314 



JOUENAL OF HOETICtJLTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ October 20, 1870. 



that, like kitchen gardens in general, have been well supplied 

 with manure. 



FECIT GARDEN. 



Most of the hardy fruit is now gathered, though a few of the 

 latest will be housed the first bright dry day, as they will not do 

 much more good now, though late Apples and Pears swelled 

 freely recently. Looked over the fruit room to keep all sound, 

 and gave a little air to allow the sweating to escape. Peaches 

 on the walls have been over for some time, and the last in the 

 orchard house are now nearly over. There are a good many 

 Plums still, and, with proper arrangement, in a late Plum house 

 we believe they could be had in fine order a month or six weeks 

 later than it would be possible to have them out of doors on 

 walls. Grapes in another orchard house have ripened well, 

 but that is not much in such a season as this, when in many 

 places not only in the south, but considerably north of London, 

 they have ripened well out of doors. We took the lights off the 

 Peach house, not so much for exposing the trees thoroughly, as 

 to get the lights themselves thoroughly cleaned and renovated. 

 The trees and house will be effectually cleaned before they are 

 replaced, as red spider made its appearance after the fruit was 

 gathered. 



The Strawberry plants for forcing which we could get rather 

 late, are making rather large leaves for our taste, and by turn- 

 ing the pots on their sides in wet days we must try to have the 

 fine buds well ripened. A number of the most forward we havo 

 put on the north side of walls, &c, to give them a rest before 

 starting them afresh. Melons are now nearly over, and the 

 places occupied by them will come in most useful. In fact, 

 room is now so valuable that every house as it gets empty of 

 fruit must be cleared and filled temporarily with plants. An 

 earth pit sown with Kidney Beans in July, is now giving fine 

 returns with the help of protection at night. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



Similar notices to those lately made respecting fruit trees 

 would hold good as to planting ornamental trees and shrubs, 

 and trees and undergrowth for plantations and covers. After 

 the rains these will soon lift and plant well even in this dry 

 neighbourhood; and planted at the end of the month they 

 will, whilst the ground is warm, Jiave two chances to one of 

 doing well as contrasted with planting in spring. In places 

 where game is all in all, it is but labour and money thrown 

 away, if no protection with wire netting be afforded ; and for 

 small rabbits the meshes of the netting must be very small — 

 not more than 1J inch. Wherever a young rabbit can squeeze 

 his head in flat he will manage to pass his body in afterwards, 

 and then he will soon grow too big to get out at a similar 

 opening, and the trees and bushes will form an irresistible 

 attraction. We noticed lately a communication recommend- 

 ing sinking such netting in a little trench 1 or 2 inches below 

 the ground level, so that the rabbits might feel the net when 

 burrowing. We thought it a good plan at first, but soon 

 found the rabbits cared nothing for this wire, going down 

 easily, and as a matter of course beneath it. A far better, be- 

 cause a more perplexing plan to the rabbits, is the following : — 

 Prepare yourself with stout pegs and stakes, the latter, after 

 going firmly into the ground, to be as high as the width of the 

 netting ; unroll the netting and stretch it out, flatten down the 

 side next you, which will be the outside of the fence, and pin 

 down to the ground the netting, leaving from 1 to 2 inches on 

 the level outside the hooked pins. Then begin at one end, 

 and raise the netting straight and level, and fasten to near the 

 top of the stake inside with a small wrought iron nail driven 

 in obliquely against the wire. This is, perhaps, the most 

 simple, secure, and effectual mode of fastening such netting, 

 because baaed on the habit of the rabbit of beginning to bur- 

 row close to the upright fence. He thus comes in contact 

 with the horizontal pinned-down part of the netting, and 

 seldom has the philosophy to go further back and make a 

 freBh trial. 



Followed up what was lately reoommended in taking under 

 cover the most tender plants which were exposed. A few more 

 Cinerarias had their largest leaves a little blackened by the 

 frost. Proceeded with potting and moving, and as soon as 

 some fruit houses are empty we shall thoroughly clean them, 

 and then fill with Geraniums and bedding plants, where they 

 will be secure for the worst, coldest, and darkest months of the 

 year. 



