Msy 3, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



337 



r£ Dwatf KidEcy Beans. Xegro Long-podded is as good as any 

 for the first crop, followed by Canadian Wonder. These dwarf 

 Beans are very nseful and more appreciated by some persons 

 for table than" Scarlet Kanners ; bnt runners are very accom- 

 modating, and can be used for ornament as well as for use by 

 sowing them to form screens for biding any unsightly objects or 

 by the side of palings, providing supports by pieces of string, &o. 

 They may be sown at the present time. 



Asparagus grows very slowly, but a day or two's warmth will 

 enable as to cut. We prifer cutting near the surface, the green 

 part being more tender and preferable to the white. By thus 

 allowing the heads to grow we prevent the tops of other heads 

 being severed, which is often the case if a knife is thrust down 

 deeply. Keep the beds free from weeds. If there is fear of any 

 seeds of important crops failing through adversity of weather or 

 other causes, replace them by sowing again immediately ; the 

 chances are they may, owing to the season, come right in the end. 



Sow Tomatoes and Vegetable Marrows for planting-out at the 

 end of the month, but early Marrows are to be had by using a 

 slight hotbed and frame until the plants are established and 

 the weather warm enough for their welfare. Put two or three 

 seeds in the middle of each light, they will soon germinate. The 

 plants shoald be hardened-off by degrees, and they will soon 

 take care of themselves. 



In the flower garden attention is required to keep all in good 

 order. The early-turned beds will require hoeing and cleaning, 

 the edges to be periodically trimmed with a pair of shears, and 

 mowing must be done frequently. It is a good time to draw 

 out all Plantains, Dandelions, Daisies, and other weeds from 

 lawns when the ground is moist and the roots can be easily 

 extracted with a weeding-hook. Much of the ultimate beauty 

 of pleastue grounds depends npou their condition early in the 

 season. 



With a few days of warm sunshine Roses Vfhioh were pruned 

 early will be pushing their growths, and timely warning is 

 necessary against the worm in the bud. Judging from the extra 

 quantity of caterpillars we have had on our pot plants we antici- 

 pate the worms will be very plentiful, and vigilant search must 

 be made as soon as it is possible to discern them. Had we not 

 diligently searched day after day amongst our Rosea in pots 

 we should have lost more than half of the blooms. There is no 

 bett*r plan for eradicating the grubs than handpicking : a crush 

 between the finger and thumb soon settles them. Keep all 

 worked Roses free from suckers, and loosening the surface soil 

 with a hoe will be beneficial. 



Where annuals are required they may yet be sown ; and where 

 Violets are prized— and who does not prize them ? — they may 

 be divided in as many portions as there are crowns, each crown 

 having a portion of roots, and planted a foot apart in beds. Well 

 water them until established, and shade if thought necessary. 

 Continue propagating all kinds of bedding plants used in carpet 

 bedding if required. There is time yet for cattinga of Coleasea 

 and such like to make good plants. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST AND WOBK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



The ground has lately been comparatively dry on the surface, 

 and an excellent opportunity was afforded for running the Dutch 

 or draw hoes through the soil amongst the rows of Potatoes and 

 Peas; indeed wherever crops were through the ground and the 

 surface was crasted with the rains we had the ground stirred. 

 It has not been good weather for planting, bnt we put out some 

 rows of spring-sown Cauliflowers 2 feet apart in ground that 

 had been deeply trenched and well manured last year. 



Sticks have been placed to the early Peas. The growers tor 

 market about this part of Essex allow the haulm to trail upon 

 the ground, the quantity of sticks that they would require 

 could scarcely be supplied from any available source in the 

 district; but in gardens where space is limited and labour suili- 

 cient it would be utter waste not to place sticks to the rows of 

 Peas. The sticks should be placed sufficiently close together, 

 but they onght not to meet too closely at the top. A few sprays 

 cat from the tops should be placed amongst the taller sticks. 

 We place the sticks to the Peas as soon as they are too tall for 

 the pea-protectors. The sparrows do not seem to attack Peas 

 after the sticks are placed, although they generally do so if the 

 protectors are removed and uo sticks placed tu them. When 

 the earliest Peas show a tendency to run too much to haulm the 

 crop is not likely to be in early; bnt if the points of the leading 

 shoots are piuohed-out at the time the blossoms open this will 

 forward the crop considerably. It would be too much labour to 

 top the general crops, nor is it at all necensary, as the only 

 object in doing so is to obtain a dish or two a little earlier. 



We generally fail with Cauliflowers during the summer 

 months; but had we deep clayey loam, with the convenience of 

 a suitable situation, we would keep up a supply from May until 

 the frosts cat them oS in November, to be succeeded by Broccoli, 



which ought to be sown now on ground that is not too rich. 

