DOMESTIC GARDENING. 
3 1 9 
the sun, in properly maturing the juices. By 
the beginning of January, the whole of the crop 
will be matured and gathered, and at this 
time the temperature should progressively be 
reduced ten or fifteen degrees, so as to inter- 
cept their growth. They must also be pruned 
in very close, leaving little else besides the 
main stem ; the gi'eater part of what is trained 
in for bearing the following season, should be 
two years old. In this state they may remain 
for about two months, when the necessary 
increase of temperature, to start them into 
growth, must be gradually brought on, accom- 
panied by the natural stimulus of vegetation, 
all of which should be most freely applied 
when the influence of the sun is most powerful. 
There is yet another point connected with the 
Passion-flower, as a fruit-bearing plant, which 
should be noticed. The flowers of all the 
species of Passiflora, are well known to contain 
a fringe-like circle of long, narrow, fleshy 
filaments between the petals and the part 
which at length becomes the fruit. In their 
natural places of growth, the whole progress ! 
of development would be rapid, and these J 
filaments would speedily have served their j 
purpose, and have dried up and decayed ; but j 
from the more tardy and sluggish action of 
plants when under artificial circumstances, 
and when suffering from the defective supply I 
of solar light and heat, these portions of the j 
flower assume a more permanent character, 
and retain their succulence for a much longer 
period ; in consequence of which, a super- 
abundance of moisture is induced in the 
immediate neighbourhood of the scarcely yet 
impregnated germ ; and this has sometimes 
the effect of destroying it. The best remedy 
is to observe that no extraneous moisture 
becomes lodged in the cavities formed between 
the base of the several parts of the flowers. 
The fruit of the Passion-flower is some- 
times preserved with sugar, and is said to 
form a very excellent addition to this class 
of luxuries. 
DOMESTIC GARDENING. 
THE COVERED BALCONY. 
This is, in fact, a green-house on a small 
scale : the plants we shall enumerate for the 
situation are legitimate inhabitants of the 
green-house ; and consequently, the treatment 
to which we shall have to direct attention is, 
with some modifications, that to which green- 
house plants are properly subjected. We 
shall first notice some of the more important 
matters, such as watering, potting, and the 
regulation of heat and air. 
Watering. — The importance of rightly per- 
forming this operation may be gathered from 
thy fact tli at plants derive a great portion of 
those matters which conduce to their nourish- 
ment from the soil ; and these matters are 
only available to minister to their wants when 
they are presented to the roots in a fluid 
state, or, in other words, when held in solu- 
tion by the water contained in, and adminis- 
tered to, the soil. Consequently, water is a 
direct agent in the application of* the food of* 
plants, if not, indeed, the source whence some 
part thereof is derived ; and it is, therefore, 
equally necessary — we had almost written, 
indispensable. But then, this salutary in- 
fluence of water is only exerted when it is 
evenly and equably distributed among the 
particles of the soil, and disposed in such a 
manner as to permit the circulation of the 
constituents of the atmosphere throughout the 
soil ; for it is only when in this state that 
those chemical changes can go on between the 
air, the water, and the substances forming the 
compost, which will render the latter soluble 
in water, and fit to be absorbed by the spon- 
gioles, or growing points of the roots, and 
thus appropriated to the nourishment of the 
plants. When moisture in excess is present 
in the soil, it becomes less open and porous ; 
the particles of water cohere, instead of being 
separated ; and consequently, the free access 
of atmospheric air is prevented. This alone 
is the source of much evil; but another conse- 
quence also follows, the soil becomes saturated 
or soured whenever the access of air is pre- 
vented, and in this state is most inimical to 
the healthiness of plants. This will, we think, 
be sufficient to establish our point, viz. that 
watering is one of the most important opera- 
tions attending the art of cultivation ; and 
that, without proper regard being paid to it, 
the success of other appliances will, at the 
best, be imperfect, and the cultivator will, at 
all times, be subject to more or less of dis- 
appointment. 
It is impossible to give any exact directions 
as to the frequency of the application of 
water ; and hence arises the difficulty of im- 
parting correct ideas on the subject. To name 
any special condition of the soil which should 
be aimed at, is liable to be misapprehended, 
and therefore, this is not quite a satisfactory 
method. All persons can, however, under- 
stand the condition of the soil, both when 
saturated with, and devoid of moisture, and 
by making use of this we hope to render 
ourselves intelligible in stating, that the con- 
dition of the soil, when exactly intermediate 
between these two extremes, and most evenly 
maintained in that condition, is most gene- 
rally adapted for the growth of plants ; while, 
for their preservation in winter, a somewhat 
decreased proportion is sufficient, and when they 
are approaching to the state of inflorescence, a 
triflingly additional amount is required by 
