July 11, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
37 
spring will be free in growth, requiring attention in stopping and 
training. The strong growths should be tied down or out, and 
the weaker ones allowed to grow upright, stopping the strong 
shoots so as to induce well-furnished plants. Heaths having the 
roots close to the sides of the pots must have some canvas or 
other material placed on the sun side of the pots when they are 
placed outdoors to preserve the roots from injury. 
Withhold water from Pelargoniums past flowering, keeping 
them cool and airy. Cut down any plants required for early bloom, 
and keep them somewhat dry until they break into fresh growth. 
Insert cuttings, which strike freely in a close frame shaded from 
bright sun. Pot young plants of forcing Pinks, such as Mrs. 
Moore, Lady Blanche, Lord Lyons, Rubens, Newmarket, Anne 
Boleyn, immediately the pipings are well rooted, and grow them 
on, placing in frames until established, and then plunge them in 
ashes outdoors in an open situation, duly supplying them with 
water. Tree Carnations for winter blooming keep well supplied 
with water and liquid manure ; attend also to the tying-out of the 
growths. Sow herbaceous Calceolaria seed in pots or pans half 
Alled with drainage ; over that the siftings of the soil, turfy loam 
with a third of leaf soil or old cow dung, surfacing with very fine 
soil, half of which should be silver sand, making even ; water 
through a fine rose and afterwards sow the seed carefully, sprink- 
ling very lightly with silver sand. Place the seed pan in open 
ground in a shady situation, covering it with a handlight and 
Keeping it close. Nosun reaching the handlight water will seldom 
be required, but the surface must be kept constantly moist, apply- 
ing the water through a very fine rose. 
Seed of Intermediate Stock (East Lothian in scarlet, purple, 
and white are splendid) should now be sown in light rich soil in 
the open ground, shading until the seedlings appear and keeping 
moist. Pot in September, growing-on in frames through the 
winter. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
*,* All correspondence should be directed either to “ The Editors,” 
or to “The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Mr. Johnson or 
Dr. Hogg often remain unopened unavoidably. We request 
that no one will write privately to any of our correspondents, as 
doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions 
relating to Gardening and those on Poultry and Bee subjects, 
and should never send more than two or three questions at 
once. All articles intended for insertion should be written on 
one side of the paper only. We cannot reply to questions 
through the post. 
ADDRESS (C. C. A., Sussex).—Esdaile & Co., Wenlock Basin, Regent’s 
Canal, City Road. 
VINE LEAVES (G. McG.).—They are not diseased. The brown spots are 
the elevations that were produced by excessive vigour now drying up. 
MATURING THE GROWTH OF PELARGONIUMS (W. J. M.).—The system 
to which you refer is adopted by such celebrated cultivators as Mr, Turner 
and Mr. James, indeed by all who grow the plants successfully. After the 
plants are cut down and haye made a little fresh growth the whole of the 
old soil is shaken out, and the plants are divested of the withered roots made 
during the past season of growth; they are then potted in smaller pots 
than before, and fresh roots are emitted freely, and speedily fill the pots with 
zxoots. By no other means can such grand specimens be produced in such 
small pots. The fact of your plants dying is not the fault of the practice 
you criticise adversely, but your own fault in not carrying it out properly. 
We have grown thousands of plants on what you call the “ desiccating 
system,” and have certainly not lost one ina thousand. You “ desiccated” 
your plants too much, and perhaps permitted insects to aid you in the finish- 
ing-off process. 
GRAPES SHRIVELLED (Old Subscriber) —The evilis attributable to faulty 
ventilation, especially by air not being given sufficiently early in the morning. 
eave the top ventilators open about an inch all night, and increase the 
ventilation immediately the temperature of the house commences rising in 
the morning by sun heat. 
ROSES (KR. Baxter).—The varieties are far too numerous to be identified 
from single blooms. (Constant Reader).—There are some species which 
require the protection of a greenhouse. Whether yours were of those species 
we cannot tell without more particulars. 
DESTROYING WOODLICE (Baltimore).—There are various ways of destroy- 
ing these pests, the most wholesale plan being to place some pieces of boiled 
potatoes near to the plants they infest, and coyer with a little hay, and in 
the morning pour boiling water over the hay, so that the baits must be laid 
where no injury will accrue to the plants or their roots by the scalding 
water. Another plan is to wrap a boiled potato in a little hay very lightly, 
and place in a flower pot laid on its side near to where the woodlice con- 
gregate or commit their depredations, and the following morning shake the 
pests from the hay in which they will be secreted about the bait into a 
bucket of boiling water. Repeat for a time, and the pests will be reduced 
so as to do very little injury. In frames, pits, and houses much help is 
afforded by toads, they devouring great numbers; but they are not much 
use in houses having the plants upon shelyes and stages to which they have 
not access. 
