50 



jouenaij of horticultube and cottage oahdener 



Jair IS, ISai. 



stopped after tliiti, bnt cugljt to hav^ every enooarngement to 

 nstist in ripeniDR their wood early, that" no diflionUy may 

 arise in flowering l)iem at the time wiited. Daplineii, Oranges 

 of different kinds, Myrtles, nud CUriUnias intendsd for forcing 

 ehonld be removed to a cool, Qiry hoise to rest. 



BTOVZ. 



If there aro sickly or bal-rooted specimens here, they must 

 . be fretpently examined for red spidor, otherwise they will be- 

 come a naraeiy for this peit, from wliicii it will soon spread to 

 adjoining plants. See that young growing Ftock is not allowed 

 to Buffer from want of pot rconi, and attend carefully to water- 

 ing, giving manure water to all plants in free growth that 

 enjoy it. Gardenias, *(•., which biire been removed to the 

 conservatory while in bloom, ehonld be replaced in heat as 

 soon as their bcanty is over, in order to allow of tlieir growth 

 becoming ripened before the dull, cloady days of November 

 sot in. Although shading Orchids must now be promptly and 

 carefully attended to, allow thom as much light as they will 

 bear without injnry, u^■ing a very liglit «creen when absolutely 

 necessary. Keep the foliage clear of insects and dust by fre- 

 qaont syringings or spongings, as may be necessary. — W. 

 IfEiKi:. 



DOINGS OF THE T.AST WEEK. 

 Thr week up to last Friday was dull and cloady, and yet 

 what a hay week it has been, "flfake h.iv whilst the sun 

 shines," is all very well, but too bright and fieVce a sun parches 

 the hay, and extracts much of its nufrilive properties. Great 

 breadths of hay were canied in firsf-rate condition, though it 

 had scarcely a gleam of f un, rever wns wetted by a shower, and 

 scarcely was damped by dew, as we used our email gra?s.cuttiug 

 machines en the lawn at uix in the morning, a thing we can 

 rarely do. Such hay hag a peculiar beauty and greenness, and 

 was thoroughly made wl;h a tiuniniJ or tiro, giving out when 

 stacked an odour like a tea chest. V/e never kuew such a good 

 week for saving fine-made hay, and the comparative absence of 

 ann, and a dry atmosphere, were just the conditions to leave the 

 best properties in the hay. The bri'jht sun has told on every- 

 thing at last. Cauliflowers and oUier vegetables, after the 

 dull weather, began to flag, and to make sure we gave water to 

 •he most exposed Calceolarias. STirfice-stirring the ground 

 was our great resource for retaining moisture and excluding 

 extra heat, as we found tbit craokicg was commencing in our 

 heavy soil. In flower beds, even the spaces next the grass, 

 and the outsides generally, were shoiving cracks, and the filling 

 them up, and preventing more beirg made, wore effected by 

 surface-stirring with a Du'ch hoe. In most departments, the 

 work was chietiy of a routine character. 



EITCOEN O.VRI)E!l. 



In this department wo mjnagod to plant-out much, to prick- 

 oat more, and to pretty well attend to the wants of all. Our 

 water at hand is getting a little low, but tliere is a fair supply 

 in ponds at a distance, and whilst ve economise what is to be 

 had near we use some from a dista ice, believlog that a good 

 shower will come ere long, renewing nur supply, and benefiting 

 the Turnips in the fields. These will not greatly suffer as yet, 

 as in uncropped land there is plcjty of moisture beneath. 

 What a difference the cropping ma! es. Some of our ground 

 that stood uncropped for a litllo, turned up fjir for moisture, 

 whilst other pieces from which hcavv crops were removed, 

 fwemed to have lost all the moisture to" the depth of 18 inches. 

 It was of no use sowing ia soil thu? deprived of its moisture, 

 without previously watering the ross before sowing or planting. 



We are almost ashamed at times to dwell on such simple 

 details, and would not do so but for the frequent encourage- 

 ment that it is just such minute details that so many readers 

 want. Thus we read, " Thanks to your hints on sowing Cab- 

 bage seeds, I now know I erred in r.'peited surface-waterings." 

 Well, ours are coming through the dry surface-covering beauti- 

 fully, and we know they hive moisture enough beneath them. 



In sowing a piece of fre^h Turnios and Kadishes we drew 

 Shallow drills, and run the ppiut of the watering-pot along the 

 drills before sowing; thus giving o moi.st bed for swelling the 

 seeds, whilst the surface will be left drv and open to retain the 

 moisture. In planting Coleworts and Cauliflowers, we draw 

 httle trenches, so that after puddling the roots we could water 

 afterwards. To make them all safe in such weather they will 

 want two or three wateriuas before they can hold up their 

 beads to the snn without fliaching, which indicates that the 

 roots have taken hold of their new quarters. Then, if the dry 

 weather continue, we shall turn a little of the dry soil, an hour 



after watering, into the little Irenoh, and that will do some- 

 thing to arrest evaporali >n. Here, again, the first Peas out of 

 doors, though Ftill producing, are not exac'ly in a condition to 

 be worth watering; but the second successibn, podding heavily, 

 with lUans between them, show a little distress, and the soil 

 has been surface-etirrcd, and then watered, and if we could 

 have done so we would have mulched afterwards with Utter or 

 short gra^s. 



