320 
THE COTTAGE GAllDENEll. 
January 2!i. 
ORCHAUD-nOUSES. 
I HAVK seen liouscs, such us those described by jMr. Ter- 
gusoii, applied to many useful ])urposes, and willi much 
economy. 1 have not a doubt, nay tlio reverse of one, that 
dir. llivors’ Orchard-houses do all that he has ever said of 
tlicm. 1 say nothing, at present, of the matters in dispnle 
between tlicso gentlemen, if I really clearly understand it, 
as cither of them can well hold his own, and the rcsidt will 
prove, I believe, that wo are debtors to both ; but as every 
body should be accountable onhj for what he states, I am 
sure that Mr. llivers will excuse me for saying, that I have 
not the most distant recollection of recommending, at any 
time or jrlace, “ artistdike boxes with moveable sides, castors, 
<tc., at dOs. each,” for growing Peach-trees, I’ig-trees, ifec., 
in such Orchard houses. So far as I am concerned, the 
“ onh' thing of mounting them on castors, to keep them 
from contact with mother earth !” is just the rearing of the 
mole hcaiT for the pleasure of kicking it down. Such artist- 
like boxes would be as much in keeping with Orchard- 
houses, made of Larch poles and boards or slabs (1 breathe 
jiot a word against the utility of such houses, 1 only wish 1 
had one of tliera), as I conceive a dirty-red clay pot to be 
when set upon a beautiful inlaid table in a drawing-room. 
Except for such places, I am not aware of recomjnending 
elegant boxes or baskets of any kind; and for such pur¬ 
poses, I contend that elegance is as essential, as a ds. board 
box was all that was wanted in an Orchard house. See 
page 2il, column 2.—R. Fisii. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
MIXTURE AVUTI URINE TO Al'PLY IT SOLID. 
“In our trade (a dyer’s) it is customary to save and 
collect the Urine of the house and dye-house. "Wo have 
more than we iise. Will you kindly inform me what is best 
to put with it to get the fertilising ingredients in a solid 
form?—.1. W. C. W.” 
[Wo should employ either of earth or coal ashes .seven 
parts and one p.art of Suli)hate of Lime (Gy])sum) in powd('r, 
and mixed together. Pour the Urine upon this nnxtnre, and 
thorongbly incorporate them. Use as much of the earth 
and Gypsum mixture as is required to have the rvhole in a 
solid state for spreading on the land.] 
i 
MANAGEMENT OF SHRURRY CALCEOLARIAS IN 
THE SPRING. 
‘‘X. Y. Z. would be glad of some inb^rmalion respecting 
the management of the shrubby Calceolarias after the 1st 
of March till planting out time. He thiidis of planting 
them out in soil composed of leaf-mould and chopped moss, 
in a frame facing the north, so that they may lift with nice 
balls. Would they bo safe in a framc.//‘em Ihfil lime, without 
banking up the sides with turf? X. Y. Z. has ‘ done’ them 
in various ways in former times, but has never been quite 
satistied with any method.” 
I [Shi'ubby Calceolarias may be placed in a cold frame 
i after the 1st of March with safetj'. No situation will suit 
‘ the mbettor; and they may be turned out of the pots, as you 
say, if you want yoiir pots for other purposes; or the pots 
may be plunged in the material you speak of, or in any 
I other, such as coal-ashes or the like. The plants sunk in 
I the soil, in the pot, or out of the pot, are less susceptible of 
injury either from cold, frosty nights, or hot, sunny days. 
'The frame should be placed in an open situation, where 
there is room to take the lights entirely off in favourable 
open weather. On the appearance of a cold, or frosty night, 
the frame should be closed a little earlier than common, 
and well covered up. If there be a chance of very severe 
weather, as is the case sometimes in March, or even in April, 
some protection should be pLaced round the side.s of the 
frame, such as dry, long dung, or mouldy hay, fern, or straw. 
