! 
December 27. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
170 
it, then insert the cork described above, and it is 
ready for nse in the following manner. Open a drill 
with the back of a rake, and, holding the bottle in a 
horizontal position, so as not to allow the presence 
of the seed to stop np the quill, shake it gently 
from right to left, over the drill, and, with a little 
practice, the seed will come out very regularly, which 
may be tried over a piece of paper. A year or two 
ago, having no proper drill at hand, and being 
anxious to sow some turnips, I made use of the 
above method; a man and a lad sowing half an acre 
of ground in an afternoon—one opening the drill, 
the other sowing—and had an excellent brood.— j 
N. M., Northwich. 
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 circum¬ 
stances to reply to such private communications. 
Sprouted Seed Potatoes (J. M. P. and A Constant Reader ).— 
Plant them as soon as you can, during dry open weather; do not 
injure, and, of course, do not rub off the sprouts. 
Doves in a Cage ( Colune ).— These do not require to be kept 
warm, but we should remove them to the shelter of an outhouse in 
severe weather. 
Registers op the Barometer and Thermometer ( H. N .).— 
Your thermometer against a post facing the north, and five feet from 
the ground, is well placed. The highest and lowest points indicated 
by the two instruments above named occurring in each twenty-four 
hours is all that you need record. There are two works you may 
consult with both advantage and pleasure, Belville on Barometers, 
and Thomson’s Introduction to Meteorology. 
Cactus not Flowering (W. II., Cheetham). —Your plant is 
luxuriant but docs not bloom. Remove some of the soil in the spring 
and add a mixture of leaf-mould, See., as recommended at page 44 of 
vol. 2. Do not give water during the winter, but treat vour plant as 
there directed. Laying in brocoli is described at page fio of the pre¬ 
sent volume. 
Propagating Bulbs (T. Evans). —Tulips and hyacinths, and 
other bulbs, produce offsets which may be separated from the parent, 
and will become perfect plants. 
Naming Seedling Flowers ( Thomas J.). —There is no'rule for 
naming these. To avoid adopting names already appropriated, it is 
advisable to adopt family or local names, and we think it useful to 
add some word descriptive of some prominent character of the flower, 
such as “Thomas’s Purple,” “May’s Orange-spotted.” Everyjseed- 
iing of your cinerarias and calceolarias will differ slightly from all 
others. You can only ascertain whether they differ remarkably and 
meritoriously by submitting them to the inspection of some eminent 
florist. 
Greenhouse (A Subscriber, Rye). —We do not clearly see through 
the plan of your intended house for plants, to be placed at the end of 
your cottage, so as to enclose a portion of the chimney that proceeds 
from the living room. In all such cases, a few lines representing the 
back and front of the intended plant-house, position of the chimney. 
See., would give a clearer idea than a page of description. However, 
with the heat emitted from the chimney, you will lie able with the 
covering you propose, to keep all the hardier greenhouse plants, and 
to propagate in the spring. We would advise having a damper in 
the chimney, at nearly the height of the house ; and in cold weather 
this should be put in so far as would give extra heat in the chimney 
in the house, and yet not so much as to send any back draught into 
the living room. In small places one or two strong iron plates might 
be substituted for the brickwork in the chimney. Where any of the 
finer plants are attempted to be grown, it is the cheapest in the end 
either to have a small flue or a pipe with hot water taken from a boiler 
at the side of the fireplace, with stop-cock to shut it off and;on at 
pleasure. If you raise the house as you propose, as high as seven 
feet; then, instead of stepping over the front hall, we should prefer a 
door at one end; supposing the width to be seven feet, then you have 
a stage or shelves within. We should recommend the front wall to 
lie from four to five feet in height. If you mean to set the plants 
wholly or partly on the ground, then a height of from two to three 
feet will be sufficient. The sashes should either be made to slide or 
be elevated by a toothed iron racket. If half are done one way, and 
half the other, you can always give both top and bottom air at plea¬ 
sure. Glazing with three or four inch pieces of glass will answer 
very well, but not look so nice as long squares of lfioz. British sheet; 
but, of course, the latter will be more expensive. In charring turf 
you should not pile it into heaps, but expose only a portion at a 
time to the heating medium, removing that when charred and then 
placing more in its place. We presume you have burned the turf, 
not charred it. 
Camellia in a Drawing-room (J. J. Bruton, and A Sub- 
sriber).—' The camellia in your drawing-room, in which you have fires 
several times during the week, and which drops its buds and leaves, 
may do so from being kept too close or too dry. A temperature of 
from 35° to 50° will suit it; the medium between the two will be best. 
Keep it in the room, as near the glass as possible, during the day. 
In mild weather, with the temperature outside at from 40° to 50°, if 1 
you cannot open the window, the plant may be set on the window 
sill outside for a few hours. When the buds are swelling, a good deal 
of water is necessary : we cannot, however, tell you how often to give 
it, that will depend upon the state and number of the roots, the dull 
or bright character of the weather, and even the dry or moist atmo¬ 
sphere, and the high or low temperature of the room. We can, how¬ 
ever, say, water it thoroughly when you do set about it, and then 
wait until your services are required again. Perhaps the inside of the 
ball is dry, and the water gets away by the side of the pot. If you 
have doubts of this, set the pot in a pail of water—temperature about 
50°—for a quarter of an hour, nnd then allow the superfluous water 
to drain away, before placing the plant in its saucer, as it should not 
stand in water. 
