Jtme 24, 1889. I 



JOURNAL 01' HOBTIOULTUBE AND COTTAGE OAKDENBB, 



4»l.i 



■r.ri' M., .i,i,,ro correspondents;- r.i.c n, iv.i 



Booxn (Jn AmMtxr''.—" ^ahnma'a Science and Practice of OardPtiing" 



can bo ha<l at onr ofEioe, price :1k. 



Wn,D KLOWERH(tfi« .'<(oiiitiiii>.— The Iftst number is 03. The work 

 will be continucil uutil all our nati»c flowering plnnta have been por- 

 trailed and described. 



DiSTlrJncisniNO HolKfl at rmtlR liEATKB (H. />., .1(<ipl''iwr«n.— "The 

 Cloth of (lold, Devonlonsin, and other Roses can bo crown on their own 

 roots. Some sorts, however, enccecd better on alien Btncks. Much 

 depends on the nature of the soil. Yon may bopt detect the Dot; Briar 

 shoot, al3.) that o( the Sweet Briar, hr the compsratively small leaves. 

 If a Rose is on a Briar, and the shoot is below the point of nnion, that 

 ahoot, M coarse, is one of the Brisr and not of the Rose. TUo same 

 may be said of the Manotti, Celine, BouraauU. or any other stock. The 

 leaves of the Sweet Briar are scented, and s-nnller even than the leaves 

 of the Briar : moreover, the stem is more thiekly set with thorns. Tho 

 thorns of the Briar torn downwards. I have not observed them tnrn 

 upwards and downwards. When you see a shoot with much smaller 

 loaves than the tree generally has, you may suspect its beint,' a shoot 

 from the stock. This applies both to the Briar and Manetti. The usnal 

 complement of leaves— not conntina two littb; stipules at the base of tho 

 shoot— is seven.— W. F. Radoi.yffe." 



Robes Charlfs Leh amo MinAHB Jacquier iDsvonirnn* .— "I have 

 not the two Roses named : bnt I will (guarantee yon will be more than 

 pleased with these— Alfred Colomb, Marie "Baumann, and Madime La 

 Barnnne de Bothsohild, Thoy are Roses T will recommend to the whole 

 habitable i^lob*. Tho Baroness Is out now, and the blooms I have 

 already had were too hoantiful to describe. Tbey wero 4i inches in 

 diameter. 1 was astonished at ' Q tj.'s ' description of Charles T.ofebvro. 

 I have lfi7 plants now in full bloom. I never knew it fail to open in any 

 season. I think he must have General Washin'?t<m in its place.— W. F. 

 Radclvffe." 



0ABBAOES(i!. .V.I.— We do not diecem any trace of the Brussels Sprouts 

 in them, nor do wa laderatand what benefit is probable from sucli a 

 Gross. The flowers you enclosed are correctly named. 



\LoE{H.Pott). -\a we neither know the species nor tho condition of the 

 plant It is impossiido for as to state its value. Ton had bettor consult 

 some London nnrserymen. i "^i ':. 



Grapes (Bi(f/'«u>im.— Mrs. Pince's Muscat Grape ehoold he classed 

 among Muscats. 



BcNOHEs or (trapes Dbcateo (A Toiinfr Snhncrihrr), — Such defect in 

 the setting of the Grape blooms takes place from different causes, as an 

 excess of bunches, too damp an atmosphere, and too much damp in the 

 border. .\s you have given air so freely, have plenty of heating power, 

 and the bunches on tho Vines from the middle to the top of the house 

 are not all aflfected, we should judge that the appearances in your case 

 are attributable to too much moisture in the border, or overcropping. 



Irish Yew VAniROATED (/. A. 5. J.). — Tho white-variegated Irish Yew is 

 not new. It is not so permanently variegated as the golden one. and is 

 apt to " run." If yours is a seedling and not a sport from the golden, it 

 is probably a new form and may be distinct from the existing variety. 



CncuwBER Leaves WrrHERiNO lAn AmaUvj). — There must bo some 

 great defect to occasion tho flsgging and withering of the leaves when 

 exposed to sun. It may be caused by an insufficient supply of water at 

 the roots, or the soil may be very thin, the roots having nothing to work 

 in but a close, soapy mass of dung. The root action in either case will 

 not be vigorous, hence when the leaves are caused to exhale powerfully 

 by the rays of the sun, the roots do not aiford sap in sufficient quantity, 

 and the leaves wither and die. It "will be lessened or prevented by 

 shading. If there ia nothing wrong with the roots, the plant's leaves 

 may not withstand snn on account of their having been regularly shaded, 

 and not having had a flufficiencv of air. The shading should be with- 

 drawn gradually, and air admitted a little at a time. The Cncnmbers 

 vrill not grow, nor be worth anything, unless you have good leaves ; and 

 if these Vill not bear sun, your hope of fruit is extremely small. It may 

 be that your plants are diseased. The plants' going off in a short time 

 without any apparent cause, is at present a mystery. 



