May 30, 1865. ] 



JOTTENAL OF HORTICULTUEE XND COTTAaE GAEDENEB. 



419 



get damp and mouldy, which will rot the Mushrooms. Po- 

 tatoes, take the first opportunity of earthing-up all that are 

 sufficiently forward, the others to be hoed between, to loosen 

 the earth and to destroy the weeds. Tui-nips, make a good 

 sowing for early autumn use. Thin-out the advancing crops. 

 Veget<3>le Marrow, plant out this vei-y useful vegetable on a 

 rich piece of ground, where there is plenty of room for it to 

 grow. 



PRDIT GAKDEN. 



Activity must zow be exercised in this department, as the 

 rapid growth of the trees will require constant attention 

 in stopping, removing superfluous shoots, and nailing-in. 

 Peaches may now have their final disbudding. Let every 

 shoot not required be removed with a sharp knife, and the 

 remainder carefuUy nailed-in. Give the fruit a moderate 

 thinning, but leave more than will eventually be required, 

 as a portion will probably fall oif in stoning. Apricots to be 

 thinned with the same discretion. Keep the lateral shoots 

 of Vines closely stopped at the fii-st joint. Strawberi^-beds 

 may soon require attention as to watering should the weather 

 become dry. After thoroughly clearing the beds, an effectual 

 soaMng should be given, and if a moderate watering from 

 the stable tank can be supplied when the ground has been 

 well saturated with clean water, it wDl greatly assist in 

 securing large fruit. The beds should be mulched as soon 

 after watering as convenient, in order to prevent evaporation 

 and the fruit from being soiled. ]S"ext to slates or tiles clean 

 straw is the best material for this purpose. The mowings 

 of lawns ai-e sometimes used, but this material is objection- 

 able, as it forms an excellent harbour for slugs, soils the 

 fruitj and spoils its flavour. 



FLOWEE GAEDEN. 



The weather during the past week has been all that could 

 be dssired for present operations. Verbenas and Petunias 

 when turned out into their summer quarters should have 

 the shoots pegged down, the benefit of Uttle basins round 

 the plants will be readily seen, if the weather become hot 

 and dry. Heliotropes and tender annuals may now be 

 planted' out with safety. Attend to staking Carnations and 

 Pinks as they grow, this will greatly improve their appear- 

 ance when in bloom. All annuals to be thinned out as soon 

 as they are well above ground, for if left to grow too thickly 

 they spoQ one another. The early-flowering bulbs, as Tulips, 

 Hyacinths, Turban Eanunculuses, &.C., should not be left in 

 the ground after the decay of the foliage, as if wet weather 

 occurs they wiU be making fresh roots, which weakens them 

 for next season. The Pceonies, Phloxes, Delphiniums, Lysi- 

 machias, and other tall herbaceous plants must be properly 

 staked. 



GBEENHOTJSE AUD OOSTSEKVATOKT. 



The early-forced Camellias now showing bud may shortly 

 be placed out of doors. A shady border is frequently re- 

 sorted to. We would, however, place them facing the sun, 

 and provide a light canvass screen to throw over them. All 

 young or other stock growing on for specimens of high cul- 

 tivation must now have much room. Let it be a rule that 

 no two specimens touch. Weed out all rough, exhausted, or 

 inferior plants Very young stock of Ericas, Epacrises, and 

 small fancy New Holland plants will be best in a pit or 

 frame, placing the lights to the north. Pinch off the decay- 

 ing blossoms of hybrid Ehododendrons, give liquid manure, 

 and, if wanted for early work, endeavour to force them 

 slightly into wood. Get some young Thuubergias put into 

 their final pots for trellising. Look to the runners of the 

 tree Violet, and also the Neapolitan, and do not delay any 

 longer with the Chrysanthemums. Attend to plants for 

 autumn and early winter decoration, such as Japan Lilies, 

 scarlet Salvias, tree Carnations, and things of that sort. Give 

 plenty of pot room, good rich compost, a moist atmosphere, 

 and plenty of space for the proper development of the 

 branches and leaves. The atmosphere of plant-houses can 

 scarcely be kept too moist at this season, therefore, sprinkle 

 every available surface frequently, and syringe growing 

 stock lightly twice a-day during bright weather. Go over 

 twiners frequently, and regulate their growth before the 

 shoots become entangled, but avoid keeping them tied too 

 closely, for they are never seen to advantage unless they are 

 allowed to hang in a natural and graoefcd manner. 



