i. 'C|A .ttix Wi^^- ^ v« .vnv, ",'&' KJ -AQrO ^pWYORKBOTMCALGW^ ^m^lm :/ V ■/. m/^ i '^yk^^l mmmk ,^y: yuy^^ Wl'^f '&Wi '^'^^^^^m.. yi/^^^'^ IHE JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE, C () 1' T A GE G A B I ) E R E R, IIKK-KKKI'KII AND I'ODLTRV CIIKdMCLK. A JOUKNAL OF (lAKDRNINC. KUKAL AND DOMESTIC ECONOMV, BOTANV:, AX I) NATURAL HISTOHY. COKDCCTED BY GEORGE W. JOHNSON, F.R.H.S., and ROBERT HOGG, LL.D. •niF-: 1 HIIT AM" KITIUHN liAIIDKN.S liy Mr. .1. Robion. (iai'dciuT to Vjsijijunt ilrtluicHcUilc. HI-F.. Iviu'ton Park; and Mr. T. WcHviT. tiyrdrufr to the- Warden of AVinchci^tcr Collcgt.-. ■fHJ5 I'l.OWKK (i.\ILDKN. by Mr. G. Ahlicy, Stansty Hall; and Mr. .T. Will?;, .\bhbnrutaani Park Nursery, Kin-^'e Road. Chelsea. STOVE, GUKENHOIISK, :uid WIKOOW (i.Vl;.UKN. by Mr. 1!. I'iab. Gardener, Putterid.ye Bury, near Liuou, FLORIST.S' FLOWKHS AND KLOlilCTILTURK, by Oie lt«)v. H. H. Dombriiin, GAKDKNING C.UJiNJJ.Mi, by 3Ir. WilUaiu Keane. I'OULTP.Y-KEEPI.NG. by Mr. .1. Baily : E. Hewitt, Esq, ; auil olhei well-known coutributorjJ. PIGEONS. .WIAKV BIKDb, i<-., by '• WiltshL^a Rector; ' \V. .\. Blackblon, Edq.. and othor.-,. BEE-KJ;EPING, bv H. Taylor, Esij.; T. W. Wojabiuy, Esi|. : '• B, i W, ; ■• and Mr, S. Be van Fox. HOUSEHOLP ARTS, by tlu vutliore.^-s of '-.My Floivors," an,i other>. .^•^- i5:o LIBRARY NEW YOl. BOTANIC. UARUbN. VOLUMK XIV., XKW SERIES YOL. XXXIX,, OLD SERIES. LONDON : PUBLISHED FOR THE I'llOPRIETORS, 171, FLEET STREET. ifece. LONDON : PRINTED AX THE JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE OFFICH, 171, FLEET STREET. TO OUR READERS. In some work oi lutioii — " Al)el Alliiut," it" we remember correctly — an old lady by way of variety wore her cap revoi'scd, or "behind before," as is said in the nursery regions. The plan was simple, and we were tempted to adopt it on the present occasion ; not literally' by so wearing our caps, but by copying a preface to one of oui" ancient volumes, putting some of the last sentences first, and some of the first sentences last; and one of us — for you know we arc dual — suggested the proceeding, but the other gravely shook his head. The suggester rejoined, " There's nothing new to say, you know."' Still the grave one shook his head. "Instead of shaking your head," J retorted the suggester, "shake something out of it that will do fnr a preface : rvc tried without success." This reply was elicited: "A gentleman proposed marriage to a 'damsel; her father wrote a refusal, ])ut m the damsel's handwriting on the envelope was written -Stkipes.' Let us take the advice rontained in that word." We did so, and we will do so to the end of our career. That word transposed is '• I'ERSlf^T.'" We have persisted, and have almost written already enough for an addiess to^you "[our Readers." We will persist in the coui'se we have hitherto succeeded in pursuing, and that will enable us to persist in pleasing you. We will persist in the endeavour to establish trutli in all that apper- tains to our various departments. We will persist in linking our arms through tlie arms of old contributors, and in holding out the hand of welcome to new ones. We will persist in gratefully accepting information, and in courteously imparting that which we possess. INDEX. AltRRBEEN PorLTBV SHOW, TiS Afcrinj^on Ponltry Show, 2K4 Atrhinn-nofl— wiiterintr, 243 ; select, 174 Acaricus timpntariiis, 39ti .Vir-givinE. 15tj, 451) AllamandaB— Scbotlii, 117: startinfr, 191 AUoplectus oapitatus culture, 340 Aniai-yUitj— cullurf, -2" ; PriTice Teck. ■296 Amateurs. hinlH for, 21 American blit'bT. r»4 Atnericau planth — manasiliC. 394: Watercr & Godfrey's, 408 ; at Regent'a Park, 408 Ammoniacal liJ: bn.idinc. 460 Apricots — un walls. 281 ; rlpenint; of orchard house, 453 April, plants flowered in. 342 Aqnarinm, fish failins in, 12.i Aquatic plants for ponds. 54 Araucana— Cunninphamii 8inensiB,9I. 156: imbricata, 243 Arbutus propagation, 244 Arcade, evergreen for, 100 Arist<»lochia rtngena, 296 Amott's stove, 133. 157 ; experience with, 27 ; for heating. 94 Arams, removing flower stems, 348 AsparuKus — culture, 22, 45 ; French, 200; beds, aaltinn. 174; from seed, 229 ; planting) 244 ; in damp aoili 263: planting and mQnuring.364 Asphalted roof, water from, 32 Asphalt ifardfu walks, 300 .\taccia cristata. 342 Ancuba japonica. Ifit, 199; berriee, gathering,' and suwing, 229 ; sowing, 209: propagation, 1:37: grafting male onf€male,316: berries, 300 Auriculas—why are they neglected"? 2"5; culture and list, 290; Colonel Chiunpneys, 342 ; season for show- ing, 361 : potting early, 390; potting, 436; sowing, 445 Australia, treatment of seeds from, 174; birds in, 1K(I A^uleaa-sboots, aloppinir, 101 ; vary- ing, 191; over-potted, 283; culture, 444 Hao-holder avd tunnel combined, 27H Baits, poisoned, 226 Balsams to flower in August, 331 Hamboo plautini,*, 2h3 Banknia and (irtvillea cuttings, 880 KananiL cnlture, .KM) Bangalore Hurticultural Fpte,257 BantamB— t'ar-Iobes of Black, 88; plu- mape of Game, 106; dubbing Game, 122 ; weak-lecKed,268 : chickeoa, 416; .arlobes of Black Red, 406 Bartie de Capuiin, 380 Barn-door fowls. 246 BitFketh— plants for. in a greenhouse. IIH; for suspended, 229 Bath and Wrnt of England Society, 119; Poultry Show, 413 Beans, sowing, 133 Bedding plants, 379; that winter in a eold pit, 5 : in a pit, 80, lift; yellow, 100; hardrnintr-off, 260. 263: for early and late planting out, 336, 357 Ecdhngton Poultrv Show, 430 *■ Bee-keeping, Piolitable," 399 Bees— foul brood; Lijoirian queen raisins, 1'.): doings in a small apiary in 1867. 38, 63 ; honey harvest of 1W67, cheap hive. Ligurians. 64; utilising and uniting condemned, 87; bars for supers, gratings to exclude drones, nucleus boxes, comba be- yond bars. 83; utilising and uniting condemned. 105 ; decreasing: hives, changing floor-boards, cork for, 106; utilising and uniting con- demned. 121: feeding, dead ejected, bar-frame hive, 122; an American apiary, 145; f.ower for, 146; saving condemned, feeding, 146 ; uniting condemned, food for, management, 16'2 ; improved cottage hive for, strange phenomenon in, price of Ligunanandof frame hives, 178; ar- tificial swarming in common hives, 179; flowers for, 180: adding Ligu- rian queens, 195; who introduced Litmrians successfully, 196; effects of foul brood. 196 : house, removing, excrement of, hives, drivinc. 196; utilising condemned, 215; distance of flight, artificial swarming in common hives, transferring, form- ing an artificial swarm. 216; conse- quences of mismanagement. 231; neglecting food, pnining combs, forming artificial swarm in unicomb hive,2:^2: Ligurian rjueen's wingtom, 250; early drones, 251 ; hive covers, 252 : consequences of miamanace- meut, shif ' ing into a new hive. 267 ; comb-construction in Woodbury hives, hives, aspect for bee house, Ligurianising, hives containing empty combs, 268; artificial swarm- ing, feeding, fulling. 288: Ekn-'ptian in Americii. 304 ; Abyssinian, 305 ; hives, dying, feeding, 306; painting straw hives, utilising and uniting c.i>Io— Melville's Improved Varie- gi'-d, 167: as a dessert ornament, 360 Botanical spccimena, drying, 78 Botanic (Royal) Societv's Shows, 390, 404. 439 Bottom heat, hot water for. 243 Bongainvillea glabra, flowering of, 380; spectabilifl, 117 Bouquets, to make skeleton. 456 Box— propagation, 101 ; edging, clip- ping', :392 Brahma Pootras— separate prizes for, 16. 102 ; Ught and Dark, 82, 120. 143, 15S. 175. 245 ; plumage of dark cock, confined. 8M; plumage of Dark, 106; points, ISO; )''/■.>•»»; Hamburt:hs,I43; merits of, 144; classes, 193; ma- nasemeiit, 194 ; bearing down in, lyfi; Light, 212; comba, 216; cross with Dorkings, 246 : breeding Dark, 252; and Dorkint's, 264 : web-footed, 268; chicken;i' wings twisted, 2HH ; chickenK. giowth of. 3H4 ; Light r. Dark. 394; pri/es. 462 Breaking-ap common land, 283 Breasts, crooked, 88 British flowering plants, 453 Broccoli— not true, 95; late, 388; large, 408 Broom, cutting-in. 428 Brussels "■prouts culture, 89 Buckwheat— sowjnff, 1!)2; for poul- try. 232. 284, 303, 332, 416 Buddin;.', Thomsi^n's at.vptic for, 365 Bulbs after flowering, 263 Bullfinches— breeding, 196 : materials for nest, 252; coughing. 416 Bush trainins. lyn Butter— Beiidin;^ br rail, 146: becom- ing rank, 384 Cacti— INFESTED by scalk, 245; pruning. 301 ; not Howering, 428 Ciilah.-ir Bean. 282 Caladiunis— potting, 141 ; culture, 253 Calunthe ve^tita culture, 395 Ca]ceolari.ts, herbaceous, cuttings, 101 ; failing. 349 Caledonian (Royal) Horticultural So- ciety'n shows. 170 Callistemon lanceolatus propagating, 2G2 Cambridge Poultry Show. 159 Camellias — select. 33; bloom buds fallim:, leaves sticky, 54; culture, 141,261.2711; aphides (m, repotting, 348: M.iditme Ambroisc Verachaf- felt. 423; in pots and borders. 444; house for, 445 ; not flowering, 460 Canada, notes in. 8 Canaries. 63, iW : lice in cage, 88 ; with larl:. detecting sex, lOfi : asth- matic and bald. 146; staunching tileeding, 122; breedintf. a guide to, 195, 2:!1. 266. 287, 333, .398, 399 : Lizard, '^n. 249; singiner, 232: Goldfinch Mules, 2R7 : Lizard, are hvbrids fruitful ? 319 ; hen while sitting, 334 ; eating their eags, 400; breedingNor- wicb.430; long-clawed. 410 Cannrv rhi)> proiect. 86 I Caiiki r in Iruit trees, lis. 'i:^:^ I C:anii;n. riiUure ; for small trarden, 118 Caiitua ))uvil'olia culture, 316 Canvas protection for wull trees, 229 Cflponiaing, 100 Carbolic ncid, 376, IS; Carrots. I'oile.l for fowls. IOC Carter .t Co.'s Nursery. 74 Caterpillars on beddint,' plants, 94, 124, 167, 204 ; on Pelargoniums, 149. 158 Cattleya amethystogloasa.Tl Cauliflower culture, 298 Caution to purchasers, 850 Cedru3,lhe genua, 102 Celeriac culture, 330 Celery, Henderson's Conqueror, 94 Celosias to flower in August, 330 Centaurea— candidissima from seed, 117; culture, 164, 267; propagaiion. 197, 219 ; its merits and defects, 254 ; propagation and failure, 292; ragu- sina propasiition, 118 CeraHtium tomentoaum— edging, 15: cuttings, 262 Chamierops humilis, transplanting. 210 Charcoal— ashes for manure, 55 ; for composts, 174 Cliiitsworth, new gardener at. 290 Clierries— trees decaying, 263 ; cater- pillars on, 316: ripening of orchard house. 453 ; falling, 461 Chickenhood. 463 Chickens— fattening. 162; marking, 216, 320; spring, 232: payment for rearing, 25'^ ; checking yTowth of. 288; rearing spring. 318; rearing, 349 ; promoting growth of, deformed. 35-1 ; dving in the shells, 396; weak- footed, 4(MI; malformed, 883; fat- tening sprim;. 384 ; dying. 416 Christmas Rose planting, 261 Chrysantheinunis — propagating, 80; for a RTeenhouse, ItH Churchyard— shrubs, 15 ; planting, 192 Cider as a lest of Apples, 335 Cinerarias — losing flower stems. 3.'t; flowers petalless, 80; culture, 141; pottinj:. 174 Clarke, Major T.. medal to. 126 Clianthus Dampieri, duration of, 380 Clav, burninjr. 141 Clematises -lor training on trees, 80 proiniuatint,'. 428 Clerodendron Thomsona', 117 Clianthus Dampieri training, 101 Climbers— pruning, :il ; for stove, 33: for north aspect, 243 ; for green- house and conservatory pillars, 283 ; in-tloor. 403 : for eastern aspect, 428 Cloche, the, 167 Cloudbeny, 4Ul Coal, economy in, 146 Coburgia triciiroma. 71 Coccoloba platycla(4a lor table deco- ration, 108 Cochin-chinas — jud{,'ing, 81 : scui-fv legged. 122; hackle of Cinnamon hen, 180 ; lees, scurf on, hocks of. 216; cock'a bead swollen, 252, 2H8; meat for, 2.52; colour of egL's, 268: chickens dWng in the shell, 820 Cockerels and pullets, sci)arating, 306 Cochliostema .Tacobianum, 342 Cockscomb culture. 237 Cocks fit,'htiiit;. not crowing. 41l. Cu'log>ne ciiHtata culture, 21" Crtla aemnioata. 239 '* Coleoptera Hesperidum, ' 223 Cokuses. sale of. 297, 312 Collinsia vema. 371 Colocftsia esculenta. motions. So. Combfi— fallen. 146; cause and cure ol crooked. 162 Combretum purpureum pruning, 1.>m ("omfrev. 64 ,- . , Comjiosts, injudicions complicated, 136 C'-niferx at Mr. Mitcbell's, W INDEX. Conifers— aoils and situations for, 124 ; on a clay soil, 126 : hardiness of, 164 ; select, 800 ConBcrvatory — erectinor a small, climbers for. 2i4 ; climbers and other plants, 55. 428 Copinfis— boards for, 118; for walls, 154 ; tile, 209 Cordon ? What is a, 4, 43. 68 ; training. 71, 95,198, 107, 153; Btrainins wires of, 154 Cork Poultry Show, 59 Correa culture, '228 Corynocarpus Ijevigatus, 33 " Cottage (jardenLUg.'' 259 Cotton — hvdridisation and culture, 126; culture. U7 Cotyledon veliitina, 71 Covent Garden Market. 14. 32, 54, 78, 99. 117. 140, 156. 173, 190. 209, 227. 242, 261, 281, 299, 316, 329, 347, 865, 879, 394, 412, 427, 444, 460 Cows — Kerry. 232; oilcake for. 216 Cracking of fruit, preventing, 110 Creve-Coeurs, 232; >*iekle feathers broken, 306 ; described, 461 Crickets — destroying, 78, 158, 203; in fernery, 830 Crinum capeuse culture. 101 Crocker, death of C. AV., 206 Crocuses— eaten by mice, 33; taking up. 412 Crop, swollen. 196 Cropping kitcht-ii garden, 459 Cruqui't ground, moss and plantain on, 158 Cross-impregnation, elTect on seed, 199 Crotun maximum, 296 Crystal Palace, 347; Bird Show, 160; Flower Show. 338 ; Rose Show, 422, 454 Cucumbers— and Melons, house for, 79; frames, pain tintr, 102; moving islants, 115 ; ridge, 142 ; early. 172 : lorcing, 189 ; in flued pit. produce of 209; bed makin-i, 228; Dales Con- queror, 243 ; ■without artificial heat, :^: heating a hou^e small, 262; not setting, 330; culture, 393: in ^vinter, 848; devoured by rats, 364; woodlice attacking, 365 ; bitter, 365 : growing in boxes, 365 ; leaves flag- ging, 428; producing at Christmas, 460 Cupressus inacrocarpa, 66, 149 ; and other Conifers, 6, 133 Currants, ti'aining Red, 42S Curriers' refuse as a manure, 261 Custard Apple, cultui-e, 366 Cutbush's spring flowers, 237 Cutting — and seedling management. 19C; planting, 227; striking, 228: over a flue, 233 Cyeas revolutu, soil, 15 Cyclamens— potting, S3; after flower- ing. 243; varieties of PersiTin, 342: africannm culture, 80; repandum, culture, 365 Cymbidium pendiJum, var. atropur- purea, 423 Cypresses, straggling, 33 Cytisus Adami, 428 D ACTYLIS GLOMERATA VARIEOATA, 373 Dahlias— select. 142; as a bedder, stor- ing tubere, 269 ; imperialis. 278 Daisies, culture of double, 244 Dalechampia Eoezliana roeeaculture, 1 Damson trees, removing, 79 Daphne indica rubra n»t flowering, 283 Darlington Gardeners' Association, 206 Day, hottest period of, 284 Deciduous shrubs, list of, 80 Dendrobimn— cumulatum, 296 : uobile, leaves brown. 395 Dessert, plants for omamentiug, 360 Dew, cause of on Vines. 244 Dicentranthera macpvphylla. 239 Dickson, Mr. J. H., 52 Dipladenia amoena. 296 Disa irrandiflora culture, 218 Dork'iiiiS — roloured, 38 : weight and colour, 106; head and comb turning bliick, colour oi ej-'t-'S, 180; with in- flated abdomen. 19i'>: and Brahma l-'notrrs. 246: their merits. 301; LadvDorldnt-'s troubles, 206 ; roupy, 320 : White, death among Grey, 400 Dovts— young ejected from the nest, 252 : dying. 450 Drncienaa- afew notes on, 25 ; propa- gati ng, 92 Drit^ron tree of Tencriffe, 52 Dra.nage, wood for.ldO Drainins— laud. 13 : th<*ory, 78 ; an oi*- chard and clay land, 99 Duiilm Poultry Show. 176 Ducks— from Isle of Pern, 56 ; keep- in?, 88; Aylesbury with Wild, 106; classes for, 145; pinioned wiM, I'Jti : prizes for. 23i> ; Black East Indian, 252: feeding', 268: eggs not hatch inc. food ftu-, 288 ; eggs unfertile,- inarking, 320 : es::s fertile thouLfh no water, excessive layin;j, 350; points ofCarolinaa. 354; layins irregularlv, 450 age of Rouen tor breeding, 416 Dumfries and Maxwelltown Ornitho- logical Society's Show, 37, 61 Eaton, Mr.J.M.. 285 Edgings— slate, 324 ; Scdums for. 452 Eggs— for sitting, 64; marble nest, 106; selling. 146; packing. 146. 162, 265.302.332,384, 413,448, 462; distin- guishing sex in, 180; double-yolked, keeping, 196: yolkless, of pullets for hatching, 252 ; selling boiled, 265, 350 ; with thickened skins, mis- shapen. 288; not hatching, 302, 306; pullet laying soft, 306; hens eating, 320 ; chilled, 351 ; protracted hatch- ing, preserving, 354; excess of. 368; hens la>'ing soft, 384; lro';enin the hen, 416 ; moistening when hatching, 432 Emigrants, warning to, 201,342 Emigration, 239, 277 ; of gardeners to America, 150 Entomological Society's Meeting, 112, 169,223,275,361 Epacrises — striking cuttiners. 101 ; treatment after flowering, 366 Epidendrum ibaguense, 423 Epimediums. 341 Epwi.rth Poultry Show, 3SA Eranthemum aspersum, 423 Ervthronium giganteura, 423 Eskdale Poultry Show, 87. 61 Eucharis amazonica to flower in Au- gust, 330 Eucudonopsis nEegelioides,396 Evergreens -list of, 80; in houses, 23; for p\Tamid8. 100 Exhibitiuns, horticultural in 1868, 857 Fasciation, 461 Favourites, old, 293 Fi.'mery — gro\ving plants in, 174; liquid manure for, 191 ; plants for wall of. 348 Ferns — proliferous, 7; culture in stoves, 79; propagating proliferous, 192; repotting, vaporising, 282; nver-potted, compost for, propagat- ing by spores. '."-:!: mn^t' ^v^d. 444 "Ferns and Lt. I, i - ' I." 425 Fevtrfew. Gold. ... 395 Fife and Kinrui^^ i' ■ Ui shnw, 59 Figs— falling, 282 : tjxes in a peachery. 209 ; casting their fruit, 300 Fir, sowing Scutch. 191 Fleas— in hen house, 88 ; driving awav, 26ft Floors Castle. 113 Flower-garden — plan, 344; planting, 380 Flower gaxdenBi attractions in small, 65 Flower pots — paper envelopes, 229; where to be had? 255; forms of, 361 '* Flower Garden. Handy Book." 204 Flowers— of other days, 199, 258; lovely thouffh common, 238; too much neglected, 278: drying, 816; spring, at Mr.W. Paul's, 358 Foliaged (finf) stove plants. 101 Forget-me-not for spring blooming, 412 Fowl-sellers, caution to, 194 Fowls— soft food for, weighing with head downwards, 38; for a clay soil. 119; with ulcerated livers, not lay- ing, 180; dying suddenly, 216 ; mark- ina". ulcerated intestines over fat, 232; chilled, pecking each other, S54: rice as food for, 369; dying without apparentcause, 370: hasten- ing moulting, food requii'ed by, eat- ing feathers. 432 Frames— utilising, 15; lining, 157;pro- pasating. 192 France and Italv. notes from, 45 Frosterley Poultry Show, 332 "French Gardens, Gleanings from," 404 Fruit— growintrfarnorth, 48. 149; trees nnder-potted, 102; in pots, thinning fruit of, 174 ; for north wall. 191 ; pro- tecting pyramid. 193 : thinning blos- soms, 243: bueh, 234, 291: on open walls, at the Moat. 307: remo\ing protection from, 366 ; removing in November, 380 : lichens on. 433 Fuchsias — wintered in a cellar. 142; growing for exhibition. 191 ; repot- tins. shoots diseased. 317 Fumigating to destroy insects, 31, 355, ogg Fumaoe for floe-heating, 100 Furze for cover, 242 Galvanised wise teellises, 91, 151, 166, 204 Game coverts, shrubs for, 47 Game fowls, H17, 331, 350,367,381 ; wins of Brown Paid euck. 64 ; prize sorts and their colours, 31. 177; tails, 82, 1 42. 230 ; classes for, 264 ; plumage of Indian, 288; judging, 302; diseased, 370: breeding, 397: cock's spur broken, 416 ; in fonuer years, 429, 462 ; Gapes, treatment, 400 Garden, a chat about my, S22 Gardens, our, 294 Gardeners" Benevolent Institution^ an- niversary, 279 "Gardener's Almanack, Poultry-Keep- er's and Apiarian's Calendar," 44 " Gardeners' Year Book," 73 Gas— lime for manure, 54, 118; heat- ing by, 79; Shrewsbury apparatus, 98 Gases, plants inhaling noxious, 275, 808 Geese— green, 55 ; management of, 180, 2li4 ; hatching, 232 ; numbers bred in Norfolk, 264 ; not laying, 306 ; weak- ness of, 432 Geonoma magniflca flowering, 174 Geranium and Pelargonium defined, 460 Gesneras— for winter bloominc, 183; cinnabarina not flowering, 117 ; cul- ture, 149 ; exoniensis, 296 Ghent International Horticultural Exhibition, 171, 256, 273 Ginger culture, 317 Gladioluses- and its culture, 4, 39, 147; bulbs keeping, 15; diseases,39: on north aspect, 54; for decoration, 147 : list of, 164 ; notes on, 452 Glasgow Agiicultural Society's Show, 464 Glass— 1". brick walls, 67; structures of for fruit and flowers, 254 ; for fmit-growing, 237 : coiTUgated, 245 ; colouring, 444 ; rendering opaque, 461 Gloxinias— select, 174; watering. 243 Gnaphalium lanatum cuttings. 262 Goldfinch, teaching to siult, 450 Gooseberry— bush caterpillars. 7. 164, 191 ; limewashing bushes, 54 ; liquid miinurefor, 191 Gorse for cover, 242 Graft, cutting off stock above, 413 Graftin-,' wax. 54 Grapes— crossing early hardy, 2: set- ting; air to be moist or dry? 42; Frontignan, 71 ; to set the Muscat of Alexandria, 92 ; Royal Ascot, 94, 148 ; atmosphere for setting Muscat, 125. 183 ; setting of Muscat, 153, 293 ; Black Hamburghs at Christmas, 192; rust on. 301 : keeping, succession of, shrivellinc whilst younsr, 830; spot- ted, 349, 365. 380 ; preventing damp- ness OM, 372; remaining on the Vine, 380 ; fertilising shy-setting, 422; spot on. 427: cracking. Chasse- las Napole -n; mildew on, 444 Grass— sowinc: seeds, 228: cutting,263 Gravel on walks not setting, 381 Green fly— (m fruit trees in bloom. 278, 281 ; destro>ing. 355 Greenhouse— heating and arranginEi, 100; plants to flower in June, 157; ventilatimr. 245; removing, heating, and paintintr. 192 : cistern iii, 300 Grubs, destroying. .395 Guano, applying to l.iwns. 366 Guinea fowls, detecting sex, 1b-^ Gutters and spouts, 53 Gymnostachyum Vcrschaffelti cul- ture, 24 Halifax Poultet Snow, 159 Hamburghs— r. Brahmas, 148 : pre- venting flyinff. 146 ; eeres of Golden- BpauEled unfertile. 268; chickens, Golden-spantrled. 416 Hand-lights, wooden framed, 238 Hanley Poultry Show, 56 Hants and Berks Poultry Show. 445 Hardiness of certain shrubs, 283 Harlaxton.325 Hatching— the season's, 318, 832. 396, 429; tieatment of lien. 396: results, 465 Hawk, life of a tame, 249 Havs's stove, charcoal for, 70 Heaths, twelve select, 330 Heating, 100 ; from a propagating tank, 79; with hot water. 298. 