November 16, 1676. 1 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



43C 



vegetable matter. The stalks of Cabbages, Broccoli, Cauliflower, 

 &o„ should be carried to the vegetable refuse heap. All vacant 

 ground should be dug or trenched as quiokly as possible, so that 

 it may bo ready for the beneficial influences of winter frosts. 



VINERIES. 



We have but little to record of our own doings this week. 

 All the early houses are ready for forcing, and where there are 

 no plants the lights and front sashes are open night and day. 

 There is considerable advantage in having vineries either early 

 or late devoted to the Vines and nothing besides. There is no 

 apparent harm, perhaps, in having the houses closed at night 

 and the frost merely kept out, but even if there were no other 

 evil it must be better to allow a free circulation of air on all 

 occasions. Much injury is, however, likely to result both from 

 watering the plants and keeping out frost. The ground beneath 

 plants requiring much water becomes a puddle when it ought 

 to be comparatively dry ; then, in keeping out the frost, the 

 temperature is often raised as much as 10° higher than is neces- 

 sary, 45? being registered when 35° is better for the plants and 

 would do no injury to the Vines. In our houses, where it ia 

 necessary to place plants over the borders, saucers are placed 

 under the pots to hold superfluous water, but the potB must on 

 no account Btand in the water. The best plan is to invert a pot 

 underneath that containing the plant. The Baucers are emptied 

 when they become full. 



Late vineries where fruit is hangiDg must be ventilated as 

 freely as possible, and artificial heat should be applied to keep 

 up the temperature to 40° at night. If frost should gain admit- 

 tance the Grapes will damp off rapidly. 



Qciestions are frequently asked in reference to the formation 

 of Vine borders. Much has been written and published in the 

 pages of this Journal on that subject. Elaborate composts have 

 been recommended, as well as instruclions given on excavating, 

 concreting, draining, Sea., and many amateurs fancy that without 

 all this trouble good Grapes cannot be obtained. Now, when 

 good turfy loam can be procured in abundance and money is no 

 object, let a good border be made by all means ; but when loam 

 has to be purchased at a guinea a ton, as is the case about 

 London, it is but few that will use it for Vine borders. Good 

 garden soil enriched with decayed manure and crushed bones 

 will grow Vines well, and Grapes will be produced whenever 

 the wood is strong and well ripened. Good drainage is neces- 

 sary, as Grape Vinos will not do well in soil where water is 

 stagnant. The present is a good time to make Vine borders, 

 and they ought to be left exposed to the winter's frosts, the 

 Vines to be planted in March. 



Strawberries for Forcing. — Onrs are yet exposed in the open 

 ground, as it is not convenient to store them in the orchard 

 house until it is partly cleared of Chrysanthemums. We used 

 to store them in frames at considerable inconvenience until the 

 house was ready early in Deoember, but we have found that the 

 plants remain in a more healthy condition if left out of doors. 

 They suffer nothing from frost, and if too muoh rain falls it ia 

 easy to lay the plants on their sides. The leaves hang over the 

 sides of the pots and throw off much rain as well as protect the 

 rootB from frosts. We shall place the first lot of Black Prince 

 in the earliest vinery to start them about the end of the month. 

 Sometimes it is not convenient to place the pots in the vinery, 

 and it is not well to move them from a cool house to the tem- 

 perature of a Pine house all at once. We have in such a case 

 made up a hotbed and plunged the pots in a gentle bottom heat 

 to excite root-aotion. 



PLANT STOVE AND ORCHID HOUSES. 