Roses (Jtfase).^It is not possible to tell how long it will take for a Roso 

 bud to Idoom from tho first appearance of the bul. so much is dependant 

 on the weather; but it usually takes a month. We do not know of any 

 process by which you oould force into bloom in a bed in the open air, 

 unless you were to" over them with glass. We have seen plants watered 

 with water at a temperature of 97', giving good soakings evtry alternate 

 evening, and that waa said to bring them into flower some days sooner 

 than those not so treated. 



PaLAROONltTM LEAVES SPOTTED [A Lover of PlanU). — The leaves are 

 spotted, a result of the sun's rays falling powerfully upon them whilst wet. 

 It may not necessar ly bo from syringing the plants, but from their being 

 shut up closely at nigbt. Moisture will condense ut'on them, and from a 

 continuance of moisture on the leaves tbey will spot even without ei- 

 piosore to the stin'a rays. The foliage should I e kept dry by an abnndauce 

 of air during the day, and at this season during the night also. The soil 

 may not be suitable; indeed, we should not select sach as you describe. 

 But why keep them in a warm house at CJy at night ? Place them in a 

 cold, house, or in a pit or frame, giving an abundance of air. They will 

 not do well in a vinery at this season. The books about which you in- 

 (luire m;^y be had through any bookseller, who would inform you of tbfir 

 prices. 



• Apple-tp.ee Leaver Blighted {R. S.).— The Apple-tree leaves are 

 iflueh blighted or mildewed. The best remedy that we know is syringing 

 the trees with lime water ; 121bs. of fresh unslacked lime being placed in a 

 thb, pour over it thirty gallons of rain water, stir well up, allow the mixture 

 th stand two days and nights, and then syringe on a calm evening with 

 the clear liquid, or lime water. If you dissolve 1 oz. of common salt in 

 every gallon of water, it would do much to free the trees of the parasites. 



Top-DRKssTNO Vine Border (Idem). —It will not he too soon to top- 

 dress the Vine border early in October, as you wish to have the space for 

 plants. Your proposed treatment is quite right, taking care not to make 

 t)ie border more wet than can be helped by watering the plants in winter. 

 Bo sure yon do not overcrop the Vines, as nothing is ap isjoriooSf Mid 

 (^pqcially when the Vinos are young. . [' \ , ., ^ ..^. ..^^ 



Pr.ttMOiNO Violets it Pots {H H.) — Tho plunging of the plants jn an 

 open border is quite right. It being shaded from tho direct midday sun. 

 Wn should, however, have prnferrod plunging them in coal ashes, ana 

 shifting thom into larger pots as tho»o thoy are in (ill with roots, not 

 allowing thom to root through tho bottoms ■•( the pots. Tbey may be put 

 iut) 4! and then into (iinch or larger pots, according as they K'""' 

 watering well in dry weather, and sprinkling soot over and around oc- 

 casionally to keep down red spider. 



BOLLACES Monstrous (J!. ilD.— Tho Bullacosenl ns is rendnred mon- 

 strous by a rupturing of the sap ve"«ola, and the parts in which it is not 

 properly elaborated become unusually 'argo. but tho fruit will ullimatoly 

 fall nIT. It is caused by a sudden check to tho flow of the sap. l.v a coM 

 piriod succeeding an unusually h .t one, or very hoi days and cold nights 

 will produce the same efioct. All tho orgms nf frucUltcation have been 

 destroyed, or wanting when the flowers opened, 



Nieremuf.roia (Brum).— We do not recognise the sprig sent, only that it 

 belongs to a Niernmbergia, bnt which wo cannot say, in the absence of a 

 hotter specimen, the one sent being Hinaahod by the pnst-olRce punchefl. 

 It is probably a balf-hardv or greenhouse perennial. Tho soil most suit- 

 able is twi parts sandy loam, and one part s.andv peat. It is p-opagated 

 from cuttings in spring when tho shoots aro sufficiently long, or In sum- 

 mer uudi-r a hand-glass, shading from bright sun. Tho plants should ba 

 kept from frost in winter, and rather dry, the soil being poor and sandy 

 to prevent damping off. The Nierombergiis are pretty for small beds 

 and edgings, but require hot and dry summers. 



PF.tARooNlDM A!»D GERANIUM (Id^ni'.— There is a g-eat difference be- 

 tween the Storksbill and Cr.inusblll, they constitute two different 

 genera; bnt there is no very great diffsreuoe between what are com- 

 monly called the Geraninms used for bedd'ng purposes, and tho Pelar- 

 goniums used for in-door flowering. Both are Pclargonians. Pelar- 

 gonium is characterised by having usually seven stamons, and nnequal- 

 sized petals ; Geranium, by having ton et imena, and equal-sized petals ; 

 and Erodium, by having five fertile anthers usually. 



