141 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICDLTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 22, 1877. 



well if it is necessary to go to it a second time. The bonlers of | 

 all the early hoiiEOs have liatl a good 'ivateritig with tepicl water ; 

 the outer border was dressed wilh a fjesh lot of fermenting 

 dung, mixing it well with the old. 



Vines in pots that were stiled for the earliest crops will 

 renuirc a plfntifiil supply of water at the roots, aod every al- 

 ternate watering shouM b3 of weak mauure water. A dressing 

 of rich material on the surface of the pot3 is highly benctlcial 

 t" the ^■incs ; the roots very soon work into it and afterwai Is 

 grow with greater vigour. No time should nowbelostininEertirg 

 the eyes intended for fruiting canes next year. Ours were put 

 in last week, one eve in the centre of a CiH-sized pot, using good 

 Bound loam mixed with a liltle elecayed leaf soil, and bcfcij 

 inEetting the e>e a little sand was placed in the centre of the 

 pot, pressiug this Hown iis the eye was inserteil. The soil 

 ought to be rather moist, as it is very desirable not to water it 

 before the roots are well formed. Watering causes many of the 

 eyes to die off just as they are coming through the soil. The 

 bottom heat cught not to exceed 90" or '.(.j '. When the young 

 plants have made a little growth and the roots have taken hoM 

 ft the Bides of the pots, the Vines may again be potted into 

 (i inch pots. Our plau is to have the young Vines sufficiently 

 moist at the roots and the potting material also moitt, so that 

 it is not necessary to water for some days, perhaps a week after 

 potting. The pots may be plunged in bottom heat to start the 

 roots, but afterwards this is not necessary A better class of 

 roots is formed without bottom heat, and if the Vines ere 

 managed well no one could take exception to the strength of the 

 canes. 



Firjs ill Pots —Figs are propagated in the same way as Vines, 

 and are even of more exuberant growth. Eyes put in now will 

 Bfart very freely, and if grown in a houee with u night tempera- 

 ture of (ioS they will become strong fruiting plants for next 

 year. The Fig is a very pross feeder, and i's roots reijuire rich 

 soil ard will absorb plenty of manure water. Those plants 

 which wen- started in December will now require a night tcm- 

 peralure of GO" and plenty of v/ater at the roots. They may 

 also be surface-ilresseil and receive manure water the same us 

 Vines in pots. The young growths must be stopped at the 

 fourth or fifth leaf, and the stopping must be done as soon as it 

 is possible to do so. The shoot will bleed either way, but the 

 mischief is grestest when the shoots are allowed to run out 

 some length before being ttopprd. Figs planted-out in open 

 borders where the roots can ramble unchecked will not reejuire 

 rich feeding. This is only necessary when they are in pots or 

 in narrow borders. 



PLiXT STOVE ANI> OECIIID HOUSES. 



It is veiy deeirable to maintain a genial heat in the tan bed 

 at this feasou, not that the plants shoulil be plunged deeply 

 into it, bul^ if they are ai'ranged on the snrface the heat and 

 moisture arises amongst the foliage and causes a healthy clean 

 growth. If there are no other houses warm enough where a 

 few cuttings can be struclc, it is well to make a propagating 

 corner in the stove. All that is required is a light frame which 

 on be closed rr opened at pleasure. Cuttings of snch plants as 

 AUamandis, Bougainvillea=, Dipladenias, Tbyrsacauthus ruti- 

 lius, Clerodendrons, Eranthemum pulchellum, and many other 

 eiuick-rooting free-growing plants should now be put in. It is 

 much better to piopagite a tew of all such plants at this season 

 and let old worn out specimens go to the rubbish heap than to 

 retain the old plants. With a bottom heat of INl" or 9V% and the 

 frame kept close for a while, rcots will form rapidly. If the 

 cuttings show signs of growth they must le turned out of the 

 pot', and if roots are formed it is desirable to pet the plants 

 off at once. They will in this way uxpeiienca but little check 

 to their growth, and in a lemperatuie of 7U at night will with 

 good cultivation make good plants by midsumi'ier. 



