170 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 25, 1875. 



leaves beyond the bunch. It will require a large supply of water when it has 

 made strong growth. Water must be applied carefully at present, but the 

 Vino must not suffer. "We do not syriuge our Viaes after the buds are 

 started, but a moist atmosphere is essential to healthy growth. 



Wall-tree Protection (BiU Bob).— The blossom buds on our wall 

 facing west aie not sufficiently advanced to be injured by frost. They may 

 be kept back by shading the trees with some pritecting material in sonshiny 

 days. The shadini^ should only be used when the sun shines on the wall. It 

 would not be rteairblo to keop the trees, as you saggeHt, in the dark. As 

 soon as the flowers show signs of opening, the oauvas could be used to protect 

 the trees from frost at night, rolling it up in the daytime. Louise Bonne 

 of Jersey is a fiee-fruiting variety. 



Lime for Clayey Soil (T. iV.).— You will not render it friable so as to be 

 good garden soil unless you pare and burn the top spit of the whole plot, 

 the ashes dug-in and the manures you name applied at the same time. Lime 

 at the rate of one hundred bushels per acre would not be too much for such 

 ;i clajey soil. 



Dressing for American Blight (TT.).— Spirits of petroleum applied with 

 a brush to the parts infested will destroy it, or the whole tree mav be done 

 over with it, omitting, however, the bade; or boiled linseed oil applied cold 

 with a brush will auswer, keeping it from the buds, especially after they have 

 begun to swell. Another cheaper and thoroughly efficacious remedy is to mix 

 with a pint of g&t tar a pint of dry powdered clay. Form the whole into a 

 paste by adding by degrees a gallon of warm soft water. Apply with a brush 

 to the parts infested, and, in fact, the whole tree except the buds; also bare 

 therootsaudexamine them, as this pest descends and feeds upon them in 

 winter. The composition should be thoroughly brushed into the crevieas and 

 angles. Apply the dressing warm, yet not over 120^ 



Cowslips foe Meadow (ff ).— The best plan would be to sow it with seed, 

 which may be had of any principal London or provincial seedsman, and for a 

 large Quantity a Rpecial price would be quoted. A pound of seed distributed 

 evenly over the field in March or e.irly in April would give you a nice sprinkling 

 of these pretty plants. You may, however, have some this year by removing 

 the plants just when they are beginniiig to grow. Take up with some soil 

 about an inch from the plant all round, and about 2 inches deep, and replant 

 in your pasture. The work is best done with a knife. 



Earthenware Pipes for Heating (Wm. Whitc).~Qla.zed earthenware 

 pipes have been used for heating by hot water, the joints being first stopped 

 ^^^ji t^Ted rope raramed-in tightly, yet taking cara not to burst the sockets, 

 and then make good with Portland cement. They are, however, liible to 

 breakage, and are bad radiators of heat. Cast-iron water pipes ara better, 

 and not very much more costly. The others have answered satisfactorily, 

 naving an iron pipe for joining to the boiler. 



Cutting Seed Potatoes (J. C. B.).— Nothing is gained by cutting into 

 very small pieces, and we should not cut them more than to have each set 

 about 1 oz. weight. You may, however, cut each Potato into as many sets as 

 the Potatoes have eyes, reservini^ a portion of tuber to each, and then rub 

 them in quicklime. Very large crops are had by the cutting to single eyes, 

 but for general crop it is not to be advised ; for your purpose we should advise 

 the single sets. 



Seakale Planting (F. E.).— Your bed 7 feet wide will contain three rows 

 of plants, you blanching them on the ground. Stretch a lin" along tho centre 

 of the bed, and put in three plants in a triangle, allowing -i inches between 

 the crowns, and these triangles of plants should be 2 feet apart, and 2 feet 

 from the cntre row on each side. These can realily be covered with pots for 

 forcing and blanching. The plants are best one year old. 



CoNNOVER'a Colossal Asparagus (2(f*'m.).— It is a good kind and large, 

 fully as good, if not superior, to the Giant. 



Early and Late Strawberries {I'Uin).~Ear}y : Black Prince. Early 

 Prolific, Sir Joseph Piston, Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury. Keens' Seedling. 

 Late : President, Dr. Hogg, Cockscomb, Ha<>ne Gloede, and Anna de Roths- 

 child. 



Dahlias (W. R. C.).— The colours of the Dahlias are— Ai-hitritor, fawn, 

 suffused purple, yellow at base ; James Cocker, purple ; Leah, golden yellow, 

 tinted purple; Earl of Radnor, plnra; William Newman, not known ; William 

 Lund, crimson maroon; John Standish, bright red; Julia Davis, yellow; 

 Miss Turner, white, rosy tip ; Maid of Essex, pale ground, tipped purplish 

 rose ; and Lady Gladys Herbert, white edged crimson. As to arranging them 

 iQ a border wo should have them iu order as follows : — Maid of Essex, Julia 

 Davis, Earl of Radnor, Miss Turner, James Cocker, Lady Gladys Herbert, 

 John Standish, Leah, and William Lund. If you cannot find out what 

 William Newman is. then have it, with Arbitrator next, or perhaps you can 

 improve upon this arrangement. 



