THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, January 17, 1860. 
upox, when they become free, and support oblong, brown, ver¬ 
satile anthers. Style long, filiform. Stigma green, two-lobed. 
Ovary two-celled, each cell one-seeded. 
This handsome old stove twiner is all but neglected now, yet 
it is beautiful in flower, and neat and adaptable in habit. Fibrous 
light loam and peat, with plenty of sand, form a very suitable 
compost. Its growth is not robust; and it should be cultivated 
in pots and trained to a balloon trellis, or any other such dwarf 
support, for unless the house is very small, it is perfectly un¬ 
suitable to be trained to the rafters. Blooms in the early winter 
months, it i3 therefore valuable in this respect. Cuttings root 
freely in the ordinary way for stove plants.—S. G. W. 
VARIETIES. 
^ The Cuekant Trade. —“ Some particulars regarding the 
Currant trade may not be uninteresting to your readers, 
especially as Great Britain imports more of this dried fruit 
than all other countries put together; and it has not un- 
irequently been stated that the Briton’s love of plum-pudding 
not a little enhances the interest he takes in this Ionian 
colonial possession. England is the Currant market of the 
world, being a general entrepot from which other countries draw 
their supplies. The islands of Cephalonia and Zante do not, 
however, contribute a larger proportion of the crop than two- 
fifths, the remaining three-fifths being the produce of the 
Morea. The Currant crop of Cephalonia this year has been 
unusually abundant, amounting to 13,000,000 lbs., and the 
prices have averaged from 30 to 35 dols., or from £7 to £7 10s. 
the 1000 lbs.— a fortunate circumstance for these islanders, 
who are mainly dependent on this produce for their resources. 
The export duty on Currants levied by the Ionian State is 18 
per cent., while the import duty levied by the British Govern¬ 
ment is 50, which, together with the 18 per cent, levied at the 
port of shipment, reaches 59 per cent, on the produce. This 
exorbitantly high duty on an article of general consumption is 
anything but encouraging to the trade, and when compared 
with that levied by other countries who do not profess the 
principles of free trade forms a very unfavourable contrast. A 
friend writing to me from Greece gives me the following 
particulars regarding the exportation of the Corinth Grape 
from the Morea. The quantity of Currants exported varies as 
well as the price, both depending on the fertility of the year 
and the quality of the fruit. In 1858,62,500,000 lbs, were ex¬ 
ported, and it is anticipated that when the disease in the Vines 
shall have passed away the vintage may be doubled, as, accord¬ 
ing to the present report, Greece can produce 240,000,000 lbs. 
of Currants, which are a great deal more than England requires, 
as it is almost exclusively in England that this article is con¬ 
sumed ; but what prevents its cultivation from obtaining this 
development is precisely the heavy duly laid upon it in England. 
The following is a statement of the duties to which the Currant 
is subjected in the different countries to which it is more or 
less exported :—In England the duty on every lOOOlbs. is 200 
drachmas; in Austria, 240; in Germany, 162; in Holland, 11; 
in France, lfr. 20 cents.; in Russia, by the Baltic, 20 drachmas; 
in Russia, by the Black Sea, nothing. In order to judge of the 
value of these duties, it must, however, be borne in mind that 
the original price of the Currants in the country does not 
often rise above 150 drachmas the lOOOlbs. It is, therefore, 
manifest that the people in England pay much dearer for their 
Currants than they might on account of the heavy import duty 
there levied ; and it may be fairly assumed that a reduction of 
this duty would lead to an augmentation in both the consumption 
and exportation, and, consequently, also swell the revenue of the 
British Treasury, on the principle of free trade, which has been 
thoroughly tested, and, it is needless to say, not found wanting. 
The above remarks in so far as regards Greece are taken from 
a statistical table of the state of commerce in Greece for the 
last year. The publication of these lists only took place last 
year for the first time; and, although they do not pretend to the 
accuracy and correctness which only long experience can give, 
their publication is, nevertheless, an important step in the 
path of progress, and they are in the main correct.”—( Times' 
Cephalonian Correspondent.) 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Sowing Tritoma uvaria Seed (.7. C. P.).— -Having' no greenhouse, you 
liad better not sow the seeds of Tritoma uvaria till the beginning of Feb¬ 
ruary. If you had a shilling packet use two pots of the size No. 32, and 
sow one half in each, not broadcast, or all over the pots in the usual way, 
but in a single row quite close to the side of the pot all round. You will 
save or gain nearly a month by that plan, as the seedlings need not be 
transplanted at all into other pots, but be planted out at the end of May 
in the same ball entire, which is by far the best plan for you and all others 
who need “ elementary hints.” After planting them out at the end of 
May, water them just as often and as much as if they were yet in pots. 
If you could get a couple of such upright pots as they use for Auriculas and 
Hyacinths, they would be better for the young Tritomas than the common 
32-pots, because they allow more downward scope for the roots, and that 
is what suits them best. Of course, you will drain the pots thoroughly, 
and the same kind of soil that would suit a nice young Tom Thumb Gera¬ 
nium is just the very soil to get young Tritomas on their legs in time. 
