THE COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 
December 0. 
1-20 
parts of the world, shed their seeds as soon as they 
are ripe after the rains have ceased, those seeds neces¬ 
sarily remain dormant, like their parent hulhs, until 
the return of the periodical rains, which give life and 
vigour to the languishing hulhs, and the power of 
vegetating to the seeds. Hence our advice to sow 
these seeds about the time at which the bulbs begin 
to grow with us, or, in other words, about the end of 
September. We believe that gardeners have ascer¬ 
tained in practice that if such seeds are sown any 
time during the summer as soon as they are ripe, 
they will not vegetate till their natural time in 
September and October; and we all know that if 
the sowing is deferred until the next spring the 
seedlings are overtaken too soon by our summer 
droughts, and are thus prevented attaining a proper 
strength before the end of their first growing season. 
Wo may notice, also, another peculiarity in the 
economy of these Cape irids to show how Infinite 
Wisdom has provided for the preservation of their 
race. During the dry seasons the earth in those 
regions where the ixias abound cracks in all direc¬ 
tions, owing to the excessive heat baking the surface. 
On the return of the rains, the whole surface is 
deluged before the soil is so far moistened as to 
allow the water to pass through it; seeds are thus 
swept along rapidly, mingled with sand and dust— 
forming one muddy stream—into those cracks and 
fissures. There they are deeply imbedded; but from 
thence they soon vegetate and reach the surface. 
We are not aware that the greatest depth from 
which they can issue has been ascertained, but it is 
well known to gardeners that very small roots of 
this tribe will vegetate after being accidentally 
buried, to the depth of two or more feet, during 
the operation of trenching beds or borders in which 
they have been growing; and we ourselves have 
seen the crocus thus buried, and come up in safety. 
We entertain scarcely a doubt but seeds of these 
bulbs would vegetate from a considerable depth. 
We are not to suppose, however, that seedlings or 
old bulbs thus accidentally buried beyond the depth 
that is more natural to them could long endure the 
confinement with impunity; n,nd here a natural con¬ 
trivance is powerfully exerted every growing season 
to bring them up to the surface. We have already 
said that they renew their bulbs annually, and, in 
doing so, the new bulbs are formed on the top of 
the old ones, and by this means, in the course of 
time, the successors of the buried bulbs rise step by 
step to the surface. 
THE FRUIT-GARDEN. 
The Vine Out-doors.— We have received so many 
inquiries about out-door grapes, that it is evident 
a great number of our correspondents are much 
interested in vine culture; and we therefore feel con¬ 
strained to offer some more advice on that head; 
and as we have, when treating the subject before, 
generally given miscellaneous advice, we will now 
take the question in its proper order, and begin with 
the root management, or, in other words, 
Border Making. —By this term, we merely mean 
making the necessary preparation for the root, whe¬ 
ther it be a single vine or a score, for such prepara¬ 
tion is always termed “ making a border.” The main 
basis on which to proceed is, as we have before said, 
“ the acclimatising principle.” Inexperienced per¬ 
sons will naturally ask, “What is acclimatising?” 
To this we must answer — Enabling a tree from 
warmer and brighter climes to withstand the vicis¬ 
situdes of our northern climate; and not only to 
grow, but to produce its flowers and fruit in per¬ 
fection. 
Now, it must be obvious that we cannot increase 
the amount of light which falls to our lot; heat we 
may do something with, by making use of materials 
(whether as connected with the branches or the roots) 
which will absorb and retain a portion of the sun’s 
heat for a lengthened period. It is a well-known 
fact, that this ground warmth, as received from the 
sun’s rays, decreases in amount as we descend from 
the surface; deep borders, then, is only another 
phrase for cold roots; and cold roots can by no 
means be supposed to be favourable to that rapid 
development of parts to which such tender trees 
as the vine are subjected in their native clime. 
Thus much, then, seems to show that deep soils 
are not favourable to the perfecting of fruit-trees 
from warmer climates than our own. 
Having settled, as we think, the matter of depth, 
we must next advert to texture in soil—“ me¬ 
chanical texture.” This was a point too much 
overlooked in former days, and our improved no¬ 
tions concerning it have arisen, in no small de¬ 
gree, from the practice of the potting bench ; for 
no class of men are more alive to the immense 
importance of studying the texture of soils than 
our very best gardeners, who have in their day 
spent much time in the culture of tender plants, 
and who are compelled to add whatever amount of 
science can be rendered available to the soundest 
of practice and the most lengthened observation. By 
mechanical texture is meant that constitution of 
soil which more or less permits percolation, or the 
free passage of water, and, as a consequence, a cor¬ 
responding entrance of the atmospheric air; on 
which latter point almost everything depends, not 
only in vine culture, but with most plants, aquatics 
excepted, which are specially constituted to endure 
very different conditions. 
We may here stay to observe, for the benefit of 
those who have not been used to dabbling in fine 
phrases, that for the vine out of doors a very porous 
character of soil should be established. The heavy, 
and sometimes rather too continuous, character of 
our rainy periods are apt to overpower the tender 
spongioles, or months of the fibrous roots; and, we 
need hardly say, that such a consequence is fraught 
with mischief of some kind to the swelling or ripen¬ 
ing grapes. Hence, we hear of grapes “ shrivelling,” 
“ shanking,” going blind,” and of many more tech- 
nichal phrases, which, although not entirely traceable 
to this root fault, yet, in the main, originate in im¬ 
perfect root action. 
Thorough Drainage. — The foregoing remarks 
relate chiefly to the conducting properties of the 
soil; we come now to consider how superfluous 
water, after passing through the soil, may be carried 
