April 22, 18S8. ] 



JOUBNAIi OF HOBTIOULTOBB AND COTTAGE GABDENEK. 



281 



&mall*pots for six or seven yoara witliout boing ever repotted, merely 

 because wc could not find iimo, tmd therofn:o prcforred top-drcMSinK. 

 L:tat Boasuu with us was a tryint^ yuar. Wo wore obli^tod oitlior to lot 

 many trees parch up with dryness, or give thoin uiauuro water too strong'. 

 OwinR to the latter cause more blooms have dropped than usual, because 

 (growth was kept up too lonj,', and tho wood was not ho hard as it ou^'ht to 

 have been aftersuch a summer. Wo also neglected to fertilise artificially, 

 as we thought tho sun would do that for ua. Some of our trees will be s 

 little thin of fruit in couseiinenco. 



FEniT Trees Dvino (A Constant ,Su..«TikiT).— There is no doubt tho 

 attack of rod spider, so ihorouRh in the autumn, (trcntly injured the 

 young wood. The dressintJ them might also helo to injure tho buds, 

 itfasy shoots on our trees out of doors look something similar, but that 

 we Attribttte to want of nourishment last summer. The attack of red 

 spider in August, causing the leaves to fall then, in your case prcvcnt(;d 

 the wood being matured. 



ANOI.E OF GuEKNHoosE Rooi' (E. T.).— The flower enclosed is that of 

 Arabia albida variegata. For a house 13 feet wide, and for the purpose 

 indicated, the back wall should be at least 12 feet in heigbt, and the front 

 G feet, 4 feet of which should be glass. 



Boiler and Kafters of Vinekv (IF. B.).— If you can sink your stoke- 

 hole, so as to have the furnace bars 2 feet below the ground level, and 

 then raise the roof of the vinery 2 feet above the ground level, you will 

 have no ditEculty if you use a saddle-back or retort boiler. You will 

 have just as little difficulty with a flue if the Hue bo placed on tho raised 

 floor of tlie vinery. As water, however, may be troublesomeiu your case, 

 we would havo a small stokehole, but we would have the bottom and 

 sides laid with bricks in cement, and what will keep water in will also 

 keep it out. We recollect seeing the water up to the tiro bars in a surface 

 atokchole at Mr. Outbush's, at Barnet. and yet some few hundred yards 

 distant you would have to go down i;0O feet for water. You may plant 

 your Vines at once. If well established they will do very well planted 

 in the middle of May ; but if you cannot plant sooner, instead of turning 

 out of pots then, if a quick growth were desiral.le, we would shake the 

 plants out now and replant, with the roots spread out in little baskets or 

 boxes, removing the sides in the latter case at planting time, and turning 

 out baskets, &c., in the border just as they were. Those who supply you 

 with the rafter sash bars would, if they have machinfcry, charge little for 

 rebating, but, failing that, long slips, half an inch square, tacked or 

 screwed on, make capital rebates for the glass. 



Heating a Vinerv and Conservatory (R I.).— If flues answer so well 

 iu your neighbourhood, wc do not see why you may not thus heat your 

 three bouses. In the two end houses, 25 feet by 15 feet each, the flue in 

 each could enter beneath tho floor at back, go along the end next tho 

 conservatory, the front, round the other end, and thence into a chimney, 

 without interfering with the pathway. In the span-roofed cous-^rvatory 

 the flue could pass under the floor, .-^fo along the end, front, and other 

 end, and dip imder the floor again. With one chimney at the back of the 

 conservatory, and three furnaces there, you could do ; but in the two end 

 houses you would require to bring the flue along the back as well as in 

 front. In heating by hot water there need be no difficulty with the lime 

 incrustation, if a little carbonate of ammonia be placed at times in tho 

 water. Nothing could be more simple than having a small boiler for each 

 house ; but as every boiler is so far a waster of fuel, were we doing the 

 work we would nave only one boiler, and all things considered, as there 

 are three houses, an outjutting conservatory in the centre, and a fruit 

 house at each end, we would decide as to which of these end houses we 

 would wish to force earliest, and at that end, either at the west end of 

 the potting-shed, or the east end of the tool-shed, we would fix a saddle- 

 back boiler low enough for a flow and return pipe to pass all the way 

 under the pathway to tlo other end, prelerring tho pathway to be iron- 

 grated over the two pipes. This will enable you to heat one or more of 

 your houses fully as you like, as from these main flow and return pipes 

 you can taue pipes into each separate department, to be regulated by 

 valves or stop-cocks. You would thus, as a means of beating, have to 

 spend from £5 on a boiler, and have about 1-10 feet of piping, such as the 

 mains, for heating. You might thus have a little heat where yuu did not 

 want it, but that could bo neutralised by air-giving. Besides that, in the 

 first vinery, J akeu from these mains and above ground, you would require 

 three pipes round the ends and front for early forcing. In the farther or 

 later house two pipes would do, and in the conservatory two pipes. In 

 these houses the pipes could be placed at the sides, so as not to come in 

 the way of the pathways, however arranged. With piping at from lOd. 

 to Is. per foot, you can calculate on the expense. 



