530 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER , 
December  4,  1902. 
tap-rooted  vegetables  are  to  be  grown  the  ground  may  be  culti¬ 
vated  to  a  generous  depth,  working  in  manure  to  the  lower  spits, 
but  avoiding  mixing  it  in  the  upper.  For  gross-feeding  subjects 
work  manure  well  throughout  the  whole  of  the  soil.  Stiff, 
clayey,  unkindly,  adhesive  ground  requires  in  the  first  place  to 
be  broken  up  roughly,  so  as  to  well  expose  as  much  surface  as 
possible  to  the  action  of  the  weather,  which  has  a  beneficial  effect 
upon  it  in  breaking  down  the  stubborn  particles.  In  spring  the 
ground  is  then  easily  pulverised,  and  rendered  more  serviceable 
for  the  cultivation  of  crops  generally. 
ONIONS. — Bulbs  should  be  kept  perfectly  dry  in  the  stores, 
as  they  are  liable  to  push  growth  if  kept  in  a  humid  atmosphere. 
They  are  also  susceptible  to  frost,  and  will  soon  be  rendered  use¬ 
less  if  caught  in  a  damp  condition.  There  should  be  just  enough 
heat  and  ventilation  to  maintain  the  air  dry,  when  the  bulbs  will 
then  stand  a  Ioav  temperature  with  safety. 
BROCCOLI. — Open  weather  is  favourable  to  early  Broccoli 
turning  in,  but  it  will  soon  be  injured  by  frost;  therefore  break 
some  of  the  leaves  over  the  heads  of  those  which  have  formed,  or 
are  in  the  process  of  doing  so.  Clear  away  the  stems  and  leaves 
of  those  which  have  been  cut,  also  yellow  leaves  from  advancing 
crops. — E.  D.  S. 
**  *  All  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. 
PURCHASING  CHEMICAL  MANURES  (C.  C.).— The  prices 
given  in  Cousins’  Primer  are  wholesale,  or  per  ton  quantities,  at 
which  the  manure  dealers  advertising  in  our  columns  will,  no 
doubt,  be  pleased  to  supply  the  respective  articles  ;  or,  as  the 
prices  vary  from  time  to  time,  be  glad  to  quote  price  on  appli¬ 
cation.  We  cannot  depart  from  our  rule  not  to  recommend 
dealers,  unless  under  special  circumstances  and  without  preju¬ 
dice.  Of  course,  the  articles  cannot  be  supplied  in  small 
quantities  at  the  same  rates  as  large  ones,  and  in  some  cases 
it  is  not  possible  to  secure  even  these,  as  the  article  asked  for 
may  not  be  in  request  for  commercial  advantage,  and  it  would 
not  pay  to  prepare  it  in  small  amounts.  Business  is  a  very  dif¬ 
ferent  thing  from  matters  treated  theoretically  and  not  from  a 
practical  standpoint,  a  thing  quite  as  important  to  compounders 
as  to  users,  but  seldom  considered  in  practice  by  writers. 
ROSES  IN  POTS  (Amateur). — The  most  suitable  compost  for 
Roses  in  pots  is  turfy  loam  rather  stiff,  with  a  fourth  of  well- 
decayed  manure  and  a  sprinkling  of  bone  dust  equal  to  a  twen¬ 
tieth  of  the  loam.  The  temperature  of  the  house  should  not 
exceed  45deg  to  oOdeg  by  artificial  means  until  they  are  fairly 
in  growth,  when  it  may  be  raised  gradually  to  55deg  at  night 
and  60deg  to  65deg  by  day,  with  free  ventilation.  If  you  do  not 
wish  to  force  them  early,  they  succeed  admirably  from  January 
onwards  in  a  greenhouse,  assigning  them  light  airy  positions. 
After  they  commence  growth  liquid  manure  should  be  given  at 
every  alternate  watering,  and  when  in  full  growth  it  may  be 
given  whenever  water  is  necessary,  taking  care  not  to  apply  it 
too  strong.  Until  required  for  placing  in  heat,  the  plants  should 
be  kept  in  a  cold  pit  or  house  with  the  pots  plunged  over  the 
rims,  and  in  severe  weather  afford  a  protection  of  mats  in 
addition  to  the  lights. 
