M4y 8, 1877. ] 



JODRNAL OP HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB, 



320 



birds last autumn cleared every Pea out of the poda of a late 

 row. The mischief wae done before the Peas were ready to 

 gather, being only the size of smuU shot. The gardener 

 knowing my objection to having any birds shot, told me of 

 my favourites' misdeeds, and pave me ocular proof of the cor- 

 rectness of his statement. Ten tomtits were shot, and we 

 soon had plenty of Peas. They perforated the pods most 

 cleverly close along the top line. I much regret to record this 

 against them." 



Mk. Charles Downing, the eminent American fruit- 

 grower, writes as follows on washing feuit teees : — " Why use 

 lime for the trucks and large branches of trees? It has an 

 unnatural and unsightly appearance, while soft soap leaves the 

 bark smooth and of a natural colour, and my experience is 

 that it is more effectual. Potash is equally good. Dissolve 

 each pound in a gallon and a half of water ; put it on with a 

 stiff brash, and when not in use the brush should be kept in 

 water. The person using it should be careful not to get the 

 potash on his hands and clothes. Soft soap should be put on 

 as thick as it can be used. Any rough bark should be scraped 

 off before washing the trees, and when washed annually no 

 rough bark and moss will appear." 



EENOVATING MAEECHAL KIEL ROSE. 



We received a letter last week describing an instance of a 

 favourite Marechal Xiel Rose cankering above the ground, and 

 this week we have received a specimen of the canker. This we 

 submitted to a practical gardener, who in reply has described 

 a case of canker which occurred with a Marechal Xiel Eose 

 belonging to C. E. Baring, Esq., at Coombe Cottage, Kingston- 

 on-Thames, and which the gardener, Mr. Baker, cured. As 

 the remedy applied by Mr. Baker was so simple and effectual, 

 it is worthy of record. 



"Mr. Baring's Rose," writes our informant, "is growing 

 under glass, and is trained to the back wall of a lean-to house. 

 A little distance above ground the stem cankered extensively, 

 the foliage of the Rose lost its colour, and the plant appeared 

 to be in a dying state. Instead, however, of leaving it to its 

 fate Mr. Baker tried an experiment which has answered ad- 

 mirably. It was clear that the roots of the Rose were unable 

 to supply sap to the parts above the canker, and the idea 

 occurred to induce the emission of a new set of roots from and 

 above the cankered portions of the stem. To effect this some 

 stout boards were affixed on edge about a foot from the wall 

 and a foot or more high, forming a box or trough. This was 

 filled with rich soil — loam and cow dung, the compost being 

 packed closely round the cankered part. The soil was kept 

 moist, and new roots commenced forming at once, and in a 

 short time the trough was quite filled with them, and new 

 vigour was imparted to the Rose. The trough was then 

 lengthened and the soil below it was enriched ; into this narrow 

 bottomless box some of the shoots which were taken from the 

 wall were pegged ; these also emitted roots, and the growth of 

 the Rose has since been wonderful. New shoots as thick as a 

 walking-stick have been produced and have quite covered the 

 wall, and many dozens of grand blooms have this spring been 

 cut from the Rose which a year previously was thought to be 

 dying. It is now m ire vigorous than ever, and will no doubt 

 produce many harvests of golden flowers. 



" This account may bo useful to ' T. Rose.' The example 

 he has sent does not appear to be canker as ordinarily under- 

 stood, but injury has been done by the stem having been 

 rubbed against a hard surface. Let him carry out the prac- 

 tice above described as near as he can. If the injured parts 

 are too high to be covered with soil, I advise an application of 

 rich soil and liquid manure to the roots, and not until this 

 has failed to improve the Rose would I dig it up. If, however, 

 it is beyond recovery I should replace it with a young plant 

 cleanly worked on a healthy Briar stock, the stem of the Briar 

 reaching to the glass, through which the branches can be 

 trained. The Briar stem should be protected with a hayband 

 or other covering during severe weather. — W." 



LIQUID MANURE FOE FERNS. 

