April 28, 1870 ) 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAtiDENER. 



not too etrong. A pound will be enough for from thirty-six to 

 forty gallons of water. The soap should be dissolved in a pail 

 of hot water, be allowed to stand all day, and then be poured 

 ont gently so as to intercept all residue, if any. It is as well 

 to pour at once in warm water, and then add cool and soft, so 

 as to apply it at about 80 3 . This will be strong enough to be 

 offensive to all intruders, but you will see no marks left next 

 day from a heavy syringing. 



The second orchard house is not yet fit to be syringed ; the 

 Peaches, &c, on the back wall have set nicely, and the Cherries 

 and Plums in pots in front are just beginning to set after 

 being great pictures as respects bloom. The trees on the 

 back wall are by far the earliest. In these houses Pears are 

 blooming nicely. With plenty of air in this house the Chenies 

 in front are not above a week in advance of those on the wall 

 out of doors, but then we can hurry them on if we like after- 

 wards. In these houses, with air early given, and the roof 

 slightly spattered with whitened water, we have noticed that a 

 thermometer suspended with its wooden back to the sun would 

 rise to 90°, 95°, or nearly to 100', and yet you could go abnut 

 in the house as if the temperature had been merely 60° or 70°. 

 There is little danger in these houses, with laige planes of ghB ', 

 if air is kept on constantly, or given early, so that the tem- 

 perature rises gradually, and there is no accumulation of heated 

 vapour. If the heat of such a house rose gradually with air to 

 90° by day, and fell as gradually to 40°, or lower, at night, there 

 would be anything but gronnd for alarm. We are not, it is 

 true, to imitate Nature, but we shall generally be wrong if we 

 strive to do the very opposite of what she is doing in reference 

 to temperature every day. Ocir Viues in the orchard house that 

 we shut up earlier, owing to this sunny weather are pretty well 

 as forward as those in the late vinery. We would rather have 

 had both a little later, but it seemed to be a pity not to take 

 advantage of the cheapest and best of all heat — sun heat. 



For once on the open wa'ls we have used no protec'ion this 

 year, and as yet we do not regret it. Apricots are settiDg well, 

 and Peaches nre beginning to do so on a west aspect. A large 

 number of Apricot blooms dropped ; a good many were im- 

 perfect flowers. 



OBNAJIENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



Plenty of work, but chiefly a repetition of propagating, 

 prioking-off, potting, planting out, mowing, &c. One matter we 

 must advert to, as several correspondents have drawn our at- 

 tention to the subject — using dirty or wet pots. The purport of 

 some half a dozen communications from young enthusiastic 

 amateurs may be summed-np in this — " We wanted to turn out 

 a lot of potted plants into a bed in order to make use of the pots, 

 but out the plants would not come as they ought to do, with a 

 clean smooth ball, but in the ball would stop after all our 

 thumping and pushing ; and if it did come out at length, a part 

 of the ball and the roots remained obstinately at the bottom 

 and the sides of the pot, thus greatly injuring the roots. How 

 are we to remedy or prevent such a state of things ?" We are 

 not sure as to a remedy ; we are quite sure as to a preventive. 

 We wanted to do a similar work the other day so as to set at 

 liberty several hundred small GO-pots for another purpose, but 

 on trying them we found that in fully one-half of them the 

 roots clung tenaciously to the pots, or the balls came out all 

 ruptured and cracked at the sides. The man who potted the 

 plants was sent for, and stoutly contended that the pots were 

 all fresh washed before being used, but when further pressed 

 he owned that the pots were not dry when used. Here, then, is 

 the remedy — a clean pot and a dry one, and with fair drainage, 

 then the ball ought always to come out easily without breaking, 

 cracking, or hurting a root. When we see people takiDg a dirty 

 pot in which to pot a pl<nt, we cannot help wishing that their 

 hair or whitkers might be well pulled, as a gentle reminder of 

 what the roots suffer when it becomes necessary to remove 

 them from that pot. We find nothing better for washing pots 

 than warm water ; the warmer the water, so that it is not 

 too warm for the operator, the snoner will the pot dry, and 

 then with a dry clean pot and good drainage, the ball will 

 always come out easily clean and bright without breaking. 

 When balls refuse to come out, or come out broken, and soil is 

 left furrowed on the sides of the pot, you may safely come to 

 the conclusion that a slovenly potter and a dirty or wet pot have 

 gone together. — R. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



John Scott, Merriott Nurspries, Crewkerae, and Yeovil. — Flower- 

 Garden Annual Directory and Catalogue of Bedding Plants, <£c. 



Kirk Allen, Brampton. Huntingdon. — Desciyitive Catalogue of 

 Pelargoniums, Fuclusias, Petunias, <ic., and List of Seedling Annuak 

 and Biennials. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS 

 In the Suburbs of London for the week ending April 2Gth. 



20.— Very fine ; exceedingly hot ; clear and very fine. 

