352 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICDLTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDKNEK. 



( April 30, 1871. 



or two of this caterpillar, if allowed to spread over the tree, ■will 

 quite Btrip it of leaves, as in the last stages of growth they eat 

 voraciously. A far more difficult subject to deal with is the 

 Apple maggot. Thi3 troublesome pest is also on the move, and 

 can now be found curled up in the leaves and flowers. There 

 is no more effectual way to destroy it than by hand-picking. In 

 large orchards this would be impracticable, but in a garden 

 where the trees are not large a man accustomed to the work can 

 go over a number of trees in a day. Careful search is necessary, 

 and the trees should be examined about once a-week. We are 

 never troubled with the Gooseberry caterpillar, as the usual 

 winter precaution taken effectually destroys the larvie — that is, 

 to remove I;h6 soil under the bushes to the depth of 3 inches, 

 and replace it with fresh loam. Should the bushes be attacked 

 with the caterpillar, dusting with white hellebore powder is 

 the usual remedy. We ran the hoe through Strawberry and 

 Kaspberry beds ; these had been hoed once or twice previously, 

 but it is well to have every weed destroyed early in the season, 

 as after " bedding-out " commences but little time can be spared 

 for hoeing and weeding. 



FOKCING HOUSES. 



Vineries. — The last few days have been a trying time to the 

 early houses ; the sun acted powerfully upon the leaves, and in 

 some instances they were scalded. The leaves are formed at a 

 time when the weather is dull and cold ; much artificial heat is 

 necessary to keep up the temperature of the house, consequently 

 they are not of that robust healthy character which they would 

 be if formed later in the season. Mixed some whitening in a 

 pail of water, and syringed over the glass with it ; this had the 

 effect of shading the leaves sufficiently to prevent further injury. 



In a recent number allusion was made to painting the hot- 

 water pipes with flowers of sulphur to destroy red spider. It 

 has been necessary to do so in three houses. The best way is 

 to heat the pipes so hot that it becomes uncomfortable to hold 

 the hand on the flow. This should be done after the house is 

 shut up in the afternoon. Dissolve two ounces of soft soap in a 

 quart of soft water, and add flowers of sulphur until the mixture 

 is like thin paint. Apply the sulphur to the pipes with a mat 

 brush, and keep the pipes about the same heat all night, with 

 the house closely shut up. Should the spider not be destroyed, 

 repeat the operation in a few days. 



We have been tying-down the shoots and stopping laterals in 

 late vineries. In all our houses, late and early, the Vines are 

 trained on what is called the short-spur system ; the rods are 

 saot less than 2 feet 6 inches apart, and the spurs are about 

 18 inches apart on the rods. Under this management, and by 

 stopping the laterals two leaves beyond the bunch, the house 

 does not become crowded with leaves. It is not necessary to 

 apply artificial heat to the houses at this time unless the weather 

 should become cold. We ventilate freely by day, but shut-up the 

 houses with sun heat in the afternoon. 



Peach House. — Where the fruit has stoned and is swelling for 

 the second time a good heat may be kept up, thoroughly syring- 

 ing the trees with tepid water in the morning and when the 

 house is shut up in the afternoon. The night temperature may 

 be 70', with a proportionate rise by day. Peach trees will stand 

 more heat at this time than at any other stage of their growth. 

 Not a single red spider should be seen on the trees, for, if there 

 are only a few when it is necessary to discontinue syringing as 

 4he fruit shows signs of ripening, the pest will spread with such 

 amazing rapidity that the trees wUl be quite overrun, to their 

 serious injury, before all the fruit can be gathered. When the 

 fruit is swelling that will be the time to give the border a 

 thorough watering. Some persons recommend using manure 

 water ; this we do not approve of, but much prefer to dress the 

 surface with good manure — that of the cow and horse in equal 

 proportions, with a little loam added to it. In late houses attend 

 to thinning the fruit, thinning the young growths out, and tying- 

 down those that are required to form fruitful wood for next 

 season. 



Plant Stove. — Many plants are now in full growth, and the 

 more choice flowering specimens are either in flower or advanc- 

 ing to that stage. In previous numbers we have insisted on the 

 necessity of having all the plants free from insect pests. There 

 are many plants which it is undesirable to syringe ; and some 

 that ought to be syringed are, from necessity not from choice, 

 placed amongst other plants that would be injured if their foliage 

 were wetted daily. Such specimens must be washed with a 

 sponge and soapy water. Some of the more choice Orchids are 

 iiable to great injury from the attacks of red spider. Dendro- 

 bium Devonianum is constantly being attacked, unless the 

 plants are deluged with water from the syringe once or twice 

 a-day. D. chrysotis is another, but such plants succeed well if 

 syringed daily, and this will be the means of keeping them in 

 good health. Another most insidious enemy is the white thrips, 

 which attacks the Ladies' Slippers. Cypripedium Veitchianum 

 is more subject to attack than any of the others, though all the 

 C barbatnm section are preyed upon. The insects get into the 

 heart of the plant, and fumigating the house sufficiently to 

 destroy them will also iuj ure the plants. The beat way is to 



lay the plants on their sides and syringe the insects out vrith 

 clear tepid water. 



