April 27, 187S. ) 



jouknaij op horticulture and cottage gardener. 



327 



early produce as will plants which are raised from seeds sown 

 a month later, and when the plants can be grown steadily with 

 plenty of light and air and in a temperature such as is afforded 

 by cold frames ; but when Marrows are not specially required 

 early a plan simpler than the above may be adopted with 

 advantage. 



Select a sheltered border and dig out a barrowfal of soil, 

 and put in its place the same quantity of rich decayed manure. 

 Work this well up with some of the soil, and surface the 

 enriched station with a few inches of leaf soil. On this place 

 a hand-hght, and in a week the sun will warm the soil. Early 

 in May sow the seed, and when it germinates protect the young 

 plants from slugs. The plants will grow rather slowly at first, 

 bat they will be very strong ; and as the temperature increases 

 that and the rich soil (warm water being given when necessary) 

 will cause them to increase in size with extraordinary rapidity, 

 and they will probably overtake the plants which have been 

 raised in pots under glass. Plants raised from seed sown in 

 these rich stitions are much more fruitful than are plants 

 raised under glass, and the former do not suffer from mildew 

 nearly so much as the latter. 



I have seen this simple plan adopted by cottagers with great 

 success, and not being above taking a lesson from my humble 

 neighbours, the result has been that from half a dozen stations 

 thus prepared and protected by hand-lights I have had more 

 Vegetable Marrows in the autumn than I have known what to 

 do with. I advise others to try the same mode of culture, 

 being convinced that in a few months they will readily ac- 

 knowledge the value of the practice. I mean those who cannot 

 raise their plants under glass without their becoming drawn 

 and tender, and which receive subsequent and almost fatal 

 checks to their onward growth and fruitfulness. — Cleeicds. 



HYDRANGEA FLOWERS CHANGING COLOUR. 

 I CANNOT throw any light on the cause of the colour changing, 

 and I once was in temporary disgrace through the lack of such 

 knowledge. A lady employer saw me planting Hydrangeas in 

 the shrubbery, and expressed a hope that they were of the pink 

 kind, as she did not admire the slaty-coloured one. As her 

 time was precious I cut the matter as short as possible by 

 merely assuring her it was the pink sort I was planting. I 

 had taken the precaution to prepare the places for the plants 

 with some of the best turfy loam at my command, and hoped 

 to make a pleasing feature in the grounds very quickly. Judge 

 of my mortifieation when the flowers appeared, instead of 

 being a beautiful lively pink — with the exception of a little 

 one which had been planted in the natural soil without any 

 preparation — they were all of an ugly slaty blue colour. Would 

 the same soil which changes the colour of tho common Prim- 

 rose affect that of the Hydrangea ? — W. T. 



UNCOVERING VINE BORDERS. 



Mdch has been written from time to time on covering 

 Vine bordcvt', and now, perhaps, a little may be seasonably 

 said on uncovering them. It is eisy to cover the borders 

 either with shutters or dung without any mistake being made, 

 but more easy to err in uncovering ; and, in fact, considerable 

 injury may be done to the Vines if the protective covering is 

 removed from the borders suddenly and without due thought. 



When fermenting material has been placed on the borders 

 the utmost caution is needed in its removal. The warmth 

 which by the manure has been imparted to the surface of tho 

 borders will, in all probability, have fostered the emission of 

 active roots, and tbose roots will have turned their points in 

 the direction of the heat and towards the surface of the border. 

 Some of these roots may have permeated the manure, and in 

 that case they must not be disturbed. But in connection with 

 these surface roots it is more than probable that when one is 

 visible ten other spongioles are invisible, their points being 

 immediately below the surface. Now it is these invisible roots 

 that are the most liable to injury. They are not seen, and 

 hence are considered to be safe. But the active rootlets of 

 Vines with their upturned points within an inch of the border's 

 surface are not sale ; they are liable to injury by drought, and 

 also by sudden changes of temperature. To ensure safety the 

 base of the fermenting material should not ha removed. Pro- 

 bably the roots have been enjoying a temperature of 60°, and 

 have also botn very moist. To change this suddenly to a 

 dry or rapidly dryi-ag surface is a dangerous practice. 



