324 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. [ October 17. 1865. 



as soon as the weather shaU be thoroughly dry. Examined 

 what had ah-eady been gathered, and removed all rotting and 

 specked fruit. Soft early Apples should rarely go to the fruit- 

 room, but be kept in a place by themselves until used up. If 

 the fruit-room is kept airy at present, so as to thoroughly dry 

 the fruit and take oft the exhalations of moisture, the place 

 may be kept pretty close iu winter, and thus prevent the chance 

 of shrivelling. Some of the best late fruit of Apples and Pears 

 keep longer plump and sound if each is wrapped iu paper, and 

 packed iu dry sand in little barrels or earthenware vessels. 

 They often come out in spring as plump as on the day in which 

 they were gathered. 



Could we find time we would prune the trees that were 

 pinched-in in siunmer, as it woidd concentrate the juices of the 

 trees more, and the work is much more jileasantly done now 

 than in cold days in winter; but there are always plenty of 

 jobs jostling each other. 



Preparations should also be made for jilanthtq fruit trees, by 

 removing old soil and giving fresh,'or at least as much as will 

 furmsh an elevated station, and securing drainage where need- 

 ful. Seine stiff soils need little drainage owing to marl with 

 the clay m the subsoil, which opens a passage for the water. 

 Puttmg a lot of rough stones below a station for a fruit tree 

 in a close subsoil, through which the water does not easily pass 

 without drannug, is nothing less than securing a reservoir of 

 water beneath the roots, and encouraging them to strike down 

 every dry season. It would be well did we oftener recoUect 

 that great luxuriance .and great fruitfiUuess will ever be in an 

 inverse ratio to each other. If we want an Oak to tower up 

 nobly we must let it root deeply, and the better and deeper the 

 soU the freer and quicker the growth. Were we to treat a Pear 

 tree m the same way, we might expect the fruit to gladden the 

 next generation. By shallow planting and keeping the roots 

 near the surface, at times giving rich surface-dressings, and 

 pruning roots when necessary, fniit mav be obtained two or 

 three years from the time the tree was grafted. 



Our last Peaches from the lean-to orchard-house will be used 

 before this is printed. It is quite true, as Mr. Rivers suggests, 

 that we have had no such large houses as his to manage, but 

 what little has come under our observation confirms us in the 

 proposition that such unheated houses, according to the kinds 

 used and the treatment given, maybe employed either for accele- 

 rating or retarding to a certain extent. Of course we cheerfully 

 look up to Mr. Rivers as our best master in such matters, and 

 we are well aware that the management of lean-to's must be 

 something different from those huge wide span-roofed houses. 

 To Mr. Rivers belongs the honour of demonstrating that iu 

 such large span houses side ventilation was so far sufficient 

 that httle or no roof-top ventUatiou was necessary, greatlv 

 simpUfying the whole affair as respects fruit-gi-owiug. We much 

 wished to have paid our second visit this summer, as no one 

 should be conteut to sit still if he can bv any means get on the 

 Ime of progression. Our observations lead us to conclude that 

 many failures in the smaller lean-to houses have been the con- 

 sequence of not having enough of top ventilation, or not giving 

 it early enough. If left on night and dav there could scarcely 

 be a mistake. The suitabiUty of side ventilation almost alone 

 for span-roofed houses has led some to be careless of top ven- 

 tilation in lean-to houses, though these top-openings were 

 there the chief means of safety. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPAKT.MENT. 



Very much the same as last week— cleaning, potting, making 

 cuttings, &c., giving more room to Cmerarias, Primulas, &c., 

 and collecting some fresh soil from the sides of the highway for 

 planting Calceolaria cuttings next week. Some of the Calceo- 

 lanas had made so little wood that had not flowered, that we 

 gave them a watering a few days before the rain came. By- 

 and-by we shall begin to take up some of the most tender 

 bedding plants, as the beds wiU scarcely be so fine again 

 after the rains and winds. Room ! room ! will soon be the out- 

 cry with us, and with every gardener whom we Imow. Few, 

 indeed, can have a place for everything, and many compro- 

 mises must be made before the middle of May comes round 

 again. — B. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



John Scott, Merriott Nurseries, Crewkerne, Somerset. — 

 Descriptive Catalogue of Nursery Stock. Descriptive Catalogue 

 of Frai t Trees. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— October 14. 



