JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t Jano 23, 1870. 



Grapes Withering (W. J. C.).— Cease from syringing, but give an 

 abundant watering to the roots twice a-week, and mulch over tbem if in 

 an outside border. 



Discontinuing Fire Heat in Vinery (T. 8. Brown).— The house being 

 started on the 1st of February, and the Grapes Muscats, you will require 

 fire heat some time longer— indeed fire heat will be needed until the 

 Grapes are ripe, though you may discontinue the fires now if yon can 

 command a temperature of from tiO° to 65 at night, and of 7il° to 1^ by 

 day without sun ; bnt there is an advantage in the fire heat, for a little 

 air can be given at night when the Grapes are ripening, and in dnll 

 weather. After the Grapes are ripe tho temperature need "not exceed 50° 

 from fire heat, but you will need fire heat occasionally to drive off damp, 

 but it should be in the day only. 



Asters, Petunias, Mimuluses, &c. (A Window Gardener). — Tour 

 plants of the first, fourth, and last, raised from Beed sown a month ago, 

 will bloom this year, but it will be late, and they must have every en- 

 couragement, and not very rich soil, with a warm situation, but abundance 

 of air. The Petunias and Mimuluses will probably not flower this season, 

 but they will no doubt do so next year. 



Fuchsias and Calceolarias not Thriving {Idem"-.— We advise you 

 to repot the Fuchsia, and cut it in rather closelv, but leaving som« leaves. 

 Do not keep the soil more than moist until the plant begins to make 

 fresh shoots, then water more freely. It may flower again in autumn. 

 The Calceolarias we would treat in the same way, and a gentle watering 

 overhead on the evenings of hot days will greatly refresh the plants, and 

 induce a more free growth ; avoid soaking the soil with heavy frequent 

 waterings. 



Daphne indica Treatment (O. W. D.).— It requires to be kept in a 

 cool airy part of the greenhouse after the growtbB are made, which they 

 will be by this time, and in a position near the glass. It will need water 

 to keep it from flagging. Throughout the winter it should have no more 

 water than is necessary to keep the foliage fresh. When the buds begin 

 to Bwell water more freely, and if it have a temperature of 45° to 50°, all 

 the better; give a slight sprinkling overhead night and morning until the 

 flowers expand. After flowering repot if necessary, and continue the 

 plant in a moist atmosphere, but with plenty of air so as to secure sturdy 

 growth. Good drainage is necessary, and a pot rather small for the size 

 of the plant. It is best to under rather than overpot. A compost of 

 sandy peat, fibrous loam, and leaf soil in equal proportions, with a free 

 admixture of silver sand, will grow it well. 



Pear Leaves Elistered (Idem).— Your Pear leaves are blistered, as 

 many are this season, from cold dry weather. There is no remedy, but 

 we think your tree is in a bad state of health. We advise you to syringe 

 it well every evening in bright weather up to September, and give a good 

 watering every week in dry weather until the end of that month, every 

 alternute watering to be of liquid manure. Do not keep the trees very 

 closely pruned during summer, but rather encourage growth, and we 

 think it will improve. 



Aspect for a Propagating House (8hirley\ — The aspect, N.E. by S„ 

 is very good for a propagating bonBe. We should prefer it to the direct 

 south, though even that, hot as you say it is, we would not find fault 

 with, as the glass could be shaded to keep out the heat. 



Garden Marigold for Bedding (Devon).— You are quite right. The 

 garden Marigold when double, as yours is, is a fine flower, and we have 

 frequently recommended it. We are surprised such flowers are so much 

 neglected, and that they are refused the post of honour. In filling vases, 

 &c, we fhould bring everything into requisition ; but, then, some people 

 object to that as common. Such plants are not fitted for dining and 

 drawing-rooms. 



