THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
340 
Last summer we saw many of them growing in a rapidly running stream, 
into which their pots had been lowered, and very beautiful objects they 
were. Tepid water is best for the Oleander , and remember that you 
I cannot well supply it too abundantly with moisture. See Mr. Beaton’s 
directions in former volumes. Celery plants raised last autumn, are not 
available for planting next season. If they do not run early to seed, they 
come within the rule, that a celery plant once stunted never regains a 
vigorous growth. 
Sunflower Seed (Janet W.). —We believe, to have the produce ripen 
thoroughly, the seeds should be sown at the end of March in a slight 
1 hotbed, keeping the seedlings growing freely, but with plenty of air, 
| until the middle of May, then to be planted out in rows four feet apart, 
and three feet from plant to plant in the rows. Each plant should not 
be allowed to bear more than four heads. Horse-radish can only be 
extirpated by persevering in trenching out each plant as it appears above 
ground. 
Feeding Bees (Brettingby Cottage ).—Arouse the bees in hive a, by j 
letting a few drops of honey fall amongst the combs, and rubbing a little ■ 
inside the tube of the feeder: do this upon a mild day. If hive b is j 
tolerably heavy—say seven pounds of honey—begin to feed on the first , 
of March; if less than seven pounds, begin now. 
Bees, Fowls, and Cows (Sigma ).—The brown-coloured drops about 
your hives are the excrements of your bees. Clean your floor-board fre¬ 
quently. Bees will die about the feeding-trough, and a jury of apiarians 
would return a verdict of “ Died from natural causes.” Hens cannot be 
kept either profitably or humanely in a small space under a net. Thanks 
for your hint ahout Cows. Salt is a good addition to a dunghill—adding 
to its value as a fertilizer—but it does not check its steaming. In valuing 
your crops, ask some fanner what is the value—this varies too much in 
different localities for us to give a specific answer. High keep is 
good, even for Cows in milk, but not to such an extent “ as if you were 
fatting them for the butcher ; ” for what they gain in actual fat is lost 
from the pail. It is desirable to give a little hay and straw (cut into 
chaff, and mixed with steamed potatoes, is the best mode), to check the 
purgative consequences of a diet of green food. 
Fancy Pigeons ( Aldomasley). —Our correspondent wishes for some 
Black Barbary, Trumpeters, and Spanish Runts. Have any of our readers 
these varieties to sell ? 
Cape Heaths (D. Johnston ).—You will find a good essay on their 
culture, by Mr. Beaton, at page 26 of our second volume. Your money 
has been received;—thanks for your hints. We shall be glad of any 
scraps of gardening from you. 
Management of Greenhouse Plants (J. M. F .).—See an article 
by Mr. Fish, to-day, and he will endeavour farther to meet your wishes ; 
there are, however, several points we will glance at now. First. Bark 
for hotbed .—This is what the tanner throws aside, when he has done 
with it. After it has been allowed to drain, and get thus a little dried, 
the sooner you can get it the better, and try and dry it more before you 
throw it together in a bed, and then the heat will not be so violent, but 
more continuous. Second. Cuttings in bark-bed below a stage .—Your 
box four feet by three, and three deep, will give ample heat for cuttings 
in such circumstances ; but will you not be troubled with drip from plants 
in the stage; and will not the cuttings be too much shaded by the plants 
above ? If you have a light for your box, or any contrivance to pre¬ 
vent drip, you may succeed with many things, provided you give them 
more light as soon as struck. It will do capitally for Dahlia roots, 
Achimenes, &c., by and by. You will see that Mr. Fish at this time 
scarcely uses any shade at all for his. cuttings. Third. Ammonia , and 
other liquid-manure, should it not be given to flowering plants before 
the bloom-buds appear ? See the article referred to to-day. Never give 
it when luxuriance would be purchased at the expense of blooming. In 
general circumstances, it is safest to refrain. Fourth. If air is requisite 
for plants, why not use wet soil ? It would shrink, and leave a place for 
air all round the ball. Aye, that it would, and, therefore, we would not 
so use it at all, any more than we use that which is dusty dry; in the 
latter case there w’ould be no wetting it easily ; in your case the water 
would run off in the channel you made for the air; the ball w’ould get as 
hard and as dry as a brick, and the plant, w’ithout the requisite remedy 
being applied, w’ould soon be fit for the rubbish heap. 
Musk Plant —Mimulus moschatus —( Lucullus ).—You truly say 
that “ this is a universal favourite. It cheers the toil-worn artizan in 
the dusty factory, and the faint needle-worker in the murky garret. It is 
grown with a zest in the rich lady’s boudoir, and in the labourer’s 
cottage.” And glad are we, that though your garden is confined to 
“beau-pots in a w’indow,” you have yet read every sentence of the 
Cottager, and made innumerable notes, and amplified indexes for your 
peculiar benefit, and felt that you were again among “ fields and flowers, 
and groves and glades.” Such testimony as yours, is more then a re¬ 
compense for toil; and while hoping to have the benefit of some of your 
notes in future, we would try in a few words to satisfy the lady re¬ 
specting her pet window plant. The Musk is a plant of the easiest cul¬ 
tivation, and perfectly hardy, unless in very damp clayey soil. Many 
people purchase it fresh every season, when if they only kept their pots, 
they would have enough to supply themselves, and their neighbour!.. If 
you have a strong pot early in the spring, cut it down when done flower¬ 
ing, and set it in a shady place, and it will bloom a second or third time 
the same season. Much of what is obtained early in London has been 
gently forced by the nurserymen. Such amateurs would sooner grow it 
[February 27. 
themselves. Supposing then, that you placed your Musk pots last 
winter in the cellar, or any out of the way place; by this time they will 
be beginning to throw up little shoots, and if not, water the pot, and 
place it near the chimney for a short time, when the heat will cause 
grow th to commence, and then you may remove it to the window. Keep 
some of your store old pots in the coolest place you can, and fresh pot 
them, or divide them, as a small piece of the roots, or rather underground 
stems, will soon fill a pot. By this means, and cutting down, resting, 
and bringing in again your earliest plants, you may have musk dur¬ 
ing the most of the season. Any light common soil will do, and while 
growing, plenty of water must be given. 
