August SI, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



195 



day. When we say it is produoed under the direction of 

 M. Ed. Morren of Liege we have a guarantee that the informa- 

 tion it oontains is reliable. 



The Lavender Hakvest. — The recent heat has had 



the effect of improving greatly the Lavender harvest. It may 

 not be generally known that we have such an industry in 

 England. A correspondent writes recommending those who 

 have seen and admired the flower farms of Provence to pay a 

 visit some warm summer like the present, at the end of July 

 or beginning of August, to the Lavender fields, planted some- 

 thing over half a century ago outside the town of Hitchin, 

 where, the correspondent believes, the comparison of sweet 

 scents will be in favour of our Hertfordshire gardens. 



M. de Sapokta has recently communicated to the Cen- 

 tral Horticultural Society of France a note on the minimum 

 temperature which can be borne by Eucalyptus globulus and 

 other plants in the south of France. M. de Saporta remarks 

 that, during the winter of 1870, the temperature at Hjeres 

 sank to 8° C. below freezing point (25° Fahr., or 17° of frost), 

 when the Lemon was killed to within 3 feet of the ground, the 

 Orange half-way down, while the Eucalyptus globulus only 

 Buffered in some of its smaller branches. Buonapartea sp., 

 Dracasna indivisa, Chamserops excelsa, Sabal umbraculifera, 

 and Cocos australis remained unhurt; and Corypha australis 

 was muoh injured, but subsequently recovered. The Date 

 Palm suffered but little, though the Oleander was killed to the 

 ground. All the plants just mentioned were planted in the 

 open, and received no protection. ChamiBrops excelsa in the 

 Basses Alpes withstood a cold of 16° C. below freezing point 

 (6° Fahr., or 26° of frost), with only a little litter around the 

 stem. Eucalyptus globulus does well in slightly moiBt or even 

 in dry soils, but not in those which are constantly moist; 

 while Sabal Adansonii, which also resisted 8° C. below freezing 

 point, does well in marshy places. 



Borax, says the English Mechanic, is said to have 



yielded good resultB in an investigation into its merits as an 

 antiseptic. A solution destroys the spores of parasitic plants, 

 as the minute fungi on Grapes, &c, and also has a remarkable 

 power of arresting the lower forms of animal life. A saturated 

 solution of boracio acid, with a small quantity of borax, salt, 

 and saltpetre, makes a " brine " in which fresh meat is treated 

 with so muoh sucoess that it can be preserved untainted even 

 in the hottest parts of the earth. 



Wh are informed that not less than £10,000 worth of 



flowers were sold in Paris on the 25 th inst. in preparation for 

 the fete of St. Louis, which took place on the day following. 



A third edition of Mr. Francis George Heath's work 



" The Fern Paradise," whioh we favourably reviewed a short 

 time since, is we understand in the press. 



OUE BORDER FLOWERS-GLOBE THISTLE. 



To those who are interested in border flowers the present is 

 a time of year when collections should be inspected, notes 

 taken, and selections made, for now many of our summer 

 border flowers are in beauty, and the autumn-flowering plants 

 are following in their wake. 



From many parts of the world we have had imported several 

 different kinds of Globe Thistles, but how seldom do we meet 

 with any number of them in cultivation. Some are ready to 

 say of them that they are vulgar-looking plants, but look a 

 little closer and examine their structure before thus deciding. 

 Under some circumstances we meet with two or three kinds, 

 principally in some old-established nursery, where they used to 

 have care bestowed upon them and are now looked on as heir- 

 looms. As individual plants for out-of-the-way corners, open 

 spaces in shrubberies, or wilderness walks, no plants are better 

 adapted than the Globe Thistles ; but to see them to advantage 

 they should be grown in groups, and they will secure a pro- 

 minent place in the enthusiastic cultivator's estimation. 



Echinops sphserocephalus, introduced from Austria in 1596, 

 should be found in all shrubbery borders. When well grown 

 it is a noble plant, and when established it only requires to be 

 left alone and will last for many years. E. Ritro and E. spi- 

 nosus are the kinds most commonly met with. Others there 

 are that ought to be more frequently seen, some of them having 

 a woolly appearance, which adds a charm to their noble stature. 

 These might be introduced into subtropical gardening with 

 good effect. They do not object to partial shade, but succeed 

 well in full exposure. Loam and grit broken up to the depth of 

 2 feet will afford them a good medium for their development. 



They should have efficient drainage, and water as required. 

