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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ December 27, 1864. 



usually the offspring of Scotland's cottagers, they are, for 

 the most part the sons of a higher class. 



Be the reason what it may, the fact is patent that Scotch 

 cottagers neglect gardening, and to rouse them and to guide 

 them from this injurious neglect is the object of the work 

 before us. "They will find," says the introductory note, 

 " by paying a little attention to the subject, that it is quite 

 within their power to obtain either some addition to the 

 comforts of then- own firesides, or a little money from the 

 sale of the produce. 



" This small publication may also, perhaps, prove useful 

 to parents who desire to give their children a taste for 

 flowers, and to encourage them in the innocent pleasure of 

 rearing their own plants. 



" The object has been to give practical information, so 

 that any one may easily find out what to put in his garden, 

 the quantity and price of seeds required, and how common 

 vegetables ought to be cooked." 



Such are the writer's praiseworthy, disinterested objects, 

 and without any reserve we say that whoever follows the 

 instructions he gives, will not fail to attain them. Let us 

 add, that although Mr. Cunningham gives the instructions, 

 and is well capable of giving them, yet with the good spirit 

 of one who not only wishes to be of service, bat is anxious 

 to adopt the surest mode of conferring the benefit, he has 

 had the pages of his little book revised by some of the ablest 

 gardeners, and other good authorities. 



We commend the work to our readers ; and those of them 

 who wish to distribute such a guide among cottagers not 

 yet attracted to gardening, or who need more information, 

 may obtain the book at the reduced price of 2s. per dozen. 



PEODUCE FEOM AJST OECHABD-HOTTSE. 



Seeing a wish expressed by one of your correspondents, 

 that cultivators of orchard-house trees would furnish a state- 

 ment of the quantity or size of various fruits under their 

 superintendence, I enclose mine, hoping you may think it 

 likely to prove interesting to your readers. 



I have two small houses, one 15J feet by 12, the other 

 18 feet by 8J-, and in them about eighty trees of various de- 

 scriptions. The Peaches, Nectarines, and some of the Plums 

 are kept under glass the whole season. The Pears, Apples, 

 and the remainder of the Plums are placed out of doors about 

 the 25th of June, the pots being plunged half their depth in 

 the soil. Size of the pots 12' s, 8's, and 6's. 



The Peaches and Nectarines were over-cropped, one having 

 forty left on it, when prudence said twenty would have been 

 a good crop, consequently they were rather small, but the 

 flavour was generally good. The Pitmaston Orange Nec- 

 tarine bore a large crop of excellent flavour and size. As 

 regards Plums, Coe's Golden Drop bore a good crop, flavour 

 delicious ; Jefferson, two years in pots, bore forty-six fruit of 

 the usual size; Pond's Seedling, thirty fruit, beautifully 

 coloured, six weighing 13 ozs., or rather more than 2 ozs. 

 each. 



Apples (beautifully coloured). — Brandy Apple, 7f inches 

 circumference; Mela Carla, 11 inches; Melon Apple, 12J inches; 

 Reinette du Canada, 13f inches. 



Peaks. — Beurre d'Esperen, 1\ inches by 7-J; Beurre 

 d'Aremberg, 9 inches by 8 ; Josephine de Malines, 8| inches ; 

 by 8| ; Winter Nelis, 9-J inches by 10; Beurre Diel, 7} inches 

 by 11. The flavour of those which have ripened has been 

 delicious. — W. H. T., Sawhridgeworth, Herts. 



P.S. — Mr. Rivers saw the above Apples and Pears growing, 

 and pronounced them first-class fruit. 



CULTUEE OF LEOPAED'S BANE. 

 Owing to the machinery being out of repair at a woollen 

 mill, a number of young women were for a time thrown 

 out of employment. Having nothing to do they took 

 a ramble into the country. One of them bent on gather- 

 ing wild flowers rambled into a wood, where, in a boggy 

 place near a stream, she gathered a handful of the flowers 

 of Doronicum pardalianches (Leopard's Bane). Pleased with 

 them she showed them to her partners, who on their return 

 gathered handfuls of the flowers. They were shown to the 

 operatives at the mill, the flowers were new to them ; having 



cottage gardens at home, they inquired where the wild 

 plants grew, and went and gathered roots which they planted 

 at home. They grew, and next season flowered abundantly. 

