December 25, 1890. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
5G7 
required is horse droppings, which should be collected as dry and 
free from straw as possible. Spread this out thinly in a dry plaie 
as collected until enough has been placed together to form a bed. 
Then throw the material into a heap and turn frequently to 
allow all the rank steam to escape. When they are thoroughly 
prepared make it up into a bed, which may be of any form 
or size, according to the means at the disposal of the culti¬ 
vator. In forming the beds the manure should be trodden 
down as firmly as possible. Holes must be made in the bed 
about 1 foot apart, and reaching nearly to the bottom to prevent 
heating too violently. The beds must be left for a few days 
before spawning, as the vitality of the spawn may be destroyed 
if they become overheated. The spawn must be placed in a 
warm moist temperature a few days before being inserted, as this 
insures a safer and quicker growth. A safe temperature at which 
spawning may be done is 80° to 85°. Break the spawn up in 
pieces 2 or 3 inches square, and insert it about 1 inch deep and 
6 inches apart. The bed may then be covered with 2 inches of 
rather heavy loam, beaten down firmly and sprinkled with tepid 
water. 
Onions. —Onions succeed best in a rich loamy soil and an 
open situation. The ground should be trenched and heavily 
manured in autumn, and left as rough as possible through the 
winter. It should be prepared in spring by a slight digging, 
levelling and treading firm. For main crop sow as early as pos¬ 
sible in March, and for spring use sow the Tripoli varieties in 
August, and transplant as early in the following year as the 
weather will permit. Sow thinly in drills 9 inches apart, cover the 
seed lightly, and tread or beat the surface firm. Thin out the 
young Onions gradually when large enough until they are from 
4 to 6 inches apart. Onions form the best bulbs on firm ground, 
therefore the rows should not be hoed between but kept free 
from weeds by hand. A slight sprinkling of soot in showery 
weather will be beneficial to the bulbs, and prevent the 
attack of the maggot. When the tops show signs of decay 
the Onions may be lifted, and exposed to the sun until tho¬ 
roughly dry, they may then be tied up in bunches and hung in a 
cool shed. 
Parsnip. —This very nutritious root is easily cultivated, and 
when grown on good ground yields a bulky return. The ground 
intended for Parsnips should be trenched and manured in autumn. 
A deep sandy soil is most suitable, as the roots can have a free 
downward course ; a stiff soil almost invariably produces forked 
roots. The seed may be sown in March in shallow drills 9 inches 
apart. When the seedlings are 2 inches high they should be 
thinned to 6-inch distances, and the ground always kept well hoed 
between the rows to kill weeds and benefit the plants. The roots 
may be lifted and stored away in autumn or dug up as required for 
use. 
Potato. —The Potato is perhaps the most useful and essential 
of all winter vegetables, its value as an article of food being 
specially recognised by the labouring classes. The sets required 
to produce the main crop should be planted in April ; a suitable 
distance for strong growing varieties is 2 or 2k feet between the 
rows and 8 or 9 inches between the sets, which should be placed at 
a uniform depth of from 4 to 6 inches. The sets may be 
planted in trenches cut with a spade or in holes made with 
a dibber. Trenches are to be preferred, as a more uniform 
depth can be secured, although the work will not be done so 
quickly. 
When trenches are used a sufficient width of ground is pre¬ 
pared for one row, a line is laid, and the ground cut out to the 
depth required. Arrange the sets in the bottom of the trench, fill 
in, and prepare another space in the same manner. Farmyard 
manure suits them best, and may either be dug in at trenching 
time or spread in the trenches at the time of planting, beneath or 
above the sets. When the tops have risen 6 inches they should be 
earthed up, and if the soil be at all heavy the spaces between the 
rows should be first broken up with a heavy hoe or mattock, 
taking care not to go too near the roots. Lift the crop when 
the foliage has turned yellow, being left in the open air a 
few hours to dry, and stored away in a dry dark shed or 
Potato pit. 
New Potatoes may be had in early spring by planting on hot¬ 
beds in deep pits. A quantity of stable litter and leaves should be 
prepared and put into a pir, and trodden down rather firmly. 
Place 9 inches of rather light soil over the manure, and plant the sets 
12 inches apart and 3 inches deep. Dwarf compact sorts only 
must be grown under glass, and as soon as the weather allows 
after the plants are up pull off the sashes during the best part of 
the day. 
