430 



JOUENA.Ii OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 11, 1875. 



worthy of a place there — Capressua Lawsouiaua erecta viridis, 

 and which I beg leave to recommend as worthy Mr. Wright's 

 notice. 



I leave this fine place with the impression that in planting 

 and management it bears the impress of skill and taste on the 

 part of the late Mr. Wright and Mr. Harrison (now at Knowsley) , 

 and certainly not in a less degree does it that of the present 

 owner and his industrious and able gardener Mr. Booth. — J. W. 



NOTES OK VILLA, axd SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



The Gbeeshoose, — There are many things to attend to in 

 this structure now that plants have been or ought to have 

 been housed. In the first place, avoid overcrowding, and 

 those plants that have been standing outdoors for a length of 

 time must not be kept in a too dry atmosphere, neither must it 

 be heated in mild weather. I allude to Caniiellias, Azaleas, 

 Heaths, and Epacrises, as well as many other hardwooded 

 plants which an amateur may feel inclined to grow. This too 

 sudden change from an outdoor temperature often causes Ca- 

 mellia buds to drop off, and if in an unhealthy state some of 

 their leaves also. Too much water and with bad drainage will 

 induce the same thing. For the present, therefore, an occasional 

 syringing the foliage of all these plants will do good. They 

 must not have too much of that even ; they ought to be allowed 

 to become dry occasionally, or Heaths will be liable to mildew, 

 and too frequent syringings will induce Camellias to Hower too 

 early, and those that lose their buds would be likely to start 

 into growth, which would be at the wrong time of the year. 

 Watering at the root is a different matter, for though Azaleas 

 may not require so much water in winter as in summer, yet it 

 is necessary that they should have sufficient, for their flue 

 hair-like roots will not bear drought. But when a plant of this 

 kind is watered give it sufficient to go through the ball of 

 earth and then have done with it. On the other hand, such 

 plants as Cactuses may be kept dry until the fleshy leaves begin 

 to shrivel, then give water; but there are not many plants that 

 will bear this. Achimenes and Gloxinias maybe best preserved 

 in the pots in which they grow for the present, and if they could 

 stand on a damp bottom would receive moisture sufficient. The 

 Gloxinia being more fleshy might bear it longer, but then it 

 will not bear the cold so well as the Achimenes ; therefore 

 place these in the warmest part of the house. 



Ventilation is another nice point to attend to. Just through 

 this month, or even up to Christmas, there is frequently a stag- 

 nant outdoor atmosphere for days together; then it is necessary 

 that a little fire heat should be given, and the bottom as well as 

 top ventilators opened, so as to promote a circulation, or mildew 

 makes its appearance. 



Lachenalias are easily-grown bulbs, and should be encouraged 

 in the cold frames at present. Primulas and Cinerarias, too, 

 must be encouraged in every possible way, for now is their best 

 time, and a check would be injurious to them. 



Look sharp after green fly, which soon makes its appearance 

 upon plants in a genial atmosphere. Most people make it a 

 rule to fumigate their plants several times after they are housed, 

 because those parent aphides that are brought in with the plants 

 if not killed would soon increase, and cause much trouble to 

 eradicate. 



Forward with all di'ipatch the growth of Calceolarias in pots. 

 All successions of them should be shifted on. They, too, will do 

 in cool frames for the present, but must have plenty of air while 

 the weather will allow it. Ijiliums, some of the most beautiful 

 plants grown, should now be potted, putting three or four bulbs 

 into a pot, and let the bulbs be covered with about 1 inches of 

 soil. We used to do them this way. Use good-sized pots, drain 

 them well, half-fill the pot moderately firm with soil, place the 

 bulbs on it, and cover them over with 4 inches of soil; place 

 them either in a cold frame or in one corner of the garden under 

 a wall, cover them with litter so that no frost can reach them ; 

 examine them after being potted a considerable time, and re- 

 move them from this only when the shoots are pushing 

 through the soil ; then place them in a cool frame, and for a few 

 days protect them from much light until they show signs of 

 becoming green, when they may have more of it; then clear 

 the top soil off and add a little fresh, and as they grow add more. 

 When the weather gets warm enough for other plants to stand 

 outdoors let them do the same, and there they may remain till 

 they flower. They like plenty of water, and as they approach 

 flowering weak guano water may be given twice or thrice a- week, 

 and they will bloom admirably about August. — Thomas Recobd. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST AND WOEK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



H.\KDY FnniT OAnuEN. 



