354 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENED. 



[ October 19, 1876. 



object in variegated plants, we consider young plants preferable to old plants, 

 though we find the latter very useful for filling the centres of the beds with 

 the yonng plants on the margin. The old plants do not require to be started 

 in heat, bat should be kept rather dry until they start into growth. Plants 

 in frames will keep safer from frost at a distance from the glass of 12 inches 

 rather than 6 inches, but if frost be excluded the nearer they are to the glass 

 without touching the better. 



Potatoes {Tuber). — You may justly expect a good crop next year on old 

 grass land broken up, although you have had a crop of Potatoes this year. 

 Have the dead sods well divided, and plant Ash-leaved Kidneys next April. 



Muleeebv; Geranium (W. W.). — You may have a rooted cutting in the 

 spring. 



Cedrus deodaba Coxes. — The Eev. H. Bullock says that they are on a 

 tree in his vicarage garden at Ewyas Harold, Hereford. 



Hippeastee {Miss Smith). — The bulbs you have received with this name 

 beloDg to the genus Hippeastrum and the natural order_Amaryllidacese. 



Select Gladioli (C. Thomas). — Twelve extra-fine Gladioluses — French 

 varieties are : Genevra, Leda, Pactole-, Mnrillo, Ondine, Psyche, Le Vesuve, 

 Jupiter, Meyerbeer, Da Ylirbel, Horace Yernet, and Christophe Colomb. 

 Twelve second best : Adolphe Brongniart, Ariadne, Delicatissima, Eugene 

 Scribe, Le Phare, Legouve, Madame Desportes, Madame Furtado, Marie 

 Stuart, Michael Ange, Orphee, and Shakespeare. 



Rhododendrons foe Forcing (Ireland). — The varieties you name may 

 be plunged — jast covering their pots — in a sheltered position in your garden 

 until you require to place them under glass. 



Scale on Camellias (IF. R.).— Deficient moisture in the air of the house 

 promotes the production of the scale insect. The following mixture i3 a 

 remedy: — Soft soap, 2 lbs.; flowers of sulphur, 2 lbs. ; tobacco, 1 lb.; and a 

 wine-glass of spirits of turpentine. Mix the sulphur, turpentine, and soap 

 into a paste with warm water; boil the tobacco for an hour in a covered 

 saucepan in some more water, strain it, mk it with the soapy mixture, and 

 then add enough water to make five gallons. More tender plants can only 

 have their stems and leaves sponged with water at a temperature of llo^ 

 frequently, and so loDg as a single insect can be detected. 



Hollyhock Leaves Diseased (J. P. A.). — They are infested with the 

 Hollyhock parasitical fungus, Puccinia malvacearum. Cut off all the leaves 

 imm ediately and burn them, and dust over the stumps of the plants with 

 flowers of sulphur. 



Sou, of Flowee Bobdees (P. McL). — Apply well-decomposed stable 

 manure early in the spring, and point it in with a garden fork. 



Manuee fob Strawberries (E. t Gahcay). — If the soil is poor, stable 

 manure may be dug into it previously to planting. Burying it 2 feet is bad 

 practice. It should be mixed with the upper foot of soil. Bone manure 

 between the rows should be also dug-in with a fork. 

 _ Wire foe Feutt Teee Training (Careful). — Galvanised iron wire three- 

 sixteenths of an inch in diameter is the most generally serviceable. 



Medlars (An Amateur). — Keep them in a cool place until they are decayed, 

 or bletted, which is the technical name of the decayed state. They are then 

 an excellent dessert fruit. The plant enclosed is Sweet-scented Yerbena, 

 Aloysia citriodora. 



Black CHEREr foe Wall (E. F. ft). — Against your south-west wall plant 

 ihe Black Tartarian, It is quite hardy, large, and mo3t excellent. 



Distances foe Planting Fedit Teees (J. E.). — Apples and Pears a3 

 espaliers should be IS feet apart, and Pears on the Quince as standards 

 ishould be 16 feet apart; but we would plant them S feet at first, and thin 

 them out to 16 feet when the trees become crowded. 



Feutt Teees fob Mabket Purposes (J. B.). — "We advise you to grow 

 those varieties that succeed well in the neighbourhood in which you live. 

