December 31, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
595 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended for insertion should be written on one side of the paper 
only. We cannot reply to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Errata. —In the eighth line from the bottom of the article on “ Hotbeds,” 
page 555, after the words “supplying fresh material,” read “cover the 
frames at night,” &c., and in the fourth paragraph, second line, read “ sow 
the seeds.” 
Seedling Double Primula ( Young Gardener). —It is not distinct from 
other double varieties already in cultivation. 
Early and Late Peaches and Nectarines ( W. IF.).—Two good early 
Peaches are Hale’s Early and Royal George. Late, Bellegarde and Sea 
Eagle. Nectarines: Early—Lord Napier and Elruge ; late—Pine Apple 
and Victoria. These will give a succession of fruit, which is, we presume, 
what you require. 
Golden Meg Merrilees Chrysanthemum ( T. IF.).—We are not aware 
that a golden sport from the popular Meg Merrilees has been exhibited by 
anyone. We trust you will be able to fix the sport, as it can scarcely fail to 
be a valuable acquisition. A good grower, who has carefully examined 
florets of both the parent and sport, describes them as “ exactly alike in 
form, the colour of the latter somewhat like Thunberg, but a little softer, 
therefore all the more valuable, as being distinct.” 
Early Radishes (E. Wilson). —You say you have “plenty of leaves but 
no glass.” Make a bed 3 feet or so high, and of any convenient size, 
covering it with 5 or G inches of light rich soil, supported by boards fixed on 
edge and resting on the bed like a rough frame. With a few strong laths 
laid across the bed for sustaining mats or straw shelters, and these taken off 
in favourable weather, you may have excellent Radishes long before they 
could be drawn from the open ground. In the London market gardens 
Radishee are accelerated by covering the open ground beds lightly with 
straw, which remains till the plants appear, and is then drawn off with rakes 
on fine days, and thrown on at night. Acres of Radishes are thus managed, 
and early crops are profitable. 
Cannas (4. B. G .).—As you have only a greenhouse and frame you 
will err by starting the plants into growth so soon, as they would inevitably 
become too tall, and consequently tender, before you could remove them 
safely. They had better remain dry, or nearly so, until the beginning of 
Aprii, then watered. They will then start freely, and in about a month 
will be dwarf and sturdy for placing in the frame. They will there need 
protection, and if well attended to will be in good condition for planting out 
towards the end of May or early in June, according to the position they are 
intended to occupy and the weather. 
Imported Dendrobiums (D.).—The system you refer to can be success¬ 
fully followed, but one which some of the most skilled Orchid growers prefer 
is potting the plants in a mixture of potsherds and charcoal. The principal 
advantage of this method is that water can be more freely supplied with 
less danger than in the other way. Imported plants require much care in 
this respect, for if they have suffered much in transit and are weak they 
are liable to decay before growth commences. You do not say from what 
district they have been obtained, but presuming they are East Indian forms, 
it will be better not to place them in a higher temperature at first; 50° to 
55° will be sufficient until some signs of growth are perceived. 
Keeping Grapes (C. H. Contich). —Your question—“Would thorough 
ripe late Grapes cut and bottled by the end of September keep well ? ” 
appears to be more interesting than practical. We have never found such 
standard late varieties as, say, Lady Downe’s and Gros Colman “ thoroughly ” 
ripe—that is, with their flavour developed by the end of September, nor can 
we conceive how they could be profitably forced to be in the best condition 
then. If late Grapes that appear ripe were cut in September we should not 
consider they would improve in anything like the same degree as if left on 
the Vines for two or three months longer, nor should we expect them to 
keep so long in consequence of the limited quantity of saccharine matter 
that they,then usually contain. We have not tried Ihe experiment suggested, 
and we shall be glad to hear what our readers have to say on the subject. 
