08 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



1 July 29, 1875. 



Mr. Standieh leaves behind him many sorrowing friends. 

 He was a man greatly esteemed by those who knew his genial 

 disposition, kindness of heart, and disinterested generosity, 

 and among these his memory will be cherished for many years 

 to come. 



DisA GBANDiFLORA, — -A slight mistake occurred in the report 

 of the late Show. It was stated that a Disa was exhibited La 

 Lord Londesborongh's collection of Orchids " similar to one 

 exhibited in the Council-room by Mr. Bull." It should have 

 been " similar in name," for both were named D. Barelii. 

 Mr. Bull's — or rather Lady Dorothy Nevill's plant, and grown 

 ■by Mr. Vair — is the true variety. It is exceedingly brilliant, 

 the flowers, six in number, being of a dazzling flame scarlet, 

 and the plant itself was an excellent example of culture. It 

 was stated to have continued in bloom since Whitsuntide. 

 This fine Disa was greatly admired both in the CouneU-room 

 and exhibition-tent. 



NOTES ON VILLA and SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



The hekbaceous CALCEOLiBiA has been a very fashionable 

 flower for many years, and is prized both for window and green- 

 house decoration. These plants are truly glorious when well 

 grown, but they do not succeed well when cramped-up in small 

 pots, for then the foliage never becomes developed, and in most 

 cases it assumes an unhealthy appearance; therefore my advice 

 is to grow a few of them and grow them well. 



Now is the time to sow the seed. This should be done in 

 a small pot or pan of light sandy soil. It must be sown as 

 regularly as possible over the surface, and be very thinly covered 

 with fine soil or sUver sand; afterwards give it a very gentle 

 watering, and place in a handlight in some shady corner on a 

 bed of ashes, but free from the attacks of snails, which are es- 

 ceediugly partial to the young scedliugs. Never allow the sur- 

 face of the soil to become dry after the seed is sown, or germi- 

 nation is seriously retarded. As soon as the young plants will 

 bear handling, prick them out singly about an inch apart in 

 pots or boxes, and place them again in a shady place and water 

 carefully. Towards the autumn they will grow very freely, 

 and must be potted into single pots, and when winter comes 

 on they may be stored closely together in the greenhouse. 

 About the beginning of January they will be making a fresh 

 start, and must then be encouraged in every possible way by 

 potting and other necessary attention. They like a good airy 

 place, and not in the warmest part of the greenhouse, as they 

 will endure more cold than many other plants ; but this cold 

 naust not be frost. I have frequeutly wintered them in oold 

 pits or frames, and they have always kept growing and have 

 done well. 



The soil may be a mixture of one-half loam and the remainder 

 equal parts of very rotten manure and leaf mould, adding plenty 

 of sand and broken charcoal to keep the soil oper. Perhaps by 

 February or tie beginning of Ma'ch they will have advanced so 

 well as to need shifting into tbeir blooming pots, which, to have 

 good plants, should not be less than 8 or 10 inches in diameter. 

 The fine leaves they make will be down close on the surface of 

 the pot, and will need considerable watching against the attacks 

 of green fly. This enemy is difflcnlt to eradicate when it has 

 taken hold of this plant, because if they are fumigated it is 

 difiicult to make the smoke penetrate between the closely-set 

 leaves. 



It will be found that after they have filled their flowering 

 pots with roots that they will make surface roots just under 

 the foliage. Now as this will happen about the time the plants 

 are throwing-np their flower stems, it stands to reason that 

 if these surface roots are encouraged the plants will be the 

 better for it ; therefore, top-dress them with some soil of the 

 nature named above, and always keep them in a moist state, 

 giving weak manure water about four times from that time till 

 they show flower ; and then if they are fumigated at two or three 

 different times just before they flower they will go through the 

 flowering in a clean state, and the flowers will be large and well 

 developed, which will well repay the cultivator for his trouble. 

 — T. Eecokd. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST AND WORK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



It will be needless to say anything about watering wall trees 

 at the roots this season, as reports from all directions tell of a 

 superabundant rainfall ; nor is it necessary to say that all fruit 

 ripe or ripening is of very poor quality. All sorts of fruit re- 

 quire plenty of sunshine to bring out the flavour. Should fine 

 weather set in now all out-of-doors fruit will be abundant and 

 good, wall fruit especially so. Watering thoroughly at the roots 

 and also overhead to destroy insect pests just after the stoning 



period has invariably been necessary in this neighbourhood. 

