262 



JODBNAIi OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( AprU 15, 1869. 



New hothonse Grfipes are now very f^ood. and Strawberries more plen- 

 tiful. There are large importations of new Potatoes from Malta, Lisbon, 

 and the Channel Islands, sellinp at from Ad. to la. per lb. 



B. S, B. d 



Apples li sieve 3 to 4 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Cheetnnts bnsb. 10 16 



Currants }r, sieve 



Black do. 



PiCS doz. 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 







1 







1 e 



Gooseberries . . quart 

 Grapes, Hothouse.. lb. 10 '20 

 Lemons 100 i 8 



g. d. s. d 



Melons each 2 to 5 



Nectiirines doz. 



Orances 100 4 



Peaches doz. 



Pears (dessert) . . doz. 



Pioe Apples lb. 8 



Plums ^;i sieve 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Striiwbprries oz. 9 



Walnuts bnsb. 10 



do lOO 1 







12 











12 







1 

 16 



2 



VEGETABLES. 



Artichokes doz. 



Asparagus 100 



Beans, Kidney . . hd. 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Bras. Sprouts }.2 sieve 



Cabbage '. doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Cacttmbers each 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish ..bundle 



3 

 5 

 1 



1 

 

 1 

 



8 

 S 



1 G 

 

 3 

 S 

 8 

 3 

 3 



Leeks bnnch 



Lettuce score 



Mushrooms. . . . pottle 

 Mu6t(i.& Cress.punnet 



Onions bushel 



Parsley sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Sea-kale basket 



Sbiillots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Turnips bunch 



s. d. B. 



4 too 

 10 3 



1 

 2 

 8 

 3 

 9 





 6 

 

 6 



4 

 4 

 1 



6 



2 



8 

 2 



1 

 4 



d 



6 







1 6 



S 

 12 



4 



1 

 



6 



7 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Books (TT. Birrf).— There are three we rocotnmen'l for the yonnp man. 

 f-* The Cottage Gardeners' Dictionary ," and Keane's "In-door" and 

 * Oat-door Gardening." Yon can hive them free by post from our office 

 if yon enclose 10s. prf. in postftso stampp with your address. 



Rape Cake {I. C.).— Common oil cake will answer as well as rape cake 

 for foiling the wiroworm. 



Potted Peach Trees and Vine3 (HrtiAuf?!/).— We purpose publishing 

 Bome details next week. 



Haresfoot Fern (E. B. B.).— The generic name is Davallin. 



Vines fop. a Small Plant Hodhe (D. J. /?.).— None better than the 

 Bl&ck Champion and Black Hamburgh. We Itnow of no special mode of 

 heating by burning mineral oil. 



Bones as a Garden :Uanure (E. R. P.).— As yon have no crushing 

 machine, you may employ the American morb> of reducing the bones to 

 powder, and which mode increar.es the fertiUsing power of the bones. 

 Place ft layer of bones singly in a tub, and sprinkle tbem thoroughly over 

 with caustic potash ; then add another layer "f bones and sprinkle tbem 

 with potash, and so on until von have a sufficient quantity. Cover the 

 tub. The bones will bo friable in a few days. Wood ashe's will act as 

 well ns the caustic potash, if you cover each layer of the bones with 

 2 inches in depth of the ashea. 



Ferns for a Border under a Greenhouse Stage (A Fii^e-veam Snh- 

 scrfber).— In the border beneath the stage you mav, if there is sufficient 

 light, grow some of the commoner Ferns. Twelve that would be likely 

 to succeed are :— Pteris serrulata, P. creticn albo-lineata, Nephrodium 

 molle corjmbiferum, Sc 'lopendrium vulgare multifidum, Asplenium 

 mannum, Elecbnum spicunt cristatnm. Acrophorus hispidus, Pteris 

 serrulata cristata, Lomaria L'Hprminieri, L-'^trea glabella, Lastrea acu- 

 minata, and Davallia canariensis. Surface the border from end to end 

 with Selagmella denticulata, and plunge the pots to the rim in the 

 border. 



Sowing Primula sinensis (S. J.K—To have plants in flower at Christ- 

 mas the seed should be sown in March, and not later than this month to 

 have good plants, placing the seed pot or pan in a mild hotbed, so as to 

 have the plants up soon, and growing them in a greenhouse on a shelf 

 near the glass, or in a cold frame in summer. The latter is preferable. 

