.'4 



JOUKXAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 1G» 18C6. 



ToP-nBK8KiKo A IjivrH WITH Sasd (F. J.).— You inny apply the drcsniufr 

 oi wui*l to Uic luwn in Ffbrunry *tr up to the initliUt* of March, n quurt^T 

 of uu iucb iu tliickiii-fM nil ovi-r the Hui-fuce niU nut be too much : but iu 

 what wny it ciui Utul tn miike the kthhs liner wc ore nt ft loss to know. 

 A'ihcH would tlo juhi. n.s will if pushed thronjjli ii sitvi? withntiuitrtcrof-au- 

 inch ujcsh, ixiui will not be so likely to fftvour tho f;r<»wih of niuHi*. A 

 dr«rt!iiu(i of rich ei>ni|K>^t would be better thun cither, r'tiiid would hnve 

 a teudi-uev t<i di-tn-y uhphh for u tiuio, iind worms do not like it, but 



bandy }-f>i]- 

 where llu 



:lvu a bnd turf, and the gra&a uf lawuu ih liucht 



lb. 



1 1 

 theiu 



the 



i I LIPS AX1> RANCNtTi.rsEH iLlfm).~lt nifty be 

 Li iidvautngo dnhu^ the Bi'owinu !•eIl^on when water 

 al Ibi^ periiid of tlic year. None will bo needed for 

 "liulloub " !?h.iw. iiud then ft j-ood wfttcriiiK twice 

 s ilry, or once if the soil is uioiht, will do good, cuu- 

 > iktion lUI the plants arc iu bloom. 



-«ATioNs (/(/* m).— You uiiiy plant, or rather transplant 

 iluriug diy mild wciilbcruexl mouth, or any time in mild 

 weather up to April. 



Plantixo L-vinuLi/Wf-nil.— Frcni tho beginning of March to the middle 

 of Ajiril during shower>* weather i^ a good time to plant Laurels. 



Covers fob Tins Joi'uxai. {Jilfin).—\\e bnvo covers to hold ft year's 

 Numbers of The JoI'unal or UoitxiccLTURE, the price of each of which 

 is Us. M. 



WooDUCE nr DrNO (rn»ninnfn).— We were similarly situated with nil 

 onr dung for hotbeds until we let tbo fowls have the run of it, and wo 

 find them ever buhV, ci^in.(ii.lly after it is turned and thrown up to heat. 

 Ve think your dung lir.> lum'put on dr\% for bad it been tbrowii up to 

 beat and well watered, the w.ioalico would not have troubled you so much. 

 Vp'o would remove the dung, throw it into a benp, and wfltoril well, imless 

 it be already wet, and then pnur boiling water into the pots to kill the 

 woodlice. You mny then place the po;s over the Seu-kule again, covering 

 with hot dung, tbniwn into a hcr.p mid turned over once or twice, water- 

 ing each time, if ueceHKary, so as to bring it iuto a high stale of fermen- 

 tation, which is whut we recommend to be done to the manure heap be- 

 fore the dnng i> used for holbi<(ls. 



Sowing Micsosette in a Greenhocse (7f/i?m).— Yon may sow Migno- 

 nette in your greenhouse along witliothcrannuals, and with every chauce 

 of success, only keep the plants near tho glas«, give them rtbnndance of 

 air, and do not let them grow too long in the seed pots before pricking 

 off, and in doing so do uot put too many pbmts in a pot. Liberiil treat- 

 ment will make them tine. The beginning of March will bo sulticiently 

 early to sow them, tliough you mny do so now. only the seedlings will re- 

 quire greiiter care, nud not so much water, Ouly hardy annuals should 

 be sown at this early sea>~on in a temperature of from 40- to 50*. 



