360 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



[ October 26, 1875. 



in summer. Summer ia a trying time for the Violet. The 

 heavy rains and cold dewy nights of spriog and autumn it 

 revels in ; winter with itB frost and snow it endures with 

 impunity, even the most severe eold only checks it for the time ; 

 as soon as the rays of the sun liberate its drooping leaves it is 

 up and growing again. But summer with its scorching snn 

 and drying winds it cannot withstand, and holds out signals 

 of distress ; then comes the red spider and adds to its misery. 

 Do not forsake it, then, in its hour of need — no, not even for 

 the Boses. Give it copious artificial showers, and permit no 

 robber from without or within to share the welcome supply — 

 i.e., pull up weeds and remove suckers. Xou will have your 

 wages paid in full. When the last Eose of summer has faded 

 away, and the dullest and dreariest part of the year has come, 

 your little friend which you helped in adversity will gladden 

 your heart with grateful blossoms and delightful perfumes. 

 Think of that, and the large watering pot will not seem so heavy. 

 As the summer draws to a close and the nights become 

 longer and more dewy, if you have attended to my instructions 

 you will perceive a sudden increase of vitality in your Violet 

 beds. Bright green leaves will be thrown up in abundance, 

 and soon you will discern the little flower buds clustering 

 close round the hearts of your plants. Prepare then for a 

 fresh move ; for the harvest is near, and almost before you 

 think you will gather the firstfruits. Now is the time to 

 carry out rule No. 3— Give them room and good quarters to 

 bloom in. If you wish to bloom your plants where they stand 

 see that they are not crowded ; thin-out if they are, and cut 

 off runners close to the crowns. If you mean to grow some in 

 frames you will of course need a fresh bed. One lady writes 

 ?ae, "I have not met with much success in growing the Nea- 

 politan Violet. Will you kindly give me particular directions 

 how the bed should be made ?" To begin with, then, do not 

 •trust to your bed. The best of soil will never make your 

 Violets bloom well if they have been neglected previously. 

 Poor, weak, half-starved crowns cannot produce satisfactory 

 flowers, simply because the flowers are not in them, and there- 

 fore no bed can get them out of them. A strong healthy 

 crown in September has all its blossoms already stored up in 

 embryo ; and the great object of planting the Violets out in 

 blooming beds is that that they may have room to develope 

 themselves, and to allow the oultivator to protect them and 

 to harvest them conveniently and in the best possible condi- 

 tion when they have come to perfection. A suitable soil and 

 a favourable situation are, it ia true, great aids. The blooms 

 <will be finer, higher coloured, and better shaped, but the 

 foundation must have been laid during the previous spring 

 and summer. 



As to the soil, almost any will do that is rich, moderately 

 light, and sweet. Here we have usually planted out the 

 Neapolitans for frame-culture where the ridge Cucumbers or 

 Vegetable Marrows have previously been grown, bringing up 

 and mixing with the surface soil some of the under stratum of 

 decayed manure. In such a soil and in a sunny position 

 Violets thrive admirably. The frames are on from October to 

 April, and plenty of air is given when there is no frost. 



As to sorts. If asked to name the three best doubles, dis- 

 tinct colours, I should say, First and foremost Odorata pendula, 

 deep mauve, red eye ; then Neapolitan, lilac, very lovely, large 

 and sweet ; Qaeen, large white, usually shaded with purple. 

 This is a fine Violet, but rather uncertain. I have only once 

 succeeded in blooming it well in autumn, and it sometimes 

 fails in spring. Three best singles : First, Victoria Eegina, 

 out-and-out the best, for which thanks are due to Mr. Lee ; 

 colour light bluish-purple. The blooms are very large and 

 well shaped and deliriously sweet. Czar, deep purple, good 

 and free. White Czar, a stronger-growing variety of the com- 

 mon white hedge Violet ; flowers pure white, and very good ; 

 but I wait for a better. 



We do not find it necessary in this mild climate to give 

 protection to any of the singles in winter ; the frames are 

 reserved for the doubles. To the above list of doubles I may add 

 Marie Louise. This is a very pure white and quite free from 

 purple shading, and is a very chaste and elegantly shaped flower, 

 and a free bloomer. — E. W. Beachey, Kingskerswell, Devon. 



THE AIR-TIGHT VINERY. 



