354 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 24, 1889. 
spersed with gleams of sunshine, rain, hail, snow, and frost. The 
remainder of the principal crops should be sown now from the begin¬ 
ning to the end of the month. Asparagus, Beet, Turnips, Carrots, 
French and Scarlet Runner Kidney Beans, Vegetable Marrows, Salsafy, 
Seorzonera, and Broccoli, and a succession of Beans, Peas, Lettuce, and 
small salading. Plant Cauliflower, Onions, and Leeks that have been 
raised early and protected in frames. 
Towards the end of the month keep the hoe busy going through 
crops in drills to kill weeds, and keep the surface of the ground fresh 
and clean. Hoeing in dry weather between vegetable crops is a great 
factor in their successful cultivation, and is constantly practised by the 
best growers, even when no weeds can be seen. Stake Peas, and mould 
up early Potatoes as soon as they require it. Dress Asparagus beds, re¬ 
move all winter protection from Globe Artichokes, and make new plant¬ 
ings if necessary of them and Rhubarb, and keep walks and everything 
clean and tidy. 
May .—Vegetation makes great progress during this month, and, as 
recommended, the hoe should be kept going regularly through the 
different crops to kill weeds, and to keep the ground clean. Sow suc¬ 
cessions of Beans, Kidney and Broad, Peas, Radish, Lettuce, Spinach, 
and transplant Celery in trenches, and Leeks in drills. 
June .—The weather is sometimes cold in the beginning of this 
month, but as the longest day approaches vegetation makes great strides. 
I have observed, however, in some seasons there was very little growth 
till after the longest day, when all kinds of vegetables made rapid 
growth. 
A sowing of Peas may be made in the beginning of the month for 
the latest crop, and a succession of Turnips, Lettuces, Radishes, and 
early Carrots for autumn use. PlaDt Cabbages, Cauliflower, Broccoli, 
Savoys, and all the Brassica family. Stake Peas and Runner Beans. 
Hoe, weed, thin out crops, and keep walks and crops clean, and every¬ 
thing in the garden in good order. Some gardeners recommend water¬ 
ing crops in dry weather, but I do not, as a rule. In planting all kinds 
of the Brassica family I prefer dipping the roots of the plants in what 
gardeners call a puddle, and I can thoroughly recommend it to those 
who do not practise it. The puddle is easily made by scooping out a 
little hole in the ground near where the planting is to be done, and 
filling it with water. Add a handful or two of soot, and stir the earth 
and it in the hole till it becomes as thick as cream. Dip the roots of 
the plants in this, and sufficient of the puddle will stick to them when 
planted to carry them on without further assistance till they are 
established, and, to use a gardening phrase, they will withstand severe 
drought, “ and never look over their shoulder,” not flag even in the 
dryest and hottest weather. Besides puddling the plants (which I do in 
all seasons) when the weather is dry and hot, it is a good plan to draw 
drills before planting, and make the holes for the plants, and fill them 
with water from a garden watering pot, and in the operation run in 
sufficient of the fine dry soil from the surface to leave the hole full 
after the water has subsided. When the earth has settled sufficiently in 
the holes the plants may be put in and made firm, and in doing so no 
hole or sign of the dibble used in planting and making them firm 
should be left. I dislike greatly to see a hole by the side of a plant 
made by the dibble in pressing the soil firm against it. No one with any 
taste and an idea of the harm they are doing to the plant will leave an 
open hole by its side. Either of these methods of planting does away 
with any necessity for watering the plants afterwards. In my ex¬ 
perience watering does very little good except in extreme cases. The 
more you water the more you may if it is once started, and it takes 
up a great deal of time to little purpose. 
July is generally a very hot month, but we have mostly plenty of 
rainfall here during the whole of it. Sow early Cabbages about the 
end of the month to come into use in the spring, winter Spinach, Endive, 
Lettuces, and Turnips, and keep us a supply of small salading. The 
general work in the garden during July is weeding, thinning crops, and 
keeping them clean and free of weeds. 
Auyu.jt. Sow Lettuces for autumn and winter and spring crops * 
Onions, Turnips, and Cauliflowers to stand the winter in frames. Earth- 
up Celery, and lift and store away Shallots. The same routine of hoeing, 
weeding, and keeping crops clean as was done last month must be 
attended to. Remove all decayed leaves and stumps of Cabbage and 
Cauliflower that have been cut, which become unsightly if left in the 
ground. 
