February 6, 187S. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



125 



an inch or two more to be taken off at the time of grafting, when 

 a clean cut should be made. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



The directions of last week may be attended to iu the shrub- 

 beries ; and in the flower garden Rosea may be pruned, and 

 deciduous climbers regulated and tied or nailed properly. I am 

 not an advocate for close pruning in spring, but prefer cutting 

 out the old wood and replacing it by young shoots every season. 

 Should frost continue, it will leave the florist little to do out of 

 doors. TuUps ought to be out of harm's way. Pinks, if defended 

 in the manner recommended in a previous calendar, may bid 

 defiance to hares and rabbits. Ranunculus beds will be all the 

 better of frost. The final arrangement of the roots for planting 

 may now be made, keeping all flat-crowned ones for the side bed. 

 Auriculas, though necessarily covered, as the trusses are rising 

 in the hearts, ought to have air whenever practicable, withdraw- 

 ing or tilting the frame lights in the middle of the day, if only 

 for half an hour. Carnations in frames may have a current of 

 air passing under them during the frost, the frames being closed 

 at top to prevent the ingress of snow or rain. The florist may 

 employ his leisure time in manufacturing and repairing Dahlia 

 shades, making small three-cornered paper bags for Tulips and 

 Ranunculus roots next season, painting or otherwise marking 

 zinc labels for Dahlias and Roses, and attaching metallic wire to 

 them. 



OnBlINnOUSH akd conseevatort. 



As the season advances give more air to the houses. See that 

 suitable composts are ready under cover for potting and sowing 

 seeds. Some of the hardwooded plants may now be propagated 

 by cuttiugs, where a gentle bottom heat can be kept up. Do not 

 increase the temperature of the houses yet, and take care that 

 all the plants are clean and free from insects. The early-forced 

 bulbs will now be out of bloom in the conservatory, and should 

 be removed to some sheltered place whence frost is excluded 

 in order to ripen their foliage, and other plants may be intro- 

 duced from the forcing houses. Hibiscus, Clerodendrons, Jus- 

 ticias, and other half-stove plants which flower in the conserva- 

 tory may bo pruned, and some of them placed in a higher 

 temperature, but they should not be potted until they begin to 

 grow freely. A few Neriums and Hydrangeas may be also forced 

 into early growth for this house. A gentle heat would now 

 benefit the Chinese Azaleas for early flowering. Continue to 

 give as much air to the greenhouse daily as the state of the 

 weather will admit of, and see that- all the plants are watered 

 regularly : the great object is to keep these plants from growing 

 early. 



FORCING PIT. 



Continue to introduce fresh supplies of plants as the former 

 ones are removed to the conservatory, also other plants from 

 which you wish to obtain an early crop of cuttings, such as 

 Salvia splendens to come in early in the autumn. Common 

 plants that do not promise much bloom should be at once dis- 

 carded to make room for others ; failures of this nature always 

 occur more or less in early forcing. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Here, if the number of plants required for bedding-out is 

 considerable, there will be plenty of employment for all hands. 

 The whole of the autumn-propagated plants must be potted-otf 

 without delay, so as to get them well rooted and turned out 

 into temporary pits by the 1st of April, so as to set the pots 

 at liberty for a second lot of plants, which should now be 

 coming forward in the propagating frame. It is of no use to 

 plant Verbenas, itc, for beds at a foot or more apart, as late ex- 

 perience proves that, unless we plant out good masses at once, 

 the flower garden will present only empty borders until August 

 or September ; therefore, where we wanted one plant in past 

 years we shall in future require three or four, and consequently 

 a corresponding provision must be made. Hydrangeas intro- 

 duced into the forcing house in January will now require to 

 have their side shoots removed to give strength to the leader. 

 These shoots must be used for propagating, to provide plants 

 for another season. Sweet Peas, if wanted to bloom early, must 

 be sown in pots in heat for transplanting ; indeed, a general 

 assortment of the best annuals must now be sown in pots tor 

 the spring and early summer decoration of the flower garden. 

 Some of the Stocks and other annuals sown some weeks past 

 will require potting-off, putting three or four plants in a pot. 

 Divide and make root-cuttings of Bouvardia triphylla and 

 angustifolia, and get the plants forward and strong for planting- 

 out. Dahli.as of choice sorts from which many young plants 

 are required may now be potted and placed in heat, or they 

 may be laid on the tan in a forcing house, and covered withleaif 

 mould or rotten tan. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST WEEK. 



kitchen garden. 

 The frost that has come after the continuous rains has pre- 

 vented much flue work being done, but there has been a good 



opportunity for wheeUng over walks without injuring them. 

