326 
THE COTTAGE GABDENEB AND COUNTBY GENTLEMAN, August 24, 1858. 
bed of the suburban amateur suffers more than that of 
the rural cottager. The proximity of the latter to the 
wood, hedge, or common, where the little warblers con¬ 
gregate in safety, and arrange their next days foray, is 
more free from Gooseberry caterpillar, wireworm, and 
maggot, than that of the wealthy citizen, whose garden 
is surrounded by brick walls and dwellings for a con¬ 
siderable distance, and has not the benefit of these na¬ 
tural balancers of the insect and vegetable world. It is 
certainly some consolation to the citizen to find, that 
in autumn his fruit crops suffer less than the country 
ones, from these said grub destroyers. Neither do 
wasps annoy him so much. But he must use artificial 
means to a greater extent than the country cultivator, 
to counteract such enemies as the Onion maggot, cater¬ 
pillar, and other things in that way. 
The science of chemistry has added many things to 
our stock of manures, and insect destroyers have also 
been increased in like manner. The refuse from some 
manufactories, producing such articles as soap, soda, 
sal ammoniac, vitriol, and other chemicals, of a kind far 
from agreeable to vegetation, have, nevertheless, been 
all found useful in a cultural point of view; for, when 
they failed to impart fertility to the soil, they destroyed 
the enemies to vegetation, and very often prepared the 
soil for the better action of other manures. I have not 
had sufficient experience in any of them to speak 
with certainty of their results. But I may add, that 
one of the most useful ingredients to the Onion bed is 
charcoal ashes, which may be used with perfect safety 
at any time, as it does not possess any of those poisonous 
qualities which make those above dangerous to meddle 
with. I cannot, therefore, without caution, advise the 
indiscriminate use of any of those chemicals alluded to, 
unless in small quantities, and some time before the 
crop is sown. 
To the correspondent “ X. X. Y. A.,” whose in¬ 
quiries for advice on the Onion maggot,—the press of 
other matters prevented being attended to before,—I 
would say, give the ground, intended for Onions the 
following year, a moderate salting in the autumn ; 
ridge it, and be sure and turn it at least twice during 
the winter, when, the ground is dry, or when there is 
sufficient frost to bear the person doing it. A little 
lime may be added just before sowing; and the last 
turning, or levelling, should be sufficiently early to 
insure a good friable surface for sowing, which ought 
to be the first of March. The turning in frosty 
weather will assist to expose all parts to the action 
of the weather, and thereby destroy the larvie of insects 
that may be stored away. It will also enable birds to 
search out such things ; and last, though not least, add 
materially to the fertility of the soil. If the latter be 
a shallow one, let it be trenched by all means as early as 
possible, keeping the top spit to the top as before; but 
dung or other refreshener may be furnished to the 
bottom. This will have the effect of enabling the plant 
to resist the dry weather so common in June and July 
for the Onion roots are deeper than is generally sup- 
posed. I have traced it two feet deep almost all over 
tlie bed, when the soil was favourable. 
If our correspondent would try the effects of winter 
t liling as above, and use charcoal ashes at the time of 
sowing, I think he will be more likely to escape the 
devastations of the maggot than heretofore. I have 
never heard a complaint of Onions bladdering in the 
TcZ’ °t> dj -m g 0ff> witb the ma Sgot, when this was 
done. I ossibly soap, ashes, or some of the chemical 
bi,rnnO en - 10 n t d i aboVe . may be e T ua % efficacious ; 
h baVmg .FPenence in their action, I cannot 
taxe the responsibility of recommending them. 
J. Bobson. 
BEPLIES TO MANY QUESTIONS. 
“ S. A. wishes to know when she should pot Tropaolum 
tricolorum ,—whether now, when the bulbs are quite at rest, or 
when they begin to vegetate F If not till then, whether the 
soil ought to be moistened now ? Also, whether Lilium lanci¬ 
folium rubrum should be potted in autumn, or early in spring? 
Also the best season for dividing greenhouse Ferns; a large 
plant of the Maiden-Hair she has, having quite overgrown the 
smaller sorts F S. A. will also be glad to know the best soils 
for Tropseolums, Ferns, and Lilium lancifolium .” 
When to Pot Trop^eolum tricolorum, &c. —Not 
so much depends upon this as upon the treatment after¬ 
wards. To simplify the matter, however, it may be 
as well to say, “ Leave the potting alone until a thread¬ 
like shoot, or shoots, makes its appearance from the 
tubers.” Previously to that time, the tubers should 
be kept almost covered entirely (the very point merely 
left out) m dry earth, or dry sand. Peat and loam, in 
a fibry state, with a little mixture of silver sand, and 
about one-sixth of very rotten old cow dung, that has 
previously been dried and sweetened, w ill grow and 
bloom these climbers to perfection. If the dung, of 
wnatever kind, is not sw r eet and well aerated, use less 
of it in proportion, and confine it chiefly to the lower 
end of the pot next the drainage. In potting, the 
tuber should merely be covered, not sunk to any 
depth in the pot. . Here also comes the question you 
propose as to moistening the soil. When you pot 
this, or any other tuber or bulb, comparatively in a 
state of rest, the soil should be in a medium state,— 
neither wet nor dry,.—such as when grasped in the 
hand will retain the impression of your fingers after 
your hand is opened, but which will fall to pieces as 
soon as you lay it gently down on the potting bench, 
buch soil will long contain moisture enough for your 
tuber just beginning to grow; as, until roots are‘pro¬ 
duced pretty freely, the tuber will supply the young 
shoot with nourishment from its stored-up matter. 
Another question here presents itself,—namely, the 
size of pot to be used, the mode of watering, and the 
quantity of water to be given. The size of the pot 
must be greatly regulated by the size and freshness of 
e tuber. A pot eight or twelve inches in diameter 
will grow ahne specimen, and to this your trainer, 
wnatever you prefer for this purpose, may at once be 
^ ie sole difficulty arising from using a large 
pot at once will be found in the watering. As soon 
as planted, a very little drop of water may be given 
lound the tuber, just to settle the earth about it. As 
you see it grow freely, and are sure that the roots 
are ramifying let the water, wdien applied, extend as 
far as you judge the roots have gone; but by no 
means deluge all the earth in the pot until that earth 
has got roots ramifying tlirought it. For want of this 
precaution, many such plants are irremediably injured- 
e young roots, instead of being in a healthy medium, 
having to struggle for existence in a soil with all the 
constituents of a stinking morass. If you cannot de¬ 
pend upon such careful watering, you had better pot 
your tuber in a four or six-inch pot, and then place it in 
. e centre of a larger one; and when you judge the 
inner one to be full of roots, crack and break it with a 
hammer, so that the roots may have a free outlet. 
1 course, by this plan you confine your watering at 
first to the inner pot. With careful watering, potting 
finally at first is attended with least trouble. 
'Vhen to Pot Lilium lancifolium rubrum, &c.— 
lhe best time for this is not autumn, but spring, just 
as soon as the bulbs begin to shoot. The best soil 
ior them is about equal divisions of heath soil, loam, 
and old dried cowdung. They will bloom best if 
divided but little ; and the smaller bulbs should only 
be carefully removed, to furnish future stocks and 
large flowering bulbs at a future time. We do not 
