February 13, 1193. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
141 
the roots may have access to an outside one. Thorough drainage 
must be provided, so as to carry off superfluous water. Rather strong 
loam is most suitable, adding about a sixth of old mortar rubbish and a 
fifth of road sweepings. Trees from the open wall between four and six 
years trained, if carefully removed to the house, come into bearing at 
once. Water them well to settle the soil about the roots, and ventilate 
freely, syringing in the morning and early afternoon, employing fire 
heat only to exclude frost, but when the trees are fairly in growth let 
the day temperature from fire heat be 50° to 65°, rising to 60° to 65° 
from sun, inereasing the ventilation at 55°, and close at that temperature, 
leaving, however, a little ventilation on day and night, 40° to 45° at 
night from fire heat will be sufficient. May Duke, Black Tartarian, 
Elton, and Governor Wood are suitable varieties for forcing. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Fobcing. —Vegetable forcing may now be practised with success 
and little trouble. Rhubarb and Seakale grow readily with the aid of a 
fermenting bed placed over the crowns and pots, and Asparagus is ready 
in ten or twelve days after being placed in a temperature of 65° or 70°. 
Surplus roots of all these should be used for forcing before the season is 
further advanced, but there is no economy in forcing roots that are 
required to keep up the desired supply when the time comes for them 
to grow naturally. Those who force roots should always provide some 
for the purpose without having to interfere with the ordinary stock. 
Kidney Beans. —December reared plants are now in flower, and 
require to be kept well supplied with water at the roots, but in a some¬ 
what dry atmosphere, as the flowers will decay if kept very humid. 
The pods will swell rapidly in a temperature of 70° or a little less, and 
they are all the better for being kept well up to the light. We do not, 
however, approve of keeping them in vineries or Peach houses, as they 
are somewhat apt to be infested with red spider, and if it gains a footing 
on the Vines or trees thus early it may prove injurious before the season 
is over. Sow a large quantity of seed, as this will produce plants at a 
time of the year when they will bear heavily. We regard Kidney Beans 
as one of our most useful forced crops in April and May. 
Peas and Bkoad Beans. —See that birds or slugs and snails do not 
injure the young plants now coming through the soil. Sprinkle them 
with lime or soot, put a little ridge of finely sifted ashes along each side 
of the rows, and give protection by placing a few short twigs in as 
stakes. We save all our old birch brooms during the summer to use in 
this way. Sow more seed of both Peas and Beans, still giving them the 
best position in the garden, and only using the earliest varieties. 
Ground for Carrots and Parsnips.— Few soils are naturally 
suitable for these two important crops. Both require deep ground, and 
neither succeeds in a heavy wet soil. Grubs and worms are especially 
enemies to Carrots, and fine clean roots will only be produced in a 
friable soil that has been cleared of all pests. Of late we have been 
carting refuse recently cleared from a pond, which consists chiefly of 
decayed leaves and sand, on to our Carrot and Parsnip quarter. It was 
laid on about 1 foot deep ; some old Mushroom bed material, a quantity 
of soot, and a little lime were added, and the whole trenched and 
worked into a depth of 18 inches, and the best results may be anticipated 
for several years to come. All growers may not, however, be able to 
secure pond refuse, but road scrapings may be substituted, and soot or 
lime should not be forgotten. Ashes too, especially when partially 
obtained from wood, are useful on heavy soils, and the preparation of a 
piece for Carrots and Parsnips on lines somewhat after those suggested 
will amply repay cultivators. 
Spinach. —The autumn-sown prickly sort has been luxuriant all the 
winter, but it becomes coarse in spring, and as Spinach is one of the 
first crops that may safely be sown in the open several rows may be put 
in on the first opportunity. The plants early in the season run rapidly 
to seed, and that is the reason why we always sow in small quantities 
and often. A sunny sheltered corner is the best position for it thus 
early. 
Cabbages. —As these have received little or no check the whole 
winter they promise to be ready unusually early in the spring. Make 
up the blanks in the rows, clear the dead leaves and weeds from 
amongst the plants, and draw a little more soil to the stems with a drag 
hoe. Should there be a deficiency of plants in the main quarter manure 
and dig another piece of ground, and plant out more from the seed bed. 
We have often found this plantation in almost as soon as the autumn 
planted ones, and our practice is always to plant out some in the spring, 
no matter how extensive our autumn lot may be. 
Tomatoes. —Cuttings rooted in the autumn should be potted into 
6-inch pots. Do not give them a rich soil, as this only induces them to 
make superfluous growth. Make the soil, which should be chiefly loam, 
very firm round the roots, and place them near the glass in a 
temperature of 65° or 70°. These plants will fruit before any of this 
year’s seedlings. Those who omitted to take cuttings, however, must 
depend on seedlings. Do not give them over-rich soil. This is 
a rule we apply to all Tomatoes, and keep them growing in brisk 
heat. Plants that will fruit in March and ripen in April must be 
confined to one stem and placed in favourable positions in the houses. 
