426 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ June 10, 1870. 



ditions of treatment as the commoner sorts. It is more apt to 

 damp off ; many of its flower stems damp off in an atmo- 

 sphere in which the others thrive. 



One great advantage the Primula possesses over most winter- 

 flowering plants is that it is rarely, if ever, infested with green 

 fly or other troublesome pests. 



Doubtless the above sketch of my treatment of these beau- 

 tiful plants will be found to differ in some points from the 

 methods adopted years ago, or even at the present time, by 

 many cultivators, but I have found it succeed admirably, and 

 well the results have repaid me. — Thomas Record, Lillesdcn. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



A good breadth of dwarf and compact Cabbages may be sown 

 for early Coleworts ; also another bed of Horn Carrots. Water 

 the late Cauliflowers most abundantly, likewise Lettuces for 

 salads. Prepare heavy dressings of manure for Celery and 

 Leeks, so as to be ready the moment rain arrives. Those who 

 desire a good and constant supply of autumn aDd winter Endive, 

 must make a full sowing forthwith. Endive is generally sown 

 too thickly. Another good sowing should be made in the first 

 week of July, and a second towards the middle of the month, 

 after which the plant will not attain its full size. As soon as the 

 plants are a few inches high, mow off the tops of the leaves 

 with a scythe, cutting about one-third of the leaves away. This 

 will stiffen the plants, and cause much heart to develope itself, 

 also enable them to bear transplanting better. This is a 

 good time for a liberal sowing of autumn Turnips. The Dutch 

 or Stone are the best for the kitchen garden. Mushroom spawn 

 should now be made without delay. 



FRUIT GAEDEN. 



Those who understand fully the immense importance of a 

 thorough ripening of the wood of all wall or tender espalier 

 trees, will, of course, pay some attention early in summer 

 to thorough thinning and early training. Who can expect 

 Peaches to perfect this process when the young wood is dang- 

 ling from the wall until August ? Pears at this period should 

 have as much attention as Peaches ; the best practice is to cut 

 out a few of the watery and luxuriant shoots, by way of a slight 

 thinning, in order to equalise the light, then to tie down the 

 old stems or to nail down a regular sprinkling of the brownest, 

 shortest-jointed, and earliest-made wood, and finally to stop 

 the points of all the remainder left in the character of breast- 

 wood. The latter, if totally disbudded now, would cause the 

 embryo buds for the next year to burst, whereas, if stopped, 

 they will cease to obstruct the light in an unnecessary degree, 

 and will operate as safety valves for a period. In the early 

 part of August these foreright shoots should be all cut back 

 with the knife to about 6 inches or less in length. From that 

 period all the sunlight possible will be wanted to perfect both 

 fruit and blossom buds for the ensuing year. 



FLOWEK GARDEN. 



All newly-bedded plants will, during this hot weather, re- 

 quire daily waterings. The benefits of little basins round each 

 plant will now be readily seen. Let the young shoots of all 

 old Fuchsia stools be thinned out to five or six. Attend dili- 

 gently to standard Eoses ; constant disbudding is necessary at 

 this period, also keeping down suckers. Let every attention be 

 paid to propagating a reserve stock to fill gaps, and let cuttings 

 already rooted, or the remains of Btore pots, have kindly cul- 

 tivation forthwith, in order to be ready to fill blanks. They 

 should be kept in a shady border entirely by themselves, and 

 should receive free waterings. The intensely hot weather has 

 had the effect of shortening the duration of both Pink and 

 Ranunculus blooms, and the season of each is rapidly coming 

 to a close. Great attention must be paid to Ranunculuses, for 

 if they remain in the ground too long they immediately make 

 fresh roots ; therefore, they must be taken up as they arrive at 

 maturity, which is evidenced by the grass or foliage becoming 

 yellow. Semi-double seedlings of good properties as to form 

 and smoothness of petal, should be carefully preserved for the 

 purpose of fertilisation. Pink pipings may be taken, cutting 

 through the shoot immediately below a joint ; these, inserted in 

 light sandy soil under a hand-glass, will with common attention 

 take root freely. Pansies require regular watering and shading, 

 otherwise they are liable to be attacked by mildew, and the 

 season is far from propitious for Polyanthuses, which are 

 suffering from the continued drought. The buds of Carnations 

 and PicoteeB may be reduced now, according to the strength of 



the plants, but to insure large flowers not more than three 

 ought to be retained on each. Remove all laterals as they 

 appear, and attend to the destruction of green fly. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Many of the popular beauties here being at this period of a 

