388 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOOLTUBE AND OOTTAQB QABDENES. 



[ October 29, 1874. 



of the Fecond year. Thepractice o( striking Rose cnttioga in the open ground 

 in aa'amn is very common, and we think yoa have been very sucoeasral. It 

 is diflicult to aecoiint f(ir a cutting here and there failing. In addition to the 

 seed atid cattiu^a of Briar we should, if jou wish for standards, secure some 

 stocks from the woods. 



Edonymcs Pk)Paga.tion (Inquirer). — The shrub of which you sent a 

 eprar is an Eriouymus, we think Euonymus aogustifolius, which may be 

 raised from seed sown now or in spring, sowing in light sandy soil outdoors 

 in a sheltered spot. The seeds you will find in the capsules, which are very 

 beautiful. Cuttings of the ripe young shoots will also root if now inserted in 

 a light soil and sheltered border. 



Cutting Arbor- Vit:es (I'i':m). — They bear catting well, the best time to 

 do which is at the close of March, or early in April if a cold late spring. 



EcHEVERiA METALLICA AND Canna SOWING (K. E.). — This is not a good 

 time to sow the seed, it heing b-^st done in February or early March in a hot- 

 bed, the plants being fiirwarded in a hotbed, so as to have them strong and 

 wellhardened-oS for planting out early in June. 



Tr^ksphnting Briars Newly Bodded (FT. A. W.). — You may move 

 them in Xovemiier as safely as if they had grown a year after budding. The 

 Rose leaves are inftsfed with black mildew or fungus, due to the dry weather. 

 Free watering and syringing overhead will subdue it. 



PftOTECTiNG Rose Cuttings {St. Edmund).~'IhG cnttings in the open 

 ground would be better of a light mulching of cocoa fibre between them, 

 acting, as it would, as a pmtecfinn against frost. The cuttings you have in 

 pots will need to be shifted into larger ones in spring if your intention be to 

 keep them in pots ; and the soil for potting we should now lay up in an open 

 situation out of doors in alternate layers of soil and cow dung, having the 

 soil-layers twice the thi-bness of tho cow dung. In February you may turn 

 over, chop-up. and mix the comport, and take it under cover, so as to have it 

 in good condition for potting — neither dry nor wet, early in March. 



'WiNTEPiNo Bedding Plants in Fra^ies {Ann Oxford}. — See what SIi-. 

 Record says this week. 



Cvclamen Corms (Mr.i. B). — A cool greenhouse is a most suitable place 

 for them. They need no heat to start them. 



Grape Stems Dving (One in TrouhU).—The stems of the bunches dying 

 is, we think, a consequence of their having been kept too moist, the soil being 

 also wet, especially now the Grapes are ripe, the footstalk sent having the 

 appearance of those produced by Vines, the growth of which is gross. Lees 

 moi-ture would probably afford a remedy. No alkali added to the water 

 would be of use. Expose it in a tank to the weather and it will lose much of 

 its hardness. 



Grapes Mildewing '-4 F., An Old Suhscrif»:r).—\Ye do not think your 

 Grapes are attacked by mildew, the spots on the berries being caused by 

 damp, which erds in mould A gentle fire by day with abundance of air, and 

 no fire at night with a little air, will give you an atmosphere better calculated 

 for keeping the Grapes in good condition. At night it may occasionally 

 be nece^^siry to employ fire heat to exclude frost. The drier you keep the 

 atmosphere the better it will be for keeping the Grapes; but avoid a high 

 temperature— SO^* is ample by day. It will, of course, be higher from sun. 

 Fumigation with tobacco is of no use for mildew; dusting with flowers of 

 sulphur is the proper remedy, applving it to th« infected parts. The plants, 

 as you judge, are not conducive to the Grapes keeping well. 



Apple and Pear Espaliehs Ca.nkeued (frf*ml.— The best remedy would 

 be to lift the trees carefully iu November and give them some fresh and 

 richer soil, making firm. If they are old trees the lifting may not be 

 jadicious, in which case wr should manure well and p'^int-in with a fork. Is 

 not the fenotting on the stem and mildew in it American blight ? If so, dress 

 the trees with a composition formed of gas tar and dry powdered clay in 

 equal proportions, say a quart of each, adding by degrees two gallons of warm 

 soft water, so as to give a paint-like consistence, and with this dress the 

 trees, applying with a brush, and rubbing well into the knots and crevices, 

 avoidine the buds, though it does not injure them. Is the soil efficiently 

 drained ? If not, it ought to be. 



CocuMBERs not SWELLING (J. S.I.— Prom thc description you give it is 

 to be feared yrn have the Cucumber disease, or that form of it which results 

 in the fruit beintj ulcered and ceasing to swell. The soil is probably a little 

 too rich, and the hi ttora heat strong. In any case, too much support is im- 

 pelled into The fruit, which is n- t duly elaborated. Probably the omission of 

 the manure water and a less temperature by 5- at nicht, the bottom htat not 

 exceeding 75' would, with a good hi.;;h day temperature, cause the fruit to 

 Bwell more kindly. Let the folinge be fully exposed to light, not crowding it, 

 and have a less moist atmosphere than you would were all right. It is likely 

 they will improve ; but the whole subject is, as regiu'ds remedy, involved in 

 mystery. 



