February 28, 1865. ] 



JOtJEXAL OF HOKTICTJLTTTEE AXD TCOTTAGE GAEDENEE 



179 



petuals, and Hybrid Perpetnals should have the strong 

 shoots shortened to within six or eight buds from the 

 bottom, removing all the small spray and cross branches and 

 spurs which have produced bloom last season, leaving the 

 shoots at regular distances. Hybrid China Eoses are so 

 impatient of the knife, that if pruned in the same manner 

 as recommended for the preceding classes they will scarcely 

 put forth a flower. The shoots ought by all means to be 

 left nearly their fuU length, merely cutting off the tips of 

 the slioots, and thinning some of them out where too thict. 

 The Sweet, Hybrid, and Austrian Briars should be pruned 

 in the same manner, and an abundance of bloom wiU be the 

 result. To have a succession of flowers of the summer va- 

 rieties it is only necessary to leave some trees unprtmed till 

 April, they will come in a fortnight later. In pruning cut 

 close to the bud, the wound will soon heal over. Commence 

 the pruning and nailing of Eoses and climbers against walls. 

 Complete all new work and improvements which have been 

 retarded by the severity of the weather. See that Hearts- 

 ease, Pinks, lie, in beds or borders are not thrown out of 

 the ground by the late frost. If they are loose fasten them. 

 Proceed with planting-out biennials as soon as the ground 

 is in a fit state, and prepare a little ground in a warm comer 

 for sowing Stocks and some of the best of the annuals for 

 transplanting. 



GEEENHOCSE A^T) COXSEEVATOET. 



Orange trees in tubs or pots should be carefully esamined 

 in order to ascertain, whether or not the roots are in a 

 healthy state, and those requiring more room should be 

 shifted at once. In many instances, however, it may not 

 be possible to afford large specimens a shift: in that case 

 remove as much of the surface soil as can be done without 

 injuring the roots, and replace it with a mixture of good 

 loamy turf, broken bones, decayed cowdung, and sand, and 

 see that the balls of the plants are in a moist healthy con- 

 dition. Manure water is of great service to Orange trees, 

 and may be applied freely at all seasons, particularly when 

 they are starting into growth. It is quite impossible to 

 use the syringe to advantage- in many conservatories, and 

 under such circumstances when the weather is favourable 

 the flowering plants should be removed to one end of the 

 house, and the twiners, &c., given a liberal washing with 

 the engine, which will also greatly assist in keeping the 

 glass clean. This should be done before the twiners start 

 into growth, as there will be no danger of injuring the tender 

 foliage while the plants are in a dormant state, .is the 

 season advances give more air to the houses. See that suit- 

 able composts are ready under cover for potting and sowing 

 seeds. Some of the hardwooded plants may now be pro- 

 pagated by cuttings where a gentle bottom heat can be 

 kept up. 



STOVE. 



Yotmg plants of Aphelandra, also of Poinsettia and Eu- 

 phorbia fulgens, raised from short cuttings now, and kept 

 growing in a cool part of the stove all the summer near the 

 glass, wiU make nice dwarf-flowering plants by winter. The 

 cuttings are to be rooted in moist heat. Many of the Justicias, 

 Eranthemuni pulcheUum, and some of the Begonias may be 

 treated in a similar manner; and aU these wiU be found 

 exceedingly ornamental in the winter months. Eranthe- 

 mum pulcheUum has fine blue flowers, those of Justicia 

 flavicoma (or Calytricha) are yellow. Begonia Martiana is 

 deep rose pink, and the Euphorbia fulgens, Poinsettia ptil- 

 cherrima, and Aphelandra cristata and aurantiaca are of 

 various shades of red and scarlet. 



DtrXG-PIT. 



