February 6, 1866. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



109 



roots, as also by good top-dressiugs. Thin pruning is also of 

 great use to Apples which are rather free setters ; the same is 

 also of great seiTice to the Nonpareil class, to enable them to 

 perfect both fruit and ■wood. 



FLOWER GARDEN'. 



The plan for the coming season of gaiety should now be 

 fully settled. All alterations should now be carried out with- 

 out delay. In sowing the Californian annuals take care to con- 

 sider when you most want them, they may be commenced with 

 when wanted early. Finish top-dressing Auriculas, do not 

 delay it while the weather is fine. Remove early blooms, and, 

 if any plauts look sickly, examine the roots : if from canker, 

 apply the knife ; and if from inefficient drainage, put more into 

 the pots, if possible without breaking the ball of soil. Tulips 

 are very rapidly coming forward, protect them carefully from 

 frosts and cutting winds. Continue to watch for leaves that 

 are cankered, and remove them as soon as perceived. Ranun- 

 culuses may be planted. After the beds have been evenly 

 raked drills shoald be opened 2 inches deep and 3 inches from 

 each other ; into these the roots should be pressed down, cover- 

 ing them with fine and rich compost, slightly fastening the 

 soil over them by giving it a gentle pressure. Dahlias may be 

 put in bottom heat, and, as soon as the shoots are 2 inches 

 long, strike them in brisk heat. Top-dress the beds of Pansies 

 with decayed leaves, and manure from the Melon-pits reduced 

 to a black unctuous compost. Peg down or remove all straggling 

 shoots, and place bran under tiles as a decoy for snails, which 

 will now, on mild nights, begin to be troublesome. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Still pursue steadily the directions with regard to tempera- 

 ture, &c., laid down in previous calendars. Slight advances in 

 heat may be made on bright days, but if cloudy skies intervene 

 revert immecUately to decreased temperature, and let humidity 

 proceed in the same ratio. Climbers may be looked over in 

 the conservatory ; and if an early display of their beauties is 

 required, some of the irregular wood may be pruned away 

 forthwith. Passion-Flow-ers and others may receive this treat- 

 ment ; but permanent plants, as Acacias, &c., will, of course, 

 of themselves point out an exception. Those who are growers 

 of the families of Epacris, Correa, Leschenaultia, Polygala, &c., 

 will soon enjoy a rich treat. Frequent introductions and frequent 

 removals are the order of the day here. Camellias require at 

 this time abundance of water. Attend well to Ericas, Eiiacrises, 

 &c., that are potbound, some of these will require liberal water- 

 ing. The winter has been so favourable for plauts in the green- 

 house in requiring so little fuel, that those who have been 

 duly impressed with the importance of avoiding strong fires in 

 plant-houses will find their account in the superior health of 

 their stock. Increase warmth on sunny afternoons for a couple 

 of hours, but let the thermometer sink again at night to 40° or 

 45°. See that all insects are extii'pated before the growing 

 season commences, and clear or sponge away all fungus or dirt 

 of any kind from the leaves of plants — thorough cleanliness holds 

 equally good with plants as with animals. Keep all stock neatly 

 tied up ; dress climbers. Tropa^olums growing should be con- 

 stantly attended to. Shift some forward Pelargoniums into 

 theii' final pots, and stake them out, if intended for specimens 

 of high cultivation. Remove weak or crowded shoots, and 

 secure a thorough circulation of air, without draught, to this 

 house at all favourable opportunities. 



STOVE. 



Let all increase of heat take place on bright days, chiefly 

 early in the afternoon, aiul then accompanied with a somewhat 

 moist atmosphere. Have a batch of Gloxinias repotted and 

 placed in bottom heat, using heath soO, loam, charcoal, and 

 sand for compost in a fibrous state. Stove climbers on trellises, 

 and growing in pots or tubs, that require to be shifted soon 

 should be cut-in to fine fresh buds, preparatory to disrooting or 

 shifting. Attend to the shifting of the Amaryllis tribe when 

 requisite ; as soon as they show signs of growth let them be in- 

 troduced into this structure, and give a trifling amount of water, 

 increasing it gradually as the leaves unfold. Pot Gloriosa 

 superba in Ught, free, rich soil, putting two strong tubers in 

 each pot, and plunge in a brisk heat until the shoots appear. 

 Start such plants as Stephanotis, Dipladenias, Clerodendrons, 

 both young and old plants, and recollect that a nice bottom 

 heat is what they delight in. 



FOECING-PIT. 



