Febrairy 22, 1877. J 



JOURNAL O? HORTIOUIiTDRE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



and knead well until of the consistence of soft soap, and plaster this smoothly 

 roand the lower parts of the Rrafte. If the composition should crack in 

 drying the fiesares shonld be closed, excludicg air, and the grafts, all other 

 conditions being right, will grow. 



FoEciNO Vines (FT. F.).— Follow the instrnctions of Mr. Douglas in his 

 *' Doinps;" you cannot have a safer guide. You may admit a little air at the 

 top of the house when the temperature rises to 60", increasing the ventilation 

 (gradually as the heat increase?, not permitting it to exceed 80-. Daring dull 

 dnys you shonld raise the temperature to 60= by Ore heat— that is, when the 

 Vines are in full leaf. The greater the heat the more atmospheric moisture 

 is required. When the Vines are in blossom the air should be drier than 

 before, but not arid. Such sorts as Black Hamburgh usually set well without 

 any artificial distribution of the pollen, but a gentle shake of the Vines can 

 do DO barm, aod may possibly be beneficial. 



Planting Hvacinths, &c. {N. B.).— Hyacinths after being i^-rown in 

 water seldom flower the year following after having been planted out, but 

 Hyacinths which have been grown in pots are useful for flowering in the 

 borders during after years. They do not, of course, produce spikes equal to 

 those from newly-imported bulbs. In order to have them as good as possible 

 (he spikes should be cut immediately the flowers have faded, and the plants 

 shonld be placed in a light place under glass and be watered regularly until 

 the foliage shows signs of decay. Hyacinths are often much abuecd after 

 flowering, either by being saddenly exposed to frost or by ceasing to apply 

 water, so that the foliage cannot be properly matured. We are pleaded to 

 hear that your Koses afford you so much pleasure, and we shall be glad of 

 any aid yc u can render in making our national flower still more popular. 



Woolly Insect (Mr. Lh well nn).— There was no insect in the box. Many 

 of the apbi'Jes exude a white downy secretion, such as the common American 

 Apple blight, the Larch leaflets, and the Beech-bark species. There are also 

 several species which are found at the roots of various plants, as the Rhizo- 

 bins Helianthemi on the Jerusalem Artichoke tubers; the Lettuce- root 

 species, Rhizobius Lactmit, and several others. Whether the one which has 

 injured the Auricula roots is identical with one of these or a distinct species 

 we cannnt determine without seeing specimens, but we should consider lb 

 most liiely to prove a distinct species.— I. 0. W. 



Sowing Seville Long-pod Bean and Db. Maclean Pea (A Young 

 Amateur}.~ThQ Beans should be sown the second week in April. The Pea 

 shonld be sown sixteen weeks before the time required to be ready for use, 

 the Bean eighteen week", but the weather will make a Uiffereuce of a week 

 to ten days in the commg-in of the crops. 



Asters for Exhik.ition in August (Wt-i»).— Sow the seed at the end of 

 March or early in April io gentle heat, growing the plants on, and planting 

 cnt at the close of Alay or early June. 



Pine-Apple Management {Eifjht-ijcars S«6.sc7 iVr).— The treatment you 

 are giving your plants is the correct one, and ought to cause the plants to 

 show frait shortly, they being in good condition. If they show in March 

 you will be able to have the fruit ripe by the time required. 



ALTERNANTnERA.s (An Ohi Hca.ierj.— The plants should now be kept moist 

 and encouraifed to grow by an increase of temperature, potting them (if re- 

 quired) in equal parts of turfy loira and leaf soil or well-decayed manure. 

 By a brisk mois'; hpat you will insure growth for cuttings, which should be 

 struck in a hotbed aud grown-on, hardening well off before planting out in 

 early June. 



Lobelia Defiance and LEUcopnTTON Browni (fficm). — Any of the nur- 

 serymen advertising in our columns could supply them or procure them for 

 yoD. We cannot recommend dealers. 



Raising Bedding Plants from Seed (Kit tie). —'Phlox Drummondi will 

 bloom for a long time, and is very fine for beds ; Tagetes signa'a pumila is a 

 fine yellow; Ageratum Imperial Dwarf, lavender; Senecio elegans vars. 

 double crim*0D, lilac, purple, red, and white. Petunias are fine for beds, aod 

 Verbenas may bs had very good from seed and in decided colours, as scarlet, 

 blue, and white ; also Verbeca venota, purple, all of which require the treat- 

 ment of half-hardy annuals. Violas will also flower well if sown early. 

