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JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ July 27, 1871. 



it is usual to trap them in tobacco-pipe heads placed on the 

 •tops of the sticks which support the plants ; the bowls, how- 

 ever, naust be tew, for if they have been smoked the smell of 

 the tobacco will prevent the earwigs' entrance, and defeat the 

 object in view. Pinks which have been lately planted out 

 must be watered, and, if possible, shaded with an awning of 

 calico ; remove decayed petals from those flowers in which 

 there is an appearance of seed. As the seed-pods of Pansies 

 ripen they should be gathered and dried in a shady place. 

 Take care at all times to save seed only from flowers of 

 good form and stout petals. Tulips may now have the outside 

 skins removed ; very small offsets will be as well in the ground, 

 and a bed of fine and suitable soil should be prepared for their 

 reception. Florists would do well to pay more attention to 

 these offsets by well and clean growing; whatever trouble they 

 'oestow will be amply repaid by the fine blossoms which their 

 well-grown maiden roots will produce. 



GEEENHOnSE AND CONSEEVATOKY. 



At this period, many plants which are commonly considered 

 as inmates of the stove or greenhouse the whole year round 

 would be much benefited by a thorough exposure to the 

 elements. It may, however, be observed that no exotic plants 

 should be subjected to this process, but those which have made 

 a new growth previously in-doors. It must be remembered 

 also that an unclouded July sky is a very different thing to the 

 nickering shade produced by 'the rafters and styles of a hot- 

 house roof, and some caution is necessary for a week or so at 

 first in turning out plants of this kind. The practice is to 

 place them in a northern aspect for a few days ; they thus be- 

 come gradually inured to sunshine, and all that is necessary 

 after this is to put them in a situation sheltered from the 

 winds, but by no means under what is termed the shelter of 

 trees. As to the selection of kinds, I shall, of course, pass by 

 those which come from the very hottest regions of the globe, 

 ■and suggest that all gross climbers and plants of elongated and 

 rambling habit be subjected to this process for a month or so. 

 To carry out and do justice to such a plan, some thin screen 

 ■should be pi-ovided to throw over the plants in very bright 

 weather. Without this, although the plants may not be con- 

 stitutionally damaged, they may become so discoloured in the 

 leaf as to be a blemish instead of an ornament when housed. 

 Another matter must be considered — not only may the leaf 

 suffer, but the roots, esneeially those of a hair-like character. 

 The remedy is placing the pot inside an empty one, which will 

 act as a non-conductor, or plunging the plants. When the 

 latter plan is adopted some extra precautions should be taken 

 against] the common earthworm. Some of the larger speci- 

 mens in the conservatory and mixed greenhouse will soon be- 

 come exhausted, and preparations having been made so as to 

 secure a reserve stock, ihis should be well attended to in 

 regard to timely shifting, watering, &c. If such a course be 

 ■followed up good specimens will always be at hand to fill up 

 blanks occasioned by declining stock. Let young rooted Pelar- 

 goniums be potted-off in due time ; and protected Cinerarias, 

 too, whether seedlings or suckers, thould hive regular atten- 

 tion; those intended for autumn work should be potted with- 

 out further delay. The forward Acbimenes will have pro- 

 duced abundance of suckers ; these taken off, and encouraged 

 in a propagating frame, will produce a very late display. Pro- 

 pagation of all kinds should now be a weekly business; rooted 

 ■cuttings should be potted-off betimes. Now that many of the 

 ■Camellias, Azaleas, and other plants have been removed to 

 their summer situations out of doors, pointing or other repairs 

 required for any of the plant houses will be more conveniently 

 done than at any other season. Where houses are painted 

 sufficiently often to keep the paint always good, which is the 

 ■cheapest method in the end, there will be no difficulty in 

 getting the wood dry : bat where the wood is allowed to become 

 nearly bare before repainting is thought of, the house should 

 tie kept dry inside, covering the outside with some waterproof 

 material in the case of showers, and allowing a fortnight of 

 bright drying weather to thoroughly dry the wood before the 

 work is commenced. 



STO^VE. 



