January 30, 188G. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
o 
o 
Scotti sh Gar dening. 
Small Fruits. —Currants. —It is seldom that 
much attention, either to thinning or training of 
Currants, is given during the summer months, though 
some cultivators assert that such labour is veil bestowed 
and remunerative. This advice would be specially 
applicable to the north, where less influence from sun 
in summer and autumn is experienced ; consequently, 
maturation of the growth is at a minimum rate. In 
ordinary gardens (which, in most cases, have a minimum 
of labour power) there is a tendency—in fact, dire 
necessity—of letting as much of the work referred to 
slip and have attention in a summary manner during 
the winter months. As the Currants, Gooseberries, and 
Raspberries seen at Scotch provincial shows are equal 
to any seen elsewhere, it need not be considered a 
matter of moment whether labour in summer is ex¬ 
pended on the bushes or not ; but to keep up a healthy 
free-fruiting state of the bushes, attention to pruning, 
propagating youngs plants, re-planting, manuring, &c., 
must be given while they are denuded of their foliage. 
Red and White Currants are often seen grown in a 
variety of forms, such as circular bushes, somewhat 
- open in their centres, and as standards, with clean 
stems 2 ft., 3 ft., or more high, and a head of shoots on 
them. Provision must be made for such modes of culti¬ 
vation when the young wood is put in to root, keeping 
the stems as near the desired height as possible, the 
bottom buds picked out of the straightest and strongest 
of the young shoots, three left at the top to form the 
young growths, and all the other buds picked clean out 
to prevent the growth of suckers. The cuttings are then 
ready to be put into the ground to root. A cool place 
with soil free from excessive damp suits them well, and 
the first season after they are planted roots and shoots 
will be formed, and the plants ready for transplanting 
at the close of the season, if they be really wanted, but 
two seasons’ growth or more gives strength, which 
makes the bushes more manageable. When preparing 
ground for young plantations, it is well to trench and 
manure the land ; but with the great breadths in the 
hands of market-men no such pains are taken, but they 
are more anxious to secure bulk of fruit than quality. 
The Currants may be planted from 4 ft. to 6 ft. apart 
—why we make such an allowance of 2 ft. is, because 
in dry gravelly soils growth is very small and puny com¬ 
pared with such land as we have to do with at present, 
strong tenacious, and in good heart; the bushes being 
placed equi-distant in rows may have a good mulching 
before the soil is entirely replaced, so that the mulching 
may retain its virtue longer than when exposed. If the 
bushes are standards they may have stakes placed to 
them after the holes are made, and the bushes put 
close to them and neatly tied twice to keep them 
secure against wind. Often Currants are cultivated to 
give late supplies, and are planted on north sides of 
walls and other buildings where they can be netted. 
With a good soil at the roots of these, and a little 
more attention given them than ordinary bushes, good 
supplies under the protection of nets (hexagon kind) or 
scrim can be had very late in the autumn, and are of 
more value than one at first consideration might 
imagine. The training of plants for such positions is 
necessary ; a good well rooted cutting should be planted, 
aud a shoot taken at first right and left, and three, four, 
or six young shoots taken uprightly 1 ft. apart, will 
soon cover extensive wall space. Cuttings put in against 
such walls in the usual way and three shoots taken 
from each, trained uprightly 1 ft. apart is a simple 
method of obtaining the end in view. We have seen 
black Currants (which will have special reference anon) 
nicely grown on walls, but they are not pruned like 
reds and whites. 
Often when bush fruits have for years been subjected 
to what is understood as close pruning (spurring into 
one or two eyes every season), allowing an accumu¬ 
lation of old hard wood which produces small fruit; such 
bushes may be rejuvinated by cutting them down pretty 
well half way, lifting entirely, and replanting in fresh 
soil in new positions if possible. New wood will soon 
grow up, and the old worthless looking bushes will be 
in good condition ; but such labour is only advisable 
where supplies of fruit cannot be dispensed with till 
young bushes have grown up to meet the requirements. 