PITS AKD FKAIIES. 



Toung stock in pits and frames will soon be making rapid , 



growth, and must be carefully attended to as to watering, 

 stopping, training, &c. Examine Heaths frequently for m2- 

 dew, and apply sulphur the moment it is perceived, some 

 of the soft-leaved varieties being very liable to be attacked 

 by that pest at this season. Expose Zinnias and other 

 tender annuals entirely, night and day, by removing the 

 lights. Plants that are kept to succeed Tulips, Eanun- 

 culuses. &.C., should have plenty of room given them. Attend 

 to the late-struck plants, they will come in very useful by- 

 and-by to fill up vacancies in beds, ic. Double Wallflowers, 

 JIule Pinks, and some common Dianthuses, Alyssums, 

 Phloxes, perennial Iberises, and many kinds of dwarf Cistus, 

 and Helianthemum, may be propagated under hand-glasses 

 in a shaded situation, and wiU be found very useful next 

 spring. — W. EIeane. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAEDEN. 



Delightfdx rains on Tuesday evening which have re- 

 freshed eveiything wonderfully, and made not only hoeing, 

 but thinning Onions, Carrots, Parsnips, &c., a work of plea- 

 sure, as well as one of utility. The thinnings of Onions 

 dibbled thickly in poor sandy eoU, or what is made so by 

 placing a little of such soil on a hard bottom, is a good plaji 

 of producing pickling Onions on strong heavy lands. We 

 can hardly grow picklers here by any other mode. 



Peas. — Have had a nice supply of Tom Thumb Peas from 

 our orchard-house, and also from an early kind we received 

 from an old gardener under the name of Sebastopol, but 

 which, from its appearance, we judge to be DilHstone's 

 Early, of which, however, we shall be more sure ere long. 

 This was planted in fr'ont of the lean-to house, and allowed 

 to scramble as it liked to a row of Strawberries in pots. 

 From the same sort we have also gathered on the 22nd 

 out of doors from plants that were turned out from turves. 

 As yet we have gathered none out of doors fr-om gangster's 

 No. 1 treated in the same way. We suspect that fi'om Sang- 

 ster's we shall gather double or treble the quantity we shall 

 do from this Sebastopol, or DilHstone's, but then the earU- 

 ness is a consideration. We know what it is to have ladies 

 and gentlemen going round and counting the pods on Peas 

 and Beans until there should be enough for a dish. We have 

 not yet had a dish of Broad Beans, but shall not be long in 

 having them, and to help the rapid swelling of the Beans 

 inside the pod have watered a row well with manure water, 

 after stfrring the soil on both sides of it. There are some 

 old-fashioned epicures who would place little value on the 

 finest specimens of the artistic cook's achievements when 

 compared with a fine dish of young green Broad Beans. 

 Like many other things, they are often spoiled by the 

 attempts made to disguise altogether that they are garden 

 Beans. We are glad that Peas wUl now be coming in, as 

 the Asparagus must not be cut much more. We are now 

 allowing all to grow freely, otherwise it would be of little 

 use forcing it. Cabhaf/es, especially those tied, are now 

 hearting freely, and when we taste one we cannot help wish- 

 ing that the great bulk of working men should know the 

 luxury that a Cabbage is when cut, boiled, and then eaten, 

 as there is no comparison between such a Cabbage and one 

 that has been lying hours on a stall, after, perhaps, being 

 packed and heated with tindred hundreds in a waggon. 

 For the same reason all market Peas are generally merely 

 so many make-shifts and make-believes. Gentlemen can 

 only have them first-rate when sent fr-om a distance from 

 their own gardens, when they are sent in thin layers, so 

 that they are neither heated nor dried by the air. Gave up 

 planting in the flower gai'den to sow more Peas, and to 

 stake the secondary and tertiary crops, which want it badly. 

 We have had fine crops of Peas on the ground without stai. 

 ing, but they take up much more room, and the plants are 

 apt to be injured when gathering the pods. The same 

 objection does not apply to 



Scarlet Runners when grown without stakes. If the plants 

 are topped when a foot high, the pods will come in great 

 bunches near home, and the only extra care they require is 

 covering the ground with grass or clean litter, or such as 

 wiU be made clean by a good shower, so that the pods may 

 be gathered clean. Where some 3 feet or so in width can 



