March 7, 1865.5 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



197 



shoota of CameUiaa that are taking the lead on those plants 

 whose blooming season is over, and endeavour to keep a 

 imiform- growth both of wood and blossom-buds for the 

 ensuing year. Ericas to be top-dressed or repotted. Com- 

 mence syringing on a fine morning such plants as are freely 

 making their growth, and those that have lately finished 

 flowering. Ti'opaiolums will reqiiu-e attention. Pelargo- 

 niums and Calceolarias will requii-e increased pot room. 

 Apply tepid clarified manure water to those well established 

 in then- pots, if healthy and showing fiowers. Do not omit 

 slight but frequent smokings of tobacco. Fuchsias for 

 general decoration, or as single specimens on grass, should 

 be brought forth from their hiding places without delay, 

 and introduced, if there be room, to a warm end of the 

 greenhouse. Those who have bottom heat to spare, and 

 desire very large specimens, may select some of the best 

 plants, disroot, and repot them, and plunge them in a bottom 

 heat of 75°. 



STOVE, 



Some of the plants which have been blooming for many 

 weeks, and which are exhausted, should be cut back — such 

 as Euphorbia jacquiuiisflora, Gesnera lateritia, Geissomeria 

 longiflora, Eranthemum pulchellum, Justioia salicina, Linum 

 trigynum, Poinsettia pulcherrima, &c. The plants of Poiu- 

 settia. Euphorbia, Clerodendron, Aphelandra, Gesnera, &c., 

 that have previously been cut down, and are now breaking, 

 should be shaken out and repotted in good fibrous turfy 

 loam, coarse sand, and a portion of charcoal. Prick off care- 

 fully into small pots as they appear in the store-pans or 

 pots the various kinds of Achimenes, and put in another 

 batch, likewise various Gloxinias, they delight in a mo- 

 derate bottom heat at this season. Continue to increase 

 the heat and humidity in the case of Orchids, and see that 

 plants of Gongoras, Stanhopeas, and some of the beautiful 

 Dendrobiums that are now making their season's growth, 

 are not suffering from want of sufficient moisture. It is 

 sometimes found essential to soak them once or twice in a 

 tub of tepi''. water, and if a portion of clear cowdung water 

 is added thereto it will do much good. Syringe carefully 

 about the blocks and baskets that have plants of Vanda, 

 Saocolabiums, Sarcanthns, &c., growing or adhering to them. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Those who have not as yet attended to the propagation of 

 plants for bedding-out must now begin with aU possible 

 speed to put in cuttings of Salvias, Petunias, Fuchsias, 

 Verbenas, and Scarlet Geraniums, so as to have good plants 

 for bedding-out in May. Pay attention to watering and 

 topping back weak and straggling shoots, so as to form 

 robust, bushy plants. Dahlias should be started. — W. 

 Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN OAEDEN. 



Outside, the ground is stiU too wet to permit of much 

 being done. Put more Ehubarb and Sea-kale in Mushroom- 

 house, and cleared Mushroom-beds. Eaised heel intended 

 for Cucumlers under a frame. Our frames are shallow, 

 some 10 inches in front and 16 inches at back. We raise 

 the bed high enough at the back to give pretty well 2 feet 

 of a slope to the front of the frame, and our boxes being so 

 shallow we make a trench in the middle of the bed from 

 26 to 30 inches wide and 16 inches deep for soil, placing an 

 old slab back and front. This trench pi-events any likeli- 

 hood of bm-ning the roots from a too violent heat beneath, 

 the confining the roots by the boards prevents too much 

 luxiu'iance of growth, the heated leaves close to the boards 

 give plenty of heat to the soil, the packing some earth close 

 to the sides of the frame prevents steam passing in from 

 linings, and as the frame sinks with the bed there is no 

 necessity for regulating the height of the plants from the 

 glass, as the soil on which they are trained and grown is 

 just of the right height for the foliage. We thus escape all 

 the trouble of frequent earthiug-up, merely giving a little 

 rich top-dressing when there is any sign of deficiency of 

 vigour. Though wood is a bad conductor, stOl it does con- 

 duct heat; and making the bed wide enough at first to 

 permit of banking-up to the top of the frame, or nearly so, 

 secures a dry heat against the boards for the atmosphere of 



the house which can be made moist at will by dewing the 

 boards. After trying many modes we follow the above when 

 we can, as being on the whole the most economical as re- 

 spects time, labour, and material. 



