390 



JOUENAJj OF HORTICULTUKE AKD COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ November 7, 1865. 



suckers. Wlien these are about 3 inches in length they are not 

 so woolly, and slipped oS tliey strike quickly in a little heat 

 where there is not Tery nuicU moisture. The plant is com- 

 paratively hardy, and will never prow iu a house with the same 

 luxm-iance that it will do out of doors after June. These little 

 bits may be inserted round the sides of pots in the way spoken 

 of ; but if quick work is wanted, they must be repotted singly 

 as soon as they are rooted, as the roots are excessively brittle 

 and tender, and snap easily when we attempt to separate 

 those of one plant from another. The best of all plans, there- 

 fore, would be to ]?lace a single cutting at the side of a small, 

 say thumb pot, and repot with a ball whenever it was struck. 

 This would reriuire more trouble and room at first, but there 

 would be no check from broken roots. 



As to hardiness, we believe it is nearly as hardy as the 

 Cineraria maritima, and that generally stands the winter with 

 us, but not always, as it has been frequently next to lost in 

 wet winters, and in such a severe one as those of 1860 and 

 1861. yVe have, therefore, taken a good portion of our Cen- 

 taurea up, and divided the most of the plants by splitting down 

 the stems above the roots, saving a portion of the roots and 

 potting each divided piece (each of these, again, having two or 

 three stemsl, into single jiots of some .S or 4 inches in diameter. 

 These, if we like, we can top in spring. At present all leaves 

 hut some small ones at the point are removed, and as the 

 lower leaves were rotting, we sprinkled the stems with charcoal 

 and lime. Others we cut over a few inches above the ground, 

 and packed them firmly in larger pots, fastening the roots 

 round the sides firmly, and making the pot as full as in the 

 case of Scarlet Geraniums. They did well treated both ways 

 last year. The small young plants struck early in spring will 

 make the neatest edgings in summer. To have plants with 

 good foliage in winter, they should be kept in pots the previous 

 summer, and not be potted after September, ^\^len planted out 

 they seldom lift well with anything like a ball, and, therefore, 

 the old jjlants which we take up and keep we deprive at once 

 of most of their leaves. If after this roughish treatment they 

 can be kept iu a temperature of from -15' to 55^ and 60°, and 

 the heat given be dry rather than moist, they will begin to fresh 

 root and grow sooner, and after that a cooler dry place will suit 

 them very weU. All through the winter they will be more apt 

 to suiifer from damp than from dryness, or cold, if frost is 

 excluded. To "Ei.ster," who wishes very much to know, if 

 we prefer the candidissima to ragusina, or either to Cineraria 

 maritima, we can give no other answer than that if there is 

 a shade of preference in our mind, it would be iu favour of 

 the Cineraria, hut all are good and useful. — E. F. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Xovembek 4. 



Supplies moderate, nnd a fair amoimt of business doing. Dessei-t 

 Pears chiefly fonsist of Mjivie Louise, Beurrt- Dicl, Crassane, and 

 Duchesse d'-^n^ouleme. Apples comprise Ribston Pippin, King of the 

 Pippins, Nutmeg Pippin, and some others of less note. Potato trade heavy. 



FKUIT. 



s. d. s. d 



Apples iV sieve 1 to2 



Apricots '.. doz. 



Clierries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 13 20 



Currants, Red * sieve 



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



Figs doz. 16 3 



Filberts Ih. 9 1 



Cobs 100 lbs.120 140 



Gooseberries. . ^ sieve 



Grapes, Hambro.. .lb. 2 



Muscats lb. 3 



Lemons 100 8 14 





 

 

 

 

 



s. d. s. d 



Melons each 4 0to7 



Mulberries punnet 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges 100 10 20 



" ' " ^" " 



















Peaches doz. 15 



Pears (kitchen). . doz. 2 



dessert doz. Jl 



Pine Apples lb. 7 



Plums ^ sieve 5 



Quinces I sieve 3 



Raspben-ies ...'... lb. 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bush 14 



20 



4 



6 4 



10 



VEGETABLES. 



Artichokes eacTi 



Asparagus bundle 



Beans Broad. . bushel 



Kidney ^ sieve 



Beet, Red .'. doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brus. Sprouts.. :J sieve 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Cucumbers each 



pickling .... doz. 



Endive score 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic and Shallots, lb. 



Herbs bnnrh 



Horseradish . . bundle 



s. d. s. d 

 4toO 6 





 3 

 2 

 

 

 9 

 

 4 

 

 

 6 



3 



2 



3 



1 6 



2 







2 















4 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce per score 



jVInshrooms pottle 



Mustd. & Cress,punnet 

 Ouiims per bushel 



piclding quart 



Parsley ^ sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Pens quart 



Potatoes bushel 



ICidney do. 



Radishes doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes i sieve 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows dz. 



s. d. s. d 

 3 too 

 1 







1 6 



2 



3 







1 



1 

 



2 6 



3 

 6 

 

 9 

 

 2 

 2 



4 



1 





 4 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



• *♦ We request that no one \vill write privately to the depart- 

 meutal writers of the "Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore be addressed nolely to 

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

 Street, London, E.C. 



We also request that correspondents v.ill not mix up 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 ouce. 



N.B. — ilauy questions must remain unanswered until nest 

 week. 



