September 28, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



291 



air under the frame as well as at the top. These plants make 

 their leaves close on the top of the soil, therefore before watering 

 examine the soil of each pot to make sure that water is needed. 

 Roots are also produced on the surface of the soil. These roots 

 must be taken care of, as no doubt from them the fine, broad, 

 stout foliage is supported. All suckers or side shoots may be 

 taken off, as the plants grow sufficiently large for decorative pur- 

 poses without them. Cinerarias are in many places kept in 

 good health in cold frames all through the winter ; at any rate 

 they do better in such places than on the dry boarded stages of 

 a greenhouse. If kept in frames they must be sufficiently pro- 

 tected from frost, and have all decayed matter carefully re- 

 moved from them. 



Calceolarias, too, will now need some attention. Onrs are 

 pricked-out in pans and protected with hand-lights. They grow 

 more daring winter than at any other time. They, too, will do 

 wonderfully well in a frame in winter, and do not mind a little 

 moisture on the foliage provided it is not stagnant. They must 

 be shifted into larger pots as soon as the roots reach the sides 

 of the small pots, not allowing them to become matted together, 

 or the plants stop growing andsend-np flowering shoots ; but if 

 shifted judiciously and the flowering shoots are picked off, very 

 fine plants are produced which flower in April and May. In the 

 spring when the days have become warm a sprinkling cf water 

 over the plants and around the pots helps to strengthen the 

 foliage very much. They must have plenty of air, and a tem- 



Eerature of 45° or 50° will grow them well. Two-thirds of rich 

 ght loam, the rest leaf Boil and sand, or if no leaf soil is at 

 hand, one part of very dry flaky cow dung sifted through a fine- 

 meshed sieve, adding a little charcoal as Btated for the Cine- 

 raria, will be very suitable, and in this compost the plants ought 

 to thrive well. 



Chrysanthemums now require training, as they are just grow- 

 ing into large plants and are Betting their flower buds. Use as 

 few sticks as possible ; the disturbed foliage will return to its 

 natural position after tying. Bach Bhoot Bhould be tied outside 

 of the sticks in order to hide them as much as possible. Now is 

 the time to give these plants weak liquid manure twice a-week, 

 which will help to keep the leaves healthy and assist in swelling 

 the flower buds. If dry days should come on the plants must 

 be sprinkled overhead in the afternoon, for if a plant loses its 

 foliage before flowering it is an unsightly plant, and will not 

 flower in any way satisfactorily. If it is required to have plants 

 in small potB many of the medium-sized shoots should be taken 

 out, and in order to have fine large flowers some of the buds 

 will need thinning-ont, but in our case we want as many flowers 

 as we can possibly produce. 



Bedding Plants. — Complete the propagating as quickly as 

 possible, and where there is no room to put the cuttings under 

 glass they ought to be arranged in beds, and have a covering of 

 canvas placed over the glaBS at night. Oar Geraniums, VerbenaB, 

 &c, are all exposed outdoors and most of them are rooted. We 

 have already had Blight frosts, which have altered the colour of 

 Alternantheras and some other tender plants, which is a hint 

 that a watch must be kept, and shelter must be in readiness for 

 plants which we wish to preserve. Heliotropes, Nasturtiums, 

 Lobelias, Verbenas, Alternantheras, Mesembryanthemums, Abu- 

 tilons, Salvias, Petunias, and other softwooded plants have been 

 put m thickly in pots ; theBe plants will be considered as store 

 plants through the winter, and will be potted-off early in the 

 spring and propagated from as quickly as possible. We have 

 not room to treat them more liberally. A few old frames are in 

 readiness to receive old plants that are to be taken up from the 

 beds. Dahlias, Salvias, &c, will be stored in a dry shed. 



Our attention will next be turned to preparing a place for 

 bedding Calceolaria cuttings. The plants will be left as long as 

 possible, and the cuttings will be taken just before frost and 

 inserted in frames. At the same time cuttings of the Golden 

 Chickweed, PansieB of the common sorts, Gazanias, Gnapha- 

 liums, and Alyssums will be put in, for we find all these to keep 

 well with the Calceolarias. The cuttings of Calceolarias and 

 Alyssums will not bear the sun, therefore these are put in 

 together so as to be Bhaded; the others are not shaded at all, 

 A bed of soil is made up, and a frame placed upon it and filled- 

 up with good cuttings, the soil being within a few inches of the 

 glass, and the cuttings generally root auickly and well. — Thomas 

 Re coed. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST AND WORK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Usually at this Beason of the year there is plenty of vacant 

 ground requiring to be dug or trenched, and when time can be 

 spared it is always beBt to trench vacant ground instead of 

 digging it; and just a word in passing about trenching. As a 

 matter of course, if this can be done early in the autumn when 

 the ground is dry, so much the better in many ways— it is better 

 for wheeling the manure, so is it easier to move soil that is 

 comparatively dry than when it is saturated with water, and in 



early Bpring soil that has been worked in the autumn is much 

 better adapted for all kinds of crops than that worked in the 

 dead of winter. Further, it is not uncommon for men to be sent 

 to trench a piece of ground that has been made hard by frequently 

 trampling upon it, and they fork the hard lumps into the bottom 

 of the trenches without taking any pains to break them up. The 

 proper thing to do with hard ground is to fork it up, first break- 

 ing the top spit well during the process. If the ground can lie 

 a week or two in thiB state so much the better. Another object 

 to be attained by trenching is to give a larger dressing of manure 

 to the ground than could be applied if it had only been dug. 

