•112 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTDRE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



[ I>«c«mb«r 2, 1869. 



tread more cloeely. In order to be ready to make up pro- 

 pagaliDg-beda of all kinds, or to form liniuge, it is necessary to 

 have in the coarse of next month a mixture composed of "hot 

 dung and leaves ; therefore, before it is to be put up into a bed, 

 a quantity of hot dung should be drawn from the stable-yard to 

 the leaf yard, thrown together, and well watered, in order to 

 allow tlie fiery heat to epcape. When fermenttd thus for a 

 week or so, the manure may be mixed with leaves. About four 

 parts of leaves to one of hot manure, will make an enduring 

 mixture. This provided, a good hotbed can be made up nt any 

 time, for if the dung has had one heating previous to its mixture 

 with the leaves, little danger need be apprehended from impure 

 vapours, provided the most ordinary precautions be ob.'erved. 

 The chief anxiety of the amateur, as far as Tulips, I'lhlias, 

 Carnations, Pinks, ,tc., are cjnoerned, isnow at an end. Tulips 

 ought all to be planted, and if the bed has been properly made 

 will require but little attention till they are fairly out of the 

 ground. Dahlias ought all to be out of the ground by this 

 time, and their tops out oS; and having been exposed"under 

 cover in a dry airy place, llicy will be ready to be store 1. Car- 

 nations must be kept hardy— that is to say, if they have been 

 potted early; if obtained fiiice the middle of October they will 

 require much more attputiou, for at this time being com- 

 parative stationary, it will be found that late-potted layers are 

 more susceptible of damp and frost than those which are well 

 established. Take the first opportunity of carefully looking 

 oyer Carnation layers that are in frames; it is possible that 

 dirt may have settled in the axils of the leaves ; as this retains 

 moisture in a very inoonveuiect degree, it is highly necessary 

 for the health of the plants that it should be removed. Modes 

 of storing half-hardy plants vary in different situations ; some 

 persons can afford pits, some even can spare house room, and 

 some are driven to the cellar. Whatever mode be adopted, let 

 it he borne in mind that confined damp is nearly as prejudicial 

 as frost. A lean-to shed is a very good place, and plants with 

 a ball of earth dried on them, will keep very well here plunged 

 in coal ashes, with the addition of an old mat and a little 

 straw over the shed during severe weather. 



OKEEKHOUSE AXD COSSERVATOKY. 



Owing to the mildness of the weather, some of the very 

 earliest Camellias may now be coming into bloom, and where 

 this is the case take care to keep as lo>v a temperature as pos- 

 sible, in order to prolong their beauty. All drip must be 

 avoided. The general collection will soon be making a fine 

 display. They should, therefore, receive careful attention as 

 to watering with tepid weak liquid manure. Let them not, 

 however, receive a drop until they are really in want of it. and 

 then give it liberally. If iu the case of over-drvness air bubbles 

 arise, continue to fill up with water until they cease. Let not 

 a drop be spilled on the conservatory floor at this period, 

 and give a little air at back all night, in order to let atmo- 

 spheric humidity pass off. See that early- flowering Cinerarias 

 have the lightest place in the house, and be kept close to the 

 glass. Crowding is very prejudicial to this plant. Let plants 

 of Eranthemum pulchellum coming into bloom have abundance 

 of water and a warm situation. Early Hyacinths will also 

 Boon bo in flower, and with care a succession of them may be 

 kept up till spring. For late-flowering bulbs the best pots' are 

 those .5 inches in diameter (48V) for one bulb, and 6 or 7 inch 

 pots for three bulbs, and where a fine display is desired, three 

 grown together in one pot secure that object much better than 

 single bulbs. For potting, the soil should be as rich as pos- 

 sible, such as one-half ficsh loam cut from a pasture, with the 

 turf decayed in it, well-decomposed cow or horse dung, and a 

 small quantity of sand well mixed. Drain efficiently, and after 

 filling the pots lightly with the soil recommended, or, if it 

 cannot be had, the richest and lightest at command, place the 

 bulbs upon the surface, slightly pressing them into the soil. 

