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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Jane 16, 1863. 



heart to enforce such practices now, though even still it is no un- 

 common thing to hear of horses being brought in out of the wet, 

 and men sent out in the rain to fare as they may. Think of 

 poor ploughboys getting home to their stables soaked, putting 

 on next day the clothes they had no chance of drying, and need 

 we wonder that instead of being at their best, they become old 

 men at thirty and thirty-five, and get crooked with pains and 

 penalties ever afterwards ? Most of us, however, would have 

 been glad to put up with a drenching in the continued drought. 

 We feel grateful for the attempts that are made to improve the 

 condition of working men in their homes ; but a nice cottage is 

 but an unsuitable home, if deficient in the supply of good water. 

 It would be well if there were something like a legal enactment 

 as to wells or tanks, as relates to the proprietors of cottage 

 property. We know of villages in which, if there should be a 

 well, few have any right to use it, and for water for all sorts of 

 purposes, cooking included, the residents must resort to pools 

 and holes, where the water has flowed from the highway in 

 floods, and most of which in elevated districts were completely 

 dried-up in the late drought. It was sickening to see the poor 

 women trying to fill a little pail, by skimming with a saucer a 

 piece of water less than a yard square, and passing it through a 

 cloth before it could be used for anything. Need we wonder at the 

 prevalence of goitre, and thick necks, and numberless maladies 

 produced by such unwholesome water? Were I a legislator, 

 I should try to enact that the landlord, who looks sharply 

 enough after cottage rents, should be constrained to provide by 

 tank or well for his cottages, so that the inmates should have 

 something else to depend upon for that essential necessary — good 

 water, than the puddles and pools by the side of the high- 

 ways, &e. 



Planted-out some Brussels Sprouts, Savoys, and Scotch Kale, 

 and must prick-out more for want of room to finally transplant. 

 Planted also a good breadth of Cauliflower. Thinned all Onions, 

 laying the thi n nings in thickly by the heels for salads. Thinned 

 alsoParsnipB and Carrots finally. Removed all the seed-heads from 

 Sea-kale, except those wanted for seed, and thinned out the crowns. 

 Threw a little lime and ashes over Beetroot and late Carrots. 

 Made the last sowing of Peas and garden Beans, unless, perhaps, 

 a row or two of early kinds of the former in the end of the 

 month. Sowed more Lettuce. Thinned Turnips. Cut down all 

 Parsley showing seed-Btalks, except a few for seed, as this will 

 cause the 6tools to produce longer, and give more time for the 

 young Parsley. Notice that young Sea-kale and Asparagus is 

 coming thick enough now. Ceased gathering old beds of As- 

 paragus ; in fact, as we have plenty of Peas ia-doors and out of 

 doors, have cared little about it of late. Prepared for planting 

 Celery, the forwardest being large plants, and will hoe all 

 ground as soon as the weather changes, to keep the moisture in 

 the ground. Cauliflowers and other vegetables have grown 

 amazingly since the rain. Put a little more covering on the 

 Mushroom-bed in the shed, after the cooler weather with the 

 rain, and made up a little bit more at the end of it for succession. 

 Some weeks ago we mentioned tar being put on the side of a 

 bed in the Mushroom-house. Though as much removed as 

 possible, the smell is not yet quite gone, and as that and wood- 

 lice together threatened the young Mushrooms, we have set the 

 tops of hand-lights firmly on the beds, and within the Mush- 

 rooms are coming nicely. As soon as the bed in the shed is 

 bearing, we will clear out this bed, clean and smoke the house 

 with sulphur and a little vitriol, which will pretty well destroy 

 all woodliee that may be left. The worst of it is, that in all old 

 gardens there is almost sure to be some taken in with the ma- 

 terial for the beds, just as mice are taken in sheaves into barns 

 and stacks rendered miceproof. Regulated Cucumbers, planted 

 fresh beds, and potted-off Capsicums, Chilies, &c. 



FECIT Q-ABDEN. 

