262 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



[ April 2, 1868. 



applied to Hops. They decompose slowly, and do not induce over-lam- 

 riance. 



DlGGiNO UP Potatoes (Bellis).— So soon as the Potatoes have attained 

 their full size, although the stems and most of the leaves remain green, 

 there is no loss either in weight or quality. You must buy plants of the 

 Primulas you mention, and ripen seeds for yourself. 



Mk. Edward TrcKEE (F. ii.).— We have few further particulars of 

 him. He was in his flftv-ninth year, and died at his house in Cecil 

 Square, Margate. He was' born at Stodmarsh, in the Isle of Thanet. 



iKSECis ON Peach Tkees {J. B. L.).— There were no insects in your 

 letter. 



Peas (R. Nash).— The earliuess has been fully tested by the Fruit Com- 

 mittee of the Royal Horticultural Society. We do not know any one who 

 gives cuttings. 



AppiTrec, Guano to Roses (C. F.).— "March is not a good month for 

 applying ammoniacal manures. If guano be put on now it must be 

 laked in. It is difficult to sav what quantity of guano each Rose w-oi^d 

 require. The quantity depends on the quality and condition of the 

 ground. Moreover, some Roses, even in the same family, require ditte- 

 lent quantities. I advise you to put one handful of Peruvian guano into 

 an ordinarv-sized watering pot (the size of a stable bucket), and alter 

 stirring we'll to pour the liquid over the surface as far as the roots may 

 be supposed to reach. Guano in this form may be advantageously ap- 

 plied after the first series of flowers is over. Liquid manure much re- 

 duced with water is also a good application.— W. F. RADCiYFrE. 



Heating a Small House (Jos^j/i H/nrtt.— If you can employ gas 

 have one of Sbrewsburv's beating apparatuses. If you write to him— 

 '•Mr Shrewsbury, Ironmonger, Lower Norwood, Surrey," stating the size 

 •of your house, h'e would tell you what would suit you. Hays's stove can- 

 Zlot now be obtained. 



Heating a Small Span-roofed CucuasEB House (H'ilJic).— In such 

 a house, 20 feet by f, vou will require two 4-iuch pipes for bottom heat, 

 and three pipes, or 60" feet, for top heat, and troughs on the latter to be 

 nsed when moisture in the atmosphere is wanted. You say nothing as 

 to how your house is to be arranged, whether aU the width is to be a bed, 

 or whether you mean to have a path in it. In either case the mode 

 described to a correspondent lately would meet your case. It you give 

 us more particulars we may advise more definitely. 



Prunikg Orchard House Trees— Thinning Fruit Buds of Peach 

 Trees (H. J/.).— As your trees were pruned before you received Ihem, 

 and prepared for fruiting, we should think that they want no pmning- 

 back now, as it would much weaken them. In thinning fruit buds of 

 Peach trees when too numerons, it is well to leave the wood buds to en- 

 courage growth. These can be thinned when grown an inch or more, doing 

 that gradually, and leaving plenty for next year's crop. 



Vines Mildewed (S. JE.).— We have no doubt that the tank in the 

 centre of the house, merely covered with boards, having 'i-inch spaces 

 between them, is the cause of the mildew. Much vapour would rise 

 from the tank when the house was warm, and a heavy rain would also 

 greatlv cool the house. We presume that the eight openings for ventila- 

 tion a"re at the top of the house, and that you have other ventilation at 

 the sides, otherwise we should judge there was not enoughof ventilation. 

 We should certainlv cover the tank closely by putting the boards close 

 together, and even' then would be disposed to cover with a couple of 

 inches of concrete, and place some fine gravel on the top, and flied in 

 the concrete, for a path. 



Lawn Mower Knetes not Cutting (Rector).— Ji the knives of a lawn 

 mower are chipped with stones, the best phm to adopt is to have the 

 knives replaced by the maker, as they could not be ground to take out 

 the chipped parts well. When the knives merely get blunt from use put 

 a little emery dust on them and turn them against the plate in the 

 reverse way. 



Ghowtsg Melons and Cucciibep.s in a Pit with a Flue-he.4ted 

 Chakber (Jdrm).— In your pit with a chamber heated by a flue, the fire 

 In the flue will be of great use for Cucumbers and Melons until the end 

 of June, and even after that in cold dull weather for keeping the plants 

 healthy. There should also be openings from the chamber to let the 

 heat into the atmosphere of the pit in cold dull weather. You had better 

 grow Cucumbers at one end, and Melons at the other. A good average 

 heat would be from 65' to 68- or 70 ' at night, aUowing a good nso from 

 sunshine. 



