Scptomber 25, 1866. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



248 



be excavated to the depth of 1h inches, and drained so that no 

 water can enter ; a fow layers of turf, and a framework of wood 

 to receive tho mats, lights, or whatever may be provided, will 

 complete tho necessary preparations. We imagine the employ- 

 ment of heating apparatus might in many instancos bo ob- 

 viated by following the practice of Bulking pits, allowing only 

 the glass roof to be exposed to the weather. In France and 

 Belgium, Camellias, Oranges, and many other tender green- 

 house plants aro preserved uninjured through severe winters 

 by the adoption of this plan. The precaution most necessary 

 in this country would be efficient drainage, moisture being 

 almost as bad as frost. Proper attention to this and venti- 

 lation, would make sunk pits fit receptacles for a vast number 

 of tender plauts.— W. Keane. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Onions. — Took the opportunity of a fine day to pull up 

 most of tho Onions, and when they are well dried will house 

 them to be ready for stringing in a wet day. We have proved 

 over and over again that if Onions be kept airy and dry, no 

 amount of frost in winter will injure them. Fine specimens will 

 keep longer if in a spare time in winter the root end is scorched 

 with a hot iron, and the tops are kept as cool as possible. We 

 have scorched the tops also with advantage, but when kept 

 at all warm begin to grow they will. We have frequently been 

 surprised on seeing splendid Onions in the shops of London 

 in June, imported, of course, and apparently of last season's 

 growth, without a sign of sprouting, and quite as fresh when 

 cut as the most forward of our winter Onions which we had 

 transplanted early in spring. Can any one tell us how such 

 Onions, which are perfectly ripe and sound, without a vestige 

 of a thick neck, can be produced and kept by us ? Sowed 

 some more Onions, which will be late if the weather be cold 

 and frosty, but which, if it should prove mild, will be better 

 for planting out in spring than those of the two earlier autumn 

 sowings. Wo think we have previously stated that to have 

 fine sound bulljs in spring and early summer from autumn- 

 sown seed, it is necessary to transplant in spring. They 

 rarely with us come so good when left in the seed-bed. We 

 haTe sometimes thought that the fine Onions in the shops 

 early in summer are owing to the transplanting process in 

 an earlier and better climate, but we never could learn the 

 facts of their history. 



Commenced shallow-trenching a part of the Onion ground 

 for the earliest spring Cabbage. The Onions, generally follow- 

 ing Celery, with some extra dressing the ground is rich enough 

 for Cabbage without any extra dressing, unless it be well- 

 rotted manure. We have trenched in lots of half-rotten grass, 

 itc, placing it in the bottom of the trench, but it had a ten- 

 dency to make the plants too succulent in winter and more 

 liable to be injured by frost. It is as well for the earliest when 

 no rank manure whatever is added ; but such mulchings in 

 spring, and manure waterings in early summer, tell wonderfully 

 on the almost ceaseless production of the Cabbage quarters. 



Celery. — Took the chance of a fine day to remove the suckers 

 from the most forward, to tie up the heads neatly, and to throw 

 about an inch of soil over the surface to keep the moisture in 

 and to prevent the sun from acting on the roots, which are 

 matted close to the surface, as the tying up allows of more 

 light reaching the soil. The tying also brings up the centre 

 of the plant, and helps to blanch it. We have only enough 

 earthed up to last for a fortnight or three weeks, and will 

 earth up a little bit more to keep the succession going. 



Peas. — Put fresh sticks and strings to those which the winds 

 have been using roughly, to prevent their being knocked about 

 and injured. Some vermin, such as rats, have let us more 

 alone, no doubt finding Wheat and Oats more tempting fare. 



Though the weather is what is here styled "tachy," very 

 unsettled, sunshine and showers following closely on each other, 

 the brisk winds have helped greatly to the clearing of the 

 fields, and stacking or barning the valuable grain. It was a 

 matter of regret, that after much grain had been stacked in good 

 order, the drenching rains came before the stacks were thatched. 

 Such incidents show the importance of large open-sided Dutch 

 barns, where the fixed roof does away with thatching alto- 

 gether, and where common precautions at the sides near the 

 ground would prevent either mice or rats entering. The 

 former sometimes find their way in along with the sheaves, but 

 never otherwise. In a former volume it was described how 



economically these fixed roofs were made by Mr. ITainilton, of 

 liamwood, near Dublin. 