ROSE CULTURE (Novice).—Mr. Reynolds Hole’s “Book about Roses” 
would suit you. 
INSECTS ON VERBENAS (Rus in Urbe)—They do not cause the disease, 
they feed on the decayed matter produced by the disease. 
NAMES OF PLANTS (Clough).—It is Gladiolus racemosus. (CC. P.)—We 
- annot read your nom de plume. Phytolacca decandra. (J. R. L.)—1, Do- 
ronicum sp.; 2, Thalictrum aquilegifolium ; 3, Centaurea montana; 4, Ran- 
unculus aconitifolius ; 5, Stanactispurpurea ; 6, Campanula persicifolia. 
(C. S.).—Armeria latifolia. (/ean).—1, Iberis amara; 2, Campanula rapun- 
culoides ; 8, Veronica spicata. (J. @.).—2, Lonicera Caprifolium ; 3, Trades- 
cantia virginica; 4, Clematis integrifolia; 5, Spireea salicifolia? (@. NV. V.) 
—AlI the same species, Spirzea filipendula. 
THE HOME FARM: 
POULTRY, PIGEON, AND BEE CHRONICLE. 
MEETING or tHe ROYAL COUNTIES (Hants & BERKs) 
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY ar SOUTHAMPTON, 
THIS Meeting has been held during beautiful weather and was 
a great success, financially to the Society, and practically to those 
who attended with the view of ascertaining the value of lessons 
which such meetings ought to teach, both as regards the latest 
improvements in the breed of cattle and live animals as well as 
that of the newest and most economical designs for agricultural 
implements and other appliances available for the home farm. We 
intend our remarks to apply on the present occasion to the live stock 
only, leaving the implements, &c., as a subject for a future article. 
We will take the stock in rotation as they stand in the Society’s 
catalogue, and any criticisms which we may introduce will be 
based upon our own experience. The only object we have in 
view is to bring under notice of the managers of home farms, and 
incidentally to agriculturists generally, that which we think may 
tend to the improvement and practical economy of stock farming. 
In referring to the stock classes we shall not weary our readers 
by detailing the names of the whole of the exhibitors, our object 
being to refer only to those who have by obtaining certain prizes 
enlisted our attention to certain points in the breed of animals 
advantageous to the managers of the home farm and gentlemen 
interested in agricultural pursuits. 
Hampshire or West-country Downs head the list of prizes: 
Class 1, for the best shearling ram, first prize, Mr. A. Morrison, 
Fonthill House, Tisbury, Wilts ; second prize, Mr. R. Coles, War™ 
minster, Wilts. The sheep shown by Mr. Morrison in this class 
is so different in breed compared with second-prize sheep that 
we may well say there is no uniformity of type or style in 
these Hampshites and West-country Down sheep. The first 
prize is awarded to a sheep which is extremely fat, which was) 
no doubt, very much in its fayour as regards its general outline 
when run out of the pens to compare with others. We therefore 
make no doubt it would be advisable if the Judges could divest 
themselves of the fatness of the stock exhibited ; but the variation 
of type being great we can quite understand the difference of 
opinion which we heard expressed as to the award in this case. 
As far as our opinion is concerned we hold that the beau ideal of 
a West-country or Hampshire Down sheep is the type and style 
of those exhibited by the late Mr. Humphrey of Oak Ash, 
Chaddleworth, Berks, at the meetings of the Royal Agricultural 
Society at Salisbury 1857, Chester 1858, and Warwick in 1859. 
On each of these occasions we acted as one of the Judges of sheep 
in the class of short-woolled sheep not South Downs, and upon 
each occasion Mr. Humphrey received nearly all the principal 
prizes, and we believe that this blood has done more to improve 
the Hampshire and West-country Down breed than any other; and 
we regret exceedingly that it is so nearly obliterated, as we firmly 
believe that the use of this is now the only means in case defects 
exist in any of the flocks of Hampshire or West-country Downs 
whereby these defects can be removed, if a sufficiency of well- 
maintained blood of Mr. Humphrey’s stock can be obtained, In 
the case of Mr. Morrison’s first-prize ram we thought that, quite 
irrespective of its being overfat, the wool was too deep and 
hollow to withstand the climate of the chalk hill districts of 
Wilts, Hants, Berks, or Dorset, and we therefore preferred for 
stock purposes the second-prize animal, as haying closer wool 
and being firmer in flesh without being overfat, and well calcu- 
lated to withstand the climate of the hill districts, and furnish 
to the consumer a heavier weight of flesh without any wasteful 
fat. In Class 2 the decision of the Judges is altered, Mr. Coles 
