218 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEfi. 



[ aiarcli 23, 1371 



Eatl o! Seafield, and he became and continues one of our best 

 authorities ou woodcraft. 



There had been &mall works, and of equally small authority, 

 written on fore&fc man»igement by Monteath, Pontey, Main, 

 and others, but Mr. Brown's volume, even when it first ap- 

 peared in its diminutive form, and still more decidedly now, is 

 the beet and fullest authority on the manafiement of trees, 

 whether in foreet, plantation, or hedge-row. We &hall make no 

 quotation, but v?o can assure our readers that they will find in 

 the volume every information they may need relative to foresc 

 trees, from the sowing of their seeds to the time of fehing, 

 selling, cutting into timber, and keeping woodland accounts ; 

 information not only including our older species of deciduous 

 trees, but also the newest-introduced Conifer?. 



LIQUID MANURES. 



All plants grown in small pots, and which aro expected to frnit or 

 bloom in little space, will be benefited by the application of liquid 

 mannre, if the kind is varied, and the water clear and not given too 

 strong. I have tried most of the concentrated manures which have 

 been advertised, and they are all useful, but I would not use them quite 

 60 strong as the dealers recommend. 



As a top-dressing for plants in pots, superphosphate of lime is good; 

 as much as can be held between the thumb and two tlnt^era may be 

 put on a G-iuck pot, and if tbo colour is disliked light soil may be 

 dusted over it. The virtues will be washed in by repeated waterings. 

 If guano were used, less than half the above quantity would be enough 

 to be safe. It is best used as a liquid manure, and if the vessel is 

 large three ounces to two Rallons will be suiScient; if it bo allowed to 

 stand half a day previous to use, and then the sediment be left, about 

 half the quantity will do for the future mixings. A.n overdose will do 

 mischief. At such strength the watering is very effective for plants in 

 timall pots, either for fruiting or blooming. In the latter case the 

 manure-waterings fihonld rarely be given until tho liower trusses 

 appear. 



Although I have not a word to say against such concentrated ma- 

 nures, I liave quite as great faith in home-made manures. I know 

 there are great virtues in house sewago, audi would use it largely if, 

 when too strong, I could always dilute it ; but I have been forced to 

 use it too strong, and the alternative for the plant was either to bo 

 injured by excessive dryness or by the application of the too rich 

 Beware undiluted. Ou a small scale it is easy to take awaj' the smell 

 with gypsum, sulphuric acid, or powdered alum. It is often anything 

 but xjleasant to use sewape in its natural state. I do not like men to 

 have anything to do with it until they have broken their fast in tho 

 morning. I would place most reliance on made liquid manures, which 

 it is open to every one to use. Horse dung I do not use very much, 

 as when fresh the Hquid is very heating. Cow dung, if slif^htly dried, 

 alfords a rich manure water of a cooling character ; it does admirably 

 as a corrective to guano. Sheep dung and deer dung are also very 

 good when well soaked. There is nothing belter than soot when tho 

 water is well cleared and not given too strong, fcr if strong it will tend 

 to parch and burn the roots. Strawberry plants in pots are easily 

 Injured by too strong a dose. 



A bushel of horse, cow. sheep, or deer droppings, and half as much 

 of pif? droppings when the animal is well fed, will be sufficient for hfty 

 calluns of liquid, and when that is drawn off to the bottom about half 

 the quantity will do for the next brewing. These should be steeped a 

 few days previous to use ; a little quicklime added will help to clear 

 them. 



One bushel of good dry soot will make a strong liquid for seventy 

 gallons. There is a simple method of making it which should betaken 

 advantaf^o of. The drier and better the soot the greater the necessity 

 for mixing it up first, with a little water, into a stiff paste, just as if 

 YOU were making fine lime plaster. Unless this be done no after-care 

 will enable you to make the soot and the water mingle freely. This 

 done there is no diliicuUy, the soot and the water commingle. When 

 the vessel is filled a broom is used to stir all nicely together; then a 

 small spadeful of powdered quicklime is spiirikled over the surface, 

 and tho broom is used again. In twenty-four hours, with all this 

 care, there will bo a Kooty scum on the surface, which it is desirable to 

 remove just as you would take the cream off milk. Underneath, with 

 the exception of the sediment at the bottom, tho water will be as clear 

 and brigbt as dark-coloured sherry. At the above strength of a bushel 

 to seventy gallons, soot water would be too strong for anything in pots. 

 About one-quarter to three-quarters of soft water would be enough 

 when of BUi;h strength. For syringing purposes — and in this way it is 

 a great deterrent to all insects— it must be used much weaker, say one 

 gallon of the soot water added to live gallons of clear soft water. 



I must now make a few remarks on the receptacles for manure 

 water of various kinds. Many simple makeshifts may be resorted to. 

