42 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  8,  1903. 
SI  C'C'ESSION  HOUSES. — It  is  not  sound  and  safe  practice 
to  defer  pruning  and  dressing  the  trees  until  the  buds  commence 
swelling.  There  is  then  danger  of  dislocating  the  blossom  buds, 
and  insecticides  are  more  or  less  harmful.  If  any  trees  are  swell¬ 
ing  their  buds  more  rapidly  than  is  desired,  as  occurs  when  the 
houses  have  been  used  for  plants,  a  covering  of  mats  over  the 
roof  lights  will  prevent  the  temperature  being  raised  by  sun 
heat  to  a  prejudicial  degree,  retarding  thq  .blossoms  considerably 
in  developing.  Late  flowering  is  mostly  a  sign  of  a  good  set,  the 
sap  being  less  active,  and  does  not  evaporate  because  the  wood  is 
riper,  thereby  2iot  exciting  root  and  top  growth  unduly.  Where 
the  roof  lights  are  off  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  retarding  the 
bl(^soms,  as  the  weather  Avill  do  that  far  better  than  any  arti¬ 
ficial  means.  Houses  with  fixed  roofs  should  be  kept  as  cool  as 
possible  by  free  ventilation.  The  house  to  be 
STARTED  EARLY  IN  FEBRUARY,  and  the  trees  not  pre¬ 
viously  having  been  forced,  should  now  be  closed,  but  if  regu- 
Urly  forced  or  started  at  that  time  they  will  not  require  any 
inducement  to  start  at  the  proper  time.  The  borders  must  be 
brought  into  a  properly  moist  condition,  merely  excluding  frost, 
and  ventilating  fully  above  SOdeg.  If  necessary  suppl3'  water  at 
the  roots,  or  liquid  manure  to  weakly  trees. 
LATE  HOUSES. — Let  the  roof  lights  remain  off  these  until 
the  blossom  buds  swell.  Complete,  however,  the  pruning  and 
dressing  of  the  trees  and  cleansing  the  house  as  favourable 
weather  for  such  work  permits.  The  buds  take  no  harm  until 
they  commence  swelling,  and  even  then  are  proof  against  frost 
^lntil  the  flowers  show  clear  of  the  scales  of  the  buds.  Then  the 
lights  maj'  be  put  on,  for  which  there  is  usually  no  necessity  until 
middle  February  or  earl,v  in  March.  Where  the  roof  lights  are 
fixed  air  must  be  given  to  the  fullest  extent,  keeping  as  cool  as 
possible,  and  taking  care  that  the  trees  do  not  suffer  for  lack  of 
moisture  at  the  roots. — St.  Albans. 
**  *  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
PLAN  OF  A  AIAZE  (H.  H.). — We  are  having  the  plan  repro¬ 
duced  again,  and  hope  soon  to  let  you  have  it  through  our 
columns. 
ROSA  ANEMON.lUFLORA  (Somerset). — This  is  a  white  China 
or  Monthl.v  Rose,  properl^^  a  variet.v  of  R.  indica,  and  makes  a 
good  bush  Garden  Rose. 
THE  BOTHY-PLAN  COMPETITION.  — We  have  received  a 
dozen  plans  in  this  competition,  one  all  the  way  from  South 
Africa,  and  the  best  of  these  will  be  published  during  this 
month. 
MARKET  QUANTITIES  OF  PRODUCTS  (F.).— Fr^i 
Mes.srs.  Lever  Bros,  jjocket-book  we  quote:  “A  bunch  of  Turnips 
is  twenty  to  twentj"-five ;  ditto  of  Carrots,  thirty-six  to  fortjN 
A  tall.v  of  Cabbages  is  five  dozen  ;  a  small  bunch  of  Celery  con¬ 
tains  six  heads,  but  a  ‘  large  ’  bundle  should  contain  twenty 
heads.  A  pottle'  of  Strawberries  is  half  a  gallon;  a  sieve  of 
Cherries  is  481b,  while  a  sieve  of  Currants  is  twenty  quarts.  A 
.score  of  Lettuce  should  have  twentj"-two  heads.  Two  pounds  of 
new  Potatoes  is  often  called  a  punnet.” 
