THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 22. 
232 
Climbers for Back North-east Wall of a Conservatory 
(Mina). —You wish them to be evergreen, and continue long in bloom, 
and the wall is heated in winter by a stack of chimnies. You have not 
told us what heat you can command on this wall, and the aspect is a bad 
one. Many of the plants you mention require a tropical climate, and 
others, such as Cissus of varieties, though they look well as evergreens, 
have no flowers to speak of. The only ones you mention suitable are— 
Bignania jasminoides and Jasminum grundiflorum ; and if you have a 
Habrothamnus , have elerrans, not fusciculutus. We would add Jusmi- 
nutn gracile, Passifloru racemosa , P. cusrulea, Mundevillu suav colens, 
Kennedya Marryutte , Sollya heterophylla , and Tucsoniu mollissima. 
With such an aspect, were the place ours, we would plant these for quick 
covering; but we would ultimately have such a wall covered with Ca¬ 
mellias, and then it would be a sight worth looking at. 
Seeds from Smyrna (Reii. R. M. E.). —The name of the seed is, 
probably, a local name; and if the plant is a native of Smyrna, the way 
to treat the seeds is to sow them shallow, in a pot of light soil, early in 
March; to put the pot in a cucumber-bed, and to watch the seedlings, 
if they come up, to see the place is not too hot for them ; to put them 
into single pots, and, by the end of May, to plant one-half of the plants 
out-of-doors, in some warm situation, to prove themselves, and to keep 
the rest in pots as greenhouse plants, to wait the result of the experi¬ 
ment. If the frost does not harm the plants put out, of course the whole 
are hardy ; if it does, treat the others like greenhouse plants until they 
flower, and see how you like them ; meantime, you may learn from the 
donor what the plant is considered best for at Smyrna. 
William Adams ( C .).— The kind assistance already received has 
fully supplied all present wants. Should a more advanced stage of suf¬ 
fering need increased assistance application will gratefully be made 
through this medium. It is impossible fully to express the gratitude felt 
by all parties to the truly kind donor. 
Pines not Fruiting (A Young Gardener — “Yorkshire”). —You 
have watered your Pines too equally all the year; they have gone past 
their showing time, and are then rather puzzling. You must fotce them 
to show by a check, and that check drought at root, with a moderate 
bottom-lieat until spring, say 70 °. As soon as light weather comes in, 
the end of February, you may increase bottom-heat to 84 °, and shut up 
much sun-heat, and resume watering. About your new pinery we 
cannot offer building details ; you had better employ somebody on the 
spot who understands it. You must compel your man to guarantee an 
air-heat (if necessary) of 70 °, when there is 20° of frost outside ; and you 
must be able to secure bottom-heat at all times of 80 °. 
Peaciiery (/. Stephens). —Your peach-house is thirty feet long. You 
may put three trees in a front trellis, viz., at the warmest end a Royal 
George , next an Elruge Nectarine, then a Bellegarde Peach. On the 
back, we suppose standards, another Bellegarde, a Walburton Admirable , 
and a Red Roman or Murray Nectarine : the Nectarine at warm end, 
next Bellegarde , and lastly the Walburton Admirable. Y'ou can have 
the covers from Messrs. W. S. Orr and Co. 
Concrete for Yards (B . H .).—You will see, in a communication 
to-day from Messrs. Baker, that their tarred walks will bear a horse and 
cart, we think, therefore, that it would do for farm-yards and sheds. 
The experiment is well worth trying. We should use small gravel 
instead of sand. 
Books (T. E. C .).—The 7th edition (1830) of Withering's Arrange¬ 
ment of British Plants , and Main's Forest Planter and Primer's 
Assistant, would suit you. (A Young Gardener). —Loudon’s Hortus 
Britanicus was stereotyped, therefore continues as it was at first. The 
Supplement can be had separately. We cannot tell when another sup¬ 
plement to the Encyclopedia of Plants is likely to appear. 
Holes in an Elm (E. N. H .).—Cut out all the dead parts, and fill 
them up with a mixture of equal parts clay and cow-dung, made into a 
paste with urine. 
Killing Wire-worms.— C. F. writes as follows Why Mr. T. 
