May 30, ISfiS. 1 



JOUKXAJO OF HORTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE OAKDENEK/ 



421 



Caterpillars on "White Thorn (.4. Siihscriber),—Thc "cobwebs" con- 

 taioingr blackish caterpillars are the larvo3 of the small Ermine Moth. The 

 only remedy we know is to hare them pickeii otT and crushed. This would 

 quickly be done by children, and they might he rewarded lor the number 

 of the white parent Moths they caught. These Moths will appear in a lew 

 weeks. 



Stocks {B. iV.).— The Ten-week is so called from the time elapsing 

 between its sowing and hloominj?. It is ilathioia annua. The Brompton 

 is Mathiola Pimplicicaulis of aome, but is g-enc-r.iUy considered to belonp' to 

 die same spocie:^ aa the Q'leen, which is M. incana. The Intermediate is 

 M. gra?c:i, and so called because iu leaves ar5 eiuoolh, so as to place it as an 

 intermediate between the Stock and Wallflower. 



Trkllis for Sion House Cucumber (J. .5.).— The trellis will do very 

 well. Cucumbers are much better in every way growu on trellii^es than in 

 .iny other mode. If we had had the forminc of a trellis we should have 

 avoided the dip in the centre. It should have been put in at equal distances 

 from the glass all over— sav 16 or IS inches. Tlnj night temperature is not 

 quite enough to grow Cucuaibers well, it should be from 65° to 70°. The 

 day temperature ^ill do verv well. 



Vine Le.vves Scorched (J. IT, CooA).— The cause of your Vine leaves 

 scorching aiid curiing up is want of moisture at the root, and we should 

 think that yon have not been ia the habit of giving nir early enough in the 

 raorniog. If this is the case the sun has done all the mischief. To prevent 

 fnrther injury apply plenty of water to the roots and give more air, and \ 

 earlier in the raoruing ; if the weather is bright, open the front lights; if 

 dull, only open those at the back of the house. For further instructions 

 see an article in another page. 



Creepers for the North-east Wall of a House (.4 Suhscriber).— 

 We should think a slight projectinn over the main walls rather an advan- 

 tage than otherwise, especially for some of the more delicate kinds of 

 creepers, because it shellerstbe'm well from the wet. The following is a list 

 of the kinds we would advise you to plant :— Several of the best variegated 

 forms of Ivy, Ampelopsis, or Virginian Creeper, Eignonia capreolata. 

 Clematis sempervirens. C. Hendersonii. C. m-intana, C. vitalba (the Travel- 

 ler's Joy), Jasminum officinale, Lonicera gratd (evergreen), Wistaria, white 

 and blue. Some of the climbing Ro^es would also answer well for the pur- 

 pose, such as Kuga, Garland, Crimson Boursaulc, Cundee Rambler, Ram- 

 pant, &c. 



BoTi>'icAL QtTERiEs (J Cojistant SubscHber). —Vfethmicyon cauTiot mean 

 what your request includes— viz., '■ The orders and tribes into which Gera- 

 niaceiE are divided, with, their specific names an*l character:;." To do this we 

 must go through all the species in the genera Erodium, Geranium. Monsonia, 

 Sarcocaulon. Pelargonium, and Hyoscocharis. and if we included, as you 

 add, "bedding Geraniums," we should have to fill a volume. We shall pub- 

 lish the repoit of the Royal Horticultural Society on bedding Pelargoniums, 

 which may answer your purpose. It is quite impossible to answer such 

 sweeping questions as you ask about P^eonies and Irise?, nuaiber of species, 

 colonrs, &c., You must refer to Loudon's "Hortus Britannicus," or the 

 "Cottage Gardener's D:ctio:-,ary." 



Disposal of Market- garden Produce ( ■ Wo}ieysh).—Ai>p\y to a 



salesman, or advertise. 



Sieeriak Arbor Vit^ (A Reader).— V^'c are not surprised at yonr un- 

 certainty about this tree, for not only are there discrepancies ia nursery- 

 men's catalogues, but in Ihe writings of botanists. We believe that Thuja 

 plicata, Wareana, sibirics, and tatarica. if not identical, arecompact-hubited j 

 forms of Thuja occident-ilis. There are three species of the Hale'*ia or 

 Snowdrop Tree; shrubs about 8 feet high, wi^h white. Snowdrop-shaped 

 flowers; natives ot North America. Gordon's " Pinetum " might suit you. 



