208 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTDBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Mardi 12, 1868. 



a number of sorts advertised with very high characters, we never 

 found them on the whole to beat it. 



We have sown in rows 18 inches apart this season in the 

 usual way, but in land at all heavy (and the plan might be 

 thought worthy of adoption by amateurs), we have marked out 

 the rows, and then with a strong dibble made deep holes 6 inches 

 apart, filled these with fresh very sandy loam, and in each 

 hole deposited three or four seeds, the plants from which 

 will be finally thinned out to the best one. By this plan we 

 have obtained straight roots of extraordinary size. We may 

 also mention that this season we have sown on a piece of ground 

 from which Asparagus had been taken for forcing ; and though 

 the best and richest soil from repeated surface-dressings of the 

 Asparagus, owing to trenching, would be at the bottom, still the 

 surface soil would be richer than we like for these roots and 

 Carrots. When the rotation will permit of it we prefer as poor 

 a piece of ground as we have, manured on the surface; the 

 manure trenched down to the bottom, the ground ridged, and the 

 ridges several times turned, but not so deeply as to reach the 

 manure, so that when the seed is sown there shall be an en- 

 couragement for the seedlings to send their roots straight down 

 — just as the roots of an Ash or a Lime will travel a long way, 

 as if by a sort of instinct, to reach the moisture of a well. 



Carrots. — Sowed a few rows of the Early Horn, as, if they 

 succeed, they will be useful, and if they partially fail, the loss 

 will be little. We are more particular in having the ground 

 well prepared for this crop than in sowing early. In general 

 we find the end of March and the beginning of April the most 

 suitable times. There is then less danger of checks, and the 

 seedlings become strong and healthy at once. It is true the 

 seeds will take no harm from lying in the ground, it is the 

 young seedlings that suffer from sudden frosts and extreme 

 changes in the weather. 



Onioiix. — We sowed a lot under protection for salads, and, 

 perhaps, planting out a few; but the main out-door crop we 

 will not sow for a week or two, unless the weather should be 

 very favourable, and at present we expect rain, if not snow. 

 We will use uar Celery ground, on which the Celery was grown 

 in beds, as we could not afford space for having it in rows. 

 Last season we had not a single head which had run to seed. 

 We trenched and ridged the ground crosswise, which enabled 

 ns equally to distribute the manure at the bottom of the Celery 

 beds all over the piece, the beds running north and south. 

 This plan, though effectual in equalising the manure over the 

 piece, was not a good one for airing the ground equally and 

 well, so a dry day was chosen for levelling the ground roughly, 

 and then ridging it up one spit deep in ridges lying north and 

 south, that the sun might act on both sides of the ridge equally. 

 We will most likely turn these ridges roughly again, so as to 

 air and sweeten the ground, and then dig level, and some fine 

 day have the ground trodden, raked fine, and the Onions sown 

 in rows ; though in stiff ground it is a good plan to sow in 

 rows in beds, with alleys between them. For amateurs tliif is 

 also the neatest plan, as the neatly-edged beds are pleasaut to 

 the eye ; but in general we sow the piece in rows from to 

 12 inches apart, and, unless the ground is very dry, we scatter 

 a little fine soil over the seeds in the rows, and when finished, 

 draw a light wooden roller over the ground, passing a heavier 

 roller over it as the seedlings begin to peep above the surface. 



Cucumbers. — Planted out a lot more in frames and pits. A 

 two-light box served to produce us strong early plants of Cu- 

 cumbers and Melons, and were the heat to be bestowed on that 

 tribe alone, there is no other method by which good plants can 

 be obtained so economically. The same frame was used for 

 flower and other seeds before the Cucumbers wanted the room. 



Potatoes. — Besides planting out, put several sorts, chiefly 

 new kinds, cot sprouting, on a bed in the Mushroom house, 

 that they might root and show shoots 2 or 3 inches in length 

 before planting. If these are turned out in a sunny day, and 

 the warm surface soil placed round the roots and stems, they 

 will receive no check, and come considerably earlier than sets 

 planted at once. 



Leeks. — When these are wanted early and large, the seed 

 should now be sown thinly in a bed, and receive a little pro- 

 tection from boughs until well up. When the seed is sown 

 thinly the plants are stronger for planting out. It is easy 

 having these healthy vegetables large after this time. The 

 difficulty with us has been to have large specimens in winter. 



Sowed successions of small salading, Eadishes, Cauliflowers, 

 and a few Cabbages under protection. We are using spring- 

 sown Radishes, as those that stood the winter under protection 

 are now much harder and less crisp. 



