Angnst 5, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



119 



it will be proper to divide the plants carefully, and let each one 

 occapy a small pot, being careful that the soil in this stage is 

 not too strong ; two-thirds iine loam and the remainder of leaf 

 mould and sand is a suitable compost. After this is done replace 

 them in the frame where they were first raised, and let them 

 establish themselves. By no means does the Primula need 

 that amount of heat that many persons feel inclined to give it ; 

 too much heat conduces to weakly-constitutioned plants. 



A cool frame is one of the best places for these plants after 

 they have established themselves at the stage stated above. 

 They do not need much sun, but they should have all the light 

 that can otherwise be allowed them. A free circulation of air 

 about the plants is necessary, and in the summer months if 

 the frame is hoisted on bricks, and the air allowed to pass under 

 as well as above the plants, it will induce them to become stout 

 and sturdy in their growth. The plants should be elevated so 

 as to be as near the glass as is consistent with the conditions of 

 growth, and allowing at aU times room for the development of 

 leaf and stem, which is so essential to all plants that are re- 

 quired to flower at so dull a period as the Primula. 



Now the Primula, which is one of the beet of plants for an 

 amateur to grow, must not be starved, but should be grown in 

 a generous way, and it will well repay the cultivator by its 

 massive blooms. There are very few bad strains of this class of 

 plants about, so that if grown well the individual flowers come 

 very fine. 



Nobody can grow Primulas in a cold damp house, and where 

 they are perhaps overshadowed by large plants, and have neither 

 sufficient light nor air. Great care, too, is necessary in the 

 watering, which should be done as early in the day as possible, 

 adapting the quantity to the requirements of the plant a,nd the 

 surrounding atmosphere. Guard against the soil becoming too 

 wet and perhaps soddened, for if this often occurs, and for any 

 length of time, the plants will become sickly and die-ofl. 



There are many semi-double and double forms of the Primula 

 in cultivation which are worth growing, as they last in bloom a 

 long time. They are increased by cuttings ; therefore those who 

 undertake their cultivation should secure a well-established plant 

 at the first. Drain the pots well, and use a soil composed of 

 good turfy loam, leaf mould of the purest character, and a little 

 old and well-rotted cow manure, with sand and charcoal added. 

 Do not give them large shifts, and let them only be potted 

 when the roots are fairly working at the outside of the ball of 

 soU. The plants like plenty of light, but shaded from the full 

 sun, as a dry parching atmosphere is injurious to them. Water 

 must be given carefully. In hot weather in summer a cool north 

 aspect is suitable to the plants, and they may be freely venti- 

 lated. These are the principal points in their culture, which if 

 attended to will bring the plants in good health and vigour, 

 and will bloom freely throughout the winter months. Be sure 

 that in winter they have all the light possible, and to be very 

 cautiously watered at that season. — T. Recobd. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST AND WOKK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



All around us the farmers are digging their Potatoes and 

 sending them to market. The progress of the disease suggests 

 the propriety of sending them off as speedily as possible ; this is 

 being done, and the restilt is that £i to £i 10s. per ton is only 

 being realised for the best produce. Added to this low figure it 

 must be noted that in some instances there is not more than 

 half a crop from the attack of " curl " early in the season ; 

 numerous diseased tubers are also found, and a very large pro- 

 portion have the white speck on them — always a sure forerunner 

 of the disease. We have not found any symptoms of it in the 

 garden as yet, but this is attributed to the dry borders in which 

 the Potatoes are growing. The tubers intended for plants next 

 season have been stored in a dry loft spread out thinly on the 

 floor. 



We do not usually save any of our own vegetable seeds, leav- 

 ing this work to the seedsmen, who can do it much cheaper and 

 better ; but the new system of sending out the new Peas at GOs. 

 a quart instead of 5s. as formerly has driven us to do a little of 

 it. With care a packet containing a quarter of a pint gives us 

 about three quarts of Peas, which is quite suiScient for the usual 

 sowings of any new sort for the following season. The pods are 

 gathered as they ripen, and are spread out in a dry place until 

 the Peas are quite hard in the pod, when they are stored away 

 in bags, or, what is better, tins; the preference being given to 

 the latter, as the mice are apt to gnaw the bags, either paper or 

 cloth, into holes. 



We have taken advantage of the rains to put out the Straw- 

 berry plants ; of course the ground was first trenched and well 

 manured, as we have previously described. A hole is also taken 

 out for the plant large enough to allow of some good loam being 

 put in. This would not be necessary on good Strawberry soil, 

 but in our light soil it is. The plants which have been previously 

 layered in small pots are then put out in a shallow depression, to 



allow of watering them if necessary. One would have thought 

 that the continuous wet, followed by heavy falls of dew every 

 night since, would have kept oft red spider ; but it has not done 

 BO, and the plants have been plunged overhead in soapy water. 

