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JOUENAL OP HOETICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ November 5, 1874. 



nnd its variety alba ; Erandyana.with very sweet flowers, striped 

 with white, rose colour, and blue, are distinct and good ; King 

 of Violets also making a good tree. The above are the beet. I 

 have had nice plants with stems or " trees " of the Double 

 Blue, Double White, and Neapohtan varieties of Viola odorata, 

 the only thing needed being to keep down runners and suckers. 



The Violets I grow in frames and outdoors, and by which 

 we have Violets from September to May, are — 



The Czar, a stroDg-growing variety of Bussian, and every way 

 its superior, having larger, sweeter flowers, with longer foot- 

 stalks. Single, dark blue. 



Victoria Hegina. — The foliage is deeper and more shining than 

 The Czar, the leaves individually larger, less tall — in fact, they 

 lie almost flat and near the ground ; the flowers are half as 

 large again, very deep purple, single, very sweet, the flower stalks 

 iieiug as long as The Czar. It is very free-flowering, and will 

 displace The Czar with me as soon as I can increase the stock 

 suiHciently. Upon the runners it flowers very freely, and affords 

 a few flowers in summer, being a perpetual bloomer, but is finest 

 in autumn and winter. It would, I think, form a fine tree, its 

 leaves being semi-pendaut. 



White Russian (Viola suavis alba). — Single. This is very 

 sw'eet, very free-flowering, and late with me, but has short foot- 

 stalks. A white Victoria Eegina is desirable. 



The Single Blue Eussian I have discarded, but it is very free- 

 flowering and good. 



Double Blue or Purple.— Dwarf and weak in growth, flower 

 stems short, free-flowering, and rather late. Double White has 

 been passed for better. 



Queen of Violets. — Double, white, as large, almost, as a double- 

 flowered Peach blossom ; the flowers tipped with blue or violet, 

 with longish footstalks, very sweet, and so abundantly produced 

 that they do not all fully expand ; they should he thinned, for 

 no flower is, when fully developed, more beautiful. It blooms 

 longer than many. 



King of Violets. — Taller, rather stronger-growing than Double 

 Purple ; the flowers are also paler in colour, and it is not nearly 

 so free in suckers or runners. 



Neapolitan. — Double pale blue, or sky blue, pale green shining 

 leaves, growth moderate, plant dwarf, but notso dwarf as Double 

 Purple ; very free-flowering, blooming a long time, flower stems 

 of medium length. Deliciously scented — the sweetest and best 

 of all Violets. 



What is Viola pedata like V Are the flowers sweet ? They 

 are I know very large, if I remember rightly, and the leaves 

 are deeply divided, the flow'ers pale blue. Is itagood grower? 

 and at what time does it bloom ? A single pale blue with a 

 good long footstalk is worth having, but it must not lack fra- 

 grance, or it would be like a Eose without scent; few would 

 care to know it by the name of Violet. — G. Abbey. 



STRAWBEEBY CULTURE. 



The question is often put to a gardener by those little ac- 

 quainted with the cultivation of the Strawberry, " What sort 

 must I grow ?" This is rather a puzzling question to answer, 

 though the sorts grown by oneself may be everything that can 

 be desired. If the information is given to anyone living close 

 by, perhaps he may be able to grow the same kinds as your- 

 self ; if to one at a distance, and not knowing what kind of soil 

 he has to deal with, it is best to be careful in giving advice, but 

 let him get it from some practical hand nearer his residence. 



I had an idea in my younger days that any kind of Straw- 

 berry grown in one place would succeed equally well in another, 

 hut such is not the case ; and it appears from recent corre- 

 spondence in the .lournal each gardener claims to have the 

 Lest sorts. I have come to the conclusion after trying various 

 kinds, and some of them with me very indifferent, that it is 

 not just to the raiser for any one individual to condemn any 

 sort not coming up to his expectations. I bought a few plants 

 of Eclipse to get runners for forcing, it being praised in the 

 catalogues for that purpose. I had crowns large enough for 

 anyone to admire, and expected to have something good in 

 return, but am sorry to state they were a failure, and the 

 plants outside the same. If I were to say this kind is of no good 

 it would be going too far. Many like it for forcing, and a friend 

 of mine who has strong clay to contend with gets an excellent 

 crop from it. Admiral Dundas, Sir Joseph Paxton, and Eleanor 

 I could not get to bear fruit up to the mark, and I could name 

 one or two ; but this is sufllcient to show it would not do for 

 me to say they are worthless, knowing them to be excellent in 

 many places. I settled down some time since to Dr. Hogg and 

 President. In my dry soil they are everything that can be 

 desired. Princess Alice Maud does well, also Keens' Seedling. 



