September 10, 1875. J JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



255 



be any difference) at the bottom of tbe basket ; and hence hia 

 brand needa no reoommendatioa. He haa 800 aorea under 

 general cultivation, and with the assistance of improved 

 machinery the work ia done by nine regular hands, with an 

 extra force during fruit-picking. — {Boston Cultivator.) 



NOTES ON VILLA and SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



Keeping Fruit. — The fact that atoring places for fruit are 

 mostly of a very inconvenient and also unsuitable character, 

 generally suggests to one that the greatest care is needed in 

 gathering nut to injure it in any way, and to take care that none 

 but sound fruit be put away. Now, as there are various ways 

 of keeping fruit, several of which I have tried through necessity, 

 it will be as well to state bow I have found it here answer. I 

 allude only to Pears and Apples. H*ving at one time no fruit 

 room, my first experiment was with storing them in vegetable 

 and other hampers as well as boxes. A quantity of moss was 

 procured and well dried, and afterwards beaten in order to free 

 it from rubbish ; it became thus very light and soft. The 

 fruit after being gathered waa laid out thinly for a few days, as 

 most kinds of fruit will sweat a little. The bottom of the hamper 

 waa lined with the moss and a layer of Apples placed upon it ; a 

 layer of moss ovt r these, which must be a very thin one — just 

 sufficient to prevent the Apples touchiog each other ; then 

 another layer of Apples : in thia way till tbe hamper waa filled. 

 There is a little air passing through them in such baskets, but 

 for boxes I made several holes in order to have the air admitted. 

 After being filled they were stood in a dry yet cool room, with 

 the bottom clear from the floor. 



It is most proper for only one sort to be packed in each basket, 

 as the time of coming to maturity differs with the different 

 kinds. They were protected from frost, and I must say they 

 kept well. The stock not being very large they were all uaed by 

 the early daya of February, and were packed in October. There 

 were six sorts, and of these the Winter Queening, Northern 

 Greening, and Alfristou kept best. The following year, having 

 more of them, a dark room was secured for them, in which 

 many were laid in a heap, aud others spread on the floor with 

 clean wheat straw under and over them ; others were put into 

 small casks with clean oat chail amongst them. Thia is valuable 

 to keep them in when it can be obtained, it being very light, 

 clean, and soft as silk, and in which the fruit kept uncommonly 

 well. Others were packed into earthen vessels and covered with 

 bran for an experiment, but the bran in time became musty, and 

 the fruit bad to be taken out of it. This room was at the top of 

 the gardener's house, and was a dry yet cool room. The fruit, 

 which laid in a heap, as might be expected did not keep so well. 



One great object should be to keep the fruit in an even tem- 

 perature, not, of course, hot and dry, but cool and dry ; this will 

 prevent the fruit from shrivelling. The fruit should be looked 

 over twice, and if any aigna of decay appear remove them. 

 Generally speaking the dessert Apples, such as the Ribston 

 Pippin and Pears of the larger kinds, are oach wrapped in soft 

 paper before packing away, and as a rule the late kinds of both 

 Apples and Pears were unpacked a few days before wanted ; and 

 the Pears, especially if not ripe, were exposed to a higher tem- 

 perature and full light to finish their ripeness. There is not a 

 doubt that such a way of keeping fruit involves more trouble ; 

 but then where there ia no regular fruit room, or if there is, and 

 is not commodious enough to lay the fruit out thinly at first, 

 the next best method is the one to choose. 



In my present fruit room I lay the fruit on a layer of mosa. 

 I have used straw or hay ; but the first is too hard, and with 

 weighty fruit it bruises it, while hay soon becomes musty and 

 imparts to the fruit an unpleasant flavour. — T. Record. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST AND WORK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



KITCHEN GABDEN. 



We have not had any heavy rains since the end of July or 

 very early in August, so that Celery has required good soakings 

 of water. The earUeat has been earthed-up a week or two ago, 

 and is now ready for use ; later crops will not be earthed-up 

 while there ia no danger of the plants being injured by frosts. 

 We have had much of the best Celery spoiled through decay 

 about midwinter and onwards, and have fancied that this was 

 owing to its being earthed-up too early, and, perhaps, the mould 

 might have been allowed to fall into the hearts of the plants. 

 In earthing-up Celery care must be taken to keep the leaves to- 

 gether, and in an erect position ; a good way is to tie the whole 

 with a strip of matting, not too tightly, but only suflicient to 

 keep them together. The mould ought also to be broken up 

 finely, and should be dry. Cardoons are not much grown, but 

 those who cultivate them will now bo preparing to earth them 

 up, so that they may come into use about the middle of October 

 and onwards. A good way is to place some clean straw cut to 

 the required length in an upright position against the plants, and 



then tie the leaves in with the straw, placing the mould against 

 the plants with the same care as is required for the Celery. 



