December 28, 1871. ] 



JOUENAL OP HOETICULTUKE AND COTfAGE GAEDENEE. 



513 



Collecting Leaves. — We could do little ol tliia during ■windy 

 days. Leaves raked up wet are just as good as any for present 

 purposes, or for being placed in heaps to decompose into leaf 

 mould. For f ature use they cannot be brought home too dry. 

 A covered shed is a good place for them, but they will keep 

 well for years if placed in a well-rounded heap, and a little 

 litter thrown over them to prevent the wind acting on them. 

 On such a heap of dry leaves it is rarely that the heavifSt rains 

 will penetrate more than 1 or 2 inches. We have found heaps 

 collected two years previously almost as fresh as on the day they 

 were gathered, which was entirely owing to their dryness. 

 When we wanted them to heat and decompose we watered them. 

 Leaves need no preparation for hotbeds, except throwing them 

 together to heat. A correspondent informs us that he used 

 leaves among which were many bits of wood and much long 

 grass, and that his plants sufiered from the fumes. We can 

 hardly conceive it to be possible at this season, as there can be 

 little of such rank grass now after the frost. If it is yet some- 

 what long it must be rather grey or whitish in its tint, and 

 in such circumstances along with leaves we have never found 

 it give out unhealthy fumes. Of course it is well to use a 

 little precaution, and the simplest one is to cover the bed with 

 soil or more sweet, rotten material, and to observe if the con- 

 densed drops on the glass or sashbars are clear as a dewdrop. 

 If so, there can be no danger, but there will be if they are 

 yellowish or brownish in colour. 



Fungi spores will seldom appear if a bed of rather hot rank 

 dung is placed beneath the leaves, and the latter allowed to be- 

 come very wurm, and then to cool before using them. Another 

 correspondent wishes to know how to turn a heap of green dung 

 and another of leaves into a heap of sweet material, losing as 

 little as possible of heat and bulk. It is next to impossible to 

 obtain both objects; mixing dung and leaves together at once, is 

 the best means for getting a heap by various turnings uniformly 

 sweet. True, but no plan could be better for diminishing bulk, 

 as the leaves will be half decomposed before the horse dung is 

 sweet. If one uniform heap must be made, it is best to heat and 

 turn the rank dung two or three times before the leaves and 

 dung are mingled together. If wo wished to make the most of 

 both, and to keep up as much bulk as possible, we would give 

 the dung one or two turnings, with as much watering as would 

 insure rapid heating ; and when that was hot, but not sweetj 

 we would line the bottom of the bed with it, and top it with hot 

 leaves from the heating leaf heap. This would make the most 

 lasting bed for temporary purposes. For a lasting Cucumber 

 bed, instead of a layer of each, we would have several thin 

 layers of each, and a heavier one of hot leaves to finish with. 

 Beds thus made in January have retained a fair heat in the 

 following November. 



Discard all soil that seems to have any spawn running in 

 it. It may be purified by having boiling water poured over it, 

 or by being placed as a covering over burning and charring 

 material. In each case the soil requires to be well aerated be- 

 fore use, so that on the whole it is best to examine and get 

 rid of such pieces as can be seen. We are sorry to confess that 

 we really do not know what amount of heat will kill the spores 

 and spawn of fungi. A correspondent remarks that it would 

 be useful to know the amount of heat and cold beyond which 

 even the spawn of the Mushroom would not live, but here our 

 experience fails us. A friend of ours often waters his Mush- 

 room beds with water as near the boiling point as possible, 

 and he gathers fine crops. He says that even pin-beaa Mush- 

 rooms are not injured. A neighbour of his followed his plan 

 but he got no Mushrooms. We know that when placed in a 

 bed spawn is easily injured by heat, but when fairly run it 

 will stand more. We have poured very warm water down at the 

 back and front of a Mushroom bed to dislodge and kill wood- 

 lice, but we have never used it so warm over the bed. If 

 poured hot on a bed, however, it would be much cooled before 

 it passed through the earth. 



Asparagus —The dull foggy weather has been against the 

 colour of Asparagus in a common hotbed frame. Though 

 we have washed the glass and kept it clean, the shoots are 

 not so bright green as we wish to see them. We have had 

 them grown almost as green in a dark place, and then placed 

 with the base of the shoots in damp moss in a house of medium 

 temperature for a few days. The want of the bright green tint 

 is a great one, though the shoots may be crisp and sweet. 



