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JOURNAL OP HORTICTTLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. [ Febrnary 21, 1B«5. 



kowever, ' as many mistakes are made from thinking that 

 merely openings the surface of the soil to air. Is synony- 

 mous with letting the heat of the summer in. The very 

 reverse is the case, as we have proved over and over 

 :iE:ain by thermometers placed in the soil, the soil beneath 

 a hard gravel walk being warmer in summer than similar 

 soil at similar depths under soil nicely pulvijrised and turned 

 ;»t the surface. Of course, in wintei', the circumstances were 

 i-eversed. Wlien we surface-stir, and fork over borders in 

 summer, we would like it to be clearly understood, that it is 

 done for other purposes than giving an increased temperature 

 to the border, as that, and watering, too, unless with heated 

 water, vrill lower the temperature. We must thus often 

 lower the temperature, even when we wish to raise it. 



Partly on this account we would wish to direct prominent 

 attention to the article of Mr. Fowler, page 125, on the 

 ai-ration of borders. It will be observed that he increases 

 the heat of the border by letting the warm air of the day cir- 

 culate thi'ough it and beneath it, not by breaking up the 

 surface. Were we in a position to do new work, we cer- 

 tainly would keep such an article in mind. It may, perhaps, 

 be recollected that the most wonderful produce of the Bar- 

 barossa Grape, at the Under-Secretary's in the Phoenii 

 Park, Dublin, was from a Vine growing in a border aerated 

 very much as Jlr. Fowler describes. 



With regard to the last sentence of the Editors' answer to 

 •' WTEsroE," page 111, beginning thus — " Consolidating the 

 earth over the roots of fruit trees is one of the most fatal of 

 practices," with all due respect we have a suspicion that 

 there are two sides to the question here. We have seen 

 -ipricots gathered fi-om trees (and the whole of the space in 

 which the roots grew was either paved, pitched over, or 

 hard-gravelled over), such as we have never seen beaten from 

 a border with its surface nicely loosened. There generally 

 was a space of 18 or 24 inches square left exposed at the 

 bole of the tree, on which a pail of soapsuds could be poured 

 in summer; but even without tliat we have known such 

 trees produce heavily for many years, when all they could 

 •<btain in the way of humidity must have chiefly been from 

 absorbing the moisture from the suiTounding soil, rather 

 than that from the soil in which the roots were placed. 

 •Similar circumstances have been related by Mr. Beaton and 

 others, and we think also by ourselves. We presume the 

 :.^eat fruitfulness in such cases was owing to the thorough 

 perfecting of the wood, and the greater heat that the ground 

 obtained from the solid compact surface over the roots. 

 ^<nch facts, which may often be noticed, have led us to the 

 conclusion thit, in the case of some hardy but rather tender 

 iruits which seldom do well in cold situations, they should 

 have a trial 'ijy planting and training them thinly on a bank 

 .sloping to the south, the surface of the bank being made 

 firm by concreting or tarring, and merely openings left in 

 the soil for ci.in^ water when deemed necessary. If the 

 borders sh.n'd be a<-rat«d according to Mr. Fowler's plan so 

 much the better, but we anticipate great results alike from 

 the absorption, conduction, and reflection of heat. Would 

 .^ome of our young experimentalists give the matter a fair 

 trial? Many are trying their success with Mr. Eivers's 

 curate's vinery. When once the Vines are established let 

 it be tried what flagging or coacreting the surface would do, 

 instead of the slates, whic'i, if loose, keep the heat from the 

 ground. Of coune holes could be left for watering. We 

 shall have some f.iith in firm surfaces absorbing, conducting, 

 and reflecting heat, until the whole idea has been proved 

 wrong, and we make a present of it to our young friends to 

 try and experimentalise on a small scale, and then report 

 results. Eight or wrong, we have grounded many of our 

 jiractical .advices on such observed facts, such as counselling 

 the firm packing of soil in pots for fruiting plants, and the 

 attempt at least to establish the axioms " If you wish plants 

 to grow freely, keep the soil open ; if you wish them to flower 

 or fmit freely, keep the soil firm." At the same time no 

 theory should be ridden too hard, and there are plenty of 

 hardy orchard trees to which the remarks of our Editor.^ too 

 thoroughly apply ; but we have been alluding to fruit plants 

 rather too tender for our north'-rn climate, and where sun 

 heat must be ma/Ie the most of an an element of success. 