It ia now a, good time to see that all plants are thoroughly 

 cleansed from soale, mealy bug, thrips, &e. Our time has been 

 occupied with such work during the last week or two. At this 

 season everything ought to be kept clean and neat in all the 

 houses, and flowering and foliage plants be arranged to the best 

 advantage. As all the winter-flowering species and varieties of 

 Calanthe lose their leaves while they are in flower, the beBt 

 arrangement is to place the pots amongst the green leafage of 

 Ferns. The pretty little Indian Crocuses (Pleione) has also a 

 charming effect at present, but it also is bare of leaves. Its 

 flowers open before the leaves appear. A charming plant at 

 present in the warm house is an autumn-flowering variety of 

 Dendrobium formosum. This fine Dendrobe may be classed 

 amongst the "bridal" Orohids; its pure whife flowers with a 

 pale yellow lip are very effeotive for bridal bouquets. The 

 plant is not often grown well, yet it is of easy culture. It will 

 not thrive in a pot, nor well in a basket if too much peat or 

 sphagnum is placed in oontact with roots. Our plants have 

 made strong healthy pseudobulbs with nothing but potsherds 

 in the baskets. We hang the baskets up near the glass in a 

 temperature of 65° at night, and the roots make vigorous growth 

 all round the woodwork. Lrelia anceps and varieties of it are 

 handsome Orchids for flowering in winter. The variety Barkerii 

 is muoh finer than the speoies, and Dawsonii is not only very 

 beautiful, but it is not easily obtained. We have seen a plant of 

 it sold at Stevens's rooms with only two leading growths for 



s£42. The plants are now throwing up their flower spikes, and 

 it is necessary to watch at night to see that no straggling slug 

 cuts the stalks in two. All Orchids require careful attention 

 during the winter season ; although most of them are at rest, 

 it will not do to neglect them. Deciduous plants may be kept 

 without water during most of the winter, but all the evergreen 

 species must have sufficient moisture to prevent the pseudobulbs 

 from shrivelling. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



The recent cold weather has quite destroyed all the summer- 

 flowering plants, and they have been carted out to the rubbish 

 heap. The beds have been oleared from weeds by rakiDg the 

 ground over. The old beds of Phloxes which have been planted 

 two years have been destroyed, and young plants will be put in 

 their places when the ground has been trenohed deeply and 

 well manured. The Phlox delights in rich soil, and young 

 plants Bhould not be planted en the same ground where old 

 plants have been previonsly if it can be avoided. Herbaoeous 

 borders require to be hoed or lightly forked over if the plants 

 are not too olosely together. Some enthusiasts say, "Do not 

 disturb your herbaceous border in the autumn, and allow all 

 the leaves that fall from the trees to remain on it." This is, we 

 fancy, a Blipshod Btyle of gardening. It is evident that a cover- 

 ing of dry leaves would be useful to protect auy tender plants 

 from frost, but it is doubtful if they would fall or be blown on 

 the right spot. They would rather gather round the crown of 

 some very hardy plant, and the small or more exposed tender 

 subjects might be open to the biting blast. Mr. Matthews of 

 Weston-Buper-Mare, exhibited some bottomless seed-pans at 

 South Kensington last week, which would just answer the pur- 

 pose of protecting choice and tender plants. By placing one of 

 those over the plant and a square of glass over the pan the object 

 would be attained. The glass would admit light while it defied 

 the entrance of wet, and frost would be kept out to a certain 

 extent. Failing these some cocoa-nut fibre refuse would keep 

 off much frost. 



Auriculas require to be looked over weekly to destroy green 

 fly and have all dead or decaying leaves removed. — J. Douglas 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Kelway & Son, The Royal Nurseries, Langport, Somerset. — 

 Catalogue of Gladioli. 



John Harrison, Leicester. — Catalogue of Select Roses anil 

 Fruit Trees. 



HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 



Secretaries will oblige us by informing ua of the dates on 

 which exhibitions are to be held. 



Brixton Hill (Chrysanthemums). November 17th and 18th. Mr. G. Gold- 

 finch, Seo. 



Loughborough (Chrysanthemums and Fruit). November 21st. Mr, John 

 WeBt, Chapmaa Street, Loughborough, Seo. 



Birmingham. November 22nd and 23rd. Mr. J. Hughes, Monument Place, 

 Parker Street, Edgbaston, Sec. 



Leeds. November 24th and 25th. Mr. George Hemming, Hon. Sec. 



Isle of Thanet. August 30th, 1877. Mr. C. D. Smith, Hon. Seo. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*,* All correspondence should be direoted either to " The 

 Editors," or to " The Publisher." Letters addressed to 

 Mr. Johnson or Dr. Hogg often remain unopened unavoid- 

 ably. We request that no one will write privately to any 

 of our correspondents, as doing so subjects them to un- 

 justifiable trouble and expense. 



Books (.7. C. W.). — We have no "Stove Manual," hnt our "Indoor 

 Gardening" (Is. 6<f.) and "Heating Manual" (Gd.) include stove manage- 

 ment. 



Batty Langley. — The Editors wish to purchase, or would be obliged by 

 the loan of, the engraved portrait of this writer on architecture and garden- 

 ing. They require it to be copied by their wool engraver. 



Gardeners' Travelling Expenses (V. S. P.). — The rule is that the em- 

 ployer pays the travelling expenses of a gardener coming to a new situation. 

 The employer doe3 not pay the expenses of moving the gardener's wife and 

 family unless he has specially agreed to do so. 

 "Lemon Tree Unhealthy {E. F. Q.). — We canrot make out what the 

 " blight in the shape of a scab " may be. Probably the tree is infeBted with 

 scale, which may be removed with a sponge, employing soft soap 8 czs. to 

 half a gallon of water, adding a wine-glaesfnl of spirits of turpentine, syring- 

 ing the plantB with clear tepid water immediately after being freed of tho 

 filth, faking care that the solution does not pass down the stem to the roots. 

 If the " scab " be upon the stem of the plant, it will in all probability die. 

 Send ue a specimen twig. -■ ^_ • • __ 



Chrysanthemum Show. — "An Amateur" wishes to know if a CbrysaEthe- 

 mnm Show is held near Finsbivry Park. 



Carica Papaya (T. E. D.).— The specimen sent is correct. There is a 

 portrait of the tree in the "Botanical Register," t. 459. Tbe^white mites 

 do not injure it; they feed on the decayed part. Tour plants die probably 

 because the temperatures are too low, and have too much water. They 



