February 2, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOUIiTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



89 



other source, tread it firmly as the bed is filled up, place 

 3 inches of soil on the dung, and plant in the usual manner. 

 Prepare beds for Carnations and Pinks ; strong turfy loam, 

 ■with rotten cow dung or sheep's dung, forms an excellent com- 

 post. Have the Pansy beds in readiness ; choose a strong rich 

 soil in a shady situation if the blooms are wanted in a state of 

 perfection. Top-dress Auriculas and Polyanthuses with light 

 loam made rich by the addition of rotten oow dung. This is a 

 good time to take off the offsets before top-dressing ; plant 

 from three to four in a 5-inch pot, and place them in the 

 shady part of a frame. Sow seed in shallow pans, and place 

 them in a cold frame. Place Dahlia tubers in a little heat to 

 start shoots for cuttings. 



OEEENHOUSE AND CONSEBVATOKT. 



Attend to former directions as to the temperature and ven- 

 tilation of the conservatory, guarding against extremes during 

 the present piercing weather, and taking care, by moistening 

 the heating apparatus twice or thrice a-day, and some of the 

 vacant places about the house, to make up for the loss of 

 moisture which will now be deposited on the glass. Flowers 

 will not keep in dry air, therefore you must pay some attention 

 to the hygrometric state of the atmosphere. Bemove the 

 plants to the house as fast as they come into bloom, altering 

 the arrangement frequently so as to impart a fresh appearance 

 to the display. Eeturn all plants to the stove or greenhouse as 

 they go out of bloom, and such plants as Euphorbia jactiuinise- 

 flora, Poinsettias, and others, which have done blooming, may 

 be set aside and kept comparatively dry for a time. It may, 

 perhaps, be neoessar>y to top-dress or renew the soil around 

 some of the borders ; if such be the ease, let it be performed 

 before the end of the month, and give the plants a good soak- 

 ing of clear weak manure water at the same time. In the 

 greenhouse, while the present severe weather continues, but 

 little can be done with the specimen plants, except that they 

 may be trained and washed ; indeed, in smoky or dusty places 

 the washing of large plants by laying them on their sides 

 and giving them a regular deluging from a good syringe is a 

 matter of considerable importance, and tends much to their 

 healthy and vigorous growth. Proceed with the potting of 

 youngi plants and small specimens of all kinds, using the soil 

 tolerably rough, with plenty of sand and drainage, and keep 

 them comparatively close until they make fresh roots. This 

 is a good time to start a collection of Kalosanthes, potting 

 them in a compost consisting of two parts sandy turfy loam, 

 one part turfy peat, and one part of half-decomposed leaf 

 mould, with plenty of coarse gritty sand, and a liberal ad- 

 mixture of potsherds broken small. Give them a liberal shift, 

 and keep them in a temperature of from 40° to 50°, and as soon 

 as they make fresh roots stop each shoot, and train the plants 

 into form. If the weather is favourable endeavour to get all 

 the plants which require it shifted by the end of the month, 

 taking care to moisten the old ball properly before they are 

 shifted, and also to guard against over-watering afterwards. 

 Attend to the training of Tropteolums and other climbing 

 plants, and shift the former into their blooming-pots, if not 

 done already. Plants of Polygala or Boronia which are getting 

 too forward must be placed at the cool end of the house, and 

 others which are late must be generally excited — that is, if they 

 are required to bloom early. 



COLD PITS AKD FRAMES. 



Plants in these must be thoroughly protected, and if any of 

 them get frozen let them be thoroughly thawed before ex- 

 posing them again to light. Give abundance of air at all fa- 

 vourable times, and endeavour to keep the air as dry as possible. 

 Look to Liliums now breaking through the ground, and take 

 care that they are not injured by stagnant moisture about the 

 young shoots. — W. Keanb. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GAKDEN. 



We have had another week of frost and snow, in which but 

 little could be done out of doors but wheeling and turning soil, 

 and digging when the snow had left us for a time. In the way 

 of protection, young Cauliflowers under hand-lights have only 

 seen the light for a short time when there was the appearance 

 of a little sun. On the whole such vegetables have stood well. 

 Many other things have been treated the same way, and trouble 

 has been saved in uncovering, and the plants do better than 

 when exposed to sudden changes as respects cold and excite- 

 ment to growth. Many vegetables, as old quarters of Cabbages, 

 have Buffered much, and would have suffered more but for 



the slight falls of snow that gave them some protection. It 

 will be wise policy to sow Cabbages, Lettuces, &c., in a little 

 heat, to provide for what may yet take place, as a rising baro- 

 meter and a keen north wind would seem to imply that thfr 

 frosty weather is not yet over. 



