March 12, lbC8. 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



207 



and pleasure grounds. He aubsequently held a responsible 

 post at Kew Gardens, and after a time proceeded thence 

 to the summer residence of the Crown Princess of I'russia 

 (Princess Kojal of England), near Berlin, a graphic description 

 of which he wrote for the columns of the Briijhton Herald. On 

 his return to England he again resumed his post at Kew, but, 

 on finding the arduous duties attached to his employment were 

 undermining his health, he returned to his native city, and 

 employed himself usefully and honourably up to within a period 

 of three months before his decease. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



As soon as the soil is dry all crops in rows should have the 

 ground well stirred between them, and this should be done 

 three or four times before the end of April. If you are near a 

 farmyard or common sewer, you need not want for manure to 

 apply betweeu the rows of Spinach, Cabbages, and similar 

 crops. Now is the best time to begin to apply liquid manure to 

 standing crops. A peck or two of soot will make a good liquid 

 manure if no better is at hand. Borecole, or Kale, to secure 

 heavy crops of this hardy winter vegetable, a deep soil is essen- 

 tial, and the ground should be trenched 2 feet deep, and be 

 liberally manured. For the main crops sow now, covering the 

 seeds thinly and evenly. CauUjlower^, sow the Asiatic and 

 Stadtholder now or early in April on an open border. The 

 soil for this vegetable can neither be too rich nor too highly 

 cultivated. Capsicums and Chilies, sow in well-di'ained pots 

 filled with light sandy soil, and placed in a Cucumber frame, or 

 wherever a temperature of about 65° is maintained. Cover 

 the seeds to the depth of about half an inch, and keep the 

 surface constantly moist until the plants appear. Love Apple, 

 or Tomato, sow seed and treat as recommended for Capsicums. 

 When the plants are about 2 inches high place them in 5-inch 

 pots, putting two plants in each, and replace them in heat ; 

 the plants to be well watered and kept near the glass, so as to 

 promote strong sturdy growth. Lettuce, for successional crops 

 sow now in beds of well-pulverised soil, and at intervals of 

 about a fortnight until the end of July. Make the surface of 

 the beds firm, sow thinly, and cover the seeds lightly with fine 

 soil. Potatoes, it has been proved that early planting is the 

 best preventive of the attacks of disease, for as the crop 

 sooner arrives at maturity it frequently escapes altogether, or 

 suffers comparatively little. Plant any of the good sorts as 

 soon as the ground is in good working condition. The sets ol 

 the late kinds should be planted 5 or G inches deep, leaving 

 the soil over them as open and loose as possible. They will 

 require at least 2 feet from row to row. I can recommend 

 Dancer's Pied Regent as very productive and comparatively free 

 from disease. 



FBTJIT GAr.DEN. 



It would be a good plan to take one-third of the trees an- 

 nually, and paint them over their trunks and main branches 

 with thick lime, with a little soot dusted in it to take off the 

 white glare of the lime. If any of the standards showed 

 signs of moss or insects under this triennial dressing, they 

 should be painted over more frequently, while all the stone 

 fruit trees on the walls should about this time be gone over 

 every year. Have coverings ready for the Peach, but do not 

 use them till there is an actual necessity for it. 



FLOWEK GAKDEN. 



If it is intended to make any addition of new shrubs or trees 

 in this department, they should be planted immediately. 

 Araucaria imbricata is one of the noblest plants we have, and 

 many of the Cedars, Pinuses, and Cypresses, to say nothing 

 of Magnolias, are very beautiful. Pinuses suiler more from 

 the destruction of the early spring growth than from any other 

 cause ; therefore endeavour to check them by admitting a cur- 

 rent of cold air from the north side, and by keeping the plants 

 shaded on sunny days. Polyanthuses are now throwing out 

 fibres round the neck of the plant and growing fast. If in- 

 crease is more an object than bloom, they may be parted to 

 advantage now. Tulips ought to be protected from heavy 

 soaking rains, as well as sharp frosty winds, which we may yet 

 expect. Tke best way to sow annuals is first to loosen the 

 earth where it is intended to place them, avoiding raking the 

 borders at present unless the ground is very light, then make 

 a slight drill by pressing the rim of a 32-sized pot upon it, sow 

 the seeds very thinly, and cover with loam and leaf mould 

 finely sifted, and in about equal proportions. 