(LIPPING  CUPRESSUS  LAW  SONI  AN  A  HEDGES  IN 
WINTER  (G.  G.  H.).—  It  is  not  good  practice  to  cut  the-  trees 
in  the  winter  time,  as  the  relatively  slender  growths  are  suddenly 
exposed  to  light  and  cold  air,  and  when  the  weather  becomes 
severe  they  are  more  or  less  killed  or  browned,  and  the  hedge 
or  screen  has  a  very  browned  and  disfigured  appearance.  The 
worst  of  it  is  the  browning  is  very  irregular,  due  to  the  degrees 
of  hardiness  of  the  plants  as  influenced  by  soil,  its  moisture  or 
dryness,  richness  or  poorness,  exposed  or  sheltered  position.  It 
is  best  to  cut  the  hedge  into  form  in  the  spring  during  mild, 
moist  weather,  and  trim  in  irregularities  in  July  or  August  ; 
thus  the  parts  then  exposed  will  be  hardened  up  before  winter, 
and  the  least  danger  of  browning  is  provided  for.  Drought  will 
not  make  the  growths  more  than  naturally  brown,  but  rather 
stunt  the  growth,  all  the  better  for  hedge  plants,  and  the  least 
liability  to  damage  from  severe  frost  is  secured. 
EMPLOYMENT  IN  KEW  GARDENS  (T.  B.  W.).— Young 
gardeners  applying  to  the  Director  of  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew, 
receive  a  form  which  has  to  be  filled  up  and  returned.  The 
candidate,  if  he  is  suitable,  is  in  due  time  installed  at  Kew.  At 
least  two  years’  practical  gardening  experience  is  required,  and 
no  candidate  must  be  over  twenty-five  years  of  age.  The  form 
sent  from  Kew  gives  particulars,  however. 
NURSERYMAN’S  TENANCY  (W.  A.  B.).— You  will,  on 
vacating  the  premises,  have  a  right  to  remove  all  your  stock-in- 
trade,  your  trees,  shrubs,  and  greenhouses;  but  see  that  the 
latter  are  only  screwed,  on  wooden  frames,  and  not-  built  or 
cemented  into  brick  foundations,  and  that  the  boilers  and  hot 
water  pipes  are  similarly  detachable.  We  cannot  say  whether 
you  have  the  “  tenant  right  ”  of  an  agriculturist  to  compensation 
for  enrichment  of  the  soil.  If  so,  you  must  have  a  valuation 
made  before  entering.  The  better  plan  is  to  specify  all  these 
things  in  a  letter  to  the  landlord.  Take  a  copy  of  it,  and  then, 
if  he  gives  you  possession,  he  will  be  bound  by  the  terms  of  the 
letter. 
SOWING  A  BANK  (M.  R.  M.).--In  sowing  a  bank,  we  pre¬ 
sume  with  grass  seeds  of  different  kinds,  so  as  to  form  a  green 
sward,  there  are  not  any  small  flowering  perennials  the  seied  of 
which  can  be  sown  with  the  seeds  of  the  grasses  so  as  to 
“create”  a  flowering  bank,  unless  the  different  varieties  of 
Clover  are  so  regarded,  such  as  white  (Trifolium  repens)  and 
yellow  (T.  minus),  with  Lotus  cornieulatus  minor.  In  shady 
places  the  best  effect  we  have  seen  was  formed  by  sow i nee  the 
bank  with  grass  seeds,  and  in  this  dotting  bulbs  of  Winter 
Aconite,  Snowdrops.  Crocuses  (when  fairly  open),  and  Daffodils, 
the  bank  being  semi-wild,  or  the  grass  not  cut  until  the-  foliage 
of  the  Daffodils  were  fairly  died  down.  For  a  bank  in  very 
shaded  spots  there  is  no  equal  to  the  Dwarf  Periwinkle  (Vinca 
minor),  of  which  there  is  a  variegated  form,  also  a  white- 
flowered  variety,  and  others  with  double  white  and  double  blue 
flowers.  The  Rose  of  Sharon  (Hypericum  calycinum)  is  an  excel¬ 
lent  dwarf  evergreen  for  slraded  places. 
