May 12, 1863.] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 



349 



be likely to injure the swelling fruit, and remove them. Use 

 stron" cloth shreds cut to a sufficient length to allow plenty ot 

 room for the wood to swell ; such short shreds are sometimes 

 UBed and bound close round the wood, so that at the winter prun- 

 ing many of the shoots will be found to have an indented ring, 

 and very often a large piece of gum. Vines will now require 

 constant attention in stopping and naihng-in. See that the red 

 spider does not get a-head on wall trees, nor the caterpillar on 

 Gooseberry bushes. 



STOYE. 

 All here is growth, treat them, therefore, liberally both at root 

 and branch. Keep a brisk growing temperature, with plenty ot 

 air. Take care to pot such things as require it m time, atepba- 

 notis, Glonosa, Allamanda, Dipladenia, and other climbers will 

 now be showing bloom ; keep the branches from becoming en- 

 tangled, but there should be no hurry to train them until the 

 flower-buds are of a good size. 



Q-EEENHOUSE AND CONSEEVATOEY. 

 Look well after young stock, especially that for the ensuing 

 winter's work. The early-sown Chinese Primroses and Cinera- 

 rias should receive frequent and careful attention, these will 

 bloom in October and November. Another sowing may be 

 made shortly for spring decoration. Continue successions ot 

 Aehimenes, &c, from the rest stock. The Chrysanthemum cut- 

 tings may be put out immediately ; these will do without bottom 

 heat. Choose the short-jointed wood, they will strike freely 

 under a hand-light, to be shaded from the sun. Aehimenes to 

 be placed in either of these structures when more air can be 

 given ; stake out neatly as the shoots advance. Gloxinias, like 

 the above, require a partially-shaded situation and moist heat. 

 Gesneraa may be treated in the same way, with the addition ot 

 more light. Amaryllis, &c, to be removed to the conservatory 

 for blooming, where they are a great acquisition. Although a 

 slight shade is necessary on the forenoons of bright days, this 

 must be used sparinglv when the weather is unsettled ; for with- 

 out abundance of light flowers never colour properly, and they 

 soon fade if kept in too shady a position. Where it can be con- 

 veniently accomplished watering should be done m the morning, 

 in order to dry up the superfluous moisture before evening 

 so as to avoid night-damps. The New Holland twiners, when 

 done flowering, to have their shoots well trimmed-m before 

 growth commences. W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



It is rather tantalising to hear from different parts of the 

 country of the fine rains that came just when they were wanted. 

 Now, on this, the 7th of May, we have yet had no ram, though 

 several times we were sure it was falling some miles away. In 

 these circumstances, as we depend almost entirely on ram water, 

 we have had to be very careful in watering, and could not give 

 some things anything like the quantity they ought to have had. 

 Manv crops we have even partially shaded to prevent the 

 ground getting too dry; and among many of them we stirred 

 the surface to keep it loose, and from cracking, and thus pre- 

 vented the heat entering, which would have been acceptable 

 enough but for the dryness from evaporation that would have 

 accompanied it. With this dryness there have been several rather 

 sharp frosts, which did little damage, as the air was so still 

 and dry. Having seen no bad effects, we began to be rather too 

 secure, and were partially caught on the morning of this day 

 week, the frost having blackened the Potatoes and injured very 

 heavy crops of Gooseberries, and they would have been more 

 injured still but for the thickness of the foliage. All the fruit that 

 were at all exposed were blistered at least on one side. A little 

 rough hay shaken along the rows of the Potatoes, and very gently 

 on the tops of the bushes, would have saved them nicely, and also 

 the blooms of some early Strawberry plants on a south border. 

 For want of it every open flower was dyed black in the centre 

 where the fruit should.come. A few Calceolarias covered with 

 thin calico were also a little injured where the cloth touched 

 them, whilst those a few inches beneath it were safe, and also 

 some standing exposed in sheltered places. Walnuts, &c., m the 

 neighbourhood were much injured, and, as it may be interesting 

 to some to know, in these and other oases where trees were 

 affected the lower branches were most injured, whilst the loitier 

 and more perpendicular branches escaped. The why may aftord 

 occasion for thought and investigation. 



