U^ch «, 18€6. 1 



JOOBN^. OF HOBTICULTCRE AND COTTAGE GABDBNEB. 



IBS' 



Plant out PansieB, Carnations, &c. Sow Wind Anemones for 

 autumn flowering, and attend carefully to tlie sowing of hardy 

 annuals, placing inverted pots over them where ehy or liable 

 to be devoured. Do not forget Mignonette and Sweet Peas. 

 Have soil and pots in readiness for potting Carnations, for 

 which purpose mix up three parts turfy loam, two parts weU- 

 rotted cowdung, and one part rough sand and charcoal together, 

 and remove this compost into the potting-shed. 



_,. QBEEXHOnSE iSD COSSKBVATOKY. 



rrTHe nsual campaign of potting must forthwith commence, 

 and continue, where complete cultivation is aimed at, with 

 scarcely any intermission until next October. Formerly it was 

 the custom to top-dress all greenhouse plants in February; 

 b,ut now, however, there is much less of this top-dressing, and 

 plants are shifted by good cultivators according to their habits 

 and the purposes for which tbey are intended. The erroneous 

 practices consist in overpotting, or potting in too rich a com- 

 post, plants which naturally run too much to leaf. It is obvious 

 that such plant;-; as the Veronica Anderson! will not bear the 

 application of such stimulating composts as the Thunbergia 

 alata, neither should they be so suddenly indulged with liberal 

 pot-room. For plants of gross habit, plain, simple, loamy 

 soils will in general be found quite rich enough without the ad- 

 dition of stimulating manures. The Camellias intended for 

 flowering late in the autumn should now be forced into wood 

 under a temperature of from 60° to 65°, shade is necessary while 

 making their young wood. Those exhausted with flowering 

 should be cut back and removed to a cool greenhouse for three 

 weeks, giving them a little liquid manure. The same practice 

 will do for the Indian Azaleas. See to regularly sliifting the 

 Cinerarias, Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, Fuchsias, &c. Heaths 

 may now be shifted. Use abundance of drainage and sandy 

 heath soil full of fibres ; thrust it in lumps round the ball, 

 now and then forcing down pieces of stone or lumps of char- 

 coal ; and finally coat over the surface with some of the finer 

 portions of the soil, which should contain a liberal amount of 

 sand. The ball must be thoroughly moist before shifting, for 

 if completely dry no after-watering can bring it right. Pot 

 Cape and other bulbs as soon as the foliage is becoming strong. 

 Use chiefly loam, leaf soil, and silver sand. 



PITS AND FKAMES. 



Maintain a kindly heat in the cutting-frame, top those cut- 

 tings that have taken root and are beginning to grow. Divide 

 and pot singly into three-inch pots the old stools of herbaceous 

 Lobelias. Fill a box with roots of Verbena venosa, and place 

 them in heat. Mixed in a bed with Golden Chain Geranium 

 these were very effective at Shrubland Park. Continue to put 

 in cuttings as previously recommended. Eemove the autumn- 

 struck cuttings which were potted off last mouth, into a cold 

 frame or pit. One of these cold pits should be tilled up with 

 ashes for the reception of the thinnings of the greenhouse. 

 Many of the Imrdwooded tribes may be moved here and matted 

 at night. This will make way for the increasing size and 

 number of the Fuchsias, Verbenas, Cinerarias, Calceolarias, 

 &o. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAKDEN. 



Merely attended to vegetables, S;c., under protection and 

 glass. Placed some hay and litter over Broccoli that was for- 

 ward, protected Cauliflowers, wheeled when the ground was 

 hard, and dug and trenched when soft and dry enough. 



Snow. — There being a fall of from 3 to 4 inches of snow on 

 Monday night and Tuesday morning, attended with a tem- 

 perature not below freezing point, a number of men were sent 

 to roU the snow into huge lumps, and then wheel it at once 

 into the ice-well. Where the snow can be collected near the 

 ice-well this is a better plan than using carts lumbering about. 

 Almost every schoolboy knows how to roll a huge snowball. A 

 good lump is collected and patted with the hands, and then 

 turned over and over, taking up the snow as it goes. This was 

 done so regularly that we quite cleared a piece of the park, the 

 want of frost before the snow came causing the snow to come 

 up clean from the grass. In loading, the barrow was placed on 

 its side, the huge lump roUed into it, and then the barrow 

 raised to the level, and wheeled to its destination. The road 

 to the ice-well became very sloppy towards the afternoon, still 

 with more men any quantity of snow might thus have been 

 collected. When well thumped together by heavy beaters, it 



is almost as good for keeping as ice. Our general practice is 

 to do nothing with ice or snow before the men have a warm 

 breakfast ; but on this occasion, as other work had to be done 

 in the morning, the preparatory work for the snow was done 

 before breakfast, and we were alarmed by a very healthy man 

 taking a fainting fit as soon as his hands touched the snow. 

