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JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 25, 1872. 



singularly enough, the plants suffer less in the field from 

 natural enemies than they do in a garden. Just place a wall, a 

 fence, or a long stretch of netting round or over some favoured 

 vegetables and fruits, and you will have many more interlopers 

 to see what all this care means than would trouble you in an 

 open field. 



In connection with Turnips, we may mention, for the benefit 

 of those having miniature gardens, that all sorts of Turnips 

 may be planted as we lately noticed for transplanting Onions — 

 that is, without burying the " bulb." Where fly is troublesome 

 successions may be secured with least trouble by planting out. 

 From one sowing we have often thus had three successions. 

 Sowing, however, is the easiest method, but for the fly. A 

 little soot and ashes will help to keep it away, but the simplest 

 and best remedy we ever found when sowing small pieces of 

 ground at a time, was to cover the soil some 3 inches from 

 the surface with old hurdles, through which spruce branches 

 retaining a few of their needle-like foliage were thinly drawn. 

 The fly seemed to abominate the smell of the spruce. 



FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 



The wet and then the tropical heat threaten soon to put an 

 end to our general Strawberry crop out of doors. As late 

 varieties, we find Frogmore Pine and the Elton very good and 

 productive, though the latter is rather acid. We regret we 

 had not a lot of our forced plants turned out earlier, as we 

 should ere long have had an autumn supply. We shall pro- 

 ceed to layer and prick-out for forcing. 



All dwarf pyramidal trees after the rains and the hot 

 weather will require pinching. 



In orchard houses much watering was needful, and to avoid 

 that a little shading was afforded in the hottest days. Besides 

 as much air as we could well give, additional care was taken 

 to damp the floors and stages, even if the latter had nothing 

 on them. This, to a great extent, saved watering, and. pre- 

 served a healthier atmosphere about the plants. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



The rains saved us from the necessity of mulc hin g our Cal- 

 ceolarias, but if this weather last we must do so on the 21st, 

 in order to keep them luxuriant with but little or no watering. 



We need say nothing of lawns, further than they want con- 

 stant cutting and rolling. 



All plant houses have been kept cool by shading the glass 

 on roofs with whitened water, and sprinkling the ground and 

 pathways with water as far as we durst expend it. The fre- 

 quent showers have given us a fair supply of water. We gave 

 manure water to Chrysanthemums, Fuchsias, and all plants 

 growing freely. " Not too strong at a time " is the maxim of 

 safety. Potted Primulas, Cinerarias, and Poinsettias. Small 

 plants of florists' and Scarlet Pelargoniums are now coming 

 in useful for baskets. Climbers are now very useful in houses 

 if not allowed to become too dense. 



Windoic Plants require extra attention. As a rule, in sum- 

 mer they do best in boxes outside, either planted out or the 

 pots plunged in earth, sand, moss, or cocoa-nut fibre. This 

 plunging greatly economises watering, and keeps the roots 

 more comfortable and cool. If the plants must stand in pots, 

 they will thrive much better if the pot containing the plant be 

 put into one a size or two larger, and the place near the rims 

 of both stuffed with paper, shavings, moss, or any non-con- 

 ductor, and that stuffing at the rims will be better than if you 

 stuffed all the way down, as the confined air between the pots 

 becomes then the best of all non-conductors. To make this 

 arrangement still more perfect, the outer pot may stand in a 

 shallow pan of water, as that will not be high enough to reach 

 the bottom of the inner pot. With such care success is cer- 

 tain, and yet it is attended with more trouble than planting-out 

 or plunging. Even our hardy annuals, as Nemophilas, Col- 

 linsias, Erysimums, and Larkspurs are exceedingly beautiful 

 grown in pots and plunged in a box, and they can be easily 

 lifted out and replaced. A few pennyworths of seed would 

 make many a town-garden window lovely. Geraniums and 

 Fuchsias also do well, but cost a little more at first. . We have 

 helped to grow, and have seen these Pelargoniums in fine order 

 in the most smoky part of London, kept inside the window 

 in winter and outside in summer. There were three conditions 

 of success — namely, under-watering in winter, but a free use 

 of sponge or fingers to keep the foliage clean ; a similar use 

 of the syringe and sponge to the leaves out of doors ; and, 

 when it could be at all managed, fine muslin to put over them 

 occasionally to keep them from dust and soot in winter, and to 

 keep off the scorching rays of the sun in summer. — R. F. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*„* We request that no one will write privately to any of the 

 correspondents of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore be addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, dbc, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.G. 



N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



Salads ob Vegetables. — Nemo asks, May Celery, Cucumbers, and Lettuces 

 be exhibited in a collection of vegetables, as well as in the class for salads ? 

 They are certainly salads, but have always been exhibited in collections of 

 vegetables, and it would be unfair, without previous intimation, to disqualify 

 the competitor who included them in vegetables. 