Soppi.iEa continue ample for nil reciuirements. Some vei-y good second- 

 crop Strawberries have made their appearance, also green Figs, for which, 

 however, there is not much demand. Some good specimens of Salway 

 Peach are still to be had. Grapes are still very plentiful. Vegetables the 

 same as in previous reports. 



FHUIT. 



s. d. 



Apples J sieve 1 0to2 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 16 



Currants, Red ^ sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 16 3 



Filberts lb. 9 1 



Cobs 100 lbs. 90 120 



Gooseben-ies. . ^ sieve 



Grapes, Hambro.. . lb. 16 4 



Muscats lb. 3 6 



Lemons 100 8 14 



s. d. s. d 



Melons each 4 0to7 



Mulberries. ... punnet 00 00 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges 100 10 20 



Peaches doz. 10 15 



Pears (kitchen)., doz. 10 16 



dessert doz. 10 2 6 



Pine Apples lb. 4 



Plums i sieve 2 



Quinces | sieve 3 



Raspberries lb. 



StrawbeiTies lb. 3 



Walnuts bush 14 20 



VEGETABLES. 



Artichokes each 



Asparagus. . . . bundle 

 Beans Broad. . bushel 



Iiidney ^ sieve 



Beet. Red" doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brus. Sprouts. .A sieve 



Cabbage .'. doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Cucumbers each 



pickling doz. 



Endive score 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic and Shallots, lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish . . bundle 



6. d. 8. d 

 4to0 

 









 3 

 2 



1 



2 

 9 

 1 

 

 3 

 1 





 

 





 2 

 





 4 

 

 



« 

 2 



1 

 3 

 8 

 3 



2 6 



6 



2 



1 

 4 



2 

 

 

 

 4 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce per score 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustd. & Cress.punnet 

 Onions per bushel 



pickling quai-t 



Parsley ^ sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes doz. bunches 



P.hubarb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes i sieve 



Tm-nips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows dz. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



•** We request that no one uill write privately to the depart- 

 xaeutal writers of the "Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are suhjected to unjustifiahle trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore he addressed aoleJy to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, etc., 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.G. 



"We also request that correspondents will not mix n\) on the 

 same sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on 

 Poultry and Bee subjects, if they expect to get them an- 

 swered promptly and conveniently, but write them on 

 separate communications. Also never to send more than 

 two or three questions at once. 



N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



Hogg's Fruit Mandal {A Fi-uii-Grouer).— The third edition is now 

 passing through the press. 



Building Vineuy iAmatciir).~Ii you send seven postage stamps with 

 your direction you can have " Greenhouses for the Many " free by post, 

 it contains drawings and directions for erecting such a structure as you 

 require, and others still more cheap. 



Oak Tree Bleeding (A Constant Subscriber). — The constant oozing 

 from the wound iu your ornamental Oak probably arises from an 

 ulcerated wound of the albm-num. We should remove the bark over 

 the wound down to the alburnum, and. if that appeared bruised or 

 decayed, cut it away until we came to sound wood. A very sharp chisel 

 or gouge should be used, so that the edges of the wound might be 

 smooth. The edges of the liark should be also pared verj' smooth, and 

 then the whole wound filled and covered with a plaster of equal parts 

 clay and cow-dung. If the internal wound is veiy extensive it will be 

 useless to cut away any of the wood, and we should merely apply the 

 plaster to exclude the rain and air. 



Caterpillar of Death's-head Moth (--1 Yoioig Entomologist). — Your 

 description is not sufficient for us to identify it. If the sides and near 

 the head were gi-een, seven oblique, lateral, violet stripes on it, the 

 spiracles black, edged with white, horn yellowish, rough, turned back- 

 wards and recurved, it was the catei-pillar of that moth. The chrysalis 

 win not give birth to a moth before next July. Kept in the earth under 

 a hand-light, or in a box of earth in-doors under a bell-glass will do. The 

 caterpillars feed on the leaves of the Potato, Jasmine, and "Tea tree" 

 (Lyeium afrumj. 



Late Cuttings of Geraniums iW.B. TT.).— Placing them on a mild 

 hotbed would much encourage their rooting, if the atmosphere be kept 

 dry or not so close as to cause them to damp oflf. Though by this means 

 a greater nmnber would root, yet they may be placed in a cold green- 

 house, from which frost is excluded, fully exposing them to light, and 

 keeping the soil dry rather than wet ; they will there strike in about six 

 weeks. The greatest obstacle in the way of striking Geraniums at thla 

 season is damp. In whatever position the cuttings are placed they 

 cannot have too much light and air. 



