ffiy is, \m. 



JOtTRNiL OF HOKilCUtTtJRE' AJTD'co'iTAGB GAU'i'^'NM. 



m 



-'Inarching- Bowood Muscat Vine on West's St Peter's iA Lady 

 8ubscriher].—Th{^ flavour of the Bowood Muscat woiUd not be filtered by 

 inorchiiiti it on West's St. Peter's ; but it would not force bo well as il it 

 were inarched oa the Bliick Hamburgh, for West's St. Peter's reqairce 

 nearly, if not <iui(t'. as much heat as a Muscat, The Bowood Muscat 

 wouJd do well oa tho Black Hamhurph for forcing or any other purpose. 

 and its fruit woald keep as well as if West's St. Peter's were employed 

 as the stock. 



Planting Verbenas {F. J.).— TheTorbenftf;. tn make a line in a ribbon- 

 border from 9 t<3> 12 inches wide, should ho planted at these distances 

 apart, according to size. 



Hyacinths es Beds f/nVml.— Your soilbeinslifiht and well drained the 

 Hyacinths would not be in the least injurcdif left in the ground. In 

 autumn you may ttike them up. remove the small oflFsetP, dress the bed, 

 and replant on the same day. If the soil bo wet yon may take them up 

 immediately after tbe folinge has turned yellow. 



Cocoa-xut Fibre Refuse as a Mulch (/(ffm).— The ecroa-nut fibre 

 refuse, and not the fibre, should be put around Rose trees. It resembles 

 brown sawdust. Do not use the fibre, which resembles bristles. The 

 refuse dust would form an excellent miilch for Carnations. 



Cutting Grass with a Machine (/rfz-m)- — The grass is best cut when 

 dry, or when the dew is ofl" in the morning. A slight amount of damp is 

 not objectionable. We have not used the^machiuo in the erening with 

 advantage, fitr the labour power then lags. 



Canna indica {P. if.).— The soil most suitable for this out of doors is 

 a moderately light loam, enriched by a dressing of leaf mould and well- 

 rotted manure ; bat any description of soU will do if it is in good heart 

 and not a stiff, cold, wet clay. The situation should be warm, and, 

 though open, it is best if sheltered from westerly winds, which injure the 

 foliage. Well harden off before planting out. 



Batup-A iTETEi.orDES Flower-buds FALLING iiiatnra).—\\e tbink that 

 the fiower-Imds fell from warmth aud drj-ness inducing rod spider, and 

 from want of sutficient moisture ia the soil. A moderately light and well- 

 drained soil enriched by a good dressing of well-rotted mr.nure or leaf 

 mould is best. Dui'iug dry weather, aud particularly when swelling their 

 bads, the plants reqiiii'o to be well watered. The plants which you keep 

 in a greenhouse should be well syriugeil to keep down red spider, giving 

 a light aud airj- situation. 



Canna Tubers not Growing {Tdevi).—T\ie Canna tubers have probably 

 lost the eyes ; but th. y will sometimes not .'Jtart xmtil late in May. Tliey 

 ought to have started before tbi^ in a hotbed. 



Charles Lefebvre PtOAE Weak iT-irmt.— The plant is very weak! Tbii 

 will do well to ont it and the dwnrfs in potselosely to two eyes, and when 

 these break retain the stronger, rubbing the other off. 



DECicrous Cypress fWcml.— The deciduous Cypress is Taxodinm 

 distiphnm, and the speeimeu you sent belongs, as you suppose, to that 

 species. The Evei-green Cypres? is the Cpright Cypress of tbe south of 

 Europe, and is known as Cupressus sempei-virens. The Deciduous 

 Cypress, or Taxodium disticJium, is a native of "North America. Taxodinm, 

 orbequoia, sempeiwirens, is the Redwood or Bastard Cedar. 



Orciiard-hq.cre Aspect (Inquirer). — For a span-roofed bonSe lot Uff 

 sides face as nearly as possible east and west. For a loan-to, the nearer 

 one side faces the south tho better. 



Gold EN- LEAVED Ivy Geranium PonEDOtK&fHcdcTo).— Plant H inches 

 from the edge, and the plants from 9 to 12 inche.s apart. 



Arrasoeiient of a Greenhouse {John Bull). — We approve of your 

 raised border at the back of your house, and the pliinting it as you pro- 

 pose with sis Camellia? ; but you will injure your Caniollias hy bavin? 

 creepers above them also on the wall, which is only V2 feet in height. 

 The Stephanotis will not do in «Tiiter in a teuiporatux*e of less than from 

 5lj-^ to CO", and that would be tuo much for the Camellias. You might have 

 two brick pits, say 18 inches square, at each end of the border at tho 

 back, and in these plant Passiflora Colvilli and racemoBn co&rulea, and 

 take them along the top of the wqU until the Camellias filled tho place. 

 The other trailers you may want wo would put against the rafters of the 

 roof of the house. The house would be Itu.'^t with a walk all round, the 

 bni'der at back, and shelf iu front, which would leave you room lor a 

 three-feet bod or stage in the centre. 