 The best plan is to have brick and cement tanks where they can be 

 easily filled with fresh soft water, and enough of them to have some 

 with the liquid fermenting whilst othersare in use. At one time I 

 had some hjirrela abovegronnd near a raiu-water tank, but they soon 

 wore out. I found 1 could have some other largo barrels equally worn 

 out and unserviceable as to holding any liquid. Instead of keeping 

 them abovegronnd, where they wero useless, I had a large trench dug 



out, so that the tops of the barrels stood merely a few inches above the 

 ground level ; I then had all tho holes and cracks stuffed with old rags 

 and clay, and packed tlie outside firmly with clay for an inch or so, 

 and then with tar and clay in the spaces between. The old useless 

 barrels have never leaked, and the layer of clay has kept the tar from 

 affecting the water, whi!j-:t the latter, mixed with the clay, prevented 

 leakage. What wao only fit for burning has thus done many years' 

 good service, and though tho staves are in many cases rotten they keep 

 tho barrel firm, and answer the purpose as well as if the barrels had 

 been good and useful for their allotted purpose. "NVith a little trouble 

 cottagers might easilj make old useless barrels watertight for liquid 

 manures. 



In the case of all droppings of animals used for liquid manure, it is 

 well, when it can be done, to soak the droppings at first in very hot 

 water. This will kill the eggs azid larvre of insects. — E. F. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S MEETING. 



Thc second Fobruaiy meeting of the Entomological Society was 

 held at Burlington House, A. I\. Wallace, Esq., the President, being 

 in the chair. Mr. Frederick Bond exhibited a hybrid silk Moth reared 

 by Dr. Wallace, the parents being Bombyx Perniii and B. Yama-Mai. 

 The antenna; were very broad ; the winj^s dark chocolate-coloured, but 

 like Yama-Mai in form ; the eye-like spots of the wings round and like 

 those of the latter species, hut the cocoon was of the ordinary colour 

 lilce that of B. Pernyi, and not of a pale green like that of B. Yama- 

 Mai. He also exhibited a specimen of the common silk Moth, B. Mori, 

 also reared by Dr. Wallace, the head of which was enclosed within 

 the head of the larva, which the insect had not liad the power to throw 

 oQ'. Mr. McLachlan mentioned that the first recorded instance of 

 such a monstrosity had been described by O. F. Miiller in "Der Na- 

 turforscher," in which the monster was a Hypogymna dispar. 



Mr. F. Smith exhibited a common Ey;yptian Wasp, Ehynchicm 

 brunneum, communicated to him by Dr. Birch, of the British Museum, 

 which he had found within the folds of the covering of a mummy, 

 showing that the species had inhabited Egypt for many ages without 

 having undergone any change. Ho also stated that this insect built 

 its nest in the excavations formed by the inscriptions on the ancient 

 monuments of that country, which wero by that means filled up and 

 rendered invisible. Mr. F. Smith also communicated a passage from 

 Pepys's Diary dated in May, 1665, in which tho writer narrated that 

 he had seen in the garden of John Evelyn, near Hatton Garden, a 

 glass hive, in which the beos could be seen at work, proving that obser- 

 vatoiy hives were not a modern invention. 



Mr. Midler read a paper on the dispersion of non-migratory insects 

 by atmospheric agencies, in which he had collected together a number 

 of records of ehowers of insects after violent storms, and at sea at long 

 dist'inces from land ; and he was of opinion that these agencies played 

 a considerable part in the geographical distribution of insect life, 

 though no doubt in many cases the species thus involuntarily dispersed 

 died oat from inability to cope with the pre-existent denizens of the 

 localities to which they were driven. 



Mr. H. Jenner Fust communicated a supplement to his treatise on 

 the geographical distribution of British Lepidoptera, on the plan of 

 Mr. Watson's work on the distribution of British plants. 



The fifth part of the Transactions of the Society for 1S70 was an- 

 nounced as ready for distribution among the members. 



WOKK FOR THE WEEK 



KITCHEN GAKDEN. 



The present is the beet time for putting in thegcueral crops; 

 the eeason, tlio weather, and the state of the gronnd are in every 

 wtiy favourable. Carrots, Leeks, Onions, Parsnips, Potatoes, 

 Farsley, early Turnips, and almost all garden seeiis may now 

 be sown whenever the pronud is sufhciently dry. Manure and 

 dress Aspara(]us beds. Plant-out in a deep rich piece of ground 

 Canlijiowers that have been wintered uniJer protection. When 

 ilie giouud will permit, it will be found a very good practice in 

 traooplanting these at this uncertain season to throw-out 

 shallow trenches, placing the removed soil on the north side, 

 aod putting the plants in the trenches, which will be thus 

 sheltered from the north winds. Forward Celery plants for a 

 very early supply, by pricking-out on a slight hotbed, and sow 

 on the same for suocesaion crops. Stir tho soil amorg growing 

 crops — as Lctluce and Spinacli, and prevent weeds from making 

 their appearance. 



FEUIT OAEDEN. 



Where it is intended to head-down old trees for grafting, this 

 should be done at once, and young stock should be grafted as 

 speedily as circumstances will permit. Planting, prncinp, and 

 nailing should now be forwarded as much as possible. These 

 operations cannot be finiBhed too soon. The sap having now 

 commenced its ascending course, broken flower buds and in- 

 jured shoots will be the certain consequence of neglect and 

 delay. Continue to protect the bloom of Poach, Nectarine, 

 and Apricot- trees. 



