Jane IS, 1874. ] 



JOUBNAIi OF HOBTIOULTDBB AND COTTAGE GAUDKNBR. 



495 



pnrpose. One foot apart each way when planted out 13 quite 

 sufBeient room for the plants. It is astonishing what a quantity 

 of useful food may thus be produced. Besides, the pleasure of 

 observing a well-cropped garden is very great compared with a 

 state of negl.'ctful barrenness. Nothing is gained by the latter. 

 liouthic Oprrations. — Attend to mowing and rolling the lawn, 

 to weeding, sweeping, and rolling walks, and to hoeing, raking, 

 and stirring the surface of the ground. Continue to peg-down 

 all plants that require it, support and regulate the shoots of 

 climbers, stake and tie-up all tall-growing plants, destroy ear- 

 wigs and all kinds of destructive insects. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST AND PBESENT WEEKS. 



KITCHEN GIRDEN. 



Frequent allusion has been made to watering in recent 

 numbers. We have not the benefit of a supply laid on either 

 in the flower or kitchen garden; but in such a season as this, 

 where there is an arrangement made to fix a gutta percha hose 

 80 that the water can be applied easily to beds or borders, the 

 work can be got through, and but little inconvenience be caused 

 by the extra watering. On the other haud, where water has to 

 be dragged in carts or carried by haud a considerable distance, 

 either the ordinary work must tall behind or the plants and 

 vegetables must suffer. Depend upon it, there is no more im- 

 portant matter connected with the laying-out of new gardens 

 than that of securing an abundant supply of good water. 



But for the deep working of the kitchen- garden quarters, and 

 a goodly dressing of manure, vegetables would have been very 

 poor in quality. Peas are podding very well, but the pods are 

 small, aud the quality very iudifferent. Early Cauliflowers that 

 received two good waterings are excellent. The autumn-sown 

 seeds have given a supply of two sets of plants. The earliest that 

 were put out under hand-lights are now being cut ; other plants 

 pricked-out iu boxes and planted in March will succeed them. 

 The next batch are from seed sown in a franae over a hotbed. 

 Early Cabbages are also pretty good; the farmers say that the 

 market is overstocked with them. Many waggonloads were 

 sent from this neighbourhood last year for the markets in the 

 midland counties ; this season none are required. 



Planted snccessional plants of Celery, aud attended to the 

 earliest planted ; though not quite ready for earthing-up, it 

 requires regular supplies of water. This, though a ditch plant 

 in its normal state, must not be watered until the soil becomes 

 sour. 



FRUIT AND FORCING HOUSES. 



Fineries, — In very large gardens where there are houses 

 devoted to each class of plants, pineries for Pine plants. Orchid 

 houses aud vineries devoted to those subjects aud nothing else, 

 the routine of gardening work is very much simplified. On the 

 other hand, where Pine houses have to accommodate Orange 

 trees. Vines in pots. Vines planted out and bearing fruit, fine- 

 foliaged and flowering plants, a little scheming is necessary in 

 order that everything may succeed tolerably well. When stove 

 plants that may be infested with bug and scale are to be intro- 

 duced, they must be thoroughly cleansed from all such pests, 

 and a strict watch maintained so that it may be washed off 

 immediately. There are certain plants and fruit trees that 

 may be grown in the same house with Pines. Fig trees. Vines, 

 and Orange trees will do as well there as if a house were de- 

 voted to their culture ; but they must be cultivated in pots, so 

 that they may be removed to a cool house during the winter 

 months ; or it may he so arranged that the Pines can be re- 

 moved to another house where their special requirements may 

 be studied, while the house is ventilated freely for the purpose 

 of resting Vines, &o. 



Early-potted suckers that have filled the pots with roots 

 should now be potted into their fruiting-pots. Plunge the pots 

 in a bottom heat of W or 1)5" ; shut the house up early in the 

 afternoon to utilise all the available sun heat. The night tem- 

 perature may be kept at 75°. The object of this is to grow the 

 plants into a fruiting size by September, so that they may be 

 ready to start into fruit early the following season, after being 

 duly rested. Managed in this way Pines will be produced in 

 little more than twelve months from the time the suckers are 

 put in. Large pots must not be used, as these have a tendency 

 to cause the plants to start into growth instead of into frnit. 

 Ten-inch pots for Queens, and 1'2-inch pots for Smooth-leaved 

 Cayennes and Charlotte Rothschilds, are sufficiently large. 

 Plants with frnit that is now ripe and ripening should he re- 

 moved to a moderately cool airy house, or the ripe fruit may be 

 cut and hung up in the fruit-room until it is required. 