Three years ago v r e gathered a large quantity of worn- 
out looking bushes, transplanted them, and have had 
good value for our trouble : but a larger plantation of 
young plants are now of such a size as to give good 
supplies of fruit. Their crop last season was large— 
we can now dispense with a good number of the old 
bushes, but they are really worth retaining. Pruning 
is generally practised upon the “ spur ” system (cutting 
close to a bud or two), but we prefer in addition to 
this to cut out some older shoots, annually supplanting 
a few strong growths of the current year ; trees man¬ 
aged in this way give an abundance of fruit of the best 
quality. Young bushes, we consider, are cut in too 
closely, we prefer leaving the strong shoots from 12 ins. 
to 15 ins. long, cutting the weakly ones out or well 
back ; in a few years good-sized and well-established 
bushes are formed. Now is a good time to prune and 
scrape off moss and other accumulations, and follow 
this with a washing of lime and soot mixed.— M. T. 
-- 
THE LATE SEVERE WEATHER. 
It may be interesting to some readers of The Gar¬ 
dening World to know what has been the state of 
the weather here in the north during the present month 
of January. So far as it has gone, we have only had 
four days clear of actual frost—the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 
13th. Taking the days in their order, the actual 
minimum temperature recorded at 3 ft. above the 
ground has been 39°, 37", 35°, 32°, 27°, 17°, 13°, 17°, 
22°, 19°, 25°, 22°, 33°, 29°, 31°, 21°, 26°, 15°, 9°, 9°, 
23°, 26°, 28°, 25°. I think that so far as frost has to 
he considered, we are almost justified in reckoning 
the winter of 1885-6 as an unusually severe one. 
Having in November an aggregate of 105° of frost, with 
17° on the 17th and 21° on the following morning ; in 
December an aggregate of 1S4°, with 22° on the 7th ; 
and commencing that week’s frost on the Sunday, the 
readings were 12°, 22°, 18°, 14°, 16°, 18°, 9°—a goodly 
amount for one week only. It will be seen that our 
aggregate this month already reaches 203° of frost, 23° 
being registered on two mornings, the 19th and 20th of 
the month. I may add that the weather set in most 
severe on Saturday morning, and continued so, with 
snow and sleet, up to la§t night. — 11. Stevens, Poston, 
Northumberland, Jan. 26th. 
It is five years since we experienced in this part of 
the country anything like such severe weather as we 
have had this month. Our thermometer, at 3 ft. from 
the ground, on the morning of the 6tli registered 10° of 
frost; the 7th, 17° ; the 8th, 9° ; the 9tli, 8° ; the 
10th, 9° ; the 11th, 10° ; the 12th, 10°. On the 10th 
we had a fall of snow about 3 ins. deep, and from the 
12th to the 16th the weather was very stormy, and 
frost set in again. On the morning of the 17th we had 
3° ; the 18tli, 12° ; the 19th, 20° ; the 20th, 21° ; the 
21st, 12° ; the 22nd, 3° ; the 23rd, 7° ; the 24th, 11° ; 
the 25th, 9°. On the 19th we had another fall of snow 
7 ins. deep, which still remains on the ground, and 
yesterday we had 2 ins. more.— William Connelly, 
North Hall Gardens, Wigan, Jan. 25. 
- ->®<- - 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
Primulas, Cytisuses, Cyclamens, and Cinerarias are 
all contributing now to the increasing attractions of 
this house, and it is wise to treat them liberally in 
order to prolong their season of usefulness as much as 
possible. This can be effected *to a great extent by 
supplies of liquid manure about three times a week, or 
more frequently if the liquid be used in a weak state, 
as it should be. Amateurs too often inflict an injury 
upon their plants in their attempts to aid them by 
applying manurial stimulants much too strong. The 
soil becomes sodden and the plant charged with more 
nutriment than it can utilise, leading to decay of the 
roots, stagnation in the plants, and general failure. 
This is equally the case whether the liquid be prepared 
from ordinary stable manure or from the numerous 
artificial manures now advertised, all of which possess 
some qualities to recommend them ; make the solution 
weak, and if the plants are in need of much assistance, 
give it frequently, but exercise the same care as in the 
usual watering, which needs especial attention at this 
time of year. Primulas need close watching, as they 
are apt to damp off very suddenly when they are in¬ 
judiciously supplied with water. There is less danger 
i( they have been potted properly, but the soil must 
never be allowed to become thoroughly dry or be unduly 
saturated. 
