94 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Juiury 30, 1866. 



PsorAOiTiNii GciUNit'Mfi (A LUtU Orraniuin).~Youi Gor»DiaiiiH that 

 have Dot bt'cD cut-in will duw ffivc a rattiof; from tho jtoiut of cTt>ry 

 shoot, and you mny (t>rm i^Unt!* I>y tukin^ '^ff cnttiuK^ and pottinK tbeiu 

 in flmall ptitw. Pluiijri« Ihi-ii- in a hcthid of 75 ft«r throo weeks, and tho 

 outUotft will bo ni-U rooted. Yutir |>n)pa^ntinf;-pit will do ndiiiiraMy for 

 tbctu. and if you do not put in the cuttinKH until Febnmry, or eiu-ly in 

 March, they Will n-ot with more certjiiiity. The cuttiuK'* will t-aeli trive a 

 cattinif if v^u roriiinio theni in bent, and the otd plnnti* will uiTord u 

 H«condl<>t ill number about tho double of tbollrst; you may 



facllilat* )'y plaeing them in boat iifter taking ofTtbe Anii 



lot of ci:' pints' them there until the .sbuotci be HUlUciently 



loDR. Ji ;." 1 ii<K< ni iiie Ar^l lot In Februar}'* tbe uld plants and the tlrttt 

 cattinp-* will afford more euttingi^ early in April. They strike freely in 

 gentle heat. When tttruck they should be removed to the greenhouse. 



Oeiianiiuk in Boxes and Pans i/r/^m).— Do nut pot them from the 

 boxes and puns until the uiiddle of next month, and not until tho miiUlto 

 of March if you keep them in the greenhouHc after potting*. If potted in 

 February they nhould have a toni[>enitnro of from r-O to r>5 at night, to 

 Induce lliem to rout well and become quickly established in tho potij. 



PRoP-iOATiXG-riT tW*-m). — The only objection to be taken to your 

 arrangeuieuts is that the flue being so closed in, the beat will be too 

 much confined, and will warm that in contact with it, rather Iboji the 

 atmofiphere by a^ceDdlng through the drain tiles. Were you to have 

 ft chamber made over the tlue, and tho tile.>f conmiunieating with it, 

 then the heat would rise suflleiently through the drain tiles to maintain 

 the atmosphere at a >uitable temperature. The other arrangements are 

 good. Vou will require n plant at every 'J feet 6 inches, tho plants being 

 trained to tho roof, and from 9 inches to a foot from the glass. Over the 

 dung-bed hhould l>e 1 foot of good rich turfy loam for the Cucumbers to 

 grow in. Ferns would do well, the shade of tho Cucumbers being suffi- 

 cient for them. 



RiioDoDENitRONs FOR FoRcixr, f ).— Rhododendron catawbiense.vars. 



Everestiannni, Glennyannui, .Tackmanni, Lindsayauum, Standishii, and 

 deiicatissjmum : K. birsutum, R. odoratum, R. myrtilolium, R. caucasicum 

 album, R. Ru^^.'-cllianum, R.atrosanguineum Victoria, K-atrosangoincam, 

 R. Blandyanuni, and R. gcmmiferam. These ore good, as are all the 

 R. Nobloanum vars. 



RiciNfs toMsrrsis ron Planting out Strong fA'. D., Salham).~So\r 

 the seed early in February in the smallest pots, one or two seeds in each, 

 osing a comi>ost of light turfy loam two-thirda and one-third leaf mould, 

 just covering the ^^eeds with line soil; plunge in a bottom heat of 75-. and 

 keep the .^oil moist. I-.ot the pots continue plunged until May, potting 

 the plants as frequently as they fill the pots with roots, and gradually 

 hardening oil' so as to turn them out early in June. 



CcsTAKP Apple {Iilfm).--U is not a native of Madeira bat of Brazil. It 

 is grown extensively in Madeira, also in the East and West Indies. We 

 are not aware of its haWng been successfully grown for its fruit in this 

 country ; if it ha.e. we should be obliged for particulai-s of its cultivation. 

 Soil Fon CrcuMUEns ili, C.I.— The host compost for Cucumbers is that 

 lomied of tunios taken from yellow loam of good medium texture, cut 

 S inches thick, and placed fof twelve months in alternate layers with 

 fresh horse-droppings. Turn the whole over twice, and mix with it :it the 

 last taming a bushel of soot to every cartload. This, chopped with a 

 spade and made fine, will grow Cucumbers better than anv-thing we 

 know of. 



Grapf.s for Markf.t (A. 5.).— None are so marketable as the black 

 varieties, :iml you bad better have none other than Black Hamburgh and 

 Lady Downe's Seedling. 



FiiNGCS iA Header, Beckenham).— It is quite impossible to detect tho 

 Fongns from such a smashed fragment. It seems UJic young Mushrooms 

 suddenly checked in their growth — certainly not Truffles. 



