230 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 19, 1865. 



there, the plan I usually adopt is to give a good coat of manure 

 and dig it do-mi, as the above-mentioned vegetables will not 

 ])ay for the room they occujiy. By so doing a nice piece of 

 ground is set at liberty for the last so\viug of Dwarf Ividney 

 Beans, a good bed of Coleworts, and beds of salads, &c., leaving 

 a piece for plunging the Chrysanthemums, and for cuttings of 

 bedding Geraniums if required. 



The Scarlet Rimners last sown may, towards the end of the 

 month, be sticked ; and four rows of the second lot of Brussels 

 Sprouts, with two rows of Green Curled Kale, may at once be 

 planted between and on each side of them. Should the ground 

 be di-y, which is often the case at this time, the best plan is to 

 draw di-ills, as if for sowing, where the above are intended to 

 be planted, and to water the drills well the day before plaut- 

 *ing; after this has been completed by giving the winter stuff 

 and the Beans a good watering of liquid manure, a day or two 

 afterwards going over the ground with the flat hoe, or, rather, 

 draw-hoe, the crop will go on ah right. 



It often happens at this time that there is such an abundance 

 of vegetables, that the pods of Kidney Beans are allowed to 

 ripen on the plants, which considerably shortens the duration 

 of their productiveness. A very good plan when such is the 

 case is to take the short shears and clip about one-half of them, 

 just as you would clip an evergreen hedge. The plants so cut 

 will break into new gro^Tth, and come in as a succession to 

 those left untouched by the shears. Speaking of hedge-clipping 

 reminds me that if there should be any evergreen hedges roimd 

 the garden they ought now to receive that attention. 



The Peas at this time should be kept watered and mulched, 

 as, if the ground is at all of a dry nature, it is almost impos- 

 sible to have good Peas without such attention ; and it should 

 be borne in mind that if they are not well looked after now 

 the results will be felt in September. I have known Dick- 

 son's Favourite Peas so treated bear a second time first-rate. 

 Custard and common Vegetable Marrows being now in full 

 bearing, Yorkshire Hero and Veitch's Perfection Peas may be 

 cleared off, and the ground previously occupied by them heavily 

 manured and thrown up roughly, so as to be ready for Cabbage 

 in the autumn, thus giring it two months' exposm'e to the 

 weather, which w-ill be very beneficial to the crop'. 



Celery should now receive every attention with regard to 

 putting out successional trenches, watering,. &c. The first 

 rows of White and Red may have a little earth drawn to the 

 roots, or, which answers the same purpose, the ground forked 

 deeply on either side of the rows ; and as soon as the Dwarf 

 Kidney Beans are well up the last trenches of Red may be put out 

 between the rows, using if possible good stocky plants. The 

 first bed of Endive may be pricked out, and more Lettuce ac- 

 cording to the weather and the demand, sowing more of each, 

 but not much at one time. The only way to have good salad- 

 ing at this time of year is to follow out tiie Rev. W. F. Ead- 

 clyffe's advice— to have plenty of water in or near the garden, 

 and willing hands to apply it to the crops. — BuExiwoon, P. D 

 {To be continued.) 



IRON FILINGS AS A MANURE FOR ROSES 

 AND STRAWBERRIES. 



A SHORT time ago I was informed by a lady (hat a friend had 

 told her that he had found the application of iron filings, as a 

 manure, highly beneficial to Roses. Since then, in perusing 

 the valuable work of Itfr. William Paul on " The Rose Garden," 

 I was struck by the following remarks : — "I have long thought 

 that the iron which abounds in the soil of one of the nurseries 

 here is an ingredient of importance in the culture of Roses. 

 I would not say that it is indispensable, but beneficial; and 

 am almost confident that it heightens the colour of the floiwers. 

 When the soil in this nursery is hoed or forked, the rapad in- 

 crease of growth of vegetation is startling beyond meusure. 

 This practice is known to promote grov.'th in all soils ; bxt the 

 extent to which it does so here is, I think, due to the ° ygen 

 of the air changing the iron contained in the soil from ^sub- 

 stance pernicious to vegetable life, into one favourable to its 

 development." 



Turning to the catalogue of fruits published by Jlr. Thomas 

 Rivers, I observe that he says that " The British Queen Straw- 

 berry flourishes in soils in which iron abounds. Sussex is the 

 paradise of "ur queen of Strawberries." I know not whether 

 the soil of ilessrs. Wood's nursery, at Maresfield, in Sussex, 

 abounds in iron, but probably it does, and hence, perhaps, the 

 fine growth of the Rosea. 



