June 15, 1871. 3 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



427 



unless from its fames, and less faith in the propriety of send- 

 ing gasts^of cold air into hothouses. — R. F. 



. TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*** ^e request that no one "will write privately to any of the 

 coireapondents of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By doing so they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 com mimic ations should therefore he addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, c^c, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.C. 



"We also request that correspondents -will not mis up on the same 

 sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on Poultry 

 and Bee subjects, if they expect to .e;et them answered 

 promptly and conveniently, but write them on separate 

 communications. Also never to send more than two or 

 three questions at once. 



-N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



Books (Theta). — There is no small book on ConifersE. Gordon's " Pine- 

 tum " is the best, and is not a large volume. (T. 3/.).— Keane's "In-door 

 Gardening" may suit you ; you can have it free by post from, our office if 

 you enclose twenty postage stamps with your address. 



Adcress (A. J.).— We c.inuot give the address. 



Exotic Ferns (A Coiifitayit Reader). — All in your list are exotic esc'^pt 

 "the Adiantum Capillus-Veneris, which is a native of this country. You 

 do not seem to be aware that "exotic" means a native of any other 

 country than the British Islands. 



Cottagers' Horticultural Shows (C. B. -37.).— One of the most suc- 

 cessful was established at Pytchley by the late Rev. Abner Brown. We 

 have his rules, &c., which we will lend you if you send us your address. 



Deting Ferns (A Subscriber). S-pread between sheets of thick blotting 

 'paper the specimens in their natural position, placing every pinna flat 

 and separate, and put on the top of the blotting paper a flat board and a 

 weight of 7 lbs., or thereabouts. It is best to have a quire of blotting 

 paper. When quite dried place them on sheets of cartridge paper, and 

 attach them to it by narrow slips of green paper passed over the stems 

 and made to adhere to the cartridge paper by strong gum water. 



Chrysanthemum Cuttings (Idem).— Nice little plants for late bloom 

 zaay be obtained by taking off cuttings 5 or 6 inches in length from the 

 tops of the shoots in July or August, striking them in slight bottom heat. 

 ■potting off in 4-inch pots, placing on a hard bottom out of doors, and 

 shifting into 6-inch pots when they have filled the others with roots. 



Raising "Water (D. Davis). — An artesian well in your case is out of the 

 question. An Abyssinian tube pump would suit you ; but really as the 

 water is so plentiful within such a short space as G feet from the surface, 

 we should be inclined to make a shallow well in the usual way, attach a 

 ■common pump to it, with a cistern to pump in for common purposes. If 

 jou wish to raise the water some 20 or more feet, so as to flow where you 

 want it, then have a small force pump and an elevated cistern. The 

 Abyssinian pump would be the simplest. We would, however, in your case, 

 simply make a shallow well. 



Strawberries in Pots fob next Season (A Subscriber). — Perhaps 

 4he simplest plan to prepare Strawberry plants for forcing is to layer the 

 runners as soon as you can obtain them in light rich soil in 3-inch pots, 

 fastening the runner into the soil with a little stone over it. Water when 

 necessary. When the pots are full of roots cut the runners, repot them 

 ■firmly in 6-inch pots, and set the plants on a hard bottom in the sun- 

 niest spot yon can command. Never let the plants want for water until 

 -the end of autumn, and before frost sets in place the pots in your cold 

 pit, or wherever they can be protected from excessive moisture and 

 ■much frost in winter. If you have no runners you may obtain them and 

 treat them as above, but depending on themselves, when placfd in 

 small pots; they should be shaded before tbey begin to grow. Black 

 Prince is good for producing freely and early with little heat, but Keens' 

 Seedling is best for a beginner. For later production have a few of 

 ^President, Dr. Hogg, &c. 



CncDMBERS IN A Lean-to House (TF. 2^.).— Yout proposed plan of 

 ■growing Cucumbers will answer very well, but to commence in April the 

 dung of the bed would require to be well worked and sweetened before 

 ■xnaking the bed, and therefore more would be required. Even then you 

 would require to protect the glass by covering at night up to the middle 

 of June. Without covering the glass, from the middle to the end of May 

 ■would be quite time enough to plant out over such a bed. Your high 

 ^wall at back and open pathway will detract so far from the heat of the 

 bed. You might have Cucumbers as early as you liked if you added hot- 

 water pipes. 



