April M, 1M9. ] JOORNiL p? UqiVnOULTUHH AND .OOTJAPH GiUJJfiiWKU. 



297 



or an old hotbed, there need never be maoh want of bottom 

 heat for suoh purposes. 



or.NAlIK.-: .AL riErAKTMENT. 



We have Iiad much mowing, digging, sowing, moving, potting, 

 temporary pl.iulinf, .Vi. 



Jlosf liotin'. — Lust wevii we HlluJed t.> a house fir Eoses, 

 and in a northern or colli lii'trict we wou!.! prefer a iean-tu. 

 We would then ii.ave tlie moat tenJer IVa, Xoisetle, and 

 Terpetual Ko3es against the back wall ; nnd if the greatest 

 variety in the space were aimed at, we would have Rood single 

 plants in pots in the front border. We think f jr an unhealed 

 house the lean-to would thus have great ndvantases. For a 

 span roof we could hardly succeed so well without a mode of 

 heatinj;; but a 8|iau-?0"fed house would have the great advan- 

 tage that we c juld walk comfortably round it, have a bed in the 

 centre, and one on each side, where we could always see or 

 gather the tiiiest Hoses in perfection, uuinjiired by winds or 

 rains. Wo have often resolved to give Eoses another day out 

 of doors, and the weather made them unsuitable for our pur- 

 pose. We hope to see roseries and even floiver gardens under 

 glass. A small space thus protected, thoroughly ventilated, 

 but from which storms of wind and rain could be excluded, 

 would yield more satisfaction than ten or twenty times the 

 space entirely at the mercy nf the elements. How often have 

 we known men working hard, and for much extra time, to put a 

 large garden in good order to meet the scrutiny of some visitors 

 of the heads oi the establishment, and a drenching rain shortly 

 before their arrival would make flower beds, Eoses, ,to., look 

 as misernbly as they possibly could do, and reiuiring several 

 days of line weather before they were passable. A glass roof 

 would have saved all the auuoyance, and, whatever the weather, 

 there would be a delightful promenade. There is a sort of 

 charm in going uuder a glass roof, even though there is nothing 

 very particular to see. 



iio?e Cuttinjs. — There being certain sorts of Eoses that we 

 were anxious to increase, we made cuttings of some of the best 

 of the pruning?. We had previously prepared a slight sweet 

 hotbed, and a number of small pots, well drained, .with a little 

 sandy loam at the bottom, and then filled with drift road sand. 

 The best cuttings now are small firm side shoots, from 2 to 3 or 

 t inches in length, that can be slipped oft close to the older 

 wood, and cut there with a sharp knife. Whether one or two 

 joints, or young shoots, on this older piece be left, it is im- 

 portant that no leaves of any large size should remain. On 

 such older wood wo have even nipped out the point of the 

 young shoot, and trusted to the incipient buds that were sure 

 to come from the base. These cuttings of tlder wood should 

 be inserted for most of their length in the sand, leaving only a 

 bud or two above ground. When the young shoots of the 

 current year's growth were more advanced than the pruniugs 

 we have just taken, such as would be found in many established 

 Eoses, we have often struck the young shoots of the present 

 spring, wl'.en they wer-i from o i'> raTuer less ih^u 1 in'.;}i^3 in 

 length. But these were treated dill'ereutiy. The young shoots 

 were slipped oS from last yeir'.-i wood, with a little heel of the 

 older wood at the bas^. That was neatly dressed, and all the 

 leaves cut off clean from the young shoot, except the small ones 

 at the point. The cuttings were then put into similar pots, and 

 in silver sand, but planted as shallow as they could be, so as to 

 be firm. They were generally set in the hotbed, and then were 

 plunged in a few days. Damp aud confined air were the chief 

 evils to be guarded against, and that was most easily done by 

 giving a little air to the frame or bed, night and day, tsking it 

 away only when the sun shone brightly, and shading or sprink- 

 ling them to prevent a cutting flagging. With attention to 

 these matters of detail, Eose cuttings even now may soon be 

 made into Eose plants. For the time, however, they would be 

 better of being placed in a very mild heat for ten days or a 

 fortnight, and of being removed into a brisker heat afterwards. 

 One of the surest means to cause a failure is to keep them in a 

 close, warm atmosphere at night. A quarter of an inch of an 

 air-openiug at the top of the sash or box will often make all the 

 difference between failure and success. 



Pu'rmanfnt Edpirtfis for Fhncer Bed-^. — We have commenced 

 with these, and will try to finish them in a few day.s. Bat for 

 a stress of work they ought to have been done earlier. For 

 instance, we shtill have some long lines of Cerastium where it 

 was last year, and it has stood the winter well. We were half 

 inclined to out it in on each side and let it stand, but several 

 times we have been annoyed with blanks at the wrong time 

 when we have thus acted. We preferred lifting the edging, 

 taking a spit out where it stood, placing that on the border, and 



replacing it with well-aired pulverised aoil from the bed or 



I border, and then breaking up tlin old plants into pieces with 



I roots, and planting the row afreKli and rather thickly. We 



have never fnilcd to form a fresh, regular, uniform row by this 



; plan, and it is sure to bo broad enough btf ire the season is 



over. When thus replanted, aud so late, it wants bat little 



trimming during the se;iEon. 