Melon and Caeumher Houses. — We are clearing-out the old 

 plants from which the Melons have been cut. Some gardeners 

 obtain a second and even a third crop from the same plants, bv,t 

 we have never seen them in such vigorous health after the first 

 crop was cut as to insure a crop that would be at all creditable 

 to the cultivator. A better way is to have a second series of 

 vigorous young plants ready to go out in the border as soon as 

 the old exhausted soil can be removed and replaced with fresh 



compost. The woodwork and glass should also be well washed 

 to destroy red spider. 



Every ten days at least the Cucumber plants require to have 

 their shoots tbinned-out, those that are allowed to remain being 

 stopped and tied to the trelliswork. Early this month we had a 

 few warm nights, and the fires were discontinued ; colder nights 

 followed, so that the thermometer fell below G0°. The Cucumbers 

 produced were of inferior quality. They were good enough for 

 use in the house, but being required for exhibition it was ne- 

 cessary to maintain a higher night temperature by means of 

 fire heat, and this was rendered the more necessary, as on the 

 morning of the 13th, Saturday, the frost crisped under the feet 

 on the lawn, the thermometer standing at 30.5" Fahr, the 

 barometer steadily rising, wind north by east, and no rain. 

 Plenty of atmospheric moisture, and a night temperature of 75°, 

 with substantial material for the roots to travel into, will pro- 

 duce Cucumbers of the best quality, both as regards appearance 

 and ilavour. 



Orchard House. — Getting ready material to surface-dress the 

 fruit trees in pots. Horse droppings, cow mauure, and loam 

 mixed in equal proportions and thrown into a heap to ferment 

 are an excellent stimulant. It must not be allowed to become 

 overheated, otherwise the nourishiug properties will be thrown 

 off. It will probably be necessary to turn the material over 

 every day, and in ten days or a fortnight it will be ready for 

 use. We use it when the heat has very much subsided, but 

 before it has entirely gone out of it. A handful or two of this 

 dressing will be spread over the surface of each pot and pressed 

 down firmly with the fingers. The water should be applied 

 through a spreader. After this it will also be necessary to 

 apply fresh dressings every ten days. It is not necessary to 

 apply manure water to the trees ; indeed, this is more often 

 injurious than otherwise. 



The Strawberry pots have been nearly all cleared-out of the 

 house, and glad we were to get rid of them. The quantity of 

 water required by them is something enormous. Some persons 

 place saucers under the Strawberry pots, which retain the 

 water round the base of the pot ; but experience has taught us 

 that the saving of labour is gained at the expense of flavour in 

 the fruit. Mildew has been more than usually abundant on the 

 Strawberries this year. La Constante, British Queen, aud 

 President have not been much affected. 



GREENHOUSE. 



Hardwooded plants which have gone out of flower have been 

 removed out of doors, but in doing this it is necessary to exer- 

 cise care, so that they may not be exposed to too much sunshine 

 after being shaded in the greenhouse ; and even though the 

 ventilators may be open night and day, the plants are in a much 

 higher mean temperature than they will be when placed out of 

 doors. Shelter from the east and north is very desirable, aud a 

 tile or slate placed upright against the side of the pot will pre- 

 vent the sun from burning the roots. The stage Pelargoniums 

 that flowered early are also placed out of doors and watered 

 sparingly ; in a week or two the wood will be ripened, when the 

 plants may be cut-over. 



Removed Cyclamens into a pit where the lights can be re- 

 moved entirely. The plants are now at rest, and require very 

 little water, but the roots must not be quite dried-up. The 

 leaves are also liable to be attacked by red spider, but this can 

 be dislodged by syringing. By sowing Cyclamen seeds in 

 .January and growing the plants on in heat all through the en- 

 suing summer, nice flowering plants are obtained which will pro- 

 duce about two dozen flowers each in the winter. This season 

 seeds were sown in a hotbed in March, and they vegetated 

 freely. The young plants have been potted-off singly into small 

 sixties, and the pots plunged in a cold frame. This beautiful 

 flower ia easily managed. The plants are better in cold frames 

 during the summer months than in a greenhouse, where the pots 

 are far removed from the glass. If they are removed to a warm 

 greenhouse about the end of September the flowers will soon be 

 thrown-up, and a succession will be produced until March. — 

 J. Douglas. 



PROVINCIAL HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 



[Secretaries will oblige ns by informing us 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 us.] 



JUNE. ' JtrLY. 



BrocMiam (K0.10) 23 Wisbecb 1 



Stamford 23 and 24 Leicester and LeiceHtereliire land 2 



Nottingham 24 Cirencester (RoHes) 2 



R.H.S. of Ireland 25 Bristol, Clifton, and W. of England 2 



Cambridgesliire 25 i Bury St. Edmunds 2 



Thetford 25 NottinRbamshiro (Newark), South 2 



Ipswich andE. of England 25 and 26 Godmaucbester 2 



Kingston and Surbiton 25 and 26 ' Tewkesbury (Roses) 2 



Boston 30 and July 1 I Taddington 2 



Stratford .... 30, and Jaly 1 and 2 , Spalding 2 and 8 



