132 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 26, 1885. 
tmded for insertion should be written on one side of the paper 
only. We cannot reply to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Seedling Holly (FT. P .).—The variety you sent is distinct in its leaves, 
being flatter with less formidable spines than the ordinary form; but we 
cannot see that it possesses any character to render it of esp’cial value. 
There are now numbers of very handsomely variegated Hollies which are 
much superior to the common green varieties, though the broad-leaved 
forms of these are ornamental. 
Testing Seeds (F. J.). —There is no plan so good as counting some of 
each and sowing in pots of soil kept moist in a heated frame, greenhouse, or 
other warm position, noting the number that germinate strongly. If the 
germination is weak the seeds will not be reliable for sowing in the open 
ground. 
Pruning Vines {Idem ).—If you wish to prune the rods on the short- 
spur system, leave a length of 5 feet of the strong ones and prune the shorter 
as we advised last week ; or, if you prefer, you may let the strong rods bear 
their full length, cutting the alternate weaker canes down to good buds near 
the base of the rafters, and they should mature fine canes this year for 
bearing heavily in 1886, the rods you bear heavily this year being cut down 
in winter for forming strong canes for fruiting in 1887. This is the long-rod 
system. On the other method, which is the one usually adopted, the whole 
of the Vines bear every year when furnished with spurs. 
Auricula Frame {C. B .).—At this period of the year and onwards the 
frame should have a sheltered position with a southerly aspect, as after 
growth comm mces it is liable to injury by frost. When the flowers com¬ 
mence expanding the frame may with advantage face the north, as they then 
remain fresh the longer. In the summer the position cannot well be too 
cool, the north side of a building being suitable, and a free circulation of air 
indispensable. 
Shading for Greenhouse {Constant Header). —The following mixture is 
employed for the purpose named in one of the largest plant-growing 
establishments in the country, and where the rain water from the tanks is 
used for the occupants of the houses :—Ingredients: 1 lb. of wheat flour, 
half a pound of whiting, and 1 lb. of common candle or Russian tallow. 
Make the flour into a paste and then put in the candles while the paste 
is hot, crush the whiting into a powder, mix with cold water, and then 
add to the paste, also adding as much Brunswick green as you need. When 
required for use warm it in a pail and paint the glass when the sun is 
shining upon it. 
Auriculas {Clifton). —Auriculas when growing and showing their flowers 
are liable to injury by frost, therefore should be placed where they can 
have a little protection when needed, but a very light position is essential 
for keeping them sturdy. We should not pick off the first flower trusses. 
Alpines will do very well on outside window sills, but the Show varieties 
need the protection of glass, and should be arranged as close to it as pos¬ 
sible. A shelf in your conservatory will probably do very well. 
Planting Larch {J. E .).—There is no doubt but that Larch is the most 
profitable timber, and as the ground does not appear suitable for the growth 
of hard wood we should certainly plant it with Larch again. For the sake 
of appearance, if that is an object, you may intersperse the Larch with a 
few Scotch Firs, or about a sixth. As the situation is exposed we should 
plant thick, or about a yard apart, which will require 4840 trees per acre, 
and certainly not more distantly than 4 feet, which will take 2722 to plant 
an acre. The young trees would be best 12 to 18 inches, and they should 
be planted without further delay ; November to March in mild weather is a 
proper time to plant. We have planted many thousands in March, but all 
depends upon the season, it not being advisable to plant after the buds are 
swelling, and it is important that the roots be kept damp when out of the 
ground. 
Forming a Cricket Field (TV.).—To form a cricket ground in a somewhat 
rough field you will need to level the ground, and not only that, but have 
the soil moved to an even depth, so as to secure a regular growth of the 
grass. It should be brought to a good tilth and thoroughly cleansed of 
weeds, and may be sown early in April with a mixture of grass seeds, which 
may be procured of any respectable seedsman, stating the nature of the 
soil, so as to insure a suitable mixture. Rake lightly m and roll. If you 
wish a good sward, one fit to play on this season, it should be laid with turf; 
but a fair turf may be had by sowing thickly not less than 60 tbs. per acre, 
keeping the ground well rolled and not mown too closely. 
