THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, October 23, 18G0. 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
43 
Day 
of 
M’ntb 
Day 
of 
Week. 
Weather 
near London in 1859. 
Moon 
OCTOBER 23—29,’I860. 
Barometer. 
Thermom. 
Wind. 
Rain in 
Inches. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Rises 
and Sets 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
afterSun 
Day of 
Year. 
23 
Tu 
Wood pigeons come. 
20.424—29.346 
deg. deg. 
41—17 
N.W. 
m. h. 
40 af 6 
m. h. 
49 af 4 
m. h. 
morn. 
9 
m. 
15 
S. 
37 
297 
24 
W 
Golden plovers come. 
29.623-29.401 
40—23 
s.w. 
— 
42 
6 
47 
4 
54 
0 
10 
15 
45 
298 
25 
Th 
Snipes come. 
29.473—29.034 
53—40 
E. 
•80 
44 
6 
45 
4 
4 
2 
11 
15 
51 
299 
26 
F 
Tortoise buries. 
29.664—29.161 
48-23 
W. 
— 
46 
6 
43 
4 
11 
3 
12 
15 
57 
300 
27 
S 
While duck comes, [and St.Jude 
29.829—29.803 
44—29 
S.W. 
•04 
47 
6 
41 
4 
18 
4 
13 
16 
3 
301 
28 
Sun 
21 Sun. aft. Trin. St. Simeon 
29.786—29.361 
53—29 
s.w. 
•20 
49 
6 
39 
4 
28 
5 
14 
16 
7 
302 
29 
M 
White Poplar leafless. 
29.407-29.318 
55—28 
SAV. 
— 
51 
6 
37 
4 
rises 
O 
16 
11 
303 
Meteorology op the Week. — At Chiswick, from observations during the last thirty-four years, the average highest and lowest 
temperatures of these days are 55.4° and 38.1° respectively. The greatest heat, 68°, occurred on the 24th, in 1833 ; and the lowest cold, 23°, 
on the 29th, in 1842. During the period 114 days were fine, and on 117 rain fell. I 
WORK FOR THE WEEK. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Artichokes, cut down any remaining flower-stalks, 
remove a few of tlie large outer leaves, and cover the 
roots with dry litter or old tan. Beet, take up the roots 
carefully, and, having cleared them of leaves, preserve 
them in sand in the same manner as Carrots. Broccoli, 
the Cape varieties that are now heading to be secured 
from frost. Lettuce, give air to the plants in frames at 
every favourable opportunity ; the Cabbage varieties 
intended for winter use will not require it so freely. 
Parsnips, although they keep best in the ground, it is 
sometimes more convenient to have them taken up and 
stored in the root-cellar. Rhubarb, clear away the 
decayed leaves, and cover the crowns of the roots with 
old tan, or any sort of loose litter. Scorzonera may now 
be taken up, as also Salsafij, and preserved in sand. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
Early attention to be given to all plants that will 
require protection from the severity of the winter. 
Auriculas to be protected from heavy rains, but to have 
all the exposure possible to light and air. Examine the 
drainage. If the surface of the pots assume a mossy 
appearance, water to be given sparingly. The laying 
out of new grounds, or improvements in old ones, which 
may be in contemplation, should be proceeded with as 
soon as we are favoured with fine open weather. Con¬ 
tinue to clear off all decayed and frost-bitten plants from 
the flower-beds, and plant them with Tulips, Hyacinths, 
Anemones, Narcissi, Ranunculuses, &c. Double Prim¬ 
roses, Wallflowers, Double Rockets, Hepaticas, Iberis, 
Arabis, Aubretias, Alyssum, and other such spring-flower¬ 
ing plants may be planted in masses in the beds ; thus 
imparting a cheerful appearance during the winter months, 
and producing a gay effect in the spring. Canterbury 
Bells, Sweetwilliams, Foxgloves, Columbines, &c., to be 
planted out in the borders. Examine the stakes and 
ties of plants. Forward all preparations for planting 
evergreens ; lay turf; keep the borders and walks clear 
of leaves. The leaves collected in a hole, and some sand 
mixed with them will form an excellent substitute where 
peat mould is scarce. 
FRUIT GARDEN. 
Continue to look over the stored fruit occasionally, 
: remove the affected. Go over the out-door Vines, re¬ 
moving all the laterals that may have been left on the 
strong shoots, and two or three of the joints of the young 
and immature wood to be pruned off. Every facility that 
1 can be afforded should be given to the ripening of the 
young wood of wall fruit trees this season. Prepare for 
making new plantations of Gooseberries, Currants, and 
Raspberries. To insure a regular and an abundant pro- 
> duce of fruit, it is advisable to grub up a portion of the 
old plantations every season, and to supply their places 
with younger trees. Look over the trees in old orchards, 
and remove any that may be considered worthless or 
worn out. Prepare some good soil for planting other 
varieties. 
STOVE. 
Little moisture will suffice at this period for the general 
stock. Keep the temperature progressively on the de¬ 
cline, more especially in dark weather. Ventilate freely 
whenever the weather will permit. 
GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 
Fire heat is now sometimes necessary to remove all 
superabundant moisture by ventilation; but this ap¬ 
plication of heat must be used with caution that it 
may not interfere with the system previously advised 
of gradually reducing the temperature to correspond 
with the natural decline of solar heat and light. Keep 
Cinerarias cool and moist; repot such as require it; 
fumigate as soon as green fly appears. Primulas to be 
treated in a similar manner. Look carefully after the 
red spider on tree Violets, Bossiseas, Chorozemas, and 
other such plants that are liable to be infested by it. If 
the Camellias are allowed to suffer for want of water it 
is very probable they will drop their flower-buds. 
FITS AND FRAMES. 
Attend to the potting of such cuttings as are sufficiently 
rooted, and give them frequent attention to get them 
well established. Abundance of air and light must 
be admitted to those structures. If any of the lights, 
from an accumulation of dirt thereon, give a partial shade 
to the plants, take them off, and wash them thoroughly 
without delay. Be careful during the operation of water¬ 
ing to apply it to those only that require it. Remove all 
mouldy and decaying leaves, and keep the interior as dry 
as possible during the winter. If any of the plants are 
suffering from mildew apply flowers of sulphur imme¬ 
diately, before the plague spreads over the whole pit or 
frame. W. Keane. 
WINTERING VERBENAS. 
Other fancy ways of using up extra plants in the- 
flower garden, after the regular beds are all filled in for 
the season, might be mentioned by the dozen and the 
score, but for the present let us confine ourselves to the 
text which this season has thrust upon us. 
Last week a decree, like the laws of the Medes and 
Persians, was issued in one of the experimental gardens 
to the effect that so many and such kinds of the brightest 
and strongest growers of the Verbenas should be taken 
up and Dotted, be staked and tied up close to the stakes, 
and the pots to be then placed behind a certain pit where 
the sun could not get at them, but where they would 
otherwise enjoy as much light and free air as when they 
stood out in the flower-beds. Now, anybody who has 
begun gardening for the last twenty, or five and twenty, 
years might exclaim, on reading of such a decree in a 
free, enlightened country like ours, “ Oh, what a mad 
trick ! and how dearly they will have to pay for their 
whistle ! Who will follow the daft mandate ?” 
Who indeed ! and, yet, will you believe it—the thing has 
been done a thousand times over ? In 1832 I had Ver¬ 
bena melindris the first, and the dwarfest of the bedding 
No. 630.—Voi. XXV. No. 4. 
