January 13, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



25 



pose of producing ripe shoots early in the season for budding. 

 The borders in this house in spring were dust, for they had had 

 no water for six months. To my surprise I found these trees 

 full of fruit, so mueh so that a tree only 18 inches high had on 

 it two dozen. This led me to look into the matter so as to 

 account for their fertility, as I felt assured that they must have 

 stood in a very cold, windy, dry place ; as the trees had had but 

 little water, owing to these houses being a long way from the 

 house, and had thus been partially overlooked ; and as it was 

 thought necessary to give them a soaking of water only when 

 they "commenced growing, the fruit being a matter of no import, 

 for the houses were open to the numerous boys working in the 

 grounds. 



I found on referring to my journal the following memoranda 

 taken when the Apricot trees were in full bloom in April last : — 

 "April 12th, cold and dry. 13th, ditto ; frost severe, thermo- 

 meter registered 24°. loth, frost severe ; thermometer at 23°." 

 Now, in these hedge-houses the temperature in a frosty night 

 is never more than 2° above that in the open air, and often 

 only 1° ; 80 that we have Apricot blossoms in a dry airy place 

 sustaining at least 7° of frost without injury, lueed not enlarge 

 on this simple fact — it bears out all that I have ever said about 

 the necessity of giving Apricot trees while in bloom constant 

 air and abundance of it. A neighbour of mine is now so satis- 

 fied of this, that he declares his potted Apricot trees shall be 

 placed out of doors daily in dry weather while they are blos- 

 soming, and even all night if the weather be mild, removing 

 them to the house only when the nights are frosty. Apricot 

 trees in orchard-houses, as soon as cultivators will cease to lake 

 " too much care " by keeping their houses closed while the 

 trees are in bloom, will be held in higher estimation than many 

 other kinds of fruit — they are so beautiful in their blossoms and 

 foliage, and their fruit is of such high excellence. 



There is something droll in my friend Pearson recommending 

 us to water the blossoms. If we wish the dust to fly we do 

 not water our roads : ergo, if we wish the pollen to fly and 

 "be as dust" we must not water the flowers of our Apricot 

 trees. Eut doubtless he has some good reason to urge for the 

 practice. 



In referring to the habitats of the Apricot I omitted to 

 mention that Dr. Hooker, when travelling in the lower ranges 

 of the Himalayas, and if oreeroft, who travelled to a great extent 

 in the far east, found Apricots so abundant in the hilly districts 

 as to form au article of food for the inhabitants. Reasoning 

 from analogv, and from my experience here, I am inclined to 

 dry culture for the Apricot under glass. — Teos. Rivees. 



Royal Horticultural Society and the Crystal Palace Company 

 again holding Chrysanthemum Exhibitions. If they do not, 

 Stoke Newington will still be loyal and hold its seventeenth 

 annual Exhibition, and this is still equal to any. — H. W. 



STRENGTH OF LIQUID MANURE. 



I SHOrrrD feel much obliged, and I think many of your 

 readers would be so too, by some correct and minute information 

 as to the use of liquid manure, say for pot Tines. AU agree that 

 to use it too strong is an evil, and if too weak it may be of no 

 appreciable advantage. 



Now, taking Peruvian guano as a manure of most general 

 suitability and known average strength, what quantity of guano 

 should be dissolved (so far as it will dissolve) in four gallons of 

 water to make a solution sufficiently weak to use freely twice 

 a- week ? Or, would it be better to use a still weaker solution 

 three times a- week? in either ease allowing the intermediate 

 waterings to be from soft water. 



For convenience last summer I stirred-up 6 lbs. of guano in 

 about a hogshead of soft water, diluting the solution as I used 

 it. But during the warm weather a considerable fermentation 

 took place, which must have materially altered the chemical 

 conditions of the various constituents of the guano ; but whether 

 for the better or the worse I cannot tell, and should like to know. 

 I think this is worth consideration, for it is certainly much more 

 convenient to use a bowlful of a strong solution with each pot of 

 water at the time of using than to be continually mixing-up 

 fresh parcels of guano and water. — Pampi>t;s. 



[The subject has received a considerable amount of attention. 