 The cottagers were pleased with the flowers, and distributed 

 roots among their neighbours and friends. The Leopard's 

 Bane is now a common plant, and is one of the cottager's 

 favourites. It is easily propagated by dividing the roots, 

 which are composed of several knobs connected by long 

 fibres. The best spot to grow it is a damp soil, there it will 

 flower for a long time. The flowers come at the end of the 

 branches, are overtopped by succeeding ones, and are of 

 a bright yellow colour. 



With us it is a rare wild plant, and if the herbalists collect 

 the leaves as eagerly as they have done in the last season, it 

 will not be long before it is exterminated. — Rustic Robin. 



THE MATUELNG OF FEUITS. 



I shall be glad of some information relative to the ma- 

 turing of fruits, particularly the later sorts of Pears. I 

 think there is much yet to be learnt of their proper treat- 

 ment, which treatment, perhaps, ought in some measure 

 to vary with each sort, if this were practicable. 



Take, for instance, the Beurre de Capiaumont. Mr. 

 Rivers classes it among the stewing Pears, whereas with me 

 if not allowed to hang too long on the tree, and so soon as 

 gathered put into a room where the temperature never or 

 seldom falls below 60° Falir., it is in about a'fortnight or three 

 weeks one mass of juice, and of very high flavour, but, un- 

 fortunately, it does not keep after this stage is reached 

 more than a day or two. 



So with the Mario Louise, the Beurre de Ranee, and some 

 others, although I prolong their season by keeping them in 

 a cold room, I never develope their flavour as I do when 

 kept- warmer. -In fact, in the case of Beurre do Capiaumont, 

 if I keep it cool a fortnight after gathering it never becomes 

 melting.— T. G. 



PEOFITS OF A V1NEEY. 



Having noticed discussions on orchard-houses in your 

 Journal for some time, I thought an account of a house 

 under my care might interest some of your readers. 



When I came to this place (Manor House, Ashton-on- 

 Mersey), an orchard-house was about to be erected. It is 

 60 feet by 20, but 6 feet are taken off for the boiler and 

 potting-shed. Air is given at the sides and top, in a similar 

 manner to the one at Great Marlow. It has a double row of 

 four-inch piping, flow and return, along each side and one end; 

 but as the lady I have the honour to serve wanted flowers, 

 the internal arrangements were altered. A partition was 

 put across the centre, making each part 27 feet long. The 

 front was filled with stands suitable for plants, the other 

 portion with bedding plants. Ten Vines were planted on 

 each side ; they were planted inside, and the roots allowed 

 to run out. In the hot summer of 1859 they made excellent 

 growth, and in 1S60 they were allowed to carry two bunches 

 each. In 1861 they carried six bunches each. In 1862 we 

 began selling the Grapes, realising ,£10, and in 1863 we made 

 ,£51 13s. 6d. We have just done cutting Grapes, and I find 

 we have made this year ,£61 19s. lOd. If the account from 

 Great Marlow be a fair calculation, I think Vines would be 

 most profitable, besides the advantage of growing plants 

 underneath them. — S. Ryder. 



[Our correspondent calls the structure an orchard-house, 

 but it is a heated vinery. He does not say when he begins 

 forcing, nor how early the Grapes were ripe.— Eds.] 



EETLNOSPOBA OBTTTSA. 



I obtained a few small plants of this Japan tree about a 

 year ago, and being uncertain whether they would prove 

 perfectly hardy or not I planted them in a cold pit. In the 

 severe weather of last January I stuck a few laurel boughs 

 amongst them and over them, and they escaped without the 

 least injury. In fact, I think they would not have suffered 

 if they had been perfectly exposed. It is not, however, to 

 their hardiness but to another circumstance that I wish to 

 direct attention. Since the summer growth has perfected 



