56 



JOUflNAL OP nOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 18, 1865. 



deaden hnman sympathy and feeling. There was much 

 humane appositeness, though blended somewhat with the 

 paradoxical, in the exclamation of the young lady when fright- 

 ened with a sight of what she deemed a loathsome reptile," Oh, 

 kill it, but do not hurt it." If we claim the right to kill, we 

 have no right to cause unnecessary pain to any li-sing thing. 



FHUIT GARDEN. 



Proceeded with gathering small fruit in fine days. Unless 

 people particularly wish it, there is little economy in preserving 

 Gooseberries, CuiTants, or even Morello Cherries to the latest 

 possible ijeriod on the bushes and trees.. We have had Goose- 

 berries pretty good in the end of October, and Cm-rants and 

 Cherries until long after Christmas ; but we rarely found such 

 froit, especially of the last two, sufficiently used and partaken 

 of either for dessert or for puddings, tarts, &c., to compensate 

 for the covering, (Sre. They might as well have been bottled, 

 or presei-ved, or brandied at once when ripe, and thus saved all 

 the attacks of l)irds, and the trouble and expense of protecting 

 them. If they are to be kept, we and others have already 

 stated how it may be done most economically with straw bands 

 and matting, and most efficiently with waterproof tops and air 

 at the sides. A bush may be well protected with a cover like 

 a huge hand-light ; the top, tin or zinc, and the sides galvanised 

 iron pierced with holes, or even of stout book muslin, or some- 

 thing like thin tifi'anj'. Some of these modes we advise for j 

 those who pride themselves on having fresh-gathered Currants 

 at Christmas. The Morello Cherries are just beginning to 

 ripen — ^just soft enough for the birds to begin to nibble them. 

 All the best Cherries have been xmusually early this season. | 

 With the exception of the Florence and other late ones, few 

 will hang much longer on the trees to please us. 



IVnll Trees. — Went over Apricots, shortening in the breast- ! 

 wood of that which had been shortened previously, and eased i 

 the fruit where too thick or too firmly set between wood to 

 swell freely. Did the same to Peaches and Nectarines. In 

 the first and subsequent thinning of such friut preference 

 should be given to those which stand on the front of the shoot 

 instead of those on the side ; but even then some fruit on the 

 side and sometimes on the back of the shoot may be left, 

 and unless these are eased, and kept from the wall or trellis, 

 they will be injured as they approach maturity. The dry sum- 

 mer hitherto has given us but few strong shoots on Peaches 

 out of doors ; but where these have been stopped early to 

 equalise the strength of the shoots, it will be desirable to 

 choose one or two of the lateral shoots produced for the perma- 

 nent ones, according as there is room for them, not forgetting 

 that one shoot of medium strength — that is, about the thick- 

 ness of a quill — well ripened by exposure to sun and air, is 

 better than half a dozen similar shoots crowded up into a 

 bundle, so that they cannot possibly get enough of either sun 

 or air. There is scarcely one of us that has not too much yoimg 

 wood on his tTces in summer. 



Apples and Pears, dwarf standards and pyramids out of doors. 

 — Went on shortening the points of the young shoots as we could 

 find an opportunity. lu many cases nipphig out the point is 

 better than cutting well back just now. The latter mode tends 

 to make a fresh outburst of young shoots that will not ripen 

 before v,-inter. The foi-mer mode arrests mere growth, and 

 even if a few woi d-buds break the backward buds on the shoot 

 are almost sure to be changed into fruit-buds for the following 

 year. As the autumn approaches we must be thinking more of 

 ripening wood than of increased and prolonged growth. What 

 applies to fruit trees on walls and borders outside, applies still 

 more to trees in cool and forcing-houses. Strawberries, com- 

 menced taking good runners for next year's forcing. The 

 drought and httle growth prevented us doing so sooner. We 

 shall, therefore, for our first crop, use a few of the plants that 

 were forced this spring. 



Peach-house, Fig-pit, ami Vinery. — Gave a good manure- 

 watering to the first two, and having removed all the shallow 

 litter covering from the last as respects the outside border, 

 threw a dusting of soot and lime over it, expecting it to be 

 washed in by the rains that did come. We observed some worms 

 near the surface of the border from the fresh cowdung that 

 had beSn applied last autumn, but the lime and soot would 

 soon make short work with them, though in moderation they 

 are good cultivators, instead of doing much harm. Probably 

 it was the worms that enticed some moles that have rather 

 troubled us in the garden, to make their runs all through the 

 surface of the "Vine-border. We had no fancy for them driving 

 their timnels among the Vine-roots, and we hope we have 

 stopped them. The roots are so near the surface that we found 



we coiUd not plant a row of different kinds of Scarlet Gera- 

 niums along the front of the border without injuring the 

 roots. To trap the mole successfully, a little spud of wood 

 should lie used, and even the trap should be set with a gloved 

 hand, and if the glove has been rubbed with the skin of a dead 

 mole all the better. The animal, if somewhat deficient in sight, 

 is so powerfully gifted with smeU, that the scent of the hand 

 about the trap will generally cause him to avoid it. either by 

 retreating, shoving more earth against it, or dinring a tmmel 

 underneath it. But for the injury it might do in such places, 

 and the uusightliness of the mounds in dressed gi'ounds, we 

 incline to think that as respects cultivation, the mole, like 

 worms, does more good than harm. 