Ti'itpirani Untlii'ils.^'We were pressed for a place for for- 

 warding some small plant^, and in which to sow a lot of tender 

 and half-hardy annual.<. We had some frames over Potatoes 

 ; that had been several times fingered over, but still too good to 

 be trusted to the weather; the frames aud glass were taken 

 ! off, a rail placed back and front on pota, and wattled hurdles 

 ; laid over at night. A layer of long litter was used as a foun- 

 dation, next a layer of short grass as hot as it could be, then 

 a layer of litter to keep the heat down, and, lastly, (i inches of 

 , leaves and old hotbed dung on the surface, and a few inches of 

 dry ashes. For a temporary sweet hotbed no'hing could be 

 i better, and by the time the Potatoes, itc, are gone, and fresh 

 beds made in their place for other subjects, the frames can bs 

 lifted back again. Fur suoh purposes light frames are in- 

 valuable ; they are so easily miived. A few weeks inside of 

 , such a frame make all the difference between early and late 

 , Celery, aud as st.ated last week, hall-hardy annuals thus helped 

 and gradually hardened-off, are liable to fewer casualties than 

 ! if sown earlier. We thus often make beds and fill them in a 

 few hours, without any previous preparation of the materials. 

 The main point is the thickness of the sweet surfacing. 

 j Moi-iiiff licdiKiit] Plants. — The Calceolarias moved into earth 

 pits lately, are growing remarkably well, and are mostly ex- 

 j posed during the diy. There need be no hurry in finally trans- 

 I planting such plants, as they will lift with balls, aud scarcely 

 . feel the moving. We have been obliged to dig out Celery 

 trenches to have our plants moved into them. We lately 

 ; stated that we put great numbers of bedding Pelargoniums into 

 : pieces of turf, and set them on the Vine borders. Many of 

 ' these we have moved into earth pits and Celery trenches, as 

 i the turf is fall of roots, and the yonug healthy fibres are 

 hanging all round it like a wig. We moved a lot of the most 

 forwaril, because the loss of these roots, if they run freely into 

 the dung and leaves, would cause the plants to suffer when 

 finally transplanted. We think of moving a lot more of the 

 Pelargfiuium tribe, which will bo ia fine condition for planting 

 in about a month, and we shall do little in the way of final 

 planting before that time. With good plants not curbed in 

 pots, but growing freely in the prepared ground, and a well- 

 aired, heated soil to turn them into, a few weeks later in plant- 

 ing will be more than made up for in growth and bloom. — E. F. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Arnir. 28. 



We h.ivo but a dull traile tor ro-jRli wiuicr vcgotiililes, but good Broccoli 

 nnd spring CabbaRes are in lair request. Imports nre heavy, and comprise 

 tho usuul assortmeut. &mong hothouse fruits are Peaclms and Figs, 

 both ul which are very good. Large Btoclia ol old Potatoes of iaferiar 

 quality remain on hand, the demand being very slow. Gooa samples 

 still commnod from lOOs. to 120s. per ton. 



Apples ^ii sievo a to 4 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 10 16 



Currants .... >2 sieve 00 00 



Black do. 9 



Fig.s doz. 15 'J4 



Filberts lb. .0 



Cobs lb. 10 16 



Gooseberries . . quart 



Grapes,l£othouse..lb. 10 12 



Lemons 100 4 8 



FRniT. 

 d 



Melons... each 2 



Noctiirines doz. 



Oranges 100 4 



Peaches doz. 30 



Pears (desaort) . . doz. 



Pine Apples lb. S 



Plums )i sievo 



Quiucea doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries oz. 1 



Walnuts bnsh. 10 



do 100 1 



d. 8. 

 Ota 5 

 

 12 

 42 





 9 

 18 

 

 O 

 O 



VEGETiBLES. 



Artichokes doz. 3 



Aspai-agiis 100 5 



Beans, Kidney .. hd. 2 



Beet, Red doz. 2 



Broccoli bundle 1 



Brus. Sprouts }^ sieve 



Cabbage doz. 1 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Caulitloner doz. S 



Celery bundle 1 



Cncumi)era each 



Endive dnz. 2 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish ..bundle S 



d. s. 

 OloO 

 8 



Leeks bunch (1 



Lettuce score 1 



Mushrooms pottle 1 



Mnstd.S Cross,punuet 



Onions bushel 12 



I Parsley sieve 8 



2 , ,0 j Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 6 



Potatoes bushel 4 



I Kidney do. 4 



i Radishes doz.bunches 1 



Rhubarb bundle 



Sea-kale basket 2 



Rhallota lb. 



Spinach bushel 2 



Tomatoes , doe. 1 



Tumipa JionoU B. 



d. 8. d 

 4ta0 6 

 3 

 1 

 2 

 14 

 4 



