May 2?, 1868. ] 



JOUfiNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



39S 



blackening the young growth, and the lines will look tolerably 

 neat for the year ; but, of course, not bo well as those nipped 

 several times in the season. Box will always have its admirers, 

 just as anything tlint grows is to many more interesting than 

 the inert thing that is made ; but tiles and even slate make 

 very neat edgings, and, requiring no annual labour to keep them 

 right, they are ultimiitely much more economical than Box, 

 and afford nothing like the same refuge and hiding place for 

 vermin. Young straight Box edgings are best clipped square 

 on the top, then a line strained tight in the centre, and the 

 sides cut square or pointed to it. Edgings which are stronger 

 and better established are often cut with the scythe. A goud 

 workman who can command alike a lirm wrist and a good eve, 

 will leave work behind him that would rival that of the beat 

 clipper, and with much less labour. 



Sea-kale. — Tliat which we planted out suffered from the 

 dryness, and the best plants with bold and good crowns 

 suffered much more than those set, which consisted merely of 

 bits of roots with no perceptible bud, being merely pieces of 

 the ends of roots from i to 6 or 7 inches in length. These, 

 planted with merely the upper end about level with the surface, 

 have thrown out several buds, green and flourishing, whilst 

 many of the good plants with prominent buds do not look so 

 flourishing as when put out, and will require this rain or a water- 

 ing to give them their due advantage. In the case of the plants, 

 they were growing a little before being planted, and the trans- 

 planting gave them a check, which we ought to have counter- 

 acted by two or three waterings in the dry weather, but these 

 we could ill afford to give. The pieces of roots without visible 

 buds had nothing to do but secure the moisture in the earth 

 to preserve their vitality, and hence the warm weather, when it 

 caused the latent buds near the surface to break, induced also 

 the lower part to put out fibres to keep up a supply of sap to the 

 expanding buds. This affords a proof that it is often best to 

 move plants and trees when in a state of comparative repose, 

 and that when moved in a growing state there should be as 

 little check as possible involved in the moving. Had we done 

 justice to these plants with buds, they would have been as much 

 before these pieces of roots now as we have no doubt they will 

 be a few weeks hence. 



As the cutting season is now over, all the plants should be 

 dressed and cleared gradually of their flower beads, except 

 the plants intended to be left for bearing seed, and these 

 should not be forced next season. AVe use the word gradually 

 intentionally, as these flower heads make a delightful vegetable 

 cooked in the usual way, and thus afford a change for a week 

 or two. When this use is not approved of, then the heads may 

 be cut off, and taken to the rubbish heap at once. Our Cauli- 

 flowers are coming in nicely, but in the occasional break be- 

 tween them and Brocculi a basketful of Sea-kale flower-heads 

 makes a good change at the hall table at least ; and we have 

 heard the most refined gentlemen speak highly of the dish, 

 just boiled as a woman in a cottage would do, using boiling soft 

 water, and a pinch of soda in the water. 



One fact more. Against the convictions of oiar experience 

 we planted out a number of the roots we had taken up to force 

 first. These, however plump and fresh they look, seldom do 

 well when planted out again. A good many thus treated 

 have rotted away. lu the dryness we would not have been 

 surprised it they had shrivelled up a little, but they rotted. 

 Now the plants thus taken up for forcing are useless after- 

 wards in proportion to the earliness and the crops taken from 

 them. Plants that yield later gatherings in spring, and are 

 cut only once, do not suffer in the same way from being taken 

 up. There is a simple way in which we can be independent 

 of all such early-forced plants, even if we do not give ourselves 

 the trouble to raise plants from seed, and there is generally a 

 little trouble involved in this, first from rats, &c., purloining the 

 seed, and then from birds and turnip fly making inroads among 

 the young seedlings. In taking up plants to force in mild hot- 

 beds. Mushroom beds, &c., the size of the header top when we 

 cut it for table will generally be in proportion to the thickness 

 of the root, and the prommence and size of the bud or buds at 

 its point, and but little in proportion to the length of the root. 

