December 19.J 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
183 
more especially of those which may with certainty he de¬ 
pended on for coming into use in the winter months, say 
from the middle of January until the end of March. Gene¬ 
rally the Cape kinds and Walcheren supply the autumn 
tolerably well; and the latter, when true, often keeps in use 
all the winter, but it is far from certain to do so; so likewise 
are Grange’s and Chappell’s, both said to be winter brocoli. 
There is no lack of spring kinds, unless it be an exceeding 
late one, and with me a sulphur coloured one , much undulat¬ 
ing in the leaf, seems to have that property. It is, or has 
been, called Bowles's Sulphur; and for hardihood and ex¬ 
treme lateness is the best I know. There are few things in 
the seed trade which cause more uncertainty to the gardener 
and more unpleasantness to the seedsman than brocoli; 
certainly the season may have a powerful influence, but that 
is not always the case. It is no uncommon tiling to witness 
in June plants with two feet of naked stem, and a large tuft 
of lanceolate leaves at the top, looking like some of the 
prints we have of eastern palms ; and, on making inquiry, 
we are told it was from brocoli seed having a high-sounding 
name, which ought to have come into use in February. 
Such disappointments are not uncommon ; and the exceed- 
1 ingly sportive character of the brassica tribe may be urged as 
| an excuse ; but we generally see cabbages tolerably correct, 
! and fields of turnips likewise faultless, why then not effect 
! the same with brocoli ? I think the anxiety evinced by the 
j trade of late years to multiply kinds, has led to seed 
1 growers planting them too close together, and consequently 
are' produced the class of mongrels I complain of. Pre¬ 
suming it were determined only to grow six kinds—two for 
autumn, two for winter, and two for spring, I should be obliged 
by some of your correspondents, well versed in such things, 
informing me which are the best six kinds known.—H. T. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
*** We request that no one will write to the departmental writers of 
The Cottage Gardener. It gives them unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. All communications should be addressed “To the Editor of 
The Cottage Gardener , 2, Amen Comer , Paternoster Row, London .” 
Fruit for South and West Walls ( G . H. C.). —The wall 80 yards 
i long, 6 feet high, south aspect, requires 3 peaches, 2 nectarines, 4 apri- 
I cots, 1 May Duke cherry, 2 pears. Peaches —Acton Scott, Royal George, 
and Walburton Admirable; Nectarines *— Elruge and Newington; 
; Apricots —Shipley and three Moorparks; Cherry —May Duke; Pears — 
| Winter Nelis and Beurr4 d’Aremberg. For the wall 20 yards long, 6 
| feet high, west aspect, 2 cherries, 2 plums, and 2 pears. Cherries— Morello 
l and Late Duke. Plums —Prince de Tours and Greengage. Pears —Beurre 
I Ranee and Marie Louise. 
Black Currants (H . M. Fern). —Your practice appears good, there¬ 
fore continue it. You need not keep the middle of your black currant 
very open. Black currant pruning is merely thinning out. You will see 
all those things thoroughly explained in The Cottage Gardeners 1 Dic¬ 
tionary. 
Moving Vine (/. H. P.). —If you find excellent roots to your Hambro’ 
vine six years old, you may certainly move it from your wall to your new 
greenhouse, but not until the middle of March. Prune it, however, now 
back to as many eyes as are absolutely necessary to get it introduced in 
the house. If you find the roots scanty and wiry looking, let us advise 
you to purchase a good stout plant from a nursery ; and when you plant, 
squeeze the ball to pieces, uncoil the roots, and spread them carefully 
out near the surface. We believe common charcoal will do quite as well 
for your stove as the prepared fuel. 
Pear Trees against a North Wall (Jane). —A north wall is not 
j quite the place in Ireland for pears, especially the tender kinds. We 
advise you to take them all up and plant them on the surface of the 
ground, raising the soil of course altogether above the ordinary level. If 
you must crop the border, set off six feet for the trees; this will be a 
much higher level than the front or vegetable ground, indeed wholly 
above it. Your trees will soon make shorter shoots, and then you may 
look for fruit buds. Pray keep manure out of their reach. Greengage 
plums doubtful. 
Forcing Pit (F. W. T.). —You ask, “Is it intended to place hot 
manure under the false bottom and outside of the bed, as described at 
page 4 ? ” That depends on the object in view. The pit is intended for 
any purpose ; either a cold pit for wintering half-hardy stock, or for 
forcing cucumbers, melons, See. If the former, of course no fermenting 
I materials will be needed inside, and, with proper precaution, none on 
: the outside. For the latter purpose, it will merely be necessary to intro¬ 
duce two or three trestles to support a few boards running the whole 
| length of the pit; or, indeed, the pit may be filled up to the desired 
| height, and finished off with a coating of ashes, on which the pots may 
j be placed. Or a stage may be introduced if for half-hardy stock. Of 
course if for melons or cucumbers the trestles, Sc c., would have to be 
taken out, and fermenting material introduced. In this case a trench 
must be sunk at the outside, front and back, for the reception of warm 
linings of dung, Sc c., &c. If the latter were the only object, why a retain¬ 
ing wall may be built both back and front, running as high as the solid 
masonry. The pit was planned for small amateurs, who frequently 
change their plans. As to your dung being too powerful, you should try, 
at least, half tan with it, working the dung well, however, before mixing 
the tan. On first throwing your dung together, or at least when first 
very hot, use abundance of water; this will tame it. The tan would be 
as well half spent. We hope this will be an answer to Verax also. 
