202 



JOUBNAL OP HOBTIGULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ September 6, 1877. 



only shrubs that hares and rabbits will not eat. I find they 

 do nibble the leaves sometimes, especially of newly-planted 

 shrubs, but not to a damaging extent. Andromeda floribunda 

 they do not ta^te, and Kalmia latifolia is free from their depre- 

 dations—in fact, most peat earth or American plantB are not 

 liked by them, none of the Heath blooms or Erica family being 

 at all relished by those animals." 



A splendid collection of Chrysanthemums is being 



grown in pots in Victoria Park. There are thousands of plants 

 in the finest possible condition, and which will produce a rich 

 display during the autumn months. 



That many of our common wild plants become highly 



attractive under good cultivation many examples have proved, 

 and not many of them more conclusively than the common 

 Harebell, Campanula rotundifolia. This plant, which only 

 grows a few inches high in dry places, becomes when grown in 

 pots both stately and elegant, the plants becoming bushes 

 2 feet high and through, laden with thousands of bells and 

 continuing attractive for many weeks. 



Mk. Harding desires that Sebum Fababia (spectabile) 



be added to the list of herbaceous decorative plants that he 

 recommended last week. He describes this Sedum as one of 

 the best of hardy border plants, and which will well repay for 

 generous cultivation. We concur ; it is valuable alike for pots 

 or borders when it is really cultivated, and not left to exist in 

 a semi-starved state in which it is too often seen. 



A veby large and successful grower of Steaweereies, 



one who has tested all the varieties in cultivation, states that 

 two varieties recently recommended by Mr. Luckhurst are very 

 capricious, only doing well in certain seasons and places — 

 namely, Exquisite and Traveller, and that these cannot be 

 classed as nseful and reliable varieties. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST AND WORK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



HABDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



We recently alluded to the gathering and storing of Apples 

 and Pears, but we have not been able to do much in the way of 

 gathering any fruit since that time. We have a fair crop of 

 Apples, but owing to the diy weather the maggot has spoiled 

 nearly half of them. Further, during the last ten dayB rain and 

 high winds have shaken many down from the trees. Only the 

 earliest sorts are ready to be gathered, and we can only hope 

 that a spell of better weather will allow the late fruit to remain 

 on the trees until it is ripe. We shall only incur Ioes by gather- 

 ing it before the pips are brown. It has been necessary to pur- 

 chase a few trees this year, and we have already selected them 

 to be sent home as 60on as the leaves fal). Those who intend 

 to purchase trees should see to it a* once, and it is very advis- 

 able to visit the nursery and select them. The reason for this is 

 obvious. If an order is sent the nurseryman will select the best 

 trees he has, no dcubt; but of some eortB there may be only 

 inferior frees in stock, and when this is the case it is better to 

 see them, and you can use your own discretion whether it is 

 better to take an iLferior tree or Eelect another variety, of which 

 there may be good plants in stock, in preference. The ground 

 ought to be prepared at once for the reception of the trees. If 

 the intention is to plantab<rder, or quarter, the ground should be 

 trenched at least two spits deep,working-in at the fame time Eome 

 decayed manure if the ground is net already sufficiently rich. It 

 is much better to work the ground now than when it is saturated 

 with water; also when planting the frees it is a great advantage 

 to them if some turfy loam can be placed round the roots. It iB 

 not always possible to obtain good decayed turfy loam, but where 

 it can be had in quantity there is nothing equal to it for placing 

 round and amoDgst the roots, and we would use a barrowload 

 for each tree. Seme persons dig out the holes and place in the 

 loam before the trees are ready; but we prefer to keep the loam 

 in a dry place, so that if the tret s come home, as is not uniikely, 

 when the ground is saturated, they may be planted at once. It 

 is a waste of time, and the treeB are not benefited if they are 

 laid-in until a more convenient season. 



The growths of Baspberries have been thinned-out, allowing 

 only those to remain that will be required to fruit nest season; 

 for this purpose the strongest are selected, and they are fastened 

 loosely to the sticks to prevent their snapping at the base. The 

 rains have just come at the right time for the Strawberry plants 

 recently put out, and tbey grow apace, being free from red 

 spider. As soon as the ground is a little dry we shall work the 

 Dutch hoe amongst the plants to destroy weeds and prevent 

 their growth. 



pines. 



With the cooler atmosphere accompanying the rains it has 

 been necessary to apply artificial heat. In the houEe where 



plants have nearly reached maturity a drier atmosphere is re- 

 quired with as much air as possible, and the water must not be 

 too freely applied to the roots. The plantB should be allowed 

 to become dry at the roots before applying any, and then suffi- 

 cient should be gfven to saturate the soil to the bottom. Suc- 

 cession plants muBt not be neglected; very often it is difficult 

 to find room for them at the time of potting the suckers, and 

 they are crowded together into some out-of-the-way comers. 

