March 25. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
411 
stalks as they cease blooming, and take special care of leaves. Insects, 
destroy with tobacco smoke, or hellebore powder, or dusting of Scotch 
snuff. Mignonette, sow in any warm border. Mulch, put round 
trees newly planted. Pinks, sow. Polyanthuses, sow; plant out 
and propagate by offsets, b. ; last year’s seedlings now in bloom, mark 
best for propagating. Potted Plants, give fresh earth to, if not done 
J last month ; shift into larger; water freely. Perennials, those sown 
last spring may still be planted, and propagated by offsets ; finish sowing. 
I Sticks are required to blooming plants. Tulips, shelter from sun and 
wet; take off pods to strengthen bulbs. Watering is now required 
more frequently, yet moderately; give it early in the morning. Ranun¬ 
culuses, water freely, and press the earth very hard between the rows. 
I Roses, thin buds where very abundant; watch for grubs in the buds, 
and crush them; make cuttings of Gluire de Rosarnene to bed next year. 
! Tobacco water, use to destroy the aphides, by dipping the shoots in it 
where the insects are. Prepare for a large stock of common Capsicums 
to supersede tobacco for killing insects. Take stock of your Bedding 
Stuff, b.; and bring up arrears, if any ; keep all such rather dry, and 
inure to cold in time. D. Beaton. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Bottom-heat, renew; do not exceed 85° on any occasion. Cucum¬ 
bers in houses, secure a very moist air to ; in frames, frequently renew 
linings; stop frequently. Capsicums and Ciiilies, pot off, and for¬ 
ward. Cherries; keep a drier air, and the most liberal ventilation. 
Fires, be cautious with. Figs; stop, when five or six eyes long, the 
young shoots ; see that the root has a permanency of moisture. Floors, 
water frequently. Grapes; as they colour, increase the dryness of the 
air and ventilate freely; Grapes ripening, keep a drier air, with free ven¬ 
tilation. Insects, promote a constant war with. Kidney Beans, 
water with liquid manure as soon as in blossom ; pot more. Melons ; 
j frequently renew linings ; stop a joint or two beyond fruit; keep down 
| late laterals, and beware of insects. Pines; finish spring shifting and 
| arrangements; early fruiters apply liquid manure to. Peaches, disbud 
; slowly. Root Moisture, attend to. Syringing, practice occasionally 
with all but ripening fruit. Shading, apply where perspiration is too 
I severe. Strawberries, water freely with liquid manure; keep down 
! runners. Tomatoes, get forward, and harden off. Thermometer, 
' watch carefully ; beware of extreme night heat. Vines, disbud, stop, 
j and thin berries; give air early. Watering, perform carefully and re- 
j gularly. Ventilate more liberally as heat increases. Plant house 
I Vines. R. Errington. 
FRUIT GARDEN. 
Apricots, protect, and destroy the red-bar moth eggs. Apples and 
other fruit-trees may be planted, though full late. Blossoms of wall- 
fruit, protect and retard. Budded (Trees), last summer, cleanse if foul; 
also head back the stocks. Cherries may be planted. Disbud wall- 
trees and trained espaliers of superfluous buds, in a progressive way. 
Forcing fruits in hothouse, attend to, on similar principles. Grafting 
(late kinds of Apples, Pears, and Plums) may be done still, b. Grafts, 
lately inserted, see that the clay is firm, and rub off shoots below the 
scion. Heading down wall and espalier trees, finish, b., if not done last 
month. Insects, search for and destroy. Lime (early in the morning) 
dust over the leaves of trees affected by caterpillars. Mulch over the 
roots of newly-planted trees, to keep in moisture. Peaches may be ( 
planted. Pears may yet be planted. Planting in general may yet be 
tried, to prevent a season being lost; much care must be taken. Plums 
may be planted. Propagating hy layers, cuttings, suckers, and seed, 
finish, h. Pruning, finish, b. ; stop young shoots if too luxuriant. 
Stake trees newly planted. Strawberries, trim away all decaying 
leaves ; remove runners from, as they appear, and top-dress ; water in dry 1 
weather those in bloom ; plant Alpines. Vines, propagate by layers and 
cuttings, b.; summer dress ; in vineyard stake and hoe frequently ; old j 
borders manure. Wall-fruit, thin when ready. Wasps, destroy; 
every one now killed prevents a nest. Water abundantly freshly- 
planted trees. 
