December 6. 
TITE COTTAGE GARDEN EH. 
of the reel parts clove-gilly-flowers, two handfuls of 
lavender leaves, half a handful of rosemary flowers, 
bay and laurel leaves half a handful each, 3 Seville 
oranges stuck as full of cloves as possible, dried in a 
cool oven, and pounded half a handful ofknotted mar 
joram, and two handfuls of balm of Gilead. Cover 
all quite close. When the pot is uncovered the 
perfume is very fine. No. 3.—A quicker-made Pot¬ 
pourri. Take three handfuls of orange flowers, of 
damask roses, and clove-gilly-flowers, one of knotted 
marjoram, one of lemon thyme, one of rosemary, one 
of myrtle, one of lavender, half of mint, six bay leaves, 
the rind of a lemon, and J oz. of cloves; chop all, 
and put them in layers with pounded hay salt be¬ 
tween, up to the top of the jar. If all the ingredients 
cannot he obtained at once, put them in as you get 
them, always throwing the hay salt between the lay¬ 
ers of every new article. 
Tigridia Pavonia Culture. —A clergyman, near 
Oxford, who has been highly successful in blooming 
this flower, thus details his novel mode of culture:— 
“ The roots were planted in pots, in the autumn of 
last year, and kept in a cold pit through the winter. 
They were planted in deep pots, and with the com¬ 
post recommended for hyacinths in your No. 7, p. 69, 
and, in addition to being drained with crocks, 1^ inch 
of wood-stack refuse and inch of cow dung was put 
into each pot, and the compost on these. The tigridias 
have been covered with a profusion of flowers of fine 
colour. How should they he treated now ? I planted 
my hyacinths in the same manner, and nothing could 
surpass their vigour and fine colour. They were kept 
in a dark warm place, until two inches of shoot had 
risen.” 
[Keep the earth about the tigridias a little moist, 
till the end of January; the pots to he in the cold 
pit; then dry them slowly, and shake them out of 
the soil. Repot them about the end of March, and 
they will soon he in growth again. Will you be so 
kind as to try one pot—without removing the bulbs 
—but merely to keep it dry for two months, and then 
water it again, to see what difference, if any, that will 
make in their flowering next season, and report the 
experiment to us, for the use of others. The fine 
bloom on the hyacinths was more owing to the cul¬ 
ture in the previous season.—E d. C. G.] 
Potatoes—Indian Corn. —Last year I adopted 
your suggestions in planting my potato crop, and, 
although the results were not altogether what you 
predicted, I intend this year to adopt your golden 
rules, as they appear to me founded on well-ascer¬ 
tained facts. I should premise that I live in Jersey, 
on a hill exposed to every wind; the soil being 
sandy, resting on brick clay, under which, at an 
average depth of three feet, is the rock, a kind of 
clay slate, running into the trap for water. My 
earliest potatoes came up well, and promised a 
healthy crop up to April, when, you may remember, 
very chilling winds came on, which quite destroyed 
the stalk not only of mine, but also of those in the 
most sheltered situations, the only ones escaping 
belonging to those who planted late. The later 
kind of potatoes, such as ripen in July and August, 
were not so much affected, and yielded an excellent 
crop. The latest kind were attacked slightly with 
the murrain on the loth July, when I had the stalks 
cut off, but as the tubers were not ripe I left them 
in the ground; however, not to lose the use of the 
ground, I sowed between the rows turnips. The 
result has been different from Mr. Weaver’s, as I 
have not discovered any diseased tubers; but the 
135 
potatoes are small, and I have determined to follow 
your first rule, only to grow such as ripen in August. 
People are making so much noise in England with 
respect to maize quarantai, that I would beg lo say 
that I believe it to bo nothing else than Cobbett’s 
corn, perhaps slightly modified by Pyrenean cultiva¬ 
tion. I grow it every year successfully, from'grain 
which I obtained from a friend in Hampshire, who 
purchased the grain originally from old Cobbett 
himself. It has, therefore, been ripened every year 
for the last twenty years in Hampshire, without any 
other means employed than for other grain, being 
planted in April. 1 find a moderate return from the 
seed, not, however, as remunerative as wheat; but 
the great benefit to me, in my dry situation, is from 
the green leaves, which the cows eat with avidity; 
and they even eat the stalks when the cobs have 
been plucked, an operation which takes place in 
September. I send you a cob, taken at random, as 
a specimen, which I much wish some of your friends 
to grow a few plants from.— Scrutator. 
[The head of Indian corn is perfectly ripened, 
and very regular. It contains 270 grains, in 12 rows 
of 23 grains each. Scrutators evidence, from an 
island where this corn can be ripened, that it is not 
so profitable as wheat, is another reason for its not 
being cultivated in England, where it can be ripened 
only under the most favourable circumstances of 
soil, situation, and season.— Ed. C. G.J 
Brambles for Bee-hive Making. — The proper 
time for cutting these is between the middle of 
November and the middle of February. The age is 
not particular; but choose them as clear of knots as 
possible. Slit them ready for use immediately after 
cutting them, or you may store them away, drying 
them thoroughly in the air, and slit them as you 
want them, previously soaking them well in water. 
The above is a system adopted by an old cottager, 
a near neighbour of mine.-— Joseph Richardson. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
*** We request that no one will write to the departmental writers 
of The Cottage Gardener. It gives them unjustifiable trouble ! 
and expense ; and we also request our coadjutors under no circvm . 
stances to reply to such private communications. 
Himalayaii Pumpkin Seed. — All the seed which has been 
kindly sent to us by one party—and we have received none from else¬ 
where—proves to be abortive. 
Fuchsia Cuttings (A. C. W .).—You ask whether a Fuchsia 
corolina, raised from a cutting in July, should be kept dry during 
the winter ? _ A fuchsia of any kind, or any other plant, propagated 
last July, will not be of sufficient substance to endure the drying 
process this winter ; and a cold pit is a better place for it during the 
winter than a drawing-room, unless it is in flower. Some of our 
F. corolina are now in beautiful bloom ; and it is our favourite of all 
the race. 
Plunging Material for Pit (Hid ).— 1 Tan is the worst thing 
possible for the bottom of a cold pit—unless it were kiln-dried,—and 
cinder ashes the best. Geraniums, and all other plants propagated 
lately, had better remain as they are, and not be “ potted off” until 
the winter is over. 
Tree Mignonette (Stjlvti). —To destroy insects, which appeared 
upon this, you applied tobacco water, and now some of your plants 
look sickly, and the leaves turn yellow. If the tobacco and the 
water were in the proportions we recommended, the tree mignonette 
could not be injured by the application. We hope it is only a tem¬ 
porary check. Keep the plants dry till the end of next February; 
and no place is more suitable for them than a good window, and on 
fine sunny days to be turned outside for a few hours in the middle of 
the day—a treatment which we have recommended all along for 
window plants. 
Pruning Transplanted Roses (A. T. B .).—Prune your trans- 
lanted roses now. Mr. Beaton said, long since, that roses ought to 
e pruned six weeks before they are transplanted j and he also repu¬ 
diated the antiquated idea of transplanting roses not being pruned 