Continue to introduce Roses, bulbs, Lilacs, Sweet Briars, 

 &c., for succession, and maintain a temperature of from 65° to 



75". with plenty of moisture in clear weather. Fumigate when- 

 ever green fly appears, and syringe the plauts whenever the 

 weather is favourable. Some Gardenias must be started in 

 the warmest comer of the pit. This pit will be rather too 

 warm for the Geraniums, but a good stock of the forcing kinds 

 should be started in some of the forcing-houses. 



PITS AND Fr.AMES. 



A calculation should be made as to how far the inmates of 

 these structures will be able to supply the masses in the ])lea- 

 sure ground. No doubt damp has reduced the numbers of 

 some kinds. Strong plauts of Verbenas, Fuchsias, Petunias, 

 Heliotropes, Salvias, Calceolarias, itc, or pots of store plants 

 of these which had become established in the autumn, should 

 be removed forthwith to some of the houses or pits at work to 

 enjoy, if possible, a moderate bottom heat. These will quickly 

 furnish abundance of cuttings, which should be slipped off and 

 propagated. Water sparingly here at present. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



V(iriatioif.< of Ti'iiiperaUtre — Icc-Jiouai's. — We expect to hear 

 many and dilTereut accounts of the results of the severe though 

 short snowstorm ; but these can hardly be more diversified 

 than the accounts we have received as to filling ice-houses, or 

 the impossibility of doing so. Some of our friends and corre- 

 spondents obtained some ice on the 11th ult., and plentifully 

 on Friday the 12th ; but the snow commenced falling with us 

 when there was scarcely a crust of frost, and the softness and 

 warmth of the ground no doubt cajised it to melt all the sooner 

 when the thaw came between midnight of the 12th and the 

 morning of the 13th. On Friday we could not have done 

 anything with ice. There was only a thin film on our ponds 

 that would not stand the touch of the ice-hook ; and that was 

 protected by a covering of snow, which prevented the keen 

 frosty air of the afternoon and evening having much efifect 

 upon it. From throwing water over the snow so as to melt it 

 there was plenty of good ice on the morning of the 13th, but 

 then the sleet and rain soon made the work wholly unsuitable 

 for men and horses. What surprises us is, that so many col- 

 lected so much ice ou the 12th, when we had none worth going 

 after. The snow and the thick atmosphere in our case must 

 have prevented freezing, and we conclude that there must have 

 been a clear atmosphere before the snow came, or between 

 its ceasing and coming on again, so as to permit of freezing. 

 The only regi-et in our case is, that, tor making sure, we did 

 not roll and cart a lot of snow on the Friday morning before 

 the frost became severe in the afternoon, as then we might 

 have made ourselves tolerably sure of a supply for another 

 year, and snow does not wet and hurt men like heavy sleet. 

 If another chance occur we must not wait for the ice to be 

 so thick as we could wish it to be, as we are hardly safe for 

 another season ; and what is down in the well with us always 

 decays faster than that high up near the dome or the door- 

 way in these old-fashioned well-houses — a fact which first 

 impressed us with the feasibility, and even desirability, of 

 having ice-heaps, and even ice-houses, entirely above the gi'ouud 

 level. The latter, built with double walls, and a space of con- 

 fined air of from 6 to 9 inches in width between them, and 

 with a wide overhanging roof, also double — the outer one of 

 thick thatch or heath — ought to keep ice as well, if not better 

 than any well sunk in the earth. 



The ice-house chiefly used here is one of the old-fashioned 

 wells, with a long passage and several doors. It had been 

 built with double walls, but the inner one had been taken out 

 before our time, for what reason we know not. The ice keeps 

 well — has several times lasted within a few weeks of two years, 

 but we like to fill the house it we can every season. Though 

 we should leave the present passage for taking out the ice, we 

 would take the first opportunity of so changing the road as to 

 have the ice put in by a hole in the crown of the arch, and 

 thus much labour would be saved, as it requires three men, 

 generally, standing in the passage, to shovel the ice past them, 

 between their legs, until it reach the well. Nor is this the 

 worst of it, for the notes and the recollections of a good many 

 years have convinced us, that of all the men employed on ice- 

 days, taking it off the water, filling carts, breaking at the ice- 

 well door, i)ounding and packing it inside, and shovelling it 

 along the passage — those performing the latter work have been 

 more liable than the others to suffer from colds and attacks _of 

 rheumatism afterwards, however well their boots were protected, 

 and their legs secured, by non-conducting materials. 



