Maboh 27.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
411 
every plant of every kind to have room to breitlic and grow. Water, 
apply regularly and freely to every growing plant. Insects, destroy by 
every means till they are quite extirpated; give them no rest day or night, 
or they will increase so rapidly as to almost destroy, and certainly to dis¬ 
figure the plants greatly during the hotter months. Ixoras, if not 
repotted last month, must be so without delay, and, if convenient, place 
them in dung-heat, and tie out to form bushy specimens, 
T. Appleby. 
FLORIST’S FLOWERS. 
Auriculas and Polyanthuses towards the end of the month will 
be opening their flowers, and previously to that will require close atten¬ 
tion to keep the roots duly refreshed with plenty of water. The Auricula 
must not have the leaves watered; their fine powder will be washed off, 
and so their beauty diminished. Carnations and PicoteEs, finish 
putting into their blooming pots; shelter from heavy rains, but gentle 
April showers will benefit them greatly. Cinerarias will now be 
showing bloom, and will require a light shade from bright sun ; water 
freely, and smoke them frequently. Calceolarias require the same 
treatment, but, in addition, a freer admission of air, as they might sud¬ 
denly damp off. Dahlias; cuttings may yet be made; early struck 
plants, place in cool frames, and give abundance of air to strengthen 
the plant; repot to prevent the roots from becoming pot-bound; 
old roots may be divided and planted out at once into the borders, 
giving a couple of spadesful of dung to each plant Hyacinths in beds 
will now be in great beauty, and must be carefully sheltered from rain 
and cutting winds. Pansies and Pinks, top-dress with two-years’ old, 
well-decomposed manure. Pansies, peg down, and tongue the long 
shoots ; they will strike roots, and produce much finer flowers. Ranun¬ 
culuses will now be growing rapidly, and should have the ground made 
quite hard by treading between the rows ; water freely in dry weather, 
and shelter from frost, sleet, and cutting winds. Tulips, shelter in a 
similar way from similar unfavourable weather. All this attention is 
absolutely necessary if it is desired to bring the flowers to perfection. 
T. Appleby, 
FRUIT FORCING. 
BoTTOM-nEAT, renew ; do not exceed 85° on any occasion. Cucum¬ 
bers in houses, secure a very moist air to ; in frames, frequently renew 
linings; stop frequently. Capsicums and Chilis, pot off, and for¬ 
ward. Cherries ; keep a drier air, and the most liberal ventilation. 
Figs ; stop the young shoots when five or six eyes long; see that the 
root has a permanency of moisture. Floors, water frequently. Grapes ; 
as they colour, increase the dryness of the air and ventilate freely ; Grapes 
ripening, keep a drier air, with free ventilation. Insects, promote a 
constant war with. Kidney Beans, water with liquid manure as soon 
as in blossom; pot more. Melons; frequently renew linings; stop a 
joint or two beyond fruit, and keep down late laterals. Pines; finish 
spring shifting and arrangements. Peaches ; disbud slowly. Shading, 
use to disrooted things if the sun is powerful. Syringing ; practice 
occasionally with all but ripening fruit. Strawberries, water freely 
with liquid manure ; keep down runners. Tomatoes, get forward, and 
harden off. Thermometer, watch carefully; beware of extreme night 
heat. Vines, disbud, stop, and thin berries. Watering, perform 
carefully and regularly. R. Errington. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
Annuals (Tender), prick out those sown in February and March into 
a hotbed; water gently but often ; sow in hotbed; (Hardy) may be sown 
in borders, &c., to remain ; thin those advancing. Auriculas in bloom, 
shelter. (See Hyacinths.) Supply with water often ; those for seed, 
plunge pots in a sheltered border, where they can have sun until 11 
o’clock ; plant offsets ; propagate by slips ; seedlings shade during mid¬ 
day. Auriculas done flowering, place out of doors, and separate off¬ 
sets. Box edgings may be made, and old taken up, slipped, and re¬ 
planted; clip box edgings. Biennials, finish sowing, b. ; plant out 
those sown last spring. Bulbs, in water-glasses, done flowering, plant 
in ground after cutting down stalks, but not leaves ; autumn-flowering, 
take up and store. Carnations, in pots, give liquid manure every third 
time, very weak, and water often; stir the earth; sow, e. ; plant into 
borders, b. Climbing plants, train and regulate. Layer Rhododen¬ 
drons and hardy Azaleas. Dahlias, plant to remain, b.; or in pots, 
to forward in a frame until May. Dress the borders, &c., indefatigably. 