Primula japonica (3f.). — Pans containing an inch of drainage, an inch 

 of rough compost, and the rest of fine soil — two parts loam, one part leaf 

 mould, and half a part silver sand — are those in which the seed should be 

 grown. Cover the seed lightly, water gently, and place the pan in a cold 

 frame near the glass, but shaded from the bright sun to lessen the need for 

 watering. The imported seed is often six or eight months in germinating, or 

 even more, so do not lose patience, but keep it in a cool place until it comes 

 up, and then admit abundance of air ; keep the plants near the glass, and give 

 enough water to keep the soil moist. "When of sufficient size prick them off 

 into small pots, grow them in a cold frame or cool airy shelf in a greenhouse, 

 and shift them into larger pots as they advance. Shade them from the bright 

 sun in summer, but give them light and air in winter. You will find all you 

 require about greenhouse plants in the " Cottage Gardeners' Dictionary." 



Double Sweet Williams. — "A. B." writes to say that he has about 

 twenty-three varieties of double Sweet Williams, which are very fine, and he- 

 wishes to know if there are any such things already in cultivation. 



Roses (J. Robson). — If dwarf Hybrid Perpetual Eoses on the Manetti 

 stock are doing well do not remove them ; let well alone. If they are not 

 doing well, remove them. If they run to vigorous growth and do not produce 

 then- autumn bloom, remove them and cut back then roots to the general 

 radius. By removal you may impede their making Hose roots. Manetti 

 Roses after they have been planted two or three years usually have, besides 

 the Manetti roots, Rose roots also. For vigorous growers suitable to sandy 

 or light soil, see page 47. Marl added to the sandy soil will greatly im- 

 prove it. — W. F. Radclyffe. 



Limestone Walls (A South Ireland Subscriber). — The limestone walls 

 will produce quite as good fruit as those of brick, and they may also be wired, 

 provided the joints are not too wide. You may cut down your Roses in 

 autumn to one-third of their present length. 



Vines Diseased {R. H. F.). — Your Vines are in a sad plight, being overrun 

 with red spider and badly scalded. To get rid of the spider syringe abundantly 

 about every third day, and to check the scalding give plenty of air, and keep 

 the borders protected from too much moisture. 



Gardeners' Hours of Labour ( W. D. P.). — From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. are 

 very common hours. Under gardeners who live on the place are generally ex- 

 pected to do anything that may be required earlier and later than labourers 

 who come from a distance, as many kinds of work cannot be done in the heat 

 of the day. In fact, it would often he well to give up some hours at midday ; 

 that, however, would rarely suit labourers. Our general rules now for labourers 

 in the garden are from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., and pay extra for overtime. No 

 regular rule as to hours exists. 



Portable Pit (A. B. C). — We should in the first place add your single 

 light to the four, so as to have the place all in one. Secondly, if you could 

 sink deep enough for a pathway and headway, your simplest plan would be to 

 use your frame as it is, and then there would be no trouble in moving it. Yon 

 could have one of the small portable boilers fixed either outside or inside, and. 

 from that have pipes for bottom heat and top heat. l r our proposed plan of 

 using your 7-feet lights for the south front, and fluted glass for the hip at the 

 back, is a much better idea. There is no difficulty in having it portable if 

 all of wood. Eight pieces of wood — four at the comers and four at inter- 

 mediate spaces — say 2 feet long and 4inches square, would support theground 

 sill above the soil ; and upright studs could be fastened to these and to receive 

 the plate in the usual way, to come out easily at the mortice or to be fastened , 

 with wooden pins. The hoards could be screwed to the studs and easily 

 moved and packed. The chief difficulty as regards expense is that you will 

 require something in the way of wood to keep up the sides of the pathway in 

 the bouse. To obviate this, as you have already sunk from 2 to 3 feet for a 

 hotbed we would sink no more, but raise the house high enough to command 

 G£ to 7 feet at the ridge, and then the top of your Cucumber or propagating 

 beds. You could thus have beds separated from the pathway merely by an 

 edging of a slip of wood. You would have to sink your portable boiler low- 

 enough to get pipes in the bed for bottom heat, surrounded with any open 

 rubbish, as clinkers, brickbats, &c. ; or you might cover over a chamber with 

 common slates laid loose. But for-not wishing to use bricks, we would have 

 heated such a small house with a brick stove so placed as to get bottom heat 

 from a chamber and let top beat out at pleasure. A moveable small boiler- 

 will be the easiest managed. We may state that 1-inch board is as good for 

 keeping in heat as a 4^-inch wall. If you used rough boards you could cover 

 with felt and tar at the outside. Ventilate by four openings in front, and 

 moveable squares at the apex of the roof. 



Propagating Sweet Briar (Glcvum). — Sweet Briar is raised from seeds 

 obtained from the hips ; it also furnishes suckers from the roots, but the 

 former method is the more common. If you have no seeds by you, cutting a 

 plant down will most likely encourage the production of suckers, which you con 

 take off in winter. 



Training Young Out-door Vines (Mem). — It would have been better had 

 you trained your 9- feet cane horizontally along the bottom of the wall instead 

 of running it straight up, as you might then have trained as many shoots as 

 you liked in a perpendicular direction, and covered the whole of the wall. 

 It would also have been better to have shortened the cane. Now it is difficult 

 to give advice without seeing the plant, and you must let it remain as it is this 

 season, but at the autumn pruning, contrive to bend the main stem and its 

 shoots of the present year-, so that they may start from the bottom of the wall 



