THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
155 
December 5.] 
for dwarf roses, and nothing with them. A. X. D. W. should be of scar¬ 
let or some bright red; the rest will do as you propose, but it might 
be better. 
Strawberry Forcing (Y . R.). —Place your strawberries in the cool 
vinery (as near the glass as possible) until the new leaves appear. Then 
transfer them to the “further house,” which you keep about 60 °, yet 
let us advise only 55° by day and 45° at night, by fire heat. Let the tem¬ 
perature rise to 75° occasionally, during sunshine, for an hour or two 
only. When the bloom truss arises give plenty of air, and be sure to 
keep them close to the glass. As soon as the fruit is setting apply liquid 
manure at every watering; let it be very weak and very clear. 
Flower-garden (H. P.). —Unless your scarlet geraniums are Tom 
Thumb, we would plant them in A, and change the verbenas to D. The 
lowest plants should meet you first coming down from the house. The 
carnati&ns and English Iris in bed B are summer flowers, the former 
succeeding the iris in bloom ; both must remain to the end of July. In 
bed C the pinks might remain, and cuttings of the heartsease struck early 
in the spring, or half the old plants divided and cut in before they bloom 
in April, would go on blooming all the summer. C and 1> ought to be 
filled with mixed plants—such as Phloxes, Penstemons, Campanulas, 
Gladiolus psittacinus, and (Enotheras, with low annuals near the sides. 
How beautiful a collection of the old fancy geraniums you might grow 
in border F; just the place for them—such as Diadematum, Lady Mary 
Fox, Jehu, Rouge et Noir, &c. K. A row of white phlox all along 
behind the espalier would hide it in part, and look remarkably gay as a 
back ground. The annual coreopsis, of sorts, would also find food enough 
in front of the phloxes ; and the annual (Enotheras or Goodenias are of 
richer colour in poor soil. They would do next the walk in Iv border ; 
and the whole of the steep bank G we would sow with mignonette , at the 
end of March, to get established before the hot weather sets in. 
Flower-beds ( E . L. H.). —We are sorry to say that our contributor 
will not advise as to new beds, or the altm'ing of old ones. He says he 
never learned the art of cutting out new beds, and that every one has a 
right to choose what shapes best suit their own ideas. What he has pro¬ 
mised to do is to give advice as to any alterations he might deem necessary 
in the planting of beds already existing, or a set of beds already in 
progress. He also adds, he never yet heard of a single individual who 
could please a second party in the shapes of flower-beds. Your moss 
roses had better remain as they are, on the principle of “let well alone.” 
Climbing Roses {Eyre). —No climbing rose is so good for pillars as 
the evergreen ones already noticed; and they are the best sorts to bud 
Perpetuals on after they are once established. Laura Davoust and 
Noisette roses, together with the single White Musk rose, flower in the 
autumn ; but, with the exception of the Davoust, what are they worth ? 
one of them is as good as another. There is no really good climbing rose 
that is a perpetual bloomer. It is true, the Crimson Boursault will some¬ 
times flower in the autumn, and is a fast growing rose ; and Ruga runs 
over every thing, and blooms for three weeks ; and no rose can be worked 
on it out of its own class. Thorn hedges can be removed certainly, but 
must be done well; it is best to cut down one-third of the older wood. 
Cactus Speciosissimus (J. 2V.).—' The one flower so far swelled we 
would now allow to open, but give no water, and would keep the plant 
cool, that the other flower-buds may not expand until spring as you 
desire. It will be forward then, from its appearance now. When you 
increase heat, you must give water at the roots; but previously to that, 
if the stems arc at all shrivelled, let them be moistened frequently in 
sunny days. 
Statice Pseudo-armeri a {Ibid). —We fear this is not hardy enough 
for the open air in winter in the north of Ireland. It should have the 
greenhouse or a cold pit; but if you have two plants, try one in a dry 
place, and planted on a raised mound, in rather poor soil, and report to 
us the result. 
Wintering Gardenia Radicans {I. V.). —This maybe kept in a 
moderately warm greenhouse in winter and rather dry ; but to have it in 
rich luxuriance, it must be transferred to a sweet hotbed in March or 
April. It flourishes in sandy peat and loam. 
Select Hardy Fruits (T. M. G.). —We select the following, and 
j place them in the order of their ripening :— Peaches —Acton Scott, Royal 
George, Grosse Mignonne, Walburton Admirable. Nectarines —Violet 
| Hative, Elruge, Newington. Apricots —Blenheim or Shipley’s, Moor- 
I park. Vines for Outdoors— August Muscat, Burgundy, Lashmar’s 
Seedling, Purple Fontainbleau. Cherries —Early Duke, Royal Duke, 
Elton, Morello. Apples —Red Juneating, Kerry Pippin, Ribston Pippin, 
Ashmeads’s Kernel, Lamb-abbey Pearmain, Sturmer Pippin. Kitchen 
Apples — Mank’s Codling, Dumlow’s Seedling, Northern Greening. 
Pears — Jargonelle, Dunmore, Louis Bonne of Jersey, Beurr£ Diel, 
Winter Neilis, Glout Morceaux, Beurre Ranee. 