 A compost of equal parts of turfy light Io.hiu, sandy fibrous peat, and 

 leaf mould, with one-sixth of tilver sand, -.-ill grow them well, good 

 drainnge being provided. 



Alocasia Lowii Culture (Tdem).~Tt requires a compost of one-half 

 sandy fibrous loam, one-fonrth sandy turfy p. at, and one-fourth consist- 

 ing of equal quantities of charcoal in pieces from the size of a pea up 

 to that of a hazel nut, leaf mould, and silvr sand. afTording good drain- 

 "Se, and using the compost rather rough, but tearing it well in pieces 

 with the hand, and well mixing the whole. Pot when the plant begins 

 to grow, and encourage it with a moist atmosphere and a heat of from 

 65" to 70^ at night, and from 75'^ to 0" by day. the latter temperature 

 from sun heat. Aflbrd but a moderate amount of air, keep the plant 

 well supplied with water when in active growth, and shift into a larger- 

 sized pot by or before June. In winter keep the plant rather drv, but not 

 so much so as to cause the leaves at any time to flag. Slight shade from 

 very powerful sun is beneficial. The winter temperature should be 60''' 

 at niffht, and from 70^ to 7i° by day. The flowering of Eranthemum 

 rnbronerrium (Gymnostachyum Versohaffelti), is not uncommon. 



Peach Trees Unfruitful (A. H.).— Though there is an absence of 

 all the facts we should like to know, yet as the Peach trees in your houses 

 are so healthy and luxuriant, but produce little bloom, and that f:il1s 

 without setting, we have no donVt that the trees are too vigorous, and 

 that the wood is not ripened suffitiiently. As preventives of such an evil, 

 we would water less, give a hii^h temperature and dryish in the autumn, 

 to ripen the wood, giving less air then. If these means should not be 

 Btifficient we would raise and replant the trees at the end of September 



or beginning of October, watering the roots and shading the trees that 

 the leaves might fall gradually. Much might be done duriog the summer 

 by removing or stopping near home vieorous shoots, so as to obtain wood 

 about the size of a quill, which will have a better chance of being tho- 

 roughly matured than stronger shoots. 



Seeds from Japan and Australia (R. ?tf'.).—Wc do not recognise the 

 seeds, bit as they are from Japan we should sow them now in a compost 

 of two-thirds lonm and one-third sandy peat, pla^^e them in a hotbed, 

 and when they como up keap the plants there until they are fit to pot-off 

 singly in small pots. After potting return the plants to the hotbed for a 

 time until established, and then remove them to a light, airy position in 

 the greenhouse, sliifting them into pots a size larger as often as those 

 they are in becume filled with roots. The Erythrina from Australia may 

 be sown singly in small pots in a comport of two parts loam and one part 

 leaf raoull, with a free admixture of Hand, placing it in a hotbed and 

 treating it as above until October, then kef^p it dry during the winter, but 

 not so much so as to cause the shoots to shrivel. In February cut it 

 down, and place it in a hotbed, potting when the shoots are a few inches 

 long, and when the plants have become re-estalilishi^d remove them to a 

 light, airy position in the creenhouse, and shift th*^m into the blooming 

 pots in May. Sow the Helichrysum in a compost of two thirds sandy peat 

 and one-third light loam, draining the pot well, and placing it in a house 

 where there is a gentle heat. Be careful not to overwater, and yet keep, 

 the soil moist. When tho plants are up keep them near the glass and 

 admit air freely, potting when largo enough, and forwarding them in the 

 ereenbonse. The Ipoma3a is probably an annual, therefore sow the seed 

 in pots in the compost named for the Erythrina, place them in a bottom 

 heat of 75*^ or S)°, and a eoiTcsponding top heat, and when the plants are 

 up and well hardened off remove these to a greenhouse, shifting them 

 into larger-sized pots as necessary. They should have a light, airy 

 position. 



