201 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 25. 
whether, if the charcoal be really good, it would not be better to sell it, 
and purchase manure for turnips and grass land. Judging from his own 
limited experience, if it were not for the expense—and that should re¬ 
gulate all culture—he would have no hesitation in using it at the rate 
of from 50 to 100 bushels an acre, but the quantity, however small, 
would be beneficial. He would sow it, after being bruised, on grass 
land, any time before the growth of spring commenced; on turnip 
land, he would mix it along the furrows, and throw some on the surface 
after the plants were up. There is no soil for which it would not be suit¬ 
able. Heavy lands it would render lighter, and, different from sand 
or chalk, it would not sink down so much in the soil. Chalky cold lands 
it would render warmer, by its blackness absorbing the heat; and dry 
open sandy soils it would render more retentive of moisture. 
Many Questions ( Philanthe ).—The green shoots of last summer, 
and not old wood, are meant, under close pruning of Scarlet Geraniums, 
and when they are to be kept dry, the leaves arc to be all cut. If you 
[ have room to keep them in pots, it is best to keep the leaves on, and you 
need cut no more shoots than will make each plant appear in that shape 
which best pleases yourself. Keeping Scarlet Geraniums green in this 
way all the winter is the surest method, but it does not improve their 
flowering. Now, or any time before the end of February, will do to prune 
climbing Roses. If they are full-grown, our rule is to cut all the long 
shoots two-tliirds of their length—that is, if three feet, cut away two feet, 
and so on; small shoots cut to four inches, and very small shoots cut 
quite close ; and although it takes more time to fill a space by this way 
of pruning, it is, in the long run, certainly the best method for all of 
them. Pentstemons are best propagated at the end of August; the next 
best time is March ; but young tops of them will root at any time from 
February to October. 
Wire-worms ( Carrig Cathol). —The surest way to get rid of these 
creatures from your compost-heap is to stick it all over with the thick 
ribs of brocoli leaves, or the old stems of any of the cabbage tribe, slit in 
four pieces; carrots and parsnips would also entice them. The larger 
the slices arc the better, thrust them into the soil all but an inch or so, 
and pull them out every third or fourth day as long as you find the wire- 
worms attached to them. Soot has but a very temporary action, and 
would not remove them. Many thanks for the basket, it will be forwarded 
to Shrubland Park. 
Ixias (J. L. T.j .—It is rather late now to pot Ixias, Spara.vis, and 
Persian Iris; but if you can get good large sound bulbs of them, they 
will do yet, provided you let them stand in a cold pit, or some other cool 
place, for the first month or six weeks, so that they make plenty of roots 
before the leaves rise much. Your bow window will be too hot to begin 
them so late in the season. They would do in perfect darkness until the 
leaves appeared, but darkness is not essential to success. There are 
many more varieties of Tulips, Hyacinths, and Narcissus , that you have 
not got, but would still be in time to bloom late in your windows; but it 
is of little use now to give their names, call at any of the seed shops and 
see what they have on hand, and select the soundest bulbs. 
Budding Hoses (A Subscriber). —They bud Hoses from the end of 
May to the end of September. The first fortnight in June and at the 
middle of September are the best time to bud all the Perpeluals. Those 
first budded will soon push and make heads the same season ; the autumn- 
budded do not push till next season. All the summer Roses may be budded 
in July and August. There are one hundred kinds of stocks that will 
answer just as well as the Hog Hose, in some cases better. All the strong 
Hybrid Chinas make excellent stocks; but one of them called Manettii, 
is the one generally in use, and a most excellent one it is. 
Melons {Ibid). — The Egyptian green-fleshed and the Trentham 
Hybrid are the two best melons grown. The former has nearly a score 
of other names. When a man gets a fruit of it, better than the average, 
he directly calls it after himself or his place, and sends it to market in 
packets of seeds at so many for a shilling, or so many shillings for one 
seed, as the case may be. 
Evergreen Fence (TF X. IF.).—You require a protecting hedge, 
five feet high, quickly. The Chinese arbor vita: will suit you better than 
anything else. Buy plants five feet high, and plant them two feet apart, 
and the hedge is as you want the same day; but if that is too expensive, 
buy them from two to three feet high, and plant a yard apart, and in four 
I years you will have just such a hedge as you need. 
