September 15, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



213 



would have been better of a good manure watering, especially if there 

 was drainage. 



Cow Dung for Vine Border (S. IF.).— Cow dung is a good mulching 

 for Vine borderB when put on, not fresh, but dry and sweet. If that can- 

 not be obtained, we would prefer horse droppings as fresh as you like. 

 Cow dung, if fresh, is too close. It matters little when applied. A cover- 

 ing all summer would save watering considerablv. After it has been on 

 some time it is as well to rake it off, or scrape it off, and »d 1 fresh. There 

 are various modes of making a loose gravel walk smooth. You might 

 consolidate it with tar, so as to make your gravel walk into tar pavement, 

 as described at page 165. You might gain the same object, as we did 

 years ago in some cases, without all the trouble of heating, boiling, and 

 mixing, by merely using enoueh of tar in its natural state to moisten the 

 gravel, and then covering with fresh and rolling down, so that the sur- 

 face should be just embedded. We would do this in one of two ways in 

 such a case as yours. First, if we could obtain enough of fine sandy 

 gravel for a surfacing, we would roll the present walk hard, place on it a 

 layer of tar, say one-eighth of an inch thick, roll with a wet roller, apply 

 the surfacing soon after, and roll again. If we could get no fresh gravel 

 we would sift the best surface gravel, passing it through a half-inch sieve, 

 tar what was left, and put the sifted surface on. We never could see 

 much advantage in boiling tar. The tar will run and mix admirably 

 without boiling. The simplest mode of making such a Ipebbly rough 

 walk smooth is to collect a lot of clay, dry and riddle it, roll the walk, 

 add a surfacing of the clay, which will fill the interstices, and then cover 

 with a slight surfacing of rough sand to prevent any of the clay adhering 

 to the feet. We have used thick clay water, or rather clay mud, for a 

 similar purpose, but it requires more time. Such rough walks as you 

 describe are unpleasant, but they are better than smooth walks that stick 

 to the feet in damp weather ; the sand-surfacing will prevent that. 



Profitable Vegetable Crop (Germanicus). — Your ground lying fallow 

 for two years will be suitable for most kinds of vegetables, and we think, 

 all things considered, that Potatoes are most likely to repay you. The 

 ground should be manured now, or between now and November, and we 

 would dig it well and deeply, and, if the soil is stiff, throw it up in ridges 

 for the winter, that frost rnay'act on it. In February in dry. frosty weather 

 — if such do not occur, then in dry weather — turn over the ground with a 

 fork, level it, and when the ground is in good workiDg order plant the 

 Potatoes as soon after the middle of March as you can. Having ma- 

 nured in autumn, it is not necessary nor des rable to manure at planting. 

 As to kinds, we can recommend two second earlies, ripening early, ex- 

 cellent both before and after they are ripe, and keeping late. They are 

 Lapstone (a kidney) and Early Oxford (round), both first-class croppers. 

 Our Potatoes this year are a very fine crop, both in quantity and quality. 



Wintering Geraniums in a Poultry House (Idem).— Wo fear your 

 chances of wintering bedding Geraniums in a poultry house are very 

 small. Your best p an would be to take up the o d plants, strip off every 

 leaf, keep them in the sun for a few hours to dry, and then store them in 

 your house in dry sand. They will need to have the root portion buried 

 in the sand, as well as a portion of the stems, but the soft succulent parts 

 ought not to be covered. You must give air every fine day, and in frosty 

 weather protect with a covering of dry hay or other littery material, 

 removing it when the weather is mild. In March you may place the 

 plants in pots or boxes in sandy soil, and with light and air they will 

 begin to grow, though they will be better of a frame and a gentle hotbed. 



Fruit Trees for a Garden (E. B.).~ For the espaliers, we think Apples 

 and Pears are best Dessert Apples : Early Red Margaret, Kerry Pippin, 

 Cellini, Adams's Pearmain, Golden Pippin, Margil, Nonesuch, Ribston 

 Pippin, Sykehonse Russet, Court of Wick, Keddieston Pippin, Cockle 

 Pippin, Downton Pippin, Braddick's Nonpareil, Old Nonpareil, Cox's 

 Orange Pippin, Wyken Pippin, and Pearson's Plate. Kitchen Apples : 

 Cox's Pomona, Keswick Codlin, Lord Sufueld, Alfriston, Bedfordshire 

 Foundling, Dumelow's Seedling, Beauty of Kent, Northern Greening, 

 Norfolk Beefing, Blenheim Pippin, Rymer, and Winter Majeting. Pears : 

