538 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



[ December 16, 1875. 



wotild leave you 8 feet 3 inches clear space between the walls. The front and i 

 end walls we should have 2feet hiph above ground, and above this Sfeet of 

 front lights, and the ends sashtd for glaps above the brickwork; every 

 alternate lij^'ht alcng the frrnt to open, and a light aloiif,' the top the entire 

 Icegth If* inches wide made to open ; both being c^peufd with a crank and 

 lever. Upon the walls you will require a wall-plate 11 inches wide and 

 2A inches thick, projecting an inch over the wall ontside, erooved half an inch 

 frcm the side or nnder the outer edge to prevent drip down the face of the 

 wall, and be slightly bevelbd outwards from the lights. The front npright 

 may be 7 iLches by S inches, with an upper plate of 9 inches by 2A inches, 

 and fised on the uprights an inch back from the face of the wall-plate. The 

 rafters 7 inches by Sinches rebated three-quarters of an inch deep and half 

 an inch wide for the glaps to rest on, and chamfered to half their thicknees 

 on the under side. The rafters will not require to be rebated or chamfered 

 only on one side, and thope we phould have fixed 8 feet apart, morticing the 

 Jjack wall plate, which should be 11 inches by l.J inch, aud proptrly screwed 

 to the wall, the rafters properly tendoned and fitted into the mortice holes at 

 back cut at front fo as to tit on to the front upper plate, and so that the 

 rebate for the glass will be level with the upper outer edge of the head plate 

 of ibe front. Between each rafter have sash-bars 3 inches by U inch 

 rebated as the rafters, and chamfered on the under aide, and fix them fo that 

 they will be level with the rafter on the ontside, and have a fillet of about 

 2i inches in width, and so deep as to fill up level with the rebate for the 

 gl'asB. The ends may be sashed for glass with sash-bars 3 inches by li inch. 

 The door-posts, 6 iuches by 4 inches, and be taken np to the end rafters, and 

 the head of the doorway to 4 inches by 3 inches, and continued across the end 

 or ends if yon have two doors, preferably at both if you have only one door, and 

 next the wall ycu will need a plate 4 inches by 3 inches. The top lights 

 2 inches thick, and the front lights the seme. Fashed so as to match the roof, 

 hang with 3j-inch brass butts- Door, 2 itiches thick, llneh panelled, upper 

 parts washed for glass. The timber well seasoned red deal or vellow pioe ; the 

 glass 21-oz. sheet, Srda quality, with quarter-inch lap. We phould have a 

 stage 2 feet 3 inches wide along the front, that height from the floor, path 



2 feet G inches wide, and a step stage to the wall. You will need a capping to 

 cover the joint of the top lights, and a cross-piece crosswipe of the rafters to 

 receive the top lights. We hope you will be able to understand the above 

 details, but as yoa appear not to be initiated in greenhouse construction we 

 should advise your applying to some of the horticultural builders advertising 

 in our columns, stating dimensions of house you require, and asking for 

 estimate. It would save yoa much trouble, and might be more economical. 



Forcing Asparagus and Potatoes in Frames {A Constant Reader). — 

 You will need to make up a bed of well-sweetened dung and leaves about 



3 feet high, well beaten down, and putting on the frame in abnut a week, 

 when the heat will have risen ; and when it declines to a temperature of 75- it 

 may have soil put on Ginches thick, and when this is quite warmed through 

 put in the Asparagus plants quite closely together, with soil carefully placed 

 about the roofs, and between each layer of plants, the crowns not covered 

 deeper than 2 inches, and the distance from the glass should be 12 inches. 

 The temperature of the bed should not be allowed to decline below 65°, 

 but be kept up by hnings, and protected with mats over the hghte, so as 

 to maintain in the frame a temperature of 55^ to 60^. In about a fort- 

 night the nhootsof the Asparagus will be fit to cut. The mats ic mild weather 

 after the shoots are 4 inches long should be removed by day, so as to give 

 colour and flavour. The Potatoes to be planted in the bed in rows 15 inches 

 apart, and 1 foot apart in the rows, and 4 inches deep, employing seta pre- 

 viously sprouted an inch long. It is well if the sets are not planted until the 

 heat at 4 inches deep has declined to 70 ', and it should be kept up to 65" by 

 linings, protecting from frost hy mats over the lights, giving air after the 

 haulm appears whenever the weather is mild. The main point to be aimed at 

 is a steady growth. Avoid overheatiug. 



