January  U,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
27 
either  slightly  higher  or  lower  than  the  surrounding  soil.  After 
potting  no  watering  at  the  roots  will  be  necessary  for  a  few  days,  but 
the  syringings  will  be  frequently  necessary  should  the  weather 
prove  bright,  and  shading  for  a  few  hours  daily  will  be  beneficial. 
When  it  is  found  that  water  is  required  it  ought  to  be  done 
through  a  rose,  and  be  done  thoroughly,  so  as  to  moisten  every 
particle  of  the  ball. 
With  this  treatment  the  young  shoots  will  make  good  progress, 
and  will  need  a  greater  amount  of  air  to  keep  them  sturdy.  With 
this  object  in  view,  by  the  end  of  April  they  may  with  advantage 
be  removed  to  a  structure  where  an  ordinary  greenhouse  treatment 
is  given.  At  the  end  of  June  place  them  in  the  open  air  ;  the 
back  of  a  north  wall  is  a  capital  position.  Plunge  the  pots  two- 
thirds  of  their  depth  in  ashes  or  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse,  pay  strict 
attention  to  watering,  and  occasionally  give  slight  applications  of 
Clay’s  fertiliser.  Strong  shoots  will  thus  be  produced,  and  if  the 
plants  are  arranged  thinly  the  wood  will  become  thoroughly  ripened 
without  exposure  to  more  sunny  positions,  as  some  advocate.  By 
the  middle  of  September  all  ought  to  be  removed  to  cool  houses 
or  pits,  their  subsequent  treatment  having  been  already  detailed. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  best  varieties  : — densiflora,  Eclipse, 
exoniensis,  Exquisite,  hyacinthiflora,  H.  alba,  H.  candidissima, 
Lady  Alice  Peel,  miniata  splendens,  rubra  superba,  Vesuvius,  and 
Viscountess  Hill. — D.  W.  C. 
DOUBLE  PRIMULAS. 
Few  plants  are  so  valuable  as  these  when  successfully  grown. 
They  are  useful  for  affording  flowers  for  table  decoration,  also 
for  greenhouse  and  conservatory  adornment,  and  by  judicious 
treatment  may  be  had  in  flower  for  ten  months  of  the  year.  The 
best  method  of  propagating  double  Primulas  is  in  the  first  place  to 
prepare  a  quantity  of  well-decayed  leaf  soil  passed  through  a  fine 
sieve  ;  it  should  be  mixed  with  sharp  sand  in  the  proportion  of 
one  bushel  of  leaf  soil  to  a  peck  and  a  half  of  sand  ;  after  this  is 
done  pack  the  compost  rather  tightly  round  the  collar  of  the  plants 
so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  pyramid  round  each.  This  must  be  done  in 
May  or  June  to  insure  early  flowers,  and  for  succession  others 
should  be  so  treated  a  month  later.  The  plants  should  be  placed 
in  a  close  house  or  pit,  water  being  withheld  from  the  roots,  only 
syringing  moderately  to  keep  the  compost  moist.  In  about  a  month 
from  the  time  of  being  dressed,  roots  will  be  found  starting  from 
the  stems  of  the  plants.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  before  using 
the  compost  some  of  the  leaves  should  be  removed  with  a  sharp 
knife,  leaving  about  half  a  dozen  to  a  head.  Shading  must  also 
be  employed  to  prevent  the  soil  getting  dry,  as  the  less  the 
plants  are  watered  the  better. 
After  the  roots  have  taken  a  firm  hold  of  the  leaf  soil  the  plants 
should  be  shaken  out  of  the  pots  and  divided  with  a  knife,  leaving 
all  available  new  roots  with  each  crown.  Transfer  the  young 
plants  into  60-size  pots,  which  should  be  placed  into  a  pit  close 
to  the  glass,  and  if  a  little  bottom  heat  be  at  command  so 
much  the  better.  For  instance,  an  old  Melon  or  Cucumber  frame 
will  answer  admirably  for  this  purpose.  Shading  must  be  again 
attended  to,  gradually  lessening  it  as  the  plants  become  established, 
which  can  be  seen  by  turning  a  plant  or  two  carefully  out  of  the 
pot,  and  then  they  should  be  shaded  only  when  the  sun  is  very 
strong.  Repot  them  in  about  half  and  half  leaf  soil  as  finely  sifted 
as  before,  and  very  light  fibry  loam  with  plenty  of  sand,  providing 
good  drainage. 