444 Heekmondwike Poultry Show, 17 Hedgehogs and black beetles, 18 Hclges— and shrubs for them, 217, 236 ; plants for. 295 Henhouse, insects in, 432 Hens — picking cock's comb, 106 ; cock's Sojourn with, 196; layin?. food for, 216 ; laving in winter. 280 ; ceasing to lav,* 268; broody, 884; for laying only, 450 Herbaceous plants — for cold locality, 244 ; from seed. 300 Hewitt, Mr., testimonial to, 193; its presentation. 367 Hibiscus uiarmoratns. 296 Hollies— not producing berries, 248 ; gi-aftinir. 282 Home. 73 Honey-dew. 411 Honeysuckle — Variepated Japanese, flowering, 210 ; blight on, 316 Horlicnltnral structures, patent im- provements. 7 Horticultural (Roval) Society's sche- dules for 1868, 40, 68; Committees nnd Meetines. 69. 152, 185, 221, 271, 3lu. 338, 373.437 ; changes in Council, 70; Exhibitions, 110, 127: exami- nations. 112, 117, 126; ballot for plants, 114 : Batemau challenge cup, 115; Leicester Show, 95, 126, 187; "Joumnl of Horticulture" Prizes at, 394: General Meeting and Report of Council and Ciswick Board, 128; gardens, 150, 187 ; now Scientific Committee, 185, 221, 312; trial of flowers and vegetables by Com- mittees, 20S ; First Spring Show, 220; instruction ito young garden- ers, 223 ; drawing class, sale of Coleuses, 279,312; Second Spring Show, 809: florists' flowers at, 324 ; Third Spring Show, 359 : meetiuff of exhibitors, 374; Summer Show, 405 ; judging at, 419, 436; Special Prize and Pelargonium Show, 437 Hotbeds— managing, 12; over a flue, 157; for propagation, 116; for for- warding flowers and vegetables, 173 ; of dung, 828 Hot-water pipes, distance of plants from, 119; length needed, 141 Houdan.s, 122 ; four-toed, 82, 102, 144, 151, 194 ; points in, 146 ; fifth toe, 176 ; their characteristics, 268; markings of. 354; chickens, 416 Hull and East Riding Poultry Show, 368, 383, 432 Hull Botanical Garden, 424 Hurdles, painting, 210 Hyacintlis— compost for, 141; after flowering. 282 Hybridising at the Chiswick Garden, 341 Hypericum patulum, 170 Hypoxis elata, 170 Ice not keeping, 141 Illicium religiosum, hardy, 380 Incubators — temperature, 146, 306 advantages of, 369 Inflammation in fuwls. 146 Influence of male bird,l06 Ingram. Mr., SO Insects attacking plants, 355 Ipomiea hederafolia for a parlooi" trellis, 316 Ipsea speciosa, 296 Ivies — planting. 79 : pruning, 101 select variegated, 380 Ixias, dividing, 348 Ixora culture, S66 Jakuary, plants in flower DUaiKO» 136 Jedburgh Poultry Show, 104 Jersey, Horticultural report of the Island. 92 Jerusalem Artichokes for fowls, 830 Jesse, death of Mr. E., 279 Jungle fowl, 196 Kales, vaeiour, 328 Kendal Poultry Show. 84 Kidney Beans— culture, 155: forcing Dwarf, 260; culture of dwarf, S80; sowmtr, 346 Koehler'a discovery, 384 LABrRNUMS — PRrsiNG, 395; with va rious-coloured flowers, 421 Langholm Poultry Show, 37 Lapageria rosea — culture. 90. 229 watering, 228 ; and splendens, 125 Lark with cinaries, 106 Latania borbonica, soil, 15 Laurels- New Zealand, 33: prunins, 348 : hardiness of common, the Col- ehiau, 417, 453; striking cuttings, 428 Laurustinus transplanting, 124 Lawn mowers, sharpening, 262 Lawns— weeds on. 244 : mossy and coarse. 330 ; applying guano to, 366 ; management, 426 ; mossy, 460 Layering, Indian mode. 313 Leaves— collecting. 12 ; forming buds, 282 ; skeletonising. 403 Leeds Gardeners" Friendly Society, 95 Lee, Mr. J. N.. 425 Leicester Horticultural Show, " Jour- of Horticulture " prizes, ;i94 Leighton Buzzard Poultry Show, 35, 60 Leschenaultia culture. 381 Lettuce. so\ving forwinter and sprintr, 427 ; producing at Christmas, 460 Lice on fowls, i^ Lichens— on forest trees, 183; on fi-u\t trees, 433, 456 Liliums and their culture, 181; ma- nure water for, 300; auratum. Uil; producing small bulbs, 32 : price of, 210; Brownii, 101: tigauteum cul- ture, 80; monadelphum superbum. 54 ; description of speciosum va- rieties, 123; Thunbergianum par- dinum, 423 Lilies. Guernsey, &c., not flowering, 210 Lilv of the Valley planting, 142; pre- paring for forciug, 293 ; forcing, 322 ; remarks on, 457 Lime-for fowls, 162; sulphate of as a manure. 379 Limv rubbish. 174 Lindlev Library, 424, 441 Liquid manures, 443 ; smell from, 928 Lobelias— from seed, 54 : propagating, 141; Bpeciosa as a decorative plant, 233: erinus speciosa, 291 Love Birds, 146 Lonicera Stiindihhii, 34"2 Loquiit, ;M0; culture. 850 Lyoaste HaniuKtoniie r. t'rundillora, MaOSOLIA TRANftPI.ANTlNO.28R M)Uden-h«iv Fi-rn— cuUutl^ 'J-IU, 3^1 ; fronds lU-stroyptl, 412 Maiden trf«'8, futtinir back, 348 aiult iluflt lor lowlH, SH Miint'ht?Bter Horticultural Rxhihition, notes on, 4'21 ; Sliow in IMiW. 421 Jilandovillu suavrolens, pnininj,', 52 ManBold Wurtgcl lor fowls. IM Mannrt' — fora (irv soil, 11*; artificial, fur lto\VLM-b».-ds.20it Many tlilnsM and little about them, 137 Marcli, plants lilonniinff in. 27« Mcdinilla magnillea. 300 Melons-Hoil lor, 80; hardy Rldpe, 101; solect, llH; plantiac. 220; cul- ture. 315. 346. S4S. 387. 3113. 410 ; mode of ftrowinR in a house, 326; turoine; yellow and dro]tpintr, 365; leaves scorched, stoppnis. -113 Melrose Poultry Show, 177 Meteoroloffy or 1867 at Lintou Park, *^ Mitfnonette — eiiltnrc of tree, 42: of standard, 24r» Mislhtoe. 187; in Franee. 23, 4:.. 49, (iH. 91, '220; in Turkey and America, !U : onttie Oak and Poplar, 133 Mopiiifi pullet, 196 Mo88— drying arcen, Z7>; on walls, preventing. 1.^8 Moulting, to hasten. 432 Mulchinj,' fruit trees, 15R Musn Cavendishii culture, 821 : COC- cinea culture, 118 ; sncker of, 157 Mnshroonis— bed duup, 12; preparinp beds, 13 ; growing in a pit. 101 : bed, in potting shed, 142 : culture, 1.">1, 172, 184. 200. 379 ; beds for, 172 ; destroy- ing slugs and BnailB, 173; too thick. 880 ; diseased, 388 Myosotia azorica, 263 Napthalise v. insects, 336 Narcissus uniflorus. 453 Nash, testimonial to Mr., 11 Nectarines — trees out of doors. 271 ; thinning fruit. 39.'i ; leaves blistered. 412: watering. 413; fruit cracking, 444; forcing. 410 Nemophila insignis. 371 Nenthead Poulti v Show, S:. Nepenthes ampullitcea culture, 79 Nepcta— nepetos for bedding. 220; teucriifoliafor bedding, 203. 291,300; nepetclla cuUure. 258; from seed, 2t)2; for bedding. 323 Nerinm culture, 412 Newark Poultry Show, 85 Neweliurch Poultry Show, S51 New plant— what is a, 445 New Zealand gardening, progi'ess of, 343 Night soil manure, 228 Norman forefathers, among the first traces of our. 436 North ot EnglandOmithologicalShoW) 18 Notice to leave. 14 November meteorology. 8 Nuneham Park, spring flowers at, 387 ODONTOOLOSSCM — ORA?,-DB, PODS OV, 10!i; Alexandrte. var. Trianie, 170; Alexandra, vav. guttatum, 239 Oiling trees. '220 Oldham Poultry Show, 104 Oncidium — calanthimi. 296; ruculla- tum J', nubigenum.andmacnmthum hastiferum. 812 Onions— Nuneham Park, 13G; Tree, 158 ; culture. 20S. 209 ; tinning soil for. 228; maggot in, 414 Ophelia alata. 71 Ophrys insectifera aranifej-a,42S Orange — culture of Mandarin. 32: Oiaheite, leatless, 228 ; tree losing its leaves, 4G1 Orchard house — management, 189 : journal. 201, 219. 255, 341, 453 : venti- lation. 32 ; successful culture, 66; manaf?ement. 76.298,364,378; trees, unfruitful, r>4 : prunine. 262 ; potting, 418; red spidtr on, 300; routine, 329; doings. 393 Orchids — for a cool house. 33: from seed. 7S; Mr. Bateman's prize for, ll-i; corapo.st lor. 141; seed sowing, 219; wa'ering, 243: value of, 259: KCf-'lectcd hardy, 420: sale of ill-. J. A. Tunier's,424 ; snails on. 4fU • Orehidgrowt-r's Manual," 205 OniameiiiaMoliaged plants. Bowing seeds of. 210 Ornithological Association, a na- tional li-k Oliorhynchua vastator, 70 Paduans, 432 Painting a gi'cenhouse, 54 Paisley Ornithological Show, 30 ; Poultry Show, til Paui-iefi-in winter, 15; propagating, vi':!; vuriegatedj 300; Imperial Blue, Paris Poultry Show.88R Parrut-BoU-plucked, 216, 8M ; with tumour. 2Ii2 ; subjoct to tits. 370 Parsnips - storing. 76; boiled lor lowls, 106; eulture. 207 Pashiifbira - *|u;tdningularia culture, lui ; liflhitt. I'ottiiig, 158; racemosa purjiurea, 'J4:i ; edulis seed wowing, 282 ; manicata culture, 441 Paul's (W.) nhow of plants, 2".7 Pni supports, 244 Pearlies— forcing. 100, 139; trees m pots, 14^i ; lor H»Muh wall, ir.7 ; prun- ing. 158, 174; for foreing, 210; trees injured, 243 ; thinning buds, 262 ; out of doors,271 : double-blossomed fruit- ful. 276; brown aphis on. 283, 348; cordons, 335 ; leaves blighted, 348 ; scale and aphis. 365: raising seed- ling, 376; tliinii.g llcwers of. 3.8; falling in onimid houhc. white blotch on. 395 ; fientroying scale, mil- dewed, 428; watering, 413; loaves blistered, 444, 461 ; heading-back, ^61 .„ , ^ Pears— have patience with. 2 ; have mercy on, 42; scale on, 54; suckers, 80; protecting blossoms of i>yramid, 174: Ufting p-vraniidal, 282; injured bv dressmg, 283: on Whitethorn. 283; blossoms. 283 ; insects on, and leaves wrinkled, 316 ; blossoms not setting, 380; uniruitiul. 348; leaves injured. S48; destioye.l by iiisetts. SSi:,; budding, blaekmed and drop- ping. 460; Acnan, Ad;!m. Alexandre bivort, and Alexandre Luinlire, U : Adele Lancelot, Ad.U- de St I'.-nis. \h' mon Dieu, and .Mnantline de itouen. 134 : Althorp Crasanne. Amadotte. Amande d'Ete. 29; Am- brosia. vVinelieLeClerc. 326; Chau- iHontelin Jersey, 78; Josephine do Malines. 67 . Peas - prulectmg, 172 : sowing. 138, 172,174: dwart, 174: staking. 328; preserving from mice and birds, 359 ; leav.-s eaten. 366 ; early, 395 : early ; Sutton's Ringleader, 420 ; pre- serving, 432 Peat. 118; eharccal, 14,94 Pelargoniums— propagating, 2. 2.-; at Mr. W. Paul's, 8; ornamental-foli- aged. 24: spots on tricolored, 32; cuttings, 46; mildewed in a pit, 101; wintered in a cellar, 142 ; Emperor, Rob Roy, 170: forwarding seedling Zonal, 192 ; temperature tor euttingfi, 1'I3 • hung in a room, 'JUt; Andrew Henderson, 239 ; .•rotL-etiug bedding, 261 ; notes on some. 270 ; repottmg. 317: compost for Zonal, drying leaves, 33o ; select list. 831 ; reticu- latum, 376; standard Nosegay for winter blooming, 385: cuttings of Golden Chain, 395; culture and propagation, 401 ; grafting, 412 : seed sowing, 413; Variegated Zonal at Royal Horticultural Society's Show, 419, 454, 460; Star of India, 423; leaves diseased, 428; budding and gi-afting. 451 : and Geranium detined. cultiue, sowing seed, 460 ' "Pelargoniums— Historyof Variegated Zona^," 223 Perennials, propagatinir, 412 Pereskia aculeaia grafting. 15 Pergula odoratissima culture, 403 Penlla— and other seedlings, for edg- ing, 263 ; nankinensis for flower garden decoration, 360 Peru, Isle ol, 106 Phalienopsis Sehilleriana— propaga- tion, 156; at Mr. Warner's, 240 Philoperisteron Society. S8, 104 Philoperisteron and National Coluiii- barian Societies' amalganuition, 213,247 Hiloxes, removing, 192 1 Pioea piuMapo for an avenue, 300 *' Pigeons ; '^ Pouters at Calne, 62 Pigeons— mating with mealy, 86, 161 ; roup in. 86, lfi3, 14.'), 162, 176, 180, 195, 214, 398; with incased l«:athcrs. 88 ; mealv. 103; diseases, 120; Mealy Pouters, matching colours, 121 : breeding Yellow Pouters, 161; Tumbler, 178; space required for, floor of house, hen not laying, laying imperfect eggs, ISO ; number of crosses. 194; Sturling.196 ; breed- ing Pouters, 214, 266; del'cctive-plu- maged Pouters, &c., 248 ; laying age, 252 ; fleas on, 2,12 ; The Canier, 265 ; defective Pouters, 285; deterioration of fancy, 303 : Almond Tumblers, SOS: remarks on Bomo varieties, S51 : the Pouter controversy. Al- mond Tumblers, 352; judging, the Horseman and Dragoon, 414; SJiort- faced Tinnbler diseased, unsettled. 416; not fitting, 432: judges, Aut- werps, Dragoons, 448; long sitting, 450; entry fees and prizes tor at shows, 465 Pimelea Hendersoni compost 228 Pine Apples— in a small house, Mnnt- Bcrrat andlilack Jamaica, 243 ; fruit- ing, 300 1830 Pine pit— erecting. 392, S81 ; heating, Pits— cost of, 100 : for Cucumbers and Llclons, creeling, 212 Plane, propagating the Oriental, 158 Plant-iianiini: in public gardens, 45<; Plantain culture, 321 Plants— Bfmie old, 108; trees, and Bhmba, 140: not thriving, 117; old-fashioned, 166; in flower in May, 419 Pleroma elegans culture, 182 Plumbago eapensis, starting, 228 PluniH — grafting. 80; tri-es, unfruitftil, 101 ; eulture, I.'m ; tr<-es not blossom- ing, 210 : in orchard house, 229 ; setting bloom, 229 ; in orchard house attacked by insects. 365 ; bud- ding. 395 ; leaves whitened, 445 Poinciaiia Gilliesii eulture, 445 Poinsettia pulcherrima culture, 102 Polish fowls. 162 Pollen, dispersion <»f. 226 Polyanthuses, 323 ; bird-injured, 282 ; double, 881; culture, 374; cross- breeding. 422 Potatoes— produce, influence of seta, 47; select, 68, 78; for exhibition, 100; descriptive list, 108 ; for clayey soil. 117: early and second early. Jl8 ; weight of'a sack. 119 ; produce, 125; Paterson's Victoria. 1.S5. 149. 203; Milky White, 149, 163; disease, 149; cutting ofl" haulm, 163 ; annual pro- duce, 166: estimate of some va- rieties, 182, for clay soil, 191 ; Car- ter'sAsh-top Fluke, 223 ; dl-yiug sets, 229; disease, 233; planting. 241; artificial manure for, 243 ; digging up, 262 ; for light stiil, 300 Pots, painting garden, 418 Potting, in frenh leaf mould. 118 Poultry— judging, 17, 20; yard, 84; year's account, 83 ; varieties in one run. 88 : keeping for exhibition, food needed, lv2 : profitable, 210 ; times for exhibitions, 264; exhibitions in general, 284 ; rearing profitably, 301. 303.306; feeding, 354; shows, com- mittees, rules, 382 ; Secretary ex- hibiting at Shows, 397 ; in confine- ment. 416; entries in "variety" class. 429; culture, 446 Primroses, changing colour of, 300 Privet propagation, 101 Prizes lor poultry, 17 Protecting fruit borders. OH: plants, 261; bedding plants, 229; to wall trees. 229 Pruning. 157 : principles of, 380 Prunus — nmritima as a stock, 46; si- nensis, propagating, 3C6 Pullets' laying age, 252 Puppy distempered, 196 Pyramidal training. 198 Primula— culture, 157; flowers, ferti- lising, 262: propagating, 263 Quickset hedge, forming, lift Quince stocks, raising, 283 RARBITS — PROTECTING TREES I'R'^ai. at the Hanley Show, 86 : breeding long-eared. 146; excluding, 189: points of Himalayan. S.^^: Show. "Woolwich, 304: Hare, 306; judging, 383; feeding, 400 Radish culture, 348 Railway charges, 103, 14;".. 176, 194, 212. 230 Eaphisterama ciliatum, 296 Raspberries — planting. 76 ; in damp soil, 263 Red spider— its yvinter quarters, 184 ; on Cucumbers. 413 ; desti'oying, 440, 459 Rhododendrons— in pots, 32 : for bedc. 80; propagation. 101; fonning bed. 117; cutting down, 244; tieatment of after flowei-ing, 380; and their eulture, 409.455 Rhubarb— forcing, 13. 68,98: for me- dicine, 190; wine-making. 466 Ribbon border, Pelargoniums and Viola cornuta.224 Rice as food tor poultry, 309 lliviiia ia;vis, 380 Itoekets, various, 108 Rnof uf wood, to render waterproof, 381 RookeiT- evergreens lor. 191 Rooks— a Hu ring. 301 ; scaring, 36G Rootery — climbers, iIcc, for, 24o ; plants for, 283 Rose Apple, fniiting, 873, 419,4.-3 Rose, Mr. H.. 70 Roses— working on Manetti, 3 ; at Mr. W. Paul's, 8. 858 ; pnming, for N. wall, notes on some, 14 ; cutting off blooms and pruning, 24 : gi-afting, to bloom in winter. 55 : Moss de Mcaux. in pols. Triomphe do Ren- nep. Ac, 78; pruning on Blanetti ; mulching, 100 ; repotting, 101 : un- covering, 109; covering, 136; prun- ing, manure for, 141 ; Marechal Niel, J41, 142; pruning. 142 : grafting on Manetti, 157 ; raising from seed. 107 : lips and downs of one, 168; mulch- ing and manuring, pruning Ayr- shire, 174; pruning dw.arf Hybrid- Perpctnal and Moss. 191 : select 'I'ea- scented, l'.:3: pruning Tea-scented, 21:;. 2S3; supporting petals, 245: ;i::- RosEH" Continued, phiiig guano, ■*62 ; torcni mildewed, budding Manetti. \M'.i: iutt>.lhurouB acid among plants, 77 Sunderland Poultry Show, 35 "Synopsis Filicum." S4.'j Syringing, 411 Tacsonia Van-Voi.xkmi. 31G Tagetes. protecting from 8lng6,348 Tamarind, sowing wild, 101 , Tanks—healing one, not heating,S2; eUar.ili.T, C;:; INDEX. Tea culture in India. 4C Tpinple Gardens, 'ISH 'l"r.,iii'-oii"s NtjT)tit' for cuttui^s, 31G ; I.-r l.u.Ulin^'. 365 Tiii-iUs. .'i;Hlti-atmg.46ti 'I'l.ui.r I'MiiltryShow, 4&4 'Ihiii'--, 4(IK: lUistrojiue:, -118 Tlnmia HciiHoniw, 23!* rii\ 8;Mi()lii'^ !^-andiflorus calUirp, S30 ■rls. sriml the. 42S Torfuia puloherriiHa culture, l'>3 Tfirrcvii firjiiidis.381 Town* garden — shrubs, kc, for, 102 ; perenniijls for. 22H Transatlantic .iottin^^s. id Transplantin-; larpf trees. 202 ■• Trees of 01'inery. for gi'eenbouse, in a Fern case. 119; in pots, for or- cliard liouse, pruning, 141 ; effects of layering. I.tO ; lor e.irly forcing. 156; eyes failing, in pots, frui'ing voung, l.'i7; for ground vinery and cylinder, I'Jl : grafting. 191 ; late, for greenhouse. KS; air-roots on, 198; Vines— Continued, planting, roots too deep, Koyal Ascot, 209 : Lady Downc's, 3'_'3 : mil- dewed. Muscats and llanifiurghs together, red Hpi : from I setd, 118, 262 : propagating. 192: not rtowering. 229: varietiea of, 423. 453 : and its failure in dry seasons. 457 Viola lutes, from seed, 118,261: pro- pucating. 192 Violets —planting, 112: the family of. 164 Vitis planicauUs. 71 Walks, okeev vitriol i'or destroy- ing WEEDS ox. 366 WaUrtowcr,striking cuttings of doable, ,*i79 Wall fruit trees, insects on, 117 Walls, kitchen garden, 9, 49 Ward, N.B., 441 Wasp, early queen, 190 "Wasps. British Social." 205 Watering. 36:.. 426. 442: with water from an asphalted roof, 32; in green- house, 414 Water— weeds removing, 210; keeping cleRr,262; and watering, 442 : tepid, 445 Waverley Poultry Show, 177 Weeds, destroying. 426 Week, work for, 11,30. 52, 75, 97,11.'-. 137, ir.4. 171, IHH, ■j()7, 225, 240,259. 27^. •J',i7, ;iM. :;'J7. ;;i:., ;ui2. {177, 392, 409, 42.'.. ■111,4:,;; duiu-M of last, 12,81, 53, 7:u 9H. 11,-,. i:;s, i:,.-.. 172, lf^9, 207,226,241. 2611. tis;j. -j'.is. ;.i i, 328, 346, S68, 378,892. 411), 42ti, H-i, i;-s Wells, Aineii'i.ii, 170 Wentworth I'oultry .Show, S4 lll« Weston-sUDer-Marc Poultry Show, Ik! Whai-fedale Poultry Show, 318 AMieat, dressing with arsenic, 171 White Flv. 141 Whiteliaven Poultry Show, $1 Wbitethoni. propagating, 380 Whitewash, 228 Wigamlia caracasana seedlings, ^i Wild plants on roof of a London resi- dence, 421 Window— plants for a north, 157 : gar- deuing, 173; boxes, raising plants from seed in, 174 ; gardening, 300 Winter and spring decorative plants. Wire netting for protection, iA ; for protecting glass roof, 174 Wirewoi-ms, 396 ; in Cucumber coin- post, 229; destroying. 403 Wistaj'ia sine.isis on north aspect, 387 WoUaton Hall, 375 Woodcocks, rearing, SM Woodlice—destroying, 330,365: in Cu- cumber bed, 365; in holbjd, 414 Woolland House, 49 YSAR. THE PAST, .''il Yew tree, old. 271 Yuccas and their propagation, 44 Zisc Linr.Ls, 120 W D C U T S. PAGE. 170 Americao w«U3 Arnott'9 BtoTC modilieij ^ Eac-holder and tannel "'° Bec-glass *'" Bet-hive, ImrroTed Cottage 1'^ Bees, fixintr rombs * -^ Boiler, the Pocaet -• '* simple form of -^^ Cordon Training 72,73.98,97,154 floors Castle Plant and Fruit Houses H* ylower-garden Plans 163, •234.344 Hower pots ^^^ Hand Lights, wooden-framed -^^ Honey-extracting machine. German centrifugal 465 Hull Botanical Garden raised beds 424 Lavering, Indian mode of 313 „ . '^44 Pea supports - - ^^ Pear, Achan ^" „ Adam 1" „ Ad'le de St. Denis 184 „ Ad' le Lancelot 134 PAOE. Pear, Ah ! Mou Dieu 1^ ,, Alexandre Bivort H „ Alexandre Lambre H „ Althorp Crasanne -^ „ Amadotte ^ „ Amandcd'Eti- 29 „ Amandine de Ronen 1''^ „ Ambrosia ** „ Am.lie Le Clerc ^'^^ Pelargonium reticulatum ^'^ Ribbon border " ^ Rose-budding in Jane "^^ Silkworm stages "' Transplanting Sledge and Machine 202 Trellis, fixing on a wall _ WaU-copings 51, lu4 Walls, hollow ^^ „ proportion of snn on „ various modes of building Wires, straining for Cordon Trees 1"' Janmry 2, lrtC8. ) JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE OARDENEE. WEEKLY CALENDAR. Day or "o? Month Week. i Tn 8 F 4 S fi Sen fl M 7 Tu B W JANUARY 2—8, 1868. Day breaks 6.3 a.m. Hoyal Horticultural Society. Promouade. '2 SONDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. KPlrilANV. Twelfth Day. Twiliaht enils G.ll P.M. Meeting of the Geological Society. Averajje Temperature near London. Rain In last 40 years. Dav. 42.5 43.4 42.7 41.9 41.1 41.0 40.9 Nii^ht. •29.7 ao8 31.6 •27.5 as.o '2S.0 30.0 MeaU' 3G.1 37.2 37.1 34.7 84.5 34.5 35.4 Days. 17 19 17 15 14 16 18 San Rises. m. h. 9af 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 8 7 8 8aa Sots. m. h. 0a(4 1 4 Moon Rises. TO. h. S7'ifU after. 