May 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
71 
The large rich flowers and long glossy leaves of this 
noble plant make it a beautiful addition to the lady’s 
garden. In the southern counties it would no doubt 
succeed extremely well, and repay some little increase 
of care and watchfulness. A garden totally without 
anxiety almost ceases to interest the mind, which 
naturally requires something about which to busy 
itself; and, therefore, if a lady can contrive to cultivate 
one or two half hardy plants, her garden will amuse 
and excite her much more agreeably than when she 
has nothing to fear from pests or rain. To mat up 
her magnolia, to give air and water to her myrtle 
and camellia japonica, will be a little pleasant induce¬ 
ment to take the air herself, when the chilling winter 
day would otherwise keep her closely within doors; 
and it will always be interesting to watch their 
spring shoots coming forward, and mark the promise 
of their beautiful flowers, which will add so greatly 
to the richness of her summer garden. Let a mag¬ 
nolia, therefore, if possible, clothe some sunny “gable 
endit will remind us of the great western world, 
from whence it comes, so vast in its proportions, that 
its lakes and rivers, its very trees and plants, are 
larger than those of Europe, and surprise us by the 
size of their leaves and flowers. 
Myrtles may now be layered, but the youngest 
shoots only should be chosen. Stir the earth well 
round the plant; and then let the tender twig be 
bent into the soil, and often watered. They may be 
removed next spring. Layers may be made till May. 
If any old neglected plants should have thin heads, 
they may now be treated in the following manner, if 
they have been kept through the winter in the 
house :—take them out of the pot, prune the roots, 
by removing all that is old and weak-looking, replace 
them in good fresh soil, and then cut down their 
head branches till within three or four inches of the 
stem. By this management, they will shoot about 
the time they are placed out, and, with shade and 
water, will make fine plants this summer. 
That beautiful and useful plant, the Virginia 
creeper, should be planted now. It is so bright an 
ornament during the dark unlovely season when 
flowers are gone, that it should be placed in every 
possible nook, against every wall, trellis, and veranda, 
to mix with the dark green ivy, and to cheer us 
when our walls would otherwise be bare. It will 
strike from cuttings or layers, and the latter opera¬ 
tion may he effected now ; but by procuring a rooted 
plant time will be saved. The Virginian creeper 
is almost a singular instance of leaves turning as it 
were into flowers, to please the eye and enrich the 
garden when nothing else is left. I t is another proof 
of the tender care of our Heavenly Father, whose 
hand bestows so many blessings, and who deigns to 
regard even our simplest pleasures, and provides 
them all. The glowing creeper delights the eye 
when every twig is bare, and every flower has faded; 
we gaze with pleasure on its brilliant foliage, and 
value it as a floral treasure. Let us remember that 
its lovely peculiarity is meant to please our eyes, to 
enliven our cheerless winter, and to raise our 
thoughts to Him who speaks in every thing around 
us, whose voice sounds in the breeze, in the shower, 
and in the snow storm, and whispers in every beau¬ 
tiful object moulded and given by His hand. Since 
our smallest enjoyments are not beneath His notice, 
but are so graciously provided and encouraged, let 
us trust Him for the greatest blessings our hearts 
can need or desire. Let our thoughts wing then- 
way from earth to heaven—from the beautiful things 
we see to those glorious things we cannot see—and 
let us remember, with overflowing hearts, that our 
homes and our gardens, gilded and gladdened as 
they are, shadow forth but coldly and dimly those 
“ many mansions,” whose glories tade not, and whose 
“ fashion passeth ” not “ away.” Let not the things 
of time deaden our hearts to those of eternity. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Latiiyrus Californicus ( One whom a Garden makes happy ).— 
You can obtain this species of everlasting pea from Messrs. Hender¬ 
son, Pine-apple-place, Edgeware-road, or of any other seedsman who 
advertises in our columns. Its flower is purple; height four feet; 
blooms in June and July. It was brought from California in 1826. 
If your large-flowered Lathyrus is pink, it is probably L. grandiflorus. 
