821 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ May 4, ISTL 



from their seed pots and beds ; also transplant Dahlias, re- 

 membering to uEe caution as to frost. 



GBEENHOUSE AKD COXSSEVATOEY. 



_ Many of the most forward Azaleas which were stopped some 

 time ago will now be breaking again, and, if necessary, this is 

 the proper time to give a second shift. Stop those which 

 require it, and etill persevere in maintaining a moist growing 

 temperature, and shade for a short time in the middle of the 

 day when necessary. All Azaleas, as fast as they are out of 

 faloom, ehould be tiken into heat to make their growth, syring- 

 ing them copiously, and supplying them liberally with manure 

 water. Encourage Camellias and Orange trees to make a 

 sturdy free growth by frequent syringings, supplying liquid 

 manure, heat, and an abundance of air on suitable occasions. 

 Continue to thin-out Heaths and New Holland plants as much 

 as possible, especially all late-floweriug plants, or such as 

 have already flowered, and young stock required for another 

 season, by placing them in the cold pits or frames : while there 

 encourage their growth by timely shifts, and to those which are 

 not to be repotted but are now making their growth and have 

 their pots pretty full of root?, apply liquid manure with modera- 

 tion. Pinch- back in due time luxuriant-growing shoots to pro- 

 duce a regular and sturdy growth. 



STOVE. 



Follow former directions as to airing, watering, &o., and use 

 every endeavour to keep a moist growing atmosphere at all 

 ■times. Plants of tender foliage, such as Clerodcndrous, Aphe- 

 landras, &a., will require shading for an hour or two on bright 

 days, but do not give them any more than is absolutely neces- 

 sary, but rather endeavour to bring the plants up hardy by 

 affording them plenty of air, of course always avoiding cold 

 draughts. Attend in due time to those plants which require 

 potting, and ply the fioger and thumb vigorously in the case of 

 plants of a rambling or loose habit, so as to render them com- 

 pact and bushy. 



FOKCIXG PIT AND FKAMES. 



See that the growth of Balsams, Cockscombs, Globe Ama- 

 ranths, &c.,is duly encouraged, and another succession may be 

 sown. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Attend to Zinnias, Bhodanthe Manglesii, Martynia, and other 

 tender annuals which are pricked out in slight hotbeds or pans. 

 See that air is admitted during calm, warm days. Expose 

 them by degrees to the influence of light and air by drawin" 

 off the lights. Dahlias, Salvias, and all plants intended for 

 flower-garden decoration should have the some treatment ; by 

 thus inuring them to the weather they will be better able to 

 withstand it when planted out in a more exposed situation. 

 Be sure that the flower garden climbers in pots are not setting 

 into confusion through want of staking and tying. Have a 

 keen eye after thrips; as this active little insect commits its 

 depredations during sunshine, give the plants at mid-day a 

 good syringing with water in a clear state mixed with soot, soft 

 soap, and a little quicklime. Shut the pit close after syringing, 

 and throw a thin covering upon the lights for an hour or two ; 

 by continuing this for a few days the enemy will soon be driven 

 ^way. A pisce of rich ground should be prepared forthwith 

 for a, plantation of Neapolitan and other Violets for winter 

 forcing, and as soon as it is ready it will be necessary to take 

 either the young rooted runners or to part the old roots to plant 

 it with. The ground must be made very rich and light by 

 manuring either with leaf mould or some perfectly decayed 

 liotbed dung, and each plant must have a foot square to grow 

 npon. After they are planted give a good soaking of water, 

 and shade until the plants begin to grow, after which the only 

 attention necessary is to keep them clear of weeds, and to re- 

 move the runners every second or third week, and also, if the 

 season is dry, to give them a good soaking of manure water. 

 A sunny situation must be chosen to plant them in, as what 

 we desire for forcing or winter blooming is early and well- 

 matured growth. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN OAIIDEN. 



