316 



JOUBNM, OF HOETIOULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t May 2, 1867. 



Pkonino Rhododendrons (ff.).-To secure the branches, or rather the 

 dormant evo^ upon these. breakinR well, you should cut the plnnts down 

 by the end of .M.iy ; nnd if you reiluce them much it would bo better to do 

 io early m the same month. If you cut tho plants in much they will not 

 flower 111 l^ie following year. As regnrd.s the hybrid scarlet varieties, wo 

 would let tliem flower, and then cut them in as required : but you must 

 not expect them to flower much during tho next two seasons. 



,J".V\" ''""'. *'' Bottom (B. N.).— Sow over the lawn Suckling Clover 

 (irilolium minus), at the rate of S lbs. per acre, and after sowing run an 

 iron rake over it lightly, and roll well. .411ow the grass to grow until 

 .)uly. then mow it, and keep it well rolled and mown every three weeks 

 until October; then leave off mowing, but roll woll once a-week. 



DESTROYran Mor.Es (W<-m)— Tho only effectual mode is to trap them 

 Ui-een elder leaves placed in their runs are said to drive them away. 



Viola cohni-ta Plantint. (W. .S.).-You should allow 9 inches from 

 Plant to plant, the same distance from the side of the bed, and 1 foot from 

 lae FelargoDiums. 



Peach Tree SirEDDiNO its Prdit IJ. T. M.).-From your description 

 of the treatniont wo should attribute the evil to lifting the tree ■ and its 

 roots, being like so many bare branches, would be insuflicient for tho 

 support of the fruit. We should have prefeiTed lifting the tree at one 

 operatirm instead of partly last year nnd partly this. The crop would not 

 have fallen had you lifted the tree early in autumn, if the wood was well 

 npened last 5-ear ; hut from your account of the state of the roots this 

 could hardly he the case, and the fruit would fall on that account quite as 

 much as from the lifting. 



Retcrfinc. a Croquet Ground (.9. .7. ^.).-To leveland dig the ground, 



l;Y.rf„i^"., . „''J''' "","''' '"■"= "° ="=''" ""n ^ fortnight to do the 

 work wcU ; but all depends upon the amount of levelling necessary. 



■ StpeRphospiiate OF Lime (A Drrrnt S„h>cribr,-).~It should be applied 

 in a solid form a fair-s-ized handful being placed around the plant or 

 shrub, and pointed in with a fork. You may also apnlv it to any kitchen 

 garden crop, more particularly Turnips lind Cabbages, at the rate of 

 4 cwt per acre. 



..f.^o'^ .''I'S'^^'' ^°'^ Blossoming (Wfm).-We can onlv account for your 

 tiees not blossoming from the soil being different, and the treatment may 

 also vary, but on neither point do you furnish anv data. 



planted Hollies winch you have watered overhead, and of which the 

 leaves are brown and the bark shrivelling, are likely to die. The watering 

 meihead would not cause the leaves to become briwn, and it would help 

 to keep the b.irk from shrinking; but with the late showery weather we 

 «l A '!?•'.'■ ''■'; °""'f '"'™ "^"" S">°''' us I'V keeping the soil in a satu- 

 rated condition it would t.nd to hinder rooting. We would water only 

 during drj- weather and occasionally overhead : hut if the bark i3 shri- 



dnpslnfl^n '"','/, '" ""r""-"'" tl"" <"es. Thefallingof the leaves 

 does not matter if the wood remains green auiJ plump. 



Aiwf,?' v'"'""" I',™'=,Ti'EEs (L.P.).-Nothing would serve so well as 

 T le Al;,l>n. "i ^™,'Vi"''? '"'^''■" *" purpose, but is of slower growth. 

 The Aucubas should be strong plants from 24 to 3 feet high, and should 

 be planted as much apart. Privet, we fear, would not answer your pm-- 

 pose, as It grows but moderately, and is thin under trees. 



ln??''V?r '''■•"^^..^^■"■r JiraiviKo (P. M. Slmlth-:iorth].-U is not unusual 

 lor Golden and bilver Ferns to lose their young fronds after repotting. 