OREENIIOUBE AND CONSEIWATOnY. 



The Azaleas have a double demand on their food — to main- 

 tain their flowers, and to make their young wood ; they must, 

 therefore, be well supplied with moisture at the roots. Pelar- 

 goniums at this season remain so long in flower that they are 

 sure to have the green fly on them. Remove them and every 

 other infested plant to be smoked elsewhere, if the conserva- 

 tory is attached to the living-rooms. Climbers will now begin 

 to spread over the house, and will require particular care in 

 training them regularly at first. Stephanotis floribunda will 

 survive a mild winter in a night temperature as low as 45". 

 Little syringing should be done here on account of the bloom ; 

 water must, therefore, be poured on the paths and any spare 

 places to keep the atmosphere moist and cool. See that in- 

 sects are kept down, and that plants have sufficient room. 

 Specimen jilants are easily injured at this time if they are 

 crowded together. All the plants brought in for the sake of 

 their flowers only should be removed as soon as they are out 

 of bloom. Some of the more hardy and common plants in 

 the greenhouse might now be removed to some sheltered 

 place, in order to give more room to the finer kinds. Young 

 plants in small pots might now be potted on the one-shift 

 system ; but for this it is essential that their roots be not 

 much matted, and that they be in a growing state. The only 

 disadvantage in this system is, that after a few years the soil 

 v.-iil subside too much in the pot, and many deUcate plants 

 will not bear the pots to be filled up again. The best remedy 

 against this is to place an inverted pot over the drainage, as is 

 often done with Orchids, and to ha%-e it so adjusted that when 

 you place the small ball at the bottom of it, the top of the 

 ball will be level with the top of the large pot. A small 

 Heath thus treated may safely be trusted in the largest pot. 

 The collar of the plant always remains at the level at which 

 it was placed. 



STOVE. 



Keep up a moist heat of 75' or 80", and let the house be 

 rather close, in order to encourage newly-potted plants. Pro- 

 ceed with the potting of the different tribes as before recom- 

 mended. Watch carefully over seedlings, and put in cuttings 

 as early aa possible of those plants you wish to increase. Now 

 is the best time to strike cuttings. 



FOKCING PIT. 



Keep every part of this pit full of plants and cuttings. All 

 the species of Jasmine force well. If kept under-potted and 

 their young wood constantly stopped in the growing season, 

 they form loose bushes and lose their climbing habit ; they 

 are then more manageable for forcing. -Ml American plants 

 require large quantities of water when forced. Sow a few seeds 

 of Balsams, Cockscombs, Browallias, Thunbergias, to. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Many of the hardier plants here may now be removed to 

 temporary shelter to make room for others from the greenhouse, 

 and for newly-potted plants for the flower garden. Florists' 

 flowers require more room also — in short, every tribe now 

 should be attended to, according to the wants and wishes of 

 the owner. Among the first work to be attended to, especially 

 when a large stock is required for flower-garden decoration, is 

 the propagation of Chrysanthemums. Pot Tuberoses in 

 48-sized pots in turfy soil, and place them in a gentle warmth 

 until they begin to grow. They are useful for setting among 

 plants near the windows, or for the decoration of the hall or 

 drawing-room. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST "U^EK. 



KITCHEN GAPiDEN. 



Parsnips. — Took the opportunity of a dry day and the soil 

 being in a favourable condition to sow the main crop of this 

 useful vegetable, almost the only one we care about sowing in 

 our stiff soil early in March. No tuberous-rooted crop requires 

 more time to come to thorough perfection, and its richness 

 of flavour is greatly owing to the time it has had to perfect 

 its peculiar properties. Young Carrots are in most people's 

 estimation very sweet and desirable — so much so, that at one 

 time we continued sowing monthly from the last fortnight of 

 March to the end of June, besides several sowings in heat from 

 December to the end of February ; but we never met with a 

 lover of vegetables that cared much for young Parsnips, and 

 therefore the thinnings are of little importance in the kitchen. 

 We prefer the old Hollow-crowned, and though we have tried 



