November 9, 1878. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



411 



colour for the past two months, and is not to be depended upon 

 as a general decorative bedding plant. Like the Golden Thyme 

 it is in some districts green over half the year, and is not suit- 

 able for the purpose for which it was intended. We have some 

 large scarlet Geraniums trained to a wall every summer, and 

 they flower so satisfactorily that they are to be recommended 

 especially for the purpose. These have all been taken up care- 

 fully and with as much ball as possible, and taken t > a light 

 open shed placed on the floor and surrounded with dry leaf soil. 

 Here they remain till the spring, but they lose every leaf during 

 winter; but they are induced to do so gradually by being 

 sprinkled overhead every day or two, and the leaves as they die 

 are kept cleared off. In the spring, just as they begin to break 

 their buds and make a little root in the soil, the plants are put 

 into such sized pots as will just accommodate their roots; the 

 plants are then staked, and are ready for transferring to a more 

 suitable place. This is not a glaBB house, however, but a tempo- 

 rary erection of thatched hurdles, high enough to shelter the 

 plants, yet not so high as to shade them from the sun. The 

 tops of the hurdles are not thatched, but a covering of mats are 

 put over the plants every night. The front hurdle is moveable, 

 so that the plants can be reached for any purpose. This mode 

 < f keeping such Geraniums may be as useful to some others as 

 it is to me. 



Taking-up Dahlias. — These have been cut down to within a 

 foot or so of the ground, and if the roots are covered with fern 

 or any other litter they will keep alive all the winter. I do not 

 advise that mode of keeping them, especially for choice sorts, 

 for I find that they break very weakly in the spring, and if they 

 flower a little earlier it is at a time when flowers are plentifnl 

 and when Dahlias are not required. The safest plan is to take 

 np the roots and pack them in dry soil or Band in a place where 

 frost cannot reach them. Great care should be taken that the 

 tubers are not bruised, and they ought to be moderately dry 

 before storing away, and afterwards not allowed to have much 

 moisture. I usually plant them out again in April after the soil 

 has been manured and trenched. Salvia patens I treat in a 

 similar way during winter and spring only, and to prevent the 

 tubers shrivelling they are stored in rather moist soil.— Thomas 

 Record. 



DOING.S OP THE LAST AND WOEK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



We have often oalled attention to the necessity of pruning 

 fruit trees during the summer and autumn months, especially 

 those subjected to training, but we also find time to prune the 

 standard Apple and Pear trees. At the same time it is necessary 

 to look over all the trees at this season or during winter as timo 

 can be spared. Some gardeners do but little to their fruit trees 

 during summer, and depend almost entirely upon the winter 

 season for pruning. It will be best to take advantage of all the 

 fine weather for pruning and nailing the wall fruit, for during 

 frosty or wet cold weather other work that will not be eo trying 

 to the constitution may be proceeded with. We prune all the 

 hardiest trees first, such as Apples, Pears, Plums, and Cherries, 

 reserving Apricots, Peaches, and Nectarines until the last. A 

 not uncommon mistake in pruning and training wall trees is to 

 lay-in the wood too closely; bat it is not enough to thin it now. 

 Tnis ought to have been done duriDg the growing season, so 

 that the wood and fruit buds would be fully exposed to the 

 light, and air would be freely admitted to the trees. It is a sign 

 of unskilful culture when the older wall trees become bare along 

 the main branches. The young wood must be trained in such 

 a manner that these are hidden as much as possible by it; and 

 this skilful manipulation of the young wood will cause the trees 

 to be regularly furnished with fruit all over the wall, instead 

 of only bearing at the ends of the younger branches. The 

 lower portion of the wall is also very often bare of healthy fruit- 

 bearing wood; especially is this to be noticed on Peaoh and 

 Nectarine trees, and always worst on those trees that have not 

 made much healthy young wood. The only plan is to bring the 

 main branches down nearer the surface of the ground. There 

 is always plenty of wood to fill up the centre of the trees. 



Out-of-door Grape Vines may now be pruned and trained. 

 In the neighbourhood of London Black Hamburgh Grapes ripen 

 well on wallB in fine seasons, and the Royal Muscadine may 

 invariably be depended upon to produce a crop. The Black 

 Cluster is also well adapted for wall culture in the open air. 

 We have seen excellent orops of Grapes on walls not more than 

 5 feet in height, forming the division lines between small villa 

 gardens. The best method of training is to conduot a Bhoot 

 right and left from the main stem in a horizontal direction 

 along the base of the wall about a foot from the surface of the 

 ground, and from these horizontal rods train upright growths 

 about 2 feet apart. These ought to be renewed every second or 

 third year. This method of training is not often pursued, but 

 it is the best, not only for obtaining a good supply of fruit of the 

 best quality, but also for the appearance of tne walls. Old 



scrubby canes never produce large bunches, and such varieties 

 as Royal Muscadine and White Sweetwater fail to produce any 

 bunches when the wood becomes old and the spurs are oloBely 

 cut in. 



