3-JC 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE aABDENES. 



( October SI, 18W. 



complete. The onlj eare Ihat remains is to give air in fayonr- 

 able opportunities, particnlarlj aTOiding cutting winds, which 

 in all prohabilily do more h«rm than frosts. The planting of 

 balbs must now occnpy attention. For those of (Uadiolua 

 choose a warm Ihorouctly drained situation ; work the soil 

 well by deep digging, and add plenty of rotted manure. Ele- 

 vate the bed or patch a few iuohos above the ground level ; 

 plant the bulbs 5 or G inches deep and C inches apart, surround- 

 ing them with 1 inch of sand before covering with eoil : protect 

 during tho winter against excessive wet and frost with a thick 

 layer of sawdust, old tan, dry litter, an old carpet, thatched 

 frames, or tarpaulin. The last three coverings must be removed 

 during favourable weather, and the former coverings should be 

 entirely cleared off when the plants appear. In small gardens, 

 where the ground is required for spring-flowering bulbs, plant 

 two or tliree in a 6 or 8incU pot. As soon as the beauty of the 

 spring flowers is over prepare for the reception of the Gladiolus 

 bulbs ; in planting out great care must be exercised in removing 

 them from the pots, so as not to disturb the roots. In wet, 

 cold soils the bulbs would be safer if stored in pots during the 

 winter and planted out iu May. When the blooming is over 

 the bulbs may either be lifted in patches, potted, and treated 

 during the winter as already recommended, or allowed to remain 

 in the ground, and protected as described above. Established 

 patches produce a finer display than the bulbs would if annually 

 disturbed and broken up. 



OBEENHODSB AND CONSERVATOET. 



Plants past their best should be replaced at once by some- 

 thing of a more showy ch»raoter. When the principal collec- 

 tion of ChryKanthemums comes into bloom a selection should 

 be made of the best and most usefnl sorts, for there are many 

 worthleES varieties in cultivation, and it is better to grow dupli- 

 cates of really good kinds than to retain such as are but indif- 

 ferent merely for the sake of having a long list of names. 

 Give timely attention to providing a succession of bloom with 

 which to keep the conservatory gay, and avoid as far as possible 

 the expense of forcing, which is injurious to most plants. Be 

 careful not to let plants in bloom suffer from want of water, 

 giving weak clear manure water to Chrysanthemums, Salvias, 

 Camellias, &c., and use every means to preserve the beauty of 

 specimens in bloom as long as possible. Damp and mildew 

 are the great enemies to be guarded against at present in con- 

 servatories and greenhouses; but these must bo sharply looked 

 after, especially iu the case of plants which have not ripened 

 their growth well and are in a rather soft state. Very little 

 water will be required here at present, but the plants should 

 be carefully looked over about twice a-week, so as to make sure 

 that nothing is allowed to feel the want of it. If not already 

 done, have plants tied into proper form with the least possible 

 delay, for it is difficult to tie a plant so that it will not look 

 somewhat stiff and unnatural, and the sooner all this kind of 

 work is done the better tho specimens will took when in bloom. 

 — W. Keanb. 



DOIKGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Grubs. — We are glad " J. W.," at page 298, approves of 

 Bhkllow planting, which wo recommended. Once, wtien every 

 plant seemed going, we prinked out shallow, then planted with 

 a trowel in a shallow drill, so that we could fasten the plant 

 well afterwards, and we almost entirely escaped. This, how- 

 erer, is not the experience of the market gardener alluded to 

 last week, whose plants were devoured in the seed beds. Our 

 own experience so far confirms the observation of " J. W." 

 We are quite as much obliged to " T. B. A. Z." for his correc- 

 tions at page 307. We have no doubt that the grubs we have 

 ourselves seen this season are the larva; of the crane fly, but 

 it is possible that, leather-jacketed as they are, they may, as 

 our correspondent believes, be the larva; of some dart moth. 

 We have seen few of the crane flies, or daddy-longlegs, this 

 season, but in previous years we could often have swept them 

 np in a cool morning in shovelfuls. They seemed to have a 

 fancy for benumbing themselves on smooth stone pavement. 

 One of the difficulties in being quite sure of the enemy is that 

 different food and different coloured earth make some difference 

 in the appearance of the grabs. 



