86 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDBNEB, 



[ FebruBi; 4, 1869. 



Frost and Ice. — We ahonld be glad if anyone would fully 

 explain some of the peculiarities of the late froat, which at 

 5 feet from the ground on the morning of the 26th was 10° 

 below the freezing point, and with a wind which for five days 

 had scarcely moved from south to slightly south-east, and that 

 morning to the south-west, somewhat premonitory of the change 

 which so Boon came. The warm quarter of the wind was not 

 so singular as that in this neighbourhood, for the four or five 

 days of the frost's continuance, the sky was so overcast, foggy, 

 and cloudy that we scarcely saw the sun by day, or the stars 

 by night. The frost, then, which for a couple"of days or so 

 was rather sharp, could have been little influenced by the free 

 radiation of heat from the earth, as the dense clouds would, 

 lite a thick interposing blaaket, have arrested that radiation ; 

 and so far and so singularly was this the ease, that though roads 

 and soil were hard, so that we could scarcely drive a spade into 

 previously-turned-up ridges on the 25th, grass and even wood- 

 work, i-c, were quite free from the deposition of hoar frost — 

 80 green, in fact, did the grass look, that we could not believe 

 there was any frost in the morning, until our feet sounded on 

 the hard-frozen paths. We presume many would tell us that 

 this was a black wind frost, and, of course, we are well aware 

 that changes from heat to cold, as well as other changes, extend 

 to_ great distances in the atmosphere, and that these changes 

 will manifest themselves in places where there will be little 

 perceptible in the localities to account for them. If we would, 

 we cannot isolate ourselves ; we must be bound up and in- 

 fluenced by the world of matter and mind in which we live. 

 The frosts and snows of the north tell upon our atmosphere 

 iarther south. We knew that there had been severe cold in 

 the north, and expected to be influenced by it ; but we scarcely 

 expected such sharp frost for a short time with the warm 

 south wind driving the cold back from us, and all the ordinary 

 processes of cooling by free radiation almost entirely inter- 

 cepted. True, the soil was wet on the surface, and, therefore, 

 more easily frozen than when dry, but if there had been free 

 radiation the moisture on grass, &o., would have been frozen 

 first, and we should have had hoar frost instead of its almost 

 complete absence. To young gardeners the matter is impor- 

 tant, as much of success in working depends on seeing clearly 

 the rationale of performing our simplest operations. When 

 the stars and moon shine unclouded in a winter's night, and 

 more especially if the wind blows from the north or the east, 

 we look sharper to our houses and our protecting material, as 

 in such cases there is a free radiation of heat from the earth 

 and all that stands upon it, and therefore the surface, and the 

 dampest surface, will be the coldest. But if we had not 

 studied our own sensations, noticed the freezing ground, and 

 taken the trouble to look at our thermometers (a very simple 

 precaution, but which, like all simple precautions, is frequently 

 neglected), we might have depended on the thick clouds, or the 

 dense fog, as sufficient protection for our tender plants from any 

 attacks of frost, until we were rudely awakened by the demon- 

 strated results in the morning. 



Turned over ridged-up soO whilst the frost lasted, and when 

 we could we turned over ground previously ridged-up, not be- 

 cause we like turning down frozen soil deeply, but the merely 

 turning the ridges over did not placethe soil beyond the reach 

 of the next thaw, and because of all sweeteners and pulverisers 

 we think that a sharp frost is the best and cheapest. 



Influence of Frost un SnaiU and Slugs, die. — How often 

 have we heard it said, " Wo'n't this settle the slugs, snails, 

 grubs, and all these pests?" Now, it is unpleasant to disturb 

 such a belief, but we fear that facts and proofs do not bear out 

 such a desirable result. These annoying visitors may be 

 caught napping at or near the surface of the soil, and be frozen 

 in a sudden frost. Our own observation would lead us to con- 

 clude that their instinctive knowledge makes them more weather- 

 wise than even shepherds and meteorologists. We have seen 

 them in a mild afternoon, but we never discovered their frozen 

 bodies in a sudden sharp frost, either on the surface or a little 

 below it. On fields of young Wheat we have seen myriads of 

 the sUmy fraternity destroying the young plants, and we have 

 seen their ravages lessened by liming, sooting, and trapping, 

 and by heavy rolling when the surface was dry, so as to crush 

 them ; but we never saw one alive or dead in sharp frost, even 

 though it came very suddenly. Perhaps the greatest difficulty 

 we ever had with frost was in the last days of 1860 and the 

 first days of 1861, when the thermometer ranged about zero ; 

 and that which makes us recollect it so well was owing to the 

 giving way of a boiler, and our consequently having to stand 

 on a lofty glass roof the most of the bitter night, whilst others 



swept a light fall of snow, and carried it up in baskets to throw 

 over the roof to prevent the air becoming so cold within. With 

 a good fall of snow, or even with plenty on the ground to 

 shovel and carry up, it would have been but a trifling affair. 

