October 22, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OF IIOKTICULTUKE AND COll'AGE GAPDENER. 



307 



they are shortened the bushes become bave; to rectify which the long 

 Toan<7 shoots should be sbortouGd about one-third their lenRth gonornlly, 

 but if yon wish for shoots from the base of the bush thoy must be 

 shortened two-thiriU, nnd if veryclosn toj.'etherthey will reiiuiro thuiiiinK. 

 Keep them dwiirf nnd plentifully furnished with young wood, but not very 

 close together. 



Potting Zonai, PELARaoMUMS (Idem).— Yonr Pelargoniums, hard-cut 

 for cuttings, would be all the butter of being potted when tliey have made 

 young shoots an inch or two Ion.:*. The pots should not bo larger than 

 those in which the plants have boon growing, but, if anytliing. of less 

 size. The old soil should bo piekcd away, and good drniuage. frpsh com- 

 post, and clean small pots would make your plants more healthy timn 

 thev would bo in the old soil and larger pots ; besides, they will be in tine 

 condition to put into th(^ir blooming-pots in spring, potting them then 

 with the bull cntiio. If h-ft over winter as thoy are you must in spring 

 disroot, and some delay will bo the conscquouco. 



PKACH AND PiA'M Trees Un'frcitful (J Younri Gardener).— The slaic 

 coping from fts drip on tho Peach tree will be more injurious than bene- 

 ficial. The water ought to be conveyed ofT, and not allowed to drip on 

 the tree. From tho wood dving back we should think the soil wet, and 

 tho roots deep. AVe would advise you to take up tho tree carefully and 

 replant it, keeping tho roots near the surface. It should be done as soon 

 as the leaves begin to fall. Tho Plum tree wo would treat in the same 

 way. Syringing tlie Peach tree whilst in blossom with sulphur and tobacco 

 water, would be injurious to the blossom if the mixture were strong, but 

 not if the petals had begun to fall and the tobacco water were used weak, 

 that of the shops being diluted with six times its bulk of water. 



Wintering Bepding Pelargoniums (J?f.r).— Your old plants should, if 

 you can atTord space, be potted singly, but if they are at present in pots no 

 good would result from potting them" now unless they were in large pots, 

 in which case thev may bo turned out of the pots and put into those of 

 smaller ei7.e, the old soil being in a great measure removed and fresh em- 

 ployed. The plants in this way will be wintered in less room, and will bo 

 all the better of being transferred to larger pots in spring, cutting them 

 down and inserting the parts taken off as cuttings. These will strike freely 

 in a gentle heat, and will be very useful, especially as you are short of 

 yonug plants. Thiy will be good plants by bedding-out time, and ex- 

 cellent for mixing with old plants. 



Wintering Callas (/(/cm).— The Callas should have a light airy situ- 

 ation iu your greenhouse, and sufficient water should be given to keep , 

 the soil moist and prevent the leaves flnggiug. It is not necessary in 

 winter te set the pots in saucers full of water, though desirable when the 

 plants are in active growth and the weather hot. They ought not now to 

 be repotted. Repot in spring when they begin to grow. 



Repotting Orange Trees (^n Old Siihseribcr).—Tho best time to repot 

 Orange trees is at the end of February or beginning of March, and in 

 doing so remove as much of the old soil as possible without injuring the 

 roots, and afford good drainage to the now pot. As your tree has tho 

 branches partly naked, it may be cut-in a few days after potting, and if 

 you can give it a temperature of from 50^ to 55^ at night, and a moist at- 

 mosphere for six or eight weeks it will push freely, and speedily make a 

 fine plant. The Orange bears cutting well. 



Vallota purpurea and Eucharis .\3IAzonica vot Flowering (Idem). 

 —Keep your plants dry during the winter, giving no more water than suffi- 

 cient to keep tho foliage tolerably fresh; though they droop a little no 

 harm will result. Afford sU the'light possible. Keep the drainage free, 

 but do not repot, for the plants flower best when the roots are confined. 

 When the plants commence growing freely, encourage them with an 

 abundant supply of water, and weak liquid manure onr^e or twice a-week, 

 and having secured a good growth expose them fully to light and air on 

 a shelf near \h^ glass, and lessen the supply of water, merely giving 

 enough to keep the foliage from flagging. When tho spikes appear water 

 plentifully to insure their development, also when they are in flower. The 

 first requires a greenhouse, and the Eucharis a cool stove temperature. 



Potting Liliuh lancifoliuu (Idem).— Aa soon as the leaves fall and 

 the stems are yellow, it is time to repot. They will stand the winter if 

 plunged in coal nsbes, and protected from frost by a covering of litter 

 varying in thickness according to the severity of the weather, removing 

 it iu mild periods. Myrtles may be wintered safely in an orchard house, 

 the pots being plunged, aud the soil kept dry, and a mat wrapped round 

 them in very severe weather, not removing it until the frost is completely 

 gone. 



