142 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 13, 1868- 



Peach Trees in Pots /TV. S., Cheh€n).~We nro not much surprised 

 that your Peach trees in pots did not fruit last summer, after being taken 

 ap and potted from the open pround in the previous winter. To succeed, 

 you would have required to have assisted the roots out of doors with a 

 little bottom heat before the tops were excited, as lately detailed by Mr. 

 Fish in "Doings of the Last Week." We like at least to Jiqlf-pl'unRe 

 such pots in a cool house, as it saves watering. It is never a bad plan to 

 set the bloom ; but tbe best security for that is soil not wet nor dry, but 

 genially moist, plenty of air, and tbe absence of frost. If these little 

 matters are attended to we have no doubt the trees will be fruitful this 

 season if the wood is matured. Wc are not sure of tbe Black Grapes. 

 For Mrs. Pollock PeIar^,'onium, fibrous sandy loam and a little rotten 

 sweet leaf mould and silver sand bring out the colours well. 



MusHROoir Bed in Potting Shed (A Very old Subficriber).— If the 

 potting shed is exposed and has no artificial heat, the bed should he at 

 least from 15 to 18 inches in thickness. For this, horse droppings will be 

 best. If these are scarce, dung such as is used for a Cucumber bed well 

 worked will do admirably, and uU tbe better if 2 or 3 inches of droppings 

 can be placed on the sm-face. Whether the bed be made at once or in 

 several layers, with an interval of yome days between putting them on, it 

 is important that the bed should not heat violently, and one of the best 

 means of preventing that is to make it as firm as possible ; and the 

 spawn should not be inserted until the heat has declined to H5', and is 

 Ukely to remain at that. Then insert pieces of spawn of the size of 

 a walnut, about 7 inches apart, an inch under the surface, and beat firmly 

 down again. Watch that tbe heat does not rise ; if not in a day or two, 

 cover with 1^ to 2 inches nf fresh loamy soil, and Ijgat firm, leaving the 

 surface quite smooth. If the trial-stick shows the heat is gently dechn- 

 ing, then cover with a little clean litter, or old useless hay, and before the 

 Mushrooms appenr regulate the covering so that the bed in tbe centre 

 Shall be about 70 , the surface of the bed from 60- to 65-. and tbe air 

 around at from 55= to Go-. Many minute directions, and ^\ith different 

 materials, have been given,'and if you tell us exactly how you are situated 

 we will advise you. 



Ridge Cucusibers (Jf?<:m).— These will in many seasons gi-ow out of 

 doors m the open ground. The dung from a Rhubarb or Sea-kale bed. 

 thrown mto a heap and fermented, and then placed in a trench with the 

 soil over it, will generally give boat enough for out-door Cucumbers. 

 Lately the atmosphere has been more in fault than want of heat. If the 

 locality is cold we would keep hand-lights over the centre of the plants 

 all the summer. 



Twelve Select Verbenas (W. H. A/.).— Mrs. Deans, Foxhunter, Le 

 Grand Boule de Neige, James Walton, Goliath, Inimitable, Reine des 

 Roses, Champion, Rose Rendatler, Monsieur Gom-dauU, Mrs. Wood, and 

 De Precy. 



Twelve Select Dahlias (Mrm).— Imperial. Fanny Purchase, Beauty 

 of HUperton, Edward Spai-y, Bob Pvidley, Andrew Dodds. Anna Kevnes, 

 Criterion, Paradise Williams, Vice-President, Lotty Atkins, and British 

 Triumph. 



^Marechal Niel Rose (R. S. 5.).— You should at once shift your small 

 piants into larger pots, using a compost of rich light turfv loam, enriched 

 with one-fourth part of thoroughly rotten manure or leaf mould. Afford 

 them an airy, light situation. It will not be necessary to prune them, 

 but you may. if you wish for a better, stronger growth, cut the shoots 

 back to within two or three eyes of the old wood. 



Lily of the Valley and Violet Planting (C. L. E.).—Yoxi may 

 procure plants of any nurseryman. You may plant them in Rood, rich, 

 ligbt soil in an open situation, ti inchc;-; from pl^^nt to plnnt, in rows 1 foot 

 apart. The earlier they are planted the better. The Violets you should 

 also procure at once, and plant in rows 15 inches apart, allowing 1 foot 

 from plant to plnnt in the row. The situation should be partially shaded, 

 and a liberal addition of leaf mould may be made to the soil. 



Transplanting Laurcstinus (Nemo).— Yon may remove the Laums- 

 tinus at the end of March or early in April, taking care to lift it with a 

 ball, and to water if the weather prove dry afterwards. In May it may 

 be cut-in if at all iiTegular in gi-owtb, and will grow all tbe better for it. 



Portugal Laurel Naked at the Base (Idfm).— You may cut it in 

 as you propose, but not to the extent you name. In cutting it back leave 

 as many of the small shoots us you can, for they will put out fresh shoots 

 more freely than tbe stronger branches. Early in April would be a good 

 time to move the Myrtle. 