When  the  plants  are  well  rooted,  which  will  be  about  a  month 
from  the  time  of  potting,  they  will  require  shifting  to  48-size  pots, 
which  are  large  enough  however  luxuriant  the  plants  may  be.  The 
compost  employed  this  time  should  be  three-fourths  turfy  loam 
and  one-fourth  well-decomposed  cow  manure,  the  plants  now  being 
placed  in  a  pit  without  any  bottom  heat. 
The  second  and  third  successions  should  be  placed  in  a  house 
slightly  shaded  if  the  situation  requires  it,  and  kept  close  for  a  few 
days,  then  gradually  inure  them  to  the  light,  as  after  October  they 
will  require  full  exposure  to  insure  good  and  strong  foliage  and 
flowers.  The  first  potted  plants  will  by  this  time  be  showing  a 
number  of  flowers,  and  should  be  removed  to  a  light  structure  or 
placed  on  shelves  if  only  a  small  quantity  is  grown.  The  tempera¬ 
ture  of  the  house  during  the  winter  months  must  be  as  near  55° 
by  day  as  possible,  or  rising  to  60°  with  sun  heat  and  falling  to  50° 
at  night.  After  the  pots  are  filled  with  roots  a  little  soot  water 
may  be  given  once  a  week  with  advantage,  also  a  little  Clay’s 
Fertiliser  once  a  month.  The  lower  leaves  when  showing  signs  of 
decay  may  be  cut  in  quite  close  either  with  a  small  knife  or  a  pair 
of  Grape  scissors,  removing  a  good  quantity  whether  decayed  or 
not  where  flower  only  is  required,  as  this  will  encourage  and 
prolong  their  blooming. 
After  the  earliest  plants  have  been  in  flower  about  a  month  they 
will  require  a  rest  for  a  time.  In  three  weeks,  however,  they 
will  begin  to  flower  again,  but  the  second  supply  will  take  their 
place  in  the  interval,  so  that  by  this  means  the  cultivator  may 
have  a  continuation  of  useful  flowers  till  July.  Shading  must 
again  be  provided  when  the  bright  days  of  spring  come,  as  the 
flowers  soon  become  pinky,  which  deprives  them  of  their  value 
when  pure  white  flowers  are  in  request.  Careful  watering  is 
essential  throughout  the  season. — J.  S. 
OPEN  AIR  PEACH  CULTURE. 
( Concluded  frontpage  596.) 
Protecting  the  blossom  against  injury  from  frost  must  receive  due 
attention.  Some  people  retard  the  pruning  or  thinning  out  of  surplus 
shoots  and  old  wood  as  a  means  of  further  retarding  the  blossom,  but  I 
never  could  see  the  advantage  of  this.  My  practice  is  to  prune  the 
trees  and  commence  with  the  tying,  so  that  all  is  finished  by  the  time 
the  trees  need  protection.  As  before  remarked,  our  wall  is  surmounted 
with  a  glass  coping,  which  is  put  in  at  this  period.  The  fronts  of 
the  trees  are  effectually  protected  by  lengths  of  woollen  net,  which, 
besides  admitting  light,  protects  the  trees  against  frost  and  cutting  winds. 
On  fine  days  the  covering  is  drawn  up,  but  pulled  down  at  night,  and 
also  allowed  to  remain  down  during  the  day  if  at  all  cold  and  easterly 
winds  prevail. 
This  covering  we  find  a  capital  aid  against  the  evil  known  as  blister, 
which  is  a  fungus  that  will  not  thrive  unless  the  trees  are  exposed  to 
cold  winds.  I  may  as  well  state  that  when  selecting  fresh  trees,  make  a 
point  that  they  have  not  been  subject  to  blister.  In  a  garden  with  which 
I  was  acquainted  it  was  only  when  perfectly  clean  young  trees  were 
planted  that  “  blister”  could  be  stamped  out,  although  subjected  to  the 
same  treatment  of  covering.  A  wooden  coping,  even  12  inches  in  width, 
to  remain  up  whilst  the  trees  are  in  bloom,  or  as  long  as  covering  is 
needed,  is  also  to  be  commended,  and  is  much  better  than  no  coping  at 
all.  From  this  moveable  blinds  may  be  fixed,  or  a  few  thicknesses  of 
fish  netting. 