Violets in Winter (7rffm).— Plant rooted runners or suckers in April or 

 early in May, in good rich soil a foot apart every way, water well after plant- 

 ing, and in dry weather, keepirg clear of runners and weeds; and at the close 

 of September move to frames placed in a dry sheUered situation, and sunny, 

 planting so as to be not more than 9 inches from the gla-ts. The lif^hts to be 

 kept ofi day and night until frost, and then kept on the frames without air 

 when frost prevails, but whenever the weather is mild air to be given day and 

 night in proportion to the coIdDOsg or mildness of the weather. Remove all 

 decaying leaves as they appear, and do not plant closer than 9 inches apart. 

 The plants to be moved with balls. We grow Victoria Regina, which com- 

 mences blooming in September, and continues up to spring. It is a great 

 advance in size, fragrancy, and colour over Czar, or any single blue Violet 

 yet in commerce. Neapolitan, pale double blue, and very sweet, blooms in 

 October onwards through the winter up to Apiil, and in February the Double 

 Purple and King of Violets, aleo double blue, with the very large and fine 

 double white Queen of Violets, which is very fine and good, and continues until 

 those bloom in the open ground. With these and Czar, with the Single White, 

 which we also grow in quantity, we have Violets from September to May 

 inclusive. 



Cineramas, PRnnji.AS, and AaiAR'ST.Lig to Flower in March (In- 

 quirer). — The Cinerarias and Primulas will be in their blooming pots, and the 

 former will only require to be kept in a light airy position in a cool green- 

 honse, frost being, ol course, excluded, and assisted with weak liquid manure 

 at every alternate water ng after the pots are tilled with roots, and the 

 Primulas to have a eimilar position, carefully watered, and have the trusses 

 of bloom removed up to the early part of February; but so much depends on 

 the present state of the plants that without seeing them it is not practicable 

 to give any precise hii^ts. The Amaryllis should be placed in a mild bottom 

 heat the cai'ly part of February, and when the flower-buds and leaves begin to 

 grow out of the bulbs remove to a house with a temperature of 60^ to 65'^ 

 from fire heat, efloiding a higher temperature if likely to be too late for your 

 purpose, or placing in a cool house if too forward. To have plants in bloom 

 at a certain time requires some timely forethought and judgment} which can 



only be exercised by the grower. 

 Treatment of Late Vinery {Nncorth). — The method yon propose will 



not injure the Vines, and it will prevent them from starting until the sprine. 



As soon au the buds start you must ehut-up the house in the usual way. It 



will take them all the season to ripen. 

 Pears not RiPENrNG (T. P. M. B.).— Some varieties of Pears if allowed 



to hang on the tree until they are ready to drop off do not ripen well. It is 



evident that your examples of Moorfowl Egg were allowed to hang to long. 



You have t;ained experience which ought to be useful to you next seasou. 



You must have allowed Beurre d'Amanlis to hang too long. Ours were very 



good in quality this year. Beurrt- d'Aremberg from pyramids always ripens 



with as. 



Treatment op Fig Trees (F. IT.).— If your Fig trees are out of doors 

 the small ncripe fruit will drop ofT, so that it may as well be removed. If 

 nnder glass the very small fruit of some varieties will ripen early next 

 season. We would not remove them. 



Pruning Frcit Trees (W. H. Payne).— Now is thft time to attend to the 

 trees. You will see some instructions as to how it ought to be done at 

 page 514. 



Budding Briars {O. G.).— Cut the Briars straight acrosa and put nothing 

 on them. It is on the young side shoots that Rosea are budded. The 

 Manetti stock is named after an Italian professor. 



Removing Trees (Jafc^z*. — A tenant tinder notice to quit cannot remove 

 fruit trees, neither can he destroy them. He cannot charge for laying down 

 lawns, nor can he take away flower roots. 



iNEFFrciENT HEATING APPARATUS (J. fl".).— There is nothing particularly 

 amiss with a heating apparatus which in so severe a winter as lo74 only re- 

 quired 2 tons 15 cwts. of coal to keep frost from a conservatory ; but you 

 say much wood was used in addition to the coal. If not more wood than coal, 

 we do not think the consumption of fuel excesfiive. Surely you mistake about 

 an "hour and a quarter" action on the boiler with a brisk fire being re- 

 required " before the sli^^htest heat is felt at the commencement of the flow- 

 pipe." There is great difference in stoking. We have known a better fire 

 and more heat had in an hour by one man's stoking than by another in half a 

 day ; hence we do not attribute the slow heating to other than slow stoking. 

