December 26, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



521 



discovered that the careful removal of all rotten bark and 

 cankered wood, followed by a thorough cleansing with water, 

 done by means of a stiff brush, has answered very well. " Rus- 

 ticus," or at least a Rusticus, wrote many years ago as follows 

 on the subject — " Directly you see the least morsel of cotton, 

 make up your mind to a little trouble. Get a plasterer's white- 

 wash brush, then get a pot of double size, make your man 

 heat it until it is quite liquid, then go with him into your 

 garden, and see that he paints over every patch of white though 

 not bigger than a sixpence. The next morning heat the size 

 pot again, and have another hunt, and keep on every morning 

 for a fortnight. Your man will tell you it 's no use : tell him 

 that 's your business, not his. Your neighbours will laugh at 

 you : do it before they are up. I have tried it and found it 

 effectual." In, Kent the folks are, as I perceive, strong in the 

 faith of the efficacy of whitewash alone, which is applied indis- 

 criminately to the trunks of the trees. Not much good is 

 done by this, as a rule. Recently the application of a mixture 

 of quicklime, sulphur, and lamp-black, after the diseased and 

 infected parts have been cut away, has been strongly recom- 

 mended ; but some persons greatly dislike bedaubing their 

 trees with this and other ill-looking and offensive compounds. 

 Another nostrum is composed of vegetable tar, corrosive sub- 

 limate, spirits of salts, and hartshorn. This has been known 

 to injure the trees somewhat. Others have employed a pre- 

 paration more of the nature of a varnish, made of oil and 

 resin to about the consistence of honey. Diluted sulphuric 

 acid, in the proportion of three-quarters of an ounce by measure 

 -of the acid to seven ounces and a half of water is certainly a 

 good thing if cautiously applied. Subsequent rains wash this 

 into the crannies and crevices, and the blight does not relish 

 it at all. Some advise the use of vinegar for young trees, 

 as rather milder, and therefore less likely to be harmful to 

 these.— J. R. S. C. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



At Bordeaux the A^okphophallus Rivieki is employed 

 as an out-of-door ornamental plant. The spathes, which are 

 of a blackish green, grow to the considerable dimensions of 

 5h feet in length by nearly the same in width. When laid-out 

 in groups of four or five together they are said to have a very 

 pleasing effect. 



The Times says, " Our New Zealand correspondent 



writes : — ' It may be interesting to English, and still more to 

 patriotic Scotch readers, to learn that the Scotch Thistle 

 plays a very important part in this colony in assisting the 

 spread of the English Grass. It has indeed proved itself a 

 most valuable agent in preparing the rough Fern hills for the 

 reception of Grass seed. The Thistle has its fling for three or 

 four years, taking full possession of the ground ; but, though 

 inconvenient, it is by no means without its uses during that 

 time, for sheep, cattle, and horses greedily devour the seed- 

 heads when in blossom, and often eat the leaves of the plant 

 as well, and many runs when under Thistles have carried more 

 stock than before the weed appeared. After the Thistle has 

 exhausted the land of its particular requirements and has died 

 out, which it does in about four years, it is invariably found 

 that stray plants of English Grass and Clover have been nursed 

 into strength by their prickly neighbours, and that the long 

 full taproots of the Thistle have opened and pulverised the 

 surface soil, and prepared a seed bed in which the English 

 Grass takes root and flourishes far better than on the natural 

 surface of ground which has not been subjected to a similar 

 course of preparation.' " 



From reports which we receive from different parts of 



the country it is evident that the Apple Crop in the United 

 States is large this year — not so large, at least in western New 

 York, as in 1870, but large enough to flood the markets of the 

 great cities with perishable fruit, which must be disposed of 

 at some rate or it will rot on the owner's hands. Consequently 

 prices rule low, affording buyers a pretext for keeping down 

 their offers for winter fruit to rates that will not afford 

 orehardists profitable returns for their Apples. 



: Some idea of the recent p.ainfall is given in the return 



of the Registrar-General. At Greenwich Observatory more 

 than three-quarters of an inch of rain was measured during 

 the last week of last month ; the fall for November being thus 

 raised to 2.9 inches. The rain measured during October and 

 November was 7.3 inches, or 2 inches above the average fall 

 in fifty-six yeara. Rain has now fallen seventy-five days. 



Messes. Van Eeden & Co., of Haarlem, intend to 



publish from time to time representations of the finest bulb- 

 ous plants, of which they keep a stock. Each part consists 

 of six chromo-lithographs, and costs 12s. We have just re- 

 ceived specimens of the two first numbers, and can recommend 

 them both on account of then: beauty and execution. 



