1*0 



JOUBNAIi OF HOBTI0ULTT7BE AND OOTTAQE OABDENEB. 



[ Aogost 6, IBW. 



monU, plunge or part plunge the pots, give a good watering' 

 ind merely eptinkle the surface frequently. Before long 

 young shoots will come from the bottom, either as suckers or 

 otherwise ; take these off when ;2 or 3 inches in length, pot 

 separately in the smallest pots, shade, and otherwise encourage 

 at first, shifting into larger pots in autumn and winter as the 

 plants may require. You may thus have plants of any size 

 before May, and that for their health and beauty would far 

 .«urp ass those obtained by any other treatment of the old plants. 

 — K. F. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— August 5. 



We are again obliged to have recourse to a foreign marltet for a supply 

 of good Cos and Cabbage Lettuces, our own growth offered here being 

 very poor indeed. Those imported are, on the contrary, remarkably 

 i^ood. With the exception of Apples, Pears, and Plums, very little fruit 

 is offered. Filberts are good, and the crop is also good, but Cob Nuts are 

 not so promising. We are now without any Cauliflower, a thing almost 

 unknown in any former year. 



FRUIT. 



a. d. ■. d 



Apples }i sieve 1 6 to 



ApricotB doz. 2 4 



Cherries lb. 



Obestnnta bash. 



Oarrauts ^^ sieve 4 



Black do. 4 5 



Figs doz. 4 8 



Filberts lb. 10 



Cobe lb. 9 10 



Oooseberries . . quart 



arapes, Hothouse.. lb. 2 6 



r«mon8 100 >i 12 



Alelons each 3 



Nectarines doz. 4 



Oranges 100 12 



Peaches doz. G 



Pears (dessert) ,.doz. 2 



Pine Apples lb. 3 



Plums y^ sieve B 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries . . per lb. 



Walnuts bush. 10 



do per 100 1 



d. s. d 

 OtoG 





 



12 

 



VEGETABLES. 



.\rtichokC8 doz. 



Asparagus 100 



Beans, Kidney ^^ sieve 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Bms. Sprouts J-- sieve 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Canliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Cucumbers each 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



aarUo lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish .. bundle 



B. d. s, d I 



8 0to6 I Leeks hunch 



I Lettuce per score 



4 5 Mushrooms pottle 



2 8 Mustd.&Cre.is, punnet 

 Onions per doz behs. 



, Parsley per sieve 



1 U 2 I Parsnips doz. 



3 j Peas per quart 



6 1 I Potatoes bushel 



II I Kidney do. 



1 G 2 I Radishes doz. bunches 

 4 10 Rhubarb bundle 



2 Sea-kale basket 



S Shallots lb. 



8 Spinach busbel 



8 ! Tomatoes per doz. 



3 5 I Turnips bunch 



d. S. d 

 4toO 6 

 4 

 

 

 

 

 

 6 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

 N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



Antirrhinum Bloom (OverdeaseD.—The post-office punches effectually 

 prevented our observing wkether the flower was abuomal. It was quite 

 smashed. 



Carnation Seedlings (TT. B.).— We have received the stamps. The 

 flowerq were too withered by the heat for a relative judgment to be 

 formed. , 



LiLiDM LANciFOLiUM— Fuchsia Training (TT. £.)•— Lili'im lancifolium 

 is hardy, therefore ought not be exhibited as either a stove or prepnhoose 

 plant. We quite agree with you that Fuchsias are most graceful when 

 grown in a pyramidal form with a single stem, and the brflucbes uu- 

 trained. If we were to award prizes we would give them to specimens 

 without sticks, though those with sticks were rather superior. 



Pansies iF. J.).— Your Pansies are of the average kind, but too faded 

 to be identified. Take cuttings for plants to flower in the spring, the 

 young plants produce the finest flowers. 



Exudation on Grapes (Diadem).— The exudation and disturbed bloom 

 are probably caused by the excessive heat of the house, and the air being 

 too dry. More moisture both at the roots of the Vine and in the air 

 wpnld prevent it. 