 This IS more commonly the case with old pisuts whose roots have been 

 reduced at the repotting. AH will come right when the roots are working 

 freelj in the fresh soil and reach the sides of the pots ; but when we find 

 plants m this condition we have young plants in a forward state to take 

 their place Old plants are not worth keeping more than one or two vears 

 Jepottin '' '"" 'Peeimcns. They become weak, and are impatielit of 



.bnn'lT^'''*'' ^V? F^"V;T:^™" f^- »■)— When the flowering is over they 

 ihould be cut back to within an inch or two of the old wood and be kept 

 rather dry at the root until they have broken and made shoots an inch or 

 t«o long when they may berep,>tted in a compost of two-thirds sandy pe.it 



wr°,f^ ^i'J, "■'■' '"i'PV'"!'''''^ ^"^■'»' "^""l lil"-"!!!-. and providing good 

 drainage They should be kept rather close, shaded, and sprinkled over- 

 head until they recover the potting, and be careful not to overwater 

 until the roots are working freely in the new soil, which should, however 

 JL,r^ r^i • ''"<-'™i''''s give water more freely, but never until it is 

 w^JJ r ?r "t?"'''' '"•S"",'' '"'P"'''- 'T'^' plants cannot have too much 

 greenhouse ' '° " ""''^ P'' '" summer than in a 



Cassia corviieosa (7,if m).— Your plant with numerous soft voung side 

 Ihnnll .!,°" reiuoved to the gi-eenhouse ; and if it has" too manv 



n„.„ ,1. ^'' V'"^; bo reduced in number by disbudding or rubbing 

 f^^Vt"^7l T^rl'^'^ worst situated. The plant will most probably 

 i lLr„it ? Its-season of blooming depends on the treatment, but 



R.f^n" ^1 2"" ^'jy '° August. We cannot determine the names of the 

 and™' flower^orTruit '""'"^ "^ '° "" =" ""^ "'■^'' ^^'^ l"^"" ^I'"-«-. 



Netting for Covering a Fruit Garden (S. A. .V.).-We should re- 

 ?r„Tir .""■'' '\''"' tb'-oe-'iuarter-inch meshes, or if at some distance 

 from the trees, inch meshes would not ho too wide. Any of the firms 

 advertising in our columns would no doubt serve you well. We cannot 

 recommend aptuers. 



Striking Aucuba Cuttings {J. B. H.).-Yoa mav put in cuttings of 

 the present year s shoots in August, or when the wood has hecomo a little 

 hardened ; and they would do well in small pots placed in gentle heat. 

 ^i'ii-,;f necessary to cover them with a bell-glass. They strike with 

 certamty and freely in a cold frame. 



Water Imprf.ona~ed with Iron (Fea,m-c^:)._Water but slightly im- 

 pregnated with iron will not injure the plants to any great extent. 



PoA triviai.is (fncni).— It is about equal in habit to DactyUs glomerata 

 vanegata, and is as easy of propagation. 



OS.IUND.* regal's (A. H. D).-The Osmunda does very well planted in 

 spot, 1 well watered during the season of giowth, and we have no doubt 

 thati. would succeed well if tho pot in which it is growin" were placed in 

 one considerably larger, and the space between kept full of water for a 

 time in summer. We have not tried this i.lan, but we have kept the pot 

 m a saucer of water with satisfactory results. 



Treatment OF Lilies of the Valley after Flowering (N. R. B.).— 

 UA ™"y P'»u' "?'■"' out of the pots in an east or west border, or other 

 shady but open situation, or you may plunge tho pots to the rim in such 

 a border, and keep the plants well watered until the foliage turns 

 ye low, when watering may be discontinued. We have not tried with- 

 holding water until they are required for forcing again ; in fact we do not 

 lorco the same plants two years in .succession, and it we did so we antic i 

 pate an abundant crop of leaves would be the result. 



Prcnus sinensis FLORE plexo AFTER FLOWERING (7*m).—The plant 

 should be continued in a light and airy part of the greenhouse until the 

 end of May, wheu it may be plunged out of doors in coal ashes in an open 

 sunny situation, and be kept well watered throughout the summer. If 

 It re<iuires repotting this may be done when the leaves turn yellow. It ia 

 a hardy deciduous flowering shrub. 



LiLIUM AUEATUM IMPORTED rcrsUJ HOME-RAISED EULBS (C. C. B.). 



— I he imported bulbs, because they are of flowering sizo are preferable 

 to those raised m England; but wo fail to recognise the assumed superi- 

 ority. In onr opinion English-raised bulbs are as good, if not better. 



Rhubarb KuNNiNci to Seed (C. C. £.).-The only means of preventing 

 the plants forming seed-stalks is to divide the crowns every tlireo or fou? 

 years, and that cannot be done without weakening them or lessening the 

 produce. The plants are more apt to run to seed in light poor soils than 

 when growing m rich and heavy soil. The best means lo adopt is to 

 Mflonl rich soil and plenty of manure, and to cut off the flower-stalks at 

 the hrst eye from the ground before they have grown more than a foot in 

 height. 



HuMEAS J)vi-,% f&7»iU7irf).-Theremovalof thclowerleavesissuificient 

 to account for the plants dying off as you describe, as in stripping off the 

 leaves the stems would have their outer skin removed. The same results 

 follow potting this plant deeper in the soil than it was before, for then 

 the stem decays wherein contact with the soil. 