The principle on which this vinery haB been constructed was 



and is to stop out all external air, with the exception of the 



small quantity which might come in through the crevices. I 



described this house some months since, but as a large crop of 



Grapes has been ripened in it this year — Muscadines ohiefly, 

 but also well-blackened Hamburghs — an allusion may be again 

 made to this simple plan of growing Grapes. 



In order to ripen a crop of Grapes thoroughly without arti- 

 ficial heat it is necessary to obtain a larger amount of long- 

 continued heat from the sun, and this can only be effected on 

 the bottling-up principle. The exclusion of air, and allowing 

 the temperature to rise to 100°, would in the ordinary house 

 oau3e total destruction to the crop if this heat without air were 

 continued several hours together. The house I am describing 

 has been built seven or eight years, and not a leaf has been 

 scorched by the sun. There are no ventilators, and the door 

 is never opened excepting when anyone enters, and it is then 

 closed immediately, the principle being never to let out the 

 heat. Anyone going into this house when the sun shines on 

 it fiercely is glad enough to make his escape. The mode of 

 construction is this : Form two flat glazed sides 8 feet in 

 height and any length (this house is only 7 feet) , let the width 

 between the flat sides be 8 feet at bottom and 4 feet at the top, 

 the ends to be upright, with a door in each end. This house 

 is to run north and Bouth. The south end is to be whitewashed 

 in summer to prevent red spider. No attention is necessary 

 after thinning the crop, excepting watering the path during 

 the heat of the day. I counted sixty-three bunches on 6 lineal 

 feet of one Bide. The whole crop was finished a fortnight 

 since, quite ripe and highly flavoured. — Obseeveb. 



PEAS IN 1876. 



As Peas are greatly influenced by the weather, I will epito- 

 mise it as it haB been in " the north." A dull cold spring, the 

 cold reaching its climax in the middle of April with frost (ther- 

 mometer 15°) and snow. Early summer cold and dry, mid- 

 summer for about a fortnight in July moist, then excessively 

 hot for a month ; late summer one continuous term of wet ; 

 from the last week in August up to the early part of October 

 there has been but few fine days. 



Early Peas have done well. Unique, a dwarf kind of about 

 18 inches in height, gave its first dish on June the 30th. It 

 was very prolific, with the pods well filled. The crop came in 

 all, or very nearly, together. It must take a good place as a 

 market kind. 



William I. was in -at the same time as Unique, the last 

 having the benefit of a south wall, which the first had not. 

 It is the very finest of all Peas for earliness, having deep green 

 well-filled pods. 



First and Best was a few days later, and was more prolific 

 than William I. ; but white Peas are not cared for when a 

 green Pea is at command. It is, however, the best early kind 

 for general purposes. 



Alpha, with its large well-filled pods of blue (wrinkled) Peas 

 of exquisite flavour, came next — only a few days after William I., 

 and was good in every respect. 



Dr. Hogg, of which I had a long row, was excellent ; it was 

 quite as early as Alpha, and more productive than that kind. 

 The Peas were of a deep green colour and very good. 



Maclean's Dwarf Prolific (Prince of Wales) did not do so 

 well as usual ; the pods filled indifferently, and fell a prey to 

 mildew. 



Veitcli's Perfection was better than Premier, Best of All, 

 Mammoth Dwarf Marrow (Jersey Hero), and G. F.Wilson, 

 which are all of the same type. It was very good, though all 

 these named muBt be included in that category in a favourable 

 season. 



Dr. Maclean waa superior in productiveness to any other 

 grown this year. It was sown at the same time, bnt proved a 

 little later than Dr. Hogg. It was of excellent quality, and 

 must take a foremost plaoe as a market kind, being probably 

 the best of the Peas of medium height for general purposes. 

 Its productiveness is equal to that of Fillbasket, whilst its 

 quality is superior, yet in this respect is not equal to some 

 others. 



Culverwell's Prolific Marrow withstood the hot weather 

 grandly, giving an abundance of pods well filled with large 

 Peas of superior quality ; in that respect I should say it is 

 unequalled, except by Connoisseur, whioh I consider is the 

 best-flavoured Pea in cultivation and the most continuous 

 bearer. 



Ne Plus Ultra and its dwarf form Omega have withstood 

 the continued wet of September and of October well, and yet 

 neither of them has been so good aa UBual. Ne Plus Ultra 

 will, if the weather continue open, keep on bearing for aome 



