September 25.] 
THE COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 
411 
j her, an inch deep, in the open ground, and keep the mice from them, 
and they will come up next April, and flower the year following; but why 
bother yourself with seedlings of it, as the old plants will increase as fast 
as a Michaelmas daisy ? Take them up every October, and divide them 
into little morsels, and you may soon cover your whole garden with it; 
that is, on the supposition that the soil is heavy and moist. It is the 
only one of the family which prefers such soil. What a pity that every 
one having boggy or wet clay soil does not grow this very handsome hardy 
plant, being the only hardy representative of this beautiful family, which 
numbers a great many species, and a greater number of varieties ; but 
the great mass of the former still remain in the wilds of South America. 
Plumbago Larpentze (Leila). —Your plant of this could not be better 
managed, and you will soon see it in full bloom. All the Hier embergias 
are suitable for rock-work in summer, but recollect they will not stand 
frost. N. gracilis is a beautiful bedder, and Intermedia is still better, 
but no one can grow it well enough. 
Fuchsia corymbiflora (Rev. J. S. L.).-We should dread leaving 
it out all winter, with the best of covering, if we had a greenhouse like 
yours, where we could keep it so much easier all the winter in a half dry 
state. Why, the annual root-pruning at getting-up time will improve 
this Fuchsia very much indeed; “ a cold greenhouse ” is just the place 
for it. Your plant is Chironia jasminoides. 
Geranium Cuttings (J. M.). —Those cuttings that are now rooted, 
six in a pot, had better be shaken out and put into separate pots, three or 
four-inch ones, and a “shelf near the glass” in a greenhouse, is far 
better than the best cold pit to winter them in. As to the size of pots to 
flower them in, that must be determined by your own skill in growing 
them. Why not try a couple of them so as to fill a peck pot; by repot¬ 
ting every two months or so, or as fast as one set of pots are filled with 
roots, change them for a size larger. “ What establishment would you 
recommend to buy ” so and so at, is a question that should never be 
asked of a public journalist. Suppose that you were a nurseryman, or a 
saddler, or of any other calling, and that your neighbour over the way 
was in the same line of business; suppose, also, that the articles which 
both of you offered for sale were equally good, do you think it would 
require any supposing to know how you would feel aggrieved if we were 
to recommend your next door neighbour’s goods in preference to yours ; 
not that one customer would signify much, but hundreds would go to 
any shop which we might recommend—nay, every one of your old cus¬ 
tomers would call over the way. 
Rhododendron (W. J. IF.).—You will have to remove your sickly 
rhododendron to some place in the shade, and by no means expose it in 
winter, as you propose ; rest, shade, and good peat, will soon bring it 
round. Rose growers do not sell rose cuttings, and it is a thousand 
pities they do not, instead of burning them by the cartload ; but the days 
are fast coming when cuttings and grafts will be as freely offered for sale 
as plants are at present, and to the good of all parties concerned. 
“ Good times are coming,” and all of us must wait to see them. 
Diseased Grapes (Langley). —The dark brown or black spots on the 
green berries of your St Peter’s Grape, constitute the disease known to 
gardeners as “ The Spot.” It is a gangrene, and is probably occasioned 
by an irregularity in the supply of moisture, and vicissitudes of tempera¬ 
ture, but especially if one of the extremes is much below the degree of 
heat most favourable to the healthy growth of that plant. The reason of 
this is very obvious. If any plant be placed in a highly stimulating heat, 
and is abundantly supplied with root moisture, it immediately increases 
its surface of leaf and fruit. If this amount of sap is subsequently 
suddenly reduced, by lowering the temperature, and adding water to the 
soil less freely, the increased surfaces are no longer required ; and it is a 
law pervading all the vegetable creation, that the moment any of the 
parts of a plant are unnecessary to it, that moment they begin to decay. 
Muscats are particularly liable to the spot. Our opinion, that sudden 
vicissitudes of temperature are the causes of this disease, seems to be 
well sustained by the fact, that the parts nearest the glass—that is, the 
upper portions of the bunches, and those parts most exposed to the sun’s 
influence—are the first to suffer ; and this, also, goes far towards proving 
that the shade of the leaves is necessary for the well-doing of grapes. 
Flower Pots (T. P. L .).—More than one controversy has divided 
the garden community on the point whether porous or glazed flower-pots 
are most desirable, and there is no doubt that plants can be grown well 
in either. We should not hesitate for a moment to paint a flower-pot 
outside of any colour we desired. 
Laying down a Lawn (W. Q.). —If you employ turf this may be 
done at any time from September until April. All that is necessary is to 
have the ground dug level, the surface stones removed, then rolled, and 
all hollows filled up, so as to render it perfectly level ; loosen the surface 
with a rake, and then lay the turf. The turf from your orchard will do 
if it be free from weeds, and the grass fine. As your soil is heavy and 
wet, you cannot expect to have a fine turf unless you drain thoroughly. 
Pansies (An Amateur, Chester). — We cannot recommend dealers. 
See what we say to-day in answer to a similar application. Write to any 
of the florists who advertise in our columns. 
Harvest Moon (J., Hampstead). —The calculations you require are 
not suited to our columns. The harvest moon in our latitudes is a phe¬ 
nomenon occurring at the full moon nearest to the autumn equinox. The 
phenomenon is that, for a few days, the moon, instead of rising fifty-two 
minutes later every day, rises for several days nearly at the same time. 