Landscape Gardening (TF. IFiUirtm*).— Loudon's edition of Repton's 

 work on Landscape Gardening. 



Mealy Bug on Opjsge Trees.— In the Journal, issued January 16th, 

 *' H. T." is recommended a process for cleaning his Orange trees from 

 mealy bug. Mr. Carson, of Melbourne, showed that Orange trees in Aus- 

 tralia (where blight appears to be much more vigorous than in England), 

 were restored to health by means of Gishurst compound. Perhaps " H. T." 

 will operate on oue of his trees as follows :— Rub a wetted painter's bnish 

 over the Gi^hursl in its box. then pay the thick lather well over aU tho 

 infected parts of the Orange tree. The result will. I believe, be as suc- 

 cessful as that from the treatment recommended in the Journal, while 

 tho Gislinrst treatment has the advantage of being simpler and more 

 quickly performed.— G. W. 



Boo Peat iT, J5.).— If you require such as is nsed for fnel wc do not 

 know where you can purchase it in London. If you mean the bog earth, 

 or heath mould used for potting, any nurseryman would supply you. 



Waltosian Case (.-I Medical iVan).— We do not know where these cases 

 can now be procured. If you can apply gas to it, a Bijou Plant Case, 

 made by Mr. Stocks, Cabinet Maker, Archer Street, Bavswatcr, would do 

 for striking cuttings. 



FccHsiAS FOR Wall (IF. S.).— Souvenir de Chiswick is a good dark, and 

 Rose of Caslille a good light corollaVl free-growing Fuchsia. The only 

 aspect suitable for them out of doors is a south one. and there thev will 

 require to be covered up in winter to protect them from frost, and the 

 surface of the ground mnst also be covered with C inches of litter to pro- 

 tect the roots and crowns from frost. 



Moss ON Gravel Walk (£guw).— When the surface is frozen hard 

 brush tfie green places heavily with a half-worn broom, and it will clear 

 away the mo^^. The best remedy is to turn tho gravel, and March is the 

 best time of the year to do it. Salt strewn on the green places will kill 

 the moss, making the sm-face quite white as if a snow shower had fallen 

 It also renders the walks damp. 



Planting Box Edging (W'-m).— It is necessary to take off the slips with 

 a portion of n>ot to them. Your Box being old, it will be necc-^sary to 

 plant it deeply. All the bare stem portion should be inserted in the soil : 

 to make sure of growth the slips must have roots. Two inches of the 

 gruutb uf hist year will not do well. 



Apple and Pear Pips Sowing (i>ifj(^a/r).— Voiu plan is good, and we 

 are unable to improve upon it. They will do belter without tho frame 

 than with it. 



Seeds for a IJ-achg Garden (Ign.yramu*).—lt is very difficult to state 

 what might bo the cost of seeds for such a garden for one ye^r, unless we 

 knew the habits and wants of the family. Wo once knew a case where a 

 gardener paid us mueh for ^imill Salad seeds alone as his neitfhbour did 

 for all the seeds be wanted, and both places were of about tho same size, 

 and economy and fair dealing weru exercised in both. We may say, how- 

 ever, that alluwing a fair price fur all the seeds wanted, with a quantity of 

 such artieles as Garlic. Shallots, and sweet herbs, altogether about £5 

 might be allowed. This opinion is of course given in tho absence of all 

 information as to the special wants of the family, and every family has 

 wants especially its own. We cannot, however, hold oat much prospect 

 of many oeeds being saved in a garden ; the appearance uf the plants, 

 when in a seed-ripening condition, is rubbishy. and>>eeds are better saved 

 on a large scale than in patches in a garden that may be visited any day. 

 perhaps, by tho fumily. Most gariloners, however, pride themselves in 

 saving anytbiug that is esiiecially good in the way of Celery, red Beet, ur 

 late Broccoli: and now and then n good Lettuce, perhaps, imd a batch of 

 Dwarf Kidney Beans or Scarlet Hnnncrs that have not i)een all wanted, 

 are allowed to ripen their seeds ; but, with these exceptions, and any 

 other vegetable that is especially go-td, gardeners may find more pro- 

 fitable cmptuynient than attending to small parcels of seeds. When wo 

 say that most market gardeneri. wh-we living depends as much on their 

 HONings as on their gain, buy their seeds instead of growing them, wo 

 hope employers of gardeners will »ee the inutility of enforcing this rule 

 too far. 