Dwarf Kiffju-ij Beatu. — Potted-off a lot, and sowed more 

 where there was a little heat for them. A fler this season 

 ercry hole and corner under glass will bo crammed, and the 



contest will be between the useful and the ornamental. 

 The above mode of transplanting is chiefly to be commended 

 for saving room, otherwise it would be less trouble and 

 labour to sow at once in pots or in beds, where they were 

 designed to perfect their produce. Wherever the cramming 

 system under glass has to be resorted to, making the 

 most of space is always attended with much additional 

 labour. For instance : these moveable boxes of Beans may 

 be sown anywhere under shelves or stages, where there is a 

 heat approaching 00". As soon as the Beans are up they 

 must be placed in a position where there is light, to prevent 

 them being drawn ; and as soon as the stem appears — that 

 is. when three leaves appear above the seed leaves — the 

 plants should be turned into pits, say at this season five 

 plants into an eight-inch pot, using rich light soil that has 

 previously been warmed. These pots may also stand close 

 together until the plants begin to incommode eich other, 

 when they must be thinned to perfect their produce ; most 

 room being needed just when the plants are in bloom. By 

 this means much room is saved until the plants approach 

 their full growth, but the labour is much increased. Just 

 think of the difference between sowing at once in pots and in 

 a bed of earth, and doing nothing more except watering and a 

 little syringing until the crop is gathered ; but then, thus 

 to save labour, much space and heating under glass are re- 

 quired. We have several times grown them economically 

 in a pit of six lights by sowing at once in the soil. The six 

 lights made three successions — sown at intervals of thi-ee 

 weeks. The seeds were placed in rows 2 feet apart, and 

 when well above ground were earthed up, so as to leave a 

 trench between them. When the first two lights came into 

 a bearing state, and had produced a little, seeds were sown 

 in the trench, and by the time they were up and needed 

 more room the first crop was removed, and so on with the 

 second and third division, adding a little leaf mould to the 

 second and third-crop sowing in the trench, before earthing 

 up with the soU in which the first crop grew. We have had 

 four successions in the same place by using manure water 

 and a little fresh soil to every crop. Thus in six lights we 

 have had from nine to twelve successions. It required a little 

 calculation to make sure of the succession crop being up and 

 needing more room as the first crop was becoming exhaust«d. 

 Sometimes, to continue the bearing as long as possible and 

 yet to give room to the succession crop, we have pruned the 

 wasted parts, cut off the older leaves, or run a string along 

 each side of the rows to confine them until the fruit was 

 obtained. 



This successional plan we found more profitable than any 

 doctoring of the old plants, so as to keep them on in a bear- 

 ing state. Aft«r May and June, if well treated with rich 

 soil and manure waterings, and closely picked, the same 

 plants will produce until frost destroy them ; but earlier, and 

 kept constantly under glass, the plants do not produce alike 

 continuously and profitably. Growing such in pits is gene- 

 rally bettor than placing them in forcing-houses, especially 

 after April, as after that time, if there is a thrips about the 

 place it will find its way to the Kidney Beans. In fact, it 

 is no bad plan to place a few plants in a vinery or Peach- 

 house as a sort of bait ; for if no thrips appear on a Kidney 

 Bean you may rest pretty certain that you have none in the 

 house. If they do appear the Beans should be taken out, 

 carrying the plant out as carefully as possible, so that not 

 a single insect sliould be shaken off. Whether in pits 

 or houses, syringing with clear soot water is a good thing 

 for keeping them clean. When they do become infested, the 

 washing and smoking that would ba necessary to clean 

 them would cost as much as the produce would be worth. 

 The most economical plan v.-ould be to take the bulk of the 

 produce, clean the place, lime and sulphur-wash all the 

 walls and woodwork, and smoke with a little burning sul- 

 phur, taking care that the fumes have access to nothing 

 that has life, or if the plants should be deciduous, that the 

 buds are dormant and the wood well ripened. 



AVe are thus particular as to these Beans, as we believe 

 that when grown under gla.ss the produce has a sweetness 

 and tenderness peculiarly their own. There is little dif- 

 ference in the dwarf kinds, but in general those that pro- 

 duce clean, not mottled, pods are the most liked, though 

 some of the latter are equally juicy and sweet. The small 

 Newington, when the pods are gathered about 2 inches or 