Our work has been hoeing between the rows of growing crops, 

 and digging vacant ground. Even the quarters that will be 

 trenched have been dug over, for wo disapprove of trenching 

 a hard surface and throwing the earth in lumps down to tbe 

 bottom of tbe trench. When the ground intended to be trenched 

 has been dug over first, and exposed for a few weeks, the surface 

 spit is then in the best condition to be turned into the bottom 

 of tbe trench. Coleworta, Spinach, Broccoli, and all winter 

 cropa, even if there are no weeds amongst them, should be 

 Dutch-hoed. Onions and Lettuce have been sown, the varieties 

 being White Spanish and Brown Globe. The Lettuce seed was 

 mixed with that of the Onions and sown with it in the rows. 

 Of course, as soon as the Lettuce plants are strong enough they 

 are planted out into the borders, where they usually stand well 

 through the winter. 



Mushrooms. — It is now time to prepare the material for the 

 beds. The staple of this is horse droppings collected from the 

 stables. The little straw that may bo mixed with it will be of 

 some benefit to the bed and should not be removed. Tbe manure 

 should be thrown into a heap or ridge according to the quantity. 

 If large beds are to be made up tbe manure must be in ridges ; 

 it ought to be protected from rains, and must be turned over 

 every second day, being careful to turn the outer part of the 

 heap into the centre. When the rank steam haa been thrown 

 oft the manure may be spread out to dry if it is too wet, and 

 when it ia spread out it ought to be turned over every day. The 

 manure ought not to be wet when it is used for the bed. Many 

 different methods have been recommended to make up Mush- 

 room beds. Some make up the dung in ridges in the form of a 

 triangle and spawn both sides, others have beds sunk into the 

 ground ; but the usual and best way ia to make up the beda on 

 stages erected round the house, on tiers one over the other. A 

 9-inch board ia fastened to the front to sustain tbe bed in ita 

 place, and to prevent its component parts from falling off. The 

 manure must be beaten down firmly, and when the heat has 

 sufficiently declined the spawn is inserted, and an inch or ao of 

 fine loam ia placed over tho surface of the bed. Should the heat 

 decline too much some dry hay or straw must be laid on the 

 bed, and it is astonishing the effect this has either in promoting 

 or sustaining heat. We fancy that much of success or failure in 

 cultivating Mushrooms depends not so much on the heat of the 

 bed as upon the amount of moisture contained in it; but wo 

 would rather err on the aide of dryness, as the spawn will run in 

 a dry bed, whereas an overmoist state of the manure will kill 

 the spawn, and if it is ascertained that the bed is too dry water 

 can be applied to it. 



ORCHAKU HOUSE. 



It is now a busy time amongst the pot trees, aa the largest 

 proportion of them require repotting, and it is best to have this 

 done as soon aa possible after the 1st of September, so that the 

 trees may become established before the leaves fall ; if they do 

 not, the probability ia that some of the shy-setting sorts will not 

 have a crop of fruit next season. It has been stated before that 

 in potting it is sometimes necessary to reduce the ball of roota 

 to a conBlderable extent, so that the tree may go into the same- 

 sized pot that it had been in previously. In doing this a large 

 proportion of the best roots are removed, but the house is kt-pt 

 close for a few days, and tbe leaves are frequently moistened 

 with the syringe. Under this treatment fresh rootlets are pro- 

 duced in three days, and the check which the trees experience 

 is beneficial rather than otherwise. Good clayey loam is essen- 

 tial to the successful culture of fruit trees in pots, and it should 

 be used in the proportion of four parta to one of rotted stable 

 manure. 



The principal element of success in orchard-house culture IS 

 liberal supplies of water at the roots, and when large quantitiea 

 of water are required the drainage should be perfect. We place 

 the crocks carefully in the bottom of the pots, and over them 

 some fibry loam from which the clay particles have been shaken. 

 This prevents the finer portion of the compost from mixing 

 with the drainage. In potting, the loam must be pressed in 

 quite firmly with a wooden rammer, and finishing off at the top 

 with some of the finer particles. 



Nearly all the fruit haa been gathered except Desse Tardive 

 Peach and the very late sorts, such as Lord and Lady Palmera- 

 ton, Salway, &c. Theae are very useful for furnishing dishes 

 when the other sorts are over. Desse Tardive is the most cer- 

 tain in bearing, and it ia an excellent aort. Plums are over 

 except Coe'a Golden Drop. We shall be glad of the fruit, aa 

 the fliea do not attack it in the house, whereas out of doors they 

 are attacked before they are ripe. Not bemg very successful 

 with Pears either on the walls or planted out, it is satisfactory 

 to be able to gather first-claas fruit of the beat sorts from the 

 pot trees. Doyennfi du Cornice and Chaumontol are specially 

 fine ; nor have we ever before aeen such good examples of Beurie 

 Hardy and Souvenir du Congrfis. 



PLANT STOVE AND ORCHID HOUSES. 



The plants were removed into the house early in the month 



