March 31, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



249 



and fresh planted Cabbages. Sowed a few Broccoli, Savoys, 

 Scotch Cabbaging-kale, Brussels Sprouts, &c, to come m early, 

 deferring the main sowing for a fortnight or three weeks to come. 

 Gave manure waterings to Broccoli plants coming on strongly 

 and well, there having been no frost to hurt them but what 

 could be easily guarded against. Was obliged to remove lots of 

 Lettuces and Endive from earth pits, as their room was wanted 

 for bedding plants. 



IRUIT GARDEN. 

 Here routine attention to watering, air-giving, and firing, and 

 moving Strawberry plants and getting others in have been the 

 principal work. The front of the Peach-house being cleared of 

 early Peas in pots, which were transferred to the orchard-house, 

 a shelf has been elevated all the way on pots ; and saucers being 

 deficient, and, besides, requiring careful management, the shelf 

 has been covered neatly with an inch of moss, with about half 

 an inch of riddled loaf mould and old mushroom dung on the 

 top of the moss, and all well watered with strong, hot lime water 

 to settle any small snails, &c, that might be in such materials, 

 and on the top of this covering the Strawberry pots after being 

 cleaned were placed. We have long found such a plau in 

 places where a little drip after watering is no object, preferable 

 to using saucers. The moss retains moisture a long time, and 

 yet if the drainage is nearly right, there is no danger of water- 

 logging the plant. The fine weather bas made Strawberries really 

 worth eating. As our late vinery gets cleared of plants, we shall 

 introduce many Strawberries in the same manner, and orchard- 

 houses too will get their share. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



For stove plants and Orchids, see the excellent directions of 

 our old friend Mr. Keane. All terrestrial Orchids and stove 

 plants in general that now require shifting will be greatly 

 improved by bottom heat. In fact, where this can be applied, 

 much less atmospheric heat will be necessary. This bottom 

 heat, where it can be given, is a grand promoter of sturdy growth 

 both in-doors and out of doors. Many tropical plants will do 

 well out of doors in summer if only extra heat and manure can 

 be placed beneath them. Occasionally we meet with fine speci- 

 mens thus managed, but most of us find fermenting material so 

 scarce that we can spare little or none for such purposes. In 

 cold places, even Cucumbers and Vegetable Marrows out of 

 doors in summer do much better if they are planted on a mound 

 of fermenting material. Many fine-leaved plants from the 

 tropics and more temperate latitudes south of ours would do 

 well if holes a yard in diameter were dug out, from 2§ to 3 feet 

 deep, filled more than half with hot dung well worked and then 

 good earth put in, 6 inches higher than the surface, to allow for 

 sinking. Even such hardy plants as Brugmansias will produce 

 magnificent flowers and foliage from this treatment. 



Cut down and repotted the flowering Begonias. Now is a 

 good time to put in cuttings of Clerodendrons for next season ; 

 also cuttings of Begonia fuchsioides for blooming in winter and 

 spring. Small plants a foot or so high should also be repotted 

 and encouraged to grow on for a similar purpose. Large plants 

 with masses of drooping flowers look very graceful. Care should 

 now be taken that lxoras and plants of that tribe should not 

 have too much bottom heat, and be watched for any appearance 

 of fly and tbrips. Such plants should have a fair amount of air 

 in these sunny days, and be syringed and shut up early in the 

 afternoons, as sun heat is more healthy at all times than fire 

 heat. Ferns must have plenty of shade. Potted more fine- 

 leaved Begonias and Gloxinias, and placed them beneath the 

 shade of the Vines. Repotted large Fuchsias. Sowed lots of 

 tender annuals also under the shade of Vines, and will remove 

 them as soon as they are up, so that they may have more light. 



Pricked-off Lobelias and plants of that kind. Just now I wish 

 every pair of hands could be multiplied threefold, as we are 

 rather behind with some kinds of work. Few know before 

 they try it what it is to fill large flower-gardens in the present 

 fashion, and have little or nothing but your plant-houses to 

 depend on as means. The great aim should be to put all 

 bedding plants out before they become drawn or enervated. 

