208 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ March 6, 1873. 



winter, at a temperature comparatively low (9° or 12° Cent., 

 was that of the apartment) ou weak and dying roots which 

 have already been covered with mould. In connection with 

 this subject, M. de Luca also called attention to the fact that 

 in the neighbourhood of Naples, the volcanic earth from the 

 Solfatara of Pozzuolo has of late been used with vei-y good 

 results against the old Vine disease — oidium. It contains 

 sulphur, crystalUue and amorphous, a little salphuret of 

 arsenic, and porous volcanic matters. Placed in moderate 

 quantity about the Vine stock it makes the vegetation more 

 vigorous, kills insects attached to the roots and external parts, 

 and improves the Grapes, both iu quantity and quality. The 

 Phylloxera has not yet appeared in Italy. With reference to 

 destroying the insects by submersion, M. Faucon thinks it 

 would be necessai-y to keep the ground covered with a layer of 

 water without interruption from fifteen to twenty days in 

 September or October, whUe the insect is yet in its' period of 

 active life, or from thirty to forty days from the early part of 

 November after the winter torpor has commenced. A canal 

 from the Rhone has been projected by M. Dumont for the 

 object referred to. — {Enylinh Mechanic.) 



WOBK FOE THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GiUiDEN. 



Thin-out the old stools of Arlicltokes and make new plant- 

 ations. Plant the suckers triangularly at a foot apart, the 

 stools to be 4 feet from each other. If the weather will permit, 

 sow the main crops of Beet, plant old roots for seed. The 

 present state of the weather precludes all possibility of gettiug- 

 in the main crop of Carrots, but the first opportunity should "be 

 taken to do so. Thin-out those iu frames. Make a sowing 

 of Celeri/ on a sUght hotbed for the main crop. When the early- 

 sowing is up give it air at every favourable opportunity. Apply 

 linings to the beds of Cucumbers before a great declination of 

 heat takes place. Keep them made-up to the top of the frame 

 so as to dry the atmosphere of the inside, which is usually too 

 damp for the young plants. Let the weather be what it may, 

 give a Uttle ah- diiily ; if ^ windy and cold tack a piece of thin 

 canvas over the frame when open to prevent the ingress of rough 

 winds. Give abundance of air to young Lettuce plants in 

 frames, to prepare them for planting out ; loosen the earth be- 

 tween the autumn-planted ones. Where Mushrooms are gi-swu 

 by fire heat, a constant moist atmosphere should be kept-up by 

 pouring water ou the paths and placing pans of water on the 

 dues. Heat the house when in bearing to about 60°. Take an early 

 opportunity of sowing the main crop of Onions. Plant-out the 

 autumn-sowing iu rows at U inches or a foot apart. Get the 

 main crop of Parsnips sown as soon as the soU is suflioiently 

 dry to work well. A few rows of Spinach should now be sown. 

 Clean and loosen the earth about the autumn-sown if con- 

 venient. Avoid getting on the gi-ound while in a wet state, par- 

 ticularly for the purpose of sowing seed. Clean all the Cabbage 

 tribe from dead leaves, and where slugs are very niunerous hme 

 the whole garden diu-iug damp weather. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



Take care that all newly-planted fruit trees are securely 

 staked and mulched, and that the blossoms of the early kinds 

 are protected in due time. Take advantage of dry weather to 

 draw away the soil from the stems of Gooseberries with a hoe 

 for 2 inches in depth and 2 or 3 feet in diameter, for about this 

 time the black army, or what is generally termed the Goose- 

 berry caterpillar, will begin to be on the alert. Sprinkle the 

 space cleared with soot and wood ashes, returning the earth 

 quickly with the back of the hoe or rake. This is not only a 

 preventive against such troublesome vermin, but acts as a very 

 stimulating manure to the trees, and the extent to which it has 

 been apphed is very perceptible throughout the season. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



Need I ask if you have decided upon what plants the beds 

 in the flower garden are to be planted with this season ? if not, 

 the sooner the decision is made the better, or you will be too 

 late. Autumn-sown annuals may now be removed to their 

 blooming places, planting three or five in a patch according to 

 the kinds and size. For beds intended to be planted with half- 

 hardy plants a line of annuals may bo planted round the outside, 

 and, being pegged down or chpped into shape, they form a neat 

 and gay edging in the early part of the season, and leave the 

 centre of the beds to be thickly planted with such plants as are 

 intended for summer and autumn decoration. Califoruiau 

 annuals, such as Clarkias, Collinsias, Leptosiphons, Nemophilas, 

 &c., sown now will bloom almost as soon as those sown in the 

 autumn ; indeed, it is a good plan to sow a few seeds at the time 

 of planting, as they will fill-up all vacancies and prolong the 

 season of bloom. Herbaceous borders, if not dressed-over in the 

 autumn, must bo attended to immediately, and either freoh com- 

 post or manure must be added to all plants that are weakly. 

