November 11, ISiB. ] 



JOUItNAtj OF nOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



431 



auy ileoajing petals. Those who inteiid to exbibit will be 

 careful to Bee that their best flowers aie uot iujuied by iu- 

 atteution to this, aa one decayiug petal will do veiy much 

 mischief iu a few days if it is uuobserved. Mildew is aho very 

 troubleBome. The plants are most persistently attacked by this 

 parasite towards the end of September, and the only way to kei*p 

 it in check is to dust the plants with flowers of sulphur as soon 

 as it is perceived; but as mildew always does attack them, it is 

 best to use sulphur as a preventive. Ju^t before tho buds are 

 formed, or, indeed, all through tho growing period, the plants 

 are also attacked by aphis, which cluster iu the centre of the 

 young growths, and would quite spoil the bloom if they vv'ere uot 

 destroyed. Difjping the shoots iu soapy water wherein some 

 tobacco liquor has been mixed, or dusting with Scotch snuff, will 

 destroy them. 



Specimen plants are being trained to neat sticks. It ia not 

 desirable to finish tying them until the buds are well expanded, 

 as they increase in growth up to the time the buds are about 

 fully opened. The small Pompone vaiietiea require but few 

 sticks. The growths are trained into the proper shape early in 

 the season ; the main stems are fastened at that time to supports 

 to bring the plaut into the required shape, l^'urther training 

 is unnecessary except to regulate auy after-growths that may 

 grow out of the required bounds. The plants require large sup- 

 plies of water, but it must be applied to tho plants carefully, 

 and uot be spilled about in the house. Moisture i.s very injurious 

 to the flowers, and the largest and best blooms suffer tirbt. 



The Hyacinths and Tulips have just been potted. Many per- 

 sona pot their bulbs as soon as they are received in September, 

 and they ought to be potted early if they are intended for early 

 forcing. The largest proportion of ours will flower late in the 

 spring, and for Ihis the last week in October or the first iu 

 November is the best time to pot. The soil used must be rich, 

 but not too rich ; an over-rich compost rots the roots, and the 

 bells do not open well. We were recommended to pot our bulbs, 

 by one who had ample means of knowing about the culture of 

 Hyacinths, in well-rotted cow manure, the manure to be reduced 

 to mould by laying for years exposed to the atmosphere. We 

 tried two or three bulbs in this rich stuff, but not a root ran into 

 it, and the plants came to nothing. Our compost for Hyacinths 

 is about equal parts of cow manure, loam, leaf mould, and sand. 

 For Tulips it is the same, except that stable manure is used in- 

 stead of the other. After potting the pots are plunged in cocoa- 

 nut fibre refuse out of doors. Leaf mould answers quite as well 

 as the fibre refuse. Ashes have been recommended very fre- 

 quently, but we have not found them to answer so well. The 

 bulbs should be plunged out of doors, and not be protected from 

 the weather in any way. The plunging material should be about 

 4 inches over the pots. 



Now is a good time to destroy any insect pests should the 

 slightest trace of them be seen. There are lew houses quite 

 free from either thrips or green fly, and by fumigating now at 

 intervals of two days the insects may be quite destroyed. It may 

 be done three times, and then at an interval of ten days smoke 

 again. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



The weather has been fine for the last week, which gave us 

 an opportunity to get all the Gladioluses out of the ground. The 

 best plan is to dig them up with a fork aud cut the stem off 

 close to the bulb. At the same time the bulbs are spread out 

 in a dry place, or if there be only a few roots of a sort the roots 

 are placed in flower pots aud left there until they are quite dry. 

 If it is desirable to increase the stock of any particular variety 

 all the spawn that clusters round the base of the roots is saved 

 and potted, the spawn is potted at once, and the pots are plunged 

 in a cold frame, or anywhere if they can be tholtercd from too 

 much rain. The roots are very large, and with few exceptions 

 are perfectly sound ; we took the precaution of pulling out all 

 plants that were unhealthy at the time of flowering. 



Carnations and Picotees that were potted a few weeks ago 

 have been looked over and all decaying leaves removed. The 

 pots are now plunged to the rim in cocoa-nut fibre refuse, the 

 plants being only a few inches from the glass. The Pinks were 

 planted out near the end of October, and ■will require no atten- 

 tion, except to press the plants firmly into the ground after 

 frosts. Those who grow Pinks aud have not yet planted out 

 should do so at once ; spring planting produces imperfectly-laced 

 flowers. All the bedding-out plants have been removed and 

 the ground made nest for the winter. Those beds that are 

 planted with spring-flowering plants are now being filled. — 

 J. Douglas. 



CHRYSANTnEMUMS. — I was Very much pleased with a collec- 

 tion I saw on the 2nd grown by Mr. Goff, au amateur, on the 

 premises of the Waterworks, opposite St. George's Church, 

 Campden Hill, Kensington, the whole of which are in pots. 

 A few which I thought especially worthy of notice are Alfred 

 Salter, light pink ; Aurea Multiflora, yellow ; .Tardin des Plantea, 

 bronze and yellow ; Empreas of India, white ; Globe, white ; 



Elaine, large, white, very fine; Lady Margaret, white ; George 

 Sands, red with gold centre ; Prince of Anemones, large lilac. 



— WlLLLlM GaBDINEH. 



HORTICDLTDRAL EXHIBITIONS. 

 Secretaries will oblige us by informing \xi of tho dates on 

 which exhibitions are to bo held. 



LODGHBOKOOOH.— November IStli aud ICth. Ux. W. Pai;clt, 55, Baitergate, 



Sec. 