Fuchsias. —Where there is a good stock of last 
year’s plants stored away, some may now be brought 
out from their winter quarters and prepared for an 
early start, as the flowers will be welcome as soon as 
they can be obtained. Cut-in the shoots to firm wood, 
rendering the plants shapely and of such a size as 
required, turn them out of the pots, removing the old 
soil and shortening the roots ; prepare a light compost 
of loam and leaf-soil for the first potting, employing 
pots of a size that will hold the roots without allowing 
too much space, as the plants will need another potting 
later on ; place them in a warm position in the green¬ 
house, or preferably in a frame with a mild bottom- 
heat, where they will quickly start into growth. Until 
the shoots are well advancing, very little water need be 
given to the roots, as a moderate syringing will be all 
that is necessary. Fuchsias like a warm moist atmo¬ 
sphere at all times, but when in active growth water 
must be liberally supplied, as owing to the soft succulent 
character of their shoots and foliage, a great quantity 
of moisture is requisite to supply the loss occasioned by 
evaporation and rapid growth. 
Fuchsias are favourites with all, and few plants 
yield a better return for the labour expended upon them. 
If it is desired to increase the stock of the varieties 
at present grown, it can be easily done by taking 
cuttings of the young shoots when they have advanced 
2 ins. or 3 ins., inserting them in light loam, leaf-soil, 
and plenty of sand, and plunging the pots in an ordi¬ 
nary dung frame where the cuttings will strike quickly. 
If the forced plants are not wanted very early, this 
topping will render them more compact and bushy, 
but in the majority of cases it will be preferable to 
defer this mode of increase until another batch is 
started. Where only a few varieties are grown, a 
selection of at least a dozen should be made, and there 
is now an abundance to choose from, so many in fact, 
that it is rather puzzling to amateurs. We will there¬ 
fore name a dozen distinct free-growing and useful 
varieties that may be safely depended upon. Single 
dark varieties: Try Me O !, Sir W. G. Armstrong, Re¬ 
splendent, Roderick Dim ; single light varieties, white 
tube : White Souvenir de Chiswick, Beauty of Trow¬ 
bridge ; white corollas : Miss Burdett Coutts, Cannells’ 
Gem ; double dark varieties : Champion of the World, 
Avalanche ; double light varieties : Miss Lucy Finnis 
and Edelweiss. 
Tuberous Begonias are invaluable plants for sum¬ 
mer, and though the quickest way is to obtain tubers 
and grow them on in the usual way, yet it is advisable 
to purchase a packet or two of seed from some seedsman 
or nurseryman who makes a speciality of such plants. 
These Begonias have been greatly improved in the 
past five or six years, and by careful continued selection 
the strains have been rendered so good, that some 
charming varieties can now be obtained from seed, 
equal to many that are named, and occasionally novel¬ 
ties of great beauty are secured. Begonia seed is very 
minute, and the purchaser must not be surpiised to 
receive a small quantity, but he will find an abundance 
to raise a good stock of plants from. It is necessary to be 
very careful, however, in sowing this seed or failure will 
certainly result, and unless there is a warm frame or 
another house kept at a slightly higher temperature, 
it had better not be attempted until later in the season. 
With such convenience as that named, some seed 
may be sown within the next fortnight. In preparing 
the soil for this purpose it should be sifted very fine, 
light loam and leaf-soil with about one half silver sand 
being employed, giving a thin layer of the latter for a 
surfacing. Upon this scatter the seed thinly, having 
previously well moistened the soil so that it will not be 
necessary to apply any water for some days aftenvards* 
Place a piece of glass over the pots, plunge these in the 
frame and cover the glass with paper as shading, and 
to prevent evaporation ; watch closely, and if the soil 
becomes dry, an extremely fine rose water pot must be 
used to give water with, but it is better to avoid this if 
possible until the seed lias germinated. 
Ordinary Work. —The principal ordinary work 
now will be attending to the ventilation whenever the 
weather is suitable, and for the majority of the plants 
avoid giving too much -water, as damping and mildew 
prove destructive to both foliage and flowers. If there' 
is room for storing soil place some under cover when it 
is getting moderately dry outside, as the season is ap¬ 
proaching w'hen there will be much potting to perform, 
and it is then inconvenient to seek for soil especially 
as it may be in a very unsuitable condition just when 
wanted. Stakes, pots, baskets, labels, or anything else 
likely to be needed should be similarly prepared at 
leisure time, and the advantage of the forethought -will 
be fully appreciated when the busy season arrives.— 
Scolytus. 