Then as to temperature. In the day the sun will warm the 



border, but what of the night ? Frequently have I seen Vine 

 borders which had been recently uncovered encrusted with 

 frost, but never without being thankful that I was not re- 

 sponsible for the condition of the Vines so treated. More 

 than once have I seen an unpleasant change take place in 

 Vines, which was directly traceable to the incautious uncover- 

 ing of the borders. It is at this period of the year that cover- 

 ings are generally removed. The heat of the sun is tempting, 

 and it is desirable that it should warm the ground, but W8 

 must not think so much of the heat in the day as to entirely 

 forget the cold of the night. It is not much trouble, and it 

 places the safety of the ^'ines beyond doubt, to have the sur- 

 face of a recently-exposed Vine border only exposed for a time 

 during the day, covering it at night. It is not the work 

 of ten minutes to spread a few inches ot long litter over a 

 moderately-sized border on the afternoon of a warm day, and 

 rake it off the next morning. A covering of mats where pro- 

 vided is neater and quicker. I know of no practice more 

 worthy of adoption than that in the management of Vina 

 borders from which fermenting material has recently been re- 

 moved. In taking off covering of this nature my advice is, 

 Do not take the manure oS too closely, but leave on 2 or 

 3 inches, and do not remove it suddenly. A layer of soil over 

 the residue of the covering will make all neat. 



But there is another type of Vine-border covering — borders 

 that have not been covered with warm manure to impart heat, 

 but with cool rich manure to prevent cold and to afford 

 nourishment to the roots. On these borders the excellent 

 practice has been adopted of covering their surfaces in the 

 autumn with 5 or (i inches of rich manure. Now what about 

 the uncovering of such borders? "Uncover them by all 

 means," says one ; " rake off the manure and allow the sun to 

 warm the roots." " Let the covering alone," says another ; 

 " Vines are more often injured by a dry hot border surface in 

 Bummer than by a cool moist border surface." 



Now, something may be said in favour of both these views 

 of the matter. There may be conditions, on the one hand of 

 the character of the soil of the border, and on the other on 

 the time at which the Vines are started into growth, which 

 may render one or the other idea of special weight. For 

 instance : Vines which are growing in a heavy and cold border, 

 and which are expanding their foliage and approaching the 

 blooming period, need, no doubt, all the solar heat that can 

 be directed into the soil. In that case the former view may 

 possibly be the most correct, but it cannot be carried out with 

 the greatest efficiency without also protecting the border 

 during cold nights. If the roots are deep and the soil heavy, 

 then may the covering bo advantageously removed and the 

 surface of the border be opened with the fork to admit the 

 heat ; but on the other hand, if the roots of the Vines are not 

 far below tho surface, and if the soil is light and the border 

 well drained, and the district is generally a dry one, the Vines 

 also not being forced, then I should " think once, twice, and 

 thrice " before removing the surface manure, and the end of my 

 thinking would probably result in my leaving the manure on 

 until the autumn, removing it then, also a little of the surface 

 soil, and replacing with fresh soil and another rich covering. 

 For light soil and dry districts this plan is a good one, and is 

 the beet for keeping the roots near the surface, and at the 

 same time active by affording them a sufficiency of moiat«r8 

 and support. 



The matter of uncovering Vine borders, and the summer 

 treatment that is best to adopt to preserve the roots near the 

 surface and keep the Vines healthy, is worthy of attention, and 

 I for one should be glad to hear what other Grape-growers 

 have to say on the subject. — A Northern Gardener. 



WOODEN TRELLIS v. WIRE. 



I WISH to draw attention to the inconvenience of the plan 

 which is frequently adopted when placing wire on back walls 

 of conservatories and other glass structures. Most builders 

 dislike the plan of putting it up in sections, which all trellis- 

 work under glass should be, for who is there that does not 

 want to get at the back part in the course of a year or two if 

 only to paint or whitewash it as the case may be ? 



With reference to the above I may say that I entered on a 

 situation about two years ago, where the entire back walls of 

 the conservatory were covered with a wooden trellis with Coboja 

 scandens vatiegata and Passiflora cierulea planted at the foot 

 and trained over it. On these climbers there were thousands 

 of mealy bugs, to destroy which I had to resort to washing the 



