Jnly 7, 1870. ] 



JOTJENAL OP HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



13 



forward Carnations and Picoteea may now be layered. The 

 layers should be made in light soil, consisting principally of 

 leaf mould. Tho-e shoots which apparently will not become 

 Buffioiently strong may be taken off and treated in the same 

 way as Pink pipings. Take every opportunity of fertilising 

 blooms for seed ; do not cross a Picotee with a Carnation, and 

 prefer flowers which have a broad, stout, well-formed, and 

 smooth petal. The risk is considerable, even under these cir- 

 cumstances, but the gratification arising from the production of 

 one first-rate flower repays all the trouble. Eemove all mis- 

 shapen blooms of Dahlias, and place neat stakes round the 

 main stem, to which the lateral shoots may be attached, other- 

 wise they are apt to be twisted off by high winds. Occasionally 

 examine the pipings of Pinks which are under hand-glasses ; 

 remove any that have contracted mouldiness, and carefully 

 extract all weeds from amongst them. Tulips may now be 

 taken up ; store them in cabinets with the drawers properly 

 numbered, or put them in thin paper, allowing them to dry 

 gradually in an airy, shady place. Hedges should be well 

 cut-in with shears, unless when formed of large-leaved plants, 

 as Laurel and Turkey Oak, when the knife only should be em- 

 ployed, as the leaves look badly when clipped with shears. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Large climbers, with other specimen plants of considerable 

 size, are liable to become pot-bound, and as it is not always 

 expedient to give them a thorough shift, it is a very good plan 

 to sink the pot in another which is somewhat larger. The 

 pot selected Bhould be thoroughly drained, and fibrous heath 

 soil and loam in lumps, with charcoal and pounded crocks, 

 should be laid over the drainage before placing the pot. The 

 rim of the pot inserted may be elevated about one-third of its 

 depth above the level of the exterior pot. This will give room 

 for the prepared compost. After placing it perfectly level the 

 space between the two pots may be fiiled-up with the same 

 coarse materials. This space affords a good chance of in- 

 troducing stakes or trellising without injury to the roots. The 

 plants should be fed with liquid manure during the growing 

 season. Camellias may be shifted at this period. It is con- 

 sidered an excellent plan to perform this operation the moment 

 that the flower bud is decidedly formed. As compost, use two- 

 thirds of fibrous loam of an unctuous character, and one-third 

 of fibrous heath soil. The more fibrous and lumpy it is the 

 better; and a good sprinkling of charcoal in small masses, 

 with sharp silver sand, should be added. Let the pots be com- 

 pletely drained by placing Borne large crocks in a very hollow 

 position at the bottom, topping these up with a pounded mix- 

 ture of broken pots and charcoal, from which all the very 

 small particles have been riddled. Cover this with very 

 fibrous turf in small lumps before placing the ball, and keep 

 pressing the material — not ramming it — closely with the fingers 

 during the process of filling-up. Have the compost in a 

 mellow state, rather inclining to dryness. One most material 

 point is, to see that the ball is thoroughly moistened before 

 shifting ; if any doubt of this exist let the ball be steeped in 

 water for a quarter of an hour previous to potting. Some of 

 the Statices, as sinuata, puberula, &c, exhausted with bloom- 

 ing, may be shaken out of their pots and repotted. These 

 plants delight in an open compost with thorough drainage, 

 and some of them are partial to a close and moist atmosphere. 

 Stop gross shoots of greenhouse Azaleas, and see to cuttings of 

 the best Pelargoniums. Continue to pinch off all blossoms 

 from pot Roses intended for flowering in November and De- 

 cember, and stop all luxuriant shoots. Young stock of these 

 for winter work should now have their final shift. 



STOVE. 



Some of the Bletias, as also the old Phajus grandifolius, are 

 well adapted for producing winter flowers. Such should have 

 their growth completed with all possible rapidity ; they enjoy 

 abundance of liquid manure. Occasionally stop the shoots of 

 some of the young plants of Euphorbia jacquiniseflora, they 

 will produce a succession of later blossom. — W. Eeane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 