Fig-trees may have their winter covering partially removed at the 1 
beginning of this month, and entirely by the commencement of May; 
and they may then be pruned and trained. Newly Grafted and newly ( 
Planted Trees are benefited by being sprinkled by tiie water engine 
during dry weather. 
Watch for the Caterpillar on the gooseberry bushes. Observe the 
directions about Peaches in The Cottage Gardener, and use the 
sulphur mixture ; also the tobacco water when the trees are fairly done 
blossoming. Watch the development of the American Blight, and 
use the brush. Apply soft-soap water to the stems of Pear-trees in¬ 
fested with the Scale. Top-dress Raspberries, also all bush fruit, 
if requisite. Remove all Suckers from filberts; also from all bush 
fruit, wall-trees, espaliers, &c. Let all Fruit Borders be dressed and 
edged as a finish to the garden, taking care to make sound walks. 
R. Errington. 
GREENHOUSE. 
Air, admit freely in mild weather; give sparingly when east winds 
prevail, and then merely by the top sashes, to avoid cold draughts; shut 
up early in .the afternoon, and if sunny, sprinkle the plants from a fine 
syringe when it is desirable to encourage growth; plants making their 
growth should, therefore, if possible, be kept apart trom those in bloom. 
Azaleas coming into, and in flower, water freely ; those to be retarded 
remove to a north aspect, under glass or even an opaque roof; a tem¬ 
porary protection by mats, canvass, or oiled cloth will answer admirably. 
) Bulbs, introduce. Camellias, water freely when in flower; those done 
i flowering keep close, to encourage growth, and shortly afterwards repot 
if necessary. Calceolarias, Cinerarias, Primroses, Cytisus, &c., 
assist with manure water, weak, but given often. Cactus, the late kinds 
water at the roots, after swelling the stems by syringing. Conserva- 
ttvf.-wall Plants prune, train, and protect, more to keep off the sun 
at first, than the cold. Cuttings, insert; place in hotbed or shady 
place according to kinds. Climbers, regulate. Epacrises and Heaths 
done flowering, cut back, and also any ocher struggling plants, and keep 
them by themselves, so as to be close and warm, to encourage them to 
break freely ; those in, and coming into flower, keep in the airiest part. 
For winter blooming of the reddish-tinted kinds of Epaeris, none excels 
the impressu; hyacintliiflora has much larger flowers, but the colour is 
duller ; do not be afraid to cut back such plants freely; and if you can 
give them a closer atmosphere and 10° higher temperature than the 
greenhouse, it will cause them to break better. Fuchsias, water the 
forward ones freely; fumigate with tobacco at the first appearance of fly. 
Geraniums, train the first, encourage the second, and stop, pot, and 
propagate for autumn supply. Gesnera, especially Zebrina, and Gloxi¬ 
nia, various varieties, start in a hotbed; the roots may be kept safely 
during winter, if dry, in a temperature of from 40° to 45°. This 
rule applies to the whole of the Achimenes, and most plants with scaly 
and bulbous tubers. Those who have pits and frames, and no green¬ 
house, may manage them nicely by packing them in a kitchen cupboard, j 
Few things answer better lor window plants in summer and autumn. 
Heaths, in bloom and growing, keep in the coolest and airiest part of 
the greenhouse, and if the sun shines strong, defend the pots by shading 
or double pots ; the Hovea and Chorozema tribes will require similar 
care, and then, with good drainage and plenty of water, there will be no 
danger. Prepare for general potting by getting soil, pots, &c., in 
good order, but do not let a plant wait for a time when it wants atten¬ 
tion. Propagate by seed, roots, cuttings, inarching, and grafting; 
young plants thus get strong before winter. Sow Seeds ; beware of 
burying the smaller ones; the pots should be well watered previously, 
and when settled, the seeds sown, slightly sprinkled with a little sand, 
pressed down, and a square of glass or a piece of paper put over the pot; 
for these, as well as striking cuttings of tender plants, inarching, and 
grafting, a sweet hotbed would now be desirable. Seedlings, remove 
as soon as possible from the seed-pans, and prick them out singly, espe¬ 
cially if thick. Sow balsams, cockscombs, thunbergias, &c. Pot the 
various Achimenes, and introduce tubers for a succession. Remove 
decayed Leaves. Stir and loosen the surface soil. Succulents of all 
