May 2, 1865.'] 



JOUKNAIi OF HORTIOULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



S47 



weakly. It should be remembered that when a plant flowers 

 profusely its posvers are much weakened, and a lapse of 

 time after blooming, longer or shorter, according to the 

 habit of the plant is necessary to enable it to recover its 

 exhausted energies previous to forming a new growth. 



STOVE. 



Attend to the stopping and training of the plants, and 

 afford free-growing subjects plenty of pot-room. Achimenes 

 and Gloxinias filling their pots with roots 'nill enjoy an occa- 

 sional watering with weak liquid manure. Very little fire 

 heat wiU now be sufficient if the practice of shutting up 

 early in the afternoon is adopted. Proceed with the re- 

 potting of Orchids as they may require it. Do not use the 

 syringe too freely among those starting into growth, but 

 keep the atmosphere thoroughly moist. See that the speci- 

 mens on blocks and in baskets are not allowed to suffer for 

 want of water. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Push forward late-propagated stock, and endeavour to 

 keep the whole growing on slowly. The plants to be ex- 

 posed to the weather as fi-eely as circumstances will admit, 

 but this should be done by degrees, and never to the extent 

 of browning the foliage and di-ying up the tissues, and they 

 should never be allowed to suffijr from want of water. — 

 W. Keake. 



DOLN'GS OF THE LAST WEEK. 

 Such a week of dog-day weather, a broiling sun, with a 

 north wind, the temperature daring the day reminding one 

 of July rather than April. Where no shading was used, the 

 demands on the water-pail were almost incessant. Straw- 

 berries ripening fast, with their pots in turf or moss, re- 

 quiring water two or three times a-day. Pears and Plums 

 are now in blossom, and Apples are swelling to the opening 

 of their buds. Earnestly do we hope that we shall not have 

 a cold, dreary, frosty May, after such a brilliant April. A 

 few warm showers will make aU kinds of vegetation proceed 

 amazingly. "Without such showers we shall soou begin to 

 cry out about water. Many things that had to be densely 

 shaded, and even covered up with litter last season, have 

 done better than we could have expected. Such seasons as 

 the last, and as this at present seems to prognosticate, 

 whUst in no way rendering it less desirable to drain gardens 

 and fields, show also the importance of retaining a good 

 portion of that water in pool, pond, or reservoir, before the 

 excess finds its way to ditch or rivulet. 



KITCHEN GAKDEN. 



Ean the hoe through all growing crops, as Cabbages, Cau- 

 liflowers, Onions, Carrots, Asparagus, Sea-kale, &c. Onions 

 and Carrots were rolled with a light wooden roller a week 

 ago. A firm surface makes them tuber and bulb better. 

 Then in a week the spaces between the rows should be 

 run over with the Dutch hoe, which will not only leave a 

 rough surface, but kill every invisible weed. We like to 

 defer this surface-scratching until the ground is pretty well 

 heated, for reasons several times given. We wish our youno' 

 friends to bear in mind, that as respects freedom from weeds 

 one scuffle with the Dutch hoe will do more good in such 

 weather as we have had lately, in one hour, than hand- 

 weeding could accomplish in a day or two. In fact, much 

 hand-weeding speaks of one of two things, either great de- 

 ficiency of labour power, or great want of systematic ma- 

 nagement. 



Sowed Eadishes, Turnips, and Spinach. Will transplant 

 some winter Onions presently, we find they do best traris- 

 plauted, merely fastening the roots, not any of the neck in 

 the ground. Sowed a part of the Beet and Salsafy, and will 

 net-cover the former, as last season the birds did not leave 

 a seedling after the red leaves showed above ground. The 

 transplanted crop did beautifully, perhaps all the better 

 that the roots were not very large. We hope that by netting 

 we may dispense with the trouble of transplanting. Why 

 IS it that Salsafy and Scorzonera arS not more generally 

 served up at table ? Good roots are tender and delicious 

 when well boiled. A few of these Beets and Salsafy will 

 most likely run to seed, and, therefore, another sowing should 

 be made about the middle of May. The best way to secure 

 fine roots is to trench deeply, and to have the richest soil at - 



the bottom, and the poorest at the top. Have it all rich or 

 the richest at the top, and the roots most likely will come 

 like fingers and toes, instead of in one straight root. 