Sand— Peat— Sphagnum (Fred).— We have examined the specimens 

 supplied by Mr. W. Short. HorticuJtural Dep^t, Reigate, Surrey, and they 

 are all good. As he supplies these either in large or small quantities, his 

 depot is a great convenience. 



Planting a Grave in the East Indies (J. TF.}.— No one could advise 

 you, the locality being " unknown." It may be near the snow in the 

 Himalayas, or it may be in tbc torrid temperature of the Bengfil plains. 

 The acorns and Horse Chestnuts you mention certainly would not succeed. 



Planting Strawberries iA Young Gardener). Select an open situ- 

 ation away from the shade of trees or buildinge, thoroughly trench the 

 ground to the depth of 2 feet, working in a liberal dresi^ing of manure, 

 breaking any clods, and otherwise well mixing the soil and manure. 

 The ground may be made firm by treading, particularly in your case, as 

 from beintr newly trenched it will be open and light. The ground must 

 not be trodden if the weather is wet. as doing so will only teiid to render 

 ft a compact mass. Plant after the first rain, the earlier the better. The 



advice as to not digging the beds at any time after i>lanting is sound, good 

 tup-dressings of manure being given. 



Pot Peaches akd Fig.s Flavourless (J. P(m).— Wc cannot account 

 for the fruit of Peach and Fig trees in pots having no flavour when ripe, 

 unless they have been either over-water d or over-shaded. Orchard 

 houses will do much, but not impossibilities. If the roof be covered with 

 Vines, there will not be enough of direct sunlight to give flavour to the 

 crops beneath. We should think if your Vines are fully exposed there 

 will bo no want of flavour in the ripening fruit. 



Peach Tree Mildewed (Probo).— The Peach leaves (No. 1), are in- 

 fei>ted with mildew. Give a good syringing, and dust the leaves and the 

 pnrts of the shoots infested with the white powder-like fungus with 

 flowers of sulphur. The cause of mildew appearing is not known, but the 

 fungus is destroyed by dusting with flowers of sulohur. Give more liberal 

 supplies of water to the roots, occasionally a thorough syringing, and 

 admit air freely. 



Plum Tree Infested vmn Red Spider (Idem).— The Plum leaves 

 (No. 2), are attacked by red spider. Syringe the tree forcibly with a 

 solution of 2 ozs. of soft-soap to the gallon of water, directing the water 

 against the under sides of the leaves, wettirg the tree thoroughly in every 

 part. This should be done in the evening, and repeated within a week. 

 The roots should have a thorough watering with water, or, better still, 

 weak liquid manure, mulching the ground around the tree with half- 

 rotten manure. 



Cdtting-back Mignonette (Idem). — You may cut back the shoots of 

 Mignonette that have flowered, leaving space for the new shoots, and the 

 plant will flower freely on the young shoots. It is a half-hardy perennial. 



Oleanders Flowering Twice (Spider).— Wg cannot agree with yoa 

 that your plant has flowered twice. We understood yon to say that your 

 plant had two shoots springing from the side of the flower spike, and 

 that these had at their apex a prominence. You now say they were 

 flower buds, therefore, the first flowers were borne by the wood of the 

 previous year, and the succeeding flowers on the wood of the current 

 year. This is not unusual, but the shoots so producing flowers have in 

 the apex in the previous year embryo flower buds, and they elongate, 

 and, of course, flower in the ensuing season. We have plants now in 

 splendid bloom, both on shoots that have not grown at all this season, 

 and on those that have, and on these plants there are many shoots of 

 the current year that had not last year prominent apices, and these have 

 not and will not flower this season, though the flowers exist now in the 

 form of a prominent bud in the apex, but will grow a little next epring 

 and bloom finely. It was to these buds that our remarks applied, whilst 

 you applied them to buds in a forward state for development, and not as 

 embiyo flower buds. 



