April 21, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTCRE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



203 



tution of tbia kind, the Bum required is not so very serious an 

 outlay after all, and a few benevolent persons having the 

 means would be amply repaid by the senBe of the good they 

 were doing, and by witnessing the pleasure of the successful ex- 

 hibitors. In some villages there is that inestimable place of 

 public resort, "The Green," where a suitable tent for the ex- 

 hibition might be erected, and the hire of it is not usually a 

 serious matter. Such a tent had better be open at one end, 

 with a broad centre table for the more choice kinds of 

 produce, as fruits, small vegetables, plants, and flowers, and a 

 narrower table all round the three sides for larger productions, 

 such as Cabbages, Carrots, and Rhubarb ; and a little order in 

 the arrangement will give the whole a pleasing appearance. 

 Sometimes a vacant space may be occupied by the productions 

 of some gentleman's garden, or any interesting or instructive 

 object that might be lent for the occasion. — J. Robson. 

 (To be continned.) 



PUZZLING THE CATS. 

 Has anyone with a Bmall garden in a densely populated 

 neighbourhood ever been troubled with cats ? Has anyone had 

 reason to observe that natural curiosity, that incarnate love of 

 knowledge, which impels the feline race to search for it round 

 the roots of freshly-planted specimens? Have finished beds 

 borne witness to their infernal gambols au clair de la lime ? I 

 present a " perfect cure," or, what is better, prevention. The 

 material is simple enough, and obtainable everywhere ; it is 

 wire-netting. Bat how to apply 

 it ? At first I had it fixed on the 

 tops of the walls and fences, IbuB 

 raising them 4 feet all round the 

 premises. Well, this answered 

 for about an hour and a half, after 

 which interval it was of no service 

 whatever, apparently an attrac- 

 tion. Tabbies and tortoiseshells, 

 tailed and tail-less alike, seemed 

 to approve of and fall into the 

 arrangement readily. They also 

 brought friends to see the novelty. 

 Now, the grandest discoveries have 

 ever been of the simplest charac- 

 ter. By simply taking down the 

 wire-netting and fastening it flat 

 on the top of the wall or fence, 

 like a coping, projecting 2 feet on 

 eacn side — if it bend down by its 

 own weight and form an aDgle so much the better — I have for 

 now six months been able to defy all the assaults of the enemy. 

 I have seen many a grimalkin, perched in a tree, with wistful 

 eye " view the landscape o'er," but never yet has one managed 

 to cross. 



It might be asked, Why have the wire on your own side too ? 

 Stop a bit ; the foe may get in through a gate or window care- 

 lessly left open, and, then, if anyone is fond of what our neigh- 

 bours call " le sport," if he admires feats of agility, he will 

 wish to keep the intruder from getting out immediately. Let 

 him close the gate and begin. To watch the pursued puss 

 run or rather fly along up in the angle a, is a delight hardly to 

 be surpassed, except by that of watching two! To see 'the 

 affrighted foe race round the walls and run to each avenue," 

 will be vengeance enough without the whip, with which, how- 

 ever, it is well to be armed, as I have found a cat in despair 

 face about and attack dogs and children. Let this simple 

 remedy be tried. I will answer for it that the angle E will 

 keep any cat from getting in, and the angle a from getting out, 

 until you choose to let it. — Penumbra. 



"WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



FRUIT AND KITCHEN GABDEN. 



