462 



JOtJBNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ June 2S, 1871. 



roots through the moss or soil, and a little additional fibrons 

 peat or moss should be added in dne time. "When dull weather 

 prevails lay by the syringe for a day or two, and increase the 

 amount of both atmospherie moisture and of air. Stove stock 

 in general will gain some more room by the discharge of large 

 specimens into the conservatory or greenhouse. 



PITS AKD rEAMES. 



These will require abundance of air and careful watering 

 daily. Some of the delicate stock will at times require shading 

 through the middle of the day, especially where unplunged. — 

 W. Keane. 



DOINGS or THE LAST WEEK 



KITCHEN GAEDEN. 



Almost constant drizzling rain, with very heavy downpours, 

 have left nothing to do in this department but to occupy every 

 bit of spare ground with winter stufi. We shall not be able to 

 plant oat Broccoli until we can dig down a piece of Strawberries 

 when the fruit has been gathered, but we shall prick-out and 

 lift with balls. Owing to scarcity of room we have partly filled 

 earth pits outside, from whence flowering plants have been 

 taken, with the earlier winter vegetables, as the Ulm Savoy, 

 the London Colewort, &o. Our ground is so full and so close- 

 cropped that, like many more, we feel we sadly want more 

 space for vegetables. We hardly ever think of Lettuces, Spi- 

 nach, Eadishes, &e., as any crop ; they must come as best they 

 can as intermediaries, and get out of the way before the shade 

 is too dense. For instance, between rows of Raspberries 4 feet 

 apart we have a row of Cabbages in the middle, and a fine row 

 of Lettuces on each side of the Cabbages. The Lettuces will 

 be pretty well gone before we want to gather the Eaapber- 

 ries. This is merely a sample. Spinach and Eadishes between 

 TOWS of Peas have been succeeded in the case of the early 

 Peas by Cauliflowers, the Peas just giving them a nice shade 

 at first. After clearing ofl Spinach between high rows of Peas, 

 as Ne Plus Ultra, we have sown Eadishes ; but the Peas are 

 threatening to be so strong and luxuriant that we fear Eadishes 

 even will do little good between them, and we must secure what 

 is wanted daily and crisp and sweet by sowing in an open place. 

 Like early Carrots, a great deal of gathering can be had from a 

 small space, provided the thinning for use commences soon 

 enough. By the 25th we shall sow some Dickson's Favourite 

 Pea, still a fine Pea for cropping and general purposes, and 

 then afterwards sow a few of the earlier kinds, as the last for 

 the season. Unless for a particular purpose it is hardly worth 

 while to have Peas for gathering in the beginning of winter 

 nnder glass protection. They come too close on the open-air 

 ones in a good autumn to be much thought of. They are some- 

 thing like new Potatoes before Christmas. In February they 

 would be much more prized. The earliest Peas have done first- 

 rate after the heavy rains. All ours on ridges between Celery 

 beds were in our opinion benefited by a good drenching of 

 sewage before the rains came fast. The finest show of bloom 

 on early Peas we ever saw was at Luton Hoo. The kind was 

 Eingleader. The plants were comparatively dwarf, but from 

 bottom to top, and forming a broad-based pyramid, the rows 

 were a perfect sheet of bloom. As that was in the cold weather 

 before the rain, Mr. Cadger complained that they would not 

 budge, the young Pea refusing to swell, but we have no doubt 

 the warm rains altered all that. Laston's Supreme was very 

 fine last season ; and as there is plenty of ground there we 

 shall try and see what the new varieties will do, as most of 

 them, we believe, have been sown. 



One word more for the sake of those comparatively inexperi- 

 enced, and who wish to have some nice green Peas in the end 

 of Scptemher and the best part of October. Do not satisfy 

 yourself with merely digging a piece of ground, and then draw- 

 ing a shallow drill and throwing the seeds along the narrow 

 bottom, where the Peas will be close if not pell-mell on each 

 other. Dig the ground from one and a half to two spits deep, 

 and if some rotten dung can be incorporated all the better ; 

