414 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTIOULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ Juno 17, 1869. 



will as rarely fail, ftncl that thongh both eeem equally carefal. 

 It is be»t to abstftin from poison, except in ehut-up places, aa 

 even if put in securo places, it is apt to be carried out and 

 partaken of by aniruala for whom it was not intended. 



In sowing Peas now, it ia well to hare the ground well pul- 

 verised and manurc-d, and the Peas sown in a rather deep wide 

 opening or trench, so that with the usual covering the Pens 

 will still grow in a hollow, which will permit of watering more 

 easily if the autumn should be dry. As intimated above, the 

 last Broad Bsans, even of the M>iziigan kinds, should be planted 

 by the middle of the month. Most of the good Marrows will do 

 if sown by the mi-idle of the month and well treated ; but later 

 in the monlh the earlier kinds should chiefly be used. 



Sowed successions of Lettnees, Endive, Turnips, Bidishes, 

 and Sijinaob, and dug down the Winter Syinaeh, which has 

 done good service, to make room for other things. Sowed 

 more Coleworts, and pricked out quantities of Brussels Sprouts 

 and Winter Greens to be lifted agnin, as our ground is too full 

 as jet to give them phoe. Sorood also Guious and Currots for 

 drawing young, and thinned Onions, C irrots, and Parsnips. 

 One piece of C rrots ia rather thin, bnt in another they came 

 up thickly enough to have stocked many gardens, if they could 

 have been transplanted, and yet the two pieces were sown 

 Vfithin a month of each other. Carrots, even of the long kiuds, 

 sown now in well-pulverised soil, will yield young sweet roots 

 in the autumn — srteeter than, though not so large as spring- 

 sown ones, and therefore useful for many purposes. These laio 

 and smaller roots rarely exhibit marks of spot or worms, and 

 therefore when served while look tempting in the dish. Watered 

 Cauliflowers coming in well, and pricked out a lot for what will 

 be the fourth suceestion, and there are two sets coming behind 

 them. The last one will be in just before frost may be expected. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



We find we shall not have nearly so much fruit as we ex- 

 pected, as with the exception cf Cherries, much of the stone 

 fruit has dropped. We expected this to a great extent, but not 

 to so great a degree as has taken place ; and it will be recollected 

 we said as much in the spring, attributing the unsatisfac- 

 tory state of the wood to the dryness of last summer and then 

 the late growth in autumn. For more than two months wo 

 were almost at the mei-cy of a scorching sun, and just kept 

 trees under glass, as Peaches, from djiug oil entirely, as well 

 as losing the fine crops, by using strong house sewage — far too 

 strong for the puroose, but we could obtain no clean water to 

 dilute it with. For about six weeks wo saved our Celery by 

 keeping it shaded from sunlight. We hope never to pass 

 througb such another season, unless we have a large reservoir 

 in which the rain water ia stored up, instead of finding its wcy 

 into ditches, &C., there to give off its foetid exhalations. Even 

 the least observant could not help looking to the result in the 

 following season. Our heavily laden dwarf Apple and Pear 

 trees suffered perhaps the least last year, as they were heavily 

 mulched to keep the heat and dryness out; hut some of the 

 trees have an unhealthy tinge tbia season, are making but little 

 wood, and though the blossom was large and fine, much of it 

 was defective, and numbers of the fruit dropped at, and shortly 

 after setting time. 



Of Rispberries, thongh some rows are good, yet others have 

 suffered severely, the canes first breaking weakly, and then 

 many giving way altogether, and in such cases the young 

 growth is not so strong as usual. Even though these were 

 roughly mulched last summer, we had apprehensijns that the 

 plants would suffer from the great heat and dryness. They 

 had no chance, except where moisture could either be put in 

 the ground, or kept in it about the roi t^. 



As respects Strawberries, though we have had fair gatherings 

 from forced plants, yet they have not been so fine and plentiful 

 as usual, especially the earliest crops. The later ones have 

 succeeded better, even late-potted plants from runners pushed 

 out late doing tolerably well ; but the partial decline as to bear- 

 ing we attribute to the season being so far advanced before we 

 had any cbauce of taking runners for potting. The .same cause 

 has affected the main crops, many rows of which were so 

 scorched up, as not to have a green leaf on them until the late 

 Tains cime and caused them to grow and become green again, 

 almost as quickly as the burned-up lawn. The second growth, 

 however, was more imperfectly matured than usual, and though 

 we had a fair show oi bloom, it was not in the quantities we 

 used to have ii ; and, on the whole, the setting has not been 

 good. Few Strawberries suffer fiom drought so much as that 

 useful kind for preserving, Cuthill's Black Prince. We had a 

 fine border of young plants that produced heavily last season ; 



but even those which lived through the drought are puny, com- 

 pared to what they ought to be ; and there are blanks in the 

 border which are not worth covering or protecting. No winter 

 could have been more suitable f..r the plants, but the mischief 

 wan done before the winter cime. 