PLANTING  SHRUBS  (An  Old  Subscriber). — We  are  willing 
to  help  you,  but  feel  at  a  great  dtsadvantage,  inasmuch  as  your 
lilaii  is  not  drawn  to  scale,  and  ,you  leave  us  to  guess  at  the  width 
from  the  flower  beds  to  the  path  at  a,  b,  c,  and  d  on  the  plan. 
M  e  doubt  very  much  if  you  have  nearlv  .sufficient  space  for  either 
of  the  Piceas.  As  the  lawn  appears  narrow,  we  should  have 
thought  that  narrow  columnar  shrubs  of  the  Irish  Yew  type  much 
more  .suitable,  planting  them  in  pairs,  one  pair  in  the  angles  on 
each  side  a,  so  as  to  not  obstruct  the  flower  bed;  the  next  pair 
in  the  angles  between  the  oval-shaiied  and  oblong  bed ;  another 
pair  in  corresponding  portions  bc,yond :  and  the  next  pair  at  c 
and  D  on  the  plan.  If  you  like  to  send  u.s  a  plan  of  the  lawn  and 
flower  bfids  drawn  to  scale  so  that  we  can  Understand  the  extent 
of  space,  repeating  j'our  wish,  \'our  letter  shall  have  our  best 
attention;  we  cannot  answer  jmur  present  letter  satisfactorily. 
HEATING  A  FRAME  (F.  C.).— For  such  a  small  place  as 
3'ours,  the  tinj"  heater  which  we  figured  some  years  ago,  and 
bi’ing  again  to 
notice,  would 
seem  to  answer 
verj'  well.  By 
careful  manage¬ 
ment  a  nice 
warmth  can  be 
maintained  from 
the  little  gas  or 
oil-heated  boiler 
which  is  figured 
1)3'  the  side  of  the  frame,  the  protector  being  placed  back  to 
expose  the  boiler.  The  tiny  pipe  is  carried  round  the  inside  of 
the  frame.  The  boiler  and  lamp  together  are  onl3'  1ft  high.  I£ 
this  form  of  boiler  is  not  readily  obtainable,  modifications  of 
it  are,  and  ma3'  be  equally  as  serviceable. 
A  ROSE  CATALOGUE  (H.  P.). — Other  than  the  nurser3'- 
men’.s  catalogues,  we  believe'  your  best  guide  to  be  the  descrip¬ 
tive  catalogue  of  exhibition  and  garden  Roses  (oth  ed.)  of  the 
National  Rose  Society,  post  free  for  2s.,  from  Mr.  Edward 
Mawley,  Rosebank,  Berkhampstead,  Herts. 
HYACINTH  ROOTS  DECAYED  (C.  S.).— If  the  roots  are  in 
the  deplorable  condition  3'ou  represent,  we  know  of  no  other  plan 
for  inducing  growth  than  removing  the  pernicious  soil  from  them 
and  potting  in  sand3'  loam  with  some  crushed  charcoal  for  sui'- 
rounding  the  bulbs.  When  bulbs  are  plunged  outside  it  is  easy 
to  throw  off  heav3’  rains  by  thatched  hurdles,  boards,  or  shutters  ; 
but  we  suspect  tbe  soil  emplo3'ed  has  been  the  chief  cause  of  the 
evil.  It  must  either  have  contained  something  injurious  or  of 
such  a  retentive  nature  as  to  have  been  rendered  sour  by  stagnant 
water.  A  sandy  porous  soil  should  always  be  used  from  which 
water  can  drain  freely.  The  bulb  farms  of  Holland  are  composed 
mainly  of  sand,  almost  a  “  blowing  sand  ”  in  hot  weather.  N.B. — 
This  reply  was  prepared  for  insertion  last  week,  and  we  regret  it 
was  accicientally  overlooked  by  the  printer,  but  as  3mu  appear  to 
have  commenced  doing  very  much  what  we  have  suggested  we 
are  glad  to  feel  that  no  serious  inconvenience  is  likely  to  result 
b3'  the  delay. 
