74 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[May 1. 
charcoal, about the size of a pigeon's egg; mix these 
well together at the time of potting. Fill the pots half¬ 
full of drainage, and pot when the plants begin to grow. 
M. tenuifolia and its allies require division every other 
i time they are potted, and bringing down to the raised 
! heai) compost in the pots; otherwise, being of an 
ascending habit, they would soon become unmanage¬ 
able. To keep them firm in the compost, pin them 
] to it with hooked pegs, they will soon fix themselves to 
| it by new roots. The rest of the genus may be potted in 
1 the usual way. When growing they require the customary 
j treatment of moisture in the air and at the roots, but 
when at rest a drier and cooler treatment. The tempe¬ 
rature of the Mexican house is suitable for them. We 
shall conclude our week’s essay by a brief notice of 
a rising collection of orchids belonging to H. Wheat, 
Esq., of Norwood Hall, near Sheffield. It is under 
the judicious treatment of Mr. Joseph Ellis, the gar¬ 
dener. A correspondent has sent us a list of the 
; species now in flower there, which we shall give; such 
lists being useful to show to new beginners what they 
may expect to flower, with the same excellent manage¬ 
ment, at this season of the year:—Acineta Humboldtii, 
Ansellia Africana, Cypripedium caudatum (very rare), 
C. barbatum, C. Javanicum, Cyrtochilum filipes, Chysis 
aurea, Coelogyne cristata, C. humilis, Dendrobium Ruc- 
kerii, D. Cambridgeanum, D. densiflora (a large plant 
with 12 spikes), D. macrocliilum, D. Wallichianum, D. 
nobile, D. Jenkinsii, Epidendrum selligerum, E. Stam- 
fordianum, E. aloifolium, Govenia fasciata, Lycaste 
aromatica, L. Harrisonii, L. Deppei, Oncidium papilio, 
0. tricolorum, O. stramineum, O. Carthagenense, O. spha- 
celatum major, O. leucocliilum (three spikes much 
branched), 0. altissimum, Phaius Wallichii, P. bico¬ 
lor (two varieties), Trichopilia suavis, T. tortilis, Stan- 
hopea eburnea, Odontoglossum pulchellum. In all 
thirty-six species of orchids in flower in April, and that 
in a collection that has not been more than six years in 
forming—a result very creditable both to the spirit of 
the collector, and to the skill of the cultivator. 
T. APPLEBY. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 
Dahlias continue to pot oft’, and harden by full ex¬ 
posure to the air and light on all favourable occasions. 
See that the ground in which they are to grow and 
bloom be in a forward state for receiving them towards 
the end of May. Dig deep and manure hard is a golden 
rule for the successful culture of this fine autumnal 
flower. l)o not forget the Ranunculus Beds. Dry 
weather may now r be expected, and then they will reqiure 
abundance of water. T. Appleby. 
THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 
Asparagus. —Care should be taken in cutting, or much 
| mischief may be done to the crowns and buds. A long 
i narrow-pointed saw-edged knife is no doubt the safest 
and best tool for the purpose, and if thrust nearly perpen¬ 
dicularly down close to the shoot intended to be cut, 
the numerous other shoots and buds pushing from the 
crowns will thus be more likely to escape being cut off, 
or otherwise injured underground.* Asparagus coming 
* We prefer Mr. Weaver’s mode of letting the shoots grow six or eight 
inches above the bed before it is cut; and then cutting it level with the 
surface. All is then high-flavoured and eatable.— Ed. C. G. 
in for the first time this season, should at first have 
only the strongest shoots cut, and the small ones should 
be allowed to remain, and continue to grow. Old beds, 
in full cut, should have all cut off for the first four or 
five weeks, and then only the best for the remainder of 
the cutting season. Salt may be applied to advantage, 
in moderate quantities, throughout the growing season, 
and wet or showery weather should be chosen for its 
application, either by sowing broadcast, or in a liquid 
state. We practice the dissolving it in liquid manure, and 
1 then applying it, with great advantage, and we always 
! choose, if possible, showery weather for applying liquid 
manure to all out-of-door plants and vegetables, as it 
may then safely be applied at much stronger proof, and 
in less quantities, and also with safer and more 
beneficial effect- Liquid manure applied when the soil 
is dry and hot requires much diluting, and plenty of 
water applied to wash it in, so that the extreme fibrous 
roots may have an opportunity of feeding on it; at the 
same time, under such circumstances, much of its bene¬ 
ficial properties will evaporate away, and thei’e is 
no power of condensing them to our knowledge, by 
any other means than the liberal use of charcoal, 
which valuable article we make use of very liberally, 
and have done for many years; and we have also par¬ 
ticularly observed its power, on many occasions, in 
sucking up or condensing the most fetid odours. 
Plants of all kinds, either in doors, or out, where char¬ 
coal is liberally made use of, always maintain an healthy, 
vigorous growth. Liquid manure, when applied in hot, 
dry weather, without being very liberally diluted, has a 
tendency to burn and injure vegetation; and if it is not 
possible, at all times, to apply it in showery or wet weather, 
we take care to do so when cloudy weather prevails, and 
in the evening, washing it in liberally, so that it may be 
evenly distributed for a considerable depth in the soil; 
besides this, we always summer mulch our crops, and | 
always take care to apply the largest bulk of water to 
the shady side, and never over the foliage of any kind 
of crop; a branch of spray brush-wood is thrust into 
the nose of the water-pots, and the applicant, with one 
pot in each hand, pours the water easily where it is re¬ 
quired, without danger of surface-binding the soil, or 
injuring the foliage of the plants. 
Preparation should be made for putting out a small 
quantity of the early sown Celery Plants, and pricking 
out the main crop as early as they can be handled. All 
kinds of seeding plants, as they appear, should have the 
surface of the soil carefully broken with a rake, and any 
deficiency of plants should be at once attended to, by 
sowing and transplanting. Sow tall Peas and Beans at 
this season in the coldest part of the garden; stop the 
early Peas now in bloom, and get all the tall kinds 
securely sticked. 
Framing. —Maintain a kindly surface heat, shut up 
early with kindly humidity on fine afternoons; set the 
fruit both of Cucumbers and Melons, and keep the ! 
vine thin and nicely trained; wash the walls of pits 
with soot, sulphur vivum, and hot lime, and also all 
frames as they become vacant. We use some boiling 
water to slack a few stones of new lime, then add the 
soot and sulphur, incorporating it well together, and 
applyingit well over every part of the pit or frame,—this 
is a great preventive of red spider and aphis. Should 
the canker appear, dredge the affected parts with newly 
slaked lime. Prepare for getting the ridge cucumber 
bed made. If Mushrooms are desired in the late summer 
and early autumn months, the present is a good time to 
spawn the beds. James Barnes. 
