46 



JOURNAL OF EOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



[ January 19, 1871. 



know whether a Chrysanthemum requires water or not. In a 

 former paper Mr. Castle recommends August as the time for 

 giving the plants their iinal shift, but he now recommends the 

 first or second week in July for Pompons and early-flowering 

 kinds, which is more in accordance with my own views. 



As Mr. Castle hopes his writings will be received in good 

 faith, I beg to assure him that they will be received in such by 

 me ; but as he differs from so many practical gardeners on 

 various subjects, I think readers should be cautious not to arrive 

 too hastily at conclusions.— H. Benham, Upper UoUoway. 



PLANTS IN FLOWER DURING DECEMBER. 



.. Vtronica speciosa 



Anderson! 

 ealicifolia 



Candida 



dentata 



incaua 



sibirica 

 Cbeiranthus fniticulosa 

 Helleborus atrorubena 



fcetidus 



niger 

 Liatris spicata 

 Lupinus albus 

 Cbelone barbata 

 Koni^a maritima 

 Hypericum calycinuni 

 Liuaria Cymbalaha 



alpina 

 Linum grandiflorum 



perenne 



alpinum 



flavum 

 Malva Morenii 

 Vinca minor 



purpurea 

 Centauix-a Cyanua 



depressa 

 Eupborbia amygdaloides 

 Ajuga reptans alba 

 Campanula garganiea 



muralis 



pumila 

 Gaillardia picta 



grandinora 



Eicbai-di 

 Alcbemilla alpina 

 Eryngium alpinum 

 Cedronella cana 

 G.vnerium argentenm 

 Kierembergia gracilis 

 Tritema Uvaria 

 Verbena venosa 

 Jasminum nudiflorum 

 Alyssum sasatile 

 Geum rivale 

 Qilnotbera macrocarpa 



acaulis 



LamarcMana 



biennis 



Drummondi 

 Mimiilus maculosus 

 Viburaum Tinus 

 Aiabis lueida 

 Zausebneria californica 



-M. H., AcJclam Hall, Middlesbrough -oii-Tecs. 



. Scabiosa atropurpurea 

 Viltadenia trilobata 

 Mirabilis Jalapa 

 Deh)binium Belladonna 

 Andaomeda floribunda 

 Crocus Aucherii 



Eor\i 

 Pentstemon glabruui 



Scouleri 



procerum 

 . Antholyza coccinea 

 Erisevon Villarsii 

 Slonarda pui-purea 

 Thymus vulgaris 

 Acbillea tomentosa 



macrophylla 



compaeta 



a urea 

 Tricyi-tis hirta 

 Statice bellidiiolia 



incana alba 

 Aconitum autumnale 



versicolor 

 Omplialcde^ verna 

 Steuactis speciosa 

 Pblox setacea 



Tern a 

 Enta graveolens 

 Santolina incana 

 P-oIenionium cfemleum 

 Aubrietia Mooreana 

 Salv.a iulgens 

 Primula acaulis 

 Colcbicum autumnale fl. pi. 

 Plumbago capensis 

 Scutellaria galericulata 

 Centrantbus ruber 

 Asperula odorata 

 Potentilla alba 

 Sedum album 



dentatum 



purpureum 

 Cineraria maritima 

 Antirrbinum Tom Thumb 

 Silene pendula 

 Bupthalmuni salicifolium 

 Polygonum Sieboldi 



Brunoui 

 Sedum cceruleum 

 Stacbys lanata 

 Armeria vulgaris 

 Polygonum orientale 

 Delphinium Ajacis 

 Nigella hispauica 



GLAZED WALL. 



JtST as I was about to accept an offer made me of twenty 

 ground vineries at a certain price, a week or two back I ob- 

 served your recommendation, for Vine-growing, of glass being 

 put against a wall in the shape of a lean-to house, which article 

 suggested to me that we should build a house 120 feet long and 

 12 ^"ide against a certain wall covered with nice young Peach 

 trees, Sec, allowing them to remain there, and growing Vines as 

 ■well up the 14-feet roof. We also wished to make this the 

 home of bedding stuff during the winter. What size of saddle 

 boiler should I require to heat such a place, supposing that 

 40 feet were heated by a chimney laid down as a ilue, and the 

 rest of the length by 4-inch hot- water pipes ? Could we not 

 have the house all in one, or would it be a disadvantage ? 'N^Tiich 

 is the best white Grape for a cold vinery ? — Subsciuber. 



[We approve of }'our covering your Peach wall with a lean-to 

 glass roof. The modes of doing so we have fi-equentlj' alluded 

 to. To do justice to the Peaches, the Vines up the rafters or 

 roof should be fully 6 feet apart. These spurred will allow a 

 very fair amount of light to reach the back wall. Eoyal Mus- 

 cadine and Buckland Sweetwater will answer well in such a 

 house, and so will Calabrian Eaisin as a late Grape ; but as you 

 intend the house for wintering large quantities of bedding 

 plants, it would be as well not to encourage late Grapes, but 

 such kinds as you would cut by the middle or end of October. 

