October 28, 1869. ] 



JOURXAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



345 



Bient place outside the garden Bhould be appropriated to the 

 garden refnse ; and before the leaver, &a., are wheeled to the 

 heap, let a sprinkling of ashes or charred refuse be placed over 

 each layer, by which a heap of valuable manure will be formed. 

 When the ground is dry proceed with digging up vacant spaces, 

 throwing the land into ridges, that it may be effectually exposed 

 to the influence of frost. It should be a rule to double-spit or 

 trench land every alternate year at least ; but when two crops 

 are taken oU the same place yearly, trenching should alternate 

 with digging every time the ground is cropped. On the first 

 line morning take up U^rt and CarroU, and spread them on the 

 surface to dry till afternoon, when they may ba removed to the 

 Btoring room and there spread out again till tLe? are quite 

 dry, after which they may be stored in dry sand. Cjiistant 

 attention will be necessary for some time in examining them 

 to see how they are likely to keep. Ilemove the decaying 

 leaves from Brus^eh Sprouts and Broccoli, and from all other 

 growing crops, carrying them at once to a piece of ground if 

 vacant, where they can be trenched into tlie soil, spiinkling 

 them first with quicklime to destroy the snails and sings with 

 which they swarm at present, as well as to hasten decompo- 

 Bition. S'ir the soil among Caulijlowcr plants under hand- 

 glasses, and sprinkle the surface with charcoal dust when to be 

 had. Attend to the earthiug-up of Celery. Take advantage of 

 a fine day to tie up Enliec and Lettuce for hlanching. Turn 

 over and rope up Onioiu on wet days. Examine Potatoes and 

 any other roots which are stored away. 



FRUIT GAr.DEN. 



Prepare ground for new plantations of Currants and Goose- 

 berries. Cuttings of favourite sorts of Gooseberries may now 

 he made, and planted in beds manured witli leaf mould and 

 sand ; the latter will aid their rooting, and the former will 

 hasten their growth. 



FLOWER Gir.DEN. 



When the unfavourable weather has taken effect on Lobelias, 

 Salvia patens, and similar plants they should be taken up, 

 especially where the fljwer stems are killed as well as the 

 leaves. The Salvias, however, ought to be left in the ground 

 until the stems die down, as the roots will be thereby much 

 benefited. The best way of keeping these plants is to place 

 them in pots merely suflicient to hold the roots, using rather 

 dry soil, and set them where they will be dry and cool. A few 

 degrees of frost will be less hurtful than heat ; they must 

 receive no water until they commence growing. Scarlet and 

 other Pelargoniums for turning out in spring ought to receive 

 the same treatment, only they cannot be too soon taken up 

 after their beauty is once destroyed. Although the old Chinese 

 Kose is very much neglected as compared with what it used to 

 be, it is by no means unworthy of a place in pleasure grounds, 

 even with all the attractions that newer sorts possess ; the 

 more it is cut the greater will be its profusion of flowers, and 

 cuttings put in now in an open border, leaving one bud above 

 the ground, will strike root readily. Borders or beds for bulbs 

 should be well drained, and somewhat raised above the general 

 surface with some good hotbed dung, fresh soil from an old 

 pasture, and some sand. What dry surface heath soil is to 

 Cape and New Holland plants, virgin soil, as it is called, is to 

 bulbs of various kinds. Ute such open-textured material as 

 fern and straw for protecting tender Boses, as the air will be 

 diffused throughout; it will not only keep the heat in and the 

 cold out, but prevent that stagnation which moss and all such 

 close materials invariably cause, particularly if much rain falls. 

 Not a day should be lost, now the weather has become settled, 

 in making up Pink beds. So much improvement has taken 

 place lately amongst these flowers, tlLit amateurs, unless they 

 have added to their collections regularly, will find themselves 

 apparently a century behindhand. Dahlias are still blooming 

 in many places, but rather miserably. As soon as the tops are 

 blackened by frost take them up, otherwi:-e they are apt to start 

 at the crown. Cut them cfi about a foot Jong, and place them 

 in Buch a manner that the sap which exudes may not run into 

 the hollow stem ; should it do so decay will be the probable 

 consequence. Small pieces of zinc or lead attached to copper 

 wire are best to mark them with, or the zinc may be stamped 

 with a number co^re8p^nding with the name in the book. 

 Plant offsets of Tulips, and arrange the best bed definitely 

 previous to planting when the soil is suilieiently dry ; the sooner 

 the better. 



OBEENHOUSE AND CONSEKTATORT. 