Scarlet Runners. — Our Peas are nearly over, and we shall 

 seize the first opportunity of taking away the stakes, turning 

 over the ground where the row stood, and putting in some 

 temporary plants of the Cabbage or Lettuce tribe, as all may 

 be oseful before the cold daya of spring leave us. Oar Dwarf 



Kidney Beans are still fair, but are yielding to the more fleshy 

 Scarlet Runners, which are still quite green, and a mass of 

 pods of all ages. Frequently one sharp night destroys all, so 

 we have a lot of dry litter in readiness, which we shall throw 

 over them when we expect a sharp night. With this precau- 

 tion we have often had them out of doors far on in November. 

 Our last Dwarf Kidney Beans under a little protection are set- 

 ting and swelling their pods well. These often help us in the 

 beginning of the dark days without any artiiicial heat. Care 

 is taken now that the ground shall receive all the benefit of the 

 san to warm it. 



Ghihe Arlichok(s. — These never came in earlier than they 

 have done this season, owing, no doubt, to the mildness of the 

 winter. The crop was far beyond the common, both for 

 dishes and for preserving as bottoms ; but all at once, even 

 though tho ground was not very dry, the yield seemed to cease 

 a few weeks ago much earlier than nsual, and the leaves to 

 decay, leaving nothing but the bare flower-stalks, which were 

 cut down and charred, or turned to ashes. The stools seem in 

 pood condition, but the young leaves scarcely show as yet. We 

 find, however, on scraping the ground with our fingers tbey 

 are all right. We began to fear that we had allowed them to 

 bear too profusely, but we think now they will do well next 

 year, and grow strongly enough. Wa shall ere long place a 

 mound of dry earth over each stool, and then a little litter. 

 Meanwhile, as one dread enemy, the white Convolvulus, had 

 established itself in the ground, we have had the latter care- 

 fully forked over, and every root we could see taken out, and as 

 the comparative inconspicuousness of the stools left wide 

 spaces between the rows, after dunging the ground for the 

 benefit of the stools, and scattering some burnt earth and 

 ashes over the surface, we have planted Lettuces thickly down 

 the centre between each row of stools. On each side of these 

 Lettuces we spread a thin row of our burnt heaps, and we ob- 

 serve that not a slug, snail, or grub has yet dared to cross 

 them. 



In many families Globe Artichokes are little cared for, but 

 in others tliey are considered a great delicacy. For ourselves, 

 though not disliking them when well cooked, we consider them 

 chiefly useful when a pleasant conversation is desirable dming 

 dinner. 



We shall soon be obliged to fall back on the -TrntsaUin Arti- 

 choke tubers, to take their place, but we used so many last 

 season, that we did not want to begin with them too early, 

 either for dishes or soups, a great many being required for the 

 latter. A piece in which we thought we had not left a root, 

 came up almost as strongly as a piece carefully fresh planted. 

 When tho tubers are seldom used, a small piece of ground may 

 suffice for years, and without the trouble of transplanting ; 

 but when used often and prized, a piece should be planted every 

 year the same as Potatoes. Then the tubers cook more re- 

 gularly from being all of the same age. We are rather sur- 

 prised that pheasants here interfere little with the tubers, as 

 in the north we have helped to plant them largely in open 

 spaces in woods, and there the pheasants dug up the roots for 

 themselves. Probably it may be they obtain something more 

 substantial in the south, in the way Barley, Peas, and Indian 

 Corn. When once speaking of the abundance of rats to an 

 employer, we accidentally remarked that in a place where we 

 once lived, a rat was a rarity. " A very good reason," retorted 

 he, as he bolted off triumphantly, " a very good reason, they 

 knew they would have starved there, as you would have done 

 had you stayed much longer." 



On clearing off Beans, itc, between bushes, we shall fork 

 the ground over after rough-pruning, and plant thickly witk 

 any winter Greens left in the seed-beds, as they may be useful 

 in spring, and if not wanted, are easily cleared off. It is always 

 better to have enough and to spare, instead of having to make 

 everything go as far as possible. 



FRDIT GARDEN. 



Much the same as before. Wo have gathered tho greatest 

 part of our fruit, as even late Pears began to fall, and they 

 keep better if they are not frosted, and several mornings this 

 week the thermometer was very near the freezing point. Onr 

 dwarf bush Apple and Pear trees that showed in their foliage 

 a certain brownish tint, the result of tho drought of last 

 summer, are now to a considerable extent losing that dingy ap- 

 pearance, and as usual are bristling with frnit-buds. Of a few 

 growing rather strongly, we shall nip the roots a little as soom 

 as the fruit is all gathered. Root-pruned thus early, the trees 

 will not suffer, and if we should have a fair amount of sun for 

 a few weeks, the leaves, so long as they remain at all green, will 