 Of course where this is really unavoidable the best must be 

 made of the circumstances ; but unless the suckers are v ell 

 treated from the time they are potted little good can be ex- 

 pected from them. We always plunge the suckers in a bottom 

 heat of at least 90°; they are not far from the glass, and are 

 never overcrowded. Pines are seldom attacked by scale or any 

 other insect pests if they are kept in a healthy growing con- 

 dition throughout the period of their existence. The plants on 

 which are ripening fruit should be fully exposed to light, and 

 the temperature at night should not fall below 65°. No water 

 should be kept in the evaporating troughs in the house, and 

 ventilate as much as possible. 



peach house and orchard house. 



In previous numbers full directions have been given as to the 

 treatment Peach and Nectarine trees should receive after the 

 fruit has been gathered. . Where the fruit has not yet been 

 gathered it is desirable to be very careful with it. Oor own 

 belief is that it is not desirable to allow it to remain on until it 

 is almost ready to drop, but to gather it carefully when it can 

 be gathered from the trees without putting so much pressure 

 upon it as will injure the fruit. Flat-bottomed baskets should 

 be used in which to carry away the fruit, and it ought not to be 

 removed from those baskets until it is wanted for use. In the 

 bottom of the baskets place first a sheet cf cotton wadding and 

 over that a double sheet of tissue paper. In cool weather fruit 

 carefully gathered in this way will keep for a week or ten days, 

 at least some of the varieties will — viz., those with firm flesh ; 

 the yellow- fleshed Eort Exquisite keeps in good condition after 

 being gathered as long as most of the sorts. We are now gather- 

 ing the midsummer sorts in the orchard house. Peaches are 

 very scarce; owing to the want of artificial heat in the orchard 

 house when the trees were in bloom they did not set well. 

 Nectarines are rather better, and of the yellow-fleshed Berts, 

 especially Pine Apple, there is an abundant crop. We have 

 repotted all the trees that it is intended to pot this year. This 

 work is best done as soon as the fruit is gathered and when the 

 trees are in full leaf. When this is the case they soon form 

 fresh roots and become well established before the leaves drop. 

 We have frequently taken the trees out of their potB and cut a 

 slice an inch all round from the compact ball of roots, and then 

 returned the tree into a pot the same size in which it had been 

 before. It is necessary to keep the leaves damp with the syringe 

 for a day or two until fresh rootlets are formed. 

 greenhouse and conservatory. 



We have potted all the hardwooded plants that require it, 

 and, if the weather continues favourable, they will yet make 

 sufficient roots to become established before the winter. A very 

 large proportion of Cape and New Holland plants require peat 

 or peat and a little loam added to it, and except for such as 

 Aphelexis we do not use leaf soil or manure. If the loam and 

 peat is the fibrous top spit of an old pasture it will be quite rich 

 enough without aDy addition, and it must be understood that, 

 only the beBt fibrous peat from an upland is adapted to grow 

 such plants. Spongy peat, or what is termed bog earth, will 

 not produce satisfactory results. The different species and 

 varieties of Statice should not be omitted from any collection 

 of greenhouse plants. S. profuEa is the best of them, and where 

 only one can be grown this must be it. Kalosanthes, too, with 

 the rich crimson and rose-coloured trusses of flowers have a 

 charming effect in collections, and we find that both these and 

 Statice do best when potted in rich turfy loam, using a liberal 

 proportion of sand and plenty of clean potsherds for drainage. 

 This must be kept perfect too by placing some turfy loam ever 

 it, a precaution that muEt on no account be neglected, as any 

 souineES in the soil through the water not escaping freely is 

 productive of disastrous results. 



Stage Pelargoniums have been repotted. This ought always 

 to be done when the growths are fairly started, as if it is left 

 too long the shoots flag and the plant is checked a little in its 

 growth. The potting material is turfy loam five parts, one part 

 decayed manure, one leaf soil, and sufficient silver Band to keep 

 the compost open. The old roots are considerably reduced, and 

 the plants are returned to clean pots not larger than they have 

 been in before, and the balls may even be so much reduced that 

 the plants will go into pots a Bize smaller. Indeed the large 

 exhibition plants one sees at the metropolitan exhibitions are 

 always treated in that manner. They are exhibited in pots 

 8J inches diameter, and it is necessary to reduce the ball of 

 roots sufficiently to admit of their beingjpotted into a 7-inch pot. 



The Cyclamens are now starting into growth, as also are the 

 different varieties of Primula amoma. Probably before this 

 appearB in print they will be shaken-out of the pots, the balls 



