Kovember 6, 1874. J 



JOUENAL OF EOBTICULIUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



403 



below the surface there will be little need for thinning-out 

 crowns ; some may push two and three, but let these remain, 

 as in ground treated aa above they will perfect three strong 

 crowns. I have tried the dibber, but like the spade best, as it 

 leaves the ground in better order, particularly if it is of a heavy 

 nature. 



Those who have not a stock to start with should order one- 

 year-old seedlings from the nursery, cut off their heads, and 

 make cuttings of them. A few years ago I was short, not 

 having two dozen roots to start with, so I ordered a quantity of 

 roots and planted them. I had to wait two years more for 

 them before they were tit for forcing. The year following, or 

 rather the spring following, I sowed some seed, and in Novem- 

 ber dug them up, made cuttings of them, and had fine roots 

 for forcing the next season. Those that have a wet heavy soil 

 know full well that Sea-kale will decay quite as fast as it growp. 

 if it must remain two or three years in the ground. By adopt- 

 ing the routine described above the Sea-kale never stays in the 

 ground all winter ; the cuttings certainly do, but they are extra 

 well cared for. 



The sum mer culture consists in hoeing and keeping clear from 

 weeds. When growing freely, towards the end of July give a 

 watering with guano if the weather is dry, if wet sprinkle the 

 guano over the surface. Never let the roots be exposed to dry- 

 ing wiuds, but as soon as dug up dress the crowns for forcing, 

 make the roots into cuttings, and put them away in their 

 respective places ; all that is dried out of them is so much 

 strength wasted. 



The forcing of Sea-kale is a simple matter. The main point 

 being darkness, light should be guarded against, as the least 

 amount will render it tough and unpleasant. Those who have a 

 regular Mushroom house need nothing further. Those who have 

 a warm cellar could have nothing better. The best place that 

 I ever saw for either Sea-kale or Bhubarb forcing was a cellar 

 attached to a stokehole. Gas was laid on, so that the striking 

 of a match at once furnished light that was equal to daylight, 

 for the purpose of watering and cutting. The cellar was 

 divided by a path up the centre ; on one side was a bed of 

 Rhubarb, and the other Sea-kale. The bed was 3 feet G inches 

 wide, and the crowns were put in 3 inches apart and six 

 in the row. The bed was made-up in November, as soon as 

 they were lifted from out of doors, and the temperature of the 

 cellar not being very high, the plants did not furnish any cut- 

 tings till the middle of January, but kept-up a constant supply 

 for nine or ten weeks, as the crowns did not push all together, 

 and the low temperature brought on the second cutting so 

 gradually that it was little inferior to the first. Another bed 

 was made-up in January to succeed the first, the crowus 

 having been packed in sand out of doors till wanted. The 

 two beds thus furnished a supply as long as Sea-kale was asked 

 for. Contrast this with forcing out of doors with hot dung 

 and leaves, going out on a cold frosty morning when there 

 might be G or 8 inches of snow on the ground, kneeling on it or 

 on wet manure, and having io shift a cartload of manure before 

 getting the required quantity of shoots; it being of little use 

 to put manure around the pot it must be on the top as well, 

 and be removed every time you wish either to look at or cut 

 the Sea-kale. 



Everyone, however, has not such a place, myself included, 

 and my own way may be of service to some. For Christmas 

 cutting I place some of the strongest crowns in 12-inch pots 

 early iu November. On these, after having well watered with 

 warm water, I invert another 12-inch pot, and stop up the 

 drainage-hole and any other crevice to exclude the light, and 

 place on the top of the boiler in the stokehole. Here the roots 

 must be carefully watched for water, as the heat is of such a 

 dry nature. 



For my main crops I use old wine cases fiUed half full of 

 soil, the crowns inserted to their level. I use soil that has 

 been once employed for potting. Such soil as Pelargoniums 

 have been growing in is excellent if mixed with soil from 

 Melon and Cucumber beds. Some have plenty of turf to cut 

 at, and can afford to use fresh soil for anything. Not so 

 here ; sods are not to be had for asking. After having been 

 filled, the cases are stacked upon one another in a back shed. 

 We take one out at a time, place it on the boiler, and when 

 the shoots are of sufficient length they are taken into a cool 

 shed, where they come on slowly, and afterwards furnish 

 second cuttings. When there is plenty in beforehand I do not 

 let them remain on the boiler longer than just to start them. 

 The last lot will start naturally, and come on fast enough. 



