456 



JOUBMAL OF HOBIICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDEMEB. 



( D(>s«mb«r 9, 1669. 



isg plant; , provided they have received the necessary treatment 

 daring the Enmmer — viz., Fibododendrous, Azaleas, Persian 

 Lilacs, Sweet Briars, Mobs and Provence RoBes, Crimson Per- 

 petual Ko=es, Ledums, Kalmias, Anne Boleyn Pinks, W'allllowere, 

 Sweet Williams, and l>utch bulbs. Unless, however, they are 

 in proper trim it will be labour in vain, and no mode of forcing 

 nor form of pit can compensate for tbis. The great secret, if 

 the heat wholly confista of fermenting materials, is to keep 

 down accumiUatisg damp and monldiness by almost con- 

 stant ventilation, increasing the linings in order to raise the 

 necessary temperature. Those who possess properly-heated 

 houses or pits will, however, as a matter of course, pursue a 

 eomewhat different method. In pruning and training climbers 

 in these houses, some regard must be paid to the time when it is 

 desirable the plants should bloom. Thus, with stove climbers 

 not required to ilower before autumn, pruning may be deferred 

 for some time, but for earlielr display it should be done at once. 

 Fassion-FIowers, Bignonias, and similar plants which make 

 long annual shoots, should only have their branches thinned and 

 slightly shortened, while others, as Combretums, may be spnrrcd- 

 in. Kennedyas will soon be showing bloom, and what training 

 they require should be dene at once, but the pruning of these 

 should not take place until after they have bloomed. When 

 Orange trees are grown to decorate the flower garden in sum- 

 mer, care should be taken to prevent their pushing in winter, 

 and this more especially if the trees are in a dark-roofed house. 

 When growth occurs under these conditions the leaves h.ive 

 always a thin flabby appearance, and soon turn brown after the 

 plants have been set out of doors ; whereas, if growth is pre- 

 vented till the trees are in the open air, the foliage will bear 

 any amount of Eunehine. — W. KEiXE. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST ■S\'EEK. 



KITCHEX GAEDEN. 



Caulijtoiters. — Those laid by in an earth pit, coming in 

 well, have had to be watched, and care taken to catch rats. If 

 the rats would take a head and use it up, it would not bo so 

 bad ; but one intruder will most iikely go over a secure of heads 

 and render them more or less unsightly, and even if the parts 

 nibbled by them are neatly cut out, it is not pleasant to think 

 that you are partaking of the leavings of a rat. Llowever, to 

 partake of many things with a relish, it is quite as well not to 

 be too inquisitive as to the processes through which they have 

 passed. In a wet day we managed to fresh glaze the moveable 

 tops of our hand-lights, though the many-cornered pieces make 

 it a troublesome jub. These would be more expensive than 

 they are, only much small glass can thus be brought into use. 

 We lately stated that small boxes would be better in every way. 

 The main point now with all plants under haud-ligbts, is to 

 keep them from soaking rains until the days lengthen in spring. 

 We have tried keeping young plants in frames, in small pots, 

 and protected at the foot of walls and planted out ; but on the 

 ■whole, placing small plants under hand-lights late in autumn 

 has been the best for affording us early cuttings in May. All 

 such plants can scarcely be kept too hardy until the sun gains 

 strength. Fall air is therefore always given in mild weather, 

 unless it be wet, when the top is merely lifted up a little. A 

 little frost does them no harm. If the leaves are frost-crusted 

 a little, we have had Cauliflowers covered up in continued 

 frosty weather for weeks. Provided there can be no growth, 

 continued darkness will do them no injury. A night of three 

 •weeks or a month in duration will not affect them more under 

 these conditions than one of the usual length iu winter. In 

 the good old-fashioned winters, when we used to have keen 

 frost for a month at a time, on uncovering such Cauliflowers, 

 ■we did not let them have the full sun for a day or two, and 

 made sure they were nicely thawed before nucovering. In such 

 keen frosty weathef, accompanied often with sunny days, those 

 ■who consider light to be everything, would uneover their Cauli- 

 flowers to let the sun act upon them, and thus, from being ex- 

 cited, they would be more likely to suffer from the keen frost at 

 night. Under these circumstances, provided the plants were 

 first slightly crusted, it would be better to let the covering re- 

 main, to keep out alike the heat of the sun and the intensity of 

 the frost. Under other conditions, where a low temperature is 

 secured, but where crust-frosting, however slightly, would be 

 dangerous, letting in a little sun heat and light would often be 

 nsefnl, even for raising the temperature a little. 



