200 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ March 13, 1806. 



Be very careful not to over-wator in winter. After the flower- 

 buds show, a gentle bedewing of the pUnts overhead early in 

 the mornint; and afternoon will do good, but this should be 

 done on briglit days only, and weak liquid manure may also 

 be given.; it may bo made from cowduiig one year old, one 

 peck to twenty gallons of water, a quart of soot being added. 



In summer a cold pit is the best situation, and in wiuter a 

 position iu a dry and airy house with a temperature of from 

 40° to 15° from fire heat, with a i-isc of 10° or 15' from sun 

 heat. They must have a position near the glass, and the 

 light either from overhead or sideways should not be inter- 

 cepted by other plants. They cannot have too much air, but 

 cold frosty currents are to be excluded. .Vir, when the exter- 

 nal atmosphere is frosty, may bo given at the back of the 

 house. A slight shade whcu making new growths is desirable, 

 but in autumn, in order to have the wood well ripened, they re- 

 qnire all the light possible. — G. Abbev. 



POINSETTIA PULCHERRIjVLV CULTURE. 



I HAVE been much pleased to see the culture of the Poinsettia 

 so ably discussed byyour correspondent Mr. Lane, at page 100, 

 and, so far as the dwarfing of the plants is concerned, I quite 

 sgiee with him, but I question very much whether, by the 

 means he describes, that fine glossy foliage can be seciu'ed 

 which adds so much to their beauty. I am, besides, convinced 

 that to procure large bracts the plants cannot be grown too 

 strong, aud this can only be secured by plenty of heat and 

 humidity and the use of stimulants. As I before stated, it is 

 essential that the plants should be placed in a situation where 

 they will be well exposed to the light, and as close to the glass 

 as possible ; growing them strong is very different from draw- 

 ing them upwards by keeping them in a shady position. The 

 more vigorous the plants are the longer will bo their contin- 

 uance in bloom. 



My flower-heads began to open iu the first week iu No- 

 vember, and I have now (February 12tli), some in good condi- 

 tion on the same plants. I will here correct a statement which 

 I made with regard to the measurement of my flower-heads. 

 I said that they were from 14 to 10 inches across, but I am 

 sorry that I made this statement by guess, for in a few days 

 after I wrote a friend came to see th.-m, and he measured one 

 which was 17 inches across, and in uuother fortnight the same 

 head was found to be 20 inches in diameter, and the largest of 

 all fully 21 inches. The latter is hanging in the stove now. 

 My house, perhaps, is peculiarly adapted for keeping the 

 flowers. It is a low span-roofed structure running east and 

 west, with a top ventilator opening from end to end, and I 

 constantly keep a little air on night and day, so as to allow of 

 the atmosphere continually circulating among the plants. I had 

 each brought down and tied to some cross bars that traverse 

 the house for suppoi-t, each head being turned to face one way ; 

 the effect on entering the house was extremely fine. 



For dinner-table decoration the Poinsettia has no rival ; 

 the way in which it is here managed for this purpose is as 

 follows : — We have a round tin tray with a block in the centre 

 for the feet of the epergne, and around this block is packed a 

 quantity of moss so as to fill the tray, some of the greenest 

 flakes being selected for the outside. This being done, and the 

 whole made secure, tho flower-heads are cut, and the ends of 

 the portions of shoot attached are placed in the moss. The 

 Poinsettias are interspersed with white Camellias, and a few 

 delicate Fern fronds to prevent a formal appearance. The effect 

 by candlelight of this arrangement is magnificent. 



Another great advantage of the Poinsettia is that there is no 

 flower to equal it in respect to the length of time which it will 

 last in water if regularly attended to. By applying tepid water 

 every day the heads will last fresh for a month, and I have 

 even kept them quite fresh longer than that. It is strange 

 that no attempt at improvement has been made by crossing 

 the white and scarlet varieties. I am only sorry that the 

 means at my command being limited, I have not scope for 

 many of our neglected stove plants. I should read with 

 much interest the practice of others who may have been suc- 

 cessful in the cultivation of the Poinsettia. — Charles Edward s, 

 Bristol. 



PERIODS OF DROUGHT AT CARDINGTON. 



It may be interesting to some of the readers of this Journal 

 to know the periods of dry weather of fourteen days and up- 

 wards since 184.5, in one of the midland counties, where the 



monthly fall of rain is under 2 inches. I will also state the 

 number of days in each year on which no rain fell, dates in- 

 cluded. 



From .luno 9th, 1846 



„ Soi)t.7th.ls46 



„ MnrchHth. 1847.... 



„ Soiit. 2.1rd, 1847 



„ AptUauth, 1848 



„ Julv 4th, 1849 



„ Ftli. 17th. 1850 



„ March f,th, 1850 



„ Sept. &th, 1850 



„ .luuo 17th, 1851 .... 



