184 



JOUENAL OP HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ September 7, 1871. 



weeds being taken back again to the garden. Sach heaps if 

 well managed are as valuable for general crops as hotbed or 

 other dung, but carelessly used they become too often recep- 

 tacles of seeds when weeds in a seeding state are placed there 

 along with potting earth that has done its work, sweepings from 

 Jawns, &o. A little salt and lime will often greatly improve 

 the quality of such heaps ; but the best way to increase their 

 value and to destroy the seeds that find their way to them, is 

 to place grass mowings, rakings, all and everything that will 

 heat violently in lower layers, with the more earthy matter 

 over them, so that all may be heated through and through, and 

 still the fertilising gases will be arrested instead of being per- 

 Sn'tted to contaminate the air. Even the humblest, if they do 

 not use soapsuds, dish-washings, &c., as liquid manure, would 

 greatly enrich their rubbish heaps by poming all such water on 

 them, and every now and then scattering a little dry soil over 

 the places that receive the rich waterings. This will preserve 

 the virtues of the decomposing materials, and the dry earth is 

 the best and cheapest of all deodorisers. 



Watering. — As far as this neighbourhood is concerned, with 

 a low barometer we have still had no rain, though we have 

 ■heard of heavy showers not far off. A fine rain would benefit 

 the garden, do great good to the luxuriant crops of Turnips in 

 the fields, and do little or no harm, if not continuous, to the 

 later corn, as it would help to swell the ears of grain. Never 

 could there have been better or more propitious weather tor 

 oarting home the valuable corn produce. In the garden, how- 

 ever, many things were getting too dry, and we watered liberally 

 Eoses, Peas, Beans, Cauliflower, and Celery. We wish some 

 of our learned friends would tell the quantity of moisture in 

 the form of vapour a strong Celery plant would throw off in 

 a bright sunny day. About eight days ago we gave our Celery 

 feeds a good drenching — sailing them, in fact, with sewage, and 

 as some are apt to be careless with the spout of the water-pot, 

 and as the stems of Celery are rather sensitive to strong ma- 

 nures, we followed with a watering overhead with clear water, 

 or clear weak soot water, so that none of the sewage should 

 rest on the stems, and then when the tops were somewhat dry 

 we threw over the bed about an inch of finely-pulverised dry 

 soil from the sides to help to keep the moisture in. 'With all 

 this, however, we found the soil of the beds much drier than 

 we expected, and there was no alternative but to give water 

 «ven from our limited supply. We believe three or four days 

 more of such weather would have given us, without water, 

 bolted heads, which we do not want, and which hitherto we 

 have not had for many years. We mention this simple cir- 

 cumstance that young enthusiastic amateurs may be induced 

 to take nothing on trust, but examine and test for themselves, 

 •for if we had not taken a pointed stick and turned up the soil 

 among the Celery, we could not have believed that with our 

 dewy nights the Celery plants had managed to throw so much 

 more moisture into the atmosphere than they had received 

 from it. Fine rows of Scarlet Eunners, too, with massive rich 

 foliage, were inclined to drop a good many flowers without set- 

 ting and swelling the pods until they had had a watering at the 

 loots. For Peas and Beans, &o., we find it is a good method to 

 sow in a shallow wide trench ; it gives a better chance for 

 watering effectually if needful. 



Earthing-up Celery. — We have dwelt so much on this that 

 to avoid repetition we would prefer referring to articles where 

 the whole is fully described. Suffice it to say, that we have 

 «arthed-up our second piece in a bed, the plants having been 

 tied loosely some time previously so as to encourage the centre 

 ■of the plant to rise a little. These plants were well watered 

 the day previously, and then were earthed-up at once in order 

 to be ready in three weeks or so. We seldom earth-up more 

 in summer than two or three dozen at a time. By following 

 in small successions, we take the Celery up for use before the 

 soil about the roots becomes exhausted of its moisture. When 

 •sarthed-up there is less evaporation, but still it is considerable, 

 and the part, bit-by-bit earthing-up, leaves the evaporation 

 ifrom the foliage full play, whilst the roots receive no added 

 moisture, and then up comes the flower-stalk rendering the 

 plant unfit for anything but the roughest kinds of soups, if 

 even for that purpose. 