 These tuber-like roots may be dug up with their rootlets to 

 a length of from 12 to IS or more inches, but we have always 

 found that G or 8 inches in pots or beds just yielded as good 

 gatherings as if the roots were double the length ; nay, though 

 we would not at present recommend the practice, yet we have 

 found large roots of 3 and i inches in length yielded as good 

 produce in such circumstances as longer ones. Supposing you 

 took for forcing roots of from G to lU inches in length, what a 



quantity of the smaller roots, and even larger ones from a 

 quarter to half an inch in diameter, would thus be cut off ; and 

 each of these cut into G or 8-inch lengths, and laid thickly 

 along the ground in a trench, with tho points out, and a little 

 hhort litter over them during the winter, would bo just suitable 

 to plant out in well-prepared ground next spring, and the 

 strongest might be forced in the first winter, and the weakest 

 in ihe second. We are the more particular on this matter, 

 because we know there are so many who consider Sea-kalo to 

 be a desirable luxury, but think that it is beyond their means, 

 and we wish to shov/ that any one may have it who can devote a 

 few rods of the garden to grow it in summer, and that without 

 mounds of fermenting dung in the garden in the winter. 



i'eiietable Mnni>ici< and TUdjc Cucumbers. — Filled the trench 

 and replaced the earth as alluded to lately, and the soil having 

 become so warm by being exposed when dug out, wo set some 

 hand-lights on and planted at once, contrary to our general 

 custom in such cases, which is to wait until the earth is 

 warmed. In warm places there is little necessity for this care, 

 but the old plan of producing a little heat below the ridge is 

 good, and the heat can be easily supplied where there are 

 stumps of winter stuff to be disposed of, a little long litter to 

 be had, and mowings from the lawn to mingle with it. The 

 litter neutralises and retains the heat from the grass, which 

 otherwise would be too violent and evanescent. 



Cucumbcr.i. — Moved cuttings, seedlings, &o., from a couple of 

 two-light frames over a mild hotbed, formed much as above 

 stated, forked over the upper and sweetest portion of the bed, 

 added a ridge of littery manure and leaves all round so as to 

 elevate the frame when put on, leaving a trench in the 

 centre for the soil, and as that soil had been exposed to the sun 

 of the previous hot days and well warmed, we turned out the 

 strong plants at once, as the produce may be desirable, and we 

 can dispense sooner with the early bed if we like. That two- 

 light bed has borne wonderfully and almost exhausted itself, 

 but on cutting most of the fruit, removing the older leaves, 

 and giving it comparative rest for eight days, it is now break- 

 ing afresh with vigorous fruitful shoots. 



Mehms. — What we have said above about warmed soil, we 

 would have put in operation with Melons in cold pits, but in 

 one case we wanted the room for Beans, which we wished to 

 turn out of a vinery, and in the other we could not raise at the 

 time the bedding plants growing in the soil. The practice we 

 intended following, and which we have followed successfully 

 years ago, we may mention for the benefit of those who have a 

 pit or frame that will now be emptied of the bedding plants, 

 and who have no dung heap to afford the means for obtaining 

 artificial heat beneath the soil for Melons. In such a May as this 

 success would have been certain. We used to get the soil in 

 the place fresh and rather stiff and not at all fine, and just a 

 little rotten dung or leaf mould in it. This when it had re- 

 mained for a day or two with the glasses shut, and exposed to 

 the sun, would be turned over, and the operation repeated 

 several times until the soil was well warmed throughout, the 

 warming being accelerated by covering up the glass at night. 

 With such treatment, and husbanding sun heat. Melon plants 

 turned out in the end of May and the beginning of June with 

 no artificial heat, yielded good returns early in autumn. We 

 have planted out strong plants over slight hotbeds because we 

 had the chance to do so, and in a dull season they will be more 

 sure than if they had no artificial heat. 



FKUIT GARDEN. 



The rains will beat all our watering as respects Strawberries, 

 and, in fact, these were tolerably well before the rains came, 

 except the Black Prince, which showed signs of a little suffer- 

 ing, and which hitherto has been much valued for jam and 

 other preserving purposes. We hope to litter a good many of 

 our borders and quarters on Monday, and thus keep the mois- 

 ture in and the fruit clean. A considerable amount of trouble 

 is now requisite to keep up a good regular supply of Straw- 

 berries from under glass. We do not expect much from the 

 open ground for three weeks. The earliest-forced ones planted 

 out are beginning to show the flower buds, and will come ia 

 useful when the general crop is gone. 



OrcJmrd Houxe. — Removed the earliest Peas, and the second 

 and third will follow ere long, as the first-transplanted ones of 

 the taller kinds out of doors are now coming in. Had the 

 houses emptied of most of the flowering plants that stood 

 beneath the trees in pots; and as these pots wanted much 

 watering during the last three weeks, the mulching has almost 

 disappeared, and must be replenished if possible next week. 

 It is of no consequence if this mulching of rotten dung, &c., is 



