February 10, 1863. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



121 



being secured against wind, for these are often injured by being 

 blown about, especially if recently transplanted, and a small 

 stake and a few minutes' work would prevent the mischief. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 

 If any root-pruning of fruit trees has yet to be done, let this 

 be attended to without further loss of time, and see that trees 

 exposed to wind are Becurely staked. Take every opportunity 

 of pushing forward pruning and nailing. The extreme mildness 

 of the present season will induce an early bloom on fruit trees. 

 Fasten the spray of evergreens, beech branches, or spruce fir, or 

 suspend straw ropes, &c, in front, as in all probability we shall 

 have winter in March or April, and, the more retarded wall 

 trees are, the greater chance will there be of a crop. Watch the 

 smaller kinds of fruit trees — as Gooseberries, &c, and if liable to 

 have their buds eaten by birds, dust them frequently with soot 

 and lime. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 

 Select young plants of Boronias and other New Holland 

 plants, and give them a good shift. They delight in good 

 fibrous heath soil in a rough state with a good portion of sharp 

 sand and rubble or stones, with charcoal placed over the drain- 

 age and some good-sized pieces placed among the soil as the 

 potting proceeds. The plants now potted to have the bloom 

 picked off as it appears, and the shoots duly stopped as they 

 make their future growth. Select the Heaths that require fresh 

 potting and treat them as advised for the New Holland plants. 



STOVE. 

 Commence the application of more heat in moderation. Make 

 use of the syringe every fine morning pretty freely, except on 

 those plants that are in bloom. Select some of the best young 

 plants of Euphorbia, Brunsfelsia, Jatropha, Rondeletia, &a., 

 and place them in bottom heat. Cut back Poinsettia pulcher- 

 rima, Eranthemums of sorts, Justicia coccinea, &c. Shake out 

 and pot in good, open, fibrous loam half decayed, with some sand 

 and charcoal, the tubers of Gloriosa superba, and place them in 

 bottom heat. No water to be supplied to the tubers until they 

 have commenced their growth. This is a beautiful aad very 

 curious plant when well cultivated. Keep a watchful eye on the 

 Orchids now commencing their growth, and see that there is no 

 water from drip lodging for any length of time between the 

 partly-unfolded foliage and partly-formed pseudo-bulbs. Syringe 

 with tepid water the sides of the baskets, blocks of wood, &c, 

 that have Vandas, Saceolabiums, iErides, Sarcanthus, Stan- 

 hopeas, &c, suspended or growing on them. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 

 Shift those Petunias and Verbenas into larger pots from 

 which cuttings are to be taken for the next two months. Make 

 a sowing of Phlox Drummondi, and place it in a hotbed. Sow 

 also, in a mild hotbed some Ten-week Stocks, Asters, and other 

 half-hardy annuals. Give abundance of air at all favourable 

 times, and endeavour to keep the air of the pits and frames as 

 dry as possible. Water sparingly here at present, not using 

 any if the plants keep healthy without it. W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 

 For general matters see last week. Took occasion of a dry 

 morning to wheel a little, as it is very undesirable to make work 

 whilst doing work. We have often seen a wheelbarrow taken 

 •over a nice walk, and with a dirty wheel too, and the necessary 

 cleaning-up wasted more time ten times over than the carrying 

 the material in a basket would have required. Trenched-up 

 ground where there had been two wide beds of Celery ; the space 

 having been previously occupied as temporary beds for bedding 

 plants. Trenched or, rather, ridged it across that the dung at 

 bottom might be spread equally all over ; but to our mortifica- 

 tion found that the bedding plants and the Celery plants had 

 pretty well eaten-up every particle we had given them. To do 

 this, a large part of one bed had to be taken up with good 



roots, set closely together, and earth trundled on to the necessary IKAUiL OAlA.LUlxU.rib Ji-E.O-E.1. V ihu. 



height. We sometimes Bet in earth, water a little, and then pack Smith & Simons, Glasgow. — Cultural Guide and Descriptive 

 to the top with litter. If taken up late, and not watered well, Seed Catalogue. 



the heads will be apt to bolt. We are sorry that so many were Robert Parker, Tooting, S. — Catalogzie of Agricultural, 

 disappointed with Celery this season. We do not think we have Flower, and Vegetable Seeds, Fruit Trees, New and Mare 

 had five bad heads since September, and almost the whole was the Plants, fyc. 

