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JOXJKNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENEK. 



[ Anril 4, 18M. 



earlier than our own, and being grown naturally is finen 

 than our forced. Having a warmer climate it grows quicker, 

 and it cannot but be more tender than ours. 



Mr. Watson need not suppose me to be a professional 

 horticulturists, but make sure of it. I have made my 

 way in a garden since I was twelve years of ago, having 

 learnt from nature more than I ever did from man, and 

 having gleaned a fact noted it. — G. Abbet. 



WINDOW GARDENING FOE THE WOEKIXG 



CLASSES. 



O's Tuesday evening last a lecture on window-gardening 

 was delivered by W. S. Bosanquet, Esq., to a very crowded 

 audience of the working classes in St. Margaret's School- 

 room, "Westminster. The chair was occupied by Vice- 

 Chancellor Sir W. Page Wood. After a few introductory 

 words from the Chairman, Mr. Bosanquet commenced his 

 lecture, which was sustained throughout by a fluent and 

 graceful delivery on the part of the lecturer, and listened 

 to with breathless attention by the large audience, who 

 appeared to drink in every word as it fell from the speaker, 

 testifying in no unmistakeable way their interest in the 

 subject. Mr. Bosanquet having expatiated on the advan- 

 tages derived from the cultivation of flowers — its soothing 

 and humanising influences on the mind, and its sure indi- 

 cation of a cheerful and well-ordered household, he proceeded 

 to inform his audience of the great Show that is to take 

 place in the garden of the Eoyal Horticultural Society at 

 South Kensington on the 10th of July, to which an invita- 

 tion has been sent to every parish in the metropolis 

 to compete for prizes ofi'ered by the Society. He urged upon 

 his hearers not to be discouraged because they might fancy 

 that somebody else would be there with something that would 

 beat theirs. If they did so they could never expect to attain 

 to any degree of perfection in the cultivation of flowers ; but 

 their object should be to do their best, and concentrate 

 all thefr attention on some common and easily cultivated 

 flower which they found would succeed in the locality where 

 they lived. It was not the rare and costly exotic that would 

 take the prize that day, but a carefully-tended Fuchsia or 

 Geranium, or some such flower. 



The lecturer then went into the subject of cultivation, and 

 laid before his audience very clearly and simply the practice 

 they must follow for the successful growth of window plants. 

 He began first with the flower-pot, and told them the first 

 thing to be attended to was to see that the pot was perfectly 

 clean, for flowers loved cleanliness as well as they did or 

 ought to do ; and the next was to see that there was suffi- 

 cient drainage to the pots, for that was another condition 

 that plants liked as well as human beings did. Then some 

 very sound instruction on watering was given, instruction 

 that many who consider they know something about the 

 growth of flowers might derive advantage from. The maxim 

 impressed upon them was never to give water unless the plant 

 wanted it, and then to give abundantly. The plant never 

 fails to give indication when it is athirst ; the soil on the 

 surface of the pots becomes dry, or partially so, and the 

 leaves begin to hang down, and their cry for water is as loud, 

 if we could hear it, as would be the cry of any individual in 

 the audience if they too were in want. Then cleanliness was 

 mgently brought before them. Mr. Bosanquet showed that 

 plaktB could no more continue to live and to thrive if their 

 leaves were covered with dust and dirt than could human 

 beings if their mouths were stopped with putty. It behove 

 them, therefore, to Bee that the leaves of their plants were 

 keptptrffctly clean by being either sprinkled with water or 

 cleaned with a sponge. Then air was an indispensable re- 

 quisite to plants, but care should be taken in giving air to 

 plants in rooms not to keej) them in a draught. The door 

 and window should never both be open at the same time, for 

 that was another point in which plants resembled them- 

 •elves — they could not exist in a draught. 



At the conclusion of the lecture several of the audience 

 put questio^i!, asking information on some details connected 

 with the cultivation of plants in rooms and windows, wliich 

 showed the strong desire they had to make themselves 

 acquainted with the subject. Before the meeting separated 

 the Vice-Chancellor made an application of the subject in a 

 religious point of view, and reminded the audience of the 



pai-able of the sower, which our Saviour delivered to his dis- 

 ciples, and after an impressive exhortation to the audience 

 the meeting separated. 



