June 7, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTIOOLTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEil. 



429 



Devoniensis, and Marechal Nielarenow just coining into bloom. 

 One of our gayest and finest of Ro3es to bloom on a wall is Sir 

 Joseph Paxton. It always produces flowers in great profusion, 

 but is generally very much attacked by the worm in the bud. 

 Ceanotlinses in variety are very pretty for covering walls, and 

 now is a very good time to choose a selection for this purpose, as 

 the plants are just coming; into bloom. The pretty Ampelopsis 

 Veitchii is now showing its little red leaves, and ought to be in 

 every collection. We know of no plant that will take greater 

 hold of walls than this. Roses of all kinds, whether in bels 

 or borders, will also be benefited by a good washing from a 

 garden engine. Besides the common form of the worm that 

 generally curls in the leaves and eats into the buds, we have 

 foand on oar Roses a yellowish green caterpillar which has 

 made sad havoc among them. Hand-picking is the best mode 

 of eradicating them, thongh it is tedious work. Liquid manure 

 may now be beneficially applied to Roses if the weither is at 

 all dry, afterwards mulching the surface of the gronud over the 

 roots with manure. 



Wo have been looking over our fmit orop3 and find the effects 

 of late frost only too apparent. Currants and Strawberries are 

 looking well and showing abundance of fruit, but Peaches, 

 Apricots, Plums, Pears, and Apples will be very scarce. The 

 trees were laden with blossom, and at one time abundant crops 

 were anticipated. Strawberries we have said are promising 

 abundantly, and must have something laid between the rows 

 and around the plants to prevent the fruit from becoming gritty 

 after heavy rains. This cannot be done too soou. Some persons 

 use the mowings of grass, and it is better than nothing, but it 

 harbours slugs, and in wet seasons tends to promote decay of 

 the fruit. The best of all coverings is undoubtedly clean chopped 

 straw; but if the cleanest of the litter from the stable be shaken 

 out and exposed to the weather it soon bleaches, and makes 

 very good material for placing between them, and is very little 

 inferior to new straw. Strawberries are gross feeders, and will 

 take any quantity of either clear or liquid manure water while 

 swelling their fruit. 



In the kitchen gjrden weeds must be kept under. The hoe 

 cannot be used too freely, for moving the surface of the ground 

 is highly beneficial to all growing crops. Thin out Parsnips, 

 Carrots, and Onions as soon as the plants can bo conveniently 

 handled. Much injury is every year caused by delaying such 

 work unnecessarily. Potatoes, notwithstanding being cut down 

 by the frost, are looking fairly well, and will soon be ready for 

 being earthed up. This work, too, should be done as early as 

 possible. Peas are now in bloom, and we have stopped our 

 earliest in order to be able to gather as soon as possible. They 

 are two or three weeks later than last year. Draw the soil to 

 other advancingcrops, anci place sticks to them aa required. Both 

 Dwarf and Runner Beans are now through the grouud, and 

 will also require to have the soil drawn to' them, and' stout 

 sticks placed to the Runners unless they are pinched and 

 allowed to remain in the ground after the style adopted in 

 market gardens. Both plans have their advantages ; but we think 

 larger produce can be gathered from plants supported than 

 those which are not. In very dry weather no crops are more 

 benefited with water than Beans. Make other sowings of 

 small salads. Lettuce, Turnips, Ac, as required. Prick out 

 Celery from seed pans, &c., that stout and stosky plants may he 

 produced for planting in the trenches. — J. W. M. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST AND WORK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



KITCHEN G.iEDE«. 



Is rainy districts it must ba a matter of great difficulty to 

 keep the ground free from weeds. We neglect no favourable 

 opportunity to destroy them all through the spring months, 

 and still they come. At present the garden looks very tidy; bat 

 in parts where the surfaca has not been dug or trenched since 

 last summer or early autumn we noticed weeds, and had it hoed 

 over again at once. Whatever pressure of work there may be 

 in any department — and at this season the pressure is severe — 

 we still make a point of destroying every weed in the grounds. 



We made up the last planting of Cauliflowers with some 

 spare plants. A few of the plants had been destroyed by rabbits 

 and other causes. We have not daring the last twelve years 

 ever been so late as we are now with all sorts of early vegetables. 

 The maia balk of the crops are nuking very good growths, and 

 thongh lite they will be abundant and of good quality, except 

 the early Potatoes, which, thongh slightly protected, have suf- 

 fered severely. Not only were the tops cut off by the frost, 

 but night after night the freezing process was repeated until 

 stem and leaf were utterly destroyed; when fine weather re- 

 tamed some of the varieties showed themselves to be pos- 

 sessed of much more recuperative force than others. As far as 

 our experience goes Fenn's Early Market is the most easily 

 injured and takes longest to recover, whilst Veitch's Improved 

 Aahleaf is the hardiest of the garden sorts. Nearly all the 

 garden varieties have now been eartbed-up, and ii the crop is 



late we trust it will be tolerably good. Until now a sowing of 

 Lettuce has been made about once in two weeks, and from each 

 sowing a few are transplanted on rioh ground. Seeds of other 

 salads have been sown as they are required. Mustard, more 

 especially, has been much eaten by the fly or beetle. A good 

 preventive in the case of Turnips or the Brassica tribe is spent 

 hops from breweries or malt houses used fresh and strewed 

 thickly amongst the plants ; but this does not answer for salads, 

 and of these we find the best plan is to sow a little under glass 

 and often. The early Peas are in the blooming stage, and later 

 sowings have been earthed-up and had sticks placed to them. 

