August 15, 1S72. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



137 



for we know nothing of the direct cause of this evil. One of our 

 men told us yesterday that he pulled up more than three- 

 fourths of his winter stuff. Will not some clever scientific 

 man endeavour to help us ? We confess ourselves beaten. 



Red-leading Seeds. — We mentioned one case in which red- 

 leading was not effective in keeping birds, mice, and rats from 

 the seed. We were doubtful then if our instructions were 

 carried out, as we could not see the marks of the red lead on 

 the seeds half, or more than half, eaten. We did not see them 

 sown; since then we have not had a seed touched, whether of 

 Peas, Beans, Cabbage, or Lettuce ; but, of course, after the 

 plants were up and growing freely they had multitudes of 

 enemies. Still, on the whole, we are more convinced than 

 ever that red-leading seeds is the best preservative until they 

 arrive at the seedling state. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



We have turned out a number of Strawberries from pots. We 

 gave the ground a good coating of short grass, dung, &c, tread- 

 ing down, as the plants will stand two or three years, and as 

 we have long been convinced that to have first-rate Straw- 

 berries out of doors there must be rich deep feeding for the 

 roots, and rich mulching at the surface. Finished layering 

 for forcing Strawberries. 



Some of our first planted forced Strawberries are now 

 in bloom. But for press of work we should have had many 

 more, and when time can be given they do come in well in the 

 autumn. 



Orchard House. — We gave an extra watering with sewage, as 

 the trees seemed to require some help. Went over the trees 

 again, and removed some two bushels of fruit, chiefly Peaches 

 and Nectarines, thus so far showing the importance of a glass 

 covering. A thorough watering now will aid much in swelling 

 the fruit. Care must be taken not to overdo the watering, 

 otherwise the fruit will be thrown off after being duly thinned. 

 We have two cool houses ; one we shut up early, and we are 

 now gathering from it ; the second we wish to keep as late as 

 possible, and from it we generally manage to gather Peaches 

 and Plums later than from the wall and open border. 



If after these deluges of rain the weather should be sunny 

 and warm, it would be advisable to daub all empty spaces in 

 fruit houses with flowers of sulphur made into a paint with 

 softsoap water. Prevention is always better than cure. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



No weather could have been worse for mere flowering plants 

 out of doors. A few bright days, however, will make all right 

 again. Just now the flowers are nowhere. We took some trouble 

 in plunging Chrysanthemums and Salvias, so as to save water- 

 ing. It is as well to place a tile or slate below the bottom of 

 each pot. 



Sedum acre (Stone-crop), how kill it ? Some may say, How 

 get such a pretty, yellow-flowering succulent to live ? Well, with 

 only the smallest quantity of decayed vegetable matter it will 

 thrive on tiles, slates, cement, bricks, or almost anything, and 

 thus used many an outhouse, shed, or coal place in our large 

 towns may have a roof like a dense green carpet all the season, 

 except when the plants put on their bright yellow livery in the 

 summer months. Once let it take hold and it will need no 

 further trouble, but look after itself, without even requiring a 

 pail of water, for it will absorb enough from the atmosphere 

 to keep it healthy. In our case we want to get rid of it from 

 a walk in the pleasure ground. Years ago it settled on a space 

 of 2 or 3 square yards. We had it hoed and raked on sunny 

 days, we extra salted it, at other times we took the surface 

 gravel away, and, as we thought, all trace of this little succu- 

 lent, hut, in spite of us, ere a month or two had gone, back 

 again came our unwelcome friend. Ere now it threatens to 

 take possession in time of the whole walk. The smallest bit 

 will grow, and though scuffling and salting will brown up the 

 old plants, we suppose that neither has the slightest effect 

 on the seeds. We shall salt and fresh-surface again, but we 

 have no faith in thus being able to destroy it. We could with- 

 out much trouble easily obtain a Sedum walk. Will any 

 reader tell us what more we can do ? One year we dug over 

 a piece of the walk, thinking thus to bury plants and seeds 

 deeply enough, but that was of no use, as in a short time 

 young plants appeared as thickly as ever on the surface. 



Lawns are looking very well, but they give endless labour 

 this moist season, and all the more as we had relaid a great 

 portion last year, and were forced to use additional soil to 

 attain the regular sweeps, but it was of a richer nature than 

 we liked for such a purpose on our heavy ground. On poor 

 soil the rich earth would have been excellent. 