Lean-to Ohchard House ' C. M.). — We have looked over the_ plan of 

 tho proposed lean-to orchard house, and these are our suggestions and 

 answers:— The ventilators that occupy the half of the apex of the roof 

 will require to be from 20 to 24 inches in depth. If, however, you must 

 have more of them, the front ventilator, instead of going one-half, should 

 go all the way, if not more than 10 or 12 inches wide. Much air is 

 needed in these large-sqaared roofed houses. Fourteen feet is a good 

 length for a rafter, as you thus uso battens of that length without waste ; 

 bat if you use 20-inches-wide glass, we havo no faith in having two rafters 

 44 by il, and two between of 2 inches by 1 ',. Were wo putting up such a 

 house to-morrow, we would have the two end rafters and the centre 

 one in the house, 41 inches deep by 8 inches in width, which would thus 

 bind the house, anil all the intermediate rafters we would have 4J by 

 li inches. Even then an iron bar along the centre of the house longi- 

 tudinally, where you show the red line, would be needed, and at least 

 two pillars in the house to keep it up. The proposed height in front will 

 do very well. Rebates for puttying may be easily made as yon propose, 

 by tacking slips of wood to the centre of the rafters half an inch wide, 

 and halt an inch deep, which leaves plenty of room for glass and putty. 

 If you make your rafters weaker, you must use narrower gla53. Twenty 

 inches by twelve will be a good size. 



MoviNO Irish Yews [A. R).— Now is as good a time as any, taking 

 care to have a good ball of earth round the roots. 



Fertilising Aucdba Flowers (A SubacTibcr from the First). — " Y'ou 

 .are quite right in picking off the male flowers if the anthers are covered 

 with pollen ; it will be useless gathering them if the anthers are unripe. 

 I do not consider WTappiug thorn up in paper the most advisable mode 

 of preserving them, as they are liable to dry into a paste. After gather- 

 ing our flowers we pat them in a pill-box in which the pollen keeps very 

 well, and from which we gather it with a camel-hair brush, *= "-= 



Ab was 



montionod last week, all this trouble probably «ill eventoally prove un- 

 necessary, and by a judicious choice of varieties tho flowers will fertilise 

 llicmselves. At ihe present time all my tomilo Aucubas are in bloom, 

 and with tho exception of mas maculata all my mule blooms aro over. 

 This variety is now covered with buils and blossom in the open ground, 

 and is much superior to every other male tor fertilising purposes on 

 account of its large spikes of bloom opening at tho same time as the 

 female flowers. If vou t.>uch the pistils ever so slightly with the pollen 

 it will he quite suflloient, and no further attention need bo paid them. 



— GULIELMDS." 



Apple and Pear Spcrs Unkrcitful (iiencier).— It is difticult to ex- 

 plain why somo spurs on the Apple and Tear tree havo fobago only, 

 whilst others aro full of bloom : but tho former are natural, and the trCB 

 would very soon ceaso to exist if all the spurs produced bloom, and there 

 were no leaves except those produced at the base of the truit-bearing 

 spurs. The spurs having a bloom hud this year \iM never have another ; 

 but whether it fruit or not, its offloo is at an end with the year of its 

 expanding. Tho spurs for future fruiting must bo produced from its 

 base, or on another part of the spur or tree, and they take two, three, or 

 more years to undergo the natural transformation from a spur producing 

 foUag'3 only to one having bloom, and afterwards frmt. Now, if there 

 were none of the latter, there would bo few of the former, for though 

 bloom buds on both tho Apple and Pear aro occasionally the result ol one 

 year's growth, they are more generally, and with the beat of cultivators, 

 the work ol nature and not of man, tor two, throe, or more seasons. 

 They are useful because bv means of tho foliage they as«ist in the ap- 

 propriation of the food absorbed from tho soil and atmosphere, and 

 acquire from them that by which tlioy are formed into fruit buds : hence 

 vour conclusion that the wood spurs or buds aro not convertible into 

 fruit buds is incorrect. In a maiden plant there aro no fruit buds, and lE 

 there were no wood buds there would never bo any fruit buds. As to 

 grafting or budding from fruitful trees only, yo.i will, no doubt, secure 

 an earlier produ.e, but that will not give you trees without barren spurs 

 and we never saw all fruitful spurs, or all fruitful buds on a tree without 

 the next year seeing an entire absence of bloom and fruit. We think no 

 good will come of yonr proposed experiment except the securmg in two 

 or three years' time what you might cftect in one. by stopping or judicious 

 summer-pruning, and root-pruning, along with the thinning of the spurs. 