 Beurre Giffard, Citron des Carmes, Fondante d'Automne, Comte de 

 Lamy, Beurre de Capiaumont, Bergamotte Esperen, Louise Bonne of 

 Jersey, Forelle, Marie Louise, Williams's Bon Chretien, Thompson's, 

 Seckle, Napoleon, Hacon's Incomparable, Beurre Bosc, Beurre Diel. Jean 

 de Witte, Glou Mor^-eau, Ne plus Meuris, and Beurre de Ranee. These 

 we have found answer well. If you wish for a stewing Pear, Catillac will 

 suit. We do not consider Plums do well on espaliers, as they do not 

 readily submit to horizontal training. They are best grown as pyramids 

 or bu-hes, and kinds that so succeed are July Green Gage, Orleans, 

 Kirke's, Jefferson, Golden Gage, and Coe's Golden Drop. Cherries, if 

 wished for in the open garden, are best treated as pyramids, in which 

 way they bear profusely. Bigarreau Napoleon, Black Engle, Elton, 

 Florence, Knight's EarlyBlack, May Duke, and Late Duke, the Morello 

 being a very handsome and exceedingly prolific pyramid. The east wall 

 we should devote to Plums, Pears, and Cherries. Plums— Green Gage, 

 Jefferson, Coe's Golden Drop, Pond's Seedling, Victoria, and Prince of 

 Wales. Pears— Beurre Diel, Flemish Beauty, Pusse Colmar, Leon le 

 Clerc, Marie Louise. Winter Nelis, Glou Mor^eau, and Ne plus Meuris. 

 Cherries— Early Purple Gean, May Duke, and Black Circassian or Tar- 

 tarian. For the fence with a north aspect, Morello and Tradescant's 

 Heart Cherries are the only fruit trees likely to succeed, but we have 

 grown excellent Red, White, and Black Currants against such a fence, 

 and have them now in fine condition. 



Emperor Stocks (A. Z.).— They are biennials, and sometimes of longer 

 duration. 



Scarborough Lily Treatment (C R. fi".).— From; the description we 

 think that is the common name of your plant, Vallota purpurea. Unless 

 yon wish for more plants, we would not divide the plant, for we do not 

 think any bulbous plant can be effective with but a few bulbs in a pot. We 

 have it now with from six to a dozen and more spikes in a single pot, and 

 the effect is very fine. If you wish to have more plants, then you may 

 divide it into as many parts as there are bulbs, and pot each separately, 

 employing pots twice the diameter of the bulbs. As much soil and as 

 many roots as possible should be secured with each bulb. Drain the pot 

 well, using a compost of tn-o-thirds fibrous loam, and one-third leaf soil 

 or old cow dung, with a sixth of silver sand. Pot firmly, the soil being 

 moderately dry, and with the neck of the b^b level with the rim of the 

 pot, the bulb being covered that depth with soil. Set the pots in a green- 

 house in a light airy position, and keep the soil moist at all seasons, 

 but never very wet, though when the plant is growing freely abundant 

 supplies of water should be given. In July and August give plenty of 



light and air, with no more water than will keep the foliage fresh. It is 

 a splendid plant, of very easy culture, and one of the most useful for 

 autumn display, doing well as a window plant, and not suffering to any 

 great extent when placed in rooms during its flowering period. 



Richabdia ^thiopica Tbeatment (IF. N.).— It thrives in a rich, 

 light, fibrous loam, and though requiring plenty of water when growing 

 it needs good drainage. A small pot for the size of the plant is desirable. 

 When it haB done growing, or sav from June, or if in a window from 

 August, keep it dry, not giving water to any great extent for the next 

 three months, and when the plant begins to grow again water it copiously, 

 and when it is growing freely set the pot in a saucer of water, or in a 

 window in May, June, and July, when its growth will be complete ; then 

 keep it dry three or four months, and water it again according to the fresh 

 erowth, increasing the quantity as the plant grows. A situation exposed 

 to the full sun is necessary. In winter keep frost from it. 



Tropjsolum tuberosum and pentaphyllum Flowerless (Idem). — The 

 cause of their not flowering is no doubt the exposed situation, but as the 

 soil is dry, that may have something to do with it. Try a mulching of 

 leaf soil or well-decayed manure in autumn, and copious waterings in 

 spring and early in summer. Train the shoots near the wall so as to give 

 them the benefit of its warmth, syringing freely on the evenings of hot 

 days. 



Evergreen Trees for Screen on a Light Soil (Idem)- — No ever- 

 green shrub will bear exposure without some other shelter, except Gorse. 

 Both the siogle and double Gorse are very ornamental, and will stand 

 any amount of exposure. Pinus austriaea is the best evergreen tree for 

 shelter, and by planting it you may have all the hardy evergreen shrubs 

 without fear. If you only wish for a screen, then we advise Holly or 

 Yew, both of which are excellent, and you can cut them in as much as 

 you desire. The latter is the best screen or hedge known. 



