170 
frame, to harden them off before turning them out. Then 
fix upon a small bed—I should think a round or an oval 
one ; but no matter what shape it is, it should he coricreted 
at the bottom and sides. The bed to be about two feet deep; 
for if they are even six feet deep they will send their little 
tubers to the bottom, and, of course, be so much the later in 
flowering. Fill the bed with light sandy loam, and give no 
manure, except about once in four years, and then a little 
top-dressing, with vegetable soil, is best. Plant them one 
foot apart all over the bed ; and when once planted you never 
need trouble yourself to plant any more for years to come, 
except to fill up any gaps that may happen. This little pet 
used to be called the Mexican Potato ; and if my fellow- 
readers would give it one trial, 1 think they would be amply 
repaid for their trouble by the little neglected Solatium 
Mexicanum. Charles Livett. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
*** We request that no one will write to the departmental writers of 
The Cottage Gardener. It gives them unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. All communications should be addressed “ To the Editor of 
The Cottage Gardener, 2, Amen Corner, Paternoster Row, London. 
Destroying unpleasant Smells.— A Post Captain of the Royal 
Navy writes to us thus :—“ In your number of the 27 th of November, to 
‘ A Curate ’ on the subject of disagreeable smells, you recommend, as an 
antidote, ‘Chloride of lime;’ and as you state that you know of none 
other of a more agreeable nature, I have taken the liberty of forwarding 
to you the accompanying document relative to Sir William Burnett’s 
deodorizing fluid, the properties of which in the destruction of all dis¬ 
agreeable effluvia within its influence are of a most powerful and wonder¬ 
ful nature. It is quite colourless, and, if sufficiently diluted, may be 
sprinkled with impunity on the most delicate fabrics in a drawing-room. 
The benefit I have at times derived from its use is beyond all praise.” 
It may be obtained through any chemist in 3s. and Is. 6d. bottles. 
Bedding Geraniums ( R. L.jun.,). —You will see by this number of 
The Cottage Gardener, that Mr. Beaton has retired from service, but 
your box reached him at his house near London. The Scarlet Geranium 
from Paris, No. 1, is the old Fothergillii, an excellent bedding sort, but 
now little known in England, and when wc do meet with it, nine gar¬ 
deners out of ten confound it with Crystallinum, or the Coral Scarlet, 
of which there are three or four sports or seedlings in cultivation, the 
dwarfest, and, perhaps, the best of which, is Lucidum. No. 2 does 
not belong to the Diadematum section certainly, but all the flowers had 
fallen to pieces, and unless it is Touchstone, it is new to us. The fallen 
petals look exactly like a Rouge et Noir, but the leaves being smooth, it 
cannot be that variety. Diadematum regium is in the trade, and in 
public and private establishments also, but not yet on sale, we believe. 
Seeds and Roots for Emigrant (R. IK.).—Your friend going to 
South Australia, should take a full collection of garden and field seeds 
and roots; the seeds to be put up in coarse brown paper, and hung up 
between decks, and the roots in a strong wooden-case, packed in sawdust. 
A selection of Dahlias and Fuchsias might thus be packed with some of 
our best potatoes, but we would rely most on seeds. It is of little use 
trying cuttings, unless you would like to have some figs. All the best 
grapes in Europe are there already, and in abundance. 
Kilkenny Anemone (S, S.).— You say “ the Kilkenny Anemone is, 
a fine showy, semi-double variety, which seems not very common in cul¬ 
tivation.” Wc never heard the name before. Your box of seedlings of 
it, sown last April, and now in full leaf, will be safe enough if you place 
it under a wall full in the sun, which is a better plan than planting them 
out. When the leaves all die, you can gather out the roots from the top 
soil, and lay them in a dry place till next planting time, October. 
Bees.—Taylor’s Bar-iiives (A Subscriber from the First). —Mr. 
