438 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Jane 14, 1877. 



at Lyme and Axminater, diatant about four mUea from me, so 

 that the expense is very great — indeed, every load of manure 

 costing me £1. At one time I never thought of expense with 

 regard to growing Roses, but now I am obliged to do bo, and 

 have to resort to various expedients so as to avoid the great 

 cost of buying manure from a distance. 



Guano is the only other manure that I have tried except 

 night soil, and the first-named merely as a stimulating tonic 

 in the month of May. Artificial manures — such as bones, 

 bone dust, nitrate of soda, &a. — I have never tried ; but I have 

 noticed that many of the new Roses sent out by leading 

 nurserymen which I have bought for many years have bones 

 at the bottom of the pots, and the Rose roots seem to like the 

 attention, for they grow very strong among them. It occurs 

 to me, then, that bones might do for Mauetti Roses, and 

 although they may not equal in any way dung manure, yet 

 they might form a good substitute for it when the latter 

 is unattainable. Will any of your readers who have tried 

 artificial manures kindly give your readers the benefit of 

 their experience ? 



I do not know how I may succeed this year at the shows, 

 but I am most anxious to know the result, as I am trying a 

 somewhat hazardous experiment. I have not manured at all 

 since the spring of last year. I am relying this year entirely 

 on surface-stirring, night soil in a liquid form, and guano. 



The Crystal Pulaee Company has decided not to change the 

 date of their Rose Show, and I think wisely. It is always a 

 hazardous experiment changing a date, for in the crowded 

 fortnight or three weeks great shows are sure to clash if one of 

 them alters its fixtures ; besides, the Palace Show has always 

 been early, and has suited early soils. The Maidstone men 

 will rejoice in the date not being altered, and those of us who 

 are not able to show will be able to enjoy the feast of good 

 things without any anxiety as to our own exhibits. I wish, 

 however, the Palace would give a class for Teas for amateurs. 

 as they will be in full bloom on the '23rd. — Joes B. M. Camm. 



GBOWING CUCUMBEBS IN PEAMES. 



It is not many weeks since Mr. Luckhurst gave some excel- 

 lent hints on this matter, and therefore it might be considered 

 unnecessary to call attention to it again. I do not, however, 

 write to find fault with Mr. Luckhurst's teachings ; but on the 

 contrary, I know that euccess will attend his instructions. 

 I have been so successful with frame Cucumbers this spring 

 that I cannot help saying something about them; and besides, 

 I fancy my practice differs slightly in one or two points from 

 that which I have read in the Journal. 



There is often more said about " making up the bed" than 

 on any other point in Cucumber culture. I admit this may be 

 badly done. For instance, " tramping the bed very firm " is 

 sometimes a mistake. I made up one bed to hold two two- 

 light frames in February. The manure was trampled very firm 

 to " hold the heat." We had many wet days a week or two 

 after this, and the manure became saturated and cold, and 

 owing to its being so firm it never dried or heated again. How- 

 ever, during the week or two the heat was strong we attained 

 our purpose, which was to strike a large number of cuttings. 

 The last week in March we removed the frames from this bed, 

 started at one end, and turned over the whole, and in doing 

 so we mixed much fresh leaves and stable litter with it. The 

 large heap was at once formed into a bed 24 feet long, 8 feet 

 wide, 2 feet high at the back, and 18 inches in front. When 

 this height was reached three two-light frames were set on, 

 which left a margin of 18 inches at each side. The bed was 

 then continued up outside the frames until it was level with the 

 top. This completed the making of the bed, which was not 

 so firmly trampled as the first one was. Before placing the 

 light on the frames, and immediately the bed was finished, 

 half a barrowload of half cow dung and half loam was put in 

 the centre of each sash in one of the frames, the other two 

 frames being intended for Melons. 



About a week before commencing these operations I half filled 

 a G-inch pot with drainage, and the other half I filled up with 

 leaf soil and loam. Four seeds were then placed in this about 

 half an inch below the surface. The pot was then plunged in 

 a gentle bottom heat in a pit, and the seed being good the 

 plants soon appeared. By the time the soil in the hotbed 

 was at 70^ the plants were just showing their rough leaves. 

