July 26, 1864. ] 



JOUENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



75 



Cauliflowers, Peas, &c, are so overdone with cream, melted 

 butter, and sweets, that the original flavour is lost. Some 

 people would actually experience the pleasure of a fresh 

 sensation could they partake of a nice sweet Cabbage 

 simply well boiled with a grain of carbonate of soda in the 

 water. Having everything, therefore, fresh, in good order, 

 and in constant succession, ought ever to give a value to 

 the produce of private gardens above that for which it 

 can be bought in such markets as Covent Garden, as the 

 bulk of the providers there study quick returns, rather than 

 constant, regular successions. Where private gardeners are 

 expected to sell, they soon fall into the market-garden 

 system, and instead of a little of this and a little of that at 

 a time, they give up growing in rows, and grow in quarters 

 and acres, clear the ground at once, and begin again — a 

 good, plan where there is a ready market, but a poor plan 

 when a family must be supplied well every day. After all, 

 even at general rates, we have met with few kitchen and 

 fruit gardens which would not pay their expenses well where 

 there was a family to consume the produce. 



The great difference between the private garden and the 

 market garden is just this — that the latter is exclusively a 

 matter of profit and loss ; the former is greatly a matter of 

 pleasure. Gentlemen are apt to draw the comparison, look- 

 ing merely at what comes to the table, and thinking nothing 

 of what merely gratifies the eye. In many cases pleasure 

 grounds and flower gardens cost two-thirds or three-fourths of 

 the outlay, and no profit in general can be derived from them 

 except pleasing the sight. Nothing is so expensive as a well 

 kept lawn. Tou go over it at least once a-week, and it is 

 only nice after all, yielding nothing but pleasure to the eye. 

 It is a little strange, that in most small new places, the 

 really useful parts — the kitchen and fruit gardens — are cur- 

 tailed as much as possible, and as much room as possible 

 given to pleasure ground and lawn. And then there is 

 nothing more common than for the proprietors of such gar- 

 dens to look at the sum total, and then tell their friends 

 somewhat confidently, that every Cauliflower that comes to 

 table, and every dish of Strawberries, and every bunch of 

 Grapes must cost little less than this or that, when the 

 whole of the eatables put together may have cost little more 

 than a tithe of what was spent for mere pleasure and appear- 

 ances. Take these things out of the way — allow something 

 for freshness and quality, produced by regular successions in 

 fairly managed private kitchen gardens, and then, even on 

 the point of value received, there need be no fear of compe- 

 tition with market gardens. 



"We have nearly finished the third successional lot of Cauli- 

 flower, the great heat causing even some of the fourth lot 

 this season to show rather prematurely. Watered the fourth 

 and fifth succession with sewage water, and covered the 

 ground with short grass and litter, to keep the heat out and 

 moisture in. The sixth and seventh successions, planted 

 among other things, would merely have a little clean water, 

 as they are not established enough for stronger doses as 

 yet. Watering when we could obtain any, and mulching 

 and shading when we could not, have been the chief work 

 in the kitchen garden. In some of the hottest days, we 

 just spattered frames and houses of Cucumbers, &c, with a 

 little whitened water, which prevented evaporation going on 

 so rapidly as it would otherwise have done. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



Much the same as in previous weeks. The flowers of 

 sulphur daubed against the back wall of the orchard-house 

 has pretty well done for the red spider where it had ap- 

 peared. Plums are now coming in, and are useful from pots 

 at present. Some ants had attacked a few of our best 

 Cherries. The fruit touched were carefully gathered and 

 removed. A little guano was strewn along the ground, and 

 especially close to the foot of the wall, and well watered 

 with manure water. We have seen no ants since. If some- 

 thing of the sort were not done we should expect them to 

 lodge in the Peaches, &c. A good watering of lime water 

 will generally have the same effect. If the ants are not 

 killed they will be sure to take themselves away to other 

 quarters. When fruit trees on the open wall are infested 

 with ants, earwigs, &c, a good plan is to lash the wall well 

 with clear lime water, which will tend to bring the most 

 of them to the ground, and then run a line of paint, say 

 4 inches wide, along the bottom of the wall, the paint con- 



sisting of equal parts of oil and tar. The oil prevents the 

 tar hardening quickly, and so long as it is soft nothing will 

 pass over it. 