 The Prune and Damascene are the same. You should try the Cluster 

 Damson or Crittenden's Prolific. It is a good bearer, and the fruit large. 

 Yon could not have seen the true sort. Your selection of Plums is a good 

 one. Have you tried Early Prolific for the earliest variety ? It is the earliest 

 market Plum. You would see what has been said about Domino Apple in 

 our pages. Balosse. Croft Castle, and Hessle are Pears that bear enormously. 

 You omit Williams' Bon Chretien, Suffolk Thorn, Jargonelle, Windsor, and 

 Beurre d'Amanlis from your list. They are all free-bearing sorts in the open 

 -ground. Some late varieties of Pears bear as freely as early sorts. 



Grapes Decaying (A. B.). — The immediate cause of the decay of your 

 Grapes is the heavy rains succeeeding a long period of drought, the rains 

 falling just at the time the Grapes commenced ripening. The border, by 

 the long term of sunny weather, bad become unusually warm, and the 

 moisture it has since received has caused the roots of the Vines to be ex- 

 ceedingly active, furnishing more sap to the Vines than the foliage could 

 appropriate and exhale — hence the bursting of the berries. That is the 

 immediate cause of the decay. We further consider that your "S ine border 

 is deficient in phosphates, which accounts for the extreme thinness of the 

 skins of the berries. As you have surface- manured your border for some 

 years we advise you to carefully remove a few inches of the surface soil— just 

 baring but not injuring the roots, and replace with fresh loam and crushed 

 fcones— 3 cwt. of bones to a good cartload of loam. This would give stamina 

 to the Vines. You can afterwards surface-dress the border with manure as 

 usual. It you give this change of food and do not overcrop the Vines, the 

 Grapes will acquire more substance of cuticle, and will be less liable to decay 

 than in their present state. Had you covered the border and prevented the 

 rain entering it at a critical time, your Grapes would have kept better. 

 Your real remedy, however, is to reduce the humus and increase the phos- 

 phates in the border by the means suggested. If you can add charcoal and 

 wood ashes to the loam and bones we advise you to do so. By adopting the 

 mcde now recommended we have greatly improved Vines which were in a 

 similar condition to yours. We suspect also that you have been overcropping. 



Names of Fruits (Connaught Subscriber). — The single Pear is Gansel's 

 Bergamot. No. 1, Winter Nelis; 2, Comte de Lamy. (John A. Huggan). — 

 Rousselet de Bheims, (H. F.).—It is a Physalis, or Cape Gooseberry, and 

 not admissible in a collection of fruits for exhibition. (B. Cordell). — Golden 

 Pippin is the Apple. The Ferns had no sporeB. (Scybor).— 174, Nectarine 

 Pear; 102, BeurTe d'Amanlis; 205, Beurre Hardy; 123, Bellissime d'Hiver. 

 The rest were decaved. (D., Guernsey). — A.Ord'sApple; b, Blenheim Pippin ; 

 -c, Formosa; d, Dumelow's Seedling; e, Blenheim Pippin; f, Formosa. 

 (Devon*. — 2, Baxter's Pearmain; 4, Ribston Pippin; 5, Morning Pippin. 

 (L. R. Lucas, jun.). — Apples: 2, King of the Pippins; 8, Scarlet Nonpareil ; 

 17, Warner's King; 20, Adams' Pearmain. Pears: 1, Rotten ; 3, Fondante 



d'Automne; b, Bellissime d'Hiver. We cannot name more than six 

 specimens. (Connaught Subscriber). — Apple : Pearson's Plate. Pear: No. 1 

 cannot be identified ; No. 2, Leopold L (Knutsford).-l is a fine Apple, and 

 is new to us ; 2, Osterley Pippin ; 3, not known. 



Names of Plants (Mrs. L.Fox). — Euonymus europans, Spindle Tree. (A 

 Constant Reader). — We cannot name from leaves without flowers or fronds 

 without spores. 



POTJLTKT, BEE, AND PIGEON 0KR0HI0LE. 



LES BASSES-COUES D'ANGLETEREE. 

 Chaptes IX.— CREETLKG, NEEDHAM MARKET. 



