December 18, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
543 
Tins culture, the outside and inside borders of a span-roofed 
vinery were examined. For a considerable number of years past 
a good dressing of cowdung was regularly applied to the surface 
of the inside border, which was found full of roots; while in the 
outside border, which has had no attention in this way, very few 
roots were found within 18 inches of the surface. As the vinery 
is being gradually furnished with young rods, the formation 
of young rootlets may also be expected. The nutritive pro¬ 
perties of the soil being apparently extinct in the surface portion 
of the border, the young roots would be of little or no advantage, 
therefore means will be taken as soon as possible to induce them 
to the surface. The above particulars connected with the reno¬ 
vation of Vines were taken note of as being likely to prove useful 
to myself; and on the principle advocated by Mr. Temple in his 
interesting and instructive article on fruit trees in the Journal 
of the 4th December—that a plain statement of facts is better 
than theorising, I have thought it not inappropriate to place 
them at your disposal on the approach of the pruning season. 
EOSES. 
Last autumn, as soon as the wood was matured, cuttings of 
the different varieties, consisting of Hybrid Perpetuals, Teas, 
Noisettes, and Hybrid Teas, were taken off, in selecting which 
only those were chosen which were moderately strong and 
thoroughly matured and having a heel or joint at their base. 
They were inserted into a sandy border on the western side of a 
wall and covered with ordinary handlights. When inserting the 
cuttings the soil was made as firm as possible round them; a 
moderate watering was then given with clear limewater, as as to 
prevent worms working amongst and disturbing them. The tops 
of the handlights were allowed to remain on them for a few days, 
being removed at night; they were also shaded from intense 
sunshine, so as to preserve the foliage as long as possible. After 
being so treated for three weeks the lights were allowed to remain 
off altogether, except to protect the cuttings from heavy rains 
and severe frosts. On examination in March it was found that 
90 per cent, had formed roots ; they were then placed in 4-inch 
pots in sandy loam, mixed with a small portion of well-decayed 
leaf mould, and placed in a cold frame, in which they were allowed 
to remain until the end of July, giving them abundance of air at 
all times, except during heavy rains, from which they were 
protected. 
In the month of June they vrere placed into 6-inch pots, using 
the same kind of soil as before. In growing, if an occasional 
shoot showed a tendency to exuberance the point was immediately 
pinched off, by doing which compact sturdy plants were formed. 
They were removed from the frame early in August and placed 
on ashes in a position fully exposed to the sun. At this period 
each of the Tea, many of the Hybrid Teas, and some of the 
Noisettes and Hybrid Perpetuals, began to show buds on the 
lateral growths. At this time they received an occasional supply 
of weak liquid manure made from soot and sheep manure largely 
diluted with water, which caused them to develope good foliage 
and tiower buds. They were transferred to the Rose house early 
in October, from which date up to the present it has been 
exceedingly gay. These miniature plants, each bearing half a 
dozen good-sized Roses, are found very useful for decorating the 
drawing-rooms, and for filling small vases they are exceedingly 
chaste and pretty. Since they have been in the Rose house a 
little fire heat has been used in wet weather and on cold nights, 
just sufficient to expel damp cold air, and moderate ventilation 
has been given at all times. 
As this method is so simple and inexpensive, I beg to recom¬ 
mend it to your amateur readers who are desirous to prolong the 
Rose season to Christmastide. The following are the most free 
and effective ;—Madame Lambard, Niphetos, Marie Van Houtte, 
Alba Rosea, Perle des Jardins, Anna Ollivier, Catherine Mermet, 
Isabella Sprunt, Safrano, Jean Ducher, Madame Bravy, Madame 
Falcot, Madame Margottin, Princess of Wales, Souvenir d’un 
Ami, Duke of Connaught, Earl of Pembroke, Marechal Niel, 
Caroline Kuster, and La France.— Vitisatoe. 
THE NUTMEG. 
Of immense commercial importance is the Nutmeg tree, Myristica 
moschata, or M. aromatica. It is also ornamental by its clusters of 
berries or fruit. The plant is not commonly met with in this country, 
and it :s seldom grown except in botanical or officinal collections. It^ 
cultivation, however, is not difficult. It thrives in a sandy loam and brisk 
heat, and cuttings strike freely inserted in sand and placed m heat under 
a bellglass. 
Of the Nutmeg tree Dr. Hogg has written as follows in his “ Vegetable 
Kingdom:”—“ It is a native of the Moluccas and neighbouring islands, 
but is now cultivated in Java, Sumatra, Penang, the Isle of Bourbon, 
Mauritius, and other parts of the East, and in Cayenne, Martinique, and 
some of the West India islands. It attains the height of 30 feet, with a 
straight stem and a branching head. The leaves are oblong-oval, glossy 
on the upper surface and whitish beneath, and with an aromatic taste 
The flowers are male and female on different trees, insigniflcant, and of a 
yellowish colour. The fruit is round or oval, about the size of a small 
Peach, with a smooth surface,'^green at first, but becoming yellow when 
ripe. The external covering, which may be called a husk, is thick and 
fleshy, containing an austere astringent juice ; becoming dry by maturity 
it opens in two valves, and discovers the nut covered with its aril, or mace^ 
which is of a beautiful blood-red colour; beneath the mace is a brown 
shining shell containing the kernel or Nutmeg. 
“ A plantation of Nutmeg trees is always made from seed, and it is not 
till the eighth or ninth year that the trees produce flowers. The sexes 
being on different trees, after the plants are two years old they are all 
headed down and grafted with scions taken from the female tree, reserv¬ 
ing only one male stock for fecundation. The natives of the Moluccas- 
gather the fruit by hand, strip off and reject the pulpy husk, detach the 
mace carefully, and expose it to the sun, which soon changes its beautiful 
blood-red colour to alight brown ; it is then sprinkled with sea water to 
render it flexible and preserve it. The nuts are first sun-dried and then 
smoked, until the kernels rattle against the shell. This shell being 
removed, the kernels are dipped twice or thrice in lime water, laid in 
heaps for two or three days, wiped, and packed in bales or barrels. The 
unripe fruit of the Nutmeg is frequently preserved in sugar in the East; 
and before doing so it is necessary to deprive it of its acrid properties by 
soaking it in spirits.” 
FUMIGATING. 
It appears to me that the operation and effects of fumigating are 
still misunderstood, although there has been a great deal -written on 
the subject from time to time. Even “ B.,” who is an adept at insect¬ 
killing, clings to some of the old notions, as witness his otherwise 
admirable article at page 498. 
Most people have an idea that all you have to do is to fill the 