Assuming that iron is beneficial to Eoses and to the British 

 Queen Strawberry, if not to other varieties, it becomes a ques- 

 tion whether iron filings may not be advantageously used 

 either by mixing them with animal manure, dug into the soU, 

 or by top-dressing. As the season for manuring Roses is 

 rapidly approaching, it seems to be desirable that more light 

 should, if possible, be thrown upon the matter. 



I have scattered iron filings on the surface of two row.1 of 

 British Queen Strawberry nmners, planted in July, twice during 

 rains, and had the soil surface-hoed continually, and I intend 

 to make the same experiment upon a few Roses in the ensuing 

 autumn, incorporating the filings with the soil, instead of 

 strewing them on the surface. — An Amatece. 



[We hope that yon wUl report to us the results of your ex- 

 periments, for if they are unfavourable they will act as warn- 

 ings, and if favourable as encom-agements. The red oxide of 

 iron is likely to be beneficial to the plants, for it is known to 

 retain the ammonia, which would otherwise escape from the 

 soil, and it also has the power of absorbing ammonia from the 

 atmosphere. AVe know more than one soil abounding in the 

 red oxide of iron, noted for Roses. — Ens.] 



AN AFTERNOON IN SYDNEY GARDENS, BATH. 



Bath is the very place for a flower show. Though no longer 

 visited by royalty, though nobility do not, as of j'ore, make it a 

 residence, yet it has a large, never before so large, population, 

 and one for the most part living in easy circumstances ; hence 

 just the people likely to love and cherish flowers, and, of course, 

 understanding them to a degree ; also, just the people hkely to 

 gather at, and crowd a flower show. It is some years since 

 Mr. Dickens spoke of Bath as " the grass-grown city of the 

 ancients," a description which if then true, is certainly true 

 no longer, for Bath streets are not grass-grown, too many feet 

 are passing along tliem, and too much attention is paid to 

 them to permit weeds to mar those well-cleaned ways. The 

 taste for flowers, and the demand for them in Bath, may be 

 judged from the great number of nurserymen in and around 

 the city. A refined and leisurely people are sure to love and 

 cultivate flowers, though even in the most adverse circum- 

 stances, and most opposing conditions, a great flower-devotion 

 is sure to crop out, as here and there a house in the dingiest 

 alleys in London reveals. 



On Wednesday last "the fair city of the west " was to be 

 seen to perfection. The show had been extensively advertised, 

 consequently the trains arriving in the morning and at midday 

 were heavily loaded, so that the streets were full of folks, -wiih 

 the eager happy look of those out for a day's treat, and intend- 

 ing to enjoy themselves to the utmost. From the tower of the 

 old Abbey Church the royal standard was floating, proclaiming 

 a holiday to the eye, and the men'y clash of its bells proclaimed 

 a holiday to the ear. By two o'clock streams of carriages were 

 making their way slowly through Pulteney Street — by-the-by, 

 that is about the only street in Bath one can stroU down com- 

 fortably, most of the others being pavemented hills. As I was 

 driving along I could not fail to notice the throng of happy 

 faces on the kerbstone, pleased lookers-on, and I could not but 

 think that a flower show is the cause of pleasure, even to those 

 who never see the flowers, those who are imable to find the 

 half-crown for early admittance, or even the single sixpence 

 for the five o'clock entrance. 



But while moralising, I am at the entrance of Sydney 

 Gardens. In that house left of the gate once lodged a gloomy- 

 looking Frenchman, sometimes hard up for cash and credit, 

 now having plenty of both — viz.. His Majesty the Emperor of 

 the French. All ! it is a queer world w^e live in, full of ups 

 and downs, but some of us get most of the latter ; however, 

 there's a good time coming, so don't be downhearted. Soon the 

 gate is passed, and I am lost in a crowd. Lucky Committee ! 

 another fine day for your show ; and out of twenty shows you 

 have, I learn, only once had thoroughly bad -weather. 



As to Wednesday last, it was a glorious day, brilliant with- 

 out being either scorching or oppressive. Near me aU was life 

 and clearness, and afar off, to quote Wordsworth — 

 " The lovely liiudscnpo indistinctly glared, 

 ThrouHb a pale steam." 



I am carried on bj' the force of those behind me, but am brought 

 to a standstill, as all others that had preceded me, in front of 

 the orchestra, where the band of the Royal Marines are en- 

 trancing all listeners. How strange it seems that any one can 

 dislike music. Sm-ely Dr. Johnson was veiy bilious when he 



