134 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



[ Angnst 20, 1868. 



Sary of the late Prince Consort's birthday ; but in consequence 

 of disorderly persons abusing the privilege on former occasions, 

 the Council have decided on reserving to themselves the right 

 of excluding any persons from entering the Gardens whom 

 they think it would be undesirable to admit. The Council 

 appeal to the visitors on this occasion to assist them in preserv- 

 ing order and preventing destruction to the Society's property. 



Mr. Kichaed Peabce, formerly one of Messrs. Veitch's 



botanical collectors, and the discoverer of many of the plants 

 introduced by that firm, died of fever at Panama on the 19th 

 of July. He only arrived there with the view of collecting objects 

 of natural history, on the 7th of the same month, and a week 

 afterwards was attacked by the malady which proved fatal to 

 him, thus adding one more to the long list of those who have 

 lost their lives in enriching our natural history collections. He 

 had married just before leaving England. 



It is our painful duty to announce the death of Madame 



Eliza Vilmorin, widow of the late M. Louis Vilmorin, and 

 mother of the present M. Henry Vilmorin, of Paris, which 

 took place at the family chateau at Verrit'res, on the 3rd inst. 

 For upwards of a century the name of Vilmorin has been 

 closely associated with the rise and progress not only of the hor- 

 ticulture but the agriculture of France. At an early age it was 

 her lot to become the wife of one of the most accomplished of 

 that talented family, and the readiness with which Madame 

 Vilmorin at once identified herself with the scientific pursuits 

 of her husband, enabled her to contribute in no small degree 

 to the success of the numerous experiments carried on at 

 Verrieres. Of late years the Strawberry formed her more par- 

 ticular subject of study ; and numerous articles from her pen 

 were supplied to illustrate the plates of that splendid work of 

 M. Decaisne, " L<; Jurdiii Fniitier da MiisC'mn." Since the 

 ■death of her husband Madame Vilmorin was the head of the 

 extensive and widely-known house of Vilmorin-Andrienx, 

 et Cie., perhaps the most extensive in Europe. Those whose 

 privilege it was to know this highly-gifted and accomplished 

 lady will regret to read this announcement, and those whose 

 advantage it was to enjoy her friendship will keenly feel the 

 loBS of one whose friendship was of no ordinary kind. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Asparaijus, this is now swelling-off a heavy crop of seeds, 

 which cannot fail to exhaust the plants very much. If attempts 

 were made to clear off the fruit, the chances are that more harm 

 than good would be done by breaking and bruising the young 

 shoots and leaves. The next best plan, therefore, appears to 

 be to soak the beds well with rich liquid manure three or four 

 times before the growth is over. Celery, earth-up the plants 

 as they advance in growth, but leave the hearts uncovered until 

 the final soiling. In the case of the early plants this should 

 be applied about a month before they are wanted for use. 

 Earth-up only when the plants are dry. Some growers defer 

 earthing-up until the plants have nearly attained their full 

 growth, and complete the work at once. I prefer doing it at 

 intervals as the plants advance, believing that this renders the 

 crop more tender and crisp. In earthing-up hold the leaves 

 carefully together to prevent the soil getting between them. 

 Cardoons, these must be blanched before they are fit for use, 

 and the early crop should be tied and earthed-up as soon as the 

 plants are sufficiently strong. This is usually done by gather- 

 ing the leaves together, winding haybands closely round the 

 stems, and then covering with soil. Onions, as soon as'the 

 bulbs are properly matured, which will be known by the decay 

 of the foliage, take them up, spread them out in an airy shed, 

 or sunny situation in the open air, until thoroughly dried, and 

 then store them in a dry, cool place till wanted for use. The 

 Lancashire method of wintering Onions is, perhaps, the best. 

 There the bulbs are tied up in what are called ropes, and hung 

 on an outside wall not facing the sun, and protected from wet 

 by placing a board against the wall overhead. They keep 

 Eound longer by this than in any other method. It is a never- 

 failing rule to keep the ground well stirred between rows of 

 young crops. Spinach, Peas, dwarf Beans, and late-planted 

 (Cauliflowers are the only young crops now to be looked to in 

 this respect. 



FRDIT 6AKIIES. 