We cannot enter into an explanation of the reasons for this, but those 
who understand astronomy will know what we mean when we say, that 
the increase of declination compensates the fifty-two minutes delay which 
otherwise arises from the moon’s motion in her orbit. 
Potatoes (Rev. A. G.). —Your land is sandy, and has not been 
manured for seven years. If it has been in grass, or uncropped, during 
that time, do not manure at all; but if it has been cropped, manure it 
with thoroughly decayed stable manure, or any decayed vegetable matter 
you can command; and, in any case, plant Forty-folds at the end of 
October, or early in November. Do not plant Red-nosed Kidneys, nor 
any other late variety at all. Plant your Walnut-leaved Kidneys in 
February, and, in the meantime, keep the seed in a cool dry place, buried 
in coal-ashes. 
Dorking Chickens. —We have a communication for Z. 
Name of Plant (T. M. W.). —It is the Snowberry, Symphoriu race- 
mosa. 
Insects (E. P., Exeter). —The answer to your query was sent, by 
mistake, to one of our contemporaries. The small weevils, which have 
devoured the grains of wheat from the Cape of Good Hope, are the Calan- 
dra orygte. The little moths, reared from the small green caterpillars 
which fed upon your Muscat grapes, were much injured in travelling to 
us; they are a species of Tortrix, and most probably Cochylis ompha- 
ciella. (IF. H. IF,).—The irregular, comb-like material, from the stump 
of an old tree, is part of the nest of the Tree Ant, Formica pubesccns. 
Barley Bread. —A correspondent (ill. R.) says “ In answer to the 
question contained in The Cottage Gardener, how barley bread is 
made, I am living in a country where it is the constant food of the poor 
people, and it is here made in precisely the same way that bread from 
wheat flour is made, the barley-meal being previously sifted fine.” 
Three-fourths of an Acre (C. IF.).—It would not pay you to 
keep a horse and cart for the purpose of conveying your surplus produce 
to market. Your horse and pigs will produce abundance of manure for 
your plot. If you have more garden vegetables than you require, grow 
Lucerne on a portion of it j this will help to keep your horse; and if, in 
addition, you had two milch goats, you could supply your family with 
milk and butter. 
Scarlet Geraniums Seeding (A. IF.).—Nothing will prevent this ; 
they can only be checked in shedding their petals by shading the flowers 
and keeping them supplied abundantly with water. 
Cottage Gardeners’ Dictionary (G. House). —You can have this 
in numbers. It will be completed in November. 
CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
Alstrcemerias, Van Hout’s, varieties, and others, plant six inches 
deep, and in frosty weather cover with leaves. Anemones, plant for 
earliest bloom. Auriculas and Polyanthuses, put under shelter. 
Bedding Geraniums, save as many as you can store; cut them close, 
and plant them in cold pits ; or dry, and keep in the upper rooms of the 
house. Bulbous Roots, finish planting in dry weather; pot for latest 
forcing, and for plunging in flower-beds, &c. Carnation layers, finish 
planting and potting ; secure the pot ones from rains. Climbers of all 
sorts, plant, prune, and train. Compost, prepare, and turn in dry 
weather. Dahlias, cut down after frost, and let the roots remain as 
long as it is safe ; when taken up, dry them in open sheds, &c., before 
storing where frost and damp cannot reach them. Dress the beds and 
borders, and put mark-sticks to bulbs and other roots, to guide you when 
digging. Edgings, plant. Evergreens, finish planting, b. Fibrous- 
rooted Plants, finish dividing and planting, b. Fork over borders, 
&c. Grass, cut very close the last time ; keep clear of leaves ; and roll. 
Gravel, weed and roll. Hedges, plant, clip, and clear at bottom. 
Hoe and rake shrubberies, and bury the leaves, &c., between the plants. 
Irids, as Ixias, Gladioli, &c., plant, and slielterfrom frost. Layering, 
perform generally. Leaves, gather for compost, &c. Marvel of 
Peru, take up and store like dahlias. Mulch round trees and shrubs 
lately planted. Plant perennials and biennials. Planting, perform 
generally. Potted Plants, for forcing, plunge in the earth of a well- 
sheltered border, facing the sun. Prune shrubs and trees generally. 
Ranunculuses, plant for earliest bloom; seedlings of them, inboxes, 
Sic., remove to a warm situation. Rose-buds, untie the matting, if not 
already done, from newly budded. Shrubs of all kinds, plant, stake, 
and mulch. Suckers, from roses and other shrubs, separate and plant. 
Tigridias, save from frost as long as possible ; should not be dried till 
January or February. Tulips, finish planting, b. D. Beaton. 
GREENHOUSE. 
Ain, admit freely during the day, but sparingly at night, unless the 
thermometer out of doors be about 40°. Alstrcemerias, shift, or rather 
pot in rich light soil, and place where they will be secure from frost. 
Azaleas, remove into the house, especially those that bloomed early, as 
the least frost will discolour their leaves. Bulbs, pot for early blooming. 
Cinerarias, forward ones give manure water, and have secured. Ca¬ 
mellias (See Azaleas). Calceolarias, strike cuttings; pot for- 
