March IS, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTiOULTtJRE AND COTTAGE QAEDfiNEB, 



217 



the nsaal mode of Bowing the seed thickly in Beed pans, like 

 raising ro many Lobelias, would never do. I therefore made 

 a hotbed of manure and leaves, knocked a frame together of 

 four boards to support the lights, covered the bed with G inches 

 of rich light soil, and on this bed I sowed the seeds thinly — 

 that ia, that the number of seeds which are usually distributed 

 over the surface of a pan a foot in diameter were scattered 

 over a surface of ten times that area. The seedlings came up 

 an inch or two apart, and with the gentle heat below and 

 the gentler heat above, and with light and air surrounding 

 each plant, they were extraordinarily robust. I knew that 

 when my seed was sown in March that at least one of my 

 competitors had plants in pans ready for pricking out, but I 

 was not disconcerted. 1 knew his plants mast receive checks 

 by being twice transplanted, whereas mine were sufficiently 

 thin to grow unchecked during the time that his were " re- 

 covering " from removals. 



Daring the first week in j\lay a portion of the plants were 

 transplanted in a bed of rich soil at the foot of a south wall, 

 and in Jane they were planted in the trenches. Others were 

 left thinly on the seed bed, and were removed from thence to 

 the trenches without any intermediate transplanting. There 

 was no difference in the size of these plants when they were 

 planted, neither in the size or quality of the Celery when it 

 was ready for use. It was not only superior to my neighbour- 

 ing competitor who sowed his seed in pans in February and 

 grew-ou his seedlings like so many tender flowers, but it was 

 superior to my own "early row," the seed of which I had 

 Bown under glass occupying much precious room in growing-on 

 my young plants. 



There is no better mode of raising Celery plants for any 

 purpose than by sowing the seed very thinly on a gentle hot- 

 bed, so thinly that the seedlings should not be closer to each 

 other than 2 inches ; then do they come strongly, grow sturdily, 

 and only one check is necessitated by transplanting. The hot- 

 bed on which the plants are raised comes in useful for ridge 

 Cucumbers, and if a few seeds of these are sown in the bed as 

 soon as the Celery is removed, Cucumbers or, what are per- 

 haps more useful, Gherkins for pickling, will be freely produced 

 in September. If also a few lumps of Mushroom spawn are 

 sprinkled over the bed before placing on it the soil for raising 

 the Celery, it is more than probable that the crop of Gherkins 

 in September will be followed by a crop of Mushrooms in 

 October and November. Thus what at the first glance may be 

 considered an extravagant provision — a 3-feet-high hotbed of 

 leaves and manure for raising Celery plants — is not extravagant 

 at all, but is really an economical mode of growing three crops, 

 any one of which is worth the trouble involved in preparation. 



The trenches in which my prize Celery was grown were 

 18 inches wide and 2 feet deep, and made rich with the com- 

 post above mentioned. The plants were regularly watered, and 

 when established — not before — a slight sprinkling of nitrate of 

 soda was given once a-week, and washed into the soil. As the 

 plants attained strength soot and guano water was applied 

 freely ; indeed the boU was continually moist, and as the roots 

 protruded through the surface they were covered with manure. 



The plants were tied-up as they advanced in growth, and 

 each was enveloped with brown paper. Celery collars were not 

 then invented. The paper was applied in several folds, and six 

 weeks before the show the earth was applied. The result was 

 the largest, cleanest, and most solid Celery I ever produced, 

 and the labour was not begrudged when the prize was won. 



Yet I must rule that that mode of growing Celery for a 

 gentleman's table is a wasteful mode — a waste of manure, 

 ground, time, and labour. Before " sticks " of that character 

 can be presented in the dining-room four-fifths of them must 

 be trimmed away and be sent to the rubbish-heap My table 

 Celery is produced at fully twenty-five per cent, less cost, and 

 the quality is unimpeachable. My paper is, however, too 

 lengthy for further details, and I will only say that the kinds 

 I find most satisfactory for everyday use, and not for exhibi- 

 tion, are Turner's Incomparable White and Hood's Dwarf 

 Bed. Sorts larger than these, and altogether good, are : Eeds, 

 Ivery'a Nonsuch and Leicester Beds ; Whites, Veitch's Solid 

 White and Dixon's Mammoth. These are suitable for home 

 066 and exhibition. When large heads are especially coveted 

 I recommend as Reds Wright's Grove Bed and Manchester Bed, 

 and as Whites Wright's Grove White and Goodwin's White. 



