X88 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTIOULTDBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ Februu-y 27, 1873. 



plants which flower beautifully iu the autumn if sown at this 

 time. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



Tee weather has been extremely changeable— mild, frosty, 

 snowy ; but we must be prepared for all contingencies. A loose 

 surface is always an advantage. For Cabbages, Lettuces, Cauli- 

 flowers, itc, we are sure that a httle surface stirring was of 

 great advantage. A small fork or hoe does wonders in these 

 matters. A loose surface of soU keeps cold and heat out. In 

 such weather as this, how important it is to keep the cold out ! 

 How gi-eat is the advantage gained in the case of Broccolis 

 coming on, and in that of young Cauliflowers under glasses ! 

 The looser the surface, the more independent the plants are of 

 the weather. 



We are not at all surprised at the weather, we confidently 

 expected frost and snow, now we must act accordingly. Pota- 

 toes, &c., turned out must be taken care of, no frost allowed to 

 touch them, and yet not too much heat allowed to get near 

 them. Eead and reread what has been said lately as to pro- 

 tecting, covering, &c. We have given there the practice of a 

 lifetime, and we wish every reader to stand on the same vantage 

 ground as we do. Just see what we have said about Asparagus, 

 Piliubarb, Sea-kale, &c. Plenty of them make matters pleasant, 

 and we have never refrained from saying what is the best and 

 most economical mode of growing them. 



FRUIT G.IBDEN. 



Out of d'oors there cannot be too much done in the way of 

 pruning and naihug ; but iu houses, bear in mind, that in such 

 dull weather beware of haviugatoo high temperature. Nothing 

 will thrive in this dull weather if there be extra heat' giveu. 

 Bear iu mind that heat can do wonders, but that it cannot make 

 up for the sim's rays. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPAKTMENT. 



Just see that Calceolarias, iVc, are kept cool. They will stand 

 a httle frost, but the less the better. 



Protection to Cold Pits and Fratnes.— On the 13th, the snow 

 having gone from the pits and frames with no artificial heat, 

 we uncovered for the first time since the evening of the 1st iust., 

 thirteen days and nights, and Calceolarias looked as well as if 

 they had been shut up for a single night ; no air, no Ught had 

 been given to them for that time. All such trouble and labour 

 °* " u™i!^"^° ^^^ uncovering were saved, and the plants were 

 much better off than if presented with different extremes of 

 temperatm-e, &c. The only things to be cared for in such a 

 case, as already referred to, is to make sm-e that the cold inside 

 IS not so great as to injure, and then it should be so cold as to 

 present no stimulus to growth. The two longest periods we now 

 recollect of having such half-hardy plants covered up was once 

 for rather more than a month, and in the other case for fully 

 five weeks. In the first case, without an opening for air, &c., 

 the plants were as fresh as the day they were covered up. The 

 only additional care was that the litter, &c., remained on for a 

 day after tlie thaw, and as it soon was followed by a fair amount 

 of sunshine, a little shade was left on for a day or two after air 

 was given at the back. The other case, in which the coveriug 

 was continued longer, would have been equally successful, only 

 we had a lot of small plants iujm-ed for a width of 8 inches from 

 the low back wall. Tliis had nothing to do with the length of 

 time of covering up, as the plants and cuttings, with the above 

 exception, were sate and sound. The covering, chiefly of Utter, 

 over the glass was sufficient; the dwarf wall and the ground 

 for 2 feet m front were so littered that frost could not enter, 

 ihe back wall had only a little Htter and straw shaken loosely 

 against it. The gi-ound close to it was frozen hard as adamant, 

 and the frost also penetrated the wall. With a base of 3 inches 

 at the gi-ound, and a fence of from 1 to 1 J inch of straw tied firmly 

 against the wall, we might have bid defiance to some '20" of 

 frost ; but iu protecting the glass and front wall we were compara- 

 tively too careless of the north back wall, aud the plants near it 

 suffered accordingly. We acted too well on the principle of lock- 

 ing and bolting the doors aud leaving the windows easy of access 

 to any intruder. We have known not a few cases where plants 

 in cold pits were more than amply protected as respects the 

 glass, and yet the frost did its work by passing easily through 

 the brick walls. Paradoxical though it seems, it is no less true 

 that a porous damp wall of n inches will scai-cely be such a safe- 

 guard against a severe continuous frost as a good-seasoned dry 

 boarding of 2 inches thick. 



We shall not have written in vain if our readers will think 

 of the walls of their cold pits, if a severe frost should visit us. 

 A brick IS a good conductor of heat and cold alike. Once we 

 saw a cold pit full of young plants of Camellias and Indian 

 Azaleas irreparably injured, because, though the glass was pro- 

 tected, a temperature of •l-l" below freezing-point was allowed to 

 pass through a 4i-inch wall, with 9-inch piers every 4 feet, and 

 though tile tops uf the plants seemed to suffer little, the roots 

 were injured by the soil about them, rather damp, being frozen 

 as hard as a stone. 