 We have been moving and turning soil, ridging, trenching, and 

 rough-digging, and getting materials ready for shght hotbeds 

 for Carrots, Radishes, Potatoes, Turnips, &c., and for sowing 

 early CauUflowers, Cabbages, and Lettuces. Iu old gardens, 

 iu preparing for all such forwarding hotbeds, two things can 

 generally be accomplished at one time. Thus, in wheeUug-out 

 rotted manure to quarters, beds, and borders, a good deal wiU 

 be obtained from the jCentre and bottom not nearly so much 

 decayed as that at the sides and tops of the beds, because less 

 exposed to moisture and air. The longest of that might be 

 joined to the general fermenting heap, and the slightly-more- 

 decomposed be used as a topping to keep down the steam from 

 the fresher, and, in some cases, not too sweet material when first 

 used. It costs but little trouble to cast the longest, least- 

 thoroughly-decomposed to one side, and make it serve a further 

 heating purpose. 



Owing to the wet dull weather, forward crops under glass, 

 with all the air possible, have not grown so sturdily as usual, 

 not from having too much heat beneath them, but from not 

 having enough of sun and a drier air around them. 



There need be no want of Asparagus, Sea-kale, or Rhubarb 

 where a mild heat of from 50^ to 55°, and even, when much 

 wanted, up to G0°, can be given, and there are plenty of plants 

 to lift and remove. The great loss in the case of Asparagus is, 

 that it is hardly worth while to do more with the old roots than 

 consign them to the rubbish heap- When we have replanted 

 the best of them thay rarely succeeded so well as young plants. 

 The others mentioned, when hardened-ofl before replanting, did 

 generally very well afterwards. 



FRUIT DEP.UITMENT. 



The press of other work which could be done even in such 

 weather, has kept us back here as respects out-door work with 

 fruit trees and shrubs in the way of pruning, tying, nailing, 

 cleaning, &c. ; and the sunless weather demanded that all forcing 

 operations should be conducted more slowly than usual, iu 

 order that forward blooms should not suffer, nor young shoots 

 be drawn up more thin and watery than usual. The admission of 

 more air than is customary, especially if the air is somewhaiJ 

 heated before reaching the plants and flowers, will do something 

 to correct this disagreeable tendency; but even that will not 

 compensate for the want of the sun's rays. We recollect soma 

 years ago having much trouble to get a moderate crop of Peaches 

 in a house. Though the trees were well supplied with bloom — 

 notwithstanding touching with feathers, camel-hair brushes, and 

 waving with flat boards in the way of a fan over the blooms, 

 there seemed little reciprocal influence between the parts of 

 fructification, and that chiefly, in our opinion, because there was 

 only one hour and a half of sun altogether whilst the trees were 

 in bloom, and that time was made-up of times when there was 

 only a gleam for a few moments, many gleams not lasting a 

 minute before the clouds covered the sky. In all such cases 

 comparative dryness of the enclosed air is important — not too 

 dry, for that would shrivel-up the anthers ; but, on the other 

 baud, not too moist, or in dull weather they will get clogged-up 

 and refuse to open, and the waxy-surfaced pistils become equally 

 inoperative. Even out of doors an excess of moisture at the 

 blooming time often does more harm than a dry frost of several 

 degrees below the freezing point. Hence, in all such weather a 

 lower temperature and a drier atmosphere under glass will be 

 more desirable than the reverse. Swilling stages, shelves, and 

 floors in such weather demands a greater consumption of fuel — 

 a greater rise of vapour — to give additional moisture to the at- 

 mosphere, apart, at least, of which will be condensed against the 

 glass, and, if no means be used to the contrary, it will fall like 

 dewdrops over the house, and often thus injure the plants be- 

 neath, besides tempting them to a languid weakly growth. 



We recollect of a case early iu winter, where it was insisted 

 that a Peach house, with trees on a flat trellis in front full 

 in bloom in December, was kept up to 60' or G5° in frosty 

 weather, and the moisture being used in proportion, the drop- 

 pings from the condensed vai^our on the glass fell like a shower 

 on the blooms ; and, to prevent that, calico was stretched along 

 to receive it at least in the first place, and, well stretched, this 

 kept it so far from falling on the blooms. We would now say 

 that under such circumstances it would be better in every way 

 to let the thermometer in the house sink lU^ at least, and take 

 the chance of a natural stimulus in a gradual but safe rise from 

 sunshine. 



As a general rule, especially among beginners, who like to see 

 plants looking at their best when they would really well pay 

 back for a little rest or repose, fruit houses and plant houses 

 are apt to be kept too hot and too moist iu dull cold weather in 

 winter. As an example iu the one case, we can recollect using 

 a long-pointed instrument aflixed to something hke a syringe, 

 with which to draw up the water from the hearts of Pine plants 

 after the young fruit had shown itself, so that the fruit should 

 not come deformed ; and in the other case, as respects plant 

 houses, we have seen scores of fine blooms of Camellias, &o., 

 spotted and rendered useless for decorative purposes by the 