September .—Plant Cabbage and Lettuce, to come in use in the spring; 
Harvest Beet, Carrots, Onions, and Garlic ; earth-up Celery, and remove 
all decayed vegetation ; and prepare for winter by cutting some of the 
best of the Cauliflower in case of frost, and store them away in a dark 
cellar. If the stems are inserted in wet sand they will keep fresh and 
crisp for a lfing time. Prepare Seakale and Rhubarb for forcing. From 
this date on till the beginning of the year the principal work in the 
garden will be manuring and digging ground. By the end of the 
month or early in October cover up Asparagus beds with good manure, 
and protect Globe Artichokes and other plants from frost. Repair and 
keep walks clean and in good condition, and attend to a host of other 
little odds and ends, which make up a successful whole in the culti¬ 
vation of the kitchen garden. 
HARDY FRUIT AT EXHIBITIONS. 
The remarks in last week’s Journal of Horticulture seem to call 
for an answer from us as large exhibitors of highly coloured Apples. 
You maybe surprised to know that in the 600 fruits of Apples exhibited 
by us at the Crystal Palace in the champion class (first prize), only 
thirty-six fruits were from under glass ; and in order to show how little 
weight these thirty-six had, we might mention that in several cases— 
Cox's Orange, Queen, Dutch Mignonne, to wit —three fruits were from 
the open, and three from under glass. As these dishes were duly matched, 
you may perhaps be convinced that our grand soil will turn out clean 
and coloured examples when carefully tended by our foreman, under 
whose care they are. We are quite content to show entirely from the 
open, and you will perhaps oblige us with space to refute the erroneous 
notion that we are deceivers of the public.— George Bunyard & Co. 
[We are not in the least “ surprised ” to learn that so few under¬ 
glass fruits were included in the collection indicated, and require no 
“convincing” that Kentish soil and climate will produce clean well- 
coloured fruit. Messrs. George Bunyard & Co. may therefore well be 
“ content to show entirely from the open,” and we are glad to find they 
give their adhesion to the proposed change, which the majority of 
nurserymen and amateurs desire to see adopted. After the very precise 
statement on page 325—namely, “ No one for a moment suggests that 
the inclusion of glass-aided Apples and Pears in collections of hardy 
fruit is done with the intention of misleading visitors,” the last obser¬ 
vation of Messrs. George Bunyard & Co. appears somewhat remarkable, 
and not the less so since we further stated that “ nothing of the kind 
(suggested) is intended by exhibitors. ’ We thought those sentences 
were only capable of one interpretation, but our correspondents seem to 
have discovered another, and the public must judge between them.] 
CULTURE OF CYCLAMENS. 
[Abstract of a paper read by Mr. Walker at the Paxton Society’s meeting, Rothwell, 
West Yorks ] 
lx is my object in the following short essay to state as clearly as 
possible my experience, with the object that it may be of benefit to my 
fellow gardeners and others who are interested in this beautiful plant. 
I am sorry to say that it is not cultivated so much in private places as 
it should be. I know from experience that it is not an easy plant 
to grow ; on the contrary, for it requires strict attention from the 
seedling stage onwards. The system I adopt differs considerably from 
any I have seen described in the horticultural papers, and previous to 
my adoption of this I had no satisfactory results. 
Success will greatly depend upon the time the seed is sown, and the 
proper time will be as soon as the seed is ripe—namely, July, August, 
and September, the two former months being the best. The seed may 
be sown as late as January, but the results would not be so satisfactory. 
Sow in pans in a compost of rough sandy loam and leaf mould, well 
draining the pans, and not filling them, adding half an inch in depth 
to the same mixture finely sifted on the top. Press firmly and water 
with a fine-rose pot, so that the whole is moistened ; when dry enough 
the seeds may be sown on the surface and pressed in lightly instead of 
scattering soil over them. Place a piece of paper over the pan, also 
a square of glass, until the seeds germinate, then remove the paper, 
allowing the glass to remain. Shade from hot sun until they form 
roots, and when this is accomplished gradually bring them to the light. 
When the young plants are about an inch long they should be pricked 
out into pans or boxes in the same kind of compost as already re¬ 
commended. Ventilation must be provided during the early part of 
the day, and they should also be slightly syringed two or three times 
daily. 
When the weather becomes colder it will be necessary to remove 
them to a warm house, and, above all, place them as near the glass as 
possible; the temperature should be from 45° to 50°, where they may 
remain until the middle of April or the beginning of May. By that 
time it will be necessary to plant them out in a bed facing east, made of 
materials similar to a Cucumber bed, or any half-spent manure will do, 
for it is not necessary to have it hot. Cover the surface with a compost 
of loam and leaf mould to the depth of about 6 inches, made firm, so 
that when lifting time comes the plants will be taken up with a good 