Apricot and Peach Blooms not Settikg (S. M. ^■'■->y,« c^" o?Jy 

 account for the Peach and Apricot blossom not setting by its not being 

 sufficiently protected from the cold weather wo have lately experienced 

 though froni its not looking healthy it is probable that the buds owing to 

 the drought of last season, were not suflic.cntly matured, which a few 

 good waterings in dry weather might havo prevented. 



British Ferns for Area (Eas(&o.,r,i6l.-Asplenium trichomanes, 

 A. viride, Blechnum spicant multifldum, Cystoptens fragilis, Polypodinm 

 vul»are cambricum, and Scolopcndi-ium vulgare multifldum. 



HEDvcHinM Treathient (M^O.-The plant should now be i-opotted U 

 it require a shift, using a compost of two parts sandy hbrous loam and 

 one part peat or leaf mould, and affordmg free drainage. PlJ^e it in a 

 greenhouse or vinerv, give it a light airy position, and I'^eP "' !T°" '"P- 

 pUed with water until tho growths are complete; tlj^^STaduaUy lessen 

 the supply, and in winter keep tho plant dry, but not so much so as to 

 cause the foliage to decay prematurely. 



WooDLicElK Tan (H. ir. i?.).-Nothing barbourstlioso pests so much 

 as tan. They are best kept under by placing a few ''""'^ '° "■..'^''.'Jf Vliffla 

 tliey may be trapped by placing a boiled potato wr.apped ligli'ly in a litt^la 

 dry bay at the bottom of a small flower pot, laying the pot on its side n 

 the evening iu places frequented by the wood ice Examine the pots in 

 the morning, and shake the woodUce secreted in the hay into a bucketful 

 of boiling water. 



Sowing Camellia Seed (An ^ma(f»r).-Now is a good time to sow 

 Camellia seed, but it would have been better sown m March. Two parts 

 sandy peat and one part light loam, with a '■'ee."'!";'^''"''. «' '^'?; [P,'"?^; 

 are a suitable compost. They will succeed if Placed in a Cucumber 

 frame, the seed being sown in pots plunged in the Uotdeo. 



CLEANING Marble Statuary (O-ai'^roiD.-Your question ought to Mve 

 been answered last week, but your letter was mislaid. Take of common 

 soda rounded a quart, powdered chalk a pint, and P°"°4«i »/ I'™*^"* 

 rmmirestone sifting all through a fine sieve. Mix with water to the con- 

 sUUncy of paste rub the marble aU over with the paste, and then wash 

 with soap and water. 



CUTTING BACK A LAURUSTINUS HEDGE (IT. T. G. P-'-F/Oi^.'^^ g^- 



senttime up to the middle of May is the bes P";"* ' .;'^,,f"*V°S„"? * 

 Laurustinus hedge ; or the operation may be deterred ,1 til {"^e bloommg 

 is past. The hedge may be cut-in to any extent, as the plant bears cutting 

 exceedirgly well. , 



Planting Filbert Trees (Jdwi). -'The best time ff Pl='°t f-^*'"'? '| 

 in autumn or early in winter, after the leaves have fallen; and p anting 

 may be performed up to March, but the earlier ,t is done the bette.^ The 

 trees should be planted 10 feet apart every way, JP^ 'l'«5' ,fP."^> 

 trained erect, heading them over at 18 inches from 'l^f 8™"°"'' 'f'^^^f 

 with one upright stem, and removing a 1 suckers ,f t^"?, i!' »?"• j^j^l 

 last is a most important point in tho cultivation of the Filbert, if not the 

 most important. . , 



Grapes IE. S., Chelseal-Tbe substance on the rods of the Weswith 

 a • woofly covering and blood under the substance," is probably ^eric^ 

 blight, though it may be mealy bug. To '^v^ n^jie ^"«' 5^°° |h°nl^ 

 ha?e sent us a specimen. Both may be ?'J*"■y'^'^,^5' ''™'''"l,,'''bug or 

 afi-ected with Gishurst compound, Clarke's preparation for mealy Bug, or 



Fowler's insecticide. 



Stopping Rochea falcata (Wnii).-You may stop t^e plant mitd the 

 end of June to make it more bushy, but it will not fl"f" until the 

 following year. We cannot say that it would flower this year if not 

 stopped, hut wo think not, as it is only 1 foot in height. 



CUCUMBER CULTURE (A Ncv Siiiwribfr) -Thcro will bo some djfficulty 

 in properly attending to your frame, as you are "''^-^nt '"" » *■». to 

 ip^M,, and from 2 P.M. to 5 p m. ; but you may ™';^,';^f '°'"»"S"e'^ *"?J 

 this period, for at 8 a a. yon may give air, if . *^,'*'^'y '° 'l\if.°fi °7' "^ 

 such nnanlitv as will Prevent scorching until 1 P.M., and at tnaltime you 

 af re^dTe o? i^ci^asf the opening as may b" -qui>ed partjal y re^ucmg 

 the ventilation at 2 p.m., and finally closmg at five clock , but could you 