 Dianthua ileddewigi is too variable in colour for your purpose. Lobelia, 

 Golden Feather Pyrethrum, and Pcrilla which you name, a'eo crimson Beet, 

 are suitable, in addition to which are Saponaria calabrica and var. alba, and 

 Nasturtium King of Tom Thumb-*, scarlet and goiueu. A hotbed is usually 

 ready for use in a week to ten days. « 



Winter Chebrv, Ar. (Idem).— Cat down the plants ; they will fruit more 

 freely than young plants. Give the Dielytra spectabilis more liberal treat- 

 ment— richer soil, and it will throw stronger shfiots. The usual distance for 

 planting Gooseberries is 5 feet ; 4 feet in poor soils, 6 feet in rich. 



Destroying American Blight (A. D.).— With a fine brush paint the 

 affected parts of the Apple trees with parattio. It kills the blight and docs 

 not injure the trets. We had a choice tree in a pot, and ordered one nf the 

 men to apply parafliu to the affected parts; he did so most effectually by 

 painting the tiee all over, iocluding the buds. The tree does not seem to be 

 injured in the least, the buds are all right, and there is now no trace of the 

 woolly pest. 



Raipino Gladiolus from Seeds (L. H.).—Sow in March and place the 

 pota or bf'Xea in a hotV.ed. la two weeks the plants will be up, when a fair 

 snpply of air should he admitted to the frame. Ventilate more freely as the 

 plaats attiin strength, and by the end of M^iy remove the lights altogether ; 

 water freely during summer, and when the leaves begin turning yellow with- 

 hold water gradually, and altogether whco they are quite yellow. The bulbs 

 at the end of the seasoti wi:l be found from the size of a pea to a good-sized 

 filbert nut. They will nearly all flower the following year. 



Gladioli CtshTtRK* (Constant Riader\—'i^o mention of locality is made, 

 and a good deal depends on this as to the period of blooming. In the south 

 ol England the best period of the bloom is from August 15th to 25th. I 

 Bhoold reeommcLd that the bulbs bs left where they are, notwithstanding 

 their signs of growing, until next month, and then be planted deep, say 

 6 inches, and probably many tf them will bloom in September; but sorts 

 vary. Some kinds, such as Shakespeare and Adolphe Brogniart, are over very 

 e&rly, and others, such as Phiebns, so late that they are useless for exhibition. 

 — D., Deal. 



Culture of Justicia carnea (Con^lnnt Sutiscribcr). — As soon as cuttings 

 can be obtained insert them in sandy soil and place in a brisk moist heat, as 

 that of a Cucumber ftame or propagating house. When rooted pot thera in 

 Buall pots io a compust of loam, leaf fnil, and peat, aLd replace io the frame 

 nntU estabhshtd. When in free growth btop the plants, and before the 

 roots are matted repot Into 5-iuch pots, placing the plants near the glass in a 



stove. Stop the shoots again to induce bushy plants, and shift as soon as 

 the roots show through the bottoms of the pots into pots 8 inches in dia- 

 meter, using loam and decayed manure. After the middleof Juno the plants 

 may be placed on ashes in a frame, keeping somewhat close. All the shoots- 

 may then be stopped again. The pots must be well drained, placing over the 

 crocks some flaky manure or moss to keep the drainage free. The soil must 

 at no time become dry, and when the pots are filled with roots copious sup- 

 plies of water will bo necessary, giving weak li'inid manure twice a-week. 

 Yonng plants should be established every year, destroying the old plants 

 after cuttings have been struck. Frequent stoppings, good drainage, plenty 

 of water, and a worm and rather moist atmosphere, are the essential points 

 of culture to be attended to. 



Potatoes from One Pound of Seed (St. Edmund^).— "Hr. Pink, gar- 

 dener to Lord Sondes, Lees Court, Faversham, has grown 672 lbs. of Eureka 

 from 1 lb. of seed. The seed tubers were cut into 121 sets, and were planted 

 each a yard apart on the 3rd of April in deeply-dug and well manured 

 ground, in which the following compost had been incorporated — ten bushels 

 of wood ashes, one bushel of soot, two bushels of caustic lime, and ten 

 bushels of leaf soil; 4 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia, Gibs, of sulphate of 

 soda, 10 lbs. of nitrate of soda, and 10 lbs. of sulphate of potash to twenty 

 perches of ground. When io full growth the crop was top-dressed with 

 50 lbs. of superphosphate of lime. Each eye of a Potato was made to form 

 a set. Send ten penny postage stamps to Mr. Pink, and he will return you a 

 pamphlet on this fancy mode of Potato culture. 