 The weather being now fine, and the ground from the effects of 

 rain having been surface- hardened, it was quite necessary to run 

 the hoe over all borders and amongst growing crops. 



We plant Sprouting Broccoli on vacant ground, and it is now a 

 good time to plant vegetables of this description for winter and 

 spring crops. Broccoli should be planted-out on the beds from 

 which the old Strawberry plants have been removed. Celery 

 for the latest use should now be planted-out. See that this crop 

 does not suffer for want of water, but this may be overdone, 

 especially on heavy soils, if the drainage is deficient. 



PINERIES. 



We oannot add much to the remarks in the " Doings " of ths 

 last two numbers under this heading, but it may just be hinted 

 that those who have not yet potted their suckers should see to 

 it at once. In fruiting houses, especially where only a small 

 number of plants are grown, the aim of the gardener is to pro- 

 duce certain fruit at the time they are required. Sometimes 

 Queens are stubborn and will not change at the time they ara 

 expected to do so, at another time they will not keep in good 

 condition. We find ripe fruit keeps a long time if placed in a 

 dry cool room ; and to hasten the ripening one gardener of con- 

 siderable experience pulls the plant out of the pot after the 

 fruit has begun to swell, shakes nearly all the mould from the 

 roots, and repots the plant in a small pot. This would certainly 

 accomplish the end in view, but the fruit could not possibly be 

 of such good quality ; indeed, all fruit ripened hurriedly, what- 

 ever the means used, is never of such good quality aa that 

 ripened with the treatment best adapted to it. 



PLANT STOVE AND ORCHID HOUSES. 



As all hardwooded plants are now maturing the wood, it is 

 desirable that they should be as fuUy exposed to the sun as the 

 leaves will stand without injury. In many gardens, and even 

 those of considerable size, there is one house devoted to flower- 

 ing and foliage plants, a miscelkneous collection of Orchids, or 

 indeed any plant that is too tender for the greenhouse. It is 

 not possible under such circumstances to do justice to all. 

 Some plants require all the sun they can have at this season, 

 others would be much injured by it ; so a compromise is made. 

 The house is not shaded enough for some plants and too much 

 for others, and none of them receive the treatment they ought 

 to have, and yet employers may fancy that their gardeners 

 ought to rival the fine plants shown by people who make a 

 specialty of them at the different exhibitions. 



Hardwooded plants, such as Ixoras, Gardenias, Stephanotia, 

 Dipladenias, and plants of this character ought to be removed 

 to a house where they can have more Ught and air. In very hot 

 weather it is quite as well to shade for an hour before and two 

 hours after noon. We find room in the Pine houses for them, 

 but they are not admitted unless they are quite free from bug. 

 The plants are thoroughly syringed at least twice a-day. It ia 

 also a good time to put in cuttings of the hardwooded plants ; 

 the half-ripened wood if taken off at a joint, and the cuttings 

 inserted in sand, and the pots placed under bell or hand-glasses, 

 will root in time. Some species take much longer to do it than 

 ethers. 



Palms are subject to the attacks of red spider ; if the leaves 

 are not syringed daily this pest is certain to attack them. It 

 must be sponged off, and the plants syringed daily afterwards. 

 The Cocoa-nut Palm (Cocos uucifera), and the more slender- 

 growing Chamtedorea graminifolia, are peculiarly subject to it. 

 Any Orchids that have not been repotted or placed in fresh 

 baskets ought now to be done. Many of the species that are 

 grown in pots are apt to become sour at the roots, and decay 

 sets in. A good plan is to wash the plant out of this nnsuitable 

 material, and to repot it in clean crocks only. Orchids during 

 the growing season require plentiful supplies of water on the 

 roots, and if the pot or basket contains peat or sphagnum in a 

 state of partial decay this is certain to be destructive ; it is not 

 the nature of the roots to take up moisture from such a source, 

 and they soon suffer in consequence. We have seen Aerides 

 and Vandas turned out of large pots, and the only sound roots 

 were those thrown out above the potting material. Our plan 

 with this class now is to plant in potsherds entirely, with just 

 an inch or so of live sphagnum on the surface. The roots 

 thrive in this if there is no decaying organic matter underneath. 

 The sphagnum should be kept in a healthy growing condition. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



Verbenas, Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, and other fragile flowers 

 looked very seedy during the rains, but they are now flowering 

 freely; the withered trusses and flower-stalks require to be re- 

 moved, and all weeds have been picked out by hand. Tricolor 

 and Bicolor Pelargoniums that have been planted for leaf-effect 

 must have the flowers removed, or the arrangement of colours 

 may be interfered with. Lady CuUum is exceedingly effective 

 this season, and Bright Star of the silver bicolor class holds 

 the highest position; the white ia exceedingly pure. Our bedding 



