August 30, 1864. ] 



JOTJENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



177 



Strawberries in pots for forcing next season are well cared 

 for, placing them in an open sunny situation where they will 

 have all the light possible, and do not allow them to suffer 

 from want of moisture at the root. 



FLOWEK GARDEN. 



As the numerous varieties of Verbena are now in bloom, 

 the best kinds should be selected for bedding out next year, 

 also the particular habit and colour should be noted for the 

 better arrangement of them at planting-out time. The 

 same observation holds good in regard to new Petunias, 

 Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, &c. Give diligent at- 

 tention to the propagation of bedding-out stock, and get 

 cuttings that are sufficiently rooted potted off at once, keep- 

 ing them close until they become established. Those that 

 have been potted off some time, and are established in then- 

 pots, should be inured to exposure to the open air, stop- 

 ping the shoots to keep them dwarf and stocky. Wistaria 

 sinensis, Jasmines, and the Virginian Creeper, may be pro- 

 pagated by cuttings. China Eoses, Heartsease, or the Tree 

 Violet, may also be increased now. Mignonette for winter 

 and spring flowering may be sown. The work of mowing 

 and general cleaning must be well followed up. 



STOVE. 



As the nights become cold a little fire heat may be given, 

 not with any intention to promote growth, but to assist in 

 ripening the succulent wood. See that everything is free 

 from insects, and keep the foliage of such things as Ixoras, 

 &c, clean by washing with a sponge and soapy water when 

 necessary. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Let the stock of Begonias have another shift if not 

 already in pots large enough. Lilium lancifolium will now 

 be in its beauty. Supply it bountifully with water, and 

 shade the flowers from powerful sunshine to prolong their 

 gaiety. Pay attention to Chrysanthemums. They must 

 not be stopped later than this to have fine heads of bloom. 

 A little liquid manure will assist them. Let it be applied 

 twice a-week. Heliotropes, Verbenas, Scarlet Pelargoniums, 

 and Eoses, required for decorative purposes, should be pro- 

 gressively shifted, stopped, and trained. They will be found 

 useful till a late period of the year. Cinerarias and Chinese 

 Primulas are common plants which cannot be put aside, and 

 which amply repay attention bestowed on their culture. 

 The earliest-struck Pelargoniums should now be potted off 

 and kept close under glass for ten days or a fortnight, and 

 then expose them on all occasions to the weather, except 

 during heavy rains. The older plants first cut back, which 

 have made shoots an inch or two in length, should now be 

 shaken out of their old soil, the roots trimmed, and repotted 

 in smaller pots. If they can be plunged in a slight bottom 

 heat till the roots get a start it will help them. To have a 

 late bloom of Fuchsias let a portion of the stock have their 

 young wood cut back about one-half. If these are placed in 

 a little heat they will break again, and go on blooming till 

 Christmas. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Make a sowing of Nemophila insignis, Collinsia bicolor, 

 Leptosiphon densiflorus, and other hardy annuals for next 

 spring. The Intermediate Stocks will require to be pricked 

 out into pans or boxes, and afterwards potted singly in 

 small pots, using good stiff loam ; likewise the Schizanthus 

 of sorts. Place them in a cool close frame till well esta- 

 blished. W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



We are still pretty much at a standstill. We had a few 

 slight refreshing showers on Sunday, the 21st, just enough 

 to wash the foliage and damp the surface of the dust-dry 

 earth. We feel sure that our time of visitation will come, 

 and as we can do no better we must patiently wait for it. 

 On the 20th we could see rain falling heavily a few miles 

 distant, and on the 21st, at less than two miles off, we could 

 see it fal lin g copiously, whilst it came to us in drops. We 

 have long noticed that thunder clouds break on our heights 

 and discharge their contents in the surrounding vallies. A 

 scarcity of water in elevated positions does something to 

 counteract the importance of an invigorating atmosphere 

 and extended varied landscapes. 



