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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 16, 1866. 



Potatoes fit for Storing by the End of July (Wilts).— The Lap- 

 stone is the best of all Potatoes which we have Rrown or eaten, and it is 

 fit to take up for storing by the end of July. This year we cut the tops 

 off ours on the first appearance of the disease, leaving the tubers in the 

 ground, and there was not a diseased one among them. The varieties 

 were Lapstone, Daintree's Seedling, and Milky White, the three which 

 we recommend for the general crop. Another variety of which we have 

 not yet seen a diseased tuber is Transell's Seedling. The main crop 

 should be planted in the third week in March if the ground is in good 

 order, or from that time to the second week in April. Of Flukes and 

 Pink-eyed Flukes (Queen of Flukes), grown on the same soil, more than 

 half were bad, but of the Skerry Blue there* was not a diseased tuber. It 

 is a good, rather yellow, and strong-flavoured sound-keeping Potato, and 

 we like it best of the late kinds next to Arrowsmith's Seedling, which 

 with us is good and esteemed at table. 



Orchard Apple Trees Pruning (Idem).— You will do well to thin out 

 the branches of your trees when the leaves have fallen, but not to the ex- 

 tent which we understand you to mean by using the saw freely. Use it 

 moderately, for if you thin too much you will cause the production of a 

 number of shoots from the branches, and so crowd the head, and make 

 bad worse. The drainings of the cow-sheds and pig-styes you may use as 

 you propose, but at a distance from the stem. Removing the grass if you 

 do not go deep, or only sufficiently so to take it off, is good; giving the 

 ground for a distance of 3 yards from the stems a dressing of manure 

 in antumn, and pointing it in in February, will benefit the trees. 



Root-pruning Old Wall Trees (Idem).— Your trees being vigorous 

 a trench may be taken out a yard from the trunk, and, working under- 

 neath towards the collar, cut any roots that penetrate into bad soil or go 

 deep, but if weak probably a top-dressing of manure in autumn would do 

 more good. 



Destroying Weeds on Walks (Idem).— The information you seek is 

 Stated at page 189 of the present volume. 



Continuous-blooming Roses (Idem). — Three good standard late- 

 blooming Roses are Acidalie and Paul Joseph, both Bourbon; and 

 Senateur Vaisse, Hybrid Perpetual. Three climbers for a wall : Marechal 

 Niel, Climbing Devoniensis, and Ciloire de Dijon, all Tea-scented. Three 

 old continuous-blooming Roses, such as seen in cottage gardens, are 

 the old Blush China (Rosa indica), Armosa, an old Bourbon which we 

 have not seen lately, though an excellent Rose, of a clear bright pink, and 

 the old Crimson or Dark China. 



Circular-terraced Flower-bed (A Youna Gardener, Mrs. J. G.).— 

 Purple Verbena, Iresine, or Perilla, would do for the centre, yellow Cal- 

 ceolaria for the second tier, and Scarlet Geranium for the outside lower 

 one, with a mixture of blue Lobelia and variegated Alyssum hanging 

 over the sides of the beds. You do not give ns the size of the beds. 



Alpine Strawberries for Autumn Cropping (Vieariue).— Tour best 

 plan will be to sow the seed in spring, about the middle of March or 

 early in April, in pans or boxes filled with a compost of turfy light loam 

 two-thirds, and leaf mould one-third. Make the surface smooth, and on 

 this scatter the seeds, not too thickly, and cover lightly with fine soil. 

 Give a gentle watering, and place the boxes in a house with a gentle 

 "heat. When the young plants appear expose them to air and light as 

 much as possible, but keep them under glass until they have grown suffi- 

 ciently to prick off, then expose them fully, and when thoroughly hardened 

 off plant out in lines a foot apart every way in an open situation. The 

 ground should be well drained, and in goodcondition. Liberal supplies 

 of water will be necessary in dry weather in summer and autumn. A 

 slepingbank with a dry subsoil is essential, in order to have fruit late. 



Peach Trees on an East Aspect (A Young Gardener).— The trees 

 on the east aspect will not fruit satisfactorily! Peaches in our climate 

 require a wall facing due south in the northern counties, and a south- 

 west wall in the south of England ; but a south aspect is in all cases 

 desirable. The dying back of the wood in winter is the effect of the 

 cold on the immature growths of the previous vear ; and this result may 

 be caused by the aspect, but more likely by the roots having struck 

 deeply into the soil, which you say is heavy and undrained. Your 

 only plan will be to take up the trees carefully as soon as the leaves 

 begin to fall, to drain the border efficiently, and to replant with the roots 

 on the surface, covering them with 6 inches of fresh soil, and keeping 

 the collar of the tree slightly elevated. We think, however, that on an 

 cast wall your trees will not produce fruit worth the trouble involved 

 in the operation. You would not lose next season's crop. 