Mildew on Tea Roses in a Greenhouse {Amateur).— Roses very 

 seldom suffer from mildew from excess of water at the roots, though a 

 close damp atmosphere will give rise to it. If your Tea Roses are planted 

 out in the ground in borders in your greenhouse, daily watering with 

 weak liquid manure is quite sufficient to account for their not being in 

 a satisfactory condition ; if in pots, they will stand much more watering, 

 but even then daily watering would be almost sure to be prejudicial. As 

 n golden rule, water thoroughly when requisite, and do not water again 

 till the soil is nearly dry. Such constant watering as you describe is sure 

 to injure the young ppongioles of the roots. If in pots, we should advise 

 their being removed to a cold frame where they can have protection 

 both from too much sun, and also teo much cold at night. Let the pots 

 be well top-dressed with good, well-decayed, farmyard manure, or with 

 the top-dressing recommended by the Rev. S. R. Hole, in page 87 of his 

 "Book about Roses," and be watered with plain soft water every three or 

 four days. If planted out give them the same surface dressing, but only 

 water once a-week, and syringe the plants well night and morning, using 

 once a-week a small quantity of protosulphate of iron, about 1 drachm 

 to three gallons of water, which will help to check the mildew which 

 already exists. Give all the fresh air possible without draughts. 



Frogs in a Garden (Lover of Strawberries).— We do not consider 

 frogs so useful in a garden aB our bright-eyed friend tbe toad. Still, 

 where they can be kept, they are useful. We never knew them interfere 

 with fruit ; we have seen them make 6hort work of small slugs, insects, 

 &c. We are rather surprised that you can keep them in this dry weather 

 in your Strawberry beds. They thrive best and feed best in moist 

 weather. In dry weather they would do little good in keeping slugs from 

 Strawberry ground. In moist weather they would help, on tbe whole, 

 to keep such molluscs at a distance. We should depend less on their 

 help than on a sprinkling of soot and lime, and watering with manure 

 or sewage water. When we have been able, we have scattered lime and 

 soot over our Strawberry plants about the time they were setting their 

 fruit, and that generally set all our soft-skinned enemies scampering. 



Coping on a High Wall (C. T: H.).~- For your wall 40 feet in heipht, 

 for Peach trees, we would have the coping just above tbe height of the 

 trees, whatever that height may be. As you do not intend to cover in 

 front, though wc would approve of moveable glass Bashes as a coping, yet 

 as a protection, we do not consider them equal to a moveable coping of 

 wood, felt, or thatch— say from 2 to 4 feet in width. Few are aware of the 

 protection a wide moveable coping gives to bloom on a wall. Iron 

 brackets are the bent supports for such a coping, which is to be removed 

 as Eoon as danger frcm frost is over. Lowe's book on British Ferns is 

 very good, and contains moBt of the synonymes. It ie larger than Moore's, 

 but that, too, is very good. 



Various (Amateur).— The budded Plum and Pear trees doing so well, 

 we would not cut back by any means, but we would nip out the points. 

 Our advice is based on this consideration, that no great check will be 

 given, and the base will be well furnished and ripened, whilst something 

 like free growth should be maintained. We should do the same with 

 Apple grafts growing freely, merely nipping out the terminal bud. As to 

 stopping a Vine shoot, we cannot well say more than as alluded to at 

 page 885, but if there is anything special in your case, and yon give no the 

 particulars, we will attend to it. For ourselves, do what we can, we have 

 an extra lot of fruit, but though we cut off in bushels, we cannot get aB 

 much young growth as we would like. If your Vines make such strong 

 growth, we would nip out the points of the shoots. We fear the insect is 

 the garden beetle, and there is no remedy but hunting for the insect, and 

 killing it. 



Wooden Pathway in a Greenhouse (Dubious).— We approve of your 

 proposed wooden pathways. We have many 16 inches wide, and in pieces 

 about 8 feet long. For that width we have stout cross-pieces, and five 

 spars of the above length longitudinally. We prefer the spars to go 

 lengthwise, instead of across, as being easier to walk on. When you pot 

 the spars across long sleepers, there is a risk of the point of a shoe or 

 slipper getting into the interstices. However, everyone to his own taste. 

 Charring the sleepers will preserve them, and so would pitching them, 

 not tarring them. We do not think a solution of chloride of zinc to 

 Bteep the spars would do any harm, but we would be satisfied with 

 merely planing the spars. They will last many years without any pre- 

 paration whatever. Exposed to wet and dryness, they last longest when 

 not painted. 



