230 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  14,  1901. 
apart  for  the  early  varieties  and  18  inches  for  late  strong  growers. 
For  midseason  and  all  varieties  of  average  strength  2  feet  6  inches 
between  the  rows  will  suffice.  One  advantage  of  giving  Potatoes 
plenty  of  room  is  that  Winter  Greens  may  be  planted  between  the  rows, 
this  largely  compensating  for  the  extra  spaoe  occupied.  Draw  drills 
with  the  Canterbury  hoe  or  form  trenches  of  the  proper  depth  with 
a  spade.  A  sprinkling  of  wood  ashes  or  burnt  refuse  spread  along 
the  drills  is  beneficial,  as  is  also  superphosphate  at  the  rate  of 
7  lbs.  per  square  rod,  or  eaoh  row  of  30  feet  would  take  a  little  more 
than  2  lbs. 
Leeks. — A  few  rows  of  Musselburgh  or  Lyon  Leeks  should  be  sown 
moderately  thinly,  so  as  to  have  plenty  of  plants  to  draw  and  trans¬ 
plant  in  manured  trenches,  or  on  rich  ground  where  they  will  form  finer 
roots  than  if  allowed  to  remain  where  sown. 
Peas. — Successional  sowings  of  second  early  Peas  should  be  made. 
The  most  approved  sorts  for  present  sowing  are  Advancer,  Prince  of 
Wales,  Duke  of  Albany,  Telephone,  Telegraph,  and  Fillbasket.  Sow 
the  seeds  about  an  inch  apart  in  wide  drills  2  inches  deep.  Be 
careful  to  protect  the  seed  from  the  depredations  of  mice  and  birds. 
For  the  former  rub  the  seeds  in  red  lead  before  sowing,  which  will 
also  be  proof  against  birds,  hut  after  germination  some  more  effective 
protection  must  be  accorded.  Wire  Pea  guards  are  undoubtedly  the  best, 
but  failing  them  lengths  of  black  ootton. 
Early  Peas  raised  under  glass  in  boxes  or  pots  must  be  gradually 
hardened  off  prior  to  planting  out,  which  should  be  done  on  a  warm 
border.  Short  twiggy  stakes  ought  to  be  plaoed  on  eaoh  side  of  rows 
as  protection. 
Broad  Beans. — Where  these  are  in  demand  in  their  season  a  few 
more  rows  must  now  be  sown,  the  Windsor  varieties  making  a  good 
successional  crop  to  the  Longpods. 
French  Beans. — These  can  only  as  yet  be  sown  in  pots  in  heat. 
Nearly  till  8-inch  pots  with  rich  soil  and  place  eight  seeds  in  each  pot. 
Grow  them  in  a  temperature  of  60°  to  65°,  and  where  the  light  is 
abundant.  As  the  growth  advances  place  a  few  light  branching  sticks 
round  to  support  the  stems. 
Tomatoes. — Plants  in  email  pots,  and  these  full  of  roots,  should  have 
a  shift  to  larger  previous  to  planting  out  or  potting  finally.  When  the 
stems  of  young  seedlings  are  becoming  stiff  and  rough  leaves  are 
forming,  transfer  to  small  pots,  sinking  them  low  down  so  as  to  bury 
the  stem  with  soil  to  the  seed  leaves.  Abundance  of  light  on  a  warm 
shelf  is  essential  for  the  plants  in  the  early  stages.  Air,  too,  must 
be  afforded  freely  as  the  plants  increase  in  size,  as  well  as  cooler 
conditions  secured.  To  draw  the  plants  and  make  them  long-jointed  is 
inimical  to  their  welfare. 
- - - 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  EDITOR,'’  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.c.  It  i-  requ  sted  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  ol  out  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
Hard  Woods  of  Paraguay  (FT.  Piggot ). — By  referring  to  the  Journal 
of  the  Society  of  Aits  for  September  14th,  1900,  yon  will  find  the 
article  on  the  “  Hard  Woods  of  Paraguay.” 
Basic  Slag  (J/.  T).  —  This  is  the  waste  product  obtained  by  smelting 
of  iron,  when  the  phosphor  u-i  is  removed  from  the  same  by  a  certain 
process.  When  intended  for  use  as  a  manure  it  is  ground  to  a  powder, 
and  its  value  lies  in  the  pfvcentage  of  phosphates  it  contains.  A  good 
sample  should  contain  fourteen  to  eighteen  per  cent,  of  phosphoric 
acid.  The  more  flatly  it  is  grouud  the  more  easily  available  it  is  for 
plants. 
