Angnst 1, 1865. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE aAEDENER. 



9.- 



roots as possible. Lettuce, mako a sowing of Cos and OabbaRi! 

 for Into use. Oniom, a few may now bo Bown to draw yonnf; 

 for winter use, or to stand the wintor for trannplantinf; in tlic 

 spriiiR. Turnips, as ground becomea vaeiint iinotlicr Bowitit; 

 may bo made ; if the weather continue dry water the gi'ound 

 after the seed is sown, and cover with mats. 



FRUIT OAKPEX. 



Water trees not fully established if the weather is ver\' dry. 

 Remove badly placed or crowded shoots. Take suckers and weak 

 shoots from Currants and Gooseberries ; cuttings of hsdf- 

 ripened wood strike readily in a shady place. Remove suckers 

 and weak laterals from Figs. Water Peaches and Nectarines 

 freely in Ary weather, thin the leaves, and exit out all coarse 

 growth. Tiiin weak Raspberry suckers, leaving only the num- 

 ber wanted ; stake them dear of the bearing rods. Keep Vines 

 free from useless wood, and allow plenty of air to the fruit, but 

 do not expose it too much. 



TLOWEB GARDEN. 



The rockery, a valuable adjunct to the flower garden, should 

 now have a thorough cleaning, clear away all decayed flower- 

 stems and dead leaves. A few stones had better be placed in 

 front of the tender-rooted species to afford a little shade and 

 protection fi-om the powerful rays of the smi. Half-hardy 

 plants put out here in .Tune should have their shoots spread 

 out and pegged down. Nail the shoots of Fuchsias and Pe- 

 tunias to old stumps or roots that may have been introduced 

 among the rockwork. Managed in this way they produce a 

 gay and pleasing effect during the autumn months. Top-dress 

 Auricidas. Layer Carnations and Picotees. This is performed 

 by cutting through the second or third joint, bringing the knife 

 about half an inch up the centre of the slioot, making " a 

 tongue," the small portion of stem beyond the joint is cut 

 back to it, and when pegged down in the soil, which should be 

 fine and Hght, it will soon emit roots. The Dahlias to be 

 looked over, and if any of the ties are too tight for the shoots, 

 to be removed and retied. The old-fashioned plan of placing 

 small pots, with a little moss in the bottom, on the top of 

 stakes to trap earwigs, should not be forgotten. Seedling 

 Pansies put out now in a moist rich soil in a shady situation 

 will flower freely. The seed-pods on the old plants to be 

 gathered as they ripen, and dried in a shady ]ilace ; seed only 

 to be saved from flowers of good form and stout petals. Holly- 

 hock seed to be sown in an open border, and the stock increased 

 by cuttings. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



This is generally a critical month with greenhouse plants 

 out of doors. The heat is sometimes so great as to produce 

 the tropical winter of vegetation, when the parching heat of 

 the sun acts upon and produces in some degree a dormancy 

 in the system of plants ; and at other times when occasional 

 showers fall, and we see the surface of the soil in the pots 

 moist, we are satisfied until the drooping or withering foUage 

 shows oui- neglect, and perhaps with Heaths, New Holland, 

 and similar plants it is noticed when too late to save them. The 

 ill-effects may be avoided by phmging the pots in coal ashes, 

 and by sjTinging the plants overhead of an evening, and, when 

 doubtfid of the ball being moist, by gently turning one or two 

 plants out of their pots to see the state of the ball, as it requii'es 

 some experience to distinguish whether a plant wants water or 

 not from the ring produced by rapping the knuckles against the 

 side of the pot. Azaleas and Camellias that have done growing 

 may be placed out in a di-y aiiy place to rest and harden their 

 wood. Calceolarias and Cinerarias should be shifted as they 

 require, and kept cool. Pelargoniums that were cut down 

 some time since, and have been standing dry, shoidd be shaken 

 out of the soil, their roots trimmed, potted m small pots in 

 sandy loam, kept close for a week or so, and watered sparingly. 

 Polygala and other such hardwooded plants which have done 

 blooming to be primed pretty closely, and placed in a cool situa- 

 tion to start again. The consei-vatory will now be gay with Bal- 

 sams, Globe Amaranths, Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, Cockscombs, 

 Thunbergias, JapanLilies of sorts, and the creepers on the rafters 

 and treUises arranged in festoons or in any other manner to 

 give a pleasing effect to the whole. Grow on the late Achimenes, 

 Gcsneras, &c., fi'eely. Keep the succulents exposed to light, 

 with plenty of heat and air, but gradually reduce the supply of 

 moi.sture, so as to get the growth fii'm and ripe. Leave plenty 

 of air all night to the greenhouse ; all houses should be freely 

 ventilated, especially early in the day. Regularly train, water, 

 and syringe window plants, and protect the pots from the 

 scorching rays of the sun. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



All tlie cuttings of Geraniums that can now bo obtained 

 should be put in, they will make fine strong plants for keeping 

 over tlie winter. They will succeed vei-y well in a bed of light 

 soil in the open ground, but we prefer to strike them in good 

 light soil in a frame, where they can be protected from heavy 

 falls of rain or thunder showers. Sow Chinese Primrose seed 

 in light free soil, and [dace in a pit or frame ; water sparingly. 

