462 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
{ December 19, 1878. 
salads from foreign shores, they form but an infinitessimal 
amount of the requirements of the season in question. The 
great bulk, and an enormous bulk it is, of the Christmas re- 
quirements produced in gardens are produced at home. Those 
who have not seen the arrivals of produce by road and rail for 
the great metropolitan Christmas flower and vegetable markets 
can form no conception of their magnitude. Holly and Mis- 
tletoe are represented by stacks resembling ricks in a farm- 
yard ; “Christmas trees” by thousands—young Spruces from 
1 to 8 feet high, and purchasable from 6d. each ; vegetables of 
every kind, in quality of the first order and in quantity astound- 
ing; and flowering plants that startle the onlooker by their 
numbers and incite the envy of the gardener by their excel- 
lence of culture. This is an outline of the preparations for 
Christmas—the great festival of the Christian world. A plea- 
sant thought arises therefrom—namely, that those who are 
engaged in the cultivation of the soil labour in an important 
field and share in noble work. Their toil may be hard, and in 
too many instances it is feared their immediate emoluments 
may be scant; but there is a great compensating after-pleasure 
to urge them on, for they make hearts glad and homes bright, 
maintain the high reputation of British husbandry, and honour 
themselves by the excellence of their work.—E wp, LUCKHURST, 
HOW TO MANAGE AND USE RUBBISH. 
RUBBISH heaps are a necessary appendage to gardens. 
There are daily additions being made to them throughout 
the year. Now it is the haulm of a crop of Peas just past, 
of Lettuces run to seed, of Seakale or Rhubarb leaves which 
have done their season’s work. Again, it may be the com- 
bined “pinchings” of the Vines of Grapes, and Melons, and 
Cucumbers, or an entire batch of faded softwooded plants 
no longer useful, or the pickings and cleanings of a flower 
garden, or the “cleanings’’ of potting shecs, the sweepings of 
roads or edgings of walk verges. In short, the rubbish heap 
is the receptacle for receiving everything connected with a 
garden of which no further use can be made at the time. 
Now this gathering, which in some respects may be set 
down as a nuisance, is capable of being transformed into a 
valuable “ gardener’s assistant.” There is, or may be, system 
in all things, and even in the matter of forming rubbish heaps 
it is profitable to do so systematically ; accordingly all refuse 
of a woody nature—as prunings of fruit trees, stems of Cab- 
bages and allied crops, Jerusalem Artichokes, &c.—should be 
kept by themselves and burnt; stony mixtures also by them- 
selves ; and the main rubbish heap, composed of all refuse 
which decays quickly, by itself. 
The commencement of the year may also mark the beginning 
of the year’s rubbish heaps, and at that time be particular 
in forming the sites of the various heaps. The space required 
for combustible matter need not be large, as fires can be 
lighted at any time, and a bulky heap reduced to smoke and | 
ashes; also, in the case of the stony mound, which never 
grows rapidly, the stones and soil are expeditiously separated 
by means of a sieve or screen. But with the heap of vegetable 
matter the case is different. As the summer progresses in- 
creasing quantities are daily added, and its bulk increases 
proportionally. Natural decay being not quite so speedy in 
its action as fire, the bulk of the heap does not grow less, but 
greater. Now, by haying a system of throwing all such refuse 
neatly on the main heap as it is brought forward much incon- 
venient litter is saved, whilst the great body of matter is more 
favourable to the influences of decomposition than it is when 
scattered about. So much for the formation of the heaps. 
Let us now look to what use may be made of them. 
During winter there are days which are only fit for working 
amongst rubbish, and on such days the vegetable heap should 
be turned over, shaking and mixing it well. up in the process. 
Soil may be mixed with it as the work proceeds, also the 
ashes of the burnt refuse, but this is generally of as much or 
more value kept by itself. After this turning decomposition 
will proceed rapidly, and no further additions of fresh matter 
should be made to it. If om some day at the beginning of the 
sueceeding winter it is again turned and left for a few weeks 
it will then haye become a very yaluable manure, rich in 
agents which are absent in ordinary stable or cowhouse dung. 
Where the latter manures are not over-plentiful the vegetable 
heap may with advantage be mixed with the dung. 