 We inadvertently kept some Bijou Geraniums too long last 

 season, and, but for their foliage, they took until September to 

 recover themselves. Removed Pelargoniums from second vinery 

 as it was getting too hot for them. These are at present in 

 the cool vinery, and will soon go to the conservatory. That 

 cool vinery — though with fruit until March and filled every inch 

 with plants above and below, and with air on night and day, 



except in froBt — is now beginning to move, though the place 

 over the Vines is shaded. We are thinning this house as quickly 

 as we can by taking young Geranium plants that were standing 

 thickly as they were struck in boxes and planting them out in 

 earth pits, to be protected temporarily. Wo like to turn them 

 out in compoBt consistiKg chiefly of leaf mould, but we are too 

 deficient of that material to do so. Success greatly depends on 

 shallow planting. For this purpose, the ground being rather 

 firm, the surface soil is forked over from 2 to 3 inches deep, 

 allowed to dry, and rough raked. Then a board is obtained, the 

 size of the width of the pit, for standing on, and a shallow trench 

 about 2.> inches deep taken out, a little rough fresh stuff of leaf 

 mould hot, burnt charred heap and fresh loam, is thrown 

 upon it, and the plants are placed along, some 3 or 4 inches 

 apart, according to their size. A little more of this fresh rough 

 material is thrown along and then fastened round the roots of 

 each plant. The plants are then watered with warm water and 

 the surface dry soil is then put over them, patled down slightly 

 with the spade, and the next trench taken out 4 or 5 inches 

 from the firBt, according to the size of the young plants. In 

 sunny days these plants will have the foliage damped from the 

 syringe, and anything worthy of the name of watering will not 

 be given until a short time before bed-filling time. The chief 

 object is to plant and keep the roots near the surface j for if they 

 go down, when lifted they will flag considerably in the beds. 

 From thus never potting we save a great amount of labour, and 

 chiefly in watering. The earth pits filled with Calceolarias 

 are syringed also in the middle of these sunny days, and they 

 are doing nicely. In a brick pit, with glass over them and a 

 few warmish leaves below, we have planted out temporarily 

 Amplexieaulis Calceolaria, as that is more tender than most; 

 and also lots of Ageratum, which we want strong for rows. 

 Cuttings of that also must be put in. Planted lots of cuttings of 

 the Cineraria maritima, in a strong heat. The cuttings slipped 

 oft' from the base averaged 1J inch in length, aud these tiny bits 

 will make better edgings in May than old plants or cuttings 

 made last autumn. We shall plant out lots of Verbenas directly 

 in temporary beds, and put in a fresh batch of cuttings of some 

 of the more distinct colours. 



Our readers may recollect of our filling a couple of two-light 

 frames with Calceolaria cuttings, having a little heat below them. 

 We do not believe one will miss, but we are put out so that 

 very few are yet rooted and we want the frames for other 

 purposes ; and we suppose we must wait a week or ten days 

 more, when a few branches will shelter them sufficiently. No 

 one looking on them cursorily could detect any reason why they 

 are not already rooted. All seem nice and firm at the top ; 

 but, on closer investigation, we find that the bottom of the 

 cuttings is somewhat "hung"— that is, the earth and sand had 

 not been pressed close enough to them, except at the surface, 

 and that will make a week or ten days' difference in the time of 

 rooting. We thought of this when our worthy coadjutor, Mr. 

 Beaton, described Mrs. Bird's plan of dropping the cuttings 

 into the holes. In such case there must be plenty of sand, 

 more than we could spare, to wash down by the sides of the 

 cutting, or part of the base may swing in a vacuum, as we find 

 many of these of our spriug-put-in ones do. This just shows 

 the importance of niinutiai. We do hope that our friend Mr. 

 Beaton will soon be able to be among us, as few, like him, 

 possess the power, with a mere sweep of the pen, of establishing 

 a new idea or perpetuating a useful practice. — R. F. 



TKADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



J. Salter, Versailles Nursery, Hammersmith Gate, London.— 

 Descriptive Catalogue of Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, Paonies, 

 Phloxes, Bardy Variegated Plants, tSfc. Spring, 1863. 



Bruce & Co., Hamilton, Canada West.— Descriptive Catalogue 

 of Flower, Kitchen Garden, and Farm Seeds, £vlbs, %c. 1863. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Cineraeia Seedling (H. A. C.).-The Cineraria is of no value, and not 

 unusual in colour. Cinerarias are not injured by tobacco fumigation if 

 practised with the usual care. All the flowers you mention may be benefited 

 by weak liquid manure of fowls' dung. One peck to thirty gallons of water 

 would be enough, and not applied oftener than once a-week, nor until after 

 the flower-buds appear. 



Making a Fernery (67. S. B.).— Apply to Messrs. Veitch & Son, King's 

 Eoad, Chelsea. They could send you a man to construct it. iou do not 

 say where you live, and we are not clairvoyant. 



