Novembei' 12, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



427 



during the winter. The Eumelau, Hartford Prolific, leraella, 

 Delaware, and others ripening not later than these, oould be 

 grown with great satisfaction. 



Small fruits of every description and every sort, whether 

 Currants, Raspberries, Gooseberries, Blackberries, or Straw- 

 berries, can be grown here in the highest perfection, and with 

 the greatest ease. The snow affords them a perfect protection 

 from the cold, so that sorts which are tender at St. Catherine's 

 never suffer from the winters at Ottawa. There is no reason 

 why a plantation of small fruits for the Ottawa market should 

 not be a success. 



One of the difficulties in the way of the successful growing 

 of the Apple and other large fruit trees seems to be found iu the 

 amount of water present in the subsoil. During the winter 

 the ground is not frozen, and the snow is gradually but con- 

 tinually melting and filling the ground with water. And in 

 the spring this process goes on in increased proportions, so that 

 when the sun has become warm, and by its heat is causing the 

 sap to flow in the branches, and the buds to expand, the roots 

 are kept inactive by the cold wet soil. Under such circum- 

 stances it is impossible for the trees to thrive ; they may 

 endure for a few years until the roots get into this cold wet 

 subsoil, and then they will begin to show signs of decay, and 

 rapidly die out. The only remedy for this evil is thorough 

 under-draining. Where sufficient fall can be had, the drains 

 should be about i feet deep, and not more than -10 feet apart, 

 and of sufficient size to discharge the surplus water rapidly. 

 Would our Ottawa fruit-growers thus prepare their ground 

 before planting their fruit trees, we feel sure they would find 

 their trees would be much longer-lived, and that some varieties 

 could be successfully grown that have hitherto failed. 



From what we saw in the grounds of the Hon. R. W. Scott, 

 and gathered from conversation with other gentlemen, there 

 can be no doubt that low heads are the proper form in which 

 to train fruit trees in the Ottawa valley. A long upright trunk 

 is too bare and exposed for the extremes of that climate, and 

 growers have learned by the test of experiment that those trees 

 are the most healthy which are trained low. 



The members of the Association living in milder lalitudes 

 have returned from the meeting favourably impressed with the 

 capacity of that section for the production of many varieties of 

 fine fruit. All that is required to enable gentlemen to grow 

 all their own summer and early autumn fruits is a judicious 

 selection of sorts, combined with well-drained soil and properly 

 trained trees. — (The Canada Farmer.) 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 



I WOULD advise "AiiiTEUR" and others that have any 

 difficulty in fruiting Strawberries the first year, any sort, to 

 plant from the 1st of March to the 1st of April, according to 

 circumstances. The ground to be well trenched and manured 

 at the proper time. Place the Strawberry plants 30 inches 

 between the lines, and 24 inches aj^art in the rows. Plant a 

 line of some sort of early Potatoes (I plant Myatt's Ashleaf) 

 between the lines of Strawberries. Spring the Potatoes before 

 planting 1 inch, lift them as fast as possible, and by this time 

 of the year the Strawberries will require all the room I have 

 mentioned. I pick off all Strawberry blooms the first year ; 

 that is no loss. I generally sow Lettuces after the Potatoes 

 are lifted. — J.4.MES Weight, Tlie Gardens, Gloster Lodge, 

 Croydon. 



Carter & Co's Fiftt-ouinea Cup is to be absolutely won 

 this coming season. It is the largest prize for vegetables for 

 the year. 



NOTES ON VILLA and SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



Once more the products of the kitchen garden claim attention. 

 The weather has hitherto been so very mild that much of the 

 work could with advantage be delayed; but now that we have 

 had a few degrees of frost, with signs of more, our necessary 

 work must be at once done. Caulifiowers, where they are just 

 turning in and not injured by a too low temperature, should be 

 taken up carefully with balls of earth, and placed thickly to- 

 gether under some protection from frost ; they will thus keep 

 good for at least another month. The same process must be 

 carried on for the autumn and winter Broccoli, such as Grange's, 

 the Purple Cape, and Snow's Winter White, as they come in 

 for use ; these are much hardier than the Caulifiower, and may 

 be expected to yield gatherings throughout the autumn, and 

 Snow's Winter White from Christmas onwards. 



Now a word or two as to laying down the heads o& -Broccoli. 

