THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, June 30, 1807. 203 
HAIL-STORMS. 
On Saturday, June Gth, the parish of Cossey, near Norwich, 
was visited by a most severe storm of hail, or rather, lumps 
of ice. Previously to this the daj r was very hot: at two 
o’clock the thermometer stood at about 86° in the shade, the 
wind was south, and thunder was heard in the distance. 
After the wind changed to the north, and the heat was less 
by as much as 10° or 16°, about half-past four my attention 
was called to a loud noise from the south like the roaring of 
the sea, increasing both in mist and darkness as it passed 
over and through the trees. I soon discovered it was a storm 1 
of falling ice by seeing some large pieces dropping in the 
river, which appeared as if stones were thrown into the 
water. I had hardly time to turn round before the same 
began to fall on the hothouses like grape shot, and to my 
I grief I saw “ Glasgow but, most luckily, the storm was by 
i this time partly spent, otherwise the damage must have 
been very serious. As it was there were about 400 squares 
broken and cracked, some of which were of sheet glass, 
but of course the thin sort suffered the most. Some of 
the latter were pierced through as if holes had been cut out 
with a diamond. 
Like most of such storms, this one seems to have been 
of a local character. It appeared to have commenced about 
| six or seven miles off, and approached winding in. some in¬ 
i' stances hardly a quarter of a mile in breadth—at least, such 
was the case here—and ivas confined chiefly to the east end 
of Lord Stafford’s park. There was none of it at Babur to 
i the south, and it scarcely reached Taverkam to the north, 
none at Easton, and the tail of it fell only at Drayton. I 
noticed that the storm came up against the wind, which 
thunder-storms often do; also that it was not hail, but large 
pieces of ice, some of which were three inches round, plenty 
of the size of walnuts, and of all kinds of forms, though 
> chiefly of a flat tortoise shape. 
The cloud did not appear to be very high; yet the hail fell 
with great force, and caused considerable pain when it 
; struck a person, as it did me. The weight and force of some 
! of the pieces of ice were sufficient to break strong sheet 
glass, as already noticed. I trust that this may warn all 
I who have glass structures to insure against the risk of such 
damage, not only as regards glass, but the crops of fruit 
and plants under its protection.—J. Wighton. 
---- , _ . 
n ■ • .* 'J M. 
NOTES FOR JULY. 
The principal business in the kitchen-garden department 
| during this month will be to trench or to dig deeply every 
spot of spare ground, to be filled at every favourable oppor- 
! tunity that the weather or other circumstances will permit 
with Brussels Sprouts, Winter Greens, Green Kale, Savoys, 
Cabbages, Broccoli, &c. 
To aim, with a fair hope of success, at a good crop of 
; Strawberries every season, it is advisable, when they have 
borne crops for three successive years on the same ground, 
, to make a fresh plantation of young plants, or of such as 
had been forced; the soil, a stiff, loamy one if possible, to 
be trenched and well manured two feet in depth. Young 
plants from runners can now be easily procured to prick 
; out into a bed enriched with a good portion of rotten dung 
about four or five inches apart, preparatory to their final 
transplanting in the autumn to the beds in which they are 
to fruit. 
Dwarf Kidney Beans to be earthed up, and every pod fit 
for use to be gathered, by which a succession wiil be ob- j 
tained for a much longer period than if even a few pods j 
were allowed to ripen, as nature, in its repeated efforts to \ 
perfect its kind, produces a succession until it can go no 
further. Winter Onions, Shallots , and Garlic to be taken up 
: and dried for storing. Continue to supply Asparagus beds 
with liquid manure; indeed, everything vegetable during i 
its season of active growth will derive immense benefit from 
the liberal application of liquid manure. A mulching of 
short grass, or any other short litter, will prevent rapid 
evaporation, and the surface from being caked or hardened 
by exposure to the sun. Celery to be attended to by re- 
i moving the offsets, soaking it with water, and earthing up 
as it may require. A good breadth of Spinach sown now in 
rich ground will afford many successive pickings in the 
autumn, and tend materially to save the winter beds from 
being picked before they become strong. 