Let the soil be between wet and dry at the time, and press it down a little, 
then sow the seeds, and cover them exactly as you would cover Mig¬ 
nonette seeds, and no more nor less. Give no water at the time, and 
manage so that the pot will need no water, or but very little indeed, till 
the tops of the seedlings are up through the covering. The best way to 
do that would be to put the seed-pot inside another pot that is one size 
larger, and place it in tha front of the Geranium-frame, where the sun 
can hardly reach it; then a piece of glass placed over the two pots would 
keep out enemies, and keep in the moisture in the soil till the seedlings 
i were up. Being such novelties, no doubt all kinds of plant-enemies will 
be apt to wish for a bite at them : be on the look out, therefore, till the 
I plants are safe next July or August, and mind to lift them at the coming 
of frost, and keep them the first winter in the frame like young Carrots, 
in sand or light soil. 
Conifers (A. Spence). —We cannot make out which of them you mean. 
You will oblige us by writing the names more fully and distinctly. 
Unskilled Gardeners (An Ignoramus). —Take our advice, and never 
rush into a contest, either pen or' pugilistic, until you are quite certain that 
you have a complete justification for becoming combative. Mr. A. J. 
Ashman says neither more nor less than that many employers bring dis¬ 
appointment to themselves by not taking care to ascertain beforehand that 
the gardeners they engage are skilful, practical, and well educated. With 
that opinion every one must concur ; for there are abundance of superior 
gardeners to be obtained, and he is not wise who does not coincide with 
Mr. Ashman, in urging upon employers the desirability of being careful 
and sedulous to obtain them. 
Cottage Gardening Societies. —The Rev. Edward Cadugan, Stevenage , 
Herts, will be obliged by the communication of any one’s experience in the 
management of these Societies. We know that the Rev. Abner Blown, 
of Pytchley, Northamptonshire, and Professor Henslow, at his living, 
Hitcham, in Suffolk, have been very successful in such management. 
Planting Boundary Borders (An Old Subscriber, Richmond). —One 
row of ornamental trees next the boundary, and one row of Portugal 
Laurels in front of them, and the space in front of the Laurels to be filled 
with a selection of flowering and evergreen low shrubs, is the best • 
and most proper way for you to adopt; but unless the spaces are ten 
feet wide, ot more, the trees and Laurels will take up the whole to make 
an effectual screen. A row of Larch would, indeed, be the best on that 
light soil. If you like them they would occupy least room, and look as 
well as any trees, without encroaching on you or your neighbours. 
Portugal Laurels from three feet to five feet high, plant first at ten feet 
or twelve fectapart, to be permanent, and put two or three common Laurels 
in between each pair of Porlugalsto fill up temporarily. Box, Laurustmus, 
Aucubas, Pyrus, or Cydonia Japonica, Cotoneaster affinis, and microphylla 
and a few pyramidal evergreens, as young Virginian Cedars, to be removed 
when too high. A3 to a list of “ ornamental trees,” all trees are orna¬ 
mental ; and as you cannot find ornamental trees in the London nurseries, 
you must tell us exactly what kinds of trees you want, and we will tell the 
best of each kind. jasmines, Honeysuckles, evergreen and Ayrshire 
Roses, and Virginian Creepers, are the fastest growing climbers. Privet 
and Sweet Briar would make a nice, fast-growing hedge. 
Cucumber Forcing (A Subscriber). —In the Manual, “Kitchen Gar¬ 
dening for the Many,” published at our Office, price fourpence, you will 
find all the details you ask for. 
Water-proofing for Calico-covered Lights (A Novice). —Pale lin¬ 
seed oil three pints sugar of lead (acetate of lead) an ounce, white rosin 
four ounces. Grind the acetate with a little of the oil, then add the rest 
of the oil and the rosin. Mix all thoroughly in a large iron pot over a 
gentie fire, and then with a large brush apply it hot to the calico stretched 
previously by means of tacks to the frame. On the day following it will 
be fit for use, and may be tacked on firmly to remain. Previously to doing 
so, however, it is well to give it a second coating. 
Spergula pilifera Culture (A Town Reader). — You will find full par¬ 
ticulars in our No. 557, page 128. Soapsuds may be poured advantageously 
over the roots of a Vine inside a greenhouse. Buy Chrysanthemums in 
the spring. Lists will be published, and you can choose from them. If 
you then require advice, say whether you wish for the large-flowered or 
Pompones. 
Lightening Heavy Soil (Highgate). —The best mode of rendering 
your heavy soil more friable, will be to dig one spit deep from the whole 
garden, six inches below the surface. Burn that spit’s depth so taken 
thoroughly, and incorporate the ashes with the surface. Bricklayers’ 
limy rubbish, and old tanner’s bark, would also be good additions. Such 
treatment, as you have drained your garden, ought to render the soil 
more workable. 
Preventing Hares Barking Trees (A Subscriber). —Both hares and 
rabbits may be kept from thus injuring trees, by painting over the stem as 
high as a hare can reach, with a liquid formed of night-soil and stable 
drainage. 
Cow-house Drainage for Vines (F. A.). —You may soak the border 
now with the drainage during mild open weather, previously to covering 
the border with leaves; this is, supposing that the Vines already are not 
over-vigorous. You had better put iron pans filled with water upon the 
cooler part of the flue, to keep the air in the house moderately moist. 
Names of Plants (J. //.).—The yellow flower is the Acacia dealbata ; 
the thick fleshy leaf is of Begonia hydrocotylifolia ; the little sprig with¬ 
out flower is the Cytisus racemosus, a very ornamental plant. 
