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JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



[ May 18, 1871. 



tarines, and Apricots, examine if there are any nails likely to 

 injare the swelling fruit, and remove them. Those who have 

 to nail-in young shoots should use strong cloth shreds of good 

 texture, cut to a sufficient length to allow plenty of room for 

 the wood to swell ; it is sad to see short shreds used, and bound 

 so closely round the wood thp.t at the pruning season many of 

 the shoots will be found to have an indented ring, and very 

 often a huge piece of gum. Vines will now require constant 

 attention in stopping and nailing-in. Do not crowd the trees 

 viith too much fruit, because it is only in favourable seasons 

 that they ripen their fruit well, and not even then if they are 

 •crowded. 



FLOWEK GAKDEN. 



The late rains will be favourable for recently-planted shrubs, 

 and now that the soil is damp no time should be lost in com- 

 pleting whatever remains on hand in the shape of planting or 

 bedding-out young nursery stuff. If not done previously, the 

 herbaceous ground should be well cleaned and neatly raked 

 ■over. This cannot well be done sooner iu consequence of 

 many species being late in vegetating. Fill-up vacancies, either 

 from the reserve ground or by sowing annuals in the inter- 

 mediate spaces. Large plants of some genera, as Phloxes, 

 Asters, &e., generally throw up too many flowering shoots. 

 Where such is the case thin them out at once so as to obtain 

 not only fine heads of bloom but increased strength to the re- 

 maining shoots to enable them to do with less assistance from 

 stakes. Hollyhocks for late blooming may still be planted, as 

 it is better, when they are grown extensively, to plant at two or 

 -three times to insure a succession of bloom. These showy 

 plants are admirably adapted for planting in long lines and 

 parallel straight walks, walls, &c., where they produce a grand 

 fifltct. As the state of the soil and weather is now favourable 

 for commencing with the bedding-out stuff, a start should be 

 made with the halt-hardy plants first, as Calceolarias, Verbenas, 

 and similar plants, reserving the Heliotropes and the more 

 tender kinds of Geraniums for the latest planting, when the 

 danger from frost may be supposed over. 



GKEENHOUSE AND COSSEKTATOP.Y. 



A good number of the plants in the conservatory, such as 

 Diosmas, Myrtles, and other things which have done blooming, 

 may be removed to the reserve garden, and being cut back and 

 repotted, will, if properly attended to, make fine plants by the 

 autumn. These old plants, and many more, are very valuable 

 where cut flowers are required for drawing-room decoration. 

 Plants from the greenhouse and stove will now be very plentiful 

 to decorate this house, but trust more to good plants set thinly 

 ■for producing a satisfactory effect, than to a crowd of com- 

 paratively inferior productions. Weed-out the inferior speci- 

 mens and kinds in the greenhouse so as to give plenty of room 

 to the best specimens, and let it be a rule never to allow the 

 plants to touch during the time they are making their growth. 

 All plants which are becoming shabby must have the old 

 blooms removed, and, if necessary, let them be cut back and 

 started into fresh growth. Fuchsias should now be growing 

 rapidly, and Pelargoniums and Calceolarias should be all in 

 bloom. Supply them liberally with weak manure water, and 

 keep a sharp look-out for insects. Cut down and place in a 

 cold frame the choicest Cinerarias for suckers, and put in a 

 «tock of Chrysanthemum cuttings for autumn display. 



STOVE. 



ASord a brisk growing temperature, with air both night and 

 4ay. Take care to pot in time such plants as require a shift. 

 Stephanotia, Sohubertia, Gloriosa, Allamanda, Dipladenia, 

 and other climbers will now be showing bloom. Keep the 

 branches from getting entangled, but do not be in a hurry to 

 train them until the flower-buds are of considerable size. As 

 spring-flowering plants for the stove or for cutting there is not 

 a more useful class of plants than Begonias. Now will be a 

 -good time to commence with a stock for next season's display. 

 Ae they go out of bloom allow them a short rest in a rather dry 

 house, when they may be partially disrooted and repotted, 

 pruning-in any straggling shoots. Keep them close and syringe 

 frequently, when they will soon commence growing. Abun- 

 dance of light and a tolerable share of pot-room are neces- 

 sary to insure fine plants. Above all, keep them a good 

 distance apart that the fine foliage of some of the species 

 may have full room to expand. As the plants advance, hqnid 

 manure may now and then be given. Tlieir period of bloom- 

 •ing is from January to May. As a guide for selecting, it 

 miy be mentioned that Begonia nitida, cinnabarina, dis- 



color, manicata, ramentaoea, and Martiana are all showy and 

 easi'y grown. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITGHEM GAEDEN. 