Zonal Pelargoniums {N. 0.). —Few plants are more easily raised from 
seed than these, but the majority will not be equal to existing named 
varieties. Sow early in March in shallow pans of light soil through which 
the feather-like appearance of each seed may protrude. If the seed is good 
it will quickly germinate, and should then be removed from the hotbed and 
be placed upon a shelf in the greenhouse near to the glass. Water very 
moderately, or the plants will be apt to damp off. As soon as the seedlings 
have made their second leaf place them Bingly into 2-inch pots, in a 
compost of loam and leaf mould in equal parts, with a liberal addition of 
river sand finely sifted. Replace them on the shelf, and shade for a time 
from hot sunshine. The seedlings will soon fill these small pots with roots. 
They must then be transferred into pots a size larger, and may afterwards be 
treated in the same way as those which have been propagated by cuttings. 
Keep them near to the glass, and give abundance of air on all favourable 
occasions. As soon as the weather will permit place them out of doors 
upon a bed of ashes of sufficient thickness to prevent worms from entering 
the pots. The situation should be an open one, to ripen the wood and induce 
a stocky or bushy habit, so as to insure their flowering as soon as possible. 
The size of pots to flower them in need not be more than 4| inches. 
Painting Hot-water Pipes {G. Wilson ).—The following reference to 
this subject in Fawkes’s “Hot-water Heating” will answer your inquiry :— 
If ordinary oil colour is used to paint hot-water pipes there will be an 
unpleasant smell which will last for some time, caused by the heated drying 
oil; this, however, will not be found so objectionable in a greenhouse as in 
buildings where persons assemble or dwell. If the pipes require to have a 
glo's upon them, the expensive paint called Brunswick black may be used 
with advantage, or vegetable black mixed with good boiled oil and a very 
small quantity of driers may be employed. If any disagreeable smell require 
to be entirely avoided, and a dead colour is not an objection, the oil may be 
left out of the paint, and the pigment and turps employed, or a distemper 
wash (pigment and water) may be put on the pipes, or the pipes may be 
blackleaded. The last method is not always satisfactory in greenhouses,as 
if the surface of the pipe become wet during syringing or watering the 
pipes would have to be re-blackleaded. 
Border Carnations (TV.).—Twelve good varieties are Rifleman,Illumina¬ 
tor, Mrs. Reeve, Celestial, Unique, Perdita, Improvement, James Merry- 
weather, Mrs. Matthews, Mary Morris, Hindoo, and Kate Vaughan. They 
require good rich soil, if heavy adding some road scrapings, and if light 
some strong turfy loam, mixing well with the soil, and a good dressing of 
well-decayed manure mixed with the soil, which should be turned over 
frequently on dry days. Plant early in April, and water if the weather 
be dry. Mulch a couple of inches thick in June, and afford liquid 
manure once a week, keeping the mulching moist by watering in the 
evening of dry days. The plants should have an open situation, but 
are the better for shelter from wind by a fence at a short distance, but not 
so near as to shade the plant. The scarlet white Cloves are valuable for 
border decoration, as also is the rose self Carnation Mary Morris. 
Planting Flower Bed (A Lady Gardener). —We presume you wish to 
plant the bed with the plants named in your list, and those only. Acting 
thereon we advise 1 and 4 to be planted with Mrs. Pollock tricolor Pelar¬ 
gonium, 2 and 5 Happy Thought Pelargonium, and 3 and 6 with Flower of 
Spring variegated Pelargonium. 13 and 16 plant with Lobelia, and dot up 
the centre with Golden Feather Pyrethrum, the dots being about 1 foot 
apart; 14 and 17 Golden Feather Pyrethrum, dotted similarly to 13 and 16 
with Lobelia; and 15 and 18 Sedum Lydmrn, dotted with Echeveria, about 
a foot apart, and up the centre of the Sedum. Instead of bringing the seg¬ 
ments of the hexagon centre figure to the edges of the bed they should not 
reach it nearer than 6 inches, so as to allow of an edging all around the 
circle of Cerastium and that width, and taking it round 9 and 12, and_ the 
centre of those fill with blue and yellow Pansies, blue next the Cerastium, 
and yellow in the centre. 8 and 11 may be planted with Christine Pelar¬ 
gonium. But these will grow too tall for the other plants ; therefore separate 
8 and 11 from the Sedum in 15 and 18 by a single line all around of Golden 
Feather, and fill the centres with blue Pansy. Line 7 and 10 all around 
with Lobelia, and fill the centre with white Violas. For the centre of the 
bed we should have a Dracaena, and plant Christine Pelargonium in a 
circle, cutting the outer edges of the segments, the Dracaena being just high 
enough to show above the Pelargoniums. 