To assist the general crops, as the ground was becoming 

 dry on the surface, it was slightly forked over, just to break 

 the surface and destroy incipient weeds, and a little soot being 

 strewn near the plants, the ground was covered close up to the 

 stems with long litter fur the trusses to rest upon, and then 

 wo gave the plants a good watering. A falling barometer leads 

 1J8 to expect rain ere long, which will wa'<li and clean the 

 litter before the berries ripen, as we h'lvo only a few colouring 

 on a south bank, but will have plenty for some time under 

 glass ; the latest bting merely in a cold pit planted out. We 

 prefer clean wheaten straw, but the stable litter, well shaken, 

 costs little or nothing. Long grass, cut before the seeds ap- 

 proach maturity, answers very well ; but short grass is about 

 the worst to be used, as it ia driven into the fruit, encourages 

 moulding when damp, and is sure to carpet the place with 

 daisies and other weeds. Tan is a very good material when 

 used fresh. With the plants and flower trusses of the usual 

 strength, we found nothing better than running a string with 

 some sticks on each side i-f ths row, which kept the fruit from 

 touching ihe ground. Whatever plan be adopted, the fruit 

 should be kept clean. 



Barren Straiohcrrij Plants. — Fruitful plants may become 

 barren from circumstances, but a tendency thus produced is 

 ever apt to continue. When we f irce plauts and then turn 

 tbem out, we discard all those that have mi^sed fruiting. 

 Plants of the normal type if unfruitful this season, may be 

 fruitful the next; but though we have found this to be the 

 case, we have several times experira'-nted, and found that 

 unfruitful plants continued unfruitful f.ir a number of gene- 

 rations — in one instanca ten generatiDus by runners never 

 jieldfid a bloom. It is well, therefore, to take runners from 

 fruitful plants. There is one prominent case in which our 

 readers with small gardens need bo iu no danger of a mistake. 

 We have cleared out a score i<t two of unfruitful plants, that 

 their room might be taken up by better plants, and chiefly that 

 no runners should by taken from them. Wu could see .these 

 plauts as we passed along. Tbey grow strouuer than the fruit- 

 ful ones, are more upright in growth, the buils more upright 

 and pointed, and often tinged with a deeper pinky colour. If 

 in addition to these marks there are lots of strong runners 

 coming from them all round, there need be no delay in cutting 

 them out. We do not believe that such plants or their progeny, 

 under any condition, will be likely to be fiuitfirl if allowed to 

 remain. As they produce such strong and early runners, they 

 are very apt to be selected for young plants, and thus the evil 

 is perpetuated. We have cut up a score or t*vo of Keens' 

 Seedling, beautiful plants with fine foliage, but with less or 

 more of the above marks; and considerable attention and ex- 

 perience would lead us to the conclusion, that the runners 

 from such plants would be very apt to continue to produce 

 nothing but runners. We have not a doubt that many fine- 

 looking plants iu pots for forcing, refuse to show bloom from 

 this cause alone, and to avoid it there is no plan safe except 

 removing these strong, sterile, early-turner plants. In every 

 case the very free, and very early prndujiion of runners, are 

 signs and consequences of sterility iu bio ^m and fiuit. As 

 stated, we have found such plauts and runners become fruitful 

 in time, but these were exceptions so few, and to be waited for 

 so long, that prudence dictates the selecting of runners from 

 fertile plants. Just as in the case of the buds, it often happens 

 that the strings of the ruuiiers of such strong sterile plants 

 are deeper coloured than the m-ire moderate-sized fertile ones. 

 Last season we saw a bed of KKens' Seedling, seemingly well 

 managed in every way, but more thin three parts were barren, 

 The barren plants could be distinguished without stooping 

 to examine them, merely by the more upright habit, pointed 

 buds, and luxuriance of growth. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPAKTMIIKT. 



The bright sun succeeding the rain, has g'ven plenty of work 

 iu keeping lawns short and smooth. We have finished the 

 bulk of planting iu the flower garden, though there will still be 

 a working-up and regulating of edging-i, &-!. A great ease in 

 planting is obtained by edging beds, hoAever sraill, of a con- 

 tra^tingor a complementary colour. A bed thus becomes more 

 pleasing and perfect iu itself, as well as when forming part of 

 a group. Little watering has been needed, but as the sun 

 caked and hardened the soil, we had the surface broken with a 



