•176 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ Decem'oer 15,1870. 



generally. Ii is ibe only Pins stove he has, end many fine 

 fruits are annually produced. 



Into the other departments of this regal garden I shall not 

 enter at present, furiher than to remark on the general excel- 

 lence throughout. Peaches were grown well and abundantly ; 

 Paars, also; and cordon Apples were well represented. Vege- 

 tables commanded their share of attention, and were worthy of 

 the place. la conclusion, I have to thank Mr. Smith, who 

 has been for many years the gardener, for his exceeding kind- 

 ness and hospitality. — B. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Little can be added to previous directions under this head. 

 The operations of one week are but an epitome of what has 

 been and still will be necessary for some weeks. It may ba 

 truly said that most of our operations at this season have no 

 law as regards the time of performance, being entirely de- 

 pendant on the state of the weather. Common sense will 

 suggest to everyone desirous of excelling, that no opportunity 

 should be allowed to slip by of getting the soil in a favourable 

 state for the reception of the various crops which must soon 

 bs committed to it ; and as the basis of success is allowed by 

 all good practical gardeners to be a thorough system of drain- 

 age, no time should be lost in attending to this most material 

 point. Whatever is done should be done well. I would never 

 allow a drain to be laid down that was likely to become de- 

 ranged in its operation, as the good that might otherwise be 

 derived from it would be nullified from the difficulty of ascer- 

 taining where the defects were. As this kind of work may be 

 done at any time when it is dry overhead, we shall do well to 

 look to it in time. The surface soil must be occasionally 

 stirred amongst Cauliflowers, Lettuces, and young Cabbages, 

 and the latter should have the earth drawn round the stems to 

 prevent them from being blown about by the wind. Celery and 

 Parsley must be protected in severe frost. Let a warm patch 

 of ground on a south border be prepared for a sowing of early 

 Radishes, and in bad weather prepare a quantity of material 

 for the protection of early crops of various kinds. Thass 

 things must soon be put in requisition, and they ought to be 

 at hand when wanted. 



FRUIT GAItDEN. 



The renewing of fruit-tree borders where the soil is im- 

 poverished is a very necessary operation at this season ; let as 

 much of the old soil be removed as can be done without dis- 

 turbing the roots, and its place be supplied with maiden loam ; 

 avoid using stimulants, which often induce over-luxuriant 

 growth without a corresponding degree of fruitfoiness. As a 

 ■considerable difference of opinion exists on this point, young 

 gardeners will do well to turn their attention to it. As 'far as 

 my experience goes I hold it to be a fundamental point in the 

 ioimation of borders for fruit trees that no stimulating ma- 

 nures should enter into their composition. I ought to add, 

 however, that Yiyes are an excepiion, for they are gross 

 feeders, and capable of assimilating a greater amount of 

 nourishment than harder-wooded fruit trees. All the pruning, 

 axceptof Figs and Apricots, and most of the nailing of wall trees, 

 as well as the training of espaliers, should be finished if 

 possible by New Year's-day, and the same may be said of bush 

 fruit. The making of borders or stations for fruit trees, too, 

 should be autumn business. Wherever soil has to be intro- 

 duced, September or October is the most fitting time, as the 

 best of soils may be seriously injured by moving them in a 

 wet state. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



Protect tender plants, and in moderate weather, especially if 

 dry, open the canopies or coverings a little for a few hours 

 once a-week or so, in order to dispel damp, Do not, however, 

 suffer the sun to shine on plants of this kind. In frosty 

 weather a scheme of the masses or beds might be decided on, 

 and the soil renewed according to the character of the plant. 