Fruit Trees for Rides of Greenhouse (A Cottage Qardencr). — Tou 

 have three Vines trained to the roof; the covering of the sides or ends, we 

 are not sure which, but one is as good as the other, and wired at 6 inchee 

 from the glass, would be suitable for a Peach at one side and a Nectarine on 

 the other, obtaining them with such stems that tho lowest branches will 

 orig nateat the bfise of the trellis. The trellis ought not to go higher than a 

 foot clpar of the Vines. If you have not ventilation at the sides, it is litely ' 

 the fruit of the Peach and Nectarine may be scant, they being subjects which j 

 require free ventilation. An Apricot would not do, but you may have Figs if 

 you have no side ventilation, yet the Peaches will be most profitable. A good 

 Peach is Grosse Mignii-uie, a Nectarine Elruge. 



Transplanting Large Thorns and Birch {J. IT.).— The Thorns are 

 more diflic ilt to move than Birch, but both may be moved safely of the size 

 you name, care being taken to commence removing the soil at not a less 

 distance from the stem than 4 feet all round, and retaining all the roots 

 between it and the stem, and i( you can preserve some soil to them all the 

 better. The sooner they are moved after the leaves fall the better chance 

 will be t'iven them, watering well to settle the soil about the roita, planting 

 high rather than deep, and securing them well against winds. Tho beat kind 

 of Birch for shelter is the common one, Betula alba, which may be cut as 

 desired. 



Grass Under Trees (jRimalfto).— The Feetnca duriuscula and Poa nemo- 

 ralis eempervirens should be sown in equal proportions, weight for weight, 

 for the purprife named, or nearly so ; 2 lbs. Festuca duriuscula and \\ lb. Poa 

 nemoralia sempervirens for a rod or 31^ sqnare yards. It is of no use sowing 

 the seeds unless the surface be loosened, giving a light top-dressing of rich 

 soil, and rolling or beating firm after sowing. 



Wistaria, Hawthorn, and Horse Chestnuts {W. D. S.).— The fruits 



of the two latter could be obtained anywhere that the trees grow. Of the 

 "Wistaria we can give no information. 



Strawberries for Market (Straichenn nHnter).—Bla.ck Prince is the 

 earliest and most prolific, but it is rather too small for ma'ket-gardeu pur* 

 pises; Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury, Sir Charles Napier, and British Queen. 

 The last named is well known, and commands the best price in the market. 



BouGAiNvxLLEA CULTURE (£. L-l.—B. glabra will became almost leafless 

 in winter, and should at that time be kept rather dry; in fa;t,it should only 

 have water to keep the wood plump; but as your plant has been placed in the 

 greenhouse and kept dry we should remove it to the stove, and only give water 

 to prevent flagging, affording a light and airy position. Continue this treat- 

 ment throughout the winter, and encouiage growth in spring, potting early 

 in May and regulating the shoots as they grow, watering freely up to July, 

 then moderately, and, all going oa well, it will flower at the end of August or 

 beginning of September, its usual time ; but with us it produces its pink 

 bracts from the point of every vigorous growth. Your plant placed in the 

 stove will probably flower b-;tween now and Christmas, and kept dry over 

 winter, started in Miirch after it haj been pruned, cutting out the weak 

 growths and shortening the others to firm ripe wood, potting when the 

 shoots are a few inches long, and growiog-ou up t j July, then keeping drier, 

 it will flower in September, and, grown well, is a fine subject. Some of the 

 Bongainvilleas do not lose theii- leaves in winter, as B. spectabilis, which 

 flowers at that time. 



Hardiness of Pteris cretica albo-lineata (/. R. Boyd). — In a sheltered 

 nook it is h*rdy, aud will survive out of doors in most positions, but is some- 

 times injured by frost. If you have not a duplisa^e, the safest plan would be 

 to take up and pot, keeping in a greenhouse over the winter; but if yoa have 

 duplicates, take up one or more and leave one or two out, and you will ascer- 

 tain if it is suJhcien'.ly hardy to endure an ordinary winter in youi* locality. 



Pi'RiCANTHA AND PfRus JAPONiCA PROPAGATION {Co. Antrim), — Both are 

 propagate! by layers, which should be male at once, cutting a natch at a 

 joint, aud about halfway through the shoot on the under side, and securing 

 with a peg at 2 to 3 inche>> below the surface. Let the layers remain until 

 this time twelvemonth. Wo do not know what you can do to the P^racantha 

 to mak'i it bear berries, but it may be too vigorous, and iu a position not 

 favourable for fruiting, being shaded by furrjunding objects. If not shaded, 

 tikins out a trench at 4 feet from the stem and down below the roots will 

 probably check its vigour- ; the roots being cub there, fill up again, and you 

 will have berries in time. 