28 55 n 81 1 14 2 7 3 Mood Sets. m. h. midn morn. 7 at 1 20 '2 8^2 3 47 4 58 5 Moon's Age. Days. « T> 10 11 12 IS 14 Cloelt before Sun. ^7 Tear From observations taken near London durincf the last forty-ono years, the avoraj^e day teroppratnro of the week ia 41.ft''; and its night temperature '2'.).4-. The greatest heat was 57 , oa the 3rd, 18tJ0 ; and tho lowest cold 11^ ijelow zero, on the 4tb, 1867. The greatest fall of rain was O.S(> inch. LIBRARY NEW YORi BOTANICAI GARDEN. D.'Ui.ECHAMPIA ROEZIJANA ROSEA. HIS most beautiful anil useful Mexican Dalc- champia is certainly one of tlie most elegant plants (hat have appeared for many a year, and will be foimd a most welcome addition to our stocli of those suitabli! for table decora- tion. It is also invaluable for the conserva- tory. Tlie plant grows very freely, and is at all seasons csvered with its pretty pink bracts, embracing in the centre tlie yellow flowers. The flower and bracts are very much like those of the Bougainvillea, but are produced singly instead of in clusters. Tlio Hower is also mucli brigliter in colour, and the habit of tho plant is very graceful. No plant that I have seen can compare with this in respect both to leafage and richness of floral colouring. It has bright, glossy, green, sub-cordate leaves, about S inches long. The plant is very easily managed, and may be grown into a large specimen for conservatory decoration ; when grown in 3 or 5 -inch pots it is also most useful for decorating vases or flower baskets in the drawing-room. One gi-eat advantage whieli tliis Dalechampia possesses over many other flowers is, tliat its flowers continue in great beauty for a long time ; in a moderately dry tempe- rature of 0.5^ the flowers retain tlieir freshness and beauty for three or four weeks. It will be a valuable addition to collections of stove and greenhouse plants, and will, doubtless, be made the most of for this purpose by the successful exliibitors of this class of plants ; for graceful specimens may be easily grown witliout the aid of so many sticks and distortions as one usually sees at exhibitions. It will, therefore, present a very different appearance from many plants exhibited in stove and greenliouse collections. Its bright leaves, beautiful bracts, and yellow flowers will add much grace and beauty to future exliibitions. Where the objectt is to form the plant into a large speci- men, either for exliibitiou or other purposes, it should be placed in a rather high and moist temperature of 70" or 80°. Every flower bud must be picked out as soon as it appears on the stem. The soil most suitable is a mixture of rich, fibry, yellow loam, peat, leaf soil, and cocoa-nut refuse in equal portions, with a little small cliai'coal. and just enough silver sand mixed with it to keep it suflioiently porous. The drainage must also be perfect. As soon as the roots have reached the sides of the pot the plant may be shifted into one a size larger. It must at no time be allowed to suffer from want of water, and if supplied wnth weak guano water once or twice every week after the pots are full of roots, rapid gi-owtli will be encou- raged, the brilliancy and size of tlie flower and bracts will be increased, and the foliage wall acquire a deeper colour and more glossy appearance. No insect appears to trouble the plant much, excepting scale and white mealy bug ; but these, however, may be kept under by constant vigilance and attention on the part of the person in charge of the stove or other house in which the plant may be cultivated. No. SSS.-Von. xrv., New Series. The best way to propagate this beautiful plant is by cuttings. Having taken a shoot, it sliovild bo cut up in pieces about lialf an inch long. Tliis will give two eyes ; one at the base of the cutting, the other at the top. 'I'he leaf stalk at the former should be trimmed-ofl close to the stem of the cutting : but that near the top eye should be left entire, with about three-parts of the blade of tlie leaf attached to it. Tho cuttings are best pricked into small thumb-pots. The soil most suitabli; for tlieni is a mixture similar to that recommended for growmg the plants in. It will, however, require to be rubbed through a fine sieve, and a lai-ger proportion of sand will be necessary. Great care must also be exorcised to put plenty of drainage in every pot. If the pots are .'! inches high, at least 1 inch of drain- age should be placed at the bottom, and this should be broken in pieces of a regular size ; first put in about half an inch of larger pieces, then a lialf-inch layer of smaller pieces. This will cause the water to find its way through the soil in tho pot regularly, rendering the soil equally moist throughout. It often happens when the drainage is placed in a cut- ting pot in a careless way — large pieces and tine sittings all in one indiscriminate mass — that on turning tlie soil out to see what is the cause of one half of the cuttings in the jiot striking properly and the other half being dried up, one lialf of the soil is found to be as dry as dust, whUst the other part will be quite wet. The cause of this is not placing the drainage properly in the pot. This is a point I am very particular about, whetlier the pots arc for cuttings or grown- up plants. The soil should be pressed into the cutting pots so as to bo moderately firm : then a. quarter of an inch of clean, silver sand should be put on the top. and wlien tliis is pressed down there should be a space of not less than half an inch between tlie surface of the sand and the rim of the pot. This is another point that should never be lost sight of in making-up cutting pots or pans for any liind of plant : for if the pot is filled up level with the rim, and the sand is pressed down very closely and firmly, in a short time a solid crust will be f(n-med by the sand, and when it is found necessary to water the cuttings, the water runs ofl" the sand instead of passing through it ; but when there is a space left between the rim of the pot and the sand, tliat space will generally hold suttlcient water to wet the wliole of the soil in the pots ; if not. more can be added as soon as that previously applied lias soaked away. Want of atten- tion to minor details such as those I have liere mentioned is often the cause of many being unsuccessful in wiiatever they ma_y undertake, whether it be the propagation and management of plants or anytliing in connection with business of other kinds. Having properly prep.ared the cuttin.g pots, the cuttings may be inserted in them, one in the centre of each pot. They should be put in to a sullieieut depth to be made firm in the soil. If the hole made by the diliber is an inch deep it will be sufficient for all purposes. Tlic soil should be pressed close to tho cutting. After the cuttings have all been put in they may be j watered, and allowed to stand on the potting bench, or on No. 100.T -Vnr . XV -Ti.. Ot.r Sf.mf''. 2 JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. t January 2, 1868. a curb in the stove, till the water has Boaked through the soil, so that the whole body of soil and the drainage may be in a good condition before plunging the cutting pots in the pro- pagating frame. If the plunging material is in a proper state as regards moLsture, no water need be givtn before the cut- tings are struck. The soil is thus prevented from becoming sour, and, as a consequence, the cuttings root more quickly, and grow much more freely afterwards. A bottom heat of 70" will be found sufficient. As soon as the cuttings are struck, and their roots have reached the sides of the pots, they may be shifted into 5-inch pots, which should be again plunged in a similar temperature until the roots have reached the sides of the pots. By this time each plant will be from 5 to 7 inches high, and its stem thickly studded with flower buds. The plants should then be taken out of the plunging material and placed in a moist stove as near the glass as possible, and after remaining in that position a week or two may be gradually inured to the tempe- rature of a cooler house. From there they may be taken into the conservatory, or wherever they may be wanted. Plants grown on in this way are fine objects for decorative purposes ; and one of the most useful features in this most beautiful plant is that it may be had in bloom from one year's end to the other. Ko nobleman's or gentleman's establish- ment, where a constant display of gay-blooming plants is re- quired, should be without a hundred or two of these beautiful plants in various stages of growth. I venture to predict a brilliant future for this lovely Mexican. At present its price places it beyond the reach of many, but I consider if ever any plant was cheap at two guineas this is. I have no doubt but in the course of two years it will be sold in Covent Garden Market by the hundred or thousand at Is. each. What we want now is the same plant with scarlet, ted, purple, and white bracts. — J. Wills. be glad if any grower could add some good early sort to the above list, and more especially an early variety with only one stone in the berries. 'The noblest black Grape we have, the Damascus, has only one stone in the perfect berries, but it is a late Grape, and rather a bad setter. The Sultana I do not grow, nor any other seedless Grape except the Black Monukka. This is a most interesting variety, producing very large bunches, with Email, oval, heart-shaped, seedless berries, and the flavour is very rich and vinous. When left to hang long on the Vine it is delicious to eat, or put into jellies. As the flesh is so crackling, the berries can be eaten skin and all. 1 intend try- ing to cross this variety with some of the best of the early sorts, and as the seedlings will be fruited in pots, three or four years will suffice to prove a largo coUection. Perhaps some other growers may try their hands at raising some new varieties of hardy early Grapes, for there is a great want of showy kinds with large berries both for early forcing and for growing in unhealed houses. The list of late Grapes, or varieties that require fire heat to come to perfection, is now extensive, and it will require very good seedlings indeed to equal our Muscats, Frankenthal, Alicante, and Black Da- mascus. — William Tillehy. CROSSING THE EARLY HARDY VARIETIES OF GRAPES. I HAVE recently had a letter from a gentleman in Lincoln to the following purport : — " I have seen lately in The Journal OF HoKTicnLTUKE a paper from you relative to the crossing of many kinds of fruits, but I do not see Grapes mentioned amongst the number. I write to ask you if you ever do any- thing in that way, because many thousands about London, and, I may say, over the midland counties and south of Eng- land, are growing Vines in cool houses, ground vineries, and out of doors. These classes, at least most of them, being in business, or much engaged all day, do not keep a gardener, and, therefore, cannot attend to a furnace to heat their houses, but love to cultivate the Vine — I say these classes feel the want of a greater variety of early hardy Mnes, with large berries and good flavour. Another acquisition for the above classes would be the raising of an early Grape without stones, and of good size and flavour. Perhaps the crossing of the Black Monukka or Sultana with some of the best early kinds might bring about this result. You may ask me. Why cross a stoueless Grape at all '! but you are aware that all stone fruit stand still while the stone is forming — the Grape amongst the rest. Now, I want to save the three weeks, the average time the Grape is standing still. By producing an early Grape without seed, I am con- vinced you would be doing a great good to a very large class, who would cause a very large and, I might say, a very profit- able demand for it.'' Next year is likely to witness the " battle of the new seed- ling Grapes," and by the flaming descriptions given of them, it will be all up with our Muscats, Buckland Sweetwaters, Treb- biano, Alicante, and Lady Downe's as soon as the new sorts come into bearing. The new sorts, however, being described as principally of the late kinds, and requiring fire heat to bring them to perfection, I think that something new in the way of hardy early Grapes is wanted for amateur growers with un- heated houses. I am at the present time forming a collection of the very earliest hardy Grapes to plant in places in the border of an unhcated glass-covered wall, and have the following planted, or about to be planted out — namely. Early White Malvasia, the very earliest of all white Grapes, and of excellent flavour ; Madeleine Eoyale (Kivers), Early Smyrna Frontignan (Bivers), Muscat St. Laurent, very early, with Muscat flavour ; Eoyal Muscadine, Foster's White Seedling, Cbasselas de Falloux, Early Sanmur Frontignan, and the true Esperioce. I should PROPAGATING PELARGONIUMS. I THANK Mr. Stewart for his reply to my communication, and hasten to inform him the reason for coming to the conclu- sion at which I arrived. My firm opinion is (and I believe a great many propagators of softwooded plants will bear mo out), that cuttings of soft- wooded plants lequire a change of air every twenty-four hours at least, to cany off damp and other impurities, which accu- mulate in either a bell-glass or close-kept frame — damp which is so destructive to Pelargoniums and other softwooded cuttings. Mr. Stewart in his communication, page 41',), says that his cutting beds are well watered before the cuttings are planted, and that a thorough soaking is given after the cuttings are inserted. I prefer letting the soil have no water until after the cuttings are planted. Mr. Stewart also says that he shades in very bright weather, and gives " no air " until the cuttings begin to grow. It is here where " the mist " came over my eyes, and I shall be glad if Mr. Stewart wdl make me see more clearly by stating exactly how many cuttings per thousand he actually loses by his plan. We do not begin so soon as " E. E.,'' page 277, whose plan is good, only it involves more labour ; but we begin during the first week in August, and finish about the beginning of Sep- tember, or very often the middle if other work is pressing, and we do not cut away at the plants indiscriminately, but take a cutting here and there from the sides as well as from the middle of the beds, when a shoot can be cut ofJ without being missed. By so doing the beds are not robbed of their beauty, but, on the contrary, they are simply regulated and put into shape. As I before remarked, Mr. Stewart's plan may answer under his own management, but I think a Pelargonium struck in August will keep through the winter better than one struck in September, unless the propagator can run to the coal heap just as he likes. However, it Mr. Stewart will convince me that he does not lose more cuttings on the close system than those who place them in the open air, I will frankly admit that 1 have learnt from him a good lesson. Mr. Stewart was asked to give his method, and he did so in a very kind manner, and I am sure he will pardon me for commenting on his commu- nication. Does Mr. Stewart grow much of the Pelargonium Gold Pheasant '> It is a much better grower than Golden Chain, and a variety which I think will supersede the latter. If Mr. Stewart does not grow it for borders, I should be happy lo send him a bundle of cuttings. — John I'i-.eiuns, Thvmham. HAVE PATIENCE WITH PEAR TP^ES. I WANT to record a word in favour of a Pear tree — for the sort in particular, and to encourage amateurs in a patient waiting for good results. I planted a small tree of Benrrt Clairgeau amongst many others either eight or nine years ago. It grew vigorously, and after four years bore a good crop of fruit, which it has con- tinued to do since, but mealy and poor in flavour. This year Janaary 2, 18 '8 ] JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. however, it bas borne the crop as follows: — 276 Pears safely gathered on tbe 20th of September ; weight of tirst si/.e 7} lbs. to the dozen ; second size 5 lbs. to the dozen. Some were fit for table about the 20th of October, and some were in the highest condition on the 12th and IftU of thi3 month (Decem- ber) ; quality very (,'ood, juicy, firm, very sound, and of very good flavour, superior to most bought Pears of greater renown. The tree stands about 11 feel high, occupies little space, is a pyramid clothed from the ground, and as handsome as can well be. — Charles Ellis, Up^er East Sheen. VINE-GROWING AND NATURAL TEMPERATURES. I SEND you an abstract of the climate of .TeruRalera, as being one that cannot fail to interest your readers. Tliis abstract I have taken from the Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society for the quarter ending .Tune iiOih, 1807. It is accom- panied by a most valuable comment ; but I do not propose quoting from it. contenting myself with asking your readers to turn to " H. S.'s " two letters, at pages 11:^ and 212 of the last volume. I most sincerely thank him for having drawn my attention to the practical lessons to be gained from the stndy of this particular climate. I will now turn to the other portion of my title. Vine-grow- ing. I have been for more than a j'ear intending to send you my views and practice ; first, I had not time, and then I waited to see what " H. S." would say; but he states, in answer to " G. S ," at page .S81, that he has " no mode of Vine culture," BO I will now send it in the form of a letter. I do this because I am not prepared to write a treatise, nor even claim as " my treatment" the plan I thus commend : it is pimply the plan I follow. Let those whose eyes are not closed, and whose ears are not stopped, think of these things as well as I do, and judge if it will suit them. I cannot and do not say it will enable either me or any one else to take the prizes given for Grapes at the London shows over the heads of gardeners. Onlv the cost deters me from makiug the attempt at present. When it is worth my while I will try ; till then I leave this art out of the question, and apply myself to the cheap production of Grapes. Sluipe of Viiien/. — If there are no reasons other tlian cost to bias the decision, the span-roof is the best ; but if you have a wall, make the house a semi-Ieau-to with a tall front. Ventilatinn. — By all means adopt the double ridge board with the rising cap. I should also advise a front ventilator to be used to put the Vines in the house to rest, or retard them when required. Glass not wider than 12 inches; 1-5-oz., except in doors. Laps to be puttied. Borders all inside, to stand on single brick arches made half round, no mortar being put between the brick ends ; to run across the house. The front foundation to bo put in after the back, sides, and arches. No excavations required, but re- move the soil, and if the subsoil is clay, slope it to the middle, and there have a good drain. The door can be reached by an incline either to the middle or end. The bed should be made by filling the arches level with good drainage, this being covered with sods wrong way up, and then with the soil, with a due quantity of helps to drainage, and some bones. Mode nf Flantinn. — If a span-roof, in two or fdur rows, as of 10 or 20 feet in width ; if a semi-lean-to of not more than 12 feet wide, in rows across the house 6 feet opart. With wider houses more room is required to let the light down the rows to the back wall. Vines should be put in at every 4 feet, and planted after they have started fairly ; to have four starts, each a foot apart, and when planted a good peg should be put between each start or shoot. This is nothing less than layering each young rod. Grow them as long as vou can with- out any stopping, laterals included — that is, keep every leaf you have room for. When they have grown as long as they can, cut every other shoot halfway down. When these are well going again, treat the remaining ones the same, and grow all up again, thinning the first-cut-down to make room for the last if needed. When you want the Vines to go to rest, let out the fires and open all the ventilators, leaving them open all night. This is sufficient anywhere in England, except during June, July, and August. If you want tu start the Vines in these months, do not require a rest from them ; prune them in, cutting all leaves oft, and with young Vines shorten them to the first cutting-down place. As the Vines become strong you can reduce them to two rods each if you like, or cut them dcwj in alternate years, grow a young cane on the border, or shorten them in ; but grow a young cane by all means even if you cut it otT again, to keep the roots going during the stoning and ripening time ; from the beginning of the crop to the resting time always have young growth. Walerinfi. — Doit every week without fail, and feed your Vines with what you thus wash in, changing the manure weekly, and giving very little each time. Syrim/ing. — With young Vines syringe night and morning, and oftener in warm, dry weather, when plenty of air is given, and the leaves are fairly grown — always with warm water. Nothing is better to make the Vines grow tlian the syringe, nor is there anything that helps them so much to swell their canes when they are going to rest. 'I'emperaUires. — Take the climate of Jerusalem, and then you will grow Grapes ten months in the year, and need not fear cropping the year after planting. I will not now occupy y«ur pages further, though to enter fully into each of these heads page upon page could be written, neither will I give examples lest I may seem to boast. I have nothing to gain by giving my name to the public. I practised gardening for pleasure, and now continue it for profit. R'capUulation. — In taking out a patent you are required at the end shortly to state what you specially claim as new. In this case I claim nothing as new, so I will instead fill up the place with what I consider the most important points. These are — length of season of growth, and particularly after the crop is gathered ; the use of the syringe more or less all through the season, whether there is a crop or not, thus insuring continual growth ; a dry, well-drained border, enabling you, without the least chance of making it sad, or water-logged, to wash food down to the roots each week, as suited to the wants of the Vine at that particular period of its growth ; system of putting as many Vines as possible in a house, and mode of obtaining as many canes from one Vine as possible, and thus being able to shorten or prune one cane without giving the roots any check — a mode of quick returns, well suited to amateurs' wants and patience. " H, S." says he has obtained 1986 bunches from 1700 square feet of glass. If planted in this way I am of opinion 8ozs. per square foot can be obtained year after year. — G. H. Abste.^ct of Mkteohological Observations made at Jerusa- lem FROM 1st of March, 18fi5, to 28th of Februaby, 1867. Height above the sea, 2500 feet. Monthly means and extremes on a mean of these three years. o o , Rain. q . e a ^ a . 