Grass Seeds roii Lawn (ro'cmt.—AVe presume you wish for ft good 

 lawn, tbtn you should have Clovers, unless your lawn have sufficient of 

 tbem ah-eady. Festucaduri«scul:i,:j lbs.; Fcstucatc-nuifolia,'21bs. ; Fos- 

 tucn o\inft. 2 lb«. ; Poa nemoralis, 1* lb.; Poa sempcrvirens, 2 lbs.; Cy- 

 noeurus cri^tutus, Clbs.; to which we would add of IVifoHum repcns, 

 3 lbs.; Trifolium minus. '2 lb?.; and of Lotus coruiculatus, 1 lb. This is 

 not too much to sow over n la^Ti very thin of gi-ass ; but if it only needs 

 thickening, 12 lbs. of the mixture arc sufliciont for an acre. The lawn 

 fhould have a dressing of good, rich soil or compost, about the middle 

 of March, and tho seeds should be sown during the first dn," weather in 

 April, just btfore or with an early prospect of r:iin. ^ow the seeds over 

 the lawn, then rake it over with an iron rake, and roll iinmediatoly after- 

 wards if the ground is dry, for if wet the soil and seeds will adhere to t)je 

 roller. Fmm a quarter to half nn inch is not too thick to cover the la^Ti 

 with compost. 



PontTiNu Garden Wali- (Jrff»t).— Plaster or bairmoilar is the best for 

 this purpose ; it is made of lime, sharp sand, and cow's bnir. and is not 

 expensive. The old mortar should be picked out, especially that which 

 is loose. The pointing may bo done now during mild wefitber, but it is 

 better to defer it till tliere is less likelihood of frost occiu'iug before the 

 plaster becomes dry. A small qnantitv of hair will suffice. 



Protecting Titi-ip-eeds (/(/.m).— AUttlc dry litter will be all that is 

 nccess3i7 to protect them, putting it <>n before frost, and remo\ing it 

 daring mild weuthcr. Three inches of dry, light litter will be suflicieut. 

 Book {Lfictuca). — Wo have no knowledge of Professor Oliver's book. 



Greenqol'se Kront-border Uses {T. I. D.).—lf we nnderstand your 

 letter aright, you have a border iu front, next the path, C feet in widtli; 

 but il your house be 10 feet \vide, then you will ouly have a border iu 



front 1 foot wide. Tho birder In front would form a vorj* good place for 

 the growth of Potatoes, if you wore to lill it with leaver, and place 6 inches 

 of g4X)d rich t^oil above them. Plant the Potatoes now in rows 15 inches 

 upiirl, II inches fr.jm net to set, II inches below tho surface. Your proposed 

 ni«hl teniperutiire is high (or Potatoes ; one of from r.O' to {..'> would be 

 belter foritbo lirst month after the haulm n appear, after that it may be 

 00 , with ftir. at night. 'J'he Potatoes will bo fit for mc by the beginning of 

 April, and a fortniglit before that you may sow Kidney lleans between the 

 Potato rows, sowing them ii inches apart iu drills 1 inch deep. .<ftcr the 

 Potatoes are taken u]i the soil is to be drawn to the »-tcmb of the Beans, 

 and, under fair management, they will produce by the beginuing of May. 

 Tho Ash-loaf Kidney IMtalo, aud'Fulmer's Kurly'aud Neuington Wonder 

 Kidney IJeftns would answer. If you prefer it, you may UU the border 

 with IcHves, cover with a few iuehes of -^oil, and en tbii^ place pots of 

 Strawberries in the first week iu Februnni', allowing a di.-itance equal to 

 the diameter of the pots between them every way. The temperature, 

 however, must not be 0(t , but 40 , for the first fortnight, and it should in- 

 crease {^ evury fortnight, until the idants are in fl()Wer, when it must re- 

 main statii.nary until the bloom is set, then G of increat^c mny be given 

 nud maintained until the fruit is ripe. After the above crops, whether 

 Strawberries, or Potatoes and Kidney Beans, the border should be cleared 

 out and Idled with hot dung, well sweetened, about » inches uf soil placed 

 all over it, and in the centre ot the border, at every 8 feet, put half a 

 barrowfid iu the form of a cone. Wben the soil has become warmed 

 throuch, level the top, nud plant two Melon or Cueimibcr plants, one to 

 be trained to the front over tlic soil,aud the tiLhereitbcr toWards the back 

 over the soil, or on the roof, at about 1 foot from the glaj[>i. When the 

 roots eome through the sides of the hills, put soil around them so as to 

 cover the whole of the six-feet border to a depth of from 10 inches to a 

 foot. A good rich strong loam made lii-m is best fur Melons, undone not 

 so strong for Cncumbei*s. In this v.-ay you may have a good crop of 

 Melons in .\ugust nud September, or either Melons or Cucumbers earlier 

 by tilling tho border with dung aud planting at an earlier season. 



