May as, 1867. J 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



9^9 



Our greatest gardeners will be the first to admit that there is 

 less head work, less constant anxiety and consideration required 

 in large princely establishments, where there is the right place 

 for everything, than in those where for a great many subjects 

 which must be had there is no proper place — wheie, for in- 

 stance, thousands of bedding and other flowering plants must 

 be produced as extras, so much so, that an uninitiated stranger 

 would suppose that these flowering plants stood all the year 

 where they were found in summer and autumn. Now, for all 

 such forwarding purposes a little heat from fermenting materials 

 IS of great advantage, and it is of importance to obtain that 

 heat at once instead of waiting two or three weeks for it. 

 Secure the heat, and, however rank, you can always insure 

 safety by covering with older material, soil, &c. Mowings from 

 the lawn are very rank, but mixed with long littery dung from 

 the stable, much of the watering that otherwise would be re- 

 quired is saved. For instance, desiring to help on Celery, 

 Perilla, Lobelias, i'c, with the least trouble, and liaving a few 

 sashes that had covered Violets and Calceolarias, at liberty, we 

 had two or three loads of long littery dung, the produce of ten 

 days, brought from the stable, made into a bed for six lights, the 

 few droppings regularly incorporated with it, well trodden, and 

 then well watered, about 4 inches of rotten dung from linings 

 put over it. and then about 3 or 4 inches of soil. Some old 

 trunks of Spruce trees too far gone to be worth saving, say 

 from to 8 inches in diameter, were placed back and front for 

 the sashes to rest on ; and a better place for pricking out such 

 plants, to be raised again for final transplanting, could not be 

 obtained in the finest pit in any garden, and the appearance of 

 the plants shows how much they enjoy the by-no-means-violent, 

 but genial, regular bottom beat. 



For such work, lights of frames have to answer many piar- 

 poses. For instance, in the ease of early Potatoes in frames, 

 the frame can be moved to something else before the Potatoes 

 are taken up, and oftener long before the frame is moved the 

 sashes may be turned to such purposes as above, and straw 

 covers, itc, put over the Potatoes, Carrots, or Turnips at night, 

 instead of glass sashes. We lately made some beds such as 

 above described, but as we could obtain short grass we mixed that 

 with the litter, and in such a case little watering was neces- 

 sary, as the grass would yield the moisture. In a bed of 

 this description, but with a frame for two lights over it, and 

 prepared as above, we inserted Verbena cuttings, the upper 

 covering being rough sandy loam, with drift sand on the surface, 

 and we have no doubt that in three weeks from inserting the 

 cuttings, there will be strong vigorous plants to take up with 

 good roots for planting. All such temporary beds will be any- 

 thing but idle in summer. We have made beds of dung so 

 sweetened as to be short indeed at making time, and though 

 fully 6 feet in depth, have been disappointed in the heat not 

 being continuous, with the help of linings, for Melons and 

 Cucumbers, and we have made beds 2 or 3 feet less in height, 

 of less worked, less sweetened materials, except at the surface, 

 and these beds, without having to make linings, especially if 

 ■water could be made to pass down into the beds, and air with 

 it, would maintain a regular, and for a longer time genial, 

 heat than the thoroughly worked and sweetened manure-bed. 

 In short, let every one work his dung as he thinks best, but let 

 the amateur rest convinced, that he may sweeten it less with 

 perfect safety and, therefore, obtain more heat from his 

 limited supply, provided he keep the noxious gases down in- 

 stead of letting them into the atmosphere among his plants and 

 cuttings. For instance, there are numerous hardy plants, 

 such as Pinks, Wallflowers, &c., which he may strike from 

 cuttings now in the open air. in sandy soil, and especially if 

 covered with a sash or a hand-light; but all these will strike 

 sooner, and the plants be stronger if there be a little bottom 

 heat below them, even such as may be obtained by a mixture 

 of short grass and stable-dung plsced in a hole. When we 

 used to grow Castor Oil plants, Cannas, Daturas, A-c, out of 

 doors in the flower garden, we found success was greatly owing 

 to giving them two or three barrowloads of such rank hot stuff 

 beneath them, which afforded heat to the roots at staiting, 

 and became rotten enough for them to feed in before the end 

 of the season. 



FRUIT AND OENAMEXTAL DDPaKTMESTS. 