NAMES  OF  PLANTS. — Correspondents  whose  queries  are  un- 
ansicered  in  the  present  issue  are  respectfully  requested  to  consult  the 
following  number.  (.J.  T.,  Bournemouth). — 1,  Bulbophyllura  Dayanum  ; 
2,  Masdevallia  Chinnera  var.  (F.  B.). — 1,  Dendrobium  cassiope  ;  2, 
Epaeris  sp. ;  3,  Dendrobium  aureum.  (N.  J.). — 1,  Chimonanthus 
fragrans  ;  2,  Rcinwardtia  trigyna  ;  3,  Lonicera  fragrans  ;  4,  Hamamelis 
arborea.  (J.  Turner). — 1,  Begonia  fuchsioides ;  2,  B.  manicata;  3, 
Coi'dyline  terminalis  var. ;  4,  Ho3'a  imperialis ;  5,  Odontoglossum 
gloriosum.  (E.  C.,  Westerfield). — Have  not  yet  compared  specimen. 
((  V.  A.). — Dendrobium  aurea.  (Cedo  Nulli). — Next  week._  (B.  A.  C.). 
— 1,  Thuiopsis  (Thuia)  dolobrata  ;  2,  Retinospora  (now  included  under 
Cupi’essus)  pisifera  aurea  ;  3,  Thuia  gigantea  ;  4,  Cupressus  liaw'son- 
iana  filifera  ;  5,  Biota  orientalis  ;  6,  Cupressus. 
Meteorological  Obseryations  at  ChiswicL 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chi.s- 
wick.  height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date, 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.ti. 
0 
1S02-3. 
oi 
•;s.2 
«  > 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
.5 
‘3 
Ph 
At 
1-ft, 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Lowest 
Temperatur 
on  Grass. 
December 
and 
January. 
s 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
43 
cn 
(U 
bo 
K 
43 
03 
0 
S 
0 
J 
Sunday  ...28 
s.w. 
deg. 
45-9 
deg. 
41-9 
deg. 
47-9 
deg. 
45-8 
Ins. 
0.20 
deg. 
44'9 
deg. 
45'7 
deg. 
47  0 
deg. 
40-8 
Monday  ...29 
s.w. 
37-4 
36  0 
41-6 
34-0 
— 
43-4 
45’8 
47-0 
27-7 
Tuesday  ...30 
s.w. 
360 
33-9 
40-9 
34-2 
014 
40-7 
450 
470 
26-9 
Wed'sday  31 
w.s.w. 
37-8 
36-6 
41-9 
33-5 
— 
39-4 
44-1 
47-0 
24T 
Thursday  1 
s.w. 
302 
29-7 
45-1 
27-2 
Oil 
38-6 
43-3 
46-8 
17-3 
Friday  ...  2 
S.E. 
44-9 
44-1 
52-4 
29-5 
0  05 
37-7 
42-7 
46-7 
19-2 
Saturday  3 
s.w. 
49-2 
45-1 
50-3 
44'5 
0-10 
40-6 
42-6 
46-3 
36-5 
Means  ... 
40  2 
38-2 
45-7 
35  5 
Total. 
0-60 
40-8 
44-2 
.46-8 
27-5 
Another  week  of  dull,  dark,  show'ery  weather,  with  a  low  tempe¬ 
rature  generally.  A  heavy  hailstorm,  accompanied  by  thunder  and 
lightning,  passed  over  the  district  on  the  3rd  inst. 