1?ii u "S s 'S'm as o (B J- % ° o to g ° n 1-- S-^" .23 n 3" 1 i-^ r a i^ a-2 s s a s i& ■< January 71.1 25 46.1 63.4 40 9 12.5 47.2 10 5.18 February 69 5 80-9 88.0 55.4 42.3 131 4,8.1 B 3.57 880 S6.0 52.0 67.5 491 18.1 53.4 B 1.53 April 85.6 42.0 48.6 69.0 50.0 19.6 59.8 4 0.86 May 100.0 48 6 66.5 79.2 56.5 22.7 67.8 i 0.13 102.B 61.2 48.3 83.0 c;i.o 20.0 73.0 1 O.OO July 0.5 8 67.1 ,56 8 38.2 44.2 80 87-6 63.6 66.0 22.4 23.6 748 76.2 0.00 AUHUBt 101.0 0.00 100.0 64.0 46.0 83.6 60.9 22.7 72.2 0.00 94 9 46.8 4.S.1 83.1 60.6 22..'-. 71.8 3 0.53 November. . . . B9.0 Ril.O 60.0 68.9 53.1 16.8 61.0 6 1.60 ; December 712 S5.1 SG.l 56.2 43.5 12.7 49.9 U 3.00 Year 102.5 25.0 77.5 72.8 54.1 18.7 63.4 60 16.28 WORKING ROSES ON THE MANETTI STOCK. How true is Mr. Radclyffe's observation, that we must wait two years before we can see any bloom worth notice from a removed Briar Rose bought in from a nursery; and, on the contrary, a Manetti Rose removed in winter or autumn gene- rally blooms, and does better after removal. Thousands of rosarians, myself included, have fully experienced all this. Briar Roses do well with me, because I have a rich, deep loamy soil, but Manetti Roses do better. I liave budded Manettis in the following manner, and find they take more freely :— Suppose a Manetti stock to be firmly rooted, having had ayear's growth, cut it down close to the soil in the spring. Three or four strong shoots are sent up. I bud all of the shoots about 3 inches from the ground, say in June or July, let them remain dormant, and cut them down in the JOURNAL OF HORTICULTDBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. [ January 2, 18f 8. uaual way in the foUoning spring. I let tbem all grow until the shoots are a foot hi(;,h — about Jane — I then soil them up like a Potato ridge. In November I take the whole root up, and divide the plant. I have thus three or four Manetti Roses from one stool. By this means one can propagate many Roses iu a small space. 1 have never yet heard of any other person practising this system. I find it to answer well. — -Henkt Tatlok, Fcncotc, Bedale. THE GLADIOLUS AND ITS CULTURE. The Gladiolus has long been a favourite flower with me, and when I first grew it, G. insignis, one of the hardiest of the tribe, was treated here as an exotic. Had the melancholy but valuable communication of " D.", of Deal appeared in November, 18CC, instead of 1867, I should have had a cordial fellow feeling with him, for iu that year my Gladioli were wretched. This year, with the exception of Brenchleyeusis, not one of which has flowered, they have, with the same treatment, in the same place, and in soil of exactly the same nature, done remaikably well. "D.'s" experience in ISti? is similar to mine of 18C6. In that cold year many of the Gladioli never hloomed at all with me ; and others, especially John Waterer, Madame Pereire, and Madame Leseble, after blooming well, immediately began to show signs of premature decay in the foliage, and when the roots ■were taken up, they were black, shrivelled, and dead. The bulbs of Clemence and Keine Victoria had so many black spots that I almost gave them up, lut to afford them a chance they were planted this year, and produced fine spikes of flowers, and made good roots, without a black spot upon them. Another grower near, who in 18GG was very successful, has this year been equally unfortunate. Can any of your more scientific readers sujjgest the reason, or better still, a remedy ? Possibly my way of treating Gladioli may interest some of your readers. I do not like them in beds. The Tulip, the Ranunculus, and many other lovely flowers, are eminently fitted for beds. I do not think the Gladiolus is. The borders surrounding my little flower garden are raised, and broken-up with pieces of limestone, with spaces of varving size between each stone. These spaces are now filled wiih double Tulips and Hyacinths in pots. As soon as their bloom is over, the bulbs are taken up, put away to ripen, and their places refilled with fresh compost, a little dung being placed about 10 or 12 inches below. The Gladioli, which have been reared as will be afterwards described, are put out of their pots into the vacant spaces. I use very much the same compost as for the 1 ilium — rotten turf or fresh soil, and as 1 obtain it from strong land, I add one-third of a mixture of sand, charcoal, and cocoa-nut fibre, sometimes a little peat. The beet and most valuable kinds I always plant in 6iDeh pots, one in each, about the end of March. They are then placed in a frame with gentleheat. alongside half-hai-dy annuals, and plenty of air given. By the time the blooming of the Tulips is over, or soon afterwards, the Gladioli are about G inches high and ready to plant-out. The bulb in the ground is covered with i inches of soil, and as the leaves grow they are moulded-iip with an inch or two of sand, or sandy loom. In dry weather plenty of water is given, and, perhaps, oijce a-week liquid manure. In one case I found a top-dressing of soot useful. I hod a large, flat, indented bulb of Shnkspeare. When its leaves appeared they were of an unhealthy whitish green colour. I feared, and 1 was not alone in my fear, that I should lose it. I placed at different times a litile soot round the plant, and boon had the gratiticatiou of seeing it recover a healthy hue. It bloomed and produced two good bulbs. I wish I could ascertain the best time for planting in the oi>eu ground. An enthusiastic grower, whose method I give afterwards, plants in February, and his flowers do well. M. Souchet recommends later planting. I had last November some T6ty small bulbs which I did not care to store; they were planted iu the border, a little protection given, and covered with a hand-glass. They all stood the winter, and some of them bloomed well and made fair bulbs. I have found the flowers much improved by shading. I use a cylindrical case, 9 inches in diameter, and 2-1 inches long, of the ordinary 24-inch galvanised wire ; this is fastened firmly to a stake, and covered with thin muslin. The flower is safe from wind, rain, and sun, and its colours are both more vivid and more perfect. My friend referred to before pursues quite a different plan. He grows his Gladiolus in a bed. The soil of his garden is very strong ; he takes it out 3 feet deep, then throws in turf 4 inches thick, next a layer of cow dung that has been well turned over in winter, then rotten turf and loamy or sandy soil. On this he plants the bulbs in cocoa-nut fibre, and covers with 4 or 5 inches of loam. I do not agree with this. I cannot see oj what use the manure 18 inches below the bulbs can be ; the rootlets never seem to penetrate more than G inches. I must, however, admit he has splendid flowers. Added is a list of the varieties we consider best here, and that bloom well with us. Those marked with an asterisk (•) are best. White. — *Shakspeare, •Princess Mary of Cambridge, clear flower, but petals rather pointed; *Reine Victoria, Marie Du- mortier, ^Madame Leseble, and Madame Pereire. Lilac. — 'Imperatrice Eugfcnie, •Belle Gabrielle, *Madam8 Furtado, and 'Madame Vilmorin. Hose. — "Dr. Lindley, Madame Basseville, Princess Clothilde, Charles Dickens, and 'Penelope, flesh. Cerise— Florian, Le Poussin, Lennf, *Duo de Malakoff, *Madame De Sevignfi, and 'John Waterer. iiVd. — Achille, *Meyerbeer, Napoleon III., *Prince of Wales, *James Veitch. 'Marechal Valliant (very fine), 'Sir William Hooker, and *Fulton. This is not written' under the opinion that the treatment here mentioned is the best, but in the hope of inducing those who have been much engaged in the culture of the Gladiolus to detail their experience, and to enumerate the varieties they deem the most choice, and the best worth growing by those who, having only small gardens, wish for the most select kinds. — B., Darlington. WHAT IS A CORDON? In the course of the discussion which has recently been going on about French and English Gardening, the term cordon has been so frequently used, and in a sense so indefinite and vague, that a few words on the subject may not at present be unseasonable The English equivalent of cordon is a line, and hence the French use the term in many different ways. It is employed to signify a line, cord, or rope. It signifies also the rim of a piece of money, the ribbon round a hat, and the ribbon of the Legion of Honour is also called a cordon. In the early part of last century, when geometric figures were then, as they are now, so much in vogue in gardens, the strips of grass between the beds were called cordons; but this is the only sense in which it has been used in French gardening till of late years, when the term was applied to the branches of the Vine pruned on the 'i'homery or spur system, which were also called cordons. It is about five and twenty years ago that M. Du Breuil introduced the word to express certain modes of training, which we have called " the spur system," in contra- distincnon to " the laying-in sys-teui " of pruning, because of its being in a continuous line, or like a rope. He defines cor- dons as " the primary ramifications of the stem, and which are generally simple," and in his work he speaks of many forms of cordons, using the word generically, and not specifi- cally ; as, for instance, the " cordon horizontal simple," which is exactly the foim of the letter T ; the cordon oblique, which is a simple branch trained obliquely at an angle of 45° against a wall or espalier instead of horizintally ; and ihe cvrdonver- tical. which is also a simple branch trained perpendicularly. During the difcut-sion above alluded to, one of the disputants Used the term cordon in a very limited sense, conveying the idea that it referred only to the cordon simple manner in which Apples and Peais are trained to form edgings to garden walks, and to clothe tne bases of walls ; and a considerable amount of misapprehension has arisen as to what a cordon is, from this specific use of the term. Cordon tiaining in its general sense means simply a tree with all its branches, no matter how many, coming "directly from the stem, and all close-pruned so as to preserve them perfectly simple. Thus, Du Breuil calls our horizontal mode of training the Pear in successive tiers of cordons, " palmette cordim." Mr. Brebaut, in his admirable little work on cordon training, defines the system as " a cer- tain number of leading branches carried out, and on them spurs are developed, so that the branches look somewhat lik« twisted cables or chains." Cordon, therefore, means not any particular form of trained tree, but rather a particular mode t.f pruning fruit trees, by which any branch or number of branches acquire the form of a -tmvarj S, I8«e. ] JOURNAL OP HORTICOLTOBB AND OOTTAGR GARDE NEB. •ordon or linp. It is, in fact, what in English pardening we call a branch pruned on thu npur Rystem, which every gar- dener knows posBessos no novelty. Tlie only novelty connected with cordon pruning are the fanciful forma in which the French have of late years delighted to train their trees, but which do not in any way contribute either to their health, longevity, or fertility, more than our owu practice which has been followed SO long. BEDDING PLANTS THAT WINTKK WELIi IN A COLD PIT. ALTDouGn from time to time vigorous attacks are made on the bedding system by those who wish for a return of the old- fashioned mixed border, yet it is apparent to every one that the system is still gaining ground. Whether a change is near or (iistant, there can be no question that the present demand for bedding phmts is a heavy tax on the means of many who have to produce them, and the utmost ingenuity has to bo exercised to furnish the necessary number every season ; as a conse- quence, due attention is always paid to any plan which in reality lessens the labour or simplilies the moans by which the end in view is attained. The great object aimed at of late years has been the wintering of a large number of plants with the least possible assistance from glass structures provided with artificial heat, and whenever glass can be dispensed with go much the better. With some plants this cannot be done without increasing the labour to an exteut more than equiva- lent to the cost of employing glass, and of this class are the bedding Pelargoniums, which occupy the po^t of honour among bedding plants, but which are rarely met with in a tilting con- dition to plant out in May without having in some degree had the benefit of a heated glass structure during the i>recediug sis months. Of these, however, enough has been said of late ; and I will, therefore, confine myself to a class of plants scarcely less important, but which may be kept through the winter with much less trouble and expense. My object is to enable the inexperienced to make the most of the means at their command, and so to give to the more delicate plants the most suitable positions, while to the others may be assigned such quarters as can be afforded them. In some communications which appeared in this Journal early in the autumn, the ease with which the Calceolaria could be propagated, and kept over the winter almost without the aid of glass, w.is pointed out, and without either pots or artificial beat. I wish that, in addition to the information then given, some easy means could have been devised for ensuring the success of this plant throughout the summer ; but I fear we must employ such varieties only as jjossess greater constitu- tional strength than most of those now grown, and in so doing no doubt we must be content with either species or varieties not so ornamental as those we have hitherto employed. Amongst the plants, however, to which a cold frame affords sufficient winter protection, the bedding Calceolaria stands pre-eminent, and its capability of withstanding the influence of long-continued moisture is of the highest order; even a little frost does not effect its destruction when the change from that condition to one of a contrary kind is gradual. A fort- night or three-weeks seclusion from both light and air is also harmless to this plant. Ctutaurfaiiiimmicarpa. — This, though not hardy, is, like the Calceolaria, not killed by a slight frost. It will also endure the damp atmosphere and confinement of cold-frame treatment without Buffering much. It is well to insert the cuttings by the 1st of October, which is a month earlier than Calceolarias are often put in ; but they will do very well even put in at the same time as these. I cannot say that I have been f o success- ful with C. candidissima ; but its failure did not arise from the plant not standing cold, but from its not doing well witn us during the summer. The plants became sickly, and decay set in at the ends of the leaves ; the cuttings, therefore, were not a fair sample, otherwise I expect this plant is much more hardy than is generally supposed. Gazania splcntUtis is almost hardy, and plants in a sheltered position will sometimes live through a mild winter out of doors ; but if cuttings are inserted in the cold frame early in October, they make, in April or May, as good plants us can be desired, and we have occasionally obtained cuttings in April from plants so treated, which formed neat little subjects by the usual bed- ding-out time. No plant that I am acquainted with does better than this, and looks better when planted out. SifrembiTijid gracilis. — This and its varietica, though hardier, perhaps, than even the Oaznnia, do not strike bo freely from cuttings put in about October ; indeed, the plant in often a ccdlection of flower stems. I have sometimes taken plants up and divided them, and planted rooted offsets in the cold frame or pit, but the success was never so great as with the tlazania. In sheltered situations in the open air, the Nierembergia often withstands the winter, and furnishes cuttings in ]''ebrnary, which strike fust enough in heat. In the cold pit it8 defects would seem to be the absence of suitable cuttings, rather than its not fltanding cold, for we have many instances of its sur- viving the winter ' Cineraria marilima. — When well grown nothing can exceed the beauty of this. It certainly excels Centaurea candidissima in gracefulness of form, although the latter may surpass it in whiteness, and in the property of not running to tlower; or rather its commencing to do so does not affect its appearance so much as in the case of the Cineraria ; but the facility with which the latter is propagated, and the greater certainly of its succeeding when planted-out, give it an importance not always accorded to it. Cuttings put in early in October, make very good plants in May, with no more attention than is given to the Calceolaria. Lolielia i^jiecicsa. — Although old plants taken up and palled to pieces, with a little root attached to each, and so planted in the cold pit, will, in some cases, do very well, they do not always succeed. It is, therefore, better to raise seedlings in the ordinary way, as this plant seems less hardy than those pre- viously named. Occasionally, however, batches of plants may be wintered in a cold pit, aud if some very late seedlings were obtained, and planted before flowering, they would be certain to succeed. Veronica Andtrsoiii variegata. — This has not hitherto teen adopted to the extent which it deserves to be, as it ia certainly one of the prettiest of white-edged plants. It is readily pro- pagated by cuttings put in at the same time aa the above, and it is rarely that one fails to become a plant. Enurii/mus jriponicux anreovarienatiis. — This plant lias with me failed to thrive so satisfactorily as was expected, the growth in summer being very limited. It is easily propagated, and stands well in the culd pit in company with the other plants named. I'lants out of doors also withstood last winter, but they were under the snow. It is much to be regretted that its tendency to run into the green state is so general. Pentsti'mons. — These being thought hardy, are only mentioned to state that autumu-put-in cuttings, treated the same as the others, form good plants by spring. Pi/rethruiim. — Like the Pentstemon, this is known to be hardy, but, nevertheless, it requires to be propagated every year. Slips or cuttings put in during October, furnish well- formed plants by Apiil, from which other cuttings may be taken, which root freely under hand-glasses out of doors, or in any place where not too much exposed to the full sun. Ciqilicas are certainly not so hardy, but will do in a cold frame or pit. They will not endure so much damp as the Calceolaria, and long confinement is apt to thin their n.imhers very much, but they sometimes pass through the winter with but little loss, and make good plants early in May. Virhnm^. — Not being always successful with them, 1 .