When mealybug has become establiehed on Isrge specimen 

 plants it is almost as hopeless a (ask as making ropes of sand 

 to destroy tha pest by washing. The best plan is to take cut- 

 tings and watch them well for any develeipment of the enemy, 

 anei as soon as it is seen that the cuttings are rooted destroy the 

 old plants. Thoroughly clean, and if possible well paint the 

 house. Ixores, Dipladenias. Cravdenias, and Stephanotis fieri- 

 brnda are gene'i-ally most dil'tJcuU to keep clean. We have not 

 yet potted any plants, but all young specimens which have 

 tilUil their pots with roots will be potted without delay. The 

 soil is usually put into a warm house for a day or so before 

 using it. 



Orchids that are beginning to push-out fresh roots will also 

 be repotted at once. j;ast Indian Orchids require more heat 

 anel moisture iu the atmosphere. Goodyera l)aWKOnii is a valu- 

 able plant, as the flower spikes are ueeful for cutting, and if the 

 leaves ef the plants can be maintained iu good health they are 

 very ornamental. Ana-ctcchili, such as A. Lowii with its large 

 handsome foliage, and many of the other species with smaller 

 leaves marked with the most delicate tracery, do well in baml- 

 glasses iu a t'ucumber house. Now is a good time to pot them ; 

 we use plenty of clean potsherds for drainage, nnd very turfy peat 

 with live sphagnum chopped tine for these plants. Wherever 



any Orchids are emitting roots freely it is time to repot them 

 if necessary. A sharp look-out must be kept for slngp, cock- 

 roaches, and crickets, and a very email snail which is very 

 troublesome to us. They are readily caught with the aid of a 

 lantern at night. — J. Douglas. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*,* All correspondence shonld be diieeted either to " TLe 

 Editors," or to " The Pahlisber." Letters addressed to 

 Mr. Johnson or Dr. Hogg often remain unopened unavoid- 

 ably. We request that no one will write privately to any 

 of our correspondents, as doirg so sabjects them to un- 

 justifiable trouble and expense. 



rooi;s {Ehilil-n.ors Sttltnih,r).— T\ . l.cok on "Pl^ius of flower Giivdens, 

 &c.." is being rcpiiotcd. (A'fV/ff).— Kdrlej''s "Iliuh-class Gardening," or if 

 yon want one to iurlude fruits, Thonmeon's " Ganlenet's Assistant." (Mrs. 

 'Milh). — Keane's " Indoor Gardenins-" 



Books roE Youkg OAEnrsKEBS (TI'. Kiori?).— Cobljcll.'s (iramraar is 

 the one recommended in the list you refer to. It is a work meant "to lay 

 rlie solid foundation of literary knou'ledge among.st the labouring classes of 

 the community : to give practical effect to the natural genius found in the 

 soldier, the sailor, the apprentit-e, nud the iiloughboy, anil make that genius 

 n perennial source of wealth and streogtb," .Vc. These words are taken freni 

 the book itself, and will be seou in the dedication "To Her Mrst Gracious 

 iMnjesty (^ueen Caroline." Here I will aclcnowlcdge my indebtedness to Mr. 

 Cobbett for his English Grammar, and urge all young mm who have not 

 been taught at school tlie grammar of their mother tongue to procure tbo 

 work and master it. Gardeners are introduced to and have to converse with 

 the highest, most cultured, and relincd classes of the realm. It is no smsi 1 

 gr-atitrca' ion to employers to have gardeners of education— of gooi address 

 and cultured manners. And it is no small satislaction for gardeners to 

 know that they have education enough to fxpiess their opinions and thoughts 

 in becoming language, and appear to advantage in any society. I^ducatinu 

 and good manners are of far more importance to young ruen than mauy cf 

 them fancy. " To entitle a man to respect there must be," says C.jbl)ett, 

 "something of his own doing, boyond the bounds of his well-known duties 

 aud obligations." ]Oducation bc'ps men "to get up and get on." The 

 scientilro books which were mentioned two years ago were simply catechisms 

 and alphabet-^. ^Ve found Itennie's " Alphabets on Botany, Chemistry, 

 Naturul Pliilosophy," &c.. very instructive. Since our younger days many 

 educational courses haVd been published. Gardeners sbculd give special 

 atteution to vegetable physiology, botany, chemistry, aud many of tbo 

 branches of natural philosophy. It is better and more protrtable to dig down 

 to the roots of one subject and master it than it is to scratch on aud skip 

 over the surface of ten. — A. P. 



