8 
THE FLORIST AND FOMOLOGIST. 
[January, 
plants that are taken in hand. The varieties 
that have been raised of late years, especially 
M. Alegatiere’s seedlings, are remarkably dwarf 
in habit, and, along with the fine kinds pro¬ 
duced in this country, are generally good 
growers. 
By providing a sufficient number of plants 
to admit of their being brought on in succes¬ 
sion, a supply of flowers may be kept up with¬ 
out intermission from autumn till late in the 
spring.—T. Baines, Southgate. 
ROASTED TURF. 
T this time of the year, when many of 
our garden plants are reposing under 
ground, we cannot do better than pre¬ 
pare composts to be used in the coming spring, 
when all will be activity, and the day ail too 
short for the work to be accomplished. Peat, 
loam, and sand will certainly be wanted, and 
these in good condition. Peat is a ticklish 
article to deal with, for when it gets quite dry, 
it will not take water when water is offered to 
it, and thus many heaths and other peat-earth 
plants die from want of moisture, although 
water skin-deep is supplied to them freely. 
This is not the case with the other ingredients, 
for sand is open like a sieve, and loam will take 
water slowly, especially when sand is mixed 
freely with it. Every one seems to know when 
his plants want water, but it is not an easy 
matter to tell when they want dryness. Young 
fruit-trees and roses will take little harm, if 
kept out of the ground for a short time. My 
father used to say there was a time when dry¬ 
ness did no harm to such plants, provided they 
were shifted in season, and well treated after¬ 
wards. 
In modern gardening, we get Cucumbers and 
even Grapes to come to perfection in one or 
two cubic feet of earth in a pot, the plants 
being supported by regular waterings with 
manure-water. But the amateur asks, what is 
manure ? for he has seen filth on the pots 
which could not be endured, and could not be 
necessary, since the roots were below and the 
manure above, and mud more or less watery, 
though good enough for a pasture field, is not 
suitable for in-door plants. The late Mr. Barnes 
(of Bicton) excelled in the manufacture and use 
of manure-water. He passed it through char¬ 
coal, so that when he applied it to his plants 
it was as colourless as clean water, and his 
success in this way was knowji to most gardeners. 
Some years ago, the sale of Roasted Turf 
was mooted, and instructions were given to 
provide an iron plate, mounted on four brick 
ends, for the purpose of preparing it. The 
turf to be roasted was laid on the plate of 
iron, but the whole thing was too simple and 
insignificant, so that it fell into desuetude as a 
broken toy. Clay when burnt is clay no more, 
and when fields are pared and burnt, the ashes 
may be useful; but earth burnt to a cinder 
■would be no compost for plants by itself. 
Peat-asli from a cottage, that has had all the 
waste from the house cast on it, may be, and 
surely is, good manure for such crops as Cab¬ 
bages and Turnips, but it is not suitable for 
being seen above ground, and is best buried. 
The idea of roasting Turf was good, but it 
had to be grappled with practically, for unless 
the Cucumber or the Vine had thirst or need 
of water, it would be useless to offer it. The 
Roasted Turf, however, is an open medium, 
permitting the roots and the manure-water to 
permeate the ball, and yet admitting repeated 
doses, without choking the medium in which 
the feeders move. On a piece of waste ground 
I got about 10 cwt. of old turf from a field, 
and built it up, turf only, like a haycock, 
leaving two small openings at the bottom to 
light the fire and, if necessary, to regulate it, 
the inside being filled with branches and a few 
shavings, to set the fire agoing. The flush of 
firing was soon over, but the embers and hot 
walls kept warm for some time, so that any wire- 
worrns or the like would have warning to leave 
the premises, for all creatures, small as well as 
great, know the character of fire, and flee from 
it. A few rough stakes supported the roof, 
and the whole was a close building, with a 
smouldering fire. There was no smoke of coals, 
and the wood used made very little smoke. 
However, the sods were packed, so that they 
were neither raw nor burnt, but roasted ; and 
when manure-water was applied, the action 
was effective, for the plants were fed with 
water, and not with mud, and that water was 
medicated with no stint of manure. I need 
scarcely remark, however, that Vines in pots 
cannot do with much manure-water when the 
fruit is ripening. With a hatful of roasted 
turf, the amateur has got the matter in his 
own hands, for, with Barnes’s clear liquor, and 
these fine open sods, the thing will be set 
agoing ; and who is there that would not wish, 
when the “ shades of evening close over him,” 
“to sit under his vine?”— Alex. Forsyth, 
Salford, 
