JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 31, 1878. 
position. As flowering plants we have Clematis Jackmanii and Lonicera 
flexuosa, growing and flowering well on a wall having a north aspect. 
CELERY FLY (Rus in Urbe)—The grubs are the larye of the Celery Fly 
(Tephritis onopordinis), which have been very destructive this autumn, 
owing, probably, to the prolonged term of dry weather during September 
and October. As soon as we perceived the first few blisters we picked them 
off, and at once dusted the plants with soot; by repeating the application 
slightly about once a week we prevented the crop receiving serious injury. 
You had better remove the blistered parts and leave the Celery where it is, 
protecting it with straw and litter when frosts occur, as it will be very liable 
to be injured owing to the comparative absence of leaves. If you dig up 
the crop and lay it in a cellar the stems are almost certain to shrivel and to 
lose their crispness ; at any rate, we do not advise you to dig it up before 
you find it actually decaying in the ground. If you grew the crop for sale 
we should say the sooner it was dug and sold the better. 
REVE D'OR ROSE NOT FLOWERING (Jdem).—We are not surprised that 
your Rose which was planted last year and cut down nearly to the ground 
this spring has not flowered ; but you have no reason to be disappointed 
with the progress the plant has made. You treated it correctly, and it has 
made excellent growth, and next year will almost certainly afford you fine 
blooms. If the shoots are crowded thin them out at once, so as to expose 
those remaining to light and air. Do not shorten the principal shoots, 
except to keep them within the space required, and then, the wood being 
matured, they may be expected to produce Howers freely next summer. 
OSAGE ORANGE CULTURE (South American). —The following extract from 
the Prairie Farmer will perhaps afford you the required information :—The 
plants are always raised from seed. Sow the seed in drills, having first 
soaked them in warm water for forty-eight hours, and place them thinly 
between damp cloths, where they may remain warm and moist, until 
indications of sprouting are seen. The time for sowing is immediately 
after corn-planting time, or after the soil becomes warm. The prepara- 
tion of the seed by soaking and sprouting should commence two weeks 
earlier. The rows in which the seeds are to be planted should be 3 feet 
apart, and the seeds be sown about an inch apart in the row, and keep the 
plants entirely free from weeds. In the autumn cut the tops about 4 inches 
above the surface, and the roots about 8 inches below ground. Dig, and 
after sorting according to size, heel in the earth in a dry place, covering the 
tops with litter and earth to prevent freezing. Im the spring they are 
to be planted in a properly prepared hedgerow, where they are to remain. 
Some growers tie loosely in small bundles of say fifty plants each, and 
setting upon their roots cover all with earth, tops and bottom. Heeling-in 
is preferable. The usual distance apart to plant in the hedgerow is about 
10 to 12 inches. Pack the earth firmly about the roots, and deep enough, 
so when the earth settles the yellow portion will be entirely below ground, 
or about 2 inches deeper than they originally stood. 
PRUNING VINES (G. H.).—If most of the leaves have fallen off the Vines 
and the wood is ripe you may prune them at once, so as to afford them all 
the rest possible before starting them. 
PLANTING ANEMONES (Jdem).—The Anemone requires a pure loamy 
soil well mixed with sand, such as sometimes is found on-the sides of rivers 
naturally mixed with thesand. Choose a situation that is open, but sheltered 
from violent winds or strong twisting currents of air; then dig out the soil 
a foot or more, according as the situation is high or low; if high it may be 
dug out 3 or 4 inches deeper, but if low and wet a foot will be sufficient. 
Mix the soil with sand if it requires it, and fill in the bed again to within 
6 inches of the level of the surface ; then level it, and lay on it a thin cover- 
ing of thoroughly decomposed hotbed manure or cow dung; the latter is to 
be preferred. Mix this well with the soil below. Upon this mixed enriched 
~ soil place as much of the pure sandy loam as will raise the bed an inch or 
two above the walk. No dung must be among this top stratum of soil, 
because dung causes the peculiar disease called mould to attack the bulbs 
that come in contact with it. The best season for planting is from about 
the middle of October to the first week in November; the bulbs then form 
roots before severe frosts set in. Should the planting be unavoidably delayed 
the bed must then be covered with fern or straw. Choose a time when the 
soil is moderately dry and the day fine. Draw drills across the bed 2 inches 
deep and 5 or 6 inches apart, and plant the tubers 5 inches apart in the rows. 
For choice varieties a thin layer of sand scattered under and around each 
tuber will be useful. As soon as the bed is planted cover the tubers with 
sandy loam from a basket or wheelbarrow. ‘Take care that the tubers are 
placed the right side up by observing the side that has the old small fibres 
on it. Thatside place next tothe bottom of the drill. When all are planted 
and covered up the right depth (2 inches) then level the surface with a 
garden rake, 
NAMES OF FRUITS (Connaught Subscriber).—The Grapes are—l, Black 
Alicante; 2, Black Prince; and the Pear is Beurré d’Aremberg. (G. W., 
Ayrshire)—1 and 3, Beurré Diel; 2, Beurré d’Aremberg; 4, Joséphine de 
Malines ; 5, not known; 6, Gansel’s Bergamot. (F. Taylor).—1, Warner’s 
King ; 2, Herefordshire Pearmain ; 3, Tower of Glamis; 4, Winter Hawthorn- 
den; 5, Golden Nonpareil; 6, Braddick’s Nonpareil. (S. Skinner).—Beurré 
Clairgeau. 