-annot recommend them for cold-]iit culture in winter. Probably if the cuttings were put in eailier tbey might do better, but this is not always convenient, as the pit may have something else in it at the time. Verbena pulchella is the most likely to prove satisfactory, or Verbena venosa ; the latter, however, not by any means so generally good as might be wished for. J^eailet and other-coloured Verbenas in general use are seldom taken up in time to jdaut here, and as none of them will end.ire the long confinement necessary when cold weather is prolonged, it is better to have a stock of plants elsewhere to propagate from when spring conjmences. Pftunias. — These will endure cold but not damp, so that I have never done any good with them here, and, in fact, have not tried them often. Cerastiuni tvyiu-ntusum. — Plenty of this should be secnred in cold pits ; not but that it will endure cold and frost well enough, but long-continued wet weather and a cold wet situation are sometimes fatal to it. This plant was not by any means plen- tiful last spring. Besides the above, there may be many other subjects to which a well-constructed cold pit affords all the protection necessary in ordinary winters. My worthy friend, Mr. R. Fish, gives the preference to a turf pit over a brick one, and for JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ Jannarj 2, 1868. summer purposes perhaps it may be better ; but I have often thaagbt it harboured slugs aud other insect enemies more than biickwoik does ; besides, the latter is neater. Generally speak- ing, an ordinary light is a sufficient protection, excepting in very sharp weather when there is no snow, then some addi- ional covering may be put on ; but snow is a very good pro- tection, and it is seldom advisable to disturb it when once the pit is covered-up with this natural mantle. For some days after it has disappeared, and mild weather has set in, it is not advisable to let in the external air in too great quantities. Thifl, however, will be best understood by the condition of the plants, or rather cuttings, inside. It they appear fresh and only covered with moisture they will sustain no injury, and may be gradually inured to the air ; but if some are decaying, and mildew is attacking them seriously, let such be removed and drier air admitted, which, in fact, will be the case when the work of removal is being done. It must be remembered that the object of relieving the heated structures of plants that will winter elsewhere is one of the reasons for recommending the plants named to be con- signed to the cold pit, which, indeed, is better for many of them ; and as it is supposed that all are put into the ground at once, and not into pots or boxes, only the hardiest plants are enumerated. The little trouble they give must be apparent. I need hardly remark that Verbenas, Petunias, and Cupheas would be better kept elsewhere, as well as Lobelias raised from seed in the ordinary way. All these, and even bedding Pelar- goniums, will do very well in the cold pit, excepting during the dark dull days, say for two months or more, beginning with the 1st of December. A well-filled cold pit affords a greater number of plants in spring than any other structure of a like size, and that, too, with but little trouble or expense. — J. RoBeoN. EAST LOTHI.VN PUIirLE AND "WHITE STOCKS; I WAS much pleased to observe that Mr. D. Thomson had, in a recent number of this .Journal, directed attention to the excellence for bedding and other purposes of what he calls the East Lothian Purple and White Stocks. He most justly ascribes the production of these to Mr. Campbell, gardener, Traprain, a name well known in East Lothian in connection with the culture of Stocks. Although it is several years since Mr. Campbell, after much care and labour, succeeded in pro- ducing these, still, as yet, his productions are comparatively little known out of the district in which he resides. He was generous enough, however, to distribute his small stock of seed amongst his gardening friends in East Lothian, and time enough has elapsed to prove and establish their constancy. Several years' residence in the locality enabled me to see, at the raiser's and other places, and to judge of the merits of these Stocks, and I can fully corroborate all that has been written by Mr. Thomson in their favour. Indeed, for the decoration of the flower garden in autumn, whether grown in beds or borders, they are invaluable. They continue to bloom long after most of the bedding plants now used have been removed ; thus having a twofold use — namely, affording a supply of cut flowers at a season when the usual resources are gone, and extending the season of bloom. Having last autumn, through the kindness of the raiser, been supplied with a few seeds of these Stocks, and the seed- lings being duly cared for, two rows were planted under the shelter of the mansion. These are still (December 20lb), won- derfully gay and attractive. Others planted in an exposed situation have only lately ceased to be so. The purity and brightness of the flowers, the certainty of 70 or 80 per cent, being double, and their compact bushy habit, are other high recommendations to tbese Stocks. Apart altogether from the Scarlet Stock, so much grown in East Lothian, and mentioned by Mr. Thomson, I may state that Mr. Campbell has also a scarlet of his own producing. I have had the two varieties growing side by side last season. The flowers of the latter are, I think, brighter, and the habit is certainly more dwarf and compact. The per-centage of double flowers is about the same in the scarlets as in the Purple and "SMiite. In pots for in-door decoration these Stocks also become highly serviceable. The plan which I have adopted when I want them for this purpose is to deprive of tbtir flower spikes a few of those planted-out, and which have proved to be double ; to lift them carefully, and to pot in October ; to water and place them in a shady situation ; and on the approach of severe weather, to move them under protection. Such will flower at almost any season, but are better of being kept grow- ing, and of their flower spikes being kept off till May or June, and shortly afterwards they will be a mass of bloom, fit for almost any purpose, making a display such ae few plants could excel or even approach. — J. A., Walllwuee Gardens. CUPKESSUS MACROCARPA AND OTHER CONIFERS. In Mr. Kent's excellent observations on the Cupressua ma- crocarpa I wish to notice one point in which my experience differs from his, and to give a word of encouragement to these who live on heavy clay soils, as regards the growing of this very beautiful Conifer. I may say without fear of contradiction from any one ac- quainted with the spot where I live, that it is on one of the stiffest clays in England. In 18C0, I made a mound in an open .ind airy situation with the clay dug out in making a pond, some of it only being the top spit with a barrowload or two of rather finer soil for the roots to settle in. In this I planted a Cupressus macrocarpa from a neighbouring nursery- man, which was then, I should imagine, about G feet high. Two years ago it was nearly blown down, but it is now 26 feet high, and 13 feet through in the widest part, and it would have been much wider than this had I not cut off the tops of many of the largest branches in the manner described by Mr. Kent recently, as it was growing lop-sided. Notwithstanding the severity of last winter, the thermometer here having been down to zero, it only lost one branch, and is even at its present age a very beautiful tree and growing vigorously, al- though within a hundred yards or so of it Finns insignis was killed. Not far from this tree, but in a rather more sheltered situa- tion, I have three specimens of Cupressus Lambertiana (which is so similar in its character to macrocarpa, that as far as fitness of situation is concerned, it may be considered identi- cal),* which I raised from seed, I think, in 1857. They are all growing in still stiffer clay than C. macrocarpa, as one of them is in the blue clay which was taken from the bottom of the new-made pond, and the other two are in the original soil which has never been moved. They are all growing most vigorously, none of them being materially injured except one, which lost 3 or 4 feet of its leader and side branches last winter, but as I have not yet cut it, I measured it yesterday, and found it to be rather over 10 feet, and nearly as broad as it is high. Of the other two both of them are nearly as large as this ; one is not injured at all, and the other has only lost one or two small branches, but in other respects is perfectly healthy and of a beautiful colour. In fact, I have never seen, hardly I think in the Wellingtonia, such rapid growth, as they spread laterally in the same luxuriant manner. Now, at my father's place, only about a mile and a half from this, a specimen of Cupressus macrocarpa of nearly the same size as mine, and which was in a most luxuriant state of growth, was killed, though it was protected on three sides by a house, walls, aud trees, and tlie thermometer ranged a degree higher than mine here, but it was in a lower situation and near a river; whilst some plants of Cupressus Lambertiana, which I raised from seed at the same time as those before mentioned, were either killed or so much injured that they will never be worth anything. From the above, and observations elsewhere, I gather one or two facts, probably well known to other observers, but which moy be useful to those about to plant. 1st, That Cupressus macrocarpa will grow most luxuriantly in a stiff clay with a " good heart to it." 2nd, That" it should not be planted, nor, indeed, any other half-hardy Conifer, in a low damp situation, or near a river. 3rd, Tliat it should not be planted at the corner of a house, nor in any place where there is a strong draught, as this is even more deadly than severe frost. I may add, that the only Conifers that I have tried that do not seem to thrive in clay, are the Deodar and Pinus cembra, the former especially looking very unhealthy, and making hardly any progress ; the latter looks healthy, but grows very slowly. Picea cephalonica grows very well, but making early shoots, which are cut off by late frosts, it does not, therefore, make much progress here. Wellingtonias grow most luxuri- • Thev are the same. Jinuary 2, 1868. ] JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. antly, as, I believe, thoy Jo almost everywhere, except in very shallow and poor soils, and I Lave some which I raised from cuttings, which it would bo impossible to tell from seedlings, 80 symmetrical is their growth. — A Soueesetshirk 1'akso.n. CATERPILLARS ON GOOSEBERRY BUSHES. In " Manures for the Many," ga3 ammoniacal liquor is highly spoken of as a manure ; and in various parts of this Journal, from time to time, tan strewed underneath the bushes is recommended for the prevention of caterpillars. (las ammoniacal liquor I know is a very dangerous agent for inex- perienced persons to deal with. The way I propose to use it is as follows: — To sprinkle over a cartload of tan, say 10 cwt., and well mix in it 5 gallons of ammoniacal liquor ; then to spread the tan so mixed under the hushes to the depth of 2 inches. Would this injure the trees, and do you think it would have the desired effect ? — B. Hammond. (We are decidedly of opinion that spreading tan as you pro- pose will effectually protect the Gooseberry bushes from the ravages of caterpillars. It prevents the fly emerging from the soil where it is in the pupa state, and it prevents the cater- pillars descending into the soil to assume the pupa form ; for the insect in all its stages seems to have an antipathy to tan. The fumes of the ammoniacal liquor would tend to check the visits of the fly to deposit its eggs on the leaves. We thiuk the proportions you propose are good, and would not injure tlae bushes.] PROLIFEROUS FERNS. I HAVE read somewhere that it takes a higher order of gene- ralship to make a well-arranged and orderly retreat than to laarch on to an easy victory with drums beating and colours flying ; but I have never j-et heard of a general who appeared to relish recording his own defeat, and yet that anomalous position is now mine. Having built up a theory on seemingly good foundations, I am now obliged to demolish it with the " stubborn facts " of a far better pteridologist than I can ever pretend to be, and at the same time I have to record my own defeat ; yet there is something so innately beautiful in truth, that I cannot but be glad to have arrived at it even at the expense of a pet theory. Mr. WoUaston kindly allows me to state his experience of pro- liferous Ferns in general, which, it will be seen, sets at rest all doubt as to their not being proliferous in a wild state; but I had better give Mr. Wollaston's information in his own words. " BeHeving as I do," writes Mr. WoIUston, " that Ferns in general have one common origin, it naturally follows that for the same reason that exotic Ferns are viviparous in numerous modiiied ways, so likewise are the British, varying in their prolific tendency according to habitat, climate, culture, etc." This is, then, if I may so say, Mr. Wollaston's theory or reasoning, and it is borne out by the following fact ; — "I have found," says Mr. WoUaston, " at least a hundred plants of Tolystichum angulare both normal and abnormal (one a normal form as long ago as 1S05), that had bulbillai on them in their wild state." Mr. WoUaston then proceeds to the " possible causes of the development of bulbill.T " on Polystichum angulare (which, he says, he has found on the rachis of recent and one-year-old fronds), in these words: — "A moist atmosphere is almost in- dispensable for the development of bulbilla" ; and coupled with heat, as in a forcing house, it is the greatest incentive. " I do not agree in tolo with ' Filix-fixmina,' that it is ' an effort of nature to throw off exuberant health ' (see Journal OF HoBTicuLTDEE, Nov. 28th) ; but it is the nature of plants in general, and more especially of Ferns, to reproduce them- selves in some way, and one of the ways is by bulbilla;. This is shown most strikingly if, by an accident, a Fern is trodden on or injured ; it will then throw off numerous smaU plants, or, if at all bulbiferous, innumerable bulbilhu. " Arrestation is another cause of viviparous growth — that is, if a frond of a Fern is broken off, or pierced by an insect, or imperfect, as in the abnormal growth of the marginate or inter- rupted varieties of Scolopendrium vulgare, one or more bul- biUa; may be seen. In the variety of Scolopendrium vulgare called Wardii I have seen more than one hundred young plants on one frond. " It may not be generally known, although it has been pub- lished before, that from each old frond of Polystichum angulare, Scolopendrium vulgare, and probably many other species, a young plant may be produced by taking the club-shaped portion of the stipes with a rootlet attached (each frond having at least onci, and putting it into a pot of sandy peat with a little bottom heat. " A damp atmosphere and arrestation of growth I believe to be the chief causes of the viviparous development of British Ferns." After this evidence from so high an authority as Mr. Wol- laston, I feel that there is nothing lolt for mo to do but to retreat as gracefully as may be, conceding to Mr. WoUaston the honour of having settled beyond dispute that the capability o£ becoming proliferous is inherent in Ferns simply as Ferns. Thus I would say. Ferns have the power of reproducing them- selves from seed as well as from bulbill.i! or buds, the develop- ment of this latter power being incidental to certain exciting causes not yet thoroughly understood. I would at the same time suggest that some better name than " bulbs," " buds," or " bulbillio" be given to the reproducing organ. In the cultivation of proliferous Ferns my experience differs from that of Mr. WoUaston in so far as regards " arrestation " being a cause of viviparous growth. In those proliferous Ferns which I have under cultivation I find that the healthy fronds have the most bulbs. I hope that all Fern hunters will look out for bulbillffi on Ferns in their wild state, and make their success public as soon as possible. — Filix-foimina. IMPROVEJIENTS IN BUILDINGS AND STnUCTURBS TO BK F.MM.OVED lOK HORTICCLTDRAL PURPOSES. A p.iTENT, entitled as above, has recently been obtained by a gentleman very favourably known as a fruit cultivator. The " Cylinder Vinery," described and figured at page 387 of our last volume, is constructed on the principle detailed in the following speciticatiuu : — " The object of tliis iuvention is principally to form glazed strne- tnres for protecting Vines, Pears, Peiiciies, Nectarines. Apricots, Figs, Strawberries, Potatoes, or other trees or plants, in snob manner that the structures may readily he removed or the sheets of glass taken away from them at such times as tbey are not required for protecting the trees or plants. For this purpose I employ bars of wood in which grooves are formed for supporting tbe sheets or panes of glass, or it may be for supporting slates, and which bars are boiled in creosote or treated with other preserving agent to retard their decay ; the sheets or panes of glass or slates aro merely insei-ted into the grooves in the bars of wood, and are so held without putty being employed ; tha grooves are by preference made in all cases to pass diagonally into tha bars from one or other of their edges, and I also form the groove» which are to receive the sheets of glass or slate wider at the bottom thau at the mouth or eutrauce ; this allows of a groove smaller at the month beini; employed than could otherwise be the case, as the wood at the month of the groove may spruig back on to the glass after the edge of a pane of glass has been inserted into the groove ; the grooves may be thus formed by first making a groove with a circular saw and then widening-out the bottom of the gi-oove by a plough plane incbned to one aide. The above plan also admits of taming circles. ■■ For forming a ridge roof I proceed as follows : — I drive posts into the earth at intervals along one side of the row of trees or plants, afterwards I measure-ont the space to be covered, and drive along the opposite side of the row of trees or plants a similar row of posts, and atUi to them a similar bar in which also a groove is formed leading from its upper edge neartot to the row of trees or plants. Along the centre between these two rows of bars I drive in a third row of posts which are to project a greater distance from the surface of the ground than the rows of posts on either side of them, and to the top of these central posts I affix a bar having formed in it two diagonal grooves which proceed from its two lowest edges ; the grooves in the rows o£ bars so fixed in position serve to carry the sheets or panes of glass which ars to glaze-over the space between the rows. To insert glass into the grooves the upper edge of each sheet of glass is first inserted into one of the grooves at the bottom of the upper central bar, and the lower edge of the sheet of glass is then dropped into the groove at the top of one of the outer bars to allow of the sheets of glass being thus slipped mto the grooves ; this is chiefly of nse in insertrnj? a new pane of glass, supposing there be a breakage at any time. The grooves ia the upper central bar are made deeper than the grooves in the oatet bars. On the north side of a structure slates may be used ia a, simdar manner. To form upright walls or screens of glass or slate I drive into the ground at intervals apart from one another rectangular wooden bars which have been treated with creosote, as above men- tioned, and which have had diagonal grooves formed along them JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDKNER. [ Jasnoiy 3, ISM. leading from two opposite angles. Tlie bars or posts are driTen into tbe ground in snch manner that the grooves at the angles of one post shall •ome opposite the ^ooves at the angles of the posts next to it. The aheeta of glass or slate are then slipped down the grooves and are so held in position. The posts may, if desired, be further secured by wire tightpned by not and screw at one end. In order to keep the glass (or slato used in the same manner on the north side) tight I insert a small cord (soaked in creosote) into the groove ; I then place the glass or slate in the groove against this cord, and I tighten the whole work by means of a wire inserted throDgh all the bars and sorewed-np at one end. Screens of glass or slate thus constracted may be made into any shape required, being either made in straight lines, circles, squares, zig-zags, or otherwise ; or in place of this what I call glass hurdles may be formed of iron uprights which are to be driven into the ground, and which carry grooved horizontal bars, into the groove of ivhich the bottom and top edges of the sheets of glass are inserted. To form moveable lights for covering rows of Vines, Straw- berries, or other trees or plants, I take two pieces of rectangular bar of some feet in length ; I insert the glass {slate for the north side) into the groove of each bar, and draw the bars tightly to the glass by means of a stout wire with nut and screw at one end ; if I wish to .stiffen this tight I place two or three strips of sheet iron of the thick- ness of the glass, flnd screw the bars tightly against thepe irons. " For growing Peaches, Nectarines, Crrapes, or other fmit out of doors on walls I employ for this purpose a building or structure formed in the following manner : — On the north side I construct a slate wall (on the same principle as I have described for constructing a glass wall) ; about ?• feet in front of this slato wall I construct a glass wall 1 foot lower than the slate wall, against this glass wall I train fruit trees : when the sun shines on the slate the heat is thrown on to the trees on the glass wall, the heat being prevented rising from the slate wall by a foot or more of glass being inserted diagonallv in the cap of the slate wall, forming a cave ; my plan is then not only to give greater heat to the fruit and more light all round it, thus securing colour and flavour, sufficient air being admitted at the top to keep-up a constant circulation, but also to prevent antnmn rains falling in too great abundance on the roots and causing the plants to st-nd out un- fruitful wood : besides that, the expense of erecting a structure of this kind is only about two-thirds of that of a common brick wall, and the materials are not subject to become decayed." NOVEMBER, 1867 Before the freehness of the impression has faded from tbe memory, it may he worth while to note some of the pecaliar features of the weather in Guernsey during the above-named month for the purpose of comparison hereafter, more especially when the month of June again comes round. These features are — 1st, the very small amount of rainfall Irom the 1st to the 29th of the month ; 2ud, the unwonted predominance of N.E. and S.E. winds ; 3rd, the warmth of the first half of the month ; and lastly, the slight indications of the presence of ozone. The readings of the thermometer from the 1st to the 15th were, as it may be inferred, above the mean value ; but on the morning of the ICth a strong gale from E.N.E. sprung np suddenly, and continued with more or less violence, though with slight variation in direction, nntil after midnight of the 18th. After this the temperature declined steadily, but not ex- cessively, reducing the mean temperature of the whole month, however, to lj° below the average of years. From the 18th to the 29th tbe weather, although gloomy, was pleasant and comparatively calm. Vegetation had received no check, there having been no hail showers and no frost ; but on the morning of the 30th another severe gale arose, accom- panied by rain to the amount of nearly 2 inches in the suc- ceeding twenty-four hours. This was followed by very unsea- sonable weather during the whole of the first week of December. Compared with corresponding periods, the mean temperature of the air of these seven days was found to be considerably lower than it had been during the first week of any December for five and twenty years. Tbe minimum thermometer, how- ever, did not fall below 31', indicating merely 1" of frost, and that of transient duration, when showers of sleet and melting snow were falling. This temporary frost does not seem to have inflicted much injury even on Pelargoniums and other tender plants — not so much so, indeed, as the severe gales without frost of the middle of November. As a remark, it may be stated that the general stillness of the air, and the obscurity of sky noticed during the latter part of November, reminded many persons as well as myself of the atmospheric condition preceding a rather sharp shock of earth- quake which was felt in this island on the 22nd of December, 1843. This shock, which is described somewhat in detail in the " Proceedings " of the Boyal Society for the year 1814, seems to hare been associated with an eruption of Etna. M* sign of Tibration, however, was experienced here in November last during the period of stillness alluded to ; but at that timg the crater of Vesuvius is reported to have been in a state of great disturbance. Another shook of earthquake was felt in this island in April, 1853, and was concurrent with a violent eruption of Mount Uecla. These coincidences, although not, per- haps, of any importance, are curious nevertheless, — S. Elliott HOSEINS, CANADA AGAIN! It is some time since I last sat down to pen a contribution to the columns of " our .Journal," and I think I may truly be called an " occasional writer." It was " Wiltshire Rkctor's " robin that stirred me to join the fraternity, and it will soon be time for master redbreast to carol again. 