December 27, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
595 
•growth, and repot when the plants have shoots an inch long. A moist 
atmosphere, with careful watering at the roots, taking care not to over¬ 
water nor to allow the plants to flag, keeping near the glass, and well 
ventilated, so as to induce a sturdy growth, and a temperature 55° to 60° 
from fire heat, and 10° to 15° or 20° rise from sun, keeping lower and 
■drier after early August. 
Forcing- Imported E.ily of the Valley (IF. It.').— It is not 
-unusual for imported clumps to remain dormant if placed, immediately 
after potting, in a high temperature. Pot and plunge them in a bottom 
teat of 75° and not exceeding 90°, and cover with inverted flower pots, 
taking care that the soil does not become dry. Every crown will grow, 
and when the spikes are about 5 or 6 inches high then withdraw the 
pots from the hotbed and place them in a house with a temperature of 
•■65° by day and 55° at night, in which they will expand the flowers and 
develope the foliage. In the new year they will succeed admirably in a 
vinery started at that time ; but the plants must be brought on 
gradually with the Vines or they will remain dormant or go “ blind,” 
which is obviated by bottom heat or a rising temperature, commencing 
Ifrom a low one. Several articles have been published on this subject 
recently. See pp. 4SS and 512. 
Asparagus Sfeglecteil (A. F.). —Your best plan will be to prepare 
a piece of ground by trenching and enriching with manure. This to be 
•done as soon as possible, so that it can be exposed to the action of frost, 
and early in the spring, when sufficiently dry to work cleanly, fork it 
well over again so as to bring ft into a loose friable condition. Imme¬ 
diately you perceive the Asparagus above ground fork up the roots care¬ 
fully by undermining them, and plant them again in the new bed. 
This work must be done with as little exposure as possible to the roots. 
If they are transferred without being dried during the process of 
removal, and are planted in drills or trenches sufficiently wide so that 
the roots can be spread out without being doubled, and an inch or two 
■of light soil, such as decayed leaves or vegetable soil, is worked amongst 
them, levelling-in with the ordinary soil and watering with tepid water, 
they will grow. They will not grow with certainty if removed when in 
a dormant state, and you cannot eradicate the weeds without digging 
up the Asparagus. 
Pruning in Winter and Spring (Staqiled ).—The pruning of all 
lands of fruit trees and bushes may be completed if the weather is not 
too severe. A little frost renders the ground clean for the operator, but 
we prefer warmer days as a rule for pruning, yet where there is much of 
-such work to be done it is sometimes necessary to do it during the 
cold winter days. Peaches and Nectarines on walls may be left until 
the early part of the new year, when it is advisable to unfasten them 
and allow them to remain from the walls as long as it is possible in 
•order to retard their time of blooming. Plums do well on the spur 
system generally, and should have all natural spurs retained. Cherries 
bear their fruit in exactly the same way, but with Morel los the wood 
oftentimes becomes so thick as to exclude light unless judiciously thinned 
out from the centre of the bushes. Black Currants produce their fruit 
generally from the young wood of the past season. Young growths, 
therefore, should by all means be encouraged, merely removing some of 
the old shoots to open the centre of the bushes, and shortening the points 
of straggling shoots, which is all the pruning the bushes require. Eed 
and White Currants bear their fruit principally on spurs, it is therefore 
advisable to prune these much closer than the Black varieties. Goose¬ 
berries carry their fruit in a similar manner, producing it on both the 
-spurs and on the past summer’s growth ; therefore retain a sufficient 
number of young shoots at moderate and regular distances apart, keep¬ 
ing the centre of the bushes open that the sun and air may act on as 
large a surface of foliage as possible. 
Horseradish Culture (Inquirer). — The number required has 
been long out of print, but the information given by an experienced 
grower was as follows :—As soon as the leaves are off the plants in 
■October or November we take out a trench at one end of the bed, as is 
usual in ordinary trenching, and by means of fork and spade turn 
•over the whole of the bed down to the clay, carefully picking out the 
roots as whole as possible, and manuring as the process goes on. The 
bed is then made level ready for replanting. The roots are then looked 
over ; all that is fit for kitchen use are dressed and laid aside for that 
purpose, and all the long thin roots of the thickness of a quill stripped 
of all side roots are laid in bundles for replanting. With a long dibber 
(or an ordinary Dahlia stick will do), make holes 18 inches or 2 feet deep, 
6 inches apart, and 1 foot between the rows. Into each of these holes 
we drop one of these long roots, and then fill the hole up -with fine dry 
soil from under the potting bench. These make nice useable roots the 
first season, but of course if they were left for two seasons they would 
be much better. This annual planting has many advantages. In the 
first place, a very small bed will grow sufficient for the supply of most 
families. This struck me very forcibly on entering a very old kitchen 
garden a few months ago, where was to be seen a bed of Horseradish 
some 15 yards long by 5 or 6 wide, which apparently had not been 
disturbed, except in digging roots up for use, for fifteen or twenty years. 
