uc 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Noyembee 13. 
I 
as they feed themselves, and allowed plenty of soft food till i 
their bills are hard enonsh to crack tlie seeds easilj'. | 
It is a common, but mistaken, jiractice, to hang the breed¬ 
ing-cage in the warmest and (piietest corner, winch is fre¬ 
quently ratlier shady ; this, however, will cause the birds to 
get fat, stop breeding, and be continually moulting instead. 
Lastly, if you wish strong, hearty, young birds, see that the 
old ones are not closely related.— 13.1\ Eeent. 
(To he continued.) 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. ! 
GARDENING. | 
SALVIA SPLENDENS FLOWERS FAILING. | 
1 
“ I have some large plants of Salvia splendcn.^i, which appear 
ill perfect health, as regards the foliage, a lieautiful green 
and large leaf, and not atfected with the Red Spider (though 
I know this plant is subject to it). I was in hojies to have 
had a fine show of scarlet blooms next month ; indeed now, 
witli the Chrysanthemums ; but although the blossoms are 
formed, they go off as if there was not sufficient strength 
to open the flowers, and they have plenty of manure-water ; 
too. Can you explain if this is common ; or may I now t 
expect flowers from the second shoots, as they are all - 
stopped, and plenty of blooming points yet to open, if not ^ 
too late ? 1 have put them lately in the stove heat of GO".. 
Is this right?—J. G.” ! 
[Did you pot your plants late ? because, if so, the first 
flowers are apt to fall. A temperature of from 45° to 50° [ 
will bloom them well; but we have had them very grand in ' 
a stove with heat approaching G0°. If the pots are not well' 
filled with roots, discontinue the manure-tvater until they are. 
Did you give air enough in the late damp weather? We 
have seldom known them fail at this season, even in a cool ' 
greenhouse, hut the plants would not continue so long as if 
they w'ere warmer. We think you will have secondary | 
flowers, but they are seldom so fine as the first.] j 
LIST OF GREENHOrSE AND STOVE PLANTS, 
AND FORCED PLANTS, TO RLOOM EACH 
MONTH. 
Ax Oi.i) CoTtr.EsroxnEXT suggests this important subject, 
and we will think over your letter, and try and meet your 
case. Tiie difficulties connected with it, however, are not 
small. We once attempted something of the same sort, 
and also with fruits; but we received so many angry com¬ 
plaints that w’o then gave it up. A few words of your letter 
supplies one great reason why we failed to please. Your 
list is to be one not applicable to Jirst-rule exlahlinhinenb^.'’ 
Now, this is just the hitch of the wdiole affair. We gave 
some lists of what could be got. We could not by iiossi- ' 
bility say how much of these could bo realised by every > 
different subscriber. Hence, one man complained that he , 
could not get a tithe of what we talked about; though, | 
perhaps, all things considered, that tithe was very honour- i 
able to him. Another good gardener wrote to say that his j 
master got dissatisfied, because he did not have all these j 
fine things, though he allowed neither means nor conve- , 
niences for them. We know full well that there are many | 
large hearted enij)loyers of gardeners, and who need almost 
everything on gardening that comes out; but we also know 
that there are others, who would not bo content with the 
produce of a nobleman’s garden, though they spent less 
altogether than ho miglit on his Melon ground. You will 
say, how very inconsistent! AYs ; but this inconsistency is 
a very common affair. Some philosophers aflirm that every 
man is insane at times. We know, full well, that wo and 
others are fnapienlly very unreasonable, and that is not far 
off from a spice of madness. When wo give such lists, if 
people would just think how far the getting of such things 
was suitable for their circumstances, all would bo well. 
Rut, often, a sort of grasping at all or nothing is produced, 
and ever leads to disappointment. This attem])ting so much 
j is one cause of the ruin of horticultural and floral Societies 
/ in the country. IMany could grow some things in a superior 
order; but, no ; they must show and compete for everything 
in the schedule ; and many things appear, in consequence, 
no better than is to be seen in cottager’s windows, and 
people, therefore, stay at home, and keep their shill¬ 
ings and half-crowns in their pockets. We will examine 
your list; but if you aim at greatness in gai’dening, think 
more of quality than quantity. You will not have so many 
things in bloom, but when you have a plant in bloom it will 
be a picture. Every man, however, has a perfect right to 
indulge his own particular taste, and if he prefers a house 
filled with small-flowering plants, we see no reason why 
he should not be gratified, and, at least, he will have the 
pleasure of seeing more variety. Every man, however, who 
wishes to show individual plants in line, first-rate condition, 
must limit the numbers of his plants, even though he 
should have little bloom at times by doing so. 
APPROACHES. 
“ In visiting many places, I have often been struck with 
surprise at the meagre and narrow appearance of the prin¬ 
cipal approaches through the park to the mansion ; many, 
not more than nine or ten feet wide, little more than merely 
let a carriage pass along. The expense of keeping may be 
one reason; but, I believe, the principal objection is, that 
when a road is seen in tlie landscape, it mars the beauty 
of the effect; and the wider the road, of course, the greater 
the objection. Now, I hold that they never should be nar¬ 
rower than would admit of two carriages passing each other 
conveniently, especially in large places of any pretensions. 
In driving gently along, there is association of ideas of all 
you see around you, and it at once takes from the grandeur 
of a place, and causes disappointment of the whole, by being 
obliged to pass along a narrow strip of road, and having to 
take the grass, idiould any other vehicle chance to meet you. 
And so far from roads seen in the landscape being an ob¬ 
jection, as many have it, they can be introduced sometimes 
with adndrable effect. As, for instance, in leading to a 
bridge, or a lodge, or any other building, it is quite indis¬ 
pensable; and, if the park and approaches are properly laid 
out, in most cases, are rarely or never seen to a disad¬ 
vantage ; more esjieciidly, if we take into consideration the 
utility and ends for which they are raa>lo, and which should 
never be lost sight of. The extent of the place, and the 
surrounding scenery, should always be taken into considera¬ 
tion; for, on entering a domain, they form the fir.st grand 
feature of a place. One day, lately, on coming away from a 
noble place of a noble lord, through a beautiful jiark, with 
line woodland scenery in the distance, the approach being 
so narrow, it was sometime before I got reconciled to the 
fact that I really was on the approach. And I recollect, 
some few years ago, a frimid of mine, a landscape gardener, 
comiilaining, that after he had laid out a place for a gentle¬ 
man, and had given satisfaction to all concerned, the gen¬ 
tleman, in the absence of my friend, and without consulting 
him, had his principal approach to the house altered, and 
so far from being the line, easy sweep laid down in the 
plan, it was converted into something like a railway, with 
cuts and embankments, which quite altered the appearance 
of the whide place; and, of course, it told considerably 
against my frienil, as few or an}" visitor would know but 
what it was his original plan.— E.” 
[The foregoing remarks have been sent for my 
opinion by a very able gardener. I must own, that when 
approaches are measured by miles, I have an objection to 
their being Avide and conspicuous, though the width may be 
greater at the entrance, and near the house, A seen utility 
iloes away with the objection of mere obtrusiveness; biit 
mere obtrusiveness of itself, either in roads or walks, through 
green parks and green lawns, though utility apologises 
sufficiently for their presence, does not on that account 
constitute them beauties in the landscape. Convenience, 
fitness, economy, Ac., must enter into considerations as to 
the width of an approach in each place, and be regulated by 
circumstances and scenery. I shall be glad if you give 
the subject a corner to bo ventilated on in Tnu Cottaoe 
G.VI inKNME. — 11. FtSII. ] 