Gesnera Cooperi Major (Ibid). —Start it slowly in a comfortable j 
greenhouse until the end of January, and then give it increase of warmth 
if you can ; in fact, stove culture. Do not, however, water much, if at : 
all, until Christmas has passed, and then very moderate at first. You j 
are right about constant excitement; these things require a rest. 
Large Jasmine (An Original Subscriber). —Your jasmine continuing ! 
to grow will not be injured by having the points of the shoots nipped by 
the frost. It is one of those plants that flower on the current year’s wood, 
and may be pruned in mild weather any time to the beginning of April. 
We would close prune it now, and look over it again in March to cut off 
any parts that may have been frost bitten. 
Lonicera Flexuosa Pruning (Clericus). —This bears on the young 
wood made the same season, therefore should be close pruned; but you 
may see a full account of pruning in this number. 
Cuttings (Ibid). —Not only three or four cuttings of Scarlet gera¬ 
niums, but three and forty, and more besides, may be kept in one pot all 
the winter, just as they were struck in the autumn. Thirty little plants 
in one pot have a far better chance with amateurs than one in a very 
small pot. The rule is to place the cuttings round the sides of the pot 
only, and when they are rooted to thin the inner leaves, so that the 
middle of the pot or bunch of leaves is not too much crowded ; and such 
pots may be watered regularly as fast as they get dry ; there being so 
many roots to suck up the moisture, there is little fear of damping. Mil¬ 
lions of these store pots are kept over the winter in this country, without 
losing a plant out of a thousand. 
Geranium Cuttings (Jane, Ireland). —We are sorry to hear such a 
bad account of your cuttings; but you began too soon, namely in Sep¬ 
tember, when the cuttings were in full growth. A month or six weeks 
later would have made a great difference in their capacity of resisting 
damp ; and we fear there is no better help for you than to put up with 
the disappointment, and try again next year. We believe all of them 
should have been at once excluded from all outward influences, instead 
of what you did. After all, the plan is to be looked on more in the way 
of curiosity than of real utility ; but certainly the thing may be done. 
Plants for and from Cabool (Carig Cathol). —Thanks for the 
seeds, but our climate is not suitable for such large soft fruit. We have 
already tried five kinds of melons from the same quarter, and so have 
many others, and our experience brought us to this conclusion. To an 
English resident in Cabool, who knows nothing of gardening, bulbs and 
annuals are the best flowers to begin with—say the different sorts of 
Ipamixa , or Convolvolus, major and minor, Thunbergias of sorts, Lisian - 
thus of sorts, Sensitive Plant , Cockscombs and Balsams , Martynias, 
Cleomes, Clitoria ternatea, if not there already, with the “ Midnight 
Lily,” or Ipomoea bona-nox , are two annuals which all Europeans in the 
East admire very much. The former grown just as we do Sweet peas, 
gives a splendid row of the best of all blue pea flowers; and the Bona- 
nox, planted and trained as our Scarlet runners, loads the evening and 
night air with its delicious fragrance, and blooms from sun-down all 
night. Zinnias , Portuluccas , and Mesembryanthemum tricolor, with 
the different sorts of Swan River daisies, or Brachycome, might be tried; 
Canna of sorts, Cinerarias, Fuchsias, Humea, Cobea, Lophospermum, 
Maurandia, Eccremocurpus, Rhodochiton , Marvel of Peru, Eschscholt - 
zias. The Scarlet Mexican Thistle, the very best of all the thistles, 
would be just at home at Peshawur. Ask for it by the name of Erythro- 
Icena conspicua. You might also send a packet of German Asters and 
Stocks; and your best plan would be to trust the whole commission to 
the Messrs. Knight and Perry, whose address you will find amongst our 
advertisers ; and tell them to recommend you Chilian, Peruvian, and 
Mexican showy bulbs, or, indeed, any other bulbs to begin with. We 
cannot well say what he could send you in return, but as he knows so 
little of flowers, we would prefer his own selection before that of our best 
botanical collectors, as he would be sure not to gather anything but what 
struck him as very beautiful. Let him mark any such when in flower. 
Get the seeds when ripe, dry them slowly in the shade, and put them up i 
in coarse paper packets, and send them by the overland route. There is 
no book about such doings; our own instructions in former volumes are I 
the most comprehensive of any you can meet with in our language ; and ! 
we have written the whole of them from actual experience. We have 
received and sent seeds to all parts where the English language is spoken, 
with more or less success through a period of many years. In the way ' 
of vegetables, you ought to apply to some of your West Indian proprietor ; 
friends. Their Pigeon pea in particular, and the Mexican Deon would 
be a rare treat in the way of nuts ; see page 146. Our best rhubarb and 
brocoli might also be tried ; and why not try a bed of asparagus where it 
could be irrigated in the dry season ? At any rate send seeds of it; and 
pray communicate with your friend in our name, and ask him for a list of 
everything he has seen grown about Cabool either for use or ornament. 