We may just say a few words in answer to many inquiries as 

 to renovating old and unlevel lawns. The best made will 

 have inequalities in the course of time, and these, besides 

 being unsightly, cause much extra labour either to scythe or 

 machine. Several who wished to amend their lawns in this 

 respect were horrified at the plan here adopted of taking up a 

 good space at a time, so as to see all the inequalities (and that 

 is the best way to see them), and then sweeping the line over to 

 get the uniform level before the turf, cut to an equal thickness, 

 was laid down again. They proposed lifting and laying down 

 the worst bits. Now, we can only say that that mode will 

 rarely prove satisfactory, and before all is done it will be found 

 that little has been gained in labour. Judging from our own 

 practice, if a fine level or regularly sloping lawn is desired, 

 and there are many inequalities, we should, early in winter, 

 take up the turf, and after levelling lay it down again. It 

 will then have a beautiful uniform surface, which it is next to 

 impossible to give it by the most careful pieceing. If such 

 work is not done in winter, it should be done early in the 

 spring, so that the grass may gain firm hold before the warm 

 weather, and thus all future care will be prevented. By sweep- 

 ing off large spaces at a time, and placing wood pins at the 

 requisite height for straight and sweeping levels, we found that 

 men unused to garden work, and who had never laid a piece of 

 turf, did the work very weU. — R. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 



B. S. Williams, Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, Upper Hol- 

 loway, London, N. — General Bulb Catalogue. — Fruit T?'ees, 

 Boses, &c. 



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, &c, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.C. 

 We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the 

 same sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on 

 Poultry and Bee subjects, if they expect to get them 

 answered promptly and conveniently, but write them on 

 separate communications. Also never to send more than 

 two or three questions at once. 

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

 week. 

 Books ( W. J. S. Horton). — " The Garden Manual " will suit you. It can be 

 had tree by post from our office if you enclose twenty postage stamps with 

 your address. 



Bouquet Making (Amateur). — The season will decide in a great measure 

 the kinds of flowers. At present we may say that a white Rose half ex- 

 panded forms a capital centre ; it should be set in its own leaves. The 

 next or first row may be crimson or scarlet Koses, second row pink Roses, 

 third row deep velvety crimson, fourth row rose-coloured Roses, and the 

 outer margin yellow and white Roses alternately ; the whole set in their own 

 leaves. That is not we think what you want, we therefore give you another 

 arrangement : — Centre Stephanotis floribunda, set in Adiantum assimile ; 

 first row pink Zonal Pelargonium, set in Pheasant's-foot Geranium, arranged 

 alternately with Verbena Mauve Queen ; second row Erica Cavendishii, set in 

 Adiantum cuneatum, alternately with Verbena venosa, the Erica correspond- 

 ing to the Mauve Queen Verbena, and the Verbena to the pink Pelargonium ; 

 third row white Verbena and double Pelargonium scarlet, or Ixora acuminata 

 and the Pelargonium, set in Myrtus microphylla; fourth, Ixora javanica 

 floribunda and Pleroma elcgans, set in Adiantum cuneatum ; fifth, Allamanda 

 grandiflora and Dipladenia splendens, arranged around the bcuquet in 

 quarters as regards the Allamanda, with the Dipladenia on both sides adjoin- 

 ing, and fill in with Stephanotis floribunda or Eucharis amazonica, setting 

 all in Adiantum farleyense. 



Vaeious (Idem). — You may convert a lean-to greenhouse into a stove, the 

 only difference is in providing for more heat ; but as you say nothing of the 

 temperature you can command at present, we can only remark that you will 

 need to have double the amount of heating surface as compared with that of 

 a greenhouse. Greenhouse plants with blue flowers are Pleroma elegans, 

 Witsenia corymbosa, and Kennedya inophylla floribunda. Clerodendron Bal- 

 fourii cannot well be grown in a greenhouse. Six Orchids for greenhouse 

 culture are Lycaste Skinneri, Epidendrum macrochilum, Oncidiuni leuco- 

 chilum, Odontoglossum Alexandras, O. grande, and Lauia superbiens. 



Luium not Healthful (M. L.).— The leaves you sent exhibit no traces 

 of insect attacks, and appear simply to be owing to the heat to which they 

 have been subjected, a warm greenhouse being too exciting for plants of 

 this kind. The roots may be in soil which is heavy and sour from imperfect 

 drainage. 



Packing! Feens fob Impoetation (-E. L. J.).— The Ferns should be taken 

 up with a moderate amount of roots and Boil, and most of the fronds removed. 

 They should then be thoroughly wetted and placed on a 6-inch layer of damp 

 but not very wet moss in a shallow box, surrounding and covering the roots 

 and ball with 3 or 4 inches deep of the 6ame material, securing them firmly 

 in position with laths, cut so as to fit exactly inside the box on the moss, and 

 nailing them in position. A space of about S inches between the moss and lid 



