Jane 25, 1874. ] 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



515 



men, not wanting in intelligence in other matters, ■who would 

 hurry over this work, cutting away the growths to within an inch 

 or more of their base, carelesB whether any leaves were left or 

 not, and sometimes cutting the principal leaf off. It does not 

 take much longer to do the work well : the shoot should be taken 

 between the thumb and the edge of a sharp knife, and broken 

 over, not cut, close to a leaf-bud, being careful not to cut the 

 leaf off at the same time. 



Cherries on a wall with a west aspect are ripe and very good. 

 Knight's Early Blnck was the first to ripen, it is an excellent 

 early Cherry ; Black Tartarian succeeds it. Elton and Bigarreau 

 Napolfon are the favourite red sorts. Morello Cherries on the 

 north wall, as well as those in the form of pyramids in the kitchen 

 garden, are doing badly; indeed, all the pyramid trees are in a 

 Eke plight; instead of stoning, nearly throe parts of the fruit 

 turned yellow and dropped off. Probably that left upon the 

 trees will be better in quality. Starlings are very troublesome 

 to us at the time of the fruit ripening; long before it is ripe 

 they attack it. Ou the walls nets are fixed, but it is not so easy 

 to cover large trees in the open garden, the expense being in 

 some instances more than the fruit is worth. The caterpillars 

 of the Bombyx Neustria, or Lackey Moth, have mostly been 

 destroyed, the few that escaped are getting ready to undergo 

 their transformation ; where found crawling about they are de- 

 stroyed. A far more diliicult subject to get rid of is the small 

 maggot that lives in the fruit and causes it to drop before it is 

 ripe. Where the trees are small the only remedy is to look over 

 the fruit and pick off and destroy all attacked ; it seems to be 

 unusually active this year. 



No time should be lost now in looking over all bush and 

 pyramid trees in the open borders, and cutting out the young 

 wood, except where it is required to till up vacant places, or to 

 increase the size of the trees. Apple, Pear, Plum, and Cherry 

 trees require precisely similar treatment. Strawberries that 

 promised to bear most abundant crops are showing the effects 

 of the frosts, much of the fruit is mis-shapen and stunted in 

 appearance. The beds have been freely watered, and the fruit 

 has been supported above the leaves by means of sprays cut 

 from the tops of pea sticks. 



Raspberries give promise of a most abundant crop ; being 

 moisture-loving in their nature, they are planted in a shady part 

 of the garden, the ground deeply trenched and well manured both 

 at the top and bottom of the trenches. Hoeing up weeds and 

 superfluous suckers is all the attention that has been required. 



FOECING HOUSES. 



Vineries. — Tn late as well as in early houses, the busy time is 

 over. The Grapes have been thinned out, and the fruit is ap- 

 proaching its stoning period. All laterals are stopped back to 

 the first leaf from where they started ; if the available space 

 has been filled up no more growths ought to be allowed than 

 ■will be sufKcient to cover the wired surface, and allow of the 

 perfect maturation of the wood. Attention must also be given 

 to the roots where borders are all inside ; it is very necessary to 

 see that plenty of water is applied to them. More shankiug is 

 caused by under than over-watering; if the borders are, as they 

 ought to be, well drained, it will hardly be possible to over-water 

 them. In large establishments, where many under gardeners and 

 labourers are kept, the watering is sometimes left to the young 

 man in charge, and his idea of a good watering may be a dozen 

 water-potsful over 300 square feet of surface. In all such cases 

 definite orders should be given, and the gardener should see 

 that they are carried out. Success or failure depends on atten- 

 tion to the minor details. Mildew and red spider should be 

 checked on its first appearance. On the first appearance of 

 mildew paint the hot-water pipes with flowers of sulphur, and 

 get up a good heat ; the atmosphere becomes in this way charged 

 with minute particles of sulphur, and if the fruit or leaves are 

 only slightly attacked, the parasite is destroyed. It is very bad 

 management to allow disease to spread until the fruit is injured; 

 and to say the least, it is barbarous treatment to mix, as is some- 

 times done, a pailful of flowers of sulphur and water, and then 

 syringe the Vines with it. It requires the fumes to be much 

 stronger to kill red spider, and much care is necessary to heat 

 the pipes sufficiently to destroy the spider without injuring the 

 Grapes. 



Peach House. — Where the fruit has been gathered red spider 

 should be at once dislodged from the trees ; they should be 

 deluged with water from the garden engine, an ordinary syringe 

 is scarcely effectual if the house is large. A usual practice is to 

 throw open the ventilators to their full extent front and back, 

 which is proper treatment if the trees are nearly defoliated by 

 red spider, but not if they are well furnished with leaves ; it is 

 better then to keep the house close, give a thorough good water- 

 ing to the inside border, keeping a moderately dry atmosphere, 

 which will have the desired effect of plumping-up the buds for 

 next year's crop of fruit. No more water should be allowed in 

 the house than what is caused by watering the border and 

 syringing the spider or any dust that may have accumulated on 

 the leaves. In later houses, where the fruit is just taking the 

 second swelling after stoning, apply the syringe vigorously, and 



shut up early in the afternoon ; the house may be kept as hot as 

 a Pine house. 