 After watering, if the soil is not" sufliciently moist, set the pots 

 out of doors on a dry bottom, and cover" them with old tan. 

 ashes, fta. After remaining there for a month the bulbs will 

 be sufliciently rooted to render it safe to remove them to a 

 gentle bottom heat of about 5.5°. introducing the pots iu 

 numbers proportionate to the demand at intervals of abjut a 

 fortnight.— W. Keake. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



EITCnEN r.APr>EN\ 



Cc/fc)/.— Took the opportunity of earthin»-up the last piece 

 of Celery, placing dry ashes and burnt earth round the stems 

 of the plant. As yet we have not had a single plant that was 



not fit for table nse. When we lose at all, we expect it will be 

 by damping, and not by bolting. Our last bed has had little 

 earthing.np. We planted it out chiefly in the hope that it 

 might come in for soups, ic, in spring, rather than with the 

 hope it would be of mne") service in the salad bowl. Had we 

 the chance of plenty of dry stubble or dry litter, we would 

 pack it firmly among the plants of our Celery beds, and then we 

 would need to be less careful in protecting from frost. Though 

 as yet we have not had enough of frost to collect ice for the ice 

 house, we have thrown a little litter several times over the 

 Celery beds. We find the Celery keeps all the better if the 

 exposed leaves do not suffer much from frost. 



Root Crops. — All our roots, with the exception of Parsnips, 

 are now safely under cover. Carrots are never so good if left 

 in the ground in mild weather so long that the fibres begin to 

 come from the i^ides. Beetroot is easily injured by frost, and 

 in our case we find that when the roots have come to their beat 

 they are apt to be injured by rats, which make as much havoc 

 with the crowns as rabbits do with the sunny side of Turnips. 

 Where there is plenty of room, all such roots may be well kept 

 in small heaps. To make the most of shed space, they are 

 generally sorted, and built in na'row heaps packed in dry sand. 

 For this purpose sand, or burned or dried earth, is the best, and 

 sawdust, whatever the nature of the wood it come from, is the 

 worst. It deteriorates flavour, and is apt to berome heated to 

 such an extent as to cause the roots to decay. When dry sand, 

 A-c, is not to be had, we have found no better plan than build- 

 ing in layers, each layer being separated from those next it by 

 layers of dry twiggy branches, and of these the Larch and the 

 Spruce are, perhaps, the best. These keep the roots long fresh 

 and cool by the free ingress of air. Carrots keep longer juicy 

 and sound it a thin slice be removed with the top. If not 

 done now, it may be done any time in January or February. 

 When Carrots are kept for seed, the tops must remain entire. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



We have bad acceptable rains, none too early, as water was 

 becoming scarce in this neighbourhood, many large ponds 

 being quite dry. The ground is now more suitable for all 

 kinds of planting. Planting fruit and forest trees, pruning, 

 tying, &!., were entered into somewhat in detail some weeks 

 ago, as well as replanting and root-pruning, and there is 

 nothing much we could add. 



Being apprehensive of wet, we had the remainder of onr 

 Strawberiy plants plunged in leaves on a vinery border, and 

 some old lights placed over them. Placed also in a heated pit 

 plants showing, and others on shelves where they would be 

 gently excited ; also filled a frame where there is a gentle 

 bottom heat, the pots standing on the surface, not plunged, as 

 much bottom heat would be injurious now in the case of pots 

 well filled with good roots. Removed yelloT? leave.^ and any 

 berries inclined to damp in the late vinery, and gave a little 

 fire beat with top air in dull drizzly days, allowing the fire heat 

 to decline towards evening. Gave front air, and only sparingly, 

 in clear mild days. We have been a little troubled with rats 

 gnawing the Vine stems that come through the front wall. We 

 never knew them meddle with stems of Vin?s planted inside 

 the house — a pood additional reason, joined to others, why it 

 is advisable that Vines should be so planted. A press of other 

 matters has prevented our going on with pruning, frc, as we 

 would have wished, for the spring always brings more than 

 enough of work with it. 



ORNAirENTAL DErABTMEKT. 



Cleaned, swept, and rolled, as a mere matter of routine. 

 This is very suitable weather for fresh turfing and ground 

 work of all kinds. Collected leaves in the park, knowing that if 

 a few dry and windy days should come we should see no more 

 of the leaves, and every season finds us short of leaf mould 

 for many purposes. Nothing else will exactly tale the place of 

 leaf-mould compost when well exposed to the airand sweetened. 

 It is, however, not safe for many purposes, if used when 

 only about half decayed. We had some potting done with a 

 lit'le of what seemed sweet half-decayed leaves put over the 

 drainage, and we had to take the plants out and repot them, as 

 the spawn of various fungi were filling the leases and spread- 

 ing through the soil. We believe fungi and mildews develope 

 themselves in borders and quarters from using such material 

 too fresh, and in a rank unsweetened state. We may thus 

 easily find an enemy where we thought we had a sure friend. 



We find nothing so good for draiiuinc as a little clean fresh 

 moss over the crocks, one crock over the hole, and the moss is 

 often more effective than a handful of crocks without it. It 

 retains moisture, and parts with a superabundance of it. When 



