January 17, 1865. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOETICULTtTEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



53 



fixed. Horseradish, this should be trenched out, the best 

 roots stored in sand, the soil well manured, and the small 

 replanted. In this department, as in others, alterations 

 will occasionally be required, such as taking up and relaying 

 Box-edgings that have become imperfect, or grown too 

 strong and bulky, turning or surfacing walks with fresh 

 gravel ; and such jobs should be done, if possible, before 

 the busy season. 



FRTHT GAKDEN. 



If any planting of fruit trees remains to be done, this 

 should be seen to very soon, and every available dispatcli 

 used to complete it. If it is worth whole to occupy ground 

 with fruit trees, and incur the expense, &c., of planting 

 them, it is certainly worth consideration whether the ground 

 is in the best possible state of prepai-atiou for bein-r planted 

 with fi-uit trees, and to incur any expense and trouble which 

 may be necessary to render the soil as suitable as it can be 

 made for the kind of trees with wliich it is to be planted. 

 To do this is seldom a work involving much direct outlay ; 

 for, if the ground is well drained, little else is required 

 except labour, as a supply of good loamy soU can generally 

 be obtained about most places in the country. It is useless 

 to plant trees except there is a fair prospect of their doing 

 well; and the necessary preparations for securing this can 

 be more conveniently, cheaply, and effectually made before 

 planting than afterwards. 



PI.OWEE GAKDEN-. 



Let the most be made of favourable weather in the way of 

 pushing forward new work, and all out-door operations. Turf, 

 not level, is an eyesore all the season through, and it makes 

 the mowing more tedious and difficult : hence it is worth an 

 effort to spare time to make it level and smooth. Sweep 

 lawns occasionally, to clear them of fallen bits of sticks, &c. ,- 

 and use the roller here and on gravel frequently, to secure 

 a firm smooth surface. If bulbs, &c., were planted, as 

 advised, in the beds which are afterwards devoted to the 

 usual bedding-out plants, they will now be pushing above 

 ground, and wiU require a slight protection. Sawdust, leaf 

 mould, or old tan may be put over such as the best sorts of 

 Anemones, ScUlas, Hyacinths, and Tulips, covering the sur- 

 face afterwards, to resemble that of the other beds. Deci- 

 duous trees and shrubs for ornamental purposes, may be 

 moved with safety while the mild weather lasts, and the 

 roots protected by a mulching or covering of rotten dung; 

 any in danger of being blown about by high winds, and 

 their roots injured, to be supported by stout stakes. "Where 

 any shrubs, particularly choice sorts, are not growing 

 vigorously, the extremities of the roots should be searched 

 for carefully with a fork, and a trench, 18 inches or 2 feet 

 wide, made around them on the outside, and fresh and en- 

 riched sod filled into the trench, in which the roots will ex- 

 tend and luxuriate during the summer. Although evergreens, 

 for the most part, thrive well in loam of a middling texture, 

 some, such as Kalmias, Ehododendrons, and other American 

 shrubs, do best in a mossy humid soO, or peat earth ; and, 

 although deciduous shrubs in general thrive well in light 

 loamy or sandy soils, sorce kinds, such as Eoses and Acacias, 

 flower better in a rich mellow loam ; but whoever is curious 

 in collections of shrubs is generally acquainted with the 

 soils most suitable for their healthy growth. 



GEEENHOTJSE AND COSSERVATOEY. 



Stagnant air will prove imfavourable to the plants bloom- 

 ing in the conservatory, and water settling on the flowers 

 ■will soon destroy them ; moderate fires, with ventilation when 

 the weather will permit, will be necessary. Water sparingly, 

 and damp the house as moderately as possible. Do not 

 allow bulbs to remain in the forcing-pit after they have 

 developed their blossom, they may be preserved much longer 

 in the conservatoi-y. Luculia gratissima should have the 

 favoured place. Cinerarias wiU now for some time add to 

 the gaiety. In the greenhouse. Pelargoniums will soon 

 require additional pot-room. See that your specimen plants 

 are not too closely placed. It is extremely difficult to keep 

 plants of this sort inactive, repress very active growth by 

 keeping them cool and airy. Calceolarias may be slightly 

 encouraged to grow. Where the twiners for covering the 

 roof are grown in boxes, or have but limited root-room, as 

 much of the surface soil should be removed annually as can 

 be done without seriously injuring the roots, replacing it 



with some good, rich, fresh soil, and this cannot be done at 

 a better season than the present. Attend to the training 

 of plants on wires and trellises. Fast-growing plants, such 

 as Tropaeolums, wiU require looking to frequently. The 

 various composts that wUl soon be required for potting 

 plants will be benefited by being frequently turned over 

 during dry frosty weather. Such composts should not be 

 allowed to become wet either from exposure to rain or snow. 



