JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ February 24, 1670. 



more detrimental tban plight frosts. The weather has been 

 particularly unfavourable for planting Ranunculuses, which 

 should now be proceeded with as speedily as possible. As 

 seedling Polyanthuses come into tloorn, remove all that are 

 inferior in shape, lacing, or colour. Auriculas, if not previously 

 top-dressed, should be attended to immediately. Well-grown 

 annuals contiibute much to the gaiety of the garden, and 

 although not quite so well adapted for masses as some half- 

 hardy plants, yet they are very desirable for borders and mixed 

 beds. They are frequently treated with too much kindness, 

 being sown in soil of too rich a character, and run too much 

 to leaf. I would advise all those who can Bpare the means, 

 to devote to their especial cultivation at this penod two little 

 frames, the one with bottom heat, the other without it. Ihat 

 with bottom heat would be better with a plunging material 

 possessing a permanent heat of 7(1°, the pots placed very close 

 to the clear glass roof, and matted-np at night. The other 

 frame, without bottom heat, should be raised about a foot 

 above the ground level, where water cannot possibly stand, and 

 should be filled to within a foot of the glass with cinder ashes. 

 They should be both well watered with boiling water previous 

 to placing the pots, in order to destroy insects. It is advisable 

 to raise both the tender and hardy kinds in the frame with 

 heat. managing tl e sowings in a successive way, according to 

 the period at which they are required to bloom. The hardy kinds, 

 however, would have io be removed to the cold frame as soon 

 as an inch high ; they would there burden off in a fortnight, 

 and be ready for turcing out into the borders. The tender 

 annuals, if becoming drawn up in the warm frame, might 

 be removed to warm and light shelves in the greenhouse or 

 other struetuies. The soil for the hardy kinds should be 

 chiefly plain loam ; this will be found to produce a sturdier 

 plant than rich vegetable matter, and much blossom in pro- 

 portion to the amount of foliage. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



On the removal of a portion of the Camellias a3 recom- 

 mended, some room will be made for gay-flowering plants from 

 the forcing-pit or houses at work. In large establishments 

 New Holland plants, Ericas, &c, will of course be culled from 

 their proper situations, or borrowed, as it were, to keep up a 

 display. For such places, however, little advice is needed. We 

 would rather address ourselves to those who are pinched or 

 limited for room. Where a dressy little greenhouse is kept with 

 few other glass structures to assist, much of what is termed 

 flower-forcing has to be carried on in the greenhouse. The 

 flower-forcing pit, if there be one, will of course be regularly 

 examined, and anything coming into blossom may be removed 

 to make way for successions. I would advise, after the late hard 

 frOBt, a very free circulation of air, accompanied by as much 

 atmospheric moisture as can be managed without drip. Many 

 plants from long confinement, and especially when people are 

 afraid of giving air, will be "drawn ; " and having received so 

 much artificial beat in proportion to the average amount of 

 atmospheric moisture, the leaves of many will assume an 

 unhealthy character. Be sure to sow a little Cineraria and 

 Chinese Primrose seed as soon as you can ; this, with another 

 good Bowing in April, will furnish a supply through the next 

 autumn and w inter. Attend to ornamental trellis plants ; they 

 should always be kept in a highly dressed condition, and to 

 accomplish this frequent attention is necessary. Forcing bulbs, 

 as Hyacinths, Narcissuses, &c, should, after blooming, have 

 their blooms tied up, and should be transferred to a cold frame, 

 and when the severe weather has passed away they should be 

 turned out of their pots to feed in prepared beds. Cleroden- 

 drons may now be disrooted, potted in smaller pots in fibrous 

 soil, and started in a mild bottom heat. 



STOVE. 



Continue repotting Orchids as needed. Stanhopeas, Acrope- 

 ras, Dendrobiums, &-c, suspended in baskets or on blocks will 

 now either require syringing occasionally or watering by some 

 means. Many of these will have received little water since the 

 end of October, and will have become excessively dry. Elocks 

 may occasionally be soaked for a few minutes overhead in tepid 

 water, also baskets if very dry. If syringing be resorted to, 

 choose a bright sunny day for the purpose, and syringe them 

 well early in the morning. On such occasions keep a brisk 

 fire, and give air freely until the afternoon, for fear of moisture 

 lodging in the unfolding bud, which in some cases would prove 

 fatal. Some of the winter-flowering stove plants, as Geisso- 

 meria, Eranthemum, Plumbago, Justicia, &C, now exhausted, 

 should be cut back a little and left to break awhile, when they 

 may be disrooted and placed in smaller pots. These will make 



large r.nd early specimens for next autumn, whilst cuttinge 

 from these, struck immediately they break, will furnish buc- 

 cession plants of a smaller size for decorating front shelves. 

