U2 



JOUENAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAB0ENEE. 



[ December 6, 1877. 



when the flower spikes commence showing. They remain gay 

 until the end of the year, and well reward for any cultural atten- 

 tion that has beon bestowed on them.— J. W. Moorman. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST AND WOEK FOE 

 THE PEESENT WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Our own work in this department is in a forward condition. 

 Digging and trenching, mulching borders, and protecting crops 

 and plants with rough litter when necessary, must be seen to 

 without delay. Where wheeling has to be done it will be neces- 

 sary to lay light planks on the alleys and paths, unless the 

 ground is hard with frost. So far there has not been sufficient 

 frost to render the surface crisp and clean. 



At any time when the ground is saturated with wet and in a 

 too sloppy condition to be dug or trenched with advantage, the 

 corner where the various heaps of manure and vegetable soil 

 are kept may be made neat by turning the heaps over; the 

 vegetable refuse-heap is too often in a very untidy condition. 

 The kitchen boy carries all his trimmings of vegetables there ; 

 herbaceous and bedding plants from the flower garden, decayed 

 Pea haulm, stumps of Cabbages, Cauliflowers, &c, are tumbled 

 down in a disorderly manner. In turning over this heap the 

 outer portion that has made little progress in decay should bo 

 turned into the centre and the bottom of the heap be brought 

 to the top. "Where manure is scarce and leaves plentiful a 

 quantity of the latter may be mixed with the refuse of the kitchen 

 garden. A valuable heap may be formed in this way, and eonld 

 a few hundred gallons of the drainings from a farmyard be 

 thrown over it occasionally its manurial properties may be 

 much increased, and it may also cause the organic matter to 

 ■decay more rapidly. 



Where forced vegetables are in demand preparations must 

 now be made to start them in the way best adapted to the cir- 

 cumstances of the place. We have tried many different ways to 

 obtain an equable lasting heat, but that of forming a bed of 

 leaves and stable manure is the best, and where each can be 

 obtained on the place the most economical, as the bed forms 

 excellent manure when it has served its purpose as a hotbed. 

 -Asparagus may be forced in pits or common garden frames. 

 The way we do is to throw an equal quantity of leaves and 

 manure together in a heap, and turn it over about twice in a 

 period of ten days or more to throw off the rank steam, when it 

 may be thrown into the pit or be built into a bed for a frame. 

 If the heat is rather strong it is a good plan to lay some turf 

 over the surface with the grass side down, and on this plant the 

 Asparagus in fiDe soil as thickly as the roots can be placed 

 together. Seakale and Bhubarb may be forced in various ways, 

 and those who possess a Mushroom house will be able to pro- 

 duce a regular supply from that structure. The roots may be 

 planted thickly in a bed on the ground. Bottom heat is not 

 necessary, the crowns will start regularly and strongly in a 

 (temperature of 55°. We grow ours either in the vineries or 

 some other forcing houseB. The Seakale roots are placed in 

 12-inch pots thickly together and another empty pot of the same 

 size is placed over it, the drainage holes being stopped to ex- 

 clude light. We manage the Bhubarb well by placing the roots 

 at the bottom of flour barrels, which can be readily obtained 

 here. We either place a lid on the top or throw a cloth over it 

 to exclude light. 



Dwarf Kidney Bains may also be sown, and perhaps the best 

 way is to sow thickly in boxes, and when the seed leaves are 

 folly developed to pot the plants off five or seven in 7 or 8-inch 

 pots, using good loam four parts to one of decayed manure. A 

 temperature of 60° at night suitB the plants well, and they ought 

 to be placed near the glass. 



MUSHROOM HOUSE. 



Some few weeks ago instructions were given as to the making- 

 up and spawning of the beds. Keep a moist equable tampera- 

 tnre_ of 55° ; in mild weather this may be increased to 60°, 

 but it ought always to be borne in mind that if this temperature 

 is obtained by too much heat in the flue or hot-water pipes 

 without corresponding moisture by evaporation, any Mush- 

 rooms that may be produced under such conditions will be 

 small and leathery in texture, scarcely worth the trouble of 

 .gathering. Under the right conditions, with moisture pro- 

 duced from walls and paths (not by steaming from hot pipes), 

 the _ Mushrooms will be formed under conditions most con- 

 ducive to their perfect development. To arrest evaporation 

 •from the surface of the bed it is a good plan to place a layer of 

 clean oat straw on the surface. It ought to be laid on lightly, 

 and the produce of the beds can be gathered by lifting it up 

 .gently with one hand or a Btick, while the other is used in 

 gathering. _ The bed muBt be watered when it is dry, not other- 

 wise. A little experience is necessary to judge of the proper 

 state the bed ought to be in when it is watered ; but it is better 

 to err on the side of dryness than to overwater, as the spawn 

 and incipient Mushiooms decay in a wet bed. The wa'er should 



be applied through a fine rose water pot, and the temperature 

 of the water Bhould be about 85°. An experienced cultivator 

 can tell when a bed requires water without rooting with his 

 hand into the bed, and by merely putting his head into the 

 house in the morning he can also say whether the atmospheric 

 moisture and heat is right, and the sooner the tyro attains to 

 this degree of intelligence the better. Sometimes beds will 

 continue bearing for a long period, at otherBalarge crop is pro- 

 duced and exhaustion followj, and when a bed has ceased bear- 

 ing it is best to clear it out and make another. To keep up a 

 certain supply of good Mushrooms it is necessary to have three 

 beds in different stages, made up at intervals of three or four 

 weeks. 