Frames, raise, by supporters at the bottom, as the plants within grow 
tall. Grass, mow once a week, and roll oftener, trim edges; dress 
witn eartn ll poor; and sow seens, especially wnite Clover. Gravel, 
turn and lay afresh in dry weather; roll after rainy weather often. 
Hoeing and Raking are still the standard operations. Hyacinths, 
shelter from sun by an awning or matting over the beds, from nine to 
four; give the same shelter in bad weather day and night; those done 
flowering, take up as soon as the leaves decay ; separate offsets and store. 
Insects, destroy with tobacco smoke, or heilebore powder, or dusting of 
Scotch snuff. Mignonette, sow in any warm border. Mulch, put 
round trees newly planted. Pinks, sow. Polyanthuses, sow; plant 
out and propagate by offsets, b. ; last year’s seedlings now in bloom, 
mark best for propagating. Potted Plants, give fresh earth to, if not 
done last month; shift into larger pots ; water freely. Perennials, those 
sown last spring may still be planted, and propagated by offsets ; finish 
sowing. Sticks are required to blooming plants. Tulips, shelter from 
sun and wet; take off pods to strengthen bulbs. Watering is now 
required more frequently, yet moderately ; give it early in the morning. 
Ranunculuses, water freely, and press the earth very hard between the 
rows. Roses, thin buds where very abundant; watch for grubs in the 
buds, and crush them; make cuttings of Gloire de Rosamene to bed next 
year. Tobacco water, use to destroy the aphides, by dipping the 
shoots in it where the insects are. D. Beaton. 
Disbud wall-trees and trained espaliers of superfluous buds, in a pro¬ 
gressive way. Forcing fruits in hothouse, attend to, on similar prin¬ 
ciples. Grafting (late kinds of Apples, Pears, and Plums) may be done 
still, b. Grafts, lately inserted, see that the clay is firm, and rub off 
shoots below the scion. Heading down Wall and Espalier trees, finish, 
b., if not done last month. Insects, search for and destroy. Lime 
(early in the morning), dust over the leaves of trees affected by Cater¬ 
pillars. Mulch over the roots of newly planted trees to keep in moisture. 
Peaches may be planted. Pears may yet be planted. Planting in 
general may yet be tried, to prevent a season being lost; much care must 
betaken. Plums maybe planted. Propagating by layers, cuttings, 
suckers, and seed, finish, b. Pruning, finish, b. ; stop young shoots if 
too luxuriant. Stake trees newly planted. Strawberries, remove 
runners from, as,they appear, and top dress ; water in dry weather those 
in bloom ; plant Alpines. Vines, propagate by layers and cuttings, b.; 
summer dress ; in Vineyard stake and hoe frequently ; old borders 
manure; plant house vines. Wall-fruit, thin generally. Wasps, 
destroy; every one now killed prevents a nest. Water abundantly 
freshly planted trees. 
Fig-trees may have their winter-covering partially removed at the 
beginning of this month, and entirely by the commencement of May ; 
and they may then be pruned and trained. Newly Grafted trees are 
benefited by'being sprinkled by the water engine during dry weather. 
Watch for the Caterpillar on the gooseberry bushes. Observe the 
directions about Peaches in The Cottage Gardener, and use the 
sulphur mixture ; also the tobacco water when the trees are fairly done 
blossoming. Watch the development of the American Blight, and 
use the brush. Apply soft-soap water to the stems of Pear-trees in¬ 
fested with the scale. Top dress Raspberries, also all bush fruit, 
if requisite. Remove all Suckers from filberts; also from all bush 
fruit, wall trees, espaliers, &c. Let all Fruit Borders be dressed and 
edged as a finish to the garden, taking care to make sound walks. 
R. Errington. 
FRUIT GARDEN. 
Apples and other fruit-trees may be planted, though full late. Blos¬ 
soms of wall-fruit, protect and retard. Budded (Trees), last summer, 
cleanse if foul; also head back the stocks. Cherries may be planted. 
GREENHOUSE. 
Air, admit freely in mild weather; give sparingly when east winds 
prevail, and then merely by the top sashes, to avoid cold draughts ; shut 
up early in the afternoon, and if sunny sprinkle the plants from a fine 
syringe when it is desirable to encourage growth; plants making their 
growth should, therefore, if possible, be kept apart from those in bloom. 
