168 
THE FLORIST AND POIIOLOGIST. 
[ Novemueb 
each plant. As the stem increases in growth 
it must he fastened to the sticks, which ought 
to be a little stouter than those used for the 
pot plants. Even with the rich soil and deep 
cultivation, the plants will suffer w’heu the dry 
weathei sets in. It will be necessary to place 
enough manure on the beds to cover the sur¬ 
face, and in dry, hot weather a good supply of 
water should be applied through the coarse 
rose of a large water-pot three times a week. 
The manure arrests evaporation from the soil, 
and its fertilising properties are washed down 
to the roots of the plants. 
They may he either planted out in the 
autumn or in the spring ; either way, there will 
be a good bloom the first 3 'ear. 
They will do in the same place for another 
season, but the number of shoots produced will 
be greatly in excess of what is rec[uired; the 
superfluous growths, which ought to be removed 
early, make excellent cuttings. The largest 
number that should be allowed to flower on 
each plant is five. In ordinary seasons, the 
cuttings will be ready from out-of-door plants 
about the middle or end of March, and if it is 
not intended to use small pots for the cuttings 
they may be inserted in a bed of fine soil, about 
.3 inches apart, out-of-doors. When rooted, re¬ 
plant into store-beds, about G in. apart. These 
plants may be transferred to their blooming- 
beds in the autumn or spring, and be treated 
in the same way as has already been recom¬ 
mended for beds planted with pot plants. 
To keep up a supply of the best flowering 
plants, it is necessary to propagate a fresh lot 
annually. I never allow the plants to remain 
more than tw’O years in a bed, as after the 
second year, the cjuality of the bloom deterior¬ 
ates, and it is better to dig the plants up and 
throw them on the rubbish-heap. Some culti¬ 
vators chop the large plants up with a spade, 
and forthwith proceed to pilant fresh beds with 
the fragments. This system need only be 
noticed to condemn it. Such treatment is 
simply barbarous, and those who pursue it do 
not deserve success.—.1. Douglas, Ilford. 
THE DUNMOKE PEAR. 
f llE season for planting being at hand, I 
Avish to recommend the Dunmore Pear 
to intending planters as highly de¬ 
serving of notice, both for its excellence, and 
also on account of its coming into use betAveen 
the seasons of Williams’s Bon Chretien and 
Marie Louise. It was raised by Mr. Knight. 
The tree is very hardy, a vigorous groAA'er, and 
bears most abundantly as a standard, It is, 
moreover, w’ell adapted for cold or late situa¬ 
tions. A standard tree here very rarely fails 
having a good crop. It is one of the best and most 
melting Pears in its season, and is deserving a 
place in a collection of choice Pears.—M. 
Saul, Stourtoii Pari., Knareshorough. 
WINTER LETTUCES. 
cf^l^ARDY Lettuces are much appreciated b}" 
cultivators, especially by those who 5 
having neither cloches nor frames, wish 
to have, during the spring, a supply of this 
Avholesome vegetable to eat, either cooked or 
in salads. The time of sowing the seed varies 
according to the climate and the soil; August 
25th is generallj^ the time preferred. These, 
if planted out in October and November, 
survive the Avinter, and yield, in April and 
May, good plants which head readiijn 
Those who desire the earliest supply^ culti¬ 
vate, under cloches or in frames, such kinds as 
the Gotte, the Georges, or the Cordon rouge, 
AA’hich produce from December until March; 
the supply from this source is, hoAvever, neces¬ 
sarily' limited. 
Having to provide a cyuantity of Lettuces so 
that the supply is unbroken, I continue soAving 
as late in the autumn as possible, and very 
often the last of the lettuces Grise or Cordon, 
are damaged by' frost. I have, therefore, 
changed these kinds for the variety Brune 
d’Hiver, of Avbich I make a sowing at the end of 
July or the 1st of August at the latest. The 
culture does not differ from that at other 
seasons, only I plant it in September', on old 
beds or along the borders, Avhich have the 
best aspect. These Lettuces have time to 
develop themselves before the severe frosts; 
they can endure some degrees of cold Avithout 
suffering, and yield a supply from December 
onAvards, Avithout the aid of frames or hell- 
glasses. This last Avinter, notwithstanding the 
cold Avhich Ave had in November, aided by the 
subsequent exceptional temperature, I con¬ 
tinued to have Lettuces headed in the 
open air, and to-day (.January 10th) my Let¬ 
tuce-beds are as fine as at the end of May'. 
Success is not, perhaps, so certain every 
year, for the Lettuces Passion and Brune 
d’Hiver, although hardy', being then but y'oung, 
Avould not endure a v'ery low temperature, 
especially if accompanied by snoAA'. My aim 
is not so much to make the plants pass the 
Avinter, as to enjoy this vegetable the longer 
Avithout having recourse to forced culture, and 
I have been able to preserve my Lettuces until 
February, by covering them Avith a frame. 
This is one of the most economical modes of 
culture, and one Avhich may be attempted by 
ev'ery'body'. Kitchen-gardeners would find it 
profitable, since they might thus usefully' em¬ 
ploy the borders Avhich are empty at that time. 
—Henri Feaye, in Bidletin Horticole, 