Cabbages Clubbing (E. T. If.). —The best thing you can do in order to 
prevent clubbing is to dig the ground deeply during suitable weather in the 
winter, and give it a good dressing of fresh lime in early spring, at least a 
month before the ground is planted. You may safely use for a dressing as 
many barrowfuls of lime as you would of manure if manuring the ground 
liberally. This should be wheeled on, a barrowful in each heap, then re¬ 
duced to powder by applying a little water to it. When fallen to dust it 
may be spread on the surface and dug in, and the ground afterwards 
cropped in the usual way. The lime can be reduced to powder by covering 
the heaps with soil until they fall, but this takes up more time, and the 
weather may prove bad before the digging can be done, therefore the plan 
above alluded to is usually the best. During winter, or at any season when 
the ground is clear, it should be trenched as deep as the land will allow to 
more thoroughly incorporate the lime with the soil. As the work of trench¬ 
ing proceeds care must be taken to mix the lime and soil thoroughly, and 
not place the bulk of the former at the bottom of the trench as is often 
done in trenching. If labour is an object apply half the quantity of lime 
to the surface, and the remaining half may be applied again to the bottom 
soil when brought to the surface by trenching, but this should not be done 
until spring if practicable. This saves the labour of mixing the soil and 
lime well together when trenching ; but if your land has not been trenched 
for years the mixing of the top and bottom soil should be practised. If 
you follow out this plan and apply a little lime yearly you will be able to 
grow Cabbages successfully on light soil. 
Parsley Failing {Idem). —Parsley often fails when sown in the spring. 
We have experienced exactly the same difficulty as you describe, and now 
rely upon a supply of Parsley from seed sown from the last week of June to 
the end of the first week in the following month. For winter use we sow 
at the same time and cover with a frame in autumn, relying upon that sown 
outside for the following spring and summer supply. We have found it 
best to sow on ground that was well manured for a previous crop, working 
no fresh manure into the ground before the seed is sown. A week or ten 
days before sowing the seed we work into the ground some soot and lime, 
and by this means succeed fairly well. When the plants outside do not 
look so prosperous as usual we sow a box or two of seed under glass in 
early spring and prick the plants out when large enough on a slight hotbed. 
About 4 or 5 inches of old potting soil is pressed firmly upon the surface of 
the bed, and in this the plants grow strongly, even luxuriantly, and never 
fail to give a good supply. The hotbed for a time is covered with a frame 
until the plants are established and growing freely, when they are hardened 
and the frame removed. We have not grown the variety to which you 
refer. If it is a strong grower it will be equally good both for summer and 
winter use. You had better sow in different portions in the garden, and 
you will possibly find a place in which the plants will flourish. For 
flavouring purposes the common or wild Parsley is as good as any, but not 
for garnishing, and it will grow freely in soil in which the curled varieties 
are liable to fail. This hint may perhaps be useful to others who experi¬ 
ence difficulty in maintaining a full supply of this indispensable herb. 
Concrete Walks {S. T. E .)—These if well made are both comfortable 
and durable. Late in March and all through April and May is a good time 
to make them ; 4 inches, or, at most, 5 inches is deep enough for any walk 
whatever. The bottom should be formed into the same shape as the walk is 
to be finished, or say 2 inches higher in the middle than at the sides, before 
any of the materials are laid on. The old way of draining the centre of a 
walk, by drawing in the water from right and left, is radically bad in prin¬ 
ciple, and will not answer for the concrete system at all, as the drier the 
bottom the firmer the walk, and the longer it will endure. On very heavy 
clay land, where chalk and gravel are dear, burnt clay will make an excel¬ 
lent and enduring bottom to a walk ; 3 inches of the burnt clay should first 
of all be put in the bottom and be well rolled in dry weather, then 2 inches 
of the concrete on the top, this to be well rolled also, and to be heavily 
watered the last thing in the evening; then the following morning a very 
thin layer of fine sifted gravel of good colour should be laid on the top of 
the damp concrete, and the roller passed over it several times until the good 
gravel is thoroughly embedded in the concrete and forms part of it, as it 
were. When the concrete is very wet and the good gravel over it too thinly 
put on, the weight of the roller will cause the white juice of the concrete to 
come up through the gravel, and that is the best sign. To hide that, put 
on a little more gravel and roll again, and when the whole is dry in two or 
three days a pick could hardly break the surface. On light dry lands 
4 inches is deep enough for walks, and the first 2 inches at the bottom may 
be laid with any of the rough materials, without chalk or lime, and the next 
2 inches in concrete. The roller will press this sufficiently to allow a slight 
coat of clean good gravel on the top, without the walk being more than 
4 inches deep in the whole. The concrete is made with any coarse gravel, 
with the largest stones taken out or broken, five parts or loads, and one part 
or load of fine chalk, all mixed well together and put on the walk, then well 
watered. In dry weather this is soon dry enough for the roller. The usual 
way is to begin this in the morning, and water every three or four yards 
in length as soon as the mixture is got in, and so on till towards four o’clock 
in the afternoon, when the whole is ready for the roller; or if it is not dry 
enough that day, to keep on till six o’clock, and roll it the first thing next 
morning, and then put the fine gravel on and roll again immediately. If 
the concrete is too wet it will stick to the roller; and after rolling, if it is 
allowed to get dry before the colouring gravel is put on, the fine gravel will 
not stick to the concrete, so that the state of the weather has much to do 
with the perfect success of the operation, and wet weather is much 
against it. 