In contrast to this we have dug from a bed 15 feet by 8 sufficient good 
roots to supply an ordinary family for twelve months. In the second 
place, the ground is being cultivated. It is annually improving; and 
the plants being in rows, it can be kept clean by means of hoeing, the 
same as any other crops, instead of becoming a nest of weeds, as is too 
often the case ; for it is no uncommon thing to find weeds seeding in the 
Horseradish bed at places where they would not be tolerated anywhere 
else. In the third place, there is no such thing as shouldering a pick 
when grim John Frost resists the spade in the gloomy winter months. 
The roots are laid regular in layers one above another with soil between, 
covered over with soil. A little litter keeps out frost and mice. It is 
always accessible without the aid of either pick or spade. 
Haising-Ash Trees from See3 (V. It.). —Eaising the trees from 
seeds appears to be a much slower process ,than you imagine, and they 
must be prepared in a very different manner from that indicated in 
your letter. Sowing on land infested with twitch would result in failure, 
especially as the seed is long in germinating the twitch would in¬ 
evitably gain the ascendancy over the seedlings. I n Brown’s “ Forester ” 
the following instructions are given on this subject :—“ The seeds of 
the Ash are enclosed in what is termed samaras or keys, which are 
generally ripe for gathering about the end of October. When gathered 
for the purpose of sowing, the seeds should be mixed with a quantity 
of dry sand or light dry earth, in which they should be kept for 
eighteen months, in order to rot off the outer coat; and in order the 
more effectually to insure this, the whole mass of seeds and sand 
should be turned every three months. This mass of sand and seed 
should not be much over 1 foot in depth, as, if more, it will be liable 
to heat, and in consequence the vitality of the seed would be injured. 
In the second March after they are gathered the seeds should be sown 
in rows rather thinly, and upon any moderately well pulverised soil. 
They are sure to come up thickly and confine one another if not sown 
thin, and the covering of earth should not exceed three-quarters of an 
inch. In the following spring the plants will be ready for being trans¬ 
planted into the nursery rows, which may he 15 inches one from 
another, and 4 inches plant from plant in the rows. When the plants 
have stood two years in the nursery rows they may be removed and 
transplanted into the forest ground ; but if wanted of a larger size they 
may be left a year longer.” Would it not be better to purchase the 
requisite number of trees of different kinds for planting? This is the 
usual custom, unless time is of little moment. In any case you will find 
it advantageous to have the land thoroughly cleaned, then if the ground 
is planted, a crop of Potatoes might be grown between the trees for a 
year or two, which would partially defray the cost of the work, and the 
working of the ground in planting and digging up the crops would be 
favourable to the growth of the trees and prevent the luxuriant growth 
of twitch. We have established plantations very much larger than that 
you contemplate in the manner alluded to, and the results were perfectly 
satisfactory. 
ITames of Plants. — We only undertake to name species of plants, 
not varieties that have originated from seed and termed florists’ flowers. 
Flowering specimens are necessary of flowering plants, and Fern fronds 
should bear spores. Specimens should arrive in a fresh state in firm boxes. 
Slightly damp moss or soft green leaves form the best packing, dry cotton 
wool the worst. Not more than six specimens can be named at once, 
and the numbers should he visible without untying the ligatures, 
it being often difficult to separate them when the paper is damp. 
(J., Surrey). — 1, Adiantum tenerum ; 2, Asplenium bulbiferum ; 
3, Asplenium cicutarinm ; 4, Nephrolepis tuberosa. (TF. It. S.). — 
1, Odontoglossum Eossi majus; 2, Masdevallia Lindeni ; 3, Laslia 
autumnalis; 4, Laslia anceps ; 5, Zygopetalum crinitum. (Reader ).— 
1, Adiantum trapeziforme ; 2, Pteris serrulata ; 3, Insufficient, without 
spores. 