Potato Murrain (T,Ii.).~li was first publiclynoticed in tliiR countiy 

 in August, 1845, and was, we believe, equally prevalent iu England, 

 Scotland, and Ireland. 



Glass against South Wall (H. C.).— Nothing to prevent your having 

 Vines, Peaches, tS;c., against your wall, and with a glazed loau-to cover- 

 ing as you propose. It will be nn orchnrd-house. If you send seven 

 postage stjimx)S to our office and order " Greenhouses for the Many " to 

 be sent to you, you will have it free by post, and at page 57 there is just 

 such a structure described. 



WATEnpr.ooFiNG Calico (N. C.).— Pale linseed oil. 3 pints; sugar of 

 lead {iieetiite of lead), 1 oz. ; white rosin, 4 ozs. Grind the acetate with a 

 little of the oil, theu add the rest and the rosin ; incorporate in a large 

 iron pot over a gentle fii-e ; tack the calico loosely on the frame, and 

 ai»ply the compound with a large brush while hot. 



The Modern Peach-pruner [A CnnMaitt i?eadcr).— M. Grin advocates 

 one universal system of pruning to the leaves. The modern Peach- 

 pruner (as will be seen in No. 17) does not, however, consider this 

 suitable to our climate without the modifications suggested. The 

 pruning of Plums is simple enough ; provided you attend to the general 

 growth, and do not shorten the branches ; the rest is easy. 



FEriT Dropping in Orchard-house (A. J. P.).— Its dropping as soon 

 as formed sei'ms to intimate that the root-action of the ti-ees is defective. 

 This may arise from tlie soil being too drj-; or the wood on which tho 

 fruit is produced was not ripened last year. It is difficult to assign a 

 cause of failure without knowing how the trees are managed, nor even 

 the sorts. 



Bleaching Skeletonised Ferns (Mrs. Jiix). — Dissolve 2 ozs. of 

 chloride of lime in 3 jiints of water. Let the skeleton remain in some of 

 the solution in a tint dish for an hour, then take it out and wash it 

 thoroughly with two or three changes of water. 



PdEMOVING THE BANDAGE FROM BUDDED RoSES {E. C). — The WOOl with 



which the buds were bound should be loosened to allow of their swelling, 

 and. as it has not been removed before, it may remain bound lightly 

 round them until spring, when it should he removed altogether. The 

 buds that are looking very green and plumiJ will shoot strongly in the 

 spriug. 



Sowing Pink-flowered Chestnuts-Sifted Coal Ashes foe Drainage 

 {Calceolaria). — You may sow the Horse-Chcstnuts (Pavia) now in lines a 

 foot apart, or keep them in a cool place in sand until March and then 

 sow them in nn open situation, covering with about an inch of light 

 sandy loum. The majority, if not all, of the seedlings will have pink 

 flowers like the parent; but to be certain of this it is best to giaft the 

 pink-flowering Chestnut upon stocks of the Horse- Chestnut when the sap 

 is flowing, whip gi-afting being the most eligible. Sifted coal ashes will, 

 to a certain extent, act as di-ainage, but not more so than friable loose 

 soil. 



Planting and Pruning Pillar Roses (Coitn/ri; CHrntr).— Your veiy 

 strong last-year'.s-budded Roses you may plant in November, or, if the 

 soil be heavy or wet, defer doijag ihd imtil the first open weather in 

 February or March. The best time to plant hardy Roses is from October 

 to April, when the weather is mild and the giound in good worlung 

 order. If you plant iu November, which is what we recommend, you 

 need not shtu'teu tlie shoots of those budded tliis year, for tho few leaves 

 and green shoots will tend to a speedy formation of roots, or cause them 

 to callus where cut. In March prune them to five good sound eyes, and if 

 they shoot strongly allow all to gi'ow, but if weakly disbud to three, or to one 

 if very weak. Slake choice of the strongest shoot and train it to the pillar, 

 allowing the others to gi'ow loose. In the pruning, after another year's 

 growth, xjrune the side shoots to five eyes each, and the other or upright 

 shoot to two-thirds its length, or take off one-thu-d if strong and two- 

 thirds if weak. In future years prune oil the side shoots to three eyes, 

 and the leading shoot to one-third its length. When the old shoots 

 become weak train a strong shoot from the bottom, making room for it 

 by cutting away an old worn-out one when it has done blooming. We do 

 not perceive what ynu seek to gain by taking up the Roses budded this 

 year, unless they are tender kinds, as Tea-scented. They will certainly 

 be more secure from frost taken up, potted, and placed in a cold frame ; 

 but unless the weather prove imusually severe, it is quite unnecessaiy, 

 as they are as safe the first as the second year. If you take them up for 

 pottine or planting where they are to remain, you may cut the stock 

 down to within 6 inches of the bud, and when the Roses have grown a 

 little next spring cut the stock away entn-ely above the bud. We do not 

 recommend you to take them up and pot them. 



H.\EDINESS OF Cyclamens kepandum and odoratum. — Practical In- 

 qnir^y wishes to be informed if any reader of this Journal has ever known 

 either of these to withstand a severe frost, and to really grow out of doors 

 in this countrj" with any appearance of success ? 



EanoRATiNG to Wisconsin {Aii Emiprunt). — We advise you to take 

 neither plants nor seeds with you, but to adopt those which you find 

 succeeding there. It will be more easy and less expensive to have sent 

 out to you the few things you find deiective. 