Erecting and Heating Pits IJ. D.).— There will be no difficulty in 

 your proposed arrangement as to the pits, heating, &c., and the posi- 

 tion as to the back wall is entirely one of convenience and of outlay. By 



using the stone wall for the back of the pits you save the expense of 



building a wall ; but vou must do all the necessarv work from the front of mi ee a.x .i.> 



the pit, either by tiKiug the lights up or taking them ofl'; and for many 



purposes this can be easilv done. Bv building a fresh wall for the back 



of the pits, and leaving a pathwav between that and the present stone 



wall, you can examine the inside of the pits from back and front, and do 



most of the work by sliding the sashes up and down. Were we studying 



economy and conve'nience we would make a low house against the stone 



wall, so that we could walk inside, and have a fixed roof. 



Keeping a Stream Clear (iVf;>(iinf).— The pebbling of the bottom of 

 the stream, or concreting it and then pebbling it, would help to keep the 

 water clean, and after the lime had lost its acridity would not harm the 

 fish. If this cannot be guarded against the gravelling or pebbling the 

 bottom must then be resorted to. Besides the fisb, a few water fowl 

 would help to clear the brick walls of the green slime. If that is not 

 efi'ectual the walls might be cemented ; but then the fish would have to 

 be removed. We have considerable trust in the pebbles, the fish, fowls, 

 and Ume. We have known of several cases where cleaning out the 

 bottom of a stream that did not have a hard bottom has been followed 

 by similar results, as manv impurities previously buried for years ob- 

 tained more free access to the water. The removing of the mud, in fact, 

 made the water turbid for a year or two afterwards. As respects the 

 Willow slips, you had better strike them in common or damp gi-ound, and 

 when estabUshed plant in vour rockwork mound, so that the bulk of the 

 roots shall be in water. 'The roots will reach the water by themselves. 

 Nothing strikes more readily than the Willow. 



Growing Muscat and Hamburgh Grapes in the same House 

 <IF. S, a Comtant Reader).— Yoa may grow Muscat and Hamburgh Grapes 



in the same house verv well bv planting the Muscat ■S'ines at the warmest 

 end where the heating apparatus ends. Had we two distinct houses, 

 however, to plant in, we would much prefer to have a house for each. We 

 do not know ten distinct Muscats ; but you can, if variety is a greatJob- 

 ject, grow Frontignans in the Muscat house. The Muscats we recom- 

 mend are Muscat of Alexandria, Bowood Muscat, Canon Hall Muscat, 

 and one plant of Black Muscat of Alexandria. For Hamburghs— the 

 common Black Hamburgh, Victoria Hamburgh. Dutch Hamburgh, and 

 Champion Hamburgh. We would not retransplant the CamelUas until 

 growth had ceased and the buds were formed at the points of the shoots. 

 Cerastium tomentosum and Gnaphalium lanatcm Cuttings (More 

 of A'tnO-— When rooted and hardened-off the cuttings may be pricked- 

 o'ff in a sheltered border, moving them wnth a ball to their final place in 

 the flower beds in Mav ; or, if the pbints are now well hardened you may 

 at once plant them out where they are to remain. Cerastium tomen- 

 tosum is perfectlv hardy, but is somewhat liable to die ofl' in winter on 

 hea^7 soil. Gnaphalium lanatum is also hardy, but requires gravelly or 

 well-drained hght soil, otherwise it does not survive the winter. 



Treatment of Viola cornuta and V. lutea Seedlings (Idem).— 

 When sufflcientlv large to handle they should be pricked-off in pans of 

 light soil, enriched by the addition of one-third leaf mould or very rotten 

 manure. Prick them ofl' about 1 inch apart, keep them moderately 

 moist until established, then water copiously, and keep them near the 

 glass in a cold pit or frame, gi%-ing them an abundance of air, and plant 

 out in May. If you write to Mr. Richards, .Assistant Secretary, Koyal 

 Horticultur.al Society, South Kensington, he will send you full particulars. 

 Verbena Vesuvius (Idem).— the flower is orange scarlet, with crimson 

 centre and white eye ; fine truss and good habit. 



Red Spider in Soil of Vine Pot (J. J. H.).— You may free your soil 

 of the red spider bv watering it with guano water, 1 oz. being dis- 

 solved in a gallon of rain water, and applied at every alternate watering ; 

 or you may place a peck of soot in a tub and pour over it thirty gallons 

 of water, stirring well up, and n-ater the plant with it. Both liquids will 

 benefit the Vine. Tho surface of the soil in the pot may be made qmte 

 black with soot. It wiU act as a manure. Soot is the best destroyer of 

 red spider known. 