 He was all rightnext day, but we mention it as a warning, that 

 no such work at any time should be engaged in before the men 

 have breakfasted. 



In general, the younger the lads are, the better they] will roll 

 the snow. Anything like gloves is generally unnecessary. After 

 the first handling there will be little of the sensation of cold in 

 the hands, quite the reverse. We have seen shovelling resorted 

 to instead of roUing, but that is a tedious process, and does not 

 compress the snow as rolling does. When carts have to be 

 used, the huge lumps can be divided and pitched in with 

 shovels. Such snow thus stored we have found more prized than 

 ice by some butlers and housekeepers, more especially if a good 

 thickness of ice was placed over the scow, thus compressing it 

 still more effectually. It packs better round vessels than ice 

 would do, unless crushed by the process advocated by Mr. 

 Perkins. We hope to have the pleasure of placing ice above 

 the snow to-morrow (Friday) morning. On Wednesday morn- 

 ing there was a sharp frost", but no iee, except where sheltered 

 from the wind, the wind keeping the surface of the water in 

 motion. On this (Thursday) morning, the coldest of the season, 

 ice is formed, and there is every appearance that it will be 

 thick enough to bear the ice hooks to-morrow. We shall have 

 to be satisfied with breaking it sufficiently, so that there shall 

 be enough of small ice to pack among the larger pieces. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



Went on with pruning out of doors in favourable weather. 

 Syringed the trees in the orchard-house with the sulphur-and- 

 hine water, wetting every twig the pots exposed, and allowing 

 it to run down the wall. This is done merely as a matter of 

 precaution. We scarcely had an insect of any kind in these 

 houses last season. If the frost is likely to be sharp to-night, 

 will shut up these houses, as we did last night, having pre- 

 viously left all the air on that we coidd to be safe from wind, 

 so as to keep the buds back. As these buds are swelling now 

 we should not like them to have too much frost. A little will 

 not only help to retard them, but will help to destroy any eggs 

 of insects that must have been coming forward in the mild 

 weather. With the buds in the present state, only a very few 

 beginning to show colour, we should consider the trees quite 

 safe in the still somewhat-dry atmosphere of the house if the 

 temperature out of doors did not fall much below 20° from the 

 freezing-point. W'e would hardly consider the buds of Apncots 

 and Peaches out of doors safe if the thermometer indicated 

 merely from 8' to 12° above zero, if no protection were given to 

 them. On Thursday morning, having nothing better at hand, 

 shook out some long litter from the stables, and stuck hand- 

 fuls of it all over the Apricot trees, and some Lamel branches 

 over the Peach and Fig trees out of doors. This litter can 

 very soon be removed, and if the frost continue severe it will 

 tend to keep all safe. We recollect of one March when the frost 

 blackened the buds of Apricots to the core, and they were not 

 more forward than they are now. V/e have forgotten to say, 

 when adverting to the orchard-house above, that the frost has 

 just crusted the surface of the ground and the surface soil ill 

 pots. We do not want the frost to do more for the pots, and, 

 therefore, have placed a little Utter over and round those not 

 previously protected. Expecting frost on Wednesday night, 

 the Strawberry-pots removed to the orchard-house had a 

 sprinkhng of rough hay shaken all over them to keep the soil 

 and roots from being hard frozen. 



Peach Trees undfr G/ass.— Thinned-out shoots in the Peach- 

 house, and stopped a good many, so as not to arrest root- 

 action by taking away too much growth at once, looking out 

 for a new shoot at the base of the one now showing fruit. As 

 some of the voung fruit did not seem to part with the calyx 

 freely, drew the fingers over them, which was better than much 

 svringiug in the dull cloudy weather. As yet no insect of any 

 kind has appeared. A few pans on the pipes are now kept 

 supplied with soot and sulphur water. When the pipes are 

 rather cool they have been several times damped with tea made 

 from pouring hot water over the bruised young shoots, \\hen 

 used clear, weak, and fresh it makes a nice wash for syrmginf. 

 the little prussic acid peauliarlv suiting the Peach, and, unlike 

 many another wash that leaves less or more of uastiness behind 

 it this leaves the nice aroma of confectionary custards. It 

 must be used fresh, weak, and clear, or it will be apt to leave a 