Emptied a frame over a shallow hotbed that had been filled 

 with cuttings, turned the manure over, placing fresher at the 

 bottom, and raising the bed at the sides and ends for the frame 

 to stand upon, leaving the space open in the centre for soil, so 

 that the soil should be below the level of the bottom of the 

 frame, and as the soil was soon warm enough, planted-out strong 

 plants of Cucumbers. Our frames are generally about 18 inches 

 at back, and 10 inches in front. When deeper they are lumber- 

 ing to move about, and the advantage of a frame over a pit is, 

 that it may be easily moved where most needed. This depth is 

 not enough for Cucumbers, if the frame is set over the bed m 

 the usual way; but by making a wall or ridge of sweet manure 

 some 16 to 18 inches higher than the centre of the bed, there 

 is plenty of space left for soil and foliage and the bed being so 

 much shallower in the centre than at the sides, there is little 

 chance of the roots being burned or overheated. 



Put about 15 inches of rough littery material having a little 

 heat in a shed for a Mushroom-bed ; beat and trod it firm, and 

 covered with a couple of inches of good horse-droppings This 

 after five days, has emitted a nice gentle heat of about 80 so- 

 spawned it over in the usual way, placing pieces of the size of 

 walnuts every 9 inches over the bed, and with the upper side just 

 rovered with manure or scarcely so. Placed an inch of horse- 

 droppinglover all, and beat firm again, and will leave the bed with- 

 out earthin* to see how the heat goes ; as, if still very mild, we 

 will gve an inch more of droppings before earthing-up The 

 side of the shed being open to the west, broke the current of air 

 here with bundles of pea-stakes. Straw-thatched hurdles may 

 be used in the hottest time of the summer. The reason for 

 makin. such a shallow bed is that we do not want to wait long 

 L Mushrooms; and if the bed had been thicker or of better 

 materials we must have waited longer before we could spawn 

 and earth-up with safety. The reasons why ^ wish to .hurry 

 on this bed are twofold-first, because we wish the old beds .in 

 ?he Mushroom-house to be had f°r manure for , flow- beds 

 &e • and secondly because we are a little doubtful ot the last, 

 and' a promising bed in the Mushroom-house will do a very 

 irreat deal more of good as to crops of Mushrooms 

 g Our good asLtan't in the Mushroom-house was bo heredwi h 

 woodlice, which he could not trap fast enough nd resolved to 

 daub and catch them with tar. He poured it, ^™«* ^* ™ 

 front of the bed and there numbers of these gentry were held last 

 bv some hing more impassable than birdlime. As soon as we 

 smeinhe tafwe knew'too well that ^-;™ 

 would die or be uneatable ; and we are doubtful if those coming 

 like pinheads will do much good, as the fumes rftl..te« 

 remain though it was removed as carefully as possible. We might 

 noTba^e adverted to this fact of the tar, but for two complaints. 

 One "Intlman savs that in a lean-to pit with a very white .back 

 wall he found his Cucumbers were blotched and burned, notwitb, 



darkening the wall so simply as ^rt h '3 

 he would improve upon it by painting the wall with tar ana on, 

 audio and behold 'the morning afterwards, there was net a 

 single healthy Cucumber-leaf in the house. Another gent e- 

 man has ruined a house of Melons from the same cause and tells 

 us a he^ght to have been ^fj^^O^^ 

 Wen'wet: vX P /or y "thm^haps, though we hardly 

 think our serial is much to blame, as, again and again, the ad- 

 monition has been given to be careful of using tar nut* of a 

 ; 'house; "andthaf if used at all the tar shoufo be .applied six 

 months or more before the house was used. We ,pr rfer toact on 



inside in summer, and no plants put in ™* u ™ nt *>,™ ey m,gM 



Potted Tomatoes, and staked Peas, and sowed Kidney Beans 

 and White and Scarlet Runners. . . 



As In evidence that our Irish compatriots receive, at least in 



Peas and Broad Beans were in bloom and pod. 