 They remain loDg in bloom, and are useful for exhibition. The 

 taller kinds require staking to guard them against wind. Old 

 stools are the better for having the shoots thinned out when 

 growth has commenced. They are increased by division in 

 autumn or spring — the latter is the best time ; the operation 

 requires care in the performance of it. — Veritas. 



NOTES on VILLA and SUBURBAN GARDENING. 



KITCHEN garden. 

 Such dry weather as we have had, and the effect it has had upon 

 vegetables generally, will, or ought to, induce people to house 

 their produce as soon as they can do so. As far as my experience 

 goes, it is too late to expect any benefit from rain if it comes to 

 such crops as Onions, Carrots, Potatoes, Salsafy, Scorzonera, 

 Beetroot, &c, because the continuance of dry weather has 

 caused a aort of premature ripening, whioh ought to be a guide 

 to growers to take up their crops and store them. We often 

 witneBB that after root crops have nearly completed their growth 

 and rain comes on, they begin to grow again. For instance, 

 the Potato is one of the first to do that, and it is well to bear in 

 mind the injury which follows. When Carrots and the other 

 root crops I have mentioned begin to throw out white roots 

 their quality is consequently very muoh deteriorated. 



I have never found that root crops increase in size after this 

 time in such a BeaBon as the present. The Onion is one of those 

 roots that if it ia not taken up now will not begin to root so Boon 

 aa many other crops ; but it takes up moisture to such an extent 

 that it neither keepB well in the ground nor out of it, for if put 

 into ever bo dry a place the bulbs will not keep ; therefore it 

 is not out of place at this season of maturation of crops in 

 general to remind cultivators that there is as much or more 

 judgment required to know when a crop Bhould be taken up- 

 and to keep it afterwards as there is in the sowing and growing 

 of it. If Onions are pulled up in dry weather they may be left 

 on the ground for some time; but should there be signs of wet 

 they Bhould be taken in when dry and laid out on a floor with 

 a dry bottom until they are pretty well " harvested," and then 

 to be strung upon sticks according to size and the number 

 likely to be used at a time, and suspended anywhere where they 

 can be kept dry. 



"When the ground is cleared the succeeding crop ought to bo 

 considered. Let the Onion ground be well manured and trenched 

 in preparation for planting with Cabbages, which may be planted 

 out at any favourable time. 



"With regard to the crops of Broccoli and greens of different 

 kinds, some would Bay that they ought to be earthed-up when 

 they arrive at a Buitable size. Now, in such seasons as the 

 present I do not agree with earthing too soon, for nearly all 

 know that when plants are earthed-np that it is considered a 

 finish to them, and they are left to themselves; whereas I con- 

 sider that, though earthing of such tall-growing crops secures 

 them from injury by the wind, they are not benefited by earth- 

 ing if the operation iB done too soon. For instance, the soil 

 can be worked and kept clean much better ; but if rain comes 

 now, which we very much want, the plants would receive more 

 benefit from it than if they were earthed ; and if we take the 

 Brussels Sprouts for example, which, according to the season, 

 are not so far advanced aa they are in more favourable years, 

 they have much growth yet to make, and they will do it better- 

 by non-earthing than by earthing, but by all meanB earth them 

 afterwards. 



Scarlet Runners are now cropping well, but had it not been 

 for watering and mulching there wonld not have been half a 

 crop. Not havirrg any rain for many weeks the system of 

 watering ia all-important; but if it is done without mulching 

 it cannot have had such a beneficial effect. It iB a good plan 

 before mulching to stir the ground well and then put the 

 manure on, which fixes itself on the surface of the soil, and, as 

 it were, draws the roots to the surface, where they can receive 

 the benefit of moisture ; but if the soil is watered without this 

 surface-dressing, and the sun plays upon it with such effect, 

 and it becomes caked so that air oannot enter, the crop does 

 not do so well in consequence. Mulching ought to be more 

 generally adopted in the summer cultivation of nearly all crops, 

 — Thomas Record. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST AND WORK FOR 



THE PRESENT WEEK. 



kitchen garden. 

 The warm showers have caused weeds to start freely on ground} 

 that had been prepared for Coleworts, Broccoli, &c, and it has 

 been necessary to run the Dutch hoe through between the rows. 

 The ground is now in excellent order for sowing or planting. 

 Perhaps other districts not far removed from ua have not had so 

 much rain, as all that has fallen here has been in the form of 

 thunder showers, which are usually local. We had last week on 