Hardy Alpine Perennials for Rocky Border (A. G.).— AnthylUa 

 erinacea, Di-aba ciliaris. Erysimum pumilum, Linum salsoides, Litho::ipermum 

 Gastoni, Saxifraga longiflrira vera, Alyssum saxatile compactum, Cheiranthus 

 longifolius. Cistus algarvensis, Dianthus alpinus, D. neglectua, Draba aizoides 

 (if you have D. ciliaris this may be omitted), Erigeron speciosus, Gentiana 

 veroa. Iberis gibraUarica vera. Lychnis Lagasc^e, Nepeta Mussini, (Enothera 

 margiuafa, Orobus vemus, Osytropus uralensis, Saponaria cancasiea flore- 

 pleno, Sedum atro-poipoream, Silene pamilio, Statice latifolia, Verooioa 

 prostrata. 



Brussels Sprouts and other Cabbageworts Clubbing (J. J. M.). — As 

 your garden for sixteen years has been specially occupied with the various 

 species of Brassica, no wonder that they arc now club-rooted. As the soil is 

 clayey we should by degrees pare and burn the top spit of the whole ; then 

 to those parts apply lime and deciayed vegetable matters as your gardener 

 recommends, aud avoid growing crops of Brassicas in succession on the same 

 plot. 



Forcing Sea-kale {Leeds). — We know of no preference to be given to 

 stable dung and leaves over stable dun^ alone for covering the Sea-kale pots. 

 Leaves alone would do as well as either, if you have enough to ensure per* 

 mancnt heat. 



L\ HinvE Cubr-ast (A FruU-Qrowsr). — Toumi^ht try a few, but we would 

 not recommend to plant it largely. If your land is in the condition yoa 

 mention it djes not require any banes in the holes where yoa plant the 

 Currants. 



LtLAC Flower (F. Walker). — It is only one of those premature births to 

 which all flowering plants are liable. 



Wintering Bedding Plants in Heated Pits (Bcfjinner in Lancashire). 

 — Tou will have no difficulty iu wintering the Geraniums and other plants aa 

 you have a 2-Lnch hot-water pipe round the pits, which will be more than 

 ample to exclude frost. You need not have a higher temperature for the 

 plant:) than 40^ to 45^, and they can hardly have too much air in mild 

 weather, giving only water between now and Maj-ch to keep them fresh and 

 slowly growing. In March you may shift into larger pots, encouraging 

 tfTowth by freer waterings. The Calceolarias will winter safely, as also the 

 Verbenas along with the Geraniums, but the Calceolarias and Verbenas 

 should have the coolest aud most au'y part. One pit you ought to keep ex- 

 clusively for flowering plants in pots, and in addition to bulbs we should have 

 a few plants of Cyclamen persicum. Primulas, and Cinerarias for spring 

 bloom, to be followed by herbaceous Calceolarias, Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, 

 and other plants, as Hydrangeas and the kinds of zonal and variegated Gera- 

 niums suitable for pot culture, and a plant or two of Vallota purpurea to go 

 in in autumn for housa decoration. The light summer-house will maVe aa 

 admirable cool house for the Gladioli you propose forwarding in pots prior to 

 planting out, a'so Tritomas, whilst it will be useful for hardeuiog-uff yotir 

 bedding Geraniums and other plants, transferring them from tho pits in 

 March or early in April, thereby setting the pits free for raising plants, aud 

 especially ai^nuals for blooming in them in summer, as Balsams, Globe 

 Amai'auths, Cockscombs, Celosias, &c. Your summer-house will also be a good 

 place for Chrysanthemums to bloom in, they being grown outdo 'rs in sum- 

 mer, and removed to the summer-house when they show fjr flower, or early in 

 October. 



Planting a Clump of Trees (J Sir-y/^ars Subscriber). — Pinus aiistriaca, 

 from its dense gi-owth aud tho fine effect of a mass of its rich dark glossy 

 foliage, forms a fine clump, and we like to see an occasional Larch amon^ a 

 number of ir, the sprightly aii* and bright fresh greenery of the Larch afford- 

 ing a flue relief and contrast to it, especially in spring. 'Ihe best way would 

 ha to plant the whole of the trees G feet apai-t, introducing a quantity of 

 "nursiug" Larches, to bo removed as the Pines require space. Copper 

 Beech would uot be sufficiently effective in front of the dark Pines, hut the 

 flanes would tell well. As the situation is sheltered we would choose the 

 American variety called the Western Plane (Platanus occidentalis). whichis 

 preferable to the Oriental Plane from the rapidity of its growth. Two or 

 three Liquidaoihar placed at intei-vals near the margin would impart a 

 picturesque appearance to the clump, especially in autumn, when its leaves 

 change to a vivid crimson' mixed with purple and yellow. 



