February 0. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
303 
MELONS FROM CUTTINGS.—AZALEA FORCING.— 
BLANCHED TURNIP-TOPS. 
“ I see Mr. Loudon recommends Cuttings of Melons in 
preference to seeds. I had bad luck last year with Melons ; 
I cannot raise more than 70° bottom-lieat. 1 should be 
glad of your opinion, and I shall follow your advice on 
these points. I have three large plants of Azalea indica 
alba well sot with buds; I put them under glass before frost 
came on at Christmas, in an early vinery, started at 50° by 
day, 45 u at night. The buds swelled, and I thought I should 
have a few early flowers, but I am disappointed. They 
have been regularly watered, and not over watered. My 
opinion is, that the atmosphere has been too close and damp, 
which I have kept for the sake of the Vines; at the same 
time, some of the newer sorts, such as Glory of Sunninghill, 
have flowered well under the same treatment. 
“ Allow me to thank Mr. Fish for the bint in growing the 
Swedish Turnip-lops. I grow them to look as nice as Sea- 
kale. He deserves a medal for it.— r.P.” 
[Seventy degrees is not enough for bottom-heat for Melons, 
it should be nearer 80°. AVe do not know the means you 
use. If pipes, covering the surface of the soil with tiles 
and moss will often raise it materially; do not begin too 
early. We do not dislike cuttings for Melons ; but we never 
found the plants better than plants from seeds, and, of 
course, you must begin with them iirst. 
We find there is great difference with Azaleas , as to their 
endurance of moist heat when opening their buds. Plenty 
of air seems the only remedy. We have also noticed that 
plants that have got very dry several times in autumn, 
though they did not shed their buds, never opened them 
kindly, forced or unforced. 
Many people, especially farmers, who could command a 
little heat, and any old border box to throw over the Turnips, 
have had fine dishes this winter of what they call “ Turmet 
Sea-kale.”] 
PREVENTING DRIPPING FROM A GLASS ROOF. 
“ You will greatly oblige, if you would give a hint of the 
most effectual way of making the glass of a new conservatory 
tight, the house being very broad, and a lean-to roof, the 
angle is only 25°, and although the glazier has repeatedly 
been painting and working at it, it continues to drip greatly, 
and the house is not a year old. All the sashes, &c., are of 
wood; and the glass is thirty by eleven inches.— Subscriber.” 
[We should like more particulars. Does the drip come 
from the rafters ? If so, is there a good groove, one quarter- 
of-an-inch deep below the sashes, so as to take moisture 
away ? The work must be very badly done if the moisture 
finds its way in through the putty at the side of the 
sash-bar. What size are your laps ; and are they glazed ? 
Narrow ilaps are all the rage, and do well in houses with 
steep roofs ; but in flatter ones, the water is first drawn in 
by capillary attraction, and drips inside; and if not glazed 
between the laps, and the dirt has not filled the space, 
rains will he driven through them. Are you sure the drip¬ 
ping comes from the outside ? because, in such cold weather 
as we have had lately, all the the vapour in the house would 
he condensed against the glass; and then, should it get a 
little warmer, it would descend like a shower-bath. The 
remedy for this would be more fire-heat, and air at the 
highest point of the roof. A narrow tin, copper, or gal¬ 
vanized iron groove, fixed upon the base of each sasli-bar, 
would also prevent the drip, though costing something. Let 
us know if any of these meet your case.] 
GROSS PEACH-TREE SHOOTS.—PLECTRANTHUS 
FAILING. 
“ The Peach-trees here made some uncommonly strong 
shoots last year; perhaps three or four feet long, and some 
more. Now every one of them pushed all their lateral 
shoots the same year. I judge it is from the roots of the 
trees being so deep, so that the warmth of the sun does 
not reach the roots before very late, and sets the tree to 
work again. What I want to know is, should I take out all 
those strong shoots, or leave them on, and cut off the 
young laterals, leaving one or two at a regular distance ? 
