Jannary 2, 18«€. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENBB. 



11 



Now is a good time to cut in many stove climbers, as Alla- 

 mandas, Stephanotis, Paseifloras, &c., and to shake out and re- 

 pot those previously pruned, and now showing their fresh shoots. 

 Cuttings may now be made of Euphorbias, Poiusettias, &c., to 

 be grown on for next autumn and winter. Most stove plants 

 that have been at rest in winter, as Clerodendrons, may also be 

 pruned back to a few buds of last year's shoots, and as soon as 

 the buds burst the plants should be shifted into smaller pots, 

 be benefited with a little bottom -heat, and receive another shift 

 as soon as the pots are full of roots. Care should be taken 

 that Ixoraa are now free of scale and gi-een fly, and they wiU 

 be much benefited if the pots are plunged in a mild sweet heat 

 of from 75° to 80°, the top heat averaging from C0° to 65°. As 

 time permitted went on with potting Mosses, Ferns, &c., get- 

 ting a lot in small pots, so as to form parts of vases of flowers 

 in-doors, &c. 



Most of our work for the week has been moving Ehododen- 

 drons and other evergreens, and fresh turfing some borders, 

 which it is considered we should be better without. Where 

 much heavy work with evergreens is required to be done, it 

 would be economy to have a stout low-wheeled little truck for 

 the purpose. In layinif turf, and moving tiu-f to be relayed, 

 much time and labour are wasted if the turf is not taken up 

 in pieces pretty uniform in width and thickness. Inattention 

 to these little matters makes a great difference in the amount 

 of work that can be done in a day, and even careful men, and 

 good at taking up turf, need to be reminded of it. At this sea- 

 son of the year many men will attempt to lay turf by standing 

 and stooping — a rare stoop for a tall young man ; but where a 

 regular job has to be gone about, turfing cannot be satisfactoiily 

 done by a man working in such a stoopiug position. The im- 

 portance of a dry day, and the ground moderately dry, will be 

 seen from the circumstance that the workman ought to be on 

 the imtnrfed groimd, and on his knees when at work. A knee- 

 pad should protect his knees, and a moveable pad be used for 

 his legs. Every piece of turf should be put down properly in 

 its place — a matter easily done if the turves are uniform in 

 thickness, but which requires a good deal of packing if the 

 turves are not equal in thickness. If the turves are not left 

 level and well packed, no beating or rolling afterwards will ever 

 make a smooth level lawn. Of course all old ground that used 

 to be dug must be thoroughly beaten before turfing, and even 

 then most likely it will fall in the course of years. Where 

 much turfing is done, and the ground requires much levelling 

 and regulating previously, the simplest plan is to use a number 

 of lines of cord, stretched at the proper sweep and level, and 

 then the workmen have only to turf up totheUnes. In making 

 banks of a regular uniform slope, a good plan is to have one 

 line stretched firmly for the edge of the top, and another for 

 the edge at the bottom, and a heavy rod of the requisite length 

 moving between the two lines will secui-e a uniform slope all 

 throughout. 



As to evergreens, we may mention that Ehododendi'ons will 

 not flourish in a soil abounding in calcareous matter. In 

 almost every other soil they will grow if enriched with rotten 

 leaf mould. In our soil our only chance is to turn down the 

 loam and turn up the clay, and plant in clay, and a Uttle 

 leaf mould and sand. They will not look at our stiff loam, 

 which has a good portion of calcareous matter in it. After all 

 they generally do best in such soils as the native Heaths de- 

 hght in ; but they do well in heavyish loam, in rich sandy 

 loam, and, in fact, in any loam we have met with free of calca- 

 reous matter. 



A falling barometer is giving us warning that ere long we 

 shall be able to bring up our leeway in house-work of all 

 kinds. Hitherto the weather has been too favourable for out- 

 door work to do more in-doors than what was absolutely 

 essential. — B. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 



William Pontey, Huddersfield. — List of Forest and Orna- 

 mental Trees, Shrubs, d'c. 



COVENT GARDEN JIAEKET.— December 30. 



Supplies are well kept up and prices maiutained, Pines and Grapes 

 both being slightly in advance of last week- Pears are becoming com- 

 paratively scarce, and are confined to Winter Nelis. Ne Pins Meuris, Col- 

 mare, and Glon Morceaa. Large quantities of Potatoes are on hand. 



Apples i sieve 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 



Currants, Red i sieve 



Black do. 