Damson Trees Unfruitful (Idem).— The closeness of your trees is 

 sufficient to account for their not fruiting. If you were to thin them, 

 replanting any you could remove with a good root, we think they would 

 bear. Avoid pruning, though you may do so to a limited extent, confin- 

 ing it to such branches as cross each other, or are too close together. 



Heating a Greenhouse (An Old Subscriber).— Your cheapest mode 

 would be to have in your 13-feet-wide greenhouse an iron or brick 

 stove near the centre of the house, with the fire inside. The next 

 cheapest, and better, would be to have a small flue, 9 inches deep, and 

 9 inches wide, outside measure, all round the house, missing the door ; 

 or, you could have a bed or stage on each side of the house, and one 

 wide flue of 14 inches passing beneath the pathway, the top of the 

 flue forming part of the pathway— if it were better that the chim- 

 ney should be close to the furnace, then a flow-and-roturn small flue. 

 This is a very neat and good plan, and no medium of heating is seen, as 

 the pathway may be tiled or bricked, the same as the top of the flue. 



Grapes (Wyck Hill).— The soil is much too tenacious and wet. We 

 recommend you to have the top spit of the entire border pared off and 

 burnt. Mix the ashes thus obtained with twice the quantity of loam, 

 such as the top spit from a pasture, and a bushel or two of crushed 

 bones. Then remove the rest of the soil from the Vine-border until you 

 come to the roots. Lift these to within 9 inches of the surface, and fill 

 in above and below them with tho mixture we have named. Do this 

 dnriDg the present month. Injure the roots as little as may be, and 

 mulch over them during the summer. 



Seedltni Geranium (IT. G. /?.).— There is nothing remarkably ex- 

 cellent cither in the siBgle leaf or few pips you have sent. Habit, abun- 

 dance and durability of bloom— most important characters, cannot be 

 judged of from such fragments. Any seedsman can supply Pansy seed ; 

 but to be sure of having it from first-class flowers, you must save it your- 

 self. 



Rough Plate Glass (J. B.).— The chief advantage of rough plate for 

 the roof of a greenhouse is, that you can dispense with shading in 

 summer, and there is plenty uf light for that purpose in winter. The 

 front of tho house may also be the same, if it is not desirable to look 

 through it or see the plants from the outside. A plan often adopted is to 

 have the roof rough plate or ground plate, and the front clear plate, 

 which you can shade with a blind or otherwise in summer. A very good 

 way of shading clear plate glass roofs is to have calico curtains put up 

 inside, fastened with rings to hooks, where they remain from May to 

 October, and, taken care of, the calico or gauze will last a number of 

 years. 



Gladioli for Pot Culture (A Young Gardrnci).—A dozen good sorts 

 are Ceres, Eugenic Verdier, Reine Victoria, Solfaterre, Rembrandt, Na- 

 poleon III., Cardinal, Dr. Lindley, Neptune, James Watt, John Waterer, 

 and Goliath. A compost of turfy loam of medium texture, well-rotted 

 manure, and river sand, in equal parts, well mixed, is excellent. Pot the 

 bulbs about the middle of March, three in a nine-inch pot well drained, 

 and with the crown an inch below the surface. Before planting " skin " 

 the bulbs; plant on silver saud, and cover the crowns with the same. 

 Place in a frame merely to protect them from cold rains and frost. 

 The soil should be kept just sufficiently moist. In May plunge the pots to 

 the rim in ashes in an open situation, and apply a dressing of one-third 

 loam and two-thirds well-rotted manure, to the depth of an inch over 

 the surface of the soil in the pots; give a second dressing in a month, 

 and a third after a similar interval. Syringe every evening after May, 

 and afford a good supply of manure water once a-week in June and July, 

 in addition to any watering that may be necessary. You may have to 

 retard the bloom; if bo, an awning of canvas will best serve your pur- 

 pose. See that stagnant water does not lodge under the plunging material. 

 Asters in Pots (Idem). — About the middle of March sow the seeds 

 rather thinly in pans, and place these under a frame on a mild hotbed 

 and near the glass. When up keep the young plants near tho glass, 

 and afford plenty of air. When they are large enough to handle, prick 

 them off in pans, return them to the frame, and about the middle of 

 May take up with good balls, and pot in their blooming pots, shading for 

 a few days until established. Let the compost consist of tho richest 

 turfy loam which can be obtained, well-rotted manure, and sand in equal 

 parts, and well drain the pots. Plunge in ashes in an open situation by 

 the end of May, giving plenty of room. Syringe every evening, water 

 when necessary, and liquid manure may be supplied alternately with 

 pure water twice or thrice a-week. Top-dressings of reduced manure are 

 also good. A nine-inch pot is not too large for a plant. 



