August 39, 1865. ] JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



177 



WOKK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN OAItDKN. 



The long-continued wet weather lias favouroil the Ki-owth 

 of weetls, and rendered their de.struction a matter of dilliculty. 

 The best iilan to adopt, when hoeing and raking are not prac- 

 ticable, is to dig them down, es))ccially the .young generation. 

 Artichokes, out down tlie llower-stems and remove the dead 

 leaves from the old plantations ; those made last season will 

 probably now produce a few heads. Ciihhuiii', continue to plant 

 out for Coleworts at every opportunity that is favourable. 

 Prick out the young plants 'intended for the main spring crop. 

 Cucninlirm, those intended for house culture should now he 

 potted into their fruiting-pots ; the soil for the purjiose should 

 bo comjiosed of equal parts of loam, rotten dung, and leaf 

 mould ; good drainage shoidd he given, the healtliof the jilauts 

 depending, in a great measure, on this point. Allow- one or 

 two shoots to grow to the full extent of the house before being 

 stopped. Cihiji, in earthing-up, the greatest care is necessary 

 to prevent any portion of the earth from falling into the heart 

 of the plant, which would )ucvent the upright growth of the 

 inside leaves, and spoil the appearance for the table ; nor 

 should the earth be pressed too closely round the upper part 

 of the plant, as, frequently, when such is the case, the latter 

 bulges out below. The best practice is to tie each plant up 

 loosely with matting, after having removed the suckers and 

 small leaves, and then a little earth can he added every week 

 as the plant increases in height. Another common eiTor 

 arises from earthing Celery up too soon.' It should be al- 

 lowed to gi-ow to a considerable size before earthing-up is 

 attempted, and be frequently soaked with water, as but little 

 rain will reach the roots afterwards ; it should likewise never 

 b« touched when the plants are at all damp. Ciirdnnns will 

 require similar treatment. Leeks, plant out the thinnings of 

 the seed-bed as soon as the weather is favourable ; this is a veiy 

 useful culinary vegetable dxu-ing the winter. Onions, no time 

 should be lost in getting the crop stored when fiUly di-y. As the 

 ground is generally used for Cabbage, it should be immediately 

 trenched up ; if manure is necessary, let it he laid on the top 

 of the trenched soQ and fork it in ; if, however, the gi-ound 

 was well manured for the Onions it ought to carry the Cabbages 

 tlu'ough, and they will always be the better thus, because, 

 if too much maniu'e come in contact with the roots in the 

 autumn, it induces a succiJent luxuriant gi'owth, which renders 

 them liable to injury from alternations of frost and thaw iu 

 the winter. Turnips, the last crop for the season to be sown ; 

 thin advancing crops. Scarlet linnners, let all the old pods 

 be picked off, except a few of the best for seed, as they exhaust 

 tiie plants for a succession. At the earliest opportimity earth- 

 up BroccoUs, Savoys, and all other crops that require it ; re- 

 move Peas that are mildewed immediately they are done with ; 

 destroy caterpillars that infest the Brassica tribe before they do 

 much mischief. 



FKUIT G.\RDEN'. 



The following few necessary precautions are to he ohsei"ved 

 in the gathering and storing of fruit. Peaches and Nectarines 

 should not be allowed to remain on the tree imtil they are what 

 is technically called dead ripe. A httle practice will enable a 

 person to determine the degree of ripeness at which thev should 

 be gathered, without resorting to the common way of pinching. 

 Plums should be allowed to remain until perfectly ripe ; the 

 large amount of saccharine matter in the fruit acts as a pre- 

 servative, and although something may be lost in bulk by their 

 remaining on the tree, the flavom" will not he deteriorated. 

 Such as the Imperatrice and Golden Drop, if protected from 

 wasps, may he kept imtil a very late period of the season. 

 Apples and Pears generally fall as soon as they arrive at an early 

 degree of ripeness ; that period must be anticipated, and their 

 removal effected as soon as it is ascertained. After gathering, 

 the fruit intended for lieeping should be laid out in the fruit- 

 room for a week or ten days, and exposed to a free circulation 

 of ah-. The fruit will be found clammy from perspiration ; it 

 should be carefully wiped and laid out thinly in the store-room, 

 which should he kept, as soon as the fruit is introduced, securely 

 closed and protected from material alterations of temperature. 

 If Apples and Pears are gathered carefidly without bruising, 

 and at a proper period sorted, all defective fruits being removed, 

 and the rest stored in the manner above described — if they 

 are placed on paper, so much the better — they may be kept 

 with very little loss, and in a pilimip, highly-flavoured con- 

 dition throughout the winter. 



