1 4 , 4 : 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[April, 
plants of tropical origin, we naturally wish to be 
successful with both kinds. The cauliflower is an 
example among vegetables of the plants of cooler 
countries; early cauliflowers are rarely seen in 
perfection in ordinary gardens, and even profession¬ 
al gardeners find them an uncertain crop. With 
this, everything possible should be done to for¬ 
ward it, so that its growth may be made before the 
hot and dry days of June. A great help in this, 
would be a portable glass to cover each plant, or 
one that would include three plants. In Europe 
hand-glasses are as much a part of the gardener’s 
outfit, as hoes, and these, where there is much less 
need for hastening the growth, are used for cauli¬ 
flowers, lettuce, and other early crops. The im¬ 
mense quantity of lettuce taken to the Paris 
markets, is of an excellence and tenderness rarely 
seen with us, and is almost entirely raised under 
b'ell-glasses, or cloches , with which acres are cover¬ 
ed around Paris, a single gardener often having 
some thousands of them. Hand-glasses would no 
doubt be used to a large extent by our amateurs 
and gardeners, were they to be readily obtained at a 
moderate price. Sometimes we see a substitute 
used, in the form of a small frame, large enough 
for a single pane of glass at the top, and hand¬ 
glasses of various styles, with lights set in lead 
and other frames, are now and then offered. The 
need of glasses, not only for forwarding early 
plants, but for striking cuttings, and other garden 
uses, is so great, that we are sure that some one 
will at length hit upon just the thing needed, and 
produce it at a price which will allow of its gener¬ 
al use. Hence, we welcome every attempt towards 
this desired end, and were very glad to see some 
specimens of the work of Messrs. Musgrove & 
Son, 348 and 350 West 41st St., N. Y. These gen¬ 
tlemen, who are large manufacturers of tin and 
other metal wares, have recently given attention 
to horticultural appliances of various kinds, includ¬ 
ing hand-glasses. They have sent us two forms of 
glasses, the one shown in fig. 1, being 18x18 inches 
on the ground, and 15 inches high ; the other, fig. 
2, covers a space 14x14, and is of the same higlit; 
they have heavy zinc frames, and so arranged 
that no putty or paint is required to hold the 
glass. Evidently much thought has been given 
to produce an article thoroughly adapted to its 
uses, as well as excellent in its workmanship. 
The many uses these may be put to, will at once 
occur to every one who works in the garden, and 
we can say that the articles themselves are more 
suggestive than the engravings. We are not inform¬ 
ed of the price of these hand-glasses, but are sure 
that should there be a demand for them, the manu¬ 
facturing facilities of Messrs. Musgrove & Son, are 
such as to enable them to produce them at the low¬ 
est possible cost. In comparing the cost of these 
with that of the French gardener’s cloche, which is 
a simple bell of glass, it must be borne in mind that 
these, with any decent care, will last a life-time, and 
that ordinary accidents will only require a pane or 
two to be renewed, while an unlucky blow or a fall, 
puts an end to the cloche. We may add that the 
makers of these hand-glasses, have other useful 
horticultural wares; their fern-case is much more 
sensible than those of greater pretentions, and 
more costly materials ; they make also a very neat 
affair of zinc, handsomely decorated, for a window 
box ; the growing of plants in such boxes, is much 
more satisfactory than in pots, and the custom is 
increasing. Besides these they make a propagating 
case or pit, mentioned in another article ; they have 
also the most approved styles of watering pots, and 
ornamented metal flower-pots, in which to set the 
common pots,containingplants,for room decoration. 
Lancashire Straw Mats or Screens— 
Early Potatoes. 
-- 
Any one who has experienced in the garden the 
convenience of a supply of straw mats, will not care 
to do without them. Primarily intended for cover¬ 
ing the glass of hot-beds and frames to retain heat, 
they are found useful for many other purposes; 
does a lot of transplanted seedlings need shad¬ 
ing, or does a sudden frost threaten tender plants 
that have not been housed, in these as in various 
other emergencies, a straw mat and a few sticks are 
a ready help. They are light, easily handled, and 
if stored away dry will last for a long time. There 
are various methods of making these mats, but in 
all they re¬ 
sult in a mat 
of small 
bundles of 
straw an 
inch or more 
thick, held 
parallel to 
Fig. 1.— frame. one mother 
by strong cords, the cord being the warp and the 
straw the woof of the fabric. A recent number of 
“The Garden,” (Eng.), contains an article by a cor¬ 
respondent in Lancashire, from a locality famous for 
its early potatoes, which are forwarded by the aid 
of a frame covered with straw mats. As the 
method of making the mats is different from any 
we have before seen described, we condense the 
OB 
Fig. 2.— FRAME READY TO FILL. 
account and give the illustrations. In the first 
place there is made a frame (fig. 1) of the desired 
size, in this case 6x4 feet; this is double, and 
hinged at the back, (fig. 1, a), like a large book- 
cover, and furnished in front, (fig. 1, 6), with bolts 
or hooks. The long pieces, back and front, are of 
oak, 6 x2I inches, and the end pieces, as 
well as two between, of oak or ash are 
1 inch thick ; these are let in to the side 
pieces, and there will thus be a space 
between them, when the two halves 
are closed, of 3 inches to contain 
the material of the mat or screen. 