Taylor’s hive, as seen in the Crystal Palace, was 12^ inches by 1 Iff inches 
but Mr. Taylor has since made an alteration, which he considers to be an 
improvement. Every particular, as to the dimensions of this hive, as well 
as its many advantages, will be given by Mr. Payne, in his Apiarian’s 
Calendar for January. 
Roses for a Veranda (A Lover of Roses).— There are none in 
your list fit to be planted against the pillars of the veranda, but the 
following six are well suited for planting against the house under the 
veranda, and you must give them abundance of water in the growing 
season, and once a fortnight in the height of summer. A good waterin'-- 
over the leaves would encourage them surprisingly. Give them a very 
rich border, and they will do better on their own loots in so favourable a 
situation ; or, ii you like them worked, let the stocks be not longer than 
lour inches. Queen of Bourbons, Airs. Bosanquet, China; Lamarque, 
Noisette; Paul Joseph, Bourbon, very dwarf; Devoniensis, tea-scented 
China; Souvenir de Malmaison. Geunt des Batailles and Beauty of 
Bailliard do better in the borders than in pots, unless you are a very 
good grower, and then you could only use them for gentle forcing; all 
your veranda ones are excellent pot-roses. Early in the spring is the 
best time to inarch Camellias. 
Evergreen Climuing Roses {Well-wisher).— For two dozen best 
evergreen and other climbing roses, take two Felicite perpetuelle, creamy 
white ; two Mynanthes, light pink; two Princess Louise, blush white ; 
two Princess Maria, pinkish rose ; two Rampant, pure white; and two 
Spec labile, lilac rose—all these are the best evergreens. The following 
are pure Ayrshires, except the Boursault and Madame d’Arblaq . —Two 
Crimson Boursault, fine purplish crimson; two Ayrshire Queen, dark 
December 11. 
crimson; two Rose Angle, rose colour; two Bennet’s Seedling, large 
white flowers; two Ruga, pale blush; two Madame d’Arbluy, fine 
creamy white. For two dozen standards, take these hybrid perpetuals : — 
Barron Prevost, fine rose colour ; Comte de Montiliuet, reddish purple ; 
Dr. Marx, carmine; Duchess of Sutherland, bright rose; Geant des 
Batailles, crimson, the best; Jacques Lafitte, dark rose ; La Reine. rose 
colour ; Madame Laffay, crimson ; Marquis Boulla, blush ; Mrs. Elliot, 
light crimson ; Robin Hood, carmine ; William Jesse, lilac crimson ; and 
Standard of Marengo, crimson lake. And the following Bourbons: — 
Acidalie, Armosa, Celimene, Charles Souchet, Le Grenadier, Marechal du 
Palais, Queen of Bourbons, and Souvenir de Malmaison; also Crimson 
Perpetual and Crimson Superb, damask roses ; with Princess Clementine 
and Princess de Lamballe, two of the best white roses. 
Sowing Seeds of Salvia, &c. {H. IK.).—There is no advantage in 
sowing seeds of Salvia patens, Penstemons, &c., just now; but, on the 
contrary, the middle or end of February will be time enough to sow these 
seeds, and towards the end of March is the right time to plant roots of 
Tropocolum tuberosum. 
Pea Stopping ( Verax ).—We have applied to the party w ho furnished 
us with this improved mode of cultivating the pea, detailed at p. 32S of 
our last volume, and the reply is, “The plan answers best with the robust- 
growing lands. Indeed, it would not be judicious to have the Early 
Frame and Charlton through the season, as they are esteemed only for 
their earliness.” 
Places for Beds {Bertha). —It would not be difficult to give a plan 
to meet your wishes, but nothing must tempt us from our resolve never to 
furnish a plan for any one. 
Italian Rye-grass {E. Dingle). —You may try this on your vacant 
plot, but we fear it will not come in early for feed for your cow, &c. 
You will find what you require in our monthly papers on Allotment 
Gardening and Farming. 
Fancy Pigeons (Evesham). —We cannot recommend dealers. 