Eemoved all coverings from vinery-borders, so that these 

 might have all the benefit of the bright sun to warm them. 

 This was done on Monday last. When we expect a shower 

 we will throw a dusting of superphosphate over the surface. 

 If no rain come soon we will give a manure watering. Had 

 the week been cold instead of hot we would have thrown 

 some litter over the border to keep the heat in, raking it 

 down when the sun shone. 



Figs in our little house are rather too plentiful. We let them 

 pretty well look after themselves. Our plants are as rough- 

 looking as rough can be, but then they always bear well. 

 Not to speak of others in pots in the orchard-house, we have 

 two small plants of that honeydrop Fig the White Marseilles, 

 of Mr. Eivers's fertile variety. We used to grow the common 

 Marseilles, the fruit equally good ; but then, do as we would, 

 we never obtained a good crop of them. Mr. Eivers told us 

 that there were two distinct varieties, the one always shy 

 in bearing, the other always very productive. We find this 

 to be the case. The second crop is now ripening, and there 

 is a heavy succession of smaller ones for the third crop. 

 The flavour of this Fig is delicious when cracking and show- 

 ing its rich globules of juice. For a sure supply, however, 

 nothing beats Lee's Perpetual or the Brown Turkey, as we 

 believe them to be identical. 



This is just the weather for fine Melons. Lest they should 

 be prematurely ripened by a fierce sun, it is well to shade 

 slightly for a few hours at the hottest time of the day, and 

 give air plentifully, and especially give it early. In such 

 weather as last week, air all night would be desirable, and 

 the sashes should be freely tilted by six or seven in the 

 morning. When the weather changes our practice in this 

 respect must also change. Meanwhile, we may state as a 

 secret which we cannot keep, that many mishaps under glass 

 are the consequence of giving air too late. If air is admitted 

 early there is no chance of steaming, scalding, scorching, or 

 burning, as the house heats gradually, and the ventilation 

 and the sun's rays together keep the enclosed atmosphere 

 in motion. When the house is opened after the confined 

 vapour has condensed on fruit, &c, the free opening will 

 do as much harm then as keeping the house shut. In 

 such misadventures very little air should be given at first, 

 and the floor kept moist, and the house shaded, until the 

 usual healthy state of things is restored. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



The dry weather has reduced mowing and machining the 

 lawns to a mimmnm. The chief care has been to keep 

 plants in flower-beds alive by giving a drop of water to 

 those flagging, and mulching others with a little leaf mould 

 or very rotten dung, as stated last week ; we would give more 

 if we had it. By such means we have as yet kept flower- 

 beds and borders in fair condition. We have given sewage 

 and other manure water to Dahlias, and would have done 

 the same to drooping herbaceous plants if we could have 

 afforded it. Hollyhocks would also have had such help, 

 as without it the spikes will be dwarfer than usual; whilst, 

 in our opinion, other things being equal, the taller the spike 

 of a Hollyhock, the more majestic it will be. 



The rain on Sunday gave a good opportunity for sweeping 

 walks, and rolling them firm on Monday morning. It came 

 so gently that even florists' flowers of all kinds, as Pinks, 

 Carnations, and Picotees, were greatly benefited. The hot 

 weather is so trying to Carnations that a slight syringing 

 of an evening would do them much good, even when watering 

 is not desirable. Syringing such plants as Brugmansias 

 out of doors on evenings when the atmosphere was cloudy 

 after a hot day, also did much good to them, refreshing them 

 very much. When the sky promised to be clear at night, 

 the almost sure free deposition of dew did away with the 

 necessity for syringing. We have had beds of Calceolarias, 

 very languid at night, but all right in the morning, as every 

 leaf and spray was loaded with dew. Picotees and Carna- 

 tions, of the best kinds, may now be layered ; Cloves and the 

 commoner kinds will strike freely by cuttings, with a little 

 bottom heat, and cuttings may be obtained when the shoots 

 are too short for layering. The cutting is easiest made by 

 catching the lower part of the shoot with one hand so as to 

 steady it, and then, taking hold of the top of the shoot with 



