260 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ March 30, 1876. 



Bemi-tlonble, free- blooming variety of (rreat valna for decorative pnrpoBes. 

 The colour is vermilion with rasroon blotches on the upper petals, all the 

 petals being margined with white. It flowfrs early, ami will no doubt force 

 well, and is fine Jor decorative pnrpoBes in the conservatory and greenhouse. 



Eeoccoii and Cauliflowers for Succession (H. M.).— Snow's Winter 

 "White is ready fnr usein January, Adams'sEarly White iu February, Knicht's 

 Protecting in March and April. Lander's Goshen and Cattell's Eclipse in May 

 and June. Suw early in April, except the two last-named, which may be 

 sown in May. Of Cauliflowers sow Dwarf Mammoth, Walcheren. aud Veitch'a 

 Autumn Giant at once, »nd Walcheren at intervals of three weeks until July, 

 and if you affoid the plants rich soil and copious supplies of water you wUl 

 liave a lengthy and full supply. 



Celeet Running to Seed (Idi-m). — The cause of yonr Celery "bolting" 

 was not the fault of the HeedHroaa. The seed was sown too early, receiving 

 subsequent checkn to their steady growth ; the plants suffering also, io all 

 probability, by iufufficient snppli' s of water some time during the summer 

 season. If you carefully folluw the mcle of culture detailed on pages 216 

 and 236 you will have few, if acjy, bolted heads. 



DiPLADENiA Brearleyana {Exhibitor], — 'Vou have been correctly in- 

 formed that this variety is one of the finest of Bipladeoiaa. Its flowers are 

 the richest in colour of all the varieties, beiog bright crimson, and the petals 

 are of stout texture, and the plant is also a free grower and profuse bloomer. 

 It has been awarded a fiist-clasa certificate by the Floral Committee of the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society, and is worthy of your special notice. 



DisBDDDiNO Vines (F. HI.— When the bunches show you can make a 

 eelectioD of the shoots of the greatest promise, and when a doubt arises as 

 to which of two shoots should be teraoved, decide on leaving the one nearest 

 to the old stem of the Viue. The ehoots should not be left closer than 

 15 inches to each other, to that the foliage can have room to expand fully 

 Great iDjury is commonly done by an overcrowding of the young shoots. 



Syringing Vines (Tyro). — A moist atmosphere arieing from a regular 

 sprinkUng of the paths is preftrable to syringing the Vines with water of 

 " questkinible" purity. See what is said in another column by "Ex- 

 Exhibitor." 



AsPHALTE Path in Conservatory (F. 0. 3/.).— There would be great 

 danger to all softwooded plants by uping hot tar under glass. The only timo 

 which would be at all safe tu make a path of the kind you contemplate would 

 be in summer, when most of the plants could be placed out of doors for a 

 time, and the ventilator-t of the house be left open night and day for three 

 weeks. Even then we do not consider the use of tar advisable. Cannot you 

 make a firm tmooth path by nsiog a mixture of cement with the surface 

 covering of gravel ? 



Seed Measures {Country). — AU ought to be sold by imperial measure. 

 To Eell by any other renders the vendor liable to a penalty of 40s. 



Eoses on Own Roots fE. r.l.— Allow them to grow this year at will, not 

 pruning them until the coming February, and then prune rather freely, and 

 Bo as to form but-hes; but you may have them in any desired form, but for 

 standards they are not well adapted, doing better as bushes. 



Sowing Eoyal Fern Spores {Wilts). — Tho proper name of the Fern is 

 Osmunda regalis, a native kind, found in swampy ground. It requires a wet 

 soil, with plenty of light, but shad^^d from direct sun. The spores should be 

 sown or scattered on the surface of a put or pan prepared as follows : Drain 

 it well, filling one-third its depth with crocks, over this ab^iut an inch of the 

