September 24, 1868. 1 JOOKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDBNEB. 



229 



be struck any time before the euJ of October, and they root as 

 freely as Willows, and will blossom all through next summer 

 in very small pots. 



STuyt:. 

 There is no variation in tho treatment of this house worth 

 noticing this week. 



PITS AND FUAMES. 



Halt a dozen plants of tho Prince of Orange Pelargonium, 

 stinted all the summer, and lately planted in one large pot, will 

 now be ready to be removed from the cold pit to the conser- 

 vatory, where they will IJower all tho winter. It is rather too 

 soon yet to take the Heliotropes in-doors, so many of them 

 being yet to be seen in the beds outside. Smith's Giant, or 

 Shrubland Scarlet Pelargoniums, struck last May or .June, will 

 now be fine-sized plants to introduce into rooms, &o., where 

 such furnishings are wanted. These are among the best to 

 stand over the dull months. It is now time to place young 

 Gardenias, Neriums, and Orange trees in their winter quarters. 

 A cold pit from which the frost can be excluded is the best 

 place for them, as they are always kept in the smallest pots 

 into which the roots will go, and force best when thus under- 

 potted. It often happens that their roots perish during winter. 

 To prevent this it is a good plan to turn them out of the pots 

 now, and plunge the balls in a thin layer of light earth during 

 the period of rest ; but as Gardenias will flourish in peat only 

 they should be plunged in it. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Celery. — In writing rather largely on the treatment of this 

 vegetable last week, we forgot again to draw the attention of 

 those who like Celery, and have little ground, to the Dwarf 

 White Incomparable, which, though it grows slowly and never 

 becomes high, blanches quickly, and from plants 15 or 18 inches 

 in height you can always send a foot in length to table. A 

 bed 4 feet wide will grow three rows admirably, and '2 feet at 

 most on each side will be enough to earth it up. But for grow- 

 ing other crops on the ridges, 18 inches on each side would be 

 ample space ; so that in a width of G or 7 feet the amateur 

 may have three rows of one of the sweetest kinds of Celery for 

 the table. Tall Celery is not to be despised by any means, but 

 in these giant heads the eatable part is not in proportion to 

 the general bnlk. We found last winter and spring that this 

 Dwarf White stood as well as the Red. 



Tomatoes. — Disleafed these rathfer freely to let the sun to the 

 fruit. There is so much moisture in the stems that the fruit 

 ripens with but little foliage. After this season it is of no use 

 allowing bunches of bloom to stand. All the strength of the 

 roots should go into the fruit that is tolerably well advanced. 



Cuciimhcrs. — Regulated and trained young plants in a pit 

 where fire heat can be given, and thinned considerably those 

 bearing, but becoming the worse of the work they have done. 

 Potted others into 6 and 8-inch pots, to plant them out for 

 winter work if wanted, but for this we have no place very suit- 

 able, as our pit ii too flat, and the plants receive too little 

 direct light in winter. After February the matter is different. 

 A steep lean-to, or a rather steep span, is best for Cucumbers 

 in winter. 



Dwarf Kidney Beanx. — Gave a good watering to those which 

 have just come up in a pit, to be treated with a little beat when 

 wanted. Sowed some dozens of large pots out of doors, which 

 pots may be removed under protection when the weather 

 threatens to be cold, and we will sow again shortly. The plants 

 thus raised out of doors in a warm autumn generally do better 

 when housed in time than those sown under glass at once, and 

 they enable us to use the stage a little longer for other purposes. 



The weather has become warmer after the delightful rain on 

 the nights of the 18th and 19th, which came just when it was 

 needed, and has made all fresh-planted subjects lift up their 

 heads nicely ; even the wasps have become a little torpid over 

 it. In mild damp weather extra care must be taken of young 

 Lettuces, Cauliflowers, &e., otherwise the trouble of planting 

 might be saved. Wood ashes mixed with rough coal ashes are 

 together very annoying to all the slimy tribe ; but when very 

 numerous, nothing heats a little heap of brewers' grains mixed 

 with a little bran. We may here mention that though we have 

 seen few dead mice, yet since we put the poisoned grain in the 

 middle of the drain tiles, they have ceased to cut up our plants 

 as they were doing wholesale. The drain tiles are so small, 

 that nothing except mice and small rats could find their way 



in, and therefore there was no danger of more valued animals 

 reaching the poison. Care, however, should be taken to see 

 that tho mice do not pull it out. We have known cases where 

 pheasants and fowls have been poisoned by rats, after eating a 

 portion in a hole, or in any other place deemed safe, pulling a 

 part out and leaving it exposed. Thus we would rather do 

 without poisoning if we could ; there is something hateful and 

 repulsive in the whole process. Poisoned grain cannot now be 

 bought, but we presume we can make a little for our own use, 

 and for birds and mice nothing is more effectual than strych- 

 nine or nux vomica, because it kills bo quickly and does not 

 torture. 