Appleby should recommend your readers, in his paper on ‘ The Gladio¬ 
lus,’ published in last week’s number, to take such a deal of trouble to 
provide themselves with ‘ a basin with a small portion of oil in the 
bottom,’ and a kettle of ‘ boiling water,’ in order to destroy the wire- 
worm, I cannot conceive. When I meet with one of these little pests 
he does not live a minute longer. With my finger and thumb of one 
hand on the head, and the corresponding digitals of the other hand on 
the tail part, his body, with a slight extension, readily divides into two 
parts; both of these I then drop into the border, and my work proceeds. 
Thus the body, which before threatened so much havoc among my pets, 
becomes, as far as it goes, food for them.” 
Nev/ly-tlanted Pears and Apples (Iota ).—These you say are 
dwarfs. Cut the strong shoots back to four buds, and the weaker to two. 
It will be time enough to talk about training them two years hence. 
Vine and Fig-trees (I. E .).—Move them at once into the green¬ 
house. Not knowing their size, we can say nothing about the pruning 
needed. Keep your Ferns where they are until spring. You had much 
better keep the pots of Ferns within others a size or two larger, with the 
space between the two pots filled with damp moss. 
Siianghae Eggs (B. IV.).— Wc know that Mr. Sturgeon has always 
refused to sell eggs. 
Root-pruning (Clericus ).—Much has been written in former vo¬ 
lumes ; but, generally, applicable rules can scarcely be prepared. The 
whole operation requires to be guided by the strength of the tree, the 
kind, and the object desired. 
Various (A Subsm'iber, ]). H.). — If the Vines require manure, give 
them a little well-decayed stable dung. Red Spider is generally caused 
by deficiency of moisture. We gave, some months ago, a full account 
of Mr. Fleming’s Pine culture. Vines inside a house would be bene¬ 
fited by bottom-heat to their roots, if these are outside the house. 
Black Shangiiae Cockerel (W. W. B .),—In answer to yo' 
query, ‘‘Do you know of any real Black Shanghae Cockerel?” wees 
say, Yes; Mr. W. P. Flight, of Winchester, has one, but he ia ve 
young. We believe he will not sell him. 
Slugs (F. S. Tyro). —Continued stirring the ground, frequent sprink¬ 
ling with lime and salt, but of the latter not more than half a tun per 
acre at a time, sedulously searching for them, and letting a few ducks 
roam over the garden occasionally, will keep down these pe^ts ; but there 
is no mode of utterly destroying them. 
Names of Insects (Rusticus). —The little beetles which riddle holes 
in the leaves of your Hollyhocks are the Haltica rufipes , a very common 
species, very fond of malvaceous plants, both wild and cultivated. If 
very troublesome, the plant should be well shaken over a pillow-case, or 
some such bag, and the insects which will fall in should be destroyed by 
dipping the bag into boiling water. The Entomological Society, 12, 
Bedford Row, London, will be happy to receive any specimens of British 
insects for distribution of duplicates among the members.—W. W.- 
Address (Taunt oniensis). —Mr. Trotter, Healey Mill, Hexham. 
Poultry Judges (F. W. Freeman, Little Finborough, Stowmarket). 
—In answer to your queries—six hours is too short a space of time for 
two judges to examine accurately 750 pens of fowls ; for if there are three 
birds in each pen, 2250 have to be examined in 3fiO minutes. Birds 
hatched in the autumn of 1852 are certainly not to be considered as 
chickens of 1853 ; but it is sometimes impossible for judges to distinguish 
between chickens hatched late in the autumn and others hatched early 
in the spring following. Trimmed spurs ought to disqualify birds as 
well as trimmed feathers, because, as you say, it enables cocks of eighteen 
months old to be passed off for cockerels of less than twelve months. 
According to present rules, a single-combed White Dorking cock is dis¬ 
qualified, and ought not to have a prize awarded. 
Roup (L . E. I.). —We should no more think of putting healthy fowls 
into a house and walk where roup has prevailed than we should of 
putting a healthy horse into a stall where a glandered horse had been 
living. Before we put any fowls into that house and walk we should 
have the house thoroughly cleansed and washed over with a solution of 
chloride of lime. We should also have the surface-soil of the walk pared 
off and burnt. The ashes might be again spread over the walk, and 
would improve it. 
