420 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



[ May 27, 1875, 



Palms Flowekino in the Open Air [L. if.).— We preBume they are 

 Chanjffirops FortaDei which is a fine plant for ebeltered poeitione. We do 

 not thii k they would he injured by flowering, which we ehould certainly 

 allow, and t>houId be ^lad if you would inform us the a(ter-&tate of the plants 

 and the result as to fruit. It is not common for thia plant to flower outdoors 

 in these ielanda. 



Cooling's Matchless Broccoli (J. W. K.).—lt headed with us this year 

 at the middle of April, and is only just over. It is a desirable kind with 

 close heads. Its usual season is the cIoeo of March or early in April. 



Herbaceous Plants for Forcing (M. A. P. B. I,.).-"DieIyfra spectabilis, 

 Spirsea japonica, Lily of the Valley, Solonmn's Seal, Helleborus niger and 

 Tar. major. These and Pinks we recommend, but the two latter are not of 

 much upe for cuttinp. Other plants for forcing, and admirable for cutting, 

 are fbrubs. as follows:— Azalea ponticum vara., Deutzia gracilis, Kalmia 

 latifolia. Lilacs Charles X. and Persian, Rhododeudrous, Prunus sinensis 

 flore-pleco, and Koseg. The treatment of the whole has been from time to 

 time given in our pages. 



Planting Echeverias {W. B.).— In a soil such as yours the raised parts 

 of the bed may, afier the proper shape is given, the walls builded firmly, and 

 the plants put in, be thinly coated with Roman cement mised about half and 

 half with 8oiI, and a thin layer or coating of it laid on the raised parts just 

 covering them, and whilst wet or soft sprinkle it with soil to prevent the 

 cement being noticed. Or a bank may be built of road scrapicgs, soil, and 

 cow dung, in equal parts made into a mortar. 



SEMPEBvnxii Seeding (7rfc7n).— Keep it in the house in a light airy 

 position and fertilise the flowers, not potting the plant, or at least not until 

 the flowering is past and the pods of seed are well developed. This even we 

 do not advice unless the plant is pot-bound. 



Buds Maggot-eaten {C. ^. J.).— We fear that white hellebore powder 

 would not destroy the grubs, for they are within the buds of your Appl**! 

 Pear, and Rose trees. Every bud attacked should at once be picked off and 

 destroyed to prevent the small moths being produced from the grubs, which 

 would give birth to more grubs. 



Shallots verms Potato Onions {J. H.).— Shallots have much smaller 

 and more leaves than Potato Onions. The appearance of Potato Onions does 

 not differ very materially from Portugal Onions. 



KosEs FOR WEsrWALLfS. G. H.).— Asyou say Teas will not do, the follow- 

 ing Hybrid Perpetuals may answer:— Alfred Colomb, Baron de Bonstetten, 

 Capitaine Lamure, Charles Turner, Climbing Victor Verdier. Duke of Edin- 

 burgh, Edward Morren, General Miloradovitsch. Glory of Waltham, Louis 

 Van Houtte, Madame Canrobert, Madame Hippolyte Jamain, Madame 

 Laurent, Paul Neron, Princess Beatrice, and Thomas Methven. 



Lily of the Valley not Flowebino {Idevi). — They are too crowded 

 and cannot perfect the crowns. The situation is also unfavourable. They 

 do best in slight shade, as that of a north border, and should be planted in 

 clumps of about six crowns eoch at 9 inches apart, in rows a foot asunder, 

 and four rows in a bed, and one row left out. The soil should be rich aud 

 light, watering freely in dry weather during growth. The planting should be 

 done in November. Thinned-out to clumps of about e-ix crowns each and 

 9 inches opart the old plantation may remain, giving a top-dressing of rich 

 compost. 



Snowdrop Tree (F. A. B.).— It is the Halesia tetraptera, and so named 

 in honour of the venerable Stephen Hales. It is a native of South Carolina, 

 where it flourishes by the sides of shaded rivulets. 



Pea Trellises (Gf. J5.1. — We have never used those made by Mr. Bums, 

 and advertised by him. We bave used such trellises and found them prefer- 

 able to pea-eticks in most respects. 



Woodlice in Gbeenhouse (C. L. TT,).— Place a little hay loosely round 

 the sides of the structures they infest, and in the morning pour boiling water 

 down the walls a little above the hay. This, of course, kills all it touches, 

 and repeated several times will entirely destroy them, though they will in 

 time reappear. When this method cannot be adopted on account of the 

 boiling water being likely to injure the plants, your best plan will be to place 

 a boiled potato wrapped lightly in a little hay in a small flower-pot, and put 

 the pot on its side where the woodlice are troublesome. Thia trap should be 

 examined every morning, and the woodlice secreted in the hay shaken into 

 boiling water. A number of traps of this kmd, put down every night and 

 examined in the morning, will soon thin their numbers. 



Insects on Currant Trees (K. TT.).— The caterpillars found on your 

 Cunant trees and Gooseberry bushes are the larvie of a saw-fly, Nematus 

 Bihesii. Hand-picking is the best remedy, but you may try syringing them 

 with lime and toot watermixed with soft soapsuds; also you may burn weeds 

 towiLdwardof the trees. When the grubs fall to the ground it should be 

 well battered flat with a spade to kill them. In the winter the earth under 

 the trees should be removed to the depth of several inches so as to carry 

 away the chrysalides. — I. O. W. 



Insects (C. J. H.).— You ask for much information about the grub sent, 

 but do not say where it was found or what it had attacked to enable us to 

 answer you properly. It is the larvae of the common daddy-longlegs. Water 

 the f-round witli lime water and soapsuds vt gas-tor water now, and employ 

 children to catch the flies when they arrive at the winged state. — I. O. W. 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON OERONIOLE. 