Peach trees now ripening their crops stand as much in need 

 of water as Asparagus, but pond water is strong enough for 

 &eiu. Fork the border as far as you expect the roots to reach, 



pour a dozen or so of large watering potsful all round, accord- 

 ing to the size of the trees, and then put over the roots a thin 

 layer of short grass. The old wood of the Raspberry may be 

 cut out as soon as the fruit is off, and also a few of the weakest 

 of the young shoots ; this will strengthen the roots and let the 

 air have free access to the next year's canes. From this time 

 to the middle of September is the best time to prune Currant 

 and Gooseberry trees, by thinning and topping the branches, 

 to allow a free circulation of air, and, indeed, all sorts of fruit 

 trees that are at all unhealthy or of a tender constitution ; it 

 is also a good preventive against canker. The reason is that 

 late autumn growths are avoided, and then no unripe wood 

 remains to be injured by frost; the buds on the remaining 

 branches will be more prominent by the force of the ascending 

 sap being thus checked, and the edges of the wounds made by 

 the pruning knife are healed over before winter. For these 

 reasons and others which might be adduced, September is the 

 best time to cut hedges. Proceed with making fresh planta- 

 tions of Strawberries, choosing well-rooted runners, or such as 

 have been taken up and pricked out in beds previously. It 

 matters little whether they are planted in beds or in rows, pro- 

 vided the plants have sufficient room. The ground should be 

 well trenched and manured, and if the soil is of a stiff nature, 

 the addition of a considerable quantity of gritty matter will be 

 of advantage by keeping it open, as no spade ought to be in- 

 serted among Strawberry plants until they are finally dug down. 



FI,O^T!R GABDEN. 



Before the propagation of bedding plants is proceeded with 

 to any material extent, it is as well that proper arrangements 

 should be made as to what number of plants will be required 

 next season. To keep up the interest of a garden, especially 

 if planted on the grouping system, some considerable skill and 

 forethought are requisite, so as to vary the scene in each suc- 

 ceeding year, and prevent the arrangement becoming mono- 

 tonous. Thus, if warm colours prevail to any material extent 

 this season, it would be as well to introduce a majority of cold 

 colours next season, and to edge each bed of the latter with its 

 complementary warm colour. Indeed, the system of edging 

 beds with contrasting colours imparts a highly interesting 

 feature to the flower garden, and more especially to such beds 

 as may be distributed over the lawn without any methodical 

 arrangement. For these purposes no plants are so well adapted 

 as those which have variegated foliage, and for that reason a 

 large stock of variegated Pelargoniums should be provided. 

 The best of these are Mrs. Pollock, Mangles's Variegated, the 

 common and Golden varieties, and the different Ivy-leaved 

 Pelargoniums. 



GP.EENnOCSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Pelargoniums that have been struck from cuttings early last 

 March, and planted in the reserve garden early in June, should 

 now be fine plants for flowering late in autumn. Their first 

 attempt at blooming in the open ground has been checked of 

 course, and now, as their second flower buds are well formed, 

 they may be taken up carefully and repotted. Some people 

 commit a great error at this stage, by placing such plants in 

 heat at once. This should never be done ; the great point is 

 to keep the leaves as free from excitement as possible until the 

 roots take hold of the ntw soil. A cool close frame covered 

 with canvas is the best place for them, but in the absence of 

 this the north side of a wall or hedge will do. Sprinkle them 

 over the leaves twice a-day, and in ten days they recover from 

 the check without losing a leaf. Chrysanthemums and all 

 other plants that are planted out for a summer's growth — a 

 very excellent practice, should be treated in this way, and 

 should not be allowed to remain in the ground too late. The 

 different species of Begonia are well suited for flowering in the 

 conservatory and in rooms through the summer ; they are en- 

 abled to resist the dry atmosphere in such places by the snoeu- 

 lence of their stems and foliage. 



STOVE. 



Almost all the softwooded store plants that can he formed into 

 large specimens by one or two seasons' gi-owth, Uke Pelargo- 

 niums, may be conveniently treated like that popular tribe of 

 plants. Cut them back after they have ceased flowering, keep 

 them dry for a week or ten days, and then shake them out of 

 the soil, shorten their larger roots, and pot them in light rich 

 compost in as small pots as their roots can be got into. This 

 is a good time to look over a collection for this purpose. Where 

 a large conservatory is to be kept gay all the year round, this 

 class of stove plants is the most useful to cultivate, as you can 

 always winter them in little room, whereas fine woody plants 



