235 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 20, 1858. 
The second best plants of Petunias are older ones, 
which, were reserved from the May planting, and kept 
in pots all the summer, and were wintered in the same 
pots ; and the third best way is, to make such cuttings 
as one can pick up from a bed of Petunias in Septem¬ 
ber, to be reserved in the cutting-pots all the winter, 
j In all this, and for this generation, spring cuttings of 
Petunias are meant for planting beds and baskets with; 
but, when the winter room is no object, August or 
September cuttings of them, and the plants in single 
pots, and shifted again in March, will be the grand 
thing for the flower gardener. 
As for Fuchsias, they are not the best things in the 
world for beds ; but, when they are made on purpose 
for bedding, they will be treated more like the 
Dahlias,—kept dry, or half dry, in winter, and parted 
in the spring, and, perhaps, stimulated by a little heat, 
to get them ready for flowering by the middle or 
end of May ; and all the best new ones will be cut in 
November, and made into cuttings, which will be kept 
growing, and stopped all through the winter and spring, 
till bedding time ; but we shall never see that become 
general. As it is, the best bedding Fuchsias of the 
present day should either be kept from too much frost, 
in the same beds, or be lifted at the end of the autumn, 
with balls, and kept half dry, in-doors, and parted and 
j planted out in April. 
All th.c bedding Calceolarias are best from cuttings 
made late in the autumn ; but for “ heights,” some old 
plants of them must be kept from year to year; if there 
is room, they give no trouble to winter. 
(To be continued.) D. Beaton. 
SALAD CULTURE. 
The providing a due supply of crisp salads is one 
of the important duties of a gardener. The end of 
; June, and early part of July, is the chief time to make 
due preparation for autumn and winter. Families who 
stay in the country altogether, or those who possess 
town gardens, do not fall into the same category as 
those of the highest orders of society. Many of the 
latter make a London season of from March to July, 
and then, after a sojourn at their seats for a few weeks, 
betake themselves to Scotland for a couple of months 
or more. But there are other classes, whose move¬ 
ments are of an intermediate character; and I shall, 
therefore, take into consideration, a constant supply of 
good salads from August to Christmas, or later; as 
they require a special kind of treatment, differing some¬ 
what from summer salads, which are easily provided. 
The following may constitute a fair sample for dis¬ 
cussion :—Celery, Endive, Lettuce, Cresses, Radishes, 
and Rampion. 
Celery. —Those who cultivate early Celery, sow in 
heat in February, and transplant and cultivate with 
rapidity. By such means they have pretty good 
Celery in July. Celery, however, lor autumn, and to eat 
tender and crisp, need not be sown before the middle 
of March. In these days of exhibition, there seems 
to be but one prevailing idea, that everything must 
be produced as large as possible. In this way, I fear 
the exhibitions have done mischief, and many things 
I could name are by no means so tender, when thus 
treated,—Celery among the rest. The tenderness of 
Celery, beyond all doubt, depends on the speed and re¬ 
gularity of its growth ; and, as the huge Celery we see 
in markets, and on exhibition tables, must, of necessity, 
require a long time to produce it, there is a greater 
chance of its having to undergo the vicissitudes of 
drought, with occasional low temperatures. Celery 
loves a warm atmosphere, and demands, as to high 
culture, continual moisture at the root. I must here 
remark on the tendency of Celery to “ bolt,” or run to 
blossom. Many persons are apt to imagine that they 
have a spurious breed, but this is not obliged to be the 
case ; indeed, there is little spurious Celery left in the 
country. In the majority of cases, Celery “runs” 
because it has become stunted, or checked, in some 
part of its progress. Throughout all its culture, it 
should receive as little check as possible. It should be | 
removed to its final destination before the plant ac¬ 
quires much size ; for, if removed after growing strong, 
and acquiring a stoutness, it is almost sure to run. 
Care should be taken that it receives plenty of water, in 
all its stages, especially whilst young, and undergoing 
removals; and, on its receiving any check, recourse may 
be had to liquid manure, as also shading when trans¬ 
planted. A few boughs will accomplish the latter. 
Much has been said about the soiling, or earthing, of 
Celery. Some are for very frequent and early applica¬ 
tions, others the reverse. Now, in settling this affair, 
we should bear in mind what the earthing is intended 
to accomplish : this is, of course, chiefly blanching, 
and in order to produce longer stalks than would 
otherwise be the case. There is, however, another 
purpose sometimes accomplished by earthing, and that 
is, shutting in the moisture after a dry period and on 
the heels of rain. For this alone a moderate quantity 
of soil will suffice. As to the blanching of Celery, that 
is easily carried out, after the plant has become very 
strong ; and, were it not that length of stick, or stalk, is 
so desirable, one, or at most two, earthings might 
suffice. A little earth somewhat frequently, is, there¬ 
fore, requisite, in order to induce length of stem, and 
to keep the Celery from a tendency to “sucker.” It 
is of the utmost importance, that the first earthing be 
carefully performed : whether the stem shall prove 
crooked or straight, depends mostly on this. Several 
fanciful modes of earthing-up have been practised,— 
such as tying the plants with matting, &c.; but I will 
undertake to produce as straight and good Celery by 
simple hand earthing,—the old-fashioned mode,—as by 
any or all the other appliances together. The operator, 
having loosened and prepared soil to put to the stems, 
gathers up every leaf in its proper place with both 
hands : he must be in earnest. The plant, thus placed 
in exact position, is transferred to the left hand; the 
right, being at liberty, draws the soil to the stem on 
the right hand, pressing it. The right hand now takes 
the plant, and the left hand must do just as the right 
did. This done, a little soil should be drawn, with hoe 
or spade, to “ back up,” as it is termed, that placed by 
the hand, or it will crumble away. The plant will now 
appear as firm and systematic as a soldier on sentry ; 
or as the most autocratical London policeman; and a 
second, or third perhaps, hand-earthing is given, after 
which, at the approach of cold weather, the spade will 
suffice. 
Endive. —This is seldom good in hot weather, and 
yet is very impatient of severe frosts and moisture 
combined. The fact is, that it is very excitable, and, 
unless peculiarly situated, soon runs to blossom in cases 
of much heat. Few gardeners sow before the beginning 
of June, unless for some special occasion. July is the 
principal month, and three distinct sowings—at the 
beginning, middle, and the end—will supply the table 
from October to March, with proper management. 
Endive, as our readers probably know, is good in pro¬ 
portion to the thickness of the heart or interior portion, 
and, of course, to its being thoroughly blanched; and, 
in order to obtain a dense and thick interior, it requires 
to be cut over occasionally whilst in the seed-bed. I 
generally cut it twice, sometimes thrice; removing 
about one-lialf the tops with a scythe or knife. It thus 
becomes very stout by planting time. Endives, sown 
in the course of July, may be removed of almost any 
