148 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 6, 1859. 
masters; in Europe they were rectify’d by Culture. M. Malaval 
contributed not a little thereto at Marseilles; he furnished 
France with ’em, and France all foreign Countries. There are 
Cantons in France very proper for the multiplication of certain 
Flowers. They raise in Normandy double Jonquils, and beau¬ 
tiful Anemonies; the Climate of Toulouze is extremely agree¬ 
able to these sorts of Flowers. Now I am on the Topick of 
Anemonies, there goes a Story of a certain Lawyer, to "whom 
M. Bachelier had refus’d to communicate the Seed of these 
fine Anemonies; which when lie could neither obtain for 
Friendship, nor Money, nor by way of Truck, a Fancy took him 
to go and visit M. Bachelier, with three or four of his Friends 
who were in the Plot; he order’d his Lacquey, who bore the 
Train of his Gown, to let it drop on some Pots that were in 
such an Alley; in these Pots were the Anemonies he wanted, 
and their Seed was ready to fall. They walk’d a good while, and 
talk’d about the Times; as soon as they were come to the very 
Spot of Ground, a merry Gentleman of the Company began a 
Story which engaged the whole Attention of M. Bachelier ; and 
at the same time the Lacquey, who was no Fool, let fall his 
Master’s Train; the Anemony-seeds having a downy Coat, 
stuck to the Gown, which the Boy soon gather’d up again, and 
the Company went forward. The Virtuoso took leave of M. 
Bachelier, and went his ways home, where he carefully pick’d 
off the Seeds which had stuck to his Robes ; he sow’d ’em the 
same Day, and they produced very beautiful Flowers.” Joseph 
de Tournefort (after whom the well-known genus of herbaceous 
plants, Tournefortia, was named) was one of the most famous 
botanists of his day, and the above anecdote shows that he also 
possessed a strain of quiet humour in his disposition. He was 
the author of a work called “ Institutiones Rei Herbaria},” in 
which he laid down the groundwork of that natural arrangement 
of plants afterwards worked out by the no less famous Jussieu. 
Tournefort died, I believe, about the year 1718.—Iv. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Blooming Anemones and Ranunculuses in June (T V. Grove).— To 
flower Anemones and Ranunculuses in June and July, first prepare the 
ground now by throwing out the soil a foot o t fifteen inches deep, and 
four feet wide. Then lay at the bottom a layer four or five inches thick of 
good rotten manure; fill in the soil again, leaving it as rough as possible. 
The soil should be a rather strong loam. About the middle of March 
choose a dry day, and fork over the soil of the bed, and draw drills two 
inches deep and six inches apart. Then plant the Anemones six inches 
apart in the rows, and the Ranunculuses four inches apart. Cover them 
up with fresh soil from the compost-yard and press it down with a rake, 
but do not rake the surface fine. When they come up so as to be fairly 
visible, tread the soil between the rows very firm, keep all weeds down ; 
and, if the weather prove dry, give abundant and frequent waterings. 
The grand object is to obtain a free growth and healthy foliage till the 
flowers are fully expanded. In hot, sunny days, a shade with light canvass 
will be of great service. We must warn you, however, that the Ranun¬ 
culus is the most difficult of all the florists’ flowers to bloom profusely. 
Pruning Peach and Nectarine Trees Recently Planted [A. B.).— 
Cut back the shoots, which you say are all three or four feet long, one- 
third of their length. 
General Index [The Glen). —We are anxious to meet your wishes and 
to publish an Index of our first twenty volumes for general convenience 
but not less than 500 subscribers at 3s. each would enable us to publish one 
copious and satisfactory. 
Works on Entomology (F. II. Appleby).— Westwood’s “ Introduction 
to Entomology,” and Kirby and Spence’s “Entomology,” will suit you. 
