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JOTTENAL OF HORTICULTTJIIE ANT) COTTAaE GARDENER. 



[ February 14, 1865. 



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"WDTTERnrfc CvLAPiTMP (J. A, P.).— Thcsc are best kept in the pots in a 

 stoTe seldom below 6("= at night. In puch a ?trnctiire, with the pots ptandinp 

 on a damp floor, the rooi'^ may be kept saft-ly. Tho pots uill absorb a little 

 moisture from the damp floor, comoiunicaie it to the foil, and so prevent 

 the roots becominc fariniiccou;;, and consequently decaying whei^ placed in 

 "heat and moist soil. NVith a f-oil neifher very dry nor wet— one apparently 

 dry yet contiuninffa little moisture in con-eqiience of the pot? being placed 

 on a damp floor ((tr failinc si.ch a i oj^ition, u slight skiff from the syringe at 

 the lime of sprinkling the hon?e occasiciniliy. will do as well), and a 

 temperature of 65*, there will be no difficulty in keeping Caladiura roots 

 throngh the winter. 



Destroyino Moss on Cr.oaiTET Grousp (.E*.).— Xow is the time to do it,, 

 fo' at Ibis se<tron mosses fluwer or artcin their greatest perfection. 'Whilst 

 the ^onnd is wet or soft, rake it with a long, sharp-toothed rake, working 

 it backwards an 1 forward;^ sufficif-n*ly to bring the moss to the surface, and 

 dietnrb that remainder considerably. CU-ar awav the moss so brought up, 

 and let the pround alone for aiortnichf. £arly in March repeat the operation; 

 and about the middle of thatniontli apply a dressing of rich coniposr, uhi<:h 

 may consi^t of any old rub-iish well decomposed, adding one-sixth of Irtsh 

 lime. Mis the lime with the compost a few days prior to spreading it over 

 the ground. A sprinkling of water mav bo necessary to make the lime 

 fall. Cover it with the compost. Spread this on the ground at the rate of 

 200 barrowloads per acre, passinc it through a three-qnarter-inch sieve, to 

 save the trouble of stone-picking. Rake it evenly over the surface with a 

 wooden rake, an J, when dry, sow Festuca ovina, 6 lbs. ; Feetuca duriuscula, 

 3 lbs., or 6 lbs. if the prass is to be mown with a machine ; Cj no^urus cris- 

 tatop, 6 lbs., and TrifoHum repens and T. minus. 3 Ibs^. each, omitting the 

 last if the pround is of a wet nature. If the situation is shaded by trees sow 

 3 lbs. of Poa nemorulis instead of Festuca ovina. The jibove quantities are 

 enfficient to renovate an acre. After sowing, the ground may be lightly 

 raked, and then well rolled, and twict; weekly. If you could spare the use 

 of the ground for a week or two in May, a dressing with soot, in damp 

 weather, woula do much towards ridding the lawn of the moss. The cause 

 ia a poor soil and damp bottom ; the remedy, an improved state of the soil 

 and more herbage. Wood ashts are good, also salt ; buL it takes as much 

 salt to kill moss as it does to destroy grains. Have nothing to do with it. 

 By proceeding :is above recommended you will not be able to use the ground 

 60 early, but yea will be well satisfied with the improvement in the firmness 

 of the lawn. 



TEArSIVG MiCRANDIiAS— HaRDINF-SS OF AgATHEV CtELF.STIS (J, Suhscri' 



hcTy West of Irchtnil).— Yen naxj cut the Jlaurindya down to a foot or so 

 high, and it wi;l probably hhoot af. esh, bai we would strike some of the 

 yoong shoots. Tliey strike rcaiily in sandy soil on a h nbed. When the 

 plant makes fr^t-h shoots stop these when a (not high; this will eucourage 

 8idp-shoo's Tr:iin tliese evtnly ovf r the wall, and stop them at every foot 

 of their height if they spprar disposed to gjow without making side-shoots. 

 If the shoots come too close togfther thin them out, and any straggling 

 shoots may be cm out, otht-nviseitlsone of the neatCRt-growing of climbers. 

 Tery clobe-habited, and free blooming. It does well in a comport of loam 

 and leaf mi-.uld, eith-r as a greenhouse pUmt or a ha'fh.irdy climber suit- 

 able for covering- irelliscii. Tran to poles, or plant apaiust any suppor: in 

 sheltered sitnations in the flower garden during the summer months 

 Agaibea coclc-tis in a half-hardy, VMriegated, bedding plant, and is not 

 hardy, so far as we know, anywhere in the kingdom. We think it would 

 not prove h^rdy even in the mild climate of Ireland. 



