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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 11, 1875. 



previous year, the quantity distilled being some 121,875 ozs., 

 valued at about £90,000. It is chiefly exported from Philip- 

 opoli to England, France, Germany, and Austria ; and recently 

 merchants in the United States and Germany have opened 

 correspondence with firms in Adrianople, with the view of 

 establishing agencies to further extend this branch of com- 

 merce. — (Nature.) 



The Metropolitan Floeal Society have been enabled 



to make arrangements (through the liberality of the Directors 

 of the Alexandra Palace Company) for holding a grand autumn 

 Exhibition of Flowers at their Palace, on August 24th and 

 2.5th, 187.3. 



On the 3rd inst. at his residence Heath Cottage, Thorpe 



Hamlet, Norwich, Mr. John Bell, aged seventy-one. For 

 thirty-nine years nurseryman and seedsman in that city. 



SEED-SOWING. 



To sow seed well is to lay the foundation of success with any 

 crop, and more especially of such as are cultivated altogether in 

 the open air. Simple as this matter may appear, it is in reality 

 a most important one, and to which, I think, particular attention 

 may be given with greater advantage at this period of the year 

 than at any other ; not that it is ever to be lost sight of, for had 

 we not the approaching seed time in view when we hastened last 

 autumn to dig and expose every bare space or garden bed to 

 the sweetening influence of the coming winter's frosts, winds, 

 aye, and snow and rain too ? for soil well-drained that is 

 thrown up as loosely and roughly as possible not only runs no 

 risk of becoming sodden, but, on the contrary, derives much 

 benefit from the moisture which passes so quickly through it, 

 depositing nutriment in its passage, so that even iu winter 

 the clouds may literally be said to " drop fatness." 



How many times has the importance of autumnal digging 

 been explained, and yet how frequently do we see kitchen 

 gardens altogether neglected throughout winter? There lies 

 the soil — inert, cold, and sodden. No care or attention what- 

 ever has it received since the past season's crops were removed ; 

 and when approacing spring compels some attention to be given 

 it, what medium can possibly be worse for the assistance of 

 vegetation than the crude sour clods which, but for such tardy 

 and untimely culture, would have been free and open as ashes ? 

 Much more might one say upon the rough, unkempt, and most 

 unpleasant appearance of such gardens iu winter, but I will 

 only add that high culture and neatness are inseparable. 



It may be asked, What has all this to do with seed-sowing? 

 The answer is — and I wish to make it as plain and forcible as 

 possible — when seed is sown in unsuitable soil there is much 

 risk of failure, and the loss of a single crop implies a cor- 

 responding failure in our future supply. True it is that some 

 blame may be attached to the weather, but the aim of a really 

 earnest man is undoubtedly to maintain a full and unbroken 

 supply of whatever may be required at his hands, to combat 

 and overcome, so far as may be, the difficulties of unkindly 

 seasons, more or less of which he must always be prepared to 

 encounter ; and he will do so successfully if he be a man of 

 forethought, energy, and resource — anticipating the future by 

 his plans — working with a system thoroughly digested but as 

 elastic as possible — adapting his measures to the circumstances 

 by which he finds himself surrounded. 



Now, do not suppose that I am writing solely for the benefit 

 of those having, or hoping to have, the charge of extensive 

 gardens ; rather should these remarks be regarded as applicable 

 with equal force to gardeners of every class, and my aim is to 

 animate those who have hitherto been content to remain 

 passive under evils that are not irremediable to such exertions 

 as experience has proved likely to bo rewarded by success. I 

 heard a person remark last year that he had lost the first two 

 sowings of Peas, and felt doubtful about the third, and I 

 gathered from his manner that he did not consider himself at 

 all blameable in the matter. No, the soil was at fault ; it was 

 so close and heavy in texture, and so foul withal, that the 

 seed either perished outright or was rendered useless by the 

 attacks of insects as soon as it became softened by the ex- 

 cessivo moisture of the soil. Here was an evil plainly set 

 forth. What was the remedy ? Just this : for each Pea row the 

 soil should have been raised a little above the ordinary level, a 

 drill made and almost filled with a mixture of soot, old loaf 

 mould, ashes, or sand, upon which the seed should be sown 

 and covered with some of the same light porous materials, 

 settling the whole gently down with the back of the spade. 