Garden Mice (A'. Y. 7,.). —The best mode of preserving your bulbs 
from these depredators, is to cover the surface of the soil above them 
with finely sifted coal-ashes two inches deep. When the leaves appear, 
the ashes may be removed, as the mice then cease to find the bulbs palat¬ 
able. The best trap for these mice, is a brick with one of its ends raised 
an inch or two from the ground by a piece of thread tied by its ends to 
two little stakes, with a pea fastened in the middle by the thread. In 
gnawing the pea the mouse bites the thread, and the brick descending he 
becomes his own executioner. 
Exchange of Fowls. —We have a letter for B. K. (No. 165, page 
140), but have not his direction. Will he send it us ? 
Walnut Keeping (Jane B.). —We keep ours quite fresh in a jar, in 
a cold damp cellar. 
Salt, Soot, and Lime (J. Roberts).—We do not know of any one 
who doubts each of these, whether separately or mixed, being excellent 
manure. Lime is not the best form in which to apply calcareous or limy 
matter “ to an exhausted very light soil; ” chalk alone, or chalk mixed 
with earth from a ditch or pond, would be much better, for it would 
improve the staple of the soil. It had better be applied immediately. 
Never apply lime with dung of any kind, as it helps to drive off the 
ammonia, one of the most valuable components of the dung. You had 
better use horse-dung alone, applying it now before sowing your Peas, 
though nothing but urgent necessity should induce you to sow them on 
ground freshly manured. In March put some mulch about the Peas 
growing on your very poor light soil. You may use soot and stable 
manure together, digging them in immediately before you insert a crop. 
Put the salt on in the spring, when the crops are growing, sprinkling it 
very thinly about their roots. Over Asparagus and Sea-Kale beds you 
may sow it thickly. 
Geese (Y. 0.).—Our correspondent wishes for information as to “the 
best way to fatten geese, and also the readiest mode of telling a goose 
from a. gander.” 
Carman’s Stove (W. D., and T. S. R .).—Charcoal answers as well 
for this as the prepared fuel. The quantity used, varies with the degree 
of exterior cold. 
Rustic Furniture (IK. J!/.).— It is impossible to give you instruc¬ 
tions in this by writing. There is a little volume called Ideas for Rustic 
Furniture, consisting of garden chairs, seats, &c., of which, we think, 
you might obtain a copy for three or four shillings, of Mr. Wright, book¬ 
seller, Haymarket, London. 
Names of Plants ( B. C.). —Yours is Tecoma radicans minor, or 
Smaller-rooting Tecoma, a hardy climber. ( Queen Mab). —The broad¬ 
leaved one is Rhamnus Alaternus, or Broad-leaved Alatcrnus. The 
other our common Savin, Juniperus sabina. Of the evergreen oaks, 
we should select Quercus Ilex. ( H. IK. M.). —Thanks for the Erigeruns, 
but we fear they are too withered to recover. They should have been 
folded in damp moss. If you look at p. 140 you will see the names of your 
shrubs, accidentally omitted before. 
Camellias (P. P.). —There is no question about the practicability of 
growing the Camellia in the “ snug corner ” of your garden, or, indeed, 
in any corner where the Portugal Laurel thrives ; but then, of what use 
are they? We never can enjoy their flowers in England without artifi¬ 
cial shelter, because the least puff of cold wind destroys their beauty as 
soon as the buds open. The different species of evergreen Berberis would 
suit you well as “dwarfish flowering shrubs,” also Wiegela rosea, For- 
sythia viridissirna (double and single), Dwarf Almonds, Cotoneaster 
microphylla, Magnolia purpurea, and, by all means, Pavia ma&rostachia 
and Clematis tubulosa, a dwarf, deciduous, hardy new bush, which flowers 
in October. 
London: Printed by Harry Wooldridge, Winchester High-street, 
in the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, at the Office, No. 2, Amen Corner, in the Parish of 
Christ Church, City of London.—December 11th, 1851. 
THE COTTAGE GAD DE HE R. 
