Becember 18, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
561 
efore sowing or planting, at tlie rate of 50 bushels per acre, and twice that 
uantity w'oiild do no harm if the land is strong or very rich. 
Liquid Manure {Header). —The value of stable drainage depends entirely 
on its strength, there being the same difference in this respect as between 
the smallest of small beer and the strongest of strong stout. You cannot 
purchase it profitably at all from a distance involving any material cost in 
carriage. It wdll be cheaper for you to dissolve some good guano m a tub 
at the rate of 1 lb. to 10 gallons of water. This will be strong enough for 
any outdoor crops, and too strong by half for the maiority of plants in pots. 
Head Mr. Abbey’s article, on page 401 (October 80th), and note what he 
says on preparing other kinds of liquid manure. The instructions given 
there are sound and reliable. 
Scale on Fruit Trees {Inquirer). —Your trees are infested with oyster scale 
^spidiotus ostreasformis), and they cannot flourish until it is destroyed. 
Dissolve 4 ozs. of Gishurst compound or nicotine soap in a gallon of hot 
water, stirring well into it while hot a wineglassful of petroleum, and 
apply carefully with a brush, rubbing well into all the crevices. If the 
mixture is hotter than your hand can be borne in it when applied, it will 
be more effectual. ^ Trees that are in such a state as yours appear to be 
must have had their growth much checktd, and this would act prejudicially 
on the roots. We should therefore remove some of the strong soil from 
them and add fresh, with much gritty matter, such as wood ashes, mixed 
with it, and mulch with partially decayed manure. It is a pity you did not 
act sooner, as we fear you will now have some difficulty in re-invigorating 
the trees. 
Skeletonising Leaves {Old Subscriber). —Nearly all leaves may be 
skeletonised, but some require a longer time than others to become 
^or instance, the seed vessels of the Winter Cherry, Henbane, 
require a fortnight or three weeks if the weather be hot. Leaves 
of Ficus elastica (Indiarubber Plant) and Magnolia grandiflora require 
several months; leaves of the Tulip Tree, Poplar, and Maple a fortnight; 
leaves of the Holly and Ivy two or three weeks. Ferns require a long time, 
and so do the leaves of IBeggars’ Broom, Butchers’ Broom, the Orange, 
Lemon, and Camellia. Great care must be taken in choosing the leaves, as 
the smallest speck spoils one. Many more should be placed in the water 
than_ are needed, as not more than one in twenty will be perfect. The time 
required deppnds on the weather. Beginners examine them too soon. The 
leaves should be put into soft water in a sunny situation, taking care that 
they are covered with water. Evergreen leaves may be skeletonised at any 
time, but deciduous leaves not before the end of June or beginning of July. 
Seed vessels must be operated upon when nearly ripe. When quite ’ready 
for skeletonising put the leaves into boiling water to remove the offensive 
smell. Remove the scum from the water. Brush off the pulp with a rather 
hard brush. If the leaves are tender bump them gently, which removes 
the pulp without disturbing the nerves of the leaves. Pour clean W'ater 
over them until quite clean; put them on blotting paper to dry—a piece of 
glass is useful to brush them on. Tender leaves should be floated in water 
and caught on a card, as are fine Seaw'eeds. Bleach wdth chloride of lime 
and then wash them thoroughly with clean water, otherwise they become 
yellow. It is better not to bleach them until required for setting up. 
Thistles and Teazels look well when bleached and aid much in arranging 
a group. —— - ■ 
Moss on Fruit Trees {T. S.). —We have quite cleared moss from fruit 
trees by limeypashing the trunks and main branches, and dusting freshly 
slaked lime liberally amongst the smaller branches and spurs when quite 
wet after a foggy or drizzling day. If there is no wind a man with the aid 
of a ladder may dress a good-sized tree in ten minutes, so that every side 
of every twig is reached, and the lime falling to the ground can be pointed 
in^ if needed, and will be beneficial to the roots. The lime should be ob¬ 
tained in lumps, then slaked into powder and used immediately. Having 
found this quite effectual we have not tried petroleum for the same pur¬ 
pose. If you consider lime unsightly, not only the Mosses and Lichens 
which so generally affect fruit trees, but the eggs of insects, may be effec¬ 
tually destroyed by dressing the trees in winter with a wash composed of a 
saturated solution of softsoap and common salt or brine. The trunks and 
large branches ought to be first scraped with a scraper made of old hoop or 
any other implement that may be improvised for the purpose, and when all 
the scales of bark are removed apply the mixture with a painter’s brush, 
working it well into the crevices. 
