May 29, 187S. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



439 



removinf; occasionally, as it ia liable to get damp and mouldy, 

 which will rot the Mushrooms. Take the first favourable oppor- 

 tunity of earthing-up all Potatoes that are sufficiently forward ; 

 the others may be hoed between to loosen the earth and destroy 

 weeds. Make a good sowing of Turnips for early autumn use ; 

 thin-out the advancing crops. Plant-out Vegetable Marrows 

 on a rich piece of ground where there is plenty of room for it 

 to grow. Where the ground is cracked from drought amongst 

 seedling crops, rake it over while they are in a young state and 

 before they are thinned, this will be found of great service to 

 them throughout the summer. Loosen the earth about the 

 growing crops as frequently as possible. Keep down weeds, and 

 never allow any of them to seed. 



FRUIT UAKDEN. 



Examine those Peach trees that suffered from frost last season, 

 and carefully remove every piece of gum and canker with a 

 sharp knife. Prevent all colonising attempts of the green fly, 

 and see that the roots are not suffering from want of moisture, 

 or much mischief will be produced by a wet autumn. Destroy 

 caterpillars and black fly on Cherry trees by squeezing thern, 

 and afterwards give a forcible washing to the trees with clear 

 lime water. Whatever system of training is adopted with Rasp- 

 berries, no time should now be lost in removing all those young 

 shoots that will not be required for bearing wood next season. 



FLOn-ER OABDEN. 



When the planting-out of half-hardy plants shall have been 

 completed, the business of the flower garden for some time will 

 in a great measure be merely routine, such as hoeing and raking, 

 tying out and pegging down, removing dead leaves and flowers, 

 and keeping every thing and every place as it ought to be — clean, 

 neat, and tidy. Under the protection of a mulching of short 

 grass stick a few branches thinly in the beds, and place an in- 

 verted pot over the most tender plants. Newly-planted subjects, 

 especially' where not mulched, will require strict attention as to 

 watering, and where the planting-out is not completed proceed 

 with it as fast as possible. Where they are admired late in the 

 season a few annuals may be sown for late blooming, and a few 

 also may be kept in pots as stop-gaps in case of need. Remove 

 the flowers and seed-pods from American plants as fast as they 

 get shabby, which will add materially to the strength of the 

 plants. Give the beds a good flooding of water. The pegging 

 and tying-out of the plants should be no longer delayed. Double 

 Wallflowers, Mule Pinks, and some common Diauthuses, Alys- 

 snms. Phloxes, Perennial Iberis, and many kinds of dwarf 

 Cistus and Helianthemums, may be propagated under hand- 

 glasses in a shady situation, and will be found very useful next 

 spring. Keep Auriculas free from weeds, occasionally watering 

 and stirring the surface. Offsets may be taken off if rooted, 

 place them round the sides of the pot. Where the seed-vessels 

 of Polyanthuses are swelled, should any decayed floret remain 

 they must be removed, as they are liable to retain moisture to 

 the detriment of the seed. Remove the awning from Tulips, 

 and let the flowers have all the weather. Where seed is re- 

 quired break off the capsules. Unless Carnations are carefully 

 tied the wind will break or twist-off the shoots. Worsted is the 

 best material to tie with. As laterals are thrown out from the 

 sides they may be pinched-off in order to strengthen the other 

 flowers. Prepare a bed for Pink-pipings in a shady situation, 

 composed of sandy peat and leaf soil equal parts. Cuttings or 

 liipings may be put in under hand-glasses as soon as the grass is 

 sufficiently firm. Let the stakes be put to the Dahlias as soon 

 as convenient ; when delayed much longer the tuber is often 

 injured by the insertion. 



OBKENHOU5E AND C0N9EEVAT0BY. 



The climbing or roof-trained plants while growing will re- 

 quire constant attention in thinning aud stopping, and if 

 bright weather, which may now be expected, should set in, a 

 slight shading will be of benefit on very hot days. As soon as 

 the weather shall have become more genial, air must be freely 

 admitted ; and pot plants, especially fine specimens, must be 

 allowed abundance of room. Maintain a moist temperature, 

 and see that nothing suffers from want of water. Inspect care- 

 fully young stock, especially that for blooming next winter. 

 Chinese Primroses and Cinerarias may be had in flower in Oc- 

 tober and November. Another sowing may be made shortly 

 for spring decoration. Continue to start at intervals successions 

 of Achimenes. Chrysanthemum cuttings may be put in, they 

 will do without bottom heat; short- jointed wood will strike 

 freely under a hand-light. Gloxinias requii'e partial shade and 

 a moist heat. Gesneras may be treated iu the same way, but 

 they like more light. Amaryllis may be removed to the conser- 

 vatory for blooming, where they will prove a great acquisition. 

