JOURNAL OF HOBTIOULTUBB AND COTTAGE QAKUENBR. 



[ March 22, 1877. 



tbe ground has been forked over it is in excellent order for 

 sowing seeds, planting Potatoes, &c. 



We have now sown the first CcIpti/ on a warm border. We 

 have sown at a mucli earlier date in former years, and have had 

 plants ready to prick out by this time ; but bo many " bolted " 

 that they had to be replaced with lotfr-aowu plants. The run- 

 ning of early Celery is owing in a great measure to our dry hot 

 soil, combined with a rather dry atmosphere, as in cooler dis- 

 tricts with a dilferent soil the bolting of early-sown plants does 

 not happen. To show the difference that soil and situation 

 makes in Celery culture, the following quotation from the 

 writings of the late Mr. R. Fish will be appropriate :— " We 

 generally sow Celery twice or thrice, but we confess we do this 

 more from custom than from any absolute necessity. The 

 general idea has been that small plants which are pricked-ofi 

 into a little heat in the middle of March are sure to throw-up 

 their iiower stalks in Jaly, August, and later, whilst plants from 

 seed subsequently sown and fit to be pricked-off in April and 

 May are comparatively safe from bolting. The result of our 

 experience and observation is, that plants properly looked after, 

 the roots kept from beieg dried-up, ito ,and which are pricked-oil 

 in March, are just as safe from bolting as those pricked-oii two 

 months later." The soil and climate at Puttridgebury must 

 have been quite different from ours at Loxford, as with all our 

 cai-e, if the plants are raised and pricked-off in frames, they are 

 almost sure to bolt. 



We have planted-out a sufficient quantity of autumn-sown 

 Onions ; a,lthough a breadth of Onions is always sown in spring 

 the crop is uncertain on account of the attacks of the Onion 

 maggot, while the autumn-sown crop never fails from this 

 cause, or indeed any other. Carrots have been sown in soil 

 that has been trenched. On several occasions, though not 

 always, a healthy crop has been secured when the tcp spit has 

 been turned down to the depth of a foot. Water slightly diluted 

 with paraffin has been suggested as a remedy for the small 

 maggot that eats into the Carrot and destroys its tap root. We 

 shall give it a trial, as our Carrot crop often suffers, and some- 

 times entirely fails. See that all crops are put into the ground 

 while the weather is favourable. 



Jerusalem Artichokes may be planted in a corner where they 

 will not overshadow other crops. They will thrive almost in 

 any position ; but good roots are only produced in rich soil, and 

 the plants should be 3 feet apart one way and 1 foot the other. 

 The soil should be deep. 



If it is intended to plant Asparagus beds the ground should 

 be prepared by deep trenching, and plenty of good manure is 

 necessary. One year-old plants are the best, and by the time 

 they have grown an inch or so out of the ground the beds should 

 be in good condition to receive them. The best time to plant 

 them out is when they have commenced growing; but if the 

 plants have to be sent a distance this will not be possible, the 

 young growths being so easily snapped off. 



On a dry sheltered border a sowing maybe made of Dwarf 

 Kidney Beans, even if there is no glass protection to place over 

 them the wire Pea protect.iri may be used, and some shading 

 thrown oyer will save the Beans from frost. Sowings of Let- 

 tuce, Radish, and other salading have been made, and before 

 this appears in print the Potatoes will be planted out for the 

 earliest crops. They will be carefully transferred from the 

 shallow boxes in which they were laid thickly a month ago. We 

 have not yet tried Penn's Early Market, but shall do so this 

 season ; it is said to be one of the very best early round garden 

 sorts. 



VINEEIES. 



The Vines in the earliest houses were started a week or two 

 sooner than usual, but they are not any earlier on that account. 

 It was seen that the Vines would not st»rt regularly when 

 pushed with too much heat, and we withheld it until the buds 

 were advanced a few inches. A good portion of the bunches are 

 thinned out, and the remainder will be finished in a week or ten 

 days. Black Hamburgh, Buckland Sweetwater, and other free- 

 setting sorts may be thinned nine or ten days after the first 

 fiowers open on the bunches. Muscats take longer, as they 

 generally do not set well, so it is better to wait until it can be 

 seen which berries are likely to swell freely before the remainder 

 are cut out. 



Thinning Grapes is an operation that requires considerable 

 ■care ; it ought not to be done in a hurried manner, nor when the 

 operator is in a state of perspiration. By a little management 

 it can be done early in the morning. In sunny weather the sun 

 has considerable effect on the glass, and the temperature may 

 rise 10' or 1.5° before 10 a.m. In such weather we never thin 

 after eight in the morning. Should the weather happen to be 

 cold with no sun the operation may be continued all day. The 

 berries that are to remain shoul(Ln<;ither be touched by the 

 hand nor the scissors, and no second thinning ought to be made. 

