304 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
February 20. 
a certainty that your Peach-blossom will be burned, or 
the fruit tumble down like a shower of Peas. 
1. The first question, as to the trees on the walls, has 
been answered. 
2. How many Vines ? Five, if there are two opaque 
ends; six, if one of these ends is of glass. One of these, 
at the warmest end, may be the Barbarossa, one West’s 
St. Peters , and the others divided into Black Hamburghs 
and Royal White Muscadines 
3. For a late house, it is of little importance whether 
the Vines be inside the house or not. If the border is 
mado outside, the more the border slopes to the sun the 
better; and, therefore, as you have three feet of brick¬ 
work, if there was nothing else to prevent it, the greater 
part of the soil of your border might be above the sur¬ 
rounding ground. In other words, you would make 
your border most upon the natural surface, instead of 
digging out a great hole, to be afterwards filled up. For 
instance, you wish to have six inches of your thrce-feet 
walls above the border, which is to be ten feet wide. At 
that extremity of ten feet, dig out a trench of earth two- 
and-a-half feet deep, and then clean out the triangular 
piece of earth that lies between you and the three-feet 
depth of your wall. That done, sink a drain two feet, 
at least, deeper at the extremity of the border; thus 
securing a drain four-and-a-half feet deep. Fill this 
with any open rubbish you can find. Then cover the 
sloping bottom of your border with three inches of 
concrete, made by one barrow-load of loam to six or 
seven of gravel; work it well with a sufficiency of 
water, and beat and roll as soon as possible. It will 
dry as hard as a rock. On these strew six inches, 
at least, of open rubble work, such as brick-bats, flints, 
clinkers, sandstone, Ac., and, if come-at-able, lumps of 
charcoal, and over this place lumpy and then liner 
loam. As far as possible, the borders inside of a house 
intended for fruit-growing should be drained in a similar 
manner, though, in general, it is desirable that the 
surface should be level instead of sloping. When it is 
intended to plant trees at the back and front of the house 
inside, it is generally best to have the drain in the 
centre. The position of the house and the surrounding 
grounds must often regulate these matters. I have 
often seen success effected in houses where there 
was no drain whatever; but that did not lessen this 
general desirability. In ground where an outlet could 
not be found, the sinking of a dumb-well has often been 
attended with the best results. Where the bottom is a 
genial sand, or open gravel, or chalk, or limestone stored 
with fissures, there would be no necessity for draining. 
4. As to the soil. Any calcareous, rich, saudy loam 
will grow the Vine well, if enriched with broken bones 
and rotten-dung. Frequently, the natural soil is good 
enough; but the Vine, like other things, likes maiden 
loam; and, therefore, the natural soil, however good, 
would still be better for having some good mellow loam, 
such as may be obtained from the top three inches of an 
old pasture, or even often from the sides of the highway. 
A covering of turves of this kind fresh, is a good thing 
to place, grass downwards, over the rubble. When used 
for the rest of the compost,it should have been mellowed 
in a heap for the best part of a twelvemonth. Brick- 
rubbish, and pieces of charcoal, and bits of bones, 
independently of nourishment, keep the border open. 
It will be seen, according to what was previously stated, 
that such a border will be about twenty-one inches deep, 
and that will be quite deep enough, as surface-dressings 
can often be given. 
For reach-trees, the same depth will do, and a mellow, 
adhesive loam is best, with a little decayed leaf-mould, 
and road-drift at planting. It is best to give necessary 
strength afterwards, by surface applications of rotten 
leaves, very rotten hotbed dung, and old cow dung. In 
moist places the borders should be raised, as advised for 
the Vines; but inside a house this will not be neces¬ 
sary, though drainage will be a great advantage. If 
there is not enough of material at once, station-planting, 
as so well onforcod by Mr. Errington, should be resorted 
to, adding material as it can be obtained. 
ti. The plants you propose cultivating ns standards 
inside the house, I would recommend to be of a size 
easily transferable to the outside, when necessary. 
Peaches and Nectarines, especially, after having fruited 
and mado fair wood, would ripen it better if they were 
taken outside, first screened from the full force of an 
autumn sun, and then submitted to its influence. This 
would also enable you to keep the bouse dry when the 
Grapes came to maturity. 
Of trees fitted for this, I might mention, Peaches — 
Acton Scott, Grosso Mignonne, and Bellegarde. Nec¬ 
tarines —Elruge, Hardwick Seedling, and Pitmaston 
Orange. Nectarines generally do better in such a 
position than Peaches. Figs —Brown Turkey, Pregus- 
sata, and White Marseilles. 
1 have seen such trees do very well in such a house, 
with a walk along the front, and the back part of the 
house raised a couple of feet or so by a border, in which 
the trees against the back wall were placed ; while the 
raised part brought the plants in pots and boxes nearer 
to the glass. When thus grown as standards, the 
heads will not do much good if more than three feet 
from the glass, nor even then if the Vines are nearer 
each other than four i'eet. I have done well with such 
pots when there was due light; but if the Vines 
are allowed to monopolise the roof, farewell to the good¬ 
ness of all fruit beneath them. R. Fish. 
SELECT GREENHOUSE ACACIAS. 
{Continued from page 375.) 
ACACIA LONGIFOLIA MAGNIFICA. 
Leaves long lance-shaped, broadest in the middle, 
rather distant on the branches. Flowers in spikes 
about an inch-and-a-half long, springing in opposite 
pairs from the axils of every leaf. Colour a primrose- 
yellow. This is a new plant, and worthy of general 
cultivation. 
I visited Messrs. E. G. Henderson and Son’s splendid 
Nursery, at St. John’s Wood, lately, and saw the above 
Acacia. It was a fine specimen, five feet high, with 
hundreds of spikes of blossoms advancing in growth. 
It stood in a long house formerly occupied with stages. 
These have all been removed, and the space, which is 
considerable, laid out as a winter garden. A serpentine 
walk runs through it, which causes broad spaces alter¬ 
nating each other, and thus concealing the sinuous 
walk. The broad spaces afford room for large-headed 
plants, such as Camellias, Oranges, and a few very fine 
standard Bay-trees, the intermediate spaces being filled 
up with various plants (amongst which the above 
Acacia was one of the most striking), forming altogether, 
at this inclement season, a very pleasing and interesting 
assemblage of plants. The Acacia, I was informed, 
was introduced from the continent two or three 
years ago, but bad not as yet been exhibited. 
ACACIA DKUMMONDII (Variety). 
In a long, span-roofed house, used chiefly for a young 
stock of New Holland plants, a variety of A. Drummondii 
was pointed out to me, and a very interesting plant it is, 
chiefly remarkable for its delicate, Heath-like foliage. 
It must be a favourite when fully grown and well- 
bloomed. 
ACACIA CELASTRIFOLIA (Celastrus-ijeaved). 
A noble species, with large leaves, and when a good 
size, well furnished, in May, with heads of golden 
