112 



JOURNAL OF HORTICOLTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 11. 1869. 



the vinery, and the Vines in the greenhouse wonM come in with gi-een- 

 honse heat a^iout Septembi?r. As you cannot dig down for a furnace-hole, 

 owing to -water, we would at once do away wilh all your difficulties about 

 the path, crostinp, &e , by j-lacing the fornacc and boiler outside at the 

 back Wfll], opposite the propoeed division in the bouse ; and then with a 

 T-junction fixed on, and a flow and return, and a stopcock for each division, 

 you could keat each place aei-arately. or both tof-ether. In each case we 

 ■would take the pipes across, along tbe front, in-ilo of tbe pathway, along 

 the farther end, and if you liked along the back to the boiler. The pipes 

 would thus be all under the singe fur plants. You can have the plan 

 returned if you enclose a ready-directed and stamped envelope. 



BoELEH (.7. Lees).~There is nothing new in your idea of a boiler. It is 

 just a tubular saddle-back. The simpler boilers are the better. The 

 more joints the more danger of leaking. 



Swellings on Apple-tree Shoots (T.). — Tbfy are the consequences 

 of tbe punctures inflicted by the Amtrican blight (Aphis lanigora). The 

 parent aplides are now wintering on the roots of the tree, and will 

 re*appear in the spring. 



Queen Anne's Pocket Melon (A Constant Eeader).~ATiy seedsman 

 who advertises in our columns could obtain it for you. It is worthless as 

 a fmit. 



Budding Roses (A Novice).— *^ Scrape away the earth, and when the 

 skin will run bud the Rose in the old wood of the stock, not in the wood 

 of the current year. If, however, the stock wiU not ran, hud the Ro^e in 

 the wocd of the current year as low as you c.iu. The Hoses called Noi- 

 settes take their name from Philip Noisette, who iniroduced them. The 

 term is applied to cluster-flowered Roses. Some, however, of the family 

 are Noisette in family but uot in character.— W F. Radcltffe." 



Grafting and Pruning Roses (A Subscriber from the First).— ''1 do 

 not practise grafting. I prefer Roses budded, as the wind, when the 

 union is not intimate, is apt to break the tree down. The time, I think, 

 is come to prune Roses. If tbe frost should cut ufl'the shoots, other eves 

 will break to take their place. I do not think we prune our Roses early 

 enough for theii* good.— W. F. Radcltffe." 



Potatoes with Long Sprocts (Sutton Abbott).-*' Unpack your Myatt's 

 Prolific Potatoes immeliately and carefully from tbe dry coco i-uut dust; 

 leave one shoot only on each" tuber, and then lay them s'ingly on the floor 

 of the loft for a week or so, to allow the young shoots to gain sturdi- 

 ness by becoming slightly greened If there aie at band two or more 

 dozen flower pots which measure from 10 inches to 7 inches in diameter, 

 wash them clean, put in drainage, cover it with 2 inches of light rich 

 soil neither wet nor dry, and place one good-sized Potato, or two if small, 

 nponit. Be careful not to break or damage the shoots, which must be 

 keld in an uppight position whilst filling the pot with earth to ^v-itbin half 

 an inch of the brim. Tbe 12-incheslong shoots must be siven to tbe 

 deepest flower pots ; and if they can be placed in an orchard house and 

 be duly wiitered and protected irom frosts, doubtless you would obtain 

 early Potatoes much sooner than your neighbours unless they forced 

 their crop. In lieu of flowerpots and the orchard house, you may em- 

 ploy boxes drained and filled with soil, plant tbe tubers in them, and 

 place them out of ihe reach of frost in any sunny corner. In this case 

 plant tbe tubers about a foot apart, and to keep up a succession plant 

 more in a warm border at the usual distances, but lay the long shoots in 

 sloping, and do not cover them more than 3 inches deep, leaving an inch 

 or two of the crowns of the young shoots peeping from the soil. Of 

 course, ihef e must be protected with mats, &c., as occasion may render 

 necessary.— Up WAHDs and Onwards." 



Gardenia Culture (M.B.).— The Gardenias require a stove tempera- 

 ture, and should have a light and rather airy situation, keeping them as 

 near the glass as practicable. A compost of two-thirds sandy fihrous 

 peat, and one-third light loam from rotted turves, with a free admixture 

 of silver sand, will grow them well. Good di-ainnge is necessary. Any 

 potting that may be reiiuire.i should be done as soon as the plants begin 

 to grow, giving but small shifts, and not potting too often, at- they do not 

 flower freely unless the pots are full of roots ; indeed, if overpotted they 

 make too much gi-owth, or the soil becomes saturated when there is a 

 large mass of it, and it is owing to tbe inactive state of tbe roots that 

 the buds are so liable to go off. To obviate this, some consider bottom 

 heat necessarv, and it is very desirable to give the plants bottom beat 

 when makiua new growths, .ind when they are desired to swell their 

 buds for blooming, encouragiug them with a moi>t bent, and a plentiful 

 snpply of water, both when growing, and forming and swelling their 

 bads. At no time ought they to be watered before the soil requires it, 

 as nothing is so injurious to them as keeping the soil in a saturated 

 state, and yet water should be supplied before the foliage flags, and in 

 sufficient quantity to show itself at the drainage. It is essential to 

 secure a good g'-owth. and have it well matured by exposure to light and 

 air and diminishing the supply of water ; also to afford a slight increase 

 of temperature and mild bottom beat to bring them into bloom. 