Gas Tar for Destroying P^d Spider (D. H.).— Gas tar applied to hot- 

 water pipes wlien hot will emit fumes that w ill kill red spider and tho 

 leaves of plants as well, unless the latter are mature, when they will not 

 Ite injured ; and this, wo think, must have been the case in the instance 

 alluded to by *• Semo "—viz.. the leaves of the plants infested with red 

 spider were so fully matured that nothing short ol an abs^flutely destruc- 

 tive ogent would injure tbcm. If you applv gas tar to hot-water pipes 

 when they arc cold you will find that when they are heated fumes will bo 

 given off that will injure the inmates of the structure, and if it be applied 

 when the pipes are hot. and they are maintained hut until dry, the fumes 

 emitted will kill every immature leaf of nine-tenths of the plants in culti- 

 vation; but, after it has become dry, if the pipes are not heated more 

 than they were when it was put on, no fumes will result. When the gas 

 tar is applied to a Hue as hot as it can bo made, the fumes will bo given 

 off rapidly, and the tar on becoming dry will not emit fumes until tho 

 fine is made hotter than it was when coated with the tar. Tlie fumes 

 will kill the immature leaves and growths of nil plants if sufficiently 

 powerful, but if the leaves are mature — as for instance those of Vines, the 

 fruit of which is commencing to culour, the foliage will not be injured to 

 any great extent, unless the fumes are very strong. \\*hen the woodwork 

 of a house is painted with gas tar. the fumes are not powerful after tho 

 tar has become dry. but every time the sun heats the boards more than 

 thev were heated when the tar was applied fames will be given off, and this 

 we liave found to be the case for two summers alter the application, and In 

 the third there was often a bad smell when the boards were heated by tho 

 sun's rays. The fumes of gas tar are injurious to vegetable life, and are 

 too uncertain and dangerous an agent to be used as a destroyer of tho 

 insect p«sts of a garden. 



Altering Pits [A AVir Subscriber). — The height of the walls of the pit 

 you propose altering must be in proportion to the plants you wish to 

 forward in it. For a pit 10 feet in width, and 32 feet long, and for which 

 you wish to have bottom heat and top heat from flues, the back wall may 

 be 8 to 8i or 9 feet, and the front wall from 4 to 5 feel high. The simplest 

 plan would be to sink the furnace at one end, take the flue beneath the 

 proposed pathway, or in front of it, and take it out at the other end, or 

 return it to the same place. This simplicity must be departed from if you 

 resolve to make the pit into two distinct little bouses, to be heated 

 separately or t<igether. By having the furnace at one end, you could beat 

 the part next the furnace without heating the further part, but you can- 

 not heat the further part without also heating the nearer part. To heat 

 either at pleasure, and from one fire place, the furnace had better be 

 placed at the middle of the back wall, and so low that the furnace bars 

 shall be 18 inches at least below the level of the pathway at the back, and 

 quite as much below the base of tho flue. The furnace should be ratbor 

 roomy, and from it, on the slant, take two flues, one for each hoose, 

 taking both below the pathway, say for 3 feet in width, and then raising 

 the flue wholly above the level of the floor. These flues should be neatly 

 fitted with strong dampers near the furnace, so that the heat may pass 

 into one or both as desirable. Suppose that you allow from 2j to 3 feet 

 for a passage, the rest of the space may be shut off by a wall from 2 to 

 3 feet in height, forming a pit in front. ' If you wish the flues concealed, 

 along this pit they must go, and, if much heat is wanted, return and pass 

 beneath the pathway into the chimney. From the necessity of thus 

 descending to reach the chimney you ^vill have to raise that liigber, 

 say from 12 to 15 feet. The fines should be at least 1 foot in depth, and 

 9 inches wide, inside measure. If you make a chamber, the bottom of 

 which will be 6 inches above the top'of the flue, all \vill be easy, as yoa 

 have only to leave oi>enings into that chamber so as to obtain what top 

 heat you want out uf it at will. It would be well to have such flues for 

 9 feet nearest the furnace, brick on bed instead of brick on edge. Spaces 

 for cleaning should be left at the ends. It has several times been stated 

 how the spaces between such flues, and from them to the walls, might be 

 filled loosely with clinkers, stones, bats, Ac, and for 4 or 5 inches above 

 them, and then finished with fine gravel, with drain pipes set upright 

 back and front so as to let heat up at pleasure, and al-o iiour water down 

 among the rubble when necessary, without going on the flue, which mast 

 be avoided. Anything may thusbe done with the old-fashioned flues, so 

 long OS they are sound. For Cucumbers and Melons u^o from 18 inches 

 of soil, with a little rubble below it, which you can water without drench- 

 ing the soil, for excess uf dryness at the bottom must be avoided. Tho 

 encumbers should be l."» inches from the glass. In changing the height 

 of the walls the ventilators should be mode in the walls, and then there 

 will be no necessitv for moving the glass. WTiere a high temperature is 

 wanted large ventilators are not needed. A foot of air under each light, 

 lyick and front, would be ample. A few inches would often be enough, as 

 when the sun was high you would need little fire heat. 



Peach Tree Buds Dropping {G. .S.).— This is generally owing to extra 

 ripeness of wood, dryness of the roots, and drjTiess of the air ; but. if the 

 dropping is onlv in moderation, it just does for the trees what had often 

 better be done by the gardener. There is no doubt that washing the 

 trees even with soap and water, let alone Glsbural compound, also tin- 



