April 2-1, 1866. 1 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



317 



Mushroom-bed Unproductive (G. H'tHianw).— We have little hopes of 

 the Mushroom-bed coming into produi-tion that was spawned in Novem- 

 ber and has yielded no Mushrooms. Whnt the caiiNe is we could not say 

 unless we knew more. The spawn mit;ht be bad, or the bed might be too 

 hot, or too wet, or too dry. 



Lean-to Vinerv {A Subscriber). — Your border 5 feet wide will do for Rn 

 eight-feet-wide house, more especially if you have a border rIso inside, and 

 plant Iho Vines inside, with means for the roots SndinR thoir way outside. 

 For such a small house your five-inch metal pipes will do for a flue, pro- 

 dded you have a sort of brick cesspool at the turn-comers into which the 

 pipes terminate, and this being covered with a tile, you can raise the 

 tile at any time, and run the brusli through the pipes. This will require 

 to be often done iu such narrow pipes. 



Peach and Nectarine Blossoms Falling (E. C.).—'Wc have closely 

 examined the blossoms sent. The male fructification seems strong and 

 vigorous, but the female parts of the flower very weak. We attribute 

 this to three circumstances : First, the youth of the trees, having only the 

 growth of IHGo — that is, if the trees were young when planted. Secondly, 

 their free growth instead of that being arrested last autumn. Thirdly, 

 the too great drjTieys at the roots in spring. Greater dryness in the 

 autumn, and moisture at the roots given gi-adually after Christmas might 

 have kept the blossoms on. In the case of such young trees, however, 

 a quantity of frut this season would have been anything but an unmixed 

 advantage, Tlie young growth seems all right, and we have no doubt 

 that the trees will do well next year. A few blossoms fell from some of 

 our trees that had become rather dry, but it would have saved much 

 labour in thinning if more had dropped. See what has been said fre- 

 quently in "Doings of the Last Week" as to watering gradually when 

 the soil becomes dry. Dryness is a great help to ripening wood in the 

 autumn. If the dr>-ness is continued mitil the buds swell, the flowers are 

 apt to drop or be imperfect. If, after such dryness, all the roots are 

 soaked at once, the too great stimulus is apt to throw the buds off. 

 Moderate moisture after Christmas is the easiest and safest plan for 

 beginners. 



Flowxr-bed (G. B. B.). — Your bed would be improved by mixing 

 Eicinus borboneasis, microcarpus, and sanguineus, with communis, 

 and such Cannas as Warscewiczii and discolor, with indica ; then as you 

 propose ; but a band of Golden Chain Geranium with the flowerti taken 

 t)ff would greatly improve all. 



Aerides odoratum Leaves Spotted {J. Bafflcti). — The spots are caused 

 by a parasitic fungus, such as is depicted in the first Number of the 

 •* Journal of the Horticultural Society," published last January. 



Begonia fuchsioides and B. Knighth not Flowering (/rf^ni). — Yonr 

 plants do not flower because you keep them too warm and close, and they 

 consequently grow amazingly, but do not bloom. Cut away all the old 

 stems, repot, and encourage the young growths, giving plenty of air, with 

 all the light practicable. Secure a good growth, ripen it well by exposure 

 to light and air, and dryness at the root, and keep the plants in a tempe- 

 rature of from 50- to 55- in winter, and they will assuredly bloom ; but 

 yon must give them a rest instead of keeping them constantly growing 

 as we imagine yon do. 



Bedding-out Seedlings (Eboracum). — Amaranthus melancholicus 

 Tuber, Petunia. Verbena venosa. Phlox Drummondi, sown in a hotbed in 

 April for bedding, will only need pricking ofl" when sufficiently large to 

 handle ; afterwards continue to forward them in heat. They will make 

 Dice plants foi planting-out by the end of May, and those ci^tiv.T.ted for 

 iheir flowers will bloom well late in summer and in autumn. 



Meyenia erecta and Bougainvilljea speciosa (A Subscriber, Brad- 

 ford). — Meyenia erecta is a stove plant, and requires a compost of 

 turfy fibry peat and loam in equal parts, with a free admixture of silver 

 sand. It requires plenty of air and light, with good drainage,'and is then 

 a free-blooming plant, needing well cutting-in to keep it compact. The 

 Bougainvillflea speciosa needs a warm greenhouse, and should be en- 

 couraged to make a good growth in spring, and by August be exposed to 

 the full sun in a greenhouse, with abundauceof air, keeping drier by half 

 at the root than when growing. The main point is. obtain a good growth 

 and well ripen it. Any further information we shall be glad to furnish. 



Insect in Tan (H. J. C;.K— It is an Acams or Mite, quite harmless, 

 and living on decaying vegetable matter. 



j Brughansia suaveolens Culture (J. J. D.i.— Th^ plant would do 

 ' admirably planted-out in the border of the conservaturj-, but it requires 

 abundance of air and light. It must be kept dry at the root in winter to 

 induce rest, and would not. therefore, do planted-out in the borders of the 

 conservatory in which the Camellias are ; but you might partition off by 

 a brick wall a part of the border for the Brugmansia. Drain it well, and 

 for soil use 15 inches of turfy loam t« o-third-^, and one-third leaf mould, 

 with a free admixture of sand. A pit 18 inches square would do, top- 

 dressings of rich composts being given in spring. The plant must be 

 syringed freely in summer to keep down red spider, be well supplied with 

 water, and occasionally with liquid manure. Diminish the amount of 

 water in October, and keep the plant dry in winter. In spring cut-in the 

 head, thin it where too thick, and merely shorten if not too thick. Fre- 

 quent syringings and copious watering will induce free growth, and 

 the plant will flourish, only it must have plenty of light and air and be 

 kept free of red spider. 



