Match 23, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICDLT0BE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



to be ripe. I cut all the tops off above ground ; I have the 

 bnlbfl forked up daring a line day and left in the sun till 

 they are perfectly dry, when they are taken to the store for 

 the winter season. They are all placed singly on a layer of 

 sand on the floor where the other roots are kept, and by the 

 first week in April they are all well rooted iu the sand and 

 ready to be planted ont in the border or any other part of the 

 garden. I have examined the bnlbs every month in the year, 

 and I find that the Cilftdiohis vegetates the same as the other 

 bulbs, the Snowdrop, the Croons, the Hyacinth, and the Tulip 

 — if kept too long on a dry shelf they all moulder into dust, 

 but by proper treatment their offspring will live very long.— 

 WiLLUii Gain, Gardener, Lynewood, Hants. 



RAISING CELERY PLANTS. 



Some time ago Mr. Harding contributed useful notes on the 

 culture of this important vegetable, and stated that his best 

 ieads were those produced by plants which had been trans- 

 ferred direct from the seed bed to the trenches without the 

 intermediate transplanting that is generally recommended. 

 My experience is the same as that of your correspondent, but 

 my mode of raising the plants differs from his, and I think it 

 is better. I have raised Celery plants in various ways and at 

 different seasons, but the way that I have found the best is 

 also the simplest and the easiest. It is not all who can adopt 

 the same plan, but if those who are able to do so will try it I 

 am sanguine that they would continue the system in future 

 years. 



About the first week in April the heating material (leaves 

 and manure) is ready for removal from the Seakale and Rhu- 

 barb. The manure is then " worn " and apparently exhausted, 

 yet when thrown into a heap and watered, if necessary, it gene- 

 rally recommences heating, and it is certain to do so if a few 

 barrowfuls of lawn mowings are mixed with it. Now it is a 

 pity that the heat in this manure heap should be wasted when 

 BO many plants of various kinds would benefit by it if per- 

 mitted to do BO. The heap is therefore levelled down and a 

 few inches of rich soil spread over it, supported by four 

 boards nailed together, the same as described by Mr. Luck- 

 hurst for raising Dahlias. The soil is well watered, and the 

 Celery sfed is sown thinly during the first week in April, and 

 is slightly covered with fine soil. Straw covers are then placed 

 over the bed, which prevent the surface from becoming dry, 

 water seldom being required until the plants appear. A very 

 small amount of seed is sufficient to sow a bed 6 feet long by 

 4 feet wide ; about the same quantity, in fact, as is usually 

 Bown in a seed pan 8 or 9 inches in diameter. When the seed- 

 lings appear I prefer them to be not nearer than a quarter of 

 an inch apart, and as soon as they are large enough to be 

 handled two-thirds of them are thinned out ; each plant re- 

 maining has then space for development. All the light and 

 air possible is admitted to the plants consistent with safety, 

 and water is supplied to them copiously. 



In June the plants are large enough for transplanting, and 

 are then transferred to the trenches to perfect their growth. 

 They are not tall, wiry, and tender when removed, but are 

 dwarf and sturdy, so much so that one plant would weigh as 

 much as five of the same height which had been raised thickly 

 in pans under glass. The plants from the manure heap are 

 also, by the exposure to which they are subjected during 

 growth, far better able to resist the effects of bright sunshine 

 than are plants raised in a more tender manner. They are 

 also better than plants which have been twice transplanted, 

 for at every removal a check is necessarily received, and every 

 check is promotive of " bolting," which is occasionally so 

 ruinous to this crop. I have found no plan equal to the above 

 for raising Celery plants, and it is one that can be adopted in 

 all gardens where a few leaves, a little stable manure, and a 

 barrowful of lawn mowings are procurable. The compost comes 

 in afterwards for manurial purposes, the same as it would had 

 it not been utilised in the raising of Celery plants. In fact, 

 the manure is better rather than worse for the covering of soil 

 that has been afforded, and the frequent applications of water 

 which have been given. 



