September 3, 1868. 1 



JOUHNAL OF HOBTICULTDKE AND COTTAGE QAKDENEB. 



173 



and eximium — the latter only a slight variety of the other — to 

 flower early in June should now be potted. The beautifal 

 varieties of Lilium Inncifoliura to flower next July bLouU also 

 now be in pots, but October is time enough to pot all these if 

 they are not wanted before their usual time. The spring- 

 flowering Cyclamens are very desirable plants ; they should 

 now be potted, and the summer ones gradually allowed to be- 

 come dry, in order to be stored away for the winter. The 

 earliest crop of Hyacinths, Narcissus, Tulips, &c., should now 

 be making roots freely in the new pots. 



STOVE. 



Many useful plants in that section which flower in winter 

 and early spring in the stove, may be brought sooner into 

 flower by checking growth about the present time ; this is done 

 by diminishing the usual quantity of water, and by keeping 

 the house drier. Others of the same sort may be encouraged 

 to grow as late as they will in order to succeed these. Every 

 pot plant should be looked over one by one at any time when 

 the weather is bad during this and the next month. It is not 

 enough, however, that the outside of the pots and the surface 

 of the soil are cleaned, the balls must be turned out of 

 the pots, worms looked after, the drainage relieved from tho 

 sediment which the summer watering has washed down among 

 the crocks, and if the pot is at all covered with green slime, 

 do not use it, but take a dry clean pot of the same size, then 

 add a little fresh soil to the surface, of the same nature as that 

 already in the pot. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



They should be filled with good plants for next year. As 

 soon as the cuttings are struck let them have a few weeks out 

 of doors it possible ; it will revive them much before winter, 

 and will also enable them to stand the confinement with greater 

 freedom. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST "WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAEDEN. 



Here tho work has chiefly been of a routine character — 

 namely, planting, hoeing, and forking among young plants, 

 and breaking the crust formed by the rains. Cauliflowers that 

 had not a green leaf left, nor a whole one that was not riddled 

 by the fly, are now pushing green leaves, and though fine, com- 

 pact, white heads from old plants are out of the question, they 

 are yielding nice little pieces like Sprouting Broccoli, which 

 come in now as ?.n agreeable change. Scarlet Kunners, which 

 at one time threatened to succumb, are now bearing heavily. 

 We could not manage to keep on our ridge Cucumbers, as from 

 want of water the red spider attacked them, but Vegetable 

 Marrows withstood the drought well, and will be useful for 

 some time longer. 



The worst effect of the dry weather has been the filling the 

 dry ground with grubs. We lately planted some hundreds of 

 Lettuces, and there is hardly one left, the grub has seized the 

 most of them, biting through beneath the surface ; and though 

 we have caught myriads of the depredators, we have not yet 

 destroyed them all. Wo examined the ground well before 

 planting, and even added lime when the ground was turned 

 over, hut that has not kept them away. As yet they have not 

 troubled us with much else, as Cabbages, young plants, and 

 Cauliflowers are as yet untouched. We examined plants, hut 

 though we found nothing at the roots one day, there would be 

 a grub and a cut plant the next. We once tried a sprinkling of 

 tar on the ground, but with little benefit. In fact, we know 

 no effectual remedy, except catching and killing them. Do any 

 of our readers know of a less tiresome remedy ? On a raised 

 bank planted with Endive, those on the south side are almost 

 as much injured as the Lettuce, whilst those on the north and 

 colder side are not at all touched. 



Spawned a fresh piece of JIushroom bed, and prepared a 

 piece more, which will be the last in the open shed. In a few 

 days, or as soon as we have wet, we will smoke the Mush- 

 room house with burning sulphur, preparatory to clearing it 

 out for receiving the winter beds. 



Planted out strong Cucumbers in a pit, where we can give 

 them heat, and applied a little fire heat to those in a pit still 

 bearing. Those in frames that fruited early are now about 

 over. The last sowings out of doors of Onions and Lettuces 

 to stand the winter, and Turnips and Radishes, must now be 

 made. A sowing of Eadishes may be made in the middle of 

 September, or a week later, if some protection can he given to 

 them, and when much wanted, they should be sown under 

 glass in the first week in October, but without any artificial 



heat. Some people like them all the year round, hut in general 

 they are more prized after the New Year than for a month or 

 two in the end of the year. When people eat cold Cucumbers 

 all the year round, these cease to be a zest in March and onwards. 