Bark Bed (0. P.). —See what has been said already. You may keep 
the best and roughest of the old, but do not mix it with the new'—rather 
place it above it. It will answer perfectly for propagating verbenas, and 
starting achimenes, &c.; and it will not be too early, if you have means | 
to harden off the one, and grow on the other. Without these means, you j 
had better defer a few weeks. 2. You may repot and forward your 
bedding-out plants on the same principle. Your general stock of gera¬ 
niums do not want such heat, unless you have a particular object in view’. 
3. Do not mix the exhausted bark for potting, it contains too much acid. 
4. We think, that raising the chimney will be sure to increase the 
draught of the flue. Is the pipe large enough ? Is the bottom of the 
furnace eighteen inches, or a foot, at least, below the bottom of the flue ? 
Shall always be happy to serve you as far as we can. 
Names of Plants.— We must beg, that w'hen specimens are sent to 
us to discover the name, that a sprig bearing a flower may be sent us if 
possible. A fragment of a leaf is often all that w'e receive. ($. F. S.). — 
Yours is Piptanthus nepalensis. It is a hardy deciduous shrub, and 1 
grew well against an open wall in Winchester. (R. D. L.). —1. Leche- 
naultia formosa. 2. Diosma capitata (?) 3. May be Cacalia kleinia, 
but it is impossible to tell that, or 4, from a fragment of broken leaf. 
CALENDAR FOR MARCH. 
ORCHID HOUSE. 
As the sun obtains pow’er, Air may be given pretty freely, when tha 
out of doors is mild and the sun shining brightly. Blocks : plants on 
these should now be renewed; raise the living roots carefully with a 
thin bladed knife, and if the plants require new’ or larger blocks, fasten 
them to them with zinc w’ire—it is softer to the plants than copper. To 
such as require moss, add some that is living and green, as it looks neater 
and more natural. Baskets will now require dipping two or three times 
during the month. Catasetums and Cycnoches will now be growing, 
and if not potted last month, this must now be done. Cockroaches : 
wherever these insects abound, there is great danger that young roots 
(which are now beginning to put forth, and which tender food just suits 
them) will be eaten just at the end, thus stopping their growth and the 
means of feeding the plants. The following we can warrant as a certain 
destruction to them:—Melt a tallow candle, and mix it with arsenic, and 
when cold lay it in small portions, upon pieces of wood, in the places 
where they abound. The cockroaches will greedily devour it, and it is 
certain death to them. Dendrobiums will now be show’ing flow'er and 
growth. They should be placed in the warmest part of the house, and 
should be watered and syringed moderately to encourage grow’th. Mois¬ 
ture in the Air, give plentifully, by wetting the pipes and walks fre¬ 
quently, especially in sunny weather. Potting : continue using peat, 
chopped sphagnum, broken potsherds, and charcoal. In potting, or even 
basketing, Aeuides, and plants of similar character, use only sphagnum, 
without chopping it. Shades prepare, so as to be in readiness for bright 
sunshiny days, which may come towards the middle and end of the month. 
Water, use moderately to all plants starting into growth. Now is a ! 
good time to w’rite to correspondents abroad, to send home these 
plants; they will then arrive in time to grow a little before the winter ■ 
sets in. T. Appleby. 
PLANT STOVE. 
Air, give freely from 10 to 3. Achimenes : pot another batch; divide 
and repot those growing; increase new' ones by cuttings of the tops, or 
divide the scaly bulbs into short lengths, Aphelandra cristata and 
aurant i aca pot, and plunge in bark bed, to encourage rapid growth. 
Clerodendrum fallax, and similar species, pot liberally in rich soil 
to flow’er in July ; nip off the tops to cause branches. Creepers : attend 
to their training once a week. Gesneras, Gloxinias, and Gardenias, 
continue potting. Hedychium repot. Ixoras pot; train out, so as 
to make bushy plants; place in a frame heated with dung, to encourage 
free grow'th. Air Moisture: to cause this, w r et the flues, pipes, walks, 
and walls, thoroughly, when the sun shines. Propagate all kinds of 
stove plants during this and the next month. Shade from bright sun 
during the four middle hours of the day. Water will be required libe¬ 
rally both at the root and the top with the syringe. Cleanliness : in 
every part of the house keep all clean ; let no decaying leaves be seen ; 
sponge the leaves whenever they are dirty, or the red spider appears. 
Close attention to cleanliness, will insure bright coloured foliage and that 
healthy appearance which is so pleasing to the eye and assistant to the 
plant. T. Appleby. 
FLORIST’S FLOWERS. 
Auriculas and Polyanthuses finish top-dressing early in the 
month. Carnations and Picotees water freely, and expose fully on 
all favourable occasions. Cinerarias repot, and keep in cold frames 
close to the glass ; water freely, and protect securely from frost. Dah- 