FiNE-FOLiAGED PLANTS FOR OuT-DOOR Fernert (St Dennis) — The 

 following may suit you for the summer months only : — Agave americnna 

 aoreo-variegata, Agapanthns umbellatus variegatns, Aralia Sieboldi vari- 

 egata, Arundo donax variegata, Bnmbu^a Fortuni variegata, Drac-ena 

 australis, D. Veitcbii, D. EHnksii, D. Ftricta (fenea variegata). D. draco, 

 D. terminalis, Cordyline indivi^a, Eurva latifulia variegata, Hydrangea 

 japonica variegata, Osmanthns ilicifohns aureu'' variecatus. and O. ilici- 

 folins variegatns, Phormium tenax variegatnm, Rhapisbumilis v^iriegata, 

 Saxifraga Fortnrti, S. sarmentosa, S. tricolor, Serissa fcet'dn variegata, 

 Veronica Anderson! variegata, Yucca aloifolia variegata, and Y. filamen- 

 tosa variegata. 



Su^TROPic.'.L Plants for Small Bed (Hem). — Acacia lophantha for 

 centre, bard round of Canna zebrinr., another band of Phormium tenax, 

 and a third band of Acanthus latifolius, edged with the Pelargonium you 

 name. Perhaps the fin. st green-fo iaged Canna is musnefoba ; g gHu'tea 

 major having gi'een leaves, and grandidora flonbunda having dark foliage, 

 are also fine. 



Ground Vinery (/(fem^—" The Vine Mannal" has a chapter on the 

 ground vinery, and a drawing of one. It may bo had post free from onr 

 oflSce for thirty-two stamps. 



Roses for a Pillar (Scofu«).— "For a pillar facing westi—JVliite : 

 Acidalie or Marguerite Bonnet. Red : Due de C -zes or Charle* Lefebvre. 

 Acidalie may not open in Scotland. If a small flower is not objected to, 

 Almee Vibert would do. Aa Pierre Notting does not open well in Scot- 



land, and Jules Margottin does not give you satisfaction, supply their 

 places with Alfred Colomb and Antuiuo Ducher. Madame Charles 

 Crapelet, fine, but not quite full, would be sure to open. G^utral Jac- 

 queminot is a good Rose for you, as it is a sure opener, and quickly 

 reproduces its blooms. Whether tbe Rose or Manetti is planted in 

 spring or autumn, after it is established, as a rule, reduce it all over one- 

 third. If the plant is small you mu'-t use your own judgment. General 

 Jacqueminot would make a good red pillar Rose.— W. F. Radcltffe." 



Lawn Mower (T. Re dfein). —They all do their work well if properly 

 managed. We cannot recommend any one in preference to the others. 



Cyclamen persicuh (G. Edgerton). —Yonr eeedlings twelve months 

 old, whether we consider the size and tints of the flowers, their profusion, 

 or their bold elevation above the handsome foliage, are some of the best 

 we evtr saw. 



Heating a Vinery (A. Bryan).— It your vinery, containing 4680 cubic 

 feet, is at all lofty, the two 4-inch pipes all round will not be sufficient 

 for very early forcmg, but would do if beginning from January to 

 February. To begin in November the piping would require to be in- 

 creased from one-third to one-half. 



Hays"s Patent Stove (R. J. S.),— We do not know where fael for it can 

 be obtained. Peat charcoal, perhaps, would answer, and it is made some- 

 where iu the north of England. It ought to be advertised. 



Flower-garden Plan (Fn(c(»«l.— Both proposed plans are good, but, 

 if anything, we prefer No. 2, provided the 4 and 5 beds of Cftlceolariaa 

 are edged with purple or silver, as low-growing Verbenas of that colour. 

 The plan then would be unique. (R. W.).—'So. 3 is the central clump; 

 and as you propose to edge it with Lobelia, all the five clumps would have 

 dark edgings. Suppose you were to plant thus, with the materials you 

 have— No. 3, Tom Thumb Pelargonium, band of Bijou ; 2. 2. Cloth of 

 Gold, edged with Oxalis tropa;oloides ; 1 and 4, Centre of Delphinium 

 formosum with two or three plants of Ageratum mexicanum, to make 

 sure of the grey blue until fro6t, then Trentham P^ose Pelargonium, then 

 Stella, fronted with Ribbon Grass kept low, and then a good band of blue 

 Lobelia. We would not trouble about raising Cuphea eminens from seed. 