Plajit Stove. — Dendrobiums, such as D. Farmeri, densiflorum, 

 BensouijE, Devonianum, some of the La^lias, Cattleyas, Epiden- 

 drums, &c., are just commencing to make fresh growth. Some 

 of them have been rebasketed and repotted, but only those that 

 require it have been attended to. One of the greatest mistakes 

 in Orchid-growing is that of potting or placing the iilants in over- 

 large pots or baskets ; few Orchids will thrive it they cannot 

 strike their roots into porous material, or where the freshly- 

 emitted rootlets cannot at once clasp the sides of the pot. Many 

 Orchids, owing to their natural position being the branches of 

 trees, succeed best in baskets ; these are most frequently made 

 of wood, but this very soon decays, and frequently breeds 

 fungus. A very neat and serviceable article made of pottery is 

 well adapted for hanging baskets ; it answers quite as well as 

 those of wood, and has none of its disadvantages. It is made 

 by Mr. John Matthews, of Weston-super-Mare, and will, when 

 more generally known, be much used by Orchid-growers. Tying 

 and training the climbers. These require much attention now, 

 when they are making their wood ; it is highly desirable to thin 

 the growing shoots out well. Stove climbers will not flower 

 well next season if these are allowed to twine and grow thickly 

 together. Potting small plants that have filled their pots with 

 roots. Foliage plants, such as Alocacias, Marantas, &c., require 

 very fibrous material to grow them weU. Anthurium Scher- 

 zeriauum should be in every plant stove; this grows best in 

 fibrous Orchid peat, with a little sphagnum added, and the pots 

 well drained. 



I LOWER GAEDEN. 



The plants that were put out early are well established and 

 growing freely ; we were able to give all a thorough watering, 

 and surface-dresB the ground around the plants with rotted ma- 

 nure. We had a good shower of rain soon afterwards, and dull 

 weather since has been favourable to them. Coleus and Iresin© 

 planted a day or two before the frost have suffered. Alternan- 

 theras planted just afterwards are looking well. A. amoena is 

 very beautiful. Picking seed pods from clumps of choice Rho- 

 dodendrons; these are an injury to the plants if allowed to re- 

 main, and are also unsightly. We thought a month ago that 

 Roses would be poor ; we never had a better show of them in 

 beds and borders, and if the exhibitors who annually stage their 

 boxes at the metropolitan shows and elsewhere are as good iii 

 proportion, there will be a treat in store for us of no common 

 kind. We have been picking off withered and overblown 

 flowers, as these, if allowed to litter about, very much mar the 

 beauty of the Rose quarters. Tying Carnation and Picotee 

 stems to sticks, and brushing off green fly with a small brush. — 

 J. Douglas. 



TEADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 



J. Caven Fox, Royal Horticultural Gardens, South Kensing- 

 ton, London, W. — Illustrated Catalogue of Rustic Summer 

 Houses, <ic. 



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 " The 

 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. 



Plants for a Glass Globe (J. C). — Ton will find Anacharis alalnaa- 

 trum and Callitriche verna, two plants fonnd in ponds and ditches, eaitablo 

 for 70ur globe in which gold fish are kept. 



Calycanthcs fraqrans Seed {B. A.). — It is not uncommon for the 

 Calycanthus frsgrans to ripen seed in favourable seasons. 



Varnishing Calico (Wcm). — Take three pints pale linpeed oil, 1 oz. sugar 

 of lead, and 4 ozs. white rosin. Grind the sugar of lead with a little of the 

 oil, and then add the remainder and the rosin. Stir the whole well together 

 in a large iron pot over a gentle (ire. Tack the calico loosely on the frame, 

 and apply the mixture while hot with a large brush. 



Salad Plants {.7. Wihon). — You may add Chicory, Endive, Lamb's Lettuce, 

 Winter Cress, and Watercress. Your Victory of Bath Melon is quite correct, 



EusTic Edgings {Old Subscrihi:}-). — The rustic edgings in the work to 

 which you allude are not in use in this country, nor are they likely to be, as 

 they must, to be available, be cast light, and are then so small and so liable 

 to breakage as to be only available for flower borders, where they have a neat 

 appearance. They are best galvanised, but should be painted green or bronze. 

 The neatest edging we have seen is one formed of stone 3 inches wide and 

 8 inches deep, 5 inches let into the ground and the upper 3 inches dressed, 

 with the upper edges chamfered off. Such edgings are very neat, and are 

 suitable for a vegetable garden. Any mason can form them out of local stone. 



Spergula PILIFERA (H.). — As a lawn plant this has proved a failure ; it 

 only thrives in some soils and situations, and, as a rule, offers no advantage 

 in the most favoured over a lawn of natural grasses ; its ILjwers give quite as 

 much trouble to remove as there is in mowing a grass lawn. Its only value 

 is for carpet bedding. A good collection of Picotees and Pinks may be seen 

 at Mr. Turner's, Slough. 



