10 



JODENAL OF HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ July 2, 1868. 



time except cleaning and keeping everything and everyplace as 

 neat and tidy as possible. Attend to the removal of Uowers 

 as fast as they decay, as nothing looks so untidy in a well-kept 

 garden as dead flowers. Brompton Stocks must be sown im- 

 mediately, but Brompton Ten \Yeek Sleeks should be sown in 

 the first week in August. This is favourable weather for bud- 

 ding, and where the buds are properly matured, as they are in 

 most places, it must be attended to immediately. Established 

 plants of Koses that make very strong branches which hide the 

 flowers, should have them shortened-in below the level of the 

 flowers. Tulips ought now to be safely stored ; those which 

 are seeding on the bed must occasionally be examined. AVhen 

 the stalk assumes a yellow tint the roots may be taken up, and 

 the stems with capsules attached may be placed in an airy 

 room till they become perfectly dry. Plant out the first crop 

 of pipings, if proper attention can be given them, such as 

 shading, watering, &c. Take advantage of the first showery 

 weather to plant out young Pansies. 



GREEXnOUSE AND CONSEEVATOET. 



If the plants in the greenhouse are all of the true greenhouse 

 kinds, give them as much air as the house will admit ; but if, 

 as is generally the case at this time, they are a mixed collec- 

 tion of half stove plants, annuals, &o., they may be Kept close 

 at night with a very damp atmosphere, and the house may be 

 allowed to become well heated by the sun before giving air in 

 the morning. Training and staking plants, surfacing pots, 

 and all routine work, must be attended to. Climbers in the 

 conservatory, if they are what they should be, will now require 

 the greatest attention ; training, thinning, and arranging them 

 properly occupies much time, and should never be done in a 

 Lurry. Formerly it was customary in many places to tie up 

 climbers close to the pillars and rafters, &c., in a stiff formal 

 manner; hut now it is thought they can hardly be allowed too 

 much freedom, providing that they do not injure other plants 

 with their shade. Orange trees and many other large speci- 

 men plants require less water about this time, but diminish 

 the quantity very gradually. A cool refreshing air loaded with 

 perfumes in this house is always agreeable in summer, and the 

 only way of obtaining this is by large portions of air, by slight 

 shading, and by pouring large quantities of water over all spare 

 places round the house. Stove plants brought in here for 

 flowering do not require half the quantity of water which 

 gieenhouBB plants do in the same place. 



STOVE. 



For the next six weeks or two months, according to the 

 •weather, stove plants ought to have more air and light than at 

 any other period. After this time shade as little as possible, 

 with the exception of Orchids and young or newly-propagated 

 plants. 



COLD PITS 



Are warm enough to allow of the glass or canvas being 

 taken off at night to give the plants the benefit of the night 

 dews, which seem to suit them better than any sort of artificial 

 moistening. When the sun shines strongly — that is, if it con- 

 tinues to do so as of late, throw a slight shade over the Ca- 

 mellias, Azaleas, Ehododendrons, and similar plants. — 'SV. 

 Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 

 With the exception of a dull day and a shower on the 22nd, 

 the drought has still continued, and on this day, the 27th of 

 June, has been more trying to most things than on any pre- 

 tIous day, 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



After the shower took the opportunity of planting-ont strong 

 plants of Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, and Winter Greens, 

 and sowing Turnips, Lettuces, Sec. Those growing freely were 

 snrface-hoed to preserve in the soil the little moisture that fell. 

 It was down, however, to such a sUght depth that the ad- 

 vantages of the shower were more owing to the cool and shady 

 atmosphere than the quantity of water that fell, though in the 

 space of a quarter of an hour we added a good many gallons, 

 collected from our glass roofs and sheds, to the supply in our 

 tanks. 



Lettuces of various kinds have been very good hitherto, 

 chiefly those sown thinly and left to grow, as they have scarcely 

 needed a drop of water, but looked after themselves — a great 

 advantage in such weather over transplanted ones, which could 

 not grow without watering and even shading. Our two first 

 crops of Cauliflower have been excellent owing to the deep 

 mulchiiig, and a bed of a third crop wiU be fair-, but we fear for 



our next succession, unless there be a change of weather, as we 

 can scarcely give them enough of water to keep them from 

 becoming blue in the foliage in the hottest days, and ia 

 such circumstances they are apt to throw up their heads too 

 soon. Even the next crop, standing between rows of early 

 Peas, we can hardly keep from showing distress, though shaded 

 by the remains of the Peas on each side of them. These Peas 

 we would remove, turn up the ground on which they grew, and 

 plant it with Cauliflower again so as to have two successions 

 on the same piece, but we are unwOUng to lose the benefit of 

 the shade of the Peas as yet. 