The instructions given in former notes on the summer 
treatment of fruit trees should not be forgotten, as the 
proper maturation of the wood and the organisation of the 
fruit-buds will be more certainly insured by the removal 
of the useless spray and the breast wood, for the admission 
of light and air. Out-door Vines and Figs to receive atten¬ 
tion in stopping and training the shoots as open as possible, 
to give them the benefit of sun and air. The thinning out 
of the superfluous shoots of Gooseberries , Currants , and 
Raspberries should be no longer neglected, leaving only 
sufficient to furnish next season’s crop. The extremes of 
heat and cold are always unfavourable to vegetable growth, 
as the flower gardens of this season too generally attest. 
Complaints of the unkindness of the season are loud and 
deep. Bedded-out plants are making little or no progress, 
and to coax them into growth our suburban neighbours, as 
soon as the surface of the beds or borders is dried by a 
scorching sun, and a drying wind like a sirocco licking up 
the moisture, it is watered every evening, which produces 
cold and stagnation at the roots, when they become sickly 
and infested with insects. If, from the drooping appearance 
of the plants, water is necessary, it should be supplied 
copiously to moisten the soil to some depth, and then to be 
discontinued for several evenings, or until unfavourable in¬ 
dications suggest another supply. The budding of Roses will 
require attention, and when the bark rises slowly the ap¬ 
plication of liquid manure will cause the sap to flow more 
freely. 
Cuttings of Antirrhinums, Phloxes, Pentstemons, Alyssums, 
and of other such showy herbaceous plants, take root 
readily under the shade of a north wall. Evergreens to be 
looked over and pruned as required. The pegging down 
of plants intended to be kept dwarf, the tying up of others, 
and the keeping the surface of the beds loose and free from 
weeds until it is covered by the growing plants, will comprise 
the routine of operations for a few weeks. 
Pink pipings, like all other things in the garden, have 
not succeeded well this season; but by perseverance in 
the method recommended last month a good supply of 
i these sweet and beautiful flowers may now be obtained. 
| Advantage to be taken of showery weather for transplanting 
! them into beds or borders of good and well-dunged soil. 
: The pods of any choice sorts to be thinned, and the re- 
{ mainder to be tied to small sticks, and protected from rains 
to ripen their seed. Carnations and Picotees will now be in 
perfection. When the shoots are sufficiently long layering 
may be’commenced. This is performed by inserting the 
knife a little below the second or third joint, and carefully 
cutting it about half an inch in length upwards. The small 
portion of stem beyond the joint is cut back to it, and when 
pegged down in the soil, which should be fine, light, and 
rich, it will in due time emit roots. Polyanthuses delight 
in a shady situation, and to be watered with a fine rose in 
dry weather, to prevent the ravages of the red spider. 
Carnations, Dahlias, and almost everything else, are in- 
i fested with the aphis, or green fly, this season. The most 
effectual plan to destroy them in a small place is to brush 
them off with a stout camel-hair brush, and to ply the 
I syringe frequently in large places, where the other process 
may be considered too tedious. The seed-pods of the best 
sorts of Pansies to be gathered as they ripen, and dried in a 
shady place. Dahlias, when they have attained a good size, 
to have their side-shoots properly thinned out, leaving only 
three or four of the strongest and best. Soot sprinkled on 
the foliage and around the plants is a preventive to the 
ravages of earwigs; but the old and well-known system ol 
small pots on stakes is most effectual, by regular attention, 
for their destruction. 
When Pelargoniums have done blooming they are exposed 
for a fortnight in an open, airy, but sheltered situation to 
mature their wood, when they are cut down to the first or 
second eye at the bottom of each shoot, and then returned 
to the greenhouse, where they are kept rather dry, until 
they begin to push forth fresh shoots. The old wood is cut 
up into cuttings two or three inches long, and inserted in 
any light garden soil in the open ground, on a level surface 
fully exposed to the sun, where, with a little attention to 