 The temperature should now be allowed to rise freely on bright 

 days in the early part of the afternoon, remembering that a 

 rise by means of solar heat alone can do no haim for a few 

 hours at this period, provided it does not exceed 80°. 



COLD PITS AND FRAMES. 



A little water will now be required here. Give plenty of air 

 all night in safe weather, and propagate stock for bedding out. 

 — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



In the open ground the work has been much the same as in 

 the previous week, trenchiug, moving, and turning where the 

 ground would lie long enough to become thoroughly mellowed 

 and warmed befure being used. The ground which we want 

 for use as soon as the frost shall have gone, we let alone, or 

 merely shallow-turned the ridges. It is bad policy ever to turn 

 down snow or frozen soil to any depth, as it tends to keep the 

 soil cold so long. We referred to Mushrooms la6t week, and 

 after spawning, and finding al! going on well, we spawned a 

 piece of bed, and beat it down, but as yet have used no covering 

 over the soil, as the house is warm enough from this bed and 

 another bed in the preparatory state. 



A lot of Potatoes in pots in the Mushroom house, that would* 

 have been too forward there, and which the weather would not 

 permit us to remove to any other place, we have set in the 

 meantime between the rows in the most forward beds, that 

 they may be inured to light before planting them out under 

 protection. The severity of the weather has thrown back much 

 work of this kind, as unfortunately we had not a good stock of 

 tree leaves in hand, as the raking was generally deferred until 

 the last shooting parties, and in such weather even stable 

 manure, when consisting chiefly of litter, refused to heat and 

 decompose so fast as we wished, otherwise we would have had 

 beds ready for Cucumbers, etc., before now. These beds are 

 all employed in giving small bedding Pelargoniums and some 

 other plants a little heat, before we obtain the greater heat for 

 other purposes. We have just nipped out the points of the 

 most forward Potatoes, and raised the frames about 4 inches 

 all round, to prevent the tops touching the glass. 



We sowed a lot of Tom Thumb I'cas in 12-inch and 8-inch 

 pots, from six to eight Peas in a pot, and placed them under 

 shelves by the sideB of paths in the Peach house, and other 

 places, meaning to move them to the orchard house when the 

 Peas are 2 or 3 inches high. Peas sown in front of orchard 

 house are just coming through strongly, seemingly untouched by 

 mice, but the seed was coated with red lead. We have sown 

 Peas in small pots, and then transplanted, but when intended 

 to produce in pots, we think they do best when sown in the 

 rather large pots at once. Provided drainage is secured, good 

 loamy soil with a little ieaf mould and a little charcoal suits 

 well, the soil being made moderately firm, and a little space 

 left at the top for earthing-up. We have not succeeded so well 

 when we used a richer compost, with more dung in the soil, or 

 even with a layer of sweet rotten hotbed dung over the drainage. 

 We had stronger growth, it is true, but not so many pods. We 

 have also sown a lot of early Peas and Beans in semicircular 

 drain tiles, and in pieces of old zinc and tin spouting, which 

 answers well for this purpose. We could not have obtained 

 turf if we had wished. In fact, we have lots of turf taken up 

 to be laid down, which we cannot touch until after a perfect 

 thaw. On the whole, though we often bow Peas and Beans on 

 turf, and transplant in pieces, yet had we plenty of them, we 

 would prefer semicircular tiles or old spouting. In many 

 cases we have thought that the young Pea plants are held too 

 tightly by the firm turf, when thus sown upon it. Old zinc 

 spouting' is especially useful for such purposes, when too far 

 gone to be fit for anything else. 



We have often wondered that no one has thought of manu- 

 facturing zinc pots for plants, as we never met with a plant 

 whose roots diu not thrive well in a zinc veSBel. We have 

 plenty of other utensils for common use, as paile, watering- 

 pots, stands, &c, made of zinc and galvanised iron, but 

 nothing, so far as we are aware, made of zinc, to supersede the 

 earthenware pot. We should be doubtful of galvanised iron 

 answering so well as zinc. Here is a hint to those who do not 

 mind throwing money away upon a patent. In using tiles, or 

 I pieces of old spouting for this purpose, we simply daub up the 