, v ^ r RI0U3 i (7?- 2V".).—Italian Rye Grass would do on the ground intended 
fox Mangold Wurtzel and Carrots. For the chance of their bearing in the 
autumn cut down the Raspberries now. Cut off all the laterals of the 
Vines close to the main bx'anches; we do so annually. If every corre¬ 
spondent sent so many and such mixed questions, how many could we 
answer in a week ? No one should send more than one or two questions 
the same week. 1 
Unhealthy Orchard (J. Chinery). —The roots of the trees haveprobably 
descended into the gravel. To remedy this, open a wide trench near each, 
remove the earth from beneath it, and cut away the descending roots. A 
mixture of manure and marl forked, not spaded, into the surface, and an 
application of liquid manure two or three times in the summer, will keep 
the roots near the surface. Thin the branches where too crowded, re¬ 
move those decayed, and paint over all with lime to destroy the moss. 
Cerastium tomentosum—Nierembergia gracilis (I?. A.).—The Ceras- 
tiums were considered as botanical weeds, like the now-far-famed 
Spergulas, when the Cottage Gardeners' Dictionary was published, and 
such were not admitted. We owe the Crystal Palace gardeners the Order 
of the Gardeners’ Garter for the discovery of the Cerastium tomentosum 
for a front edge to beds, borders, and ribbons. It is a little, white, woollv- 
leaved plant with small white flowers, and comes from cuttings as easily 
as VV illows any time of the year ; old plants of it may also be divided into 
Rttie bits at the end of the spring, and it is as hardy as a common Daisy. 
The Penlla was not introduced from China when the Cotta,je Gardeners' 
™™° ry e came 0ut i Xt ! s an U nual plant with rough, black-purple leaves, 
feeds onty The seedlings to be reared like the little blue 
Lobelias in March and April. The Nierembergia gracilis is a very nice 
low-trailing plant with light-lilac flowers, and is about as hffrdy as the 
Verbenas, and like them is propagated by cuttings, and also from seed?. 
It makes a very gay lasting bed, or an exceedingly pretty hang-down 
plant in a box outside the window; and we highly recommend the three 
kinds to your special notice, care, and patronage, with the fullest con¬ 
fidence that you, and all your friends, will be highly pleased with them. 
Pots for Cuttings [An Amateur from Kent).— You would greatly oblige, 
and many others would do the same, if when reference is made to a pre¬ 
vious answer the page and volume be stated. We make it a point to do 
our best for every inquirer ; but that done, other occupations prevent us 
keeping the case in mind any longer; and were we to hunt up answers 
and replies to find what was said before, we should be obliged often to 
postpone a reply for another week, or perhaps more. With every wish to 
oblige each inquirer, we think it right frankly to state that our corre¬ 
spondents will be more quickly anil better served, if in all cases of re¬ 
ference they lessen our trouble as much as possible. With this proviso we 
would say, that for cuttings in general nothing is better than four-inch, 
or 48-sized pots; small cuttings may be in a couple of rows round,and a 
vacancy in the centre for dropping water on. With proper drainage, 
however, and suitable attention, the mere size of the pot is of less con¬ 
sequence, and 48’s are mentioned as being easily managed. 