Of course, where there are the means of artificial heat such 

 care need not apply, though even then, in the case of pits, a pro- 

 tection to the walls would greatly ease the furnace-work and 

 the coal bill. Of course, also, it is clearly understood that where 

 artificial heat is given to keep up gi-owth, everything Uke con- 

 tinuous covering would be out of place, though in dark, stormy, 

 cold snowy days we have allowed such covering to remain on 

 for a day now and then. All the hght possible under such cir- 

 cumstances is generally indispensable, and therefore, besides 

 the requisite temperature, cleanness of the glass is the next 

 most important consideration. 



I'iolets. — Singularly enough, we said lately that these lost 

 their aroma in frost, and we found it so time after time ; but the 

 other day we picked blooms under snow, and found them quite 

 sweet. 



We find that much care is requisite to keep plants safe ; a 

 little litter will often do wonders. — B. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUES EECEIVED. 



J. T. Eofe, Broomfield Floral Nursery, Cecil Road, New Town, 

 Enfield. — Catalogue o/ New and Select Kitchen Garden, Agri- 

 cultural, and Flower Seeds. 



George PoiUton, Fountain Nursery, Angel Road, Edmonton. 

 — Catalogue of Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 



W. Montgomery, 365, Argyle Street, and Haghill Nursery, 

 Glasgow. — Catalogue of Vegetahh atid Flower Seeds, Bedding 

 Plants, dc. 



EUwanger & Barry, Mount Hope xsursenes, Rochester, New 

 York. — Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits. 



E. G. Henderson & Son, Welhngton Road, St. John's Wood, 

 London, N.W. — Catalogue of Flower, Vegetable, and Agricul- 

 tural Seeds. 



George Yates, 29, Little Underbank, Stockport. — Descriptive ' 

 Catalogue of Select Vegetable and Flower Seeds. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*,' We request that no one will -nTite privately to any of the 

 correspondents of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardeuer, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble aud expense. All 

 communications should therefore be addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, dc. 111, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.G. 



We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the 

 same sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on 

 Poultry and Bee subjects, if they expect to get them 

 answered promptly and conveniently, but write them on 

 separate communications. Also never to send more than 

 two or three questions at once. 



N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



Books (Q. T.B.). — The work you name can be obtained through any book- 

 seller. 



Fruit of C\t>onia japonica. — " In a foreifni catalo^e, the Japan Quince^ 

 Chamomeles (Cydonia) japonica, is lecommended as yielding an excellent fruit 

 for preserving. Bo yuu know anything about it ? Some years a^'o the fruit of 

 Pyrus japonica was thus recommended. I tried it, and found it very bad. — 

 G. S." Any information in reply will obhge us, but as far as wo know it ia 

 not injui-ious, but veiy unpalatable. 



BuLns, &c. i.i Young Beginner). — We cannot give botanical definitions, 

 Evary elementary book on botany contains them. 



Sea-kale Blanxuiso (Peter). — The Sea-kale will come in naturally," or 

 very nearly so, byithe third week of JIarch; but we should at once put on the 

 pots, and cover at least enough for a fortnight's supply, using leaves or other 

 materials that would afford just a slight warmth. Without this we faor, if 

 the weather be cold, or frosty at night, yuu w ill be disappointed. For a later 

 supply cover the pots with litter of some kind, for though the sun would 

 wai-m the pots by day, a shai-p frost at night would destroy the tender shoots ; 

 besides, you must exclude the hght, and on that account tUone the pots should 

 bo covered up with litter, putting it on the pots so as to hang over them, aud 

 exclude the light. Ashes, sawdust, or any other non-heating material would 

 answer, but we prefer the long Utter just to cover the pots, leaving the mter- 

 voning spaces bare. 



Salt for Kitchen Garden (i^f mo). — Over vacant [spaces you may sow at 

 the rate of twenty bushels per acre. 



Herbaceous P.eonies (,J. T., Belfast).— Yon could obtain them of any of 

 the principal florists who advertise iu our columns. 



Diagonal Cordon Training i.in AnuUeuy). — The more vigorous the trees, 

 the greater deflection of the branches is desirable. 



Cucumbers in Greenhouse (P., Stafford). — Unless you keep your green 

 house closer aud warmer than is either usual or good for greenhouse plants 

 the Cucumbers in pots will not please you. Two good kinds are Volunteer 

 aud Telegruph. For out-door culture Stockwood iiidge is good. Potting 

 Ferns iu leaf mould without the admixture of sand is nut prudent : such soU 

 becomes too close. Sandy peat two parts, and one pai"t sandy fibrous loam, 

 with a fourth of silver sand, form a suitable mixture. We cannot name the 

 plant from the fragment you sent us. 



Begonias from Seed (A Young Reoihr). — The seed of these being very 

 Bniali, we should attribute the failui'o last year to too deep covering. Drain 



