270 



JOUENAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



r April 22, 186» 



100', ancl as it was modified by the tifiany I had no red spider 

 to ccnteud with. 



The last discussion has been npon bottom heat, with which 

 all my vineries are provided, and I do not regret the expense. 

 This question of expense was, I think, the point ; but the 

 most noticeable feature of the discussion was the free way in 

 which the oppocents of bottom heat nsed the names of the 

 successful prizetakers at the London shows to prove that it 

 was not required, and the discreet silence of these gentlemen 

 themselves. Who can blame them '.' We have no right to 

 compel them to tell how their success is attained.^ — G. H. 



THE CULTURE OF LILIUjM AURATUM. 



Pkoccee the bulbs early in January to start with, and if a 

 Buocession is required, leave a few to bring in in the end of 

 February, taking care that they do not commence to grow before 

 potting. 



The soil I find they prosper in is one-half fibry peat and 

 the same quantity of good turfy loam (that which has been 

 taken off a pasture, and laid up in a heap for some time is 

 to be preferred), with a fair sprinkling of silver sand, all 

 well mixed together. Employ clean oinch pots, well drained 

 with small pieces of charcoal, placing a little moss over the 

 drainage to prevent the soil from working through ; then fill 

 the pots up with the prepared compost, press the bulbs singly 

 into the soil of each pot, and cover them entirely. Water 

 with a fine-rosed can after potting, and then place them in a 

 cool pit, taking the precaution of not over-watering, and at the 

 same time not allowing the soil to become too dry. 



When the bulbs have pushed an inch or two high, and the 

 pots became fall of roots, repot in Sineh pots, carefully tum- 

 the bulbs out without disturbiniz the ball, and merely remov- 

 ing a portion of the drainage. The plants will soon attain a 

 vigorous growth, and more attention must be paid to watering 

 them, giving more water as the plants grow, and when approach- 

 ing to blooming a little weak manure water applied to them 

 twice a-week will greatly assist them. After flowering, gradually 

 lessen the watering weekly. 



When the bulbs are at rest, they should be placed in a cool 

 dry pit, not allowing the soil to become too dry, otherwise they 

 are apt to shrivel. — H. C. 0. . 



DOUBLE WALLS OF GLASS. 



Aftek having tried for many years nnmerous plans and 

 experiments for the protection and cultivation of tender fruits, 

 1 have come to the conclusion that the double wall of glass is 

 the most simple, satisfactory, and economical of all of my 

 inventions. The ground vinery I did not like, as I had to look 

 down on the fruit, and also had some drfficulty in thinning it ; 

 and for Grapes I improved on this plan, and brought out 

 the cylinder vinery, and glass screens to be placed opposite 

 walls. All these have now been superseded by the glass wall, 

 which has not only proved a satisfactory invention to the 

 public, but to myself, a very difficult person tc please. These 

 walls are made of an indestructible material which never 

 requires painting, and in the glazing there is no putty for the 

 frost to destroy ; they are calculated to last one hundred years 

 without repair, barring breakage of glass, a square of which can 

 be replaced in a few minutes. Within the last five months 

 I have altered the plan of glazing entirely, so that during the 

 late high winds no square of glass has been displaced or broken 

 in any of the cylinders or screens. 



This invention is very simple but most efficient. Each glass 

 wall somewhat resembles the glass screen to be placed before a 

 wall, only tnat each glass wall inclines inwards, and is placed 

 opposite the other, so that the base of the wall is 6 feet 6 inches 

 wide, and the opening at the top 2 feet 9 inches. A path 

 runs down the centre, with a raised border on each side. The 

 fruit trees, or Vines, being trained on a trellis under the glass, 

 the whole when seen from one end, with the fruit on each side, 

 has a very business-like effect. The incline forms a sort of 

 coping whii-h prevents the frost affecting the bloom ; light not 

 only surrounds the fruit, \ihich becomes coloured and of a 

 piquant flavour all round, but every leaf is subjected to its 

 influence, and has extra quality given to it, and without this 

 quality we cannot ripen fruit in the highest state of perfection. 

 The temperature during sunlight is 6° higher than that of the 

 cylinder, which again is 10° higher than the external tempe- 

 ra'ure. 