 Little can be done now except in the way of preparation, and 

 should frosty weather continue, it will afford every opportunity 

 of haviDg all the compost heaps thoroughly frozen. By re- 

 peatedly removing the encrusted surface, and piling it up every 

 morning, many of the insects and their eggs will be destroyed 

 — a point of no small importance to the cultivator. It will 

 also be a good time to cart turf sods, peat, &c, and to lay by a 

 good stock of soil most suitable for the various plants and 

 flowers, without which it is next to impossible to grow them 

 successfully. If leaden pegs are used for layering Carnations 



(and these I should always recommend in preference to bracken 

 or fern), a fresh stock may be cast and the old ones cleaned 

 and straightened. If the florist can mend his osn hand-lights 

 and shades, they ought now to be attended to, and the metallic 

 wire which has been used for attaching the stems of Carnations 

 or Tulips to their supports, should be made ready for use and 

 stored aw&y in any place till the returning season brings it 

 into request. Babbits during the severe weather are apt to 

 attack Carnations end Pinks. It would be worth while to try 

 Mr. Bivers's plan of dipping small square pieces of cloth into 

 brimstone, iyirig them to sticks, and inserting the sticks in the 

 ground round the beds. Now is a good time io collect Bosa 

 stocks for another year's operations. In selecting these, dis- 

 card the green-barked variety. Those stocks which were 

 budded this season may now have the shoots cut back to 

 within 6 inches of the buds. Buds of tender varieties should 

 have a little mos3 tied round them for protection from frost. 

 Sweep and roll grass iawns and gravel walks. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



In pruning and training the climbers in the conservatory 

 and other houses, soma regard must be paid to the time when 

 it is desirable the plants should bloom. Thus with stove 

 climbers not required to flower before autumn, pruning may 

 be deferred for some time ; but for earlier display it should be 

 done at once. Passion-flowers, Bignonias, and similar plants, 

 which make long annual shoots, should only have their 

 branches thinned and slightly shortened ; while others, as 

 Combretums, may be spurred-in. Kennedyas will soon be 

 showing bloom, and what training they require should be done 

 at once, but the pruning should not take place till after they 

 have ceased flowering. Where Orange trees are grown to 

 decorate the flower garden in summer, care should be taken to 

 prevent their beginning io push previous to their removal to 

 the open air, and this mora especially if the trees are wintered 

 in a dark-roofed house. When such happens the young leaves 

 have always a thiD, flabby appearance, and scon turn brown 

 after the plants have been set out of doors, whereas if growth 

 has been prevented till the trees are in the open air, the foliage 

 will bear any amount of sunshine, and still look green and 

 healthy. The introduction of the Chinese Chrysanthemums 

 having caused a disarrangement of part of the stock, it be- 

 comes a matter of importance to rearrange matters, that groups 

 or tribes may occupy situa'ions according to their habits. But 

 in keeping the conservatory gay with blooming plants, let tha 

 arrangement of the interior be occasionally changed by group- 

 ing the plants somewhat differently, and adding a iew striking 

 subjects, as some of the hardiest Palms, &c, for effect. Chry- 

 santhemums decaying should ba cut down, suffered to become 

 somewhat dry, and removed to cold frames. Those who cannot 

 afford frame room may secure them in some shed or outhouse 

 for a few weeks, covering them overhead with clean straw 

 whilst the frost lasts. If ihey are slightly frozen here it will 

 not signify, only take care that they do not thaw too suddenly. 

 Forcing pits will soon have to be kept in full activity to supply 

 th6 various calls for plants in bloom, which, during winter, 

 are more or less in demand in most establishments. Cara 

 should be taken before plants ara moved to sitting-rooms to 

 gradually harden them for a day or two, either by placing 

 them in the conservatory or an intermediate house. Pay 

 attention to the plants intended for successive blooming. In- 

 sects should be kept down, and every mean3 afforded to keep 

 the foliage clean and healthy. As, with the exception of forced 

 plants, most other things are now in an inactive state, th9 

 temperature of the plant houses should fall to its minimum 

 point, consistent with the safety of their various inmates. 



STOVE. 



Little can ba said here at present. Use moderation in heat, 

 ventilation, and atmospheric moisture. Beware of exciting 

 the buds of Orchids before their time. Do this, and keep a 

 somewhat drier atmosphere until the middle of January. — 

 W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



Gardening and Gardeners. — The gardeners of tho olden times 

 might well enjoy themselves in looking around them during the 

 winter, as then they could take some compensation for their 

 hard labour with hand and head when the days were long and 

 the sun strong. The recollection of such scenes, and compara- 

 tive liberty, combined with poetic dreams about the " loves of 

 the flowers," and the pleasure of even in the humblest degree 

 contributing to their loveliness, have induced many t. youth to 



