234 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. E September £2. 1870. 



which they are fit. They will not live out of doors except in a warm dry 

 soil and situation. 



Asparagus Planting (Id-cm).— You may in October plant in the per- 

 manent bed, and after planting cover with the top-dressing of manure as 

 for established plants. It would be better if you could defer the planting 

 nntil spring. 



Sowing Grass Seeds (N. C. H.).— The seeds sown last week will not 

 suffer from frost, and as for the covering with stable litter as soon as the 

 grass shows, it would do more harm than good ; but were it put on thinly 

 before very severe weather sets in it would prevent the soil lilting, and 

 so-be a great protection to the Grasses and Clover. 



Sowing TRrFOLicir incabnatlti and Italian Rytc Grass (Idem).— 

 We have known them succeed well from sowing in the first week in 

 October, but the season was mild. That we consider is as late as they 

 should be sown, and we would if possible sow in September. The earlier 

 the better for early spring cutting. 



Drying Flowers (TF. I".).— Everlasting flowers should be ga'hered as 

 soon as fully expanded, and dried by hanging up in a dry warm place. To 

 dry other flowers take some fine white sand (that called silver sand is 

 the best), wash it repeatedly until all dirt is removed, and the water 

 remains clear. Next dry it thoroughly, and half fill a vase, a stone flower 

 pot or a glass with the sand ; in this stick fresh-gathered flowers in 

 their natural position, and afterwards cover them gently with the sand, 

 taking care not to damage the petals. Now place the vessel in the sun, 

 or in a room where a constant fire is kept, and let it remain until the 

 flowers are perfectly dry. Then remove the sand carefully, and clean the 

 leaves with a feather brush. Ton must gather your flowers for this pur- 

 pose when they are dry — that is, after the de^v has evaporated. The pro- 

 cess succeeds best with single flowers, but the difficulty attending such 

 double ones as Pinks, Carnations, &c, may be obviated by splitting the 

 cup on each side, and when the flower is quite dry the incision made to 

 adhere by means of gum water : or the cup may be pricked around with 

 a pin to let out the moisture. White flowers lose their natural colour by 

 this process, but it may be restored by exposing them to a moderate 

 vapour of brimstone ; but crimson or scarlet flowers should be placed in 

 a vapour of the solution of tin in spirits of nitre. The green leaves and 

 stems are renovated by the vapour produced from a solution of steel 

 filings in oil of vitriol. When dried tbe scent of each particular flower 

 may be artificially renewed by dropping into the middle of it some of its 

 essential oil ; thus oil of Cloves will scent the Pink, oil of Roses the Rose, 

 oil of Jasmine the Jasmine, &c. 



Repotting Pine Plants for Next'Sd^oier's Fruiting (TF. S. S.). — 

 We should have potted the plants in August into their fruiting pots, and 

 placed them low, so as to allow for top-dressing; but that not having 

 been done, defer potting until February, and then shift into tbe fruiting 

 pots, not disrooting the plants, nor removing more of the old soil than 

 will come away freely. Encourage growth with a brisk bottom heat and 

 moist atmosphere, but do not water very freely until growth is vigorous. 

 Scarlet Rhubarb (H". C). — All properties considered, there is no 

 finer scarlet or red Rhubarb than Tobolsk, or small Old Red. It may not 

 suit the cook, but it does the table. An improved form of it is Baldry's 

 Scarlet Defiance. It is larger, and possesses all the other good qualities. 

 Salt's Crimson Perfection, which you have, is also good. 



Christmas Rose (Sussex).— This (properly Helleborus niger) is quite 

 hardy, and succeeds in any soil, but best in one which is well drained, 

 light, and enriched with vegetable soil, such as leaf mould. It is pro- 

 pagated by dividing the root^or plants into as many parts as you can 

 make with roots and crowns to each. This is best done in spring, though 

 we have divided the plants very successfully at this time of year. It is 

 desirable to give the plants a position shaded from the direct midday 

 sun in summer : hence an east is preferable to a south border. 



Red-fleshed Melon (Idem).— Malvern Hall is a fine scarlet-fleshed 

 Melon of delicious flavour. 