Thinned Lettuce among Eadishes, which latter are now 

 coming in nicely. Gave plenty of air to those in Carrot-bed, 

 just above the ground, to prevent their coming with long 

 necks. Watered with manure water strong Cauliflower in 

 pots in orchard-house. Sowed Cauliflower, a pinch of Cab- 

 bages, and Celery in mild hotbed. Stu'red up the soil 

 among Cauliflowers under hand-lights, exposed the heads of 

 Celery in beds to prevent rotting. Do not think we have 

 had half a dozen of run or rotten heads as yet, and the 

 heads are very sweet notwithstanding the dry weather and 

 no water to which they were subjected. Bat for the shading 

 with evergreen branches, it would have been aU up with 

 them. Prepared, also, a three-light end of a pit for Cucum- 

 bers, where they can^ have hot water. This is all very well 

 where fuel is cheap ; but if we did not manage to raise some 

 beds under frames, &c., even with tree leaves chiefly, we do 

 not know what we should do for dressings for the kitchen 

 and flower garden. 



PEUIT GAKDEN. 



Continued work very much the same as last week. Pruned 

 out of doors in suitable weather; daubed with lime, soot, 

 and anything nasty, to keep off birds from buds. Owing to 

 the snow and frost, we were privileged with clouds of 

 larks, that did us little harm except stripping, as if with a 

 cutting iron, the outer leaves of Broccoli, &c., leaving the 

 hearts mostly untouched. Partridges, now pairing, did 

 the same office for us in the very cold weather. They and 

 pheasants are sometimes troublesome enough, but they are 

 nothing to the four-footed intruders in the shape of hares 

 and rabbits. Even in their case the gardener, in general, 

 where game is an object, should try every deterrent method, 

 without resorting to the gun. The report not only breaks 

 in on the peacefulness that should pervade a garden, but 

 the passion is so apt to grow from what it feeds on, that 

 not a few most estimable men as gardeners have got into 

 great trouble from becoming too fond of shooting. We 

 should never forget that, though it is praiseworthy to be 

 anxious for the well-being of all under our charge, the 

 gamekeeper ought to be equally anxious about the safety 

 of his j>roUges. Where pheasants are numerous, wire 

 guards may be necessary for Peas, before they are 4 inches 

 in height. After they are staked, partridges and pheasants 

 wiLl do them less harm ; but then the sparrows will come 

 like locusts, and rip up the pods you want to send to table. 

 Bat-folding among the shrubs would thin these birds now. 

 Small threads, either white or black, run among dwarf trees 

 and bushes, wiU help to keep them firom the buds ; and such 

 threads, run along with little pegs a few inches — say 3 at 

 first — above rows of seeds, wiU. also keep them off. We 

 thus saved most seeds last season, except Beetroot, Prince's 

 Feather, and Love-lies-bleeding. The red seed-leaves of 

 these things seem to be an irresistible attraction. It is 

 best to sow them, in such cu'cumstances, where protected, 

 and transplant when a good size. 



We have seen no more, as yet, of our enemy the brown 

 beetle in the Peach-house, though we have looked anxiously 

 for him every day. A few Black Prince Strawb^ries have 

 been very fair for flavour, but, if they had Uttle sun, they 

 had plenty of air. The bulk of plants are much smaller 

 than usual, and the Keens' do not come so generally good 

 as usual, some pots showing little or none. The next lot 

 will likely be better. We fear the buds of some were 

 starved last summer and autumn before the rains came. 

 We are now obtaining good reservoirs of water, and hope we 

 shall never again have to pack plants behind sheds and in 

 thick woods, merely that they may be shaded, and thus kept 

 alive, whereas in the sun they would have been dried up and 

 killed outright. The Black Prince Strawberry plants have 

 hardly had a miss in a single pot. Of course all pots that 

 do not show bloom should be turned out at once. In all 

 early forcing we generally used to reckon on something like 

 five per cent, of blind pots, but our early Keens' will be 

 beyond that this year. Succession crops generally come 

 with few or no failures. From several private communica- 

 tions, let us again urge on our friends not to plunge esta- 

 blished pots in a hotbed before taking them into a house 



