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JOUENAL OF HOBTIOULTUBE AUD COTTAGE GABBEJIBB. 



[ March 1, 18-|7. 



two before any Guttings are to be pat into it place a lajer of 

 Bawdust 8 or 10 int-bes deep in the inside of the fi ■••i e. Tbi^i 

 is an excelleiit material in wbich to plunge tbe i'. u. When 

 all tbis bas been done catlings may be put in ac oiii e. Have 

 a quantity of clean 6iuch pots, balf fill each of tbem with 

 crocks, epread a few rougb leaves orer tbem, and fill up tbe 

 remaioder with fine leaf soil aud eand. Wbeu the cuitiuga 

 aie choice and tender a layer of eand ebould be put over tbe 

 surface of all. As soon as tbe pots have been filled witb 

 cuttioga give a eligLt watering and pluoge tbem at once. All 

 kinds of common bedding pbiute, such aa Verbenas, Iresiuet^, 

 Tropajolnms, Agenitamj, &c., root freely under tbe same cir- 

 cnmstances, but ufter they ure rooted care should be taken not 

 to expose them too toon to cold, and do not be in a hurry to 

 "pot tbem off" after they are rooted, as they are all the 

 better of becoming wc:l hardened both in root and leaf before 

 this is done. 



Some propagator.-i piido themselves in making a plant out of 

 every joint and leaf. Tbii may be desirable when anything is 

 scarce, but it is not lecummendable. Small cuttings make 

 small plants, and tbete are of very little use where a large 

 extent of ground baa to be filled at bedding-out time. When 

 Calceolarias are E0:v:oe I find tops dibbled into a cold frame 

 now make tine plants by May. 



Many kinds of annuals for bedding may be sown in tbe 

 open ground, but otbeis must be raised in heat and under 

 glass. These comprise suob as Lobelia, Pyretbrum, Perilla, 

 Stocke, Tagetes, ifc«. These seeds should be sjnn in pans or 

 boxes and set iu a beat of GU". Before the Siiedlinga become 

 crowded or drawn th(y must be transplanted and given suffi- 

 cient room to develope and harden until they can be finally 

 " bedded out."— S. W. 



SEAKALB. 



Pephaps there are no gaiden crops whereon differences of 

 op'nion as to mode of culture, &d., do not exist amonget 

 gardeners. Mr. Abbey on page 110 has referred to Seukale, 

 and has detailed bis mode of culture and plans of forcing with 

 considerab'e minuteness. Yet careful as your correspondent 

 has been to omit nothing of importance, he has yet overlooked 

 two cultural points wbieb, in my opinion, are at least as 

 worthy of mention as the details alluded to. What is the 

 cause of Seakale teed so often refusing to vegetate freely, 

 causing the plants to appear irregularly and over a long period 

 of time? Many old amateurs and young gardeners have ex- 

 perienced this difficulty, tbe only difficulty iu fact, in raising 

 plants from seed ; yet Mr. Abbey makes no allusion to it, and 

 does not tell us that the outer hufks of the seed should be 

 broken before sowing. If tbe seed is sown iu the spring, and 

 a term of sunny weather follows, which is generally the case, 

 no previous preparation of soil can ensure the germination of 

 the seed and the free growth of the young plants if the seed 

 has been sown with its bird outer cuticle unbroken. When 

 the outer covering — the prison wall — of the seed is partially 

 shattered germination is considerably expedited, aud tbe joung 

 plants appear above ground as regular as do Radishes. 



Next, What is the reafon of small crowns '? Bad position or 

 poor soil are not tbe only causes of puny crowns aud email 

 "Kale," nor, indeed, are they the primary causes ; the great 

 evil is overcrowding. Mr. Abbey gives correct information aa 

 to the distances for planting, but that is not sufficit-nt to 

 ensure bold crowns. He tells ns that previous to planting the 

 main crown should be cut oft to prevent the formation of a 

 flower stem, when other crowns will form and grow large 

 enough for forcing. Yes, they will do fo under one condition, 

 but which is (no dou'ut inadvertently) omitted — namely, tbe 

 crowns must be thinned out when in a growing state. When 

 the primary crowns of Seakale are severed from tho roots a 

 claster of other crowns form, it may be a dozen in the space 

 of a few inches. It is impossible that these can become bold 

 and plump if thinning is not resorted to. After the stools 

 have grown, say 3 inches, they should be examined and super- 

 fluous growths should be removed, leaving from one to three 

 shoots on each stool to form future crowns. 



