February 19, 1874. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND OOTTAGB GARDE NKR. 



171 



a thiug Joes ever happen ia one argument among others against 

 the use of vegetables that are not perfectly fresh ; and perhaps 

 our cooks ought to scrutinise leaves, &o., a little more carefully 

 than at present. 



NOTES ON VILLA and SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



Plantinq Ranunculus. — Observe whether the roots are sound 

 or not ; if they are damp or mildewed they are of little or no use. 

 Any piece of ground which has been rough-dug in autumn, aud 

 left through the winter to receive the benefit of the frost, is just 

 ■what the Ranunculus delights in. With regard to situation, 

 some spot should be chosen, as remote as circumstances will 

 allow, from hedges, old Box edgings, walks, or anything which 

 might harbour slugs ; a level space is to be preferred. Haviug 

 fixed on a plan to plant, on the morning of a fine day level the 

 bed rather roughly, but evenly, with a three-pronged fork, with- 

 out putting a foot upon it, then let it remain till two or three 

 o'clock, when it will be dry, and rake it perfectly level ; this 

 done, draw a line up the middle, aud, with a small trowel, 

 draw a straight furrow, beginning at the centre and advancing 

 to the edge with successive furrows. The amateur should regu- 

 late the size of the bed by the number of roots, and dispose of 

 them equally all over it. Place the roots so that the crowns 

 shall be 14 inch beneath the sm-faoe when the bed is completed, 

 and haviug thus filled the furrow with tubers 1 inches apart, 

 drop a Httle sand on each, sufficient to cover it, and draw the 

 mould over the whole. The manipulations which have been 

 described are rather laborious from the long continuance of the 

 stooping posture, and they will probably discourage those who 

 are not thoroughly imbued with a love of flowers ; but the reso- 

 lute amateur will remember that no good results are ever se- 

 cured without toil, and he will be cheered in his labours by the 

 prospect of a splendid bloom. 



Seed-sowing. — As the busy season of seed-sowing is at hand, 

 proceed with the general work, both in the flower and the 

 kitchen garden, as fast as possible. Borders containing herb- 

 aceous plants that were not dug over in the autumn should, 

 now that the bulbous plants are above ground, be attended to 

 immediately. Instead of being dug they should be neatly 

 forked over, previously dressing the ground, if poor, with rich 

 compost or manure, aud taking care to disturb the bulbs as little 

 as possible. Coarse-growing plants, as Asters, Achilleas, Phloxes, 

 &c., must be reduced in size. lu doing this retain a portion of 

 the outside, only removing the outer part and the centre ; or, if 

 necessary, take up the plant altogether, and, after adding some 

 fresh compost to the soil, replant the best part of the old stool. 

 In this way neat compact plants may be obtained, aud, wliat is 

 au advantage in small gardens, some of the coarse-growing ones 

 will be checked in their growth. 



Cuttings. — Many of the more hardy of the autnmn-struck 

 plants for grouping, such as Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, common 

 Verbenas, &c., may now be potted-off into small pots, and placed 

 under the shade of the greenhouse plants until well rooted, so as 

 to be ready to plant out in sand iu temporary pits towards the 

 end of March, and set the pots at liberty for other things. Very 

 small pots must be used, the object being to get the compact 

 ball of roots, which, when plunged in sand, will produce a dense 

 mass of fibres, ready to push into the soil directly after the 

 plants are placed in their permanent quarters. 



For this reason I would advocate the autumn as the best season 

 for striking cuttings, because every day in spring brings its work, 

 whUe autumn is comparatively anidle time in the garden. There- 

 fore, as three dozen plants can, on an average, be kept under 

 every superficial foot of glass, let us get over these kinds in au- 

 tumn, have them potted early in spring and plunged in tempor.iry 

 pits, so as to set the other pits and frames at liberty for more 

 useful purposes. Any new or scarce plants of which your stock 

 may be limited had better be placed in heat to produce cuttings 

 for propagation. Among the plants not so extensively grown 

 as their merits entitle them to be I may mention Nierembergia 

 intermedia, gracilis, Lautana Sellowii, the old Ruellia formosa, 

 Bouvardia triphylla and splendens. Both the latter plants are 

 readily increased by pieces of the roots cut into portions about 

 1 inch long, placed over some light sandy soil, covered about 

 halt an inch deep, and plunged in a gentle bottom heat. The 

 youug plants must be potted-off when about 1 inch high. The 

 old plants should be parted and potted in March, and placed in 

 heat until they have produced shoots 2 inches long, after which 

 they must be hardened-ofl previously to being planted-out. 

 B. splendens strikes fresly from cuttings, and the other species 

 is best increased by roots. 



A few seeds of Brachycome iberidifolia, Schizanthus Hookeri, 

 Priestii, and humilis ; Mesembryanthemum tricolor, Rhodanthe 

 Manglesii, Clin tenia pulchella, Phlox Drummondi, and Portulaca 

 Thellusoni may be sown in gentle heat to bloom in pots. Some 

 of the autumn-sown annuals will require repotting. 