Green Fly— Mealy Bug— Ajierican Blight (W. Q.).— Dust the Goose- 

 berry bushes attacked by green fly with Pooley's tobacco powder or 

 Scotch snuff. Mealy bug may be subdued by frequent syringing with 

 soap water, and the American blight by battering the Apple trees with 

 water in which salt, 4 ozs. to each gallon, has been dissolved. This 

 washes off the insects, and they may be crushed on the ground. All the 

 above applications may have to be repeated two or three times, or as 

 often as the insects reappear. 



Names op Plants (W. W.).— Pilea muscosa, ( ).— We cannot name 



RoBes. The others are Passiflora racemosa, Abutilon megapotamicum* 

 and Kennedya monophylla. (A. B., Prestoii).— Gynostachyum argyro- 

 neurum. (Sam.).— 10, The Snowberry, Symphoria racemosa ; 11, Elaeagnus 

 latifolia. (J. Englejie Id).— 1, Lonicera Ledebourii; 2, Eheagnus angusti- 

 folia; 3, Bambusa Fortunei ; 4, Spirasa pruuifolia flore-pleno ; 5, Stachys 

 lanata; 6, Orobanche minor. (Fanny),— Periploca gneca. (T. O.).— 

 1, Statice profusa ; 2, Fuchsia fulgens ; 8, Mitraria coccinea. (J. H. S.), 

 — 1, Crataegus Pyracantha; 2, Lychnis vespertina ; 3, Silene inflata : 

 4, Galium palustre. (J. Smith).— 2, Veronica spicata; 8, Leptosiphon an- 

 drosaceus ; 4, Limnanthes Douglasii. 



poultry, bee, and pigeon chronicle. 



RATIONAL POULTRY-KEEPING.— No. 4. 



DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS STOCK. 



It is well when extra stock is to be disposed of, that it should 

 be turned to the best account. As a rule, those who can best 

 afford (if any can), to be extravagant and careless on the sub- 

 ject, are the most careful. There are, nevertheless, some who, 

 when they are spoken to, declare the whole thing to be a bother, 

 and that they do not care what becomes of the drafts — sell 

 them to anyone. This is not fair to the pursuit ; such a one 

 will say at Christmas that poultry is a very losing concern. 

 He has not tried to make it otherwise. 



Granted that your drafts are all deficient in points, that 

 some are deformed, some are bad in colour. They form those 

 of which you would be ashamed if a connoisseur wished to Bee 

 your yard ; when on the table no one looks for points. Bat it 

 is not wise to neglect to make them as good as you can. Fowls 

 were sent as food, and it is a duty to provide as much food as 

 possible — nay, more, we say it is a duty to provide it as good as 

 possible. The aim of everyone should be to calculate whether 

 a little extra food will make a profitable return in tbe growth 

 and fattening of the birds that are intended to be killed. 

 Neither youth nor exeroise is conducive to fat ; but poultry, 

 to be good, must be young, and as they do not suffer from 

 ennui, nor from spleen, nor from many other ills superior 

 bipeds are heirs to, it is generally found that if they are de- 

 prived of their liberty and well supplied with good food, they 

 put on fleBh rapidly. We are not going to advise everyone to 

 go through the routine of cramming, <tc. ; it is not necessary. 

 At the same time we are not satisfied with those who say, 

 " Oh ! we catch them up and kill them ; they do very well." A 

 little extra food and a little painstaking will increase the 

 amount of food the fowls afford, and will add to its delicacy. 

 Only those who have seen it would believe the difference a 

 week will make. 



Fattening-ooops are too well known to ro<iuire any descrip- 

 tion here. They should be made of bars 1J inch apart — sides, 

 top, and bottom. They should be about 18 inches high. For 

 the process we describe no trough is necessary ; a flat project- 

 ing board, level with the bottom of the cage, is all that is re- 

 quired. On this the food should be placed ; it should be 

 ground oats or barleymeal slaked with milk, and mixed to a 