 In such a length of house we would prefer a division of glass 

 in the centre. We approve of taking a flue along one end of 

 the house from the boiler, and that flue will keep out frost for 

 the 40 feet proposed. Two 4-inch pipes to the other end from 



the boiler would also keep out frost. If more were wanted, more 

 piping would be necessar}-. V.'"ere we heating such a house we 

 should be inclined to make the one end from .50 to 60 feet long, 

 put the furnace and boiler at that poin', take the flue to one end 

 and pipes there too, and pipes to the other end ; thus you could 

 have the one end of a 12C-feet house much earlier than the 

 other. We would use a saddle boiler 24 inches long, 22 wide, 

 and 20 inches high, or about that size, which would enable you 

 to have more piping if desirable ] 



RED LEAD PROTECTING BULBS FROM MICE. 



In answer to the inquiry of the " Eev. C. P. H." in vol. xis. 

 page 477, respecting keeping mice from bulbs, I am enabled to 

 state that I dust all my bulbs with red lead, and that not one 

 of them has been touched by mice. Last year I did not dust 

 the bulbs, and the result was that they were nearly all carried 

 away by rats or eaten by mice. 



I dust all my seed Peas and Beans in the same way, and not 

 one of them is touched ; but if by chance I sow one line with- 

 out red lead they are usually nearly all devoured by mice. 



I may add that I do not find the red lead injure the Pea crop 

 nor the bulbs. I have known the mice bore after the Peas and 

 Beans, and, finding them red-leaded, leave them untouched. 

 — G. W. 



MAKING BORDERS FOR WALL TREES ON 



BAD SUBSOILS. 



On an entire renovation of the garden being made here, and 



when starting to take out the foundation for the wall, we had to 



go to the depth of G feet before a solid foundation could be got. 



After 20 inches of soil on the top, all the rest was loose red 



sand. I decided to concrete both sides of the wall to the width 



of 14 feet. When the wall was finished, the little good soil on 



the top was removed to the garden quarters, the sand wheeled 



right away to the depth of 30 inches at the wall below the 



ground-level, and 33 inches at the out edge, so that there is 



plenty of fall for water to run off ; and along the front a drain 



was cut, 8 inches deep, and the width of a spade. Being all 



ready for the concrete, there was brought nice-sized gravel, 



laid in quantities of about four tons, and one ton of coal ashes, 



to which was added one ton of lime fresh from the kiln, which 



had as much water thrown on it as make it fall ; then it and 



the gravel were mixed together, covering all over with the ashes. 



After letting it lie in this state for twelve hours, it was well 



mixed by turning it over several times, adding more water if 



required, but keeping it rather adhesive than otherwise (as it 



sets quicker when not too free), and laying it on at once to the 



depth of 3 inches all over, beginning at one end, so that there 



is no treading on the concrete until perfectly dry. When 



smoothing it down, if found too firm and not smoothing well, 



have a watering-pot with a rose, and sprinkle a little water 



over it, but no more than will enable the operator to level it 



properly, bearing in mind to let it have the same fall from the 



wall to the outside as the foundation of sand on which it is laid. 



It must now be let alone until it is thoroughly hard, which will 



be in about ten days if the weather is fine and dry, when some 



nice round boulders were put all on the top, to the depth of 



4 inches, and filling up the drain in front at the same time to 



the same level. Then a good thick sod, with the grass side 



downwards, was laid all over the drainage, before the regular 



filling-up with soil was commenced, which, when done, was 



raised G inches higher than the natural ground, to allow for 



subsiding, keeping it always a few inches higher at the wall — 



giving a gentle fall to the Box-edge. From the nature of onr 



subsoil here, I have found these borders, through the very dry 



season which we have had, to contain more moisture than other 



parts of the garden which are not concreted. 



Not wishing to spoil the wall by nailing, which has several 

 objections, studs with eyes were put in between every third 

 line of bricks, standing about an inch from the wall, having 

 stronger ones at the ends to act as stretchers ; and after the 

 wire, which was galvanised, was passed through all but the end 

 ones, and drawn tight; a 9-inch in length piece of small rod- 

 irou, with an eye at one end to fasten the wire to, and nearly 

 all the length, had a screw-thread worked on, when the wire 

 bad been fastened to the other end, put through the end stud ; 

 then a screw-nut was put on, so that all was made as tight as 

 required. The first outlay may be a little more than the yearly 

 bills for nails and shreds, but a very few years would soon 

 cover the first expense, as a few mats go a long way in tying. 



