June 9, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



411 



as culture in the open air and in pastures ; and what may 

 be called the second part of the book is a capital treatise 

 on the other esculent Fungi found in Britain, with the modes 

 of cooking them. This part is illustrated with excellent 

 engravings of faithful portraits of the species, drawn by Mr. 

 W. G. Smith ; and this is by far the most valuable part of the 

 book. We have nothing to say depreciatory of the former part, 

 other than that the author has made too much of a subject 

 which might have been disposed of with much less to-do about 

 it. No doubt the llashroom is a most important and valuable 

 crop, and if there were any difficulty in growing it, or if there 

 were untoward circumstances under which a crop could not 

 be produced, we should be grateful for instruction how to 

 surmount the difficulties we had to encounter ; but when any- 

 body may grow Mushrooms, and grow them anywhere, we 

 really think we might have been spared this bulky volume on 

 bo simple a subject. Still it is a skilfully-compiled though a 

 diff use treatise, and those to whom a livre it luxe is always ac- 

 ceptable, will find it a useful addition to their library. 



Sea-kale Blanching. — I have tried the plan recommended 

 in your Journal of lining the Sea-kale pot with hay, but find 

 the hay becomes damp, aDd injures the Kale. I prefer cover- 

 ing the Kale with earth, as it eats more tender, though trouble- 

 Bome to wash clean. — G. S. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



Our contemporary, Nature, observes that it has long been 

 laid down as a maxim in botanical hand-books that variegation 

 and double flowering never go together. Many botanists have, 

 however, recently doubted whether the law always holds good ; 

 and that the double phenomenon may sometimes occur appears 

 now to be definitely established by an article contributed by 

 Prof. Morren, of Liege, to the April and May number of the 

 Belgique Horticole, in which he gives a description, accompanied 

 by a drawing, of a Wallflower possessing both double flowers 

 and variegated leaves. The plant has now been grown for 

 several years by M. Em. Rodigas, of St. Trond. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



A sprinkling of York, Vanack, or Nonpareil Cabbage seed 

 should now be sown for good autumn Coleworts. These will 

 come in when the Cabbage plot is all cut. A little Endive and 

 other salading may be sown on a northern aspect. A good 

 sowing of autumn Peas should be made directly. Full crops 

 can scarcely be expected after this time. Knight's Marrow or 

 Cormack's British Queen Peas should be topped the moment 

 they reach the top of the sticks Well-saturated manure should 

 be dug-in for this sowing, and the drills thoroughly soaked 

 with water previous to sowing. Scarlet Runners should be well 

 staked, and those reaching the top of the sticks should be 

 pinched. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



Give the wood of the Peaches a thorough thinning, do not 

 reserve a shoot more than is wanted for the next year. This, 

 with keeping down all insects, is the way to obtain success. 

 Disbud Fig trees, retaining no more wood than is required for 

 the next season. Be sure to select the shortest-jointed wood.. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



Early bulbs, if the leaves are turning yellow, should be taken 

 up, or the greater portion of the leaves trimmed away and the 

 space occupied with some of the reserve stock. Verbenas, 

 Petunias, and similar plants should be pegged down where it 

 is requisite to cover the surface of the beds. Fine specimens 

 of Fuchsias may be planted out on lawns, also large Pelar- 

 goniums, chiefly of the Scarlet kinds, and they should be well 

 staked. Ten-week Stocks may yet be sown for a display in Sep- 

 tember and October, and a little late Mignonette, likewise a few 

 of the best annuals for autumn work. In all suitable situations 

 Ranunculuses are blooming well this year. They must be 

 shaded from the intense sun to prolong their season, but where 

 seed is required and cross-fecundation has been resorted to, 

 they will be the better exposed. Should any of the foliage 

 wither, the tubers should immediately be taken up, for it is 

 seldom that the collection is ready together, and should rain 

 come they would certainly start into growth again to their serious 



detriment. Tulip bulbs may also be taken up and Btored in a 

 dry airy place. Do not remove the loose skins till thoroughly 

 dry. Tie the buds of Pinks with waxed thread to prevent the 

 pods splitting. As seedlings bloom, pull np those that are single 

 or have serrated petals. Should there be any with thick, good- 

 formed, rose-leaved petals, they should be retained to obtain 

 seed from. Pansies may be successfully propagated by thin 

 slips or cuttings under a hand-glass. Gather seed as it ripens. 