President I consider firBt-ratefor forcing. Your correspondent 

 Mr. Taylor failed with the latter in strong soil ; has he tried 

 runners for forcing since planting them in lighter soil ? 



I always obtain the finest fruit from plants two and three 

 years old ; after that time the fruit is smaller. I may also add 

 to these few remarks that I can secure very good crops of fruit 

 from President, planting them out after being forced. — M. B. 



SEA-KALE CULTURE. 



As the commencement of the Sea-kale year is at hand, a few 

 notes on this vegetable may be useful. Sea-kale, like many 

 other kitchen-garden crops, will not succeed on every soil with- 

 out some trouble in preparing the ground ; but if my directions 

 be followed the failures will be few. 



In settling upon a piece of ground to be cropped with Sea- 

 kale in the following year, let it be freely exposed to the stm, 

 as the more the sun can get at the leaves the better will they 

 perform their work of storing up strength for future use. To 

 give satisfaction when forced, belt a Vine or a Sea-kale crown, 

 the plant should be well ripened. The size of the plot must be 

 in accordance with the wants of the family ; the quantity of 

 Sea-kale likely to be wanted can be settled pretty well before- 

 hand. Stretch a line, and every 3 feet wide nick the groimd out 

 with a spade one graft deep ; then count how many widths there 

 are in the piece ; if even in number, then the soil can be put 

 opposite the top of the last one ; if odd, to the opposite corner. 

 Here a word to young hands with the spade. Before ever 

 taking out soil for a trench, be it one spit or two, if there 

 are any weeds skim them oil first, and do the same in the 

 place the soil is wheeled to. By this precaution you will make 

 sure of the weeds buried not cropping out in a week or two 

 from the corner where you finish off. If two men start upon 

 the piece their trenches will be required to be in dift'erent 

 places if there is an odd number of widths. 



The starting trench should be taken out 3 feet 6 inches long, 

 two spits deep ; the reason for the extra d inches is that owing 

 to the sou being loose it does not build up quite straight, so 

 that when the last trench came to be filled up the soil would 

 be short. A two-spit trenching is for the majority of soils 

 sufficient ; but if it is desirable to go deeper, and the soil is of a 

 bad nature, either wet clay or very poor, it is not advisable to 

 bring it to the top on the first trenching, but to turn it over 

 with a digging fork, breaking it up, and leaving it at the 

 bottom. On this spread a good dressing of manure not too 

 much decayed ; or if manure is not to be had in unlimited 

 quantity, there is nothing better than the rubbish heap, which 

 should be kept for this purpose- — sweepings of walks, leaves, 

 cabbage stumps, weeds, not seeding ones, in fact all the rubbish 

 that will accumulate in a garden. After a 6-inch layer of this 

 turn the top spit on it, then a good dressing of manure well 

 decayed, then the bottom spit upon it, at the same time throw- 

 ing it up so as to form a ridge. By so doing the ground lies 

 drier, and is more exposed to the action of frost. 



Leaving the ground to mellow all winter, we will now turn 

 to the plants. Those who have roots growing should, as soon 

 as the foliage is dead, take them up carefully with a fork, pick- 

 ing-out every bit of root, for if not wanted the bits would only be 

 troublesome in the following year. Having taken up the roots, 

 dress thfm all off to straight pieces 6 or 7 inches below the 

 crown. Select all the roots that are thicker than a pipe stem 

 if the stock is low — if there are plenty, those of the thickness of 

 the middle finger are better; taking the best first, with a sharp 

 knife cut each straight off at the thickest end, and at 5, C, or 

 7 inches as the stock will allow. Cut in a slanting direction, 

 by so doing you will have an easy mark to tell the right way up, 

 not easy otherwise, as the difference in diameter in the 6-inch 

 length of root is sometimes very trifling. 



Having made the required quantity of sets, place them in 

 sandy or any nice hght soil, as sittings from under the potting 

 bench, in a turf pit or any dry sheltered corner out of doors, 

 where they can have some litter thrown over them in frosty 

 weather. Plant them in lines, keeping the strongest all 

 together, and 2 inches below the surface. Here they will 

 remain till the beginning of March ; by this time they will 

 have begun to root, so that any that are dead or doubtful can 

 be rejected, thus preventing blanks. The ground should now 

 be forked down and levelled ; mark out rows 2 feet apart, and 

 take out trenches with the spade deeply enough for the cuttings 

 to be placed 1 inch below the ground level, allowing them from 

 10 to 12 inches apart in the row, and if the cuttings are small 

 less room between each two. By keeping the top of the cutting 



