270 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICULTOBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



March 27, 1873. 



CtJU-EKKETS.— In HaUiwell's interesting " Dictionaij of Aichaic and Pro- 

 Tincial Words,' vol. I, page 286, is the followmg:— " Culverksys, the bunches 

 of pods which contain the seeds of the Ash. Also explained the Columbine."— 



W. I. S. HORTON. 



[The flower referred to by Dennys could not have been the kevs, or seed- 

 vessels, of the Ash. We know that the Columbine has been guessed to be the 

 flower, but we wish to know if anywhere in the British Islands any flower is 

 still known as the Culverkey.] 



Layering Kose Tress (C. A. 7!.).— We do not advocate layering or pegging 

 down the shoots of Roses. They certainly look well when so arranged as to 

 present a flat surface, but the shoots that eome from the base, and which 

 must be kept to replace those that are pegged down and blooming this year, 

 present even a more uneven surface than plants trained on the dwarf bush 

 system. Good hard wood pegs are best ; they should be 15 to 18 inches long, 

 with a notch at the side about 2 inches from the top. The stakes or pegs 

 should be di-iven into the ground to within 8 inches of their tops, and should 

 be in rows about a foot apart every way. The shoots of the Buses should be 

 tied to the stakes -d-ith tarred strings disposing them equally, aud so as to 

 have at least one shoot to cross and be fastened to each peg ; cut off the weak 

 snoots, retaining ouly the strongest and best ripened, but take off the unripe 

 points of these. The shoots pegged down will need to be cut off in autumn 

 after flowering, aud bo replaced by those of the current year. 



Tdberose TREATaiENT (Z(fe)7i).— Pot them now in light fibrous loam two 

 pai-ts, one part leaf soil, and half a part sf well decayed manure, with one- 

 sixth of sharp sand. Drain the pots efficiently; they may bo 7 mches in 

 diameter, aud in each place one bulb, and so that it may he entirely covered 

 ■witli soil. If the soil is m a sufSciently moist state no water need be given 

 but If dry, water moderately, place in a gentle hotbed, and keep there until 

 they have made good roots, or the shoots are 3 inches long, when they mav be 

 gradually withdrawn from the hotbed, and removed to a light aiiy position in 

 the greenhouse. Water freely and syringe often, so as to keep down red 

 spider. If you wish the plants to flower early they should, after removal 

 from the hotbed, be placed in a vinery or other house having lii-e heat, and 

 they will flower a month or six t.-eeks before those placed in the gi conhouse. 

 The offsets should be removed, so as to throw the vigour of the plant into the 

 flower-stem. 



Mowing Machines (Slreaf/Mw'.— We have no experience with either of 

 the machines you name ; but we can say that each machine that has been in- 

 vented does its work well if carefully managed. 



AaEANGEjiEXT OF Frcit-room (i^. H. i.).— Of the two sites we prefer the 

 loan-to against the north wall. The thicker the walls the more equable will 

 be the temperature of the house. We would have them 14 inches thick, but 

 they need not be hollow walls ; a thatched root is also preferable to one com- 

 peted of tiles. The floor would be better boarded, but it is not very material. 

 The best ai-rangement for the shelves is a staging of laths, similar to that 

 used to stage plants upon in gi-eenhouses. One tier of staging may be 

 placed above another, about 1 foot 9 inches apart, and the staging may he 

 3 feet wide. If yours is a narrow house there will only be room for staging 

 round the sides ; but should the house be wide enough, another tier of 

 shelves may be placed in the middle of the house. There ought also to be 

 one or two windows, which should be provided T\ith shutters. The windows 

 should also be made to open. There should likewise be a fiieplace or a 

 email stove in the room. 



MALPor.MATioN OF TiNE Shoot (TT. T.).— The enclosed shoot is similar 

 to many we have seen this year. The cause is, no doubt, to be found in the 

 unfavourable season of last year, the wood not being sufficiently ripened. In 

 our earliest vinery we had one rod which had nearly all the side shoots 

 affected in a similar manner to the shoot you sent. We trained them in the 

 usual way, but took the precaution to train a young rod up from the base of 

 the old one m case the affection should he permanent. One rod only was 

 affected m the house, aU the others broke weU aud regulai-ly. 



Drainage of a Faemvaed for Vine Borders (A Siib)cribn).—1)iis is 

 somctunes very strong, at other times so weak that it might be applied as it 

 IS taken from the tmk. If it look strong we would advise you to add two 

 wateniot.-fnl of clear water to one of liquid mantu-e. Apply it to the roots of 

 the \ ines as soon as the Grapes are set, and up to the time that they begin 

 to colour. 



Peach Trees in Pots (T. G.).— The sorts we have found not to set their 

 fruit freely m pots are few. Barrmgton, Exquisite, and Late Admirable are 

 the worst in this respect. Walburton Admirable is also shy in setting. Sal- 

 way sets Its fruit freely, but it is not a desirable sort to grow in pots. Early 

 Beatrice Peach has large flowers. 