Scsimer-pbuning Pear Trees (T.L.ilT").— In the present case we quite 

 Bgree with the gentleman, and disagree with the gardener. The nippiug- 

 back the shoots of a Jargonelle Pear in the first days of June to an inch 

 in length has a tendency to make every bud left start into a wood shoot. 

 It is a much better plan to nip out the point of the young shoot when it 

 is 6 inches long. By doing so with Apples and Pears we often get fine 

 :fruit buds formed at the base of the shoots of this year. We would have 

 so nipped all our shoots on dwarfs and pyramids "but for press of work, 

 but it will not be longer neglected. If a tree is growing very vigorously 

 it is well to leave a number of shoots untouched in order to attract 

 •the sap, but not so many as to shade the shortened ones from the sun. 

 It is also advisable, in the case of a large tree, to do such work at three 

 times, with an interval of a few days between them, beginning at the top 

 of the tree ; then follow with the middle, and fioish with the part near the 

 base. This does much to regulate and equalise strength, and to mature 

 l>uds throughout. 



Lawn Sakd {E. P.).— We only know it by the advertisement. 



Royal Horticultural Society.— " F. Ji. H, .S." asks, "Is there to be 

 no Horticultural Congress this year at Nottingham ? The papers last 

 year at Oxford, and the discussions, were decidedly interesting, and it 

 afl"ords the means of ventilating many of the gardening questions of the 

 day. It is not too late, with an energetic committee of management 

 such as the one which holds the reins at Nottingham, to make arrange- 

 ments for one even now. There are plenty of subjects to choose from. 

 Take the water question alone, for instance, as * Storing up Water Sup- 

 plies ;' 'Application of Water to Plants ;' * Syringing;' 'Liquid Manures ;' 

 * Heating by Hot Water ;' ' Boilers ;' &c." 



Market Gardening (W. (7.).— So much depends upon circumstances 

 of which we know nothing, that we cannot advise. Skill, connection, 

 opposition, &c., have to be considered. 



Pit made into a House (An OM SwZtRcri&er).— In looking over what is 

 stated at page 390, we think a slight error of two wordi^ has crept in. Yoa 

 will come to the sentence, "Have the ridge-board so as to receive your 

 sashes in front on rafters, these sashes to ha moveable at back." We 

 want you to leave out the words " at back," because as these sashes are 

 moveable we wish you to use them for all the ventilation you need, 

 pulling part a little down when you want top ventilation, and shoving 

 them up over the ridge-board when you want front ventilation. There 

 are modes of pivot-hanging the coping of the ridge-board to do that 

 easily, but if you can gain access to the front of the house outside, you 

 could elevate two sashes in front by placing a notched block of wood 

 beneath them, and bring two down a little from the top, and have all the 

 ventilation you need. We advocate this mode as you have thii sashes 

 already. The back span or hipped roof we would have fixed. Y'ou may 

 have front glass of course, and you must have it, if you wish to work up- 

 right in front ; but we have supposed you wanted merely a bed there for 

 keeping your plants, which you could reach from the path bi^hind it In 

 such a case you might run a 12 or 20-inch square of glass, fixed all the 

 way along, between the boardei wall and the wall plate on which your 

 sashes rest in front. If you have any moveable sashes in front you will 

 much increase the expense. We would be satisfied with the house on the 

 same site. YoiT may make the additional width at back, or both back 

 and front. If you did the former we would have a bed in front and a 

 stage behind. We would leave the flue where it is. The heat will be 

 sure to ascend. We would like it all the better for the flue being so 

 much below the level of the boards on which you set the plants. The 

 flue being low would better enableyouto have a hotbed of stable manure, 

 but in that case there must be openings to let the heat up from the flue, 

 and you must likowise have a flooring across 2 or 3 inches above the flue, 

 or you should surround the flue and cover it with 3 or 4 inches of rabble 

 work. In such a small place we think that having a hotbed would be 

 more trouble than it was worth, and then you must sweeten the manure 

 well before introducing it if you have plants in the house at the time. 