Peaches in Pots Under Vines (Charles). — It is not desirable to grow 

 Peaches in a house with Vines trained to the roof, nor can they be so 

 grown successfully if the Vines cover the roof, the foliage meeting. If 

 there is an interval of 3 feet fi inches between the Vines, then you may 

 succeed tolerably by placing the Peach trees in the centre between the 

 Vines, but to do well the latter should not he nearer one another than 

 6 feet. You can have " The Orchid Manual," free by post, from our office, 

 if you enclose thirty-two postage stamps with your address. 



Wintering Canna Roots (Berks). — After a frost take up the roots and 

 store them in sand in a place secure from frost. Pot them in February, 

 and bring them forward in a gentle hotbed. Harden them off in May, 

 and plant out in June. If you have a greenhouse [and can find room for 

 them, tike up tho plants and pot them in sandy loam, but do not cut off 

 the tops until they decay. A temperature of from 45° to 50° is suitable. 



Hume a elegans {Idem). — This plant is strictly a biennial, for though 

 it may start a few weak shoots from the bottom, it only blooms once — in 

 the second year, and is of no further utility. 



Pruning Daturas (Idem).— The best time is in spring before placing 

 them in heat. 

 Wintering Bedding Geraniums in a Cellar (Idem). — Take up 

 ■ the plants before they are injured by frost, pick off all the leaves, and 

 j pack the roots in dry sand. The plants should be taken up on a dry day 

 I and stored away at once, but a delay of a few days in doing this is not 

 of consequence. 

 Wintering Bedding Plants in Frames (Fred.). — The situation of your 

 I frames being warm and sheltered, and the bottom dry, you may safely 

 employ them for the wintering of bedding plants, banking up the sides of 

 the frames with ashes or dry earth before severe weather sets in. They will 

 answer for Calceolarias, Verbenas, and Petunias, and, with care, for Pelar- 

 goniums also, these being more subject to damp. The Pelargoniums 

 would winter better in the boxes they are in, the boxes being placed on 

 the window-board and removed at night to a place of safety if the 

 weather prove severe. Your plants, which have not yet rooted, should at 

 once be potted and placed in a frame. You cannot winter them in the 

 rooms on shelves about 2 feet from the ceiling. These would be too dark, 

 and the kitchen shelves are too warm. The large plants of Tom Thumb 

 and Bijou may be turned out of the pots, and, the leaves having been 

 stripped off, packed in sand in the dark cellar, but we fear Bijou will not 

 winter well in that way. To do so it requires light, and to have all the 

 leaves left on. The Calceolarias should ibe wintered in the frame ; they 

 may be turned out of the pots and planted in a compost of loam and leaf 

 mould. They will thus winter as safely as cuttings ; but old plants are 

 not equal to those which are younger, either in size or continuance of 

 bloom. " Flower Gardening for the Many, " free by post for six postage 

 stamps, from our office, would suit you. 



Evergreens for a South-west Wall (Idem).— Bridgesia spicata 

 Escallonia glandulosa, E. montevidensis, Embotbrium coccineum 

 Magnolia grandiflora, Exmouth var., Billardiera mutabilis, Cotoneaster 

 Simmonsii, Ceanothns Veitchianus, C. floribundus, Buddlea globosa, 

 Raphiolepis ovata, and Garrya elliptica. 



Select Camellias (E. B.).— Alba Plena and Imbricata, white ; Storyi, 

 dull crimson ; Wilderi, deep rose ; Bothwelliana, dark ruby red ; Princess 

 Bacchiochi, scarlet. 



Names of Fruits (B. A. P.).— 1, Vicar of Winkfield; 3, Sans Pi-pins; 

 5, Suffolk Thorn ; 6, Winter Nelis ; 7, White Doyenne ; 10, Marie Louise. 

 (li. H. A.}.— Apples : 2, Kingston Black ; 3, Golden Nonpareil; 4, Holland - 

 bury ; 6, Lemon Pippin ; 7, Scarlet Nonpareil ; 9, Springrove Codlin ; 

 10, Braddick's Nonpareil. Pears: 1, Nouveau Poiteau; 2, Beurre Eosc ; 



3, White Doyenne ; 4, Dunmore; 5, Brown Beurre. (An Old Subscriber). 

 — 1, Beurre Blanc des Capucines; 2, Doyenne Roux ; 3,BaronnedeMello; 



4, Urbaniste; 5, Winter Nelis; 9, Yellow Ingestrie; 12, Biggs' Nonsuch. 