In applying these heaps to the ground we like to have the 
whole intimately incorporated with the soil as the operation 
of trenching goes on. 
eyer it has been introduced. As a manure for Peas, Beans, 
Artichokes, and Potatoes it is preferable to any animal ma- 
nures; these inducing leaf and stem growth, whilst vegetable 
fertilisers act immediately on the fruit-producing portion. 
As a dressing for Geraniums in flower beds decayed vege- 
table rubbish is also of great value, the tendency which 
animal manures haye to induce leaf growth at expense of 
flowers being absent, as in the case of the Peas above men- 
tioned. Where the compost is not decomposed and reduced 
so much as above recommended it should be worked into the 
bottom of trenches, and at the succeeding turning-over of the 
soil brought near to the surface. 
There is an idea somewhat prevalent that the weeds pro- 
duced from introducing refuse matter again into gardens 
counterbalance any benefits of a manurial nature. But there 
is no necessity to have any weed seeds in the heap. If weeds 
are allowed to reach the seeding stage before removal from the 
garden they should be burnt, as also anything calculated to 
render the compost of less value than it ought to be when 
properly managed. 
The ashes remaining from burnt refuse are very valuable for 
dressing Grape Vine borders, Peach borders, and borders con- 
taining the roots of fruit trees generally. They are also used 
mixed with fresh soot for pointing into the surface of the soil 
for various vegetable crops, for which purpose they are very 
yaluable-—R. P. BROTHERSTON, Zyninghame. 
STRAWBERRIES IN WINTER. 
WELCOME as are ripe Strawberries in early spring, they are 
equally esteemed during the autumn and winter months. We 
think the growing of this fruit for dessert during the period 
named will become general when it is known that fruit may be 
produced through October and November equal in flavour, size, 
and colour to fruit ripened in March, In the spring the Straw- 
berry is forced in nearly every gardening establishment, but 
its cultivation for ripening fruit in the autumn seems confined 
for the present to only a few growers, At this season ripe 
Strawberries are regarded as a rarity, and are very highly 
prized hy those who haye them. We believe Strawberries can 
be grown all the year round, and would be better after Christ- 
mas than for two or three weeks before. The days begin to 
lengthen with the new year, and the increase of light and sun 
renders the ripening of the fruit better and easier than in 
December. 
The supply of ripe fruit can be kept up from the time the 
plants have done fruiting outside if necessary. The time to 
start the first batch of plants for autumn fruiting very much 
depends upon the locality and the varieties that do best. In 
some places late varieties outside are a failure, consequently 
the season is very short, and if the supply is to continue an 
early preparation is needed to meet the demand. It is, there- 
fore, necessary that the first batch of plants started to fruit 
in February and March are taken care of after the fruit is 
gathered, and gradually hardened off until they can be placed 
outside. These plants with good cultivation will again pro- 
duce fruit if required in August. lLater-forced plants will 
with similar treatment produce ripe fruit in October, Novem- 
ber, and onwards. 
We now come to another point, and not the least important 
—that is, the variety that will succeed best for our purpose ; 
this we consider the first step to success, for we might prepare 
a quantity of plants ill adapted for fruiting in the autumn. 
Hitherto Vicomtesse Héricart de Thury has been considered 
the best autumn-fruiting variety. It has its good properties, 
and will certainly produce fruit at any season of the year; 
but this has been superseded by a variety we can recommend 
to give twice the quantity of fruit of large size, flavour and 
colour being excellent. We are indebted to Mr. Hinds of 
Otterspool for being in possession of such a valuable variety 
as Underhill’s Sir Harry. If plants of this variety are forced 
in the spring, and after the fruit has been gathered the plants 
are well cared for, hardened off, and placed outside in a cool 
situation where they can receive a small season of rest, they 
will yield second crops of great value. While resting, how- 
ever, they should be attended to in the way of watering. 
After enjoying a short season of repose they are ready to be 
partially shaken out and repotted into little larger pots, or 
be planted out in borders. Wither system is good. Whether 
in pots or out they should be liberally supplied with water 
through the summer. This is all the attention they require 
It invariably shows on the crops wher- | until they commence throwing up their flower spikes, which 
