362 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— Februaby 24,1857. 
inch or two of light soil on the top, and the early-sown 
Cauliflower and Walcheren Broccoli on a warm border. 
Jerusalem Artichokes, Sea-kale, Rhubarb, and Asparagus to 
be planted also. 
Asparagus should be planted about the end of the month; 
the ground that has been trenched and ridged to be levelled 
and dug over, and the whole trodden down with the feet. 
The beds to be three feet wide, with two-feet alleys running 
north and south; two drills in each bed one foot apart, 
similar in size to what are made for Peas; a compost of 
one-third rotten leaves or rotten dung, one-third sandy loam, 
and one-third sand—sea sand if it can be procured. A small 
ridge of the compost to be laid in the centre of each drill 
to form a saddle, on which the plants are to be placed about 
nine inches apart from each other, to be covered immediately 
with an inch thick of sand, as the roots are very susceptible 
of injury from exposure to a drying atmosphere, and 
finally covered with four inches of the compost. 
The main crop of Onions ought to be sown about the 
middle of the month on rich ground with a dry bottom. A 
dressing of lime or of soot and salt to be given to destroy 
worms and maggots. The Tripoli is a sort to be used first, 
to be followed by the Portugal and White Spanish; but the 
James's Keeping and Brown Globe are the best keepers. 
The Silver-skinned and Two-bladed, for pickling, to be sown 
on poor ground and thickly, to prevent the bulbs growing 
large, about the end of the month. The beds to be four 
feet wide, with alleys eighteen inches wide. The young 
Onions to be thinned cautiously at first, until they are pretty 
well out of danger of the attacks of the maggot. 
Ash-leaved and other early Potatoes appearing above 
ground are to be protected from frost by drawing a little soil 
or sawdust over them, which can be raked off when all 
danger of frost is over. A good breadth of York Regents, 
Shaws, Flukes, or other such good sorts to be planted. 
As the New Zealand Spinach is a very useful and pro¬ 
ductive vegetable, by sowing a few pots in heat it would 
repay for the trouble of potting them off singly, to be planted 
out under handlights in April. 
Fresh beds of Thyme, Sage, Mint, Winter Savory, and 
other such pot-herbs may be made. 
A seed-bed of Drumhead Cabbages to he sown for filling 
up deficiencies among Turnips, or for planting out to pro¬ 
duce a bulky crop for live stock, fanners, or cottagers. 
A seed-bed of Sivedish Turnips to be also sown towards 
the end of the month. They are frequently found most use¬ 
ful to be transplanted wherever a failure occurs in other crops. 
Early attention should be given to the protection of wall- 
fruit trees. Whatever covering is available, whether woollen 
netting, hay or straw ropes, Fir branches, or Haythorn’s 
hexagon netting, it should be used some time before the 
flowers expand, as the observation of some years induces us 
to believe that the fructifying apparatus, ovules, &c., are 
very frequently destroyed by frosts for some time before 
such unwelcome results are visible to the naked eye. 
If a few of the improved varieties of Roses are intended 
to be added to such collections as are deficient of good 
flowers, the sooner they are planted the better, for if delayed 
longer they will not have sufficient time to get well 
established in the ground to produce good-sized flowers in 
their blooming season. If the prunings of a few good sorts 
could be obtained now they may be grafted upon any free, 
well-rooted stocks of the more common sorts of Roses. 
The conditions necessary for success are, that the scion 
should be nearly of the same size as the graft, to fit close 
together; that the supply of sap should commence as soon 
as possible ; and that sun, wind, and rain should be ex¬ 
cluded by the grafting clay. The prospect of success is 
greater in grafting than in budding; a tree is sooner formed, 
! as in some cases they flower the first season. 
I A rockery, or mounds of earth covered with large flint 
stones, burrs, or vitrified bricks, and so arranged as to pro¬ 
duce a pleasing variety, are very suitable for suburban or 
other such small villa gardens, where they can be more 
easily made to harmonise with surrounding objects. The 
plants suitable for such situations, and where they are 
seen to greater advantage, are species of Arabis, Alyssum, 
Astragalus, Draba, Iberis, Saxifrage, Sedum, Dwarf Cam¬ 
panula, Indian and other Pinks, Saponaria ocymoides, Dwarf 
Phloxes, &c. 