Such a rough gentle " hotbed " with or without a covering 

 of glass is also very valuable for the raising of many plants for 

 the flower garden. By no other mode known to me can such 

 satisfactory plants of Stocks, Asters, Marigolds, Phlox Drnm- 

 mondii. Petunias, Helichrysums, Zinnias, Ac, be raised, and 

 as Mr. Luckhurst described on page 1^9, no plan can surpass 

 it for raising Dahlias. If the manure ia not likely to be 



wanted during the summer ihe bed answers capitally for grow- 

 ing hardy ridge Cucumbers, stout plants of which should be 

 ready for "putting out" when the Celery or flowering plants 

 are removed to their permanent quarters. I commend this 

 simple mode of raising Celery plants, &e., to the notice of all 

 who are able to give it a trial. — A Nobthekn Gakdenee. 



EXHIBITION PANSIES.— No. 4. 



In growing Pansies for exhibition no great amount of scien- 

 tific knowledge is required, the treatment being of the simplest 

 kind ; still a few notes upon the subject may not unfitly bring 

 to an end my observations upon my favourite flower, and 

 may possibly be of slight service to some of your readers. It 

 must be remembered, however, that I speak purely from an 

 amateur's point of view, but at the same time from actual 

 experience. 



Rich sandy turf and vei? old stable manure in the propor- 

 tion of two-thirds and one-third will serve admirably for 

 the constituents of the beds, and they should be thoroughly 

 incorporated and frequently turned over two or three weeks 

 before the work of planting is begun, in order that the soil 

 may be well sweetened. The plants should be put in deep, and 

 in the case of any which are weakly the addition of a little 

 silver sand is advisable as an incentive to speedy rooting. 



Snails have now to be guarded against, and a pest they ara 

 indeed, showing as they do a very decided partiality for 

 Pansies. There are so many " certain cures " for snails that 

 to enumerate them would occupy largely your space, and in 

 the end only prove confusing. "Catch 'em and kill 'em" ia 

 the best advice, but how to do it is the question. Few ex- 

 pedients beat the cabbage-leaf trap, for with all their fondness 

 for Tansies they prefer Cabbage. Of course the setting and 

 subsequent examination of the traps entail much labour and 

 severe pains in the back, but the capture and destruction of 

 the "varmint" is ample reward. I have tried paraffin and 

 other so-called prophylactics with varying results ; but the 

 oil is certainly less a failure than many of the experiments 

 advised. A sprinkling ol Peruvian guano, too, is effectual but 

 dangerous, and its virtue almost disappears after a shower of 

 rain. That snails do not like it is clear from the fact that if 

 you put a pinch upon one death is certain. " The early bird 

 picks the worm," and it a successful raid is to be made upon 

 snails early rising is necessary, though late at night is also a 

 good time. 



In dry weather the beds must be plentifully watered, though 

 a thorough soaking is desirable rather than constant sprinkling. 

 A top-dressing of cow dung will keep the plants comparatively 

 cool at the roots ; but where this would prove unsightly an 

 inch deep of cocoa-nut fibre refuse will answer almost as well. 

 Like the former, the latter when decomposed is an excellent 

 fertiliser; indeed, it is an invaluable article iu the garden. 

 This top-dressing will often prove beneficial when the blooms 

 come small, deformed, or rough, and on warm nights a satura- 

 tion of the walks about the beds will materially aid in produc- 

 ing good blooms, the humidity of the atmosphere being very 

 grateful after a day's hot sun. As in all other flowers some 

 varieties are bad growers ; but if any resolutely refuse to 

 advance the best plan is to transplant them. They may have 

 found something thpy do not like, and the remove may be all 

 they require. Once or twice during the season, according to 

 the progress they are making, very weak liquid manure should 

 be given, care being taken, of course, to keep it off the foliage, 

 and for this purpose cow dung is preferable, its action being 

 mild and cooling. 



Opinions differ as to the advisability of disbudding when 

 blooms are not required ; but my own experience conclusively 

 proves that the practice is a right one. It certainly encourages 

 the growth of the plant and increases the size of subsequent 

 blooms. When the plants have fairly begun growing— when 

 shoots appear from the root— take the flowers away as soon as 

 convenient, for such a course will not only increase the slock, 

 but benefit the parent plant by causing it to produce better 

 flowers. Some, however, throw out many shoots from a single 

 stalk, and instead of taking them off as rootless cuttings I have 

 found soiling them up the best plan, for in a fortnight or three 

 weeks each of the stems will have made root, and are then easily 

 and safely removable. 



With choice varieties constant propagation should bo pur- 

 sued, especially as Pansies are, like all else possessing life, 

 liable to disease. The type most to be feared is that which 

 attacks the root, causing the plant to become limp and weak, 



