Janaary 21, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



47 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



WINTER CUCUMBERS. 



FEEL I owe an apology to some of your 

 readers for not answering their queries on 

 the above subject sooner, but I thouglit pro- 

 bably if left alone they would answer each 

 other. As there seems to be now no hope 

 of this, I wUl take the queries seriatim, and 

 see if I have anything to add to what ap- 

 peared in the Journal of November 2Gth. 

 At the same time be it understood that 

 when I speak of my successes it is in no 

 boastful spirit. I do not for a moment suppose I should 

 succeed so well under the conditions named by some of 

 your correspondents. 



" S. J. A." (page 489) is the first querist, and to him, 

 before saying anything about Cucumbers, I will give a 

 word of advice on another matter ; probably, however, 

 his good sense will prevent him requiring it. He is 

 acting under another's direction, and the one whose 

 direction he acts under has to bear the responsibility, and 

 therefore is entitled to carry out his own plans, and it is 

 the duty of " S. J. A." to enter into the spirit of them as 

 thoroughly as possible, and carry them out to the letter. 

 It will not do for " S. J. A." to be pulling one way, 

 and the one who gives him directions pulling another. 

 " S. J. A." must make up his mind that Cucumbers can 

 be grown with a night temperature of 70°, and determine 

 to do it. I should if similarly situated. " S. .J. A." will 

 probably have the chance some day of using his own dis- 

 cretion as to cultural details, and he will then find that 

 there is a great deal more requu-ing to be erased from the 

 ordinary garden calendar besides that bearing on high 

 night temperatures. I know of no reason for sowing four 

 or more seeds in a pot, and afterwards breaking theh' 

 roots in repotting them, necessitating shading until they 

 are re-established, and resulting in loss of vigour and loss 

 of time. Sow in single pots, break not a root, and never 

 shade, unless for an hour or two after a spell of dull 

 weather. I consider it preferable to use liquid manure 

 when required rather than mix dung with the soil. There 

 is very little in the remains of a spent hotbed for plants 

 to feed on, the process of fermenting Las taken most of 

 the ammonia away, and what is called manure is often 

 only the packing material which once contained it. 



" R. R. S. H." (page 501), is the next quivist ; but I do 

 not quite understand whether be wants information or an 

 argument. I will suppose it is the former. Arguments 

 generally end in personalities, and impart but little in- 

 formation. Well, then, the Cucumber I grow is called 

 Baron Hill, or Dickson's Favourite, and Dickson's All the 

 Tear Round of F. & A. Dickson. I do not say it is the 

 best, but it is a good one, and has served mo well ; there- 

 fore, till I prove another to be better, I shall stick to 

 it. Telegraph is also a splendid winter Cucumber. 

 "R. R. S. H." says he cannot get good Cucumbers with 

 a lower minimum than 00°. During the three-weeks 

 fi'ost we lately had my house was more than once below 

 50°, and the plants are now in beautiful health, and 



No. 721.-V0I,. XXVIII., New Sbeies. 



showing three fruits at almost every joint. Scores of leaves 

 measure 15 inches across, and have stalks 9 inches long. 

 Two plants fill a space of 30 feet by 10 feet. There is 

 not an insect or a speck of mildew on them, and they are 

 clothed with foliage to within a foot of the base. 



I have great faith in a good steady bottom heat ; I 

 have just tested it under my plants, and find it to be 78° 

 at 10 inches below the sm-faoe. The atmospheric tempe- 

 rature at the same time is C2° ; and as the weather is 

 mUd, and there is not much fire going now, I should say 

 at a guess that the bottom heat is never below 70°. 

 When it is considered what a very high temperature the 

 roots of Cucumbers must sometimes be in when grown 

 on ordinary hotbeds in summer, and how rapidly they 

 grow, and what enormous leaves the plants produce, it is 

 no wonder that they also like to be kept warm in winter ; 

 but beyond keepirg the plants comfortable, nothing further 

 should be aimed at, excepting by dayhght. All growth 

 made in the dark is worse than useless ; the brighter the 

 light the higher may be the temperature. 



The note by ' W. G. S.," January 7th, is a valuable addi- 

 tion to our Cucumber knowledge, and I have no doubt Mr. 

 Piatt will prcfit by it. I should recommend him to clear 

 out his Cucumber house — soil, slabs, water, and every- 

 thing, and scald every part that can be scalded, oiling or 

 painting the woodwork, limewashing the walls, &c., and 

 the slabs if used again should first be passed through a 

 fire or boiling water, and then to adopt my plan of using 

 simply very light turfy boU. This may also be placed 

 over a wood fire and made rather hot before using, but 

 not bui-ned sufficiently to destroy the fibre. I should 

 prefer rubble to water in winter about the bottom-heat 

 pipes, as I think the soil would thereby be kept sweeter. 

 60° is not generally considered a high minimum, although 

 I recommend 55° as being sufiiciently high. When the 

 article was written which appeared November 26th, I 

 had on my mind those who recommend a night tem- 

 perature of 65°, and even 70° ; the higher figure being 

 recommended that same week in a very influential con- 

 temporary. If mine had been at 70° on the last day of 

 the old year, when we had ^5° frost, I do not suppose 

 they would now be in as good a condition as they are. 

 The house was nearly down to 50°, and was covered with 

 frigi domo for forty-eight hours. It was merely one long 

 night to the plants, and they suffered far less than they 

 would have done from a strong fire heat. — Wm. Taylor. 



BIRDS AND FRUIT BUDS. 

 In a contemporary a correspondent runs a tilt long 

 and strong against small birds, and especially the house 

 sparrow. He says, after describing the havoc small 

 birds commit in the destruction of fruit buds, " Sparrows 

 are most destructive this way. Such birds are becoming 

 far too numerous." The former he presently qualifies 

 by stating, " In the matter of fruit buds they [sparrows] 

 are almost as destructive as the bullfinch." The sense 

 is so much altered as to reduce sparrows to an inferior 

 rank as bud-destroyers to bullfinches ; whereas he sets 

 No. 1373.— Vol. Lni., Old SESisa. 