 All except the latest Potatoes should now be taken up, as most 

 of the early and medium early kinds are making fresh growth, 

 and after this the first-formed tubers will always be deficient 

 in quality. 



riiuiT oAnpEN. 



liasjiberries. — Thinned out and roughly tied, so as to fill 

 the spaces between with winter stuff. Much of that will be 

 smaller than usual, and therefore we must have more of it. 

 See previous weeks as to (looseberries. Currants, and bush and 

 pyramidal fruit trees, and iiatheriiiy rarJij fntil. All the fruit 

 will be much earlier this season. Even the liibston Pippin 

 Apple, and its next-door neighbour for quality, the smaller but 

 equally rich Margil, are becoming quite bright in appearance, 

 and the seeds are pretty well black ripe. One fruit here, the 

 fine-flavoured Margil, will flourish on soils where without fre- 

 quent transplanting it is next to impossible to keep the wood 

 of the Ribston Pippin from cankering, and the fruit from being 

 spotted. Let it be borne in mind that a fruit carefully gathered 

 and placed on shelves or drawers without injury, is really as 

 valuable as two or three that have tumbled down and been 

 bruised. Even soft Apples keep much better and longer if 

 gathered by hand. Hence the superiority of bush and pyra- 

 midal trees insteady of lofty standards. It is such a pleasure 

 to be able to attend to and gather most of the fruit when 

 standing on the solid ground. With proper attention we 

 believe, too, that the same space of ground supplied with 

 dwarf trees will jield more fruit than the same ground covered 

 with large lofty trees. Until tried people will not believe the 

 quantity of fruit they can have from small, well-tended trees, 

 when no more vigour is permitted than is sufficient to bring 

 the fruit to perfection. 



Fruit-room. — Much depends on having this place sweet and 

 clean. Took the chance of a dull wet day to have tho shelves, 

 &c., well scrubbed with hot soap water, and would like to 

 whitewash and wash again before the bulk of the fruit is 

 gathered. Anything unplesant soon exercises an influence on 

 the fruit. 



With all our care where gauze cannot be applied, the wasps 

 are exercising their powers on Phims and some of the earlier 

 Apples. Myriads have been destroyed, but still numbers are 

 left, and the dry season has so cracked the ground as to give 

 them wondrous facilities for baffling us. We lately noticed a 

 large nest, and to it there were as many as a dozen en- 

 trances, and some of these as much as 10 or 12 feet from the 

 nest. If burning paraffin oil could be made to reach them in 

 their burrows it would soon destroy them. Tar is also good, 

 but if the danger is guarded against nothing is more efl'ectual 

 for stupefying them than lighted squibs of sulphurand powder, 

 and after burning well a piece cf turf placed over the hole. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



If anything could show the importance of having flower-beds 

 well picked of their fading flowers, it would have been the ap- 

 pearance of those beds well trimmed before the continuous 

 rains of the 22nd, and those that were unpicked. The former 

 stood the rains, and remained gay and bright, but it was a 

 number of days before the others, even after picking, became 

 at all bright. The water falling off fading flowers discolours the 

 younger flowers that otherwise would remain bright. 



Most of the time has been taken up in switching and rolling 

 walks, and mowing and machining the lawn, and where the latter 

 operation has been resorted to since the rains once every four 

 days or so, a more beautiful green carpet could not be seen. 

 The growth, owing to the heat of the ground, is remarkably 

 rapid, and, therefore, the mowings must be frequent. Much 

 has also been done in inserting cuttings in moveable boxes, to 

 avoid the necessity of raising and potting, or planting after- 

 wards ; but this has been done in the manner several times 

 adverted to.— K. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUE EECEIVED. 



Charles Turner, Koyal Nurseries, Slough. — Catalogue of 

 BiUbous Flower Roots and Tulij)!!. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Septejibkr 2. 



There has been Kcareely any alterntion worth qnotinK. A trifling ad- 

 vance has been made in the price of Filberts and Cob Nuts, but that is 



