August 22. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
307 
I. Wilmore, Esq., sent a good plant of Aericles quinque- 
vulnerum, with six spikes of its beautiful, fine, spotted 
flowers; also from the same gentleman there was a good 
AUamanda catliartica, and a fine pot of Tritonia aurea, 
one of the best August-flowering greenhouse plants we 
possess, though but seldom seen in gardens round 
London. It is a bulbous plant, producing tall, branched 
spikes of bright orange blossoms. A noble plant of the 
rarely seen Hccmanthus puniceus, came from the gardens 
of Sir F. Scott, Bart., and had on it six large heads of 
orange-scarlet flowers, and was sent by J. Radcliff, Esq, 
a zealous cultivator of plants close to the Botanic 
Gardens. He sent also some noble pots of Japan Lilies, 
six feet high, and four feet through, with hundreds of 
noble flowers upon them. 
There was, also, a fine specimen of the pretty Iloija 
lella, with upwards of fifty heads of its beautiful blooms. 
The plant had been a drooping one, but a few days 
previously had been trained to a shield trellis, which 
caused the flowers to face the spectator, and thus fully 
exposed their beauty. It came from A. Kenrick, Esq. 
Heaths were, for a country show, mustered pretty 
numerously. The gem of the whole was a small plant, 
nine inches high and as much through, of Erica Web- 
hiana. It was densely covered with rosy-coloured 
tubular blossoms. Fuchsias were plentiful and well- 
grown. The best were Nil desperandum, a dark one, 
and Duchess of Lancaster, a light one. Florists’ Flowers 
were rather scanty in number, excepting Verbenas in 
pots. The time of the exhibition was rather early for 
Dahlias, and late for Carnations and Picoteos. 
Fruits were shown in good order. Grapes, black and 
white, well ripened, and a good colour, both in bunch 
and berry. There was a remarkably new variety named 
Champion, from S. F. Scott, Esq. The berries are 
globular, larger than Hamburghs, thin skinned, and 
juicy. It is a desirable variety. Peaches and Nectarines : 
Of these fruits there were eight dishes, in fair order. 
Royal George Peach took the first prize; and Red Roman 
Nectarines the other. Plums and Cherries were very 
fair fruit. Blue Gage Plum was the best; and the Black 
Circassian the best cherry. Strawberries were very fine, 
equal to any I ever saw at the Metropolitan Shows. 
Myatt's Eleunor was the first, and Elton the second. 
The bush fruit was excellent. Finer Gooseberries, 
Currants, and Raspberries, I never saw. 
Vegetables. —This Society gives many and liberal 
prizes for these useful products of the garden ; and the 
consequence is, they have excellent specimens brought 
to the exhibition. Potatoes, as being the most important 
of all vegetables, took my first attention. There were a 
great number of examples of the Fluke, a newish variety, 
said never to be diseased. Of this variety there were 
some beautiful specimens, though not quite ripe. The 
Lapstone Kidney took the first prize ; and a fine potato 
it is. « 
Peas. —This excellent vegetable, which everybody 
likes, was shown in good order for cooking; young, 
green, and sweet. The best was Champion of England, 
and Hairs Green Marrow. Celery, very good, well 
blanched and large, and very solid. Remarkably good 
for so early in the season. Cauliflowers, Turnips, Car¬ 
rots, Lettuces, Beans, and Artichokes, were all excellent. 
By the above account, it will be seen that this exhibi¬ 
tion was rather above the average of merit; showing 
that the spirit of emulation is abroad amongst the 
gardeners at Birmingham, exciting them to be on a 
continual strive to excel in all the products of the 
\ garden. The eye accustomed to the great exhibitions 
; near the metropolis may, perhaps, look upon these pro¬ 
vincial shows with something like contempt; but 
j to the rightly judging mind, they present the idea of a 
j young, thriving, vigorous tree, not yet in full bearing; 
| when time and experience has given strength, it 
may be prognosticated that they will in time rival such 
as have been long established and more fully developed 
T. Appleby. 
SEASONABLE DOINGS IN THE KITCHEN- 
GARDEN. 
Although the preparations of another year may be 
traced back, in some works, to pretty near the beginning 
of the present one, it was not until recently that the 
duty becomes the very important one of the time ; for 
whatever we now sow or plant is for another year; and 
whatever cultivation be now entered into is for that 
purpose likewise. Some routine work, in the way of 
keeping things in order, being all that is now done 
which has not reference to the future time. Now, as 
the seasort has so far advanced as to make it prudent 
to plant certain crops which are wanted at a certain 
time, the cultivator must not wait too long for that 
change of weather which he regards as so beautiful to 
the planting of his favourite crops ; for, notwithstanding 
the heavy dews with which September abounds, it fre¬ 
quently happens that a longer period of dry weather 
occurs at this season than at any other. I mean that 
steady, fine, settled, dry weather which is rarely dis¬ 
turbed by wind or cloud; not very hot, certainly, for 
that is more likely to bring rain, but autumnal dry days, 
and nights still more so, in which a lighted candle might 
be carried for miles out-of-doors without the danger of 
blowing out. This is not the best for planting in; still, it 
must be done in some cases ; for the time haviug arrived, 
and the seedlings taking harm in their present abode, 
it is not always prudent to wait for that change of 
weather the planter wishes. Lettuce, Endive, and the 
first batch of Cabbage or Coleworts, will all want planting 
now, and they must not be neglected because the 
weather is dry. Watering the ground at the time of 
planting is generally sufficient, or, if the drought con¬ 
tinues, this must be repeated, so as to ensure the plants 
growing ; but, do not by any means over-do this work, 
for the wet-soddened condition which in some ground is 
caused by a too copious application of cold rain¬ 
water, is anythiug but beneficial to the plants compelled 
to endure it; in fact, it may, perhaps, be the worst 
extreme. Usually, if the roots of a plant reach down¬ 
wards, as much as four inches, and the tip ends be not 
so injured as to be useless, they will withdraw sufficient 
moisture at that depth to serve their purpose, provided 
the ground be watered at the time of planting. How¬ 
ever, as much depends on circumstances, it is only 
advisable here to caution the inexperienced against too 
much watering, and again to warn them not to wait too 
long for that rainy day they are so anxious to secure 
as a planting-out one. 
It would, also, be advisable now to sow a little moro 
of the Hardy-Green-Hanunersmith Lettuce, and of Brown 
and Green Coss, of a good sort; the former being cer¬ 
tainly the hardiest. About the first of September will 
also be a suitable time to sow the principal supply of 
Caulijlower, but more directions that way will be given. 
Small salading, of course, will bo sown as wanted ; but 
after this time, it is better in pans or boxes, or in some 
way or other under glass, as the slow progress it makes 
out-of-doors renders it tedious that way now. 
Herbs of various kinds will also want gathering and 
drying, the latter process being sometimes done in 
the kitchen, but when done at home, let them bo 
gradually dried in the shade, and tied up. in small 
parcels; if dried in the sun, the herbage gets so brittlo 
as to break all in pieces, and is thereby deteriorated. 
Keep all places neat and clean, removing crops as 
soon as they arc no longer useful, and attending to 
others that are advancing. Thin and stop Tomatoes, 
