February 6, 1866- ] 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



113 



La jARDrfiER FnriTiER (W. Terry).— This is published by Didot of 

 Paris, and the price is 5i. monthly. 



Scale on Peach and Nectarine Trees (A Constant Reader). — UnnaU 

 the trees, and wash the trunk;^ and even.- branch and shoot to its ex- 

 tremity with 8 ozfi. of soft 8oap dissolved in a gallon of water, apply this 

 wash with a half-worn painter's brush, brushing it well int^everj' cre\ice, 

 and being careful not to dislodge the buds on the last year's wood, as you 

 will do if the brush be used too forf ibly. This washing of the trees 

 ehould be done now; but, if the buds have begun to swell, the wash 

 should only be used at half the strength for the portion of the branches 

 where the buds are, but for the old wood use the full strength. The 

 brushing should be sufficiently hard to dislodge the insects. XSTien the 

 trees become dr>' paint every part of them with sulphur vivum 2 lbs., an 

 equal bulk of soot, and fresh lime 1 lb., mixed ^ith soft soap solution 

 made by dissolving 8 ozs. of soft soap in a gallon of water if the buds have 

 not swelled ; but if they have swelled considerably, then 4 ozs. must be the 

 quantity used. Add sufficient clay to bring the mixture to the consis- 

 tency of thick paint. Leave no part of the branches untouched, and 

 most of the insects remaining after the washing will thus be killed or 

 stifled. The first wash should be heated to 160^ for the main, and 140^ 

 for the last year's branches. 



Collecting Water frosi Greenhouse (An Old SubKcriber). — The 

 most economical plan is to have a large hogshead fixed so that the water 

 from the roof can run into it. One such cask well painted will last for a 

 number of years, and if you have two of them holding, say, seventy gallons 

 each, and connected by a lead pipe, you will generally have sufficient 

 rain water for watering the gi*ecnhouse. If you object to the hogsheads 

 as unsightly, then you may sink them in the ground, and have lids to 

 them, one being covered with soil, and the water will not freeze in them 

 in winter. If preferred you might have a tank of stone or slate, with the 

 joints cemented, sunk in the ground and covered with slate, except an 

 "^'penCug to admit a watering-pot, and that opening provided with a 

 wooden lid. We have one of these 8 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, 

 and it holds sufficient water for a greenhouse in most seasons, but in the 

 course of the last and previous year it was twice empty. 



SowTNG ArcuBA BERRIES (Idem). — ^^'hen the berries are ripe, which 

 will be known by their parting readily or falling fmm the plant, sow them 

 in well-drained pans three-parts filled with turfy yellow loam two-thirds, 

 and one-third leaf soil, and cover with a thickness of fine soil equal to 

 the diameter of the berries. X gentle watering should then be given, and 

 the pan placed in a cold fmuiL". The soil being kept moist the seeds will 

 vegetate, if good, in due season. 



Pinks (C. D. .ff.).— They are evergreen herbaceous plants. Tbe stems 

 die annually, which is a characteristic of the herbaceous, but the leaves 

 are evergreen. 



Croquet Grocttd. — An QUI Sub^criher would be obliged by being in- 

 formed what are the proper dimensions of a croquet ground. 



Cucumber (A. P. WA.—The Long Prickly for market, and either Im- 

 proved Manchester Prize or Hamilton's Surprise for exliibition. We ilo 

 not know where the Potato, a cross between the Ash-leaved audLapstone^ 

 can be purchased. 



Leaves OF Forced Kidney Beans Spotted (-4. JJ.).— You have thrips 

 on your Beans. On examining the under side of the leaves carefully you 

 will notice a ver>' small narrow-bodied insect that is very quick and 

 jumping in its movements. The best remedy is smoking several times, 

 and u goi.d lashing with clear soot water at about 90. but thrips are 

 difficult to destroy, as though every one may be dead to-day, you will 

 have a fresh brood ere long. As the Beans are about fit to' gather we 

 would adrise removing the worst leaves, syringing the plants well with 

 warm water, and taking all the pods you could ; then clear all out, burn 

 the plants, and smoke the place with sulphur, if there is nothing else alive 

 in the house. We would th^n wash stage, walls, and floor, with water as 

 near the boiling point as may be, and, when cleaned, introduce a fresh 

 lot of plants. 