Where they are grown as a market crop plant them out in the forcing 
pit like Cucumbers, 1 foot apart, but do not give more than an 8-inch 
potful of soil to each plant at present, as this is ample to make them 
produce fruit, and more can be added if necessary. 
Sow a little Lettuce seed again in a pot or box under glass, also a 
pinch of early Celery, Leek, Cauliflower, and Brussels Sprout seed; but 
avoid as yet sowing anything like the main crop of any of them. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
French Pelargoniums .—Some of the earliest plants will be showing 
their flower trusses. These must not be unduly hurried, for no advan¬ 
tage is gained. If they are kept too warm and too close the foliage soon 
draws up weakly, and the appearance of the plants is tlestroyed. This- 
is not all. The plants fail to flower so long and satisfactorily as if they 
had been brought forward a little steadier. What they need is a posi¬ 
tion close to the glass, where the temperature ranges 50° to 55°, with a 
free circulation of air amongst them whenever the weather is favourable. 
Later plants should be kept cool to induce strong sturdy growth. A 
number of plants that were rooted early and placed in December in 
their flowering pots will be filling them with roots. A little artificial 
manure applied to the surface of the soil will benefit these. Soot water 
in a clear state acts quickly, and imparts to the foli'ge a dark healthy 
appearance. 
Plants that were pinched some time ago should have broken strongly,, 
and may without delay be placed in their flowering pots. Old plants 
that were grown strongly last year and cut hard back rather late in 
the season will still be weak. Pinch the shoots as soon as they are long 
enough, and in a cool house they will break strongly and gain strength 
rapidly. As soon as they fill the small pots in which they were placed 
they should be tranferred to those in which they are intended to flower.. 
Plants that were struck late are still in small pots and ready for pinch¬ 
ing. As soon as they break again transfer them to a size larger. Do 
not push them on in a close confined atmosphere, for they only grow 
weakly, and time in the end is lost. Cuttings of young wood will now 
root freely if inserted singly and placed in a temperature of 65°. In 
potting these plants press the soil firmly into the pots, and use for a. 
compost fibry loam, one-seventh of manure, and sand. To this may 
with advantage be added a sprinkling of soot and artificial manure. 
Fuchsias .—Cuttings are now plentiful, and will root freely in boxes 
that can be covered with a square of glass if the boxes can be placed in 
vineries or other houses where the temperature ranges 60°. As soon as 
they are rooted place them singly in small pots, and grow on a shelf 
close to the glass to prevent their drawing. Sturdy growth from the 
first is necessary to have handsome plants well flowered in small pots. 
Autumn-rooted plants should be placed into 5-inch pots. For these use 
a compost of loam three parts, the other part being composed of leaf 
mould, sand and manure, or old Mushroom bed refuse. 
Lantanas .—Plants at rest may be pruned back and started into 
growth in a vinery or Peach house. Good syringings daily will be 
ample until the plants show signs of breaking, when they should be 
turned out of their pots, the roots reduced, and the plants repotted in a 
smaller size. It will then be necessary to water them carefully until 
they display signs of active growth. Young plants rooted in August or 
September and kept gently moving through the winter should be placed 
into 6-inch pots. If placed in an intermediate temperature and the 
shoots pinched from time to time they will soon make bushy little 
plants. 
Callus.— Plants that have been flowering for some time should be 
supplied with weak stimulants every time they need water. If they are 
to continue flowering they should be encouraged to grow, or they 
soon come to a standstill. Plants that have been kept perfectly cool 
will soon come into flower if they are placed into an intermediate 
temperature. Where it is necessary to increase the stock suckers may 
be carefully removed and potted singly. Small pieces will make strong 
flowering plants another season. Aphides are the greatest enemies these 
plants have to contend against ; slight fumigations of tobacco smoke 
will destroy them, but if done strongly the spathes are liable to injury. 
They can be kept down by a free use of the syringe. If the spathe is 
damaged in appearance by them it can be cleaned by the aid of a soft 
sponge under a tap of water. The supply of water for this purpose 
must be abundant, or else the spathe is damaged. 
HINTS TO BEGINNERS. 
Early Pollen Gathering. — Feeding. 
The month of January was mild but stormy. The temperature 
on the IGth was 52° Fahrenheit, and the bees for the second time 
were busy on the Arabis, and gathered pollen from it on the 12th 
of the same month. 
As some of my nuclei had only 8 lbs. of sugar since they were 
formed, and built from that 4 square feet of combs, it fully 
refutes the 20 lbs. of honey for the pound of wax theory. Taking 
advantage of the extra mildness I fed those with from 4 lbs. to 
6 lbs. of sugar. I was apprehensive of being short of stores. 
Singularly, the fed bees have flown the least. There are few dead 
bees about, and only one shows signs of abdominal distension, and 
that is the only one that I withheld syrup from in the autumn^ 
