October 7, 1869. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



289 



serving the shelter and beauty of the neighbouring trees, is to 

 take out the soil all round the flower garden to the depth of a 

 least 3 feet, and build a wall of brick and cement to within a 

 few inches of the surface. It would be easy to prevent the 

 roots passing over it under the turf. Nothing else will keep 

 them out, and no flowering plants will long thrive if roots of 

 Elm, Ash, and other trees, fill the soil. Some time ago, we were 

 surprised to notice a plantation of Raspberries becoming worse 

 every year, notwithstanding manuring. On examination, we 

 found the soil a network of Elm roots, and they must have 

 travelled 50 yards to reach the fine garden soil. In kitchen 

 gardens nnencloaed, au open trench or ditch fresn turned out 

 frequently would be as effectual as the wall in the flower garden. 

 We can recollect of numbers of flower beds that will only give 

 the satisfaction which their position should command when 

 the roots of trees are rigidly excluded from them. It is of 

 little use cutting the roots, and supplying fresh soil ; in one 

 season the bid will be interlaced witi fcbres. Next to having, 

 plants devoured by vermin, there are few things more dis 

 couraging than attempting to grow flowers in beds crowded 

 with the fibres and roots of surface-rooting trees. 



liuhbisli Heaps. — These are rather unsightly objects in most 

 gardens, and v.ill always be so where time cannot be found 

 to attend to them properly. By the rubbish heap, we mean a 

 heap of all the refuse that comes from a garden, the spent 

 earth from the potting bench, all weeds, except seed and root 

 weeds, which are best disposed of by burning, all Cabbage 

 stalks and leaves, Bean stalks that are not burned or charred, 

 short grass and mowings from the lawn when these do not 

 form parts of fermenting manure heaps, and which add more 

 lichness than is imagined to all manure or compost heaps 

 of which they form part. The rubbish heap, when properly 

 managed, will be the means of returning to the garden much 

 of what was taken from it, and for many purposes is not in- 

 ferior to half-decomposed stible manure. Its enriching pro- 

 perties will to a great extent depend on bringing the whole 

 mass into a state of gentle fermentation, and having the fer- 

 menting material so covered that the fertilising properties are 

 allowed to escape into the open air as little as possible. The 

 more this is attended to during the season, the more effective 

 will dressings from the rubbish heap be. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Took up the last of the Onions, and trenched the ground so 

 as to be ready for planting Cabbages. Stirred the soil among 

 those planted. Coleworts, &c., are growing rapidly after the 

 lains, and Cauliflowers, which were almost standing still, have 

 done wonders after the sewage water and the rains. Took up 

 another piece of Carrots, as we wanted the ground. 



Celery. — We have lately noticed this at considerable length, 

 yet it may be as well to note that we have this season a little 

 of the Celery grub or caterpillar, which we have not had for a 

 number of years. Though we have not much of it, it is worth 

 looking after and destroying, as thus we shall be more apt to 

 escape its attentions in a subsequent season. The grub itself is 

 rarely seen without looking for it, as it houses itself between 

 the two skins of the leaf, and feeds on the tissues inside. Its 

 presence is easily perceived by parts of the foliage assuming a 

 dead, blistered appearance. In each of those blistered parts a 

 caterpillar either is or has been, and the longer it remains the 

 larger will the blistered space be, as the whole of the interior 

 will be eaten up, except the gossamer-like skins left. The grub 

 seems to have no access to air, except what may pass through 

 the epidermis of the leaf. Many years ago we used to wonder 

 how the grub found its way into the leaf, as not the smallest 

 opening could be observed by which it could enter. The 

 grub is the larva of a small and pretty fly {Tephritis onopordinis), 

 the body of which is not a quarter of an inch in length, and 

 the wings when expanded not more than half an inch across. 

 These deposit their eggs under the epidermis of the Celery 

 leaf in June and onwards. The eggs soon hatch into grubs, 

 and these eat as they grow, until, arriving at maturity, they 

 make a way out for themselves, go into the ground, and 

 remain in a dormant chrysalis state until the next summer, 

 when they appear in the winged state, and do little or no harm, 

 except depositing their eggs to furnish future generations. 



