268 



JOURNAIi OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEBENER. 



[ October 8, 1868. 



crowns of the roots being injured by frosts, wbicli we may 

 soon expect. 



GKEEKHOCSE AND CONSEETATOEY. 



Let all greenhouse plants be cleanecl, pots and all, before 

 they are set on the new-cleaned shelves, and let the lights be 

 down all day, and half down during the night, unless rain or 

 frosts occur. If the Orange trees or any plants kept per- 

 manently in the conservatory have not been looked over of 

 late, no time should now be lost in getting every leaf and pot 

 as^ clean as may be, likewise the surface of the borders. As 

 this house will now be kept more close, nothing inside can be 

 too clean and sweet. Beaumontia grandiflora will grow freely 

 in a well-managed conservatory, but will not flower without 

 more heat at the roots, and as it is of the same natural order 

 as the Allamanda and Echites, there is no reason why these 

 should not be inarched on it as soon as it is long enough to 

 reach near the top of the house. From this time till late in 

 the spring some climbers in this house will require pruning 

 and thinning-out, the whole of them will require a little dress- 

 ing now and then, especially where they obstruct the light. 

 One great advantage of climbers is, that most of them flower 

 on the current year's growth like the Vine ; all such ought to be 

 very closely pruned at the final dressing. 



STOVE. 



From October to May the principal watering in the stove 

 should be done before noon, and to the middle or end of January 

 the house should be kept as dry as possible, a slight syringing, 

 however, will be useful to keep the foliage free from dust, &a. 

 A sunny morning is the best time to water overhead, and once 

 in ten days will be often enough. All plants that require 

 pruning or thinning-out before the next growing season, should 

 be dressed at once to give more room for the rest. Cleroden- 

 drons, Vincas, and other fast-growing plants which require 

 large pots in summer, should never be wintered in these large 

 pots ; turn them out and shake all the soil from the roots, and 

 place them in as small pots as you can cram their roots intJ, 

 but do not prune the roots much at this time. If the plants 

 are free from insects, the walls whitewashed, and the flues or 

 heating apparatus in good order, all may be considered in good 

 condition to face the winter. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



A multitude of greenhouse plants would do better in cold 

 pits for the next two months than in the greenhouse. Even 

 turf pits with boarded frames and asphalt coverings to put ot. 

 in rainy or frosty weather, are far better for these sorts of plants 

 as long as the thermometer shows no more than G" or 7° of 

 frost. All plants should be put in order for the winter as soon 

 as possible ; those that are well-established may be placed in 

 their winter quarters at once, giving the most valuable ones the 

 best places ; but those not well rooted may be kept in heat a 

 few weeks longer, for though theory may say, Keep them as 

 quiet as possible, practice, which is a much better guide says, 

 Keep them growing until they are thoroughly established, unless 

 you wish to consign them prematurely to the rubbish heap. — 

 W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 

 Nearly a week's rain has made us independent as respects 

 water supply for a long time. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Most of the crops have required no attention when let alone 

 by intruders and vermin ; and most of those planted during 

 the summer and lately have grown very well. Where not a 

 single patch ot weeds could be seen a fortnight ago the ground 

 is becoming green with them in their early stages ; but a dry 

 day and a scuffle with the Dutch hoe will soon put them out of 

 sight again. 



Celery. — During a dry afternoon earthed up a piece more 

 Celery. As yet we have had neither a run nor bad head. Our 

 only fear is, that we commenced using it rather early. The 

 heavy rains have given a good soaking to the beds that had the 

 heads merely cleaned and tied up. We are glad to see what 

 Mr. Black says about sawdust for earthing-up, as it confirms 

 our own experience and observation. The hint about papering 

 is good for early Celery where paper is plentiful, but merely 

 tying the heads just lightly enough to let the heart rise and 

 swell, will often blanch the centres of good-sized heads so as to 

 render them fit for table. We have known Celery that was 

 merely tied take a prize in September instead of that which had 

 been earthed- up with great care, and where the judges did their 



work so well, and the competition was so close, that they had 

 to cut open every head. In a wet season when the ground 

 was soaked, we once had fine blanched Celery in August by 

 running slight straw bands round the plants, and of these we 

 happened then to have plenty. Much good Celery is spoiled 

 by over-earthing. Protection is needed in winter, and a little 

 long litter is better than loo much earth. 