Er.ECTtoN or Apples.— jMi*. Eellick wishes Blenheim Orange to be in- 

 cluded in the list of dessert Apples, and asks for a speedy transmission of 

 the lists. 



TriE AuEiNOEMENT OF liOCKS AND EARTH MOCNDS (Olx.rr. l),— Do Dot 



attempt the formation of miniature Alps or nuy similar " toys " Your supply 

 of large masses of rock will enable jou to produce some pictniosiiue etTects. 

 Let your walks wind in numerous curves and form nooks andcorrreis for 

 the Kerns, avoiding apatcb of Ferns, another of Rhododendrons, and another 

 cf Conifers, rather let all mingle iu graceful combinations; and do not forge*, 

 that your rocks afford unusual facilities for the cultr;re of alpine plants, and 

 the formation of "rock beds," which are raised beds and banks of soil with 

 protruding rocky crag-i so arranged as to convey the idea of stratitication, 

 however broken or irregular the airangement may he. Among and over the 

 recks there should be a rich collection of dwarf shrubs and trailing plants. 

 Should you decide to mate a fountain iu the centre of the oval space let 

 iha basin be large rather than small, in proportion to the area of surrounding 

 open space. Thus much generally. Without an actual inspection cr plats 

 we cannot venture to enter upon details, for in laying out a garden every 

 feature of the place and its surroundings exercise a mutual inllueuce to which 

 due weight must be giren, or failure will inevitably follow. 



How TO UTii.rsE A Glass Koop {M, A. H.). — A glass roof upon opaque 

 walla U feet high will not give sufficient light for the culture of dwarf fruit 

 trees. Standard fruit trees with tall stems would answer piovid.d the ven- 

 tilation is thorough, .\prieots. Peaches, Kectoiiees, Fi^'>, and Oianges 

 might all be so grown ; but as the light comes only from the roof, we would 

 plant the trees somewl at farther apart than is usual in an ordinary orchard 

 house. Of course, such a roof would answer peilently well for the culture of 

 Grapes, but then you would not have the other fruits. 



ItooT-oBAiTrxG (/fitjft).— Use nothing but soft matting, which being 

 covf II d wilh soil dccajs by the time the stock and scion are united. Both 

 wool aud grafting-wax are objectionable, the wool decaying so slowly that the 

 new growth swells over P. and suffers proportionately, and to use wax is ruere 

 waste. 



Propagation of EnoNV.Mr3E3 (Old Sithsnibir. I.iV nut, :ii).— It is too lata 

 to put in cuttings of Euonymusea; they should betaken larlyln November 

 and inserted in pure sand under band-lights, or iu pots in a celd frame eir 

 pit. You may, however, layer yoru plants successfully now iu soil containing 

 a liberal admixture of sand aud old mature to induce a strong free growth, 

 when the layered branches make roots. 



KiiiooN-uoBDER Arbanoesients (5. (/. D.).— Substitute Petunias for the 

 GerauiuMis behind (he yellow Calceo'a'ia. and the ariunjement while pre- 

 senting nothing new will be attractive and in excelb nt taste without being 

 glaring, as it would be if you retain the Geranium In such a positior. 



Lead (P. Y.) — Sixtcoo ounces are a pound. 



Ouafting Wax (II'. J., P/««(/).— The following recipe has been recom- 

 mended by a lust-rate autlrority :— Take common sealing-wax. apy colour but 

 green, one part; mutton fat one part, white wax one part, iojiI honey one 

 eigl th part. The white was and the fat ure to be first melted, aud then the 

 sealing-wax is to be added gradually in smu'I pieces, the mixture being kept 

 constantly stirred; and lastly, the honeymust be put in jirst before taking It 

 off the tire. It should he poured hot into paper or tin moulels to preserve for 

 ute B^ wanted, and be kept slightly stirred tilt it begins to harden. As you 

 appear to have only one tree to graft, your simplest plan would be to take 

 e-iuirl parts of adhesive clay, dry horse droppings, and fresh cow dung; mix 



