May 9, 1867. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HORTIOULTURB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



331 



be transferred to their destination, removing with good balls of 

 earth. Tender Roses that have suffered from the effects of the 

 past winter will now rec[uire to be pruned. Standards would 

 likewise be much improved by giving them a good soaking 

 with dung water ; it is best applied in cloudy weather. All 

 vacant beds in the flower garden should be again dug np or 

 raked over, to be ready for the reception of the plants, which 

 should be put in whenever the weather is suitable. Such her- 

 baceous plants as PiBonies, &c., that soon will come into bloom 

 should be tied up. Jjivide aud transplant Hepaticas aud strong 

 plants of double Scarlet Lychnis, or take off some cuttings 

 close to the root, and place them in a mild frame-bent in small 

 pots, these will soon strike root, aud will be fit for planting 

 out in borders. Attend to the watering of lately-planted shrubs 

 if they require it. As Crocuses and other bulbs will now be on 

 the wane, patches of biennials which have stood the winter 

 may be planted close beside them ; when the annuals are de- 

 cayed the bulbs, if necessary, may be removed at the same 

 time. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSEKVATORT. 



We would again urge the propriety of weeding out all ex- 

 traneous or fading plants from the conservatory and other 

 plant-structures, better destroy inferior stock than suffocate 

 the good. Where a system of high cultivation is carried out, 

 crowding will assuredly defeat the end in view. Centradeuias 

 now exhausted with flowering should be shaken out of their 

 pots and repotted. Fibrous loam and fibrous peat soil, with 

 charcoal and coarse sand, make au excellent compost for them. 

 Make cuttings of them as soon as suitable young wood can be 

 obtained. Calceolarias will now be coming into bloom, they 

 should have their flower-stalks tied out aud plenty of room 



this season the feathered tribe troable ua less. We have a fine 

 lot of Kidney Beans in boxes to plant out under a little pro- 

 tection, as in a bed intended for Celery, to succeed those knotting 

 their bloom-buds, which will again succeed those bearing pro- 

 fusely. A syringing with clear soot water overhead after a hot 

 daj-, we believe hulps to invigorate the plants, aud keeps insects 

 of all kinds away from them, and the keeping insects away is a 

 much more profitable affair than driving them away, or de- 

 stroying them. In all cases prevention is better than cure, and 

 cleanliness, plenty of air, a temperature at night much lower 

 than the daytime, so as to give the plants rest, a quick eye and 

 nimble fingers are better every way than dealing much in filthy 

 mixtures, which less or more will have to be used, if insects 

 are allowed to become too numerous. 



We mentioned some time ago that we had been little troubled 

 with ffiven fly on forced Strawberries for years, but since making 

 that statement we have had a little fly on every batch since 

 wherever they were placed, whether in pit, house, or orchard- 

 house, and even on Saturday, discovered some on pots still 

 standing out of doors. As they generally appeared on the 

 young leaves in the crown, and if not removed by the fingers, 

 would attack the flower-stalks ; in some instances, besides thus 

 removing them, we have had to smoke, but as they appeared 

 on nothing else in the same place it looks as if eggs had 

 been deposited on these plants late in the autumn, and that 

 they had been hatched into vitality when they had received the 

 necessary heat under glass. Drawing the fingers along such 

 young leaves and flower-stalks, and then syringing with clear 

 soot and lime water, or both united, is a quicker and cheaper 

 process than smoking with tobacco, itc. We dislike smoking 

 with tobacco after the fruit has begun to change colour, as we 



afforded them. They will now begin to form objects of much i think the flavour of the tobacco hangs a loug time about-it. 



attraction in the gieeuhouse, but, above all, see that they are 

 perfectly free from aphides before their flowers expand. Pelar- 

 goniums now begin to claim much of our attention. See that 

 every leaf is perfectly clean, and that the branches and trusses 

 are properly supported with sticks. Water freely, and occasiun- 

 ally with manure water. Have an eye to the propagation of 

 stock for succession or winter-flowering in due time. Secure 

 cuttings of such plants as Brugmausias, Clerodeudrons, Eran- 

 themums, and those useful winter-flowering plants Euphorbia 

 jacquinireflora and Gesnera bulbosa. Those who have one house 

 in which to grow the stock of Orchids must make a com- 

 promise in point of temperature between that of the hot and 

 moist valleys or shady woods of the east, and those from the 

 western hemisphere, which inhabit high aud airy situations. 

