520 
JOURN'AL  OF  BORTIGULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
llecember  2,  If  97* 
season,  the  season  of  rest  with  so  many  objects  of  our  care.  Indoors 
and  outdoors,  with  practically  all  of  these,  we  know  how  essential  it 
is  that  rest  should  he  afforded,  and  most  cannot  fail  to  have  observed 
how  any  transgression  in  this  respect  brings  its  own  punishment.  The 
more  obvious  this  is  when  we  reflect  upon  the  sensitiveness  of  plant 
life  to  undue  excitement.  Much  of  this  as  belonging  to  outdoor 
vegetation  is,  indeed,  beyond  our  control,  but  there  are  again  notable 
instances  in  which  a  ministering  hand  helps  the  subject  to  perform 
its  functions  at  the  proper  season,  and  to  pave  the  way  for  a  better 
fulfilment  of  natural  laws  under  adverse  circumstances.  But  with 
the  objects  more  directly  under  control  is  our  present  concern,  and  here 
the  sins  of  omission  and  commission  are  not  rarely  noticeable. 
Both  in  plant  houses  and  fruit  houses  the  penny  wise  policy  is  so 
often  adopted  during  our  all  too  short  summers  of  trusting  to  the  sun, 
or  at  any  rate  of  a  remissness  as  regards  firing,  which  results  in  the 
mistaken  end(avour  to  push  on  plants  when  they  should  be  at  rest,  or 
to  complete  the  finishing  process  of  fruit  when  too  late.  In  either 
case  a  pound  of  coal  is,  figuratively,  better  in  early  summer  than  a  ton 
in  late  autumn.  I  have  lately  seen  a  fine  house  of  Gros  Colman 
Grapes,  fine  in  every  respect  but  the  final  finish  of  colour,  quite  spoiled 
for  that  market  for  which  they  were  intended  owing  to  a  laxity  in  the 
employment  of  artificial  heat  as  a  balance  to  make  good  the  deficiency 
of  solar  rays  earlier  in  the  season;  and  although  considerable  effort  at 
some  expense  was  made  from  mid-September  to  retrieve  lost  time,  the 
atlempt,  it  is  needless  to  say,  was  utterly  futile.  This  is,  however,  a 
little  aside  of  our  subject.  More  direct  to  the  point  was  an  instance 
which  came  under  notice  of  a  young  head  gardener  who  found  in  his 
new  charge  a  fine  house  of  Crotons.  Pressure  of  work — and  new  work 
presses  the  heaviest — led  to  a  little  laxity  much  as  in  the  way  of  the 
Grapes,  and  an  all  too  short  season  had  waxed  and  waned  ere  vigorous 
measures  begotten  of  anxiety  were  taken.  The  effects  in  this  case 
were  disastrous,  for  the  stirring  into  activity  at  that  time,  when  the 
most  perfect  rest  we  can  give  these  plants  is  required,  resulted  in  all 
but  collapse  of  the  whole  collection. 
In  contrast  to  this  one  could  not  bat  recall  the  practice  of  a  one¬ 
time  leading  exhibitor  of  plants.  Perfect  rest  at  the  proper  time  anel 
for  as  long  a  time  as  was  consistent  with  the  plant’s  health,  or  the 
purpose  for  which  it  was  intended,  was  with  him  a  sine  qua  non.  To 
obtain  this  each  particular  plant,  as  an  impoitant  unicof  the  gioup  for 
which  they  were  intended,  was  studied  to  a  degree  which  would, 
1  ossibly,  be  a  revelation  to  many  of  later  days;  and  how  well  they 
enjoyed  this  rest  until  gently  awakened  into  sturdy,  vigorous  growth 
was  a  revelation  too.  The  successful  grower  of  exhibition  plants — 
and  presumably  this  is  the  highest  test  of  excellence — insists  upon  due 
recognition  of  this  essential  requirement,  and  the  means  generally 
employed  in  intelligent  practice  are  too  well  known  to  detain  here. 
Once  our  exotic  plants  by  skilful  management  become  responsive  to 
control  under  possibly  divergent  treatment  to  their  native  conditions, 
and  granted  that  such  favejurable  conditions  are  maintained,  the  rest  is 
comparatively  easy  ;  otherwise  it  is  an  open  channel  to  a  sea  of  troubles 
in  plant  growing. 