Strikiko D,»nLi.v9 {Idem.)— You may place the roots on a gentle hotbed 

 in the beginning of .Ma.rch, and when the shoots are from 3 to C inches long 

 take thc-m off with a litrle of the old root to each, and put them in pots suf- 

 ficiently largo. Return them to the hotbed for a fortnight, harden off, pro- 

 tecting in a frame or greenhouse until the end. of May, and then pliint out. 

 lour plan of raising from cuttings without any pnrlion of the old root is 

 a good mode of propagating ihenett' and rare sons but the plants areuiua'ly 

 small, and flower at a liter period. Tli'-y would fltiwer sooner by pof.ing 

 each root in the firi-t Ltistaiicc, and aa the shoots apjiear removing them all 

 btit one. This will be very strong, and maybe pi tnted out with ita flower- 

 feuds nearly expandf-d. \Vc like to platit a good strong pi mt, and have 

 flowers early. KmitU pluntD from cutiings, th- ugh late, usually give the 

 best flower*'. The main noint'< to be afended to m order to have Uahlias 

 early, is to begin in good time, and to have plants strong and well hardened 

 offprior to planting ont. Evergreen Oak^- may be Incren^ted by hiyer^, but 

 they are best raised by Eowing the acorns or seud. March is a good time to 

 sow them. 



EDbLEWF.ifvt (if. A. jr.). —In answer to our inquiry last week rela'iive to 

 the botanical name for ih'S German title for an alpine plant we have received 

 replies from Jyjdy S , I. Thomas, and A. H. Tajhir. all three ngreeing that 

 It la Gn&phuUum leontophyllum, and all recommending a little work on 

 alpine plant*, published af Munich, entitled, "Di • Alpen Pflanz n Dcutch- 

 lands nnd <ier Sch'Atiz." The more modern botanic il n^me of the plant i» 

 Lcontop>dium helvt'iicum.anda very good pnrlrail of it is in the "Botanical 

 Magaztne," t 195S. Our cirrenpondcnt "M.A K." had sown gecdn of it, 

 and treated them veiy judiciouely by plunging " the pot in which the 

 seeds arc «o«n under a north wall, b-neath the snow, as it is difliuult to 

 find any dsirk place coM ttiough ;" but she wishes for some poBitivc direc- 

 tlons. The foil »winir It whai Mr. Flf-h says on th-j su^jf^cl. "I bcUevu 

 Leontopodlum holvticum i« the Bamf- at L. vnlgare, a naiive of the moun- 

 taiiuof S« Itzcrland and Autlria. It in a numtier of ytarn since I have 

 leenit. I nm nut n'<w Burt-, b^it I think I caw a po» of it among the alpines 

 at Dmrocondra. I think you tould not do bcit*'r than ctnsnlt Mr. Donald, 

 of Hampton Court. I recollect s' < ing n nice Kltlt? patch of it from 4 t-j 5 

 inches Id height, with lt!« pretty yr-llow siarlikc fl iwcf, in a sheltered 

 place in a rockwork. It sto'. I h. a li-lVrv, yet fiomo 4 fict trim the ground. 

 It wa" growing In find/ i- 'ui. The four mone* that stood like 



little chff- round it hid a * ;en each, so thut there could bo no 



stagnant m-'Inture, In w / ^:rrcon ttoughi wen- ftnck round i'. 



Jfo profcctWm whatever u-o.i.-t Lt- necjs-iry could we Bt-cui-e enow bffore 

 fro?it. I recoUcct of the planlchie.iy a* an alpini;. gro-vn in a pot half filled 

 wifb drainigo, and set up to the rim amon'.: roogh cinders m winter, and 

 covered with the g'a^i of a frarar. In ■<:T':re fr j"t, w;thou* snow, a little 



Jrotiction would be given to the glA>s, a« m the catc of oih'-r rare alplncn. 

 t In prop;ica'cd by divisions in Rprtng, plac 'd In ^iii-ly peat under a band- 

 light; and needs may be sown at ih" sime '.imc in a' pot ha\l filled with 

 rough drainage, then an inch of dn-r, nnd rhcii sandy ppit, the upper layer 

 fine and within hi!f an Inch of the nm. On this scatter thfi seed, slightly 

 prcas, and cover wUh a SQuarc of gloss; shade with a little paper antU 



the seeds are up, then give air and light gradually, and prick off in the 

 usuiil manner. These, howt-ver, are chiefiy recollections, and, as stated 

 above. I would advise applying to Mr. Donil'd as the most likely person to 

 afford information a3 to this pretty rare plant." 