 siftings of the compost, two-thirds sandy peat, and one-third fibrous yellow 

 loam, with a sixth part of silver eaui. The pot or pan is then to be filled 

 with the sifted soil to within an iLch of the rim, presrti-d rather firmly, and 

 made smooth and even. A thorough watering should bo ei^en, and whilst 

 the surface is wet the epores >hould be dii- posed over the surface, and the pot 

 or pan have a square tf glass laid upon it. The pot or pan is to be placed 

 in a saucer kept full of water, and placed in a houee from which frost is 

 excloded, atd in a position shaded from the sun. You may place in the 

 hotbed, and keep in the damp-^st part and shaded. Tho seedlingii will sooner 

 appear in the h'ttbed — probably in about six weeks, and under cooler treat- 

 ment in about eight or ten. The surface of the soil is to be always kept 

 moist, and if the saucer be kept full of water it will hardly be ijccessary to 

 water at the surface. A little air may be given after the seedlings are well 

 up, but only a little, anl at night, by deL::rees inuring them to exposure. 

 The seedlings will not require pottiug- ff singly until thi^ time twelvemonths, 

 and ought to be grown-on for a year in a cool moist bouse before planting 

 them out. 



Tan Hotbed foe Cucumbers {St. Edmund).— The south-eagt comer of 

 jour garden would answer in summer for a Cucumber frame ; but it certainly 

 cannot now have the sun at 7 a.m., with an 18-feet-high building to the 

 east much before noon. If it have sun at 7 a.m. the site is a good one, the 

 sun continuing upon the frame all day. Tan will answer; but you will need 

 to have a pit formed of bricks or other m^ans of holding the tan, or you might 

 use litter for the side^ of the bei, and fill-in with tan. 



Sowing Seville Longpod Bean fob use in July (Idem).— Sow at once. 

 They will not be in before required, if by then. 



Cyperus alternifolids variegata (John R. Boyd). — Its green foliage is 

 from the plant being grown in too free rich soil; and it is as well to state 

 that the variegated kind is only a sporb from the green, and is very subject 

 to revert to the orioinal form. Great care should be tikt-n in selecting for 

 an incrt^ase of stock those diviaious of the plant which have the highest 

 variegation, and to grow in very poor soil. We grow ours in silver sand with 

 a fourth of crocks broken small, and a sixth part of sandy peat. The pots 

 are well drained, and the plants are abundantly watered and afforded a light 

 position in a c^ol stove. We have very many peedlings in our stove, which 

 are all green- foliaged, and very pretty they are for decorative purposes, even 

 more bo than the variegated kind for table purposes. 



Ardisia cresulata not Fruiting (Idem).— The plants must drop the 

 flowers, but as they are doing so without setting we can only suppose that 

 they are grown ia too moist and close an atmosphere. Our always set freely 

 thouph sprinkled overhead twice daily. We grow the plants in a cool stove 

 in a li^ht airy position. 



Watering Mushroom Bed fl(icm).— We approve of watering Mushroom 

 beds at any time when the surface is dry and requires watering to bring it 

 into a moist condition; but it is not good practice to water with a moist 

 Burface and the Mushrooms rising freely, a^ it is certain to destroy those in 

 the button state. All waterlog of Mu-«hroora beds sho-ild he done as much 

 as possible without wetting the Mushrooms, at the same time the surface 

 mnat be kept moist. Wtxy water when the bed is moist ? You liave over- 

 watered, and lost the crop for a time. 



Gbowing Bush Fruits <F. 0.).~lt would no doubt afford a respectable 

 livelihood to devote two or three acres of ground to but-h fruit culture; but 

 you would not obtain the proSts you anticipate, as one-half the sum you 

 name would be a more likely result. Hens kept in numbers do not pay, but 

 you might have poultry if you had runs for them, independent of the fruit 

 garden, and add a nice sum to your other sources of income; but from the 

 frnit garden they had better be escludei. 



Clipping Holly Hedge IJ. TF.).— Do the clipping now. 



Name of Fruit (A. B. C).— Keddleston Pippin. 



Names of Plants <H. N. D.).— It is usually called Pyrus japonica, but it 

 has also been included in the genera Cydonia, Mains, and ChKaomeles, but 

 never in Camellia. {W. D. A ).— Primula verticillata (C. B. C.I.— 2, Ceras- 

 tium Biebersteinii, or robust sprays of C. tomoatosum ; 3, Achillea umbsl- 

 lata ; 4, Cineraria maritima compacta. 