We have sown Turnips, Lettuces, Carrots, &c., but we drew 

 the drills, watered before sowing, and after covering-in spread 

 over the ground a slight layer of litter. In such heat and dry- 

 ness it would be vain to expect young plants to grow or get 

 above the soil, unless where there was an abundance of water, 

 or an easy mode of applying it where wanted. Our Peas have 

 as yet been very good, but some of the succession crops refused 

 to set the bloom without watering, and we have helped in 

 this way Peas, Dwarf Kidney Beans, and Scarlet Eunners, 

 watering at the root and mulching with grass or litter im- 

 mediately afterwards. 



Thiiuiinf]. — Finally thinned all our crops of Onions, Garrets, 

 Beet, Parsnip, Salsafy, &c., as they were more easily moved 

 after the rain on the Monday, but these had all been partially 

 thinned some time ago. Ouions were very easily thinned when 

 the ground was hard and dry, as the roots broke when touched, 

 close to the ground, but those thinned later will be more useful, 

 as when laid in rows thickly they will do for salads ; and many 

 will just grow enough to give a good supply of buttons, a thing 

 we can scarcely obtain from our strong ground in any other 

 way. All these root and bulb crops look well, though they 

 have never received any watering. By running a Dutch hoe 

 along the surface weeds have been kept from appearing, and a 

 couple of inches beneath the surface the soil is moist enough 

 to keep on growth. In thinning Carrots at this season, the 

 Carrots if from a quarter to half an inch in diameter, if laid 

 in thickly in rows, as stated above for Onions, come in well for 

 soups when the main crop would be much too large. From the 

 middle to the third week in June is a good time to sow a piece 

 of Carrots, as for many purposes such Carrots are sweeter and 

 better than the spring-sown crop, and they are less likely to 

 have a speck on them from the attacks of Carrot enemies. One 

 of our best gardeners always sows a good breadth of Carrots 

 in June, but this year he grumbles that the seedUngs will not 

 show above ground. In such weather they would have no 

 chance unless the drills were previously watered and the ground 

 slightly shaded with litter, &c., afterwards. Onions for salading 

 we find come like points of needles without this protection. 



Much against our will, we will prick out quantities of Cauli- 

 flower and Winter Greens in beds, as there we can attend to 

 them with watering, &a., much more easily, and lift them after- 

 wards when the ground is more suitable to receive them. In 

 trying to dig a piece of ground on which there had been a heavy 

 crop of Spinach, it was too much for the spade, being as hard 

 and dry as if clay had been baked in an oven. We find even 

 our Celery, though strong, must have more shade, as well as 

 more water, or it will stand still, or do what Celery rarely 

 does with us, will run up its flower stalks, which must be pre- 

 vented, if possible. We have been forced to water Turnips, as 

 we found that otherwise they would be hard and stringy, in- 

 stead of sweet and succulent, as a young summer Turnip ought 

 to be. 



But for the labour in carting and carrying, it wiU be some 

 time before we are so badly ofi for water as we were four years 

 ago, though depending entirely on r.'iin and drainage stored up 

 in tanks and ponds ; but many farmers in this neighbourhood 

 have already to drive water for their animals fiom three to 

 four and more miles. This is a serious affair, and shows the 

 importance of having more means of storing up what falls 

 freely from the heavens in the course of the season. 



FECIT GARDEN. 



In the open air. Strawberries with us will be too much of a 

 glut, as the crop will not be so continuous, on account of the 

 dryness, and smaller fruit will look nothing alter the large fruit 

 of 'the first few weeks' gathering. Many of ours are drying up 

 from the drought. It is right to state here, that an old favourite 

 of ours, as one of the best of bearers, and from its hardness 

 valuable for preserving, the Black Prince, is one more sen- 

 sitive to drought than any other we have met with. We 

 generally force a few for their earliness, but in-doors the least 

 dryness injuriously affects them, when Keens' Seedling, Pre- 