 As you solicit the experience of your readers on this subject 

 I venture to offer you mine. Some time ago I had charge of 

 a garden where there was small accommodation for the growth 

 of Ferns, the principal place at disposal for their culture being 

 a low shelf attached to the back wall of a Pino stove. This 

 eheU was probably some u feet from the glass and about a feet 



below another shelf, which was used for forcing French Beans 

 and Strawberries. It was my practice to water the Beans and 

 Strawberries on the upper shelf every other day with strong 

 liquid manure made from guano, soot, and sheep or cow dung; 

 and what ran over or ran through the pots above descended 

 to the Ferns and kept them in a state of saturation, so mush 

 so that it was very seldom necessary to water them in the 

 regular way. Under this treatment they grew most luxu- 

 riantly, and threw up fronds of noble proportions and of excel- 

 lent colour. 



These Ferns were grown without a particle of peat, the com- 

 post used consisting of about equal portions of moderate loam 

 and leaf soil, with a liberal admixture of silver sand and (what 

 I coneider a beneficial ingredient) decayed wood, commonly 

 known as touchwood, rubbed fine through a half-inch sieve. 

 The Ferns grown under these conditions were chiefly Adian- 

 tnm cuneatum, A. formosum, A. farleyense, Pteris serrulata, 

 P. cretica albo-lineata, and P. argyrjea. 



These Ferns being in a Pine stove were subjected to a brisk 

 temperature, but I have found Ferns succeed equally well with 

 liquid manure in a low temperature. As an instance, I have 

 here at the back of a lean-to greenhouse a narrow border in 

 which Vines are planted, and to hide the uneighthness of the 

 soil Ferns are placed upon the border, and the pots are sur- 

 rounded with stones so as to form a miniature rockery. On 

 several occasions last season I gave this border soakings of 

 liquid manure, pouring it over the Ferns and soaking them 

 also ; and about a fortnight ago I repeated the application of 

 liquid manure just when the Ferns were throwing up numbers 

 of young fronds, without any detriment to them, but from 

 all appearance greatly to their advantage.— A. E,, Hcanton 

 Satclwille. 



SHELVES FOR STRAWBERRY FORCING. 



To lessen the labour of watering, and to save the roots of 

 the S.trawberries as much as possible from the scorching sun, 

 the ordinary shelves generally met with are not calculated to 

 give the most satisfactory results. We give mulching to the 

 plants which are to fruit in the open ground ; but in houses, 

 pots (which are a faint imitation of nature at best) are by some 

 placed high and dry, and very often the labour power employed 

 to meet their wants is very inadequate. Standing the plants 

 in their pots on turves is a good old plan, but when they have 

 to be moved to cooler and drier structures — a practice necessary 

 to secure flavour — it is not easy removing the turves intact 

 with the roots which may have come through the holes of the 

 pots. A layer of moss placed along the shelves answers well 

 when the pots are stood on it. The roots run freely into the 

 moss, and will lift the whole mass without any danger of 

 breaking the fibres. When the pots are placed into others a 

 size larger, with soil or moss packed round them, it answers 

 well as an aid to nutriment and for protection from the sun. 



But it has been long a favourite system of mine to have 

 shelves with a board in front to shield the pots from the sun, 

 and made watertight so that the drip may not come down about 

 the person employed to water the plants ; and this also saves 

 the back wall from the wetting which it often receives at in- 

 opportune times. Plugs placed at the ends of the shelves to 

 be taken out at pleasure add to the convenience. I have 

 often used these angular shelves with success for French Bean 

 forcing in pots. When the position formerly was intensely 

 scorching, and a complete nursery for red spider, a quantity of 

 half-rotten leaf soil or moss placed under the pots, and occa- 

 sionally dusted lightly with soot or moistened with soot-water, 

 was generally found to be a specific against red spider. It is 

 seldom (except by market-growers) that separate pits or houses 

 are employed for forcing Strawberries, hence the difficulties 

 which arise from vermin and other impediments. How simple 

 a matter Strawberry forcing is where structures are employed 

 with numerous compartments, so that abundance of dry fresh 

 air can be given to those ripening, a closer and moister atmo- 

 sphere to the fruit swelling, and where those which are setting 

 can have proper treatment ! — M. T. (in Tlie Gardeiur). 



ODONTOGLOSSUM EOEZLII. 



Noi only are the Odontoglossums amongst the moat beauti- 

 ful of Orchids, but they are easy of culture, and produce their 

 striking flowers freely even when the plants are in a small 

 state. For the cultivation of this genus a specially constructed 

 and heated Orchid house is not by any means indispensable, 