Azaleas coming into, and in flower, water freely; those to be retarded 
remove to a north aspect, under glass or even an opaque roof; a tempo¬ 
rary protection by mats, canvass, or oiled cloth will answer admirably. 
Bulbs, introduce. Camellias, water freely when in flower; those done 
flowering keep close, to encourage growth, and shortly afterwards repot 
if necessary. Sow seeds ; beware of burying the smaller ones ; the pots 
should be well watered previously, and when settled, the seeds sown, 
slightly sprinkled with a little sand, pressed down, and a square of glass 
or a piece of paper put over the pot; for these, as well as striking cuttings 
of tender plants, inarching and grafting, a sweet hotbed would now be 
desirable. Calceolarias, Cinerarias, Primroses, Cytisus, &c., 
assist with manure water, weak, but given often. Cactus, the late kinds 
water at the roots, after swelling the stems by syringing. Cuttings, 
insert; place in hotbed or shady place according to kinds. Climbers, 
regulate. Epacrises and Heaths done flowering, cut back, and also 
any other straggling plants, and keep them by themselves, so as to be 
close and warm, to encourage them to break freely; those in, and coming 
into flower, keep in the airiest part. Fuchsias, water the forward ones 
freely; fumigate with tobacco at the first appearance of fly. Geraniums, 
train the first, encourage the second, and pot and propagate for autumn 
supply. Gesnera, especially Zebrina, and Gloxinia, various varieties, 
start in a hotbed ; the roots may be kept safely during winter, if dry, in 
a temperature of from 40° to 45°. Prepare for general potting by 
getting soil, pots, &c., in order, but do not let a plant wait for a time 
when it wants attention. Propagate by seed, roots, cuttings, inarching, 
and grafting; young plants thus get strong before winter. Seedlings, 
remove as soon as possible from the seed-pans, and prick them out singly, 
especially if thick. Sow balsams, cockscombs, thunbergias, &c. Pot 
the various Achimenes, and introduce tubers for a succession. Remove 
decayed leaves. Stir and loosen the surface soil. Succulents of all 
kinds water more freely. Water for all plants will now be required 
oftener. Vines on rafters, train. Strawberries, set in ; even a few 
on a shelf is a great luxury, and where the vine is scarcely forced, where 
greenhouse temperature is merely maintained, with a rise from sun heat 
during the day, the fruit may be obtained a month earlier than in the 
open air; keep the plants rather dry until the flower trusses show them¬ 
selves boldly, then water freely. R. Fish. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Let the head and the hands work together; be on the alert to any 
sowings that ought to have been performed last month. Alexanders, 
sow, b. Angelica, sow, or plant out autumn sown. Artichokes, 
plant and dress off. Asparagus, sow or plant; dress off beds; attend 
that in forcing ; water with liquid manure ; water once a week. Balm, 
plant. Basil, sow main crop on gentle hotbed. Beans, plant in suc¬ 
cession ; attend to earth-stirring the growing crops. Beet, of either 
kind, sow, m. Borecoles, sow, and leave for seed. Brocoli, sow 
main crops, m.; attend to pricking out any early sown, and save for 
seed. Borage, sow, and earth-stir autumn sown. Burnet, plant or 
sow. CAbbages, sow, plant, or prick out, and earth-stir often. Capsi¬ 
cums, sow in hotbed. Cardoons, sow. Carraway, sow. Carrots, 
sow main crops, m.; attend to thinning early frame or other crops. 
Cauliflower, sow, prick, or plant out; attend to earthing up the hand¬ 
glass crops, aud assist them with soakings of manure water. Celery, 
sow for late crops, m.; and attend to pricking or planting out early sown; 
save for seed. Chamomile, plant. Chives, plant. Chee.vil, sow; 
save for seed. Coleworts, plant. Clary, sow. Cress (American), 
sow in succession. Cucumbers, sow for hand-glass and other crops; 
ridge out and attend to those in bearing as to thinning-out and top-dress¬ 
ing, or earthing-up. Dill, sow or plant. Dung for hotbeds, prepare. 
Earth-stirring, particularly attend to. Fennel, old roots divide, 
and plant or sow. Garlic, plant, if not done, b. Horseradish, plant 