Vert little can be done in this department now that all the 

 fruit has been gathered and the trees are rapidly shedding their 

 leaves. We are preparing a border to plant out a few Apple 



trees, and it is on ground where some old Bnllace trees have 

 been grubbed out. It would be foolish to plant any other trees 

 on this ground without trenching it well up. The way this is 

 done is to take out an opening at one end of the border 2 or even 

 3 feet deep, according to the depth of the soil. In our case we 

 cannot go more than 2 feet, as the soil is not deep enough. The 

 ground is full of old roots, which are carefully picked out, and 

 as the soil is poor some rotted manure is worked in, and two 

 barrowloads of good rich loam to every three square yards. The 

 loam we consider of more importance than the manure. We 

 would rather have trenched the ground six weeks ago, but the 

 crop has just been cleared from the trees. At planting some 

 fresh loam will be placed under and over the roots, and in this 

 way the trees will get a good start. Probably next autumn the 

 trees will be lifted, and tlie ground trenched over again, and the 

 trees be replanted in fresh loam. In ground such as ours, where 

 there is much tendency to canker, this lifting and replanting 

 keeps the roots near the surface, and they are further induced 

 to work upwards by the trees being mulched over the roots in 

 winter, the mnlchingnot to be removed, but left on to be washed 

 in by the raina and bleached by the summer's sun. The borders 

 are so full of roots that it is not possible to fork the ground over 

 without injuring them, but in light soils digging fruit borders is 

 very questionable practice. Two varieties of Apples not so well 

 known as they ought to be have been added to our collection 

 this year; they are grown to great perfection in Mr. Thompson's 

 orchard at Ilford. 'The first is known as Brownlee's Busset, this 

 is grown in quantity, and is very highly esteemed ; the other is 

 The Mother, an introduction from America. It was growing on 

 an espalier, and the tree was loaded with large, handsome, 

 highly-coloured fruit; its appearance is all in its favour as a 

 market variety, but it is also of very good flavour; the fruit is 

 in use in October. 



We have cut away the old spent Raspberry canes, pruned and 

 tied the young canes of this year into their places. Owing to so 

 much wet the Strawberry quarters are very full of weeds, mostly 

 grass, and this has been introduced with the loam used in 

 putting out the young plants. It will not be possible to sub- 

 due them by hoeing, and at the first opportunity they must be 

 removed by hand. Strawberries in pots have not yet been re- 

 moved to the orchard house where they are wintered. 



The Chrysanthemums are in full flower, and if it was neces- 

 sary to water other plants on the shelves the damp arising 

 therefrom would do much injury to the large flowers by causing 

 the petals to become mouldy. 



We would just allude to the fruit room. It is necessary to 

 look over all the fruit at least twice a-week, and to remove such 

 as have decayed or any that show symptoms of decay. There 

 is now an over-abundance of fine Pears. The best that we have 

 in use at present are Marie Louise, Doyenne du Comice, and 

 Man'chal de Cour ; these three are very distinct both in appear- 

 ance and flavour. There are many others in use, of which the 

 best are Beurre Superfin, Zephirin Gregoire, Triomphe de 

 Jodoigne, and Van Mens Leon Leolerc. Thompson's is a very 

 fine October Pear, but it is now over. 



FRUIT AND F0RCIN3 HOUSES. 



Vineries. — We have not yet started the early houses, and 

 we have given full instructions as to previous preparation of 

 borders, washing and painting Vines, and limewashing walls. It 

 would be well if the woodwork could be painted about once in 

 two years. The hot-water pipes may be painted every year with 

 lampblack and linseed oil. We have discontinued making up 

 a bed of fermenting material in the house for the last three 

 years, but the Vines certainly start more strongly when the heat 

 from the pipes is supplemented by the genial steam from a bed 

 of manure or leaves, or a mixture of equal proportions of both. 

 It is necessary to turn over the bed occasionally, at the same 

 time adding fresh material to keep up the heat. In our case it 

 is necessary to use stable manure as leaves cannot be obtained, 

 but if fresh Oak leaves could be obtained they would be used in 

 preference. When a good bed of fermenting material was made 

 up in the house even at midwinter, it was not necessary to use 

 any other heat until the buds were well advanced, which saved 

 fuel, as the fires were not required for three weeks or a month 

 later than usual. The work in the late houses, and other in- 

 structions, is the same as that given on page 387. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Chrysanthemums make a very beautiful display now where 

 the cultivation of them has been attended to, as it ought to have 

 been. At Loxford tho large orchard house is quite filled with 

 plants, a very large proportion being grown to produce large 

 blooms for exhibition. These plants are arranged closely to- 

 gether, the tallest plants at the back, and those that have been 

 trained for other purposes and Pompons about a foot or 

 18 inches high near the front, so that the eye catches the whole 

 mass of flowers in a gradual incline from back to front. The 

 earliest-set buds always produce the largest flowers. Empres, 

 of India, Prince Alfred, Prince of Wales, Princess of Waleas 

 Beethoven, and a few others are unusually large this year. It is 

 necessary to look over the flowers very frequently, and remove 



