaah, and fork it in some 

 8 inches deep, incorporating it with the soil. We would plant young 

 plants in the eud of April, if 2 or 3 inches high, nnd give surface dress- 

 ings of dung in summer, with dressings of burnt clay if we could obtain 

 no sandy soil. Our advice is given on the principle, that in your case the 

 plants will do best if the roots do not go far from the surface, and the 

 deep stiniug of the groimd previously wiU prevent stagnant moisture. 

 Even when a trench is made, we would keep all the dung, leaf mould, 

 hght soil, and burnt clay near the surface, say not deeper than 15 inches, 

 ^e believe that by thus manuring the surface Asparagus can be grown in 

 the stiffest soils. For simplicity nothing is better than single rows 

 planted on the raised-ridge plan. 



Succulent Vegetable (X, X.). — We do not remember your descrip- 

 tion given years since. If the vegetable is identical with Bruce's it 

 would not grow in the open air hereabouts. 



Vines Ripening their Wood Prematurely (Constant Subscriber). — ■ 

 We have read over your statement carefully, and as the Vines are 3 feet 

 from the heating pipes, we do not think the pipes have anything to do 

 with the Vines ripening their wood before the fruit is well set. As the 

 Vines always come strong enough, break well, show well, and go on well 

 until the wood ripens prematurely, we do not think that the border as to 

 its constituents can be so much in fault, though certainly it would be ad- 

 ■\isable to have a drain 4 feet deep in front, and this we would make before 

 attempting to Hft the Vines and replant them. We think the premature 

 ripening is more likely to be the result of a check to growth, either from 

 too low a temperature or too much dryness in the border, especially in 

 the lour-feet inside the house. We would recommend, therefore, quite as 

 many laterals being left. We think from 55' to 60" too low a temperature 

 for an early house— say from 60 to 65' or 70", and plenty of moisture at 

 the roots about the time this ripening of wood generally takes place. 

 Keep the outside border protected. 



Circulation op Water in Quadrangular Pipes (L. T.). — You will 

 have quite as good a circulation from your quadrangular pipes placed flat- 

 wise, and more heat will be given off by them when so placed, as you will 

 have so much more of an upper surface, and that will always be the 

 warmest. We have some of the quadrangular pipes placed upright [J in- - 

 stead of as you propose flat !=:, and we found that from the quantity ol r 

 water they held they were longer heating, and that when pretty hot at 

 the top the bottom would be almost cool. We could not do as you (wisely 

 we think), propose, place the pipes flat, but we did the best we could '■ 

 under the circumstances— namely, filled the pipes merely about hali fuU 

 of water, and then we had heat sooner, and the water heated the pipes 

 above them. Place them flat by all means. 



Bedding Pelargoniums (Zojiafe].— There are numbers of the ninety 

 Pelargoniums named with which we have have had no experience as bed-*'; 

 ders, and several more which we do not even know. The following we can ) 

 testify make good bedders : — Amy Hogg, Alice, Baron Ricasoli, Black 

 Dwarf, Countess of Bective, Cybister, Criterion, Clipper, Dr. Lindley, 

 Diadem, Eleanor, Eugi-nie Mozard,Frani,'ois Desbois, Gem of Roses, Glow- : 

 worm, Helen Lindsay, Hardy Gaspard, HaiTy Hieover, John Veitch, .Jeanne 

 D'Arc, Indian Yellow, Lady of Loretto, Lord Palmerston, Lady liokeby, 

 Monitor, Mrs. Whitty, Gladame Vauchcr, Monitor, Milford Nosegay, Mrs. 

 Wm. Paul, Napoleon, Orange Nosegay, Pink Pearl, Princess of Wales, 

 Prince of Orange, Rosamond, Rival Nosegay, Rival Stella, Rubrocinctum, 

 Stella, Spitfire, and Woodwardiana. 



Seedsmen—Florists (J. N. D., and an Old Subscriher). — We cannot' 

 recommend any firm in particular. You must consult our advertising ,. 

 columns ; write to several who there advertise, and ask for prices, &c. ' 



Grapes Rusted {J. Acton). — The Grapes are affected with rust. Its 

 cause is much disputed. We believe that it arises from the berries being 

 subjected suddenly to a cunent of cold air after being overheated. ' 



Names of Plants (H. 0. J.). — 1, Thyrsacanthus rutilans; 2, Vinca ' 

 rosea. {A Subscriber). — No. 1 is Alousoa incisifolia ; all the others were 

 insutiicient for determination. (Ma^tter John]. — 1, Omphalodes vema; 

 2, Cornusmas; 3, Lotus ; 4, Desmodiuiu Skinneri, var. albo-lineatum ; 

 5, Adiantum bispidulum ; 6, Leucojum vernum. iG.F.E). — The speci- 

 men is very much crushed, but we think it is Forsythia viridissima. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for tbe Week ending April 2;3rd. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



HOUDAX FOWLS. 



We have been requested to publish that which we know of 

 this breed. We have kept them many years ; they are very 

 hardy, more so than the La Fieche and Creve Cojurs, they 

 bear close confinement without injury to their usefulness, and 

 they are e:xcellent layers. We beUeve they do quite as well 

 here as in France. They are not kept so easily in bounds as 

 a Cochin. We should not feel safe with less than a five-feet 

 fence to confine them. Their disadvantage is, they do not sit, 

 biit in any country where eggs only are required we think most 

 highly of them. They are never sick, they are much heavier 

 than they appear to be, have grey square bodies, broad across 

 the back, and are short-legged, five-clawed. Mr. Jacques thus 

 describes the cock : — 



"Eonndish body, strongly built, of ordinary size, near the 

 ground, resting solidly on strong feet ; large head, half top-knot, 

 bearded and whiskered, triple transversal comb ; five toes on 



each foot. Plumage in the adult, speckled or splashed, black, 

 white, and straw colour ; in chickens, black and white only. 

 No red feathers are admissible." Our very intelligent author 

 proceeds to " general considerations on the breed." We quote 

 literally : — 



" This is one of the finest breeds of fowls, and nothing is 

 richer than the aspect of a poultry yard composed of Houdans ; 

 but their good qualities are far beyond their beauty. Besides 

 the small weight of bone, the quantity and delicacy of its flesh, 

 it is admirably fecund and precocious. The cock chickens 

 attain a large growth in four months, and easily, with ordinary 

 care, put on fat and attain a large size. 



" The ptillets make magnificent poulardes, and among all 

 breeds, this it is that shows the least diSerence in weight be- 

 tween the cock and pullet. They lay abundantly at an early 

 age : the eggs are large and remarkably white. Pullets begin 

 laying in January. 



" This is truly a rustic breed, and is more easily reared than 

 any other indigenous breed ; it wanders less and pilfers less 

 than most others. like all large layers, this is but a very 

 moderate sitter, yet the hen sits tolerably and is a good mother." 