Forcing Seakale {J. JEJ. B.). —Seakale may be forced in any place where 
it can be kept moist and dark in a temperature from about 50° to 70°. The 
milder the heat is the slower is the growth, and also the stronger; but 
the crowns must be in total darkness or the produce will be green, while if 
the roots and air be dry it will be tough. You may pack the roots closely 
together in pots, plunge these in a bed of manure and leaves, inverting 
other pots over the crowns; or you may pack a number of roots in a mixed 
fermenting bed and box the whole in with boards a foot or 18 inches above 
the crowns. In a quite dark place nothing of the kind for excluding light 
will be required ; all that is needed in such a case is a humid atmosphere, 
gentle warmth, and regular moisture at the roots. Roots established in the 
ground, covered with pots, these covered to the depth of a foot or so with 
manure or leaves, will afford excellent Seakale. The thickness of the cover¬ 
ing inust be regirlated by the heat. A stick forced into the mass to 
remain there, drawn out occasionally and grasped in the hands, will suffi¬ 
ciently indicate the temperature. If neither hot nor cold, but comfort¬ 
ably warm, it will be right for the growth of the crop. A certain number 
of crowns should be placed in heat or covered about every ten days to 
maintain a regular supply. 
Lilium auratum {J. N. G. B.). —We are glad to hear you have been so 
fortunate with the imported bulbs of Lilium auratum. You have been 
fortunate in securing fresh, sound, and good examples. All are not alike in 
this respect. We know a gentleman who purchased 5000 bulbs, given 
numbers of them being subjected to different methods of treatment for 
experimental purposes. Not more than 500 of them grew and flowered; 
those that succeeded best were simply placed on amass of cocoa-nut fibre 
refuse, the bulbs not being covered for a week or two until signs of roots 
were apparent, then the bulbs were potted and planted. The various 
methods of culture that have been advised in this Journal are all equally 
flOund; some apply to bulbs planted out, some to bulbs established in pots, 
others to imported bulbs, and we have not a doubt that the W’riters of these 
articles grew their plants at least as well as you grew yours. It is a very 
easy matter for a young grower to criticise others of greater experience and 
to assume a knowledge that they do not possess. If you had read carefully 
you would have understood the whole subject better, and would have found 
also that the details of culture cannot be given in three lines, which is all 
the space you devote to the subject in the letter you have forwarded. Pre¬ 
cisely the same method has been advised, but much more fully and clearly, 
in this and possibly “other gardening papers,” and the instiuctions we 
trust did not prove “ embarrassing ” to all. 
Planting Vines {H. C.). —The Tines should be obtained in pots now, 
shortened to the extent desired, and kept in a cool place through the winter, 
not allowing the soil to get dry, yet not keeping the roots very wet. The 
best time for planting is in spring, just when the buds start into growth, 
but if the canes are not shortened till then bleeding is apt to cccur. The 
more they are shortened the better will the growth be, and provided they 
are long enough for the canes to reach well inside the house, if the root s are 
in an outside border, that will suffice and be better than leaving them several 
feet in length. If they are planted inside the house they may just reach 
the base of the rafters, provided the front of the house is not more than 
4 feet high. Tines for planting that are not pruned now shoirld not be 
shortened in fhe spring, but have instead all the buds rubbed off down to 
the one that is desired to extend and form the future cane. By allowing a 
number of buds to extend the resources of the Tines are divided into so 
many outlets, and the strength of the leading growth is proportionately 
reduced. It is of little use planting a young Tine in an old border without 
making a station of new soil for it. The old soil should be quite removed 
down to the bottom of the border, or say 2 feet deep, and about 4 feet 
square. It will do no harm to the old Tine by cutting any of its roots 
that may be in the space excavated, but probably good, as new roofs will 
start from those cut if the ends are pared quite smooth, and take possession 
of the fresh soil. The branches of the old Tines intended to be removed 
should be removed now, paring the cuts smoothly and dressing them wdth 
painters’ knotting, and there will be no escape of sap in the spring. The 
Madresfield Court Grape ripens well under Black Hamburgh treatment, and 
is one of the finest and best flavoured varieties for autumn use. Unfortu¬ 
nately the berries sometimes crack, but not always, and we should certainly 
try it. The most useful white Grape for growing in a house such as yoxrrs 
is Foster’s Seedling. It is a free grower and bearer of good bunches, but 
the berries are rather small, and their flavour not superior. Good turfy 
loam with an admixture of wood ashes and a sprinkling of crushed bones 
will be suitable for planting in, placing manure on the surface over the 
roots and for a good distance beyond their extremities. 