 For four gallons of water we should consider three ounces of 

 guano quite strong enough for pot Tines. In fact, we would 

 prefer two ounces. If mixed long beforehand, the barrel Bhould 

 be covered, lou will find varying the manure useful —as half 

 a bushel of soot to a barrel, a bushel of sheep-droppinga to a 

 barrel, and if fermented all the better. 



For Tines in pots we know no artificial manure more easily 

 applicable than superphosphate of lime. You may put an ounce 

 of this over the surface of the pot and pour the water over it, 

 and put another ounce on in a fortnight : it wi'.l do no harm . 

 The same quantity of guano put on the surface-soil of a pot 

 would be apt to "kill the plant. Except when we use guano, 

 which we rather prefer keeping dry before using it, we prefer all 

 oilier manures to be in solution for some time, and to reduce 

 them in streugth as we use them.] 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



Is the excellent article on Chrysanthemums by " D., Deal" 

 is a sentence which, if not corrected, would lead many to sup- 

 pose that the Chrysanthemum was not thought very highly of 

 by the patrons of floriculture. The sentence I mean does not 

 emanate from "D." himself, but is what he quotes from the 

 "Proceedings of the Soyal Horticultural Society," that because 

 so few persons went to the Gardens on that day the wisdom of 

 not having a Chrysanthemum show was patent. 



I, as -En exhibitor, can only say there were three or four times 

 as many visitors as I expected to see, thinking that a dull 

 November day would only draw the members Gf the Committee 

 and the few exhibitors. I was, however, agreeably surprised, 

 and the interest taken in the few plants and cut flowers was 

 evident to any observer. At large exhibitions I have never 

 noticed the flowers and plants more severely criticised, the ladies 

 especially taking great interest in them and carefully inspecting 

 the wltole. The writer of tho sentence in question evidently 

 drew a wrong conclusion in 'Comparing this small meeting with 

 an exhibition. 



I would ask, Was not the Fruit and Chrysanthemum Exhibi- 

 tion of November, 1861, a decided success? I, £S well as many 

 others who grow ChrysanthemKrns, object most strenuously to 

 the sentence quoted, and if net contradicted it might lead 

 many persons to suppose that a Chrysanthemum Exhibition is 

 not a source of attraction, or that the growth of this popular 

 flower is declining; whereas ecery year brings an accession of 

 cultivators and exhibitors. The Crystal Palace exhibitions of 

 this flower were always well attended, taking the season into 

 consideration, and I think, in a pecuniary point of view, were 

 not uasuccessfuL la the pueseM year I bepe to see both the 



HORTICULTURAL SHOWS IN THE NORTH 

 OF IRELAND. 



Aix horticultural exhibitions when well conducted by those 

 who take upon themselves such responsibility, are a source of 

 pleasure, not only to those who pay their admission fee at the 

 entrance gate and are exclusively bent upon sight-seeing, but 

 also to the gardener, who with all his care, toil, and anxiety, has 

 watched the progress of his plants and fruit for many long 

 anxious weeks. He is most delighted, uot only in viewing his 

 own productions, but likewise the productions of his more suc- 

 cessful neighbour, whose success only stimulates him to further 

 exertions. But when I assert that these exhibitions are fre- 

 quently conducted (in this part) on principles which in the end 

 must prove most prejudicial to their success, I am giving an 

 opinion founded upon observation. 



These exhibitions ought, to he of an open character, and not 

 conducted, as they too frequently are, upon a principle of ex- 



j clusiveness. I will briefly illustrate this by examples from this 



! district. 



Being desirous of advancing the interests of horticulture in 

 my immediate neighbourhood, I wrote to a friend in the town 



! where the Show was held, desiring him to pay the annual sub- 

 scription requisite to entitle me to exhibit a collection of fruit, 

 which my noble employer most willingly allowed me to take. 

 The friend in question took my subscription to the Secretary, 

 who refused me permission to exhibit my employer's property in 

 my own name, as he (my employer) was not a regular sub- 

 scriber. When I heard the decision of the Committee I thought 

 such proceedings most unfair ; but when I examined the report 

 of the Show a short time afterwards in the newspapers, I was 

 not at all surprised at my exclusion, for two of the Committee- 

 men (gentlemen's gardeners), received nearly the whole of the 