Tying and thinning-out superfluous growths of climbing 

 plants, such as Clerodendron Thomsonae, Stephanotis flori- 

 bunda, &c. It is not desirable to tie the shoots in closely, but 

 rather let them hang down in an irregular manner and looped- 

 up in festoons ; but they must not interfere with the growth of 

 other plants underneath them. 



Ptilyns. — Tile hardier species were potted two months ago, 

 but the end of April or early in May is probably a better time 

 to pot those that do not make roots freely. Amongst others, 

 Phcenicophorium sechellarum requires a little extra care. It is 

 a most noble species, but the potting material should be porous 

 and well-drained ; equal parts of turfy ioam and tough fibrous 

 peat are very suitable for it. The plant should also be grown in 

 the hottest house, and in the hottest corner. In striking con- 

 trast to the broad noble foliage of this plant, are the species 

 with graceful, arching, finely-divided leaves, of which Cocos 

 Weddeliana and Chamasdorea graminifolia are the most beauti- 

 ful, and also the most useful for decorative purposes in the 

 dining or drawing-room. Four parts of good turfy loam to one 

 of leaf mould are a very suitable potting material for them. 



Potting-off young plants of Eranthemum pulchellum and 

 Bouvardias of sorts. The most useful of all the Bouvardias for 

 cutting from is B. Vreelandii, though for decorative purposes 

 B. jasminiflora is as good ; indeed, the old plants which flowered 

 in midwinter have been again a mass of flowers for at least a 

 month, and they stand well in the greenhouse. Cuttings strike 

 freely in a little bottom heat in the Cucumber house, and if 

 grown-oo without any check they will flower freely at Christ- 

 mas. The Eranthemum also flowers in the winter, and is not 

 grown BO much as it ought to be. It has one fault — the flowers 

 do not stand well after being cut; but for decorative purposes in 

 the stove this is not an objection, as the continued succession 

 of fresh flowers keeps the plants in full beauty for many weeks. 



— J. DoUGLiS. 



PROVINCIAL HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 

 [Secretaries will oblige us by informing ub of the dates on 

 which exhibitions are to be held. Although we cannot report 

 them fully, we shall readily note anything especially excellent, 

 and we wish for information on such specialities to be sent 

 to ns.] 



MAT. 



Royal Osf ordshire 6 



Glonceeter and Cheltenham 7 



Glasgow Sand 9 



Bath 18 



Royal Jersey 13 



Royal Horticultural of Ireland . . 21 



Cambridfceshire 21 



Manchester 22 to i» 



Southampton 25 



Blackburn 25, 26, and 27 



Devon and Exeter 29 



JUNE. 



Glasgow and West of Scotland . . 3 



UndercliS 3 



Coventry and Warwickshire 8 



Bath and West of England . .8 to 12 



JUNE 



Leeds 10, 11, and 12 



Gloucester and Cheltenham 11 



Royal Oxfordshire 16 



Chertsey 17 



Burton-ouTrent 17 



Thorne 17 



Jersey 17 



Guildford 17 



York 17, 18, and 19 



Fermoy 18 



Nottingham 24 



RH.S. of Ireland 2S 



Cambridgeshire SS 



Thetford 25 



Ipswich and E. of Endand 25 and 36 



Devon and Exeter (Roses) 36 



Boston 30 and July 1 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Dicksons & Co., 1, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh. — Descriptive 

 Catalogue of Florists' Flowers. 



M. H. Merriam, Belvidere Greenhouses, near Centre DepSt, 

 Lexington, Massachusetts. — List of Exotics and Floral Novel- 

 ties. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



',* It is particularly requested that no communication be ad- 

 dressed privately to either of the Editors of this .Journal. 

 All correspondence should be directed either to " Tho 

 Editors," or to " The Publisher." Great delay often arises 

 when this rule is departed from. 



We also request that no one will write privately to any of our 

 correspondents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable 

 trouble and expense. 



Books (T. V. Hill). — We do not know who publishes now those yoa 

 mention. 



SHBnss, &o., FOR CoTBE IN A WOOD (Jf. B. ilf.).— Berberis Aqaifoliom, 

 and where not much shaded, Berberis Darwinii, Aucuba japonica, Tree Box, 

 Common Hully, Kver^rreen Privet, Butcher's Broom, Spurge Laurel, and 

 Periwinkles, especially \'inca elegantissima, near the paths. The Ilower you 

 enclosed is Scilla campanulata. Any florist could obtain it for you. It is a 

 native of Spain and Portugal. 



Arranqembnt of Flowers in a Border (Kildare Subscribgr). — The 

 effect of a border chequered with bold bright diamond-Hhaped maa^es of 

 olonr in the way yon propose would be exceedingly glaring and offensive 

 more especially ia such a situation. Do not divide the border by a ueutral 