_ NAMES OF PLANTS (C. 7. Z.).—1, Phymatodes glauca; 2, Onychium 
japonicum ; 7, Athyrium Filix-fcemina Frisellie. The numbers were off the 
others, but the large bright green frond we recognise as Scolopendrium 
vulgare multifidum. (G. &.)—This not being in flower we are unable to 
identify it. (@.J/.)—Gordonia Lisianthos ; increase by American seeds or 
by layers. (IW. W.).—Scorzonera. 
THE HOME FARM: 
POULTRY, PIGEON, AND BEE CHRONICLE. 
STRAW AND ITS USAGE. 
Straw is often alluded to as a substance of but slight im- 
portance; but upon the home farm, where pasture and park lands 
usually predominate over the arable and straw-producing soils, 
it is a matter of great consequence, and in many districts of the 
kingdom it is become comparatively a very costly article. The ° 
question is often discussed of straw haying doubled in value 
within the last twenty-five years. The cause of this appears to 
us to be various. First, we find that the straw-producing area 
is greatly reduced ; the increase of population and the extension 
of towns, factories, &c., have pushed the market gardens, &c., 
further into the country districts, and have encroached upon the 
land used for cereal produce. Again, the increase of land laid 
into pasture has been great during the past twenty years, and 
not only has the producing area been diminished, but an enor- 
mously increased demand for straw has sprung up in connection 
with trade and commerce, increased quantities are used for pack- 
ing purposes, and tradesmen of nearly every grade now keep an 
advertising yan for delivery of goods, and consequently a horse 
requiring straw for litter. These requirements are, however, 
quite separate from agricultural consumption and the ordinary 
usage of this article upon the home farm, and we may con- 
fidently look in the future to making it one of the most profit- 
able articles for sale in the corn-producing districts; therefore 
upon the home farm we recommend that straw crops should be 
grown (where the proportion of ploughing land is small), as a 
preparatory crop for roots before mangold, Swedes, or turnips, 
and without prejudice to these crops. For instance, we know now 
upon a home farm of capital crops of mangolds drilled after a crop 
of rye,sown and cut for straw only, just after coming into ear, 
the straw being worth at least from £5 to £6 per acre, the 
quantity of straw being a question of manure only, because the 
preparation is much surer for a root crop than a long fallow. 
Upon many farms in different parts of the kingdom large quan- 
tities of the best straw are used for thatching farm buildings and 
cottages, which is a great mistake. We ought to look to our 
mineral productions to afford the means of covering farm build- 
ings, &c., such as flagstone, slate, or tiles, instead of using the 
perishable produce of our arable soils for the purpose. It is 
notorious that the best and most valuable straw is generally 
used for thatching, as being best adapted and the most durable ; 
it is, however, in some districts very costly. We were lately 
engaged in a question of repairs, and found that straw fit for 
thatching could only be obtained by paying £6 per ton for the 
article. 
We will now refer to the production of straw upon the home 
farm. Ifitis to be used for thatching the corn should stand to 
be fully mpe, the straw will then become hard and glazed with 
silica ; but in case it is required for use as a feeding materiai for 
cattle, it should be cut before the grain is ripe. This will bein 
favour of the grain also, because there is less loss by bretting or 
injury through bad weather. We will give the composition of 
straw as it is usually found on the farm, and cut at the usual time 
Wheat Barley Oat 
Straw Straw. Straw. 
Ta? Soncenansanceeos Baosde 14.23 14.30 6 12.06 
Flesh-forming matter........ 1.79 6 1.68 a 1.63 
Respiratory and fatty matter 31.06 we 39.98 a0 37.86 
Woody fibre ..............-- 45.48 ae 39.80 5 43.60 
Mineral matters (ash) ...... 7.47 4.24 “- 4.85 
100.00 100.00 100.00 
In comparing these analyses with the feeding value of good 
meadow and field hay we find on the average gives sixty-three 
parts feeding value, whilst straw gives on the average of the 
three kinds, wheat, barley, and oats, forty parts feeding yalue. 
This is certainly a more favourable view of the value of straw 
than the crdimary use of it would lead us to suppose. In certain 
cases, however, straw is of still higher yalue, for instance in 
the case of cutting green for straw only; it would then have 
nearly the value of hay if ricked in a green state, like the value 
of wild oat hay so much in use in the prairie districts of America- 
The crop when cut green may be succeeded by mangolds or 
Swedish turnips; but a favourite plan of our own, pursued for 
many years, was to grow either winter oats or the white Canadian 
variety, both of which ripen a fortnight before the wheat crop, 
and by ploughing immediately after the oats were cut we usually 
secured the best common turnips. The oats, however, were cut 
yery green for the purpose of feeding cattle with the straw, which 
