16 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AM) COTTAG-E GARDENER. 



[ July o, 1364. 



Various (W. M.).— 1, With tlie greater heat in sunshine in a curate's 

 vinery, there would be the greater cold in dull -weather, because the ac- 

 cumulated heat would sconer radiate. The larger orchard-house would 

 have the advantage of greater uniformity of temperature, being not so 

 quickly heated nor so quickly cooled, and the comparative earliness of the 

 two would depend more on circumstances and the management, than on 

 the merits of the respective systems. 2, Common sashes, wide or narrow, 

 may easily he made to fit to the-ridge form, by placing them together at tup, 

 and a yard or more apart at the base in the shape of a triangle. 3, Tour 

 proposed plan of using your sashes over a sloping frame with the Vines 

 underneath is an old and a good plan. "We have eeeti hundreds of good 

 hunches thus obtained. Vines were grown against a wall, the frames were 

 moved along the walls, so tbat a fresh piece of the Vines was taken in every 

 year. A rough hotbed of litter was made, the frame set over it, and the 

 Vine stems introduced, either through holes in the back of the frame, 

 or just amongst the dung beneath it. The steam did good at first. By the 

 time the manure had become sweet the buds would be swelling, and the 

 material somewhat consolidated. Then the surface was covered with slates, 

 most likely painted with sulphur, and the Vine stems trained, say 10 inches 

 above the slate. Air was rnly attended to; and a warm dull day selected 

 for thinning the Grapes. The same plan answers admirably, as in the 

 curate's vinery, without any fermenting material, hut they will not come to 

 maturity so early. The mere distance of the Vines from the slate?, provided 

 the sun strikes on the latter, is of less importance as respects earliness 

 than careful attention to the early giving and the early taking away of 

 air, so as to enclose the concentrated power of the sunbeams. 4, By in- 

 creasing the height of your frame-house, so as to be able to walk underneath 

 it and do the work standing, and having no slates, you would be no better 

 off than in your orchard-house. But, without the slates, you may ripen 

 good Grapes in such a place ; end you would succeed all the better and earlier, 

 if you had a floor or wall that, from its dark colour, would absorb heat in 

 the early part of the season ; and of a light colour, so as to reflect heat and 

 light in the autumn. We only speak of the latter colour in such a raised 

 house. In a frame we should dread burning from the white colour, 

 o. Orchard-houses are very much as they are managed. Good gardeners 

 are loath to say ''we cannot;" but no work has ever contained so many 

 confessions of failures and disappointments, from head men in the profession, 

 as this work does. "We believe all our coadjutors ac: on the principle that a 

 failure understood is as instructive as a success. It is folly to condemn 

 wholesale what many succeed so well in ; and our columns are as open to 

 failures as to successes. Our own opinion is, that almost anything may be 

 grown in a pot or tub ; but that it can be so grown economically tor general 

 purposes is entirtly another affair. The watering alone would make havoc 

 in the profits, but that allowed, there can he little question as to obtaining 

 crops. Of course, let them hang as they grow, and failure is certain. Most 

 people are rather sanguine, our a lot of cheap trees with unripened wood 

 and obtain no fruit that will stand. Good folks should at least try trees 

 nest season that they have themselves looked over this season. 6, If you 

 could tell the reason wky your Peach and Apricot trees in pots, so full of 

 bloom, dropped their fruit, that would be a gain to yourself, and to thej.ro- 

 fession generally. The mere fact of failure is less against a system 

 than a fact of success is in its favour. It is just possible that, like spoiled 

 children, your plants had too much attention. We should conclude the 

 growth was rather vigorous. We hope to have a better recount of these 

 trees next year. No doubt you will succeed with Vines, either in boxes or 

 planted out. We also believe you will succeed with Peach trees, if your 

 enthusiasm points that way, even though you should somewhat diminish 

 the attention for securing luxuriance, and give a little more to the harden- 

 ing of the wood early in autumn. 



Fictjs elastica (A Reader). — We do not notice anything the matter 

 with the leaf enclosed, and think the leaves fail naturally. With the 

 Bilbergia vittata the cause may also be the same— namely, the old parts 

 decaying as new ones take the strength and vigour of the plant. Tour 

 plants, however, we fear, are too copiously syringed, and the sun's rays 

 striking powerfully upon them cause the spotted appearance which the 

 Indiaxubber leaf had. 