Pigs doz. 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs .... 100 lbs. 

 Gooseberries. . ^ sieve 

 Grapes, Hambro.. . lb. 



Muscats lb. 



Lemons 100 



Artichokes each 



AsparasTUS. ... bundle 

 Beans Broad., bushel 



Kidney 100 



Beet, Ked doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brus. Sprouts.. i sieve 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Cucumbers each 



pickling .... doz. 



Endive score 



Fennel bunch 



GarUc and Shallots, lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish . . bundlo 



B. d. s. d 

 2 0to3 

 





 

 







g 





 

 4 

 6 

 G 







16 















1 



160 







7 



10 



10 



B. d. 0. d 



Melons each 3 0to5 



Mulberries, . . . punnet 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges 100 4 10 



Peaches doz. 



Pears (kitchen). . doz. 2 4 



dessert doz. 16 6 



Pine Apples lb. 5 8 



Plums ;i sieve 



Quinces | sieve 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries lb. 



Wakiuts bush 14 20 



VEGETABLES. 



Leeks bnnch 



Lettuce .... per score 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mnstd. & Cress.punnet 

 Onions per bushel 



pickling . . . .quart 



Parsley i sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes ^sievo 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows dz. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



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

 mental writers of the "Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing tbey 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications sbould therefore be addi*essed solely to 

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

 Street, London, E.C. 



We also request that correspondents will 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 once. 



NJB. — Many questions must remain unanswered imtil nest 

 week. 



Book {T. T., Isleicorth). — You can have "In-door Gardening" and 

 " Out-door Gardening " for Is. 6d. e^ch at our office. The early Pea you 

 refer to was Dickson's Early Favourite. 



MuxcniNG Roses (M.H.). — Half-rotten dung will be better for mulch- 

 ing Roses than that in a state of fermentation. 



NESPonr di Japoni CtrLTCRE {An Irish Subscriber). — We belie%-e it to be 

 the Loquftt. Mespilus (Eriobotryal japonica. and it is not so flue either in 

 Italy or Malta as it is in In<lia, because the climate is not so suitable. 

 However, we sent your inqoiry to " J. H.," and this is his reply :— " It is 

 not the Loquat, but what is commonly called the Maltese Medlar, I 

 raised my plants from seed nut of some fruit bought of a fruiterer in 

 Oxford Street. I have tried grafting without success, but I have fruited 

 a plant in three years by growing it in the stove in summer, keeping it ifi 

 a greenhouse in winter, and taking it out of the pot and cutting the tap 

 root every year. It is very liable to the attacks of insects of almost every 

 sort, although it would not so appear from the leaf. The flower is large 

 and fragrant, and the fmit is of a yellow colour, with four very large 

 seeds inside, and of rather an insipid flavour. I cannot succeed in grafting 

 it on any stock, and it is not worth the trouble except for the blossom. 

 It should have plenty of heat, air. and moisture in summer, and complete 

 rest in winter; frost injures it, however, ranch. It will fruit in 12-inch 

 pots. It is called, I believe, ' Nespoli di japoni ' by the Italians, but it is 

 not at all equal to the true Loquat. It should not be watered with 

 manure water at all. or it will not bear ; by cutting the tap roots it will 

 bear in three years." 



PELARGO^^CMS ANT) FucHBiAS NOT Bloomikg (A Subscriber).— Trom 

 what you state we think that all that your plants require to make them 

 bloom more profusely, is a more plentiful supply of air, poorer soil, leas 

 pot room, and to be kept cool, close to the glass, and without shade. 



Manche for Flower-beds (Idem). — It wotild do them good, but put it 

 a foot below the surface, and the roots will find it. In consequence of 

 this deep rooting the plants will be enabled to withstand drought. If 

 mixed with the soil manure is apt to make the plants run to leaf, and we, 

 therefore, recommend putting it a foot below the surface, or covering the 

 beds early in July with 2 or 3 inches of very short manure. The eflfeCt 

 in both cases is much alike, although the mode of action is different, for 

 in the first case the roots are induced to go deep down, and are, there- 

 fore, not so liable to suffer from drought, whilst in the other evaporation 

 is to a great extent prevented, and, at the same time, the soil is enriched 

 by the rains washing into it tie fertihsing agents of the manure. _ A 

 dressing of leaf mould dug in now would make the soil sufficlontlj tioh 

 for planting in. 