We have lots of Potatoes grown a few inches in pots, and we 

 would have been glad to have turned them out into beds, &e.^ 

 but we had not a single day in which it was warm enough to do 

 so with safety. It is remarkable how soon a sutZiJcji chill mil 

 affect placts for -a long period. This is a simple matter that 

 many people cannot be brought to see. In fresh potting, plant- 

 ing, ifcc, plants that have received anything like nursing treat- 

 ment should be removed from it as short a time as poseible, 

 and if changes must be given as respects temperature they 

 must be gradual. As a general rule, when plants are removed 

 to a shed to be potted, the shed some degrees above freezing, 

 say from 40° to 45°, they should be taken back again as booe 

 as possible. How often does it happen that scores are thus 

 treated before being taken back again to the houses, when it 

 would be more workmanlike in every way to take only a fefl? 

 out, replace them, and then bring back more. It may seem 

 stretching the point too far, but we honestly believe that allow- 

 ing plants to stand exposed for two, three, or four hours in a 

 place 20° or 30° colder than that whence they came, instead of 

 for the shortest possible time, gave the plants a severe cheok„ 

 and necessitated many a puff of tobacco that otherwise might 

 have been saved. Not long ago a gentleman told us he could 

 have bought all the flowers he had grown for the amount the 

 frequent smokings cost him. We have frequently known plants 

 standing in a temperature of from 55° to 60° taken into a shed 

 at 40° the first thing after breakfast, and after repotting left 

 standing there until far in the afternoon. Why, the very 

 potting would give a check if the soil was at all colder than the 

 temperature of the house — that would be check the second ; 

 and the diminished temperature of the ahed for so long a time 

 would be check the third ; and if coolish watqjr instead of water 

 at from 60° to 70° was used, that would be a fourth check ; and 

 yet people are amazed when the once-fine leaves get covered 

 with insects, and washings and smokings must be resorted to 

 to keep the plants alive. Plants are just as sensitive to ex- 

 tremes of temperature as we are, and even much more so. 

 We would not like to expose the growing shoots of even a Po- 

 tato in a frosty day, and in such matters a little delay is often, 

 after all, time and future well-being secured. 



A supply of Ehubarb, Asparagus, and Sea-kale is a great 

 help now, when, for the present at least, we cannot say much 

 as to the gathering of Broccoli out of doors. As lately stated, 

 all the three may be grown anywhere in the dark, provided a 

 little mild heat can be obtained. The Asparagus must be 

 greened by exposure to light afterwards ; but Rhubarb, if not 

 allowed to grow more than 8 or 10 inches for the large kinds, 

 and shorter for the smaller kinds, does well without any lights 

 and cooks not only very tender, but crisp and firm enough for 

 anything. When drawn up long it becomes watery, and at 

 times a little stringy. Those who have Swedish Turnips may 

 get blanched or green tops by placing the tubers in a little heat. 

 These make a delicious vegetable in winter. 



FKDIT GAEDEN. 



Planting, if to be done, is quite out of the question. Evfil 

 though trees could be taken up and laid. out, and thus covered, 

 there has not been a day of late but the exposed roots would 

 have been frozen, and that is a thing that never takes place in 

 nature as respects the bulk of our fruit frees. If the frost do(& 

 reach the roots it reaches them very gradually, and there is 

 darkness and the covering over them, instead of the direct 

 exposure. 



Priming Fmit Trees. — We did a little on the most favourable 

 days, and must hurry on as soon as the weather is at all fittinf , 

 as other out-door work for which the weather was very suitable 

 prevented our doing more in this direction. Pruning is work 

 that can be done at any time, when at all fair overhead, and 

 felling trees, and grubbing up, are excellent work for cold, 

 frosty weather in winter. Would there were more of such work 

 to be done in this district. It is sad, indeed, to see so many 

 men anxious to get employment, and unable to find it, in this 

 severe--weather. We fear that many of our labourers have 

 suffered as much from scarcity of food, of fuel, and of clothing, 

 as the beleaguered Parisians. What can we expect, when the 

 weekly wages can do little more than secure very moderate 

 comforts, if these wages altogether, or nearly so, cease for six 

 or eight weeks at a stretch ? It is all very well to speak of im- 

 providence when all is prosperous, and to show that by care- 