Root-pruning Red Currants and Gooseberries (Idem). —They may be 
root-pruned just as well as fruit trees, though generally a heavy crop w ill 
prevent much of that being necessary. Now, for instance, in the case of 
Gooseberries, unless the young wood is excessively strong we would let 
root-pruning alone for this year, would thin out the young shoots if very 
thick, leave them the full length, paint them with a paint made of equal 
parts clay, cowdung, soot, and lime, to keep the birds from the buds ; and 
we shall be disappointed if the crop of fruit, if the season is at all pro¬ 
pitious, do not take away a little of the extra luxuriance. We come to 
this conclusion chiefly because your Black Currants bore well. We 
expect you left the young wood chiefly as it grew, and that, on the other 
hand, you had shortened the Gooseberries over much. Gooseberries and 
Currants were, in many places, a scarce crop last season, owing to the 
frost destroying the young fruit; and, of course, there being little fruit 
to support, the wood was apt to be stronger than is usual. Gooseberries 
bear on short spurs, but never better than on well-ripened young wood 
left nearly, or entirely, its full length. Currants bear mostly on shoit 
natural spurs; but they will also bear on young wood not over strong, 
especially if the points were nipped out in July, and so thinned that sun 
and air would play upon them. If this -were not done you must depend 
chiefly on the little spurs you will find below the base of your young 
shoots for fruit next season. Now, as to root-pruning, if these young 
shoots are as thick as your little finger, you may root-prune a little, and 
leave the shoots fully two thirds of their length. The check to growth 
will cause the buds along the shoots to cluster into little spurs for a fol¬ 
lowing year. If the young shoots are not much stronger than a good- 
sized goose-quill, we would merely shorten them a little, and not root- 
prune at all. 
Protecting Without Glass—Small Boxes for Vines (-).— The best 
protection would be strong calico or sheeting on rollers, or small-meslied 
woollen netting on ditto—say in two or three pieces, to pull up and down 
at pleasure with pulleys. By such means you could retard as well as 
protect—a matter of much importance, as much fruit on such walls is in¬ 
jured, because, in bright sunny weather in early spring, the buds are ex¬ 
panded when there has not been heat enough to excite the roots into 
action. _ The boxes thirty-three inches by fifteen inches, and fifteen inches 
deep, will do for small Vines with a few bunches on e'ach, if well surfaced 
every year and fed by'rich manure waterings. After some y T ears, however, 
it would benefit them to repot them early in autumn into fresh fibry 
material, with charcoal and bones as drainage, and the roots will be esta¬ 
blished before rest time in winter. You are quite right as to little soil 
being absolutely required; but fresh soil is always an advantage; and, of 
course, when you limit the range of the roots, you must feed them where 
they are. Fine Grapes will not be obtained from Vines living on air. 
POULTRY AND BEE-KEEPER’S CHRONICLE. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
December 13th. Newport (Monmouthshire). Sec., Chas. H. Oliver, 
Commercial Street, Newport, Monmouthshire. Entries close Nov. 30th. 
December 2Sth and 29th. Sheffield and Hallamsiiire (Fancy 
Pigeons). Sec., Mr. Inman New, Sheffield. Entries close December 12th. 
December 28th and 29th. Poulton-le-Fylde. Sec., Mr. J. S. Butler. 
January 4th and 5th, 1SG0. Preston and North Lancashire. Sec., 
Henry P. Watson, Old Cock Yard, Preston. Entries close December 
17th, 1859. 
January 7th, 1860. Bradford. (Single Cock Show.) Secs., Mr. Hardy, 
Prince of Wales Inn, Bowling Old Lane, and Mr. E. Blackbrough, 
Black Bull Inn, Ive Gate, Bradford. 
January llth, I860. Devizes and North Wilts, Sec., Geo. Saunders 
Sainsburv, ltoxvde, Devizes. Entries close December 24th. 
January 31st and February 1st and 2nd. Chesterfield and Scarsdale. 
Hon. Secs., Mr. J. Charlesworth, and Mr. T. P. Wood, jun. 
February llth to 15th, 1860. Crystal Palace (Poultry and Pigeons). 
Sec., Mr. W. Houghton. Entries close Jan. 14th. 
N.B .—Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
BIRMINGHAM POULTRY SHOW. 
By dint of some exertion we were enabled last week to give 
our readers the prize-list of this great Show. We now give the 
commendations and our remarks on the classes and salient points. 
It niay he truly called a great Show, and it is impossible to look 
at it without being carried in imagination to the outset of the 
Society. The little Show of pigs and poultry, open for a few 
hours only, has grown, in the unique building of Bingley Hall, 
into proportions that have rendered necessary a limit on the 
number of pens that may be shown by one exhibitor, and brings 