Pelargonium Leaves Blackened (.1. S. A.).—n^he blackness of the 

 leaves sent was caused by the Cinerarias or plants near being infested 

 with aphides or thrips, but we think the former, there being a deposit of 

 those insects upon the leaves. The house should be fumigiitcd with to- 

 bacco on two consecutive evenings when the leaves of the plants are drj-, 

 shutting it up closely, and choosing a calm evening for the operation. 

 The plants may be syringed in the morning. It mav be necessary to re- 

 peat the fumigation in a few days, indeed, in Cineraria culture fumigation 

 is absolutely necessary, for all depends on the plants being kept free of 

 insects. Fill tho house so full of smoke that a plaut cannot he seen from 

 the outside. 



Camellias Unhealthy (L. 7f.).— The Camellias, judging from the 

 specimen sent, are in a very sicldy condition. The leaves are yellow and 

 blotched with brown, as if they had been constantly svringed or had had 

 water drippmg and hanging on them. The cause of the bad condition of 

 the plants ni.ay be keeping the atmosphere much too close and damp in 

 winter, but more probably the unhealthy state of the roots, which we 

 apprehend are inactive and situated in wet sour soil. We advise you to 

 have the plants repotted at once, using turf from a sandy pasture, cut 

 from 1 to IJ inch thick. In potting them, pull the turf 'in pieces and 

 press it rather tightly. P.emove as much of the old soil as can be done 

 without injuring the roots seriously. Good drainage is essential. 



Inserting Mushroom Spawn in Fields (E. S.).— The best time for 

 inserting Mushroom spawn in a grass field would be from the middle to 

 the end of May. Pinching back the shoots of fruit trees on Mr. Eivers's 

 plan will not cause premature decay, but if you want more strength allovr 

 the shoots to grow a little more. 



Vine Leaves fA .9ii!)8cri(i^r).— What you call "withered" is only the 

 corrugated appearance which leaves assume when they do not grow fast 

 enough to elaborate the sap supplied to them. Keep the air of the house 

 nioistcr. 



^ Fire Inside a Vinery (J. H. J.).— As your flue is heated by a fire 

 inside your house you must use no damper, and in clearing out the 

 ashpit you will require to damp the ashes, &c., to prevent dust and 

 smoke hnding their way into the house. To make secure, however, vour 

 best plan would be to surround the fireplace with a wooden box with a 

 close-fitting door, and shut this door after yon on doing anything to the 

 fire. Y'ou need then have no dust in your liouse. This is more necessary 

 in yAur case than when a bouse is heated by a stove inside the house, as 

 if in the latter case there is hut a short horizontal pipe there will be no 

 back di-aught as sometimes happens with a flue. 



Various {lia/jmar). — Viola corn uta is good for bedding and edgings. It is 

 raised by seeds, but is best propagated by cuttings The bit of flower 

 sent looks like Honesty. It is of no use sending bits daubed on a letter. 

 They should be sent separately in oiled paper, and if particular in a box. 

 The loaf is like that of Begonia rotundifolia. Fern too far g(mo. Nemophila 

 iusignis may bo mixed with the LobeUa. The Nemophila will flower at once, 

 and will be fully over before the Lobelia is in its beauty. Lohclia speciosa 

 may be sown now in a hotbed, but it is late enough. 'The plants should 

 wont pricking off at the latest by the time this appears. We think the 

 proposed arrangement for the spring flower garden will look very well. 

 .\s to plans No. 1 and No. 2, we would have preferred that all the beds 

 had been numbered and the lists drawn out separately. When marked 

 by writing on the beds it becomes confusing, and requires more time 

 to look over. Of the two arrangements we prefer the se(.ond, because it 

 is more simple and will longer continue in perfection. No. 1 would look 

 best in early summer, but Trop;eolums, Calceolarias, Gazania, Linum. and 

 Petunias, would be almost the only flowers that would stand through the 

 autumn. Moreover, you could keep up your Pansy-beds by pruning, 

 manuring, and watering, or by ensuring fresh plants from seed sown now. 

 Yon could also renew your Nemophila-beds, and even the Saponaria, if 

 the first beds bloom early, by fresh plants in pots, or China Asters lifted. 

 The plan No. 2 is not only simpler, but each bed is distinct without 

 edgings, a matter of importance with some of these annunls, as even 

 Saponaria, compact as a bod, is poor when kept in sh.ipe and line, as a 

 centre or as an edging. With the exception of the Nemophila most of the 

 other plants will stand through the autumn, if, at least, part of the seed- 

 pods are removed; but uu' ss you raise the Coreopsi-, Jacobiea, &c., 

 •under protection aud plant out, you will not have your beds so early in 

 bloom as in plan No. 1. tou do not say whether you sow in the beds or 

 plant out. We have had splendid beds of Saponaria when planted in 

 patches at regular distances ; also of Coreopsis, (Enothera, &c. 