 Where it can be accomplished watering should still be done in 

 the moruiug, that all superfluous moisture may be dried up before 

 evening. The conservatory should now be thoroughly relieved 

 of all superfluous stock, for the reception of which tiffany houses 

 will be found extremely useful. Nothing will therefore be re- 

 quired in show houses or structures of that kind, but to carry 

 out a cleanly system of cultivation, and to introdixce specimens 

 iu flower from other houses or pits. Keep the atmosphere as 



moist as circumstances wiU admit. Attend to plants for autumn 

 and early winter decoration, such as Japan Lilies, Chrysan- 

 themums, Scarlet Salvias, Tree Carnations, and plauts of that 

 sort. Give them plenty of pot-room, good rich compost, a moist 

 atmosphere, and plenty of space for the proper development of 

 their branches and leaves. Solago distans is a useful plant, 

 which must not be forgotten ; it flowers freely, and requires 

 nothing beyond a cold pit to grow in. Epacrises, winter-bloom- 

 ing Heaths, and Cytisus should likewise be cultivated in quantity, 

 for few plants surpass them for winter decoration. The atmo- 

 sphere of plant houses can scarcely be kept too moist at this 

 season, therefore sprinkle every available surface frequently, 

 and syringe growing stock lightly twice a-day during bright 

 weather. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



This has been a very unfavourable season for us in many 

 respects. Since our last report we have had a sharp frost ; the 

 thermometer registered 28° Fah., or 4° of frost. Our bedding 

 plants have not suffered in the least, nor were the Potatoes, pro- 

 tected by a wall on the east side, damaged ; indeed, it seemed 

 to be the east wind which was the cause of any damage. It 

 was interesting to observe the effect in a field of 4 acres of 

 Potatoes close to the garden ; all in the field were cut down 

 except those under a wooden fence 6 feet high, which runs 

 down the east side of the field ; for quite twelve paces from this 

 fence scarcely a leaf was injured, and in another part protected 

 by a hedge little damage was done. A high west wind prevails 

 now, which is quite as injurious to tender plants as cold. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Peas. — Earthing-up and sticking these. The succession sow- 

 ings are doing very well. The ground was lumpy, notwitt- 

 standing repeated turning-over in a dry state, so we had it well 

 rolled with a heavy roller before drawing the drills, and also 

 trod the seed in firmly. As pea-sticks are not easily obtained 

 here, we have sown some of the dwarf sorts, as Little Gem and 

 Blue Peter. 



We have also been hoeing and earthing-up Broad Beans, 

 sowed Spinach between the rows of Peas, and continued tO' 

 make sowings of small salads. We only grow one sort of 

 Radish now, the French Olive-shaped Breakfast; it is certainly 

 superior to the Red Turnip Radish. Pricking-out later-sown 

 Celery in light soil, and hoeing amongst all growing crops to 

 kill incipient weeds. 



FRUIT AND FORCING HOUSES. 



The Grapes in the late Muscat houses seem to have set well ; 

 after the first flowers open we do not stop the growing shoots 

 until all are set. We have a fancy that the berries set better if 

 the lateral shoots are not touched ; they are now being stopped 

 and tied-in to their places, and the berries are being thinned. 

 There is an excellent plant of Mrs. Pince in the house ; it has 

 a peculiarity worth noting. The leading shoot seems to be 

 scorched at the point, and dies at the sixth or ninth leaf; after 

 it breaks the second time it goes on all right. The evil seems to 

 be caused by strong sun. Throwing some light shading over the 

 place prevents this if it is done in time. On the back stage of 

 the Cucumber and Melon houses Figs and Orange trees are 

 growing in pots. The Fig trees afford some excellent dishes in 

 June, and are little trouble. Syringing them twice a-day causes 

 them to be clean and healthy. Not so the Oranges ; no amount 

 of syringing will dislodge the scale, which sticks to the bark 

 and leaves like limpets to the rock, and causes them to be 

 covered with a sticky black substance. We have been washing 

 the trees with a sponge dipped in water in which soft soap has 

 been dissolved ; nothing is so effectual as hand-washing for them. 

 A few weeks ago we wrote about the Melons dyiug-off in a 

 mysterious manner. A strong healthy plant of Scarlet Gem 

 has become affected, and is gradually dying before our eyes, 

 with no sign of decay on the stem. For the last ten days it 

 flagged in sunshine, though shaded ; after the house was shut-up 

 in the afternoon it recovered, and did not look different from 

 the other plants. It has, however, gradually become worse, 

 and now seems past recovery. On cutting through the stem it 

 will no doubt, like the others, show decay at the core, induced 

 through something deleterioiis iu the soil, or in the water ap- 

 plied. The case is quite new to me. 



ORCHARD HOUSE. 



There is always a little work to be done to the fruit trees, as 

 they cannot all be pinched and the fruit thinned at one time. 

 Much watering is required, and constant attention to see that 

 no tree suffers. The StrawbeiTy pots require looking over twice 

 daily if there is much sunshine. We stood the pots in saucers 

 of water once to save watering, but have not continued to do so, 

 as better fruit is obtained if the pots stand upon their own 

 bottom. The fruit, which is now sweUing fast, has been sup- 

 ported by sticks. 



CONSERVATOBT AND PLANT STOVE. 



We have been repotting small growing plauts of Ferns and 



