April 2S 186S. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOKTIGULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



317 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



of 



M'ntb 



Week. 



.\PRIL 25-M4T 1, 1865. 



AveraRa Temperatare 

 near London. 



Rain in 



last 

 38 years. 



Sun 

 Rises. 



Sun Moon ; Moon 

 Sets. Klse3. | Sets. 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Clock 

 after 

 Sun. 



Day of 

 Year. 









Day. 



NiKht. 



Mean. 



Days, i m. h 



Tn. h. , m. h. ; ni> h. 





m. 8 





25 



Tu 



St. Mark. P. Locii op Hessk 



61.3 



37.3 



J8.3 



16 



45af4 



Ilaf7 ; 41 4 18 7 



• 



2 9 



115 



36 



W 



Wild Tulip flowers. , tJouN, 1813. 



6L7 



35.7 



48.7 



16 



43 4 



12 7 1 16 5 1 35 8 



1 



2 19 



lie 



27 



Th 



Strawberry flowers. 



58.3 



35.5 



46.9 



16 



41 4 



14 7 11 G i 45 9 



2 



2 29 



117 



28 



F 



Lilac flowers. 



62.2 



35 .S 



4i).0 



15 



39 4 



16 7 ; 51 G 45 10 



3 



2 38 



118 



29 



8 



Harebell flowers. 



62.8 



37.7 



50.2 



13 



37 4 



17 7 1 48 7 36 11 



4 



2 47 



119 



Si 



Sun 



2 .Sunday after Easter. 



G3.3 



30.8 



51.6 



IG 



36 4 



19 7 ; 43 S , morn. 5 



2 55 



120 



1 



M 



St. Philip & St. James. Prince 

 [Arthur Born, 1850. 



61.6 



39.5 



50.U 



13 



31 4 



21 7 52 9 . 11 6 



3 3 



121 



From obsprvationa taken near London during the last thirtr-eight years, the average day temperature of the week is fil.6° 



, and Its 



nisht 



tenioerature 



37.3=. The greatest heat was 81° oa the 2Slh, ISIO; and tb 



; lowest cold, IS', on the 29ih, 1361. The greatest fall of ram was | 



1.40 inch. 









1 



HAED WATEE, AJS^D CAN IT BE BEMEDIED." 



OMEWHAT singular it is 

 that amongst the many 

 inventions of late years 

 ■whieh liave for tlieir 

 object tlie utilisation of 

 substances hitlierto ac- 

 counted use'ess no one 

 lias presented us witli 

 a ready, efficacious, and 

 cheap mode of bringing 

 large quantities of hard 

 mineral water into the 

 soft and agreeable con- 

 dition in which we re- 

 ceive water direct from 

 the clouds. The increasing wants of the garden, parti- 

 cularly at a time when rain water is least plentiful, render 

 it often a matter of necessity to hare recourse to spring 

 water, and as this is not always of a kind agreeable to 

 vegetation, the inventive powers of some of our chemical 

 friends ought to devise a cheap and ready way of mating 

 it so, by the addition of some substance that would render 

 it more palatable to the plants to which it is administered. 

 We all know that certain well waters are next to poison 

 to some plants, whilst nearly all are far from grateful; 

 and as so much has been done of late to improve the 

 quality of water intended for domestic use, surely some- 

 thing could be done to improve that artificially supplied 

 to the vegetable world. It appears to be so much easier 

 to prepare a liquid .-uited to the requirements of plants 

 than one of sufficient purity for the wants of man, that 

 I should like to engage the attention of those gentlemen 

 who have devoted so much time and skill to the town- 

 sewage question to ascertain if they cannot give us some- 

 thing cheap and efficacious to mix with our chalky water, 

 to render it softer and more agreeable to plants, just as 

 the same kind of water is made fit for domestic purposes 

 by the addition of common soda. "We all know that 

 water so much charged with lime is all but fatal to a 

 very numerous and important class of plants — Heaths, 

 for instance — at the same time could not that lime be 

 precipitated and the fluid either rendered purer or 

 charged with something more in accordance with the 

 wants of the plants ? It is questionable whether even 

 those plants which grow naturally in a chalky soil would 

 not prefer water free from contamination, as there can 

 be no question but that Nature furnishes water in the 

 best possible condition for the requirements of vegetation, 

 and this water we all know is soft, pleasant, and instead 

 of being loaded with earthy or mineral substances, is 

 higlily charged with air, and, consequently, less dense 

 than the same liquid is in other circumstances. jN'ow, 

 though it would be difficult to apply water in the same 

 way that rain falls, assuredly water that is often used 

 might be much improved by being deprived of its inju- 

 rious ingredients, and having others suitable to the 

 wants of plants added. 



No. 213 — Vol. VIII, New Sertesi 



In calling attention to this subject I would by no 

 means impose any conditions, except that the substances 

 should be cheap, readily used, and adapted to all con- 

 ditions. Of course sonie knowledge of the character of 

 the water to be acted upon should exist, but even in this 

 let technicalities be dispensed with as far as possible, 

 and let the ingredients used be of such a nature as not 

 to be injurious to the bird^ or animals which may par- 

 take of the water. It cannot be expected that the same 

 treatment would answer with all kinds of water, but some 

 simple mode of testing tlie quality of the water might be 

 devised, and that being determined, the proper remedy 

 might be applied. Assuredly this may be accomplished, 

 for, though most likely the first attempts may prove 

 failures, greater difficulties have been overcome. 



It is not my purpose here to enter upon the subject of 

 watering plants which have been some time occupants of 

 the natural ground, as that is a matter that may properly 

 be left for another occasion, especially as there is much 

 doubt whether artificial watering under such circum- 

 stances is favourable or not. In the case of a large class 

 of plants, however, periodical waterings are the mainstay 

 of their existence, and as these waterings have to be often 

 repeated, the liquid supplied should be to their liking. 

 I need hardly say that potted plants are those most 

 aflected by this water question, and I hope our scientific 

 friends will be able to furnish a means by which the 

 use of a liquid both impure and injurious may be 

 obviated ; and if they succeed in this they will confer a 

 boon on the gardening world. — .T. Kobson. 



CROSS-BREEDING STEATrBKEBIES. 



In reply to what is observed at page 2S7, I suggested 

 President as a good Strawberry to cross La Constante 

 with because of its general excellence as a plant, and 

 also on account of the size of its berries. You could 

 not improve La Constante, except in those two particu- 

 lars. 1 imagine that it would be best to cross President 

 with the pollen of La Constante. I would try both 

 ways, because nature is fitful. Eugenie, "Wonderful, and 

 especially the Frogmore Late Pines, would, I think, be 

 good sorts to cross with the pollen of La Constante. I 

 would also try the reverse. La Constante is a very good 

 cropper. The land of " P." is just such land as I should 

 suppose it would do well in. The plant in such kind 

 receives moisture by capillary attraction, and the crop 

 wiU last longerrthan in our warmer lands. 



As regards cross-breeding, we can only proceed Wind- 

 fold, and hope for the best. Not one seedling in a 

 thousand is worth anything. 



In the same page I am astonished to see that Eliza 

 (Rivers) is a bad cropper, and shy to run. The converse 

 is the case here. It runs early and abundantly, is an 

 amazing cropper, and in various situations i" my garden 

 it always begins and ends the season. I sent Mr Eivers 

 and Mr. Turner 150 runners each, and I am about to send 

 Mr. Turner 100, or more, of the runners. I fancy I have 

 No 865.-VOI.. XXXm., Olb Series. 