Mushroom Spawn. — Chose a damp day and an open shed for 

 preparing dung for this purpose, in the mode several times 

 detailed. The material just now used consisted of two parts fresh 

 horseilung, heated enough to kill what seeds there might be 

 in it, one part of cowdung rathor stiff, and one-tenth of a part 

 of road-drift, the whole worked up to a thick mortar-like paste, 

 and then passed through a mould 9 inches long, 4! inches wide, 

 and lj inch thick, each piece being set up to dry like so many 

 bricks. As we mentioned previously, the making is all very 

 well when a great quantity is required, but in all cases where 

 from one to two or three bushels will be quite ample for the 

 season, it is in every way more economical to obtain what is 

 wanted from a respectable nurseryman. The division of labour 

 will ever prove a great advantage to the general consumer. In 

 making a couple of bushels of spawn at home there would be as 

 much nicety required, as much strict attention to minute de- 

 tails, as if you had a heap of twenty or several hundred bushels. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



Gathered fruit on fine days. Cut back the second growth of 

 wood, and would prune and thin Raspberries if we could find 

 time. Nipped out damped berries from Grapes, and kept 

 wasps, by catching and trapping, from late Peaches. We notice 

 that sawdust from non-resinous trees is recommended for the 

 storing of Apples and Pears. It would require to be thoroughly 

 dried, and even then if thelayers are not thin it will be almost 

 sure to heat. We once saw from this cause a lot of AppleB 

 forming a mass of decay. A heap of Carrots shared a similar 

 fate. Of course when used in small quantities there is little 

 danger ; but if the heap is at all large it will absorb moisture 

 from the fruit, and will heat in consequence. Few things are 

 better for producing a mild bottom heat than sawdust ; and 

 the objections against plunging pots in it are chiefly two — the 

 danger of being troubled with fungus, &c, as the sawdust be- 

 comes damp, and the tendency it has to clog up firmly the hole 

 in the bottom of the pot, and thus prevent drainage. 



Went over Strawberry plants in pots again, cutting the 

 runners from them, and giving the pots more room, as the 

 rains are making the plants grow rather too freely. Dry 

 weather will help to ripen the buds of the more forward. 



ORNAMENTAL, DEPARTMENT. 



Machined and mowed lawns, rolled walks, and commenced 

 picking the worst flowers and faded leaves from the flower 

 beds. They seem to have suffered as much from a slight frost 

 on two mornings as from the rains ; but even now, if we have 

 a few fine days they will yet be beautiful. We are still proceed- 

 ing with putting in cuttings of variegated and other Geraniums 

 under glass, Verbenas, &e., where there is just a little bottom 

 heat secured by means of grass and litter, rotten leaves on the 

 top, and a covering of ashes over all to keep down the steam. 

 Potted Cinerarias and Primulas, giving them more room. Re- 

 gulated houses, placing flowering plants in them from the pits. 

 Will not trouble with Calceolaria cuttings until next month. 



Bulbs. — Several readers wish to have a few words as to these 

 for blooming early in their windows and in small gardens ; 

 and though we cannot offer a fresh observation on the subject, 

 it may not be out of place to make a few remarks for the use of 

 beginners. 



1st, If you desire a particular effect, and wish to spend a 

 certain sum, your best plan will be to state what you wish to a 

 respectable bulb-seller, and you will be better served than you 

 could by making out a named list for yourself. 



2nd, If you select your bulbs personally, choose those that 

 are clean, seemingly healthy, and heaviest and firmest for their 

 size, as these generally will be the best matured, and may be 

 expected to produce the finest flower-stems ; for let it never be 

 forgotten that no care will cause a bulb to do well that has been 

 taken up prematurely, or that has been imperfectly ripened. 

 Firmness and weight are, therefore, a better guide than mere 

 size, if that size is attended with flabbiness or lightness. 



3rd, A five or six-inch pot will grow a Hyacinth very well. 

 A six or eight-inch pot will do for the stronger Narcissus. A 

 six-inch pot will do for three Tulips, six Crocuses or Snow- 

 drops, or four Jonquils, according to size. 



4th, The soil best suited for all is a rich sandy loam, which 

 may be thus formed : — Common loam three parts, very rotten 

 dung or leaf mould, sweet, one part, clear sand one part, all 

 well mixed together. Drain the pots, fill them fully three 

 parts full, and give the pots a good shake so as to settle the 

 soil, which is to bo neither wet nor dry, and then fasten the 

 bulb so that tho top shall be just covered. 



