170 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 28, 1884. 
October through the winter and spring on to the next October 
with the aid of occasional surfacings of ferlilisers. Last autumn 
one of the cottagers here showed two plants 8 feet across and 
covered with trusses, which had dowered in our hothouses all the 
winter and were given to him in spi’ing, and which he kept in the 
same 6-inch pots. 
A compost the most conducive to rapid growth is one formed 
of turfy loam and good fibrous peat. For growing rapidly into 
specimens such plants as Ferns, Tea Roses, many stove and 
reenhouse plants, nothing can be better than the above. When 
brous peat cannot be obtained the roots of such vigorous- 
growing Ferns such as Lastrea dilatata or L. Filix-fcemina are very 
suitable. For mixing with composts for many plants crushed 
lime rubbish is better than sand. Bones are a very good ferti¬ 
liser, and the best form to employ that in is as bonemeal, 
Crushed bones and half-inch bones do not act so quickly; and 
although roots may be found clinging to these, that is more a 
proof of their being conservative of moisture than that the 
plants are deriving food from them in any quantity. Pure leaf 
mould I use for many plants that are to be grown only a short 
time in pots and then turned out—such, for instance, as bedding 
plants and ordinary Dahlias. Amateurs are often fond of experi¬ 
menting, and one showed me last spring some good Calceolarias 
thriving in ordinary moss lifted from the base of a forest tree. 
Sphagnum is a very good substitute for peat for potting stove 
plants. Alocasias, Anthuriums, and plants of that description 
thrive well in pure sphagnum. Either sheep-droppings or cow 
manure should be used as surfacing about three times through 
the growing season. 
As a rule it is safest to employ simple composts. It will 
invariably be found that when a plant has to be a long time 
in one pot, and to bear therein a crop of fruit, as in the case 
of Strawberries or Pine Apples, or a continued succession, or a 
large crop of flowers, as in the case of Chrysanthemums or 
Pelargoniums in winter, then a very simple compost is a 
necessity. 
Potting. —Pots, it may be said, are a necessary evil, though 
any plant grown in pots may be as well or better, and certainly 
more cheaply grown in beds or borders. That, however, is not 
always convenient, and therefore we ai'e compelled to use pots. 
For the everyday gardener, whether professional or amateur, the 
great point to be considered with regard to plant-growing in 
pots is the best means of getting the greatest amount of plant 
food possible within their very contracted limits. First of all 
drainage may be mentioned. No rule can be laid down as to how 
much drainage should be given to a plant. I may merely place 
a piece of broken pot over the outlet of a 6-inch pot, if I use 
leaf soil simply; or if the plant is to be only a short time in the 
pot, as in the case of a Tomato or a Dahlia, but with a Fern, a 
Pelargonium, or a Primula, the case is different. Coal cinders 
are preferable to potsherds for draining most pots, except the 
very largest sizes usually employed for stove and greenhouse 
plants. For large pots it is decidedly the best system to give 
abundant drainage. Of two plants, one in a deeply drained pot, 
the other with little drainage, the chances are all in favour of 
the better drained pot producing the healthier plant. The soil 
ought to be in such a condition that if a portion is squeezed in 
the hand it will readily crumble into loose soil again at a very 
slight touch. Dryness is bad, wetness is worse. In the state 
above indicated as most suitable, it is a safe plan to cram as 
much of it into a pot as possible. Certainly the growth will not 
be so luxuriant as if a looser mode of potting were followed, but 
in the long run it will be found that firm potting followed out as 
a rule will give the best results. Small pots with firm potting is 
the simplest and most certain way of laying the foundation of 
healthy plants. These few principles will be found a sufficient 
guide for beginners who with a love for their work require a 
guide to mark their way.—R. P. Brotherston. 
VINES BLEEDING. 
As far as my experience goes on the above subject I fully believe that 
Vines which bleed to any great extent are much weakened for the ensuing 
crop. In the earliest house of Black and Golden Hamburghs here last 
year’s observations convinced me of the above statement. The Vines were 
pruned in the last week of November, and their age as near as I can guess 
is ten or twelve years. One Black Hamburgh had four strong main rods, 
and to give them more space we took out the oldest rod of the four, cutting 
it about 2 inches from the juncture. The diameter was fully 2 inches 
where it was cut. The Vines were started in the last week of January, 
all seeming to break the same and make the same progress till they were 
bursting into leaf, when the Vine under notice showed signs of weakness ; 
but as there was a stage along the front of the house filled with plants the 
wound was hidden below the stage, as they are planted inside. There was 
little done to discover the weakness till it was plain that something was 
wrong, when it was found that it had been bleeding severely for some 
time, but I cannot say the date at which bleeding commenced, but it con¬ 
tinued its exhausting work for ten or fourteen days after our notice. The 
result was weak wood and small bunches, about three weeks later in 
ripening than the others in the same house. It may be also stated that the 
Vine under notice was at the coolest end of the house, and that might have 
caused it to be a little later, but it would not have impaired its strength. 