Melons that had no shade, except a little given to the chang- 

 ing fruit on the very hot sunny days, have been rijiening very 

 kindly. If this wet weather should continue, and the atmo- 

 sphere become and continue colder, linings round frames will 

 be desirable, and the surface of the bed must be kept dry, 

 though moisture bo communicated to the roots, other\vise there 

 will be danger of cracking, bursting, and rotting. The fniit in 

 no case should he on the soil, and if moved frequently as 

 it approaches maturity, it will be more regularly ripened aU 

 over. The last crops for frames and even for hot-water pits 

 should now be planted. The advantage of the latter is, that 

 you can obtain dry heat in autumn. For the generality of om- 

 summers, nothing beats a good dung-bed and frame for summer 

 Melons, and they generally give less trouble than when in pits. 

 Oxa- own opinion is, that for weight and flavour in proijortion 

 to size, the best results are obtained from Melons, when the 

 head is trained to a trellis, and the fruit is suspended mitU it 

 begins to reach maturity, when it must be supported by a net 

 I or otherwise. 



i ORXAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



Here the work was much as last week. Mowing, machining, 



! rolling walks and lawns, pegging Verbenas, tying herbaceous 

 plants, regiUating flower-beds, trimming broad rows of Ceras- 

 tium so as to make them uniform, potting, and preparing cut- 

 tings of Pinks, Wallflowers. Cloves, &c. We have, however, 

 filled our space, and must be content with noticing that this 



1 season as yet we are disappointed with 



j Cloth of Gold Geranium. — We tiu-ned oiit fine, strong, young 

 plants, and on the whole they seem to have become less. Simi- 

 larly treated on a contiguous border in a similar' hue we turned 



■ out young plants of Golden Chain, and they have done beauti- 

 fidly. Cloth of Gold did well with us last year, but this season 



: where it does well is iu a place protected from much wind, and 

 also from the afternoon sun. We thought last year that we would 

 dispense with Golden Chain, but we must give it a higher 



I place in our regard. We would be glad to know how Cloth of 

 Gold has done in other places, and as tar as possible the cir- 

 cumstances under which it does well. Two little beds of Mrs. 



I Pollock, with an edging of Baron Hugel, have as yet done well, 

 although quite as nraeh exposed as Cloth of Gold. It strikes 

 us that the latter is tenderer than we thought, as, vdih the 

 exception of the sheltered place referred to, it has not as yet 

 done first-rate with us in any other iiosifion. AVe .shall be 

 able to- dispense with it when once we get plenty of Miss Wat- 

 son (Mr. Watson, of St. Albans), Lady Cullum, Lucy Grieves, 

 and other fine seedlings of Mr. Grieves's th.at as much excel 

 Mrs. Pollock as that pretty kind excels Golden Chiiin and Cloth 

 of Gold.— E. F. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— July 15. 



Lahge importations continue to an-ive from abroad, couiii'^.ting of Greeu 

 Ga'.;e and other PLims, and Apricots. Of home-grown fr:ait there is a 

 heavy supply of Grapes and Peaches and Nectnrines, pni-ticularly the 

 last two. For Pines of English growth the demand is not brisk, owing to 

 large ciunptities. of very good quality, ha^ng come iu from the West 

 Indies. Vegetables of all lands are fully etiual to the demand, and of 

 new Potatoes there is an abundant supply. 



Apples i sieve 1 



Apricots doz. 1 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 



Gurrr.nts, Red h sieve 3 



Black .....'... do. 4 



Figs doz. 8 



Filberts 100 lbs. 



Cobs do. 50 



Gooseberries. . ^ sieve 2 



Grapes, Hambro.. . lb. 3 



Muscats lb. 4 



Lemons 100 5 



a. s, 

 0to2 

 4 3 



FRUIT, 

 d 



Melons each 2 



MulbeiTies iiunnet 



Nectarines doz. 10 



Oranges 100 10 



Peaches doz. l"! 



Pears (kitchen). . doz. 



dessert doz. 



Pine Apples lb. 3 



Plums ?; sieve 



Quinces ^ sieve 



Raspberries lb; 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bush 14 



d. a. 

 0to6 

 



