jqwi7viiaea,a 



JjQy»N4J«.iOi' aQUTlOULXUBB AND COTTAGE GAl'.UENJGa. 



413 



Cos for salads. Keep Turitiiis woU tbiunefl-ont, and watered 

 when neeilful. Sue that J'limaioes are weU lliiuned-out and 

 kop.t nail«d to tUo nalld. ... 



>-RCIT OABDB:?. ■ ' ' .-■ ■ ' '■ 



strawberries will now iHijuire timely applications of water, 

 aocoi'diDf^ tu the btato of the weather ; aad the fruit muat be 

 protected from birds. Tho uailiog of the jounf; wood of wall 

 trees mudt ba oonlinually followed up. Lay-in tlie tlioots of 

 Apricot and other vvull trees while the wood is pliable. Gon- 

 tinne to stop and destroy siiperlluous tihoots on the trained 

 Pear trees ; many shoots may be twisted or brokea short about 

 half-way up. Tho oiiioions of pr«olii;id men are divided ass to 

 whether partial or entire removal in the belter. I inoline to 

 the idea that the breostwood of Pears should now bo broken 

 off within a few juiuta of the base, carefully retaining; tho 

 leave.s; of course a due supply of youn^ shoots must bo laid 

 in to till np all present or prospective vacancies. 



"' '' ' FLOWER GARDEN. 



Evergreens in general will have now ceased shedding their 

 leaves for awhile, and a more general cleaning than usual 

 should now take place in dressed gronudf". Herbaceous plants 

 will now require a thorough staking; do not form tho plants 

 like bosoms, but use sticks enough, sometioias three or four to 

 a plant. Kemember the lafe Mr. Lotidon's directions : Let no 

 two plants touch, if possible. Grass and Box edgings should 

 be clipped and trimmed, the ktter during damp weather. 

 Follow the progress of climbers with the necessary attention. 

 Propagate Piuk.s, China Kosea, and Double Itookets. Let a 

 goodly number of Pani-y cuttings bo put iu. Itanunculuses, 

 Talipe, and Hyacinths should now bo taken np, and, after the 

 bulbs are dried, stored in some dry room. Tho bulbs which 

 are planted in the borders, and which add so much to the beauty 

 and lively appearance of the flower garden and shrubbery 

 dnring the spring months, should now receive attention. An 

 acquaintance wiih the different species will direct the cultivator 

 iu his operations. Some species, for instance, form new bulbs 

 beside the old ones, and in course of time become so crowded 

 as to be weak and cease to flower ; others form their new bulbs 

 under the old ones, and at last btcomo so deep, that the same 

 result follows ; others, again, form their new bulbs over the 

 old ones, and the former appear above tho surface of the ground, 

 when they are destroyed by the hoe, the rake, or frost. 



GREENHOUEH AND COKSEKVATOEV. 



As the beauty of many of the plants in these is of short 

 duration, caro must be taken to insure a constant succession 

 of plants in bloom until fiost set in, when Chrysanthemums, 

 Camellias, Chinese Primroses, and sovcral otlier midwinter 

 flowers may be introduced, to he followed by the forced flowers 

 of returning spring. Those who keep a sharp eye on such 

 matters, will alwaja take care to have a sufficient surplus stock 

 after the bedding-out is completed, to provide against gaps iu 

 the flower garden, and to supply the in-door wants. All spring- 

 propagated plants remaining in store pois should be potted-ofl 

 forthwith, and placed on or plunged in ashes iu a spot sheltered 

 from the winds. Balsams, Cockscombs, and other tender 

 annuals for succession, should receive their last shift before 

 they become pot-bouL-d, and plenty of the Achimenes family 

 should be potted-off, some in large masses. A number of the 

 best Scarlet Pelargoniums ought to be selected for flowering 

 nest wiuter. These should be grown rapidly, and frequently 

 stopped. Towards August they will become rather pot-bound ; 

 they must not, however, be shifted, but merely hardened in a 

 very exposed situation until the end of September, iu order to 

 have them sturdy and very short-jointed. If placed on a light 

 and warm shelf near the glass, they will be objects of great 

 interest all winter. The Hybrid Perpetual, Bourbon, and Tea 

 Eoses, which have been cut from all the spring, should now be 

 compelled to rest. They should be placed in a somewhat 

 shady situation, and all dispotition to break into young buds 

 should be carefully checked. They may remain thus for a 

 month, when they should be taken out of their pots, partially 

 disrooted, and repotted in fresh compost. By September the 

 new pots will be filled with fresh roots, and, under good 

 management, the plants will bloom for the greater part of the 

 winter. Let Fuchsias have ample supplies of water, and pro- 

 vide succession stock. The early-flowering Pelargoniums, now 

 rather exhausted, should have the bulk of their tops removed, 

 and made into cuttings. The old stools may be thrown on 

 their sides iu a shady situation until they break buds half an 

 inch long, when they may be disrooted and repotted iu rather 

 smaller pots. Ciuerarias going out of bloom may be put iu an 



old frame or pit and furuigatod ; thxy may then be cat doVm 

 and turned out in u raised bed iu tho gsrdon. They will there 

 food and produce an filmudance of Huckers by a little attention 

 to wateiing, &o. Cacti may be renioved frotn the stove, shifted, 

 placed iu a cold pit, and supplied liberally with moisture. 



