October 4, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
301 
VALLOTA PURPUREA. 
This plant is indispensable to the amateur and gardener alike. 
Although an Amaryllis it is evergreen, and must be treated as such. It 
flowers in August or September. After the flowers have faded it should 
be freshly potted and kept growing slowly, with a moderate allowance 
of water all winter. By May it should be placed in a cold frame (or in 
warm localities outside) for the summer months, and duly attended 
with water. Y\ hen the flower spikes show it should again be removed 
inside. 
TULIPS IN POTS. 
Tulips in pots require treatment almost similar in every way to 
Hyacinths, so we need not repeat our instructions. Six bulbs may be 
placed in a G-inch pot, and a dozen in a nan 9 inches wide. They may 
be had very early in bloom. It is only the early Dutch kinds which are 
grown for greenhouse or window decoration. The following are all 
good and cheap and fit for any ordinary purposes. Singles: Due Van 
l^hol some half-dozen varieties (these are the earliest)—Joost Van 
A on del, Proserpine, Keysers Kroon, Tournesol (two vars.), Queen 
Y ictoria, Vermilion Brillant. Doubles: Due Van Thol, Tournesol, 
Le Candeur, Hercules, and Mariage de ma Fdle.—A. H. 
ZAUSCHNERIA CALIFORNIGA. 
During the present season this pretty perennial has been very 
notable on my rockery. It has been flowering all through the summer 
and is even now attractive. It is easily grown provided it is not planted 
in too damp a situation, and a moderately dry place can be readily found 
for it upon any rockery. It can be raised from cuttings or seeds, the 
plants obtained in the latter way flowering in autumn if raised in May. 
The first plants were raised from seeds collected by Mr. Hartweg 
in fields about Santa Cruz in California, and received in England, 
May 11th, 1847, and plants were raised in the Horticultural Society’s 
Garden. It forms a bushy perennial, about 3 feet high, clothed with 
ovate, sessile, toothed leaves, resembling those of a Gaura. Every 
branch emits from the axils of all the upper leaves one horizontal 
bright scarlet flower, about 1^ inch long. Its general appearance is 
not unlike that of a Fuchsia, but the calyx tube has four stout ribs. 
The petals, which are inversely heart-shaped, spread flat ; the eight 
stamens, with red anthers and a red four-lobed stigma, project beyond 
the flower. 
There is a plant which I take to be a variety of this species very much 
smaller in growth and bearing smaller flowers, more tubular in form and 
deeper in colour. When I first examined the flowers I thought they were 
only pistillate, as the stamens appeared to be undeveloped, but now the 
stamens have advanced and produced pollen. It is therefore one of those 
numerous plants in which the pistil is mature before the stamens.—R. B. C. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Seasonable Work .—A weedy kitchen garden looks bad at all times, and 
it is never the most profitable. Keeping gardens clean in summer is com¬ 
mendable, as the young crops thrive under such attention ; but cleanliness 
is just as beneficial now and throughout the winter as at any other season, 
and we would urge everyone to see to this matter. The hoeing season will 
soon be over, as the ground becomes wet and unsuitable for this operation, 
but if thoroughly cleaned now it will remain in this desirable condition for 
some months 1o come. All old vegetable roots and stumps should be 
cleared from the ground. Remove decayed Peas, and save and store the 
freshest of the stakes to be used again next year. Seed of anything now 
maturing should be gathered before being blown out of the pods by 
strong winds or spoiled by drenching rains. Superfluous seeding plants 
should all be thrown away. It is better to have the quarters clear than 
occupied with useless stuff for which there will never be any demand. 
Roots .—Late Potatoes, Carrots, and Beetroot should be lifted and 
stored for the winter without delay. It is an advantage of the utmost 
importance to have all roots placed under cover in a dry condition. We 
are busy storing everything we can for winter use, and when the bad 
weather comes, as more than likely it will do shortly, it will find us quite 
independent. 
Cauliflowers .—Many of these are now turning in, and as a few degrees 
of frost may occur any night, care should be taken that the heads are 
not spoiled by this. The purest and finest flavoured Cauliflower heads 
are always had when a few of the outer leaves are bent over and broken 
to cover the heads from the time they are first visible, and the protection 
these afford prevents a slight frost from doing them any harm. Some 
cultivators are in the habit of allowing their Cauliflower heads to become 
from 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter before cutting, but this practice we 
cannot recommend. The heads should be cut when they are close, firm, 
white, and in the finest condition for the table. When the supply 
exceeds the demand the heads may be preserved for some weeks if they 
are cut with 6 inches or so of stem attached, the bulk of the leaves cut 
off, and the stems inserted a few inches deep in moist leaf soil or sand in 
a dark shed or cellar. 
Winter Spinach .—Most of this is growing freely now, and as the 
plants are liable to become crowded, therefore thinning them out must 
be well attended to if large succulent leaves are desired. At the first 
thinning the plants should be left about G inches apart, and then allow 
all to remain until they meet again, when every other plant may be 
drawn out for use, and those remaining will furnish many gatherings 
throughout the winter and well into spring. 
Vegetable Marrows .—These have been unusually fine and prolific this 
season, and plenty of growth and blooms are still being formed, but 
little or few fruits will set on those plants bearing many old Marrows. 
It is a common practice to allow the early fruits when not wanted for 
the kitchen to hang on until they become yellow and ripe, and they often 
remain long after this; but where late fruits are desired no fruit must be 
permitted to become large, and many of the superfluous shoots should be 
thinned out. Indeed, to grow Marrows properly they should be treated 
like Cucumbers in stopping and cutting off fruits and shoots. Marrows 
are much valued by many during the winter, and they are very easily 
preserved, as if cut just as they begin to grow yellow, and hung in a net 
in a dry room, they will remain in good condition for many months. 
Parsley .—All rank-growing leaves which have assumed a yellow hue 
should be removed, and only the young green leaves which are chiefly 
confined to the centre should be allowed to remain to grow for a winter 
supply. In districts where it is necessary to protect it a number of the 
best young roots should be lifted dow and planted in a cool frame where 
they will soon begin growing, and they will be found most useful during 
the winter. It is an advantage to lift the plants with a ball of earth 
attached to the roots, and they succeed best in a heavy soil. 
FRUIT-FORCING. 
Peaches and Nectarines. —Early House. — Pruning, Cleansing, 
and Tying-in .—The trees in the early house that had the fruit ripe in 
May are now devoid of foliage, and should be pruned. H any shoots 