 Much the Bame as the last week, only the ram has saved us 

 the trouble of driving honeydew and many insects from bushes, 

 &c. Watered Pigs heavily as the crop is heavy, and put a little 

 fire on in the dullest days with more air, as two or three fruit 

 showed signs of damping at the points. Have gathered a con- 

 siderable number. Some gentlemen told us that the prettiest 

 sight we had were some Cherry trees in a cool orchard-house, 

 covered with fruit from pot to top like a red wreath. These and 

 others have certainly been very useful, and have given very little 

 trouble. Some Bigarreaus and DowntonB, though paler in 

 colour, have also been fine in size and quality. We have in 

 the same place a few young Apricot trees, but they do not please 



us at all. A few Plums are just too heavily fruited. We think 

 either on treilis or as standards, planted out or in pots, a house 

 of such Piums as Jefferson's and Coe's Golden Drop, would in 

 the late autumn be a great luxury. Regulated Vines, Melons, 

 Peaches, &c, as last week. 



OBNAMENIAL DBPAETiCESI. 



In wet days, potting was the chief employment, but the week 

 has been so busy with planting-out in the flower garden, that we 

 have no time to write about it. Beds were beat up and all 

 deficiencies from frost and drought supplied. We may as well 

 mention here, that we had to replace a lot of Bijou Geraniums, 

 and it is well to know how the disappointment was occasioned. 

 The plants had been drawn a little, and were higher than we 

 wanted them, and, therefore, after planting the stems were bent 

 so that they were left nearly horizontal instead of perpendicular. 

 Now, of all these plants, though the bottoms were quite sound, the 

 stems if not withered-up were blackened, and the skin parboiled 

 as it were, from the double cause we presume of cold by night 

 and extreme bright sun by day ; whilst all the plants that 

 were smaller and allowed to stand upright were quite right, and 

 nothing at all the matter with them, though planted the same 

 day in the same bed. Of course, the upright stems would 

 neither be exposed to radiation of heat, nor evaporation of mois- 

 ture like those bent horizontally. As bearing upon the same 

 fact, we may mention that Verbenas planted out early, and which 

 for a certain purpose were staked upright, suffered little or 

 nothing ; whilst those pegged down were blotched considerably, 

 though they are coming all right. 



We have now pretty well all the rough of our planting 

 finished, and it would have been done before the end of last 

 month but for the dry weather and the scarcity of water. 

 Dahlias that were turned out in beds have lifted well, and 

 though strong have scarcely felt the moving. For large tall 

 kinds the holes are made, and the stakes secured before planting, 

 so that a little fresh soil can be given to each plant, the plant 

 secured to the stake, and a basin round it made and finished as 

 we go, the ground about one row being nicely forked or moved 

 before we proceed to a second. For dwarf Dahlias we use the 

 rough twig stakes we adopt so generally for other purposes ; but 

 in planting them, as well as all other things, as Geraniums, 

 Calceolarias, &c, needing support here — the one row is staked 

 and tied, after planting, before the next is planted, and the 

 ground kept stirred all the time. In all such staking after 

 planting, it is a rule never to put the stick within 3 or 4 inches 

 of the stem of the plant. Young beginners will stick it in close 

 to the stem, and thus probably injure the best roots. Some 

 young hands have had to be threatened not only to be tied to a 

 stake, for that they would not mind for a joke, but to have the 

 stake driven through their foot for security, and that they would 

 find no joke. Such a mode of planting and tying, and stirring 

 the ground, using boards for standing on instead of sinking 

 ankle-deep in the ground, involves more labour and more time 

 at the planting period, but it is found to be truly economical in 

 the lotig run. A man may soon plant a bed or border if he 

 merely slips the plant in with a trowel, careless how hard and 

 trodden it may be in places ; but we never found such wondrous 

 quick planting very satisfactory in producing early results. 



We may give more particulars as to planting and arrangements 

 in a simpler way, in the meantime we will just mention a little 

 matter which we have had a little trouble in carrying out. In 

 planting beds or borders edged with grass or lawn, the planter 

 is apt to stand on the very edge of the grass, or, perhaps, part 

 of his foot is on the grass and part on the soil, and in either 

 case, if the work to be done requires much time, the verge out- 

 line is destroyed, and apt to be thrown into holes and hills, 

 and no little labour is required to secure a regular plane outline, 

 Now a long board laid on the verge of grass saves all this 

 bother and unsightliness ; but unless looked after the board is 

 almost sure to be shirked or forgotten. No bed, however nicely 

 planted, will look well if it has tattered irregular edgings. — R. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



B. S. Williams, Holloway. — General Plant Catalogue, includ- 

 ing Orchids, Ferns, New and Bare Plants. 1863. 



William Dillistone, Munro Nursery, Sible Hedingham, Essex. 

 — Catalogue of Choice New Plants of 1863. 