VINERIES. 



The unfavourable weather alluded to a fortnight ago has not 

 improved, and great care has been necessary to prevent the 

 Bkin of the berrieB from decaying. We have not yet removed 

 all the leaves, nor do we care to do bo aa long as they hold firmly 

 to the stem. It has been necessary to frequently examine the 

 bunches and remove the injured berries. 



We start one of the early houses this week. Everything has 

 been ready for this sioce October. We now water the borders 

 inside and out with tepid water. The outside border has been 

 covered with shutters to tbrow off the rains. After watering we 

 mulch the surface of the borders with decayed manure. Very 

 little artificial heat is applied during the first two weeks, only 

 enough to keep the temperature to 45°, rising to 50° about 

 eighteen days after watering the borders. 



Vines in pots started in October will now be making growth, 

 and the temperature of the house may range about 60° as a 

 minimum. We still bold under all circumstances that it is best 

 not to syringe the Vines after all the growths have fairly 

 Btarted. Previous to this we dew the wood over once or twice 

 a-day to moisten the bark and cause a regular break of the 

 buds. It will depend upon the growth of the Vines as to whether 

 any pressure may be put upon them by maintaining a higher 

 temperature. It the growths are strong and root-action has 

 commenced, and the fruit, is required as early as possible, then 

 the temperature may be 65 Q at night, and this ought not to be 

 exceeded until the bunches are in flower, when it may be 70°, 

 or between 65° and 70° while the berries are setting. Black 

 Hamburgh and Foster's White Seedling are the best Vines to 

 grow to produce fruit in pot", but if a large quantity is grown 

 we would have six of the Hamburgh to one of Foster's. See 

 that the pots do not softer from want of water. A large supply 

 is wanted when the Vines are in full growth. 



ORCHID HOUSES. 



The utility of Orchids ia furnishing a supply of beautiful 

 flowers at this season of the year becomes more apparent as 

 Christmastide draws near and Chrysanthemums show signs of 

 fading. Orchids last long in beauty if the atmosphere of the 

 houses is not kept too moist. An over-moist atmosphere, either 

 at midsummer or midwinter, will cause the flowers to spot and 

 decay before they have reached their prime, but a little discre- 

 tion in the use of the water pot will prevent this. We have 

 Dendrobium nobile in flower, and other plants of it in bud. 

 This is one of the most useful as well as easily grown of Orchids. 

 We have one large plant which annually produces from two 

 hundred to five hundred flowers each year about Christmas, and 

 no plant requires less attention ; it has not been repotted for 

 six years or more. The pot is about 18 inches in diameter, and 

 every part of the compost is interlaced with active roots. The 

 plant is kept in heat until June, when it is placed in a vinery 

 from which the Grapes have been cut, and in July it is turned 

 out of doors for a couplo of months, no water being given to it 

 nor any rain allowed to saturate the roots; a gentle shower just 

 to moisten the foliage and surface of the pot does no harm. 



Calanthes are as beautiful as ever. Unlike some Orchids they 

 do not rest for a season if they have flowered profusely the pre- 

 vious one; but every yeir the number of spikes increase in a 

 double ratio. C. Turneri should be in every collection, as it 

 comes into bloom when C. vestita and C. Veicchi are over. The 

 decaying leaves of these plants are unsightly and should be re- 

 moved if possible. Ours are hid by the thicket formed by the 

 arching fronds of Maidenhair Ferns. The Odontoglossum 

 grande and O. Insleayi leopardinum are now in full beauty, 

 and though not so useful in the way of cut flowers as some 

 others, nevertheless they form a striking feature in the cool 

 house. O. crispum (Alexandra?) is also as valuable for cutting 

 as for forming a pleasing feature in the house ; in contrast to it 

 the distinct and noble Masdevallia Veitchi is very fine. It may 

 well divide the honours with M. Harryana, as being the fineBt 

 in the genus. Tlie former has the advantage over its rival 

 that specimens may be had in flower both at midwinter and in 

 the dog days ; we have them flowering at both Beasons from the 

 same importation. 



Some growers are recommending a higher temperature for 

 cool Orchids, notably for O. crispum aud allied specieB. We 

 find tbey succeed well with a niaht temperature of from 15° to 

 S0°. The Cattleya h. use is kept at frum 50° to 50°, which is 



