January 14, 1839. 1 



JODENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



33 



in March, and early in April well scratch the surface with an iron rako, 

 and then sow tbo bare phicoa with the foUowiuf» :— Festuca ttuuifolia. 

 4 lbs. J Festuca dimusculji, 4 Uis. ; Poa nemomlis. -Jibs. ; Cynosurus cris- 

 tatus, 4 lbs ; Trifnliuni ropens. 4 Ibe. ; nnil Trifolinm minn^-, fi lbs., iu 

 mixture for one iici-o. The bare places should have considerably more 

 seed sown over thom than the other p'lrts of tUo lawn. After sowing; 

 Civo a good rolliu;^', and neither mow nor roll for si;: weeks; then teep 

 the grass mown and well rolled. 



DivromG Aubrietia and Aradis {S. U.).— Yon may divide them now 

 in mild weather, bnt the operation is best done after flowering, and early 

 in autumn or at the end of summer. 



Protecting Hyacinths in Borders (Tdrm).— You may give a top- 

 dressing of leaf mould or cocoa-nut refuse about an inch thick, placiut; 

 it all over the surface and close to the folioge and Epikes. but not over 

 them, and in severe weather put a little dry straw over the pLmts, remov- 

 ing it whenever the weather is mild. During the present mild weather 

 such protection is not only unnecessary, but positively iejurious, as it 

 makes the foliage tender and blanches it. 



Wintering Verbenas in the Open Ground (Idem). — Verbenas can- 

 not be wintered safely in the open gi'ound by a covering of cocoa-nut 

 fibre refuse or any other covering. The old plants, even if preserved, are 

 not to be compared to young plants, either for growth or blooming. 



Taking up Gladiolus Bolbs (Jdt-ni), — In stiff, heavy soils the bulbs 

 are best taken up when the foliace begins to decay, keeping them in a 

 cool, dry place, and replanting in March ; but in light, well-drained soil, 

 and mth a mulching of lunf mould or cocoa nut iibre refuse the bulbs 

 nro best left in the soil, taking them up only when, from the increase of 

 roots by oflfsets, they become too close ; and this should be done early in 

 March, replanting the same day, and making a proper division of the 

 large blooming bulbs and the offsets. The latter should be planted in a 

 bed by themselves to gain strength. 



Compost for LiLtunr auratcsi (Nott i nffhamnisia). — Two parts of tnrfy 

 loam, one part sandy fibrous peat, and one part old dry cow dung, well- 

 rotted mnnure, or leaf mould, with a free admixture of sharp sand. 

 Good drainage should be provided, and the pot three parts filled with 

 soil ; then put in the bulbs, covering their crowns to the depth of about 

 an inch. They may then bu placed in a cold frame, and the pot plunged 

 to the rim in coal ashes, or it may be placed in a cool, airy part of the 

 greenhouse, affording it a position near the glass when the stems appear ; 

 when they are a few inches above the rim of the pot, the soil should be 

 lop-dressed with the same compost as that used for potting, bringing it 

 nearly level with the rim of the pot. The plant should have a plentiful 

 supply of water when gi-owing, increasing the quantity as flowering ap- 

 proaches. A ligbt. airy position in a greenhouse is suitable, or a cold frame 

 will answer for growing the plant for a time, placing the pot out of doors 

 after May in a position sheltered from winds, and removing it to the 

 greenhouse for flowering. The flowers will also open well out of doors if 

 the cliraato is good. After flowering the plants should have no more 

 water than enough to keep the soil moist and prevent premature decay of 

 the leaves and stems. These, when yellow and dead, m'ly be cut ofi" and 

 the bulbs repotted, keeping them moist during the winter, but not very 

 wet, in a structure from which frost is excluded, or plunge the pots to the 

 rim in coal ashes in a cold frame, afl'ording protection dui'ing severe 

 weather. 



Watering Mesemehyanthemoms (An Amat<:ur).~yeTj little water is 

 required by this tribe of plants at present, an<l to winter them safely 

 only a little should bo given occasionally to keep the foliage or stems 

 irom flagging or shrivelling. Occasional waterings will therefore he 

 necessary, especially as the plant is in a room where there is a fire. 

 Guard against making the soil very wet ; keep it dry rather than wet. 



Fungus on Lawn {H.E. 5.).— Probably an application of salt wonia 

 destroy the mycelium of the fungus ; it may bo applied at the rate of six 

 bushels per acre, but we are not quite certain whether it would in that 

 quantity injme the grass, which is afiectcd by salt injuriously moro 

 readily than many other plants; but to have any efl'ect on tho fungus 

 less salt must not be applied per acre. Perhaps it would he well in the 

 first place to give tbo lawn a good soaking with lime water, made by 

 mixing 12 lbs. of lime in thirty gallons of water; stir well, and when tho 

 liquid has stood for two days give the lawn a thorough soaking, making 

 holes, if necessary, to allow of its entering tho soil. You may in a few 

 days follow with a good watering of salt WHter, half a pound being dis- 

 solved in three gallons of water and applied to the parts of the lawn 

 attacked by the fungus. In such parts make small holes about 3 inches 

 apart and 6 inches deep, and fill them with the lime and salt water. 