 then, where the row is to be, take out a shallow trench a foot 

 in width and some 6 inches in depth ; on that trench place 

 2 or 3 inches of rotten manure, fork it over to the depth of 

 from 4 to 6 inches, nicely incorporating soil and manure. Let 

 the shallow trench dry a little and then pass along it and tread 

 it regularly, and then if the soil is at all dry give the trench a 

 soaking of water. Sow the seeds shortly afterwards, giving 

 them a width of 6 or more inches, and so that the seeds indi- 

 vidually will be at least 3 inches apart ; beat the Peas slightly 

 down with the back of a spade, and then cover all over with 



from half an inch to an inch of soil. We have found no plan 

 better for general, and especially for late crops, and none more 

 eiJectnal for keeping the mildew at bay, be the season moist or 

 diy. It will be seen that we consider three things of import- 

 ance — first, the deep moving and pulverising of the soil, that 

 the roots may be encouraged to extend themselves, and mois- 

 ture be enabled to pass down freely as well as to rise freely in 

 the shape of vapour from beneath. Second, the firm seed bed, 

 to encourage robust firm growth at first. Third, the moisten- 

 ing of the ground before sowing — far better than a dozen 

 shilly-shally, not root-reaching, but earth-cooling waterings 

 afterwards. And we may add a fourth — scattering the seed 

 thinly instead of thickly, so that each seed will have some room 

 for roots and stem. But for the dread of the seeds being de- 

 voured, comparatively thin seeding always yields the best result 

 at gathering time. The red-leading enables us to sow thinly 

 with safety. 



Cauliflower has never been better after the rains, even e> 

 bnifish-colonred fine head is not despisable, but we prefer them 

 white more like new-fallen snow. Need we say to beginners, 

 To secure this whiteness tie the heart leaves together, so as to- 

 exclude the sun from the flower-head, or simply take a leaf and 

 lay over it to keep the sun from it. 



Potatoes notwithstanding the heavy rains are showing as yet 

 no signs of distress or of disease. From a bank sloping to the 

 south we have raised fine tubers of the Ashleaf, in size and 

 quality, but still they are not the flour balls of the same sort 

 that were obtained from an earth-pit covered with old sashes, 

 and which place is now appropriated to Vegetable Marrows and 

 ridge Cucumbers, which will have the old sash protection until 

 the plants want more room outside. We are glad that our ex- 

 perienced coadjutor, Mr. Eobson, and others, have taken up 

 the question of earthing and not earthing-vp Potatoes. Our 

 experience and experiments lead to these conclusions. In 

 ordinary soil, and in ordinary seasons, the earthing-up is a 

 matter of no importance if the Potatoes are planted about 

 6 inches deep. In stiffish soils it will be advantageous to 

 earth them up early if the season should prove extra dry or 

 extra wet. In the first case the tubers and rootlets seem to be- 

 better preserved from the drought above, and to derive more 

 benefit from the moist vapours that rise from beneath. In the 

 second case, the extra moisture passes away more freely. In 

 ordinary seasons, and in soil neither extra stiff nor extra light, 

 we have found little appreciable difference in weight or measure, 

 in the case of a crop left flat or ridged. Some years ago we 

 found something like a fifteenth in favour of the flat. In a 

 rainy season when the disease was not uncommon, we had the 

 best crops on the ridge, and they were almost entirely free from 

 the disease, whilst those on the flat were much affected. In 

 such a dry season as last summer, we found there was fully 

 one-tenth in quantity in favour of the ridge, and the quality 

 was better, and the size more uniform. As to earthing-up, 

 however, allow us to invite all keen amateurs and anxious be- 

 ginners to re-read carefully Mr. Eobson's paper. It is quite a 

 mistake in earthing-up, be it a Potato or a Cabbage or Cauli- 

 flower, to draw the earth to a point like the ridge of a house. 

 Make, as it were, two ridges, with a valley between them. Our 

 good Editors are in favour of non-earthing-up, but we know full 

 well they are too liberal-hearted to think that all the wisdom is 

 with them, We fully endorse, however, what they say, that 

 mere opinion unproved by results is of no value. Will friends, 

 therefore, give the results of carefully conducted experiments ? 

 We had long practised the non-earthing system. Were we sure 

 of the ancient summers with their sunshine and showers, we 

 should bo disposed to dispense with earthing-up. As it seems 

 more uncertain whether we shall have a very wet or a very dry 

 season, we feel disposed to earth-up. There is an advantage, 

 too, in the very early crops. We frequently pull earth not only 

 to but over the earliest shoots, to prevent them being nipped 

 by April and May frosts. 



FKUIT GAEDEN. 



The rain has been the very thing for the Strawberries. Our 

 ripe ones out of doors are few and far between, but our supply 

 from pots will still be good a little longer. We are glad that 

 the flowering and fruiting is quite up to the old mark in so 

 many places. Jnst round this neighbourhood, at least, the 

 bloom has been defective in quantity. We took the glass 

 sashes oft' the piece that we covered, so that it should have the 

 full benefit of the rains. In such dull, sunless weather the 

 glass sashes would not have advanced them a bit. That we 

 have proved over and over again. The sun gladdening us 

 again on this the 24th, we had the sashes put on, and early in 



