November ' l '!. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
103 
In villages, cottages are frequently built without one 
morsel of garden attached to them—as if landlords' 
considered only the shelter, and not the subsistence, 
of the poor. High rents are demanded, and the 
occupiers have no way in which to supply them¬ 
selves with food, except at “the shop,” where they 
either pay dearly or not all. Even where gardens 
exist they are seldom large enough to raise potatoes 
enough for the family use, where nothing but bread 
is attainable besides; and therefore, under all cir¬ 
cumstances, a pieco of land is a real blessing to the 
cotta^r, in every light in which we can possibly 
view it. 
I do not know a more pleasing, gratifying sight 
than cottage allotments present during the busy 
seasons—autumn, for instance. The digging up, or 
harvesting the crops,—then the ploughing and clean¬ 
ing, the sowing and planting after that again,—keep 
the little colony in a perpetual buzz, and gives em¬ 
ployment to every working member of the poor man’s 
family. One of the first harbingers of spring, too, is 
a labourer, with his fork and wheelbarrow, going to 
“ the ground,” as they all call it; and then very 
speedily it becomes full of activity, and fertility, and 
sweetness—nothing is sweeter than the fresli-turned 
earth. How the very labour of man tends to his 
health and enjoyment! “ Oh ! that man would there¬ 
fore praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare 
the wonders that he doeth for the children of men! ” 
Many gentlemen encourage their allotment te¬ 
nants by offering prizes, and giving them a dinner 
or a supper when the rent is paid. This system 
may, and probably does, work well; but let not those 
be discouraged who have it not in their power to do 
so. The system works extremely well without it; 
and, perhaps, evil passions are aroused by contend¬ 
ing, and triumphing over each other, which will do 
far more harm in one way than good is effected in 
the other. Brotherly love is unlikely to continue 
when there is this sort of competition, and the finest 
and sweetest vegetables are dearly purchased by a 
root of bitterness planted in the heart. The marked 
superiority of the crops in clean and well-tilled soil 
ought to be a sufficient inducement to be diligent, 
and the careful pains-taking cottager will, in some 
measure at least, urge on the slothful man beside 
him. If a trifle is given back when the rent is paid, 
it will benefit quite as much, and be as thankfully 
received as an expensive meal, which does no real 
good, and excludes the self-denying mother and hun¬ 
gry children. Surely much might be done in this 
way by those who seek to benefit the poor effectually, 
and because they are “our brethren.” There is a 
blessing, too, on those who consider the “ poor and 
needy;” and let us remember that “he that lionoureth 
his Maker hath mercy on the poor.” 
Large-leaved Zieria (.Zieria inacrophylla .)—This 
greenhouse shrub, with panicles of white flowers, is 
a native of Van Diemen’s Land, where it is called 
Stink-wood. It thrives best in a shaded part of the 
greenhouse, in a well-drained pot filled with a mix¬ 
ture of light loam and peat. It must be watered 
every morning or evening in summer. It ripens 
seeds, and may be propagated from these or from [ 
cuttings.— Bot. Mag., tab. 4451. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
• 
*** Wo request, that no one will write to the departmental writers 
of Tup. Cottace Gardener. It gives them unjustifiable trouble 
and expense ; anil we also request our coadjutors under no circum¬ 
stances to reply to such private communications. 
Capons (Vera. r).—We cannot admit anything upon so cruel a sub¬ 
ject into our columns. 
Hot-bed of Leaves (Ibid). — The leaves may he employed alone, 
or mixed with stable-manure, or tan. The leaves, even if mixed 
afterwards with the other fermenting materials, are best prepared by 
themselves. Mix them thoroughly with those other materials, and do 
not put them in alternate layers. To prepare leaves, they should be 
collected as they fall in autumn, and be put into a space enclosed by 
hurdles or other means, so that they cannot he scattered by the 
winds. The heap should be at least six feet thick, watered mode¬ 
rately, if the leaves are dry, and trodden firmly. In five or six weeks 
the heat they produce will be so moderated that the heap may be 
broken up and beds formed of it. Apply a little water to any parts 
which then appear dry. 
Swiss Gentiana Seed (Rev. W. Brodie ).—There are several 
species of Gentiana natives of Switzerland, but you do not state the 
name of yours. They will be safest if sown in pots of light sandy loam 
only, any time in March ; the pots to be placed in a close cold pit ; 
and, as soon as the seedlings are up, to have abundance of air given 
them. They advance but slowly, but by next September will he fit to 
transplant into a bed of light earth out of doors, where the slugs must 
be kept from them. We cannot name your plant from the seed sent. 
