68 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, May 3, 1859. 
are perforated, it is clear the depredator is not the garden slug, of 
-which the bed is carefully cleared. I have dusted the flowers 
with snuff, soot, and sulphur, to little effect. Can you advise me 
what else to do P The plants are, for the most part, last autumn’s 
seedlings, and exceedingly healthy. They are planted in light 
garden mould, with a southern aspect, exposed to the sun for 
several hours in the day, with light and air. In fact, in a most 
unexceptionable locality—in the south of Devon. 
“I would also ask your advice respecting the pruning of 
an old Pomegranate tree, which (together with a fine and 
constant-flowering Magnolia, Myrtles, and Banksian Roses) 
grows against the wall of my house, but blows but scantily, and 
never brings any fruit to perfection. Ought it to be severely 
pruned; for the foliage is redundant, the soil is light and dry, 
and the situation very hot in summer ? It is also near the sea. 
Ought the second crop of Eigs to be taken off the standard Fig 
trees ? In the hot summer of 1857 I had several dozen of the 
latter crop equal in flavour, though not in size, to the first.”— 
Saiteeton. 
[We shall never forget the sight we saw near Salterton, and 
the kindness we experienced there, and would be doubly pleased 
if we could aid you. The holes made in the Pansies are done by 
the Agromyza violce, or Pansy Fly, a very small dark insect. We 
know of no means of warding off his attack; but would try fine 
gauze, and that sprinkled with tobacco water, and dried before 
placing securely over the bed. This would let sufficient light and 
air through, and would, most likely, keep out the bisects. 
The Pomegranate we would thin out considerably, and just 
prune the roots a little. Perhaps it makes rather too much wood 
to be fully exposed to sun and air. A little loamy soil about the 
roots would also make the growth more stubby. 
If your second crop of Figs show pretty early in the autumn, and 
as you ripened them hi 1857, there could be no harm in leaving a 
number of the first-formed ones ; but all the rest we should prefer 
removing when they were the size of small marbles. In removing, 
cut them clean off with a sharp knife, leaving the smallest piece 
of the stalk. We are giving this advice on the presumption that 
young Figs much larger than a large Marrow Pea will not stand 
over the winter, and swell freely the next season; but in your 
extraordinary climate they may pass the winter uninjured, 
though much larger, and, in such a case, decidedly prefer your 
own experience to ours. Our advice is founded on the fact, that, 
north of London, young Figs of any size do not pass through 
the winter and swell freely next season ; and if these are allowed 
to grow to any size—say nearly half their usual size in autumn, 
and then drop, they not only so far waste the fruit-bearing powers 
of the tree ; but the part of the shoot on which they were placed 
rarely, if ever, shows fruit early next spring, or at all. Whilst 
by cutting off the young fruit as suggested, one or two young 
fruit appear from the base of the stem of the fruit cut off. In 
other words, in cultivating the Fig out of doors in the north, all 
that appear in autumn at all early, drop off in winter ; and the 
young Figs that show early in spring, and ripen in autumn, 
appear almost exclusively at the points of the shoots, leaving the 
part behind bare of fruit. By removing them as advised, there 
is a chance of having fruit all the length of last summer’s shoot. 
Under glass, of course, there is no difficulty in having and ripen¬ 
ing two or three crops.] 
CUCUMBERS CLUB-ENDED. 
“ I have three frames of a good sort of Cucumber in full 
bearing, showing a fair sample of fruit. When the fruit is 
about ten inches long it begins to get large at the end, something 
like a plumber’s soldering-iron, and fills fast with seed. Now, 
the regular size of this Cucumber is from eighteen to twenty 
inches, when grown properly, and as straight.as a gun-barrel, 
lhave plenty of dung heat, and good frames for growing them 
in.”— Geo. Ray. 
[Refrain from fertilising the female blossom. Nay, to prevent 
it, as soon as the blossom shows on the point of the fruit, 
tie a string round it about the middle, to prevent a bee or 
insect carrying pollen on its wings. In addition to this, thin 
out your fruit, so as to leave only two or three in full swellling 
on a plant at the same time. When one is cut another will 
succeed. Save one or two of your chubby fruit for seed; 
for you will not, probably, get one in a dozen of long, straight 
fruit. We value these long Cucumbers merely for their look. 