VINE-BOEDEE ON A CLAY SOIL. 



I AM about to erect a vinery on a site where I am obliged 

 to flll up to the depth of 4 feet for both house and border. 

 The foundation is stiff clay, and I want to keep my Vine' 

 roots out of tlie clay. Would it be preferable to flll up the 

 4 feet with rough clinkers and cinders from a factory furnace, 

 and make my border on this ; or would you flU up with clay^ 

 and concrete above, and then make the border ? If so, how 

 am I to proceed, as I am ignorant of the process and ma- 

 terial used for concreting? The border will be 34 yards 

 by 4 yai-ds, the size of the house. — T. 



[In such a case we would prefer filling up 18 or 24 inches 

 with clinkers, on these place some 2 or 3 inches of the finer 

 clinkers and ashes, beat and roll well, so as to have a firm 

 surface, and if not firm enough without, place a little of the 

 clay among them at the surface. On this place 3 or 4 inches 

 of concrete, made by mixing together three barrowloads of the 

 roughest small cinders, three of rough pebbly sandy gravel, 

 and one of quickUme, working it up quickly with just enough 

 of water, and laying it down, smoothing it, and then rolling 

 it, when it will become very hard. On that place about 

 15 or 18 inches of clinkers, and then 20 or 24 inches of soil. 

 Have a drain below the concrete in front. We advise the 

 above to prevent the roots going down through such a 

 depth of clinkers.] 



FEOGS DESTEOYEES OF WOODLICE. 



Inquieies are often made for the best mode of destroying 

 woodlice. I have never seen the employment of froga ad- 

 vocated. They are quite as useful as toads, and more 

 easily procured. They should be supplied with water, and 

 unless food is abundant, should be occasionally fed with 

 worms. Some of my poor frogs were starved for want of 

 this knowledge. — B. A. 



TEIOMPHE DE EENNES AND OTHEE EOSES. 



Mat I ask Mr. Radclyffe what stock his Triomphe de 

 Eennes Eoses are on ? I cannot make it gi-ow at all. It 

 scarcely exists her( . As soon as a shoot is made and has 

 pretty well run its length, down fall all the leaves. I think 

 I understood Mr. Cant, that he found it difficult to succeed 

 though, I think he said, with Mr. Hedge, it flourishes ad- 

 mirably. Mr. EadclyfFo speaks highly of Due de Kohan 

 and General Washington. Now, out of doors the former 

 does not open one bud in twenty here, and neither in nor out 

 of doors can I obtain one bloom in flfty of General Washing- 

 ton fit to look at; in fact, I shaU throw both away after this 

 summer, unless they do better than they have hitherto 

 done. — P. 



[Triomphe de Kennes, many trees, are on the Briar, and 

 also on Manetti. It is an excellent doer. It is never out of 

 bloom. It never has a blind end, or a defective bloom. The 

 whole frontage of my house is lined with these excellent, 

 ever-blooming, yellow Eoses — namely, Solfaterre, Gloiro de 

 Dijon, Triomphe de Kennes, Celine Forestier, and MdUe. 

 Aristide, the last is chiefly an ornamental Koso. A south 

 wall is best for Triomphe de Kennes, but I have successful 

 plants in advance of, and also against, a west wall. I have 

 also most successful plants of it in my north-oast garden, 

 unprotected, on the Manetti stock. It does there equally 

 well with Gloire de Dijon. All down my south fruit wall, I 

 have trees of Gloire de Dijon, Triomphe de Eennes, and 

 Celine Forestier. I have no better trees, and am never at 

 any jmrt of the season, beginning in May, till frost and 

 snow set in, without a profusion of these noble yellow Koses. 

 Triomphe de Eennes, on the Manetti, is all heights, from 

 to 12 feet high. It rarely suffers from mildew or blight. 

 Taking all points into consideration, I believe it to bo the 

 best yellow Kose in existence. It is of the best quality, 

 and if shaded, of a fine golden yellow. " P.'s " land ia strong 

 and cold. He must lighten his soil with loaves, ashes, or 

 heath soil, and then Triomphe de Eennes will go a-head. 

 Such trees require little pruning) rich soil, free drainage. 



