214 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 
the old ones, in a month or six weeks, as Mr. Beaton 
recommends for geraniums; saving a few of the most 
luxuriant for blooming later. But if you have an other 
house, where you can maintain during the winter a 
temperature of 40°, then you may keep large plants 
of these and many besides during the winter, thickly 
stowed together. True it is that most of the leaves 
will drop, but never mind, if you can only preserve 
a few on the points of the shoots to keep the sap in 
motion. Very little water must be given. Transfer 
them to the stove, when you can find room for them, 
in the spring. Give them a little more, yet still a 
limited supply, of water at the roots, but, instead, a 
humid atmosphere, and a dash of the syringe over¬ 
head. Soon, from the base of the shoots, young 
shoots will be protruded ; when these are an inch in 
length, prune back the head to the young growth, 
allow them to stand another week, and then take 
them to the potting bench, having previously allowed 
the ball to get rather dry ; then reduce the ball 
with a pointed stick, saving, if possible, all tbe fibres, 
but getting rid of the old soil; repot in a smaller pot, 
and, if you can, give them a week’s or a fortnight’s 
bottom heat. By-and-by pot again, and you will 
obtain specimens, ornaments alike to the stove, the 
greenhouse, and parlour, during summer. 
FORCING. 
I have just room to say, finish layering your straw¬ 
berry runners in small pots, if you want nice fruit next 
March or April. Robert Fish. 
THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 
Planting. —All newly planted vegetables require, 
at planting time, a good soaking of water, particu¬ 
larly in dry weather. These soakings must also be 
repeated occasionally afterwards, to get the crops 
into free growth, taking care to apply the water to 
the roots, and to keep up at the same time a loose 
open surface by frequent scarifyings. Plants will 
by these means establish themselves, and make pro¬ 
gress in spite of heat and drought. 
Sowing Cabbage Seeds. —From the last week in 
July to the twelfth of August is the proper time for 
sowing the best varieties of cabbage ready for the 
following spring. The soil, which should be in a 
healthy and well pulverized state, should be well 
soaked with water twelve hours before the seed is 
sown, so that the water may sink into the earth to a 
considerable depth, which, after due preparation 
for sowing by raking and forking, renders it less 
liable to become hard and surface-bound, should very 
dry weather prevail. The seed should also be 
soaked twelve hours previously to sowing, which 
will be of great advantage, in dry weather par¬ 
ticularly. It is a good system, also, to mix the 
seed with fine charcoal-dust previously to sowing, so 
that it may separate well, and thus be sown evenly 
and regularly. Dry wood-ashes is a good substitute 
for charcoal-dust, when the latter is not obtainable. 
In hot, dry weather, the evening is always the best 
time to sow, and the seed beds should be slightly 
shaded with boughs, pea or bean haulm, straw, or 
any other article of a similar description, until the 
young plants are just appearing above the surface, 
when the covering must be immediately removed, to 
prevent the young plants from being drawn up and 
weakened thereby. A slight sprinkling of water 
must then be applied, and a top-dressing of charcoal- 
dust given immediately, so that it may adhere to the 
young plants whilst moist, which will not only pre¬ 
vent the attacks of the fly, but also promote and 
encourage the growth of the crop. 
Routine Work. —Sow now a small spot, or a 
drill or two, of Flanders spinach, which will produce 
a good supply of leaves for autumn use; and spare 
spots should at the same time be chosen, in warm, 
sheltered situations, for sowing, about the twelfth of 
August, the main or principal winter and following 
spring crops. The earth should be well forked, and 
turned about in the hot sun to sweeten and pulverize, 
and, at the time chosen for sowing, the large 
clumps of earth should be broken down, manure 
pretty liberally applied, and either dug or bastard 
trenched in. The latter is our own practice, ridging 
it in two feet ridges, and forking it down pretty fine 
previous to sowing, which is done in drills, from one 
foot to one foot six inches apart. The latter is our 
distance on well prepared rich soil. 
Potatoes. —The early varieties having now become 
pretty generally ripe enough to take up and store, 
the ground should at once be again cropped with 
coleworts, kales, and turnips. With us, the early 
varieties of potatoes are good, both in crop and 
quantity, as well as the late varieties, of which we 
grow a few of the best to keep up the different kinds, 
should there be in future any chance of cultivating 
them free from the destructive disease. The dry 
hot weather, this summer, has been particularly 
favourable to the potato crops in this locality; but 
in all that we have inspected throughout the season, 
we could still discover traces of the old enemy, 
though in a very weak and retarded form ; the fine 
summer weather, too, seems to have weakened the 
symptoms still more, and the early crops are there¬ 
fore sure of being good, both in crop and quantity, 
as well as cheap in price. Good potatoes, we hear, 
may now be had at lOd. per score. Our plan is, to 
make three samples of potatoes at taking up time: 
ware (such as would do for market), middlings, and 
elicits. The first, of course, for house consumption ; 
the second, for planting whole again for the next 
year’s crop; and the chats, for pigs, poultry, or other 
stock. 
Ridge Cucumbers and Melons should be well 
supplied with water at the root, but by no means 
over the foliage. The fruit should be thinned from 
the former for pickling, and from the latter for pre¬ 
serving green. James Barnes. 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
ALLOTMENT GARDENING FOR AUGUST. 
Weeds. —The state of the weather has been such 
that every one able and willing to labour will have 
cleared his garden or allotment holding by this time. 
To those who are yet in arrears we would say, lose 
no time in at least eradicating seed weeds; do this 
at least in mercy to yourself in the coming year, for 
be assured that where one weed seeds this year 
unmolested it will require double the amount of 
labour in the next year to root out its progeny. 
There is, however, if possible, higher reasons, or, at 
least, reasons having a more immediate bearing, why 
rambling weeds should be kept under; they exercise 
an injurious influence on the crop of the present 
year, both in root and leaf. It will require nearly as 
much nutriment from the soil to bring to maturity a 
gross thistle, or a patch of groundsel, as to produce a 
Swede turnip, or a good carrot or parsnip. But this 
is not all; by their shade amongst growing crops, 