Insects {A 2\^eic Subscriber).— The insect sent from the Vine is not the 

 Vine bug. It is the old enemy, Otiorhynchus vastator. Hunt for it after 

 dark with a lanthorn, having first laid a sheet of paper under the tree. The 

 small shoot was so dried up and crushed that we could make nothing out of 

 the apparently white eggs.— W. 



Portable Boiler (A Subscriber). — We know of no maker of the boiler 

 of which we gave a drawing at page 269. It is an American invention, and 

 we noticed it because we think any iron manufacturer who made them in 

 this country would find a good sale for them. If you applied to some such, 

 manufacturer who advertises in. our columns ho would tell you for what 

 price he could make you one. 



Spot on Camellia Leaves {Elizabeth). — We should think the spot on 

 your Camellia leaves has been caused by the sun. The plants should never 

 ha placed in positions where the direct rays of tho sun can strike them. 



Seedling Pelargoniums {P. Brummond <$- Co.).— Tour seedling Pelar- 

 goniums appear to he geod, but neither of them ia new in colour. The pink 

 one is very bright, but there are many as bright. We should prefer seeing 

 plants of both seedlings before giving an opinion of their merits. The 

 petals had all fallen, therefore it is impossible to speak of the form of the 

 flower and size of the truss, &c. 



Alpine Auriculas (Tyro). — An Alpine Auricula has the outer edge of 

 the petals shaded by a mixture of two colours not separated into distinct 

 bands of colour, as in the edged varieties. The paste round the tube is 

 yellow instead of white, as it is in the edged and in the one or self-coloured 

 varieties. Your specimens are— I, Cerasus padus, or Bird Cherry; 2, Ha- 

 lesia parviflora, or Small-flowered Snowdrop Tree. 



Planting an Orchard in the West of Ireland (Jf. A. C). — It is 

 diflicult without knowledge of the locality, to point out what would be the 

 best kinds of fruits to grow, as from an acquaintance with the fruit-grow- 

 ing counties near London, we know tbat even the distance of less than half 

 a dozen miles makes a great difference in the character o( soil as regards 

 its suitability to certain varieties of fruits; in other words, the same kinds 

 do not prosper equally well at places but a short distance apart, even when 

 soil and situation seem to be alike. We may, however, say, that as a uni- 

 versal rule or nearly so, Cherries do best in a grass orchard, while other 

 fruit trees do not seem to he injured by the ground between them being 

 cultivated, provided the soil he moderately deep, and the subsoil not ob- 

 jectionable ; but as the trees grow older, it is usual in the orchard districts 

 to do away with the undti -cropping and sow the ground with grass. To a 

 pertect stranger we would say that he may plant nve-feet standard Apple 

 and Pear trees 20 feet apart, or if 24 they would be none tho worse; or if 

 he prefer an orchard of dwarf trees, 15 feet might do ; but then all hopes of 

 having it in grass must be abandoned. We have seen trees spaced 30 feet 

 apart with advantage, and also seen Ic^s than 12 feet allowed. We fear we 

 cannot give him much information as to k^nds, but if he plant Lord Suffield, 

 the New Hawthomden, Dumelow's Seedling, Sturmer Pippin, and Winter 

 Queening, he cannot well do wrong ; but for table kinds and also for Pears 

 he had better consult some skilful cultivator in the locality, whose experience 

 has enabled him to say what are likely to do well, and what not, and 

 although " M. A. C" need not necessarily act on all the information so 

 gained, he may benefit much thereby. 



DuBREOiL ON Fruit Trkes {Critic). — We never did nor can "we recom- 

 mend Mr. Wardle's translation of this book. Mr. Wesley's advertisement 

 makes an erroneous statement. The quotation is from a correspondent's 

 communication . 