MUSHROOM  DEFORMED  (J.  R.). — The  Mushroom  is  simply 
m  a  monstrous  deformed  state,  and  is  a  form  of  the  Horse 
Mushroom,  Agaricus  arvensis,  evidently  the  variety  A.  a.  villa- 
ticus,  which  attains  a  very  large  size,  the  pileus  being  sometimes 
18in  or  more  broad,  and  the  stem  bin  or  more  in  height,  and  2in 
or  more  in  diameter.  It  is  very  much  larger  than  any  form  of 
the  cultivated  Mushroom  (Agaricus  c-ampestris  var.  hortensis), 
and  sometimes  occurs  in  Mushroom  beds,  both  outdoor  and  in 
Mushroom  houses,  due  no  doubt  to  the  spawn;  but  how  the 
matter  occurs  is  not  known.  The  Mushroom  is  not  only  large, 
but  strong  smelling  and  not  pleasant,  as  in  the  field  and  culti¬ 
vated  Mushroom.  Besides,  it  is  cracked,  deformed,  and  affected 
by  a  minute  parasitic  fungus,  which  renders  it  practically  use¬ 
less.  The  Mushrooms  will  probably  come  in  fair  condition  by 
keeping  relatively  dry  and  avoiding  damping  them  overhead 
while  in  button  state,  or  even  larger.  Probably  the  material  of 
which  the  bed  is  made  had  something  to  do  with  the  monstrous 
growth  of  the  Mushrooms. 
MANURE  FOR  VINES  (F.  C.  C.).-- The  pump  sewage, 
diluted,  which  you  give  the  Vines  in  the  growing  season,  would 
be  bettered  by  adding  61b  of  superphosphate  and  lib  of  sulphate 
of  iron  to  each  100  gallons  of  the  undiluted  sewage,  mixing  well, 
and  leaving  for  at  least  twelve  hours  before  using.  The  Vines 
may  be  given  a  soaking  of  the  sewage  now  if  the  soil  is  in  a 
dry  condition,  and  not  more  applied  than  suffices  to  make  the 
soil  evenly  moist,  as  a  wet  condition  at  the  roots  when  the 
Vines  are  dormant  results  in  soddenness  and  sourness,  and  the 
roots  suffer  in  conseqbence ;  shanking  frequently  results.  Where 
the  drainage  is  good,  a  liberal  application  of  liquid  manure  to  the 
border  when  the  Vines  are  at  rest  is  usually  attended  with  con¬ 
siderable  benefit,  especially  when  the  Vines  have  been  heavily 
cropped,  or  anywise  weakly  in  growth.  Cow  manure  is  best 
used  on  Vine  and  Peach  borders  as  a  mulch  during  the  growing 
period,  not  applying  more  than  an  inch  or  two  thickness,  and 
renewing  it  from  time  to  time,  so  as  to  maintain  that  depth. 
It  is  best  in  a  rather  lumpy  state,  and  of  most  value  where  the 
soil  is  light  or  the  border  composed  of  open  material.  To  pre¬ 
vent  sourness  a  light  dressing  of  air-slaked  chalk  lime  may  be 
given  in  autumn,  after  clearing  off  the  remains  of  the  mulch¬ 
ing,  about  half  a  pound  per  square  yard,  pointing  over  the  sur¬ 
face  lightly,  the  mulching  being  given  on  that.  A  good  artificial 
manure  for  Peaches  is  made  by  taking  one  and  a  half  part  each 
of  sulphate  of  potash  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  one  part 
each  of  superphosphate  of  lime  and  steamed  bonemeal,  mixing 
well,  and  applying  4oz  of  the  mixture  per  square  yard  in  the 
autumn,  pointing  over  lightly,  or  it  may  be  applied  in  the 
spring,  not  later  than  when  the  buds  of  the  trees  commence 
swelling.  As  a  later  dressing  a  mixture  of  three  parts  dissolved 
bones,  two  parts  nitrate  of  potash,  and  one  part  sulphate  of 
lime  may  be  used,  applying  2oz  to  4oz  of  the  mixture  per  square 
yard,  and  scratching  in  lightly.  This  will  probably  not  be 
j  needed  until  the  stoning  is  near  completed,  and  then  applied 
J  will  help  to  swell  off  the  fruit. 