When we want Cauliflowers very early, we thin the plants 

 under glasses carefully to four or five in March, encourage 

 them by sun heat, giving less air, shutting-up early, and 



protecting in cold nights, so as to have the plants large and 

 strong before being compelled to spread them out by raising 

 the glasses on bricks, Ac, at the comers. 



We have scarcely had to replace a young plant in thie 

 season of grubs and slugs, and this we attribute partly to care- 

 fully forking over the ground, and looking for enemies narrowly, 

 working into it some hot burnt earth and ashes, planting when 

 these had time to cool, and using rough road drift for a slight 

 surfacing. Those nnder hond-lights now, were planted openly in 

 squares, and have not been long covered. Those of our readers 

 who have no glasses may have Cauliflower early by potting 

 small young plants singly in small potF — say 3-inch pots, keep- 

 ing them under protection, giving the plants more room after 

 the turn of the doy, and planting them out in finely-pulverised 

 soil in the middle of March. For early CauUflowcrs we prefer 

 small young plonts in October, and enticing them on with snn 

 heat and protection after March. When we had more time ■we 

 used t3 have hoods made of straw, with fcnr pieces of hazel 

 rod to keep the square for the bottom of the glass, and these 

 were easily lifted cfl and on. 



As stated above, daiiq) is the f rfst evil to be guarded against 

 as respects growing plants; in fact, now damp is the great 

 enemy to all plants nnder protection, and in such changeable 

 weather as much air as possible should be given to plants 

 under glass in pits and frames by tilting up the sashes and not 

 by sliding them. 



Every hole and breakage in the glass now telle most in- 

 juriously, because such a breakage lets in the water that falls 

 on the glass above it. Tilting np lights is by far the best 

 mode of air-giving in all weathers ; but sliding the sash is eo 

 much more easy in general, that it will be practised if not 

 coimtermanded. Even in a cold pit in a cold day, tilting at 

 the back does not fully expose the plants at the back, and the 

 cold air rushing in is met by the warm air going out, and is 

 thus mollified before reaching the plants. This is of still 

 greater importance when the plants are growing in artificial 

 heat. In hotbeds heated by dung, we have known numerouB 

 disasters arise from carelessly sliding the sash down over a 

 lining of rank dung in front. The fumes of the dung were in- 

 tercepted by the overhanging sash, and passed in among the 

 tender plants in the bed. 



For Lettuce, Endive, Sea-kale, Bhubarb, and Moshrooms, 

 see remarks a few weeks hack. 



Mus'nrooms.—OnT first piece in the lean-to honae is doingveiy 

 well, though it became rather cold after spawning, but helped, 

 no doubt, from being on a shelf, and some warm droppings 

 placed beneath it. The second piece is beginning to show. 

 A third large piece became rather hot after spawning, and was 

 carefully watched. If it had become hotter we would have 

 taken out the spawn. Throwing a little earth over the surface, 

 and beating firm down, arrested fermentation ; and nnding 

 the spawn was still sofe, and the heat remaining uniform, this 

 piece was also earthed-up. well beaten, watered on the surface, 

 and a clean spade drawn firmly over it, to leave a smooth sur- 

 face. We have frequently stated how to obtain moderately 

 thin Mushrooms for frying, and thick fleshy ones, that are 

 with difliculty cooked np to the centre, but are excellent for 

 chopping up. 



From what we can learn of many of our new beginners' 

 failures, they are chiefly owing to the spawn being put in 

 material too wet or too hot. The temperature mentioned at 

 page 41('i may be considered in every way safe. If the material 

 of a bed is very dry, the Mushrooms will be poor ; if wetter 

 than desirable, we wrap the spawn in a good handful of dry 

 litter. Much shaking and working of the material, if at all rich 

 at first, causes it to part with a large proportion of its nourish- 

 ing qualities. We have never had belter Mushrooms on shallow 

 beds, than when we brought the droppings every day from the 

 stable, and began making the bed at once, adding to it every 

 day. The layers were so thin, that, when moderately beaten, 

 they never heated violently. 



FF.riT OAnllKS. 



Proceeded, as opportunity offered, with pruning fruit trees, 

 making arrangements for planting what could net be done 

 earlier in the autumn, and watered with warmed water some 

 trees planted at the end of October in a Peach house, which 

 we shall want to start presently, merely keeping the frost out 

 on account of the other plants in the house. In the very 

 changeable ■weather — rainy, frosty, foggy, and snowy — we were 

 glad we had all our Strawberry plants under some kind of 

 protection from excessive wet and severe frost. 



We have had an inquiry from an esteemed correspondent, 