HocsE FOE Orchids U. B.).— It would never do to depend on a tempe- 

 rature of 30' as the coldest in winter. Where would you he when the thei- 

 mometer was at 15", or even sinkuig to zero ? As you propose heating by gas, 

 2 aud 3-meh pipes would be better than i-inch ; but even with 2-inch'pip68 

 you would need at least a third more than you specify. As you have the 

 boiler iuside, there must be an escape pipe for the gas. Were it not for show- 

 ing a funnel through the roof, or gettiug the di-aught into a chimney, a small 

 hrick stove would be the most economical in every way. 



FoEciNQ PiTdf'. S.).— We think that two 1-inch pipes worked separately 

 wui afford you a good bottom heat. If you want a very strong heat you had 

 Better have three, but we should be satished with two. For top heat you 

 must have three pipes at least ; two would not give von enough of heat iu 

 severe weather without making tho pipes too hot, and "that is always attended 

 by a waste of fuel. *• »■ > j 



Planting Flower-beds (IF. G.).— We think the proposed planting this 

 year will on the whole, be an improvement on the planting of last Tear, 

 llie Hollyhocks, if not over-tall, will look very well at the back of tho pau'elled 

 Oor.ler, aud tho Coleus or the Iresine Lmdenii wiU make good substitutes for 

 i'urple Kmg, and will look weU in aU kinds of weather. 



^ Tor.r for FoEi (0. P.. a Subscriber).— We should be obliged if y»a woul d 

 jry a ton of turf mixed with the coke, and report progress. We presume that 

 oy turf you mean flnng peat or bog earth. Wc do not think that you will 

 gain any advantage, as we do not think its heating power, weight for 

 weignt, equal to hall that of good coke, but we cannot speak from any cxten- 

 Bive practice. Tiy, aud give us the results. Slack, breese, and cinders of 

 coKe me drfferent. and aU come in useful if mixed with coke. At one time wo 

 triea lump of chalk, aud they greatly tended to lessen the coal bill. Our 

 Vi^i t f't'^M'"' '='^'1'' "^ 'o "'™'= ">■>' y"u wUl gam little or nothing by using 

 wi'„. . ' ^'{ l"'«s;ime, you mean peat. You would see m last week some 

 ?„f ^ ",' ;° ,?"!'»•'* liouses, aud in previous numbers, in " Doings of the 

 i^ast Week, allusions aie made to tho importaaco of not hurrying on trees 



even when heat is applied in the dull weather; also to the importance of 

 thinning the blooms and assisting their setting. It is just possible your 

 house has been kept too warm at first, but we fear that the dropping of the 

 flowers was chiefly owing to one of two causes— unmaturity of tho wood last 

 autumn, or too much dryness or too much moisture at the roots as the trees 

 came into bloom. 



Whitewashing a Geeenhodse Glazed Eoof (H.H.).— For a temporal? 

 shade which rams will wash off we use whiting bruised, say 4 ozs. in thi-ea 

 gallons of water, and spatter it over the glass with a syringe. For a per- 

 manent shad;, after using size, &c., we find nothing simpler than skim milk 

 and whitmg, say 4 ozs. of whiting in two gallons of milk, and that drawn 

 over with a brush will cover a great amount of glass. When mere shade is 

 the object, the thinner the mixture is put on the better, as, if that is not 

 enough, yon can add to it. When neatness is an object it is weU to use two 

 brushes — one to lay tho material on, and a diy brush to daub it so as to 

 resemble ground glass. In doing such work two things are essential : first, 

 the glass must be dry ; and second, if possible, there must be sun to set it 

 nicely. We have thus whitened glass in May, and the shading remained until 

 washed off in October. We recommend Dr. Masters's edition of Hcnfrey's 

 " Elementary Course of Botany.'" 



Secdeino Boles from Kats (A Comlanl Ben<fcr).— Wo have found red 

 lead a safeguard to all kinds of seeds. We shall use it when we plant 

 Crocuses extensively, as even those in pots we cannot keep. Wo would mix 

 the red lead powder in soft-soap water, and dip the bulbs and corras in it, so 

 as to have a red appearance, or even use it as we do with Peas— that is, we 

 use enough of moisture to damp the Peas, and no more, an^;! then dust as 

 much of the red lead powder among them as, v. hen turned with a stick, leaves 

 every seed reddish. We have not tried it with corms and bulbs, but we wish 

 wc had, and we would recommend you to try it. In om- case mice, rats, and 

 hu-ds will not look at the seeds. 



Watering w^T^ Spring Water {A Constant Bei&r).— Spring water, 

 though not so good as rain water, is nevertheless suitable for watering plants. 

 It would bo better if you had a cistern in each house of sufficient capacity for 

 one watering. We use spring water to a large extent, and do not find any 

 noticeable difference between it and rain water. For syringing rain water is 

 much to be preferred, as it does not mark the foliage. 