Application to the Broken Parts of Trees (£. P.).— We confess 

 we have not much faith in the practice of using paints or plasters as a 

 preventive to further decay. A limb that is cut off horizontally may have 

 a piece of thin sheet lead bent over the pbice after the woimd has been 

 made smooth to exclude wet ; but the efiort to resist decay must he made 

 by the tree. It is best to cut ofi" aU sjilinters, leaving as small a wound 

 as possible, and cover that wound with some plastic compound of cow- 

 dung, soot, and clay. Resinous trees will bleed when cut or broken in 

 spite of all apphcation, and so will souie kinds of deciduous trees when 

 cut at a season when the sap is rising and the leaves undeveloped. 



Insects (M. D.). — The httle green flies found in the window belong to 

 the genus Pteromalus, and are quite liamiless in the perfect state. In 

 the luna state they are parasitic in the bodies of other lar\ie, most pro- 

 bably in those of some wood-boring insect. Has " M. D." any worm-eaten 

 furniture in his house ? We fear some other domestic insect has stung, 

 or perhaps bitten, his inmates. — W. 



Assurance CoiiPANV (G. Jackt^on). — We know nothing of the office. 

 Such a quet-tion is not on a subject within our province ; but we will add 

 that he who trusts to any of the many recent insurance companies has 

 not the organ of discretion largely developed. 



NA3IES OF Fruits {J. E. P.).— Apples : 1, Blenheim Pippin ; 2, Holland- 

 bury. 



Najhes of Plants (C, GUisgou-).~l, Garrya elliptica: 2. Pinus lasio- 

 carpa ; 3, Cupressus thujieoides ; 4, Juniperus sinensis. ( T. D.). — 2, Erios* 

 teuiun myoporoides ; 3, Cjlisusracemosus ; 4, Acacia anuata ; fi, Veronica 

 Andersoni ; 7, Arbutus unedo. {W. P.). — 1, CjTtanthera lutea ; 2, Co- 

 lumnea ; 3, probably Lnmaria alpina ; 4, Iris pseud-acorus var. variegata. 

 IJ. B.). — Picea Nordmanniana. (E. C. E.) — We believe that they are both 

 Usneas. No. 1 U. barbata, but we are not certain about the other. 



JIETEOROLOGICAL observations in the Suburbs of London for the Week ending Febniai-v 3rd. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE- 



R.V1LWAY CILVRGES— A GOOD EXAMPLE. 



As exhibitors of poultry are striving to obtain from raihvay 

 companies the advautagc of having their birds sent back free 

 of charge, wliich, sm-ely. every reasonable man would consider 

 ought to be the case, I would hold up tlie South-'Western Eail- 

 way Company as a good example. I have exhibited at various 

 places, and have always been allowed back carriage for my 

 birds by the South-Western liaihvay Company, and last week 

 the same privilege was again granted to me by this Company, 

 ■when my birds returned from Walsall. May other companies 

 be induced to see this as a just principle, and follow " a good 

 example." — J. De L. S. 



stated, that though they could not accede to my request in Mu, 

 they would allow all imsold birds to return free. Now, if the 

 Great Eastern, a Company never thought very liberal, had no 

 difficulty in granting the concession I asked for (in part at 

 least), I do not think many of the other companies would refuse 

 to do as much if they were only a^ked in time, and the case 

 were fairly and temperately laid before them. Of course, they 

 will charge both ways if nothing is said about it, and they are 

 not even asked to concede anything. 



It would be better still if poultry exliibitors could induce the 

 principal companies to estabhsh some fixed rule, or rate, for 

 the carriage to and fro of exhibition poirltry. A memorial 

 signed by the Poultry Club to each company, would, no doubt, 

 lead to the consideration of the subject, even if we did not at 

 once obtain what we asked for. — P. 



I THixK if secretaries of shows would take the trouble to 

 write to those railway companies over whoL'e lines they expect 

 fowls to travel to and from their shows, and ask that the 

 birds may be allowod to come and go for a single fare, the boon 

 would not often be denied. I had the pleasure of acting as 

 secretary for a show held in the eastern counties last summer, 

 and I took an early opportunity of v.ritiug to the Great Eastern 

 Company, asking them to allow the fowls to travel free both 

 ways. I did not succeed in this ; but the Company at once 



I AM glad to see that this matter is likely to be well ventilated, 

 and if your correspondent, " Y. B. A. Z.," or the Poultry Club- 

 wiU take it in hand, I will be my share towards the expenses 

 incurred, whether arising from the printing of a petition and 

 sending one to the heads of each railway company, or from the 

 appointment of a deputation of, say, six gentlemen, to be 

 nominated by the persons contributing to the fund, to wait on 

 the Directors or Boards of the various companies. The latter 

 course will be much preferable to sending petitions, for I think 

 petitions, as a rule, are hurriedly passed over and do not 