ScMMKR TaKAT.\iEST OF Ctclames's (M. D.).— Tlio Auncula-stand figured 

 in No. 2'il would answer admirably tor Cyclamen* in summer, more espe- 

 cially if the roof were of glass, as you propose. If should bo placed so as 

 to h.tve a northern a'^pect. Tuoers. when exposed to the full influence of a 

 hot summer's sun, as yours were, are liable to become blind, or not ahoot 

 from the crown, but they usually form a spur at the hiwer part of the root, 

 on which the braves and flowers arc produced. We have not suffered from 

 mice eiiting the tuber.s, nor i?: it likely, for tlie fresh rootd are bitter, acrid, 

 and bummg ; but yours, baked as they were, miyht have bL-come farinaceous, 

 and they are then h^irmiess. Riibhits are still more unlikely to have nibbled 

 them. Dr. Hog^ states, in his "Vegetablj Kingdom," that "M. de Luca 

 found four graius of the juice, injected into the trachea of a rabbit, caused 

 it to die in convulsions in the course of ten mmutos.*' 



FiNE-FOLiAGKD PLANTS [Liverpool) .—AW hut the first two, whioh, how- 

 ever, are decidedly ornamental, though not what are called fiue-loUaged. 



Names op Fruit 'Ji.A.H.) — Apples. — 1, Dumelow's Seedling; 2, Golden 

 Kusset. Fears.~ly Beurre u'Arembersrj 2, BeurrC' de Ranee. 



Names of Plants (T., A 5t/6scrrAfr).— Apparently a distorted Lastrea 

 dilatata [Pentandria). — 1, Selaginell:* Grtleottii; 2, Selaginell;i Marteneii; 



3, Asplenium flabellifolium ; 4. Asplfniuni Imlbiferum. (RofJ;) — 1, Cyrto- 

 niium fiilcatum ; 2. L:istrea Filix-m;iscriPtati ; 3, L3streaindivi>*a apparently, 

 but there is no fruit; 4, Nephrole^^ds tuberosa ; 5, Onychium jiponicura; 

 6. Pteris scaberula. Such specimens— tips of fronds— are the worst you 

 could pend. iFiliT-mfis).—!, GLTaniun Golden Chain j 3, Pterie serrulata; 



4, Pteris hastata. (/f/«orani'/,'i).- It is a Moss, and one of the Hypnums^ 

 we think IT. splenden??. { /('. U. M). — 1, Litobrochia vesper til looitp 

 2, Onychium lucirtum ; 3, .\*p!pniutn compresr^uni ; 4, Nephrolepis tuberosa; 



5, Asplenium bulbift-rum ; 6, Nephrodium moHc eorymbiferum. {H.J.S,). 

 — 1 find 2. both Asplenium lanceolatuin. {yorhiton).—!, Pteris tremula; 

 2, Phtebodium ureolatum. Tue Apple is Lewis's liico.nparable. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



JOINT-STOCK POULTEY COMPANY. 



To say I entirely agree with your opinion and yet I differ, 

 seems a paradox which I will, however, satisfiiotorily explain 

 hereafter. I doubt not that, ha<:l I not been compelled by 

 cii-cumstances to notice yonr first leader on the above 

 subject, your subsequent remarks might probably have been 

 equally in harmony with ray views. It happens, however, 

 that you have been, and still are. publishing my " Ti'eatlso 

 on Poultry-keeping in a Commercial Point of View," which, 

 judging from the number of letters I have received since 

 the publication of your leader, requesting a prospectus 

 with a view to taking shares in the Company, seemingly 

 leads many persons to infer that I am the promoter of the 

 Company alluded to ia your article. I beg to inform your 

 readers that I have not the slightest knowledge of that 

 Company or its promoter. It is true that I have had offers 

 from many persons to take shares in a company which I 

 miglit form under the Limited Liability Act, to can^y oat my 

 system of poultry-keeping and egff-preserving ; but my 

 invariable answer has been, that if a company were pro- 

 moted by any other party I should bo happy to contribute 

 my experience and professional services to the success of the 

 undertaking, but that I could not afford to become its 

 promoter. 



Now, what I agree with you in is this : — That were a 

 company formed for poultry-keeping on a large scale 

 according to the prevailing system, it would prove a certain 

 failure, and this for the reasons you so justly point out in 

 your leader ; so far, therefore, I quite agree with you, and 

 aware of your great experience and knowledge in all that 

 relates to the advantages Joint-Stock Companies have con- 

 ferred on the farming interest, bj' executing drainage works 

 and building homesteads at a rental charge, by lotting 

 machinery on hire, by the manufacture of artificial manure, 

 &e., I doubt not that your subsequent remarks on the 

 joint-stock principle applied to poultry-breeding would 

 have been equally identical with my views. In the first 

 place, the Limited Liability Act, whicli has done more for 

 the prosperity of the country than any preceding Act, 

 although it has in many instances proved a limited and 

 determinate loss to shareholders, has yet been the means 

 of blessing us with the practical use of tliose admirable 

 inventions whicli add so much to our comfort, convenience, 

 security, and national prosperity, and which no private 

 persons, however vast their fortunes, could possiblj' have 

 carried out. In fact, the very essence of Limited Liability 

 is to assist improvements to be practically realised witliout 

 much individual risk. I have seen too many failures of 