We have yet taken nothing up from the flower garden, but 

 the small cuttings put in are doing well. For a particular 

 reason we do not wish to break the outline of the beds and 



borders until the end of the month, as the grass looks lovely, 

 and the gale of the 12th has cleared away all the most forward 

 deciduous leaves from trees, as well as all those that had fallen, 

 taking them miles away into the fields, and leaving the lawns 

 cleaner than if carefully swept. We only had to pick up some 

 barrowloads where they had rested against flower beds and 

 borders. 



When a beautiful lawn has been disfigured in the autumn 

 months by the fallen leaves of deciduous trees, we have often 

 wished to have a flower garden where no leaves of deciduous 

 trees could mar its beauty, but where the greenness of the 

 Laurel, the Holly, and the Pine tribe, should contrast with and 

 Bhow off the beauty of the bright colours in the beds and 

 borders. It so happens, however, that no one definite mode 

 combines in itself every advantage, for if evergreens are thus 

 beautiful at all times, and give little trouble in spring and 

 autumn, they do give trouble by the dropping of their older 

 leaves in summer, requiring much moving and sweeping up 

 in the brightest days of the year. 

 _ Though we have taken up no Geraniums as yet, if we saw 

 signs of a sharp frost we would lift some of the most tender, 

 as the variegated kinds, and others of which we might be 

 scarce, and place them under cover until we could arrange 

 them properly. In the meantime it will be useful to mix tree 

 leaves and short grass with long litter, so as to be able to give 

 a little bottom heat to subjects we wish to root quickly. 



As respects Geraniums in beds, we submit the following as 

 hints to beginners who do not like the idea of the frost making 

 wrecks of all their fine plants : — 



As respects all Trieolored and merely Variegated Geraniums, 

 they will do best, when taken up, if the larger leaves are all 

 removed, leaving the smaller ones, shortening any very long 

 roots, and cramming the rest of each plant into a small pot, 

 plunging the pot in a mild bottom heat after watering it, and 

 giving air at top except in severe frost. Suoh plants will soon 

 make fresh roots, and they will do better if the plants, or rather 

 the pots, stand on a dry board. 



Where there are some fine-grown large plants of Geraniums, 

 and it is desirable to keep them large, take away every leaf 

 larger than a shilling or two-shilling piece, shorten the very 

 longest roots, place the rest in the smallest pots that will con- 

 tain the roots, plunge as stated above, and when rooted place the 

 plants on a dry shelf. Success here, as regards large specimens 

 next year, will depend on the shoots not being shortened, the 

 axis of growth being kept sound, and having plenty of air, light, 

 and heat to keep them slowly growing all the winter. 



A third mode, more applicable for rough treatment, is to take 

 up the plants, shorten all the shoots a little, remove every leaf, 

 pack the roots closely and firmly into pots or boxes, so that the 

 box or pot above the soil will look like a bundle of wood 

 faggots ; water, and when dryish on the surface, cover with dry- 

 ish soil. These will thrive in any place from which frost is ex- 

 cluded, if cool enough not to encourage growth, but when the 

 stems break about March, they must then have light in fine 

 days, and in another month be thinned. These will make fine 

 plants for the centres of beds in the following year. 



A fourth plan to secure dwarf plants for next season, is 

 to cut such plants down some 4 or 6 inches from the ground, 

 remove every leaf, dip the points of the shoots in lime and 

 charcoal dust, and treat roughly as above ; in any place tolerably 

 dry and free from frost, they will need little light even until 

 the plants break afresh. We have known, however, many 

 cases where some hundreds of such plants have been kept in 

 little space all secure during the winter, in a spare room or a 

 hayloft, and then all killed by exposure to a few hours' severe 

 frost in March. Keeping in this rough way, and flowering well 

 in future, depend on just keeping the plants alive, and not 

 encouraging fresh growth at all. Wherever we have growth 

 and fresh leaves, there must be light and air, as well as enough 

 of heat to keep out frost. — R. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Andre Leroy, Angers. — Supplement au Catalogue de 1868. Prices 

 of Fruit Trees and Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, 1870-71. 



J. Standish & Co., Royal Nursery, Ascot, Berks. — Catalogue of New 

 and Mare Plants, Hardy Trees, Shrubs, Conifers, &c. 



Charles Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough. — Catalogue of Soses, 

 Fruit Trees, Coniferoe, &c. 



F. & A. Dickson & Sons, 106, Eastgate Street, and Upton Nur^ 

 series, Chester. — Descriptive Catalogue "ofEoses and Hollyhocks. 