Red Spider on Vines (Idem). — You may have yellow leaves and not 

 now have red spider, for the leaves once made yellow by red spider will 

 not again become green. We presume you not only applied sulphur to 

 the warmed flues, but gave a good syringing afterwards. The application 

 being inefi"ectual it should be repeated, as this inveterate enemy is only 

 to bo overcome by persevering resistance. The guano remedy ia aa 

 effectual one, and so are all the others, as we have proved by ex-perience. 



Crocus Seed Sowing (I(f('m).~The seed of the Crocus may be sown 

 from this time to October, the sooner the better, in a bed of rich, rather 

 sandy soil, placing the seeds thinly on the tine surface, and covering 

 them with about a quarter of an inch of fine soil. Ycu will have bulbs 

 by the following autumn. When the foliage deciiys take them up, and 

 replant them the same day in lines 6 inches apart, and 3 inches from bulb 

 to bulb in the lines, covering them about an inch deep with fine soil- 

 When the foliage appears mulch between the rows with decayed leaves 

 or short manure, and leave them in this bed until they flower, keeping 

 them clear of weeds, and stirring the soil between the rows in autumn. 

 Bo not remove them again until they flower, then take them up and 

 plant them where required. 



Cucumber Plants Infested with Mealy Bro (Apprentice).— Tho 

 only means that we know likely to keep the mealy bug under in yoor 

 case will be to give the plants a few good syringings with water at a tem- 

 perature of 120". This, and hand-picking, will enable yon to keep the bug 

 in check until the plants have done bearing, and then give the house a 

 fumigation with sulphur, and a thorough cleaning. 



Bitter Cucumbers (S. E. B.).~The chief cause of bitterness in Cu- 

 cumbers is their being grown slowly. To have them sweet they should 

 be gr«\vn quickly and cut young. We would never send to table at this 

 season a Cucumber of more than ten-days growth, and we do not care to 

 have them of greater size than will be cut up at onee. Large Cucumbers 

 are no longer sought after, and yet a large Cucumber may be good, only 

 cut it whilst young. 



Cucumber Culture fjf. B.). — You will never have good Cucumbers at 

 such a temperature, 80° to 90- at night, and ICti- during the day. In such 

 weather, except by syringing the walls and shading, you cannot have a 

 much lower temperature during the day ; but with air the highest should, 

 if possible, range from 80- to 90". At night there need be no difficulty, as 

 the tliermometer out of doors is seldom above 70" at night, and from 65 

 to 70'^ will suit them better than from SO'^ to 90'^. 



Peach Trees Unfruitful (An Amate7(r).—Yo\ir trees ore very vi- 

 gorous. You could not do anything to promote their frnH-bearing in 

 autumn or winter, but you may now do so by stopping l.te shoots for 

 next year's bearing at 12 inches, and when they push later..'3 pinch ont 

 their points after they have made a leaf, and keep them clo'-ely pinched- 

 in to one leaf as often as new growths are produced. The shoots should 

 not be left closer on tho branches than 9 inches or a foot apart, and the 

 branches ought to be fully that distance from each other. The leading 

 shouts or main branches should not be stopped lut trained-in at their 

 full length ; any laterals appearing on them should be stopped at the 

 first joint or leaf, and immediately above it. 



BioARREAU Cherry not Stoning (JJ^w).— After the fruit is set give 

 a good watering with liquid manure, and mulch around the stem for a 

 dif^tance of 2 or 3 feet with 2 inch* 3 in depth of short manure, cow dung 

 being best, continuing tho waterings during dry periods until the fruit 

 begins to ripen. The curling of the bark is peculiar to the tree. 



Covent Garden Measures (S. V.).—A Punnet for Mushrooms is 

 7 inches by 1 inch ; Sea-kale punnets 8 inches in diameter at top, 7^^ inches 

 . at bottom,' and 2 inches deep ; Radish punnets 8 inches in diameter at 