Eos"es os their own Roots (S.).~ We are at a loss to account for your 

 Madame Laffay not blooming. It is one of the freest-blooming amongst 

 the Hybrid Perpetuals. 1, We have not found any of Hybrid Perpetuals 

 shy bloomers on their own roots; generally the reverse. 2, Caioline de 

 Sansal, Comte de Nanteuil, Baronne Prevost, General Jacqueminot, Jules 

 Hargottin, Madame Vidot, William Jesse, Prince Leon, Senateur Vaisse, 

 Princesse Mathilde, Marecbal Yaillant, and Lord Raglan. 



Vises in Pots— Roses (W. Treasure) .—The best kinds of Grape Vines 

 for yon will be the Royal Muscadine and Black Hamburgh— soil rich loam ; 

 pots not less than 16 inches across The best plan would be to get rrui ting- 

 plants at once. The difficulty will be that, if you take a heavy crop from 

 these pots, so as to be attractive in your windows, ike plants will not do 

 much good afterwards, and you must have a fresh supply. Ton can easily 

 grow fresh plants, but the difficulty will be in getting the wood well 

 ripened in the autumn, if you have not a wall to give them a good heat 

 against it. Is there no means of planting Vines outside, so that you could 

 take so many shoots inside the window every year, and save the trouble 

 with the pots? The pots will keep best in winter in the cellar; the pots 

 even then surrounded with litter a little moist, or moss, or anything of the 

 kind. If your Rose* make such good wood, merely nip the points off in 

 the autumn, and bend the shoots a little in spring, and you will have 

 plenty of Roses. Keep the same principle in view wi;h your strong- growing 

 young Roses. Keep them drjish in autumn, to ripen the wood wdl. 



Cauiiflower Plants Blind (21 W. TJ. £.).— We attribute this to some 

 defect in the formation of the seed, 'lhat it is a defect of the seed we have 

 nodoubt ; for such pLnts never exhibit any traces of a plumule or growing 

 point beyond the seed-leaves and a few rough leaves, and the plants always 

 show, even from the seed-leaf, the want of a centre, or that which "is 

 necessary to produce a heai. We at one time were inclined to attribute it 

 to the attack of some insect, which ate out the centre of the plant whilst 

 young ; but by minute inspection we coulti find no trace of such an occur- 

 rence, still much to confirm us in the opinion that the defect was due to the 

 defective organisation of the seed in the pod. We never experienced any 

 difference between sowing the seed in poor and in rich soil ; and thick and 

 thin sowings were alike affected as regards the number of blind plants. 

 Seeds, too, from the same packet, sown in different places, were all alike 

 barren, whilst those from another packet, under the same conditions, gave 

 perfect plants.— G. A. 



Mildewed Strawberry Plants {H.lf. P.). — The Black Prince Straw- 

 berry plants, if the leaf sent is a good specimen, are eaten up with mildew, 

 the result, we should say. of being grown thickly in the bed, and standing 

 too long in the same ground. They may also have suffered by want of 

 water. The partial shade, and extra manuring may be the cause in the 

 younger (the twii-y ear-old) rows. Have you examined the state of the 

 roots? After the fine showers we were surprised to find heavy crops of 

 British Queen not swelling so fast as expected, and we found the roots too 

 dry for the crop. We would advise change of soil, fresh plants from another 

 garden, and not excessive manuring. We cannot be certain as to the Straw- 

 berry you describe, but we have very little doubt that it was the Hautbois. 



Mimtjlus C0PRETT3 Flowers Eaten {S. E. H.).— Slugs will ea^ the flowers ; 

 but if you have made sure that there are none in your garden, it must be 

 the esrwigs. They will eat the flowers of nearly anything, and in all pro- 

 bability they are the cause. We never suffered from sparrows; but if they 

 be the cause of the mischief, some strips of glass, suspended on black thread 

 or worsted, and; about a foot above the plants, will make the sparrows 

 cautious about visiting the spot. Earwigs may be caught by setting a 

 number of earwig traps, which are to be had of most seedsmen for a trifle ; 

 or bean-stalks, cut into five or six-inch lengths, and placed horizontally on 

 the bed, will catch a goodly number. They should be daily examined, and 

 the earwigs blown out and destroyed. 



Seedling Geranium (M.A.).— It is pretty, but its value must be decided 



by the habit of the plant. It! very dwarf it would be worth while to send a 



! plant o" it in a pot. when in bliom, to the Floral Committee of the Royal 



j Horticultural Society. The petals of the French Pelargonium were all shed; 



1 and from a flower only it is not often that the name can be determined, the 



varieties are such legions. 



Plum Leaves Diseased ( .—They are infested with a parasitic fungus. 



! It evidently commences growth within the tissue of the leaves. Its pro- 

 I dnction of spores might be checked, perhaps, by dusting the leaves with 

 j flowers of sulphur. We would also, in the autumn, have the walls painted 

 j with, some mixture of which sulphur formed an ingredient. Salt, sprinkled 

 I over the border in the spring, might also be beneficial. 