Potatoes. — We hear that there is a good breadth, and not 

 late kinds, still in the ground. In districts where the drought 

 was prevalent it was sound policy to take up the Potatoes before 

 the heavy rains came, as these promoted at once a second 

 growth. Many that are now sold from late taking-up are de- 

 ceptive. We saw lately what seemed a good dish of Potatoes, 

 but they were unfit for use, all their best properties having 

 gone to a host of waxy progeny, and such only good to look 

 at in the case of those who delight in a sound mealy Potato. 

 Those which have remained long enough in the ground to pro- 

 duce a second crop, may be known by being harder and drier 

 to the touch and look than sound unsprouted Potatoes. This 

 matter was fully alluded to in July and August, and several 

 now admit that it was their own fault that the bulk of their best- 

 looking Potatoes are now uneatable. 



Citcuinbeis. — As wo have now plenty again in a heated pit, 

 we have done away with those in frames, as we wanted the 

 room for other purposes, and we could not have kept them on 

 without a considerable waste of material in the shape of 

 linings, &c. We are well aware that if we allow these young 

 Cucumber plants to bear freely now, they will exhaust them- 

 selves by Christmas or before it. Unless where there is a 

 proper Cucumber house, where fruit is wanted from Christmas 

 and onwards, very little should be taken from the plants until 

 the shortest day is past. In these dull days with rain falling 

 heavily, a little fire heat, with air at top and bottom to give a 

 gentle draught through, will harden the plants, and enable 

 them to stand the sun better when it comes, as we may yet 

 have fine sunny days in October. 



Mushroo7ns. — Finished earthing up the last piece in the shed, 

 and spawned one bed in the Mushroom house. Perhaps about 

 one-third of these shallow beds consisted of droppings and 

 two-thirds of straw and turfy loam. Such beds never become 

 too close, but sometimes they become rather dry, so that 

 though there is plenty of spawn in them, the Mushrooms do 

 not come up freely enough. In such a case the best plan is to 

 make holes with a pointed stick or iron at every 4 inches or so 

 over the bed, and to water with dung water at about 140°, as 

 that will not be too much for filling all the holes, and from 

 them it will percolate through the dryish manure. Of two evils 

 it is always better to have a bed rather dry than too wet. A 

 few Mushrooms have appeared in the pastures of late, but after 

 so much wet they are poor compared with those grown at home. 



Mixed together grass and litter in a heap, as hot material, 

 however rough, will soon be very useful in bringing on crops, 

 and however rank the main body of the heap may be, it is 

 always easy to secure the heat, and keep the rankness out of 

 the atmosphere in which the plants are growing. In the wettest 

 days a much-needed opportunity was given for cleaning sheds, 

 whitewashing, scrubbing pots, making tallies, and preparing 

 for potting freely, washing glass under cover, &c., as, after this 

 season, we shall want nearly all the light the glass can give. 



FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 



Pruned and cleaned the first vinery, and in a few days will 

 have it filled with flowering plants. As we have now only 

 Plums left in our late orchard house, and as a few plants will 

 do them no harm from watering, we have taken lots of Pri- 

 mulas, i-c, into it, as being more safe than being out of doors, 

 or even under frames. Covered with old sashes, and litter 

 beneath them, the late vinery border, and this before the 

 heavy rains came. The Grapes keep all the better when the 

 roots are not over-wet. Put some litter over the earlier Vine 

 borders, and would have covered them with glass, boards, or 

 tarpaulin, to protect them from the rain, if we could. The 

 litter would throw off much, and help to keep the autumn heat 

 in. When we can do so, we prefer putting on a light layer of 

 litter early, in preference to a mound ot fermenting material 

 later. In the last plan there may be, and often is danger. In 

 the first there can be none. 



Fii/s in our little Fig-house will not do much more good, ex- 

 cept with such an amount of heat as we do not feel disposed to 

 give them. Besides, when we have kept the plants bearing 

 in the end of October, and a good portion of November, we 

 always come off with a scantier first crop in spring than we 

 liked. 