 A good way to apply the manure is to spread a thick coating 

 over the Burface of the Boil, and as the first spit of earth is 

 forked into the opening that haB been made at one end of the 

 ground, the manure becomes mixed with it. The looBe soil 

 should then be thrown in with a spade or shovel, another 

 dressing of manure may be placed over this, then a spit of earth, 

 and another shovelling from the bottom of the trench to finish. 

 It is a further advantage to fork-up the hard bottom. In this 

 way, by taking two BpitB and two shovellings, the ground is 

 stirred-up to the depth of over 2 feet. If the ground requires 

 digging only, let it be done to a uniform depth and as neatly 

 hh possible, and whether it is dug or trenched it ought to be left 

 perfectly level. 



The dry weather has been very favourable for earthing-up 

 Celery. It is too early yet to earth-up the general crop, but 

 that required, say, a month or six weeks hence, may now be 

 earthed-up. In our district it is quite necessary to water late 

 crops to prevent them from running to seed. Celery requires 

 a considerable supply of water at the roots, and when soil has 

 been added to it for a distance up the stem the surface may be 

 quite moist, and underneath where the fibrous roots are at 

 work the ground may be quite drained of moisture. If the 

 ground is not yet prepared for spring Cabbages it ought to be 

 done at once. A good dressing of manure is necessary, as the 

 Cabbage iB a very gross feeder, and the quality is deteriorated 

 when the plants are grown in poor soil. The hoe should be 

 freely used amongBt autumn-sown Onions, Spinach, Lettuce, and 

 other crops. 



MELONS AND CUCUMBERS. 



So far the weather has been all that can be wished for the 

 ripening of MelonB and the growth of Cucumber plants; for 

 without vigorous growth good-flavoured and handsome Cucum- 

 bers are not possible. When the Melons are grown in houses 

 properly constructed and well heated the requisite night tem- 

 perature, 65°, can easily be kept up, and if the fruit is ripening 

 a little air should be admitted all night at the apex of the 

 roof ; but artificial heat, though neceBsary to obtain good Melons 

 at this season, cannot compensate for want of sunshine, and it 

 is principally on the amount of sunshine the plants receive that 

 the flavour of the fruit depends. The plants should be well 

 watered at the roots until the fruit is within a week of changing, 

 and no more ought to be given, and it will not be necesBary now 

 to throw much water about on the paths and walls of the houses. 

 Melons in frames are not likely to be of good flavour, for long 

 and cold nights tell upon the plants. If the night temperature 

 should continue to fall aa low as 45° it is of much advantage to 

 throw a mat over the frame, and the heat might be further 

 kept up by a lining of hot manure, leaves, or the sweepirjgs from 

 the lawn. 



Our Cucumber plants in the house have continued to bear 

 abundantly since March, and the vigorous growth they now 

 make gives promise that they would bear until March cornea 

 round again. Messrs. Kelway of Langport sent seeds of two 

 new varieties for trial. Both of them have turned out well, and 

 have held their own against Tender and True, which was planted 

 with them for comparison. Kelway's Conqueror is a very 

 prolific variety, and is distinct from any other sort that has 

 been grown at Loxf ord. It resembles in many respects a variety 

 that iB grown to a large extent in the neighbourhood of Chelten- 

 ham, and that has been frequently exhibited under the name of 

 Dreadnought. It is an excellent Cucumber both for summer 

 and winter use. The other sort on being compared with Tender 

 and True is so like it that many persons have been deceived 

 and thought that it was that sort. It is strong in growth, bears 

 freely in winter as well as Bummer, and is also well adapted for 

 exhibition. Mr. Kelway has named it Kelway's New Winter 

 Cucumber. 



We shall clear out our old plants in a few weeks, and plant 

 the same varieties again. The plants have been raised from 

 seedB, and will come into bearing a few weeks after they are 

 planted out. We pot the plants on into 8 and 9-inch pots. 

 What with syringing and moisture in the house, the glass over 

 the plants has been quite obscured with a greenish substance 

 that generally accumulates when the glass cannot be washed. 

 When the old plants are removed it will give us a chance to 

 have a thorough clean-out— both glass and woodwork will be 

 washed over with warm soft water. 



OECHABD HOUSE. 



All the fruit has been gathered now and the trees repotted 