COVENT GAEDEN MAEKET.— December 2Gth. 
NO alteration. All classes of goods well supplied. 
CUT FLOWERS. 
e. 
d. 
s 
a. 
Abutilons, 12 bunches .. 8 
0 
to 6 
0 
Arum Lilies, 12 blooms .. 4 
0 
8 
0 
Asters, dozen bunches .. 0 
0 
9 
0 
Azalea, 12 sprays .. .. 0 
9 
i 
0 
Bouvardiap, bunch .. .. 0 
6 
i 
0 
Camellias, 12 blooms .. 3 
0 
4 
0 
Carnations, 12 blooms .. 1 
0 
2 
0 
Chrysanthemums, 12 bl... 1 
0 
s 
0 
„ 12 bchs. 4 
0 
12 
0 
Cyclamen, dozen Dlooms 0 
4 
0 
9 
Dahlias, 12 bunches.. .. 0 
0 
0 
0 
Eucharis, dozen .. .. S 
0 
6 
0 
Gardenias, 12 blooms .. 4 
0 
9 
0 
Hyacinths (Roman), doz. 
sprays . 1 
0 
1 
6 
Lapageria, 12 blooms .. 1 
0 
2 
6 
Lilac, White (French), 
per bunch .6 
0 
7 
0 
Lilium longiflorum, 12 
blooms.4 
0 
6 
0 
Lilyof theValley, 12 sprays 1 
6 
4 
0 
PLANTS 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
Aralia Sieboldi, dozen .. 6 
0 to 12 
0 
Arum Lilies, per dozen .. 12 
0 
18 
0 
Arbor vitm(golden) dozen 12 
0 
24 
0 
Asters, 12 pots.U 
0 
0 
0 
Begonias, various, per doz. 4 
0 
9 
0 
Chrysanthemum, doz. .. 4 
0 
9 
0 
„ large, doz. .. 15 
0 
24 
0 
Coleus, dozen.0 
Cyclamen,, dozen pots .. 9 
Dracamaterminals, doz. 30 
0 
0 
0 
0 
18 
0 
0 
60 
0 
Dracerse viridis, doz. .. 12 
0 
24 
0 
Erica hyemalie, doz. .. 12 
0 
24 
0 
„ gracilis, doz.9 
0 
12 
0 
„ various, doz.8 
0 
]8 
0 
Euonymua, var., dozen 6 
0 
18 
0 
s. d. s. d. 
Marguerites, 12 bunches 2 0 to 6 0 
Mignonette, 12 bunches 2 0 4 0 
Naroissus (Paper White), 
12 sprays ..10 16 
,, (French) bunch 0 3 0 6 
Polargoniums, 12 trusses 10 16 
„ scarlet, 12 trusses 6 0 9 0 
Poinsettia, dozen blooms 4 0 6 0 
Primroses, doz. bunches.. 10 2 0 
Roses, Red, 12 blooms ..10 2 0 
„ (indoor),dozen ..10 16 
„ Tea, dozen .... 1 0 3 0 
„ yellow . 8 0 6 0 
Stephanotis, 12 sprays ..9 0 12 0 
Tropseolum, 12 bunches 10 2 0 
Tuberoses, 12 blooms ..10 2 0 
Violets, 12 bunches.. ..10 16 
„ Parme (French), 
per bunch .. 8 6 6 0 
,, (French) bunch ..16 20 
Wallflowers, doz. bunches 4 0 6 0 
IN POTS. 
s. d. s. d. 
Evergreens, in var., dozen 6 0 to 24 0 
Ferns, in variety, dozen 4 0 18 0 
Ficuselastica, each ..16 7 0 
Foliage plants, var., each 2 0 10 0 
Hyacinths, per dozen ..90 120 
Hyacinths (Roman), doz. 9 0 12 0 
Lilium, various, doz. pots 0 0 0 0 
Marguerite Daisy, dozen 6 0 12 0 
Mignonette, per dozen ,, 0 0 0 0 
Myrtles, dozen.. ,. •• 6 0 12 0 
Palms, in var., each .. 2 6 21 0 
Pelargoniums, scarlet, 12 6 0 9 0 
PoinBettia, per dozen .. 10 0 16 0 
Primula, per doz. 4 0 6 0 
Solanums, doz. ... 90 16 0 
