July 24.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
201 
have been unable properly to ripen and harden the young 
wood. This is, in consequence, full of crude unelaborated 
sap, which is peculiarly liable to expand when suddenly 
acted on by heat, and thus bursts the vessels containing it. 
Every case has occurred on a south wall, on which, of 
course, the alternations of heat and cold are more violent. 
The trees on east and west walls have altogether escaped. 
Surely it is impossible to resist the inference to be drawn 
from this fact. 
Again, I am informed by gardeners who have lived in the 
northern counties, that this disease is unknown there ; that 
they never saw it till they came to the south. If this is 
really the case, the cause seems to be that the trees do not 
come into leaf there till the seasou of danger is past; 
possibly, also, that gardeners are compelled there to pay 
greater attention to the ripening of the wood, and that the 
practice of retarding and sheltering is more general. I have 
never known a season in which the blister has been more 
prevalent than the spring of this year; yet Mr. Errington 
spoke of its not having made its appearance in Cheshire. 
This immunity, although, doubtless, due partly to the pre¬ 
vious careful treatment of the trees, may be, in some 
measure, owing to the locality also. 
But pray invite to this point the attention of those better 
able to investigate, and to elicit first principles from facts 
(which is the true science of horticulture), than an amateur 
of limited experience.— Rev. Robert Blackburn, Selham 
Rectory, Petworth. 
RHUBARB WINE. 
I am reminded by the season of a promise I made to your 
readers in page 320, vol. 4, viz., that I would make inquiries 
respecting a cheap saccliorometer. I have now much satis¬ 
faction in informing you that a very efficient little instru¬ 
ment can be obtained for six shillings, packed in a neat tin 
case, for safety, at small additional cost. It is called 
Roberts’ Saccliorometer, and may be obtained through 
Messrs. Black and Co., Edinburgh; or Messrs. Whittaker, 
London, Publishers. 
In using this sacchorometer, two things are necessary to 
be observed:—1st. The temperature of the liquor to be 
examined must be 00°; and 2nd, the division on the scale 
must be multiplied by 5 to obtain the correct specific 
gravity. For instance, should the must raise the instru¬ 
ment to 24°, as marked on the scale, multiply 24 by 5, 
and you will prove the gravity to be 120; about the proper 
gravity of the must, before fermentation begins. 
This is a very good season to make the wine, and with 
this instrument, by following the directions in my former 
papers, an excellent effervescent wine may be expected with 
certainty. 
I cannot conclude without noticing, and recommending to 
the perusal of all interested in home wine making, a most 
useful little book on the subject, “ Roberts’ British Wine 
Maker.” Since my former letters, I have seen this work 
(the fifth edition), which has a supplement upon the 
rhubarb plant, as a material for wine making. It gives me 
great satisfaction to find that Mr. Roberts, who seems to 
have great practical experience in wine making, coincides 
altogether with me in considering that rhubarb is very little 
inferior to the grape, and superior to most other English 
fruits for that purpose.— Henry W. Livett, Wells, Somerset. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
*** We request that no one will write to the departmental writers of 
The Cottage Gardener. It gives them unjustifiable trouble and 
; expense. All communications should be addressed “ To the Editor of 
The Cottage Gardener , 2, Amen Corner, Paternoster Row, London. 
Night Violet, or Julian Flower (H. A. P .).—We do not know 
a plant thus called. Can you send us a specimen? Perhaps it is the 
Night-smelling Rocket, Hesperis tristis, which in Johnson’s edition of 
1 Gerarde’s Herbal is classed with the Violets as Viola matronulis fore 
1 obsoleto. 
Addled Eggs (Disappointed Poultry-keeper ).—Only five chickens 
out of fifty, eggs would arise from too many eggs being placed under 
ekeh Hen ; from nine to eleven are the largest numbers \ye prefer under 
moderate-sized hens. The barrenness may) however, have arisen from 
other causes. When the cock is a year older, and he has paore than two 
mates, you may find the eggs more prolific. “ A great deal of white on 
the breast, tail, and wings,” of your Spanish chickens is a sure sign that 
on the side of one of the parents the breed is not pure. Wait, however, 
until the chickens have moulted before you are determined upon this 
point. 
Seedling Pelargonium (J. E. H.). —All seedlings of this flower 
difi'er from the parent. Your seedling has no merit as far as we could 
make out. All the petals were shed. 
Common Laurels (J. S.). —The usual rate of growth of the common 
Laurel, in good soil, is about twelve feet in ten years; and twenty feet 
high is the utmost of their growth, with few exceptions. Laurels for 
shelter grow as fast as any evergreen, and they are the best for a screen. 
Laurustinus (Ibid). —The growth of the Laurustinus is very much 
affected by the nature of the soil. We have seen it rise on clay soil only I 
three feet in ten years, and killed to the ground twice by the frost in 
that time. Ten years since we planted one a foot high, on barren sand j 
over a chalk bottom. It is now nine feet high, and as many in diameter, j 
On this soil the frost has not hurt a leaf of the Laurustinus for the last 
twenty.two years. 