Tricolor Pelargonium Freaks (riVdHJA).— Remove the preternatural 

 white excrescences from the stems of your Tricolors at once; they only 

 weaken the plants, and will, if allowed to remain, soon injure their 

 health. 



Seeds of Ricinus (Td^m).— Allow tho plant to die down and the seeds 

 to remain in the husks. These should be kept in a dry place during the 

 winter. 



Vines in an Orchard House 'J. O. H., ^^mfci/rl.— There can be no , 

 qaestion that by having a glass division in your orchard house you can, : 

 merely by different management as respects ventilation, keep that part 

 warmer than the other. By moving the glass end at the north for tliis 

 purpose, and having a brick end there instead, von will also make your 

 house warmer at tlie loss of so much light. As to the question of lieat, 

 you are right ; but we do not think you will obtain early Grapes against 

 that wall after your twelve Vines have taken possession of the 12^ feet in 

 length of the span-roofed house. When that is the case wc think very 

 little direct sunlight will fall on this wall— that is, if the Vines go up near 

 the apex of the roof. If a space were left there Vines against the wall 

 would do well, but then a part of the roof would be lost. We would 

 chiefly value your wall for the gi'eater warmth it would give. It will not 

 look so well as the glass. 



Vines in a Gp.eenhuuse {E. TT.).— You can have Vines in yourgi-een- 

 house without buing interfered with by your bedding plants, if you force 

 the Vines little or not at aU. The lean-to form, with a stage at back and 

 a wide shelf in front, will be as useful as any, with the beating medium 

 below that shelf. As you wish to have no border iu front to interfere 

 with your lawn, you might keep your pipes nearer the passage, plant 

 yoor Vines close to the front wall inside, aud allow the roots to run 

 inside, where a border would be made for them ; and if the front wall were 

 on arches or piers the roots could also go out beneath the lawn, and good 

 soil could be obtained for them and the turf replaced. This would do 



admirably for Vines not to be forced. On tho plan proposed your other 

 host mode is to make tho border Inaido the house, obtain strong long-rod 

 Vines, plant them against the back wall, and as they grow train them 

 down the roof. In such a case, with plants, &c., on tho stage, they will do 

 little good till they are near tho top of tho back wall ; and therefore when 

 plantiug, tho buds might bo nipped out, except two or three near the top 

 of the cano or shoot. 



Heating a Small Greenhouse (.7. /).).— For such a small house as 

 yours we think a good-^ized paratHn lamp would keep out frost ; but wa 

 are afraid of explosions, and we fear that tlio products of combustion 

 would injure tho plants, unless you had a large concave reflector of tin 

 suspended over the glass funnel, and a hole in the upper end connected 

 with a small gas pipe going into the open air. A tube from u (luarter to 

 three-eighths of an inch diameter would do for this purpose, and the pipe 

 when passing outside could bo bent down to prevent tho external air 

 acting on the burner to any extent. Paraffin gives a clear light and a 

 strong heat, but even in a sitting-room tho fumes that escape become 

 oppressive unless fresh air is admitted to tho room onco or twice in the 

 evening. If you have any doubts as to the paraffin you need have none 

 as respects a small iron stove, and you would require ouly a small iron 

 funnel from it to the open air. A friend of oura, who disliked the troubl e 

 of lighting a small stove, had a small pipe placed at top instead of a 

 funnel, and put a good-sized lamp inside tho stove, and it gives to the 

 stove all the heat he wants. 



Flue in a Vinert (J. K. L.).— Order the "Vine Manual," which you 

 can have from our nftice by post for thirty-two postage stauips. The best 

 bricks make the best fUms, and should bo well set with lime putty. We 

 prefer they should have no plastering inside, but be roughly plastered or 

 heavily limewaahed outside. As fine Grapes have been grown with flues 

 as with hot water, hut flues require more care, and are more liable to do 

 mischief if not sound, or the stoker careless, or if they are allowed to get 

 foul. If we wanted a strong heat from flues we would make a part next 

 the furnace brick-nn-bed instead of brick-on-edge, Mr. Robson had good 

 flues formed of wide tubes of Portland cement. 



