tlaron SO, 1S71. 



JODRNAL OF HOETICULTOBE AND COTTAGE QAP-DENER. 



233 



stalks and similar refuse colleoted from all the cottage gardens 

 in the village, the bad soil being brought to the surface. This 

 was to show the gardener how to grow Grapes without fuss. 

 The trenchini? wag finished, and the Vines purchased. Would 

 I plant them ? No. I would plant one as a sample. I did so, 

 pegging 6 or 8 inches of the cane on the surface of the border, 

 and covering with 5 or G inches of manure. What was the 

 result ? Why (he roots of the Vines died absolutely. The Vines, 

 however, did not quite die, but emitted roots into the surfaco- 

 mulohing from the few inches of the canes which were pegged 

 on the surface of the border. This was much as I anticipated. 

 Since my refusal to plant the Vines, what was to be done nest? 

 If I would only tell him, my advice should be carried out to the 

 letter, at whatever coat. It was my turn now. I had the loamy 

 crumbs of the trenched ground taken quite away, and had in 

 every particular a good border made. Some of the old Vines 

 I planted again, entirely cutting off the old roots, relying on 

 the roots emitted from the canes for sustenance, the other 

 Vines were thrown away, and new ones bought. The Vines 

 are now in a fine state. They were quite to my satisfaction 

 until I saw the record of the last and best of Mr. Thomson's 

 efforts. The loss resulting from this stupid example of deep 

 trenching is, putting it at a ridiculously low computation, at 

 least £50, there being nearly a two-years loss of crop from 

 fifty Vines, besides the cost of labour. A tangible penalty for 

 deep trenching, surely. 



I have yet another instance involving a larger pecuniary 

 penalty than this. About fifteen years ago a gentleman bought 

 a small estate. A portion of this was to be devoted to garden 

 purposes. He persisted, in spite of urgently pressed remon- 

 strance, in having it trenched from 2j to 3 feet deep, vainly 

 supposing thereby to eclipse his neighbours in the excellence 

 of his produce. About a foot of the surface was fairly good 

 soil, the rest of a character which would probably have made 

 very good bricks. This piece of land was less than an acre 

 in extent. The cost of the deep trenching was over £60. This 

 expense had been incurred in burying what bit of good soil 

 there was, and in bringing to the surface 18 inches to 2 feet of 

 soil, sour and hungry in the extreme. When finished the plot 

 would have been dear to buy at half the money it cost to trench. 

 The first year it would grow nothing ; the second ditto. What 

 was to be done ? Trench it over again was the advice given, 

 but of course rejected. It was sound advice, nevertheless, and 

 would have been cheap in comparison with years of after-outlay 

 and loss of crops. Tons upon tons of lime, soil, manure, &e., 

 have since been added. To this day it is far from being good 

 garden ground. Had this ground been worked 18 inches deep, 

 it would not have cost one-quarter the amount in labour, and 

 would have afforded one hundred times the produce. Instead 

 of loss it would have brought profit, and instead of disappoint- 

 ment pleasure. I narrate these examples which have come 

 under my immediate notice, as warnings of dangers to be 

 avoided. They tell their own tale, and teach a lesson which 

 may bo profitable. — J. \f., Lincoln. 



destroyed the Screw Pine in the Breslau Gardens. The Glas- 

 nevin plant was ncirly fifty years old. — {Naiitre.) 



RAISING EARLY PEAS. 



The following plan I have practised for fourteen years with- 

 out a single failure. 



I make use of a Cucumber frame 6 feet by 4 feet, filling it 

 about the middle of February with strips of turf 3 inches wide, 

 and cut so that three of them stretch the width of the frame. 

 I place the turf grass-side downwards on about a foot thick of 

 horse dung, which produces a gentle heat ; then with a small 

 peg I make for the Peas four rows of holes in each strip 

 3 inches wide, the holes being about 1 inch apart the other 

 way. When the Peas are sown and the frame is full, I put 

 over them an inch deep of soil, and the plants will be fit to 

 plant out in a month. 



In planting out I lilt off the frame, take oat the lengths of 

 turf, through which the Peas will have rooted, and place them 

 in a harrow. I dig the ground and plant as I go on, sticking 

 the Peas the same day. I have known them take to the sticks 

 in four days. I have this year eleven rows on a 12-feet border, 

 from a frame of the above dimensions. — G. Fox, Knowle Hall, 

 near Birmingliam. 