Fruit borders may be dug after the leaves have fallen and the- 

 trees have been looked over to remove any wood not required 

 for next season. See that all planting is done as soon as possible, 

 according to previous directions. 



PINE HOUSES. 



The work required in this department varies but little from 

 week to week at this Beason of the year. The temperature of 

 the house where fruit is ripening is maintained by night at 66.°. 

 Houses where the plants are at rest are kept 10° lower; very 

 little water is required at the roots of the plants, and no water 

 should be kept in the steam troughs. When the days are fine 

 with a good deal of sunshine and the nights frosty the air be- 

 comes dry, and moisture may then be supplied by damping the- 

 paths and walls of the house early in the forenoon. All other 

 work is tho same as that detailed in previous weeks. 



Orange Trees in Pots. — Some of the Oranges have begun to- 

 change colour, others are not more than half the size they will 

 yet attain, and are qnite green. A temperature of 65° is neces- 

 sary for them, and the leaves as well as the branches mast be 

 kept clean by handwashing with soapy water. Orange trees 

 require generous treatment in order to produce full-Bized fruit 

 of good flavour. In addition to the Bubstamtial turfy loam io 

 which the trees are potted they require to be surface-dressed 

 with guano or blood manure when the pots have become filled 

 with roots, bat each concentrated stimulants require to be mixed 

 with an equal proportion of loam and pounded charcoal, and a. 

 handful of this applied to the surface of the pots occasionally 

 causes the leaves, if they were of a pale green previously, to be- 

 come of a dark glossy green. The Tangerine is the earliest, and 

 we have had fruit of this variety in November and December of 

 the best possible flavour, and twice as large as the best foreign- 

 specimens sold in Covent Garden Market. St. Michael's and 

 Maltese Blood have given us good fruit as late as April. The 

 frait hangs a long time after it is ready to gather, but it loses 

 flavour when over-ripe. 



CUCUMBER HOUSE. 



We put the plants out this autumn in a much less quantity of 

 compost than nsual, and we find they succeed best when there 

 is not a large body of soil. When visiting at Hardwicke Hall 

 last winter I was particularly struck with the small quantity of 

 soil Mr. Fish used both for Melons and Cucumbers. The soil 

 was, I believe, not more than a few inches in depth and laid on 

 a slate platform, which also served the purpose of a stage fur 

 plants during the winter season. We train the shoots a few 

 inches nearer the glass in winter, but the trellis is made move- 

 able, and can be raised or lowered at pleasure. Cucumber plants 

 ought to be grown in a rather moist atmosphere, and the tempe- 

 rature ought not to full below 65° at night, and as much air 

 should be admitted by day as possible. Unless the leaveB are 

 thick and firm in texture good Cucumbers will not be produced., 

 nor will the plants continue long in good health. Red spider 

 must be kept irom the leaves by syringing them thoroughly on 

 fine morniugs. The water must be applied with considerable 

 force, but the work must not be done by inexperienced hands., 

 else the leaves, which are very fragile, might be torn into shreds 

 by the force of the water. On the first appearance of mildcw 

 dust the affected parts with dry sulphur. Thrips do much 

 damage and are very difficult to destroy, but nothing is more- 

 effectual than fumigating with tobacco Bmoke. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



These structures are now gay with Chrysanthemums of sorts, 

 and these will continue producing flowers until after Christmas. 

 More than any other class of florists' flowers the CbryBanthemum 

 contains varieties that bloom very early and others very late, 

 and each claBs contains such flowers that open at different 

 stages. Take, for instance, the Chinese or large-flowering sec- 

 tion. One of the earliest to open is the beautiful clear yellow 

 Gloria Mundi, the bright crimson Dr. Sharp, followed by the 

 pure white incurved Mrs. G. Bundle and the primrose and 

 golden spoits from it. Empress of India, white; Guernsey 

 Nugget, primrose ; Jardin des PlanteB, golden; Queen of Eng- 

 land, and sports from it, are all among the early flowers. Those 

 to open about three weeks later than the earliest of the above- 

 are Lady Slade, Princess of Wales, Princess of Teck, Venus, 

 Pink Perfection, Lady Hardinge, and Isabella Bott. In the 

 Pompon section we have the same results. Some of the earliest 

 are Cedo Nulli and its golden, lilac, and brown varieties. James 

 Forsyth and White Trevenna are early, followed by Andromeda, 

 Mrs. Dix, Golden Anrore, Mdlle. Martha, very large pure white - P 

 Bob, Brilliant, and Antonius. There are also large-flowered 

 Anemones and Anemone Pompons which contain very fine 

 flowers. The best large-flowered are Lonis Bonamy, lilac ; 

 Fleur de Marie, pure white; Lady Margaret, white; Gluck, 

 yellow; Empress, large lilac; Mrs. Pethers, rosy lilac; King of 

 Anemones, the most perfect-formed flower. Anemone Pom- 

 pons are Madame Montels; MisB Nightingale, blush; Antonius, 