Snowdrops Failing (irfcm).— We aie unable to account for the bulbs of 

 these disappearing after the first season. Do not place the crown of the bulb 

 more than an inch below the surface, and plant in autumn when they are be- 

 ginning to grow. Probably the leaves were cut off before*they were ripe, and 

 to that we should attribute the failure. They should succeed under the same 

 treatment as Crocuses. 



Compost for Feens {A Young Gm'ifcner).— Two parts sandy fibrous peat > 

 one part tm-fy yellow loam, aud one-sixth part each of silver sand and of char- 

 coal in lumps from tho size of a pea to that of a hazel nut, the whole well 

 mixed. Of the materials yon name charcoal is the most useful if you use 

 sand as an ingredient in the compost, but if not we should prefer the sand- 

 stone. Lycopods do not requii-e different treatment from Ferns, only they 

 need more moistm-e and shade. 



Taeiocs {A. D.I.— We would now cut down tho plants to within 6 inches of 

 the soil, taking off their tops when they had grown 1 foot high. Clunbing 

 Roses may be trained with tho shoots npright on the same principle as Pears. 

 We have several so trained, and the method answers well. We would not have 

 any plants in the Rose border besides the Roses. They do better without 

 them. Violets now blooming in the couser^-atory wiU do for another year, but 

 they must be divided in April or May, and planted out in good rich soil a foot 

 apart every way, and bo taken up and potted in autumn. Young plants ai-e 

 far superior to old ones kept in pots for a second season's bloom. 



Gleichenia speldnc.e Cdltoee (ir. p.).— Pot it in two-thirds fibrous 

 peat and one-thud turfy yellow loam, with a free admixtm-e of silver sand 

 and lumps of charcoal as large as hazel nuts or walnuts, mixing the whole 

 well together. Drain the pot to one-thu-d its depth with crocks, the largest at 

 the bottom, the smallest at top, and cover with a thin layer of sphagnum or 

 the rougher parts of the compost. Pot so that the rhizomes may be about 

 half an inch below the rim of the pot, and level over neatly, making the sur- 

 face fine and firm, the rhizomes only just covered with soil. Water with a 

 rose-water-pot until the sinface becomes settled, which it will be in two or 

 three waterings, always keep moist, and whon growing afford abundant 

 supplies of water. Place the plant in a greenhouse and shade it fi-om bright 

 sun, admitting air moderately. 



Sowing Dedtzia gracilis and Lobelia rellidifolia (Pc/ifc).- Tho 

 seed of Deutzia gracilis may be sown in light sandy loam in a pot or pan, and 

 be covered with a depth of soil equal to the diameter of the seed. Place the 

 pot in a cold frame, or plunge it iu a wai-m situation out of doors, and keep 

 the soil moist. The seedlings, when an inch high, may be pricked out 3 inches 

 apart in light loamy soil, and should be shaded from sun until established. 

 The Lobelia, as you have no gi-eenhouse and we presume no hotbed, may be 

 sown in a pot tilled with Ught turfy loam, adding a third of peat, and a sixth 

 of silver sand. Make tho surface very fine, and just cover the seed with very 

 fine soil. Place the pot in a room window, and keep the soil regularly moist. 

 When the plants can be handled pot them off singly in small pots, and 

 encourage their (Growth, keeping them well supplied with water. In June 

 they may be p!anted-out in rich soil. After the first frost take them up and 

 pot them, wintering them in a room window safe from frost, and keep the 

 soil no more than moist. The following May plant them out of doors, and 

 they will no doubt flower well. 



Azalea Leaves Beowned {J. W. i.).— Syringing Azaleas during the 

 winter is not desirable, and your doing so has no doubt caused the leaves to 

 become brown at tho points from water drippiug or hanging on them. 

 Discontinue the .syringing, and we think your plants will go on well. We do 

 not think water from a galvanised iron tank wiU have any injurious effect. 

 Woodhce will not shell and eat the seeds of Melons. Mice, we thinlt. are the 

 cause of tho mischief. We should set a few spring traps by the side of the 

 Cabbages and so take the woodpigeons, or you can take an old hat or two and 

 suspend them with a string between two stakes thrust into the ground about 

 a yard apart, the bats about 3 or 4 feet from the gi-ound, aud so placed that 

 they will be moved by the wind. We find these infallible against stockdoves. 

 They build their nests in trees close by the kitchen garden and do no hai-m, 

 but before we used the hat-scarers they did great mischief. 



Nastes of Pl.ants (A. S.). — No one could tell the name from a single flower 

 of the Scilla; you must send a spike of flowers. (iJa/;/).— Narcissus minor. 

 {Mac). — Cystopteris fi-agilis and Polystichum Lonchitis. ({J. CinptnUr). — 

 Oleander noi-iiformis. (Tr. ijanwi/u//). — Tho flowering plant is Leucopogon 

 lauceolatus. Tho Selaginellas are S. Braimii and S. uncinata. The Feru is 