 Ever since, we have kept a little rough hay in reserve every 

 winter, as in an emergency that would lie much better than 

 straw or long litter, and canvas, mats, &c., cannot always be 

 had. Well, with but little snow to protect the earth, and the 

 frost so severe as to kill Laurels and many of the most 

 approved species of the Pine tribe, that had shown them- 

 selves hardy in previous winters, it is a fact, so far as we are 

 concerned, that of all summers, the summer of 1861 was that 

 in which we were the most troubled with snails and slugs. 

 Since then we have depended more on catching and killing them 

 than upon winter's frost. 



FRUIT GAEDEN. 



If the stems of fruit trees become covered with 7noss and 

 lichen, the scraping these o£f with a little of the scaly bark, and 

 then washing the trees over with quickhme wash, will help them 

 to renew their youth. Even the limewashing itself will do them 

 good. In old gardens, where the walls are mossy as well as 

 the trees, a good washing with strong lime water or wash would 

 be advantageous ; but the best, if the wall is sound, is to wash 

 or syringe with salt water in November, as all the saline matter 

 will be gone long before spring, and the most of the mossy 

 growth will be gone with it. If the old walls, whether of stone 

 or brick, are decaying and mouldering away, it will scarcely be 

 safe to use the salt water, as that, whilst it remains saline, will 

 hasten the decay and cause stone and brick to crumble away 

 faster. On hard flagstones we have used salt and potash for 

 cleaning them with good effect and without doing any harm, 

 but on soft stone a month or two would elapse before the effects 

 would be gone. Stone, except the hardest, would soon be eaten 

 away with saline applications. 



Birds, owing to the mild weather, have not been so trouble- 

 some as usual with fruit trees and bushes, but they must be 

 looked to as the buds begin to swell. For bushes nothing that 

 we have tried is better than drawing them close together like 

 a faggot, and then syringing them over with limewash. An 

 old syringe will enable a man to whiten a great many very 

 quickly. 



In-door? in the orchard houses, not finding time to repot, we 

 have carefully taken away a couple of inches or so of the sur- 

 face soil and top-dressed, placing, as stated last week, a rim of 

 turf 3 or 4 inches above the rim of the pot. Zinc rims are 

 better for this purpose for amateurs who do their own work. 

 Though we should have preferred shifting a number of our 

 fruit trees, it is doubtful how long a tree may be kept healthy 

 in the same pot with the help of this top-dressing, and manure- 

 waterings when growth has freely set in. The pots, being 

 partly plunged, had previously all been raised, so as to break 

 any roots that had run through — a very simple and effectual 

 mode of root-pruning — and some handfuls of good rich soil 

 were placed in the bottom of the hole before the pot was re- 

 placed. We have some rather large Tom Thumb Pelargoniums 

 that, though increasing hardly anything in size, seem as yet 

 to bloom better and better every year ; and these plants must 

 have now been about twenty years in the same pots, and have 

 never been taken out of them. 



Transplanting Trees. — The high winds that have come and 

 may yet be expected, render it very desirable that all fresh- 

 planted trees should bo well secured by firming the surface, 

 staking, &c. When a fresh-planted tree is driven about, so as 

 to leave a hole near the collar, the roots are apt to suffer much 

 in consequence. A little extra care in this respect, and laying 

 out and packing the roots in layers, are anything but time and 

 labour lost. This additional care is more necessary when rather 

 large trees are transplanted, and the work should be finished 

 as it proceeds, leaving nothing to be done on a future day. 



We recollect a case in point. A number of fine trees were 

 to be moved, and the order of the day was that all were to be 

 moved, and placed in their fresh positions in one day, so as to 

 have the roots covered, and the work finished afterwards. To 

 get this done, men who knew nothing of the work had to be 

 pressed into the service. The work, however, was done, and 

 gave satisfaction to those more especially concerned. More 

 time and delay in doing the work were urged, but without 

 effect. Done properly, we should have been disappointed if one 

 In twenty such trees had failed. Done as they were, we should 

 have been surprised if the half of them had lived. Unfortu- 

 nately that same night a severe frost set in, and the thorough 

 replacing of the soil over the roots could not be accomplished 



