254 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ September 26, 1872. 



Except the usual course of salading, there is very little sowing 

 to be done for some time; and as soon as the late Cauliflower 

 and the spring Lettuce plants are pricked or planted out little 

 more planting-out will be needed for some time, except among 

 the market gardeners, who will still plant out a large breadth 

 of plants for late Coleworts. The long crops of Onions have 

 been safely harvested, and look as if they would keep well. If, 

 therefore, a few Endive plants are kept blanched, and the 

 Celery rows not allowed to grow too long without moulding- 

 up, attention may be directed to forwarding work which might 

 otherwise have to be done in spring. Thin growing crops be- 

 fore they become weakly and drawn through standing too 

 closely together; stir the surface of the soil deeply amongst 

 them to admit air to the roots, and keep down weeds. 



FECIT GARDEN. 



Frequently look over fruit remaining out of doors, and 

 gather it as it becomes fit, as if allowed to become over-ripe it 

 will be liable to be blown down and bruised by high winds 

 which generally occur at this season. Also examine those 

 stored in the fruit room frequently, as occasionally a few de- 

 caying fruit will be found for some weeks after housing, and 

 these should be removed as soon as they are perceived. 

 Keep the fruit room cool and airy, in order to allow of the 

 escape of the moisture given off by the fruit, which at first 

 is considerable for a few weeks. Examine occasionally Plums, 

 or any other fruit protected by covering, to see that they 

 are not spoiling. Where it is intended to make any fresh 

 plantation of fruit trees this season, the ground should be 

 prepared at the earliest convenience, and any fresh soil to be 

 used for planting should be thoroughly exposed to the action 

 of the weather, so as to have it in a mellow state when wanted 

 for use. If not already done clean and dress Strawberry plant- 

 ations, clearing away all useless runners and giving a good 

 dressing of manure where necessary, but be careful to select 

 that which is thoroughly decayed, and which can be covered 

 without_the necessity of digging deeply or injuring the roots. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



Unless alterations are in hand the principal work in this 

 ■department will now be confined to mowing and cleaning, 

 and if neatness is to be maintained this will require constant 

 attention. See also to getting gravel walks thoroughly cleared 

 •of weeds and moss, and roll them frequently when wet to keep 

 the surface level and smooth. The weather has lately been 

 most auspicious for the flower garden ; the masses of colour are 

 now most brilliant, and save for the falling of the leaves we 

 might deceive ourselves into the impression that summer is at 

 its zenith. In a few days more, however, we may anticipate a 

 41 nipping frost," which will lay prostrate the glories of our 

 gardens. As there are many plants of which it is desirable to 

 preserve some of the old stock for flowering next year, it will 

 be necessary to place them now in well-cleaned pots, and set 

 them in close pits till somewhat established. There is this 

 advantage in old plants, that they cover more space, flower 

 earlier and more abundantly than young ones. Finish plant- 

 ing Pinks, and do not delay the planting of bulbs. Now is the 

 time to plant out young hardy Conifers ; they will become 

 established before winter. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSEEVATORX. 



Be prepared with specimen plants in flower to supply the 

 places of such as may be going out of bloom. If early Ca- 

 mellias are wanted let some of the strongest be placed in a 

 rather close house to forward them, giving them a regular 

 supply of manure water. Some of the earliest Epacrises 

 might also soon be placed in a close part of the greenhouse, 

 where they will likewise prove useful for early decoration, 

 Daphnes also and many other plants, provided their flower- 

 buds are prominent. Aim at keeping the atmosphere of plant 

 houses rather dry, using just enough of fire heat on damp, cold 

 nights to afford an opportunity of giving sufficient air to keep 

 ihe atmosphere in motion, so as to prevent damp being in- 

 jurious. In cases where there are many stove plants in the 

 conservatory it will be necessary, in the event of the weather 

 becoming cold and wet, to use a little fire heat, but be as 

 sparing of this as circumstances will allow, particularly if 

 there are other plants in the house likely to be injured by 

 being kept too warm. In this case it will be advisable to dis- 

 pense with stove plants, even at the expense of rendering the 

 house somewhat bare of flowers, rather than to keep them here 

 and run the risk of injuring other plants on their account. Be 

 careful not to overwater plants brought from the stove, and 

 also to use water at a temperature of 70° or 80° for these, as 



watering plants that have just been brought from a warm 

 house with cold water injures the young and tender roots, 

 shortens the duration of the blossoms, and often destroys 

 them. Use weak manure water for Salvia splendens and ges- 

 nerasflora, so as to preserve the plants in a vigorous state and 

 blooming as long as possible. Give air freely on fine days, and 

 thin out twiners on the roof wherever this can be done with 

 propriety, so as to expose the plants to all the light possible. 

