Angoat 10, 1871. ] 



JOUKNAL OP HOBTICDLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



107 



pleted their growth. Look carefully after the Laoulias, and 

 keep them clear of their great enemy black thri ps, affording them 

 plenty of water at the roots, and give an occasional supply of 

 weak clear manure water to old plants that may not be growing 

 freely, until they have made plenty of wood to insure a grand 

 display of flowers, but manure water should not be given to 

 young specimeus in vigorous health, as it is apt to induce too 

 prose a habit, in which state they seldom flower profusely. 

 The Luculia is amongst the most splendid and useful of our 

 conservatory planis, and well deserving of every care and at- 

 tention, and when planted in the border it is also one of the 

 easiest to manage. To secure fine heads of blossom, however, 

 the plants should be afforded a comparative rest of a few weeks 

 after about the middle of next month, keeping the roots rather 

 dry, and exposing the plants as freely lo air as can be done 

 without injuring the foliage, or the adjacent specimens. See 

 that old large specimens of Camellias are not allowed to be- 

 come too dry at the roots after they have set their buds, for 

 this is what generally causes them to drop their buds, about 

 which we bear so many complwints. Young vigorous plants, 

 however, frequently require to he watered rather sparingly at 

 this period to prevent them making a second growth. Cine- 

 rarias for early flowering should now be growing freely ; attend 

 to them with shifting, &<•,., as may be neces-'ary, for if they are 

 to form large specimens for floweiiog in winter, Ihey must not 

 be allowed to sustain any cheek afier this time ; also take off 

 suckers and pot for spring flowering as they can be obtained. 

 Herbaceous Ciloeolariaa will now demand attention ; put in 

 cuttings of favourite sorts in order that they may be rooted as 

 soon as possible. The stock of hardy j-hrubs in pots for next 

 season's forcing, if their growth is completed, m>iy be laid on 

 their sides facing the south ; this will assist to ripen their 

 wood and prevent their making autumn shoots. After a short 

 time remove them to the shade of the north wall for the winter. 



STOVE. 



Many hardwooded spring-fl i-vering specimens when kept 

 growing late in the autumn where there is not suffiuient sun- 

 shine to properly ripen the wood, seldom fliwer strongly ; there- 

 fore give every encouragement to such as have not made their 

 growth, and use the shading very sparingly after this time. 

 The twiners here will now be at peifoctinn ; keep them well 

 supplied with water at the roots, and pay frequent attention to 

 regulating the shoots and disposing the blooms in the most 

 eftfctive manner. The Allamandaa are flue plants for pot 

 culture, but to have them in perfection they must he planted 

 out in the border of the stove, and trained to the pillars or back 

 wall, where they flower magnificently during a great part of the 

 year. The brilliant Clerodendron spleodens, the Combretums, 

 Eijhites eplendens, Stephanotis florihunda, and many other 

 first-rate plants do extremely well when treated in the same 

 manner and trained near the glass. — W. Eeane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN OAEDEN. 



We prepared ground for sowing Oalibagee, Lettuces, Endive, 

 Turnips, Radiihes, Spinach, and Onions. For all such crops 

 that are to stand the winter, and produce heavily in spring, it 

 is well to have the ground deeply stirred, the manure placed at 

 the bottom, and the surface left a little fiim, and rather poor 

 in comparison. We beiiave we should have lost fewer of our 

 Cabbages last winter if the first layer of soil had been less liuh, 

 and the plants had grown less in the beginniog of the winter. 

 If. however, we were sure of the weather, it would be quite 

 different; for standing well it is advisable that plants should 

 ha encouraged to root deeply, and to take hold of the richest 

 soil. 



Peas have produced much more than common this season. 

 Even Veitch's Perfection has been perfection as to quantity 

 with us, which, when compared with others, it hardly was be- 

 fore. We have compared some of the new sorts witb old ones, 

 bnt taking size, colour, and flavour, we find as yet none equal 

 to the Ne Plus Ultra or Jeyes's Conqueror ; the only drawback 

 IS, that it will grow to such a height that in such a season as 

 this_ poles as well as long sticks would he necessary to do it 

 justice. From the kindness of a friend we hope ere long to see 

 and form an opinion on some of the best new Peas which we 

 have not grown ourselves. In the meantime, we are fortified 

 in the above opinion from the simple fact that having sent for 

 table fine Supremesand Perfections, a message came that they 

 wotUd do admirably for certain purposes, but if possible to 



send a good dish of the large blue Pea as the chief vegetable 

 for dinner. This Conqueror Pea is almost the only one we 

 know that needs no help, but a short boiling in soft water with 

 jast a grain of salt in it. It needs with soft water no carbonate 

 of soda to keep it green, and it is so sweet that a dash of sugar 

 spoils it, and we would say the same of any rich sauce or 

 dressing. 