Strawberry for an East Bank (If. Ji. IT.).— Most varieties would 

 do well on the bank if the soil is good- We have had Black Prince, 

 Keens' Seedling, and Carolina Superba doing well on not very steep 

 slopes. For a very steep and Oxy bank the most suitable are the 

 Alpine Strawberries. 



Purple Spinach (Tdem). — The name of Purple Spinach is Atriplex 

 hortensis rubra. It may be sown now in drills as for Spinach, and 

 the seeds covered with light soil. When up thiu out to 6 inches apart. 

 To become bushy it requires to be frequently stopped, though when al- 

 lowed to grow it forms a tine plant 4 to 6 feet in height on good soil, and 

 is very handsome, having a sub-tropicnl appe-arance. The inflorescence 

 is curions, and equally ornamental with the foliage. 



Lobelias Failing (J. C. ilf.).— We can only acconnt for the Lobelia 

 cuttings failing from your putting in the flowering parts, and we have not 

 the least doubt they damped off from keeping the soil very wet. We find 

 that old plants do not give cuttings that take root so freely as those from 

 plants a year or so from tbe seed. Our practice is to save the best of the 

 plnnts raised from seed in the spring, colour, size of bloom, and compact- 

 ness of plant guiding the selection. If taken up with balls in autumn 

 tbey winter more safely, and give stronger and better-growing cuttings. 

 Lobelias may be continued by cuttings from year to year, but the plants 

 wear out, and most of tbe failures of LobehasVre to be attribvited to this. 

 Put in none but strong cuttings of the parts not showing flower. They 

 will gi'ow well. 



Ants— WiREWORMS (J. P. F.}. — For ants, see what we said in our last 

 Number, page 3.i3. For wireworme, see what we say to-day In answer to 

 another corresponpent. 



Names OF Plants (J". E.B.\ — ^l.Drymoglossum piloselloides ; 2,Asple- 

 nium marinum ; 8, Athyrium Filix-feemina var. cristata ; 4, Asplenium 

 ebeneum ; 5, Niphoboliis lingua. (Bnroardi.— Daphne pontica. {Quiz),-— 

 1, Polypodium vulgare ; 2, Saxifrag.i crasyifolia. (H. G. E.). — The shrub 

 is Forsythia vii-idissima, and the bulb a variety of Karcissus pseudo* 

 Narcissus. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of Lotidbn for tlie Week ending May 12tli. 



PQULTRY; BEE. and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



*-:• POULTRY AS A SOURCE OF INCOME. 



9r.; ■ 



siff OBivTRY IE scimetluug aiore tlmn it appears to be in the sliow- 

 ySa^Ji ■"'WJt4K>«t--tte^,i'rina; in -ahy wfty en- measure to take fronj 

 the pleasure offe'hiWUrrf.'.ctr to 'deprive it of its chttr.icfer as 

 a'llob'by, Vf^.gftnnot 1>ut think of poultry also as an .irticle'of 

 food, more SSpeclally uow when the suljeet Seems to be forced 

 upon 118. il.. :j , I ■ 



Carried to the full extent of its capabilities, poultry vrould 

 eontrib-ute lara;flly-.ia-the food of tho oonntry, wliil& rearing it 

 nright eke out ft-eeahty incomer but Ave are afraid -we must 

 glTe up the last. It \YOuld almost appear that these who suffer 

 from the most inconvenient ailment of small incomes are also 

 subject to constant attacks of false pride, which forbid them to 

 nse any efforts to increase their means, except such as come 

 withiji the scope of positive gentility. When a subject like 

 that we are writing upon is mentioned, they rejoice in their 

 ignorance, and protest " it is a tiling in which they do not 

 take the slightest interest," while they wonder at opulent 

 neighbours who foUow such things zealously. As indications 



!of character, perhaps the fact that they do may also explain 

 the difference in the means of the two parties. 



There is, however, another class who have made a feeble 

 attempt, and given it up at the first dis,^ppointmeut. There 

 is in this, as iu everything else, something to leam from those 

 who do for a liveUhood that which is followed as a hobby by 



lOtbers. ,. ,,HT '.■13 Ci^^O^c 38,^0 n OT 



.We o.ften, think jt would be Tvise if poultry-keepers followed 

 ■theekamVie set'lhe'm.liy the gentry and many (ftttie nobility, 

 who. at Covent Garden, become the rivals, and often the suc- 

 ce.sgful rivals, of the professional growers of forced fruit and 

 vegetables. We know a titled lady in the midland counties 

 vvho.pays ill her poultry expenses, and has a. profit left from 

 the -sale of eggs alone. We will grant this may be an excep- 

 tion, but we look with the greatest pleasure on the practical 

 utility of the balance-sheets that appear from time to time in 

 our columns. A paragraph of practice is of more worth than 

 a volume of theory. Every one of these balance-sheets will 

 make a convert, and each of the latter will add to our stock 

 both of food and knowledge. 



What is the cause of the disappointment of those who have 

 given up keeping poultry after one failure ? 

 First, Having heard that spring chickens are unusually dear. 



