510 



JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 19, 1855. 



tracks filled with it. Grapes nre yuflScient for the demand. Pines arc 

 plentiful, but Apples are indifferent in quality and short in quantity. 

 The best dessert Pears comprise Glou Morcean, Winter Nelis, Chau- 

 montel, and St. Germain. Vegetables are plentiful; of Asparagus and 

 Sea-kale there is a fair supply, and a few Kidney Beans have made their 

 appearance, but are not yet regularly supplied. 



Apples ^ sieve 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 



Currants, Red ,J sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs 100 lbs. 



Gooscben-ies. . ^ sieve 

 Grapes, Hambro.. . lb. 



Muscats lb. 



LcmoDS 100 



Artichokes each 



Asparaffus bundle 



Beans Broad. . bushel 



Kidney 100 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Bras. Sprouts. .^ 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 



s. d. s. d 

 0to2 

 

 



8 16 





 





 9 















1 



140 







4 7 



5 8 

 G 10 



Melons each 



Mulbemes punnet 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges 100 



Peaches doz. 



Pears (Idtchen). . doz. 



dessert doz. 



Pine Apples lb. 



Plums h sieve 



Quinces | sieve 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bush 



VEGETABLES. 



B. d. s. d 

 OtoO 

 8 12 











2 



1 



3 



9 



1 



4 

 3 



1 



2 







3 

 

 

 

 6 

 

 8 

 

 

 

 



2 

 

 

 



4 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce .... per score 



Mu.shrooms pottle 



Mustd. & Cress,punnet 

 Onions per bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley A sieve 



Parsnips '. doz. 



Pens quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-Itale basket 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes ^ sieve 



Tiu-nips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows dz. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS, 



•«• We request that no one will wi-ite privately to the depart- 

 mental 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 addi-essed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticnltiire, d'C, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.C. 



We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the 

 same sheet questions relatiujr 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. 



Amputation of Branches (H. Stilhr ell). —Common tar is not injurious, 

 if applied to the surfaces of the cuts ; it prevents ivet settliuR in the 

 cracks, which would promote decay. Do not add coiTosive sublimate, 

 and do not use gas tar. 



Keeping Grapes {J. C. /.).— We know of no instance of Grapes cut 

 from the Vine keeping for nine months. 



Pear and Plum on Wall (OM Suhncriher).~ThQ Easter Beunv Pear on 

 the quince stock will do very well on your west wall. It ought to outlive 

 the planter, and a fjeneration or two besides. We should prefer for yom- 

 sonth wall Jefferson's Plum to either Kirke's New Blue or Prince En^le- 

 bert. 



Cordon Training (An Jmatnir).~The Rev. T. C. Brehaut's book on 

 Cordon training was published by Messrs. Longman & Co., Paternoster 

 Row. 



Raising Flowers for Market (H. M. B.).— We answered vou at pape 

 371 of our Number published October 31st, but your initials "were trans- 

 posed to "M. H. B." 



Covers for Our Volumes (i?. Di jin).— We supplv them for each 

 volume— two annually. Each can be had from our office, post free, for 

 sixteen stamps. 



Iresine Herbstii Losing its Lea\-es (W. H. S. D.).~Ii is usual for the 

 plants to lose their leaTes in autumn in so hiah a temperature as 55^. 

 We presume that is the mean of the dav and night temperatxire ; from 

 40^ to 45'= is sufficient from fire heat. The plants will regain theirfoliage. 



Death's-head Moth (Tirvallyn Gardcml—'Ihe Death's-head Moth is 

 scientifically known as Sphinx (or Aeherontia) Atropos. Its caterpillar 

 feeds on Potatoes, Jasmine, Tea Tree (Lycium barbatum). Thorn Apple. 

 Spindle Tree. &c.. but is generally found on the first-named plant in the 

 autumn. The pupa state lasts about a month, and the moth appears in 

 September and October : it flies but seldom, lodging on the trunks of 

 trees and among plants by day, but instances are recorded of its flying 

 across the sea, and being taken at considerable distances from land. 

 Such caterpillars as are hatched late in the season pass the winter in the 

 pupa state. The surface caterjiillars. which attack the Turnips, are those 

 of the Dart Moth, Agrotis segctum. Thev appear in the perfect state in 

 May and June.— W. 



Azalea Neglected (A. C. Cfl".).— The pliint should be potted at once 

 in a compost of turfj' sandy peat two-thirds, and one-third turfy light, 

 loam, with one-sixth of silver sand, the wholo chopped and made fine 

 The ball should not be reduced beyond remo\'ing the old drainage, and 

 the soil not occupied with roots ; drain well, and pot with the stem slightly 

 elevated in the pot. Water so as to make the soil moist but not very wet, 

 and do not water again until it becomes rather dry. The soil should be 

 kept neither dr>' nor wet. Sprinkle the plant overhead once a-day with 

 water of the same temperature as that of the house for a fortnight, and 

 then discontinue the use of the syiinge until growth is made in spring. 

 We cannot say. ■nitlj certainty, that'this treatment will cause your plant to 

 recover. Give it a hght, airy situation in a cool greenhouse. 