Nami:s of Plants (TF. CTa?'ft).— Asplenium hemionitis. {J. 5. Boyd), 

 —The Fern is apparently a sterile frond of Polybotrya cylindrica, and the 

 leaf we ihink is of Corynocarpus Ixvigatus. {T. C. 2>,).— 1, Saxifraga 

 sarnientosa. L. ; 3, Sparmannia africaua, L. ; 3, HaOrothdmnus fasciculatus, 

 Miers; 4, Spiraea salicifolia rubra, Hort. ; 5, Spiripa trilobata, L. ; 6, No 

 flower. {S. C.).—\. Coronilla emerus, L. ; 2, Viburnum lantana, L, 

 {Cissic). — We cannot name plants from their seeds. 1 is a leguminous seed, 

 perhaps of the genus Erinacea. 2 and 3 are, as you suppose, the same, and 

 are fruits of a species of Rhamnus. 4, Fruit of Zizyphus lotus (?) {Bank- 

 siana, Snrbiton).—The leaf sent may belong to Lomatia salicifolia, Br., but 

 we cannot decide without better materials. It was introduced by Messrs. 

 Luddiges in 1308. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for tke Week ending May 27tb. 



Date. 



BAROMETEE. 



THEK.MOMETER. 



■Wind. 



Bain 



in 

 inches. 



General Remarks. 



Air. 



Earth. 



Max. 



Min. 



Max. 



Min. 



1 ft deep. 



2 ft. deep. 



SuL. 21 

 Mon. 22 

 Taes. 23 

 Wed. 24 

 Thtir3.25 

 Fri. 26 

 Sat. 27 



Mean 



30.0.M 

 29.950 

 2E».93-t 

 30.025 

 30.107 

 SO.OOS 

 29.862 



29.910 

 29.921 

 29.956 

 30.025 

 30.063 

 29.SS2 

 29.310 



32 

 76 

 77 

 69 

 78 

 77 

 75 



59 

 4t 

 45 

 37 

 35 

 47 

 52 



57 



59 



60 



60i 



61 



61 



61J 



54J 



55 



56 



56 



564 



57 



E. 



S.W. 



s. 

 s. 

 s. 

 .s. 



S.W. 



.50 

 .00 

 .19 

 .00 

 .00 

 .00 

 .07 



Drv haze ; very fine ; sultrv ; thunder, lightning, and rain. 

 Very fine; sultry; low white clouds ; very tine ttiroughout. 

 Fine; cloudy; overcast; warm at night ; rain. 

 Overcast ; exceedingly fine; deep blue sky, with white cloBds ; 

 Very flue, with warm S. wind ; fine at night. [very fine. 

 Very fine, with light cloud-=; fine and warm at night. 

 HeavT dew ; very fine ; clear blue sky, with scattered white 

 [clouds ; overcast and warm ; rain at night. 



29.995 



29.947 



76.00 



45.35 



60.00 



56.21 





0.76 



POTILTRY. BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



POTJLTET JTJDG-ES AT BlRMmG-HAM. 



Knowing how willinfr you always ;ire to open jour columns 

 lor the discussion of any important matter in reference to 

 poultry, I am sure the question of appointing Judges for the 

 great Birmingham Poultry Show is of such importance that 

 you will willingly find room for the correspondence this 

 letter may lead to. I am not an unsuccessful exliibitor at 

 Birmingham, therefore I can wi-ite upon this subject with- 

 out the sarcasm in which so many writers indulge ; I am 

 not going to find fault because I do not win, for I have 



rarely shown at Birmingham without taiing prizes, and 

 when I have heen beaten it has always been by birds supe- 

 rior to my own ; and I am not going to find fault with the 

 Judges that have hitherto acted, although I have not the 

 least doubt that many errors have been made, and whoever 

 acts as Judge at a show of such magnitude as Birmingham 

 must be clever indeed to judge it without a mistake or a 

 complaint. 



Some very angry letters have appeared strongly con- 

 demning the appointment of judges who are dealers in 

 poultry, and the grounds of objection are too strong for my 

 pen to attempt to argue against : but I cannot but confess 

 that I should regi-et to see Mr. Baily's name erased from 

 the list of Birmingham Judges. There are many varieties 