It Celery is of a good size before planting out, the most if 

 not all of the suckers that come in the axils of the outer leaves 

 ■san be removed, but in general the plants should be examined 

 carefully before tying, and every sucker or young side shoot 

 carefully removed. Each head or stick will be more sym- 

 metrical in consequence. We generally use a sharp-pointed 

 knife for the purpose. Some friends of ours, however, never 



remove any suckers, and they contend they obtain more useful 

 produce in consequence. We mention this though we do not 

 recommend it, and yet, as they contend, the plan has some re- 

 commendations. We saw some huge heads of dwarf Celery 

 taken up last October, and though the main central head was 

 not so good as ours, yet round the sides there were three, four, 

 or more nice little blanched heads — suckers ; and whilst the 

 main head went to the cheese and salad-bowl, the side pieces 

 went for kitchen purposes, or the best was cut up small for 

 salad. A great amount of useful Celery may thus be obtained, 

 though we should prefer growing some small Celery separately, 

 and having the main heads more perfect. 



The tying-up of Celery needs some care, so as to tie it loosely. 

 It is easy to tighten before earthing-up if not tight enough. 

 If at all tight the heart of the plant does not rise freely, and is 

 apt to find a way for itself between the leafstalks below the 

 tying. Shreds of matting are as good as anything for tying. 

 Even single rows are worth the labour and trouble of tying. 

 When grown in beds, the most economical way, tying is in- 

 dispensable. People to whom Celery beds are something new, 

 are anxious in their inquiries as to the earthing-up, but when 

 the plants are well cleaned and tied, it is just as easy to earth- 

 up a bed with from three to five plants across, as it would be 

 to earth-up a single row. For late crops we prefer that each 

 head should have a few furnace ashes round it, and that is 

 easily done by placing two pieces of semicircular spouling-pipes 

 round the plant, turning-in the sifted ashes from a barrow, and 

 banking all round with earth as you go on, moving the pipes 

 from row to row. In earthing-up, too, the earth should be 

 broken fine with the spade before being applied. The throwing 

 in large rough lumps among the Celery plants is doing them 

 anything but juttice. 



Collecting Soil. — Now, when the ground is rather dry, there 

 can be no better time for collecting whatever soil may be ne- 

 cessary for potting and the many other purposes for which it is 

 required in a garden. If it can be obtained with the turf all 

 the better ; if not with the turf, still as little below it as pos- 

 sible, and the more fibre it has in it the better. When you 

 have a choice, pass the rich meadow with its soft broad-leaved 

 grass — that will generally be too rich and too adhesive even for 

 general purposes. Choose rather the soil beneath grass that is 

 small, hard, and pointed, more like so many stocking needles, 

 than the large-leaved grass of the meadows. This you will 

 most readily find in upland commons and sheep walks. If you 

 cut such a piece of turf up with your knife, it it is only 14 inch 

 in thickness, you will find you can hardly tear it to pieces with 

 your hands, it is so full of fibres. We have looked on such 

 with longing eyes for years, without ever being able to get a 

 load of it. After lying and sweetening for a few months, such 

 soil would grow to perfection everything that did not absolutely 

 require heath soil, not peat soil in the general acceptation of 

 the term. Peat soil that has been taken from where water has 

 passed or stood over it, however useful for fuel, is of no use for 

 gardening potting purposes. The heath soil we want is that 

 obtained from uplands, where the herbage gradually decaying 

 has left a layer of vegetable matter mixed with disintegrated 

 rock, sand, &c., the whole process taking place in a dry ex- 

 posure, and not under water. Such heath soil can now only be 

 obtained in many districts by the rich, as the price is getting 

 higher every year. Such fibrous loamy soil as we have alluded 

 to will grow almost all plants except Heaths, and even it may 

 form a good part of the compost of the stronger-growing of 

 them, and will do for all the Ehododendron tribe, provided 

 there is no chalk nor lime in it — no amount of calcareous matter 

 worth speaking of, as whenever that is present Ehododendrons 

 will refuse to flourish. 



With the above as a sort of guide in choosing, except where 

 r )ad surveyors are disposed to be extra troublesome, a fine lot 

 of fresh compost may be obtained from the sides of most high- 

 ways, and that for a small consideration, as in most cases the 

 removal of the piled-up banks would greatly benefit the high- 

 way. For many years this has been our chief source of stipply, 

 though, as hinted above, we knew where we could have pro- 

 cured better. Sometimes the doing away with a hedgerow in a 

 field has enabled us to obtain a lot of rough turf before levelling 

 for the plough, and that, the rougher the better, makes rare soil 

 after sweetening for six to twelve months. Provided we can 

 get it fresh with less or more of fibre in it, all is pretty well 

 fish that we can catch in this fresh loam net. 



The great object is to have such soil well exposed to the air 

 and sweetened, without greatly decomposing its fibre before 

 using it. Many of our readers have little room for such a pur- 



