98 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t FebrnRry 3, 1876. 



There is co occasion to trim the cuttings to a joint, but where 

 this is not done care must be taken that the first joint next 

 above the foot of the cutting touches the surface, for although 

 the stem will emit roots, the principal roots will come from the 

 joint. — Thomas Record. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST AND WORK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



HAllLV rllLir G.iKDES. 



The fruit buds do not eeem to be very prominent on either 

 Apple or Pear trees in the open garden, and there is every ap- 

 pearance of a late blossoming Eeason. There is not much le- 

 quired amongst the trees at present, the ground between them 

 had a coating of manure a few weeks ago, which is now being 

 lightly forked-in. The Kaspberry quarter is receiving the same 

 treatment. Some persons would recommend not to dig-in the 

 manure at all, but allow it to lay on the surface all through the 

 summer months. Both plans have been tried here, but forking 

 the ground over meets with the greatest approval. It has neat- 

 ness in its favour, and the trees seem to thrive quite as well one 

 way as the other. If the \veather sets in very hot and dry next 

 Bummer, and it becomes necessary to water the trees, then a 

 mulching of half-rotted manure applied to the surface and left 

 on would arrest evaporation, and be productive of good results. 



Pruning and uailiug the trees on walls should be forwarded 

 without any delay, leaving Peach and Nectarine trees to the 

 last. Planting should be fiuished as expeditiously as possible. 

 The trees should be even more carefully lifted at this season 

 than in the autumn, saving all the fibrous roots, and the ground 

 should be ready for them as soon as they arrive from the nursery. 



Vi'e shall run the hoe through the ground between the rows 

 of Strawberry plants in the open quarters, for the seeds of 

 weeds are iatroduced amongst the loam used in planting, even 

 if the ground is otherwise free from them. 



VINERIES. 



We are cleaning and otherwise preparing the late houses for 

 the starting of the Vines. We have cut a good many bunches 

 before pruning and hung them up in the fruit-room with the 

 ends of the laterals in water. Upon the whole the late Grapes 

 with us are not keeping nearly so well as usual ; even with Lady 

 Downe's Seedling some of the footstalks of the berries have 

 decayed, and other sorts have shanked badly. We have been truly 

 glad of an hour or two of sunshine on several days last week, 

 the effect of it seems to be already visible on the early Vines ; 

 it allowed the ventilators to be opened a little more, which 

 must add strength to the young and tender shoots. 



Those who desire to have ripe Grapes about; the end of April 

 will now be thinning-out the berries. Many persons do this at 

 twice, a portion now and the remainder jast before the atoning 

 period. This is not good gardening, the gardener who is up to 

 his work will know at what size the berries will swell, and re- 

 move all that is required at the first thinning. The berries 

 should be thinned-out at the earliest stage possible. We usually 

 begin to thiu about nice or ten days from the time the first 

 flowers open. 



If the eyes intended to produce fruiting canes this year are not 

 yet put in heat, the sooner this is done the better. A bottom 

 heat of t)5° with a temperature of 55° for the atmosphere of the 

 house, is the moot suitable. The pots should not be watered 

 from the time they are placed in heat until the Vines are above 

 ground. If the BoU becomes so dry that it is necessary to water 

 them, it is very probable that many will not start at all. 



I'EACH HOUSE. 



We alluded on the last occasion to trees in blossom, and urged 

 the importance of setting the fruit by artificial means, shaking 

 the branches and dusting the pollen from the anthers to the 

 etigma of the best flowers on some of the shoots. Disbudding 

 must now be proceeded with ; a very large proportion of the 

 young shoots may be rubbed off, leaving one near the base of 

 the last year wood, training one for a leader and another on the 

 opposite side to the one selected near the base. The fruit may 

 also be thinned-out, leaving the largest equally placed over the 

 trees. 



As soon as the fruit is all set the syringing of the trees that 

 was necessarily suspended during the flowering period should 

 now be continued vigorously. Rain water that has been in pots 

 standing on the hot-water pipes should be used. The Peach 

 trees do not suffer so much from draughts of cold air as Vines, 

 but it is far the best not to subject the trees to this influence. 

 Late houEes are very useful for bedding plants, and as much air 

 may be admitted as possible to keep the trees back until it is 

 time to remove the plants to temporary shelters out of doors. 



MnsHROOM HOUSE. 



It is not worth while to say anything about the making-up of 

 the beds, as this was fully entered into at the end of last year. 

 We would urge the importance of a fair degree of moisture in 

 the beds before spawning, and also allowing the beds to cool 

 down before iuEerting the spawn. The heat of the bed should 



not be more than 85^ ; the spawn is often injured by too much, 

 but seldom by too little heat. Some clean straw placed on the 

 surface helps greatly to maintain an equable temperature. A 

 moderately-moist atmosphere with a temperature of 55° is most 

 congenial to the Mushrooms. It ought also to be noted that a 

 dry atmosphere causes the produce to be leathery in texture. 