Thtse walls may be carried round kitchen gardens, or they 



maybe made in lengths of many hundred feet; and thns a 

 crop of fruit is not only secured, but we have a good walk out 

 of the wind with the pleating effect of fruit on each side. It 

 is not exactly the form, which does not differ much from the 

 cylinder except in being inclined, but it is the simplicity of 

 structure, as well as the economy and dmability, which I now 

 claim. — Oeserveb. 



POTTED PEACH TREES AND VINES. 



I HAVE never seen anything published relative to the treat- 

 ment of pot Vines and pot Peach trees that an amateur can 

 understand. I have no doubt that I am very stupid about 

 gardening, as I have bought every book I can lay hold of, and 

 still I am deficient in knowledge of what I want to know. For 

 instance : ray Peaches are falling, although they have set well 

 in largo quantities. I well syringe them twice a-day, I 

 have mulched the roots, I water them very often, and 1 give 

 them plenty of air. I light fires at night about eight o'clock 

 for the benefit of the Vines. Is it possible the heat is too 

 great ? Then, again, when I light fires at night can I give air 

 as well, and ought I to do so ? Do pot Peach trees require liquid 

 manure ? What kind is best ? How is it made ? and How 

 often should it be given, both to Peach trees and pot Vines? 

 If you would only give a short article about these matters, 

 entering into full particulars, you will oblige many amateurs 

 as well as myself. — HALF-rAv. 



[It we were to turn over our volumes we think we could 

 direct you to plenty of specific information such as you want, 

 but that we may more readily meet your case, we prefer writing 

 a few sentences, even if they should be a repetition. 



As to Vines in pots, the best way is to raise plants from 

 single buds, inserting them in the first days of the year, each 

 in a small pot, in a strong mild heat, and to repot as soon as the 

 pot is fell of roots, repeating this repotting and giving bottom 

 heat until the plant is in a 12 or 15 inch pot. Then encotuage 

 growth with plenty of light, and ripen the wood well. Best 

 the Vine in a dark place after the leaves are yellow, and start 

 it when deemed necessary. For early forcing such pot Vines 

 are again better of bottom heat; but for later work they do 

 very well in the temperature of the house in which they grow, 

 be it vinery. Peach house, or orchard house. The chief object 

 to secure is that the roots shall not be in a colder medium than 

 the expanding buds. Good plants are obtained more easily, 

 but in ft longer time, by not growing them so fast the first 

 year, and cutting them down and growing them the second 

 year for well-ripened wood. 



In whatever way the plants are obtained, if you take a heavy 

 crop the first year, the Vines will not be worth their room 

 afterwards. If you wish to have the Vines in pots continued 

 year after year, you must be moderate in your fruit demands, 

 say four or five hunches from a strong plant. Such a plant 

 well treated will ripen fruit and ripen wood. If the plants 

 bear a heavy crop, the wood has no chance for another year. 



Kow, if you had told us how and where you grow your Vines, 

 we would have given minute details, but as it is we can go no 

 further than general rules, such as 



1. Never repot a Vice in a pot before commencing fruiting 

 it ; that repotting should have been done in the previous sum- 

 mer or early in autumn. 



2. Top-dress a pot Vine before forcing it, or growing it for 

 fruit — that is, remove a little of the surface soil without injur- 

 ing the fibres, and replace it with rich compost, such ns two 

 parts of fibrous loam and one of sweet rotten dung. On the 

 surface of this you may safely place half an ounce or an ounce 

 of superphosphate of hme, or ground or bruised bones, the 

 fertilising matter of which will wash down with the waterings. 



3. In early forcing a little bottom heat will be useful. If 

 the plants are to come on gradually, and merely under the 

 influence of the season, this is not necessary. We would say 

 the same as to syringing ; if we started these Vines in Decem- 

 ber or January, or earlier, we would moisten the wood to canse 

 the buds to break freely. If we intended these Vines to break 

 with little more than the natural heat in March and April, we 

 would trouble little with syringing the wood if the floor of the 

 place in which the pots stood were moderately damp. 



4. It is always an advantage for the thorough ripening ef the 

 wood of Vines in pots that the soil should be rather dry in the 

 last stages of growth, and be kept dryish, not dust dry, whilst 

 the Vines are at rest. In setting such Vines growing at any 

 time, water should be communicated by degrees, and always a 

 few degrees warmer than the soil, until all the soil be moistened 



