Jnly 6, 13rl. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



11 



Militfea Eaphrosyne. 



The nnmerous species of the gemns Sdlis, which are so in- 

 teresting (or so teasing) to the incipient botanist, have their 

 claims upon the attention of the gardener too. For the pur- 

 pose of acientiiio study, or for curiosity merely, the Willows 

 have been occasionally cultivated to some extent, originating, 

 in fact, a name, " Salicetnm," which has been applied to a 

 nursery or plantation of these trees and shrubs. In such a 

 place at Vienna three hundred kinds were reported to have 

 been distinguished, and at Woburn, in our own land, 160 

 species, in the Duke of Bedford's grounds, of which an 

 account with figures ap- 

 peared in 1828. Bat in 

 what a variety of ways 

 do we find Willows and 

 Osiers, alter they are 

 cut down, brought into 

 everyday use by the gar- 

 dener ! As poles for 

 fencing, as handles for 

 various implements, and 

 as props, the longer 

 shoots and branches are 

 often handy. The slim- 

 mer twigs are used freely, as every frequenter of our London 

 Tegetable markets knows, for tying up in bandies a variety of 

 garden produce ; and in the garden itself these .same shoots 

 bind trees and shrubs to walls or supports. Ncr are the growing 

 Willows without their usee too. Employed in hedges, these 

 plants answer well in both dry and moist soils, and considering 

 their rapid growth, I have wondered that gardeners in our 

 suburbs do not more frfquenlly make Willow hedges. The 

 White Willow (S. alba) has been especially commended as an 

 admirable screen for plantations of young timber trees. Dis- 

 persed here andthtre in a garden, be it flower, fruit, cr kitchen, 

 it is unquestionable that Willows or Sallows are an improve- 

 ment, looking at the spot from an artistic point of view ; and 

 if S. caprea, the Goat Willow, be introduced, the flowers, which 

 are very beautiful, will benefit the bee hives, should the gar- 

 dener be an apiarian too. The Weeping Willow (S. babylonioa) 

 is familiar to most of us, as seen in pleasure grounds and 

 cemeteries. About the west and south of London I have seen 

 with regret the grubbing-up of some, which I thought might 

 well have been spared ; and one of the pleas put ft r,h in favour 

 of their removal has been that they harbour much blight — in- 

 sects, especially, 1 presume, being thereby intended. And it 

 must be granted that few trees could be icdicated which are 

 more exposed to the attacks of different species belonging to 

 almost every order of insects, and infesting, in turn, every part 

 of the Willow, from the topmost twigs down to the root. Pos- 

 sibly, too, some of these, being first attracted to a garden by 

 the presence of Willows, might afterwards distribute themselves 

 over other plants or trees. This would hardly be likely, how- 

 ever, to be a very frequent occurrence, and the greater propor- 

 tion of the Willow-feeders are confined to that, or to allied 

 species, such as the Poplar. But the inroads made upon it by 

 these marauders tend sadly to mar the appearance of Willow 

 hedges, and the trees grovn for ornament frequently display 

 denuded branches or a decaying trunk, from whose wounds 

 exudes decomposing sap, and around which lie fragments of 

 bark and wood, trophies of the execution done by insect jaws. 

 Only a few days since, passing through some market gardens 

 near Patney, I noticed a hedge, composed of Salix alba and 

 fragilis, which had been nearly stripped of its leaves. The 

 individuals which had done the work had departed, but from 

 the appearances I conjecture that some species of Saw-fly was 

 responsible for it. The pseudo-caterpillars, as they are called, 

 of the Saw-flies are to be seen more or less plentifully upon 

 Willows and Osiers most years, and along the banks of the 

 Thames they do some damage to the Osier beds, for they will 

 gnaw the shoots as well as the leaves. Unpleasant-looking 

 creatures are they, with their globular shiny heads anJ flabby 

 bodies, the anal extremity of which is usually lilted in the air. 