1 trust before old King Christmas oomes to set foot again on my native laud, and to see personally the genial Editors of our fireside com- panion, as also some of my brother quill-drivere. In this part of the world we have just passed through a Terr extraordinary and discouraging season. Up to the middle of May we were deluged with rain, so that both agricultural and horticultural operations were quite set back. Since that time I think I may safely say that not one inch of rain has fallen until to-day (November 29th), in consequence of which our crops of all kinds have been quite a failure, with the exception I of -Apples : these, liowever, on account of the drought, have ripened so thoroughly on the trees, that we experience great ' difficulty in keeping them, even the later sorts now showing ' symptoms of immediate maturation. ! The damp spring weather caused all the Peaches to cast their blossoms. Cherries were dried up by the after-drought ; Pears much diminished in size, and a very light crop ; Plums none. Strawberries and other small fruits were almost a total failure. Vegetables, too, have suffered terribly, and my English varieties of the Potato are, as the Americans would say, " Small Potatoes, and few in a hill." The excessively dry weather was even too much for Maize and Tomatoes ; the former in many cases being quite bnrned-up, and the latter a very short crop. I should say that we still find the Orange- field Tomato the earliest and best variety we have, the result of our experience thus coinciding with that of the Committee of the Boyal Horticultural Society in the trial garden at Chis- wick. Little Gem Pea was, considering tbe season, simply grand. Advancer maintained its former excellence. These two varieties with us stand unrivalled, and by a succesion of sowings Peas may be had all the season through. The wells and streams in this vicinity have all given out, and for months the farmers for miles around have been en- gaged in drawing water in barrels from Lake Ontario. That person of undoubted veracity, " the oldest inhabitant," does not recollect such a season, and I sincerely hope I may never again experience another like it. Unless we should have a heavy rainfall before the ground freezes-up the result will really prove calamitous. On the Atlantic seaboard, not four hundred miles away, the summer was a wet one, and everything suffered from too much rain. — W. T. GoLDsaiiin, St. Catlierine's, Ontario. ZONAL PELARGONIUMS AND ROSES AT lin. WILLUM PAI;l'3 nurseries, WALTiUM CROSS. The Zonal Pelargoniums, both with and without tricolor markings, seedlings as well as named varieties, which I saw at these nurseries, were especially beautiful ; and the manner in which sports originate upon seedling plants, as there exem- plified, interested me much. Plants which as seedlings were perfectly green, save that a faint zone was distinguishable upon them, now and then broke forth into a variety of distinctly and beautifully marked shoots. The same plant would have on one side a shoot with foliage exactly resembling Mrs. Pollock or Luoy Grieve, and on the other something as bright as Countess of Kellie ; whilst amongst all these leaves are constantly forming parti-coloured ones, and others possessing many markings of great beauty. The object with such plants is to fix any sport which is likely to prove an advance in the right direction. With this view all simply green leaves are constantly pinched-off as they appear, those only being allowed to grow which by their distinct mark- January 2, 1S6S. ] JOURNAL OP HOBTIOULTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. ingB arc likely to aid the attainment of the desired result, and sventnally a shoot possessing an aggregate of the necessary brightly colonred leaves is obtained, and when obtained im- mediately removed and struck as a cutting. If needed, the former practice is repeated until the sport has become sufli- ciently lixed to take its place as a standard variety. In the house specially devoted to tliese Pelargoniums, Mr. W. Paul has already two or three excellent novelties, of which, doubtless, wo shall hear more in course of time. There is a very distinct and beautiful variety of the Ouk-leaved Pelar- gonium. Perhaps I may best describe it by stating that the flower, though more striking and brighter-coloured, is not nnlike that of the old Shrubland Rose variety. The plant is very much more free, dwarfor in habit, and more sweetly scented. It is named Waltham liiiby, I believe, and is suitable for pots, vases, and, indeed, for general decorative display. In another house was a very fine stock of Ericas ; hyemalis and amabilis being especially not ceable on Hccnunt of their fine healthy condition. Amongst Epacrises, Rubella and Ardentis- sima wore very striking, being varieties with bright-coloured flowers. The Variegated Pampas Grass does admirably as a pot plant, and thus grown as a specimen contributes much to the general embellishment of a house containing other plants, «Qoh as Camellias and Azaleas, at this season. There is here a large stock of Camellias, home-worked, and, consequently, far superior for the cultivator than plants imported from the Continent. The house devoted to Roses, and in which they are turned otit of the pots into borders, still contained fine blooms of some of the most delicate Tea varieties. There is an especial beauty about the Rose when chilling winds tell it is passing away ; and much is it to be wondered, therefore, that many more such simple structures are not raised for the purpose of securing blooms full of sweetness and beauty when all the plants without are leafless. Marechal Niel and Climbing Devoniensis are two varieties well adapted to this form of culture. — E. KITCHEN GARDEN WALLS. Gabdkn walls serve as a fence, afford shelter, present a sur- face for training fruit trees upon, and accumulate heat. As a fence a wall G feet in height is sufficient ; as regards shelter, the higher the wall is the better it effects the object sought ; and as to the .accumulation of heat, the higher the wall the greater ia the amount of heat accumulated ; whilst as a surface for train- ing trees upon, it must follow that the higher the wall, the less necessity there will be for the annual lopping and restriction of growth. Peach trees upon a low wall do not in cold localities ripen their fruit nearly so well as upon a higher one. This is due to the surface of a high wall accumulating more of the heat from the sun, and the heat accumulated during the day is given out by the wall when the surrounding air is colder. Presuming a wall to be G feet in height, the sun's rays obstructed, or the oabic feet of air deprived of the solar heat, will only be one- fourth the amount of that where the wall is twice as high, or 12 feet. It is not to be understood that a wall G feet high will accumulate exactly one-fourth the heat that a wall 12 feet in height wiuild do ; but notwithstanding the various circum- stances that would interfere with the accumulation of the heat, it is evident that a wall depriving a certain number of cubic feet of air of the sun's rays must secure to the unshaded portion a greater accumulation of heat, and give out a greater heat from the surface, than a wall depriving of the sun's rays only one- fourth that number of cubic feet of air. This will be readily understood by the annexed section of a wall (see next page), showing the eflHCt of the sun's rays falling upon a wall of 0, 9, and 12 feet in height. The sun being at an elevation of 45°, o, b, c, will represent il e shaded portion at the north sile of a 6-feet wall ; !>, d. e. thbto' a 9feet wall ; and b,f, g, the sUade caused to the north of a wall 12 feet in height. It may be safely concluded that what holds good in respect to a south wall, will also exercise the same or an approximating influence with respect to east and west walls. High walls with east and west aspects have a greater heat accumulated in their immediate vicinity than low walls, and are better suited for the trees, besides securing to them more heat, and, consequently, a more certain ripening, and greater perfection of the fruit. That this is not all theory, I mention a few facts coming under Bay own immediate observation, and which cannot but hare b««ii noticed by others. In the case of the wall on the north aide of a kitchen garden, 1.5 feet in height, the trees ripened their fruit a fortnight sooner than those upon the south wall, which was 11) feet in height. The wall to the north was sufficiently heated by the sun to ripen Grapes and Figs ; but neither of these fruits against the south wall ripened perfectly. Peach, Nectarine, and Apricot trees against the latter did not produce nearly such good crops, the fruit did not always ripen tho-' roughly ; and as to the tlavour, it was so inferior to that from the north wall, that it was noticed at the dessert. Tlie difference was not attributed to the difference in the height of the walls, but to the south wall's age — so old, indeed, that ropoiuting was considered impracticable, and it was decided to take the wall down and rebuild it. The trees, mainly Peach and Nectarine, were in fine health, having entirely covered the wall, and their annual growths were being restrained, hence the wall was carried up 3 feet higher, or made 13 feet in height. The only object sought to be attained, so far as I am aware, by raising the wall, was to give a greater extent of surface for the training of th» trees. No one expected any extension of crop beyond that likely to result from an extension of surface; but the crop was not only larger, finer in size and quality, but the flavour so altered for the better, that it was not known at table from which trees, whether from those against the north or south wall, the fruit had been gathered. The time, too, of ripening was marked by little difference between them. The greatest eSeot of the raising of the wall was that two Vines brought forth Grapes, and a Fig tree its Figs ripe and luscious. That the difference was caused by raising the wall, is in soma sort confirmed by the results of raising the east and west walls, the height of which was insufficient for the trees, these extend- ing beyond it every year as much as 2 feet or more, all o£ which growth had to be cut away partially at the summer pruning, and again completely at the winter pruning. The result in this case was, that Pears that formerly on the same trees cracked and spotted, ceased to do so, and they were larger and better coloured. I could give further illustrations of the greater certainty of crops, and of the fiuer quality of fruit grown by trees against high walls than against low ones ; but the beneficial effects of high walls are so apparent, that any one having paid the slightest attention to the subject must have been impressed with the greater advantages afforded Vjy them. ^ In cold localities high walls are not only desirable, but essen- tial ; for the fruit that would ripen against a low wall in a warm locality, will, in order to come to perfection, require a high wall in a cold one. In the south, walls 10 feet iu height answer very well, and Peaches will, undoubtedly, ripen against walls of less height ; but walls 12 feet in height are not too high for the southern parts of the kingdom, whilst for the east and west, and the least northerly counties, north and south walls of less than 10 feet would he practically of no great use. In elevated situations, and in the northern counties, walls 1.5 feet in height are not too high ; indeed, they would be advantageous. In disposing the walls in a garden, the wall to the north ought to be higher than all the others, except iu cases where the ai-ea enclosed is extensive, then the walls may be of one uni- form height. The area to be enclosed by walls being one acre, I would have a wall 15 feet in height to the north ; the cor- responding one to the south might be 12 feet, and the east and west walls of the same height as the south wall. Gardens of less extent than one acre may have a wall to the north of 15 feet. If the garden is less than half an acre the height to the north will not signify as to the wall shading the ground on the north side ; but if the extent of ground is considerably less than half an acre, a high wall will look very unsightly. The height of the north wall in this case may be 12 or 13 feet, the south wall 10 feet or less, and the east and west walls will look well if of the mean height of the north and south walls. The north wall being 15 feet in height, the south, east, and west walls may bo 12 feet in height. In the south of England they will answer if less in height ; in the north they might be higher. As to the direction of walla, that will be to some extent over- ruled by the ground ; but where practicable (and it is so in the majority of cases), they should run north and south, east and west, and the nearer their ends point to the four cardinal points, the less waste there will be of surface. Care should be taken to give as great an extent of south wall as possible, that being secured by disposing the ground in the form of a parallelogram, the longest sides being on the north and south. The walls that run east and west are the most valuable, a« they a&ord one surface to the south, which is the best possible aspect, bat one face must necessarily present itself to the north. 10 JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. [ January 2, IBEg. and this is of the least importance ; but the superior reauUt obtained from the southern side more than counterbalance thi loBB. Walls running north and south will have each a wesi and east aspect, and the first is the more desirable. The facf of a wall looking north has a north aspect, and whatever point of the compass a wall presents its surfaca to at right angles, that is the aspect therecf. As regards the materials of which walls are generally built— namely, bricks and stone, the first are the most suitable. Bricks vary both in quality, softness, and hardness, and also in colour. As to quality, bricks should have an even smooth surface, be ol uniform thickness, length, and breadth, as if not so it is im- possible to make good work with them. With regard to hardness or softness, that depends upon the clay, and upon the burning. Some clay is so full of limestone as to cause the bricks after they are sot to burst upon their be- coming wet, and this produces an uneven surface, and such bricks, therefore, are not to be recommended for garden walls. Ordi- nary slop bricks if free from limestone are good, and being well burned and made quite hard, are eicellent for a wall. If badly burned they absorb too much moisture, and besides being subject to injury from frost, very much encourage the growth of moss, and soft bricks in this respect often become very un- sightly. Fire bricks make excellent garden walls, but those ■which are white are quite as liable to moss as soft slop bricks ; indeed, well-burned slop bricks are superior to badly-burned ■white fire bricks. Hard-burned fire bricks, when the burning is to the extent of glazing them, are not desirable for garden ■walls, as they absorb heat but slowly. Some idea may be formed of the hardness of the burning of a brick by placing one in a bucket and pouring over it a pint of water. If soft it will absorb it all, and even more, whilst a havd-burned brick will not do more than absorb two-thirds of a pint of water. The latter will stand any weather, and such only should be selected. A well-bumed fire brick will absorb nearly, if not quite as much water as slop bricks, but it requires twice the length of time to do it, and it retains the water absorbed a much greater length of time. Well-burned bricks, then, should be used in the con- struction of garden walls, but the extreme of hardness is as much to be avoided as the opposite extreme of softness. A good hard ringing brick is the proper sort. As to colour, very dark coloured bricks, as blue fire bricks, or blue bricks of any sort, are not good, for, from their near approach to black, thev become hot during sunny weather, in consequence of their absorbing the heat instead of refiecting it as white does, and trees against them are unduly excited, and rendered more susceptible of cold, and, therefore, a check is given when sun- less weather intervenes. The blossoms of trees upon dark- coloured walls open earlier than against either red or white ; but the fruit does not ripen any earlier. The forwarding of the blossoms is no advantage, but the contrary in our climate. White has been highly spoken of as the best colour for a wall, but that refiects more of the sun's rays than any other colour, and it, of course, absorbs less heat. Bed bricks are great ab- sorbers of heat, and of moisture also, and the colour is glaring. Pale-coloured bricks arc best, but any light-coloured bricks will prove eligible, preference being given to them over dark shades. Stone is an excellent material for garden walls, but the stones should not be large, as in that case it is difficult to train the trees. The courses should be regular, and ought not to exceed 6} inches, or two courses of bricks when set, and this will be found a convenient distance for the training of the trees. If the courses are irregular, and the stones large, to have a well- trained tree the wall must be wired longitudinally, or have a wire trellis fixed against it, which is an expense that might, by a little contrivance at the time of putting up the wall, be saved. — G. Abbey. (To be continned.) PEARS. Wf. propose, for facilitating identification, to publish out- line full-sized portraits of the chief varieties of our hardy fruits. Wo commence with the Pears. Our notes upon each variety will be very brief, and those of our readers who wish for detailed descriptions can refer to Dr. Hogg's " Fruit Manual." 1. AcHAN. — This is a truly north-country Pear, for though JsBnar; 3, 1868. ] JOUBNAL OF HORTIOULTDIiB AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 11 delicious in Scotland, it is of no merit, though much larger, when grown in our southern counties. It is believed to bo a native of Norway, and was shown under the name of the Bouchrefin, at the International Fruit Show of 180'J, in a collection of Nor- wegian fruits. Ilipe in November. — [Fruit Manual, p. 237.1 2. Adam. — An inferior variety ; speedily decaying at the core. Bipe at the end of Octohei.— {Fruit Manual, p. 237.) 3. Alexandke BivonT. — A first-rate dessert fruit, raised by M. Berckmans, and named by him, in 1848, in honour of M. Alexandre Bivort, the Belgian pomologist. Ilipe from December to February. — {Fniit Mamuil, p. 238.) 8. Alexandre BiTort. 