280 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ Decbmbkr, 
over, to keep them clean, and occasional stirrings of the soil have their beneficial 
uses. Little attentions, frequently rendered, have much to do with the wintering 
of plants. The green-fly is very apt to gather on the under-sides of the leaves 
of Auriculas^ Pohjantkus^ &c., in pots; a camel’s-hair brush will soon remove 
them. The Colchicims are now very pretty in pots ; one of the most attractive 
is the double variety, as it lasts such a long time in bloom, and the flower-stems 
are quite stiff and erect. 
Fruit Garden. —A little attention to the stems and main branches of Fruit 
Trees is now necessary, and if infected with scale or insects, it is well to paint 
them over with some preparation : that much recommended by an old fruit 
cultivator is composed of ten parts of lime, one of sulphur, and four of soot, 
mixed up with sufficient soap-suds to form a thick paint. This does well for 
wall, standard, espalier, and pyramid trees. Such a mixture painted over walls 
in dry weather will be of great service. In pruning Gooseberry trees, the shoots 
should be thinned-out liberally, especially towards the middle of the plants. 
Black Currants should be similarly pruned, but not quite so many shoots must 
be cut out. The Bed and White Currants should have the principal shoots left 
at a much greater distance, and the small shoots spurred in. 
Vegetable Garden. —Both Globe Artichokes and Bhubarb should be well 
mulched with manure and leaves after the soil has been slightly stirred on the 
surface. Frequently stirring of the surface soil among growing crops is to be 
recommended; it improves the plants, while it ensures a clean aspect. The 
ground intended for Onions.^ Carrots., and Parsnips next year should now be 
trenched, manured, and thrown up rough for the winter. Soil intended for 
Asparagus should be deeply dug, working in a good dressing of dung, and turn¬ 
ing it over occasionally during winter. When planting, in February or March, 
use some sweet leaf soil about the roots, and mulch with manure after¬ 
wards.—D. 
GARDEN GOSSIP. 
have on previous occasions recorded the champion clusters of white 
Grapes of 25 lb. and 2G lb. weight grown at Esk Bank and Arkleton, and 
the magnificent 21-lb. Black Hamburghs produced by Mr. Hunter, at 
vcT Lambton. We have now to record a cluster of Gros Guillaume., grown 
• at Charleville Forest by Mr. Eoberts, which weighed 23 lb. 2 oz., the greatest weight re¬ 
corded for a bunch of black grapes. The bunch was fine in berry and bloom, beautifully 
proportioned, measuring 22 in. in width across the shoulders, and a length of 24 in. to the 
elegantly-tapered point. Mr. Eoberts’s fame as a grape-grower does not rest on this 
wondrous bunch, since for years the Charleville Forest grapes have been especially fine. 
The vine which produced this monster bunch has been about four years planted; it is 
gi'owing in a lean-to house; the soil of the border is sound and simple, for Mr. Eoberts 
eschews complicated composts, having faith in the wholesome and satisfying pabulum 
afforded by the loam obtained from the surface of the Charleville deer-park. The dimen¬ 
sions and firmness of the wood and the plumpness of bud this season, give promise of 
a sensational crop in the coming one. 
- ®HE publication of a new edition of Thompson's Gardeneds Assistant 
(Blackie and Son) has been for some time expected, and is now accomplished. It 
is not too much to say that the original edition was the best of our modem works 
on practical gardening, the branches of Vegetable and Fruit-culture, to wdiich Mr. 
Thompson’s life had been more especially devoted, being the most fully dealt with. In 
the new edition, by modifications of type and by extension, the Flower-garden department 