Native Vines of India (J. L., Bath).-~More than thirty years ago 

 Col. Sykes introduced into this country, through the Horticultural So- 

 ciety, several varieties of Grapes from tho Beccan, India, including the 

 Hubehep, having a very singularly-shaped cylindrical purple berry, with 

 firm, sweetish flesh. All of the varieties have been fruited at Chiswick, 

 but none of them were appreciated for their flavour, being too fleshy and 

 wanting richness. Only one of the varieties is now grown at Chiswick — 

 viz., the Ahbee, a very beautiful blush-coloured sort, but of poor flavour. 

 The Hubshee is, however, still in the country, as we recollect its being 

 exhibited a year or two ago. Perhaps Home of our correspondents will 

 inform *' J. L." in our columns of its whereabouts. This class of Grapes 

 is more commonly known in England under the designation of " Finger 

 Grapes." 



Muscat Grapes (Idevi.). — The Fruit Committee of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society, five or six years ago, on a comparative trial of all tho 

 difi'erent named varieties of Muscat Grapes at Chiswick, arrived at the 

 conclusion that there were onlv two really distinct varieties — viz., the 

 Canon Hall, which is very distinct, and has no synouymes; and the 

 Muscat of Alexandria, which has a multitude of synonymes. The Bowood 

 and Passe Muscats seemed just to set their fruit a shade better than the 

 others, but all are of tho same earliness, so that it matters little which 

 named variety be used. This does not, of course, include the small, 

 round Muscat Grapes of the French. Tottenham Park Muscat is tho 

 true White Muscat of Alexandria. 



Artificial Manure for Parsnips (B. B.), — Three hundredweight of 

 guano and 10 cwt. of superphosphate of lime per acre, spread on the 

 surface and turned down to tho bottom of the trench, according to tho 

 Jersey mode of deep ploughing for Parsnip culture. 



Bones for Manure (H. T.]. — Put the bones into a cask in layers 

 alternately with caustic potash. This will enable you to crush them 

 easily and improve tho feitihsing quality. 



Fruit of Monstera deliciosa {M.F.].—li may be added to the dessert 

 as a variety, but there are pointed crystals in the pulp which are very 

 disagreeable in the month. The fruit ripens in about twelve months, 

 and must be quite ripe before eaten. To enable it to be so, it is a good 

 plan to tie it to the nearest leafstalk. We should merely place the fruit 

 on fern leaves in the dish to aiTange in the dessert. Its flavom* is some- 

 what like that of tho Pine Apple. 



Names of Plants (E. M. B. (7.).— We think it is Cupressus torulosa, 

 Bhotan or Twisted Cypress. (P. P.i.— Lapageria rosea and Cyperus al- 

 teruifolius variegatus. (W. G.).— Chimpnanthus fragrans gi-andiflorus. 

 (3/rtr//),— Esostemma longiflorum. {J. F. C, Chapeltoicn).—\. Galega 

 officinalis; 2, By cuttings of the young terminal shoots. (TT'. ^.).— 

 Lastrea Filix-mas. (TT. jB.).— 1, Adiantnm affine; 2, Adiantum capiUus- 

 Veneris : 3, Adiantum cuneatnm ; 4, Nephrodium (?i ; 5, Pteris sulcata; 

 6, Nephrodium decursivo-pinnatumC?) ; 7, Asplenium fontanum; 8,Asple- 

 nium adiantum-uigrum ; y, Ardisia crenulata {K. crispa). 



meteorological observations in the Suburbs of London for the week ending January 12th. 



POULTRY. BEE, AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



TRIMMING F0\VLS AT SHOWS. 

 The Bristol and Clifton Poultry Show taking place just after 

 the publication of the recent protest against trimming, I 

 naturally felt very great interest as to whether anything would 

 be done. I am happy to say that, so far as I could see, there 

 did appear to be a desire on the part of the Judges to check 

 the practice, and, though not so far as I could have wished, the 

 grossest cases did appear to be — not disqualified, but passed 

 over in a marked manner. In particular, two of the very best 

 adult Brahma cocks were unnoticed, for the only apparent 

 reason that they were much plucked about the hocks, as the 

 same Judges had awarded them prizes at a previous show. 

 Several excellent Buff birds whose tails had nearly disappeared 



were also passed, and, as a rule, the Game fowls and Bantams 

 whose hackles were closely plucked were not to be found in tho 

 prize list. I noticed with interest and pleasure Mr. Crog- 

 land's cup pen of Duckwing Game Bantams ; after the closest 

 scrutiny I could find no reason to think a single hackle had 

 been removed, and many of the prize Game fowls were in the 

 same condition. 



There was, however, much to cause regret. Hardly a single 

 Buff cock had his tail entirely left, and partially trimmed hocks 

 were seen in all the feathered breeds. In at least one case a 

 Polish crest was badly plucked, and several Spangled Ham- 

 burgbs had been trimmed about the breast to make them 

 lighter. In the Game cock classes halt-denuded hackles were 

 very general. 



Still, I am thankful for what I saw ; and with regard to the 

 future, as the Judges seem to have discouraged the practice, I 

 and those who are with me are willing to wait further, and 



