Jane 26, 1873. ] 



JOUBNAIi OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



517 



struck from cuttings in the open ground round London in mul- 

 titudes. The old plants might be shaken out of their pots and 

 planted in the open ground to be taken up early in the autumn, 

 so as to get well-established in the pots before winter ; they 

 w^ould make excellent plants for forcing next spring. The mid- 

 summer cuttings will make strong plants by next October, and 

 if they are well encouraged early iu the spring they will make 

 beautiful floweriug plants this time next year. .\11 the best 

 varieties of the Chinese Primrose should now be divided and 

 plauted-out in a shady situation in very rotten leaf mould, to 

 be taken up next September for winter flowering. Seedlings of 

 them should also be planted-out now in spare pits well shaded, 

 there to remain until they all flower, when the inferior sorts may 

 be thrown away. 



PIT.S. 



Prepare to make a large plantation of your choice dwarf and 

 young plants in these useful structures, turned out of the pots 

 for two or three months iu suitable composts. One who has not 

 seen the good effects of this plan can hardly conceive the im- 

 provement it makes iu the plants, particularly on Heaths, 

 Epacrises, and other delicate plants which are diflicult to manage 

 in dry hot seasons under the ordinary pot culture. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 

 Since writing last week's doings we have heard of the rain 

 falling in torrents around us. We did not miss it all. It rained 

 one morning for six hours, during which a little over half an 

 inch fell, fur which we are thankful, as the drooping plants 

 requii'e it very much. There seems to be considerable at- 

 traction for the rains to the north and south of us — on the one 

 hand the Thames valley, and on the other Eppiug Forest. "We 

 have often been anxiously looking for rain when there has been 

 a sound of abundance ; but the heavy clouds rising in the west 

 have divided, watering the gardens and fields of our neighbours 

 and leaving us dry. 



KITCHEN OiBDEN. 



As there is now plenty of Green Peas we have discontinued 

 cutting the Asparagus. The ground had got full of weeds and 

 young plants from seif-sown Asparagus seeds. We had to pick 

 out all between the plants in the rows, running the hoe over 

 afterwards. Had we more beds of Asjjaragus to make we would 

 plant in the same way as we did these. The plants are 18 inches 

 apart, and 2 feet G iuches between the rows. The plants are 

 yet young and the crowns are near the surface, so as a winter 

 dressing some rotted manure is spread evenly over the whole 

 quarter, and over this some fine loam. When the crowns are 

 buried sufliciently deep it will have a good dressing of rotted 

 manure only, which will be lightly forkedin between the rows. 

 The dressing should be put on in November, and forked-in some 

 time in February when the weather is fine. 



What splendid crisp Lettuce vre are cutting this year I The 

 sort is Hicks's Hardy White Cos. No other sort is grown with us 

 now, except this and Paris White. We have planted-out a few 

 trenches of Celery, and as the early Cabbage is cleared-oS the 

 ground is thrown up in trenches for succession crops. . 



Hoeing and sticking succession crops of Peas. Another season 

 ■we will grow more of the dwarf Peas. Blue Peter on a south 

 border just coming in is a splendid crop ; they have just a few 

 short sticks placed to them to keep the pods off the ground. 



The Strawberry beds are now requiring attention. The fruit 

 ought to be thinned, hundreds are set on every plant. We w'ill 

 place a few sprays of Elm, Beech, and Hornbeam round each 

 plant ; the fruit will then hang over the clefts and be kept clear 

 above the ground. It will ripen and colour so much better in this 

 way, and be out of the way of slugs and other crawling vermin. 

 We first tried a few rows in this way, placing clean straw over 

 the other part of the bed, and the produce from the rows sup- 

 ported with sticks was much better iu quality, and double the 

 weight of fruit was obtained. 



Clouds of Ijlai-k aphis attacked the wall Cherries and other 

 plants. The fecundity of this pest is amazing. We left off 

 working amongst the bush and pyi'amid trees, and attacked the 

 aphis with water in which soft soap and tobacco was dissolved. 

 We either dipped the shoots in the water or washed them with 

 a sponge. We have finished cutting-back the shoots on the Pear 

 trees; it is quite early enough if the Apples are done in a week 

 hence. 



TKUIT AND POECIKG HODSEa. 



In the pineries there is little attention required, except water- 

 ing the plants, airing and damping the houses. Many persons 

 have an idea that Pines are difficult to manage, and that their 

 culture is attended with great labour and expense. The Pine is 

 as easily grown as any other fruit, but in many instances the 

 plants are checked by having the roots injiired by being plunged 

 in fermenting material when it is too hot. We seldom renew 

 our Pino beds more than twice a year, a sufficiently high tem- 

 perature being maintained in the beds from the hot-water pipes. 

 The best time to renew the beds is when the plants have been 



repotted, the higher temperature caused thereby causes a more 

 active root-growth. The house where the fruit is ripening should 

 be aired freely, and, if the weather is dull and cold, the heating 

 apparatus should be moderately warm. 