 Many would have potted them singly then and grown them 

 into large plants before planting them out ; but I did not do 

 this. I turned them out of the pot, took a little of the soil 



with eich plant and planted them out in this state. The 

 result was that the plants with their small roots never felt the 

 change, and during the time they would in most cases have 

 been twisting their roots round a small pot they were sending 

 strong roots in all directions through the half barrowload of 

 soil and dung, and extending their leaves and shoots in pro- 

 portion. When the first fruit appeared two barrowloads of 

 the same rich mixture were added, and other two have been 

 added since. I do not place it in the frame to heat before 

 placing it against the roots, but I lay it at once against them, 

 and as quickly as possible water the whole with water heated 

 to about 8.5°. This warms the new soil, and settles it against 

 the old. Tepid water has always been used since at every 

 watering. 



Two plants were planted close together under each light ; 

 one was trained to the back, the other to the front. They 

 grew straight up in the direction of the glass, a distance of 

 15 inches, but before they pressed against it their point was 

 taken out, and that caused them to throw out a number of 

 side shoots. Those soon showed fruit at the next joint to the 

 main stem, and at the next joint beyond this the point was 

 taken out, and this practice has been adhered to ever since, 

 keeping them always well pinched, and never allowing the 

 leaves to become so thick that the soil could not be seen 

 through the glass. The heat has been well sustained in the 

 bed, and we only added a fresh lluiug two days ago. The first 

 fruit was cut about eight weeks after sowing the seed, and the 

 quantity that has been cut these last two or three weeks, and 

 the quantity on them at present, is something enormous. 

 Some days we have cut as many as twelve straight handsome 

 fruit from 1.5 to 20 inches long out of the two lights. The 

 fruit does not come in weakly ones or twos, but in bunches of 

 tens and twelves together. Scores of small fruit have been 

 thinned off to prevent the plants from fruiting themselves to 

 death, and with the assistance of strong manure water they 

 seem pushing out more fruitful and vigorous than ever. 



Air is admitted at the top of the frame when there is any 

 danger of the leaves scorching. They are seldom syringed, 

 but when they are watered it is done at " shuttiug-up time," 

 and a healthy cleansing moisture rises about the leaves and 

 obscures the glass. It only remains to be told the variety I 

 am growing, and put it in large letters, as you will never have 

 the chance of printing a better one — Telegraph. — A Kitchen 

 Gabdener. 



P.S — I have mentioned my practice at a time when many 

 amateurs and others have emptied their frames of bedding 

 plants, and will now be planting them with Cucumbers. The 

 system which I have adopted, and which has been successful 

 early in the season, will if carried out be the means of insur- 

 ing good crops of Cucumbers throughout the summer and 

 autumn months. — K. G. 



AUBICULA CULTUBE— HOSPITAL TEEATMENT. 

 As you expressed regret that I had omitted in my last com- 

 munication to describe my hospital treatment for sick Auri- 

 culae, I will now supply the deficiency. As prevention is better 

 than cure a few words on that subject may not be out of place. 

 And first I would say that the plants, which had been removed 

 to the north wall, have been taken back to their stages ; for 

 although ray stock has stood under the north gable for more 

 than twelve months without protection of any kind and have 

 all bloomed well, I attribute that good fortune to the " high 

 cality" (locality), as an eloquent ploughman said the other 

 day; for Cannock Chase is said to be the highest tableland 

 in England. But although from uncontrollable circumstances 

 my plants have been behind the north wall so long, I would 

 nevertheless caution every grower to guard against too much 

 shade and continuous rains, as this treatment has been the 

 cause of the death of many Auriculas. The unsuspecting 

 cultivator views his soft-grown plants with satisfaction, when 

 he is only deluded by a false luxuriance. The Auricula is 

 never so sound and firm as when every watering is thoroughly 

 evaporated, I mean when the surface of the compost is reduced 

 to a dusty condition; and the hotter and more tempestuous the 

 weather the more strictly should this method of watering be 

 attended to— instead of increasing the drainage of a eiok plant 

 to increase the copious floods of water. I do not water the 

 delicate growers until dust is an inch deep at least, yet these 

 never flag. With yours, my friends, the case may be very 

 different, but you may initiate your plants into this treatment 

 by slow degrees with perfect safety. Let me plead for the 