If there are sickly or badly-rooted specimens here they must 

 be frequently examined for red spider, otherwise they will be- 

 come a nursery for this pest, from which it will soon spread to 

 adjoining plants. See that young growing stock is not allowed 

 to suffer from want of pot-room, and attend carefully to water- 

 ing, giving manure wter to all plants in free growth that enjoy 

 it. Gardenias, &e., wheh have been removed to the conser- 

 vatory while in bloom should be replaced in heat as soon as 



their beauty is over, in order to allow of their growth being 

 ripened before the dull cloudy days of November set in. Al- 

 though shading Orchids must now be promptly and carefully 

 attended to, allow them as much light as they will bear without 

 ii'jcry, using a very light screen, and only when absolutely 

 necessary. Keep the foliage clear of insects and dust, by frequent 

 syringings or spongings as may be necessary. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN SAKDEN. 



As it is hardly possible to have too much of a good thing, we 

 wheeled a lot of half-rotten dung and leaves on a Strawberry 

 quarter, from which we had gathered all that was worth waiting 

 for, and then trenched dung and Strawberry plants down pre- 

 paratory to planting strong plants of Broccoli. It we had been 

 at all short of manure, and had not wished to get the dung out 

 of sight, we could have dispensed with the manure, as the 

 Strawberry plants, and the rich surfacings they had several 

 times received, would have been a good preparation for the 

 Broccoli. The store of nutriment trenched down will, how- 

 ever, tell on the present and succeeding crops for some years, 

 as the deeper-placed manure will become very sweet as it is 

 brought time after time nearer the surface. But for thus at once 

 disposing of the massive Strawberry plants, we should in many 

 instances .have mixed the manure more regularly through the 

 staple of the soil. There are even cases, such as making fresh 

 beds or quarters of Strawberries, where we are inclined to do 

 both; place some manuring material at the bottom of the 

 trench, to entice the roots to go downwards, and mix manure 

 also with the general staple, th^t manure being of a more de- 

 composed character, to encourage early and rapid growth. 



In the case of Broccoli and Greens to stand the winter, pro- 

 vided the top spit is fair for porosity and richness, we have 

 frequently noted that the plants on the whole do better when 

 the most of the rather fresh manuring matter is placed at a 

 considerable distance from the surface. The plants thus grow 

 sufficiently before the winter, but they ar'3 kept compact in- 

 stead of flabby, and thus pass through the frost and changes of 

 winter more easily than if the growth had been more luxuriant; 

 and then, as the warm days of spring come on, the roots make a 

 regular network in the rich food at the bottom of the trench, 

 and it seems almost impossible to cat and gather too much 

 from the plants. Even now, past the middle of July, we 

 could gather crisp little shoots of the Asparagus Kale, and 

 but for having plenty of other vegetables, we might have left 

 the Scotch Cabbaging Kale in order to cut young shoots from 

 it, only we sadly wanted their room. 



These little shoots are not so attractive to the cook as fine 

 Cabbages and huge Cauliflowers, but for delicacy and sweet- 

 ness we know nothing in the green vegetable way to surpass 

 them, as when nicely boiled they are as soft as so much rich 

 marrow. We would here repeat the caution given in the 

 spring, when most of us had the mortification to see our fine 

 Broccolis less or more departing, do what we could to save 

 them ; and that is, that all with limited room in their kitchen 

 garden should give the most of the space they can command to 

 Brussels Sj)routs and Scotch Kale. Savoys are all very well, 

 and large heads are fine fill-dishes for a family, and the little 

 Uim Savoy is as sweet as a tender Cabbage, but they are, in 

 general not so delicate to eat, nor so much to be depended on 

 through the winter, as the Brussels Sprouts and Scotch Kale. 



On the whole, we prefer the old fair-sized Brussels Sprouts 

 from home seed or imported seed to most of the new va- 

 rieties, each of which has some distinguishing property of its 

 own. We have grown most of them, and have fallen back 

 chiefly on the older kind, just as we have done in the case of 

 the Vegetable Marrow. For richness and delicacy the old 

 oblong plain variety is still by far the best. Where the climate 

 is not very bad the tall Scotch Borecole yields quanlities of 

 side shoots. In small places where less is required, the dwarf 

 Scotch Cabbaging Kale is most desirable, as the little side 

 shoots have a tendency to turn in somewhat Cabbage fashion. 

 Veitch's Dwarf is also very good, hardy, and beautifully curled. 

 We like these even better than the Cottagers' Kale, which is a 

 coarser vegetable, and in severe frosts we find the above Scotch 

 Curlies stand as well. The Cottagers' Kale, if strong, yields a 

 profusion of gatherings in the spring months. 



Where there is room for a row we would advise all readers to 

 appropriate it to the Asparagus Kale. The mere head it makes 

 is of little consequence comparatively ; the great attraction is 



