July 22, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



63 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



o( 



3Ionth 



Day 



of 



Week. 



22 

 23 

 21 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 28 



Th 



P 



s 



Sdn 

 M 

 To 

 W 



JULY 23—28, 1875. 



Brecon Show. 



West of Scotland Eose Show at Helensburgh opens. 



Eoj-al Botanic Society, 3.45 P.M.— Cieoliheaton Show. 



SCNDAT- AFTER TKINIIV. 



Bridge Show. 

 Preston Show opens. 



Average 



Temperature near 



London. 



Day. 



72.2 

 74.0 

 72.6 

 73.9 

 73.7 

 74.9 

 76.4 



Nlsht. 

 51.4 

 51.4 

 61.7 

 49.4 

 50.3 

 60.7 

 60.8 



Mean. 

 61.8 

 62 7 

 62.1 

 61.9 

 62.0 

 62.8 



Son 

 Eises. 



m. h. 

 llaf 4 

 12 4 



Son 



Seta. 



m. b. 

 la{8 

 8 



m. h. 

 58 at 9 



10 10 



22 10 



86 10 



04 10 



20 11 



60 11 



Moon 

 Sets. 



m. h. 

 24af 8 

 44 9 

 5 11 

 after. 

 5S 1 

 26 S 

 61 4 



Moon'E 

 Age. 



Days. 

 19 

 20 

 21 

 IL 

 28 

 21 

 25 



Clock 

 before 

 San. 



6 12 



6 18 



6 13 



6 13 



6 12 



Day 



of 



Year. 



203 

 204 

 205 

 206 

 207 

 Wi 

 209 



50.8'. 



From observations taken near London during forty-three years, the average day temperatore of the week is 73.9'; and its night temperatoie 



"WHEN TO PLANT. 



■ EBHAPS I had better begin by telling my 

 readers when not to plant — viz., when there 

 is little or no root-action, as in midwinter ; 

 secondly, when evaporation is excessive, as 

 at midsummer, unless means can be found 

 to check evaporation till such time as the 

 wounded roots are healed sufficiently to 

 absorb an ample supply of moiature. If I 

 were obliged to choose between these two 

 extremes I should certainly for most plants 

 prefer operating at midsummer ; for then, if the worli is 

 carefully and quickly done on a day when the atmosphere 

 is not deficient of moisture, root-action recommences in 

 a few hours, I think I might say minutes, and our 

 suspense is very short iodeed, for then if a blank should 

 occur we can for certain fill it up in October. Those who 

 Lave not been obliged by circumstances to try midsummer 

 planting would be astonished to see the amount of torture 

 a healthy plant will bear at that time. When making 

 new walks, &c., in ornamental grounds I have had good- 

 sized trees out of the ground two or three weeks during 

 June and .July with merely a bit of grass wrapped round 

 their roots, and they suffered very little from it : of course 

 they bad good balls, and they were well planted. If there 

 are young immature growths they should be cut back 

 when this can be done without disfigurement. Another 

 plan is to check evaporation by syringing whiting-and- 

 water, or even dirty water, over the foliage. Whiting 

 is best, as it reflects the sun's rays. 



I have no faith whatever in syringing outdoor plants with 

 clear water in hot weather, unless it is for the purpose 

 of knocking off insects, and these can be kept off easier, 

 better, and with less injury to the trees in other ways. 

 My own way is to syringe all wall trees subject to insect 

 attacks with soft-soap water, about 2 ozs. to the gallon, 

 once or twice during the growing season. Let those who 

 wish to be fashionable use the celebrated compounds, I 

 am content to be old-fashioned and use soft soap, which 

 is unpalateable to every insect with which a gardener is 

 tormented, including mealy bug. As this last-mentioned 

 formidable enemy has not yet taken up his abode here, I 

 make it a practice of keeping all newly-arrived plants in 

 quarantine for two months, and giving them an occa- 

 sional soapy bath. When they look at all suspicious, 

 roots as well as leaves are washed. I have had several 

 importations of thia detested enemy, but so far, thanks to 

 soft soap and my own clear eyesight (I would not trust any 

 other pair of eyes besides my own), I have been able to 

 kill the animal without materially injuring the vegetable 

 life. Soft soap will also kill mildew on Peach trees much 

 more speedily than sulphur will. The mildew on Koses 

 is harder to kill, but even it will succumb to a tolerably 

 strong dose. It should be apphed in the evening after 

 the sun is off the plants. 



But my test is " When to plant," and I have not yet 

 said anything about it. Well, the time to plant is as soon 

 as the leaf-growth is fairly matured in autumn, and be- 

 No. 717.— Vol. XXIX., New Seeies. 



fore the roots have ceased to grow, while the ground is 

 warm and sweet and in a fit state to be properly worked. 

 Those who recommend spring in preference to autumn 

 planting probably never tried the latter ; they are among 

 those who are always two or three months behind in such 

 work as can possibly be delayed, and consequently their 

 autumn planting was done about the same time as their 

 Christmas decorations. Of course that was quite a con- 

 clusive trial. Spring planters have had a glorious time 

 of it this year, and of course I am arguing against great 

 odds; but before beginners make up their minds about 

 the proper time to plant, I would ask them to look back 

 two or three years, and compare plants which have been 

 shifted in October and the beginning of November with 

 such as have been planted at any other time. 



My advice is, now that the bedding-out is done. Straw- 

 berry-forcing over, the forced French Beans with their 

 hosts of red-spider pest out of the way, the Grapes thinned, 

 and we have comparatively nothing to do but keep the 

 bu-ds off and take note of the fruits they peck at first — for 

 these are the best flavoured — lest our minds and brains 

 should get rusty ; for the old proverb says, " It is better 

 to wear out than to rust out," that we should at once 

 turn our attention to the trees, and make up our minds 

 as far as possible what we are going to plant, and have it 

 all in black and white. There is no time to do this in 

 large private establishments in the autumn, for generally 

 there are hosts of the clifc from all parts of the country 

 at our employers' tables, and our personal supervision is 

 requu-ed daily for the dessert and floral displays ; for we 

 know we are then surrounded by critics, some competent 

 and some of the other sort, and it is always well on these 

 occasions to try at least and satisfy oneself. 



Last September I planted over half a mile of ornamental 

 Box-edging ; it took less than a third of the time it would 

 take to do in the winter or early spring, because the 

 weather was good, the days not too short, and the soil 

 worked beautifully. My man said, " Narra good to plant 

 un now, measter, the vrost uU haave it out ;" but, how- 

 ever, with a little forcible persuasion, it was planted, and 

 the surface of the ground close to the Box was kept 

 loosened instead of remaining firm as it. was made up; 

 consequently the frost, of which we had rather more than 

 a sufficiency, did it no injury, and when examined in the 

 spring it had roots 2 inches long, and the top commenced 

 growth as early as that which had not been shifted. 



Many people are afraid to move fruit trees before the 

 leaves have fallen, this is quite a mistake. It is best for 

 the growths to be matured, but immature growths can 

 always be cut off, and if the leaves are so numerous as to 

 cause excessive evaporation, and consequent shrivelling of 

 the bark, it is a good plan to thin with the scissors, but 

 not too much, for the more leaves the jjlant will bear with- 

 out shrivelling the quicker will root-action commence. 



It does not injure a tree a tenth part as much to move 

 it before its leaves are fallen as it does to move it in the 

 spring when its buds are beginning imperceptibly to swell, 

 and its circulation, owing to the absence of vigorous root- 

 action, is sluggish. I moved many fruit trees last October, 



No. 1S99.— Vol. LIV., Old Ssbiba. 