Of all the plants which delight in dung heat there are 

 none which are so much at home in it as Clerodendrons and 

 Ixias, and hence some nice stocky plants of each should be 

 I>otted and placed under its influence at once. The former 

 delight in a free open soU, consisting of loam, peat, and 

 leaf mould, with a little rotten cow-dung and sUver sand ; 

 and the Ixoras in pure turfy peat^ with charcoal and gritty 

 sand. If the plants are well rooted, give a liberal shift, 

 but do not overdo them. In addition to these plants may 

 be named Dipladenia splendens, Ciytoceras reflexum, Alla- 

 manda cathartica and A. grandiflora, Luculia gratissima 

 and Pinoiana, Gardenias, Schubertia graveolens, Stepha- 

 notis, &c., and such soft wooded plants as Gesneras, and 



Achimenes. In the management of the pit keep a fine 

 growing heat of from 60° to 70°. Shut up early in the 

 afternoon, but open the sashes a little before leaving for 

 the night. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Sow seeds of Mignonette, Ten-week Stocks, Cockscombs, 

 Balsams, and many tender and half-hardy annuals. — "W. 

 Keaxe. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAEDEN. 



Out of doors much as in previous weeks, the ground being 

 too hard up to Thiu'sday night to attempt doing anything. 

 On "Wednesday and Thursday we uncovered Cauliflowers, 

 Eadishes, Lettuces, Endive, &c., that were merely protected 

 from the frost, and had been covered for eight or ten 

 days. Peas on turves. Beans, &.C., placed between rows of 

 Potatoes in frames, were uncovered oftener, as the little 

 heat below them would otherwise have caused them to spindle 

 weak. Wednesday and Thursday were good days for un- 

 coveilng what had been a long time covered, as though the 

 air was mild, there was no sun, and the plants would be 

 gradually inured to the light. After being covered a long 

 time — say a fortnight or a month, it is as well not to give 

 them bright sun all at once. Extremes of all kinds should 

 be avoided. Young Cucumbers in frames, with little be- 

 low them except tree leaves, are slightly drawn, as in the 

 severe weather we could give them little air, and could only 

 uncover part of the glass opposite the plants without re- 

 ducing the temperature rather much. A few of these mild 

 days with a little sun, will make them aU right. Sowed a 

 few more ; it is always advisable to keep a few plants for 

 succession. 



Put up another bed for Cucumbers, to be in readiness, 

 making the bottom of half-sweetened dung and leaves, and 

 the top of sweet leaves. This is making the most of the 

 material, the rank steam will become sweet enough before 

 it passes through the leaves. "We scai'cely ever turn over a 

 heap of fermenting material several times in the old- 

 fashioned way, as that would lessen our limited supply, and 

 send a great quantity of heat into the open air, which we 

 would lie to be used in giving some things a fair start. 

 We also use few leaves in a heap of dung until the dung 

 is heating and fermenting freely, as too much heat from the 

 dung would waste the leaves ; but in all cases where this 

 rough-and-ready mode is followed, care must be taken to 

 have 1 foot or 15 inches of thoroughly sweet fermenting 

 matter over the surface of the bed. Such beds, made of ma- 

 terial not too much decomposed, keep up a more regular heat, 

 and for a much longer time, than from dung and general 

 fermenting material too much decomposed. We make it a 

 rule, however, to make our beds wide enough to be able to 

 bank up the outside of our fr-ames almost to the top, so that 

 the heat of the enclosed atmosphere is a good deal derived 

 from the boards or wall inside, instead of having to pass 

 through the soU, &e., first, which gives some chance of burn- 

 ing the roots. This banking-up and protecting the outside 

 of the bed with long Utter or branches, renders fresh linings 

 of little importance untU the season is weU advanced. 



Here, on the quesiion of Linings, we would with all due 

 respect, say a word on pigeon-holed waUs for pits for forcing, 

 in reference to the answer to "Deomio," page 137. No 

 doubt pigeon-holes are very useful, but when they are 

 present, one of two things must be attended to — either the 

 fermenting material for the linings must be sweetened 

 before using it, or care must be taken that no steam from 

 such linings can pass into the atmosphere, where Cucum- 

 bers, Melons, or other tender plants are grown. The latter 

 may be done, either by having a sectire-floored chamber 

 beneath the bed, or flues, on the McPhaU system, or by 

 keeping the soU. of the bed firmly secured against the walls 

 above the height of the pigeon-holes. What we wish to say, 

 however, is chiefly this, that several times we have wrought 

 pits with soUd walls by linings with very great advantage, 

 and with great economy as to preparing the dung for other 

 beds and frames. 



One advantage of the soUd-waU system is, that if you use 

 ordinary care in giving aii-, no deleterious steam can pass 

 into the place. In one case, inside, we made a nice Uttle bed 