 Give attention to the securing a plentiful succession of plants 

 for maintaining the gaiety of the house during winter. 



STOVE. 



Twiners on the roofs of stoves should now be more than 

 ever kept within bounds, cutting back all shoots that have 

 done flowering, and tying the others so as to obstruct the 

 light as little as possible. Place specimens ripening their wood 

 in the coolest part of the house, and water them sparingly 

 at the root. Achimenes, Gloxinias, and Gesneras that are 

 properly ripened-ofi may be stored away in any dry place 

 where they will be secure from frost, but take care to place 

 them where they will be free from damp, and not exposed 

 to a lower temperature than about 45° or 50°. Many valuable 

 plants of this kind have been lost through storing them in dry 

 sheds. Hardwooded shrubs, such as Ixoras, that have not made 

 wood after flowering, should be encouraged with a warm moist 

 temperature, syringing them lightly overhead, and shutting up 

 the house early in the afternoon. Let any growing plants that 

 require more pot room be shifted as soon as convenient, in 

 order to have them well rooted into the fresh soil before winter. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Pay careful attention to young stock, and recollect that 

 sturdy well-rooted plants are much easier to winter than large 

 plants with long-jointed soft wood. Late-rooted cuttings may 

 still be potted-off, but unless they are very close together in 

 the cutting pots I prefer wintering them in these to shifting, 

 for they occupy much less space in the cutting pots, andhaving 

 more space for their roots, they are frequently more healthy, 

 and require less attention in winter than those which are 

 potted singly. Square pans 12 inches wide and 5 inches deep 

 are very suitable for wintering cuttings of Verbenas, Lobelias, 

 and other plants which can be kept in a small state. One of 

 these will hold twenty good plants, and with care to prevent 

 their being injured by damp, they will winter quite as well 

 treated in this way as if potted singly in 4-inch pots, and a 

 vast quantity may be stored in a small space. Where plants 

 of this kind have to be kept in cold frames or pits, they should 

 be potted singly, as they would be very liable to damp-off, not- 

 withstanding every care that might be taken of them if placed 

 thickly together in pans, and put where it may be impossible 

 to give air for weeks together. I must, however, protest 

 against the system of wintering bedding stock in such un- 

 suitable places. This practice is generally adopted from some 

 mistaken notion of economy; but if a fair calculation of the 

 time required to attend to plants wintered in this way could 

 be made, and all the losses, &c, taken into account, it would 

 be found to greatly overbalance the trifling cost of putting up 

 a proper heating apparatus, and furnishing a few bushels of 

 coke or coal annually. — W. Eeane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN'. 



Earthed-up Celery for succession. In some seasons three 

 weeks have been sufficient to effect the blanching of it, but, as 

 a rule, it is not safe to reckon on less than four. We have no 

 faith in the bit-by-bit earthing-up of Celery, except for late 

 crops, as in the case of early ones it only encourages the 

 tendency to run into flower-stems. 



Cauliflowers- — Many of our plants turned blind, forming 

 only a bunch of whorled leaves in the centre instead of a head. 

 We do not think it was due to the fact of their coming from 

 unripened seed, because all our crops, good and bad, have 

 sprung from seed out of the same packet. Of all Cauliflowers 

 we have found Veitch's Late White the best, obtaining huge 

 heads of splendid quality from it up to the new year. Even 

 for this season it is better than the earlier sorts, which are apt 

 to fall away and become loose in texture during September 

 and October. 



Cleared-off our Onion crop and laid them out to dry, to be 

 in readiness for stringing. The ground which they had oc- 

 cupied was dressed with rubbish, half-trenched down, when 

 dry rolled on the surface, and shortly afterwards planted with 