 I, for one, do not think it is necessary to adopt the plan gene- 

 rally. In gardens where the situation is low and damp, and 

 where, perhaps, it is also not in one of the best positions to 

 receive its share of sun, it is probably an advantage to bury the 

 stems in earth, as the frost would most likely affect them much ; 

 but in a properly-drained garden, which from its position is 

 airy and dry, it is seldom necessary to lay down Broccoli, un- 

 ItsB from circumstances the plants have grown very tall ; then 

 it is, perhaps, a wise plan to protect the stems. There is one 

 plan I do agree with, and that is when the plants are grow- 

 ing too luxuriantly through the influence of a mild autumn to 

 check their growth by turning them on one side, they are 

 then in a betttr condition to withstand frost. It is not a good 

 plan to encourage luxuriant growth too late in the autumn, 

 and it is generally the dwarf-growing sorts that stand the 

 winter best. 



Globe Artichokes must now be attended to, for they suffer as 

 much from damp as from frost. If they are growing iu rows, 

 dig-out a trench between them, and cast the earth up about 

 their roots iu such a form as to throw-off the wet; they may 

 likewise be protected with a little light litter during severe frost, 

 but it must not be allowed to stay on a day afier the frost is 

 gone. It is time now to cut pickling Cabbage when they have 

 had a little frost on them, as those left after this are liable at 

 any time to split up and become worthless. Plant-out more 

 to come in next season, or it may be deferred till spring, but 

 then the produce is not likely to be so large nor the Cabbage 

 of so good a colour, owing to the want of a httle more time 

 to grow. 



Continue to place under cover all sorts of Lettuces and En- 

 dive as they turn-in fit for use. We have at this time abundance 

 of the Siberian Cos, and Lane's Black-seeded Bath Cos turned- 

 iu with nice hearts ; they are on a south border, and protected 

 at night by garden mats. The Tom Thumb Cabbage Lettuce 

 is planted thickly in old wooden frames and pits in order to 

 come in for use more towards Christmas; while the same sort 

 in very small plants is put out thickly under walls and in 

 frames for spring planting. Mustard and Cress must now be 

 raised indoors. Any sort of vessel will do for this. I raise mine 

 in shallow boxes, in size 2 feet by 1. The Mustard is covered 

 with a little earth, but not so the Cress seed. It is simply 

 watered, and another box turned over it till the seed vegetates ; 

 after that it will do all right, but it is not always that the seed 

 comes up well unless this is done. Stir the soil among Onions, 

 Spinach, and young Cabbages, or any other young growing crop 

 in fine weather ; if it do no other good a number of slugs will be 

 killed by the operation. 



Now let us look at the fruit garden, and I must say that near 

 this large town the outdoor Vines have in many cases produced 

 excellent crops. The principal sorts are the Black Cluster, 

 Sweetwater, and some Black Hamburghs, and through the fine 

 autumn I consider they are of better flavour than usual. When 

 they are not cut the bunches must bo protected from frost, 

 and no bad berries should be allowed ; if so, the whole bunch 

 soon decays. I am sorry to see so many Vines neglected, which, 

 from their healthy appearance, might be induced by cultiva- 

 tion to produce a fair crop of fruit. In favourable seasons like 

 the present, by proper attention to regulating the growth, 

 thinning the bunches and berries, good results might be ex- 

 pected. 



Those who grow Strawberries in pots ought now to lay them 

 up for the winter. Of course I assume that those small growers 

 have not any convenience for storing them under cover, there- 

 fore they must be laid-up outdoors. I find it a good plan to 

 place the pots on a bed of ashes, pushing between each pot some 

 leaves, rough manure, &c., tightly, and not lay the pots on their 

 sides ; and if the spot is somewhat elevated, so that no water 

 can lodge about them, they will be secure from injury at the 

 root by frost ; but when that comes at all severe, it is as well to 

 protect the foliage by throwing a little rough straw over the 

 whole. It is time that fresh plantations of Raspberries were 

 made where such are wanted, and the others filled up where 

 vacancies occur. Prune them to the height of the stakes, and 

 leave no more than five nor less than three canes to each plant ; 

 top-dress them with manure, but do not dig among them, or it 

 destroys an abundance of roots, which in this plant are only just 

 ttader the surface. 



Flower-garden plants in frames must have an abundance of 

 air at all favourable times, so as not to let them grow too fast 

 now the shorter days are here. Keep the flower beds picked of 

 decayed blooms, and clear from dead leaves ; water them spar- 

 ingly, and if any plants are making a coarse growth beyond the 

 others, pinch-out the point of the shoot. Plant Roses now, and 

 cover the roots with a coating of protecting material. Camellias 

 will now be advancing towards blooming. Thin-out the buds to 

 not more than three to a shoot : sometimes two, or even one 

 will be enough to leave ; the strength and health of the plant 

 will be a guide. Azaleas may now be kept cool preparatory to 

 putting them into the greenhouse for blooming. Now is the 



