July 
THE COTTAGE GABDENEE, 
179 
would form a pleasing contrast either singly or 
grouped with other shrubs. I do not think it is en¬ 
couraged as much as it deserves to be; and our more 
simple gardens lose much interest and beauty from 
not possessing many “ wild” plants that would be 
much admired if they were only brought thus into 
notice. The pink flowering thorn is a beautiful tree 
for the lawn or shrubbery, and I do not often see it. 
In cottage gardens, if placed in the hedge or where 
it would not take the room of a fruit-tree, it would 
have a lovely effect; the crimson flowering variety is 
rich and beautiful, and would group well with the 
pink and white flowering kinds. 
During the early part of tins month the double 
wallflower still may be increased by slips or cuttings 
of this year’s growth, four or five inches long, if 
placed under a hand-glass. They are such rich flowers, 
and scent the air so agreeably, especially after rain, 
that we should cultivate them freely, and they are 
untiring in their bloom. Pinks and carnations must 
now be finished piping or layering, each of which 
operations are minutely described in every gardening 
book. These flowers are so lovely and so sweet that 
we should increase them as much as possible, par¬ 
ticularly the clove carnation, without which the 
brightest nosegay is incomplete, and which is indeed 
a nosegay in itself. 
Flower-stalks must now be supported if tall, and 
climbing plants also. There are often rough winds 
in July as well as June, especially about the longest 
day, that do much mischief, as the full foliage of 
trees and plants cause them to feel their power; and 
those likely to suffer should be strongly protected 
before that period arrives. The tall stems of the 
bright scarlet Lychnis are sadly disfigured by winds, 
unless prepared by being tied firmly to a stick. I 
have been frequently negligent in this matter, and 
have found my plants in terrible disorder after a 
boisterous night. I therefore recommend every 
lady to secure her plants as soon as possible, for 1 
know how untidy and comfortless a garden looks 
when a summer gale has passed over it. There is 
something peculiarly scorching in a south-west wind, 
and gardens should, if possible, be screened from 
that quarter. I have seen the most luxuriant rose- 
trees almost ruined in a few hours by its blighting 
breath ; their rich leaves turned brown and crisp, as 
if fire had passed over them, and much of their 
beauty gone. This might, in many situations, be 
prevented by a hedge or clump of trees and shrubs, 
which would break the force of the wind in a great 
measure; or, in forming a garden, Ave might so place 
it as that the house or a Avail should interpose and 
screen it on the south-west side. Some little pains 
are well bestowed to improve, or, at least, protect 
our flowers, for if the beauty of the rose is injured 
Iioav can Ave supply her place ? In the days of our 
childhood “ the rose was the glory of April and 
Mayit is still the glory of our gardens, though at a 
later season. 
We should uoav keep our box edgings neatly 
trimmed, and our laAvns mown as frequently as pos¬ 
sible, that the turf may be short and velvetty. I love 
the daisy, yet it does certainly destroy the effect of 
floAvers when it blooms on the grass-plot, and they 
should therefore be often moAvn. The daisy, though 
we value it not, Avas once very highly prized. It Avas 
the favourite flower of one of our British queens, the 
unfortunate Margaret of Anjou; and was then chosen 
to decorate the hair, and Avas even Avorked upon the 
embroidered robe. Since that day it has sunk into 
insignificance, but it is still pleasing to us. as the 
first flower childhood possessess and rejoices in; and 
Avhen Ave see it in the barrenness of the very early 
spring it always gives us pleasure. Its little history, 
too, is interesting, connected as it is with courtly 
scenes, and pageantry, and suffering. Hoav deep a 
tale of sorrow it relates, and how loudly it teaches 
us that the path of royalty is not the path of peace. 
Let this simplest wild flower rouse in our hearts a 
doubly loyal spirit; and let the cottage gardeners 
strive to shield their monarch’s steps from harm, by 
setting a bright example of quietness and content¬ 
ment. If the peasantry are true to the crown, not 
one of its jewels shall fall out. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Hybrid Honeysuckles {Ii. Tongue). —Your hybrids from a 
male of the trumpet honeysuckle fertilizing the pubescent honey¬ 
suckle have very handsome, brilliant, orange-scarlet flowers, with a 
bold foliage, but scentless. They are a very desirable addition to our 
shrubberies and borders. 