Is most gardens it is a mere waste of physical power to keep 

 inen out of doors in very wet weather. With proper manage- 

 ment the wet day is always tha busiest day, ae there is so 

 much to be done in-doors, left often rather long for a wet d>iy to 

 come. We have mowed with the rain running down our back 

 and gurgling out at the tops of our booti, but what was the 

 good of it ? After such a day, and such a drenching, with little 



chance of drying clothes, not to speak of future evils of rheu- 

 matism, &c., what good could men do in the following day and 

 days? All such work in most gardens is downright waste. The 

 mere physical human machine, to do its beat merely as a 

 machine, must be cared for like other machinery. We have 

 no idea of garden men being looked upon ae mere bags of sugar 

 or salt that a little rain would soon melt, but we can confidently 

 say after lon^- experience, that in gardens of any great extent, 

 if the men are often soaked at their work, it will say as little 

 for the forethought of the gardener as for the advantage of 

 the gentleman who employs them. There must be strange 

 management if there is not plenty of dry work in a wet day, 

 and then when the dry day comes the dry work will be done all 

 the better, if the workman is regarded merely as a machine, 

 and still more when he feels he is treated not merely as a 

 sentient, but a moral agent. Even in this respect a little kind 

 seeu-sympathy will do much more than mere pay and the 

 finest high-flown lucubrations on social economy and political 

 philosophy. We have not seldom witnessed horses carefully 

 kept at home in very rainy stormy weather ; machinery, steam 

 and otherwise, carefully cleaned and kept free from dust and 

 moisture, and men turned out to do the best they could ; but 

 if without some light rain-proof material in the way of clothing, 

 such a system was worse than a mistake if other work could be 

 found. 



Partly owing to the clearing away of hedgerows, reducing 

 plantations, and free draining without any attempt to save the 

 drainage water, water will become of such importance that every 

 young man, on taking a gardener's place, should make specific 

 inquiries as to the tcater supiily for the garden. Those who 

 have never experienced it can form but little idea of the con- 

 stant anxiety when, during the summer months, the chief con- 

 cern is with how little water you can manage to keep plants 

 alive. Before the late rains our chief reservoir had been empty 

 for a week. There is no little labour involved in carting and 

 then carrying all that is wanted even for houses, especially 

 when you must go miles to procure it. We are taking means to 

 greatly increase our supply by saving what falls from the sky 

 and storing it for use. 



The above advice is founded on the simple fact, that so long 

 as the dry weather lasts and there is a great scarcity of water, 

 the gardener may meet with sympathy, but the previous dry- 

 ness and the inevitable results are too apt to be forgotten when 

 the rains come. True, shortness of water teaches us many 

 lessons, among others the impropriety of constant or even ad- 

 ditional watering ; but no scheming will enable us to dispense 

 with watering altogether, and especially in the case of pot 

 plants. Another lesson may also be learned, and that is, not 

 for a first saving to have spouting and conduit pipes too small. 

 We have had 2-inoh pipes in use when we wished afterwards 

 they had been 3 or 4 inches in diameter. The small pipes and 

 small spouting would do very well in gentle, even continuous 

 rains, but the heavy downpours fill the tanks and reser- 

 voirs, the small pipes cannot take the water away, and there 

 is, therefore, overflowing and waste. We think that for con- 

 veying tbe water underground iron pipes are best, well fastened 

 at the joints. The next best are hard-burned, gUzed, earthen- 

 ware pipes, well cemented at the joints. We have seen many used 

 merely mortared at the joints, bat that is a bad plan when yon 

 wish to collect all the water possible. Soft-burned, uuglazad, 

 earthenware acts too much like an open drain for getting rid 

 of instead of conveying the water. These are matters which 

 lose all their importance when plenty of water can be obtained 

 with but little labour. 



Cauliflowers. — Of two rows under hand-lights, averaging five 

 plants a-light, a trench was dug out between and on either side, 

 and tbe strong plants well earthed up, the outside plants being 

 squeezed outwards a little to give them more room, and the 

 glasses, where necessary, elevated a little more than the bank or 

 ridge, to allow the plants more room to get out. By elevating 

 the row in a ridge, as stated above, we often allow the glasses 

 to remain on the most forward so long as they can get breathing 

 room inside, as thus they are more forward. Not only do we 

 put the top glass down firm in the early part of the afternoon, 

 but we place a piece of old mat over the glass from evening to 

 morning. By this means wo generally have fine Cauliflowers 

 early. For succession, whilst we pay this attention to one row 

 we leave the other exposed, so that it just begins to come in as 

 the first is about over. Besides these, we have two lots of 

 spring-raised plants, and one more ready to po out, the first 

 two strong and healthy. We have tried many means of setting 

 Caulifloft'er early, such as potting, repotting, keeping n oool 



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