 To accomplish this we would advise a very free circulation of 

 air during the earlier part of the day, and even a little all 

 night, if possible, accompanied with a great amount of atmo- 

 spheric moisture, and to accommodate with the least sacrifice, 

 such as Aerides, Saccolabiums, Dendrobiums, ire, we would 

 shut up a considerable amount of heat very early in the after- 

 noon. All means under the cjutrol of the cultivator should, 

 in fact, be brought into active and vigorous operation at this 

 season. The plants which are beginning to expand their 

 blossoms should be removed into a warmer but much drier at- 

 mosphere ; indeed, many of the species with slender flowing- 

 stems should be similarly located to prevent their damping off ; 

 those in baskets, or on blocks of wood, should never, at this 

 season, be allowed to become perfectly dry. Every care should 

 be taken to promote the extension of the roots aud to preserve 

 them, for on this depends the strength of the flower-stalks, 

 and, of course, the ultimate beauty and perfection of the plant. 



PITS AND FR.V3IES. 



Harden-off tender annuals and other plants for the flower 

 garden, and continue potting-off annuals and struck cuttings 

 as they require it, putting in cuttiugs of scarce sorts for store. 

 If cuttings of choice rook plants, such as Phlox setacea, nivalis, 

 subulata, verna, procumbens, amrena, &c., with Saponaria 

 ocymoides, Onosma tauricum, Alyssum saxatile, Iberis sem- 

 pervirens, etc., are put into prepared cutting-pots in sand, 

 placed in a mild frame heat and treated as Verbena cuttings, 

 they will soon strike root and be fit for planting out, or potting- 

 off, as may be required. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN G.IKDEN. 



Sowed successions of Peas, Broad and Kidney Beans, and 

 Ssarlet and White Runners out of doors, protecting the Peas 

 and Beans, especially from their natural enemies ; but after 



Before this is printed, we hope, if the weather continues so 

 fine, to give a good manure watering to Cauhflowers, Cabbages, 

 forward Peas, &c. After so much rain, there is little likelihood 

 of the drainings from the dunghill, or the farmyard being too 

 strong for such purposes. When strong water cannot be ob- 

 tained from the stable or cow-house undiluted with water, it 

 should have four or five times the quantity of water added 

 before using it. 



JJisappointments. — We instanced lately colouring seeds with 

 red lead for keeping birds from them, and so far as we can see 

 it is effectual in every case ; small seeds aud even large seeds, 

 as Peas included, in no case have we seen them touched ; but, 

 then, that is no security against the seedlings being preyed 

 upon. We sowed some rows of Lettuces very thinly, intend- 

 ing to let them perfect themselves in the rows without trans- 

 planting, and they showed well, but not one is now visible, 

 and witn all our examining we could not find the trace of a 

 slug or snail, as means had been taken to keep them away. 

 Birds, no doubt, were to blame, and we would not have been 

 so sure but for the following fact : — The first sowing of out- 

 door Carrots was just beginning to show, but instead of ad- 

 vancing they seemed to get out of sight more and more. Lest 

 slugs should assail them at night, lime and soot were thrown 

 thinly over the piece, but still with no manifest advantage, 

 and we could find no trail of au enemy, and the ground being 

 dry, no mark of birds ; but on looking at this ground between 

 3 and i A.M. we had the satisfaction of seeing three brace of 

 partridges marching up and down the rows, and nipping np 

 every green thing. We have no doubt that in some such cases 

 the seedsmen bear the blame, when the seed was all right 

 enough. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



We have already alluded to Strawberries and green fly. 

 Otherwise we have never had them show stronger, and hardly 

 a blind one among those in pots, and after such a wet dull 

 autumn as last year. Partly on that account, our plants as a 

 whole were not so strong in the autumn as usual. Two 

 thoughts have just struck us, and we would wish them to be 

 ventilated among our brethren. First, whether it is not 

 possible to have our Strawberry plants for forcing too strong 

 before the autumn — that is, that there may be too much foliage 

 to permit of perfect ripening of the fruit-Liuds; and secondly, 

 whether the fullest exposure to the sun after potting may not 

 in bright autumns be carried to au excess ? The plants in the 

 open ground are also showing very well. 



The chief work has been thinning, disbudding, and water- 

 ing ; aud the orchard-houses have required the latter liberally. 

 During the brightest days we threw with a syringe water just 

 coloured with whitening over the glass, merely spattering it, just 

 1 to break a little the force of the sun's rays, and prevent the 