Bridgesia spicata— Polygon em Sieboeki |,Vm« H.)— The Bridgesia 

 is sufficiently hardy to withstand om- ordinary winters near London. It 

 is growing in the Cbiswick Gardens of tbo Koyal Horticultural Society, 

 trained on the outside of the conservatory erected some years ago by 

 Messrs. Hartley. It was not killed in the severe winter of 1S60, when the 

 thermometer iudieiited 1 below zero. It is an evergi'een climber, with 

 pretty leaves and flowers, and is vei-y ornamental for covering walls. It 

 is less kuowu than it deserves to he. Polygonum Siebuldi ia also hardy. 

 Your plant is Liuum trigynum. 



Leaf Mould— Evaporating-trocghs for Conservatory— AnsfiTTiNr. 

 Air {Tyro). — Leaf moubl is formed of leaves laid i:i a heap until decayed 

 so as to resemble mould. It is readily recognised by its br^wn colour, 

 and by the portions of decayed leaves which it contains. It is obtainable 

 of most nurserymen, who, though they do not goncmlly sell it, will, never- 

 theless port with a little to oblige their customers. You may form it 

 yourself by throwing into a heap a quantity of Oak and Beech leaves 

 which are best, or. failing these, other tree leaves will do, covering with 

 a little- soil to prevent them blowing about, and in twelve months they 

 will, upon sifting, he a quantity of soil or decayed matter available, when 

 minced with loam, for polling Cineraria^'. Calceolarias. &c. We do not 

 consider you need evaporating-troughs for your conrier\-atory flue-pipe, 

 as the difficulty is to keep the atmosphere diy enough in winter, and in 

 summer sufficient raoistiu-e may be secured by sj-ringing the plant?, and 

 moistening tho i)atbs, floor?, walls, &c. You may, however, have evapo- 

 rating-troughs made to lit the flue. They may be of zinc or galvanised 

 iron, 8 intlies high nt the sides, and closed at the ends. Two Ibree-feet 

 lengths will be suflicieut, and any whitesmitli would make them for yon. 

 By giving nir early is meant that it is to be admitted as early in the day 

 as it can be without deci-easiug the internal temperature. Snniise is 

 early enough, and earlier by Ave hours than we give air in summer; we 

 then usutiHy do so from a quarter to eight to half-past eight iu the morn- 

 ing. As wc" keep r.ir on ail night, we are not so particular iu giving it to 



I cool houses, as that is merely increasing their temperature. 



I Names of Plants (ir. T. i'.l.— 1. Pteris hastata ; 2, Pteris cretica ; 



I 3, Ouyehium Incidum ; Pteris lougifoUa ; r., BIcchnum brasilienso ; 6, in- 

 sufficient; 7, Platylomarotundifoiium. {J. O. U.). — Veronica Ilcndryana. 

 (A Subscriber). — 1, Justicia. probably, but the specimen is insufficient for 

 determination ; 2. Thyrsaointhus rutilans. Tiic inflorescence is racemose. 

 (J. M. M.). — Leptoeipermum scop.iriun3. SeveniJ viuieties have long been 

 in cultivation, although seldom met with. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Subiu-bs of London for the Week ending January 13tli. 



POULTRY, BEE. and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



FIRST IMrUESSIOXS OF BINGLEY H.\.LL. 



{Coiicbidcd from page 35.) 

 Ox Tuesday morning I was clown early at the Show, and 

 could v.alk about with perfect comfort — indied, I could stroll 



along unimpeded. And now I began thoroughly to enjoy 

 myself. Jly spirits rose as I recognised old friends of yester- 

 day, and I thoroughly understood the admiration which I had 

 for years heard lavished npon tho Birmingham Show. Now, 

 gentle readers, you who were present and you who were absent, 

 just let mo take you round Bingley Hall. To the one it will 

 revive a pleasant day ; to the other, give some insight into the 

 best of all Shows. I will take the varieties according to tlie 