In  the  infinite  variety  of  character  met  with  in  plant  life  we  can 
surely  see  much  that  is  analogous  to  our  own  phase  of  existence. 
With  plants,  as  with  ourselves,  are  to  be  [^found  those  exciteable 
beings  which  rest  badly,  and  others  there  are  which  sleep  like  a  top 
during  any  abnormal  elementary  disturbance.  That  plants  enjoy 
rest  only  when  the  functions  of  a  season’s  growth  are  completed  is 
obvious,  and  any  attempt  to  compel  them,  either  by  withholding 
water  or  a  reduction  of  temperature,  to  adapt  themselves  to  a  treat¬ 
ment  for  which  they  are  unprepared,  cannot  but  lead  to  constitutional 
deterioration.  Some  few  years  since,  during  one  of  those  winters  of 
almost  Arctic  severity  which  occasionally  visit  us,  the  heating, 
apparatus  of  a  range  of  plant  houses  in  a  certain  high-class  garden 
gave  way  under  the  temporary  strain  imi)Osed  upon  it.  This,  with  a 
fine  coUection  of  stove  plants,  appeared  as  if  unqualified  disaster 
would  result.  Such,  however,  was  not  the  case,  and  it  was  a  matter  for 
surprise,  even  to  the  head  gardener,  that  his  choice  plants  came 
through  the  ordeal  practically  uninjured.  All  possible  protection 
was  of  course  afforded  during  several  severe  days  and  nights  ere 
temporary  repairs  could  be  effected,  yet  w^hat  these  plants  endured, 
little  short  of  actual  freezing,  can  be  imagined.  The  secret  of  escape 
laid  in  the  fact  that  they  were,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  for  a  general 
collection  of  plants  to  ever  be,  at  perfect  lest;  and,  generally  con¬ 
sidered,  the  nearer  wm  can  habituate  our  tender  stove  and  greenhouse 
plants  to^two  seasons  only — a  season  of  growth  and  a  season  of  rest — 
the  latter  during  the  dark  daj  s  of  winter,  the  better  it  is  for  them 
and  all  concerned.  Other  aspects  of  this  question  there  are,  which 
of  course  is  one  that'eannot  be  limited  to  hard  and  fast  lines ;  some  of 
these  are,  perhaps,  worthy  of  further  consideration. —  Invkta. 
(To  be  concluded.) 
BATAVIAN  ENDIVE— PROTECTION. 
Batavian  Endive,  when  well  grown,  is  one  of  the  most  useful 
of  the  w'inter  salad  plants.  To  obtain  good  results,  I  find  the  best  time 
for  sowing  it  in  this  district  (North  Midlands)  is  the  middle  of  J  uly. 
As  soon  as  the  seedlings  are  large  enough  in  August  they  are 
transplanted  15  inches  apart  in  rows  a  foot  asunder.  If  the  soil 
be  moderately  light,  so  much  the  better,  and  a  position  on  a  border 
facing  the  south  or  east  is  a  suitable  one.  The  ground  requires  to 
be  deeply  dug,  though  I  never  have  it  manured  at  the  time  of  digging  ; 
but  if  the  previous  crop  had  had  a  dressing  of  manure  so  much  the 
better.  Two  or  three  hoeings  are  necessary  to  prevent  weeds  and  also 
to  promote  growth,  so  that  by  the  beginning  of  October,  when  the 
summer  Lettuces  are  getting  over,  the  Endive  will  have  covered  all  the 
ground,  in  the  form  of  large  plants  15  inches  across  with  good  hearts. 
Care  should  be  taken  when  hoeing  not  to  force  the  soil  into  the  hearts, 
as  salad  must  be  clean  to  be  properly  appreciated. 