Thurston’s Reliance Pea {Tyro). —We never grew this variety, 
but we believe that it does not require any treatment differing from 
that desirable for other peas. Remove the spinach from between the 
rows, and spread some mulch of long dung thickly over the roots of 
the peas upon the surface of the soil. This will preserve the mois¬ 
ture beneficially, as you say your soil is light and exposed, and you 
wish to grow the pods very fine. Liquid manure of sheep’s dung 
once a week, after the pods arc set, will aid you also. Larks are not 
injurious to wheat when in ear. 
Carrots {Victoria). —We cannot suggest anything for the im¬ 
provement of these sown late, and in poor ground without manure. 
It would be useless to attempt to transplant them now with any 
prospect of success. If you merely want green food for your rabbits 
you may water your carrots once a week with weak liquid manure. 
Rolling Potatoes {Diaconus). —It may be that the potato 
disease was checked, as you say, in a cottager’s garden by roll¬ 
ing down the stems of the potatoes at this time of the year, for 
consolidating the earth about the tubers has been in several instances 
alleged to have such a preservative effect ; it helps to exclude the 
air, and the more the air is excluded the better is putrefaction 
avoided. But we have no hope that such rolling is a specific against 
the disease. We believe that this is a consequence of unnatural 
treatment during centuries, and that it will take many years of more 
rational cultivation and storing to eradicate the disease. 
Fuchsia Seed (A. A. B.). —AATien you want to save seeds of 
fuchsias, or of many other plants, it is a good old rule to assist the 
plant to produce them, by dusting its own pollen on the stigmas. 
Imperfect, or w'ant of impregnation, is often the cause of the seed 
pods and berries falling off. See what Mr. Beaton says on this sub¬ 
ject last week. 
Hoes the Elder cause Blight? (T. Morgan).—We do not 
believe in the old doctrine that the elder or any other plant either 
causes blight or prevents it in a garden. If your elder-tree is a 
favourite let it alone, otherwise it is, by its roots, a great robber in a 
garden, being a powerful feeder. The simplest mode of getting rid 
of insects on common hardy bushes is to cut off the points of the 
shoots attacked, as Mr. Errington recommended for currants and 
gooseberries. It is only the tender points they seize on, and no 
common plant is injured by this “ stopping.” 
The Lemon Plant {Ibid). —This ( Aloysia citriodora) will do 
much better planted out in a border near your door for summer use, 
and a slight dry covering will save it from frost. It is by no means a 
good pot-plant for summer, but excellent for the window in winter. 
The best way to manage it is to plant out of the pots at the end of 
May without disturbing the ball, to water occasionally through the 
ummer, and to repot late in September. 
Klkinia articulata {Ibid). —This is as old as the hills, and is 
in Loudon’s Hortus Britannicus under the old name of Cacalia. It 
is a succulent of no great beauty. As a window plant it only requires 
a very small pot, very poor soil, and very little water in summer, and 
none hardly in winter. 
Caterpillars on Roses (A Parson's Wife).—We have now 
seen and found out the real habits of this little rascal, noticed in our 
answer to you at p. 160. It feeds solitary, and always on the upper 
side of the leaf, beginning at the point, scratching off the green part 
only, and never going to a fresh leaf till the whole of the first one is 
eaten otf. It begins to feed late in the evening and continues eating 
till 8 or 9 o’clock next morning ; resting for the rest of the day on the 
underside of the leaf, but still singly. Look, therefore, over the rose¬ 
bush late and early, and destroy the marauders one by one. They 
are easily seen and only one on a leaf, consequently hand-picking or 
crushing them is not a formidable job. They are very small, not 
more than a half-inch long, dullish white, with a dark brown head. 
Pears Falling off {S. Cooke). —Your pear-tree blossoms well, 
has abundance of leaves, but the fruit, when about the size of a 
hazel nut, invariably turns black and falls off.—AVhether your pear is 
a case of “ bad setting,” as gardeners term it, that is, deficient im¬ 
pregnation, or whether something is organically wrong in the system 
of the tree, we cannot precisely say. It would be very easy to speak 
in a positive way on the subject, but so many anomalous subjects 
present themselves in fruit-gardening, that cases occur in which the 
most experienced and the most scientific feel bound to hesitate. As 
your tree has been planted 30 years it is quite probable the roots may 