Names of Fruit (A Surrey Youngster). —l,Dumelow’s Seedling ; 2, Cox’s 
Pomona ; 3, not known ; 4, Golden Noble; 5, Beauty of Kent. {T. Stephens). 
—Tow’er of Glamis. {0. D.). —The Apple much biuised in transit and 
not known. 
Names of Plants {W.J., Croydon). —The plant is Echinops ruthenicus, 
a member of the family Compositae and a native of Russia. {F. K .).— 
Stokesia cyanea, a hardy herbaceous plant, readily cultivated in W'arm 
borders, and increased by division in the spring. {J. Chambers). — 1, 
Begonia insignia; B. fuchsioides; 3, B. Ingrami; 4, Peristrophe speciosa. 
{0. D.). —1, Cratmgus pyracantha ; 2, ArbutusUnedo. 
COTENT GARDEN MARKET.— December 17th. 
Business very quiet, witfi little alteration in prices. Grapes improving in value. 
FRUIT. 
s. 
d. 
S. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
Apples .. .. 
J sieve 
2 
6 
to S 
6 
Oranges. 
.. 100 
4 
0 to 
6 
0 
Chestnuts .. 
. . 
bushel 
16 
0 
0 
0 
Peaches. 
ixer doz. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Cobs, Kent .. 
per 
100 lbs. 
60 
0 
0 
0 
Pears, kitchen 
dozen 
1 
0 
3 
0 
Currants, Red 
A sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
,, dessert 
dozen 
2 
0 
6 
0 
„ Black 
1 sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Pine Apples English .. ft. 
1 
6 
0 
Figs .. .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Plums . 
i Sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Grapes .. .. 
1 
6 
4 
0 
Strawberries.. 
.. lb. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Lemons .. .. 
,. case 
10 
0 
15 
0 
St. Michael Pines 
. .each 
3 
0 
5 
0 
VEGETABLES. 
s. 
d. 
8. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
S. 
d. 
Artichokes .. 
dozen 
2 
0 
to 4 
0 
Mushrooms .. . 
punnet 
0 
0 to 
1 
6 
Beans, Kidney 
ft. 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Mustard and Cress 
punnet 
0 
2 
0 
0 
Beet, Red 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Ouions. 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 
4 
Broccoli .. .. 
bundle 
0 
9 
1 
0 
Parsley .. dozen bunches 
2 
0 
8 
0 
Brussels Sprouts 
4 sieve 
2 
6 
S 
0 
Parsnips. 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Cabbage .. .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
1 
0 
Potatoes. 
cwt. 
4 
0 
5 
0 
Capsicums 
100 
1 
6 
2 
0 
,, Kidney . 
cwt. 
4 
0 
5 
0 
Carrots .. .. 
bunch 
0 
S 
0 
4 
Rhubarb. 
bundle 
0 
4 
0 
0 
Cauliflowers .. 
dozen 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Salsafy. 
bundle 
1 
0 
0 
6 
Celerv .. .. 
bundle 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Scorzonera .. .. 
bundle 
1 
6 
0 
0 
Coleworts dcz. bunches 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Seahale .. .. per basket 
2 
0 
2 
6 
Cucumbers 
each 
0 
4 
0 
8 
Shallots. 
..lb. 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Endive .. .. 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Spinach. 
bushel 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Herbs .. .. 
bunch 
0 
2 
0 
0 
Tomatoes .. .. 
.. lb. 
0 
6 
1 
0 
Leeks •. .. 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 
4 
Turnips. 
bunch 
0 
4 
0 
6 
Lettuce .. 
dozen 
1 
0 
1 
6 
PIG MANAGEMENT. 
A DVISEDLY do we take the terra “ pig raanagement ” for the heading 
of this paper, for one fault among many long prevalent in the treat- 