Thanks for your information about Forsythia viridissima. 
M el i lot us Leucantha (A Subscribe)-, Nottingham). — Messrs. 
Gibbs and Co. or other large dealers in grass seeds may have it. 
Grow it from seed if you can. 
Peas (A. Y. Z.). —On your heavy Highgate soil they will grow 
slowly. Spreading an inch in depth of coal-ashes close up about the 
stems, and three inches on each side the rows, will promote their 
growth. Knight’s Dwarf Marrow would probably suit you. 
Moss round Plants (Rev. P. S.). — Moss upon the surface of the 
soil of all potted plants is beneficial; and it as beneficial to put the 
pot into another an inch wider all round, filling the interval with 
moss. 
Society for Interchange of Plants (Ibid). — The intention 
is good, but there are insuperable obstacles in practice. Manage¬ 
ment, advertisements, lists, postage, and carriage, would cause 
expenses eating up all the benefits derivable from the exchange. 
Cape Gooseberry (Ibid). — This, which you rightly suppose is 
of the same family as the love-apple or tomato, and has potato-berry- 
sliaped fruit, yellow when ripe, is Physalis edulis. We never met 
with it preserved, but are not surprised at its pungent juice irritating 
your throat. We will insert your other suggestions. 
Plant Shedding its Blossoms (A Subscriber, Martock). — The 
blossom enclosed, as far as we can make out, considering its bruised 
state, is not a fuchsia, but Cuphea Melvilla. The cause of its shed¬ 
ding its full-sized but unexpanded blossom is, probably, that the 
temperature of the place where you grow it is too cold and too dry. 
Jargonelle Pear (Somerset). — The black blotches on the leaves 
and blossom-stalks of this have been caused, we think, by the severe 
weather which happened about the 17 th of April. Nothing but can¬ 
vass shelters, and not allowing the sun to shine upon it early in the 
morning, could have prevented this. 
Reine Claude Violette Plum (Ibid). — The top bud of the 
leader of this newly-planted plum has been broken off, and a small 
bud is forming near the wound, but the bud next below has produced 
a very strong shoot. We recommend you to rub off the small upper 
bud, but not to cut off, until autumn, the stump from whence it 
springs ; and to adopt the very strong shoot for the leader. 
Over-iiead Watering-pot (W. D. Paine). —This (sometimes 
called “a shelf watering-pot,”) is a flat utensil, like a very flat tea- 
canister, with a short spout perforated with holes, and is intended for 
watering plants “ above the head ” of the operator, and too near the 
glass to admit a watering-pot of the usual shape. They may be had 
of any dealer in horticultural implements. 
Bog, Peat, and Heath Mould (Ibid). — These names are usually 
employed indiscriminately by gardeners, and all correctly use, with¬ 
out distinction, the terms peat and heath mould ; for by these is in- 
tened that blackish soil, interspersed with sharp white sand and small 
fibres, found upon the surface of dry soils where the common heath 
abounds. Bog earth ought to be distinguished from this, because 
though it is a peat, that is, a mass of dead vegetable fibres, yet it 
comes from wet places, and usually abounds with acid and irony 
matter, with very little sand, and is not suitable for general plant 
culture. 
Swedish Turnips (Jethero). — This root is not less liable to run 
to seed if transplanted, nor do the turnips from transplanted plants 
attain so large a size, generally, as those not transplanted. At the 
same time, we recommend you to have a small bed sown for trans¬ 
planting, because the mildew or turnip-fly may thin the ranks of your 
main crop, and the gaps must be recruited. Skirvings keeps the 
best, but it runs more to neck than Laings; we advise you to grow 
some of each, and to use the Laings first. 
Moles (Ibid). — We do not know of any mode of driving away 
these friends of the farmer and gardener. They live upon wireworms 
and other underground vermin ; and we could quote an instance of a 
field that was useless from the number of wireworms in it. The 
moles came to it, and after burrowing it all over, left it for the neigh¬ 
bouring fields ; but they did not leave it until they had eaten up the 
wireworms and rendered the field safe for cropping. 
