436 



JOUKSTAL OF HOBTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GAEDEXEE. 



[ December 6, 1861. 



FORcixo-prr. 

 This is a good time to introduce the following plants 

 here, provided they have received the necessary treatment 

 during the summer : — Ehododendrons, Azaleas, Persian 

 lilacs, Sweet Briars, Moss and other Eoses, Ledums, Kal- 

 mias, Daphnes, Anne Boleyn Pinks, Dutch bulbs. Unless, 

 however, they are in proper trim it will be labour in vain, 

 and no mode of forcing or form of pit can compensate for 

 this. The great secret of success, if the heat is wholly 

 derived from fermenting materials, is to keep down accu- 

 mulating damp and mouldiness by an almost constant venti- 

 lation. Those who are fortunate enough to possess pits 

 heated by hot water will, of course, pursue a somewhat 

 different course. 



PITS AND FRAMES. 



Look well to those structures containing stores for next 

 summer, and have sufficient protecting materials always in 

 readiness with which to cover them whenever the weather 

 is unfavourable. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



In all departments the work was chiefly a repetition of 

 previous weeks. Looking after vegetables, protecting Straw- 

 berry-pots from excessive rains and slight frosts, clear- 

 ing off faded leaves from the vinerie3, etc. ; potting Cine- 

 rarias and Primulas, and finrlinj suitable positions for 

 them. 



The chief labour has been cleaning up, collecting tree 

 leaves, sweeping and rolling lawn and walks, as most of the 

 leaves are now fallen. This is a constant work, where neat- 

 ness is an object, and fallen and drifting leaves always 

 conjure up feelings of melancholy. Eough-pruned some 

 strong Eoses, &o„ at the same time. All such work that 

 was done before the late heavy rains on Wednesday, now 

 looks nice, from the thorough washing the lawn and walks 

 received. 



Such washing of the latter, especially if salt is used in 

 the summer for killing weeds, will help to make the walks all 

 nice before the winter. We always feel reluctance to use 

 salt for cleaning after April and May, as with fine gravel, if 

 used later, there will be a tendency to softness in winter, 

 which is disagreeable, especially in damp weather. When 

 used early in spring, it will generally be completely washed 

 out of the gravel before winter. When walks are too rough 

 to be walked on comfortably, we mean from the gravel being 

 large, and of an unbinding character, salt applied to kill 

 weeds, will also ere long make the gravel fine enough. For 

 fine gravel, even on this account, salt should always be used 

 sparingly, as it will break the pebbles gradually down to 

 dust. This wearing effect of salt should not be forgotten, 

 and especially should it be remembered when used near the 

 walls of a stone building. We have known eases where the 

 salt after getting into the ground had risen through the 

 stones, and moistened and mouldered them to a height of 

 several feet. Salt, even for such purposes of cleaning, should 

 therefore be used sparingly and with judgment. We once 

 cleaned very easily some dirty, greasy, green pavement 

 with salt and soda water, but it was a long time before we 

 could get the salt out, so as to prevent it eating away the 

 softer stones, and leaving a whitish dust on the surface, 

 which told too clearly to the initiated the means that had 

 been used for cleaning. 



We rolled hard all the walks we could get at, as if there is 

 the smallest fall to the sides — say li inch from the centre to 

 the sides of a nine-feet walk, a firm, smooth surface now, 

 will send the rains off instead of allowing them to penetrate 

 the walk; and when this is done, the walk being compara- 

 tively dry will be little influenced by frost, as it is unpleasant 

 to go on walks when raised by such frosts, which they will 

 certainly be if they have previously been wet. The firm 

 rolling of walks early in winter i3 also an advantage in all 

 shady places where moss and green is apt to accumulate in 

 winter, as when a sharp frost comes the surface of the firm 

 walk can be well scrubbed with an old hard broom, and 

 almost the whole of the green thoroughly removed— a much 

 easier and better process than digging and turning, which 

 always leaves a walk uncomfortable for a time. 