 We have noticed that many persona make the sticks from each 

 side meet closely together at the top in the form of a triangle. 

 It is better to place the sticks so that they are about as wide, or 

 a little wider, at the top than at the bottom. The rows should 

 not be less than 3^ feet apart; in some conditions of soil 4 feet 

 is better, as good crops cannot be expected if the haulm meets 

 in the rows. As Cabbage, Cauliflower, and other such vege- 

 tables are cut we pull the stems up by the roots and convey 

 them to the vegetable refuse heip. Where ground is plentiful 

 the old stumps of early Cibbages are useful for cutting from 

 after they have formed succulent young growths. Our ground 

 win be required for Celery. 



ORCHiED HOUSE. 



strawberries on the shelves are not doing so well this year as 

 we have had them. The cold winds and dull weather that con- 

 tinued through the whole of the flowering period have bad the 

 effect that mi.'ht have been expected, and the blossoms did not 

 set well. Some sorts have done better than others, and we 

 shall be enabled to note the results. It is certain that some 

 varieties of fruit trees have the blossoms much more hardy than 

 others, and probably Strawberries are the samo. It seems that 

 some of the recently introduced French varieties are the worst in 

 this respect. The plants have not required very abundant sup- 

 plies of water, but the growth is very strong, and when hot 

 weather sets in they will require much attention as regards 

 watering. Peach, Nectarine, Plum, and Pear trees iu pots have 

 had the growths stopped, longer or shorter, according to the 

 age and quantity of wood on the trees. It is necessary to avoid 

 forming a thicket of young wood ; better allow shoots to grow 

 oat farther, and instead of stopping two or even three times 

 it may be better to stop only once. The youug wood must be 

 well. exposed this year, and iu doing that the fruit will also re- 

 ceive the influence of light and heat, without which it would 

 be watery and flavourless. We had an attack of aphis as usual 

 at the time the trees were in flower. We do not like to fumi- 

 gate at that time, aa it might cause many of the blossoms to 

 drop ; afterwards the house was fumigated and the peat de- 

 stroyed. The trees at this aeasoo, especially those in pots, re- 

 qaire daily attention, as, if any of them show signs of distress 

 from want of water, and if this is permitted to occur two or 

 three timea on the same tree, it will not do well that season. 

 Also in regard to pinching the growths, it this is delayed say a 

 week longer than it ought to have been done, will throw the 

 trees back just that time or longer — that is, the lateral growths 

 will be later in starting and will have a shorter period to ripen 

 in and to mature the blossom buds. In such a season as this is, 

 no time ought to be lost. 



Oranjei and Figs in Pols. — Orange trees in pots and bearing 

 fruit to ripen at Christmas now require a temperature of 65° or 

 70' at night. The fruit on our trees is as large as a walnut. 

 We had scale and other insect pests on them, but after all the 

 different specifics we can only eradicate the pests by washing 

 the leaves and branches with strong soapy water, taking care 

 not to allow it to settle thickly on the fruit, as this is more sus- 

 ceptible to injury than the thick leathery leaves. We water the 

 trees well, and manure water is of great use, or, what is better, 

 surface-dressings with a compost of pounded charcoal, guano, 

 and loam, the loam to be equal to both the other ingredients. 

 A handful of this laid on the surface of the pots is a good 

 stimulant. The trees require much water. If they suffer from 

 drought the fruit will be pithy aud the skin thick. We shall 

 add to our list the Silver or Prata Orange exhibited by Mr. 

 Rivers of Sawbridgeworth this year. It seems to be even 

 better and the fruit is larger than St. Michaels. 



Figa now grow luxuriantly, and must also be aided with rich 

 surface-dressing. The trees muat be placed near the light, and 

 must not Buffer by want of water at the roots. Our Figs have 

 not had room, owing to the houses being filled with other plants. 

 It is almost better not to grow plants or tri'ss when justice 

 cannot be done them. The Fig seems to do better in pots than 

 almost any other fruit tree, but it must be repotted annually ; 

 and at the time of first stopping the young growths, which 

 ought to be at the fourth or fifth leaf, surface-dress with rich 

 manure and loam in about equal proportions. As the trees 

 advance in growth the young roots will bito greedily at this 

 rich dressing, and with marvellous rapidity they ramify through 

 it in every part. Red spider breeds very rapidly on the under 

 sides of the leaves, but syringing twice daily with clear rain 

 water warmed a little higher than the temperature of the house 