One  difficulty  at  this  time  of  the  year  is  to  find  Endive  sufficiently 
dry  to  tie  up  to  bleach,  and  without  white  hearts  it  is  nearly 
useless.  Sometimes,  in  the  first  half  of  October,  it  can  be  had 
perfectly  dry,  and  the  quantity,  according  to  requirements,  can  be 
tied.  In  a  fortnight  these  are  fit  for  use,  but  after  the  middle  of 
October  1  have  found  it  harder  and  have  been  forced  to  adopt  another 
plan.  White  frosts  commence,  and  although  Endive  will  stand  a  few 
degrees  with  impunitj’,  10°  or  12°  wall  injure  it  almost  enough  to 
render  it  useless,  so  that  some  sort  of  protection  must  be  re-sorted  to. 
One  of  the  best  protectors  I  know  of  is  the  Bracken  Fern.  Sufficient 
should  be  cut  about  the  1  eginning  of  <  ctober  to  make  a  covering  a 
foot  in  thickness.  It  lays  lightly,  is  clean,  and  will  keep  out  a  large 
amount  of  frost  and  bleach  the  hearts  at  the  same  time.  This,  how¬ 
ever,  cannot  always  be  had,  or  it  may,  as  in  my  own  case,  be  growing 
many  miles  away,  so  some  other  method  must  be  found.  I'or  many 
years  I  saved  the  Pea  haulm,  and  this  answered  fairly  well  laid  on  a 
foot  thick,  but  if  much  rain  or  snow  fell  it  became  too  heavy  and 
decaying  destroyed  the  Endive  by  about  the  middle  of  December. 
Another  drawback  was,  that  if  a  few  old  peds  of  Peas  were  left  on  they 
encouraged  mice,  and  sometimes  rats.  I  have  also  put  a  layer  of 
mats  on,  but  that  plan  was  not  a  success,  as  the  covering  did  not  keep 
the  frost  out,  and  as  the  hearts  became  whiter  and  more  tender,  its  power 
to  resist  frost  was  less.  If  no  frost  prevail  slates  or  tiles  laid  on  the 
plants  will  bleach  them,  also  long  board.s  laid  on  the  rows.  I  have 
sometimes  taken  the  plants  up  with  good  balls  of  earth  and  put  them 
m  a  cold  fiame,  but  they  have  never  eaten  so  crLspl}^  as  when  left 
in  the  ground  where  they  have  made  their  grow'th.  The  damp 
has  also  decayed  them  more  quickly. 
During  the  last  year  or  two  I  have  kept  Endive  well  till  Februar}’-, 
and  it  is  a  plan  that  is  within  the  reach  of  most  gardeners.  It  is  to 
cover  the  plants  as  growung  with  leaves.  We  have  three  or  four  old 
Plane  trees  within  easy  reach,  similar  to  those  planted  so  extensively 
in  the  London  thoroughfares,  and  their  leaves  are  found  capital  for  pro¬ 
tection.  They  are  large  and  weigh  lightly,  and  moreover  do  not 
decay  so  rapidly  as  the  leaves  of  some  trees.  About  the  middle  of 
October,  or  as  soon  as  frost  is  likely  to  present  itself,  some  of  these  leaves 
are  used  just  to  hide  all  the  plants ;  but  if  a  quantity  of  Endive  is 
wanted  for  immediate  use,  enough  leaves  aie  applied  to  make  a 
covering  6  inches  in  thickness,  not  only  for  keeping  out  the  frost,  but 
also  for  darkening  the  phnts  to  bleach  white.  By  the  middle  of 
November  all  tbe  bed  may  have  this  thickness,  and  this  will  be  found 
to  keep  out  10°  or  12°  of  frost.  But  later,  if  harder  frosts  set  in, 
enough  leaves  can  be  heaped  on  to  make  the  coveiing  a  foot  thick. 
As  the  October  and  November  supply  of  Endive  is  cut  I  let  the 
Plane  leaves  remain  on  the  ground,  and  these  not  being  at  all  decayed 
are  found  useful  for  heaping  tn  the  later  plants  for  January  and 
Febiuary.  By  this  method  1  have  had  good  Endive  from  October  to 
the  end  of  February,  a  period  of  five  months.  Alter  this  time  strong 
roots  of  Witloof  or  Chicory,  introduced  into  a  dark  Seakale  and 
Rhubarb  house,  will  maintain  a  supply  of  salading  till  the  spring 
I  Lettuces  are  ready. 