 These feed in parties, and so exposed that one would expect 

 they would become frequently a prey to birds ; though some do, 

 I do not think many are thus disposed of. These Saw-flies 

 belong to the family of the Tenthredinidfe ; the females being 

 provided with a peculiar instrument by which the eggs are 

 deposited on the plants they selected, the leaf or twig being 

 usually slightly punctured, though in a different manner to 

 that produced by the auger of the Gall-flies. The caterpillars 

 of these flies (and though called flies, we must remember they 

 have foni wings, and are next-of-kin to bees, yet stingless, bow- 1 



ever formidable their tails may appeai), can be easily picked or 

 swept oS the trees when of some size, but then they have often 

 done a good part of their injurious work upon the leaves. The 

 digging-up of the earth round the trees has been recommended, 

 if it be done at the time the insects are in the pupa or chry- 

 salis state, when they generally enter the ground. — J. S,. S. C. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAEDEN. 



Take advantage of dry weather to eradicate any weeds that 

 may have sprung up during the late rains ; and when the soil is 

 not Bufliciently dry for hoeing, hand-weeding should be adopted. 

 As the production of strong Asjiaragus nest spring will mainly 

 depend on the culture in the summer, let the beds, alter being 

 cleaned, be mulched with short grass or half-rotten manure. 

 Liquid manure, in which a portion of salt has been dissolved, 

 should then be applied freely for the next month or six weeks, 

 or the salt may be spread over the beds, to be washed in by 

 the rains or waterings. Globe Artichokes and Sea-hale will be 

 improved by similar treatment. Should the weather become 

 suddenly dry, water freely Cauliflowers, Lettuces, Eadishes, and 

 other vegetables which require to be grown quickly to have 

 them crisp and tender. We need scarcely add that in all cases 

 vegetables will be improved in tize by giving manure water, if 

 it can be obtained in snflScient quantities for all purposes. 

 Continue planting out Celery as required, and the early crop 

 may have a slight earthing-up, having previously taken off any 

 lateral buds and well watered the rows. Sow a good supply of 

 the earlier Cabbages or Chappel's Coleicort for autumn and 

 winter supply. Endive should now be planted out and another 

 sowing made. A crop of Parsl£y, to stand over the winter, should 

 now be sown in a dry sheltered spot. Every yard of ground 

 that can be spared should be prepared and planted with winter 

 vegetables. Stir the surface of the soil amongst all growing 

 crops wliere practicable ; it will enable the rain to percolate 

 through it with greater equality, as well as check vegetation. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



Most kinds of fruit now ripe or ripening will require the pro- 

 tection of nets to preserve them from birds, which in most 

 country places are troublesome neighbours. As the early 

 Cherries are gathered, shift the netting to other kinds yet to 

 ripen. Peaches and Nectarines should have their final thin- 

 ning when the stones in the fruit become firm and hard, as all 

 the risk of their dropping during the stoning process will then 

 be over. Vines against walls should be closely nailed to the 

 wall to obtain what benefit of the little heat that can be had 

 this cloudy summer. Figs must be treated the same, pinching 

 out the point of the current year's wood, except the leaders, 

 when they have made five or six joints. The breastwood may 

 now be removed from Pears and Plums against wails, cutting 

 away only a portion, say the upper part, of the tree first, then 

 after an interval of two or three weeks another portion, and 

 finally finishing by a third cutting of the lower part. By this 

 plan there will be less danger of the cut-back shoots starting 

 again, and the lower shoots, which are generally the weakest, 

 will gain additional strength by being allowed a few weeks 

 longer to grow. When Strawberry plants have ceased to bear 

 for the season, and have borne on the same ground for three 

 successive years, they ought to be trenched down, and the suc- 

 cession kept up by making fresh plantations of those that have 

 been forced, taking care that the soil is trenched and well 

 manured at least 2 feet in depth. Currants that are growing 

 against walls or other fences ought now to be matted over to 

 protect the fruit for use in autumn and winter. See that the 

 shoots of young grafts are nailed or tied up as they advance, to 

 prevent them being broken by the wind. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



The recently planted beds will still require watching to get 

 the plants in them fairly on the start. The heavy rains have 

 chilled the ground, and some of the more tender or badly rooted 

 subjects look sickly. The surface soil in some situations will 

 have become hard and crusty after the late heavy rains, in 

 which case the crust should be broken and neatly raked over 

 when dry weather sets in. Proceed with pegging and otherwise 

 training growing plants.ss they advance till they occupy their 

 allotted space, when more fieedom of growth may be permitted ; 

 but in flower gardens laid out in the French or geometrical 

 style the utmost symmetry should be preserved, if not in all 

 the beds, yet in those that may be termed counterpart beis. 

 As the grounds and shrubberies are much more frequented by 

 company at this season, pay the more attention to keeping the 