Applying Gas Lime, Salt, and Soot (W.B.).— Gas lime is so power- 

 ful that it should not be applied to garden ground except in small 

 quantities, and to that not required for cropping for some time afterwards. 

 It should be spread evenly on vacant ground in November or February, 

 and be dug in ; indeed, in gardens as a manure it is best not to use it, 

 though for making the ground obnoxious to insects feeding on the roots 

 of plants it has been found useful. Twelve bushels per acre are ample 

 to effect that, and all we advise. Salt is baneficial as a manure. It 

 should be sown broadcast over the ground in spring. Twelve bushels 

 per acre are sufficient. Soot is a good manure sown broadcast in spring 

 during moist weather. Sixteen bushels per acre are enough. It may be 

 used along with salt, and at the rate of ten bushels to six bushels of salt. 

 This mixture is found excellent as a manure for Potatoes, and would 

 probably suit most vegetable crops. 



Extirpating Horsetail, Bindweed, and Couch Grass (Idem).— For 

 destroying Horsetail there is no remedy but draining. Drain the ground 

 and it will disappear. The Bindweed is only to be destroyed by forking 

 or digging the ground over deeply, and picking out the roots, which, 

 though a tedious, is a sure process. In summer keep the tops pulled up 

 as fast as they appear, which will prevent the roots increasing much. 

 Couch should be forked out ; indeed, in gardens there ought to be none. 

 Whenever a blade appears fork out the roots. 



Charring Refuse (K. A.). — No letters have been received from you 

 before. The article you refer to is in No. 474. If you enclose four post- 

 age stamps with your address it will be sent to you by post. It is too long 

 and too recent to reprint. It is impossible to name Strawberries from 

 the characteristics you give, they vary so much with soil and season. 

 If you send specimens of the fruits we can aid you. 



Zinc Exposed to Fire (£.).— We do not think a tank made of zinc 

 would long resist fire heat under it. Gas heat would not so soon affect 

 it if the flame were not very near the zinc, but the alternate expansion 

 and contraction from heating and cooling soon destroy a zinc vessel. A 

 small gas stove, or an argand jet in a confined place with a slit to admit 

 air, would be quite sufficient for such a small tank. If you wanted the 

 tank for propagating, and thus getting bottom heat, 3 inches deep would 

 be better than 5 inches. 



Flue-heating (East Leamington). — For such a flue as you describe 

 you want no damper ; regulate draught by the ash-pit door. To succeed, 

 see that the furnace-bars are from 18 to 24 inches lower than the bottom 



of the flue. If your inside border is well made, and is 18 feet in width, 

 there is no reason why tbe Yines should not flourish planted inside if 

 they were timeously watered and surface-manured. It is awkward having 

 the house so situated that snow resting on a slate roof, when it slips, 

 would slide down on the glass roof, for if at all heavy it would go through 

 the glass. A barrier about 12 or 18 inches in height between the slates 

 and the glass would prevent or lessen the evil. In a similar case where 

 a barrier would be unsuitable, we have used wooden shutters, or even 

 shutters or covers of sparred wood to lay over the. lights where the snow 

 was apt to fall, and thus saved the glass. It is seldom that would be 

 wanted except in heavy snowstorms. 



Heating by Gas (P. S.). — If you buy No. 341, where drawings are 

 given of gas stoves, you can select which you please. You can have it 

 by post if you enclose four postage stamps with your address. We do 

 not know how you manage your stoves. Could you increase the number 

 of burners? and then, the piping being increased, you would get more 

 heat. Argand burners give a great deal more heat with less consumption 

 of gas than common jets. We presume your gas goes through, the 1-inch 

 piping. We would be glad to assist you if we knew how. 



Various (J. Quintin). — You will not have any extra heat in a span 

 roofed house 14 feet wide that has only two flows and one rerurn-pipe- 

 However, if it does for Strawberries from the 1st of January to the 1st 

 of July, it would do admirably for Melons from the 1st of July np to the 

 end. of October, and for Cucumbers until towards the end of November. 

