November 7. 
THE COTTA OR GARDENER. 
HI 
the roots split the pot in the mean time. To be kept dry 
from October to February or March—to start them in a 
cucumber-frame, or a cooler frame, if it is on purpose for 
bulbs. The flower stem and leaves ought to come up 
together, or not long between; and if tho leaves are five 
inches long without a sign of a flower stem, that bulb will not 
flower tiiat season, but the growth ought to be equally well 
attended to nevertheless. The proper name of this class of 
bulbs is Hippeastcr ; they are merely Amaryllis-like bulbs, 
with a different habit and constitution. Hippeasters will 
! grow and bloom either in the dead of winter, or at Mid- 
i summer, in the autumn, or in the spring, at the will of the 
grower. Amaryllises will not give an inch from their natural 
way, which is to begin to grow late in the autumn, on 
through the winter and spring, rest in May, and rise to 
bloom in the autumn. Now, some Hippeasters keep green 
all the year round ; and your Accramnnii is of a mixed breed 
between the evergreen ones and the die-down ones, so it 
keeps on green much later in the autumn than villain, 
! which is of pure blood, if you have it true. All the in dined 
; to-be-evergreen Hippeasters ought to be turned down to 
i dry by the middle or end of October, if they have been 
growing all the summer. Accramnnii is one of them, and 
now you may stop it at once should the leaves bo as green 
as a Leek; and keep it dry in the pot as it is till next 
February. Nothing can be more simple than the cultivation 
of these plants. 
For the corners of a hot-water tank, nothing is better than 
sand, kept a little moist, for plunging pots in for bottom 
heat; from four to six inches would be a good depth of sand. 
Small plants of Gloxinias, “ just struck ” from cuttings, must 
be kept growing on all winter, else you will certainly lose 
them; the bulbs not being sufficiently matured to bear 
drying, like old ones. 
If you did not learn more from the The Cottage Gar¬ 
dener than from any other books, it would reflect discredit 
on our whole staff of instructors. We are conscious of our 
strength, and shall spare no efforts to maintain it.] 
ESTIMATE OF POTATOES.—CEDRUS DEODARA 
WITHOUT A LEADING SHOOT. 
“ I wish to intrude upon your time for an answer to one 
more query; but first allow me to express to you my pleasure 
at the article on “ Young Gardeners,” in your publication 
for October 27. It suits my case exactly; and I hope Mr. 
Appleby will strike a hard blow at all the many besetting 
sins that young men of the present day are addicted to, such 
as drinking and smoking. I am a young man, twenty-two 
years of age, brought up to the warehouse of a cotton-mill; 
but having a decided predilection for gardening, I induced 
my parents, not many years ago, to allow me to follow the 
bent of my inclination. They did so; and for my little 
knowledge I am indebted to The Cottage Gardener very 
much indeed. You would imagine that being on the edge 
of the Moors of Longdendale , the shooting grounds of John 
Tollemache, Esq., we ought to have a nice, rich, loamy soil; 
but, believe me, we have not. The surface-soil of about 
one to two feet in depth is rather stiff and binding, and the 
subsoil is (in most places) a hard, almost iron clay; but, 
notwithstanding, Potatoes have done very well with us this 
year; Flukes the best for cropping ; Flour Balls the next 
a fine mealy Potato, this); and the old York Regent not 
so good; with an average of the disease running through 
all; (the last-named one a little the most), but not half 
so much as in previous years. My query is this;—A Oedrus 
Deodara stood with us all the winter without any shelter ; 
I all the harm is, the absence of the leading shoot;—can I 
; make one of the side-branches answer by cutting down to one, 
and tying straight? The Auracariaimbricata stood all winter 
very stoutly.— Excelsior, Milbrook.” 
[Do not cut down to a shoot; but train one up by tying 
it to the stump of the old leader. You can cut away the 
stump when yon no longer need its aid. We have seen 
this done. A Oedrus Deodara, in the Dean of Winchester’s 
j garden, at Bishopstoke, having lost its leader, has acquired 
a much denser habit, and is very rich in foliage.] 