„ Sept. 6th, 1861 .... 



„ Miirch 3rd, 1852.... 



„ Aprillst. 1852 .... 



„ .lune 30th, 1852 



,, Mnv l.'.th, 1853 .... 



„ .lulv 80th, 1858 



„ Fob". 2.1th, 1864 .... 



„ March 28th, ia';4... 



., Aufjust 25th, 1854.. 



„ April 13th, 1865 ... . 



„ Feb. 21 Bt, 1856 .... 



„ Sept. 8th, 1856 



„ Au^■ust 17th, 1857. . 



„ Dec. 23r(i, 1857 



„ March IHth. 1868... 



„ June 19th, 1858 .... 



„ Nov. loth, 1858 



„ .lure 6th, 1859 



„ Julv 5th, 1859 .... 



„ Nov. 10th, 1859 



„ October 27th.l860.. 



„ .Tnlv 21st, 1863 .... 



„ Feb. 6th, 1863 



„ March 21st, 1863 ... 



„ July 4th, 1863 



„ April ISth, 1864 



„ Sept. 24th, 1864 



„ April 20th. 1865 



„ June 4th, 1865 



„ August 30th, 1865.. 



;, Sept. 22nd, 1S65.... 



to Juno 22nd, 1846 



to Sept. 22nd. 1H46 



to March 22nd. 1817 



to OeUibor OUi, 1847 



to Mnv 18th, 1848 



to July 17lh. 1K49 



to Marih !)ril, 1K60 



to March 22nd. 1850 



to Sept. 19th. 1850 



to Julv 1st, IWl 



to .Sept. 28rd. 1861 



to March i'.Hh, 1K)2 



to April ITth. 1852 



to Julv l^lh, 1852 



toMav2Kth. 18,18 



to August Kith, 1858 



to March Kith. 1H52 



to April :;ntli. 1852 



to Sept. 12th, lM.'-,2 



to May 3rd, 1H,">5 



toMnrch 16th. 1856 



to Sept. 21 St, 1856 



to Sept. 1st. 1857 



to Jannan- 7th, 1858 



to March 3l9t, 1858 



to Jnly4th, 1858 



to Novomhor 26lh, 1858. . 



to Jane 19tb, 1859 



to July 18th, 1869 



to Nov. 26th, 1859 



to November 10th, 1860 



to Angust lith, 1882 



to Februan- IKth, 1883 . . 



to April 4tb. 1H53 



to Julv IHtli, 1HG3 



to Mav 1st. 18(;4 



to October 19th, 1864 . . 



to Mav 4th, 1865 



to Juno 29th, 1865 



to September 20th, 1865 

 to October 8th, 1865 



Only seven times during twenty years have the number of 

 dry days exceeded twenty at one time, and two of these times 

 were in 1865. 



The following shows the number of days in each year on 

 which no rain fell, from 1846 to 1865, inclusive: — 



Days. 



Year. 

 1860 

 1861 

 1862 

 1863 

 1864 

 1865 



204 

 IM 

 284 

 2S0 



From these figures it will be seen that it was iu 1864 that 

 there were the greatest number of days on which no rain 

 fell ; also in that year the least fall of rain took place, being 

 5.564 inches below the average of twenty years. 



Cardington is situated about three miles from Bedford, one 

 mile from the river Ouse, 12 feet above tho level of the river, 

 and 100 feet above the sea level. The weather ia generally 

 very dry in summer, and very damp in winter. — John McLakes, 

 Gardener to S. C. Whitbread, Esq. 



WEATHER WISDOM. 



{Continued from page 108.) 



The chief cause which tends to throw discredit on a baro- 

 meter is the introduction on the scale of the words fair, rain, 

 stormy, &c. It is not my present intention to consider why 

 these words were introduced, but rather to point out the reasons 

 why they ought to be disregarded by those whose object it is 

 to study the barometer, and by its fluctuations to anticipate 

 probable wcatlier. I may here observe that in instruments 

 made for the National Lifeboat Institution the words I have 

 mentioned do not occur, as it was considered they did more 

 harm than good. In their place, however, are inserted short 

 practical hints, informing the observer on what occasions the 

 barometer rises and falls, and what future weather may bo 

 expected from such variations, fee. 



In the first place, tho height at which a barometer is fixed 

 above sea level is not always taken into account by observers. 

 It has been explained on a former occasion (page 27), that the 

 mercury does not stand so high when a barometer is taken to 

 the summit as it does when observed at the foot of a hill, and, 

 therefore, the inexperienced are placed in the following dilem- 

 ma : — A man observes his glass (one I wUl suppose by a good 

 maker), and he sees the mercury iu the tube is level with the 