-J. S. 
DIARIES AND BOOKS FOR GARDENERS. 
A well-kept record of tho daily work done in gardens, with notes on 
the results of past work and the condition of plants and crops, is of the 
greatest importance to both old and young gardeners. There are so many 
forms of diaries now to choose from that any person can select one to his 
own particular taste. I prefer to obtain a large foolscap scribbling book 
containing about 300 pages, and prepare it as follows : —About fifty-two 
pages are selected at the end of the book; these are marked with the letters 
of the alphabet in red and blue ink on the margins of the leaves. Two 
leaves, or four pages, are allowed for each letter. After the first letter 
“ A ” is marked a strip is cut off the two pages the width of the letters, 
and the next letter “ B ” marked, continuing thus until the whole of 
the letters of the alphabet are printed. This method is employed for 
special notes, as for example, “Early Peach house started January 1st, 
1884.” Now, as “Peach” is the subject referred to, I should place my 
thumb on the letter “ P ” on the margin, open the book at that place, and 
enter the note. By the adoption of this simple method I can refer to notes 
on any particular subject at a moment’s notice without having to wado 
through the matter in the full and general portion of the diary. 
I have two books, one for the farm and one for the garden, and can 
refer to these as easily as an index to a volume. Then I adopt one page 
of the garden book to a table of outdoor temperatures. It is arranged in 
columns thus :—The first column on the left-hand side is for the date of the 
month ; following this are two columns, maximum and minimum, for each 
month, with the name of the month neatly printed over each pair of 
columns. The temperatures of the first day in each month are thus given 
in parallel columns, and so on throughout the year. The preceding 
pages of the book are devoted to a full description of whatever is done 
during the day, with observations thereon. It will thus be seen that a diary 
of this kind is a complete vade mecum of useful and interesting matter. I 
have kept such a diary for many years, indeed ever since I commenced 
my gardening career, and have always found it a source of pleasure and 
profit in doing so. 
Having briefly referred to the question of diaries, it may possibly be of 
service to some of the younger readers of the Journal to name a few books 
on gardening that have been found useful, and which may soon be obtained 
by those who do not spend their money in the frivolous customs of life. 
Amongst other works the following are strongly recommended to form 
the nucleus of a gardener’s library:—Johnson’s “Cottage Gardener’s 
Dictionary;” Dr. Hogg’s “Fruit Manual;” “Vines at Longleat;” 
Fawkes’ “Horticultural Buildings;” Burbidge’s “Cultivated Plants;” 
Smith’s “Ferns: British and Foreign ; ” Lindley’s “ Theory and Practice 
of Horticulture,” and “Vegetable Kingdom;” Williams’ “Stove and 
Greenhouse Plants,” twovols.; and “Orchid Growers’ Manual;” Thompson’s 
“ Gardener’s Assistant ” (new edition); D. Thomson’s “Handy Book of 
Fruit Culture under Glass,” and “Handy Book of the Flower Garden;” 
Veitch’s “ Manual of Coniferse ; ” “ The Farmer’s and Gardener’s Reason 
Why;” Johnston’s “Agricultural Chemistry;” Sutherland’s “Handy 
Book of Herbaceous Plants;” Robinson’s “ Alpine Plants Douglas’s 
“ Hardy Florists’ Flowers; ” Sutton’s “ Culture of Vegetables and 
Flowers; ” Masters’ “ Botany for Beginners; ” Loudon’s “ Self-Instruction 
to Young Gardeners,” and if possible a copy of his “ Encyclopaedia ot 
Trees and Shrubs.” Those who desire to strive for self-improvement will 
find Cassell’s “ Popular Educator ” of great value. I can boast of a much 
larger and more varied library of useful works than the foregoing list, 
and nearly all purchased with cash saved by exercising self-denial in the 
luxuries that too many young men indulge in. The study of British ento¬ 
mology and botany are worthy the attention of young gardeners during 
the spring, summer, and autumn months, as it affords a very pleasant and 
instructive pastime. During winter the long evenings may be profitably 
employed in study, and to relieve the monotony of such occasionally fret 
and solid carving will be found a pleasant amusement. We can look back 
on many pleasant reminiscences of bothy life in the shape of dried collec¬ 
tions of wild flowers, insects, and fret-carving. 
These notes are penned with a view to assist those of your numerous 
readers who are yet in their probationary stage, and if they should prove 
useful I shall not have written in vain.—A Young Head Gakdener. 
BEAUCARNEA RECURVATA 
BeAUCArnea recurvata, sometimes known also by the name of 
B. tuberculata, is an exceedingly ornamental plant. The genus Beau- 
carnea is of somewhat recent introduction, and belongs to the order 
Liliaceas. At present there are but few species known, but those with 
which we are acquainted are all natives of the temperate regions of 
Mexico. Beaucarneas are remarkable for the bulb-like swelling at the 
base, and an arborescent stem. The swollen base in the species we here 
figure is nearly smooth, but in some others it becomes rough and woody, 