Pinks, Carnations, Sweet Williams, Wallflowers, Pentstemons, 
Foxgloves, Canterbury Bells, &c., ought to be planted out in 
the shrubbery border. 
New plantations of Violets to be made. The Double Blue 
and Double White Russian are good sorts. 
Carnations to be potted in three parts turfy loam, two 
parts of rotten Cowdung, and one part rough sand. Plants 
kept in small pots for transplanting in April, to be placed in 
a northern aspect, and exposed to the open air, and to be 
supplied with sufficient water to keep the foliage plump. 
Choice Ranunculus seed should be sown in shallow pans 
or boxes, and covered as lightly as possible, and placed in a 
cold frame. 
Tulips must be exposed as much as possible to the open 
air, to give luxuriance to the foliage, strength to the pillar, 
and soundness to the bulb; but to be protected from cutting 
winds, heavy rain, hail storms, and frost. 
A kindly heat should be kept up in the cutting frame to 
increase the stock for bedding-out purposes. All cuttings 
that have taken root and are beginning to grow to be topped; 
and whoever has a few stools of the old herbaceous Lobelias 
should increase the stock by dividing and potting them 
singly; and roots of the Verbena venosa placed in heat will 
produce a good stock for mixing with the Flower of the Day 
Geranium in beds. 
All plants in the greenhouse will require to be frequently 
turned round, that all sides may receive the benefit of sun¬ 
light, to produce uniform and handsome specimens. Pelar¬ 
goniums will now require particular attention to be neatly 
staked in due time, not crowded together, but with sufficient 
space for each to develope its parts to form a beautiful plant; 
and such as are in an active state of vegetation to be sup¬ 
plied occasionally with clear, tepid soot water, and plenty of 
air in mild weather. Fuchsias should now be encouraged to 
make fine specimens by frequent syringings and the appli¬ 
cation of clear liquid manure. After the severe weather we 
have had lately, when it was necessary to keep up a high 
temperature to exclude the frost, plants with the soil very 
frequently in a powdery state must now be treated with 
particular attention, and where there are any indications 
to be seen that the ball of earth of any plant is very dry it 
should be placed in a feeder of water for several hours. 
Air during sharp, cutting March weather to be given 
cautiously by covering the openings with mats, to break, 
by sifting through them, the force of the winds. A few 
Epacrises to be supplied with a gentle heat as soon as they 
have sufficiently recruited their strength after flowering. 
They are very useful plants for winter flowering, and by 
starting them now into growth they will ripen their wood 
early, and will bloom in November, when the beauty of the 
flowers will continue much longer than after the sun be¬ 
comes more powerful in spring.— William Keane. 
FONTAINEBLEAU AND THOMERY. 
We reached Fontainebleau March 12, about noon. The 
inhabitants say its name is a corruption, by contraction of 
Fontaine-belfe-eau —there being fine springs of exceedingly 
pure water at this place and its vicinity; doubtless from 
being filtered through fine sand, which is said to be valuable 
for making flint-glass. Snow commenced falling thickly in 
broad flakes, so that we only saw the water in a compara¬ 
tively turbid state, from the influx of the former. 
Notwithstanding the unfavourable state of the weather, 
M. Souchet, of the Royal Gardens at the Palace of Fontaine¬ 
bleau, had the kindness to conduct us to the Vine-walls, which 
are under the management of M. Brassis, jardinier en chef du 
Parc et de la Treille du Roi, at Fontainebleau. Part of the 
wall has an eastern aspect, and is about twenty feet high, 
forming the wall of barracks. More recently built, a long 
extent, with a south-east aspect, is twelve feet high. The 
whole length is 1400 metres, or 1531 yards—nearly seven 
furlongs. 
Part of the wall, where highest, is occupied with Vines 
planted two feet and a half apart; but this was said to he 
too close. These were trained with a single upright stem, 
with the hearing shoots diverging from both sides— en 
palmette, as the mode is termed—or like the leaf of a Palm. 