Oub first view of Mr. Horace Lingwood's Brahmas was across 

 the river. We had walked from Needham station by the side 

 of the water, and when we came to the mill we came to the 

 Brahmas. We cannot easily forget that first peep. It had been 

 a showery mornicg, but at that moment the san was shining 

 brightly, and the leaves just tinged with the autumnal shades 

 shone with the drops npon them ; while nnderneath, quite 

 down among the rushes and sedges at the water's edge, were 

 the world-renowned Brahmas. Instantly it flashed across our 

 minds what Mr. Lingwood had so often written to us : "Mine 

 is a beautiful summer place for poultry, but in winter it is 

 terribly bad." We can only say, after anyone has seen the 

 place for the first time, they must wonder as much as we did at 

 the marvellous career Mr. Lingwood has enjoyed. The yards 

 are all on the side of a little hill, and slope down to the edge of 

 the river ; they are thickly planted with large trees, and divided 

 by wire nettiug. The houses are quite plain, and made of 

 wood. There is no pretence at decoration or ornamental work 

 which some might expect in so great an establishment, but 

 everything seems to have been done to economise space and to 

 make the most of everything. When we thought how for year 

 after year the enormous winning cockerels at all the great exhi- 

 bitions have come from this yard, we at once realised what skill 

 and judicious mating and personal management can do. 



This year, so far, Mr. Lingwood has certainly been behind, 

 but it will not be for long, for we venture to think that we saw 

 some cockerels coming on which will perfectly keep up the 

 world-wide reputation of the Creeting Dark Brahmas. Of one 

 thing, however, there is no doubt ; an immense number of birds 

 have been reared year after year on a very small space, and this 

 cannot go on for ever, so it is possible that the land has become 

 tainted, and consequently it ia more difficult to keep the birds 

 in health. Mr. Lingwood believes this himself, and this is why 

 he is so anxious to find a fresh home with better poultry accom- 

 modation. We could only think what a pity it is that he 

 cannot possess a few of the rich broad acres of grass that sur- 

 round him closely on every side, which would then make the 

 place a Brahma manufactory second to none, for as it is the 

 wetness of the ground must be a very serious drawback and 

 loss. But we will pasB on to the birds. 



In front of the house is a good-sized lawn surrounded with 

 shrubs. Here the chicks are brought as soon as hatched, and 

 when the chickens are able to pass from this run it is used again 

 no more, but is reserved for the broods of another year. Going 

 from this lawn we pass to the back of the house, where we find 

 on a little run by the back dcor what is to our mind the hero 

 of the yards. It is the grandest old Dark Brahma cock we 

 ever saw; he was just getting over his moult, and with hackles 

 the colour of a new shilling. He seemed to walk about as if 

 " Crystal Palace first-and-cup " was written on his back. Next 

 to him, in a run only divided by some wooden palings, were the 

 Dark hens. We were told that they had died by half-dozens 

 this year from some complaint which Mr. Lingwood puts down 

 as arising from the tainted ground, but we have heard right and 

 left this season of deaths among Asiatic hens. Some of these 

 were Btill in deep moult, some just getting over it, but through 

 old and new feathers we saw good pencill i ng and good shape. 

 Then we saw old cocks (Lights and Darks) in small grass runs 

 with tents over them. This was to keep off the sun, and we 

 can well believe they prove very useful. Among the inmates 

 we noticed one or two splendid fellows nearly over their moult ; 

 and among all the others, who were still in " rags," we observed 

 those neat combs and those broad backs which so mark Mr. 

 Lingwood's strain. 



Tne next yard was the pullet run, and this we liked the best 

 of all. It was a triangular piece of ground, and quite on the 

 slope. Here and there peeped out large pieces of red rock, 

 among which the pullets had apparently made a miniature 

 mountain pass ; and as we looked at them the whole lot, quite 

 thirty we are sure, went out for a walk, and passed one by one 

 in single file, like so many Ducks, up the steepest part. As 

 they passed we had a good view of every one of them, and a 

 splendid lot they were, one or two being, perhaps, much more 

 remarkable for pencilling than the others, and these were mostly 

 quite young and undeveloped as yet ; but we noticed here, we 

 thought, as we have done in so many places and at so many 

 shows, that as a rule the best pencilled birds are not the best 