One ten inches long is generally crisper than one of twenty ; but 
for those who admire fine, long, straight fruit, we have given a 
recipe worth the price of a volume.] 
LIQUID MANURE. 
“ I have not seen in your valuable periodical any lengthened 
account of the virtues of liquid manure. To what may it be 
applied with advantage ? To fruit trees ? If so, at what time 
of year ? Roses ? Shrubs ? May it be used in the greenhouse 
with advantage ? An article on this subject would be of great 
advantage, especially at the present time, when in the east of 
England there is so much complaint of drought; the ground for 
a considerable depth is dry, and there is still a strong prejudice 
against liquid manure in the minds of many gardeners. Can 
any of your correspondents inform me whether it would do any 
good towards restoring and quickening the verdure of decaying 
grass plots in gardens ? ”—A Constant Readee. 
[We know a very productive garden that is fertilised chiefly 
by liquid manure. Those who are prejudiced against it can 
never have fairly tried it. On the other hand, many cultivators 
maintain that manure should never be applied in any other form. 
We are decidedly of opinion that it is the most economical mode 
of manuring; and wo believe that at a no very distant date it 
will be generally adopted. You will see what Mr. Beaton says 
about its employment to Roses, and our experience entirely 
coincides with his. In the kitchen garden we have applied it 
with marvellous benefit to Asparagus, Rhubarb, and all the 
Cabbage-worts. In the fruit garden we give it annually to all 
orchard trees, to Vines, and to trees in pots. In the flower 
garden we water all our borders with it two or three times 
annually. The liquid manure we employ is house sewage. We 
extract the following from The Cottage Gardeners' Dictionary, 
and abide by what it says :—“ Liquid manure is the most advan¬ 
tageous form in which fertilisers can be applied by the gardener 
to his crops. It is the most economical, most prompt, and most 
efficient mode. The manure is presented to the roots in one of 
the only forms in which the roots can imbibe food, and the 
manure is spread regularly through the texture of the soil. If, 
instead of digging in stable-manure, each crop were watered oc¬ 
casionally with liquid manure, the produce would be finer and 
more abundant. We have often employed, with decided effect, in 
our own garden, for Vines, Peach, and standard Apple trees, 
liquid manure, prepared either by mixing cne part, by weight, of 
cowdung with four parts of water, or the collected drainage of the 
stable and cow-house. It has been found advantageous to plants 
cultivated in stoves to apply even a liquid manure, composed of 
six quarts of soot to a hogshead of water; and, although this is 
a very unchemical mixture, yet it has been found by Mr. Robert¬ 
son to be peculiarly grateful and nourishing to Pines, causing 
them to assume an unusually deep, healthy green; and, for stoved 
Mulberry, Vine, Peach, and other plants, the late Mr. Knight, 
of Downton, employed a liquid manure composed of one part of 
the dung of domestic poultry, and four to ten parts of water, 
with the most excellent result. 
“ Guano Liquid, Manure.- —Ten gallons of water will readily 
dissolve, or keep suspended in a state of minute division, about 
50 lbs. weight of guano. When applied to plants, not more than 
five ounces should be added to that quantity of water. If it is 
made stronger, it injures or kills the plants to which it is applied. 
“ Sheep's-dung, if employed for making liquid-manure, should 
be a peck to thirty gallons. 
“ When cowdung is used, boiling water should be first poured 
upon it, as it is apt to be full of destructive larvee. 
“ Sulphate of ammonia, and any other salt of ammonia, must 
not be used more than a quarter of an ounce to each gallon. 
“ The rule applicable to all these liquid manures is— Give it 
weak and often .''J 
OXALIS CRENATA CULTURE. 
“ Can you inform me of the ordinary uses of the Oxalis crenata ? 
I have several small tubers grown from one sent from Paris last 
year, where, I understand, it is used ; but have never been able 
to find any mention of it in The Cottage Gabdenee, or any 
other horticultural publication.”—A Subsceibee. 
[It is thus spoken of in the ninth volume:—“ Oxalis crenata, 
once lauded for its edible tubers, and which seemed driven out of 
the field by Oxalis Deppei, but of which little has been seen or 