Plants for Gas-lighted Room {B(indol}>h).—'T'he, best of all plants 

 for such a position is Polypodium vulgare, and the next best Pteris ser- 

 nilata. SelagineUa denticulata will endure for a long time, and so will 

 S. Willdcnovi, which is of Fem-likc habit, nfter the fronds become fully 

 developed. Of British Ferns Asplouium adiantum nigi-um, Blechnum 

 spicant, Polystichum annulare proUferum, P. lobatum, Lastrea dilatata, 

 and L. Filix-mas do fairly, as do the following exotic kinds:— Doodia 

 lunulata and D. caudata, lilechnum australe and B. occidentale, Asple- 

 nium mouanthemum, Lastrea glabella, L. pubeseens, and L. acuminata 

 (Rileyana), Lomaria magellanica, L. Patersoni. and L. alpina, Nephro- 

 lepis exaltata and N. peetinata, Niphobolus pertusus. Phymatodes (Poly- 

 podium) pustulatn, Onychinm japonicum, Polysticum proliferum, Platy- 

 loma falcatiim. P. rot undi folium, Polypodium rugulosum, Pteris cretica 

 albo-liueata, and P. umbrosa. These we have tried vnth fair success, but 

 have foimd them very variable ; at times they would do well, and at others 

 not at all. The main point is to have the fronds fully developed before 

 placing the plants in the room. Few flowering plants will do in such 

 places from the extreme dryness of the aii- ; most, however, do fairly for 

 a brief season whilst in flower. None will grow in such situations as the 

 centres of rooms. 



Smell from Hot-water Pipes (A Constant Header). — Your pipes were 

 coated with the right composition — linseed oil and lampblack, the smell 

 from which would soon have passed off had the paint been put on when 

 the pipe,' were hot. If you were now to heat them to 180% or make the 

 water boil, tlie smell would pass off andnot trouble you again. We paint 

 our pipes hot at first, and keep them hot until the paint dries, and we 

 have no smell afterwards. 



Flies in Vinery (John Cal die ell). —The large blue or *' flesh fiies " will 

 certainly spoil Grapes when they attack them, which they do sometimes 

 when the skin is broken, pierced, or cracked. No one can guard against 

 theii* att;tcks, and we do not consider you at fault for their sucking at the 

 Grapes ; but you may be blameable for not taking steps to prevent a con- 

 tinuance of the mischief they were doing. If hexagon netting had been 

 nailed over the openings by which air was admitted, the flies could not 

 have entered the house, and those that were already there might have been 

 tempted to have drowned themselves in bottles containing a niistm*e of 

 tieer and sugar or treacle. Enclosing the Gr.apes in muslin bags would 

 have shown that you meant to do what you could to save the Grapes from 

 their attacks. 



Heaviest Bunch of Grapes KNowN{JE:gi(es).— It would be difficult to 

 state which is the heaviest of known bunches; but that of the Syrian 

 variety, gi'own at Welbeck, weighing 19.^ lbs., isjthe heaviest well-authen- 

 ticated bunch that we remember. Its length was 19^ inches, and breadth 

 across the shoulders 19.^ inches. 



Journal of Horticulture (H. R.). — The cheapest mode for yon to 

 obtain the Volumes for 1865 is from Mr. Menzies, Bookseller, Edinburgh. 

 They are bound in cloth, gilt. To have the Journal weekly and promptly 

 you had better have it direct from our office. The postage on two copies 

 would be 2d., unless two stamped copies were sent. 



Bedding Geraniums ELooanNo in Winter (A'. '^., Kenafjh). — Theic 

 blooming at this season will not injure them in the least. Cut them in 

 in March or April, and they will become fine plants again by bedding-out 

 time if shifted in a foi-tnight or three weeks after cutting-in. 



Caterpillars on Thorn Hedge [W. S.). — Lime spread on the surface 

 at the roots of the Thorns is not likely to prevent the occurrence of tho 

 caterpillars, for these spread themselves about the garden, fasten them- 

 selves to various plants and there pass through their chrysalis state, from 

 which the white parent butterflies (very like the common Cabbage butter- 

 fly) emerge early in summer. These butterflies deposit their eggs on tho 

 Thorn hedge. Weak ammoniacal gas liquor syringed over the hedge in 

 June, or the gas lime sprinkled over it, mixed with soot, might prevent 

 the butterflies depositing their eggs on the hedge. You may obtain the 

 Lychnis seed from any principal seedsman who advertises in oui" pages. 



Pruning Gooseberry Bushes (P. P.).— The side shoots along the main 

 branches should be cut in to half an inch or an inch from the place from 

 which they take theii- rise, leaving the buds closely studded at their bnse. 

 These, and the short spurs, which should be left entire, bear the fruit in 

 the following season. The leading shoots, or those at the extremity of 

 the main branches, should be shortened to 3 Inches if the trees are not 

 intended to become larger ; but if the tree^' arc young such shoots may be 

 shortened by two-thirds of their length. Keep the centres of the bushes 

 open, the branches regularly disposed at from 9 inches to a foot iipart, so 

 that light and air may be admitted to every part alike. 



Coleus Vef.schaffelti Shoots Dasiping (Idem). — Wetold you a fort- 

 night ago that this plant would live in a temperature of 45^ in winter; 

 but it was on condition that the atmosphere was well ventilated, and the 

 soil only moist enough to prevent the wood shrivelling. In that way we 

 have kept the plant successfully. Yours, however, has lost the points of 

 the shoots in a temperature of 50^, and we have known the same results 

 take place in a temperature of 60" at night, not in consequence of want of 

 heat, but from a superfluity of moisture in the atmosphere, and a soil much 

 too wet. and this, we think, is the cause in your case. P^o^iding the 

 stems of the plants remain fresh they will put out side shoots in spring 

 quite as well as if the points were entire. We presume yours are old 

 plants ; they are not so safely wintered as cuttings struck in summer, and 

 kept in small pots. 



Cryptomeria elegans (Hugh Strachnn).— We advise yon to have a 

 moveable cover for it as you propose, for although, like C. japonica, a 

 native of Japan, yet this is not sufficiently hardy to endure a severe 

 season. Mr. Veitch states that it is very fast growing, and gi'ows freely 

 on even the poorest soils* 