It is only when room is afforded for tbe development of tbe 

 foliage that good crowns can be perfected, and without a thin- 

 ning-out of the growths during tbe spring preventing over- 

 crowding it is impossible that vigorous crowns can be foimed 

 and the best Kale be produced. Yet bow often is this simple 

 but necessary practice of tbinnirg crowns overlooked in private 

 gardens 1 Thinning of the crowns is not neglected by the 



matket growers. They cannot afford to waste manure in 

 growing a multiplicity of leaves, large cluBters of small crowns, 

 and weakly Kale ; they must have fewer crowns aud goo(i 

 and stout Kale : hence the importance of a timely and Eiiffi- 

 cient tbiuning-out of tbe superfluous growths. This is oi 3 of 

 the principal poiLts (and withal is one of the aaost neglct ed) 

 in tbe culture of Seakale. 



When stout crowns are produced forcing is a very siitj-'le 

 matter. Mr. Abbey writes ditparagingly on the old mode of 

 forcing in beds; he calls it expensive, troublesome, and anti- 

 quated. Without underrating tbe advantages of digging up 

 tbe roots and forcing tbem iu frames aud Mnsbroom bouses 

 I have yet an opinion that more ind he tui Kale is produced 

 by forcing in beds than by the " modern " plan of divgii'gup' 

 the roots. Seakale pots are cbtap, and with care will last a> 

 lifetime; but even these are not indispensable, for rough 

 wooden skeleton covers or a few sticks placed round and over 

 each stool are sufficient to keep the heating material from 

 pressing on the crowns. In fact there is no mystery about 

 forcing Seakale, nor growing it either. An open potition, good 

 soil, ai:d growing the crowns thinly, are the essential points to 

 be attended to. 



There is no reason why a few stools of Seakale should not 

 be grown in even small gardens, for the roots, as stated by 

 Mr. Abbey, may be dug-up and forced in any daik place ; or it 

 the produce is not waiited early the sun may do the loicing 

 and garden soil the blanching — heaping tbe soil ovir the 

 crowns iu the form of cones, when the Kale will push its way 

 through, aud be of the first quality — stout, tender, and afford- 

 ing an agreeable change for the table during April and May. 

 — A Maeket Gaedener. 



PROPOSED CARNATION AND PICOTEB SHOW. 



It owes its origin to the fact that, save by this special 

 show, no opportunity is afforded to tbe cultivators of these 

 flowerj for their presentation before the public, neither of the 

 two societies devoted to horticulture offering inciucements in 

 the shape of prizes, or days of exbibitioc, suitable for their pro- 

 duction, whilst undoubtedly a further incentive to this course 

 of action may be found iu an assertion made some time since 

 in your pages — viz., " that florieto' flowers were hopelessly at 

 a dit^count in the south." 



When I state further that the proposed show is due directly 

 to the Euggettiou of Mr. Charles Turner of tbe Ro.^al Nursery, 

 Slough, aud of Mr. Douglas, who has charge of the fine col- 

 lection at Loxford Hall, I shall have said eEout;h to assure 

 your dders the display will be of great merit and worthy the 

 notice of all lovers of these very biautiful floaers; whilst 

 further, a reference to the sul scription list, copy of wbich I 

 enclose, will show the promoters do not solicit aid without first 

 contributing liberally from tbeir own pockets. 



A schedule of prizes wbich has been proposed, and which 

 the promoters be'ieve would apfropriately illustrate tbe culti- 

 vation and development of the flowers, offers ninety-one prizes, 

 includingin Carnations collections of twenty-fours and twelves,, 

 and single specimens in each class. Picotees, white grounds 

 tbe same ; yellow ground Picotees, prizes for collections of 

 twelves and for single specimens ; miscellaneous, selfs or 

 fancies (a class usually especially interesting to ladies), three 

 prizes each of twelve blooms ; aud plants iu pots two prizes 

 each for twelve specimens, resulting in an aggregate of 4C2' 

 specimens, and a money total of £51 16.s. The funds thus 

 far contributed amount in round numbers to fifty guineas ; a 

 further sum of £15 to £20 is therefore needed to provide the 

 desired prizes and the expenses iucidental to the show, and to 

 this extent the promoters will gladly accept of help from any 

 of your readers disposed thereto. — E. 8. Dodwell, lion. Sec.,. 

 11, Chatham Terrace, Larkhall Rise, Glapham, S W. 



McLaren 's prolific raspberry. 



"A Market Gardener" on page 9-1 makes inquiries whether 

 any growers can detail tbeir experience regarding McLaren's 

 Prolific. In November, 1872, I had occasion to make a fresh 

 plantation of Raspberries, The red varieties planted consisted 

 of Fastolf, Semper Fidelis, Carter's Prolific, aud Ked Antwerp,, 

 and for experiment one dozen plants of McLaren's Prolifio 

 were at the same time planted, aud all the sorts were trained 

 to wire trellises. McLaren's favouiite has turned out vastly 

 superior to any of the other varieties named. It is very early, 

 ripening fully twelve days before any of the others, and ibS' 