 When the plants have made the first roagh leaf they may be 

 pricked-out in prepared soil, and when large enough they should 

 be planted, some behind a north wall and others in a position 

 where they are more freely exposed to the influence of the sun. 

 Cabbage aud Lettuce seeds have been sown to meet the demand 

 for such produce. Brussels Sprouts have also been sown. Wo 

 find that it is a good plan with this crop to draw shallow drills and 

 to sow the seeds on the ground where the plants are to be grown, 

 dropping a few seeds into the drills at intervals of 2 feet, and 

 when the plants are grown sufficiently they are thinned-out to 

 one at each place. If required the superfluous plants are put 

 out in another part of the ground at the same distance apart. 

 Salsafy, Scorzonera, and Chicory may now be sown in shallow 

 drills a foot or 15 inches apait. Weeds had grown up on the 

 Asparagus beds, and they were removed without injuring the 

 crowns coming through the ground. A dressing of salt ap- 

 plied at this season is a great preventive of weeds in Asparagus 

 beds. 



VINERIES. 



Vines in the late houses are making very rapid growth, and 

 require considerable attention as to tying-down aud stopping 

 the lateral growths. This is work that cannot be neglected, 

 and we find it necessary to look over the houses at least twice 

 a-week. It is far better to stop the growths as soon as they are 

 long enough than to allow them to run out and then cut away a 

 quantity of shoots and leaves. Recently instructions hive been 

 given how this work ought to be done, and this ia merely a 

 reminder urging the importance of not leaving for to-morrow 

 what onght to be done to-day. 



Where heat has been used since February the thinning of the 

 fruit will now require to be seen to. This work is of great im- 

 portance and cannot be neglected with impunity. Black Ham- 

 burgh and all the free-setting varieties will be ready for thinning 

 in ten days after the first flowers on the bunches open. Shy- 

 setting varieties like Muscat of Alexandria are not ready quite 

 so soon. It is necessary sometimes to wait until it is seen 

 which berries will swell freely before the others, which are seen 

 to remain stationary, are removed. 



The earliest Vines in pots will now have fruit nearly ready to 

 be cut ; if so, less moisture will be required in the atmosphere of 

 the house ; but until the fruit is quite ripe the plants must on no 

 account suffer from want of water at the roots. Many gardeners 

 as soon as they see the berries show colour have a notion that 

 the fruit will finiah-off better in a dry atmosphere, and they also 

 withhold water from the roots. It is a great mistake to do this, 

 as the Grapes will finish-off better if the Vines have a thorough 

 watering as soon as the berries commence colouring. At that 

 time the fruit swells at a rapid rate, and the watering aids this ; 

 whereas the want of water ia a check upon the fruit, with the 

 result that it will neither swell well, colour well, nor be of good 

 flavour. When the fruit is quite ripe much less water is re- 

 quired, but the Vines ought never to show signs of distress. 



PEACH HODSE. 



If the fruit has taken the second swelling a good supply of 

 water should be given to the borders, and the temperature may 

 be increased to G5^ at night, syringing the trees thoroughly with 

 tepid water twice daily until the fruit is within a few days of 

 being ripe ; but the atmosphere should still be moderately moist, 

 and more air should be admitted, a little to be left on all night. 

 Later houses will now require watchful care on the part of those 

 in charge. Tying and disbudding the shoots must be attended 

 to, avoiding, as has so often been urged, tying them in too close 

 to each other. Syringe freely where the fruit is just set in the 

 latest house, to clear off withered flowers and to wash off any 

 insects, which now increase rapidly. It will be necessary to 

 destroy thrips and aphis by fumigating. It is not desirable to 

 keep the houses too close and warm until after the stoning 

 period, as the fruit may drop off in a close muggy atmosphere. 



GREENHOUSE AND C0N3ERVAT0HT. 



At this season there are many fine species of what are usually 

 denominated Cape or New Holland plants in flower or promis- 

 ing to come into bloom in the course of the next month or two. 

 They are mostly making their growth, and those that were 

 shifted into larger pots recently will now have taken to the new 

 compost that was firmly pressed round the old ball. At all 

 seasons hardwooded greenhouse plants require much care in 

 watering, but extra attention mast be given to them when they 

 are making their growth. It is very annoying to see plants which 

 one has taken a pride in die off without any apparent cause, but 

 in very many instances the cause may be found in the fact that 

 at some time or other the plants had either suffered from too 

 much or too little water. The small capillary tubes that absorb 

 their sustenance from the soil have been killed (it matters not 

 how), and the plant dies of starvation. The best way to act, jf 

 this fact is known, is to place the plant in a close house and 

 shade from the sun for a few days until fresh rootlets are 



Heaths of the Ventricosa section are exceedingly beautiful at 

 this season, especially Story's variety of Erica grandiflora, also 