'This can he placed round the frame so neatly as to be not 
; ollensive in any place. Always take advantage of a line, 
mild day, to perform such operations as replacing plants in 
frames; and be careful to clear away all decayed leaves or 
stems, and to well water any plant that needs it at the same 
time. Y’’our plant is Stdiim acre, or Common Stojiecrop. 
CINERARIAS FROSTED. 
“ I had some magnilicent plants of Cinerarias. They 
were smothered with Green Fly. My gardener took them 
out, luit them in an empty pit, and smoked thcin twice or 
thrice in the old-l'ashioned way, with a pot of tobacco. 
"When he replaced them in Il)e house, he said they were 
most nourishing and green ; but the following morning tlie 
leaves hung down their heads; they looked as if they had 
been burnt; the edges shrivelled and blaclamed; and the 
very bloom-bnds on some (piite wilted. 'They were carried a 
dozen yards out of the house to the pit and back again as 
quick as possible. Was it frost, for the air was frosty ? or 
was it an overdose of tobacco ? for the Dictionauy says 
Cinerarias will not bear much. We have cut the Cinerarias 
down. Is that right ? Will they shoot up again and 
llow'er ?—A Lal'Y.” 
['To take out “ magnilicent” Cinerarias during that wither¬ 
ing frost, and to smoke them with a pot in the old way, was 
just like jumping out of the frying-pan into the tire. Still, 
the frost was the chief cause of your loss. After separating 
the plants, and having them in a pit by themselves, the 
smoking might have been safely deferred till the return of 
mild weather. It is never a good way to smoko or sulphur 
plants in hard, frosty weather. 'Those gardeners who re¬ 
member the “good old times,” recollect very well how the 
plants were to be looked over after every hard fi'ost, to pick 
olf dead and dying leaves which were injured by the “ husky” 
smell from the Hues. At that time, no one thought of double ■ 
dosing ; but now, gardening is so easy that few think of these 
things, but clear as they go, until such lessons as killing such 
and such plants, in snch and such ways, check the ardour alike 
of gardeno’s and amateurs, and reduce it to the level of com¬ 
mon sense. Cutting back was the wisest thing to do with 
the Cinerarias; but they will never be snch line plants 
again, and it is a mere chance if they tlowor at all to your 
satisfaction. 'The only chance you have is to keep them us 
cool as possible, and in a pit, away from the greenhouse al¬ 
together. Common greenhouse culture will only make them 
skeletons; but if you keep them cool now, and damji in 
March and April, they may do much better than we think. 
Tray let us hear how they turn out. 
Fi/racanthii is the second name of one of the “ Mays,” 
or 'Tliorns, which are scientiilcally named Crula’gns, under 
which name it is in onr Dictionary.] 
POULTRY SHOV/S. 
Kendal. At Kendal, February 1st and 2nd. Nec. James Gcldard. > 
Windsor Poultry Exhibition. At Windsor, -Ith, 5th, and 6th of 1 
Jane. Secs. Thos. Chamberlain, and Henry Tliompsoii. Entries 
will close May 10th. 
N.H .—Secretaries v>Ul oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
~ ! 
'The season of the year fast approaches when our ! 
Poultry Exhibitions will be few in numbers and far 
between, tliercfore this temporary lull oilers a valuable , 
opportunity to reconsider where improvement in the : 
present plans connected with them is essential, and also | 
calmly to devise snch alterations in their regulations ' 
and future arrangements, as reasonably may be sup- i 
posed most conducive to their permanency and success. 
One very greatly neglected item in their management , 
(during the present, or, w'o might say, closing season), ! 
seems to have been tlie manifest indillcrence of com- j 
mittees, in general, to tlie all-iraportaut appointment of : 
1 the Judges, on whose dictum alone the future proprietor- 
; ship of tlie jireraiums will depend. Although, undoubtedly, 
! this subject is one deserving of much forelliouglit and 
I careful consideration, not a few of our managing com- 
‘ mittees have negligently allowed this vital appointment 