4. Alexandre Lambrk. — Raised by M. Van Mens, and first fruited in 18-14. It was named in honour of the grandfather 4. AltfXEtndre Lambre. of M. Bivort, an amateur arboriculturist. Fruit rarely of any merit in this country. Ripe from December to February. — {Fruit Manual, p. 238.) NOTES AND GLEANINGS. At the annual dinner of the Society of the Associated Seed Merchants of London, which recently took place at the London Tavern, a handsome silver-gilt de.ssert service was presented to Mr. Daniel Nash, as a testimonial of the high respect in which he is held by the Association, over which he has presided for a period of twenty-one years. The service consisted of a centre plateau and four corner pieces, each piece having emblematical figures in frosted silver, each figure mounted on a silver-gilt base, representing the four operations of agriculture — ploughing, sowing, reaping, and thrashing. The plateau bore the following inscription : — " Presented to Daniel Nash, Esq., by the members of the Loudon Seed Trade, as a token of their esteem and appreciation of his services. De- cember, 1867." Mr. Nash is the head of the well-known firm Minier, Nash, & Nash, which has for a period of nearly two centuries held a high place in the wholesale seed trade. "WORK FOR THE WEEK. KITCHEN GAUDKN. All unoccupied ground ought to have been turned up by rough digging, trenching, or ridging, regulating these opera- tions according to the character of the soil, and the nature of preceding and contemplated future crops. Artichokrs, protect with any loose litter; also, Aapara^us, Sea-kalr, and Rhubarb, not that the last three will be injured by frost, but they will come in much earlier it the ground is not cooled to a low tem- perature. Celery, defend it from frost. It will keep good for a considerable time if taken up with balls, placed upright in rows in a shed, and clean dry straw put between the rows so that the heads may not touch each other. Caulijloircrs, keep a sharp look-out after the plants in frames or under hand-Ughts, and those fit for use, as well as Endive, J.cttucea, and Radishes in cold frames or turf pits, protecting those in the latter with straw or reed covers neatly made, or with hurdles thatched with straw or spruce branches. Peas, if not already done seize the earliest opportunity of mild weather to sow the first crop. Ringleader, Dillistone's Prolific, or Dickson's First and Beat are suitable varieties. Broad Beans, sow Early Mazagan, or Early Longpod, choosing for the main crop such established early varieties, and only small quantities of those sorts the superiority of which is not sufficiently tested. FRUIT GARDEN. As to pruning, nailing, and planting, it is always advisable to be as forward as possible with these operations before Christ- mas. Protect newly planted trees with mulching. The wood of Peach trees will not be over-well ripened this season in un- favourable situations, and more especially in the case of those trees that suffered greatly from frost last January and February. The late frost, by checking vegetation, may help to ward-off such another disaster. All the young shoots of Peach and Apricot trees should have been nnnailed some time ago. In consequence of being freely exposed on all sides the shoots would be better hardened, and from not being contiguous to the wall they would not be so easily excited, nor in so much dauger of having their sap-vessels burst by severe frosts. In addition to this, the stems might be bound round, not over- closely, with hard-twisted straw bands, and a little long litter thrown over the border to the width of 4 or 5 feet. This is an excellent opportunity for moving soil, turning composts, and wheeling manure. Do not forget a little of the latter as a mulching or top-dressing to Strawberry-beds, if very superior fruit are desired next season. Standard Apple trees, if not already attended to, may now be pruned, taking care to cut out all cross branches. Gooseberries and Currants if not pre- viously pruned may now be gone over, so as to allow the ground to be dug amongst them. FLOWEK OAEDEN. After the late frost and snow but little can be done here at present except where alterations are going on, and then the trenching of ground for planting may be proceeded with. Beds containing autumn-sown annuals would be the better of a few branches of evergreens stuck into them to shade the plants 12 jocenaij of eoeticultuee anc cottage gaedense. [ January 9, 18€S. from bright sunshine after frost, and to protect them from drying winds. GKEENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. Of all plant houses the conservatory requires the smallest quantity of air in winter. In order to keep down dust, so in- jurious to plants in winter, the paths should not be swept when they are quite dry. Gardeners are often compelled to make use of the engine, even in winter, to cleanse the leaves. Very little water will do here now, and that should be 9" or 10° warmer than the general temperature of the house, which may be about 50°. Tbe temperature of the greenhouse should not be raised much above 40° now. The watering ought to be finished early in the day, and the plants should be constantly looked-over to keep them free from dead leaves, insects, or mildew in the pots. STOVE. The temperature of this house should not exceed 60° by fire heat, and a fall of 10° may be allowed at night in very cold weather. Although all plants now at rest should be kept com- paratively dry, they will require to be looked-over daily to see that they do not suffer from want of water, particularly those nearest the pipes or flues. Orchids may be potted, tied-up to logs, or fitted into wire baskets at any time when little can be done in the open air, but they need not be watered or induced to grow for a long time. This is a good time to prune and regulate the heads of tbe specimen plants. Many, such as Justicias, Poinsettias, Aphelandras, &c., had better now be cut- down altogether and kept dry for a few weeks. It you have a good stock of EiiphorbiajacquiuifEflora, cut down some plantsof it also. This will enable them to make an earlier growth, and come into flower three weeks sooner next winter. This treat- ment equally applies to Juslicia speciosa, and Eranthemum pulchellum, and, no doubt, to all our winter-flowering plants. Look over Gloxinias and Gesneras on the dry shelves, and start a few of each into growth, to produce a succession of flowers. FORCING PIT. It is only necessary to remark, that where forced flowers are in great request two divisions are necessary ; one for such hardy plants as do not succeed in a high temperature, the other, with mean- for bottom heat, for Gardenias and other stove plants. Almost all plants, however, in forcing are bene- fited by a mild bottom heat. PITS AND FRAMES. Of all plant structures these have become of late years the most important. Everything, from tbe finest Heath to the humblest Alpine, finds a ready asylum in them during the winter. They require the utmost attention at the present time ; a slimy green pot, a speck of mouldiness on the surface, or even a decayed leaf, if not instantly removed, may be the ruin of the most favourite plant. Very little water will be required here for some time. See that ample covering is ready for nse during the long cold nights. A multitude of half-hardy plants may be kept in these without any means of artificial heating, but at the outset, notwithstanding all care, some of them may be lost. Deaths, however, will occur in the best plant houses. The young stock of plants in these structures is in a growing state, and, therefore, will require to be securely guarded against frost, but give them all the air and light possible on fine da\s, and keep them from mildew and mois- ture. AVhere Hydrangeas are required to turn into beds in the flower garden in April and May, they must now be put into the forcing house. — W. Keane. DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. KITCHEN GARDEN. Much that was intended to be done remains still undone, and in most departments we have chiefly confined ourselves to keeping all going on in regular routine, aiming rather at having all right than at doing much fresh work. As mind and body become more settled we shall gain all the advantages ere long of a little relaxation. After much observation and personal experience we have come to the conclusion that the benefit Irom cessation from or change in labour — in other words, having so many hours or days as a holiday, is not so much seen at the time as afterwards. Even looked at in the lowest sense in which we can well regard it, the amount of labour to be ob- tained from mere physical power, less or more regulated by mind, the amount of the work performed wiU at first be rather less after a holiday than before ; but in a few days the effects •f the change and the relaxation begin to appear, and then, provided these holidays do not come too often, we have no doubt that they tell even beneficially on the side of the em- ployer of labour, both as respects the quantity and the quality of the work done. A day or two now and then, in the way of cessation from nsual labour, is anything but lost time, as fresh energy and a fresh stimulus to exertion are thus supplied. Vegetables, forced and otherwise, received much the same attention as has been detailed in previous weeks' notices. We shall just refer to a few matters now demanding attention. Collcctinrj Tree Leaves.— li is best, if possible, to colleot these when rather dry, as then they may remain a long time in a heap, will heat and waste but little, and can always be made to ferment and heat sweetly by giving them a little water. In many places, however, tbey must be collected in any condi- tion, and scarcely at all until the game-shooting season is over; and if for present or spring use the wet condition of the leaves is of less consequence, only when placed in a heap they will soon rot. They might, therefore, as well be giving out their heat as not for the forwarding of early vegetables where glass or other protection can be given, such as for Potatoes, Eadishes, Lettuces, Carrots, Turnips, Asparagus, Kbubarb, and Sea-kale, which last may be had in any place where a heat of 60°, or more, and darkness, can be secured. Leaves when raked-up damp will soon ferment, and may, therefore, be made into beds for Buch purposes at once. Hotbeds. — When a greater heat is required, as for Cucum- bers, &c., it is not easy to obtain enough of bottom heat and top heat at this season from tree leaves alone, unless, indeed, the bed is very large, and, therefore, it is advisable to have at least one-halt of fermented stable manure along with the leaves. Those who are particular in sweetening such stable manure thoroughly before using it, should turn it several times in tbe course of tliree weeks, turning the sides into the centre and the top to the bottom, and watering any that appears dry, until all becomes of a darkish appearance, and so sweet that the moisture that rises from it, when condensed against an iron plate, or a square of glass, shall be not yellow-tinged, bnt as clear as a dev.drop. This sweetening will be hastened by mix- ing the dung with damp tree leaves ; but where economy in material is an object, we would not mix until tbe last turning, as, if done at first with fresh dung, the leaves will be consider- ably wasted before the dung is sweetened. F.ir hastily-made and very lasting, and therefore economical beds, we prefer to have the dung as much heated as to be half sweetened, and then cover that with a foot of fresh sweet tree leaves, through which no deleterious steam will pass. This plan saves ma- terial and time, and the beds when thus well made last and keep a regular heat for a long time, and if made large enough need little or nothing in the way of linings nil tbe spring and summer. 'When we have a range of frames thus to supply with fermenting material, and can only manage a two ora three-light box at a time, we generally make the first bed in the centre, and then the beds on each side help to throw fresh energy into the heating powers of the first. By means of a few drain tiles set upright in the beds we can always keep the lower stratum slowly fermenting and decomposing, by adding air and moisture to it as wanted. Where hot-water pits or bouses exist; in plenty there will be less need for these dung beds ; but they are of great benefit to tbe garden when the summer crops are all gone, and they can be taken to the ground as valuable dressings. Many have found out that it is possible to have too much of improved modes of heating when little else can be had for the kitchen garden, except the remains of the vegetables grown in it, and such will not long be sufficient in supplying a closely cropped garden. Mmhroom-hed Dioi.?.— The remains of Mushroom beds are first-rate dressings for almost anything, and especially for flower beds ; the material is generally so light, and the greater part of the strength is gone. We have for many years found it an excellent top-dressing for Kidney Beans in pi ts and at one time we used it largely for Cucumbers in pi.ts and boxes as thin top-dressings, putting on another thin dressing as the roots came through the last. It is also very useful for top- dressing orchard-bouse trees in pots during the summer. But for the corn growing, we would not mind fresh droppings for this purpose if there were a little of this decayed used-up Mushroom dung next tbe surface of the soil. For all these purposes, however, we like such wasted Mushroom dung to be rather thinly spread out of doors at first, before it is thrown into a heap to keep it dry, in order that cold and damp weather may destroy what active spawn may be left. ' Mushroom spawn is almost as bad as any other fungus vhea JtmmMTj It, laes. } JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTDBH AND COTTAGE QARDENBB. it Ukss poBBession of a place where it in not wanted. 'We kare seen borders (or fruit trees ranch injured by MuBhroora ■pawn, Bud we have found plants and trees much injured until the upawn was all destroyed by strong fresh lime-waterings. Hardly any of tbo Mushroom tribe will succeod or grow when treated with quicklime under any circumstances. Preparimi fur Mitihmom JSciU. — lu summer there is no difTi- •alty in doing this, but there is more trouble in obtaining materials for a bod in winter. Wo have already several times stated how we have used almost every possible fermenting ma- terial for such beds. Provided we could obtain a few inches of good horse droppings, or good, sweet, hotbed dung for the sur- face, we have had many line beds made with tree leaves, with a few inches of such rich dressings on the surface ; but for all shallow beds on platforms, shelves, or even in move- able boxes and largo pots, we prefer horse droppings with about a third of short dry litter, and from a sixth to an eighth of dry fibrous loam mixed with it. The nearer the droppings are being sufficiently dried — that is, to be neither wet nor dry, without heating much, the greater will be the nutritive qualities left for the support of the Mushrooms ; and it is compaiatively easy to secure this dryness without much healing in the summer months. There are no means in open sheds to dry such ma- terials now without throwing them into a heap to ferment. They will soon dry t^ullicienth' if the dropjiings were collected at the stable ; but when they must be shaken-out from dung that has lain out of doors, they will often be so wet as to rot when heated, instead of drying, and in such a case we have cut dry straw and mixed with the materials to great advantage. When thus piled up in a heap from a week to a fortnight, the inside of the heap will have a dry whitish aspect ; and though we have lost much of the nutritive qualities, we are forced to make that sacrifice to secure the amount of dryness which will secure a long and continuous heat from the materials when firmly beaten together in a bed. If damper, the heat would be apt to be too strong aud not lasting, and the spawn dislikes damp ground to run in. When our beds have been damper than we liked them, we have had good crops by inserting each piece of spawn in a good handful of short dryish litter before fixing it in the bed. The general dampness of the bed then acted much the same as a casing of damp cow dung over a dryish bed — a plan, however, not to be adopted by those who dislike very thick succulent Mushrooms. Drainiwj. — No better time and weather could be found for this work, and in gardens it can rarely be effected except in the dull days of winter. It is hardly worth while draining if the drains cannot le made frum ii to 4 feet deep. We have seen much draining done with the common garden spades ; but wherever a considerable amount of work is to be done, even a week or two of such work, it will always be money saved to procure a set or two of draining tools, so that tlie drain may be easily made like the letter V, and the round drain tile easily depo-ited in the acute angle at the base. If the cuttings of Blackthorn, &c., can be had, a good layer of the.se above the tiles will greatly assist them. We have lielped to examine such drains filled for a foot in depth with Thorns alone, that worked well after being deposited for a score of years ; aud even then, except close to the outlet, they were remarkably fresh. It is always well, however, to have tiles if to be had. For mere surface water the drains may be much shallower, but they will exercise but little influence in the culture of the soil. We have known some cases, however, in which all the work of draining was next to labour thrown away ; and therefore it would be advisable to make sure if the ground really needed draining. We recollect of a case where the soil was a rather stiff loam, resting about 2 feet from the surface on what was consideied to be a stiff clay — just such a soil as was supposed would be much improved by draining. A good outfall was obtained in the neighbourhood of a running brook, aud the drains were made from 12 to 18 inches deep in the clay ; but the wonder was that with the full, &c., scarcely any water ran out of the drains. In fact, the draining was found almost useless work. Holes were made 3, 4, and 5 feet deep, and yet the latter seldom retained water long even in the winter months. The truth came out that the supposed clay was plentifully commingled with marl, as proved by the action of acids, and the extra moisture escaped tasily by the veins of clayey marl. Uaking a few holes involves no great trouble, and may well be done before a great drainage work is commenced. If the sub- soil is so open that the water passes freely, we may rest assured that such moisture rising again in the shape of vapour will rather be relished by the roots of plants in summer. If water will not stand at a good depth, we can hardly have the lorfac* soil too moist, unless there is some intercepting material be- tween the surface and the subsoil. Digging, Trenehing, and liidging have not with us received, us yet, the attention they ought to have had, but we so far please ourselves with the thought, that the surfaoe of the ground has been pretty well frozen, and we rather like it to be so, and thawed again, before we turn the surface down to the bottom of the trench in ridging. Nevertheless, we would have liked to have had more Boil ridged-up. Frosty mornings furnished good opportunities for wheeling manure, rubbish heaps, burnt earth, weeds, Sec. After break- ing the dung fine, thrown over Asparagus rows, we gave a good dressing from a heap formed chiefly of burnt pruuings, weeds, and edging-parings, which will only be leaa beneficial than a sprinkling of salt, whilst it will secure to our stiff soil a lighter surface. Sea-kale and lihuharh. — For the main crops out of doors we prefer planting in well-trenched, well-aired soil, in spring, just after the heads or buds begin to move, using young plants for Sea-kale, and either young plants or dividing the roots for Ivhubarb. Large stools are benefited in their produce when divided into two or three pieces ; but as spring generally brings enough of work with it, sueh work may also be done now with advantage, and so may Asparagus be planted in a mild day, when there is no danger of the tender fibres being dried-up or injured. The best time to transplant this vegetable is when the shoots have grown some 3 inches in length ; then scarcely & single plant fails, whilst what we used to plant in the winter did not grow quite so regularly. Horseradish. — This we consider to be always beet, and fit for use right up to the core, when it is transplanted every few years, a few rows at a time. The worst of it is, the difficulty of eradicating it from a piece of ground where it has once been planted. The most secure mode is to pick up every bit as it appears, and especially never to allow a leaf to grow. Few plants will long retain healthy roots if no leaves be allowed to grow. Constant cutting will beat the Nettle, the Thistle, and even the more dread white-rooted Convolvulus. In cold weather the easily-grown Horseradish might be more used than it is. It would to many a working man be little lees serviceable than the once famed " curry powder." FIU'IT OAIIDEN. Here the weather and other circumstances have prevented us doing much out of doors ; and in-doors the chief work has been attending to the fruit room, taking out all specked fruit, look- ing over Grapes, which have kept well, but are becoming thin, and prtining and cleaning fruit trees in vineries and orchard houses. We had intended having some work with Vine Borders, but as yet, have been unable to do anything. Many questions have been put to us since we detailed the simple plan of border-making, or rather no border-making, at Messrs. Lane's, of Berkhampstead. Before going to great ex- pense in draining, &c., it would be well to ascertain whether there would be standing water ; and if the natural soil is good, most likely the addition of some lime rubbi.