 21, — Very fine; clear and very line ; fine but cold. 

 22.— Fine ; very fine ; densely overcast at night. 

 23.— Fine; very fine and clear ; fine cool air. 

 24.— Overcast, cold wind ; densely overcast ; overcast. 

 25. — Cloudy; fine, heavy clouds ; clear and fine. 

 26.— Cloudy, cold wind ; fine but cloudy ; showery. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



Books (G. Pyman).— There is no book containing coloured drawings of 

 all the species of either the flowers, trees, or shrubs cultivated in England. 

 A large proportion of the flowers are to be seen in the more than one 

 hundred volumes of the " Botanical Magazine " and " Botanical Register.'" 



Free Gardenery (Dumbartonshire). — We believe there is no " Free 

 Gardenery" in England, though the brotherhood is strong in Scotland. 

 We never heard that it helped to make ft man a better gardener, any more 

 than freemasonry made men better stonemasons. Of this you may be 

 certain, "it confers no benefit on the brotherhood in England." 



Garden Netting (R. M.). — We think that 1 lb. of acetate of lead and 

 1 lb. of alum dissolved in a gallon of water, would be good proportions for 

 preserving the netting soaked in it. 



Looker's Propagating Boxes (J. ff.).— We do not know of any way of 

 getting a bottom heat to them except by placing them on a hotbed or 

 flue, or hot- water pipes. 



Willow Bank.— A round paper box from a place bo named has reached 

 U3, with a note saying " A bloom is enclosed." The box was smashed, 

 and there was no bloom in it. 



Cinerarias (Claughton, Birkenhead).— It is not unusual for well-cul- 

 tivated plantB of the Cineraria to produce the abundance of flowers you 

 mention. Exhibition specimens produce three or four times the number 

 of flowers. You must be growing your plants very well. We regret, from 

 your letter having been mislai d, this reply has been given so tardily. 



Shrubs for Shelter [Artheniee).— It is now too late to plant shrubs 

 unless you have them on the spot, can move them with good balls, and 

 can water them. We planted last year about this time two acres of orna- 

 mental shrubs, and none of them failed, except a few plants of Berberis 

 Darwinii. The best of all trees for shelter is Pinus austriaca; it with- 

 stands wind better than any other, and should form the back of all shrub- 

 beries at the part they are most exposed. Thujopsia borealis is an ex- 

 cellent tree, of comparatively low growth, for exposed situations. We 

 recommend these for the back, if it is exposed to the north-east or. west. 

 If much exposed you may employ the common Elder, than which nothing 

 does better, and if trees are wanted, Sycamoie is best of all. Of shrubs, 

 have Aucuba jqponica, Berberis Darwinii, E. Aquifolium; Tree and Mi- 

 norca Box; Colchian, common, and Portugal Laurels; English and Irish 

 Yews; Hollies, green and variegated; Evergreen Privet, Oval-leaved 

 Privet; Narrow and Broad-leaved Alaternus; Spanish, White Portugal, 

 and Yellow Broom, and Laurustinus. All the preceding are evergreen. If 

 you wish for some flowering shrubs, Laburnum, Lilacs, Philadelphns, 

 Snowy Mespilus, Gueldres Rose, Thorns, Double-flowering Cherry, Varie- 

 gated Dogwood. Deutzia scabra, Mountain AEh, Cydonia japonica, Ribes, 

 and Spirasa aria?folia, callosa, Fortuni, and Thunbergi. Plant them in 

 autumn, as soon as the leaves have fallen, but if you plant none for 

 shelter but evergreens, then plant as soon after the end of September as 

 you can, choosing showery weather. 



Manure for Forced Cucumbers ( ).— We have no doubt of the 



efficacy of the manures you name, but we thin* guano a very good 

 manure applied in a liquid state once or twice a-week, and at the rate 

 of 1 oz. to the gallon of water. We have used that, and also a liquid 

 formed of a peck of Bheep droppings, and the same quantity of soot, in 

 ten gallons of water, allowing the mixture to stand twenty-four hours, 

 and then stirring it well up before using. For the mildew we advise the 

 infested parts to be dusted with flowers of sulphur, picking off the worst 

 leaves. Give more air, especially at night. 



Vines Flagging (H. £.).— The cause of the Vines flagging is the ex- 

 cessive evaporation occasioned by the very bright weather we have had. 

 We h ve two vineries, like yours planted in 1869. The Vines have also 

 somewhat flagged during the very bright weather, but are now completely 

 recovered, and yours will also do so, only you must not keep them too 

 warm at night. 'Keep the house moist by day by frequently sprinkling 

 the f.aths, wal's,. and other surfaces with water. If you do this, and the 

 Vines still flag, shade them for a few hours during the hotteBt part of the 

 day with Borne thin shading material. 



Vines and Azaleas infested by Thrips (F. F. D.).— The Vine leaf 