Construction of a Vinery (TT. J. S.).~For sash-bar rafters 12 feet 

 3 inches long, you should not have them less than 1.^ inch wide and 

 4', inches deep; and for 21-oz. glass you would need a slender iron bar 

 longitudinally about the middle of the roof, fixed to the two end rafters, 

 and two pillars at equal distances apart. This would keep the rafters 

 firm and in their places. For such a width of 12^ feet and a height at back 

 of 11 feet, from 8^ to 4 feet in height in front would give you a useful 

 slope of roof, and one-third or one-half of that height in front might be 

 glass. At the above height in front you would have to stoop a little to 

 reach your greenhouse plants there in winter. Then we presume you 

 mean to use heat to keep out frost ; the heat will not interfere with your 

 Vines if you do not let it rise higher than 45'. A flue along the back wall 

 would be sufficient to keep frost out ; but so placed, a flue has less effect 

 in a house than if placed along the front. 



Waterproofing Calico {C. G.).— Tack the calico loosely on the frame, 

 and then paint over with the following when hot. Take oue pint of lin- 

 seed oil old and pale, half an ounce of acetate of lead (sugar of lead), and 

 one ounce of white resin. Grind the acetate with a little oil, add to 

 the rest, and the resin bruised, incon'orata thoroughly in an iron pot 

 over a slow fire, and applv with a brush when hot. Next day fasten 

 tightly with tacks, and rub the brush round the sides where tacked. This 

 does well when the cover can be lifted off and on like a sash of a frame, 

 lint the waterproofing is apt to crack when rolled, and in that case would 

 be better without tho resin. A flexible cloth for rolling, and tolerably 

 waterproof, is made by a weak solution of glue, just so strong as to stick 

 between the fingers a little when it begins to cool. Add to it as much 

 alum as will enable the taste of alum to bo discernible, then a little linseed 

 oil. and a little soap beaten up into a lather, and when well mixed apply 

 to the cloth, when the mixture is warm, with a brush. For mere water- 

 proofing, when light is no object, nothing is better than a mixture of 

 boiled oil and tar, which when dry is pliable. We have found, however, 

 that waterproofed calico does not last so much longer, and that common 

 CAlico strained tightly throws off water like an umbrella. 



Plantation for Shelter and Ornament (W. T. Coni/era'.).—ln your 

 sheltering boundary it would be well not to plant more than from thirty 

 to forty intended to be permanent, and fill up with a few Scotch Firs and 

 Spruce, but chiefly with the common Laurel, which you can cut as yoa 

 like afterwards. For fine specimen plants we would plant such as the 

 following— viz., Pinus pinaster, P. austriaca, P. cembra, P. strobus, P. es- 

 celsa; Abies alba, A. Smithians, A. Douglasii, A. cephalonica ; Picea pin- 

 sapo, P;cea Webbiana, Araucaria excelsa, Cryptomeria japonica, Taxodium 

 sempervirens, Wellingtonia gigantea, Cedrus Libani, Cedrus deodara 

 (if something like a fourth should be Deodars you will not regret it), with 

 three or four Aruucarias, and at least a couple of Wellingtonias. These 

 should be from 40 to 50 feet apart. Most of these, and especially Arauca- 

 riaa and Deodars, may be had well rooted and of a large size at from 

 10s. Gd. to 2l3. Gd. each ; but if the carriage must be long we would prefer 

 for such specimens good strong plants from 18 to 30 inches in height, 

 and which, if well treated, will grow better every day after they are 

 planted, whilst large expensive plants are apt to stand still for a time. 

 However, if you wish for a few line specimens, have them by all means, 

 and most of our respectable niu*serymen would be able to supply you 

 with plants of almost any size, according to price. 



Cultivating Mushrooms on a Grass Plat (Dc»rt).— Mushrooms are 

 always uncertain in the open air. You may have them on the grass plat 

 just as well as in a grass field ; but it is rather late to iusert spawn below 

 the turf now. It would have been better if you had spawned your ground 

 iu August, inserting pieces about the size of a walnut every 18 inches or 

 so apart, and irom 1 to 2 inches below the surface. The spawn is not so 

 much injured by cold as by wet and cold combined. Wo would never 

 advise mailing a Mushroom bed of a lawn, as, if the spawn take posses- 

 sion, farewell to the soft elastic bend and the smooth surface of the 

 lawn ; but a small corner might be tried. Recollect that that will be ex- 

 posed to the same casualties as spawn in grass fields. Wo have marked 

 places plentifullv supplied with Mushrooms, and found the ground per- 

 meated with spa"mi, and yet for years afterwards not a Mushroom was 

 seen in the same place. In other cases we have found Mushrooms ap- 

 pearing on the same pasture at the same placo year after year. This hag 

 been a fine season for spawn gprt ading under ground. 



Select Varieties of Gladiolus (C. B.,Birmijifiham).—Iied: Meyer- 

 beer, Fulton, Ensign. Pink : Adolphe Brongniart, Milton, FL-Ucien David^ 