Divided and planted Ehubarb and Sea-kale that had been 

 forced. W.atered Cauliflowers under glasses, earthed them, 

 up by cutting a trench between the rows of glasses, and 

 then, leaving the plants in a basin as it were, the glasses 

 were set on the top of the ridge to give protection at 

 night until they must be removed to give the plants full 

 room. We find ours will come in as soon as we want them. 

 The finest Broccoli, however, is deficient in delicacy after 

 a nice little firm CauUfiower. Watered the first transplanted 

 with manure water; removed the laurel twigs set among 

 them, and slightly forked up the ground, as it is now hot 

 enough to cause them to grow with great luxuriance, and 

 we want to keep moisture in until we see how we shall be 

 supplied from the heavens. The leafy twigs were just suited 

 for placing near the plants of a fresh-planted succession, 

 doing them more good by the shade than lots of cold water- 

 ings. Pricked-out younger plants for planting out three 

 weeks or a fortnight hence. In ordinary seasons the Cauli- 

 flower is all the better of a little shade from May to Sep- 

 tember, and therefore it is a good plan to have Peas, say 

 10 feet apart, and three or four rows of Broccoli between. 

 Watered with house sewage what Cabbages we could, and 

 their appearance next morning showed how much they liked 

 it. Scattered a little wood ashes and soot over the seed- 

 lings of the Winter Greens, Broccoli, &c., merely as a pre- 

 caution, as few slugs or snails can be seen as yet. The only 

 signs of a trail we have yet found were on a Mushroom- 

 bed, where a few holes had been made in some buttons. 

 Celery. — We notice by the market report that Celery makes 

 a good price. We had grown several kinds of lied, but 

 none stood the winter with us equal to the little Incom- 

 parable White. We have scarcely lost a head of it, and we 

 are told that not one was run. We took it up some time 

 ago to make way for Onions, and set it with fair balls and 

 a little water to the roots in a heap of ashes, sifted from the 

 furnaces, in a shady place ; and though the heads are now 

 smaller when dressed for the table, they are very sweet and 

 nice, and showing as yet no signs of bolting. For general 

 work see last week. 



EETJIT GAEDEN. 



Ean the hoe through Strawierry quarters, so as to kiU all 

 weeds, seen and unseen. Did the same among Gooseberries, 

 Currants, Easpberries, &c. The Strawberries are beginning 

 to show their flower- trusses, and notwithstanding the dryness 

 of the past season, we think there will be plenty of bloom, 

 so far as we have examined. We have a lot of forced ones 

 done bearing, which we shall plant out as soon as we can 

 get at them. We shall also take up and pot a lot of last 

 autumn's young plants pricked out in a border, so as to keep 

 us going before there is plenty in the open air. Of course, 

 we shall select those plants only that are showing bloom. 

 Of these we shall most likely put two or three plants in a 

 seven or eight-inch pot, and plunge these pots in a bed of 

 leaves, with a little bottom heat, and perhaps stick a few 

 branches of trees among them to break the force of the 

 sun's rays. This outside hotbed, uncovered with glass, wi^i 

 soon cause the pots to be crammed with roots, even before 

 the plants come into bloom, and then the pots may be set 

 in any suitable place. This is a plan we used to adopt 

 rather largely at one time for plants to use after April. For 

 early forcing the plants must be prepared in the previous 

 season. This season our first crop had more blind ones 

 than usual, afterwards they have been very good. As a 

 whole, we prefer the runners of one season for fruiting the 

 next, but last season owing to the dryness we could not get 

 runners forward enough, and we used a number of plants 

 that had been taken up as little extra runners in September, 

 pricked out in a border, and taken up and potted in the 

 following July, and these have produced abundance of good 

 fruit. With such plants, and even older ones, our previous 

 experience would have led us to expect an abundant crop; 

 but from the younger ones we generally obtained the finer 

 fi-uit. The difficulty now is to obtain suitable places for 

 them (see last week), which causes us just now to make our 

 Peach-house a Strawberry-house. We hope to have the 

 most of the pots out before the Peaches want aU the sun for 

 colouring and flavour, and the ripening of the wood. The 



