May 19, 1863.] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



367 



wav linings will be little needed, and the manure may be banked 

 up'against the frame, and thus throw in atmospheric heat, which 

 will permit of more air being given, and secure the roots more 

 from excessive heat than when all the extra heat of the confined 

 atmosphere has to rise through the soil in which the plants 

 grow. See mode of making such beds page 349. We must find 

 a place for potting young Vines as soon as possible. 



Several friends ou whose opinion we place great value, have 

 expressed their conviction that early Grapes from Tines in pots, 

 though looking as well, are not so rich in flavour, and are more 

 watery than those planted out. We think we have sometimes 

 noticed the same thing, and we throw it out for consideration, 

 as the place that grows Tines in pots would often grow them 

 quite as well planted out, and at a great diminution of labour. 

 One friend attributes the want of consistency and firmness to 

 the delugings of water the plants must receive if kept entirely tc 

 the pots. 



OKN'AJEESTAL DEEABTMENT. 



Potted Ferns, Achimenes, and a few Gesnera zebrinas, and 

 others, Cannas, Marantas, &c, and placed the fine-leaved Be- 

 gonias, Gesneras, &c, under Tines, where they will receive the 

 necessary shade ; the Cannas, in cool house, to harden them for 

 out-of-door work. Removed Primroses and part of the Cine- 

 rarias from conservatory. Set the former in front of orchard- 

 house to ripen a little' seed, and the latter out of doors pre- 

 paratory to planting them out. After June we always think 

 that unless in a cool shaded house, Cinerarias are more trouble 

 than they are worth, as when not kept cool and airy they are apt 

 to be covered with insects. Sowed seeds of Cineraria, will plant 

 good kinds out for suckers. Pricked off Primula sinensis from 

 the first sowing. Potted young plants of Pelargoniums and 

 Geraniums, and took those in bloom to the conservatory. Potted 

 Fuchsias, Lantanas, &c, for summer and autumn flowering, and 

 potted and boxed all the Dahlias, and placed them where they 

 would root quickly preparatory to hardening them off. Potted 

 Chrysanthemums, at least a portion of them, which ought to 

 have been done before, if massive plants were desirable. Pricked 

 off lots of annuals of a half-hardy character for the flower garden, 

 as Asters, Marigolds, Stocks, &c , that they might plant better 

 by-and-by. Sowed lots of Mignonette and hardy annuals in the 

 wav described the other week. Gave full exposure to those 

 coming up, that had been sown in a bed under a piece of calico, 

 so that they might be moved in patches, as described at pages 321 

 and 322. Potted-off in small pots lots of Petunias of favourite 

 kinds, as they stood so thick in the cutting-pots, and gave them 

 a little hitch under glass in a mild hotbed. Pricked-off more 

 Lobelias in case they should be wanted, and, as we find our 

 Perillas are rather late and we like to turn out good plants that 

 will look after themselves, have potted and prieked-out a good 

 many hundreds in a mild hotbed ; and we must wait eight days 

 or a fortnight before we can plant them out. 



This is a step that does not suit my good assistants from the 

 neighbourhood. If there is one thing more than another they 

 dislike when planting, it is the leaving a part of a bed or a border 

 unfinished as they go. Another proceeding which goes against the 

 "rain, is the planting a front row higher than a back row. Now, 

 as it so happens that we want a lot of Perillas in rows between 

 the grandiflora double Feverfew, and yellow Calceolarias, and 

 both of these are from 8 to 12 inches in height, we must have 

 the Perilla somewhat passable before placing it between them 

 — say nice plants some 6 to 12 inches in height, and they will 

 be getting to that in a fortnight under good treatment under 

 glass. It is true, we might plant them smaller, but then would 

 not my boys turn up their noses at them, and as much as hint 

 ■that surely I did not mean it ? 



In all combinations of colours and arrangements of groups of 

 flowers, the question of heights is of as much importance as that 

 of colours. This may not seem to be the case in some large 

 establishments, where the labour power is so liberally supplied, 

 that a plant naturally 30 inches in height may be pegged and 

 dressed to be only 6 inches high ; but these matters are of 

 moment, when pretty well as good a show is expected, and a 

 vast deal more besides, at an outlay little beyond what in the 

 large establishment would be spent in fuel alone. 