Cleaning  Stone  Pillars  (C.  W.  P.). — Muriatic  acid  is  excellent  for 
cleausing  stone  pillars.  Tne  acid  should  be  dilated  with  water,  but  if 
the  greeu  has  b  come  thoroughly  established  on  the  stone  you  had 
better  use  the  acid  almost  pure  at  first,  which  will  destroy  the  whole  of 
the  green,  and  the  pillars  in  a  few  minutes  can  be  washed  white.  If 
the  pillars  are  not  very  badly  affected  equal  parts  of  the  acid  and  water 
will  clean  them  thoroughly  ;  but  this  entirely  depends  upon  the  stone, 
whether  of  a  hard  or  soft  material.  If  hard  the  acid  must  be  used 
stronger  than  is  necessary  when  the  stone  is  of  a  soft  nature.  Tne 
diluted  acid  cun  be  applied  wiih  an  old  scrubbing  brush,  but  care  must 
be  taken  that  it  does  not  get  upon  your  olothes,  or  it  will  buru  and 
destroy  them. 
British  Coniferae  ( D .  T.  J.). — We  have  inquired  from  one  in  a 
position  to  know  whether  any  statistical  list  of  the  British  Coniferae  has 
been  drawn  up  since  the  late  Mr.  M.  Dunn  issued  his,  and  our  authority 
is  unaware  of  any  succeeding  list. 
Tree  Carnation  Bloom  (  W .  H.). — The  flower  you  send  is  good  so  far 
as  colour  goes,  and  the  wavy  margin  of  orimson  to  the  edge  of  the 
yellow,  russet-tinged  petals  adds  much  to  its  attractiveness.  The  calyx, 
however,  had  burst,  and  that  is  a  bad  attribute  of  a  C  irnation  bloom. 
Its  scent  was  agreeable.  For  ordinary  decorative  uses  it  is  a  good 
variety. 
Trimming  the  Roots  of  Asparagus  Plants  at  Planting  ( W .  B.). — 
Though  it  is  advisable  to  cut  away  all  the  broken  or  otherwise  damaged 
roots,  or  portions  of  them,  it  is  not  safe,  or  at  least  not  good  practice, 
to  trim  the  sound  fresh  roots,  as  on  these  depend  a  vigorous  growth  of 
“grass,”  the  roots  supplying  some  nutrient  matter  and  imbibing 
substance  that  is  necessary  for  assimilation  in  the  early  stages  of 
growth,  on  which  depends  the  formation  of  new  roots.  It  is  not  good 
practice  to  plant  four-year-old  roots.  One-year-old  grown  rather  thinly 
are  the  best,  and  not  over  three-year-old  plan’s  should,  according  to 
our  experience,  be  planted.  The  roots  should  be  placed  astride  of  a 
ridge  formed  by  taking  out  a  trench  on  both  sides  of  a  line,  aad  the 
roots  spread  out  evenly  against  the  banks  or  slopes  thus  made,  covering 
the  crowns  about  a  couple  of  inches  with  soil.  The  plants  will  thus 
staud  rather  high  or  in  ridge-like  fashion,  and  this  we  find  most  satis¬ 
factory,  especially  on  rather  damp  ground. 
Flies  to  Name  (P.  K.). — The  flies  are  the  females  of  the  Radish 
fly  (Amthomyia  floralis),  which  not  only  attack  the  Radish,  by  no  means 
a  co  nmon  occurrence,  except  in  the  case  of  plants  left  for  seed,  to 
which  the  maggots  are  destructive  about  fl  iwering  stage,  but  many 
Cruciferous  plants,  especially  the  Brassica  tribe,  such  as  Cabbiges  and 
more  particularly  Cauliflowers.  The  attacks  aie  more  prevalent  on 
ground  that  has  been  recently  manured  witu  new  stable  or  farmyard 
manure,  consequently  in  a  rank  state,  it  being  certain  the  maggots 
subsist  on  decaying  as  well  as  living  vegetable  matter.  The  best 
preventive  of  attack  is  dressing  the  laud  with  gas  lime,  fresh  from  gas 
works,  applying  2£  tons  per  acre,  35  lbs.  per  rod,  spreading  evenly  on 
the  surface,  aud  leaving  there  for  a  month  or  six  weeks,  then  forking 
in.  A  dressing  of  lime  is  also  excellent,  and  should  bo  used  where  gas 
lime  caunot  be  readily  procured,  applying  5  tons  per  acre,  70  lbs.  per 
rod,  placing  the  quioklime  in  small  heaps  convenient  for  spreading,  and 
slakiug  with  the  smallest  amount  of  water  necessary  to  make  it  fall  into 
a  floe,  apparently  dry  powder,  and  spreading  whilst  hot  or  as  soon  after¬ 
wards  as  possible,  choosing  a  dry  time.  lu  the  course  of  a  few  days 
the  lime  should  be  forked  in. 