Mushrooms in Boxes {C. Watts). —Many persons have grown them in 
boxes in sheds and other places, and one individual has grown them under 
the table in his cottage and in a cupboard. The case is recorded in the 
last edition of Wright’s “Mushrooms for the Million,” as follows:—“An 
early edition of this treatise having reached the hands of a Mr. Isaac 
Leedham, a working painter at West Derby, Liverpool, he attempted to 
grow Mushrooms in boxes in his cottage. Last August the writer surprised 
Mr. Leedham by a call. At the bottom of a cupboard in which crockery was 
kept on the shelves a Mushroom bed was in full bearing ; in another similar 
place a bed for succession was prepared. Under the table were boxes—one 
bearing a full crop, another recently spawned; packed on a heap of coals 
in an outhouse were similar boxes, some in bearing, others to follow. These 
were rough boxes, 2 or 3 feet long, less in width, and about 8 inches deep. 
They were filled with horse manure beaten down firmly, spawned, cased 
with soil, and covered with hay to keep in the moisture. It was quite a 
museum of Mushrooms, of which the owner was not a little proud, and he 
gleefully told of ‘ many a frizzle.’ The cottage was as neat and clean as 
the most fastidious could desire, and no one would suspect that Mushrooms 
were growing in the cupboards and under the tables. The case is cited, how¬ 
ever, mainly as showing how easily Mushrooms may be grown by persons 
who study their requirements, and carry out intelligently the instructions 
that are given for producing them in and outdoors.” 
Orange Tree Unhealthy ( D. Winter). —Your Orange is suffering from 
one or more of the following causes:—Imperfect drainage and a sour soil, 
caused by too much water, or from giving only a little now and then, but 
never enough to thoroughly moisten the ball of earth, or the brown scale 
may have closed the pores of the leaves and sucked out the sap. Any of the 
above will cause the Orange to throw off its leaves. You will determine for 
yourself which of the above causes are applicable to your case, and adopt a 
mode of treatment the opposite you have followed to effect a remedy. In 
your case we should turn the plant out of the pot, take away all the loose 
soil and as much soil from between the roots as it is possible to do without 
injuring them with a blunt-pointed stick, cutting off any decayed roots at 
the same time with a sharp knife. But if the roots are very much decayed 
wash all the soil away from them, take away all the decayed parts, cutting 
well into the quick. Prepare a clean pot sufficiently large to prevent the 
roots from beiDg cramped against the pot sides, but not larger than just to 
contain the roots comfortably. Place a large crock on the hole in the pot; 
and if that be small, make it larger with a hammer. Put for a 12-inch pot 
3 inches of smaller crocks at bottom of pot, or let the drainage occupy one- 
third of the depth of the pot, and on that plaee a little moss. Pot lightly, 
yet filling up all the crevices between the roots, and keep the neck of the 
plant well up, for the Orange, like the Camellia, soon becomes sickly when 
the roots are buried. Use three parts turfy loam and one-fourth leaf mould 
with a little rough sand intermixed. If the plant is infested with scale 
paint with a brush all the shoots with a solution of Gishurst compound at a 
strength of 8 ozs. to the gallon of water. Should you have the convenience 
of a hotbed at a temperature of from 75° to 85° your plant will be much 
benefited by being plunged there until it breaks into leaf, and none the 
worse if kept there until the wood is formed. The top heat may range from 
65° to 85° for about six weeks, then it should be lowered so as to gradually 
harden-off the plant for the greenhouse—its proper place. If the plant be 
straggling or the shoots weak, cut them well back when the buds begin to 
swell, for the sap is then on the move and roots are beginning to form. 
Syringe gently twice a day—morning and evening—and keep the soil in the 
pot rather dry at first, giving more as growth progresses. If you have no 
hotbed, place the plant at the warmest end of the greenhouse, sprinkle! 