Caloeolabia HyBKiDisiNO I A. F. D ).— The poUon is taken from the 

 largest and best-formed flowers and applied with a camel-hair pencil to 

 tho pistils of the others that diff.-r In colour, thoy having equally good- 

 sized and formed flowers, no seed being saved except from those having 

 very fine well-formed flowers. The plants should be kept nnder glass, 

 and have a light airy po-ition, picking olT the ports of seed as they be- 

 come ripe, as you will see by the pods opening, and the seed becoming 

 brown. Lay them on clean dry paper on a shelf, and do not allow water 

 to come near them ; tho pod will open, or in a few days it may ho opened 

 and the seed stored away in paper. 



Gas-hratino a Small Grefnhouse (8. E. A. /(.).— Beforo erecting 

 your boiler for gas, yon had better notice what is said of gas heating in 

 the number for October 10th. 1857. and the plans there given. For » 

 copper boiler, one with a concave bottom, saddle-back fashion, and hold- 

 ing from one to one and a half gallons of witer, will do ; and for such » 

 narrow house. G feet wide, 9 feet long, and 7J feel high, 30 feet of 2-inch 

 piping, and 27 of «-inoh, would he sufBclent to keep out frost, though a 

 few f»et more would he ndvisablo. If yon intended anything like forcing 

 the Vines, you wonld require more heating power, from one-third to one- 

 halt more. But for tho convenience of tho gas we never recommend 

 boiler-heating for small places, it is on the whole so much more expensive. 

 A small brick stove in such a house, fed, if deemed necessary, from the 

 outside, would gite the heat rquired at something hko a tithe of the 

 expense. However, we have no doubt that otherwise your proposed plan 

 Nvonid answer. In such a narrow house, by haying a little more piping, 

 vou could have it all against the back wall ; but it would answer rather 

 better to have a portion of the piping in tho front of ihe house, ion 

 could take a flow and return along tho back and the further end, have an 

 additional pipe in front, say two at b lok and ends, and three at front. 



Heating with Hot Water (J. .^tideraon).— We thoroughly affree with 

 the nurseryman and gardener you havf consulted, and wonld use hot 

 water for 'large houses, or where a number could be heated from one 

 boiler. For moderate-sized single houses tlie flue will be the most eco- 

 nomical in every way. For your greenhouse wall, that keeps scaling off 

 as yon syringe, we know of but two remedies. Fir t, clean it thoroughly, 

 the"u damp it all over, and wash with equal parts of quicklime and Port- 

 land cement. This dries very har.l. The eecond mode, and the bettor, 

 is to clean the wall, let it dry «ell, brush thin y with limewash, and wheft 

 thoroughly dry follow with nuti-corroaiou paint. 



Insects on Beet and Manoold Wortzkl ( 1.— The grubs which 



have devoured vour leaves of Beet and Mmgolds aro the larva of > 

 carrion beetle, Silpha opaoa. There is do remedy except hunting for 

 them and hand-picsing; but they will bo fully fed in a few days and the 

 mischief over, and tho roots will throw out fresh leaves, so that it wiU 

 not be judicious to pull them up. — W. 



Fruit at the Manchester Show (rnt«n<iin7 Exhifcilor).— You will 

 find an answer to your queries in the pages o! our prest-nt number. 



Grafting the Pear on a Medur Stock (.4 .5ul.!cri!)cr, Hcris).- We 

 have no douht that it would saccood, ijtsiamaoh as the Medlar can bo 

 grafted on a Pear stock. 



Frdit Trees Neglected (Baniioi^Ifl.— Wo shonld confine our opera- 

 tions, so far as the shortening n'>w of the long spurs is conconied, to 

 to cutting within a few joints of cheir ha-io, operating on none but th« 

 very long and most straggling, and leaving a few loaves at tho base of 

 each. It yon do this, those which are shortest and closest to the wall 

 will bo encouraged, and you may shorten them all considerably at the 

 winter pruning, which .should he done when the 1-av a havi fallen, m 

 shortening them, leave a few joints of last year's wood, cu'ting away the 

 majority of those shoot.? that have grown straggling, and most distant 

 from the wall. They may be shortened to within three bads of thoir 

 base. 



LrLiuM aoratith Seed not Germinatino (J. S. S.).— We apprehend 

 the seed must have been bad. Drain i po' well, fill It to wilhin half an 

 inch of the rim with fine soil, composed of two parts loam, one part leaf 

 mould, and one part o! sandy peat, and add silver sand about ono-SLXth 

 of the whole. Scatter the seeds on the surface, altar levelling and making 

 it smooth, and coverwith a depth of soir equal to tbe diameter of the 

 aeod. Give a gentle watering, and plaon the pot in a gentle heat (65 or 

 7(J'). keeping tho atmospUoro moist and rather close uotil the plants 

 appear, and after that plaoo them noar tho glass, and give them abnn- 