Vineries. — In the early houses, where the Grapes are quite 

 ripe no artificial heat is required. We now leave the ventilators 

 fully open night and day, unless it is a high wind or rain ; the 

 wind blowing through the house shakes the leaves about, and 

 in many instances they rub the bloom of the Grapes ; this ought 

 iu all cases to be avoided. 



We are always anxious to get rid of the fruit as soon as we 

 can after it is ripe, as, notwithstanding all precautions, our de- 

 sperate enemy »-e(Z spider wi\l appear, and nothing can be dona 

 with it when ripe fruit is hanging in the house. As soon as the 

 Grapes are all cut the loaves can be thoroughly syringed once 

 in two days until every vestige of the spider is removed. The 

 leaves should be kept healthy as long as possible, but all young 

 growths should be pinched-off as fast as they are made. In the 

 late houses there is little to bo done except stopping-back any 

 young growths, airing, and watering, as recommended last 

 week. 



CUCUMBER AND MELON HOUSES. 



Little more has been done here, except the details given last 

 week. The earliest house of Melons will soon be cleared of the 

 plants, and were we called upon to supply a succession of fruit, 

 a fresh batch of young plauts would now be ready to plant-out, 

 and would have fruit ou them ready to cut iu August. The 

 houses will be filled at once with Azaleas, which are put iu to 

 make their growth and set their flower-buds for next year. 



ORCHAKD HOUSE. 



We are now clearing away the Strawberry plants which have 

 borne fruit; they are now being placed out of doors. If they 

 were planted-out now an excellent crop could be gathered ; but 

 many plants that wo have given away to amateiii-s and others iu 

 previous years have not succeeded with them, the reason was 

 that the plauts perished for lack of water at the roots. Tho 

 plants were turned-out of the pots, and planted in the loose light 

 soil common in tlie neighbourhood, the result being that all 

 the water given to the plants passed down the sides of the ball 

 of earth without wetting the centre. In all cases, when such 

 plauts are planted-out at this season, the outsides of the ball of 

 roots should be pricked round with a pointed stick, the iilants 

 should also be placed deeper in the ground than usual, and tho 

 earth trod-in very firmly, leaving a shallow depression round 

 the plant, so that in watering the essential element will find its 

 way exactly where it is most required. We have done nothing 

 to the fruit trees, except to water freely and syringe twice 

 a-day. 



CONSEUVATOr.Y AND PLANT STOVE. 



Such hot weather as we have experienced the last few days 

 has caused us to be very careful in the use of artificial heat. Wo 

 will cease firing altogether if the present fineweathercontinues. 

 It is necessary to shut up early in the afternoon the stove where 

 plants are making their growth, and to maintain a moist atmo- 

 sphere. The earliest-flowering plants of Dendrobium nobile have 

 been removed to the early vinery where they have plenty of air 

 night and day ; after a while, if the weather is favourable, tho 

 plauts will be removed out of doors against a south wall. Wo 

 have also been washing Stephanotis, Ixoras, Gardenias, itc, 

 where mealy bug had appeared. Where such plants as Croton 

 angustifolium and others liable to the attacks of red spider had 

 not beeu syringed daily this jjest had appeared, and was spread- 

 ing rapidly. Laying the plants on their sides and thoroiighly 

 syringing them cleared them pretty well ; future attention to 

 syringing will keep them in good health. In the conservatory 

 many of the hardwooded plants have been removed out of doors. 

 The house is very gay yet with Azaleas, Calceolarias, late Koses 

 in pots, &c. 



FLOWER G.UIDEN. / 



Placing sticks to C.arnations and Picotees and thinning out 

 tlie flower buds. We only grow a few of the hardiest sorts in tho 

 borders, the finer varieties ynue away and die if planted out in 

 our light soil. We manage them very well, three plants in a 

 10-inch pot. A suitable soil for them under such circumstances 

 is good turfy loam of a clayey nature, to which is added a sixth 

 part of rotted stable manure, and the same quantity of leaf mould 

 well incorporated together. Hoeing the flower beds so that all 

 weeds may be destroyed and the ground loosened, after which if 

 no more rain fall we will give a good soaking with water. Many 

 thanks to the raiser of those two fine Zonal Pelargoniums, 

 Wellington and lanthe. What a vast improvement they have 

 made in our flower garden ! The colour of both is most brilliant ; 

 the coloured drawings of lanthe give not the least conception of 

 the colour of the flowers. We have another very pretty margin 

 to a small bed iu two dense rows of Avalanche, white-Howered 

 silver-variegated Zonal Pelargonium, with an edging of Lobelia 

 pnmila. Cutting the lawn, looking over the herbaceous border 

 to see that no choice Alpine plants are smothered with their moro 

 dense-growing neighbours.— J. Douglas. 