 Propagate largely from those half-hardy plants which cannot 

 bo ijuiekly struck in the spring. Bow Mignonette and a few 

 showy annuals for decorating the conservatory during the 

 autumn and mnter. — W. Ke.vne. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Never had warmer weather, and the showers did good to 

 everything, except some of the most forward grain. Everything 

 promises a good harvest time. Went through most of our 

 kitchen garden where we coidd use the Dutch hoe, as where no 

 wt'cth were to be seen a short time ago, these appeared to be 

 coming up in myriads. When cut u]) young a few hours of 

 bright sun will thoroughly settle them. This refers even to 

 such succulents as Groundsel, Sow Thistle, &c., and such bad 

 root weeds as Dandelions and Convolvulus. Cut the latter 

 often enough, and the roots will die. Of course, it is more 

 effectual to get the roots up, but then the labour ! A good plan 

 with Dandelions on carriage roads, walks, &c., is to cut the root 

 below the surface as deep as possible, and then put a pinch of 

 salt on the top of the root. The drier the weather is afterwards 

 the better, and the more destructively the salt will act, as it is 

 absorbed more gradually into the system of the root. Groimdsel 

 and things of that kind in bloom, and seeding commenced, it is 

 of no use to cut and leave, as the juice in the stems will be 

 sufficient to ripen the seeds, unless the sun is vei-y scorching. 

 Such should be pulled up by hand, placed in a basket, and 

 safely transferred to quarters where they cannot seed, or do in- 

 jmy. The best plan, however, if we could always do it in time, 

 is to cut up all weeds before they are an inch high. The ne- 

 cessity of pulling makes weeding a nice process only when e 

 gardener does not know what to set his men to. There may be 

 a few such places, but the generality of us have to rack our 

 brains as to what must be done first, and to contrive that no 

 second step shall be taken by a man, where one can be made to 

 do. The Dutch hoe in time is the gi-eat weed-eradicator. 



Well-kept walks must be weeded, but many walks when very 

 green may be hoed, raked several times, and then levelled and 

 rolled with advantage. Salt is the most ready agent for clean- 

 ing walks, but then if the walks are fine on the surface, it will 

 make them soft and damp in winter, so that weeding after all 

 is the best plan ; but after such warm rains the labour is apt to 

 be excessive. With walks and borders clean and in good order 

 the garden will always have a neat appearance. Care must be 

 exercised in such ilripping we.ither that men do not walk from 

 quarters on to walks with shoes imcleaned or hanging with mnd 

 and soft earth. No walks can be tidy under such treatment. 



We lately alluded to a neglected garden so ovemm with 

 Groundsel that it would have been a little fortune to those who 

 sell green food for "dickey" birds in London. We passed it 

 lately again, and there were second and third crops seeding, old 

 and younger plants, forming a dense carpet. One year's neglect 

 will, we are confident, give pretty good work for twenty or 

 thirty years to come. The seed of the Groundsel is very 

 tenacious of life, but it wiU vegetate oidy when brought near 

 the surface in contact with air. In fact, it never seeds more 

 freely than when it is permitted to sow itself on the surface. 

 Every fi-esh digging for many years will bring a number of 

 these hardy seeds near enough the surface to vegetate, and 

 when these are early destroyed, the garden m.ay be pretty free 

 for that season ; but the fi-esh digging of the next year brings 

 another lot of seeds nearer the surface, and another cai'pet of 

 weeds, and then having seen no plants seeding, some friends 

 just beginning to thread the enticing labyrinths of science, take 

 up all sorts of notions about spuntiineous generations, and other 

 wild ideas of what can be accomplished in fonning organised 

 existence out of peculiar combinations of matter. True, in the 

 Groundsel, the Thistle, and the Dandelion, seeds can be wafted 

 to great distances by their downy wing-hke appendages. Two 

 years ago in a windy day, we were enveloped by a clothing of 

 Thistle down, and found no Tliistles nearer than a mile, where 

 they formed a perfect chcvaux de frise in a hedgerow. Making 