We will prepare ground for Asparagus, Sea-kale, Artichokes, 

 &e., as soon as possible. Globe and .Jerusalem Artichokes 

 cannot be planted too soon. The latter will last for years ; 

 but when ground and time can be spared, we always think 

 the tubers sweetest and best when fresh planted every year 

 like Potatoes. If the weather continue cold, beginners may 

 bear in mind that having the ground in good condition is more 

 important than very early sowing. 



FRUIT G.UIDEN. 



Much the same as in last and previous weeks ; a press of other 

 matter has thrown us behind in this department, but we must 

 finish our out-door pruning as soon as possible, and must take 

 some simple means for protecting Apricots and Peaches. As 

 for the latter, the crop is now becoming so uncertain out of 

 doors, and fine trees run such risks, not only of having the 

 crops destroyed, but also of the trees being so injured by 

 severe frosts and sudden changes, that we trust that most 

 people who have gardens of their own will cover their Peach 

 walls with a cheap glass construction, which will soon pay 

 itself by the saving effected in the labour and expense of pro- 

 tection, and, as a general rule, make sure of a crop with but 

 little trouble. These cheap fi.xed glass-roofed houses, as adopted 

 by Mr. Rivers, Messrs. Lane, and many others, place fine fruit 

 within the i-each of those having but a small garden, and with 

 common care success is almost certain. Most likely we will 

 use laurel or beech twigs for protection. For a constant 

 covering nothing is better than woollen, or even the thin Not- 

 tingham netting. For a moveable protection nothing is better 

 than stout caUco, and the great object is to use it for retarding 

 as well as for protecting, by keeping it on during sunny days 

 before the bloom opens, and taking it off on cold days and 

 nights. This also permits of more reciprocal root action. 

 After the bloom opens the practice must be reversed, and the 

 bloom have all the fine weather, and be protected from the 

 cold. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



Nearly finished planting for present cover and future timber, 

 and it is well to have all such work done by March. 



Warm Slieds. — These, we trust, will soon be an essential 

 requisite in every garden of note. We have no such regularly 

 warmed place, but we have several furnaces covered over with 

 sheds, and in winter and spring these are tolerably comfortable, 

 but even then not quite so suitable as a working shop heated 

 by hot water, which can easily be done where a boiler is at 

 work in the vicinity. Our nurserymen are finding that such 

 comfort is conducive to work being done economically. When 

 we called on Mr. John Fells, at Jiitchen, lately, whilst noticing 

 the improvements in his houses, &c., we were particularly 

 pleased to see a large worlcshop heated by hot water, where 

 the men might work comforiaLiIy in stormy, rainy weather in 

 winter. Mr. Fells stated that the hot-water pipes had been 

 a most profitable investment, for the men with comfort to 

 themselves did much more work, and did it much better. 



Gleaned and swept most of the pleasure grounds preparatory 

 to a good rolling of the lawn. We will cut the sides of walks 

 as soon as possible, trim and regulate herbaceous plants, and 

 prune Roses as soon as we can. We will also turn and re-turn 

 flower beds. Potted Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, Ferns, and other 

 plants ; fertilised blooms of Chinese Primulas, as the 2s. 6d. 

 and 3s. 6d. packets of our florists yearly become less and less. 

 Forced Hyacinths and other bulbs are getting towards their 

 termination ; shrubs and Roses will take their place. Pricked- 

 off in little boxes Lobelias, Petunias, &c. Sowed numbers 

 of flower seeds, as PerUla, Amaranthus, and Lobelias, in a 

 hotbed, and, in order to shade, whitened the glass inside, as 

 that will obviate the necessity of much watering until the seed- 

 lings are up, as the pots were prepared as described last week. 

 Put in lots of Verbena, Centaurea, and other cuttings. Placed 

 some Verbenas on which some green fly appeared in a box by 

 themselves, and smoked them ; and to save future trouble 

 drew the cuttings as made through weak tobacco water, and 

 would have little difliculty now but for want of room in which to 

 place the multitudes of little plants wanting attention. — R. F. 



TEADE CATALOGUES BECEIVED. 



Carter & Co., High Holborn, London, W.C. — Carter's 

 Farmers' Calendar for 18C8. 



William Paul, Waltham Cross, London, N. — Spring Cata- 

 logue of New Roses, Pelarffoniums, Hollyhocks, dr.. 



Charles Huber & Co., Hyfcres. — Catalogue General pour 

 I'Automne 18G7, et le Printemps 1868. 