PITS AND FEAMES. 



The stock of bedding-out plants should now be looked 



over ; where anything is short remove a portion of the stock 



into a warm house to produce cuttings for propagation. It 



I is often difficult to procure sufficient plants of some kinds in 



I the autumn ; and cuttings of all the more softwooded plants 



1 struck in this and the next month, and properly hardened 



I oiF, will bloom equally well, if not better, than those struck 



' in the previous autumn. It is, however, advisable to have 



bedding-out Geraniums and other woody plants struck and 



i well established before winter. — W. Keane. 



DOrnGS OF THE LAST WEEE. 



KITCHEN" GAKDEN. 



Turf-pits, Earth-]}its, .^"c. — One of the greatest drawbacks 

 I attending turf-pits, in winter, is the harbour that the dry 

 turf walls afford to mice and rats, especially the former. 

 The evil is increased if any old stakes or boards have been 

 used to help to keep up the back wall : hence it is often 

 better to dispense with the boards, so as to ailord no lodging- 

 place behind them. Even with them aU will go on well 

 enough until a sharp frost come; but then, if you are 

 forced to have the whole covered up for a week or so, the 

 mice will be apt to poach on your preserves, nibbling out 

 the centres of Cauliflowers, and even pretty well taking 

 away all but the outside leaves of blanched Endive and 

 Lettuce ; the more blanched the more wdl they like it. 

 During the last fr'ost we thus lost a lot of nice Cauliflower. 

 Cats are a good remedy at times, but they do little good 

 when shut up in total darkness. The old tales of cats 

 seeing best in the dark must be taken with a certain allow- 

 ance ; for, though they do see well in twilight and compara- 

 tive darkness, when shut up without any light they will 

 have little but their scent and their whiskers to guide them. 

 Traps, and phosphoric paste spread on bread and butter, 

 are best for the common mice; but large grass mice are 

 difficult to catch, and are generally most readily captured 

 by fine wire snares in their runs. 

 j Peas and Beans. — Protected those sown under protection. 

 ; WiQ make the first sowing out of doors as soon as the 

 ' ground is suitable. We think that by transplanting the 

 ■ first crop we gain a little in time, and we save hunting 

 j after slugs and mice in winter. 



I Celery. — Eemoved the stubble, so as to expose the heads 

 of the Celery. We have not yet had frost severe enough 

 ! to necessitate a covering of branches, and then some litter 

 I above it. In very severe weather, when much protection is 

 necessary, the branches, roughly hooped, keep the weight 

 of the litter fr'om pressing on the foliage of the Celery, 

 especially when a sudden thaw comes. When the leaves 

 are much injured, and the leaf-stalks broken, the Celery is 

 apt to decay in the bed, and in that case it will keep better 

 if taken up rather dry, and packed closely together in a 

 dark place. The snow falling heavily will be a good pro- 

 tection if frost come. We can prognosticate little at present 

 in these sudden changes. 



Potatoes. — Looked over those intended for seed, laying them 

 open that they might not sprout too much. A nice lot in small 

 pots, the latter filled with roots, in the Mushroom-house, 

 are waiting for a chance to be transferred to beds, with just 

 a little heat from leaves below them. These generally crop 

 all the sooner from the roots being confined. At first much 

 heat is disliked by the Potato, and early ones rarely orop- 

 well when it is given. Slow and sure is a better motto. To 

 have nice young ones now, they should have been started in 

 October. Winter-grown ones, however, are seldom nice and 

 mealy unless they get sun; and young waxy ones, or what 

 seem so, maybe had with less trouble by planting about the 

 middle and end of July, and keeping the produce in dryish. 

 earth. 



