262 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 2. 
Mr. Iveson now uses some of them for forcing Straw¬ 
berries. He fills them quite full of leaves, and plunges the 
pots of Strawberry plants in them. The leaves soou sink, 
j and then the glass is put on. The plants root through 
l the holes in the pots, and thereby gather up a largo 
store of nutriment, which swells olf the fruit quite 
equal to any grown in the open air in tho natural 
i season. Whoever has spare pit, plenty of leaves, and 
i good Strawberry plants in pots, would do well to try 
this plan. 
There is at Sion House a very noble architectural 
j conservatory, forming a segment of a largo circle. The 
centre is a lofty dome, with a stove-house on each side 
j and a greenhouse ou each side ; beyond them, the whole 
1 finished by a square, lofty house at each end. To 
i walk through them is quite a promenado. At this time 
j of the year, the greatest attraction is the Chrysanthe¬ 
mums. 1 saw many fine, bushy specimens, both of 
the large varieties and the Pompones. Certainly, these 
autumnal ornaments of the greenhouse are worthy of 
every attention during the summer to grow them into 
good plants that will produce such a blazo of ilowers as 
.1 saw at Sion. In tho central lofty-domed house, a 
f.pecimen of tho Bamboo of the Indies was pointed out 
to me, that had in one season run up nearly to the top 
of the dome—a growth of fully fifty feet—in the short 
space of eight months. The stom at the base was about 
as thick as my arm; it was as smooth as glass, aud of a 
beautiful light green. 1 considered it one of the 
greatest wonders of rapid vegetable growth that was 
ever seen. In this central house there are some noble 
Palm-trees, some of which were hearing fruit. 
Behind this noble conservatory there is a range of 
low houses, which Mr. Iveson uses os nurseries to 
supply the great conservatory. Here I noted several 
good things in flower, or coming into flower, such as 
Begonias, Gcsneras, Eranthemums, &o.; but the most 
remarkable plants were several pots of the bulbous 
llletias, such as Shepherd'd, verecunda and hyaeinthina. 
The pots were full of large bulbs, aud from each there 
sprang several flower stems. It is a remarkable fact, 
that these flower-stems do not grow out from amongst 
tho leaves, hut spring out of one side, or sides, of the 
bulb itself. These species of Bletia have all purple 
or purplish-crimson flowers; hut there had, by some 
means unknown, a bulb got into one of tho pots that 
produced white flowers; the species I cannot detect in 
any botanical work. 
I find my notes on these gardens have filled up all 
my space, so I must reserve the remainder for another 
opportunity. T. Appleby. 
NOTES ON THE CUCUMBER. 
In spite of the hard weather which often ushers in 
“ the new year, there is always something inspiriting 
1 at the commencement of another season. The “ dull, dark 
days, which usually characterize December, gradually 
give way before the new year to a much clearer atmos¬ 
phere; and with the increasing length of day light, a 
greater proportion of sunshine may ho oxpectod than 
j those that precede Christmas. Consequently, the forcing 
i gardener must take due advantage of these things, and 
! having the prospect of obtaining a greater share than 
hitherto of one of the most important agents in the 
forcing way, “ sunshine,” he must ho sure aud avail 
himself of it to the best advantage; while to the amateur, 
and those whose practice does not embrace anything 
very extensive, the new year forms a sort of era, when 
they begin some of those works, which they, with perfect 
propriety, term “ forcing,” this being about the time 
when those who have not many forcing pits artificially 
heated begin to start their Cucumbers for spring use; 
and though there are some who mauage to carry through 
young plants reared in October, it is.rare to obtain these 
without the aid of lire heat, in some shape or other; and 
many, not having such a structure at liberty, it becomes 
a matter of importance to have them as early as 
possible by other means within reach. 
Before the uso of liot-water, and its application as a 
means of communicating bottom-heat as well, was 
known, a Cucumber at Christmas, or rather in February, 
was one of these extreme rarities which hut a very few, 
or none, ever thought of. Latterly, however, they have 
been very plentiful, aud those who have the means of 
commanding a steady heat of 60° or 70°, have no 
difficulty in carrying their plants through tho winter, 
and in a hearing state, too, although it must he confessed, 
that in the dead months of winter the progress is slow, 
and it is not unusual for disease of some sort or other 
to attack them. Mildew being one of the' most fatal, 
and the highly artificial condition of the plant at the 
time, renders great caution necessary to check or coun¬ 
teract this pest, for the plant cannot withstand such an 
ordeal as it would in April. Carefully watching its 
approach, and covering the heating apparatus with 
sulphur, will, in a manner, stop it; but not always 
without injury to the foliage; hut (wheu the first 
speck of it shows itself) a slight dusting of the 
black sulphur will usually check it at the expense, 
perhaps, of the leaf on which the operation is made; it 
is, therefore, hotter not to adopt this plan if it can be 
done without. Another remedy of tho same kind, 
perhaps more fatal to tho foliage, is to slightly wet the 
affected part with a sponge dipped in lime water ; this 
generally arrests the pest for a time, hut it must be 
closely watched, otherwise its rapid strides renders the 
plant useless. I have heard that a slight solution of 
salt and water is a more perfect cure than anything; 
hut 1 never tried it on winter Cucumbers, neither do I 
think that they would endure the ordeal; for plants in 
that delicate state which Cucumbers are at a season 
directly at variance with tho one nature intended them 
to have, must ho very sensitive to such trials as is 
necessary to overcome a disease which is brought on 
solely by the weakness or inability of tho plant to resist 
it. However, we will leave this subject, and enter on 
tho cultivation of young plants, which may ho said to 
have their commencement with the current year. 
In my younger days, and, 1 believe, some time before 
that, tho reariug and forwarding of Cucumber plants was 
one of the most important branches of the profession; 
and to cut tho first Cucumber of the season was no 
small honour amongst neighbouring cultivators; this 
emulation, I believe, helped materially to lay the founda¬ 
tion of those provincial horticultural shows which sprang 
up at the timo, and which, in after years, evinced con¬ 
siderable influence on the cultivation of certain things 
at that time. Now, to obtain early Cucumbers with 
dung-heat alone (for littlo clso was thought of then), the 
process was the same precisely as what is now practised, 
where the same working material is in use, which is, to 
prepare a quantity of hot dung, by making it into a 
heap, and then turning it every other day, for a few 
times; then it might remain three or four days between 
tho turnings, and eventually tho fiery heat will he so far 
subdued, that it may bo made into a bed at once, in 
which may he placed the seed-pots, which require no 
particular care until tho plants shew themselves, when 
they must be placed near tho glass, if possible, at the 
same time, taking care that they are furnished with the 
necessary bottom-heat, which may ho done by adding 
some more of tho openest of the heating substance inside 
the frame, and plunging the pots inside of that; this is 
easily accomplished, only care must he taken to intro¬ 
duce nothing likely to he infected with anything of 
insect life, and to avoid that, it is good practice to pour 