Ants. — " A Reader " has drawn our attention to the many 

 letters and the many modes adverted to in the Timest and other 

 papers as to the test mode of destroying ants in dwelling 

 houses. We would refer to these letters, and to what has ap- 

 peared frequently in this Journal, as to the best mode of 

 making them shift their quarters. For killing them off, the 

 following mode is the most effectual with us when we are 

 forced to interfere with the busy workers. Procure from a 

 chemist some arsenic that has not been blackened, as, we pre- 

 sume, in general it must be. Mix that with moist white sugar, 

 place it in a saucer, place two slips of wood across it, from one- 

 eighth to one-quarter ot an inch thick, and on these place 

 another saucer reversed, with a weight on it to keep it firm. 

 The ants will enter between the two saucers, and will die as 

 the contents inside disappear. Without poison great numbers 

 may be caught in vessels smeared with treacle or honey. 



FKUIT GAEDBN. 



Straivherries. — Have not yet cleaned all our Strawberries; 

 but this work ought to have been done, to let more light to the 

 crowns, but for the press of other matters. From those in 

 pots removed all runners, so that all the energies of the roots 

 might be directed to the central crown or bud. One reason 

 why we do not wish to have our plants so strong as we once 

 had them is, that when very strong they are apt to make two or 

 three buds instead of one, and these triple crowns seldom do so 

 well as plants with only one crown. 



Apples and Pears. — As soon as the weather becomes fine again 

 we must gather the most of these, as though many would be 

 improved by hanging a little longer, a good many would be 

 apt to drop, and thus be good for nothing but for present use. 

 We housed many soft Apples that used to keep with us up to 

 Christmas, but they soon began to go ; and a lot of soft ones 

 we therefore left beneath the trees for the wasps and birds, and 

 so far they acted as traps to the wasps, and kept them and 

 birds almost wholly from the better and keeping fruit. 



We wish we could do more than we can at present do in 

 respect to removing the late growths from dwarf and pyramidal 

 trees, as the sap is thus more concentrated in the buds. The 

 buds of most trees look plump and maturing well for another 

 season. 



Root-pruniny. — As soon as the fruit shall have been gathered, 

 and in the case of trees that have borne none and are rather 

 luxuriant, the earlier the roots are cut the better, so as to tell on 

 the fruitfulness next season, and that, root-pruning will do, very 

 much in proportion to the dry sunny character of the autumn. 

 When fruit trees are young and very luxuriant it is often advis- 

 able to take up and replant before the leaves have lost all their 

 greenness. In general, with established dwarf trees which bear 

 rather freely little root-pruning will be necessary, and that 

 should be given a little at a time, cutting the roots a little on 

 one side of the tree this season and on the other side in the 

 following season. This once done, and some rotten dung used 

 as mulching every year, the roots will be so encouraged near 

 the surface that little more cutting of them will be necessary. 



ORNAMENTAL IiEI'ARTMENT. 



In the pleasure grounds the rains have freshened up the 

 beds that were becoming very dry again, and as the beds were 

 picked over the day previously, the rains have not injured the 

 appearance of the sound blooms. There can scarcely be a 

 more melancholy sight than a gay bed of Pelargoniums con- 

 taining many faded flowers after a heavy rain, and in such 

 a case even the sound blooms look discoloured and miserable. 

 If we could carry it out we would never take a bloom from 

 flower beds except a faded one, and we would never allow 

 faded seeding blooms to remain. In many cases, were there 

 acres of beds, they would have to be gone over every day to 

 have the mansion stiuided all over with cut flowers, even though 

 windows and doors open on conservatories and flower gardens ; 

 but in such a case some large mixed borders should, if possible, 

 be kept for cutting purposes. We have not this kind of lux- 