CUCUMBER HOUSE. 



It was here stated that Cucumber seeds were sown in the last 

 week of December, and that the plants were potted three weeks 

 after in small pots. They have again been repotted into larger 

 pots and placed quite near the glass in a night temperature 

 of 65°. It is better to grow the plants on like this than it is to 

 plant them out before they are strong. We shall grow them on 

 in pots until the plants are about la inches in height. It is cf 

 the greatest importance to keep them free from insect pests. 

 Thrips and green fly are easily destroyed by fumigation, red 

 spider by syringing. The plants will grow slowly for a few 

 weeks, but we promote growth as much as possible by shutting 

 up at '2 P.M., aud as the days have been bright the temperature 

 is up to 7-J" or SO' for several hours afterwards. 



GREENHOUSE AND CUNSEUV.VTOUY. 



It is scarcely possible to grow hardwooded plants well in a 

 house that has to be used as a show house for forced plants 

 from Christmas or earher until May. Plants that are removed 

 from a forcing house to one where air is so freely admitted as it 

 ought to be where hardwooded plants are grown would suffer 

 by the sudden change ; to restrict the iujury the house may be 

 kept closer for a day or two, but in a few days more fresh plants 

 are brought in and it is necessary to frequently close the venti- 

 lators when they ought to be open for the more hardy plants. 

 The heating apparatus is also very much oftener in use than it 

 ought to be. It is not necessary to apply heat for a degree or 

 two of frost, especially if the house was shut up with sun heat. 

 We would rather see the thermometer down at 35° than up at 

 45° on a cold night. 



Cinerarias are making good growth now, the plants must on 

 no accoimt suffer for want of water, nor tbe least trace of green 

 fly or thrips be allowed upon the leaves. The Cineraria is a 

 comparatively hardy plant, but it must not be subjected to a 

 temperature below ',i'j'. We had a number of plants much in- 

 jured with the thermometer at 32", the plants were closer to 

 the glass than the thermometer, and were, no doubt, in a still 

 lower temperature. 



We shall in the course of a week or ten days repot the 

 stage Pelargoniums. These plants are very often over-potted. 

 A plant that will produce a dozen nice trusses of flowers in a 

 5-inch pot, would run more to leaf in a U-inch pot and might not 

 give half so many flowers. A pot li inches in diameter is large 

 enough for a good-sized plant, and one 8 inches will do for the 

 largest. We use good clayey loam, one-fifth of rotted cow manure, 

 leaf mould in the same proportion, and enough white sand to 

 keep the compost porous. It is not easy to say how much sand, 

 as some loams are much more sandy than others. Draiu the 

 pots well, placing some tough fibre, from which the clayey 

 portion has been shaken out, over the drainage. 



Hardwooded plants may also be repotted if they require it. 

 Good, tough, fibrous peat is the staple material for nearly the 

 whole of them ; it must not be sour stuff obtained from marsh 

 land, but the top spit from upland moor or pasture, that con- 

 taining sharp white sand naturally is the best. The potting of 

 hardwooded plants must be much more carefully performed 

 than that of softwooded plants. The pots must be quite clean 

 and w ell drained, and what is sometimes neglected, the drain- 

 age must be kept clear by placing some fibre carefully over it 

 before putting in any of the compost. Pure sandy peat is 

 essential for Heaths, Epacrises, Azaleas, Lapagerias, Rhodo- 

 dendrons, Dracophyllums, and Dillwynias. Most other plants 

 reiiuire turfy loam in tho proportion of one-third. 



The state of the roots should be a guide as to the size of pots 

 to be used. If the plants are well rooted and of robust growth 

 they may have a shift of 2 inches ; if the roots are In bad order 

 it may be necessary to reduce the ball and repot in the same 

 sized pot, or one even smaller than that in «hich the plant ^\ as 

 growing before. The roots ought to be moderately moist before 

 turning the plants out. The compost to be used should be the 

 same, a very dry compost is about equally injurious to one over- 

 moist. The plants must be potted firmly, if the compost is not 

 rammed in pretty tight when the plant is watered the water 

 passes through it without moistening the ball. It is better at 

 this season not to apply any water te hardwooded plants for a 

 week or ten days after repotting. 



Some plants may be placed in heat with advantage. Statioe 

 Holfordii and Pleroma elegans does well in a temperature of 

 00° or 55° at night. 



We shall put in cuttings of the Pcrpelaal-floioei-iiig Carna- 

 tions this week ; they strike well in a frame with a little bottom 

 heat. The very small side-growths are the best. About a dozen 

 of them may be inserted in a 5-inch pot ; the soil should be 

 equal parts of loam aud leaf-mould with a little sand mixed with 

 it ; a layer of sharp sand sboold also be placed on the surface of 