Flower-garden {A Lover of Flowers from Childhood ).—Pray 
take good care that the winter covering over 6 is dry and thick enough to 
keep off the frost; and let us hear how the Daturas look next summer : 
they are exactly in the right place. 10, a basket of ivy filled with Scarlet 
geraniums and edged with White Ivy geraniums is the best thing in the 
county. 7, a constellation of fancy geraniums in the recess between 5, 
, 6, and 8 is uncommonly well managed. There are no good sorts of this 
j class with different colours. The next best four to Diadematum, is 
Diadematum rubescens , a redder sort; Lady Mary Fox, orange scarlet, 
and black ; Spleenii, striped flower, like Sidonia, but a better grower; 
Quercifolium , a good low red sort; and Rouge et Noir, red and black, 
as the name implies. This and Spleenii require poor soil to keep them 
down to the size of the others. There are no good white or whitish yet 
in this class. 11, 12. 13, very bad indeed—no meaning. Knock out 11 
altogether, and make a group of six beds, same shape as 12 and 13, with 
the points to the centre, and the outsides forming a circle. 15, plant a 
hedge of Fuchsia gracilis across the border wherever you wish the grass 
to end, but on no account turf the border. 18 is too much in the shade 
for an edging of Nemophila. Sweet Alyssum is the best for it, unless 
you get Campanula carpatica. Your other questions next week. 
Flower-garden {Devoniensis). —What a beautiful Italian terrace 
garden it is ! Many thanks for the smallness of the plan, and the little 
space you occupied in explaining it—ten acres of flower-beds need never, 
for us, occupy more than one half page of small post paper. You need 
never go wrong in planting 1 ; and in it we would have anew arrangement 
of mixed colours every year, but not glowing colours—Z auchsneria was 
out of place there last summer : it does not answer that way. 3 and 11 
should always have the same colour and same sized plants ; white Cam¬ 
panula carpatica —the best plant for both. 8 and 16 should also be of 
the same colour and height, and different from the white in 3 and 11. 
Tugetes tenuifolia is the best we can think of for 8 and 16 . After that, 
your own planting seems very good ; all that we can see is, unless the 
plants in 13 were pegged down, the bed was too high to match 5. Going 
down the middle walk, the plants on both sides look best if as near as 
possible of the same height. 
Flower-garden {Subscriber, Bury St. Edmunds). —Who planted 19 
with shrubs ? and who proposed 20 and 21 on each side of it ? The whole 
group absolutely frightful, and completely spoils your whole garden as to 
effect. The oval should have been up near the flower border 22; but, 
better still, nowhere. We never saw anything in Loudon so inelegant as 
the shape of 20 and 21. The geometric garden in front of the house is 
very nice, and so are 16 and 17 beyond; but 15, a young Deodar, is 
entirely out of place; and here is the rule for it:— A piece of turf in 
front of a house (from the size of a dining-room to many acres) should 
never have anything planted in the very middle of it. We would do 
away with 19 , 20, and 21, and plant a high fence of evergreen roses on 
one side of the walk beyond 22; but cannot say which side. 15 we 
would remove beyond 14, and a little more towards the corner, so as not 
to be in a line with 14 ; and on the opposite side, to match it, repeat 14. 
If more flower-beds are wanted, have them in groups on either side of the 
lawn. It is quite impossible to say with certainty if that would be a 
good place for a conservatory. 
Fortune’s Pit {A.B.). —There ought to be sufficient heat, unless the 
materials are too deep. Our bottom heat is 80° on the very same plan, 
but on a large scale, and it hardly ever varies. Tan, in such small quanti¬ 
ties, is troublesome through the winter, but after February would answer 
well. 
Gravel Walks (P., Constant Readei'). —We cannot decipher your 
letter altogether, but from what we can make out we are enabled to say 
the subject will soon appear in our pages. 
Elder Flower Wine. —We have been favoured with five receipts for 
making this “ English Frontignac,” for which, on behalf of the inquirer, 
we return thanks. They are each accompanied by a warranty of excel¬ 
lence, so we publish them all. 
No. 1.—To 10 gallons of water add 28 lbs. of lump sugar, boil it well; 
when almost cold, put in a quarter of a peck of picked elder flowers, and 
27 lbs. of raisins stoned, squeeze in the juice of 4 lemons, adding the peel 
thinly pared, with about 6 spoonsful of yeast; stir all together, then put it 
into the barrel, and after it has fermented two or three days, bung it close 
and let it stand six months ; then bottle it. Two bottles of white French 
brandy to be added when put into the barrel. 
No. 2.—To every gallon of water add 3 lbs. of lump sugar, boil well 
together, and clear with the whites of eggs. Have ready picked from 
the stem, for 10 gallons of liquor, three-quarters of a peck and a pint of 
elder flowers, and when it is nearly cold pour it upon the flowers and stir 
well. To every gallon add 1 lb. of raisins of the sun stoned, one spoon¬ 
ful of the syrup of lemons, and to the whole, four spoonsful of yeast; let 
it work two or three days, stirring it well three times each day; then put 
it into a barrel with 1 oz. of isinglass and a pint of brandy, close it up 
well, and let it stand six months before you bottle it. Take care the cask 
is quite dry when the wine is put in, otherwise it will turn acid. 
No. 3.—To every gallon of water 2 lbs. of Malaga or Sultana raisins 
and 2 lbs. of lump sugar; boil them one hour and pour them into an open 
tub ; when the liquor has cooled down to about the warmth of new milk, 
stir into it the elder flowers at the rate of a quarter of a peck to every six 
gallons ; the next daywork it with good ale yeast, and add to every gallon 
one tablespoonful of lemon juice; put the dregs into the cask with the 
wine, and let it stand till it has done working with only a paper over the 
bung-hole; then bung it down tightly till it has acquired its proper 
sweetness, which will easily be ascertained by occasionally tasting it; 
when it has done so, it should be carefully drawn off from the dregs and 
fined with isinglass at the rate of £oz. to every six or seven gallons—the 
isinglass being dissolved in some of the wine, but not put into the cask 
till nearly cold; in about ten days it will be clear and fit for bottling. 
No. 4.—Ten gallons of water, 30 lbs. of loaf sugar, boiled half an hour, 
carefully removing the scum; when lukewarm, add half a peck of elder 
flowers carefully picked clean from the stalks, the juice and thin peels of 