Norwich Poultry Show (J. Play ford. Great Yarmouth). —We are 
quite sure that Mr. Cattling would not lend himself to give prizes to 
exhibitors merely because they were residents in Norwich; nor do we 
think the Committee would wish anything so unfair to be perpetrated. 
It is quite impossible for us to give an opinion upon birds we have not 
seen. 
Bottom-heat (M. £».).—By referring to the index you will find 
bottom-heat by pipes and tanks discussed. As you contemplate using 
manure in a fresh state for the purpose there will be no difficulty in the 
plan proposed—a brick pit, with open ends, to receive the manure beneath 
a slate bottom ; but you must be sure that this slate is thoroughly close, 
to prevent the impure gases entering. You may divide your other pit 
with temporary moveable wooden partitions. It is no uncommon thing 
for us, of the same pit to make one light a hotbed and the other a cold 
bed, and just by placing a little hot manure in one and not in the other; 
and when we want it all for cold pit plants whipping the manure out 
again. With your close bottom, you need not mind how rank your 
manure is. The slated place would be better than the other. 
Bottom-heat in a Cool Greenhouse (Ibid).— Do not attempt it; 
the flue would be too precarious to depend upon, and, besides, you do 
not want it. If you want to propagate greenhouse plants there and 
bedding plants, you can do it all comfortably without bottom-heat; only, 
in some cases, you might wait longer. We think you will know all 
about this, even by reading articles since No. 242 ; but if there is any 
trifle or particular you would wish better cleared up, write again. 
Temperature of Greenhouse (Ibid). —Do not lot it below 35°; 
40° would be better; and if you wished bloom 45° would be better still. 
These arc night temperatures in cold weather ; a slight exception might 
be made in extreme cases. Mr. Fish wrote on the most economical 
means for doing all these things some time ago. With an outside at 
30°, he would require to judge what it would be before morning, before 
he could tell you what heat to have in your house. See an article to-day. 
Old Window-sashes (A Northern ).—As coverings for pots they 
will be very useful; nearly upright they would need no alteration. If 
laid somewhat flat, a piece had better be cut out, or several holes bored 
in the intervening sash bars, or the piece be removed altogether on the 
upper side, so as to have the wood level with the glass, and that painted 
or puttied would prevent wet decaying the wood. The water would 
thus run down the same as in a sash without any impediment; but as 
there would be no caps more air would be required. Even an earth, or 
a turf-pit in the warm, sheltered place you mention, would be useful, or 
you could make it of boards or bricks. W T e made a capital one the other 
day with a double wall of old boards, filling between them with sawdust. 
For answers about puttying, see what Mr. Fish says to-day. 
Fuchsia serratifolia (Margaret). —We think it very likely the 
other shoots will yet bloom, but we could not be sure without seeing 
it. Continue the manure-waterings. Whether it bloom or not, it had 
better be pruned-in in April, planted out in May, and raised and potted 
in the beginning of October. 
Oxalis Bowiei (Ibid). —As you have only a south window, let it 
remain dormant as it is. In April or May, place it on the shelf in the 
kitchen, where it is a little warm, though dark, if it has not started 
before then; and allow it to remain there until it begins to grow; then 
pot it and water it; place it back again until the shoots are three or more 
inches in length, and then place it in your window; and then, if the 
bulbs were well ripened, you will have a fine sight in sunny days. 
Error. —P. 190, col. 1, line 36 from the bottom, for *‘ if tiic cork be 
a large one,” read “ if the cask be a large one. 
Names of Plants (Cantab). — We think Berberis asiaticu. 
(II. Me Douull). —We cannot undertake to name Mosses. 1. Aspidium 
spinulosum. 2. Poly podium vulgare. 3. Blechnum boreale. 4. Too 
small a fragment. 
London: Printed by Harry Wooldridge, Winchester High-street, 
in the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar ; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, of Church Hill, Walthamstow, in the County of 
Essex, at the Office, No. 2, Amen Corner, in the Parish of Christ 
Church, City of Loudon.—December 22nd, 1853. 