Cucumbers. — We have cleared out at length those we planted 

 in a pit in the beginning of the year, as the walls, &c., sadly 

 wanted cleaning, and the young plants were getting injured from 

 want of heat. Five lights will thus be fresh nlanted with stout 



plants, and all are put in pots, as stated last season. Three 

 lights are now bearing nicely, but of course if we fruit them 

 heavily now, we cannot expect the plants to last so long. The 

 object in planting in pots is to get great quantities of fruit and 

 comparatively small foliage. In a place from 5 to 6 feet in 

 width, leaves like parasols or small umbrellas are of no use 

 when plenty of fruit is wanted. 



FKUIT DEPAKTITENT. 



The weather has been bad for bringing on early Strawberries 

 — scarcely a blink of sun to cheer them. An experienced gar- 

 dener used to say that it was little use putting many good 

 pots in until about Christmas time. Put a good many into an old 

 bed where you can just detect the least bottom heat, to bring 

 them on gradually. They must, however, at this early period, 

 be left only a little time in a bed where there is much heat 

 below them, as this tends to make them grow too much to 

 leaf, and not enough in the flower-truss. Many a flower-bud 

 becomes blind altogether from the stimulus so applied. It is 

 useful in moderation, and almost essential where successions 

 are to be kept in a house of a rising temperature ; but where 

 room can be afforded there is no safer or better plan than 

 placing the pots on the shelves where they are to fruit, and in- 

 creasing the heat very gradually. 



Fruit-rooms, dsc. — Looked over fruit-room and kfe Grapes 

 nipped out a few fading berries from the latter, and gave a 

 brisk fire during the day with air back and front — very little 

 heat at night, and a little air at back unless when very cold and 

 frosty. Made preparations for forcing Peach and other houses, 

 but we find where frost is kept out the trees come on early very 

 fairly of their own accord, without commencing regular forcing 

 so very early. For planting, &c., see previous numbers. 



OENAlIEKTAIi DEPAETMENT. 



All plants growing, flowering, and coming into flower should 

 be kept scrupulously clean. Much may be done by keeping 

 them from the dust of the room when swept, much more by 

 washing them frequently. This is easiest done in the case of 

 small plants suitable for a window, by placing a cloth over the 

 soil of the pot, spreading the fingers of the left hand over it, 

 and then with the other hand holding the pot, reversing the 

 head of the plant in a bucket of water, and drawing the leaves, 

 &c., backwards and forwards in the water. The leaves should 

 be gently sponged afterwards, and the process then repeated in 

 a fresh pail of clean water. Two pails of water might thus do 

 for a number of plants. In frosty weather when much air can- 

 not be given, slight frequent damping of the foliage will coun- 

 teract the dry heat of the room. This damping of the foliage 

 will often be more important than frequent watering at the- 

 root. Plants kept too damp now are apt to make spongy watery 

 growth. As long as there is no sign of the leaves being dis- 

 tressed it is advisable not to water, but water suffieiently so as 

 to moisten all the soil when you do give it. As a general rule 

 let the whole of the roots be moistened, and give no more until 

 they again become dry. Giving a little drop on the surface is 

 always deceptive. When doubtful, turn the ball carefully out, 

 and see what like it is. If the pot is clean and dry at potting: 

 time the ball can be turned out and replaced unbroken. If you 

 are not sure of that, insert a stick or your finger by the side of 

 the pot, and see what state the soil is in 2 or 3 inches frons 

 the surface ; and if you think that such is the case give the pot 

 a sharp ring to test its soundness as in buying a porcelain 

 vessel. Should the sound be clear the earth wants watering, 

 but if it be dull it does not. 



Water in Saucers. — As a general rule it is well to have saucers 

 for plants in windows, and to throw out the water that collects 

 in the saucers. If you have Cinerarias or Calceolarias in your 

 windows a little damp moss in the bottom of the saucer will do 

 good, and help to keep a moitter atmosphere about them. As 

 regards plants in general, though the bottom of the pot should 

 not be in water, yet in cold frosty weather when the strong 

 fires are apt to dry the air of the room too much for your win- 

 dow plants, if you put three pieces of stone, oreven of cork, 

 all the same height in the saucer, set the pot level on these 

 pieces, and then put water in the saucer so as not quite reach 

 to the bottom of the pot, you would find vapour to rise insen- 

 sibly from that water, and enable the green foliage to resist the 

 dry air of the room all the better.- In mild weather with 

 smaller fires this would be less necessary. Keep in mind, also, ■ 

 that when a plant is growing freely it must have light. 



Bulbs. — Put a number of well-rooted bKlbs, such as Lily of 

 the Yalley, into a mild hotbed to bring them sooner into bloom. 

 It is no use doing anything of this sort until the pots are 

 full of roots. We often help this a little by placing the fresh- 