As the beauty of out-door plants gives way before the storms 

 of autumn the conservatory should be made as attractive as 

 possible, as it will now become in some respects the only place 



where flowering plants can be inspected with comfort in unfa- 

 vourable weather. To assist this let the requisite arrangements 

 both as regards watering and changing the plants take place 

 early in the day, that the effects of the watering, syringing, &e., 

 may be removed, and an agreeable dryness pervade the house, 

 before it is visited by the family. No pains must likewise be 

 spared to keep the house gay by introducing plants in succes- 

 sion as they come into bloom, including a portion of the stove 

 plants which have been grown expressly for this purpose. A 

 little gentle forcing will bring the different varieties of Epi- 

 phyllum trnncatum into bloom ; and wiih the addition of Chry- 

 santhemums, iate Fuchsias and Pelargoniums, Pancratiums, 

 Amaryllids, Mignonette, Neapolitan Violets, &i!., a tolerably 

 gay appearance may be maintained until the time when forced 

 plants will be more generally available. Let the admission of 

 air be well regulated, so as to preserve a gentle circulation 

 tbroiighjut the house in mild weather without ciusing draughts. 

 Fires will be necessary, not so much for keeping up the tem- 

 perature, except during frost, as for the purpose of promoting 

 a medium state of dryness in the external air, so as to make 

 the house enjoyable in all weathers. Some of the most useful 

 plants for house decoration during winter and spring, when 

 subjected to gentle forcing, are the different kinds of Khodo- 

 dendrons, Azaleas, Kalmias, &•?., usually termed American 

 plants. As these have now perfected their buds, plants well 

 furnished with buds can easily he selected for the purpose. 

 Without naming each particular kind suitable, I may remark 

 that many of the hybrid scarlet Khododendrons which, owing 

 to their earliness, rarely bloom iu perfection out of doors, are 

 the best for early forcing, coming into bloom with but little 

 trouble. After selecting the plants from the nursery have them 

 potted in peat in as small pots as the roots can be well placed 

 in ; they may then be watered and set in a pit or empty vinery 

 to be brought forward as required, beginning very gently with 

 them at first in a moist heat, and increasing the heat as they 

 advance towards blooming. Pelargoniums should be placed 

 rather near the glass, to preserve a short-jointed and sturdy 

 habit of growth ; all useless shoots should be thinned out, and 

 the principal shoots pegged ont at regular distances, so as to 

 maintain a due balance of shape. Thorough cleanliness should 

 be maintained at all times in respect to stages, glass, and floors. 

 It these directions be attended to the spotted leaf will not show 

 itself, neither will the plants require many sticks to assist 

 them, but a healthy sturdiness will at all times bo maintained. 

 Now is a good time to cnll out from the first-struck batch of 

 herbaceous Ciilceolarias some of the best plants, and give them 

 a liberal thift, using fibrous light loam, rubbly charcoal, and 

 sharp clear sand intermixed. These plants, with due attention 

 throughout the winter, will make large specimens, and produce 

 a good show in the conservatory or mixed greenhouse. The 

 Cinerarias intended to flower as specimens early in spring 

 should now receive their final shift. If Mignonette to stand 

 the winter has not yet been sown, sowing had better now be 

 deferred till spring, when a little put in early will bloom nearly 

 as soon as plants from seed sown no^, and the difficulty of 

 wintering it will thus be avoided. — W. Keane. 



DOIXGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 

 Somewhat unexpectedly we had a severe frost on the morn- 

 ing of the 19th, followed by mild weather. We were not un- 

 prepared, as for several nights the temperature was close on 

 the freezing point, and accounts in the newspapers of snow 

 storms in the north, and the north wind, ought to have made us 

 additionally careful. If we had expected 8°below the freezing 

 point on a north wall 5 feet from the ground, and nearly 10° on 

 the ground level, we certainly would have protected Scarlet 

 Runners, &c., more than we did. We covered Cauliflower in 

 head not sufficiently protected early in the morning, and it has 

 not suffered. The only crops injuriously affected were Kidney 

 Beans and Scarlet Runners ; and of Pelargoniums, some good 

 plants of variegated Alma were softened to their base. Dahlias 

 were blackened, and we were sorry for it, as the flowers were so 

 useful ; Heliotropes were also blackened in low-lying places, 

 but iu raised beds they were little iujuvcJ. A few Scarlet Pe- 

 largoniums in raised beds are still rather bright, but, of course, 

 with the exception of masses of scarlet Salvia fulgens, the 

 glory of the flower garden is over for the season, though now 

 most likely we shall let the beds remain a little longer, as a few 

 plants look well with their green and variegated foliage. A fine 

 line of Bijou Pelargoniums is still untouched, and many blooms 



