332 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 3. 
a few may be sown thin, to remain in their seed bed. 
The latter often preserve better than the strong plants. 
Those whose soil is very sandy, and who love good, 
bouncing, crisp Lettuce, will do well to add strong loam 
occasionally to their composts, and to apply manure- 
water occasionally when they are three-parts grown. 
Cauliflowers. —Strong plants from a June sowing, 
planted out in generous soil, in the very first week, on 
a warm border, will, if the autumn prove good, come in 
at the beginning at November, and may be preserved 
by careful covering, or otherwise, until Christmas has 
passed. These are invaluable to the cook. Those from 
May sowings will be coming into head at the end of the 
month, and should have liquid-manure occasionally. 
The Walcherens, Granges, Autumn, and the Capes, 
should have similar attention as the Cauliflowers. A 
good batch of Capes should be planted, in the first week, 
on rich soil: these are useful little fellows; if any one 
will plant liberally of a good kind in the middle of July, 
and again in the first week of August, I will engage 
that he will not call on them one day in October, 
November, or December, without finding a dish fit for 
use. They come “dodging” in—and, in this respect, 
are a most useful adjunct to the Cauliflower, which, like 
sheep breaking through a gap, when one comes in the 
rest speedily follow. 
' Coleworts. —No winter garden is complete without 
these. A good planting should be made in the first 
week for a main winter’s crop; and they may be planted 
at nine inches distance, if a good dwarf early kind. A 
second planting may he made in the last week; these 
are sometimes very useful indeed; if they escape the 
rigour of winter, they are nice little cabbage for table 
by the beginning of April. I always secure a plot. 
Savoys, for spring use, should be planted in the first 
week; these, of course, do not make such big heads as 
those planted in the end of June, but they are extremely 
useful, and are generally termed “ Savoy Coleworts.” 
We always plant a plot, and cover them with litter during 
severe frosts. As they are smaller than the main crop, 
they may bo plauted much closer, say half a yard 
between the rows, and fifteen inches in the row; but 
they must be of the little dwarf curled kind ; the old 
Drumhead is too large for this purpose: 
Brussels Sprouts. —Here is one of the most useful 
and hardy greens known to gardeners, and if not the 
first in point of market profit, second to none in point 
of utility. A full crop having been planted in the be¬ 
ginning of July, a liberal second planting should be 
made in the early part of August; these will succeed 
the other, which will produce buds from the middle of 
September until February, by which time it is probable 
they will be stripped of their treasure, and the second 
planting will succeed them, and" last until the middle 
of May. 
Spinach.—A full winter’s crop should be sown in the 
second week of this month; the prickly kind. I 
generally sow a little more in the last week; the latter 
sometimes stands the winter best, and if not, succeeds 
the other. Rich soil is indispensable, and an elevated 
bed with a round facing to throw off water. It is best 
in drills nine inches apart, the plants thinned to about 
six inches; then the hoe can with facility be plied 
through them; no plant benefits more by hoeing than 
this; it cannot endure a collected scum on the surface 
of the soil through stagnation. 
Radishes may be sown at the beginning, and in the 
third week; and one sowing more in the middle of Sep¬ 
tember will ensure a continual supply through Sep¬ 
tember, October, and November, and equal to spring 
Radishes. The ground should be light and well broken, 
but not rich with recent manuring. 
Cress. —The Curled and Broad-leaved, sown at the 
beginning and the end, will keep up a supply from the 
beginning of September all through the winter. 
Corn Salad or Mache may be sown in the beginning 
of the month. 
Chervil —Sow for a winter’s supply as the Cress. 
Potatoes. —Kidney, or other early and dwarf Potatoes, 
will succeed admirably, if required to he eaten young 
and fresh, if some of the very early seed (taken up 
about Midsummer, and greened by exposure), be planted 
on a warm border of generous soil. 
Onions, to stand the winter, sow about the middle; 
those left, transplanted in February on rich soil, make 
capital early Onions. 
Carrots. —The Horn may be sown in the first week, 
on a warm and thoroughly divided soil, using charred 
weeds, &c., as dressing. 
Cauliflowers, for early hand-glass work, sow about 
the 20th ; a second lot to prick out thick in frames, or 
otherwise, in the first week in September. 
We have beard many opinions, pro and con, as to the 
earthing-up of Brocolis, and the various greens. I will 
not affirm that earthing-up is indispensable, but I have 
ever found it necessary to practice it even as a safe¬ 
guard against storms. I have known such things as 
Brussels sprouts, Kale, the later Brocolis, &c., thrown 
almost prostrate, or so crooked as to prove almost un¬ 
manageable afterward; causing, thereby, much extra 
labour, as well as compromising the character of the 
crop. But I am of opinion that it adds to the strength 
of the crop, for if performed betimes, most of these 
things root up the stem, and it will surely need little 
logic to prove that to multiply fibre is to increase power. 
It is sometimes very difficult to get small seeds to 
vegetate during a dry and hot period in August, and 
serious losses have very frequently heen sustained 
through this circumstance; losses not easily repaired. 
This, however, may be easily obviated by taking a little 
more pains at sowing time. My practice is this— 
unless the period is rainy—after selecting the bed, for 
Lettuces let us say—I saturate the surface with water, 
it is then dug deep and well crumbled, and the surface 
again watered. After settling a day or so the dressing 
is put on, and now the whole is well forked over, taking 
care to mix it thoroughly. The seed being sown, 1 stick 
tree or shrub branches all over to produce a flickering 
shade, and with this precaution the seed, if good, is 
sure to vegetate, and watering is rendered totally un¬ 
necessary as far as concerns germination. 
Late crops of Peas are very apt to become mildewed 
in the month of August; this, doubtless, arises from the 
amount of perspiration from the foliage proviug too 
great for the action of the root, thereby engendering a 
high degree of elaboration in the juices, and a conse¬ 
quent sweetness and viscidity in the sap, a condition 
highly congenial to certain fungi. The best way is to 
give one thorough watering the moment the least mil¬ 
dew appears, or rather before; not a dribbling, but a 
soaking. No crop requires more water to penetrate the 
ground than the Pea crop ; they should be watered three 
times over, at least, during two successive days. I in¬ 
tend this year to try the hydro-sulphate recommended 
for the Vine mildew. I shall syringe them with it, and, 
combined with root-watering, entertain most sangniue 
expectations of success. R. Errjngton. 
DISA GRANDIFLORA. 
This rare and beautiful ground orchid, from the Cape, 
was exhibited at the July show of the Horticultural 
Society, at Chiswick, by Charles Leach, Esq., King’s 
Road, Clapham Park : and all the gardeners with whom 
I conversed about it, particularly the older ones, agreed 
with me, that of all the plants at the show, this one was 