White Beddisg Plant with Dell's Beet {An Amateur).— The best of 

 all is the one you have discarded — viz., Centaurea candidissima. The next 

 best is Cineraria maritima raised from cuttings. If the Cineraria grows too 

 tall it may be kept low by stopping. Chilian Beet is of no use, and white 

 Stocks equally unsuitable. Soil growing Beet will grow Centaurea well. 



Cerabtittm Propagation (Jf^'m).— The beds edged with this and grown 

 loo large and weedy should be tiken up with about 3 inches of soil and laid 

 on one side. The ground should then he thoroughly forked over, breaking it 

 up fine, and removing every particle of root of the Ceraetium and other 

 weeds. ^ After this give a good dressing of fresh soil, and manure or leaf soil, 

 and divide the Cerastium ; put it in, each single stem with its root (an inch 

 or two) about 3 inches apart every way, and 3 inches less each side than you 

 wish the edging to he. Do this in March, and cut off the tops about an inch 

 above the ground, watering if the weather be dry. 



Melon for Cold Garden Frame (Idem). — Any Melon you may sow in a 

 frame in May ought to have a little bottom heat 1 1 give the plants a start to 

 bring them up quickly, well rooted and growiag. and the seed shou'd be sown 

 early in the month. With no heat except fmra the sun you may ripen Little 

 Heath Melon successfully; but Meredith's Tlybrid Cashmare will not do well 

 in each a situation unless the season he unusually hot. 



Melons in Frame (F. (7.1. — The spa^e you have at command will answer 

 admirably for soil for M'ilons, which should ba strong loam moderately en- 

 riched and firm. Little Heath would suit, it being raised in a frame in gentle 

 heat, and put out when having three leaves. Train the vine — one from each 

 plant, planted 2 feet apart — at abtmt a foot distance from the glacs, and do 

 not stop it until it has reached to within a foot of the top, thca take out its 

 point. Yon will have side shoots; stop these one joint beyond the fruit. Im- 

 pregnate the flowers, keepin^' a rather dry atm-nphere wlicu in flower aud 

 until they begin to swell, tben keep mare moist and water fireely until the 



fruitis full-sized, then diminish the supply. Keep dry when ripening. Allow 

 four fruit to a plant. Weak liquid manure may be given after the fruit com- 

 mences swelling. Tomatoes would not succeed in lU-inch pots in the open— 

 at least not well; but if warm they may swell the fruit to fair size, and they 

 will ripen in a warm room. Lay tbe seeds flat. 



Learning Drawing, &c. (W. A.).— In every suburb of London are night 

 schools where you could obtain the instruction you desire. The other 

 questions will be answered aext week. 



Gathering Comte de Lamy PEAufCF. C.}.— Gather the fruit as soon as 

 it will part from the spray easily if lifted a little above a horizontal position. 

 It is ripe in the course of October usually. 



Arbor Vit.^ Trees Dying (R. T.).— The trees by your description we 

 should say had been cut by easterly winds rather than by blight or dryness of 

 soil. They may recover, but it is rarely that they do. Remove tae soil 

 around the trees as deep as the roots and as far as the branches extendad, aud 

 replace with a compost of turfy loam chopped-up fine, a third of leaf soil, 

 and a fourth of well-rotted manure, well mixed, giving a thorough soaking of 

 water in early April and*gain in May. 



Improving Patchy Lawn {R. B.). — Give a thorough scratching with an 

 iron rake in March, and a top-dressin'^ of rich compost with an eighih part of 

 lime incorporated, failing this a dressing of wet rotted manure. Early in 

 April rake well, clearing off any rough portion of compost, and wifi an early 

 prospect of rain sow over it Cynosurus cristatus, 7 lbs.; Festuca duriuscula, 

 41bs. ; Festuca tenuifolia, lib.; Poa nemoralia sempervirens, 31hs. ; Poa 

 trivialis, 2 lbs. ; Trifolium repens, 6 lbs. ; and T. minus, 2 lbs., in mixture for 

 one acre. Roll well after sowing. Do not cut very close for s time after 

 sowing — not until the growth is good, but keep well rolled. 



Peach Trees Gqmming (F.Jo/;n,s)— Gumming arises principally in trees 

 under glass from the looseness of the soil with too much richness, which 

 causes a free sappy growth and lon^-jointed wood, but it not unfrequently 

 results from too close tying of the branches and shoots to the wires. The 

 remedy in the first case is to prune but little and to water moderately, making 

 the soil firm as possible, so as to induce slow growth aud short-jointed wood; 

 and the other is to tie loosely, affording space for the shoots to swell. To pre- 

 vent abrasion it is well to have a ligature of the tying material between the 

 wire and shoot. Nothing will stop the gumming after it commences to issue, 

 bat judicious treatment will generally prevent it. 