ROSES ON THEIR OWN ROOTS. 
“ Will Mr. Beaton be so good as to give us another paper 
on growing Roses on their own Roots l I presume he holds 
they can be grown so, better than budded. I pay some 
attention to Roses, and I confess I do not know how to 
grow any sort, Tea-scented ones excepted, so strong, or so 
good, on its own roots, as when budded on tho wild stock.— 
IIy. Hei.yeb, Jun.” 
[As you can grow Tea-scented Roses on their own roots 
and as these Roses are, confessedly, the most difficult Roses 
to grow well, you need not fear but you will succeed with all 
kinds of Roses on their own roots, provided you like the 
plan; but if you prefer them on wild stocks, and find they 
answer your purpose that way, you have no occasion to 
alter your plan for anything which we have said about them. 
Mr. Rivers is the only one of the great Rose-growers who 
has yet favoured us with his new Rose catalogue, in which 
he has made a most judicious selection of all the best 
Roses. He says, summer Roses will soon be out of fashion 
except a few of the very best, such as the Cabbage and Moss 
Roses. He offers plants of all the autumn Roses, on their 
own roots; but ho says, they “ are not so well calculated for 
immediate effect as budded plants,being much smaller; still, 
in light soils they are more likely to succeed.” Of course 
they are; and it is for light soils that we recommend them 
on their own roots; but Mr. Lane, who takes all the first 
prizes for pot Roses, finds that in the very best pot soils, 
Roses do better on their own roots. There is no question at 
all, among practical men, about Roses on their own roots 
being by far the best; it is only a question of convenience; but 
all dwarf Roses, and all pillar Roses, with the whole of the 
climbing Roses, ought to be on their own roots; while stand¬ 
ards and half standards must be had from worked plants ; 
and it is quite a mistaken notion altogether to suppose that 
worked Roses force better; it is exactly the very opposite, 
and Mr Lane’s practice is the best proof of the assertion.] 
NEW PLUM. 
“I enclose two seedling Plums for your opinion. The tree 
on which they were grown is a standard on its own roots; it 
was a sucker taken from the original seedling, found grow¬ 
ing in a rocky situation in a wood on the banks of the river 
Allen, about two miles above its confluence with the river 
Tyne. My garden is situated about six miles higher up the 
Allen than where the seedling originated, consequently, a 
high and cold situation, where no fine kind of Plum will 
either bear, or ripen, fruit, except against a good wall. 
The fruit of this seedling resembles the Greengage, both in 
colour and flavour; but the Greengage will not bear fruit 
here at all on standards; whereas, the seedling is very hardy. 
I think, if it was known and tried in better situations, it 
would prove an acquisition to our list of hardy fruits, as it 
no doubt would ripen its fruit a month or six weeks sooner 
in the southern and midland counties. 
“ I shall be happy to send you grafts in the proper season, 
if you choose to try it,—S. J.” 
[We think, from the two Plums received by us on the 
28tli of October, that this is a new variety. If it preserves 
its habit of late ripening in a more southern locality, it will 
be a very great acquisition generally; but is certainly most 
desirable for northern districts. It is a round, pale green 
Plum, much less than the Greengage, and not quite so 
luscious, yet very juicy and sweet. We shall be much 
obliged by receiving, in due time, the grafts offered. If it 
proves to be a new variety it might be called, “ The Allen 
dale Greengage.”] 
STORING PEARS. 
“ I have a great quantity of winter Pears this year; and, 
having just gathered them, have placed them on shelves on 
straw in a garden-house which is dark, and well protected 
from frost. Will you kindly tell me if this is the best way of 
securing their ripening, and keeping in perfection? If not, 
which is the proper and best way ?—F. P.” 
[If your garden-house can be relied on as to tho perfect 
exclusion of frost, you cannot mend your plan. If damp, 
however, the flavour of the Pears will be deteriorated; still, 
if not particularly damp, there is no occasion for great alarm. 
But you must beware of the straw, it will assuredly give 
the Pears a “ snatch ” not quite in harmony with Pear 
flavour. If straw is used it should bo kiln-dried.] 