 Proceed with the planting-out of biennials of aU kiads, and 



prepare a good-sized piece of ground for a sowing of Anemone 

 corouaria, hortensis, and vitifoha. Anemones deUght in a strong 

 rich soil and a rather shady situation in the summer. Sow 

 the seed after being well rubbed in sand in shallow drills 

 9 inches apart, and cover with rich soil from the compost yard. 

 A sowing of Ten-week Stocks must also be made on a warm 

 border, cover with litter or mats at night until the seed begin to 

 vegetate. Auricula seed may now be sown ; the best compost 

 is sandy peat and leaf soil. Shallow boxes or pans should be 

 fiUed nearly full and watered well to settle it weU, when the 

 seed may be thinly sown on the surface, covering very slightly. 

 The blooms are now rising ; mind that the trusses are not drawn 

 by keeping the hghts on too much. StiU have a sharp look-out 

 for snails among Polyanthuses. With a very small hand-fork 

 keep the surface of the bed loose, taking care not to disturb the 

 fibres. If growm in pots the soil must be occasionally stirred, 

 keeping them moderately moist. In purchasing Polyanthuses 

 it must be borne in mind that Hufton's Earl Grey and Clegg'a 

 Lord John Bussell are one and the same flower, the former 

 being the proper name. The Tulip beds must be earef ally gone 

 over and the cracks in tlie soil filled-up. A blunt stick is a 

 simple though eflectual instrument to loosen the soil between 

 the rows. Carnations are now beginning to move, and diseased 

 plants which have struggled through the winter thus far are 

 dying-off. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



As the present unfavourable weather must prevent out-of- 

 door operations being proceeded with, it offers a good oppor- 

 tunity for the employment of a few extra hands in examining 

 the roots of the majority of large specimen plants usually de- 

 posited in the conservatory during the winter months. Wherever 

 it appears necessary let them be pruned and shifted, but as 

 many of them may already be in pots or boxes quite as large as 

 it is perfectly convenient to move about, or suitable to their 

 summer stations, they may be beneficially treated by having as 

 much of the old soil carefully removed from the sides of the 

 pots or boxes as the state of the roots will allow, and afterwards 

 fiUiug-up the cavity made with fresh and suitable compost. 

 Many plants after arriving at a mature state of growth may be 

 kept in health for years by a judicious application of this mode 

 of treatment. Large plants of Geraniums, Calceolarias, Cine- 

 rarias, with a host of similar specimens intended either for ex- 

 hibition or early May flowering, will now require every attention ; 

 let them be frequently turned round that all sides may derive 

 the same advantage from the light, and appear when in full 

 bloom to have received equal treatment. 



STOVE. 



Cuttings of all fi-ee-growing softwooded stove plants, Euoh as 

 the different showy varieties of Justicia, Begonia, .\phelandra, 

 Poinsettia, &c., will now strike root readily in a brisk bottom 

 heat. They make useful and handsome plants if well managed 

 for autumn and winter flowering. 



PITS AND FR.\MES. 



Here the work needs no j>ointing out ; the means of providing 

 room after the pkants are potted is the greatest difficulty in 

 most places. Calico dressed with Whitney's composition, at a 

 cost of 5d. per yard, is a material required for plants after they 

 are first potted-off. Choice annuals such as Brachycome iberidi- 

 folia, Viscaria occulata, Mesembryanthemum tricolor, Portu- 

 laca, Clintonia, and the like, should always be potted-off as soon 

 as they are sufficiently large to handle, and afterwards be placed 

 in a warm moist atmosphere, with plenty of air in mild weather, 

 until they are properly established. Sow in a brisk heat Mar- 

 tynia fragrans and diandra, the different varieties of Thunber- 

 gias and Ipoma-as, Convolvulus major and minor, and, where 

 they are admired, the common yellow and other Lupins. — 

 W. Keane. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Little work could be done outside. Owing to heavy snows 

 and drenching rains our ground is like so mauy Sloughs of 

 Despond, into which a man's foot enters only to sink. 



Celery that has been remarkably good is now for the first 

 time beginning to give way and show signs of rotting. Of 

 course it is an easy matter to be wise behindhand. Had we 

 known the great features of the winter we would not have 

 earthed or littered our later Celery so much. Without that 

 care it would have been injured by frost if the weather had been 

 at aU severe. To secure early Celery requires a considerable 

 amount of care, and unless the Celery is valued we would not 

 advise the trouble. We have had it very fine at the beginning 

 of July, but after aU the labour we found it was seldom esti- 

 mated in jjroportiou to the labour bestowed on it. Do what you 

 may with it Celery never grows so freely as after the beginning 

 of Sejitemlier, so that good winter Celery can be had with but 

 Uttle trouble — a fact we have helped to make known to farmers 

 and numbers of readers, who care little for Celery imtil the first 

 frosts of November have made their appearance. Like Scotch 