Perplexity {Julius). —It is, indeed, very perplexing to trace out some 
plants from their various descriptions published, but it is often unavoid¬ 
able, particularly when they happen to be new or little cultivated, as they 
turn out on acquaintance to be quite different from what had, at first, 
been expected. You may rely on the following, however: Solanum 
jasminoides has been grown as a greenhouse plant, and, of course, its 
growth was restricted there; but it is quite hardy on a south wall, if 
protected a little the first season or two. In a few years it will reach 
twenty or thirty feet high ; indeed, none of us know how much wall it 
would cover if planted in a strong rich loam, but it is the fastest grower 
among all our climbers, and as pretty as any, llowering six months at a 
time; flowers pure white, but we have heard of a variety with purplish- 
j blue flowers. Tecoma radicans, and Tecoma grandiflora, are two 
varieties of the same plant, the latter has the largest flowers and is the 
best of the two ; both are deciduous, with red-orange flowers, very hand¬ 
some free growers, but they should have a little protection the first year 
or two. Jasminum nudiflorum is nearly evergreen, has large, yellow, 
scentless flowers, which open on a south wall before Christmas, and go 
on to the end of March. In the open border they open, according to the 
weather, from January to March ; it is a desirable plant. 
Maltese Cross {A Constant Subscriber). —If your soil is good and 
rich, roses will look remarkably well in a bed shaped like the Maltese 
Cross. Hound two opposite ends, say 1 and 2, plant the Mttlmaison 
Rose; a fool from the edge, and two feet or thirty inches from it, plant 
(leant des Butailles. Hound t and 3 plant Paul Joseph, and Proser- 
] pine, alternately, only nine inches from the side, and a foot apart; 
inside them, and two feet from them, a row of the Bourbon Queen, or, 
if you like it better, that Queen and Armosa alternately. After that fill 
j the rest with your own choice, or from the lists we are now publishing, 
I but use no more than one-third summer roses. We would plant the 
| whole with Perpeluals or Bourbons and Hybrid perpeluals. 
Bulbs {Ibid). —Bulbous Iris, Trilliums, and Crown Imperials, may 
be planted or transplanted in February ; but it is not good practice. 
They ought to be in before the end of September. 
Roses fora Nortii-wall {J. IF.).—A wall forty yards long, and four 
yards high, with a direct north aspect, will not produce many autumn 
flowers, unless you were to plant numbers of the old common China 
{Indica major), a fine old rose, but now out of date. Our Noisettes 
which bloom in autumn require a better aspect. Your best plan is to 
plant only those very hardy climbers from our recent lists of Ayrshire, < 
Evergreens, and Boursaults. Then let every third plant be Claire de 
Rosamene, to keep the bottom of the wall clothed. After two years, this l 
rose will bloom freely in the autumn, and rise from five to ten feet high. 
Madame Luff ay, Fulgore, Barron Prevost, and Duchess of Sutherland, 1 
might bloom, if you were to bud them on the evergreen sorts, five feet I 
from the ground, and higher. 
Asclepias tuberosa {J. B. II.). —This is a handsome herbaceous 
plant, with fleshy tuber-like roots, stems from eighteen inches to two 
feet high, carrying clusters of line orange-blossoms, which last two 
months, from July to September. It would do better at the bottom of a 
south-wall, or front of a cottage, and requires a deep light border, with a 
very dry bottom. Bet it remain in the large pot till next April, and then 
plant it without disturbing the ball; but better still, if you were to break 
away the whole bottom of the pot, and plunge the rest to two inches 
below the surface. The way to do that is this—set the pot a little to one 
side, on a bed of loose earth, then with a common hammer begin to tap 
on the edge of the hole, chipping away a little at a time. If the ball 
inside was hard, you might use greater force, but you will soon do it. 
The plant is one of our old special favourites, and we should like you to 
take good care of it, as it is a little miffy. 
Tropieolums {Ibid). —Let the seedling pots of Tropceolum Jarrattii, 
and brachyceras, go on as they are, to the end of next May, and give 
water as if you had old plants; also give supports. The rest of the 
seeds will appear next spring, and the whole will be ready to shake out, 
when the stems die down. 
