December 2(i.J 
THE COTTAGE GARDENEll. 
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1 finenrent in a cold frame, covered up proof against frost, yet 
i -we, by all means, advise some of tlie best plants being kept 
! in some more suitable place. A long continuance in dark¬ 
ness encourages damp and mould, which latter they do not 
j endure so well as shrubby Calceolarias, and some other 
j things, yet, on the whole, suffer less than geraniums. Never- 
1 theless, they do suffer, and severely too at times, so that 
1 where immuring in a cold frame is unavoidable, every avail- 
| able means must be taken to give them all the light imagin¬ 
able consistent with their safety. And if a dry clear day 
j occur, which often does just at the sotting-in of frost, let 
I them have all the air they can to make them perfectly dry; 
j even presuming the atmosphere to be absolutely frosty, they 
are better fitted to stand confinement when in a partially 
chilled condition, than when excited by warmth and hu¬ 
midity. Cover up immediately the air is taken away; do 
not wait for the sun (if there be any) acting on the glass 
I and creating moisture inside. It is almost needless to say 
! that water must have been withheld for some days prior to 
j this; in fact, in mid-winter, water is little required where 
no fire-heat exists. We have had Cinerarias covered up 
under mats, straw, and snow for three weeks, without taking 
i any serious harm ; while, on the other hand, we have seen 
- plants almost destroyed in four or five days—so much de- 
| pends on the condition they are in, and other circumstances. 
I When a change of weather admits of their being opened out, 
I do so; but be careful not to allow too rapid an ingress of 
fresh air, nor yet the powerful beams of sunshine in a frosty 
i day; but whenever a fine clear day does occur after they have 
j been sometime confined, let them be uncovered, and each 
light moved so as to allow the escape of those noxious 
gases which generate disease, and their place to be sup¬ 
plied by a more wholesome air. It would be better if some 
means could be applied to drive out those baneful exhala¬ 
tions; unfortunately, I know of none available without being 
detrimental to the plants inside. I should wish to invite 
your scientific friends to give that matter their attention. 
The only attempt that I have made that way, and one which 
is in every one's power, is to put a few clods of unslaked 
lime into an empty flower-pot, and place that inside the 
frame ; pouring a little water over it creates a vapour not at 
all hurtful to living vegetation, but certainly imimical to the 
production of that kind of fungi which we are accustomed to 
call mould. I have frequently used that in frames or cold 
pits where bedding-out plants and other succulents are wont 
to be wintered, and think it was very serviceable. Remem¬ 
ber, I do not assert it has been proved to be so, because the 
success or failure of an undertaking often arises from other 
causes than those we are so fond to call our hobbies; but 
the well-known properties of lime, as being a sort of antidote 
to mildew and other parasitical fungi, gives it an importance 
deserving a trial; but on this subject I shall, perhaps, advert 
on a future occasion. Let us, therefore, proceed with the 
j Cinerarias, which, on a final opening-out after a thaw takes 
! place, we find to be loaded with moisture, and perceive decay 
i to some extent in the leaves and leaf-stalks of some of the 
j most luxuriant plants. " These being picked off) some dry 
; ashes, fresh from the fire-place, may be spread under them; 
and if the weather holds mild, they may be gradually inured 
: to it, care being taken to ensure their being dry where 
necessity compels their being again covered up. At that 
time, a quantity of fresh dry ashes, warm from the fire-place, 
will be of sendee. Anything which will counteract decay, 
! without being detrimental to the plants, may be adopted, 
always remembering to keep them as dry as possible. 