 The uses to which such a house may be put during the six months are 

 endless, but as we do not know what you chiefly want, it would be idle to 

 particularise them ; but we may mention growing tender annuals, Capsi- 

 cums, Chilies, &c. You plan of getting Strawberries at Christmas has 

 often been tried, often succeeded, and oftener failed. We have gathered 

 good dishes on Christ mas- day, and we have hardly had any when we tried 

 for them. Success greatly depends on the end of November and part of 

 December being bright and sunny. It would never pay to force so early 

 generally. By your proposed treatment the plants would be matured and 

 rested early, but even in such cases our success has not been uniform. 



Navies of Fruits (Constant Header). — Your Pear was quite rotten. 

 (A Novice). — Pears: 1, Nouveau Poiteau ; 2, Passe Colmar; 3, Beurre 

 Diel ; 4, Glou Moreeau ; 5, Beurre de Ranee ; S, Beurre Diel ; 12, Susette 

 de Bavay, (S. M.). — Plum : Smashed all but a small portion of one end, 

 which had tbe appearance of Prince of Wales, (S. L.). — We have some 

 difficulty in determining yeur sorts. 1, Not known ; 2, Englishe Ko'nig's 

 Pearmain; 3, Pine-Apple "Russet, probably; 4 and 5 are the same— we 

 think Munche's Pippin, certainly not Irish Peach. (P. M.). — Plums: 

 1, Belie de Septembre : 2, Diamond ; 3, Gisborne's, very fairly grown. 

 (TF. Miller).— Apples : Your specimens are so very small and scrubby, 

 many of them no larger than small Crabs, possessing no characteristic 

 features, that it is quite impossible to name them. We think 21, 84, and 

 35 may be Hawthornden ; 18 and 30, Court of Wick ; 15, Cole ; 32, Golden 

 Harvev, or Harvey Russet; 20, Sam Young; 1, Baxter's Pearmain; 

 8 and 19, Scarlet Nonpareil. (Higham Court).— Your Peach— 1 A, looks 

 like Bellegarde, but we cannot tell without knowing the character of the 

 flowers and leaves. Nectarine 4 D, is Elruge ; 5 F, Red Roman, a 

 clingstone, which is rather apt to fall in a semi-ripe state. Fig, 3 C, is 

 Brunswick; 2 B, Brown Turkey. (W.Kerr, Dumfries). — Your Apple is, 

 we believe, Baleborodova. 



Names of Plants (TF. T.).— We cannot name plants from their leaves 

 only. 



POTJLT&Y.'iBEE, AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



PRIZE CUPS FOR BRAHMA POOTRAS AND 

 COCHIN-CHINAS AT THE PLYMOUTH SHOW. 



In following the very spirited example of several gentlemen 

 connected with other shows, I hope I may be at least as suc- 

 cessful in obtaining subscriptions sufficient to provide two 

 silver cups for the best Brahmas and Cochins at the forth- 

 coming Plymouth and West of England Poultry Show. The 

 admirers and breeders of the above varieties are apparently 

 scarce in the more western counties of Devon and Cornwall, 

 and it is hoped that the inducement thus held out will not 

 only bring together a collection of specimens superior to those 

 hitherto exhibited at Plymouth, but contribute in some degree 

 to the greater and more successful cultivation of the Asiatic 

 breeds, which are at once the finest and hardiest birds in 

 the poultry-yard. I may add that the two cups usually added 

 by the Committee will still be offered for the best specimens 

 in the Show, irrespective of the subscription cups. Any gentle- 

 man intending to subscribe will greatly oblige by communicat- 

 ing his intention to me as early as convenient. — Jastes Long, 

 23, Princess Square, Plymouth. 



ANTWERP PIGEONS. 

 Without wishing to disparage the claims of any of the beau- 

 tiful varieties of the domestic Pigeon now cultivated, I would 

 say to those about to enter upon the Pigeon fancy, who are un- 

 decided what particular kind to keep, Try the Antwerp. It is 

 as hardy as any, more prolific than most, and for beauty of 

 plumage and sprightliness of carriage will bear comparison 

 with any other variety, in addition to which it is more sensible 

 than any other breed, and when once settled to a particular 

 locality is not readily lost. 