Tropieolum Pentapiiyllum {Ibid). —We do, and always did, re¬ 
commend this neat and nearly hardy summer climber. Those who grow 
it in pots, ought to be brought before the Lord Mayor. A strong root or 
two planted in rich soil, under a south wall, will reach ten feet high in 
one season, and flower all the way, .but for such a height it will not 
spread much. You may train it right and left, and keep the frost from 
the roots. 
Pygmy Plants in pygmy pots ( Clericus ).—Your baby plants in 
baby pots will require renewing as they grow too large for their pots. 
Cacti should be taken out, cut shorter, and replanted in the pots in very 
sandy loam without manure of any kind. They should be kept dry till 
symptoms of growth appear, and then watered very moderately ; a little 
shade whilst they are without roots will be desirable. Of the Mesetn- 
bryanthemums, take cuttings off, and plant them, when rooted, in the 
tiny pots, nipping off their tops to cause them to grow bushy. The same 
kind of soil will suit. At no time drench either tribe with water ; the 
object must be to just keep them alive and green, without stimulating 
them to grow too rapidly. Plenty of air in mild weather will do them 
service; and if in summer they can have lialf-an-hour’s rain now and 
then, it would wash off rlust and renovate health. 
Laurels to cover a Wall {Rustirus). —Now, or to the end of March, 
whenever the weather is open, will do to plant Laurels for covering a 
wall. See that the border is well dug, or trenched, and use young healthy 
plants about a yard high ; plant them a yard apart, and they will soon 
cover a large space of wall. If you could water them in dry weather for 
the first season or two, it would make a surprising difference in their 
growth. 
Cucumbers {D. I.).— The longest we know is Duncan's Victoria, it 
has reached to twenty-eight inches. Earliness depends upon the time of 
sowing. If you wish to know in which variety the least time elapses 
between the seed-sowing and the fruit being fit for table, we say the 
Short Prickly. You will see an answer above about Melons. Cole’s solid- 
stalked is the best white Celery. 
Moss-grown Pasture (A Country Subscriber). —Late in March is 
the best time for harrowing and sowing grass-seeds on this. A dressing 
at the same time with lime and coal-ashes will help to remove the moss. 
You may turn in your cow in May. 
Work on Forest Trees {II. J —, Brixton). —Main’s Forest Planter 
and Pruner’s Assistant will suit you. 
Wheelbarrow 7 dimensions {Nemo). —Some of the dimensions of 
Mr. Wells’s barrow, omitted at p. 158, arc as follows :—Length of handles, 
2 feet; length from tip of handle to axle of wheel, 5 feet; length of body 
of the barrow at top, 2 feet 9 inches; diameter of wheel, 1 foot 9 inches. 
Name of Apple {An Old Subscriber). —Your apple is Morris’s Non¬ 
pareil Russet, as described in Hogg’s Pomology, the first section of 
which, forming a handsome useful volume, is now completed. We refer 
especially to this work, because the Morris’s Nonpareil Russet is wrongly 
described in the Horticultural Society’s Catalogue. 
Pears on Quince Stocks {South Wales).—If your pears are on 
quince stocks, which we doubt, since they make shoots three feet long, 
cut the year’s shoots back to four, or at most six, buds, and reduce the 
roots to a foot in length all round. At the end of August, or very early 
in September, in future years, cut back the year’s shoots to four buds, 
and thrust a spade down at about eighteen inches from the stem all 
round. 
Food Required by Poultry {H. X. IF.).—An author on poultry 
allows a quarter-of-a-pint of grain to each full-grown fowl. I find twelve 
fowls cat three pints of corn per day, besides a dish of potatoes and a 
quart of middlings made into porridge. These have the run of a small 
orchard for a few hours each day. They are of the Cochin China breed, 
and are in excellent condition.— Anster Bonn. 
Diseased Apple {A Young Gardener). —This, and you say the entire 
crop, has the pulp of the apple full of small decayed spots. This is not 
uncommon if the tree is very old, or in ill-drained ground, or if any other 