Names 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. 
(G. S., Leicester ).—It is probable that the plant to which you allude is 
Lantana brasiliensis, from which an alkaloid has been obtained possessing 
qualities somewhat like quinine. {B. IL, Southampton). —1, Adiantum 
trapeziforme ; 2, A. macrophyllum ; 3, A. decorum; 4, A. farleyense. 
(IF., Surrey ).—The Orchid is a variety of Dendrobium Wardianum of good 
size and colour. 
COYENT GARDEN MARKET.— December 30th. 
Market quiet, with light supplies. 
FRUIT. 
3. 
d. 
8. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
i sieve 
l 
0 
to S 
6 
Oranges. 
.. 100 
4 
0 to 
6 
0 
* Canadian .. 
barrel 
10 
0 
12 
6 
Peaches.. .. .. 
perdoz. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
10 
0 
12 
6 
Pears, kitchen 
dozen 
0 
6 
1 
0 
100 lbs. 
0 
0 
25 
0 
,, dessert 
dozen 
0 
4 
i 
6 
Figs* . 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Pine Apples English .. Ib. 
1 
0 
1 
6 
.. tb. 
1 
0 
8 
6 
Plums. 
£ sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
.. case 
15 
0 
21 
0 
St. Michael Pines 
..each 
0 
6 
0 
Melons. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
VEGETABLES. 
S. 
d. 
s. 
d 
s. 
d. 
s. 
a. 
dozen 
l 
0 
to 0 
0 
Lettuce. 
dozen 
i 
0 to 
i 
6 
bundle 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Mushrooms .. . 
punnet 
0 
6 
1 
0 
lb. 
0 
6 
1 
0 
Mustard and Cress 
punnet 
0 
0 
0 
0 
dozen 
1 
0 
3 
0 
Onions. 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 
0 
bundle 
0 
9 
1 
0 
Parsley .. dozen bunches 
3 
0 
8 
0 
Brussels Sprouts .. 
4 sieve 
2 
6 
3 
0 
Parsnips. 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Potatoes. 
cwt. 
4 
0 
6 
0 
100 
1 
6 
2 
0 
,, Kidney . 
cwt. 
4 
0 
5 
a 
bunch 
0 
s 
0 
4 
Rhubarb. 
bundle 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Cauliflowers .. .. 
dozen 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Salsafy. 
bundle 
i 
0 
0 
0 
bundle 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Scorzonera .. .. 
bundle 
1 
6 
0 
0 
Onleworts dcz. bunches 
a 
0 
4 
0 
Seakale .. .. per basket 
1 
6 
2 
0 
each 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Shallot3. 
0 
3 
0 
6 
dozen 
i 
0 
2 
0 
Spinach. 
bushel 
2 
0 
4 
0 
bunch 
0 
2 
0 
0 
Tomatoes .. .. 
0 
6 
0 1U 
Leeks .. 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 
4 
Turnips .. .. ,, 
bunch 
0 
4 
0 
u 