STOVK. 



Frequent syringiBgs, iu addition to moistening the floors 

 and othnr surfaces, will be needful for the ordinary stove stock. 

 Some of the Orchids will now reipiire a little assistance in the 

 way of " topping up," and a watchful eye must be kept for 

 insects. Prop,agateLucnlia gratins)m>i, by cattinijg. Gesneras, 

 Achimenes, and Begonias should be shifted for succession. 

 Avoid watering plants v/hich are not in active growth. Look 

 well over the now nfcarly-blooming Stauhorieasand Uncidiums, 

 lest any snails should be concealed. With regard to the 

 Orchids, some little moderation is necessary, especially when 

 the weather suddenly changes from a sunny to a cloudy 

 character. — W. ICeane. oi ')-i:o ind 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAUDEN. 



The hot sun after the showery weather has brought on most 

 crops well ; but in addition to plenty of small weeds B|)iinging 

 up, the stiff soil became caked, and was beginning to crack in 

 all directions, rendering plenty of surface stirring with the hoe 

 and light steel fork necessary among growing crops. Potatoes 

 that were rather shallow-planted, owing to the wetness of the 

 soil, have had a slight carthing-up. In general, we consider 

 that nothing is gained by this practice, but that on the contrary 

 if planted from G to 8 inches deep, the tubers come to ma- 

 turity earlier, without the earthing-up. All of ours under glasB 

 and other protection have been good, and free from disease. 



Mice and RaU. — The former have been troublesome, and the 

 latter very destructive to our Pean. We resowed some rows 

 lately, and found on examining them not a single sound Pea, 

 though these had been heavily rod-leaded. We are thus forced 

 to come to tho conclusion that the red lead does not at all deter 

 the rat ; and though we have trapped numbers, there seems to 

 be no diminution in their depredations, end we find, as yet, no 

 trace of their suffering from the lead. In most cases, however, 

 they have cleared us out, just when the little shoot would be 

 about halt an inch in length, and the sfed soft and sweet, 

 which enables them, in many cases, to leave the outer skin of 

 the I'ea, though iu others all seemed to have been devoured. 

 As we caught many mico and sparrows, we did not blame the 

 rats BO much until we found their excrements. Pheasants 

 though plentiful could not in this case have injured us, as the 

 rows were covered with wire netting, as weekly advertised, 

 2 feet wide, and with 2\ inch meshes, placed in semi-cir- 

 cular fashion over the row, so that the pheasant may put his 

 neck through the meshes without being able to reach the Peas, 

 and with no risk of hanging itself, which it. might do, if twine 

 netting were used. Vor this purpose wire netting is very 

 useful and economical, and with ordinary care appears to he 

 very lasting. Without some such means of protection, sowing 

 Peas with us would be only a waste of seed, except so far as 

 feeding game is concerned. Wire netting such as the above 

 is of no use as a protection from mice, rats, and small birds. 

 We used to consider ourselves safe when the Peas were 2 inches 

 in height ; but it is not uncommon to find top and bottom 

 cleared now after they are 3 or more inches in height. Our 

 earlier sowings of red-leaded Ptas were untouched at bottom, 

 though a little pecked by birds on the top. It is the first time 

 in our experience, that seeds damped and leaded have thus 

 been cleared out. Of Broad Beans and Kidney Beans so treated 

 none have been meddled with. We may here mention, that for 

 birds and mice, no trap is better than the wooden fignre-fonr 

 trap with a heavy brick over it, as then whatever Is caught dies 

 directly, and thus one objection is dispensed wi'h against the 

 prolonged cruelty involved in trapping in general. In sowing 

 Peas and Broad Beans for the last time, in addition to the 

 above precautions, we ran a small cordon of tar on the ground 

 all round the rows ; but that as soon as dry was no deterrent to 

 the rats, though smelling strongly. Wo believe a string saturated 

 with tar and oil to keep it moist, and kept near the ground, 

 would have been more (ffectual. In setting iron traps, much 

 depends on the trapper having a light hand, as the trap shonld 

 be very slightly concealed with earth. No taint of the hand 

 should be left behind, and this is best effected by wearing a 

 glove. After all some men will rarely succeed, whilst others 