Squeezing the blistered places so as to destroy the grub will 

 be sufiicient, but it is preferable to cut the blisters off, and 

 burn them, as they look unsightly, and this will prevent the 

 grub arriving at the chrysalis state. Strong scents, as tar, 

 will help to keep the winged insect away. Ten years ago, or 

 more, after being visited with the grub in the previous year, 

 we rtm some tar cord over the beds, and we also found dusting 



the foliage slightly with soot good means of keeping the 

 insect from depositing its eggs. This once done, and the 

 young grub protected by the epidermis of the leaf, no applica- 

 tion to the foliage of any powder or liquid that would not hurt 

 the plant will have any effect on the grubs. To destroy them 

 they must be squeezed in their feeding chambers, or removed 

 with their blistered domiciles. We should bear in mind that 

 each of these grubs that safely passes the winter, and becomes 

 a fly in the following summer, may, by depositing its eggs, be 

 the parent of numberless grubs to cause trouble in the future. 



FP.riT GARDEN. 



The chief work has been looking after Strawberry plants in 

 pots, and cleaning the main plantations, which ought to have 

 been done earlier, only other work was so pressing ; but the 

 sooner the Strawberries are cleared of runners, and mulched 

 after their bearing is over, the better it will be for them. If 

 the heavy rains continue, a few of the forward plants in potB 

 will be laid on their sides, as it is possible for them to be too 

 much washed for the early ripening of the buds. 



Gathered Apples and Pears on fine sunny days as the fruit 

 became fit, for in this fine, mild, moist weather what will stand 

 had better remain a little longer. Where the growth of the 

 trees of early kinds is too rampant root-pruning may be resorted 

 to as soon as the fruit is gathered, doing it gently, so as not to 

 interfere with the next season's crop. Where planting is to be 

 done, the ground should be prepared as soon as possible. In 

 all cases where early fruiting is an object it is well to make 

 hillocks above the surface, so that the roots at planting shall 

 be nearly on the surface level. These will soon go deep enough 

 if left to themselves; but the trees may be strong enough and 

 fruitful enough, with the roots running near the surface, il 

 surface-mulchings be used every summer, and especially after 

 the ground becomes warmed by the sun's rays. If we could 

 do as we like, we would trouble ourselves little with tall trees 

 in orchards, but would grow most fruit trees in private gardens 

 in quarters of bushes or pyramids, where they would suffer buts 

 little in such storms of wind as we have had this season, which 

 in some places scarcely left a fruit on the trees. Apples, &c., 

 were a drug in the country markets in consequence, hut good 

 keeping sorts we expect to be scaice and high-priced. Bemoved 

 second breastwood from trees, that the autumn eun might have 

 more power on the buds. Lighted fires, especially during the 

 day, in late vineries, and looked after any appearance of damped 

 berries. Turned the linings of beds that have Melons and 

 Cucumbers in them. Pruned freely the beds of Cucumbers in 

 frames that have borne all the season, and we expect to obtain 

 more fruit from them before the autumn becomes too cold. 

 The linings of these beds had never been turned previously 

 since they were made in spring. The keeping a mild heat, 

 especially in the front of the beds, is partly owing to the dry 

 summer, and partly to the rough spouting in front, which pre- 

 vented rains and heavy dews on the glass from trickling into 

 the beds in front. 



OKNAMBNTAL EEPAKTUENT. 



Notwithstanding the rain and all drawbacks, th« flower 

 garden is still very fair, partly, no doubt, owing to the mildness 

 of the weather. The chief drawback is that the leaves from 

 lofty Elms and other trees are falling, and are driven over the 

 smooth-cut lawns, these leaves falling all the sooner owing to 

 the battering they had from each other during the tempests. 

 After one of these tempests the foliage on fine trees looked as 

 parched and brown as if the leaves had suddenly, when quite 

 green, been visited with from 5° to 10° of frost. 



Nearly finished all our cuttings for bedding except Calceo- 

 larias, and these we shall let alone for two or three weeks i{ 

 the weather remain mild, as we hope it will do, for by that 

 time we shall be able to move other cuttings to give them 

 room ; and if we insert the Calceolarias earlier they root too 

 soon, and become too crowded in the cutting bed before we can 

 turn them out into earth pits in spring. We are quite satisfied 

 if our Calceolarias root little or none until the new year. We 

 generally allow about IJ inch from cutting to cutting. The 

 heavy rains on Friday night have made the Calceolarias duller 

 than they have been all the summer, as so many flowers have 

 fallen, but there are plenty of strong buds ready to open, and 

 they will be gay for some time if the weather continue mild 

 and sunny. 



Among florists' flowers. Auriculas should now be under pro- 

 tection, as they suffer much from dashing rains, and continued 

 wet is apt to bring on canker and other evils. At this period 

 no place is better than not far from the glass, in a frame or pit, 



