424 
THE COTTAGE GAIll) 
NER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION.— September !), 1856. 
gardeners indeed who can or could manage the Trebiuna 
and the true Tokay Grape so as to bring them up to table 
as good as Muscats, but without the Muscat flavour.— 
D. Beaton. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
STAND FOR EXHIBITING CUT VERBENAS.—CUT 
ROSES. 
“ Would you oblige by informing me, in your next number, 
what is the best kind of stand for exhibiting Verbenas in, 
and how cut Roses ought to be shown ?—A Subscriber of 
MORE THAN A TWELVEMONTH.” 
[We suppose, by stand you mean to exhibit cut flowers 
of Verbena. The size of it depends upon the number of 
blooms exhibited. For a stand of tvveuty-four dissimilar 
blooms have a deal box made as follows :—Twenty inches 
long, twelve inches wide, and five inches deep ; the lid made 
to lift off; a sheet of zinc fitted inside resting upon a rim; 
have four rows of six holes each cut in the zinc plates, and 
under each hole have a zinc tube soldered to the plate to 
hold water. In these bottles place the blooms, then fit on 
the lid, ami they will travel any reasonable distance safe and 
fresh. Cut liases ought to he shown in stands of not less 
than twenty-four varieties. The stands may be formed 
similarly to the one above, only half as large again. They 
should be shown singly, with one bud and a leaf or two 
attached. These will give the visitors a more correct idea 
of each variety than if they were, as they often are, shown 
in threes. Smaller stands may be exhibited, or, in other 
words, prizes offered for them ; but these prizes ought to be 
given to cottagers only. There is such an immense 
number of excellent Roses fit for exhibition, that societies 
should never offer prizes for less than twenty-four varieties 
to general growers. At the Regent’s Park Shows they have, 
in their schedule, prizes offered for fifty varieties, which are 
always taken, though chiefly by nurserymen.] 
terwards, a little air given, and left on for the night, and 
removed before the sun strikes the glass in the morning. 
•‘1. Provided all was right with the Melon plants, if one fruit 
was seen so prominently to take the lead, by removing that 
you might have secured four or five good fruit. Melons will 
not bear in succession, if at all large sorts. The number of 
fruit you require must start in a race pretty fairly together. I 
No. 2. Very likely from the same cause. No. 3. Unless you 
have good command of heat they will have hut little 
flavour. A limited supply of soil, though rather deep, and 
oldish seed, are the best securities for free setting. We have 
pulled off many a promising single fruit, because we saw he 
would cheat his smaller neighbours. 4. There arc great 
varieties in the colour and shape of the Tomatoes. Are tlie 
leaves of the plant like the rest? If not., may not the ! 
plant be the Purple Egg-plant?] j 
THRIPS ON DAHLIAS. 
“ Can you inform me whether there is any remedy for the [ 
Thrips on Dahlias ?—J. B.’’ 
[When we have had the Thrips on Dahlia flowers it has 
generally been the consequence of dryness in the air and 
dryness at the roots combined. The mode we adopted to 
mitigate and get rid of the evil was to take away all the 
worst afflicted flowers and the Thrips with them; to remove 
some of the larger leaves, and thus lessen the evaporating 
surface ; to water and mulch the roots; to syringe the plant 
well over, and especially the opening buds, with water hold¬ 
ing a little tobacco liquor in solution ; and then, for several 
evenings, to syringe them well with clean water. This Thrips 
is easier killed or destroyed than his neighbours that infest 
Cucumbers, &c. By such means we have managed to keep 
Dahlias pretty free of the pest. Perhaps some readers, or 
our coadjutors, may know a better plan, and we, as well as 
J. B. (to whom we are indebted), would be glad of the in¬ 
formation. AVe have seen no Thrips on the Dahlia this 
season as yet.] 
IJAUTBOIS STRAAVBERRY.—CARNATION PIPINGS. 
—MELON PLANTS NOT FRUITFUL. 
“ Can you give me any directions about the. growth of the 
Hautbois Strawberry? I used to grow it twenty years ago 
abundantly, but I then observed that some plants were al¬ 
ways barren, which I am told is the nature of the Hautbois. 
Of late years, in a different situation and soil altogether, 
they have every one been barren every year. A few words of 
explanation would be acceptable. 
“ Ought hand-glasses with Carnation pipings under them 
to be shaded from the sun entirely or in part ? 
“ I have three Melon plants. The first grew and flowered, 
and set seven or eight fruits, which all stood a considerable 
time, but only one swelled off, and that one is rather a large 
Melon. Could any plau have caused two or three of the 
others to swell? No. 2 was planted somewhat later, aud 
behaved much in the same way. No. 3 was planted later 
still in the same frame as No. 1; and though it made plenty 
of growth, has never shown fruit till now, August 21st. The 
soil I used is, as nearly as I can judge, in accordance with 
advice given in one of your late numbers. 
“ One of my Tomato plants has fruit the shape of a 
plum, not fluted or divided like the usual fruit. Is this un¬ 
usual ? I saw the berry of the Solatium dulcamara to-day, aud 
it reminds me—in miniature, of course—of this plant of 
Tomatoes. Out of twenty plants raised from seed, it is the 
only one with such fruit, and I never saw one before.— 
Rusticus A. B.” 
[1. You should procure the fertilized Hautbois, which 
generally hears well, and is now common enough; failing 
that, you should take runners only off those plants that have 
borne fruit. A few will likely come barren even then, but 
they are useful in scattering their fertilizing farina over the 
others. 2. Carnation pipings should be shaded from the 
suu, but the. shade removed as soon as the rays strike them 
so obliquely as not to injure them; then, also, they should 
be damped and shut close; and then, in an hour or so af¬ 
PIT FOR AA'INTERING FLOAVERS. 
“ Being very fond of flowers, and, consequently, desirous 
of preserving them through the winter, and also of raising 
cuttings, Ac., I think of constructing a “pit;” but being 
rather short of room, and being also a working man (not 
practically acquainted with such things), economy both of ; 
space and expense becomes essentially requisite. The space 
at my command is about twelve feet long by five wide, and is , 
situated close to the southern end of my cottage. I wish it 
to have just bottom-heat enough to serve the above purposes 
in winter, and 1 wish for it to serve as a greenhouse in the . 
summer.— Chas. Gee, Miner." 
[AVe should advise the following, supposing that you mean 
a shallow pit:—Raise the bottom of it at least six inches 
above the surrounding soil; make the south end of your 
house the back of your pit; aud, say at four feet from your 
floor, fix against it a strong coping-board, to receive your 
rafters ancl sashes. Drive six strong posts in front, two 
feet above the floor level, to receive a strong board as a front 
wall-plate. Put one post, also, at the middle of each end. 
Build your sloping end walls and the front one with turves 
fourteen inches wide, and as firm as possible. AVhen finished, 
let the outside be sloped from top to bottom, leaving the top 
about ten inches wide, aud the bottom fourteen inches. Spread 
tar over this slope, and outwards from it, and daub it over 
with rough gravel, and all, the rain from your sashes will 
pass away from your wall3, and the turves will be kept dry 
inside. A thinner wall might be made of double hoarding, 
and the space between filled with sawdust. If you want ■ 
neatness, put up brick walls, but they will not answer better 
than turf. In such a place you may propagate most things 
you want before the end of August without any bottom- 
heat. After that, many things would be the better for a 
foot of sweet dung, covered with a foot of earth or ashes. 
In winter avoid bottom-heat from fermenting matter as you 
would poison. If you can get any heat from a fireplace, all 
well; if not, depend upon careful covering to exclude frost. 
Let us know if this meets your case.] 