 We think the flue will do all you want. For such sashes no rollers will 

 be necessary. Twenty-one-ounce glass will be ample for the back, and 

 instead of seconds and thirds we should be satisfied with good fourths. 



Mushroom-growing in a Cellar {A Subscriber). — There is no road to 

 success without care, forethought, and attention, and you may have 

 given all these and yet not succeed. We cannot he sure, because we 

 know nothing of the state of the half load of manure "you bought and 

 put iu the cellar, and left there to sweeten before making the bed." In 

 the first place, half a load would make but a small bed; in the second 

 place, we would prefer working and sweetening it before placing it in the 

 cellar; third'y, in a cellar 60-'' was scarcely high enough f'^r the bed at 

 spawning tiuae ; we would have preferred it to be from 10^ to 15° more. 

 Still, as the bed retains that temperature, the spawn will run. From 55° 

 to 60^ will be high enough for the temperature over the surface of the 

 bed. As you have spawned the bed, if you have not earthed it over, we 

 would advise you to add from 1 to 2 inches of horse droppings to the 

 surface before earthing. If earthed over already, then cover tbe bed 

 ■with a little hay or clean straw, a mat, or cloth. &c., just to give the 

 slightest additional heat. In two months, or earlier, from spawning you 

 may expect Mushrooms. In "Doings of the Last Week " lately it was 

 stated how the centre of a bed suffered from over-heating, whilst the 

 sides bore profusely. In tbe same place small beds are like a white 

 sheet all over, but the beds were 15° warmer than yours when spawned. 



Lawn Grass Failing (J. 7^.).— You should at once cover the lawn 

 with rich soil, having previously raked it well with an iron rake. The 

 soil should be put ou one-quarter to half an inch thick ; after the first rain 

 it should be again raked well, and when dry the following mixture may 

 be sown : — Festuca duriuscula, 6 Ib^. ; Festuca ovina, 2 lbs. ; Cynosurus 

 cristatus, 6 lbs. ; Poa nemoralie, 2 lbs.; Trifolium repens, 4 lbs. ; Lotus 

 corniculatus minor, 1 lb. Roll the ground well after sowing. The lawn 

 should not be mown or rolled for at least a fortnight after sowing. The 

 seeds may be had of any of the principal seedsmen. 



Buds of Gloire de Dijon Rose Turning Yello-^^ [S. A. 5.).— We 

 cannot think the buds on Gloire de Dijon on a south wall have damped- 

 off; they have more likely dried off. Perhaps the base of the buds is 

 attacked with mildew, or it may be that the roots are too dry. The 

 Rose weevil will also at times eat the heart of the Rose buds and prevent 

 them from opening. We could give more definite advice if we saw the 

 buds, or had more information about the tree, soil, &c. 



Oak Leaves Deformed {Wvi. N.). — The swellings and contortions near 

 the leafstalks are caused by a Cynips. You will find a grub of the insect 

 in each swelling. 



Exhibiting Roses (An Irish Subscriber). — The Dublin Rose Eshibition 

 on the 29th of June is too late, except for budded stocks of Roses. You 

 cannot thwart or retard Nature advantageously. You should have re- 

 moved carefully some of your trees in February; that is the most legi- 

 timate way of retarding, combined with later pruning. All you can now 

 do is to pull off your forward buds, and thin out the side buds to one or 

 two of different sizes on each twig. This is a matter requiring judgment 

 and great experience. It requires a knowledge of the habit of each par- 

 ticular Rose, and of the length of time under ordinary weather, with 

 help, each formed bud takes to arrive at development. Such a Rose as 

 General Jacqueminot would arrive at development at least a fortnight or 

 three weeks before such a Rose as Duchesse d'Orleana. Roses may 

 legitimately be hastened by stirring the ground, by mulching and water- 

 ing, and by placing squares of glass over the mulching. I do not know 

 of any maker of Rose exhibition-boxes. Get the Rev. S. R. Hole's book 

 on " Roses, How to Grow and Show Them," and at page 214 you will see 