Climbers for a South-east Wall (Idem). — Jasminum nudiflorum, 

 Lonicera flexuosa, Clematis Fortunei, and C. Jackmanni would answer 

 very well on your wall, and so would Ayrshire Queen and Dundee Ram- 

 bler Roses, but you should manure the soil well, and if it is dry water well 

 in summer. If you wish for evergreens, Escallonia macrantha, Garrya 

 elliptica, and Crataegus Pyracantha will suit. 



Large Melon (John Leslie). — We know of no record of a Melon weigh- 

 ing 15 lbs. 10 ozs. What of the flavour? And what is it like in shape — 

 netted or not, round or long, ribbed or not, and where did it originate? 

 Large Melons, as a rule, are no better flavoured than Turnips, but we 

 have known some persons eat and admire for its flavour an Orange 

 Gourd weighing over a hundredweight. Is not your supposed Melon a 

 Gourd ? 



White Substance on Bare of Beech Tree (Rev. ).— The sub- 

 stance on the Beech tree is not a fungus, but the produce of a Coccus. 

 It has, however, been described as a fungus by Fries under the name of 

 Psilonia nivea. 



Insects (C. C. E.). — The insect yon have sent, said to devour wire- 

 worms, is itself a wireworm — that is, it is the larva of Elater fulvipes, or 

 a closely allied species. It is distinguished from the true wireworm by 

 having the extremity of the body ending in a point with two small in- 

 cisions on each side. Nothing has been recorded of its precise habits, 

 and it may possibly feed on other larva, which is, however, at least 

 doubtful. (A Constant Subscriber).— The Apple twig is badly infested 

 with the too common woolly American blight (Aphis lanigera). The in- 

 fested parts should be well washed with hot soft-soap suds with lime and 

 soot mixed, forming a stiff solution, applied with a soft brush so as to 

 cause it to enter the wounds of the bark. The Thorn twigs have swellings 

 like galls with minute holes, but we can find no trace of insects within, 

 and believe them to be a vegetable gout-like disease. The Oak leaves are 

 covered with the Oak-spangles, which are real galls formed by Cynips 

 loDgipennis. 1. O. W. 



Names of Fruits (S. M. P.).— Both Plums are Guthrie's Golden. 

 (E. C, Oakham). — Your Plum is evidently a seedling which has not yet 

 been named. (0. X. Z.).— Van Mons'*Red. (R. Churcher). — Yellow 

 Imperial. (J. B. A.). — Your Plum is McLaughlin. (Centurion) — We can- 

 not identify either the Apples or the Plum. If the Apple is not named, 

 Summer Ribston is very applicable. (A. B., Ware. Herts).— The Apple is 

 certainly not Pine Apple Russet. Send it to Mr. Rivers, and he will 

 probably be able to compare it with some in his collection. 



Names of Plants (!T., a Subscriber). — We cannot undertake to name 

 a plant from even a green leaf, and you have sent a dead one. We re- 

 quire to see a flower. (H. W.).— What you call "the Toad-plant," is 

 Stapelia normalis, or Regularly-spotted Stapelia. "A Subscriber's" 

 plant is the common Hemp {Cannabis sativa), the specimen sent being 

 female. It usually grows very much taller, but the circumstances it was 

 placed under would induce "it to be so dwarf. (Judy). — 1, Nephrolepis 

 exaltata ; 2, Selaginella Braunii (S. pubescens of gardens) ; 3. Asplenium 

 flaccidum; 4, Selaginella Kraussiana. the S. hortensis of gardens; 

 5, S. Martensii. (S. W., Torquay).— We do not identify the Madeiran 

 creeper from the solitary leaf sent us ; but should she succeed in bloom- 

 ing it, we would then gladly enieavour to assist her by naming it. We 

 should consider a loamy soil, with sand, without any peat, as best fitted 

 for it, together with greenhouse treatment. (Chateau Yallon).—A. pretty 

 Crucifer, which we have not yet recognised. 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



KEEPING POULTRY AS A BUSINESS. 

 At a meeting of the New York Farmers' Club, in answer to 

 an inquiry about keeping poultry on a large scale, Warren 

 Leland, of the Metropolitan Hotel, STew York, who raises chickens 

 at his Highland Farm in 'Westchester Co., said : I have found 

 that for every hundred fowls one must give up at least an acre, 

 but rough land is as good as any. Hens naturally love the bush, 

 and I lop young trees, hut leave a shred by which they live a 

 year or more, These form hiding places and retreats for them. 