Spraying  Mixture  for  Chrysanthemum  Rust  (X.  L). — The  formula 
giveu  ou  page  178  is  an  excellent  one  for  all  geueral  spraying  purposes, 
not  being  by  any  means  new,  except  in  the  preparation,  which  results 
in  a  much  thinner  aud  clearer  mixture  than  ordinary  Bordeaux  mixture, 
to  which  it  is  much  preferable,  on  account  of  uot  leaving  any  appreci¬ 
able  discoloration  ou  leaves  and  fruit.  It  will  certainly  act  ou  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  rust  fungus  preventively,  and  restriot  the  spreading  of  the 
disease;  but  it  has  little  or  no  effect  on  the  mycelial  hyptise  in  the 
tissues,  therefore  the  pustules  of  the  parasite  continue  to  appear  after 
the  treatment,  and  even  on  fresh  leaves,  this  being  a  peculiar 
characteristic  of  the  Pucciuias,  through  the  mycelium  developing  and 
spreading  in  the  tissues,  usually  upward,  and  not  breaking  forth  in  the 
uredo  stage  until  favouiable  conditions  arise.  It  is  necessary,  therefore, 
to  remove  affected  leaves,  as  well  as  practise  persistent  spraying  after 
attack,  in  order  to  effect  the  annihilation  of  the  fu  gas.  indeed,  it 
cannot  be  too  strongly  impressed  that  the  treatment  wi  h  fungicides  is 
wholly  preventive;  no  applications  after  attack  do  more  than  preventing 
the  spread  of  the  malady.  Tne  mixture  will  uot  aot  destructively  on 
tne  spraying  apparatus. 
Haemanthus  coccineus  Treatment  (IF.  W.). — The  bulbs  should  be 
potted  in  a  mixture  of  sandy  loam  two  parts,  a  id  fibrous  peat  one  part, 
the  pot  being  about  three  times  the  diameter  cf  t  ie  bulb,  aud  this  placed 
in  the  soil  level  with  the  surface,  or  q  die  buried  in  the  o  imp  >st.  Good 
drainage  is  necessary,  as  during  growth  the  plant  requires  plentiful 
supplies  of  water,  though  excessive  watering  is  very  prejudicial.  It 
succeeds  in  what  is  termed  a  warm  greeuhouse  or  cool  stove,  for 
though  cool  treatment  is  often  advised,  the  pi  int  d  >es  not  succeed  as 
a  cool  greenhouse  bulb,  but  requires  a  temperature  of  50°  to  60  during 
the  growing  season.  The  flowers,  borne  in  au  umbel,  appear  before 
the  leaves  during  late  summer  or  early  au’nmn;  and  it  is  important 
that  the  plants  have  a  period  of  growth  af  er  fljweriug,  followed  by 
one  of  rest.  The  plant,  therefore,  should  be  kept  iu  a  light  position 
during  the  winter  or  when  growing,  du.y  atte  nded  to  for  water,  aud 
when  iu  full  foliage  afford  support  by  weik  manure  water.  When  the 
plant  has  made  a  good  growth  water  should  be  given  less  freely,  aud 
wheu  the  leaves  give  indications  of  decaying  or  dying  off  the  water 
should  be  gradually  withheld,  and  left  off  altogether  by  the  time  they 
have  died.  It  fl  jwers  most  freely  when  under  rather  than  overpotted, 
and  for  this  reason  it  is  not  necessary  to  shift  it  every  year,  or  at  least 
not  increase  the  size  of  pot.  Potting  is  best  done  wuen  the  plant  is 
commencing  new  growth.  When  at  rest  the  plant  will  receive  sufficient 
moisture  if  kept  on  a  rather  damp  but  not  wet  bottom,  h  tving  reoourae 
to  watering  wben  flower  scapes  appear  or  new  growth  is  being  made. 