 Water occasionally during dry weather; the moisture will in- 

 duce the visits of snails, &c, which must be well looked after. 

 Auriculas and Polyanthuses will want well attending to as to 

 weeding, watering, &c. Tie the stems of Carnations and 

 Picotees as required. 



GREENHOU8E AND CONSERVATORY. 



The turning out of house plants is a proceeding which 

 requires some forethought. Although it may not be desirable 

 to turn out some of the tribes so early in the season on their 

 own account, it is at least so in many garden establishments 

 in the country, in order to carry out without impediment the 

 forcing of fruits and other things necessary for the supply of 

 a family. In this respect country gardens differ much from 

 the gardens around the metropolis. In the latter, display is 

 the principal point; in the former, display, although not al- 

 together unheeded, has sometimes to give way to mere sub- 

 stantial matters. The first step is to provide a proper situation, 

 and one scarcely secondary is to secure a Bound bottom on 

 which to place the pots. When the least suspicion of water- 

 lodgment exists drainage should in the first place be secured, 

 and the pots elevated above the ground level. I do not intend 

 to assert that house plants must be turned out ; I am merely 

 advising on the score of expediency. Plunging, I should say, 

 should in most cases Le resorted to, provided the plunging 

 medium is above the ground level. All plants with fine hair- 

 like roots, as the Ericas and Epacrises, should either be plunged 

 or double-potted — that is, the pot inserted within an empty 

 pot. Another great point is to classify the plants with regard 

 to their general habits fmd characters. No plant-cultivator 

 would think of mixing Heaths with Pelargoniums or Cacti. 

 After the bedding-out is accomplished, a reserve stock should 

 be immediately taken in hand and should receive high culti- 

 vation, in order to fill up blanks the moment they occur, either 

 in the houses or the borders. All the best Verbenas, Fuchsias, 

 Calceolarias, especially shrubby kinds, Petunias, and Lobelias, 

 will be found most useful, and too many can scarcely be pro- 

 vided. These may be plunged by themselves in a sheltered 

 situation. Now is the time to encourage a rapid and sturdy 

 growth in Correas, Epacrises, Pimeleas, Chorczemas, Lesche- 

 naultias, Polygalas, Ericas, &c. A constant stopping of gross 

 shoots will be necessary in order to equalise the sap and to 

 encourage the lower parts of the plant. Let liberal shifts be 

 given during the season, in order that the pots may be tolerably 

 well filled with roots before winter, thereby guarding against 

 stagnation in the soil. As a general compost for most of these 

 tribes, I would recommend three parts of a fibrous heath soil 

 in a lumpy state and abounding in sharp grit, to one part of a 

 free turfy loam ; a good sprinkling of charcoal from the size of 

 a pea to that of a broad bean, with a portion of powdered 

 crocks of similar size, should be added to the mass. I need 

 hardly advert to the necessity of drainage; let, it, however, be 

 thorough, crocks being carefully placed to provide various 

 outlets for the water, and these protected in turn by a smaller 

 size of pounded crocks and charcoal, and, finally, the rough of 

 the compost to place the ball on. This mode of proceeding, 

 although apparently troublesome at first, will be found to be by 

 far the least so in the end, and absolutely necessary where 

 liquid manure is constantly supplied. Azaleas should be 

 coaxed into producing wood without delay. Cinerarias whose 

 blooming is over may be cut down, dipped in tobacco water to 

 clear them of aphides, and turned out into a raised bed in the 

 kitchen garden or reserve ground. They will produce an 

 abundance of suckers by the end of August, and may then be 

 increased. Chrysanthemums should be put in forthwith. I 

 would now advise the removal out of doors of Camellias which 

 have been forced into wood for winter-blooming ; a shade of 

 some kind will, however, be necessary. A number of gay- 

 flowering plants for the store propagation pots should now be 

 potted off to furnish a whole summer's supply, for on these, 

 and not merely on newly-introduced plants, must the main in- 

 terest of the greenhouse and conservatory depend. Fuchsias, 

 Petunias, Verbenas, Scarlet Pelargoniums, and Achimenes 

 will at all times furnish a vast amount of colour at least, and 