 This year Nature's watering has been much more effectual; 

 indeed no more watering will be required this year. It has 

 been necessary to look over the trees, especially those that have 

 not yet filled their allotted space on the walls, to remove se- 

 condary growths, and to nail-in those young growths that have 

 extended themselves since the first nailing. Nothing looks much 

 w-orse about an otherwise well-kept kitchen garden than to see 

 wall trees allowed to run wild during the summer months. As 

 has been so often stated in previous numbers, no growths ought 

 to be allowed to remain except such as may be required to fur- 

 nish the tree or to bear fruit next year. 



One fault in the culture of Peach and Nectarine trees on walls 

 ought not to be passed over — that is, allowing the trees to be- 

 come bare about the centre. It will not be possible, especially 

 if the walls are high and the trees wide apart, to furnish the 

 trees quite as well at the centre as at the extremities of the 

 branches ; but by careful training of the central growths, and 

 by pinching or cutting back strong growths that are running 

 away with the strength of the trees, central growths will be 

 produced, and this will result in a more regular disposition of 

 the fruit. 



Where Figs are grown on open walls they will require rather 

 different treatment from that recommended for other trees. 

 Instead of cutting the wood away it is much better to allow 

 nearly all the young wood to grow loosely. Mr. D. T. Fish, who 

 manages Fig trees most successf ally on open walls at Hardwicke 

 House, Bury St. Edmunds, has treated them alter that manner ; 

 and in a small garden at Ilford there are one or two trees that 

 annually produce and ripen large crops of fruit. The young 

 growths hang out from the walla to the extent of 3 or 4 feet. 

 Figs, like the Peach and Nectarine, bear only on the young 

 wood ; and if the trees are regularly pruned aud nailed-in, the 

 trees have the same fault of becoming bare of young growths 

 near the centre ; but on the " rough-and-ready " system recom- 

 mended above it is not so. 



Many persons may be desirous of propagating certain choice 

 sorts of stone fruits. This is best done by budding them, and 

 now is a good time to do it. The stocks should be two or three 

 years old, and the buds usually do best if inserted on a clean 

 part of the stem near the surface of the ground. As a general 

 rule, it is much better to purchase, trees in the nursery than it 

 is to propagate them. 



Just a word in answer to "A Sh-reey Gardener" in last 

 week's number about Celery. Why does he put "splendid 

 quality" in inverted commas? I wrote " splendid Celery." I 

 did not mean to convey the impression that there was any supe- 

 riority in flavour of large over small Celery. Growers for exhi- 

 bition, and for any other purpose whore large heads are required, 

 had better grow on the single-row system. "A Surrey Gar- 

 dener " and I both seem to be agreed in this ; and as to (luality, 

 I am not aware that small heads are better than large heads. 



\^NERIES. 



We have done but little in either early or late houses since our 

 last notice in the " Doings," but owing to the dull damp weather 

 a few berries have decayed where some fruit is yet hanging in 

 one of the early houses. These berries were at once removed 

 to prevent the decay from spreading. Do not let red spider 

 spread on the Vines from which the fruit has been cut. Take 

 all care to preserve the leaves, and water the inside borders if 

 they are supposed to be dry. As soon as the Grapes begin to 

 colour in the late houses, if necessary give the inside border a 

 thorough watering with manure water, or sprinkle the surface 

 of the border with guano or pigeons' dung before applying clear 

 water. 



Those who have to supply very early Grapes, say in April and 

 May, very wisely grow jjot Vines. For this crop the best varie- 

 ties are Black Hamburgh, and a few canes of Buckland Sweet- 

 water if white Grapes are wanted. The canes should bo 

 ripened-off as speedily as possible if they are not already 

 ripened, and to do this the house in which they are growing 

 should be more freely supplied with air, and the canes to be fully 

 exposed to the sun. Still water freely at the roots, and do not 

 remove the plants out of doors or cease to maintain a high tem- 

 perature until the leaves change to their autumnal tint. We 

 never give any manure water the first year, and we always 

 prefer Vines struck from eyes inserted in January or early in 

 February to those that have been grown from eyes of the pre- 

 vious season. If the eyes cannot be started early, then it will 

 be necessary to grow from small cut back canes. We have also 

 found that the most productive wood is produced if the pots, 

 after the Vines have been finally potted, are placed on a trel- 

 Used stage or a slate platform immediately over the hot-water 

 pipes. The best compost is medium clayey loam four parts, 

 rotted manure one part, and an s inch potful of crushed bones 

 to be added to each barrowload of potting material. 



CUCUMBER and MELON HOUSES. 



We aro preparing plants for the winter Cucumbers to supply 

 fruit from October until January. Those plants intended to 

 supply Cucumbers from that time onwards ought not to bear 