Salsafy. —This vegetable is in every respect, except in qualities, 
very much like the Parsnip, requiring the same treatment as to 
sowing in drills, thinning, hoeing among during summer, and taking 
up and storing in October or November. It requires an open 
situation and a deep rich light soil, but the latter should not 
be newly manured, as it tends to the production of forked 
roots. 
Savoy. —Savoys succeed well in deeply dug and well manured 
ground. Sow in April in seed beds, and transplant in July in 
lines 18 inches apart, and an equal distance between the plants * 
The flavour will be much improved by exposure to frost before 
cutting. 
Seakale. —This vegetable, being one of the easiest to force, 
is very extensively used. The main object in the culture of 
Seakale is to grow plants on to secure large crowns. To raise 
plants for forcing the best plan is to take cuttings from the roots, 
which may be obtained when crowns are being lifted for forcing’. 
The strongest roots must be selected, and they are cut about 
4 inches long, the crown end cut straight across and the other end 
cut on an angle that they may be easily known at planting time. 
The cuttings should be buried in sandy soil during winter, and in 
March or April taken up and planted in deep rich soil. Various 
methods may be adopted for forcing, but the most common mode 
is to lift the crowns, place them in large pots and stand them in a 
temperature of 55° to 60°, turning an empty flower pot over the 
crowns to exclude light. Another simple method is to place large 
pots made for the purpose over the crowns and cover the pots 
with stable litter. As the spring season advances Seakale may bo 
obtained by placing pots over the crowns and filling the pots with 
ashes. 
Spinach. —The Prickly or winter Spinach should be sown in 
a sheltered situation about the middle of August, in drills 13 
inches apart. The first sowing of the summer variety may be made 
in February on a warm border, and to maintain a supply a sowing 
must be made about every fortnight until April. 
Turnips. —Turnips may be had in use during the winter 
months by sowing the hardy varieties in August. The seed is best 
sown in drills 9 inches apart, and when the plants are large enough 
they may be thinned to about 6 inches apart. A supply may be 
obtainedi in spring by sowing broadcast in a cool frame in February. 
Plenty of air must be given to ensure a sturdy growth, and when 
the plants are strong enough the frame may be removed. Another 
sowing may be made in March on a warm border for a succession. 
CARNATION SOUVENIR DE LA M ALMA ISON. 
Plants raised by cuttings or layering at the end of July or tho 
beginning of August should have 3-inch pots well filled with active 
roots. These plants seldom do well if confined too long in small 
pots. If placed at once into 6-inch pots the roots will work freely 
amongst the new soil and start vigorously into growth early in the 
season. Carnations do well in a compost of three parts fibry loam 
to one of leaf mould ; one-seventh of decayed manure being 
added, with a liberal quantity of coarse sand. The soil must be in 
an intermediate state for moisture and pressed firmly into the pots. 
Plunge the pots to the rim in ashes in a cold frame, and admit 
air abundantly during favourable weather. For some time 
after potting no water will be needed, and roots will form with 
greater freedom without it. During severe weather frost may be 
kept from the plants if practicable by placing litter round the sides 
of the frame, and mats or the same material over the top. Light 
should not be excluded from the plants more than is necessary. 
The pink and scarlet forms of this Carnation may be given the 
same treatment. The old, white, and crimson Cloves (W. P Milne? 
and others)—in fact, any free-flowering border varieties—will give 
satisfaction if grown on the same principle. 
Directly growth is visible aphides will appear, and these must 
be destroyed at once or they will soon ruin the plants. Care must 
also be taken to prevent the plants suffering through an insufficient 
supply of water. Soot water in a clear state is beneficial after tho 
plants have made a quantity of roots, but strong stimulants should 
not be given.—N. G. 
WANDERINGS. 
A correspondent who believes himself, as he says, to be “ typical," 
has written a letter to the Editor asking for “ more wanderings,” ami 
the Editor has handed it to me. This indicates that I have been in close 
contact with an important personage, for it is not everyone who can 
gain access to a controller of the press. I have been told if Editois 
gave audiences to all who sought them their lives would be one long 
interview, and they would have no time at their disposal for producing 
what the public need. They, therefore, best serve the public by locking 
themselves up. It will be seen that our Editior did not apply to the 
wrong man on the present occasion—at least for mental wanderings, 