In the kitchen garden plant a few early Potatoes at the foot of 

 a south wall or on a warm border; but if they can be placed on 

 a slight hotbed, so as to start them into growth a little, they will 



be as well planted three weeks hence. Make a small sowing of 

 Lettuce, and also get in another crop of early Peas and the first 

 crop of Windsor Beans. 



Lay in a stock of different kinds of soil under cover while it 

 is dry, ready for potting next month. In planting flowering 

 shrubs be very particular to plant them at such distances that 

 each plant may have plenty of room to grow and strike out its 

 roots aud branches freely. If shrubs are crowded together they 

 become stunted in growth and lanky in form. 



If you are forming a clump, or even a plantation, let each shrub 

 be planted 6 feet-apart from its neighbour ; but if you wish to 

 plant Roses, Syringas, Honeysuckles, and Lilacs in your flower 

 borders, they should be from 12 to 1.5 feet distant from each 

 other, so as not to interfere with the flowers growing below 

 them. October is the autumn montli for trausplauting shrubs, 

 and February and March are the spring months. March is the 

 last month for transplanting evergreens. When you wish to 

 transplant or plant a shrub, dig a circular hole sufficiently large 

 to receive the roots of the plant, which must be laid neatly 

 down while some person holds tho shrub iu its proper position 

 straight aud upright, cut away any dead or damaged roots, then 

 break the earth well with your spade and throw it into the hole, 

 shaking the plant gently just to let the earth fall closely among 

 the roots. When it is well fiUed-up tread the earth gently round 

 the shrub to fix it, but do not stamp it. Water each shrub after 

 planting, give a good soaking, and let the plant have a stake 

 to support it.— W. Keane. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST AND PRESENT WEEKS. 



FEUIT AND KITCHEN GAUDEN. 



Keen frost accompanied by cutting east winds brought every- 

 thing to a standstill except trenching. The rough manure 

 placed over the surface of the ground prevented the frost from 

 penetrating deeply. In a previous article allusion was made to 

 the undesirability of trenching the ground when tho surface was 

 frozen deeply. Another undesirable practice is to trench-in a 

 hard surface where the ground has been trodden or wheeled 

 upon. This is sometimes done, the top spit being thrown to 

 the bottom in lumps if the soil is at all heavy. Iu such a case 

 it is best to fork the surface over, and if possible allow it to lie 

 for a month or more until pulverised by the action of the atmo- 

 sphere ; and if practicable, it is best to trench when the surface 

 is dry. 



Nailing. — Where this is not finished it ought to be completed 

 as soon as possible. The Peach wall is generally left to the last ; 

 aud as the trees of this are more infested by insect pests than 

 any others, it is best to unnail the trees altogether and renail 

 with new shreds. The old shreds can sometimes be used a second 

 time if they have been dipped in boiling water. Iu most modern 

 gardens, neat wire trellises are substituted for the old system of 

 nailing. The only danger arising from this method is, that the 

 wood is liable to canker if it is tied too firmly to the wires. 

 Galvanised wire is the worst, ordinary wire painted is the best 

 to use. The wire should be strained tightly, and fixed pretty 

 close to the wall. All pruning should be finished as soon as 

 possible. 



We made a sowing of Celery in the open air ; the first sowing 

 was made in a hotbed for the earliest crop. In our light gravelly 

 soil the first sowing, which is generally made uuder a glass light, 

 runs to seed to a large extent during the summer months. We 

 have also been planting out Onions that were sown in autumn. 

 In many gardens the spring-sown Onions are annually attacked 

 by the grub, and the crop much damaged, or even totally de- 

 stroyed. When this is the case, the best mode is to sow in 

 autumn, and plant-out in rows or beds in February. In this way 

 there is no danger of the crop being destroyed or even much 

 injured by the worm. 



Parsnips and Carrots. — We sowed the former. This vegetable 

 is grown and appreciated in the neighbourhood of London, but 

 in Scotland it is Uttle known amongst the poorer class. The 

 cottagers have their beds of Onions, Carrots, Leeks, and Cab- 

 bages, but wholesome salads aud a nutritious vegetable like the 

 Parsnip should find a place in all gardens. The best Parsnips 

 are obtained from ground that has been trenched in the autumu, 

 and the manure placed a foot below the surface. It may also be 

 as well to state that where Carrots have been annually destroyed 

 by the worm when the ground was dug in the usual manner, a 

 sound crop has been obtained by following the above practice. 

 Those who cannot obtain Carrots free from the worm would do 

 well to try this system. Proceed in this way : At one end of the 

 quarter to be trenched take out an opening 1 foot 6 inches deep 

 and 2 feet C inches wide, this is to be wheeled to the extreme 

 end to fill up the last trench ; mark-off a space close to the 

 opening 2 feet wide ; take the top spit of this and throw into the 

 opeuiug; the loose earth must also be shovelled in, this will take 

 (i inches from the surface. A good dressing of manure must now 

 be put in, and the bottom soil thrown out on the top. 



Where Radishes are through the ground a light covering of 