In these the work was chiefly a continuation of that of the 

 previous week, but besides edging and preparing flower-beds for 

 planting about eight days hence, as experience has told us there 

 is little gained by hurry, when now most of the plants are in 

 the ground in temporary beds, we have been anxious to finish 

 with two matters, and trust to have done so before this is I 



printed. First, we shall not be able to mow all the lawns and 

 pleasure grounds, but we have mown a good swathe by the 

 sides of all the walks, and this done early, and repeatedly is 

 one of the great secrets for keeping walks clean, firm, and 

 free of weeds ; and the second matter is to cut with an edging 

 iron the sides of all walks, using a line, and taking off a" little 

 as possible, but enough to show a clear edge. If the walks are, 

 as they should be, not more than 1 or Ij inch below the grass 

 verge, the sharp-cut edging, though repulsive to fine taste, wOl 

 not show more than a few days, and that eyesore is twenty- 

 fold compensated by the ease with which such grass edgings 

 are clipped throughout the summer. 



There is another proceeding which we would recommend to 

 amateurs if they wish such walks to remain neat alter cutting 

 the edges. This cutting will leave the sides a little coloured, and 

 more earthy than the walk as a whole. Scatter a little salt for 

 G or 9 inches in width, and on this a little sandy gravel. The 

 sides of the walk will thus be neat and clean, will be easy to 

 sweep during the season, will after a sweeping or two become 

 of the same colour as the main part of the walk, and, as a rule, 

 these sides will be free of small weeds, where otherwise they 

 would be almost sure to vegetate. If in pleasure grounds the 

 grass close to walks is allowed to become long, and produce 

 seeds, it is nest to impossible to keep the walks free of weeds. 

 — E. F. 



Cetstal Palace. — The Great Flower Show, one of the events 

 of the London fashionable season — is appointed for Saturday, 

 May 2.5th. As this is the first great show of the year, and as 

 the recent warm, sunny weather has had a most beneficial 

 effect upon the flowers, the show, it is anticipated, will be un- 

 usually fine. It also enjoys the advantage of being fixed for 

 the day appointed for the celebration of Her Majesty's birthday. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— May 22. 



However mncli the ■weather may vary, wo have no diminntion in 

 the supply, the growers' Ftnnds beinj? filled to a late hour each mom- 

 iDf,', or it may be the limited amount of business that is doing which 

 makes the quantity seem so much greater. We have now from the 

 Continent, Peaches, Apricots, Cherries, Melons, and a few Pears, Kidney 

 Beans, Carrots. Turnips. Caulifiowerp. Artichokes, and Tomatoes ; new 

 Potatoes from Lisbon, Malta, and the Channel Islands. Good Regents of 

 last year's growth command a ready sale. 



Apples 4 sieve S 



Apricots doz 4 



Cherries box 2 



Chestnuts bush. 



Currants ^ sieve 



Black ". . do. 



Flpa doz. 10 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooseberries ..quart 



Grapes, Hothouse, .lb. 5 



Lcmous 100 5 



d. fl. d 



0to4 



F. d. B. ft 



Melons each 8 0tol2 



Nectarines doz. 15 24 



OrauRes 100 5 10 



Peaches doz. 21 42 



Pears (dessert) ..doz. 9 



kitchen doz. 



Pine Apples lb. 5 



Plnms i sieve 



Quinces doa. 



Raspberriflfl lb. 



Strawberries oz. 



Walnuts bush. 10 20 



TEOETABLKfi. 



Artichokes each 



AsparapuB bundle 



Beans, Kidney, per 100 



Scarlet Run. I sieve 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brus. Sprouts ^ sieve 



Cabbnpe doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Cucumbers each 



pickling .... doz. 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish . . bundle 



s. d. 

 6 too 

 4 7 

 10 2 

 



8. d [ 



2 

 2 



Leeks bnDch 



Lettuce per score 



Mushrooms .... pottle 

 Mustd.d Cress, punnet 

 Onions. . . . per buabel 



Parsley per Bieyo 



Parsnips doz. 



Pens per quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-kale baslcr-t 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes per doz. 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows dz. 



s. A. s. 

 StoO 



9 

 3 



4 

 5 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 9 

 4 

 

 

 8 

 

 S 

 6 

 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



••• We request that no one will write privately to the depart- 

 mental writers of the "Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore be addressed soldi/ to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, drc, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.G. 