 There is no advantage in a flue over heating by hot water except for sm^ 

 houses, requiring to be only used in severe weather or dull to exclude frost or 

 dry up damp. We agree with you, however, in utilising the beat which 

 escapes by the chimney from a boiler furnace, and which may be made to 

 pass along the house in addition to the pipes ; but in a conservatory a flue 

 would in many cases be objected to. The great objection to a flue ia the ex- 

 cessive beat at the part nearest the ftu-nnce, and the liability from cracking 

 of noxious vapours escaping into the house and injuring the plants. There is 

 no difference in heat in point of dryness as given uff from the surface of a 

 hot-water pipe or flue, but there ia great difference in the temperature, and 

 the greater the heat the sooner is moisture in the vicinity dispersed, and with 

 water on the top the greater the heat the more quickly would it be evaporated, 

 doing more harm than good in winter by the steam generated. It is different 

 with a flue passing through a house after the heat has acted on the boiler 

 surface, there being no danger of overheating the flue siu-face unless by the 

 fijrlng of accumulated soot. 



Terra Cotta Vases {Idem).— They are not, if properly made and water 

 not standing in them, injured by frost. We have, however, had them when 

 not well made cracked and splintered during the winter. 



Manures {lit/or mat ion). —"We have not used that you mention. Write to 

 the preparer and Ask him for some names of those who have. 



Names op Fruits (J. M^Kemie). — The Pear should have been in a box. 

 The post-office punches had smashed it. (TT. H. Askwin).—l, Winter Nelia; 

 2, Zt-pbirin Grt-goire; 3, Drap d'Or ; 4, Carol's Seedling; 5, Sir William 

 Gibbons; 6, Not known. {O. F.). — i, Norfolk Beefing ; 9, Delaware; 13, Pear- 

 son's Plate; 15; Golden Harvey; 17, Russet Table Pearmain ; 20, Wykea 

 Pippin. 



POULTET, BEE, AND PIGEOH OHEONIOLE, 



PBIZES. 



We have before us the oatalognea of many shows — shows local, 

 agricultural, and open — and we find with hardly one exception 

 that those offering third prizes bear off the palm in the number 

 of entries. We find that exhibitions offering a first prize of 30s. 

 and a second of 15s. do not have nearly so many entries, as a 

 rule, as those giving three prizes of the value of i'l, 10s., and 5s., 

 although the loss to the first-named ia 10s. in every class. We 

 can readily account for this : So many of the various breeds are 

 in the hands of certain exhibitors, who clear the decks at show 

 after show and monopolise all the prizes and cups ; the amateurs 

 and exhibitors in a small way consequently do not enter nearly 

 so readily at the exhibitions which give only two prizes, for 

 they know both these prizes wiU probably go to certain yards. 

 When, however, there is a third prize offered an extra chance 

 of a place is held out for them ; and though the prize may be & 

 small one still it is a prize, and that to many ia a great satis- 

 faction, for it pays the entry fee if it does nothing else. This, 

 however, brings up a subject which has been alluded to, as " pot 

 hunting," with the remark that it "will surely kill the poultry 

 classes, the same as we now find in the Pouters ; and when 

 amateurs, who are the backbone of the fancy, see the same 

 names winning at every show they very naturally become dis- 

 heartened, the demand for birds is stopped, entries decrease, 

 and shows become bankrupt." We can endorse nearly every 

 word of this ; and though we fear that hardly anything will stop 

 this " pot hunting," still we do think that by giving third and 

 fourth prizes the evil may be greatly lessened, as more induce- 

 ments will so be held out to those amateurs who are in a small 

 way of business. The " swoopers," as we heard them called 

 the other day, are perhaps cutting their own throats, for we 

 think eventually the demand for high-class birds may decrease 

 when the purchasers find that, even with expensive specimens, 

 they can have no certainty of winning, aa the vendors always 

 have something kept back to turn up at every opportunity and 

 to carry off the prizes wherever they are. This evil exists no 

 doubt to a greater extent in some breeds than in others, but the 

 committees of poultry exhibitions can do something to effect an 

 improvement by rather increasing the number of prizes than 

 the value of them for the actual number of prizes in a schedule 