Various Queries (A New Subscriber). —The box filled with bark in ' 
a greenhouse is objectionable, not because of the heat it would afford, 1 
but because the damp arising from it in winter would cause the leaves of 
Pelargoniums, and other greenhouse plants, to turn yellow and drop off. 
Vines in a greenhouse do no harm, provided you do not force them. 
Black Hamburgh and White Muscadine are the most suitable kinds. 
We cannot answer your question about Guano. Try the London Manure 
Company. The size of pot for Pelargoniums and Fuchsias depends 
entirely upon the size you wish to grow your plants to. For a middling¬ 
sized plant a six-inch pot will be sufficient. Lilium lancifolium in pots 
should have some very rotten dung laid upon the soil, for the roots to 
strike into. A watering with weak liquid manure will be useful. Sheep’s 
dung makes the best, but be careful that it is not too strong. By Arum 
we presume you mean the Culla. Rub off the suckers constantly as they 
appear, and do not over-pot your plants ; give considerably less water in 
winter, to give them a rest, and they will flower next year. Guernsey 
Lilies have not yet arrived, and therefore it is not too late to plant them 
when they do arrive? They rarely flower the second year. 
Late-struck Dahlias (A Great Admirer). —You may allow them 
to flower if you like, but they will be small and useless as show flowers, 
i The best way to keep such is to allow them to remain in the pots, and 
when the frost turns them black, cut off the tops to within two inches of 
the pot, and lay them on one side in a dry place where the frost canuot 
reach them. We fear if left in the frame, and covered up with straw, 
they would perish from damp. 
Cutting Laurels and Hollies (Ibid). —You ask what is the best 
time to clip these, and we answer— Never. Clipping is a barbarous 
operation, because the leaves will be cut in pieces as well as the branches, 
if it is necessary to keep them in form, or in some required space, use 
the knife, not the shears; indeed, we would banish the shears altogether 
from the garden, excepting to clip the edges of the lawn, or the dwarf 
box in the kitchen-garden. 
Naked Laurels (Ibid). —Your Laurels that have been planted to 
cover a wall have become naked at the bottom, the reason for which has 
been very clearly shown, at page 226 of this volume, by Mr. Beaton. 
Read his paper attentively, and you will see why your lower branches 
have died off. To remedy this, plant some Laurels or Privets next month 
at such a distance as to prevent the drip from the high branches falling 
upon them. If the soil is dry, puddle the soil at the time of planting ; 
you might also try a few box trees to hide the naked wall. The best 
time to cut down Laurels or Hollies is just before the sap begins to rise, 
which generally happens about March. Send your address, and we will 
forward it to our correspondent. 
Moving Roses in August (J.T.). —Several years ago we removed 
rose-trees in August with perfect success ; and you may do the same by 
adopting the same plan. Dig a trench round each tree at two feet dis¬ 
tance, and gradually approach the tree, carefully preserving every root- 
fibre. Dig out the hole where the tree is to be planted, and make a puddle 
at the bottom by mixing some fine earth with water till it is about the 
consistence of pudding-batter; then plant the tree in it, and fill in 
portions of earth, mixing it also with water till the hole is filled up level; 
then cover the surface with moss, to prevent evaporation. Every evening 
syringe the trees freely. You will find they will soon recover the removal, 
and probably put forth new leaves in the autumn. Stake the trees securely 
to prevent the winds from blowing them about. 
Bees (E. S. H.).— It is better to use the straw cover sent with Neigh¬ 
bour’s improved cottage hives, only for the purpose of covering glasses. 
During the winter months a large milk-pan forms an excellent cover for 
them. The season, generally, is not a good one ; therefore, you must be 
in a very favourable locality. So large a quantity of honey collected in 
so short a time as you mention (17 lbs. in ten days) is not usual. The 
bees do not go up into the glass placed upon your swarm because the 
population of your house is not large enough ; still you did right in put¬ 
ting on the glass. In your locality you may put a super on in July ; but 
not after July. 
List of Roses (J. W. M. F.). —The following are all excellent Roses, 
and with proper care and manuring will grow in your light soil:— Hybrid 
Perpetuals.—Du ltoi, Mogador, Augustin Mouchelet, Baronne Prevost, 
Baronne Hallez, Clementine Seringe, Dr. Arnal, Dr. Marx, Duchesse de 
Galliera, Duchesse de Montpensier, Duchess of Sutherland, Etendard de 
Marengo, General Cavaignac, General Negra, Jacque Lafitte, Joan of 
Arc, La Heine, Lady Alice Peel, Louis Bonaparte, Madame Laffay, Mrs. 
Elliott, Heine des Fleurs, Soleil d’Austerlitz, Naomi, Leonore d’Este, 
Chereau, Wm. Jesse, Geant des Battailles. Bourbons. —Accidalie, Aurore 
du Guide, Comte de Rambutean, Coup d’Hebe, George Cuvier, Dupetit 
Thouar, Mdme. Angelina, Mdme. Nerard, Queen, Souchet, Souvenir de 
Malmaison. 
Bees (A Farmer and Grazier).— Remove your bees from the slab, give 
them a board m its stead ; let your bees remain as they are, and cut down 
the hive, as you propose, in the spring. When they swarm, put the 