Roses against Brick Wall (Coicjht).— The white inflorescence from tha 

 mortar will not injure the Rose trees. It is saltpetre. 



Pea Hurdles. — J. A, and Others wish the sizes and prices of these were 

 advertised. 



Best Varieties of Celery (0. O. Ii.).—Red: Leicester Red. Ivery'a 

 Nonsuch, Manchester Red, aud for a dwarf sort Carter's Incomparable Crim- 

 scn. Whitt: : Wright's Grovo White, Veitch's Solid White, Dixon's Mam- 

 moth White, aud for a dwarf grower Incomparable Dwarf White. 



POULTRY BEE, AND PIGEON OHRONIOLE. 



POULTRY AND BIRD NEWS. 



The whole of Mr. G. S. Sainsbury's far-famed Black East 

 Indian Ducks have passed into the hands of Miss Brown, Chard- 

 leigh Green, Chard. The variety has lost an enthasiaBtic breeder, 

 but we hope his great succasses will follow the birds to their 

 new home. 



Mr. CresBwell and others sued the Committee of the Ports- 

 mouth Show the other week for their prize money, and we are 

 glad to say obtiined it. We wonder the President and his com- 

 panions allowed the case to go into Court, for the result must 

 have been certain, especially as they had so recenUy lost a 

 similar one when sued by the Hon. and Rev. F. Dutton only a. 

 few weeks ago. 



We mentioned the other day the illness of Mr. T. P. Edwards 

 of Lyndhuret. We now learn that the whole of his stock of 

 White-crested Black Polands have passed into the hands of Mr. 

 Norwood of Salitbary. 



There is to be ii Show of Poultry in the Winter Gardens, 

 Bournemouth. We have a copy of the schedule. It seema 

 almost a fac simile of the one issued by Weymouth in the sum- 

 mer, and we hope this Show may be as well managed and as 

 great a euccees aa was that. We doubt, however, the wisdom of 

 the numerous chicken classes, as by the date of the Show many 

 of the birds can be fourteen or fifteen months old, which will 

 probably cause some confusion however sharp the Judge may 

 be. The names of the Poultry a^d Pigeon Judges are not 

 announced, but we understand they will be Messrs. Hewitt and 

 Esquilant, while Mr. Billett will take the Piseons. The schedule 

 seema to be carefully drawn up and the prizes liberal. We 

 have also a schedule from Nottingham, where the classes are 

 arranged on the single-bird system. The prizes are good with 

 a low entry ft-e, while most breeds are well provided for. We. 

 caa fiud the na-ne of no Judge ai nounced, which we regret. 



Thfra is to be a " Great London aud All-England Rabbit 

 Exhibition," on April 18th aud lOlh. The Show is to be held in 

 the Montpelier Assembly Rooms, Walworth, and there are to be 

 twelve cupa awarded. As the prize money is, we understand, 

 Buaranteed, we hope to see a large entry. The Secretary is 

 Mr. Jennings, H8, Sumner Road, Peckham, S E. 



We hear there is a Langshan Club on foot, members of 

 which may on election pay 21s. or 10s Cd. each aa they choose, 

 but only those paying the larger sum can be on the Committee^ 

 The enthufiaets who are trung to stait this breed are Mr. Nunn 

 of The Lodge, Barton, Cambridge, lud Major Croad of the Manor 

 House, Dnrrington, Worthing. \^'e undeistand two dozen or 

 more gentlemen have already joined this proposed Association. 



The Wild Fowl Preservation Act, 1S7G. came into force last 

 week, which protects Woodcocks, Widgeon, Teal, Snipe, Plovers , 

 Wild Ducks, Wild Geese, Curlews, Sealarks, Sandpipers, God- 

 wits, Greenshanka, Ruffn, Shovellers, Stonehatch, Spoonbills, 

 Dunlins, &c. The Blackcap was seen on February 2ad in 

 Surrey, which is an early date for the arrival of this migratory 

 bird. 



A periodical sale of Poultry, Pigeons, Dogs, &o., has been 

 opened in South London. The mirt is in Biyson Road, Cam- 