“Secondly, I have had some very nice plants of the 
species Plcctranthus concolor picla, and every one of them 
died off last month. I have had them in a small house, 
kept up from 50° to 00°. Why was this ?—J. R.” 
[Your strong shoots of Peach-trees should have been 
stopped when they shewed such rampant growth, and then 
you might have chosen a couple witli more likelihood of 
hearing. We would not cut them out now, but cut them 
back and reserve some side-shoots from them this year, 
that is, if they are well-ripened so far back. If the whole 
tree showed such a tendency, a little root-pruning in 
October would have done them good; and even now, as 
being better late than never. If any of the laterals show 
bloom-buds, retain what you want; if not, either cut them 
away, or to the last bud. If too deep, the roots should 
be raised within fifteen to eighteen inches of the surface. 
Your Plcctranthus we suppose to be the same with Coleus 
Bloomeii, tho treatment of which was lately given. We have 
kept some in the temperature you mention; but they are 
not over grand to look at, though safe. ( : 0° should be the 
minimum, apparently.] 
FRUIT-TREES IN A MIXED GARDEN. 
“I have a kitchen garden 354 feet long by 300 wide. 
There is a fruit-tree border, twelve feet wide, all round the 
garden ; next comes a gravel-walk, eight feet wide. Down 
the centre of the garden there is a gravel walk, nine feet 
wide, in tho middle of which another walk, eight feet wide, 
crosses it at right angles. On each side of the walk, down 
the centre of the garden, I have a flower-border, five feet 
wide. I wish to plant Apples and Pears (espaliers) all 
round the walk bides; and what I want to know is, what 
distance you would recommend mo to plant them apart, and 
the distance from the gravel walks. The garden is divided 
into four square plots. Would you recommend me to plant 
standard Apples on the squares; if so, at what distance 
apart ? I do not wish to have the garden too much crowded 
with trees; but I think a few standards on the squares 
would do little harm. Of course there will be Gooseberries, 
Currants, Ac., on the squares, which will take up a good bit 
of ground.— Jno. McDonald, Wicklow." 
[We are no great admirers of espalier fruit-trees. Even 
when very well pruned and trained they never bear so well 
as dwarf standards. We should plant the latter, and if 
carefully trained in a cup-form they do not overshadow the 
borders so much as espaliers. We should plant the same 
form of fruit-trees on the quarters, and only on their north 
sides, so that they would not overshadow much the quarters. 
Both on the borders and quarters plant tliem fourteen feet 
apart.] 
MANAGEMENT OF A PINERY AND VINERY 
COMBINED. — MUSCAT GRAPES. — DRESSING 
FOR FRUIT-TREES. 
“I have about thirty good, strong Pine-Apple plants, and 
I wish to have the fruit ready to cut on the first week of 
August; at what time should they show fruit ? and what 
will be the best means to make them show at the time 
required. My pit is in a large Vinery, and I must start the 
Vines (the Vines are Black Hambros,) in the first week in 
March; the Vines are old, and I think they will not 
bear much heat, for I am afraid the roots are not very 
good. I shifted the Pines into their fruiting-pots early in 
September; the plants are in good health and well rooted. 
Secondly, I planted a house of Muscat Vines, late in 1851, 
in a new border, twenty-two inches deep, of an excellent 
compost of good, turfy loam, lime-rubbish, and bone-dust: 
they grow very strong, and last year showed two and three 
bunches from every eye; they set well, and all went on well 
for a time; after the berries had got as largo as Horse- 
beans, about one-tbird of them stopped then; tho rest of 
them swelled away well, and were some fine fruit; but the 
bunches, of course, looked bud on account of the other 
berries not swelling. The wood that they made is but 
weak this year in comparison to what it was before. I am 
afraid the roots must have got through the border. The 
border is weU-drained, but the bottom is not concreted. 
The Vines were not over-cropped ; I only left eight bunches 
on each Vine. If the roots are through the border, bad 
I better raise them ? and if so, when ? I want to start 
them in March, and I must have a crop from them this 