Fatal Fongoid Parasite. — We regret to learn that the fine 

 specimen of Pandanua odoratiesimus in the Botanical Gardens 

 at Glasnevin, near Dublin, has been completely destroyed by 

 the attacks of a fungus, in all probability the same that has 



A FEW WORDS ABOUT HOLLYHOCKS. 



The Hollyhock is not so generally grown as its decorative 

 qualities entitle it to be. When grown amongst shrubs in situa- 

 tions moderately sheltered, few plants produce a finer floral 

 display during the autumn months. The great drawback to 

 its cultivation is the liability of the plants to get broken with 

 the winds ; but if secured when 18 inches high to suitable 

 stakes, this objection is at once got over. At planting lime 

 give each plant a few spadefuls of rotten manure, and if possible 

 a little fresh soil; press the earth firmly round the plants; and 

 if the ground is dry, give a good watering. In due time stake 

 each plant, and as the stems advance in growth, secure them 

 thereto with strong ties of matting. If the above simple hints 

 are attended to, the result in most instances will be satisfactory. 



When Hollyhocks are grown for exhibition, they must have 

 a plot of ground devoted to themselves ; let the situation be as 

 sheltered as possible, but never near to anything that would in 

 the least obstruct the noonday sun or a free circulation of air. 

 To produce spikes such as are seen at some of our horticultural 

 shows, requires a rich soil. To secure this, lot the ground be 

 trenched m autumn, adding, as the work proceeds, a liberal 

 supply of good manure. When the trenching is complete, 

 give the surface a dressing 2 or 3 inches thick of the best 

 manure procurable ; the winter rains will wash the best parts 

 of it into the soil, and when planting-time comes, a slight 

 forking is all that is required to make the bed in readiness to 

 receive the plants. The plants should not be put out until all 

 danger from severe frost is passed, say the end of March or 

 beginning of April. Let the plants stand 3 feet apart in the 

 lines, and 5 feet from line to line. When finished planting, 

 if the ground is moderately dry (which it should be, as it is a 

 bad plan to plant when the soil is over-wet), make the surface 

 rather firm by giving the whole a gentle treading with the feet. 

 Place at once over each plant some Spruce or other evergreen 

 branches, as a protection against frost and cutting winds ; as 

 it they get frozen to any extent, the spikes are never so fine. 

 As soon as all danger from frost is past, remove the protection, 

 examine each plant, and see that all are firm in the soil. 



Let only one stem rise from a plant, and nip out all laterals 

 as they appear. Never allow the plants to suffer for want of 

 water ; and as soon as flower buds are formed, mulch the beds 

 with rotten manure. I prefer this to giving manure water, as the 

 latter, unless applied with judgment, has a tendency to make 

 the plants grow by fits and starts, thereby causing irregularity 

 in the build of the spikes, a fault which neither length of spike 

 nor size of blooms will compensate for. In most instances two 

 flower buds will start from the axil of each leaf; nip out the 

 smaller of the two ; and in any case of crowding, thin to the 

 requisite number. Daring the three weeks preceding the show, 

 the spikes must be protected from rain and strong sun. This, 

 in the case of the Hollyhock, is not so readily accomplished, 

 but it is necessary to the production of clean spikes ; and the 

 cultivator must not neglect it, as by doing so he will destroy 

 his ohanceof attaining the endin view.— J. Ji.— {The Gardener.) 



THE PRIZES AT SOUTH KENSINGTON. 



ABE OKOHIDS INTKINSIOALLY BETIEH THAN OTHER PLANTS ? 



Although I exhibited largely at the last meeting of the Koyal 

 Horticultural Society at Kensington, I did not compete for the 

 prizes. I did not even enter my collections for cowpetiticn, and 

 I marked my collections, "Not for competition," Nevertheless, 

 I was surprised to find my large collection of Hyacinths marked 

 " second prize." On passing to the only other large collection of 

 this flower, I found them also marked "second prize." Where, 

 then, was the " first prize ?" In this dilemma I appealed to a 

 friend who replied, " Oh ! it is quite right, the Orchid is placed 

 first, the Hyacinths second, and the Camellias third." Now, 

 with all my "respect for authority, I cannot, after fully weighing 

 the matter, perceive the logic of this. How can an Orchid be 

 judged against a group of Hyacinths, or the latter against a 

 group of Camellias ? As well might a bullock be judged against 

 a sheep, or the latter against a flock of geese, giving the former 

 a first prize on the ground that it was bigger or more costly, or 

 that beef was better than mutton. I do not object to receive 

 an extra prize, or a special prize, whenever the jadges may 

 think it deserved, but I do object to a first-class production 



