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JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTDBH AND COTTAGE QARDENBB. 



it Ukss poBBession of a place where it in not wanted. 'We 

 kare seen borders (or fruit trees ranch injured by MuBhroora 

 ■pawn, Bud we have found plants and trees much injured until 

 the upawn was all destroyed by strong fresh lime-waterings. 

 Hardly any of tbo Mushroom tribe will succeod or grow when 

 treated with quicklime under any circumstances. 



Preparimi fur Mitihmom JSciU. — lu summer there is no difTi- 

 •alty in doing this, but there is more trouble in obtaining 

 materials for a bod in winter. Wo have already several times 

 stated how we have used almost every possible fermenting ma- 

 terial for such beds. Provided we could obtain a few inches of 

 good horse droppings, or good, sweet, hotbed dung for the sur- 

 face, we have had many line beds made with tree leaves, 

 with a few inches of such rich dressings on the surface ; but 

 for all shallow beds on platforms, shelves, or even in move- 

 able boxes and largo pots, we prefer horse droppings with 

 about a third of short dry litter, and from a sixth to an eighth 

 of dry fibrous loam mixed with it. The nearer the droppings 

 are being sufficiently dried — that is, to be neither wet nor dry, 

 without heating much, the greater will be the nutritive qualities 

 left for the support of the Mushrooms ; and it is compaiatively 

 easy to secure this dryness without much healing in the summer 

 months. There are no means in open sheds to dry such ma- 

 terials now without throwing them into a heap to ferment. 

 They will soon dry t^ullicienth' if the dropjiings were collected 

 at the stable ; but when they must be shaken-out from dung 

 that has lain out of doors, they will often be so wet as to rot 

 when heated, instead of drying, and in such a case we have cut 

 dry straw and mixed with the materials to great advantage. 

 When thus piled up in a heap from a week to a fortnight, the 

 inside of the heap will have a dry whitish aspect ; and though 

 we have lost much of the nutritive qualities, we are forced to 

 make that sacrifice to secure the amount of dryness which 

 will secure a long and continuous heat from the materials when 

 firmly beaten together in a bed. If damper, the heat would be 

 apt to be too strong aud not lasting, and the spawn dislikes 

 damp ground to run in. When our beds have been damper 

 than we liked them, we have had good crops by inserting each 

 piece of spawn in a good handful of short dryish litter before 

 fixing it in the bed. The general dampness of the bed then 

 acted much the same as a casing of damp cow dung over a 

 dryish bed — a plan, however, not to be adopted by those who 

 dislike very thick succulent Mushrooms. 



Drainiwj. — No better time and weather could be found for 

 this work, and in gardens it can rarely be effected except in the 

 dull days of winter. It is hardly worth while draining if the 

 drains cannot le made frum ii to 4 feet deep. We have seen 

 much draining done with the common garden spades ; but 

 wherever a considerable amount of work is to be done, even a 

 week or two of such work, it will always be money saved to 

 procure a set or two of draining tools, so that tlie drain may be 

 easily made like the letter V, and the round drain tile easily 

 depo-ited in the acute angle at the base. If the cuttings of 

 Blackthorn, &c., can be had, a good layer of the.se above the 

 tiles will greatly assist them. We have lielped to examine 

 such drains filled for a foot in depth with Thorns alone, that 

 worked well after being deposited for a score of years ; aud 

 even then, except close to the outlet, they were remarkably 

 fresh. It is always well, however, to have tiles if to be had. 



For mere surface water the drains may be much shallower, 

 but they will exercise but little influence in the culture of the 

 soil. We have known some cases, however, in which all the 

 work of draining was next to labour thrown away ; and therefore 

 it would be advisable to make sure if the ground really needed 

 draining. We recollect of a case where the soil was a rather 

 stiff loam, resting about 2 feet from the surface on what was 

 consideied to be a stiff clay — just such a soil as was supposed 

 would be much improved by draining. A good outfall was 

 obtained in the neighbourhood of a running brook, aud the 

 drains were made from 12 to 18 inches deep in the clay ; but 

 the wonder was that with the full, &c., scarcely any water ran 

 out of the drains. In fact, the draining was found almost 

 useless work. Holes were made 3, 4, and 5 feet deep, and yet 

 the latter seldom retained water long even in the winter months. 

 The truth came out that the supposed clay was plentifully 

 commingled with marl, as proved by the action of acids, and 

 the extra moisture escaped tasily by the veins of clayey marl. 

 Uaking a few holes involves no great trouble, and may well be 

 done before a great drainage work is commenced. If the sub- 

 soil is so open that the water passes freely, we may rest assured 

 that such moisture rising again in the shape of vapour will 

 rather be relished by the roots of plants in summer. If water 



will not stand at a good depth, we can hardly have the lorfac* 

 soil too moist, unless there is some intercepting material be- 

 tween the surface and the subsoil. 