 We had on the 1st of the month a few showers which refreshed 

 the foliage of plants and cooled the surface of the parched soil, 

 though they did not reach the roots nor replenish reservoirs, 

 We took advantage of the shade to plant out a quantity of 

 Brussels Sprouts, Scotch Kale, and Cauliflowers, drawing drills, 

 and planting in the drills after puddling the roots, and watering 



with sewage immediately afterwards. The plants now look 

 established. We should have liked to have planted out much 

 more, but we have no ground at liberty, all of it being crammed 

 until we can get some Pea and Strawberry ground empty. It is 

 comparatively easy gardening when a quarter or two can be found 

 empty for winter Greens and spring Broccoli. Contrary to our 

 custom we have planted Brussels Sprouts and other Greens in 

 the place which had been filled, up to within a few days, chiefly 

 with Scotch Cabbaging Kale — that and Veitch's Dwarf being 

 about the best, the Cabbaging Kale yielding fine gatherings of 

 soft and tender shoots to the end of June, and making a change 

 with Cauliflowers and Cabbages. Nothing beats them, except 

 the sprouts from Coleworts that have stood all the winter, and 

 the most compact Cauliflowers. These shoots from the Cole- 

 worts were far before the most crisp young Cabbages, though 

 they, too, were very good. The Coleworts filled the north side 

 of a sloping bank, and they looked so well and lasted so well, 

 that instead of removing them we planted Potatoes between 

 them ; but we fear we left the Coleworts too long for the good 

 of the Potatoes, as the ground was too much exhausted as well 

 as shaded at first. However, we expect that with surface- 

 stirring there will still be a moderate crop of Potatoes to come 

 in after the early ones on the south side are done, which as yet 

 have yielded unusually well, are quite ripe, and will be lifted 

 for the sake of room. We mention this merely as a sample of 

 the way in which many of us must crop. Even Cauliflowers 

 planted 2 feet apart in rows must generally have a crop of 

 Radishes, Spinach, or Lettuce between them. 



As to the piece planted with winter Greens after having 

 carried such a heavy crop of the same kind, though contrary to 

 our general practice of rotation of cropping, the plan may be 

 adopted at times with impunity. In a neat little garden which 

 has been noticed in these pages, we much err if one border has 

 not carried a crop of Brussels Sprouts for more than twenty 

 years, and done it well all that time. We presume it would 

 yearly have a dressing of manure. We put a fair allowance on 

 our piece, and trenched it over to from 18 to 24 inches deep, 

 mixing the manure with the soil, instead of turning it in at 

 the bottom. The trenching was fully confirmatory of what has 

 been recently stated of plants, when established, drawing up 

 moisture from beneath. The roots of that fine plantation had 

 gone far down for moisture. To the depth of nearly 2 feet the 

 soil was the driest we ever saw, so dry that even the lower spit 

 would scarcely lie on the spade, but was inclined to fall off 

 like so much kiln-dried sand. We made holes with a pickaxe, 

 and found vigorous roots of the old Kale 3 and 4 feet from the 

 surface, clasping the dampish clay. So dry was the soil near 

 the surface, that but for adding the manure, we should have been 

 inclined to have made holes with a crowbar without digging, 

 and watered the holes before and after planting. In such loose, 

 fresh-turned-up, dry soil, it would be next to impossible to firm 

 plants properly, and, therefore, the surface was well trodden, 

 and then heavily rolled, before the drills were drawn for plant- 

 ing the young plants. 



People would save themselves much uneasiness if they would 

 but recollect, that plants fully established will get moisture 

 from beneath, or send their roots down in search of it. We all 

 know that a dry summer generally yields us the finest crops of 

 Wheat. This is not because the roots can do with so much less 

 moisture ; but because the drier and warmer atmosphere suits 

 the plants, and the roots obtain moisture from beneath. We 

 have carefully traced the roots of Wheat to more than 3 feet in 

 depth. We believe that others more careful have found them 

 deeper than that, though Wheat, perhaps more than most 

 plants, rejoices in a firm, consolidated soil. 



It is with fresh-planted-out plants that the chief difficulty is 

 to be found where there is scarcity of water. It would be of 

 little use transplanting Lettuces, for instance, unless you could 

 water and shade ; but taken on the whole, our Lettuces sown 

 thinly in well-stirred soil, and thinned out early, have been as 

 crisp as usual, and have stood pretty well the usual time before 

 showing the flower stem. 



Some remarks have been made about our speaking of parasol 

 Cabbage leaves in such a season as this ; but as an evidence of 

 what can be done in a holding soil, and giving the plants the 

 full chance of catering for themselves as regards moisture, we 

 may mention that on measuring a number of the larger leaves 

 near the base of the plant we found them average 18 inches in 

 length and 20 inches in breadth. TheBe plants had one water- 

 ing (a moderate one) of house sewage. We know the ground 

 will be a mass of roots to a considerable depth. This Cabbage 

 is a very good early kind. We obtained the seeds from Mr. 



