300 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
FEimUARY 10. 
with greater uniformity and on a more extensive scale. 
Aware of this, the Society is endeavouring to ])roeure 
all the knowdedge it can from vessels trading to the 
port. A clerk is employed in copying extracts from 
I ships’ logs, so that, should Government be inclined at 
! any future time to boar the expense of constructing 
I wind and current charts I'or the Indian ocean, at least 
some of the necessary material will be at its disposal. 
P’rom the report of a recent meeting of the Society, we 
observe that the I’vesident has applied to the Major General 
Commanding, for the services of a few intelligent soldiers, 
to assist in faking hourly observations with the instruments 
expected from England. As there, can bo no doubt that the 
General will accede to a proposal having for its object the ad¬ 
vancement of science, in this case a branch of science in which 
soldiers have already distinguished themselves as observers, 
wo may expect to sec at no distant time a volume of Mauritius 
observations inferior in no reap('cts to those that have been 
made at the other colonial observatories. The annual pub¬ 
lication of a volume of observations made in the colony and 
some of its dependencies, of another volume of the logs of 
vessels that niiiy have experienced hurricanes in the Indian 
Gcean, and an' ample, collection of materials for the con¬ 
struction of Mind and Current Charts, are objects the 
attainment of which would do honour to any society ; and 
we hope that as the necessary zeal and intelligence are not 
wanting, the Mauritius Meteorological Society will not be 
prevented, in consequence of any pecuniary difllculties, from 
pursuing the important course on which it seems to be now 
entering. 
The expenses incurred in making and publishing the ob¬ 
servations will, we should suppose, be defrayed by govern¬ 
ment. It is only the other day that the American govern¬ 
ment authorized i'dOO to be expended in copying abstract 
logs, for the ]mvi)Ose of furnishing Lieutenant Maury with 
materials for his Wind and Current Charts of the Indian 
Ocean. Wo hope to see a similar display of liberality on 
the part of tlie Lnglish government. 
Poultry is still looking up. Captain Hornby is selling 
Spanish, eggs at four guineas the dozen, and has .£:28 
wortli ordered. He sold a Spanish cock and hen the 
other day for twenty guineas, and refused sixty guineas 
for his London prize pen; hut sold a pen (four) of 
j chickens for thirty guineas, and sells all his chickens for 
five guineas each. Our correspondent may well say, 
“Now these are wonderful facts!” 
PEACHES; 1>EACH-H0USE CUI.TURE. 
About this period the early Peach-forcer will have 
his blossoms jnist setting, and the fruit as largo as peas, 
or, it maybe, more advanced; the majority, however, 
will he only commencing, and it will he well to show 
forth the necessary proceedings in detail for the salie of 
the uninformed. The first thing is to thoroughly cleanse 
the house, if one be appropriated to them; walls cleaned; 
lime-wash, with plenty of sulphur combined, applied; 
I and, indeed, everything done which can contribute to 
, the wholesomeness of the air within. In addition, a 
slight storing with sulphur, by blending a handful or two 
! with decayed sawdust, and burning it in a vessel con¬ 
taining some red coals. The latter is an awkward game 
in unpractised hands ; hut I have been in the habit of 
; using sulphur extensively for the last twenty years, and 
never suffered but once—that severely—whicli has in- 
' ducod the necessary amount of caution ever since. In 
applying it as a paint to llue pii)es, or other heated 
surfaces, I have never known any damage ensue, pro- 
' vided the surface to which it was applied never became 
too hot to grasp tight with the hand. It is to be Imped 
that the trees, whether planted out or in tubs, in pots. 
or boxes, have received the dressing over their shoots 
so often recommended ; if not, it is too late to venture 
it above half strength. 
And now, vve will suppose the trees trained, and with 
another leap imagine them (the house having been 
closed a fortnight, and a moist atmosphere sustained), 
just unfolding their blossoms. A somewhat drier air 
must bo maintained now, in order to eil'ect the impi'cg- 
nation of the blooms, witliout which all labours will be 
lost. There are those who disregard this j)oint; but 
most good gardeners recognise the im))ortance of a 
dry air for the dispersion of the pollen. JJvelier 
fires should be kept, especially in bright days, getting 
them up betimes in the morning, and giving all the 
air possililo about ten o’clock. About twelve, the trees 
may be well shaken with a kind of short shar)) jerk; 
this, of course, has a tendency to disperse the pollen or 
male dust, which, under the above circumstances, will 
have become subtle; and this process may be repeated 
daily, until the corolla falls, when, of course, the fate of 
the tree is sealed as to its fruit. Syringing must now 
be resumed morning and afternoon—the former about 
seven to eight, the latter about throe o’clock, battering 
the trees smartly from both ends of the house, and 
crossing the direction of the water in every conceivable 
way. As to temperature, I will give a table before 
concluding this subject. 
At this period the development of the young spray 
will take place, for this follows immediately on the 
blooming process, and constitutes a most important 
period. Of course, everybody knows that disbudding 
has to be practised on trees artificially circumstanced. 
We should pause at this crisis, and endeavour to ascer¬ 
tain what relation the mere loaf bears to the infant 
Peach. That a tree in full health contains sufficient 
nourishment to set this infant Peach “on his legs,” there 
can be little doubt; but that this stock is inexhaustible, 
must be denied. Nature, with the buds of trees, even 
as with seeds, has been exceedingly bountiful; not only 
is there enough for present need, but even a surplus; 
sufficient, indeed, to sustain the young fruits until 
the new elaborations take place. Such being the 
case, we suggest very moderate forcing until a fresh 
and extra supply of accretive matter is obtained, which 
will be when some of the first leaves are pretty well 
developed—say in another fortnight. Disbudding then 
must be attended carefully to, almost daily, in order to 
force a free development of the foliage on the reserved 
shoots, and to prevent confusion. On no account 
should a general disbudding take place at once; it is 
too severe a procedure, and, doubtless, has a tendency 
I to paralyse the root-action. Commencing as soon as 
the quality and position of the shoot can be well dis- 
1 tinguished, we would have the process carried on 
until the fruit is as large as marbles, by which time it 
may be completed ; and the next point is to commence 
I a course of judicious stopping. 
, IjCt us now take the root into consideration for a 
moment. I have said nothing about w'atering, at pre- 
I sent, thinking that, as a matter of course, the borders 
1 (inside) would be necessarily dry, and that watering had 
been resorted to. If such has been omitted, let the 
loose and exhausted soil be scraped otf the border 
surface, and then the border thoroughly watered with 
water of tlie temperature of !(0°. The very next 
day, let a second application be made, using, in the 
second case, good manure-water of the same tempera¬ 
ture. Four ounces of Peruvian guano to the gallon 
will be very pro])er; I prefer, however, combining with 
it soot and dunghill-drainings. The day following, the 
border may receive a new surface-dressing, about three 
inches of such loamy compost as Peaches like, rather 
rich; and this may be coated with two inches of rather 
fresh horse-droppings. These will constitute a good 