Various (C. E. .S.),— Your Pelargoniums that have been kept dry through 

 the winter should not be watered until next month, and then you must 

 not supply moisture in excessive quantities, but by degrees, increasing it 

 as the plants grow. It is too soon to bring Fuchsias and Pelargoniums 

 from a cellar. Early next month will be a good time. We would mix 

 the horse droppings with the straw from the stable, throwing them into a 

 heap, and turning over once or twice before forming a hotbed, and at 

 each turning sprinkle with water if the materials appear likely to be- 

 come dry. In this way the beat will be milder and more lasting, and 

 the rank steam will be dissipated. Separately the horse droppini^'s will 

 not do well, nor tbe straw, but mixed they would answer well. Fowls* 

 dung is an excellent manure, and you may use it in your garden. Yotf 

 cannot sow Calceolaria deed now and have tbe plants in bloom this year 

 for bedding purposes. Cuttings put in now would do well. {A Youngi 

 Giirdcncr).—*' Kitchen Gardening" will suit you, and Keane's ** Out-door 

 Gardening." You can have them free by post if you enclose five postage 

 stamps for tbe tirst, ond twenty postage stamps for the second. There 

 is no better chance for a gardener in the island of Jersey than iu 

 England. If you need employment there you must advertise in a 

 Jersey paper. If you write to Mr. Richards, Assistant Secretary, Royal 

 Horticultural Society, South Kensington, asking for information, he will 

 send you particulars. Any gardener can go in for examination. 



Pruning Roses {h!e and B., DarUn'jton).—*' Cut tbe Manetti-slocked 

 Roses to tbe first plump eye in sound wood at the tops of the shoots; 

 cut-in the side wood to a sound eye, and thin-out all useless wood. Do 

 not let the centres of the plants be crowded. A free circulation of air 

 promotes health. Cut back at once the Manetti stocks which are budded. 

 Mr. Gill, at Blandford, cuts back his budded Manetti stocks at the fall 

 My Manetti Koses were thinned-ont and shortened after the blooming 

 season. Very little need be done now. I cut back very short this week 

 what few Briar-stocked Roses I have. The sap is very abundant in botk 

 Briar and Manetti Roses here. Eoses in England "generally are not 

 pruned early enough. Much depends on tho character of the year. — 

 W. F. Radclvffe." 



Names of Fruits (J. S.\ — Apples: 1, Scarlet Nonpareil; 4, Embroid- 

 ered Pippin; 5, Royal Russet; 6, Hunthouse. Pears: 1, Gendebien. 

 2, Beurre Diel. 



Names of Plants [T. JScran).— The specimens were not numbered, so 

 we cannot refer to them. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the week ending February 11th. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



GAME COCKS' TAILS. 



In reply to tbe remarks of " Exeter," I have to state that I 

 liave noticed tbe " whip," or "switch" tails in three articles 

 at least, and intend to notice them further. I consider, and 

 always shall consider, the hard, stiff, fanned or spread tail, 

 when neat, to be tbe gamest form of tail, as tbe very act of 

 carrying tbe tail up and fanned, or spreading, shows spirit, and 

 contrasts best with tbe proper, short, close, bard body and 

 hackle feathers ; and the drooping or rather drooping-com- 

 pressed tails approach tbe Malay type too closely, and show 

 leas spirit and pride in my opinion. 



As to the drooping tails, I have never seen a good Game 

 cock with a drooping tail. I certainly do condemn black marks 

 in Brown Red cocks' breasts, and bens with black bodies as not 

 pure or as being cross-bred birds, but all Brown lied hens have 

 striped backles. I condemned only tbe yellow-backled Brown 

 Eed hens, and advocated the dark copper red hackle in good 



Brown Bed hens ; if pure-bred, both have, of course, striped 

 backles. 



Tbe original colours cannot, in my opinion, be improved by 

 crossing colours, and the proper way to cross is to " breed to 

 match " with different but good blood. Crossing different 

 colours only produces vulgar mixed colours and spangled mon- 

 grels, I tbink ; and though I like "crossing to match," I de- 

 cidedly object to crossing different colours in breeding, and BO 

 do most of tbe best breeders. 



I consider that tbe term " Partridge " is far more correct 

 than " Grouse," for tbe hens of tbe Black-breasted Bed cocks, 

 and is also far more generally used. 



By crossing different colours you will generally obtain far 

 less handsome markings, and less correct markings, than by 

 " crossing and breeding to match." As to which are tbd 

 true original colours of Game fowls of each variety there are 

 diverse opinions, but aU seem to agree that Brown Beds 

 and Black-breasted Beds are original, but differ as to tha 

 exact original type of these two old and favourite colours. 

 As to tails there are, of course, vatrious forms, and at exhi- 

 bitions I believe the whip or switch tails are tha most general 



