410 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 4. j 
folia , and cordifolia, make fine winter plants when 
turned out in a border in June and repotted in Sep¬ 
tember; as soon as they will bear the sun without 
flinching they cannot have to much of it. A plant of 
serratifolia, in the winter months, is no mean object. 
Brwjrnansias .—The whole of these, single and double, 
white, dark, and yellow, all bloom well in the first winter 
months, after being planted in the border in June, and 
repotted about the middle of September. Those in pots 
that bloomed in May, June, &c., if pruned rather close, 
allowed to break, repotted in rich material, and exposed 
to sunlight in September, will bloom w r ell in November 
and onwards, if the temperature is high enough during 
the day to perfect the flower—from 50° to 60°. 
Chinese Primroses .—These grow best during the 
summer in a shady place. In September they should 
receive their last shift into light, rich soil, and when 
taken with the pots be exposed to sunlight to get masses 
of bloom. Soakings of cold rains after this, of all 
things, ought to be avoided. House before the roots or 
the plants get much chilled. 
Calceolarias, herbaceous, the first sowings should be 
pricked off; a sowing now will be early enough for late 
spring flowers, and require less room in winter. Where 
fine, shrubby specimens are required for blooming next 
spring and summer, a few may be lifted and potted now 
more safely from the beds than they will be two months 
hence. The difference is, that now they will make roots 
freely, and fill their pots before winter; a little pruning 
iu autumn is all they will require to insure fine speci¬ 
mens next season. These plants, iu stiffish soil, may be 
moved even in summer as easily and safely as a China 
Aster. I had a row of Calceolaria amplexicaulis lately, 
some six inches lower than I wished it to be, and large, 
flowering plants, too. I lifted the most of them with a 
steel fork, the hole was filled up above the level, the 
plant, witii its ball of roots and earth, set down on the 
prepared surface, and then this exposed ball was banked 
up with fresh soil. The ridge thus formed being con¬ 
cealed by the dense line of plants on each side of the 
Calceolaria, and after receiving a good watering, the 
plants never showed the white feather by even a curled 
or flagging leaf, and the object was thus easily gained. 
I may also mention here, that when it is desirable to 
keep old Calceolarias plants from beds over the winter, 
and yet not move them until November, that instead 
of potting them, they will keep better and go closer 
together by pruning them a little, and setting the balls 
you can get close together in a frame, or cold pit, working 
a little fresh soil between them, giving a fair watering, 
and then, afterwards, as much air as the weather will 
permit. 
Cinerarias. —Early seedlings should receive their final 
shift for early winter-flowering. Suckers and cuttings 
of favourite sorts should be potted for early-flowering. 
Seeds may yet be sown for late spring-blooming. This 
plant grows freely just before and after the shortest day. 
Full exposure to light, a pet full of roots, and a di¬ 
minished supply of water, will encourage a show of 
bloom at any time. 
Achimenes .—The first lots of these will now be over, 
: but the due care is not over. The pots are too often 
huddled into a corner, as if they were of no importance 
whatever. Treated in this way, they will be sure to 
have their revenge—in weak growth and weak flowers 
next season. Treat the beautiful things as they deserve 
to be. When removed from the house, give them, if 
possible, a cold-pit, with glass over head, to rusticate in ; 
if not, a nice, sunny spot, where heavy showers can be 
guarded against. The great object should be to give 
the stems and leaves (after the fine blaze of bloom is 
going) as much sunlight as they can bear, and to 
minimise the water, until, as the foliage fades, none at 
all is given. Enough of moisture will remain in the 
pots to swell and mature the tubers, and if the sun 
beats for several weeks on these pots, after water has 
been withheld, the sounder and better ripened the 
tubers will be. This principle applies still more strongly 
to that beautiful plant, the Qesnera zebrina. 
R,. Fish. 
WOOD-CRAFT. 
(Continued from page 374.) 
Destroying Weeds. —Having in my last paper on 
Wood craft, clearly, as I think, shown the necessity and 
prudence of summer-pruning, I now shall try to prove 
the no less important necessity of keeping under weeds ; 
by which I mean all plants whatever that will impoverish 
the soil, and by their rampant growth choke the young 
trees. 
The list of injurious weeds, plentiful in all neglected 
ground, is really fearful, by the great number of spe¬ 
cies, and the size they wiil attain if left to grow till 
they seed. The grand question is, how are they to 
be kept under and within bounds? Such weeds as 
Briers, and Brambles, or the common Whin (Furze), 
should be all rooted out at once—they are easily got rid 
of; but such weeds as Docks, and Thistles, the common 
Bindweed, Coltsfoot, and such-like deep-rooted peren¬ 
nial weeds, are ten times more difficult to extirpate. 
The editor o-f the Gardeners' Chronicle says, that per¬ 
petually cutting off the tops of Thistles, &c., will in time 
destroy the vital principle, or, in other words kill them. 
The truth of this assertion (for it is nothing more) is 
much to be doubted. I know a cottage gardener close 
by here, who has, for fifteen years, constantly kept that 
troublesome weed, the Convolvulus arvensis, common 
Bindweed, cut off as fast as it appeared, arid it is still 
as lively as ever, and comes up every year. Yes; but 
says theory, he should never let it appear above ground. 
Granted; but that does not prove that it will ever be 
killed. I once tried, myself, to kill, or rather choke, 
that most pugnacious of all weeds, Coltsfoot. I bad 
a piece of ground full of it. I had it trenched, and 
every perceivable bit picked out. The ground was 
planted with late Potatoes, a sort that had thick, strong 
haulm ; it was kept closely hoed, not a leaf suffered to 
appear; then, as soon as the Potatoes were taken up, 
the ground was covered thickly with short grass from 
the lawn; and no covering is so effectual in preventing 
any weeds from growing. During the following summer, 
layer upon layer of this choker was laid upon the plot 
of ground, and not a leaf of the Coltsfoot made its 
appearance. Thus, for two years, the weed was 
apparently killed. The ground was then dug, and 
no roots could be found; I thought I had completely 
scotched the snake; but, alas! before the summer was 
over it came up again stronger than ever, and the plot 
was obliged to be given up as cultivatable ground, and 
sown down with grass. The cottager above alluded to, 
assured me, that in his occupation as a well sinker, he j 
bad found the roots of the Bindweed fifteen or sixteen J 
feet deep. The whole district where I live is full of j 
these perennial weeds, and it is a serious drawback on ! 
the profits of the farmer and the market-gardener the • 
keeping them under. The cultivators have been waging J 
war with them for centuries; and if any plot of ground j 
is ueglected for a single season, the crop of all the worst i 
weeds we can imagine is really frightful. What, then, is j 
the farmer and gardener to give up in despair? Certainly i 
not. By the sweat of thy brow thou slialt earn thy bread 
(a curse that has proved to be a blessing in disguise), and 
wherever the sweat drops are most plentifully dropped 
upon the laud, there the earth yields the greatest in¬ 
crease, the nation flourishes, and the people are contented 
and happy. Keep, then, the weeds down; by labour 
