March 2G, 1874. 1 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



253 



a plant in bloom, tho only care it will ask at liis hands during 

 its season of flowering is suflicient water and an occasional 

 careful sponging of the foliage on both surfaces. After the 

 flowers dccUne the pot may be placed in a cold frame, that it 

 may be slieltered from heavy rainfall, and as the foliage withers 

 water should be gradually withheld. If no frame is at hand, 

 it may be kept in the window till June, and be then placed on 

 its side out-doors in any convenient spot where it will be safe 

 from vermin. 



Some varieties show a disposition to retain their foliage 

 much longer than others, and most of them can be maintained 

 in growth if thought desirable, though we think it good prac- 

 tice to give the corms a season of rest. Towards the close of 

 the summer the tubers should be repotted in a soil composed 

 of equal parts of leaf mould, or in its place good peat, well- 

 rotted manure, loam, and silver sand, but where all these 

 materials are not attainable, the best substitutes that are at 

 liand may be used. The pots may be from two to three times 



partially shaded border, in ordinary garden soil weU drained. 

 They succeed admirably in turfy peat, and may be employed 

 as edgings to beds of American plants. 



The only method of increasing these plants is by seed, which 

 readily vegetates if sown as soon as ripe in pots of light soil 

 placed upon a window or in a Cucumber frame. The young 

 plants will generally bloom the second season after planting, 

 and increase annually in size for many years.— ()('. Thompson's 

 English Flower Garden, Revised by the Author.) 



Cyclamen persicam puDrtatmu. 



the diameter of the tuber, which should have its upper surface 

 slightly raised above the level of the soil. Perfect drainage is 

 of great importance, and if a thin layer of compressed moss 

 can be laid over the crocks it will aid in keeping the soil from 

 falling through and obstructing the escape of water. As a 

 rule it is desirable to remove the outside portion of the old ball 

 of soil, but in the case of large corms it may suffice to renew 

 the surface soU. After repotting, the plant maybe replaced in 

 a cold frame or window, but little water being given until a 

 few leaves are well developed and the flower buds begin to rise, 

 when the allowance may be gradually increased. 



The period at which the plant will commence blooming 

 naturally depends on the temperature maintained. A tuber 

 of moderate size will produce flowers in succession for two or 

 three months. Some varieties are delioiously fragrant, but it 

 must, in fairness, be added that large batches may be raised 

 from seed without yielding a single fragrant plant. Most of 

 the varieties seed freely, but it is worthy of note that in C. per- 

 sicum the peduncle does not coil itself in the spiral form for 

 which C. hederajfolium and other hardy species are so re- 

 markable. If allowed to ripen too much seed the plant will 

 be weakened, and will flower less freely the following season. 



C. hederiefolium just referred to, together with C. europaium, 

 are scarcely less desirable than C. persicum, and being per- 

 fectly hardy require no attention beyond that of planting in a 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN.— No. 7. 



The next steps to take after the course of the walls has been 

 determined on I consider to be levelhng, draining, and trench- 

 ing the ground, which should be done in the order they are 

 named, because after levelhng it is much less difficult to erect 

 walls at a desired height above the surface than before that 

 operation ; and in draining, the depth at which the drams 

 should be placed below the surface is also easily decided on ; 

 afterwards trenching can be performed without the danger o£ 

 the soil being again interfered with. 



With regard to levelhng the ground, I do not suppose that 

 iu an amateur's small garden the labour would be expensive, 

 as it is neither likely nor advisable, where such a small space 

 is enclosed, that a spot would be chosen so very uneven as to 

 involve a large outlay in moving soil ; nevertheless, there are 

 very few places so favourably situated where more or less of 

 this work will not be found necessary. Here let me not be 

 misunderstood. I do not refer to levelhng in the strict sense 

 of the word, where to perform it properly the soil would be as 

 level as the surface of still water, but to throwing down banks 

 of rising ground and fiUing-np hollows so that the surface may 

 be free from inequalities apparent to the eye and be not very 

 far from level. This will generally answer all purposes. If 

 the ground has a natural incline towards one point or another 

 favourable for a garden, so long as the incline is not steep, it 

 is seldom advisable to interfere with it beyond rendering the 

 slope uniform, and let the walls follow the same course. 



To form a garden on a perfect level is seldom attempted ; 

 it may be easy and at the same time necessary in some 

 localities to have one or more of the walls on a horizontal line, 

 say the north wall, and, perhaps, the south wall as well, but 

 on a lower level ; iu this case the east and west walls would 

 take the course of the ground iu order to meet the others. 

 Before levelling the surface soil the nature of the subsoil 

 should be ascertained and compared with the thickness and 

 quality of the surface soil, because in moving earth from one 

 part of the garden to another some places wiU be left com- 

 paratively thin and unfertile, while others will be enriched 

 and deepened to an unnecessary extent ; yet it is possible, by a 

 judicious selection of soil and carting it here and there, to 

 make the soil of the whole garden workable and of uniform 

 quality. 



Draining is the next work to be done, and must be regarded 

 as the first important operation towards the improvement of a 

 soU. It should, therefore, be done in the most careful and 

 substantial manner, but for a small garden it is not necessary 

 to adopt such expensive plans as would be needed where the 

 extent of ground is large. In determining the number of 

 drains to be put in and their depth, a safe guide wUl be found 

 iu the nature of the soil. If it is heavy and retentive, extend- 

 ing to a good depth, it should be freely drained, more par- 

 ticularly if it is below the level of adjacent ground, as at the 

 foot of steep declivities, where there would be at times such an 

 accumulation of water as to almost flood the garden. In such 

 cases it might be worth while to consider the desirability of 

 securing a system of drainage on the highest side of the gar- 

 den proper, so as to catch the water before reaching the latter ; 

 and the garden itself might be drained in the ordinary way 

 by placing the cross or branch drains about 3 or 4 feet deep, 

 and the main or collecting drains somewhat deeper, providing, 

 of course, a good fall so as to carry off the water quickly. In 

 a soil of the above description the drains may be from 10 to 

 20 feet apart, but in a hghter and more open soil, even if they 

 are not farther apart, they may be laid deeper. All these 

 matters, however, must be regulated by local circumstances, 

 such as the rainfall for a series of years, &c. There are situ- 

 ations for gardens where no artificial draining is needed, the 

 surface soil and the under strata being so porous as to 

 quickly carry o£f any superfluous water that may accumulate. 

 In planning a system of drainage let me remind my readers 

 that the truit-tree borders and walks ought to have their share 