For any purpose I advise that the seed be sown very thinly 

 on a slight hotbed. If this cannot be had then make a seed 

 bed 6 inches deep of thoroughly decayed manure or leaf soil in 

 a very sheltered place, BOwing the seed thinly at the present 



time, and protect with glass. This is much preferable to sowing 

 thickly in pots and raising quickly in heat, which is produc- 

 tive, unless special care is exercised, of a large per-ceutage of 

 "bolted" plants. I will return to the subject of Celery oalture 

 on a future occasion. — E. Fish's Pcpil. 



FEUIT-TREE COPINGS, &c.— No. 8. 



I FIND that though copings are a great assistance in early 

 summer to keep insect life in abatement by accelerating the 

 quick growth of young wood, yet after a certain lime (according 

 to season) it will at once be made apparent by the condition of 

 the trees that the copings must be considered a great disad- 

 vantage if they are fixtures. Perhaps this may not be the case 

 in cold-lying situations ; I should not have found it so at 

 Maesgwynne in Carmarthenshire, still in four situations out of 

 six portable copings will be found the best. It is possible — nay, 

 probable, that in one season in a half dozen we may find it of 

 advantage if the coping were to remain on all the year. This 

 brings to my mind that I hope to see the day when we shall 

 have a sliding coping, so that by a mere pull we can have it 

 down or up as required. 



But to pass on to the more immediate subject. I find after 

 the foliage has grown to its full size or nearly so, and fruit is 

 " out of danger," that dry winds and a powerful sun are drawing 

 from the supplying sources of the tree. There is a stream that 

 cannot be well met. Insects are now busy setting to work, 

 and the glass coping that in spring fostered a rapid growth to 

 the deterioration of insects is now doing tho reverse. Red 

 spider takes possession of the tree. Those invigorating dews, 

 that passing shower — at once life to the tree and death to the 

 insects — are kept from their life-giving mission — by what ? 

 The coping. Can we draw a comparison between glass coping 

 and glass houses '! Really there is nothing in common be- 

 tween them. Why ? The glass house keeps off dews and 

 showers I admit; but we can moisten the beds, walks, &c,, 

 in a house, and the wind has little or no effect in carrying it 

 away. Not so the borders under coping. Moreover in syring- 

 ing the trees in a house we find the moisture to remain for a 

 considerable time. Not so ou tho trees under coping. In fact, 

 I cannot see the good of having the coping on all the summer. 



My experience last summer somewhat differs from the 

 opinion that glass is a non-conductor. Trees under glass 

 coping here require a far greater supply of water than those 

 without coping ; still worse, I found red spider more trouble- 

 some than the year before, though one was an extra dry, the 

 other an uncommonly wet year. Judging from this, one is 

 brought to think that glass coping must extract moisture both 

 from the foliage and of course from the soil. If I am right, 

 this again points to portable coping as the proper thing. Have 

 a coping of, say, 2 feet 6 inches wide over trees growing in a 

 dry situation, and it is easy to predict a short life for them if 

 they are not very carefully treated. 



There is another most disastrous practice if not avoided 

 which is likely to bring coping into disrepute — namely, by not 

 allowing space for ventilation at the apex. It is astonishing 

 the power of heat that accumulates under a 2-feet-6-inch glass 

 coping under a bright sun, and if it has no escape will do 

 irreparable damage by roasting the foliage and wood and in- 

 creasing red spider. I find even with an aperture of l|-inch 

 with a fixed coping that it is difficult to keep down red spider 

 for a foot or so on the top of the trees. I would not have less 

 than 3-inch ventilators from one end to the other. The question 

 will be asked, How are we to keep out the frost and rain if we 

 give this ventilation ? I presume that most, if not all, walls 

 have a stone coping of from 3 to 4 inches at least. Under this, 

 then, is the place for the glass to be placed, leaving the space 

 required for ventilation. The dropping of water from off the 

 stone coping must be carried away by its overlapping the glass 

 for an inch or two. 



We now want to provide against driving rains, wind, and 

 frost. A perfect glass coping is yet desirable. At times we want 

 all snug and close, at other times a good proportion of air 

 playing on all parts of the tree is indispensable. I find the 

 most economical and effectual way of placing the screen is by 

 having a row of galvanised hooks screwed in the front of the 

 coping at, say, 3 feet apart. I like good tiffany for the screen; 

 it seems to keep out frost well, and is less cumbersome than 

 many articles, and is soon diieJ after a wet night. I have it 

 made up in long lengths and bound with strong wide tape to 

 which is sewn brass or galvanised rings on one side to corre- 

 spond with hooks in front of the coping. The other side of 