WOEK FOB THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Give air freely to Cauliflower and Lettuce plants in frames ; 

 indeed, the sashes should merely be used to exclude frost and 

 throw off rains, for they will do all the better in spring for being 

 kept hardy and stocky over the winter. Take advantage of the 

 first dry day that may occur, with the ground in a rather dry 

 state, to earth-up closely any of the Celery that may have^ out- 

 grown the previous soiling, and be prepared to protect the ridges 

 in case of severe frost. Dry stable litter answers very well for 

 this purpose ; but where they can be afforded, light straw or reed 

 shutters are preferable, as being more easily applied, causing 

 less litter, and these are also useful for excluding wet. It will 

 soon be time to be providing seed for the early crop of Celery 

 next season, and for this purpose we know of no variety equal 

 to Cole's Dwarf White. This is, as its name indicates, a dwarf 

 variety, and cannot be grown to a large size ; but where quality ■ 

 is preferred to size it will give satisfaction, for it is very crisp, 

 soon blanches, and the flower is everything that could be wished 

 Attend to keeping up a regular succession of Asparagus, Rhu- 

 barb, and Sea-kale, by introducing moderate quantities at short 

 intervals, into heat. Draining, trenching, and the wheeling-out 

 of manures must now be attended to ; the latter operation requires 

 picked weather in which to perform it. Nothing is more in- 

 jurious to soils than wheeling on them in wet weather. Abun- 

 dant preparations for the coming spring must take place in this 

 department. A good stock of garden mats must be procured 

 and tied for covering purposes, and several mats cut and tied in 

 bunches in two classes, and hung up ready for the summer use. 

 Plenty of shreds for wall trees will require cutting, and the old 

 ones proved and passed through the ordeal of boiling water. 

 Here, too, the preparation of labels for dating and naming crops 

 must proceed, and the seed-drawers ought to be examined, 

 cleaned out, and the old seeds dated and classified, in order that 

 their relative value "may be readily known. The new seeds will, 

 of course, want arranging. Above all, a scheme of cropping, 

 based on a judicious rotation, should be laid down forthwith: 

 much experience is requisite in this matter. 



FECIT GARDEN. 



Push forward pruning, nailing, tying espalier trees, and such- 

 like tedious operations as fast as the weather and circumstances 

 admit. Get manure wheeled upon vacant ground -when the 

 weather is frosty and this can be done without injuring tha 

 walks ; and get all spare ground turned up as soon as possible, 

 so as to expose it to the action of the weather. For land that 

 has been long cropped with vegetables, a dressing of fresh loam 

 would in many cases be preferable to manure, and where this is 

 wanted and can be obtained it should be got to hand, in order 

 that advantage should be taken of frosty days for wheeling it 

 upon the ground. When fresh soil cannot be obtained, charred 

 vegetable refuse, such as the primings of shrubberies, edgings 

 of walks, and many things which turn up in the course of the 

 season, may be cheaply made to form an excellent substitute. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



The leaves being all thoroughly cleaned and removed to the 

 compost yard, the next thing to be thought of is to take advan- 

 tage of frosty weather, when other operations are temporarily 

 closed, in running the billhook and saw through the overgrown 

 shrubs, not with the idea of destroying the picturesque character 

 of shrubs or evergreens which have reached their full expression, 

 but in order to reserve the more delicate from the tyranny of 

 their prouder neighbours, to remove dead branches, and to pre- 

 serve a due right of passage through the plantation walk. The 

 very mild season has already caused early or shallow-planted 

 Tulips to show above ground. It will be advisable as soon as 

 observed to put a small quantity of heath soil over them, to pro- 

 tect them from frost and cutting winds ; this may not be applied 

 regularly over the bed, but in small cones over.each plant as it 

 shows itself. In the past season I have tried heath mould with 

 the best success. Carnations and Picotees should be carefully 

 examined. The foliage in some situations is apt to get spotted. 

 As soon as this is observed remove the diseased leaf with a pair 

 of sharp-pointed scissors, or it will spread through the stock 

 most rapidly. Examine the axils of the foliage, dirt and dust 

 are apt to lodge therein ; this should be carefully removed— in 

 fact, all Carnations will be better for being gone careful over, 

 stirring the top soil, &c. Our Polyanthuses are showing _ 

 we have removed all the trusses as they appear. Examine the 

 tubers of Dahlias, probably the labels may be getting nearly 