Propagating Callisiemon lakceolatus (A Sussex Hear).— Cuttings 

 should be taken of the points of the shoots when the termmal bud la 

 formed and before the wood has become hard ; but it is necessary that 

 the wood be rather firm, or in the condition known to gaideners as half 

 ripe. The cuttings mav be from S to 4 inches in length, and should be 

 cut across below a leaf, remoringthe leaf, and from one-halt or two-thirda 

 the length of the cutting upwards the leaves should all be removed. 

 Pots i inches in diameter ivill be sufficiently largo for the cuttings U 

 these are not large, or 6-inch pots may be used if the cuttings are strong. 

 The pots should be half filled with crocks, and over these should b8 

 placed a thin layer of moss or turfy peat, filling to within an inch of the 

 rim of the pot with a compost of good fibrous sandy peat one-thu-d, ana 

 two-thirds sUver sand, and the remainder of the space with silver sand. 

 Each pot thus prepared should be placed inside of a pot a size larger, or 

 large enough to admit the cutting pot, and when raised so that both rims 

 are on the same level, there wiU be an interval between the two pots. 

 The cutting pot is to be raised to the same level as the outer pot by 

 placing it upon smaU crocks. Half fiU the interval between the two 

 with small crocks, place a layer of moss above these, and bring level to 

 the rim of the other pot with silver sand. The pot should then be 

 watered thoroughly with rain water, and be allowed to drain weU before 

 the cuttmgs are inserted. They should be put in round the sides of the 

 pot and close to but not touching each other. A gentle watermg should 

 then be given, and after the cuttings have been allowed to dry plungo 

 the pots in a mild and sweet hotbed of from <i5= to W. Cover them with 

 a bell-"lass resting on the sand between the pots. Afford shade from 

 bright°sun, and attend to watering, so as to secure umform moisture, for 

 if the cuttings ever sufl'er from the waut of it they never succeed. The 

 beU-"lass should be taken ofl' every day and wiped dry, returning or re- 

 placing it immediatelv. When they are rooted the bell-glass should be 

 cradually taken ofl', so'as to hardea them off before being potted. If you 

 have tried this plan and faUed, take cuttings of the young shoots when 

 thev are '3 inches long, taking them ofl' close to the old wood, and with a 

 smi'U heel of the older wood; make it smooth with a shan) knife, remove 

 the lower leaves, insert the cuttings in pots prepared as above, and foUow 

 the same mode of treatment. 



Grafting Apple Trees (C. P. 0.).— You do not say how thick the stem 

 of vour seedling -\pple is, nor how many branches it has. If it is not 

 thicker than your thumb wo would cut it dofl-n to withm 6 inches of tho 

 cround. and there graft it ; but if the stem is as thick as your wrist and 

 the branches forming the head as thick as a finger, we would cut aU but 

 Cut them in to within 6 inches of tho stem, and in each 

 insert a graft. The best mode of grafting mil be whip graftmg, whether 



liiocii. b _ ^, ^^^^ ^^ ^;^_^ hr.anfhfR. Tf thft Side bianchcs are 



You wiU find full 



you gi'aft upon the stem or side branches II the side branches are 

 thick, crown-graft, putting two grafts in each branch lou wiU find fuU 

 particulars as to grafting in the •• Science and Practice of Gardening, 

 which you can have free by post from our office for Ss. led. 



Fertilising Primula Flowees (Prim.,(e).-The process is to take the 

 poUen from the anthers and apply it to the stigmas of the flowers. A 

 Jamel's-hair pencil is best for the purpose. The pollen should be taken 

 from the la. gest and best-coloured flowers, and applied to the stigmas of 

 iboTe haviuS large blooms, good in colour and form. The operation 

 should blperformed in the early part of a fine day, and a few days after 

 the flowers are fully expanded. 



Vine Eaten by Rats (Constant neader).-T)ie \mc rather more than 

 half "eaten through by rats will not only live but produce good crops. "We 

 would not cut it dowi. If a shoot come from below the eaten part allow 

 it to "row giving it every encouragement, and when it has reached the 

 rafteft?rin it up by the' side of the older rod, allowing it to make as 

 muci " owth as it will this season. The old cane after fruiting may be 

 Sit down to the young cane, which will, of course, be substituted for it, 

 and TOU WiU not lose the crop. If no shoot arise from the stem below 

 the eaten part, be satisfied with the Vme as it is. 



Nfpeta nepetella from Seed (C«!ia).— It may be raised from seed, 

 but olants so raised do not flower well the first year ; for them to do so 

 tte feed should be sown early and the plants forwarded in heat. Plants 

 from cuttings are better, being more free-flowering, and more compact in 

 habit. It is a good, old, free-flowering plant, and continues a long Uma 



