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JOTJBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE GARDENER. 



f May 16, 1867. 



hand, tbe entire stock of Emp<;renr de Maroc, Anna de Diesbach, 

 Mdlle. Bonnaire, Souvenir de la Malmaison, Celine Foreatier, 

 Augnste Mie, and Duobesso d'Orleans, are killed. John Hopper, 

 Chabrillant, Count Cavour, and Beauty of Waltham, all first-rate, 

 are severely injured, and even Gloire de Dijon ha3 suffered much. 

 Fearful as the havoc has been among them, I was glad to find 

 that Mr. Ivery has a fine collection of plants in pots, chiefiy on 

 their own roots, in first-rate condition, and now pushing for- 

 ward in one of the pits, but, of course, totally inadequate in 

 number to supply the place of the hundreds cut oft out of doors. 



Grateful was the relief afforded by the display of floral beauty 

 in the different glass structures, after looking upon the sad 

 spectacle of destruction out of doors. The Azaleas, the stock 

 very extensive both in number and variety, now beginning to 

 show their gay and charming colours, are, as they ever have 

 been, in the highest state of perfection. ,\mong those in bloom 

 were — Belle Gantoise, rose and white ; Criterion, salmon pink, 

 magnificent; Flower of the Day, a light variety, very pretty ; 

 Excelsior, rose; Forget-me-not, brilliant reddish purple, very 

 fine; Leviathan; Queen of the Whites ; Stella, very good'; 

 Tricolor, a spotted variety ; but unrivalled in beauty and de- 

 licacy of tint is a new kind, which obtained high honours last 

 year, and is very properly named Fascination. Many plants of 

 this gem are now in bloom, and offer a sight so beautiful, that 

 it lingers in memory as strongly as it fascinates the eye in be- 

 holding. The encomiums already bestowed upon tliis noble 

 flower cannot be improved by any addition of mine ; it is lovely, 

 and will maintain achief position among the varieties of Azalea 

 indica for a long time. 



Nor mu st I pass by unnoticed a very fine strain of herbaceous 

 Calceolarias, not only excellent in colour and form, but almost 

 inclining to the character of the shrubby kinds, dwarf and 

 compact in habit. 



To do justice to the collection of British Ferns would fill a 

 month's issue of The Journal of Hohticulture ; they are 

 now beginning to uufold their lovely fronds, endless in variety 

 and form. So rapid is the advance constantly being made, 

 that at present upwards of four hundred varieties have been 

 named and classified. Nor is there, probably, any assignable 

 limit to which iheir variation may ultimately reach. Later in 

 the season will be more appropriate for a notice of this in- 

 teresting class of plants. — AnoLrnrs H. Kent. 



CULTIVATION OF PEAS. 



I HAVE read with much interest the article by " C. P.," at 

 page 258, on the cultivation of every one's favourite — the Pea. 

 The mode of culture there described is somewhat similar to 

 that which I have practised for many years, both where the 

 ground is very shallow and dry, and where it is of a stiff clayey 

 nature, neither of which conditions is favourable to the pro- 

 duction of good crops of Peas. 



Where the ground is shallow and dry I take out a trench as 

 for Celery, and about 15 inches wide and 18 inches deep, re- 

 moving a portion of the subsoil, if necessary, in order to attain 

 the requisite depth, carry away the subsoil thrown out, if 

 any, in a barrow, return with this full of rotten farmyard 

 manure, and add to every two parts of the latter one of good 

 loam or fresh soil. If such cannot be obtained, soil from a 

 road side, which has been kept in aheap for from four to six 

 months, will answer. Put into the trench a foot deep of this 

 compost, and over it aa inch of soil. Then stretch a line 

 down the centre and drop three rows of Peas, which will yield 

 quite as well as five, and very differently from those we very 

 often see grown on the narrow-drill system. Cover the Peas 

 with 2 inches of soil, and leave the rest of this at the sides of 

 the trench ; it will keep off the cold winds if the crop is an 

 early one. 



As soon as the Peas are sticked fork back the ground between 

 the rows, leaving it highest in the middle, and put some soil 

 against the plants as the work proceeds. They are thus placed 

 in a trench, and can, therefore, be conveniently and effectually 

 watered, whilst they will receive the full benefit of all the rain 

 that may fall. For watering, a hose may be attached to a tap, 

 so that the water will run along the trench ; or, if there is a 

 stream in the garden on a higher level, it may be conducted by 

 a channel to the Peas, as I have often done. I do not mind 

 disfiguring my Harden with a little stream running beside or 

 across, a walk, if by such means I can obtain a good dith of 

 Peas and this cannot be produced without plenty of water. If 

 the cultivator has neither of the conveniences which I have 



mentioned, but has a pump on a higher level than the garden, 

 he can put down draining pipes a few inches deep, or cut an 

 open channel for the water. 