For very late supply it is best to put out some crowns in 



the frame ground, or any other convenient place, in clusters, 

 covering them 3 inches deep with ashes, and inverting a pot 

 over them — a Sea-kale pot with a lid being a great deal handier 

 than common flower pots. These, without auy covering, will 

 furnish a late supply, care being taken to exclude light. When- 

 ever in a hurry to get Sea-kale ready for cutting, use warm 

 water. I have repeatedly used it over 90°, a dose or two never 

 failing to start the roots. — W. 



CARCLEW, CORNWALL.— No. 2. 



THE RESIDENCE OF COLONEL TKEMAYNE. 



Ascending to the second garden, which was in some degree 

 a counterpart of the first, we find ourselves amongst a class 

 of shrubs and trees elsewhere only met with in similar con- 

 dition under glass. Below and at one side of these geometric 

 gardens the ground has been allowed to retain its natural 

 outline, and the slope, intersected by suitable walks, is over- 

 grown iu places with noble trees and shrubs. Ehododeu- 

 drons of all kinds seem quite at home, even including some of 

 the Sikkim and Himalayan ones ; and the same may be said 

 of the Camellia and Indian Azalea, noble examples of which 

 were every now and then to be met with ; while the Bambuaas 

 formed growths from which very good fishing-rods were made. 

 One was shown me quite 1.5 feet long. A Loquat tree, Erio- 

 botrya japonica, was 10 feet high, as much through, and in the 

 most robust health. The same may be said of Escallonia 

 pterocladon quite 15 feet high, having white flowers, and more 

 tree-like in character than the other species. The singular 

 Colletia bictoniensis was also here in the shape of a dense 

 bush quite 7 feet iu diameter ; and there were specimens of 

 Fabiana imbricata quite as large. I find I have omitted to 

 notice a fine mass of Hedychium flavum or flavescens, which 

 to all appearance had not been disturbed for many years, and 

 was flowering most abundantly. This plant, I ought to say, 

 was growing in front of one of the plant houses, and not iu 

 the shrubbery with the Loquat. I noticed a Ehododendron 

 of the true arboreum section, or one very near akin to it, 

 with a clear bole more than G feet high without a branch, 

 and stout enough to form a gate post for a carriage road. 

 Others of the Smithii type were equally large, and many of 

 the Sikkim species seemed equally at home. R. Thomsoni 

 was pointed out to me as being very fine. The general charac- 

 ter of the place must be extremely rich at the time these 

 shrubs are in flower, and when it is understood that some 

 of them flower in winter accompanied by Camellias, the effect 

 must be gorgeous. Intermixed with these Rhododendrons, 

 etc., were Magnolias of the deciduous class, assuming the 

 character of timber trees, and there was no lack of flowers 

 on open standard trees of M. graudiflora at the time of my 

 visit (September Ist). There was also au yEsculus of a 

 class not generally known, said to be very fine; while under- 

 neath, creeping over rugged stonework, were dense masses 

 of Gaultheria Shallon ; and a tall half-shrub-looking plant, 

 Polygonntum Sieboldii, was completely covered with its white 

 inflorescence. I uuderstood it to be herbaceous, although 

 it was quite 8 feet high and as much in diameter. Pampas 

 Grass, Camellias, and Indian Azaleas were noticeable every- 

 where, and in all manner of sites. A pretty Hypericum, 

 H. olilongifolium, had just gone out of bloom, while Pernettya 

 muoronata was still in flower and gave promise of producing a 

 quantity of its fine magenta-coloured berries ; there were trees 

 of it quite 10 feet high. A fine Ehododendron cinnamo- 

 meum was of the same height ; the under sides of its leaves are 

 of a rich brown, and its flowers are said to be magnificent. 

 There were also Azaleas of the Indioa type quite 10 feet high 

 and more than that in diameter. Sparmannia africana, or- 

 dinarily a greenhouse plant, had stood for years out of doors. 

 Part of these as well as most of the following were growing in 

 what is called the Pond Garden, a sloping shrubbery running 

 down to a pond. 



Amongst other trees and shrubs at this place was a fine 

 Abies Douglasii from Go to 70 feet high, and upwards of 8 feet 

 in circumference at 5 feet up ; and in reference to the height 

 of this and other Conifers, I may mention, that when any 

 tree seems to overtop its neighbours in this part of Cornwall 

 its top is immediately cut by the wind, so that the tops of this 

 and other tall-growing Conifers had an injured and shabby 

 appearance compared with the parts below ; and as the great 

 bulk of the sheltering trees were Oaks, the aspect of woods, 

 even when extensive, was in exact conformity with the ground, 

 otherwise such trees as the Douglas Pine mentioned above 