 NoETHAiipTON (ChryfaathemumB).— November IGth and 17th. Mr. N. 



Gutteridge, 51, Denmark lioad Sec. 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Thomas Bunyard& Sons, Ashford and Maidstone. — Catalogue 

 of Moses. 



Maurice YouDg, MilfordNarperies, Godalmiop, Surrey. — Cata- 

 logue of Conifercef Bhododendrons, Forest Trees, Roses, £c. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*^* AU correspoudonce should l-e directed either to " The 

 Editors," or to *'The Publibher." Letters addressed to 

 Mr. Johnson or Dr. Hogg often remain unopened unavoid- 

 ably. "We request that no one will wiito privately to any 

 of our correspondents, as doing so subjeota them to un- 

 justifiable trouble and expense. 



Correepondents should not mix upon tho same sheet questiocs 

 relating to Gardening and those on Poultry and Bee sub- 

 jects, end bhould never send mora than two or three 

 questions at once. All articles intended for insertion 

 should be written on one side of the paper only. We 

 cannot reply to questions through the post. 



Naming Plants and Fruits. — Some of our readers are agei-ieved because 

 the tames are sometimes not promptly annoancei, but the delay is often uu- 

 avoidable. It is no easy elloit of memory to identify a f-pecimen belonging 

 to kinds having hnndreds of kindred. 



Books (E. S, T.).— Our " Orchii Manual" and *' Fern Manaal" would suit 

 you. 



Grapes at the Edinburgh Show. — We are officially informed that Mr. 

 Thomaon of the Tweed Vinejard nndertook to reply on the whole question for 

 the Koyal Caledonian Horticultural Society, both as one of the Mana;^iiig 

 Committee, and as a J udge at the late International Show. We have received 

 several letters on the subject, half of them asserting and half denying that 

 the prize was awarded to a double bunch. Wd cannot publish more on the 

 subject. 



Roses (E. S.).— Why do you trouble yourself about standards? Unless 

 on thoroughly good Rose soils they are generally troublesome and dwarf . 

 On either the seedling Briar or Manotti Roses would be mucU more satia- 

 factory. You procured the Briers lately, but October is much too early to 

 dig them up, aud althou^ih they may enrvive, which ia very doubtful, if they 

 fail you must uot attribute their failure to beiug cut, but to their being taken 

 up whil"^ the sap was still flowing. As to the sorts named, Capitaine Christy, 

 Baron Bonstetten, Eugenie Verdier, Marie Contet, Mens. Numan, Etienno 

 Levet, and Prince de Portia are cood Rohes, and good growers when grown on 

 suitable stocks, Mdlle. Eugenie Yerdier perhaps tlie most delicate of the lot. 



Crop of Grapes (B. Jordan).— The crop of Black Hamburghs at the Rev 

 Mr. Heyworth's was good, but there being nothing in the culture special 

 there would be no instructive information if we published your letter. 



Kitchen Garden Walks {A. Dambcjl). — Gravel would do for facing instead 

 of granite chippings. 



Sutton's Improved Reading Onion {Inquiring Tyro). — We cannot inform 

 you of the particulars you need. Write to Messrs. Sutton and abk them. 



The Banksian Medal (SH7/.^cribfr).— The Royal Horticultural Society's 

 medal was so named in honour and commemorat ion of Sir Joseph Banks. 



Fruits for North Carolina (H. H. F.). — We cannot recommend trades- 

 men. Go to any nurseryman near you, and inform him what you need. Any 

 of the Rhubarbs and Raspberries would succeed. 



Edwaedsia 5I1CR0PHYLLA Cdlture (Amateur in Trouble). — The spray 

 sent is of the plant above named. It in an evergreen shrub with yellow 

 flowers, which are produced in early summer outdoors against a south wall, 

 and in April or May when grown in a cool greenhouse. It is a native of New 

 Zealand. To flourish well iu the open air it requires to be planted in front 

 of a south wail, and its shoots trained thereto, plautii-g in a compost of 

 fibrous sandy peat and turfy loam iu equal proportions, and after removing the 

 soil from a semicircle drawn with a radius of Sfeet from where the shrub is to 

 be planted 2 feet deep, place some roUf^h material at the bottom, as charcoal 

 or broken stones 6 inches detp, fill iu witii the compost above named, and in- 

 troduce the shrub, planting it on a raised but flattened c^ne about 6 inches 

 above the surrounding ground level, and give moderate watering. This we 

 should advise to be done now, lifting carefully, securing the shoots to the 

 wall. Water copiously during dry weather iu summer, and f^yringe overhead 

 in dry hot weather, but after the middle of September keep dry both over- 

 head aud at the roots. The shoots should be trained rather thinly, but bo as 

 to cover the wall. 



Pears and Plums FORNoRTnWALL(S.W.).— The following Pmrs are likely 

 to succeed:— Jargonelle, Williams's Bon Chretien, Beurrd- de Capiaumonc, 

 Achan, Beurrt* Bachelier, and Knight's Monarch. Plums : Augelina Burdett, 

 Aunt Ann (Gulhiie's). OuUin's Golden Gage, Prince Euglebert, Winei^our, and 

 Victoria. For the south wall of the aairy Marie Louise Pear will be suitable. 



CucuMBER-GBOWiNG (/p*if(c'f).— In our "Kitcheu Gardening,"' which you 

 can have free by post if jou enclose five po^ttage stamps with your address, 

 you will find full directions. Our "Orchid Manual" you can have in the 

 same way if you enclose thirty-two postage stamps. 