The refreshing showers having put some water in our tanks, 

 we began to feel more independent. Earth-pits of bedding 

 plants that were covered and protected not so much from cold, 

 as from sun, have been uncovered since then night and day, and 

 have got beautifully watered for planting, and hardened-off at 

 the same time. Some of our Calceolarias have now grown rather 



large, but they lift with good balls. If we had potted them, 

 independently of the labour of watering, we could not have 

 given them the water to keep them healthy. The rain also 

 cracking the clods of the hard-baked ground, enabled us to 

 break them with the back of the spade, and turn down the wet 

 surface, and turn up that which was dry, and thus the surface 

 will be warmed and moistened at the same time. 



This favourable change has set us planting sooner than we 

 otherwise would have done, and most likely thousands of plants 

 will be in the ground before this is ennobled in printer's ink. 

 We have, however, begun with the hardiest first, as Calceolarias, 

 which wanted moving, Scarlet Geraniums, &e. We notice the 

 requirements of a correspondent as to th e arranging of colours, 

 the distance of plant from plant in planting, &c. For the 

 arranging of colours there are no such instructions to be gained 

 elsewhere as are to be found in the plans of flower gardens in 

 these pages, the mode of planting, and the good-natured criti- 

 cism on the systems adopted. A correspondent told us the other 

 day, that in a few Numbers he gained more explicit information 

 on these subjects than he could obtain at the expense of many 

 pounds, from consulting the high-priest professionals of taste. 



Could we use the liberty and audacity of our good friend 

 Punch we might hint about the game, and the wine, and the 

 salmon, and even the beef, that are no bad things for the labourer 

 that is worthy of hire. In the meantime we would merely state 

 as to distance in planting that that must depend greatly on the 

 size of the plants and the time the best effect is wanted. For 

 instance : If the beds are wanted to be full soon we must plant 

 thickly, even if we have to thin afterwards, to keep up succession 

 of bloom. If the display is not wanted until August, after the 

 close of the London season, then for free-blooming the planting 

 should be rather thin. As an instance, we have just finished a 

 border 5 feet wide and some 600 feet long that has been panelled, 

 ground coloured, and dotted, and in ever so many modes. It will 

 be Been from both sides. This season there is an edging of 

 Cerastium on each side, a centre line of yellow Calceolarias, and 

 a line on each side of purple-brown Calceolarias between the 

 yellow and the Cerastium. There will be higher plants some 

 i feet in height in the row of the yellow Calceolaria at 7 feet apart, 

 and these raised specimens will be purple, crimson, blue, scarlet, 

 &c. The yellow Calceolarias, strong plants, stand 1 foot apart 

 in the row, and the purples, not so strong-growing, are some 

 8 inches from each other in the row. Of course, while the 

 colours will be somewhat distinct, it is intended that the whole 

 ground shall be covered, and the one row touch the other. We 

 could hardly make the general planting interesting without some 

 rough plans". This season, for various reasons, we will take the 

 simplest modes of planting— that is, what will require least time 

 in planting, and least labour in attending to afterwards ; so that 

 we hardly think that minute details would be interesting, 

 especially to those to whom intricacy and augmented care and 

 labour are pleasing considerations. — R. F. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*,* We request that no one will write privately to the depart- 

 mental writers of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore be addressed solely to TJie 

 Editors of the "Journal of Horticulture, Sre." 162, Fleet 

 Street, London, H.C. 

 We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the 

 same sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on 

 Poultry and Bee subjects, if they expect to gel them answered 

 promptly and conveniently, but write them on separate 

 communications. Also never to send more than two or 

 three questions at once. 

 Royal Horticultural Society's Flobal Committee.-^ earenilormed 

 by Mr. W. Earley, gardener to Felix Trjor, Esq., Digswell, that he exhi- 

 bited on the 5th inst. the Tea-scented Rose Devoniensis, which we attributed 

 to Mr. Treen. 



Boos on Greenbouse and Hothouse Management {E. T. ). -There 13 

 no better directory than » In-door Gardening," by Keane, which you can 

 have free by post from our office for twenty postage stamps. 



Vines with Warted Leaves (f. A. ilfans/WrfJ.-There is no disease 

 affecting the Vine leaf that we notice, except some excrescences, the result 

 of too much moisture at the roots and a too c!ose moist atmosphere inside. 

 Extra drainage if needed, and especially a drier and more any atmosphere, 

 are the remedies. 



Gabdkn Engine (Jf. W. J.) .-The maker named is Mr. G. Heaven, 

 Hight Street, Birmingham. 