I grow my Scarlet Bunners just in the same way as Peas. 

 If dung is scarce, all the refuse from the garden, such as that 

 of Broccoli, Cabbages, or Turnips, and weeds, may be pnt into 

 the trenches. 



I like to have my rows of Peas 5 feet apart, and if I have 

 not much room, I plant a row of some dwarf quick-growing 

 crop in the intervals, so as to have it off the ground before the 

 Peas come in. I endeavour, if possible, to have Scarlet Run- 

 ners in a single row, for thus I find they produce one-half 

 more. I also like to have water running in the row two honrs 

 a-day. This system answers better than sowing in drills, and, 

 after sticking, banking up like Potatoes, the effect of which is 

 to throw off the water. If one has plenty of hot dung, and 

 wants a crop early, by making the trench deeper and wider, 

 and then filling it with dung, the plants will have a hotbed to 

 grow in ; also the crop will be earlier still if roots of the pre- 

 vious year are planted. 



As regards wet, stiff, clayey soil, I likewise form trenches the 

 same as for shallow ground, but 6 inches deeper, and put in 

 this depth of rough rubbish at the bottom as drainage. The 

 trench is then filled up to the general ground level with a 

 lighter compost than that used in the previous case. I do not 

 use any of the clay soil, hut procure light instead ; I like that 

 in which Kidney iSeans, Strawberries, &c., have been growing 

 in the houses. 



" C. P." and her James have good soil, therefore in their 

 case all this trouble is unnecessary. I do not perceive the use 

 of having the Peas high ; from 4 to 5 feet will be quite enough. 

 — John Taylor. 



THE PORS AND AGAINSTS AN ORCHARD 

 HOUSE. 



" Audi alteram partem " will ever continue a sound maxim ; 

 everything, including an orchard-house, has its pros and cons, 

 and in forming a correct judgment upon the merits of any 

 question all depends upon striking a correct balance be- 

 tween what we call in algebra the pluses and minuses. I 

 Veil remember that chapter in De Foe's " History of Robinson 

 Crusoe," in which he represents his hero, when cast upon the 

 desert island, as summing up in so many alternate paragraphs — 

 1st, The desponding thoughts which agitated his mind; and 

 2ndly, Those more favourable features in his case, which served 

 in some measure to counterbalance them. With your good 

 leave, I propose to adopt the same impartial method on the 

 subject of orchard-house culture ; and as the poet, comparing 

 life to a chess-board, describes the former as — 



" A chequer'd scene, on which tbe trembling light 

 Falls in alternate gleams of black and white " 



I shall beg to introduce to your readers my friend Mr. Potts, 

 who has lately built an orchard-house, as placing each dark 

 reflection that arises in his mind in juxtaposition with its 

 corresponding white. 



Black. — I have built a large orchard -house ; it has been a 

 considerable expense, the extras, including a tank, pump, and 

 shelf for Strawberry plants, have exceeded by almost ore-third 

 the original estimate. My wife taxes me with extravagance, 

 and thinks that the money would have been better expended 

 in adding to my stock of household furniture, or providing an 

 adequate supply of table linen. 



White. — Never mind its liberal dimensions ; size, if a fault, 

 is one on the right side ; it argues in me surely a Sir-Joseph- 

 Paxton largeness of mind. Besides, it has betn all paid for, 

 and so is fairly my own, which is more than can be said of 

 every coat on every man's back. Extras are an inseparable 

 accompaniment of every grand design. I do not much mind 

 what my wife says, she really thinks that " e'en my failings 

 lean to virtue's side," and I have as much reason for charging 

 her with a lavish expenditure when she rides her hobbies, a8 

 she me, when riding mine. 



Black. — I cannot say that my house quite answers my ex- 

 pectations. I perceive that several spurs have only blossom- 

 buds at their extremities (barren spray, Mr. Biehaut calls 

 these) ; a pretty kettle of fish after all my painstaking ! Other 

 lanky shoots have indeed a leaf-bud at the end, but all the 

 other buds, both leaf and blossom, have clean dropped out ; 

 effects of unskilful pruning, of course. 



White. — My house makes a capital lounge, I enjoy my weed 