 The person that is to thin the Grapes should have some know- 

 ledge of the previous year's crop, as this is a guide as to the 

 number of berries that ought to remain. In a house even in the 

 saoie garden, the berries on one Vine of the same variety will 



be as large again as they are on another. Some bunches are 

 more loosely formed than others, but the man of experience 

 speedily takes note of his bunch and acts accordingly. 



We may expect keen cutting winds from the north-east for a 

 month or six weeks yet, and at such a time, when the skin of 

 the berries are most liable to injury, air must be applied with 

 very great caution. The ventilators ought to be so arranged 

 that the wind cannot blow directly on the berries. 



CDCCMBERS AND MELONS. 



Cucumbers in frames will now do tolerably well if the heat is 

 kept-up by linings, and if great care is taken to ventilate the 

 frames so that the plants are not exposed directly to cold winds. 

 The sun has a strong effect on the glass and soon increases the 

 temperature. Advantage should be taken of this to close the 

 lights early in the afteruoou, and to cover with mats at 6 p >r., 

 using thorn double when there is any sign of frost. When the 

 roots have permeated the hills more good loam ought to be 

 added, but not a large quantity at one time, as this prevents 

 the heat rising. Our early plants in the houses where the night 

 temperature ranges from '&'}' to 70° make good progress. Alter 

 a dull period when the sun breaks through strongly the leaves 

 are apt to suffer, but with as much air admitted as possible, and 

 Bufiicient moisture in the atmosphere, no injury has been done 

 to the plants except the scorching of a stray leaf or two. We 

 do not like to shade them, as if we start with this it is not easy 

 to leave it off again. It is better not to shade either Cucumbers 

 or Melons. The last-named require very similar treatment to 

 that of Cucumbers, 65' at night rather than higher ; and if it is 

 not requisite to hurry the fruit in by a certain time we would 

 keep the house at 00° only, as a high night temperature is likely 

 to cause an inroad of red spider. Train the lateral growths 

 from a central leader in the Bame way as Vine shoots, and they 

 ought not to be too much crowded. Some varieties of Melons 

 form growths much more thickly than others, and require to be 

 treated accordingly. 



PEAOH HOUSE. 



If the fruit is set in the late house more atmospheric moisture 

 may be provided, but we do not like to have so much moisture 

 in these houses as in vineries. All that will be necessary as yet 

 is to syringe the trees in the morniog, and also at 3 p.m. if the 

 weather is fiue. In dull cold weather the borders and paths 

 only should be sprinkled. The night temperature need not be 

 higher than 55°, a high temperature may cause the fruit to drop 

 cff. Another fertile cause of this is the inside borders being too 

 dry. When the roots are out as well as inside there is not so 

 much danger from this cause. Oiir trees in pots are saturated 

 with water during the winter, and sometimes until the blossoms 

 are nearly open, and yet they pet well. We have not tried keep- 

 ing the roots dry, and would be afraid to do so. 



GREENUOUSE AND e'ONSERVATORY. 



We have been engaged amongst the Hyacinths preparing 

 them for exhibition, and also for making a better effect in the 

 show house. Hyacinths always require the spikes to be sup- 

 ported, and it ought to be done so that the supports are not 

 seen at all. The best support is a wire bent at the part that 

 enters the pot so as to avoid the bulb. Some growers force a 

 wire througli the bulb, but this practice is too barbarous, nor is 

 it necessary. The wire must be worked carefully in amongst the 

 bells without bruising them, and they must be carefully arranged 

 so as to form a symmetrical spike; when the bells are too 

 thickly placed, as they are sometimes, we thin them out with a 

 pair of Bharp-pointed scissors. When the plants are shaded 

 from the sun and kept cool the fiowers will last a full month 

 from the time they first open. For the decoration of the home 

 stage Tulips are very useful, their gorgeous appearance and the 

 rich variety of colour render them always attractive. A few 

 Polyanthus Narcissus also afford agreeable variety. 



We keep a careful look-out for red spider and mildeWi and 

 have it destroyed on its first appearance. The spider insidiously 

 attacks Pimeleas, aud must be destroyed by laying the plants 

 on their sides and syringing them well. Chrysanthemums have 

 been potted out of their cutting pots, and the plants placed in a 

 house where they can be started into growth. In a week or two 

 they will be placed out of doors, and be protected from severe 

 frosts with mats or thick ehading material. — J. Douglas. 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Henry W.alton, Edge Hill Nurseries, Brierfield, Burnley, 

 Lancashire. — General Plant Catalogue. 



EUwauger& Barry, Mount Hope Nurseries, Rochester, N.Y.— 

 Descriptive Catalogue of Hoses. 



R. Edwards & Sons, Moss Spring Nurseries, Nuthall, Notting- 

 ham. — Descriptive Catalogue of Dahlias. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

 *,* All correspondence should be directed either to "The 

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

 Mr. Johnaon or Dr. Hogg often remain nnopened nnavoid- 