Rhododendron not Flowering (A Novice, Camberwell). — 
You have a short rhododendron showing fiower-buds, and “ a tall 
straggling one” that does not.—You must cut back this just when 
you see it begin shooting in the spring; cut the side branches to 
within three or four inches of the old wood ; and the centre shoot, if 
any, cut down to half its length. 
Roses not Flowering (Ibid). —Prune your standard and dwarf 
roses now, and very close; that is, cut away the little spray twigs 
altogether, and the strong shoots cut to a couple or three joints from 
the old wood; then scrape away the top soil till you get near to the 
roots, and lay over these some rich compost—one half of it rotten 
dung. When they are in leaf next May water them with some strong 
liquid manure, and, if there is life and blood in them, they will flower 
abundantly after that treatment, but not so much the first season as 
afterwards. 
Liliums (Nemo). —Plant your bulbs immediately ; you have over¬ 
looked what Sir. Appleby said at p. 310 of our vol. ii.: “ They are 
much injured by long exposure.” Lilies of all kinds should be kept 
out of the ground as little as possible. Lilium bulbiferum is orange- 
coloured, and from 2 to 3 feet high, according to the strength of the 
bulb and the suitableness of the soil; Chalcedonicum, scarlet, 3 to 4 
feet; Thunbergianum, red and orange, 3 feet; Aurantium, orange, 
3 feet; Spectabile, light orange, 2 feet; Pyrenaicum, dark orange, 
2 feet; Superbum, light orange, 5 to 6 feet; Eximium, white, 2 to 3 
feet: Oanadiense, light orange, 3 to 4 feet; Atrosanguineum, dark 
red, 3 to 4 feet; Pomponeum, red and scarlet, 3 to 4 feet; Slontanum 
we do not know, neither are we acquainted with your hybrids—Prince 
Albert, Duke of Sutherland, Napoleon, Duke of Devonshire, Don 
Juan, and Slarshal Soult, but they are all different shades of red and 
orange. 
Old Jessamine (Ibid). —You cut this down last autumn, and the 
young shoots have grown up very numerous, strong, and some 12 feet 
long. Cut out a few of the weakest shoots to near the ground, for the 
purpose of making young wood to fill the bottom, but let the other 
shoots remain their full length. Cover the concrete bottom of your 
cold pit with coal-ashes. 
Moving Wisteria (C. C .).—Remove your Wisteria (now 6 years 
old) at once; this is the best time. There is no doubt about your 
succeeding with the carnation cuttings, if you keep the damp from 
them ; the greenhouse is the best place for them till early in the spring, 
when you may give them a slight bottom heat. You are quite right 
—things will root “ at seasons unseasonable,” with patience and per¬ 
severance. 
Apple-trees Bearing Small Fruit (H. M.). —Stagnation, 
owing to a retentive bottom, is, in all probability, the cause of your 
apples being small. At all events, you will do well to drain 
thoroughly. Perhaps you have been digging over their roots ; if so, 
cease for four feet from the stem ; and in lieu thereof apply old 
manure, as top dressing, six inches thick, next April. Root-prune 
slightly your Cloth of Gold Rose, which is vigorous but blossomless, 
as soon as you can. This rose is apt to be over-luxuriant for a year 
or two after planting, if in rich soil. 
Peach Not Bearing (R. L. Thame .).—Correspondents should 
always give the name and condition of a fruit when they seek informa¬ 
tion. We will shortly suggest a form of table to be used in applying 
to us for information. We would try rich top-dressing and hand- 
pruning. Our"advice is not, however, obliged to be correct, for we 
want other data. 
Pines Not Fruiting (R. Walters, Rath.). —No letter ever came 
to our office that has not been answered. You should have named 
the sorts of pines you grow ; their age, by what system grown, &c. 
We wish our correspondents would indeed give the necessary data; 
it is but a common sense consideration. You surely must give too 
much atmospheric moisture and heat with too little air. l)o your 
pines get light enough ? Are they in pots; and are the pots—as they 
ought to be—well filled with roots ? You may indeed take any half- 
dozen of plants, that have been duly prepared previously, and start 
them into fruit at almost any period. A certain prepared condition 
however is necessary; one of the first essentials of which is, that the 
pot be well filled j and another, that the usual excitements to growth 