kinds water more freely. Water for all plants will now be required 
oftener. Manure-water may now be given more frequently to Pelar¬ 
goniums that have set their flower-buds, to all plants where vigorous 
growth is required in pots, and in all cases of plants for vases, beds, &c., 
where it is desirable they should be as large as possible by the middle of 
May. Vines on rafters, train. Strawberries, set in; even a few 
! on a shelf is a great luxury, and where the vine is scarcely forced, where 
greenhouse temperature is merely maintained, with a rise from sun heat 
j during the day, the fruit may he obtained a month earlier than in the 
; open air ; keep the plants rather dry until the flower trusses show them¬ 
selves boldly, then water freely. R. Fish. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Let the head and the hands work together; be on the alert to any 
sowings that ought to have been performed last month. Alexanders, 
sow, b. Angelica, sow, or plant out autumn sown. Artichokes, 
plant and dress off. Asparagus, sow or plant; dress off beds, b.; attend 
that in forcing, water with liquid manure water once a week. Balm, 
plant. Basil, sow main crop on gentle hotbed. Beans, plant in suc¬ 
cession ; attend to earth-stirring the growing crops. Beet, of either 
kind, sow, m. Borecoles, sow, and leave for seed. Brocoli, sow 
main crops, m.; attend to pricking out any early sown, and save for 
seed. Borage, sow, and earth-stir autumn sown. Burnet, plant or 
sow. Cabbages, sow, plant, or prick out, and earth-stir often. Capsi¬ 
cums, sow in hotbed, or prick out three plants in each pot, while in the 
seed-leaf, and forward them in hotbed. Cardoons, sow, e. Carraway, 
sow. Carrots, sow main crops, m.; attend to thinning early frame or 
other crops, also to watering in dry weather ; this, and frequent earth¬ 
stirring, will forward their growth much. Cauliflower, sow, prick, or 
plant out ; attend to earthmg-up the hand-glass crops, and assist them 
with soakings of manure water. Celery, sow for late crops, in. ; and 
attend to pricking or planting out early sown ; save for seed. Chamo¬ 
mile, plant. Chives, plant. Chervil, sow; save for seed. Cole- 
worts, plant. Clary, sow. Cress (American), sow in succession. 
Cucumbers, sow for hand-glass and other crops ; ridge out and attend 
to those in bearing, as to thinning-out and top-dressing, or earthing-up. 
Dill, sow or plant. Dung for hotbeds, prepare. Earth-stirring, 
particularly attend to in dry weather. Fennel, old roots divide, and 
plant or sow. Garlic, plant, if not done, b. Horseradish, plant 
without delay. Hotbeds for all purposes, attend to. Hyssot, sow, or 
plant out old roots. Jerusalem Artichokes, plant without delay. 
Kale (Sea), sow, or plant, b. ; carefully fork over old beds. Kidney j 
Beans (Dwarf), sow, b. ; where hand-glasses are at command ; if not, i 
sow, e.; and Scarlet Runners, c. Lavender, plant. Leeks, sow, b. 
Lettuces, sow in succession once a fortnight, and plant out; earth- ! 
stir among often. Marigold, sow. Marjoram {Sweet), sow main 
crop on gentle hotbed ; {Common Garden), plant. Melons, sow in sue- ; 
cession ; pot off; ridge out; attend to topping and thinning-out, weekly, 
the earlv crops. Mustard and Cress, sow in succession, where re- | 
quired. Mushroom beds, make, and attend to. Nasturtiums, sow. 
Unions, sow main crop, b., if not done before. Underground or Po¬ 
tato Onion, plant without delay, also the Tree Onion. Parsley, 
sow of either kind ; leave for seed. Parsnips, sow without delay. Peas, 
sow in succession ; attend to sticking, &c. ; let them be well basined up 
before sticking on light soils to aid the watering. Penny Royal, plant in 
a cool situation. Potatoes in frames, attend to. Radishes, sow in suc¬ 
cession ; attend to thinning young crops. Rape, sow. Rhubarb, sow 
or plant; bring forward by inverting pots or tubs over old crowns. Rue, 
plant. Savoys, sow. Salsafy, sow main crop, e. Scorzonera and 
Skirrets, sow, e. Shallots, finish planting, b. Sorrels, plant. 
Spinach, sow once a fortnight; thin out; and leave for seed. Tansy 
and Tarragon, plant. Tomatoes, sow in hotbed, and prick out in 
pots, and forward in hotbed. Thyme, divide old roots, and plant out. 
Turnips, sow, b. and e.; leave for seed. Vegetable Marrow, sow 
in hotbed. Wormwood, plant. T. Weaver. 
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 ot i 
Christ Church, City of London.—March 25th, 1852. 