Cedronella canahieksis (.4 Siibnerihcr).— This, usually called Draco- 

 cephalum cauariense, Canar}' Dragon's-head, or Baha of Gilcad, belongs 

 to the Lamiacex, or Dead Nettle Natural Order. Height, about 3 feet ; 

 leaves green, and the size of those of the Archangel or Dead Nettle; 

 flowers, pale purple ; the plants not more than 2 feet apart in a bed. It 

 requires a shght protection in winter. 



Rhododendron (C F.). — Decidedly it ig not Falconeri, which is white 

 with a chocolate -coloured spot. It appears identical with that shown by 

 Mr. Cos at the Floral Conunittee last Tuesday under the name of 

 E. campylocarpum, but which docs not correspond with the plant 

 figured under that name in the " Botanical Magazine '" for 1857. Mr. Cox, 

 we believe, has compared his plant with Dr. Hooker's work on Indian 

 Rhododendrons, and considers it is the true R. campylocarpum. 



Netting to Exclude Birds from Cherry Trees (iT. C). — When made 

 on pui^iose for this, a one-inch mesh will not be too close, as small birds 

 are apt to wriggle through. Very often it happens that netting of a large 

 mesh is used and put on double. It is not advisable to tighten netting 

 at any time ; let it hang loose and free, and tho mesh will be closer ; be- 

 sides, if hempen netting be used and made tight, the contraction with 

 rain will bind somewhere, perhaps to the injuiy of the bearing spurs of 

 the tree. 



Grafting Buckland Sweetwater or Duchess of Buccleuch Grapes 

 ON Lady Downe's {A Subscriber). — We can hardly give an opinion of the 

 merits of these two Grapes. The Duchess we know to be of excellent 

 flavour, perhaps the very best grown ; but it is far from being a showy 

 Grape, and we expect will not figure much at e:Uiibitiou tables. Either 

 of these, however, will do on Lady Downe's, and we shimld certainly pre- 

 fer that stock as it is there, to removing it and planting anj-thing else in 

 its place. As you are anxious to multiply varieties, perhaps the stock 

 will admit of two gi-afts, and then you can have both kinds. We would, 

 however, recommend you to try Alicante in your late house ; it promises 

 to rival Lady Downe's iu keeping, and is a larger bunch. Sluch as has 

 been said about Vine stocks, it is not unlikely but it will be found out 

 hereafter that each variety on its own roots is as good as any. 



Squirrels Destroying Gooseberries and Walnuts {A Tuelre-yfars 

 Reader). — We fear we have no remedy to offer to this unusual enemy. 

 Netting, we imagine, will be ineffective with the Gooseberries, but it may 

 be tried ; and we have not mnch faith in tying gorse around the stems of 

 the Walnuts if the tips of the branches reach within 6 or 8 feet of the 

 tips of other trees to which the squirrels have access, for the nimble de- 

 predators take flying leaps a long distance. Shooting, we apprehend, is 

 the only resource. We have often enough known rooks to carry off Wal- 

 nuts, and of course squirrels are verj- fond of them, and if your garden 

 be in the vicinity of game preserves, we expect you will suffer ; but we 

 never heard of Gooseberries being destroyed by squirrels before, and per- 

 haps the publicity given to your case may induce some of our readers 

 who have suffered in like manner to record their remedy, if they suc- 

 ceeded in discovering one. 



Plants (ir. JI. J".).— Those you name are recently introduced. Scbi- 

 aostyUs cocciuea is a half-hardy bulb. Osmanthus ilicifoiius variegatus 

 nanus, Japanese evergreen shrub, probably as hardy as the Camellia. 

 Thujopsis dolabrata is related to the Arbor Vitie, and quite hardy, and 

 so is Euonymus japonicus variegatus. 



LIETEOBOLOGICAIi OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the Week ending April 21.st. 



POULTRY . BEE^nd HOUSEHOLD CHRON ICLE- 



COMPARATIVE HEALTHINESS OF DIFFERENT 



KINDS OF FOWLS. 



It is said that a boy on the top of a Swiss mountain throws 

 a snowball, which becomes an avalanche and destroys part of 

 a village. In an inverse senee we cannot help thinking that 



our poultry experiences may in some very small degree lead to 

 measures that may form one of the many trifles that will 

 eventually make the rinderpest a thing of the past, susceptible 

 of treatment; not requiring the Draconian method of stamp- 

 ing out by wholesale slaughter, nor imposing restrictions that 

 will limit our supply of meat for a long time to come. 



We left off by saying, at page 27'.), that when the Dutch, from 

 whom we imported the birds that spread illness and death 

 everywhere, found that these birds from their diseased state 

 when they arrived were unsaleable, they adopted precautions 