Like other gross growing plants, Cinerarias delight in a 
j soil made tolerably rich with rotten dung or decayed leaf- 
mould ; and for those shifts in which only a small portion of 
j fresh earth can be added, as, for instance, from a 18-pot to 
: a 82, the soil or compost ought to be rather heavy than open, 
j fibry, and light;.by heavy, we do not mean stiff and clayey, but 
| a finely-pulverized mixture of good loam, rotten dung, and 
! sand, made fine enough to go in pretty solid. For the first 
I potting a more open material may be used ; or, when a large 
I shift is given, that too may be of a more open character; 
but where the quantity given is small, it is only reasonable 
I to infer, that it ought to be in as condensed a state as pos- 
J sible. Of late years, the advocates of a half-decayed vege¬ 
table matter for potted plants have been both numerous 
! and, shall I say, clamorous. I beg pardon, if I give offence j 
by such a vulgar expression ! as it can scarcely be denied , 
but that they are mostly right; nevertheless, there are cases 
in which the old-fashioned gardeners’ sifted soil, beautiful to 
handle and look at, is of more sendee than the more open 
mixture prescribed by their junior brethren, and we think 
this is one of those cases. I’eat earth we have also added to 
our mixture with advantage, only we think when much of \ 
that is used, pots of a large size are required to grow i 
plants of equal size with those grown in rich sound loam 
and dung. 
In common with everything else, the cooler the tempe¬ 
rature in which Cinerarias are grown in, the dwarfer and 
more robust their habit; therefore, when they have the 
advantage of fire heat let that be applied, so as to exclude 
frost, and give abundance of air on all favourable occasions. 
By a low temperature there is less danger of the green fly, 
which is apt to attack them ; nevertheless, it is advisable to j 
give a sharp look out for it; and whether it makes its ; 
appearance or not, it is better to fumigate them once towards j 
the end of the season. Towards the middle of February 
many of them will require potting, which attend to,—and | 
continue to do so until they show the flower-stem advanced j 
half its length. In some respects Cinerarias differ from J 
Geraniums : the latter stores up an amount of vegetable 
matter in autumn or early winter capable of developing 
its blooms in May, without the assistance of additional pot 
room. Cinerarias, on the contrary, do not form such accu¬ 
mulations, but require additional food being administered to 
them to the last. Certainly there are cases in which both 
may be said to partake of the latter character ; but it is 
generally admitted, that to bloom Geraniums, well they must 
have been in their blooming pots some time ; some growers 
even insist on their receiving their last shift before Christ- j 
mas. Not so, however, with Cinerarias ; a considerable part 
of their growth is to make after that time, excepting with 
those we have alluded to as flowering in autumn or early 
winter. 
Haring drawn these remarks to a greater length than I 
intended, I must hastily draw to a conclusion, trusting that 
the above observations may be of service to the amateur. It is 
unnecessary making any remark on the blooming period, as 
their management then requires no particular attention ; and 
I must refer the reader back to the Editor’s criterion of a 
good flower, in the volume for last year, as a guide on which 
the merits of seedlings, and in fact all others, ought to be 
judged by; and as they are increased with so much facility, 
would advise all falling much short of the points therein re¬ 
quired, to be at once thrown away. S. N. Y. 
FUMIGATING. 
I find a very effectual cure for the aphis (though perhaps 
not safe unless performed by the master) is the fumigating 
the house thoroughly' with tobacco smoke, and putting 
to two ounces of tobacco as much arsenic as would 
cover the tip end of a pen-knife. But the fumigating 
must be done from the outside, and no one allowed to go 
into the house for more than twelve hours, and then merely 
to ventilate. The great thing is not too have too much 
arsensic, which will hurt the plants.—L. It. L. 
BROWN BREAD AND YEAST. 
“ A Parson’s Wife ” haring lately spent some weeks in Nor¬ 
thumberland, took the opportunity of inquiring into the 
proportions of the mixed bread mentioned by the authoress, 
of “ My Flowers ” in the September part of The Cottage j 
Gardener. An experienced housekeeper informed her 
that she had habitually made the excellent bread in ques¬ 
tion, and that it was composed of equal parts of wheat and 
rye, not grown or ground together, but mixed by herself in 
the making. The same excellent servant has communicated 
the following receipt for making yeast, very valuable to those 
who live far from a brewery, and which has been for un- j 
numbered years practised in the large establishment above 
alluded to, where indifferent bread is a thing unknown :— 
Take a pound of flour, mix it with a pint of cold water, j 
l Boil one ounce of hops in three pints of cold water for 