FLOWER GARDEN-. 



Unless some precautions are taken to keep the taller plants 



in the beds of geometric flower gardens within proper limits, 

 they will be likely, towards the end of t!ie season, to become 

 too' high, and will destroy the uniform appearance essential 

 to this style of gardening. A constant watch slKudd, therefore, 

 be kept on plants likely to exceed the standard height, and by 

 frequently pinching back or pegging down, endeavour to keep 

 beds of the same pattern at the same height. At this season, 

 with beds of flowering plants, frequent cuttings-back and trim- 

 mings will be required to prevent free-growing plants becoming 

 straggling, and the late rains will contribute to their becoming 

 so ; at the same time allow no dead flowers or seed-poda to 

 remain on the plants. By careful attention to these littlo 

 matters, the season of blooming may be prolonged till tho 

 ]ilants are destroyed by frost. Lawns should be well swept 

 in di7 weather to remove worm-casts, and aftei-wards well 

 rolled. Where worms are very troublesome, water with clear 

 lime water of full strength, thi's will bring them to the surface, 

 when they should be removed. Cuttings of various evergreens 

 should now be planted, to keep up the reserve-garden. 



GBEENHOnSE AND CONSEUVATOUY. 



Directly .Tapan Lilies, Gladioli, and plants of like hahit have 

 done blooming remove them to the foot of a south wall to ripen 

 their growth ; water them moderately till their foliage show 

 signs of decay, when they may be laid on their sides tUl potting- 

 time. The earUest-striiok Pelargoniums should now be potted 

 off, exposing them on all occasions to the weather, except 

 during heavy rains. The older plants first cut back, which have 

 made shoots an inch or two long, should now he shaken out of 

 the old soil, the roots trimmed, and repotted in smaller pots ; 

 if they can be plunged in a slight bottom heat till the roots are 

 started it will be of assistance to them. Attend to Chrysanthe- 

 mums, water freely with liquid manure ; good specimens shoiUd 

 he aimed at rather than a few fine blooms. The earliest winter- 

 flowering Heaths andEpacrises must soon he placed under glass, 

 as it will forward then- blooming. Hyacinths and Narcissuses 

 for forcing must soon occupy attention ; about equal portions 

 of good soft loam and decayed leaf mould, with a little sand, 

 will be the best soil for them, if for forcing. 



STO%-E. 



The specimens temporarily disposed in other houses should 

 now be restored to their proper position, and should generally 

 receive the treatment calculated to ripen their summer's 

 growth of wood, and so prepare them against the injurious 

 effects of our trying winters. Let Euphorbia jacquiniajflora 

 receive attention. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Propagation of all the more important bedding plants should 

 now he pushed on as quickly as possible. Let Scarlet and 

 other Geraniums struck in the open ground be taken up, and 

 potted immediately they have made roots ; they will require a 

 close frame for a week or two, when they should be placed on a 

 dry bottom in a southern exposure to harden them for the 

 wmter. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



This dav (Thursday), we have had a visitor that spent the 

 most of Wednesday "in the Crystal I'alace, and was pretty 

 well obhged to stay there. AVe have no regular rain-gauge, 

 but judging from our tanks, more rain fell here yesterday than 

 has fallen altogether since March. It will be of assistance to. 

 all fresh-planted things in the way of vegetables, but it will 

 be almost sure to affect all the later kinds of Potatoes, and to 

 bring us whole shoals of weeds, and so prevent our ever having 

 the hour's idleset that used to be looked forward to in days of 

 yore. We say nothing of the flower garden— that was rather 

 'radiant on Wednesday morning. This morning it was enough 

 to give one a fit of the blues. Our finest ribbons and beds 

 looked like faded washed-out finery, conjuring up much of the 

 same class of mournful melancholy associations which we feel 

 in witnessing in towns the cast-off garments of the rich torn 

 to tatters by the poor and the unfortunate. Would that they 

 too might be able to look up and rejoice, as the flowers will yet 

 do if privileged with sunshine and calm. Many a tattered 

 neglected flower of humanity, rough and uncouth to the eye, 

 would \-ield a rich hai-vest of beauty and moral loveliness if 

 only receiving that amoimt of cultivation which hearts thrilling 

 with human sympathy know so well how to impart. That 

 seen-and-felt sympathy is evei-j-tliing in arresting and elevating 

 the impulses of the stray waifs of humanity. Strive as yon 