CORONILLA. CyTISUS, AND DEDTZIA AFTER FLOWERING (JJus/il.— The 



Coronilla and Cytisus should have whatever pruning is necessary, and 

 be potted in a compost of two-thirds turfy loam and one-third sandy 

 peat or leaf mould, with a free admixture of sharp snnd, providing 

 perfect drainage. Sprinkle the plants overhead twice a-day with water, 

 and keep them well supplied with water at the roots, affording a light 

 airy position in tlie greenhouse When a good growth has been obtained 

 keep them in tlie greenhouse, or, better, remove them to a sheltered 

 position out of doors. In the latter case toke them into the greenhouse 

 at the end of September. The plants should not be placed out of doors 

 until the middle or end of .Tune Syringe the foliage well in dry weather 

 to keep down red spider. The Deutziip should be kept in a light airy 

 position in the greenhouse and well supplied with water, or be put after 

 flowering in a cold pit until danger from frost is past, and then be 

 placed out of doors in an open situation, plunging the pots to the rim in 

 coal ashes, and giving a good supply of water. There they may remain 

 until wanted for forcing, and should then bo fresh potted, but we repot 

 ours in October, and remove them to a cold frame, protecting thorn from 

 severe frosts by a covering of mats over the lights, and by keeping the 

 pots plunged to their rims in coal ashes. We can only attribute the 

 falling of the Cytisus flower buds to a deficiency of water, or an attack of 

 red spider. 



Iris from Egypt (Tdem).~The Iris from Egjq)! we should think 

 will soon begin to grow, and we should continue it in the hotbed till the 

 foliage appears, and then remove it to a greenhouse, affording it a light 

 and airy position. 



Watering Plants (Constant Subscriber) — It is always an advantage 

 to have a tank in a plant house, as if filled often, and the water left for 

 some time before being used, the temperature of the water will approxi- 

 mate to that of the house. This fur common greenhouse plants would 

 be sufficient ; bu*. for tender plants taken into the greenhouse, or where 

 plants are forced, it is always advisable to have the water warmer than 

 the temperature of the house— say, if the average temperature of a house 

 is from 65° to 70-, the water should be about H'T, This is best secured 

 by a hot-water pipe through the tank, otherwise by adding warm water 

 to that which is colder. More cou!d bo done with warmed water than is 

 supposed. 



Cineraria Seedlings (Amor JvsHcict). — All the flowers were quite 

 withered. 



Bark Running (i?. Walpolc). — Any gardmer would have told yon that 

 the bark is said to run, when it can be separated easily from the wood so 

 as to admit the bud. 



Grub in Turnip Seed (T. Garnett).~-lt is the larva of the Turnip- 

 Feed weevil, Curculio flssimilis. The larva of the Turnip fly or flea is 

 never found in the seed. 



Potting Camellias (S(ancocfc).— We would advise potting the plants 

 at once. After potting place them in heat, sprinkling with water over- 

 head twice a-day, and by frequent sprinklings of the paths, floors, &c., 

 maintain a moist atmosphere, watering the plants sparingly, but yet 

 keeping the soil moist until the root^ are working freely in the fresh 

 soil ; then water more copiously, affording the p ants slight shade from 

 powerful sun until the growths are complete, and then expose them fully 

 to light and air, having the foliage dry before the sun shines powerfully 

 upon it. A temperature of from 50'' to 55^ »t night, and from 65'- to 70"^ 

 by day, with a rise from sun heat to 8 •'^ or 85° is suitable for the Camellia 

 when making new Growths. Of the plants sent f )r naming, 1 was de- 

 stroyed by the poat-office punches ; 2, is Coleus Blumei ; 3, Farfugium 

 grande. 



Bottom Heat for Pine Apples [Idem). — Pine-Apple plants will 

 endure a great amount of bottom hpat. We have known them subjected 

 to a temperature of l^O , and often to 9f>^. but a heat of 85^ is the maxi- 

 mum of bottom heat that is required, and o'lght never to be exceeded. 



Heading-down Newly-planted Fruit Trees (F. W. R). — Yournewly- 

 planted maiden and tnined fruit ttt-e^. ought to be headed-down at once. 

 the maiden trees being cut down to within 12 inches of the ground, and 

 the trained trees should have their leaders cut back for the production of 

 side shoots at the proper place, and the s de shoots may be shortened if 

 they need to be increased in number or vigour. 



Liquid Manure {Idem). - Ju'iging from what you say we should not 

 hesitate to apply the liquid undiluted to fruit trees and other crops, as it 

 cannot be very strong. If you havo any doubt, however, upon the subjecti 

 you may dilute it with an equal quantity of v.'ater before applying it to 

 all Uiud.s of kitchen garden crops and froit trees. 