Mushrooms (Ibid). —These will grow nicely in an unused stall 
in the stable ; and so they will do out of doors, with the cover as 
proposed; but far less trouble would be incurred by growing them 
in the stable, as much less covering would be requisite. 
Frame for Plant-protecting ( Amateur, Thame). —You have 
put one of your frames on a platform, standing on four posts 2J feet 
from the ground, nailing pieces of boards, an inch thick, and about 
() inches w'ide, leaving an inch space between each board, to assist the 
drainage when required to give the plants water; upon this platform 
you put your frame, then laid an old mat over the bottom to prevent 
the materials, that might be used for plunging the pots in, falling 
through the spaces, and have put your pots in coal-ashes. Your 
plants, in this frame, consist of fuchsias, verbenas, cinerarias, and a 
few other sorts. You have thought of enclosing the underneath part, 
except at one end, and then about February or March filling the 
space underneath the frame with good prepared dung, for the pur¬ 
pose of stimulating the plants. Yon ask, would a little heat under¬ 
neath the frame do any good at the present time, and whether, if 
you raise another frame in the same way, it will do for growing 
cucumbers. A little well prepared dung would be very useful under 
your frame in hard frosty weather, to ward off the frost; but after 
the middle of March such assistance would be rather against such 
plants as fuchsias, verbenas, cinerarias, as the usual complaint, is that 
such plants grow too freely late in the spring, before they can be 
trusted out into sheltered situations. Good gardeners have grown 
cucumbers, as you propose, by introducing hot dung into a cavity 
below the bed ; but the plan is dangerous in young hands. Perhaps, 
after all, you had better grow them in your usual way. 
Bees (T. il/. W .). —If your light hive, weighing only 15 lbs., be a 
swarm of the present year, discontinue feeding it till March, and 
then feed at the top; if it be a stock of two or three years standing, 
the 15 lbs. may consist chiefly of old thick combs and pollen, and, in 
that case, feeding must be continued in mild weather through the 
winter. The food recommended by Mr. Payne will do for the bees 
to add to their store; if your stocks have 15 lbs. of honey, do not 
feed till spring. 
Keene’s Hybrid Maize (J. W., Sheffield). —Our correspondent 
wishes to know' where he can obtain a cob or two of this grain. 
Diseased Hens ( Hcydon ).—Wash the swollen eyes and nostrils 
with warm brandy and water as often as necessary ; give a pepper¬ 
corn in dough three days a-week, and a grain of calomel in dough 
twice during the same time, but on different days. Keep the birds 
warm. 
Apple Refuse (W. I).).—This, which you call, “ Pomace, or 
dross of the cyder pressings,” you may use as a manure to your as¬ 
paragus bed, or to any other kitchen vegetable, wdthout any fear of 
injury. It will speedily decay and become food for the plants. We 
should not lay it at the bottom of the new asparagus bed, but mix it 
now thoroughly with the soil. 
Worms under Turf (W. Newton ).—An ounce of corrosive sub¬ 
limate dissolved in a gallon of water will bring all the worms which 
come in contact with it to the surface, and then strong lime-water 
from a rosed pot will kill them, or they may be swept up ; but in 
fine weather afresh set of worms will take possession of the place, so 
that a constant warfare against them must be kept up spring and au¬ 
tumn. Your proposal to cut them off by a layer of ashes under the 
turf, we have tried, but after the first winter they came up as thick as 
ever. Remember that corrosive sublimate is a deadly poison, and 
that the vanquished worms must not be given to ducks or other ani¬ 
mals as food. 
Grafting Vines ( Horticulturist). —If the roots of your vines, 
twenty years old, are in sound condition, and vou can rely on the 
wearing of the border, your vine-grafting will be a very straight¬ 
forward and simple affair. Let the shoots intended for the reception 
of fresh kinds he cut off to the desired point forthwith. Apply' a 
coating of white-lead to the wound when dry, for fear of “ bleeding.” 
Suffer the stumps to commence budding a little before you graft, and 
endeavour to procure a small grow'ingtwig beyond the grafting point. 
Scions for grafting must be immediately procured. Bury them in 
soil within a bud of their extremities directly. Graft them as other 
fruits, as soon as the sap is up, whatever the period; and, after se¬ 
curing the graft with matting, envelop the whole with moss, bound 
carefully and equally on. Of course, with old vines, the more you 
reduce the other parts of the vine by pruning, the more power you 
throw into the portion occupied by the graft. 
Vines Planted too Deep ( Clericus). —Yours is but too com¬ 
mon a case. “ Deep r. ots bad news this. We fear that there is 
no alternative but to commence at the outskirts of the holder, and 
progressively to remove stagnant soil; introduce drainage beneath, 
and lift the roots to a higher level, blending your lime rubbish and 
mortar, or other drainage materials, with the upper stratum as the 
work proceeds. As a compromise, you may proceed then to within 
four feet of the house front, leaving the other portion, if needs must 
be, to give the plants an impetus towards possessing the new soil. 
In answer to your first query, what depth ought the roots to be ? 
None deeper than thirty inches, but others as near the surface as 
possible. To your second query, when may I commence forcing ? 
If you do not disturb the roots, why, you may venture, under your 
circumstances, to commence in the course of January. If you adopt 
our stringent plans, you must give up “forcing” this year. You 
will, however, be amply repaid for the sacrifice in the ensuing one, 