 You will succeed well with the Lobelia in your dung bed, but had better 

 sow soon. You may move the Thorn tree now, but you would be more 

 sure of success next October or November. If you move, take care of the 

 roots. See last week's " Doings." 



Melon Frame iA Subscriber).— Vfc consider 8 feet too vride for a move- 

 able frame, and would not recommend a greater width than 6 or 7 feet, 

 and we think 3-feet liiihts quite large enough, though yuu may have 

 them 3 feet G inches. The frame should be 18 inches deep iu frtut, and 

 2 feet 3 inches at the back, but the hotbed out»ht to be higher or deeper 

 at back by 1 foot than in front. The Melon we do not Itnow from the de- 

 scription given. 



RiviNA L.^vis Culture (Id^m).— It is an evergreen undersbrub, and 

 needs an intermediate house or a stove temperature. The seeds may be 

 sown now in sandy soil in a brisk bottom beat of 75^, and in a correspond- 

 ing top beat ; when the seedlings are a few inches high prick or pot them 

 off singly in small pots, and grow tbem in the stove, taking out the points 

 of the plants when they are from 3 to 4 inches high. As often as the 

 pots become full of roots transfer the plai ts to larger pots, and afford a 

 light airy position in the stove or vinery, stopping tho shoots frequently 

 so as to produce a close compact plant. In winter keep dry, but hot so 

 much so as to affect the foliage, and in February shake the plant out of 

 the soil and place in a smaller pot ; if the plaLt is at all straggling prune 

 it well in, and encourage gi-owth with a gentle bottom beat and moist at- 

 mosphere. Shift the plant into its blooming-pot when that into which it 

 v.'as shifted in February becomes filled with roots, and see that the shoots 

 are kept in order, but shortening ought not to be practised after May. 

 The plants have white or pinkish flowers, which are succeeded by orange- 

 coloured berries, and it is the latter that constitute its chief attraction. 



Lawti Weedy and Bare (Thornton Heath).— It is not necessary to 

 mow the lawn before scratching with an iron rake, and top-dressing ; but 

 we think it desirable to give the lawn a light raking after sowing the 

 lawn grass and Clover seeds, and then roll well. 



Various (A. Y.). — Anemones require a good, rich, light soil. There are 

 two seasons for planting, October and the end of January. Those who 

 plnnted at tbe former season will now have good i)lants with prettyfn- 

 dented leaves. The plants should now have a top-dressing, if not already 

 given, of decayed leaves or leaf mould, which need not be more than 

 about half an inch thick. It will afford some protection to the roots and 

 foliage. If planting has not been already performed 't must not be 

 longer delayed. Phint 2 inches deep, and from 7 to 9 inches apart, 

 pressing lightly and taking care to place t e right side upwards. Ranun- 

 culuses delight in a deep, rich, heavy, and moist soil, but it must be well 

 drained. It is now quite late enough to plnnt,butit may yet be done. 

 The best manure is cow dung, though well-rottej hotbed manure will do, 

 but for lijht soils cow dung is very desirable. Yucca filawentosa is, in 

 most situations, quite hardy, and requires a moderately-rich well-drained 

 soil. We do not know of a process whereby it may be induced to flower. 

 The Pam/ios Grass should have a compost of two parts loam from turf, 

 one part leaf mould, and one part weU-rotted manure ; and there should be 

 no stPgnant water in tbe soil. In summer water freely during dzy weather, 

 and once or twice a-week with liquid manure. 



Holly in Flower (A. Henderson). — It is rather unusual for the Holly 

 to flower at this season, but similar instances are not rare. 



Grass Close to Stems of Evergreens (P. H.)-— Tt is well to allow a 

 small space of soil around the stems of evergreens on grass for a time 

 after planting, but the bare spaces do not look pleasing, and after two or 

 three years the grass should be allowed to grow aroimd the shrubs as 

 closely as it will. 



Pelargoniums to Flower in June (W. Archer). — You will not have 

 any difliculty with the vigorous plants lately received, as you should now 

 stop tbem, nnd again at the end of March or early in April, shifting them 

 into their blooming-pots early in April, and you can retard tbem by 

 placing them in a cold pit iu May, aud shade from bright sun so as to 

 keep them cool. 



Plants for Wall in Conseevatoet and Stove (S. C. Hincks). — For 

 the conservatory — Luculia gratissima, Hai ruthiimuus elegans, Cestrum 

 aurantiacum, Tacsonia Van-Volxemi, Lapageria rosea, and Passiflora 

 Clowesiana. For stove — Allamauda grandiflora, Cissus discolor, Stepha- 



