•206 



JOUKNAL OP HOBTICDLTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEK, 



[ Miuch 5, 1874, 



a number of pots of Lilium speciosum punotatum and album, 

 with which Mr. Reynolds, the gardener, is veiy sucoessful ; re- 

 potting the bulbs in NoTember in peat, loam, and silver sand, 

 placing three la a '.) or 11-ineh pot, from which he obtains 

 from twenty to thirty flowers, which render the conservatory 

 extremely gay at the end of summer. In the late vinery there 

 were some excellent Muscats hanging, though the best bunches 

 had been cut, and Alicante was in good preservation. Some 

 bedding Calceolarias had been removed thither, though Mr. 

 Reynolds did not approve of the practice, as they are far more 

 healthy and free from insects in frames ; but there the mice 

 attacked them and cleared oB row after row, so that they had 

 to be removed to the only available place of safety. In a span- 

 roofed stove were good plants of Maranta zebrina, Stephanotis 

 iloribunda, Cypripedium iusigne, Draciuna terminalis, and some 

 others ; but the Poinsettias, with which it had recently been 

 very gay, were nearly over ; not so that useful plant Euphorbia 

 jacquinia'flora, which was still in beauty. A lean-to orchard 

 house, 33 feet by 12, is found very useful for a variety of pur- 

 poses, as well as yielding an abundance of fruit. The practice 

 is to plunge the pot trees out of doors when the wood is nearly 

 ripe, and to plunge them in-doors when about to come into 

 flower. For top-dressing, horse droppLugs and loam are ap- 

 plied when the trees are turned out, and when this dressing 

 disappears horse droppings alone. Some small Pear trees 

 planted out in the back border had borne well, especially Marie 

 Louise. 



We have only to add that the management of the place was 

 highly creditable, especially as Mr. Reynolds has, besides the 

 garden, the home farm of some eighty acres to look after. 



NOTES ON VILLA and SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



Veey much of the pleasure of a garden will depend on the 

 manner in which its walks are formed. A walk that becomes 

 cloggy or slimy in wet weather or after frosts, or allows the 

 water to lodge upon it during and after rains, and has a surface 

 of coarse and harsh or loose materials, will do much towards 

 deterring persons from using their gardens constantly, or at 

 least will rob them of a good deal of enjoyment. Dryness can 

 be obtained in a walk Ijy shaping the ground properly in forming 

 it, by rounding it aUghtly in the middle, by giving it a decided 

 fall in some direction, and placing gratings and places for water 

 at the lowest points, and by using suitable materials both for the 

 foundation and the surface. In the ground formation of a walk 

 a firm bottom should be obtained, and it should be pared as 

 smooth as possible, keeping it from 3 to G inches higher in the 

 centre, according to its width. At both sides the gi-ound should 

 be sloped gradually down for about a foot or 18 inches in width 

 to the extreme margins, where it may be (J or 9 inches deeper 

 than at any other part. These extra cuts at the sides are to be 

 fiUed with rougher materials, and to foUow the general inclina- 

 tion of the walk for the purpose of drainage. By laying the 

 groundwork of a walk thus high in the centre, and smoothly 

 sloping to a kind of drain at each side, the utmost possible 

 dryness wiU be gained. 



The first operation on land will be to thoroughly drain it. 

 No description of ornamental or useful plants will thrive well 

 upon undrained ground that is not naturally dry and open, nor 

 can such land ever yield any permanent enjoyment and comfort. 

 A cold damp soil is decidedly uncongenial to both animal and 

 vegetable life. Drainage is not merely valuable in the removal 

 of stagnant water, which is so injurious to plants and so pro- 

 ductive of discomfort ; it also has the direct effect ol making 

 the soil warmer, and admitting air and gases freely. The tem- 

 perature of gi-ound that is saturated with water can never be 

 greatly increased by whatever power of sun it may be acted 

 upon, nor can air circulate properly through a liquid medium. 

 Warmth and air to the roots being therefore essential to the 

 healthy growth and fertility of plants, drainage becomes of the 

 highest consequence in soils that are naturally wet. 



In the greenhouse and pits proceed with potting plants for 

 bedding-out. Calceolarias and other softwooded plants that 

 require it may also be potted, taking care to drain the pots well. 

 The propagation of plants for bedding-out may now be pro- 

 ceeded with, according to the number required; but clumps 

 should not be kept shabby for the want of a few plants, as 

 they are readily propagated at this season. For cutting-pots 

 I generally use -IS's prepared in the following manner : Over 

 the hole at the bottom I place an inverted 6U-sized pot, and 

 round it potsherds broken small, over these some moss, and then 

 fill-np with a compost of peat, sand, and leaf mould in equal 

 quantities, leaving about half an inch of white sand at the top, 

 which runs into the holes as the cuttings are inserted. A stock 

 of pots thus prepared should be kept in a frame or propagating 

 house, as nothing is so injurious to cuttings taken from plants 

 growing in heat as to put them into cold soil, Cuttings canuot 



be too short if they have the necessary buds to form a plant, 

 neither can they be inserted too shallow if they are made firm 

 in the pots. 



