32 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 14, 1869. 



ribbon borders in the kitchen garden at Loughcrew in Ireland, 

 but the fine green hedges at their back did much to make up 

 their attractivenesB. Even the long winding borders at En- 

 ville, more lately noticed, would have been robbed of much of 

 their beauty had they been vvithout the fine background of 

 Hollies and Laurels. We have anxiously desired for some 

 time to notice the gorgeous flower garden at Woburn Abbey, 

 last summer, perhaps for its size, the most perfect and striking 

 development of the grouping system we ever witnessed ; but 

 even there the rich ribbon borders that were felt to be such a 

 relief after being dazzled by the more blazing parterres, owed 

 much of their witchery and loveliness to the charms of the 

 contrasting green drapery behind them. 



The conclusions at which we would wish others to arrive as 

 well as ourselves are these : — When a shrubbery is full grown 

 and to be looked at as an element of beauty in itself, it should 

 be irregular and picturesque in outline, with the grass or moss 

 finding its way into every recess. Secondly, when the shrubbery 

 is inteuded to add grace and beauty to the rows or beds of 

 flowers in front of it, the outline of the shrubbery may be 

 regular to suit the regular lines of flowers. Both plans may 

 be carried out separately, consistently with regard to the most 

 refined taste ; but it should never be forgotten, that in the latter 

 case the shrubbery or background lends an interest to the 

 flowers, at the expense of robbing itself in turn of so much 

 separate interest. In summer it becomes a secondary object, 

 in winter its very regularity deprives it so far of picturesque 

 beauty. As an element for increasing the interest of a ribbon 

 border there can be no doubt of its value, or if there is, our 

 readers must settle it for themselves, by deciding under what 

 circumstances they have themselves derived the greatest iJlea- 

 sure.— R. E. 



CO VENT GARDEN MiUlKET.— January 1:3. 



Vert dull trade, and supplies more than sufBcient for the demand. 



B. d. B. 



Apples J^ sieve 1 6 to 2 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 10 IR 



Currants }-^ sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooseberries .. quart 



Grapes, Hothouse, .lb. G 



Lemons 100 4 



Melons each 2 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranpea 100 2 



Peaches doz. 



Pears (dessert) ..doz. 2 



Pine Apples lb. 3 



Plnms 3"i sieve 



Quinces doz. 



RflspberrifS lb, 



Strawberries., per lb. 



Walnuts bush. 10 



do per 100 1 



d. B. d 



0to6 

 



6 

 

 6 

 5 

 

 1 

 



16 

 2 6 



VEGETABLES. 



Artichokes doz. 



Asparagus ino 



Beans, Kidney per hd. 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brns. Sprouts ^-i sieve 



Cabbape doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Canli flower doz. 



Celen- bundle 



Cucumbers each 



Endive doz. 



Fennel buncli 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish ., bundle 



8. d. 8. d 



8 0to6 

 7 10 





 

 5 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce .... per score 

 Mushrooms .... pottle 

 Mustd.& Cress, punnet 

 Onions . . , .per bushel 



Parsley per sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas perquart 



Potatoes bushel 4 



Kidney do. 4 



Radishes doz. bunches 1 



Rhubarb bundle 



Sea-kale basket 2 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach busbel 2 



Tomatoes, . . . per doz. 1 

 Turnips bunch 



d. 8. d 



4 too 6 



4 







3 3 



7 



4 



9 1 

 



6 



7 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



B. S. Williams, Victoria and Paradise Nursery, Upper Hollo- 

 way, London, N. — Descriptive Catalofiue of Flower, Vegetable, 

 and Agricultural Seed&j t£-c., for 1869. — List of Bulbous and 

 other Boots. 



W. Paul, 'WaUham Cross, London, N. — Select List of Vege- 

 table, Flower, and Farm Seed.-i, Gladioli, &c. 



R. H. Poynter, Castle Green and St. John's Nurseries, 

 Taunton. — Catalogue of Garden and Farm Seeds^ and Nursery 

 Stock. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until nest 

 week. 



Books (D. 7I/.1.— There is but one horticultural dictionary, " The Cottapre 

 Gardenprs'." It can be had from this office free bv post if you enclose 

 7s. "Id. in stamps with your address. (J. B.).— Mr. W. Paul's "book, " The 

 KoBe Garden," can be obtained through any bookseller. 



■Wire Baskets TOR a Conservatory (I». JT.).— Anyof the wireworkers 

 or wholesale florists who advertise in our columns could supply you. 



Eggs of Insects (J. D., Ilford).— The eggs like a broad band of Rmall 

 bends round the branch of your Peach tree were laid by a Lackey Moth, 

 Clisiocampa neustria. The motu only flies at night; the caterpillars 

 congregate together, forming a nest, and feed on the leaves of the tree. 



Erecting an Ice House (C. H. M.). — You must have overlooked our 

 answer, for we remember replying, and referring you to our number pub- 

 lished February 7th, 18fi7, for the plan and description of an ice stack; 

 and to the number published November 36th, 1S67, for the plan and 

 description of an ice house. 



Vines Unfruitful — Reconstructing a Tinery (A Constant Header), 

 — Very likely the wact of success with the Vines maybe owing to tho 

 number of plants kept in the house, and at all times ; but if tbe Vines 

 have done no good for seven years, and even for a long tiuie previously, 

 it shows that the roots havo also something the matter with them. The 

 lights, if so good, would be equally serviceable for a new house, and if tbe 

 wall is not high enough for the length of lights, yoi might have the 

 house wider and a hipped roof at back to join the ridge board for your 

 present lights. For a vinery to be forced, we wouid prefer the roof to 

 have one slope, and the garden wall to be raised. You could then havo 

 Peach trees against the back wnll. but to do them justice your Vines 

 should be at least .^j feet apart, and kept to one stem, spur-pruned. You 

 will do no good with Peaches if you have stages in the house for plants, 

 so as to keep the light from them. A flue round each end and along the 

 front of the house would bo ample. In such circumstances we would 

 not think of lifting the old Vines, better plant young ones. Plant inside. 