 Notwithstanding the trouble of collecting and keeping 



tree leaves, they are, perhaps, the most useful things to be 

 found for a garden. With scarcely any trouble m the way 

 of preparation, they furnish the means of themselves for 

 slight hotbeds of all kinds. If collected damp, all that is 

 necessary is to throw them into a heap, so that the some- 

 what violent heat may scatter slugs and kill a good many 

 seed-weeds. When a stronger heat is required, a3 for 

 Cucumbers, this will be secured by a mixture of horsedung, 

 and then a casing of these sweet leaves will keep down all 

 noxious steam. When collected when they are damp and 

 wet it matters little where you put them, as unless in very 

 small quantities they will be sure to heat ; but if they can 

 be procured dry it would be a good thing to store them in 

 an open shed that is sparred all round but with a substantial 

 roof to let off the wet. Here trodden rather firmly they will 

 keep a long time and heat but little, and when wanted for 

 use wiE always yield heat when sprinkled with water. We 

 have known them thus kept as carefully as if they were 

 Hops, and have seen them good even when two years 

 gathered. It would be of little use thus housing them when 

 collected wet as they would be sure to heat. 



These leaves when decomposed may be used so con- 

 tinuously for mai ure until the ground, whether a flower- 

 bed or a Cabbage-Led, may long for a change of enriching 

 material ; but this may always be helped by a slight appli- 

 cation of lime, and though such leaf manure will not yield 

 such heavy crops as a good dressing of farmyard manure, 

 the produce will generally be much sweeter. Even Celery, 

 a rampant feeder, we always think sweeter and crisper when 

 grown chiefly in decomposed leaves. — E. F. 



COTEXT GAEDELY JIAEEET.— December 3. 



We have nothing fresh to report. Prices remain unchanged. 



Apples J sieve 1 



Apncots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bash. 14 



Currants, Bed...J sieve 



Black -.. do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts & Nuts 100 lbs. 60 



Cobs do. 70 



Gooseberries ..i sieve 

 Grapes, Hamburghs lb. 1 



Huseats 3 



Lemons 100 5 



d. a 

 0to2 

 



FRUIT. 

 d 



80 

 



Melons each. 



Mulberries . . .. punnet 



Nectarines .. doz. 



Oranges 190 



Peaches doz. 



Pears (kitchen) —bush. 



dessert doz. 



Pine Apules Ih. 



Plums A sieve 



Pomegranates each 



Quinces i sieve 



RasDberries lb. 



d. s. 

 6 to 4 

 



Walnuts bush. 14 20 



VEGETABLES. 



Artichokes each 



Asparagus bundle 



Beans Broad J sieve 



Kidney 100 



Beet, Red...._ doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



BrusselsSproilts h sieve 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Cucumbers eacn 



pickling doz. 



Endive score 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic and Shallots, lb. 

 Herbs „ c bunch 



d. s. 

 toO 











3 



3 



9 



1 6 







Horseradish ...bundle 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce score 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mnstd. & Cress, punnet 



Onions bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley ...doz. bunches 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Radishe3 doz. bunches 



Savovs doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Spinach sieve 



Tomatoes 1 sieve 



Turnips bunch 



VegetableMarrows doz. 



A. s. d 

 6 to 5 9 



2ns 



l 





 4 





 4 

 

 

 2 

 

 1 

 3 

 3 

 

 

 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



* # * We request that no one will write 'privately to the de- 

 partmental writers of the " Journal of Horticulture, 

 Cottage Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so 

 doing they are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and 

 expense. AH communications should therefore be ad- 

 dressed solely to The Editors of the Journal of Horticul- 

 ture, See., 171, Fleet Street, London. E.C. 

 BnDDKG Roses ox the Blackberry (An Inquircr\ — The Blackberry 



and the Rose are of the same natural order, but we never heard of their 



being united by budding, nor do we see any probable advantage that would 



arise from the'Blackberry stock. 

 NrcTAEnrxs not Rtpexing (Hampshire Bills).— Very rarely do >"ec. 



tarines ripen well on an open wall however good the aspect. If you covered 



them with glass lights like those of a Cucumber-frame, the fruit would 



ripen and well repay you. 