 somewhat ephemeral character, means must be constantly re- 

 sorted to, in order to insure a constant succession of gaiety 

 nntil the frost sets in, when Chrysanthemums, Camellias, 

 Chinese Primroses, and several other midwinter flowers come 

 in. The latter constitute a division of business by themselves, 

 of course, and lead the way to the forced flowers of returning 

 spring. Those who keep a sharp eye on such matters will 

 always take care to have a surplus stock on hand, after the 

 massing is completed. Such stock should be most ample ; not 

 less, but more than is wanted, in order to provide against gaps 

 in the flower garden, and to supply the various in-door de- 

 mands. Everything remaining in store pots of the spring pro- 

 pagation should be potted off forthwith, and placed on or 

 plunged in ashes in a sheltered spot — that is, sheltered from 

 the winds. Balsams, Cockscombs, and other tender annuals for 

 succession, should receive their last shift before they become 

 potbound, and plenty of the AehimeneB family should be potted 

 off, some in large masses. A lot of the best Scarlet Pelar- 

 goniums should be selected for flowering next winter. These 

 should be grown rapidly, and frequently stopped. Towards 

 August they will become rather potbound ; they must not, how- 

 ever, be shifted, but merely hardened in a very exposed situ- 

 ation until the end of September, in order to have them sturdy 

 and very short-jointed. A light and warm shelf near the glass 

 will thus make them objects of great interest all tho ensuing 

 winter. The Hybrid Perpetual, Bourbon, and Tea Roses, which 

 have been cut from all the spring in these structures, should 

 now be compelled to rest. They should be placed in a some- 

 what shady position, and all disposition to break into young 

 buds sedulously kept back. They may remain thus for a month, 

 when they should be taken out of their pots, partially dis- 

 rooted, and inserted in fresh pots, surrounded by rich compost. 

 By the month of September the pots will be filled with new roots, 

 and will, under good management, bloom most of the ensuing 

 winter. Let the Fuchsias have ample supplies of water, and 

 provide succession stock in case of exhaustion. The early- 

 flowering Pelargoniums, now rather exhausted, should have 

 the bulk of their tops removed and made into cuttings. The 

 old stools may be then thrown on their sides, in a shady situ- 

 ation, until they break buds half an inoh in length, when they 

 must be disrooted and repotted in rather reduced pots. Ex- 

 hausted Cinerarias may be set in an old frame or pit and 

 fumigated ; they may then be cut down and turned out into a 

 raised bed in the garden. They will there feed, and produce an 

 abundance of suckers, by a little attention in regard to watering, 

 &c. The conservatory being thoroughly relieved of all super- 

 fluous stock, nothing remains but to carry out a cleanly system 

 of cultivation. All available surfaces should be moistened with 

 water morning and evening, thorough ventilation obtained, and 

 a thin canvas screen kept on during bright sunshine. 



STOVE. 



Frequent syringings accompanied with moist floors and other 

 surfaces, will be needful with the ordinary stove stock. With 

 regard to the Orchids, some little moderation is necessary, 

 especially when the weather takes a sudden change from a 

 sunny to a cloudy condition. Some of the Orchids will now 

 require a little assistance in the way of topping up, and a watch- 

 ful eye must be kept as to insects. Barkeria spectabilis, tho 

 Lycastes, Odontoglossum grande, Epidendrum Skinneri, &c, 

 seem much to enjoy the temperature of a cool greenhouse, 

 without fire; the weather has, however, been unusually warm. 

 — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Our work has been much regulated by circumstances, as, 

 from scarcity of water, we could not do what we wished, and 

 up to to-day (June 11th) we have had no rain, and scarcely a 

 perceptible deposit of dew. Cabbages and Cauliflowers, not- 

 withstanding the drought, are succeeding well, and so on the 

 whole are Peas as yet, but the Cabbages keep the sun from 

 the ground, and the Peas and Cauliflowers are mulched with 

 dry litter from the want of something better. Dry litter is of 

 some assistance in keeping off the force of the sun, but it does 

 nothing in comparison with decayed manure to keep a dry, 

 searching, hot air out. If this dry weather continue we shall 