Calceolarias Dying 'A Constant Header).— If y our plants turned out in 

 ! pots had been those only that died, we could most likely hive hit upon the 

 i reason. If the pots were at all full of roots, and were turned out dry, and 

 I with the ball unruffled, no amount of future watering would damp the bulk 

 cf the roots, and, when exposed to a bright sun, there would first be flagging 

 J and then death. Those lifted from beds are not so subject to these evils, 

 ! but even these should be well watered before they are lifted. We have lost 

 j some plants in a row that we found, on examination, were lifted with balls, 

 but in a dry state. The moisture given in such case went be; end the balls, 

 but not through them. These are the only primary causes of failure we 

 [ can think of at present. Where the ground is light and sandy, it should he 

 ! well firmed against Calceolarias, and the surface merely left open. There 

 { is just one thing more as respects the layered Calceolarias —Was the layering 

 j done before the severe frosts in May ? In " Doings of the Last Week," last 

 year, it was shown thit layed shcots would be injured, and upright ones 

 would escape. Why should Ca' ceoiarias be layed ? It is against their nature. 

 If layed down at ali, it is better to plant on the sjope, instead of bending the 

 stems afterwards. It is be ter, however, to let the plants grow upright Jn 

 j their natural position. Verbenas, and things of that kind, that root along 

 j their stems, are better pegged-down ; but, in strong rich ground, they also 

 I bloom better if pegged or twigged-up, instead of being pegged-down. It 

 would be as well to nip-in the laterals of the Clematis. The best remedy 

 for the fungus in the Melon-beds is to give several good waterings with 

 lime water. That will destroy the spawn if anything will. If you had 

 examined the soil before using it, you would most likely have detected the 

 white threads of the spawn, which should have been picked out. We can 

 believe that your Melons will be thrown up, for we once saw a stone pave- 

 ment thrown about as if crowbars had been used, and the joints had been 

 cemented too. 



Mildew on Roses (A Constant Header).— We never before saw any Hose 

 trees so severely mildewed as are yours. We can only add to our recom- 

 mendation published last week, tbat we would dust all the leaves and 

 branches thoroughly with flowers of sulphur. If the Roses are over- 

 shadowed by other trees, these ought to be thinned, so as to admit more 

 light to the Roses. 



Prestwice Flower Show {B). — We are very g'ad it was so successful, 

 but to report it is not permissible. There are huudreds like it — all admir- 

 able, all doing a large measure of good; and the doings of which we are 

 requested to record. If we admitted one we could not- exclude the others; 

 and our columns would be too much occupied with details uninteresting to 

 the generality of our readers. 



Clay for Strawberry- beds on Light Soil (Daniel Cart wrtgh f \— Aid 

 the lime to the clay before it is applied to the plot intended for Strawberries. 

 Having the clay in readiness, and the lime fresh from the kiln, or nnslacked, 

 place a thin layer of lime, and put one of clay, double the thickness of the 

 lime, upon it; then another layer of lime, more clay upon it, and so on, 

 until the whole is formed into a he.ip 4 feet high, the outside of the heap 

 being of clay. One ton of lime is sufficient for six of clay. The lime will 

 heat the whole of the mass, and make tbe mineral ingredients of the clay 

 more soluble. After the lime and clay has Iain a week in the heap, it may 

 be spread upon the plot of ground, and dug in. Another plan is to place 

 the lime in heaps of about a bushel, and to cover these with the lumps of 

 clay. In either case the lime must be sprinkled with water before covering 

 with clay, if the last be dry; but, if it be wet, water is coc nece>sary to 

 cause the lime to fall. The compost thus formed should be applied to the 

 ground before deluging rains fa'l upon the heap, and make so much mortar 

 of it. Six inches of the compost, spread equally over the surface, and dug 

 in, will be a good dressing. 



Hedge {A Subscriber). — We do not see in what way we have misunder- 

 stood you. Copper Bsech is not so hardy as the common Beech, and does 

 not form so good a hedge. If you want a hedge of low growth, nothing 

 grows so fast as Privet ; but if you want something ro attain a height of 

 10 feet or more, we know of nothing better than common Beech ; and this 

 we would plant along with the Copper Beech, or Purple, unless you prefer 

 u hedge but 6 feet high, then Privet would make a hedge sooner. 



Names of Insects (6. T.).— The cells found in the old post, surrounded with 

 pieces of Rose leaves, are the cells of the Leaf-cutter Bee, Magachile 

 centuucularis. There is a description and drawing of the insect in the 

 first volume of our New Series. 