Pteris tricolor from Spores (H. N.). — Half fill a pot with crocks, and 

 over this place roush sandy poat, filling t) the rim; fioish with about an 

 inch thickness of sifted peat, with a fourth of silver sand intermixed, press- 

 ing firmly. Water well, aud let stand to soak-in for a few hours, then water 

 again and agiin. After the third watering brush the spores of the frond on 

 to the surface, distributing equally, aud cover with a bell-glass just fitting 

 within the rim of the pot aud resting on the soil. Place in a warm house in 

 a shaded and moist position ; stand the pot in a saucer, which is always to be 

 kept full of water. No water will be needed on the surface, but it must be 

 kept constantly moist. When the young plants appear, which will take some 

 time, tilt the glass a little on one side at night, keepiug close by day, increas- 

 ing the opening a^ the plants advance in crowth, removing it gradually after 

 the plants throw-up fronds. Guano is not kept by us in tins as formerly. 



Inarching Muscat on Black Alicante (A Constant il-ca-itT).— The 

 operation may he satisfactorily performed, but both do well on their own 

 roots, and as a late-hanging Grape, Black Alicante is the better of the two. 

 We have seen Grapes of hith kinds upon the same Vine, the lower half 

 Muscat of Alexaidria, and the upper half Black Alicante. W^hat is the 

 variety of Bougainvillea you have in a pot in the stove? Not knowing the 

 kind, we might advise, but advise wrongly. 



Manuring Me,\dow (D. D.j.—Dis^ributo the horse droppings evenly next 

 month, and break small, or bush-harrow, after rain ; aud at the end of March 

 or beginning of April, but only iu moist weather, dress with phosphate guano 

 at the rate of 2 to 3 cwt. per acre. 



Draining Gravelled Sweep (F. J. C). — Stone drains, or, what would be 

 better, drain pipes or tiles, 2-inch being large enough, laid across your travel, 

 nowhere less than 15 inches deep, as you will have the pressure of carriages. 

 These 9 feet apart, and filled-up level with clay and stones so that the water 

 will pass off by the stones to the drains, will give you, we think, freedom from 

 surface water. 



Levelling Ridges— Heading Trees for Grafting (TF. J. J.).— The 

 ground ought to be forked over tlioroughly iu dry or frosty weather. It will 

 not do to level with a rake, it would sink unevenly. Cut off the heads only a 

 few days before grafting — a week at most. Rei-skin Floarhall Potato is at 

 best a watery kind. Tliey are best steamed with their skins, but baking is a 

 preferable mode of cooking. 



CLninERS for Roof of Fernery (^f/apaii/^ws). — Tour house will only be 

 suitable for greenhouse climbers. The most suitable would be Lapageria 

 rosea and L. alba, Tac^onia Van Volxemi, Bignonia jasminoides floribunda, 

 Cistus antarcticu^, Cobcea scandeus variegata, Habrothamnus fascicularia, 

 Mandevilla suaveolens, and Passiflora Camte Nesselrodo. Unless your house 

 be large the Tacsonia and Passiflora would be sufficient for the roof-civeriog, 

 as they will cover a large extent of surface, but we should also hive the 

 Lapagerias. If you have any bare wall that you wish to cover, Ficus repens 

 would do so admirably. 



Climbers for North Wall— Old Aspar.^gds Transplanting— Fig 

 Tree Foll of Wood ( IF/»(oni.— For the north wall besides Ivy Cotoneaster 

 microphylla, but it will not cling without nailing, aud we only know two 

 others that will — viz., Ampelopsis Veitchii and A. hederacea, both deciduous 

 and pretty, hut not equal to Ivy, the finest of all green or variegated leaf- 

 covering for a wall. Asparagus ten years old is not worth transplanting. 

 Younger plants would do better and be more enduring. Thin out th« long 

 bare branches of the Fig tree at the close of April, or when it is beginning to 

 grow. Cut these as near the base of the tree as you can; but whilst soeking 

 to prevent overcrowdiu;;, cot away as little young wood a^ possible, for the 

 more of that removed the more will there ba produced afterwards, aud the 

 more growth the less fruit. 



Plants for Rock work (IT. H. S.). — In the sunny parts or slightly shaded, 

 Sempervivums arachnoideum, oalifornicum, globiferum, and montanum ; 

 Sedums acre, atropurpureum, angUcum. glaucum, Nevi, kamtschaticum, pal- 

 lidum rO'ieum, and Wightmannianum ; Saxifragas atfiuis, Aizoou, ceratophylla, 

 janiperiaua, oppnsitifulia, palmata, pectinata, umbrosa elegantis-iraa. Ferns 

 ia shade— Allotiorus crispus. Asplenium adiaotum-niarum, A. trichomanes, 

 ^. virile, Athyriura coryrabiferum, Btechmira spieant, Cystopteris fraglHs, 

 Lastrea Filix-mas crii^tata, Lomaria alpina, Polypodium vulgare cambricum, 