During  fine  days,  whilst  the  tree3  are  in  bloom,  if  there  are  any  bees 
in  the  neighbourhood  they  will  be  sure  to  find  out  the  Peach  trees,  and 
are  a  capital  aid  in  securing  perfectly  fertilised  flowers.  Going  over  the 
trees  about  twice  or  three  times  at  midday,  with  a  large  sized  camel-hair 
brush  is  also  a  good  method  to  adopt  ;  but,  after  all,  these  aids  will  avail 
little  if  the  trees  are  not  otherwise  in  a  healthy  state,  both  at  the  roots 
and  in  the  branches. 
After  the  blossoms  have  set  they  will  quickly  swell,  when  the  thinning 
out  must  commence.  First  remove  all  small  fruits,  thinning  out  also 
the  double  and  triple  buds  down  to  one,  leaving  in  all  cases  the  most 
prominent.  By  removing  thus  early  these  small  embryo  fruits  it  gives  a 
good  opportunity  of  picking  all  decaying  petals,  which  if  left  form  a 
favourite  lurking  place  for  aphis.  As  time  proceeds  and  the  small 
fruits  swell,  take  off  by  degrees  other  mis-shapen  and  useless  ones,  or,  in 
other  words,  those  not  required  for  a  full  crop.  A  good  guage  is  the 
usual  one — of  a  fruit  to  every  square  foot  of  space,  or  even  10  inches. 
It  will  be  understood  that  disbudding  will  also  have  to  take  place 
simultaneously  to  the  thinning  of  the  fruit.  Do  not  leave  the  shoots  too 
thick,  but  disbud  so  that  there  is  a  clear  space  between  each  shoot, 
also  having  an  eye  on  the  formation  or  extension  of  the  tree.  Good 
colour  in  the  fruit  is  also  of  the  greatest  importance.  To  secure  this 
end,  each  individual  fruit  must  have  full  exposure,  all  overhanging 
leaves  being  removed.  Highly-coloured  fruits  also  command  the  best 
market  prices,  so  it  will  be  readily  understood  how  important  it  is  to 
well  expose  the  fruit. 
The  syringing  and  the  application  of  water  to  the  roots  is  no  less 
important  than  other  details.  The  former  must  not  be  carried  out 
indiscriminately.  My  practice  is  not  to  syringe  unless  the  weather  is 
genial,  and  then  it  is  done  just  as  the  sun’s  rays  go  off  the  trees.  As 
regards  the  application  of  water  to  the  roots  the  soil  must  never  be 
allowed  to  become  dry.  Whenever  it  is  necessary  to  water  give  a 
thorough  soaking,  so  that  the  soil  is  well  moistened  down  to  the  drainage. 
Mulching  will  do  much  to  lessen  the  need  of  water.  For  this  purpose 
use  litter  as  it  comes  from  the  stables.  If  any  stimulant  is  needed  one 
or  two  applications  of  Thomson’s  Vine  manure  should  be  given  at 
intervals,  to  be  followed  in  each  case  by  a  watering. 
Peach  trees  are  often  greatly  benefited  by  partial  relifting,  shortening 
back  the  stronger  running  roots,  and  relaying  again  with  the  addition  of 
some  fresh  soil  of  the  nature  described  for  planting.  This  will  be 
found  an  excellent  method  to  adopt  in  the  case  of  trees  having  an 
unhealthy  yellow  cast  in  the  foliage,  and  is  often  the  means  of  effectu¬ 
ally  restoring  the  trees  to  health.  This  yellow  appearance  is  often 
caused  from  the  lack  of  lime  or  potash,  or  both  in  the  soil,  and  the 
application  of  these  elements,  under  various  forms,  is  resorted  to  by 
some  of  the  best  cultivators  with  great  success.  On  the  least  sign  of 
waning  vigour  in  any  case  partial  relifting  ought  to  be  adopted,  even  if 
this  operation  should  have  to  be  resorted  to  at  intervals  of  three  or  four 
years. 
When  commencing,  I  noted  my  intention  to  individualise  a  few 
varieties  by  extended  notice.  The  merits  of  the  earlier  sorts  I  need  not 
dwell  on,  as  these  may  be  planted  according  to  one’s  desires,  and  the 
names  of  which  I  have  already  given.  In  selecting  varieties  for  planting, 
they  must,  above  all,  be  healthy  growers.  For  instance,  those  two  well- 
known  Peaches,  Royal  George  and  Noblesse,  although  of  most  exquisite 
flavour  when  cultivated  under  glass,  are  too  tender  for  open-air  planting, 