Two horses are provided like those in fig. 2, at 
the end of which is a short post firmly driven 
into the ground. The frame is laid upon the horses, 
and one-half turned up and fastened to the posts, 
(fig. 2), when it is ready to receive the material. In 
the first place, there is laid on a layer of brush, 
taking care to select durable kinds, such as hazel, 
oak, etc. ; then a layer of long wheat straw an inch 
thick, keeping it even and the ends well filled ; then 
more brush, putting the straighter pieces near the 
sides, and three long straight 
pieces crosswise ; then an¬ 
other inch of straw, and 
finally a layer of brush simi¬ 
lar to that first put down. 
The upright part of the 
frame is now brought down 
and bolted to the other, 
which will require some 
pressure ; the whole is turn- 
„ ed up on edge as in fig. 
Fig. 3. SEWING. 3) J be fie ;, e(L Tvvo 
needles made of oak, a foot long, and in shape 
like that in fig. 4, and tarred twine being provided, 
a man at each side of the frame does the sewing, 
exchanging needles, and passing them from side to 
side, as at e, fig. 3, and forming a stitch like fig. 5. 
The sewing is done in 3 or 5 places, and the ends 
of the brush and straw trimmed even with the 
frame. The frame is then opened and the comple¬ 
ted screen, fig. 6, is taken out. As these are made 
for an especial purpose, they are screens rather 
than mats, the brush being added for the purpose 
of rendering them stiff and firm ; but it is evident 
that the flexible mat can be made in this manner, 
and, though we have not tried it, with apparently 
greater facility than in any method we have seen 
followed. Screens of this kind would be very use¬ 
ful as well as mats, though less easily handled; 
they are sufficiently stiff to be set up against one 
another roof-wise to protect plants in rows, or they 
may be set upon bricks or other supports to shade 
or otherwise protect small plants. As the method 
in which the Lancashire cottagers forward their 
potatoes by the aid of these screens, may afford 
||!A||||||| MTHlMi' 1 ^ran 
Fig. 4.—NEEDLE. 
Fig. 5.—STITCH. 
Fig. 6.—SCREEN. 
useful hints to some, we give it in brief. A shel¬ 
tered spot is chosen, with a warm exposure, and 
pits of turf are constructed like that in fig. 7. These 
are built up of any sods that can be procured, and 
have walls a foot thick and a foot high, back and 
front, and 4 feet high at the gable ends. A light 
ridge-pole runs from the top of one gable to the 
other, supported 
by uprights a, a, as 
needed. Another 
pole, 5, or even a 
strong twine, is 
placed parallel 
with the ridge¬ 
pole, midway be¬ 
tween that and 
the sides. The soil of the pit is highly manured. 
The potatoes are started in some out-building, or 
in boxes of earth in the house, taking care to ex¬ 
clude the light, as the shoots should not be hard or 
green. Planting is done there the middle of Febru¬ 
ary, the potatoes being cut into sets, each with a 
good sprout about 6 inches long. Holes are made 
all over the bed 9 inches apart each way, with a 
dibble, and deep enough to cover the shoots half 
an inch. The screens are first placed on the back 
of the pit, and then on the front, taking care to 
make a good lap. The after treatment consists in 
taking off the front screens every sunny day and 
covering early to retain the heat. Great care is 
taken to catch all the sun’s heat possible, and not 
to allow the earth of the pit to cool by an hour’s 
B Sa 
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A^JiisS 
ilg^a= 
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Fig. 7.— PIT BUILT OF TURF. 
needless exposure. The one who by the best man¬ 
agement takes the first hamper of potatoes to mar¬ 
ket, is the local hero, and is rewarded with ribbons 
as well as a good price. This is one of the simplest 
methods of forwarding plants, and need not be 
confined to potatoes. There is much about it to 
commend itself to those who think they cannot 
afford glass or frames, as scarcely anything is re¬ 
quired but what the rudest farm can supply. 
Failures in Market Gardens—Too much 
Manure. 
BY PETER HENDERSON. 
Some of my neighboring market-gardeners are 
beginning to say that their lands have been so long 
and so heavily manured that they now fail to get 
the crops they did in former years, when the 
grounds that have been now continuously cultivat¬ 
ed for a quarter of a century, were but recently 
broken up from the meadow, or diverted from the 
primitive culture they received when part of a 
farm. Then the soil was in the condition to receive 
large quantities of rich food, manure, and a large 
and healthy development of almost everything 
planted was the result. Of late years, though we 
still have fine crops, we find our radishes and onions 
becoming more wormy, that cabbages and cauli¬ 
flowers occasionally get lousy, and that celery, one 
of our great staples, will now and then “ burn ” or 
“ rust ” in a way unknown twenty years ago, while 
spinach fails entirely. The market-gardeners are 
in a dilemma ; the lands are now too limited, and 
too valuable, many of them being rented for $150 