Thus the seed would be kept from contact with the cold wet 

 soil, and the process of vegetation rendered far less critical and 

 uncertain. 



It is an excellent rule never to sow seed in soil that is in 

 an unsuitable condition to receive it, or there will be consider- 

 able risk of failure, say in about an equal ratio to its want of 

 soundness. I will give an example drawn from my own prac- 

 tice last season. Several beds of Carrots were sown, one of 

 them in soil which, although iu excellent condition at the time 

 of sowing, was liable to be reduced to a hard compact mass by 

 a heavy shower ; and that is just what happened before any 

 growth was visible, the crop proving a total failure. What was 

 to be done? The other beds were in a flourishing condition, 

 but were not calculated to afford enough Carrots for the main- 

 tenance of a full supply. I had therefore to revert to an old 

 but certain plan, which was to make holes a foot apart and as 

 much in depth over the whole of the surface of the bed which 

 had failed, filling them firmly with a mixture of leaf mould 

 and sand, and in each sowing a pinch of seed. The result was 

 even better than I anticipated, for those late Carrots were 

 decidedly the best in the garden. That piece of land received 

 such a heavy dressing of ashes and manure last autumn that 

 no future crops can fail from a similar cause. It is only fair 

 to add that no such failure could have happened at all had 

 the plan adopted as a certain remedy been followed in the 

 first instance. 



It was about four or five years ago that the plan of covering 

 Pea rows with small squares of glass immediately after sowing 

 was propounded ; since then I have so used glass for the pro- 

 tection of a variety of seeds that are liable to suffer from the 

 attacks of birds or mice. The advantages attendant upon the 

 plan and benefit derived are so great, that I do not hesitate to 

 call especial attention to it once more. The glass is laid upon 

 the soU covering the seeds at the time of sowing, and is not 

 removed till the young plants lift it from the ground, which 

 they do very quickly, for the glass acts not only as a most 

 efficient protector, but as a capital agent for the attraction and 

 transmission of heat to the soil from the sun's rays, so that 

 vegetation is a much quicker process than under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances. — Edward LuoiinuEST. 



DINNER- TABLE DECOKATIONS. 



There can be no doubt a moderate arrangement of flowers 

 gives a dinner table an elegant appearance that nothing else 

 will. If the dinner table be of a medium size, one large stand 

 or vase with some specimen glasses grouped round it will bo 

 quite sufficient ; but for a table of large dimensions, of course, 

 the arrangement of flowers must be of a much larger scale. In 

 selecting flowers, those with a powerful odour should be 

 avoided as much as possible, or, at all events, only a judicious 

 amount employed, as large quantities of such as Gardenias or 

 Stephanotis make some feel faint. Arrangements of cut 

 flowers should, as a rule, have plenty of Fern fronds inter- 

 spersed through them, which set off, but at the same time tone 

 down, their varied hues. When selecting flowers for cutting, 

 it should be borne in mind if they are to be subjected to 

 artificial light, as it is well known some yellow and mauve 

 shades, if subjected to gas or any similar artificial light, 

 change, and not for the better. As far as possible all Ferns, 

 foliage and flowering plants, from which a supply is intended 

 to be cut, should be cooled-off as much as possible befora 

 being subjected to the knife. In some cases this cannot 

 be managed : but, as far as possible, those cut from a warm 

 stove should be avoided, as, when subjected to the dry hot 

 atmosphere of sitting-rooms, they soon shrivel and fade. 

 Another thing which tends much to keep flowers and Ferns 

 fresh, is having their stems severed by a sharp knife in place 

 of a pair of scissors. They should be cut, in a slanting 

 direction. By so doing the little tubes and vessels in the stem 

 are cleanly severed, and not crushed, as they would be were 

 scissors employed, and so are enabled to draw up the mois- 

 ture more freely, which keeps them fresh. When about to 

 make an arrangement, it is a good plan to have a bowl of water 

 at hand, with the chill just taken off; and before each Fern 

 frond is about to be placed in the position which it is to occupy, 

 dip it into the water in the bowl, Uft it out, and give it a gentle 

 shake, which will, to all appearance, remove the water from it ; 

 but though not visible, tiny drops will remain on the leaflets, 

 which help much to keep them fresh. Some flowers can be 

 subjected to the same treatment ; but it is more adapted for 

 Ferns and sprays of foliage than for flowers. Some people 