POULTET, BEE, AND PIGEON OHEONIOLE. 



POULTRY JOTTINGS. 



" Now i3 the winter of our discontent " 

 truly a long one ; and althongh variety ia said to be charming, 

 and we pass from rain to snow and snow to sleet, accompanied 

 by hurricanes from the south-west, varied with straight, keen, 

 catting, relentless east winds, yet we confess we are not charmed. 

 We have read somewhere that Sheridan went on a visit when it 

 was convenient if not necessary he ehould be anywhere bat at 

 home. He pitched on an old friend who had a capital cellar 

 and a first-rate cook, bat who was decidedly prosy and a bore. 

 He had one invariable rule — he never left his bed while the 

 wind was in the east. His bedroom had a weathercock in front 

 of the windows. On the night of his arrival Sherry tied it dae 

 east, and left it there till he ha'd letters allowing him to return 

 home. We do believe there was wisdom in the man's arrange- 

 ment. Bed ii the only place of eecnre refuge from the east wind. 

 Clothing will not keep it out. It finds out the worn places of 

 your clothes, and perseveres till it has reached the skin, and 

 there it fastens; and it cnmes in all its strength, having formed 

 an alliance with " blackthorn winter," and reigns supreme for 

 five, six, or more weeks at this season of the year. There are 

 certain things that never come at the right time. Bills do not. 

 If they had come two months earlier you were in funds, and two 



months later you could pay them; but jast now 



Well, we should not mind if the east wind came in July or 

 AuBust. The adults would bo moulting, and the chickens would 

 be well clothed and able to stand anything ; but to come now, it 

 turns the scale ai:ainst us. We like to hatch January chickens. 

 About this time they are sturdy little fellows. We are obliged 

 to keep them in a large outhouse for the first two months. The 

 nights are too long and the weather is too cold, and in a house 

 there are facilities for nocturnal feeding that cannot be met with 

 out of doors. We trust in those two months to get them strong 

 enough for anything ; to be out of doors, to face the cold winds, 

 the morning frosts, and the April showers. But this is the 

 winter of our discontent. None of our chickens are yet out of 

 doors. The earth is so damp, so cold, we dare not risk them. 

 The time is, however, come when we must ; others are growing, 

 and some are hatching every day. It is the history of every- 

 thing else. Elders must make way for youngers, so the chickens 

 shall take to the grass that their younger brethren may have 

 shelter. We have not much fear ; we have two places, one a 

 close thorn hedge with large dry bank. We drive the rip into 

 the hedge as far as we can. It is thus protected from every- 

 thing, and standing on a slant it is always dry; it is also very 

 dusty. Bat our favourite place for chickens is under a hayrick. 

 In such a place about 21 feet square there are generally two hay- 

 ricks ; one entire, the other partly consumed. We know no 

 such place for chickens. It aiJords ample shelter from every- 

 thing, it is always dry under its eaves, the ground is covered 

 with seeds and food of all sorts. Dust made up of the most 

 minute particles abounds. Nothing is more essential to the 

 well-doing of chickens than this. Unlike many birds, it ia not 

 in the nature of a fowl to wash, but they must not the less have 

 their bath, and the material they use is dust. We jot down as 

 we go on. The moat successful breeders we have ever known 

 have been those who have most closely followed Nature in pro- 

 viding for the wants of their birds, whether in food or otherwise. 



IX EE DUST E.\TH. 

 "There's a covey of eleven in the tater field," said the keeper. 

 The dog drew to a bare spot and stood some yards from it. It 

 waa open and exposed to the sun. When approached the dust 

 baths were visible, the earth was pulverised, and feathers lay 

 here and there. A little farther and the birds rose, scattering 

 clouds of dost. " I know there are Pheasants here." It was a 

 high bank separating a covert from a common. The dog drew 

 steadily down, and at last stood. As he continued drawing the 

 keeper walked by his side, and then pointing to the top of the 

 bank, said, " See where they've been dusting! Cock and hen 

 feathers both !" They were put up in ten minutes. These birds, 

 following the all-wiae instinct implanted in them, were taking 

 their dust bath. Vermin destroy birds little by little ; dust is 