Digging, Trenehing, and liidging have not with us received, 

 us yet, the attention they ought to have had, but we so far 

 please ourselves with the thought, that the surfaoe of the 

 ground has been pretty well frozen, and we rather like it to 

 be so, and thawed again, before we turn the surface down to 

 the bottom of the trench in ridging. Nevertheless, we would 

 have liked to have had more Boil ridged-up. 



Frosty mornings furnished good opportunities for wheeling 

 manure, rubbish heaps, burnt earth, weeds, Sec. After break- 

 ing the dung fine, thrown over Asparagus rows, we gave a good 

 dressing from a heap formed chiefly of burnt pruuings, weeds, 

 and edging-parings, which will only be leaa beneficial than a 

 sprinkling of salt, whilst it will secure to our stiff soil a lighter 

 surface. 



Sea-kale and lihuharh. — For the main crops out of doors we 

 prefer planting in well-trenched, well-aired soil, in spring, just 

 after the heads or buds begin to move, using young plants for 

 Sea-kale, and either young plants or dividing the roots for 

 Ivhubarb. Large stools are benefited in their produce when 

 divided into two or three pieces ; but as spring generally brings 

 enough of work with it, sueh work may also be done now with 

 advantage, and so may Asparagus be planted in a mild day, 

 when there is no danger of the tender fibres being dried-up or 

 injured. The best time to transplant this vegetable is when 

 the shoots have grown some 3 inches in length ; then scarcely & 

 single plant fails, whilst what we used to plant in the winter 

 did not grow quite so regularly. 



Horseradish. — This we consider to be always beet, and fit for 

 use right up to the core, when it is transplanted every few 

 years, a few rows at a time. The worst of it is, the difficulty 

 of eradicating it from a piece of ground where it has once been 

 planted. The most secure mode is to pick up every bit as it 

 appears, and especially never to allow a leaf to grow. Few 

 plants will long retain healthy roots if no leaves be allowed to 

 grow. Constant cutting will beat the Nettle, the Thistle, and 

 even the more dread white-rooted Convolvulus. In cold weather 

 the easily-grown Horseradish might be more used than it is. 

 It would to many a working man be little lees serviceable than 

 the once famed " curry powder." 



FIU'IT OAIIDEN. 



Here the weather and other circumstances have prevented us 

 doing much out of doors ; and in-doors the chief work has been 

 attending to the fruit room, taking out all specked fruit, look- 

 ing over Grapes, which have kept well, but are becoming thin, 

 and prtining and cleaning fruit trees in vineries and orchard 

 houses. We had intended having some work with 



Vine Borders, but as yet, have been unable to do anything. 

 Many questions have been put to us since we detailed the 

 simple plan of border-making, or rather no border-making, at 

 Messrs. Lane's, of Berkhampstead. Before going to great ex- 

 pense in draining, &c., it would be well to ascertain whether 

 there would be standing water ; and if the natural soil is 

 good, most likely the addition of some lime rubbi.-h, and some 

 boiled broken bones will be all that is necessary to secure fine 

 Grapes. We should like to have fresh fibrous turf and bones, 

 and use the means to keep the soil open, as it all soon be- 

 comes close here if left to itself. In all such cases, especially 

 for early work, much depends on having canvas or boards fixed 

 tile or slate fashion, to keep the late autumn and winter rains 

 off — a practice which has done wonders in many cases, though 

 we have seldom been able to resort to it ourselves, and, there- 

 fore, have had to be content with makeshifts. 



ORNAMENTAL DKPAHTUENT. 



■When the day was at all open, proceeded with moving trees 

 and shrubs, taking care to place them in mellow soil before the 

 roots were injured by frost, or the soil caked. Cleaned and 

 rolled pleasure grounds, forwarded bulbs and shrubs, including 

 Eoses, for blooming. Put a lot of Cinerarias into a drier place 

 to open their blooms more freely. Shifted Pelargoniums and 

 other plants, aud potted some stove plants in small pots. 

 Damped the floor and stage of the cool house in frosty days, 

 but kept the tops of the plants, Ferns, Mosses, ic, dry, and in 

 cold days preferred a safe low temperature to making fires, to 

 give much cold air. Gave as little water to all greenhouse 

 plants as possible, so as to keep them healthy ; but took care 

 that Camellias, Cinerarias, Primulas, ic, did not suffer from 

 dryness. Epacrises stand a much closer and moister atmo- 

 sphere than the Erica tribe, and these last must have more air 

 and leaa heat. — E. F. 