Among gardeners' enemies snails and slugs hold a prominent 

 position. The pressure of gardening work in April and May is 

 so great, that the destruction of these depredators is apt to be 

 neglected. Lime is instant destruction to them ; it is, how- 

 ever, not always at hand in a quick state, and a shower of rain 

 soon mollifies its power, but new sawdust and riddled cinder 

 ashes if timely applied, will Bet them at defiance. The ashes 

 should be riddled to the size of Radish seed, all dust being ex- 

 cluded. These, strewed over the young crops when just emerg- 

 ing from the ground, will be most efficient ; they likewise afford 



an excellent chance, when occasion requires, for a thorough me- 

 chanical division of guano as a top-dressing. A handful of 

 good Peruvian guano blended properly with the ashes, would 

 prove a ready mode of manuring a weak seed-bed. Let Beet, 

 Scorzonera, Salsafi/, &e., be sown if not done. Transplant 

 Chamomile. Seeure plenty of good Parsley in highly-manured 

 beds at the nearest end of the kitcben garden, and examine 

 and remove the Herb plantatioiis. Sow a bed or two of herbs 

 for next year's planting. This should be done every second 

 year. Among such herbs may be mentioned Pot Marjoram, 

 Winter Savory, and Thyme, of which the old plants are liable 

 to wear out. Sow successions of Mound-leaved Spinach in a cool 

 aspect. A sloping bank should now be prepared and planted 

 with good runners of the Alpine Strawberry for fruiting in 

 September and October ; plant three in a patch, the patches at 

 intervals of IS inches, the ground between being covered with 

 slates when the plants are established. Take care to thoroughly 

 clean all Strawberry plantations before the runners come out. 

 Tbin suckers from Raspberries, leaving four or five to each 

 stool. 



FLOWEB GARDEN. 



Thoroughly dress all beds and borders ; prepare stations on 

 lawns for extraordinary specimens of ornamental plants, as 

 large Fuchsias, placing drainage at the bottom, and good turfy 

 and mellow compost above. Trim and prune all climbers on 

 out-door trellises or conservative walls, and prepare stations to 

 fill up blanks. Auriculas are now blooming, and the amateur 

 may experiment in cross-fertilisation to obtain new varieties. 

 In growing for exhibition the pips which are misshapen should 

 be removed with a sharp-pointed pair of scissors, and care must 

 be taken that the trusses of bloom are not exposed to the too 

 powerful action of the sun. If the seed gathered last season 

 has not been previously sown, now will be found a good time. 

 Sow in shallow pans or boxes in light vegetable soil ; it is only 

 requisite to press the seeds on the surface and cover them 

 lightly with freBh moss. They will, when placed in a cold 

 frame, be up in a few days. Take great care that the soil is 

 close round the neckB of the rising plants of Ranunculuses ; re- 

 move all weeds as they appear, and if the btd ar.< infested with 

 worms pour lime water into the holes. The universal late- 

 ness of Tulips may save them from injury from the late spring 

 frosts, but there are fears that the b'ojtn generally this season 

 will be unsatisfactory. When the flowers begin to show colour, 

 the top cloths of the awning may be put on ; carefully examine 

 all diseased foliage, and expose the affected parts as much as 

 possible to the sun. Put down the sticks as soon as possible to 

 the Carnations and Picotees ; if this be delayed the roots will 

 be injured by their insertion. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Great care should always be bestowed when watering i>t 

 plants. Too much, too little, or an injudicious mode of appli- 

 cation is equally fatal to high cultivation. Very many plants 

 are seriously injured at the period of shifting or potting-off, by 

 improper watering. It has been the fashion to recommend 1 

 what is termed a " thorough soaking " to newly-potted stock, 

 and it is feared that in this very act the foundation of what is 

 technically termed "Eeurnesa" is frequently laid. A very fine- 

 rosed pot, with slight applications of water at intervals soon 

 after potting, is the best way, as a general rule, to penetrate 

 the mass, and to cause the particles of soil so to arrange them- 

 selves that the access of a ; r shall be somewhat modified but 

 by no means intercepted. There is, however, no good reason 

 why all plants should be watered immediately on shifting them. 

 When a plant has no ball of earth the water should, of course, 

 be made to penetrate the whole mass, in order to prevent the 

 plant's drying up. When, however, the plant — say a Camellia, 

 has a hard-wedged ball, steeping it in water for an hour is 

 the preferable course. After this, frequent syringiugs or 

 waterings through a fine rose will be the soundest policy for a 

 week or two. See that climbers and all plants of rambling 

 habit have due attention in regard to stopping, water, &c. 

 Camellias forced into wood should have a trifling check as soon 

 as the young leaves have attained their full size; this is best 

 accomplished by eiiminiebing the supply of water at the roots. 

 Continue, however, to shade and syringe morning and evening. 

 In the mixed greenhouse I presume the existence of a climate 

 somewhat in advance of the cool greenhouse — that is, a house 

 in which artificial heat only sufficient to repel frost is main- 

 tained. By keeping one end of such a house (the end where 

 the hot-water piping or smoke flue enters) closer, using more 

 atmospheric moisture, and at the Bame time a greater amount 

 of air at the other end, it is not by any means impossible 