We encouraged growing crops by forking, hceing, and sur- 

 face-stirring, and kept up successions by small sowings. We 

 have scarcely anything here upon whiah there has not been a 

 fair run, except Leeks. A goodly lot were used for puddings, 

 &c., but they seem at present at a discount for dishes, and yet 

 few vegetables are better than large, mild, nicely-blanched 

 Leeks. How it is we cannot say, but several scientific men 

 have assured us that L^eks are as cooling for the blood as 

 Onions are heating. Good Onions are now scarce, and even 

 strong, long-necks of last year are useful for some purposes. 

 We do not like to meddle with the transplanted Onions which 

 we want to make large bulbs. The spring-sown wUl yield fine 

 thinnings for soups and salads. 



Our orchard house has helped us well with fine Lettuces. 

 It is just possible we may go to extremes, but in the space 

 of a few weeks eight gentlemen who proposed making glass 

 cases 2 or 3 feet from walls, have altered their plans so as 

 to make lean-to's 10 feet wide inside. Were nothing else 

 grown in the way of fruit except on the wall trees, what a fine 

 opportunity would the enclosed border give for growing early 

 salads, Potatoes, dwarf Peas, and other crops. If, as many in- 

 tend, we were forcing even a hundred pots of Strawberries, 

 where could be a better winter standing place for them ? These 

 lean-to roofs with good walking space beneath, except, perhaps, 

 at the very front, provided there is a wall already, can be put 

 up for less than a frame or pit with moveable sashes. The 

 great advantages of the cheap lean-to are — first, the benefit of 

 the protection of the wall and the heat stored-up in it ; and, 

 secondly, the large quantity of air enclosed, which heats slowly 

 and cools slowly. To this might be added in moderately close 

 houses, for ours are not by any means close, the quietness of 

 the air within during very cold weather. A keen frosty wind 

 dees far more injury than the same amount of frost with a still 

 air. Strawberry pots that stood in such a house were not in- 

 jured, evsn those fully exposed. Several times in the coldest 

 nights a little straw was strewed over the surface of most of 

 the pots, but the plants left exposed seemed as perfect as 

 respects the rooting, as those thus slightly protected. Had 

 these pots stood out of doors unprotected we would not have 

 given much for them. Even when standing close together in 

 beds out of doors, it is amazing how effectual a slight covering 

 is. As far as we recollect, in the dread winter of 1860 — 61, 

 Mr. Rivers saved numbers of plants in pots by laying the 

 pots and the heads on the ground and covering them all 

 over with litter. The stores of heat in the ground thus come 

 in as our heating medium. We have frequently had plants 

 thus covered for six weeks, and when uncovered a day or two 

 after the thaw the plants looked just as if they had been 

 covered for a night. In extreme cases, how easy it would be to 

 give a slight covering under a glass roof instead of out of doors ! 

 Wu hope to see little glass-covered gardens even for early vege- 

 tables. After last winter we cannot say much even as to 

 Lettuces carried through the winter, except those on wide 

 steep ridges, which stood well and have been and are useful, 

 but even these were protected in the most severe frost with ever- 

 green boughs and a little dry litter. The importance of these 

 little matters is owing to the fact, that many will luxuriate in a 

 nice salad early in spring, who will care nothing for it early in 

 summer and onwards, jast when we should imagine that it 

 would be most useful if not most valued. Let anything only 

 become rather common and easily obtainable, and with many 

 people all its attractions are gone. 



As many of our enthusiastic amateurs are anxious to front 

 their walls with sashes merely placed against them in the 

 way of protection, we say, Do so by all means ; but if we did 

 so ourselves, instead of enclosing a foot or two, we would 

 make the glass into a lean-to, and enclose 10 or more feet in 

 width. The fixed lean-to with large squares would cost much 

 less than the moveable sashes. Just think of the comfort in 

 stormy weather of performing the necessary operations under 

 a glass roof; and if one did not devote the enclosed ground 

 to fruit, what a rich return could be obtained in vegetables all 

 the spring months, and these always fresh just when wanted! 



We earthed-np a lot of our most forward Potatoes, though in ge- 

 neral we do not consider it necessary, but chiefly that thus we may 

 obtain more room for placing Cauliflowers, &c., between them. 



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