Scarlet Runners we like to see covering tall sticks, as one of tho 

 prettiest sights in a garden when in fall bloom and full bearing, 

 but weight for weight of pods we have obtained as much from- 

 rows of Runners at the same distance apart that had their 

 points nipped out several times, and which would thus without 

 sticks get broad at bottom, and not be more than 18 or 21 inches' 

 in height. When thus grown, we have frequently placed a little 

 long grass or litter along the sides of the row to keep the pods 

 clear from the dashing up of earth by heavy rains. Unless, 

 then, for a few rows of the dwarfer and earlier Peas, we would 

 say that it would not be profitable for the cottager to grow 

 them unless he could stake them ; whilst, on the other hand,, 

 hardly anything would give him such an amount of rich nutri- 

 tious food as the Scarlet Runner grown in rows, say 4 feet apart, 

 and without the expense and trouble of staking ; though a 

 pinching-out of the points of the strongest shoots would be 

 desirable, even if repeated twice or thrice after the plants 

 showed bloom. The stopping causes the first blooms to set 

 more freely, and rather helps others to show more quickly, and 

 we hardly know of anything more ornamental than a dense row 

 of such Beans, clothed from end to end with masses of bloom 

 concealing the pods below, and the more freely the latter are 

 gathered, so as lo prevent the ripening of the seeds, the more 

 freely will successions of bloom and pods come. 



Merely as an ornamental row, or as part of a ribbon-border, 

 we would much rather use these Scarlet Banners, stumped in, 

 so as to shojv masses of bloom — which they will be sure to do- 

 if the podaare rather closely picked — than use Beet or coloured 

 Greens, which, however beautiful, remind one too much of the' 

 salad and the kitchen, which the mere masses of flowers do 

 no'. For masses of scarlet where the ornamental and the- 

 useful must be combined, commend us to the Scarlet Runner 

 grown as a mass without staking. 



Even here as to masses of bloom, much will depend on 

 closely picking off the young pods. One pod allowed to ripen 

 its seed perfectly, will exhaust the plant more than a score of 

 pods with the seeds just forming. Some cottagers have done 

 well by sowing their Runners in boxes, or in a place where 

 they could protect them with a cloth in April, hardening off, 

 planting out early, and protecting with a few leafy twigs at 

 first, and then they would be satisfied with moderate gathering, 

 and save the seed for sale to neighbouring seedsmen. In somo 

 seasons this paid well, but on the whole where there is a family 

 to supply, it will generally be most economical to allow as 

 many pods to ripen as will furnish enough of well-matured seeds 

 for the following year, and gather all the rest when compara- 

 tively young. 



We have tried taking up the roots late in autumn and pack- 

 ing them closely in dryish earth during the winter, and thee 

 planting them out at the beginning of May, but, on the whole, 

 we came to the conclusion that it was the more profitable plan 

 in the long run to depend on the seeds, and in a very cold and 

 backward spring to give the young plants a little simple pro- 

 tection. The most prolific varieties of the Kidney Bean are very 

 economical for the cottager, such as the Negro, the Cream- 

 coloured, Sir Joseph Paxton, and the Newington, when the pods 

 are need whole ; hut even it small rows of these are grown 

 2 feet apart, they will not yield such an amount of nutritious 

 food as dwarf rows of Banners 4 feet apart. 



Whilst for small cottage gardens in the country, then, wa 

 recommend these dwarf unstaked rows of Runners, we can- 

 not forget seeing many small court gardens in London and 

 other large towns, and in thickly-populated suburban districts, 

 where the Runners, planted against the boundary fences oi 

 brick or wood, and encouraged to mount up on so many cords 

 or pieces of string, made you forget for several months that 

 you were in a sooty atmosphere, and in imagination, at least, 

 you could find yourself in the country with all its attractions, 

 whilst the food obtained from such a lovely covering of fences 

 anything but pretty, was very considerable. An old friend! 

 of ours, now at the Antipodes, used to grow the Runners-, 

 Rhubarb, Sea-kale, and the bulk of our common vegetables in 

 a small garden, in a very close neighbourhood just over the 

 bridges in Loudon. He was hemmed-in with buildings on every 

 side, but there was an opening for the pretty free entrance of 