As a proof of rather close cropping, we may mention that our 

 first Peas were in rows .3 feet 9 inches apart. In the centre 

 between them was a row of Dwarf Fan Cluster Beans, and 

 Beck's Gem, and on each side of that a row of Lettuces be- 

 tween the Beans and Peas. Most likely we shall have Cauli- 

 flower on the ground— just a row where the Peas etand, and 

 then another where the Beans are, for succession, the one 

 coming in a little before the other. Allow ns to recommend 

 the above little Beaua to all amateurs who like a well-flavoured 

 tender Bean, and have little room to grow them in. We have 

 just examined a few of these Bean plants, shaded as they are 

 on each side by the Peas, and find that they average a foot in 

 height above the soil, have from twelve to twenty full-sized 

 pods from 3 inches in length, besides smaller ones, and these 

 larger ones containing each from two to three fine sweet beans. 

 Of course, they do not fill a Urge dish like thy Windsors and 

 the Lnngpods, but still as furniihing young soft beans in little 

 room and great quantity, they are exceedingly useful. 



With regard to Cauliflowers, which never come amiss, onr first 

 crop which, wl'h the exception of a few flowery heads already 

 referred to, turned out very fine, is now nearly over, and the next 

 coming in : bnt the third and fourth small lots — for we cannot 

 aCord a quarter at a planting — began to show the effects of the 

 weather even before the sun became so bright, acquiring a slaty 

 bluish tinge on the leaves, which no Cauliflower-grower likes to 

 see. We watered and watered, but still the distressed appear- 

 ance did not leave the plants; but on resorting to one of our 

 favourite cares — a little mulching with rotten dung and short 

 grass, the plants improved as if by magic, and have stood the 

 fierce sun without fliochiog. Unfortunately we have, as re- 

 ferred to lately, put most of our heap of short grass and litter 

 out of sight ; but if this weather last, we shall out what other- 

 wise might have been allowed to remain a little longer, for the 

 purpose of muIcLiug, and even dry litter will be brought into 

 requisition. In many respects mulching becomes « substi- 

 tute for the watering-pot. In planting afresh we have chiefly 

 used the plants previously pricked-out, and, therefore, to some 

 extent lified with balls, and watering as they were planted with 

 the trowel was generally sufficient to keep them right. To our 

 readers, then, who are scarce of water, or wish to lessen the 

 labour of irnti'ihip, we would say. Surface stir the ground and 

 mulch if you can with any rubbish you can obtain, and which 

 will keep the sun's rays from striking on the surface of the 

 ground. A little mulching will render frequent wnteriugs un- 

 necessary. It we have a week of such weather we shall try hard 

 to have some mulching, even if it be long litter or rongh grass, 

 along the rows of Peas, Beans, Cauliflowers, Ac. The only 

 time when mulching ia injurious is when it is used for tender 

 plants, for which the ground, if it is moist enough, can scarcely 

 be too warm. For instance, for semi-tropical plants keeping the 

 ground cool would be a mistake, and all mulching is, therefore, 

 most ellectaal when used after the ground is warm enough for 

 the plunt mulched. 



For reasons incidentally referred to we have pricked-out lota 

 of Cauliflowers to he transplanted afterwards when tolerably 

 well established, and it is easy to shade them in such tempo- 

 rary quarters by placing wattled hurdles over them, SHpported 

 on flower-pots at the comers. 



Salading has been good and plentiful, but it will be apt to 

 run to seed, particularly when fully exposed in this weather, 

 and we have, therefore, planted-out some fair-sized plants on 

 the north side of a fence, where they will stand longer and be 

 more crisp than if they had more sun. We shall follow in the 

 same place with successions, for though we believe that the 

 best plan for producing fine Lettuces is to sow thinly where 

 they are to perfect their crop, yet shortness of room makes na 

 often resort to transplanting. Nothing is more improved by a 

 little sweet rotten dung than the Lettuce tribe. Endive to stand 

 the winter must have poorer soil, as the richer it is the more 

 succulent will be the leaves, and the less the chance of stand- 

 ing the winter. For early Endive to be used before the end of 

 October, the ground may be as rich as for Lettiiee.'. When any- 

 one wishes to surprise his friends with a very large and heavy 

 Lettuce, almost surpassing common belief, three conditions 