EGGS AND EAST WIND. 

 Mb. Eoeson reminded ub in that part of our Journal devoted to 

 horticnltare of the many benefjts we indirectly receive through 

 the beneficial influence of the much-reviled east wind acting on 

 the soil. It is a word in season, for if there is one saying more 

 than another that I have become weary of this spring, it is that 

 popular but miserable and fallacious old distich which every 

 second person one meets thinks it proper to shout in one's face 

 as an accompaniment to the usual remarks about the coldness 

 of the season. If the gentle Elia bad only been a denizen of the 

 country instead of the town, I am sure that among his prattlings 

 about popnlar faUaciea he would bave given us something in 



refutation of this crusty rheumatic old bachelor's proverb about 

 the east wind. I am persuaded that if we could trace it to its 

 source we should fiud it issuing from the querulous lips of some 

 gouty old gentleman laid-up with a roll of flannel round his toe. 

 Do you doubt it ? Nay, I am sure that no gardener ever gave 

 birth to such a libel. The gardeners' proverb is, "A bushel of 

 March dust is worth a king's ransom." And how will you have 

 the dust without the east wind ? It might perchance have been 

 jerked out by some disappointed poultry fancier, some ancient 

 Briton or noble Roman done out of his early brood of fighting 

 Game chickens, and in this case I can fully sympathise with 

 him, for we poultry-keepers learnt early to regard the east wind 

 with anything but friendly feeUnga ; but no gardener would 

 ever so sweepingly condemn that which enables him to lay a 

 good foundation for all his hopes. No, no, let us speak the truth, 

 which in this, as in so many cases, lies betwixt and between the 

 two extremes. 



The east wind is a good friend under a rough exterior. He 

 does much useful work, but he does it in a very unpleasant way. 

 He brings blessings to the multitude, but knocks on the head 

 a select few. He romps with the strong and healthy, but the 

 delicate find his horseplay rather too much for them and collapse. 

 This ia one of the instances in which an all-wise Creator has 

 judged it better that the few should suffer for the benefit of the 

 many. In my own case my heart is divided. As a zealous 

 horticulturist I cling to the east wind as a faithful but rather 

 overbearing friend; as a rabid poultry fancier I have a sort of 

 idea that I could dispense with it altogether. 



What in the world is it it does to the eggs ? Can't somebody 

 tell us ? Is there no way (I speak as a poultry fancier) to defeat 

 our insidious opponent ? Why should he be permitted to addle 

 all our prospects any longer ? You have doubtless had it ex- 

 plained to you by knowing people that our enemy ia so mis- 

 chievous because he ia so dry, and that as we cannot make the 

 wind wet we must make our eggs wet. Did you find the water 

 cure answer ? I never did. Wet or dry my eggs will not hatch 

 at certain times, and wet or dry at other times they will. Toa 

 may put turf at the bottom of your nests, you may sprinkle your 

 eggs, damp the breasts of your hens, and pour water round your 

 Bitting places, but if the east wind has had its way you will have 

 no chickens. W'hy ia it ? Now I am afraid some will think me 

 a heretic ; but I will tell you the conclusion I have come to : that 

 constant damping as an antidote against east wind is a fallacy — 

 useless, and in some cases (that is in very cold weather) worse 

 than useless. " What, you ignoramus !" says one, " don't yon 

 know that hens which steal their nests always bring out the 

 best broods? and they sit their eggs on the damp ground." 

 No, sir, I don't know it. I have lately heard of a hen which 

 early this season stole her nest, and sat in the manner described, 

 but she hatched no chickens at all. I have heard, too, of hens 

 choosing haylofts and other dry places for their nests, and 

 having good broods. 



I admit that hens which go away and sit naturally generally 

 succeed best ; but the reason given for it is not the true one. 

 In the first place, hens that have proper nesting places under 

 shelter rarely forsake them until cold weather is past. I never 

 knew one of mine steal a nest until the warm weather had set 

 in. If they try it in frost and east wind their eggs hatch, not 

 better, but worse even than those under cover, in spite of damp 

 ground and other supposed advantages, but in May or June 

 nearly every egg produces a chick. Well, so they would if you 

 had put them under a hen in your sitting house. The cause of 

 it is not the damp ground, but the favourable conditions under 

 which the eggs were fertilised and laid. 



My opinion is that the vitality of eggs is not much affect ed by 

 the east wind after they are laid, or during incubation; but 

 that the mischief occurs before, to the birds themselves, during 

 the time they are laying the eggs. I have no doubt that the 

 cocks are seriously influenced by cold weather, and as a conse- 

 quence the eggs are not properly fertilised. Added to this, the 

 hens themselves are chilled and checked, so that, though they 

 often continue to lay, their eggs are of very little use for hatching. 

 On the other hand, if eggs are laid during mild genial weather 

 no amount of east wind during incubation will seriously affect 

 them. My best brood thia year waa hatched from egga set upon 

 during three weeks of incessant bitter cold wind, with severe 

 frost nearly every day. These eggs were laid during the mild 

 weather we had in January. The nest waa in a dry sheltered 

 place, and no water was used in any way. My hens laid freely 

 during the frost and cold winds in February, and beautiful-look- 

 ing eggs they were; but I remarked at the time, " I question 

 whether many of these eggs will hatch," and so it came to paae, 

 not more than two in a dozen proving fertile. Those that were 

 laid by bene in the most sheltered run hatched best. The run 

 most exposed to the wind, though the hens there were with a 

 vigorous cockerel, and my other birds with old cocks, produced 

 the fewest good eggs. 



I should much like to hear when other breeders obtained 

 their best results this season. Considering the very mild 

 January I quite expect that the eggs laid daring that month 