Trenching vacant ground in preference to digging should at 

 all times be practised if time permit. The amateur should 

 endeavour to get the whole of his garden trenched over once in 

 the course of three years at the farthest. He should go to the 

 very bottom of the surface soil, taking care not to bring up the 

 surface soil ; this should be loosened with a fork deeply, and left 

 in its place. 



In the Vegetable department sow either on a slight hotbed or 

 in pans the first crop of Seymour's White Celery, and some 

 early Cauliflower, also a small crop of Impregnated Early White 

 Broccoli. If the crops before recommended are not sown, no 

 time must be lost in getting them in. Make your first sowing 

 of Marrow Peas, also put in the last crop of early ones. Spinach, 

 Lettuce, Radishes, both long and Turnip-rooted ; Dutch Turnip, 

 and Early Horn Carrot if wanted early, must be sown without 

 delay. A good breadth of early Potatoes must be planted, and 

 get the ground ready for Carrots in the early part of the month. 



The first thing to attend to in the out-door planting is trench- 

 iug the land. This must be done to a considerable depth, say 

 about 2 feet or 30 inches. If an orchard or a flower garden is to 

 be laid-out for the first time, the general drainage must be 

 looked to before success can be hoped for ; but if a new bed 

 is only contemplated, or the planting of a single tree, the soil 

 must be well disturbed, and if the subsoil is inclined to retain 

 wet an artificial drainage of bricks and stones is desirable. The 

 digging must also extend much beyond the hole necessary for 

 admitting the roots of the tree. The further this is done the 

 better, as it is often the ease that the surrounding soil has not 

 been disturbed for some time, and roots placed in a hole en- 

 compassed by such a hard mass will not ramify, but will be 

 similarly situated with those in pots. Trees and shrubs should 

 always be planted high to counteract the evils arising from un- 

 suitable subsoils, and also to allow the air to get at the roots. 

 People seem to think that, provided the stem appears above 

 ground, it matters nothing where the roots are, and we often see 

 newly-planted trees covered-up to the stem with paving stones 

 or gravel. The nearer the roots are to the atmosphere, and the 

 more porous the soil above them, the better. In the matter 

 of roots the smaller ones should be carefully preserved, arranged 

 round the tree as much as possible, and kept near the surface. 

 It thus appears that in transplanting care should be taken to 

 preserve the bunches of roots and fibres, which are too often 

 torn from the stronger roots and left in the ground. It is to be 

 lamented that even in some nurseries too little attention is 

 given to this matter, for we often see trees sent out with only a 

 strong stick of old roots attached, all that was really valuable 

 having been cut or rent away. The remedy for this unworkman- 

 hke treatment is for amateurs to be more knowing on such 

 matters themselves, and to refuse to purchase trees which are so 

 roughly treated. Firmly tread-down and water, and your work 

 is done, always remembering to keep a watch as to drought 

 during the first months of spring and summer. 



The seeds of all hardy and half-hardy annual plants should 

 now be sown in their respective stations, some in the open 

 ground, some in pots, some in cold frames, and some in a slight 

 hotbed. Finish pruning all kinds of deciduous trees and shrubs 

 which are not done. Attend principally to spring flowers, wliich 

 are, perhaps, the most cheering which a garden can afford on 

 account of the pleasing associations generally connected with 

 them. 



The amateur will find it interesting to note annually the time 

 when his favourite plants come into flower, and when particular 

 trees are leafing; and a series of well-authenticated facts on 

 points such as these would not be without their use to pro- 

 fessional gardeners. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST AND PRESENT WEEKS. 



One of the most important matters connected with a garden 

 is the water supply. In districts where the rain-gauge registers 

 over 21 inches in the year, watering out of doors cannot take up 

 very much of the gardener's time. 1873 was not considered a 

 dry season, and our rainfall was only 21'60 inches; in some 

 seasons it has not reached 20 inches, and the soil being naturally 

 dry it is highly necessary to water both flowers and vegetables 

 out of doors, and if rain water can be obtained for this purpose 

 so much the better. At all events it is of much importance to 

 have it for watering pot plants, especially for Heaths, Azaleas, 

 CameUias, and others of a hardwooded nature. When the liot- 

 houses were built at Loxford tanks were made at the same time 

 to hold all the rain water that might fall on them, and so large 

 has been the provision made that it is seldom necessary to use 

 other than rain water for the plants and the Vine borders. There 

 is a Uttle extra expense when the houses are built, but tliia is 

 more than compensated liy the convenience afterwards. For in- 

 stance, when a viuory is built it is necessary to go down at least 

 1 feet (or thp fouadation of the walls, in order to allow of a foot 