 Dwarf White Incomparable, which, if it is 15 inches in height, W. Wood & Son, Maresfield, Uckfield. — Catalogue of Seeds 

 will give you 12 inches fit for table, and is just the sort for the with an Appendix, comprising Bases, Fruit Trees, Sec. 



amateur and cottager, as it needs so little room. We had four 

 and five rows across in beds about 4 feet wide. No Celery can 

 be crisper or sweeter, though of course you do not make your 

 friends astonished by looking at huge mounds and pHuts 

 4 feet or more in height, and as thick in diameter as a man's 

 thigh, and with no such wondrous hearts after all. There 

 were a few grubs on the leaves which were picked off, and soot 

 and a little resinous sawdust thrown over the plants to prevent 

 the fly depositing more of its eggs. Have sown for the first 

 crop ; have sown other years before Christmas, and had no run 

 heads. The mere time of Bowing has little to do with it ; that 

 is solely the result of checking the plant before planting-out, 

 and giving it anything but natural treatment afterwards. Sowed 

 more Dwarf Kidney Beans in heat, a few Broad Beans under 

 cover, and some tender herbs for flavouring, as Basil &c, reserv- 

 ing the general sowing until March and April. Stirred the soil 

 among young plants, and gave plenty of air to Cauliflowers, &c, 

 to keep them hardy. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 

 Gave a little water to Figs, so that the roots may be thoroughly 

 moistened gradually ; and the general work, outside and inside, 

 the same as last week, taking every chance to syringe the walls 

 with soapsuds, with the addition of a little lime and a handful 

 of salt to the score of gallons, which helps to keep the trees free 

 of green moss and lichens. Potted-off a few Melon plants. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 

 Outside and inside much the same as last week. Brought a 

 few small Fuchsias from a cool shed, where they can be for- 

 warded in a little heat ; will introduce some larger ones as soon 

 as room can be found. At present the plants are dry rather 

 than damp, but not dust-dry ; syringed them overhead ; will 

 finish pruning, so that they shall break near home. When it is 

 desirable to make large plants of last season's cuttings they 

 should have a bottom heat of 70°, and a top heat of from 55" to 

 60°. The great work of the week, besides attending to necessary 

 watering and cleanliness, has been potting-off Variegated Gera- 

 niuras that were standing too thickly in boxes, examining the 

 old plants which had been treated on the faggot system, put- 

 ting in cuttings of new and fine kinds, and going right-ahead 

 with Verbena-cuttings, putting them chiefly in half-circle- 

 dram-tiles, with a thin piece of clay at each end, and setting 

 them on a bed of leaves, with 2 or 3 inches of dry ashes over 

 them, and the help of a water-pipe in front. At this season, with 

 just a skiff from the syringe on a sunny day, they will need no 

 shading. This is one of the best modes we have tried, except 

 planting the cuttings out at once into beds, and for this we have 

 no bed at present at liberty, and besides we would prefer doing 

 it in the beginning of March, instead of the beginning of February. 

 Those put in tiles now — say three plants to 10 inches — will afford 

 cuttings by that time. Some may like to try the bed-system, and 

 this is how we used to do it : Make-up a bed of leaves, or dung, 

 or whatever can be had, that will raise a bottom heat of from 80° 

 to 85\ Firm the surface, place on it a couple of inches of rotten 

 dung or leaf mould ; then riddle some rough sandy loam through 

 a half-inch sieve. Keep the rough riddlings, mix that with an 

 equal quantity of rough decayed leaf mould ; make level, and 

 then sieve 1J or 2 inches more. Cover this with the fine soil — if 

 not sandy, add enough to make it gritty and open — and make this 

 also 2 inches in thickness ; beat down with a quarter of an inch 

 of sand thrown over, and gently pressed. Then stick in the cut- 

 tings with a bodkin-dibber, or, as Mrs. Bird does her Calceo- 

 larias, putting the cuttings 1 inch apart in the row, and 2 inches 

 from row to row ; water ; keep close ; give a little air at back at 

 night, if only an eighth or a quarter of an inch ; shade a little 

 in bright sunshine, when a skiff from the syringe would not 

 prevent the cuttings perspiring too much ; give air by degrees 

 as the roots are formed ; and by May you will have fine strong 

 plants with roots hanging in the leaf mould, and which may be 

 taken to the beds, and scarcely feel the moving. — R. F. 