 Arches may be 3 feet wide. Pillars may be used, and a wall plate laid on 

 them. 



Planting Flower Beds (D. B. C). — In your plan the clumps 6 are too 

 large for the other beds. Wc prefer oval to diamond-shaped beds. The 

 planting will do very well. In ,/i(7. 1 we would centre with Porilla and 

 edge with Lobelia next tho Cineraria, and then in 3, S, we would edge the 

 Variegated Pelargoniums, if white prevails in the leaf, with Ircsine 

 Herbstiikept low. Of 4, 4, and 5, 5, we would plant two with Amplexicaulis 

 Calceolaria, and two with Aurea floribunda, as proposed. 7, 7, Cloth of 

 Gold does not in general do well in bright sunshine. 9, 9, would be beau- 

 tiful, if you are warm ennygh for Culeus. Gnaphalium lanatum will do 

 well from seed, and so will the Cineraria, a small packet giving a mul- 

 titude of seedlings; but we prefer plants from cuttings to seedlings, as 

 the latter are always rather green during the first season, and not 80 

 white as plants from cuttings. 



Plants DAMPiNa-oFF (.\'mrt«). — We think the " Cottage Gardeners' Dic- 

 tionary," which you can have from our office free by post for 7s. 2d., will 

 suit you, as it gives concise but full particulars of the culture of the 

 plants you"liame. See "Doings of Last Week," page lii, as to damping 

 among plants. You need have no difficulty if you can give plehty of air, 

 and a little dry heat from a flue or hot-water pipe. Clear the damped 

 leaves away, stir up the surface soil of the pots, wash the pots if at all 

 greasy outside, give no more watering than will prevent flagging, and in 

 these dull days put on a rather brisk fire for two or three hours, and give 

 air top and bottom. It is difficult to keep " damping " from cold frames 

 and pits in such woatbcr, and especially if the watering is not as care- 

 fully performed as if tho water were the best champagne— without spilling 

 a drop. Even in cold pits damp may be prevented with this care, fre- 

 quent picking, and moving the plants. Moving plants, if set in tbe 

 same house, turning them round, &c., will do them good ; and if in this 

 weather they can be sot so far apart as not to touch each other, all the 

 better. 



CucuarBERS Mildewed {W. H.).— Vse more dry heat and more air, but 

 not so much of the latter as to distress the plants. Dust the worst- 

 mildewed leaves with flowers of sulphur, and use sulphur freely on the 

 walls, &c. Cucumbers would need little syringing in such dull weather. 

 It would be better to give less heat, so that the heat should be propor- 

 tioned to the sunshine. 



Amaryllises (/n7uirer).— The best notes on their culture are by the 

 late Mr. Beaton in vol. ix. of "The Cottage Gardener," our first series. 

 The Rev. Mr. Herbert published a botanical work on Amaryllids. 



Names of Contributors {J. TTcsiu'Dod).— We cannot state what yon 

 require. 



Evergreen for Screen (Sj(TiTiy).— The best of all is the common Yew, 

 and though plants of good size are expensive, yet they are certain to 

 please, and we think in your case are necessary, as you must have a sub- 

 ject that will bear any amount of trimming, and there is none equal to 

 the Yew in that respect. The American Arbor-vita; is of a brownish hue, 

 and perhaps inferior to tbe Asiatic Arbor-vitse, which is of a better 

 green and of denser habit. Both, however, form good screens, and bear 

 cutting well ; but they have a peculiar brown aspect, that in a design 

 such as yours appears to he, is anything but desirable, for the outlines 

 should be distinct and decided in colour. A shrub of the latter descrip- 

 tion is the Colchian Laurel, of a shining bright green colour, of pyra- 

 midal close habit, very hardy, and which bears cutting well. It is much 

 superior to the commou Laurel, and we think a screen or hedge of it will 

 answer your purpose well. Plants of good size may be had at a mode- 

 rate price, for which consult our advertising columns. 



Pruning Roses ildcm).— The best time to prune Roses of the Hybrid 

 Perpetual class is during mild weather in February, or if the weather be 

 then severe, pruning may be deferred until the beginning of March ; but 

 we prefer, weather permitting, to prune Roses from the middle to the 

 end of February, never pruning when the shoots are frozen. 



Custard Apple Fruiting {A Surrey Subscriber). — We do not anticipate 

 your plants from seed sown last March will produce fruit for five or six 

 years yet ; but we are not prepared with any reliable data, and shall be 

 glad of any information on the subject. It was fruited at Earl Powis's, 

 Walcot Hail, Shropshire, in 18ii3. Directions for culture are in the num- 

 bers of our Journal published May 14th and August 27th, 1868. 



Sowing Grass Seeds on a Lawn (G. T. £.).— The best time to sow 

 lawn grass seeds is early in April, when there is a prospect of rain soon 

 falling. The plnces to be sown should be well scratched with an iroa 

 rake, especially those which are bare, and on these it would be well to 

 scatter a little" fine soil if you do not wish to go to the expense of top- 

 dressing the whole lawn with old rotten manure, mixed with an equal 

 quantity of soil. If, however, a top-di-essing be determined on, apply it 



