298 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
have objected to zinc, because they say the bees are 
apt to get chilled; but I have not found it so. I do 
not however feed in winter.” 
The Tree Onion. — Many cottagers round my 
neighbourhood cultivate the tree onion, a bulb bear¬ 
ing onion, and the produce arising therefrom is really 
surprising; in fact, in my opinion, it quite super¬ 
sedes the system of sowing seed of the common varie¬ 
ties. The bulbs, when full grown, are large and hand¬ 
some ; they likewise keep better, not having that ten¬ 
dency to start (or, in other words, they do not show 
any signs of premature growth) at present. The 
flavour also is decidedly milder than the common 
sorts in cultivation. The manner of cultivation is 
as follows :—-Early in spring they prepare a patch of 
ground, by digging and slightly manuring with good 
rotten dung, taking care not to bury the dung more 
than three inches; they then take the small bulbs 
and plant them eight inches apart in the row, and 
about ten inches from row to row ; the planting to 
he conducted on the quincunx order. Nothing more 
is required, but keeping the weeds down, and water¬ 
ing with weak manure water, in dry weather. They 
allow the bulbs to get quite ripe before they gather 
the crop, it is astonishing what crops they house; and 
the produce so large and fine that a stranger woidd 
not credit it without ocular demonstration. The 
bulbs formed on the top of the stalk (last year of 
course) are the seed, or root, to be planted now; these 
will produce very fine onions for the table. A por¬ 
tion of these full-grown onions must he again planted 
in the following spring; they will throw up stalks 
and produce seed, or bulbs, for another year in abun¬ 
dance.—T. Longhurst. 
Covering the Roots of Forced Vines.— The fol¬ 
lowing may not be worth troubling you with:— 
Hitherto there seem difficulties attending vine¬ 
forcing, the roots of the vines being outside. Fer¬ 
menting material (unprotected) is troublesome and 
expensive, for unless protected from heavy rains, 
it is soon reduced to a soddened state of decom¬ 
position, and unless renewed about four times in so 
many months, we had better be without it. We have 
a plan of our own, as follows:—We begin to force 
at Christmas, but six or seven weeks before that time 
we choose a dry sunny day, cover the border with 
some fresh leaves, and, if needs he, add some loose 
litter at the iront to give a good slope, then cover 
the whole with thatched frames; this remains until 
a fortnight after we have begun to excite the vines 
in-doors; after which, the top frames are removed, 
and just enough material is added to cause a slight 
fermentation ; not to warm the roots, but to warm 
the wall into which the stems rise, in a deep groove, 
and shut in with a board made to fit. This done, the 
shutters are replaced, one at a time, as the ferment¬ 
ing material is added. This remains till after the 
buds are fairly pushed out of their sockets, then we 
apply fermenting matter over the border 12 feet wide, 
and by the time the warmth has penetrated to the 
roots, the leaves are expanding. We do not agree with 
the principle laid down of stimulating the roots, until 
after the development of the leaves. In the process 
of well shaking to pieces the fermenting matter, when 
we have done a piece wide enough, we place the 
thatched frames, not treading on it as we go. This 
done, we are safe for the next eight weeks to come ; 
and only want to turn it over once in the sea¬ 
son. We think these thatched frames so effectual, 
1st, in keeping the winds from lowering the tempe¬ 
rature ; 2nd, from keeping off heavy rains from sod- 
dening the material; 3rd, for looking neat; that we 
[February 28. 
j wish for nothing better. Our frames are made from 
egg-boxes, five feet square, being made originally to 
i be covered with aspluilte; but that soon became use¬ 
less. I think the best size would be six feet by four; 
then, by placing the thatch a foot a head of the upper 
frame, and a foot behind the lower one, it would 
cover a breadth of 14 feet. Our border was con¬ 
structed, and vines planted in April, 1843, after Mr. 
Roberts’ plan (carrion excepted). The vines are ex¬ 
tremely fruitful; they have borne four heavy crops 
and two (first) light ones ; and, by beginning earlier 
every year, we had some ripe last year in May, with 
the same prospect this.—-W. Burgess, Golders green, 
Hendon. 
Potato Planting. —Shortly after the commence¬ 
ment of your publication, you copied from The Gar¬ 
deners Chronicle a communication I had made of the 
result of my potato planting for that season; having 
followed up my plan, I now forward particulars of 
my crop for 1849, which you can insert if you con¬ 
sider it likely to be useful to any of your subscribers. 
No. 
Planted. 
Sorts. 
Dug. 
Result. 
1 
1848. 
26 Oct. 
Clear Reds. 
1849. 
29 Sept. 
Sound and good. 
2 
13 Dec. 
ditto. 
24 Sept. 
ditto. 
3 
11 
MottledRed & White. 
ditto. 
4 
91 
Small lied Kidney. 
11 Oct. 
ditto. 
5 
20 Dec. 
Early White. 
29 Sept. 
Part diseased, 5 p. c. 
6 
1849. 
15 Jan. 
Clear Reds, as No. 1. 
24 Sept. 
Sound and good. 
7 
10 Feb. 
Early White. 
23 Aug. 
Part diseased, 5 p. c. 
8 
11 
Reds and Mottled. 
22 Sept. 
Sound and good. 
9 
16 Feb. 
White Roughs. 
16 Aug. 
ditto. 
10 
24 Mar. 
Lot various. 
11 Oct. 
ditto. 
February 2nd.—Not a potato decayed since taken up. 
All of these were planted whole (rather larger than 
walnuts) in a good old, rather light, and well-worked 
garden soil, and all without manure (except No. 10) ; 
about half, had a few coal-ashes thrown in when 
planted, but there was little or no difference in the 
produce. The lot No. 10 was different sorts that had 
been left, and were planted in a spare piece of 
ground in the same garden, which happened to have 
been previously manured from the heap. 
About the end of the first week in August, symp¬ 
toms of “ the disease ” began to shew,—the leaves 
turned black and the haulm blotched. On the 20th the 
greater part of the haulm was pulled away, but by 
keeping the feet close on the ridge, the tubers were 
left in the ground, whilst a sprinkling here and there 
were left with the haulm untouched. They were 
afterwards dug at the dates marked in the list, but, 
though the haulm previously left was then entirely 
decayed, I could perceive no difference between the 
roots there and where it had been removed. Nos. 
0 and 6, which were slightly touched, were an early 
sort, were quite full grown, and I am persuaded that, 
had they been taken up a few days sooner, would have 
been perfectly sound. 
But the best of my communication is to come, and 
I hope it will be found to answer as well with our 
cottage friends as it has with me; I allude to arc- 
commendation in some of your former numbers, that 
of pulling away in the spring all but two or three 
shoots from each plant ;* the result with me has been 
that, instead of having, as 1 have been accustomed, 
two-thirds too small for use, I have, this last season, 
i scarcely a sufficient number of small to serve for 
seed- Can you, or any of your correspondents, give, 
from their own experience, the result of earthing or 
* 1 think it probable that the light and air being admitted by 
thinning, tends to check the disease. 