The well that supplies our mansion is neanly 300 feet in 

 depth. From that we quietly for a time borrowed a few 

 pailfuls a-day for syringing purposes, using it after it had 

 stood in the sun. If we take a potful now it is pretty well as 

 good as stealing it, as the place has been put under lock 

 and key. With our limited geological lore we do not think 

 the precaution will avail much, as if not a drop of water 

 was taken from the well, it would, we believe, sink to the 

 same level as the surrounding streams, all of which are 

 several miles distant. We shall be agreeably disappointed 

 if many deep wells do not become dry and require sinking in 

 November and December, and that not so much owing to 

 the drought of summer as to the deficient rainfall in winter 

 and early spring. That deficiency if it occurs will be little 

 influenced by the using or refraining from using the water 

 in such wells now. It is vain to suppose that the water will 

 remain at the same level in the well, because not drawn, 

 just as water in a barrel would do, because the tap from it 

 was keyed up. If there should be a deficiency of water in 

 wells in winter, it is cheering to think that in all probability 

 there will be plenty of surface water. 



The parching dryness of the atmosphere has also been a 

 peculiar- feature of this summer's drought. On the principle 

 of compensation, it has generally happened, that the drier 

 the weather, the more was the atmosphere charged with 

 vapour, and that vapour, independently of affording relief 

 to the foliage of plants, even by day, was generally pre- 

 cipitated in copious dews in clear, starry nights. We have 

 had, it is true, such refreshing dews, but not at all in pro- 

 portion to the warmth of the day, and the clearness and 

 cool atmosphere of the night. With a heat during the day 

 little less than that of the tropics, and a coolness at night 

 something in proportion, we have had nothing like their 

 heavy dews, and that solely owing, we believe, to the dry- 

 ness or deficiency ol vapour in the air. This dryness has 

 rendered the air more burning in bright sun, and more 

 chilling in clear nights. After such a bright day as the 

 24th, and a clear night following, there was but little dew, 

 and that was a crust of hoar frost at 4.30 a.m., and from, 

 water we lifted ice, not so thick as a shilling, but thicker 

 than a sixpence. A good number of large corymbs of Scarlet 

 Geraniums had their petals whitened and browned as if a hot 

 iron had been placed near them. With all the advantages 

 of drainage to gardens and fields, it may be possible from 

 lessening the surface of evaporation, to render our atmo- 

 sphere in the southern and eastern counties drier than may 

 be desirable. 



There is a little matter here which we would be glad to 

 ventilate. We have a large pond between the garden and 

 the farm, fed by rainfall from some buildings, but chiefly by 

 drainage. For both establishments it was considered a main 

 supply ; the water, when pumped into a cistern, being con- 

 veyed in pipes to the houses in one case, and to sheds and 

 troughs in the other. That has been quite dry since the 

 beginning of June. It was surrounded, except for a little 

 space at the north end, by trees and bushes, such as Ash, 

 Oak, Thorn, &c, presenting not only a thicket at the sides, 

 bat the branches pretty well meeting in the centre of the 

 pool, and affording a thickish shade in the summer months. 

 Partly from the idea that the roots of these trees absorbed 

 and made conduits for the water, and partly from the leaves 

 falling and, in the course of years, tainting the otherwise 

 clear water, it was resolved to cut down most of these 

 trees. Now, allowing that the fallen leaves might be 

 obnoxious when pure water was desirable, our own opinion 

 is, that it was a mistake, so far as keeping water was 

 concerned, to cut down these trees, as we believe that 

 from their arresting evaporation from such a large surface 

 of water they quite made amends for what the roots in the 

 bank might absorb ; whilst, by their removal, the whole 

 of the moisture condensed by the foliage was lost. We 

 have stood of a morning and heard a brisk shower of 

 condensed moisture patter into the pool, when all outside 

 was dry. The more pointed the leaves of the trees, so 

 as to become sooner cooled, the more powerfully would 

 they act as condensers of the surrounding vapour. Even in 

 the case of a Beech tree that overhung a road, we recollect 

 noticing, by means of shallow vessels placed below a portion 

 of it, that in one morning it condensed and threw down not 

 less than twelve gallons. The question to be solved, then, 