-h, and some boiled broken bones will be all that is necessary to secure fine Grapes. We should like to have fresh fibrous turf and bones, and use the means to keep the soil open, as it all soon be- comes close here if left to itself. In all such cases, especially for early work, much depends on having canvas or boards fixed tile or slate fashion, to keep the late autumn and winter rains off — a practice which has done wonders in many cases, though we have seldom been able to resort to it ourselves, and, there- fore, have had to be content with makeshifts. ORNAMENTAL DKPAHTUENT. ■When the day was at all open, proceeded with moving trees and shrubs, taking care to place them in mellow soil before the roots were injured by frost, or the soil caked. Cleaned and rolled pleasure grounds, forwarded bulbs and shrubs, including Eoses, for blooming. Put a lot of Cinerarias into a drier place to open their blooms more freely. Shifted Pelargoniums and other plants, aud potted some stove plants in small pots. Damped the floor and stage of the cool house in frosty days, but kept the tops of the plants, Ferns, Mosses, ic, dry, and in cold days preferred a safe low temperature to making fires, to give much cold air. Gave as little water to all greenhouse plants as possible, so as to keep them healthy ; but took care that Camellias, Cinerarias, Primulas, ic, did not suffer from dryness. Epacrises stand a much closer and moister atmo- sphere than the Erica tribe, and these last must have more air and leaa heat. — E. F. 14 JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDEKEB. [ Janoary 3, 1£G8. COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Jaxuart 1. RocoB articles of produce hava made a Blight advance ; bat all the rest remain nearly the same. Pearn are now becominR rather scarce, and comprise Glou Uorveau, Ne PIub Meiiris, and Crasanne. Good deseert Apples are in better request. The Potato trade is stationary ; some fine samples of Regents hava como to hand during the past week. FROIT. P. d. 2 6t U Apples J Bieve Apricots doz. Cherries lb. Ghestnnts bush. 8 Corrants ^ aieve Black do. Figa doz, Fiiberts lb. Cobs lb. GooBeberriea . . quart Orapes, Hothouse, .lb. Lemons 100 .Vrtichokes doz. Beans, Kidney ino Beet, Red doz. Broccoli bundle Bms. Sprouts i sieve Cabbage doz. Capsicmns 100 Carrots bunch Cauliflower doz. Celery bundle Cucumbers each pickling .... doz. Endive doz. Fennel bunch GarUo lb. Herbs bunch Horseradish .. bundle B. d 34 u 14 6 u I'i Melons each Nectarines doz. Oranges 100 Peaches doz. Pears (dessert) ..doz. Pine Apples lb. Plums J sieve Quinces doz. Raspberries Strawberries . d. B. Oto3 .lb. lb. Walnuts bush. 10 IS do per 100 1 1 VEQETA.ELfi3, 8. d. s. d U OtoO » 8 8 2 6 Leeks bunch Lettuce .... per soore Mashrooms .... pottle Mustd.A Cress, punnet Onions.... per bushel Parsley per sieve Parsnips doz. Potatoes bushel Kidney do. Radishes doz. bunches Rhubarb bundle Savoys doz. Sea-kale basket ShaUota lb. Spinach bushel Tomatoes per doz. Turnips bunch 2 d. 8. d 3 tod 1 6 3 TRADE CATALOGUES RECEFV^ED. James Yeitch &; Sous, Eoyal Exotic Nursery, King's Road Chelsea. London, S.W. —Catalogue of Hardy Trees, Shrubs Conifem, 6zc. —Catalogue of Garden and Flower Seeds. — Li&t of Oladiolus. TO CORRESPONDENTS. * ** We request that no one will write privately to the depart- mental writers of the *' Journal of Horti cult are, Cottage Gardener, and Country Gentleman.*' By so doing they are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. Ail communications should therefore be addressed soUly to The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, t£-c., 171, Fleet Street, London, E.G. We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the same sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on Poultry and Bee subjects, if they expect to get them an- Bwered promptly and conveniently, but write them on separate communications. Also never to send more than two or three questions at once. JI.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next week. SLaud.— Let us know where you wiah us to send. We reciprocate all good wishes. Pbat Charcoal.— " ^ Suhseribpr" wishes to know how this can be made, eo that he can use it in Hays's stove. We think that coke might lie burnt in it if a chimney tube were attached to the .5tove. Fowler's Insecticide (A'.J.-It is advertised in our number published on the 5th of December. HtTLLETT Again.—" The writer of this is one of those who had the ill luck [indiscretion?! Inst sprinsr of purcbasin inches with tunes cut 2 inches thick from an old pasture, where the soil is a rather light loam ; tho turf cut Into pieces about 6 incliea pquaro. We would do thin now, having Drat convinced ourselvcfl that tho border is well drained, and particularly that there Ib nn Htagnant water lodging about the roots at the bottom of tho border. A fortnight before applying Are boat, or previous to tho Vinos commencing growth, cover the border with from 18 inches to 2 feet of hot dung, such as is used for hotbeds, ^» as to pro- duce a gentle heat. This moy remain on until its heat is gone and the woathor haa become warm, when it may bo removed. In tho meantime we would prepare tho lights with which to cover the border, and wo would put them on as soon as the Grapes wero ripe, or, if very wet woathor, when tho Grapes wore colouring. LeavinK it on all winter yoa ml«ht winter bedding plants under the glass, providing you could keep frost from thom ; but if they aro kept-in late in spring tho drip in water- ing will bo as injurious to the Vines as the Klass covering would in other reapects be beneficial. We would not employ it for any such jmrpose as the growing of Cucumbers or Melons, but, on the contrary, take it away entirely after May, and during that month and April, or even March, itt mild weather, remove tho li«htB whenever it rained, so that tho border miaht have the benefit, replacing them after the border had become suiilciently moistened ; or, failing rain, tho border would require to bo watered, especially if tho lights were kept on constantly. At tho end of May removo thom altogether, unless you have particular reasons for keeping them on, as tho Grapes ripening, or cold heavy rains occurring about that time, which it will be well be throw off. Wo would not put them on again until the crop was colouring, and then we would keep them on continuously until we wished the border to become moistened on the Vinos again starting into growth. In place of heavy manunnga in autumn a top-dressing of turves one-third, horse or sheep droppings one-third, and one-third half-inch bones, charcoal, and cnlcined oyster shells in equal quantities, would be preferable; a covering 2 inches thick would be ample. GlasK-covered borders are good when the covering is moveable; but we think them them quite aa bad as exposed borders if they are used for plants in winter, and Cucumbers or Melons in summer, GRAPTiNa Pkrkskia aculkata(.4 J? ).— You could not have a better stock on which to graft Epiphvllum truncatum than the Peroskia— indeed, it is the best of stocks. Take off tho head of tlie Pereskia at the re- quired height, and make a slanting cut upwards, and about an inch long, at the top of tho stock and on one side. You will cut off a stem or branch from the Epiphyllum to be grafted upon the Poreskia, and pare one side ftt tho lower end in a slanting direction downwards, making it quite thiu at tho bottom, and so that the cut part shall fit that of the stock ex- actly. About half wav down tho slanting cut in the stock make a cut downwards, and about hall an inch long, and make a corresponding on© upwards in the graft, which will make a sort of tilit or tongue in each ; that of the graft should be introduced into the one in the stock, and pushed downwards, so that the cut portions of both may fit correctly. The graft may he fastened or bound to tho stock with a strip of bast matting, still "keeping it in its place and tying tolerably tight, but not very j.uch so. The junction may then be covered with moss, binding it on with matting. It is not necessary to cover with clay. The plant may be placed in a house where there is a gentle heat, and graft and stock alike sprinkled with water twice a-day by means of a fine-rosed syringe. When the graft begins to grow the matting should bo loosened. The best time to graft is in spring, or a little before the Epiphyllum begins to grow. The Ferns sent us were not numbered, so that we cannot refer to them. Gladiolus Bulbs {P. I. y.).— We should have preferred to have kept the bulbs on a shelf until they had become dry and parted from their stems, ana then have stored them away in dry sand on shelves. The ground where they are to be planted should be well nnd deeply dug, leaving it rough for the winter, and working-iu a liberil dressing of manure. The bulbs should be kept out of the reach of frost. Names of Fruits (//. A., London).— The Apple from Canada is Pomme griso. (W. H. S.).— No. 1 is Crasanne, a melting Pear when proper!, ripened; but in some seasons and in cold situations it does not ripeoy and then it may be used for stewing. No. 2 is Black Worcester, one of the best stowing Pearf. (If. hmith).—l. Eeurr.> Did; *2. Glou Monjeau; 3, Belle do Noel; 4, Hunthouae ; 5, Winter Pearmain ; 6. Crasanne ; 7, Marie Louise ; H, NePlusMouris ; 11, Beurrt* Dicl from a wall; 12, Vicar of Winkfield. (A. H. G., Faver sham], —Your Pear is Eeurre de Ranee. Names of Plants {J. if.).— We cannot name plants from leaves only. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the Nine Days enntion to the Society's attempt to develope the Norwich classes — they have achieved a success ; and the Society deserves, and we hope in future will obtain, more support from Norwich. CANARIES. Norwich (Clear Yellow),— First, E. Orme. Hiph Street. Derby. Second and Very Hiphlv Comniendrd. W. Walter, Winchester. Third, Highly Commended, and Cnmmendi^d, J. Beison, Derby. Norwich (Clear Buffi.— First, Second, Third, "and Highly Commended, E. Orme. Very Highly Commended, W. Walter. Commended, J. BexBon. Norwich (Variegated Yellow).— First, H. Ashton. Prestwich, near Man- chester. Second, G. Parkiuson. Hnugbton-le-Spring. Durham. Tbird, J. Baxter, Newcastle. Very Higlily Commended, E. Orme. Highly Commended, J. Stainsby, Sunderland. Commended, G. Moore, North- ampton. Norwich (Variegated Buff).— First and Second, E. Orme. Tbird, S. Tomes, NortJiamptou. Very Highly Commended and Highly Commended, J. Bexson. Cnminended, W. Walter. Norwich iMnrUed Yellow) — First. W. Walter. Second and Very Highly Commended, E. Orme. Third and Commended, J. Eexson. Highly Commended, O. Jfoore. Norwich (Marked Buff).— First, Tbird, and Very Highly Commended, E. Orme. Second ard Highly Commended, J. Bexson. Commended, W. Walter. Norwich (Yellow, with Green, Grey, or Yellow Crest). — First and Third, W. Walter. Second, .T. Wilkinson, Numbers Garth, Sunderland. Very Highly Commended, S. Tomes. Highly Commended and Cum- meuded, J. Butter, Bisbnpwearmoutb. Norwich (Buff, with Green, Grey, or Buff Crest). — First, J. TuUy, Monk- wearmontb. Second, G. Moore. Third, J. Stainsby. Very Highly Com- mended and Commended, W. Walter. Highly Commended, H. Ashton. Norwich (Variegated-crested Yelluwl.- First, H. Ashton. Second and Very Highly Commended, G. Moore. Third, J. Gibson, Ryhope. Highly Commended. W. Walter. Commendnd. G. Shiel. Bishopwearmouth. Norwich (Variegated-crested Buff). — First. J. Gibstm. Second. G Moore. Third and Very Highly Commended, W. Walter. Highly Com- mended, G. Shiel. Commended. J. Gibson. Norwich (MarkedcieHted Yellow), — First, W. Walter. Second, F. W. Fairbrass, Canterbury. Third, J. Bexson. Very Highly Commended, J. Stainsby. Highly Commended and Commended. G. Moore. Norwich (Marked-rrcsted Buff).— First and Very Highly Commended. W. Walter. Second. T. Reid. West Sunniside, Sunderland. Third and Commended, G. Moore. Highly Commended, G. Shiel. Norwich (Any variety). — First, G. Moore. Second, G. Shiel. Tbird, J, TuUy. Vei-y Highly Commended, J. Bexson. Highly Commended, W. Walter. Belgian (Clear Yellow).— First and Second. J. Rutter. Third, E Orme. Very Highly Commended and Highly Commended, W, Bulmer, jun., Stockton. Commended, W. Inson, Redland, Bristol. Belgian (Clear Buff.)— First, Highly Commended, and Commended, J. Rutter. Second, E. Orme, Third, H. Ashton. Very Highly Com- r&endod, W. Bulmer, jun. Belgian (Marked Yellow).— First and Second, J. Rutter. Third, W. Bulmer, jun. Very Highly Commended, H. Ashton. Highly Commended, W. Inson. Belgian (Marked Buff).— First, Second, Third, and Very Highly Com- mended, J. Rutter. Highly Commended, H. Ashton. Commended, E. Baker, Parkhnm, Gateshead. Belgian (Variegated Yellowl.— First, Second, and Very Highly Com- mended, J. Rutter. Third. W, Inson. Belgian (Variegated Buff).— First, W. Bulmer. jun. Second. J. Rutter. Third, J. Wilkinsim. Very Highly Commended, W. Richards, Bulwell, Nottingham. Glasgow Don (Clear). -First and Third, J. Forsyth, Elswick, East Jarrow. Newcastle. Second and V<^'ry Highly Commended, G. Nicholson. Highly Commended, W. Young. Belford. Commended, J. Greenleea, Sunderland. Glasgow Don fVariepatedor Marked^ — First, Second, Third, and Very Highly Commended, G. Park, Galashiels. Commended, J. Greenleea; W. Walter. Yellow Cinnamon. — First, W. Walter. Second. S. Tomes. Third, Very Highly Commended, and Highly Commended, G. Moore. Com- mended, E. Mills, Sunderland. Buff Cinnamnon.— First. S. Tomes. Second and Tliird. G. Moore. Very Highly Commended. W. W. Yeld, Bishopwearmouth. Highly Com- manded, J, Bexson. Commended, E. Orme. Yellot Cinnamon (Variegated or Marked). — First. W. Rogers, Sunder- land. Third, E. Orme. Third, -T. TuUy. Very Highly Commended, S. Tomes. HiRhly Commended, J. Galley, Newbottle, near Sunderland. Commended, G. Moore. Buff Cinnamon (Variegated or Marked) —First. J. Baxter. Second, W. Rogers. Third. T. Tnlly. Very Hiehly Commended, G. Moore. Highly Commended, H. Ashton. Commended. J. Oxberry, Bishopwearmouth. Lizard (Golden-spangled).- First, H. Ashton. Second and Highly Commended, E. Orroe. Third, J. Rutter. Very Highly Commended, J, TuUv. Commended. Rev. V. Ward, Canterbury. Lizard (Silver-spanclcd).— First and Highlv Commended, E. Orme. Second, J. Tullv. Third. H. Ashlnn. Very Highly Commended, T. Fairbrass, Canterbury. Commended, F. W. Fr.irhrass, Canterbury. London Fancy (Yellow).- First and Third, T. Mann, Camberwell New Road, London. Second, H. Ashton. London Fancy (Buff.— First, H. Ashton. Second, and Third, T, Mann. Canary (Greenl.— First. G. Atkinson, Gntesbead. Second, M. Stelling. Brancepeth Colliery, Durhrim. Third, J. Wilkinson. Very Highly Com- mended, R. Robinson. Middlesborough. Commended. J. Wilkinson. Canary (-f^ny other variety). — First and Very Highly Commended, H. Ashton (Crested Belgian). Second. R. Hawman. Middlosborough (Common Variegated). Third T. WRlter(Yorksbire). Highly Commended and Commended, W. Heap, Bradford (Yorkshire). Cage of Canaries akd Mules.— First, W. Walter. Second, J. Tally, Third, H. Ashton. Goldfinch Mdle (Variegated Yellowi. -First and Third, H. Ashton. Second, J. Tully, Very Highly Commended, T. E. Colman, Clapham Common. Highly Commended, K. Robinson, Middlesborough. Com- mended, J. Bexson. Goldfinch Mule (Variegated Buff).— First and Third, IT. Ashton. Se- cond. E. Orme. Very Highly Commendod, G. Parkinson, Highly Com - meuded and Commended. G. Moore. Goldfinch Mdlk (Marked Yellow).— First and Commriuded, H. Ashton. Second, W.Heap. Third and Highly Commended, G. Shiel. Very Highly Commended, J. Tullv. Goldfinch Mule Marked Buff).— First and Tbird, J. Tully. Second, E. Orme. Very Highly Commended and Highly Commended, G. Parkin- son. Commended. W. Heap. Mule (Dark).— First, J. Tully. Second, W. Rogers. Third. W. Walter. Very Highly Commended, M.' Stelling. Highly Commended, W. Heap. Commended, W. Yeoman. Linnet Mule.— First. T. Peat. Second and Third, H. Ashton. Very Highly Commended, T. E. Coleman. Highly Commended, J. Tally. Com- mended, W. Walter. Mule (Any other varictv) —First and Highly Commended, W. Walter (Bullfinch aiid Goldfinch). Second, T. E Colman (Bullfinch and Gold- finch). Third. \eTy Highly Commended, and Commended, II- Ashton (Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Greenfijich, Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Bramble- finch) Bullfinch.— Prize, W. Walter. Goldfinch.— Prize, W. Walter. Highly Commended, M. Stelling. Linnet.— Prize, M. stelling. Skylark.— Prize, J. Gibson. Blackbird —Prize, W. Mann. Pong Thrush.— First, J. Gibson. Second, W. Wrigbtsnn. Starling.- Prize. M. Stelling. Very Highly Commended, W. Walter. Any other Variety of British Birds.— Prize, H. P. Yeld, Sunderland (Chaffinch). Parrot (A.ny variety).- First, H. Ashton (Red-breasted Austrahan). Second, G. Robinson, Durham (African Grey). Love Birds.— Prize, W. Walter. Parakeet (Any variety).— First, H. Ashton (Grass Parakeets). Second, W. Walter (Grass Parakeets). Any other Variety of Foreign Birds.— First, W. Walter (Nonpareil). Second, T. Reid (Sitffron Finch). The Judges were Mr. T. AUenby, Durham ; Mr. T. Clark, Sunder- land ; Mr. G. J. Buruesby, Derby. HEDGEHOGS AND BLACKBEETLES. I CAN confirm, Messrs. Editors, bU that Mr. Frank Buckland observes in Land and Water, as to the little elTect produced by a hedgehog in the destruction of beetles. He tells us very amusingly : — •' I have tried hedgehogs to kill beetles ; they don't act. A hedgehog cannot possibly hold above a pint of beetles at a time. Jaannry 2, 18e8. 1 JOURNAL OP HORTIOULTUKE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 19 and in my kitchen there are gallons of thera. I once tried the hedgehoK l'li"i ^^ "j" I'eancry, Weatminstcr. The first night after his arrival the Abbey watchman was frightened out of hia wita— it was the hedgehog. The next night, fast asleep, I felt a, cold lOHO on my face, and then a prickly thing trying to got into ) e bed— it was the hedgehog. The next night the ser- vant] 'came trembling to say there was n burglar in the dining- roo«, rattling the plate— it was the hedgehog. The next night thetook put some soup away, and in the morning the soup was gone — the hedgehog was found coiled up asleep in the tureen. The next night nothing was heard of the hedgehog, and for weeks we could not tell where he was gone ; the cook was thankful, and the crickets sang, O, be joyful, while the blackbeetles had the free run of the kitchen. • Years rolled on,' as the novelists have it, and a skeleton was discovered in the flue, which had smoked the whole of the house out for weeks. The hedgehog again. Thank goodness, I have seen the last of that wretch, and never wish to have another of his kind on the promises. Unless, therefore, my friends wish to run the chance of a hedgehog becoming the same pest to them as he was to me, they will never introduce them into their houses. Hedge- hogs will only eat a certain number of beetles, and the beetles having good spawning ground behind the kitchen range, breed much faster than the hedgehog can eat." 1 have, however, found that by the use of some phosphoric boluses prepared by Mr. Chase, of 14, Holborn, the beetles are destroyed very effectually. It is well, however, to give the beetles a supper of these at intervals of a fortnight, so that the successional crops of the young blacks may be also provided for. — C. W. J. FOUL BROOD— LIGURI AN QUEEN RAISING. The majority of the readers of the bee department of " our Journal " are aware that the breeding of artificial queens, increase of stocks, and their welfare, are in proportion to the abundance and length of the honey season. The absence of the former, and short duration of the latter, limited the harvest of honey from my stock hives, yet has not prevented my raising a fair quantity of queens from the stock of Ligurians received from Mr. Woodbury last April, and also a few from the foul- breeding one obtained from Messrs. Neighbour & Sons, who, I may here say, have since made me full compensation for that unfortunate occurrence. About the middle of May I commenced the interesting experiment of making artificial swarms, as recommended and described in this Journal by Mr. Woodbury. From the above date to the 2nd of July I had made sufficient swarms to enable me to raise twelve Ligurian queens, which were all out by the 12th of July. I had still another Ligurian queen, raised naturally ; for the original stock, after all my manipulations and the abstraction of five ripe brood combs for artificial swarms, and the bees, to strengthen them, threw off a swarm on the 14th of July, the weight of which was a little more than lbs ! When looking over the original stock some days afterwards I discovered unmistakeable signs of foul brood in a frame that had come from a stock, the combs of which had been exchanged with those of Messrs. Neighbours' diseased one before 1 was aware of the existence of that terrible malady. The original Ligurian was the only stock I saw attempt to clean out foul cells, which it did most thoroughly. The last queen made thirteen queens, nine of which were from Mr. Woodbury's stock, and four from Messrs. Neighbours'. Eleven of these became impregnated, and seven of them bred pure Ligurians. This I consider a good per-centag5 of pure- breeding queens, considering that I had only three stocks that bred pure drones. I still have five of those pure queens, which were given to black and hybridised bees, as I shall presently show. The rest I gave away or destroyed, with their bees, at the break-up of my old apiary from foul brood, which caused the destruction of sixteen stocks and nuclei, as well as the loss of 120 frames of straight worker brood combs ! Before giving an account of how I succeeded in adding these queens to populous stocks and driven bees, I may be permitted to state the cause of these proceedings, which was this. When I had increased my apiary to upwards of twenty stocks, I made the unpleasant discovery of the existence of foul brood (as described in the Journal of the 1st of August last) in all my nuclei and first-formed stocks ; the black bees set apart to strengthen swarms, and all, were eventually infected by it, with the exception of three supered stocks, two of which were black bees and the third hybrids. My first step was, on the 11th of July, to put the diaeasad stock through quarantine,* but I left matters generally much as they were until my neighbours began to take tht^ir bees. Such being the case, on the 7th of August I commenced operations by driving the bees of two candomned stocks separately, conveyed them home — a mile distant — taking from them at once their queens, and putting them together in an empty straw skep. Twenty-four to thirty hours afterwards I offered thera the last-mentioned queen in the manner described by " J. It. J.," in No. 337, on the top of the hive under a wine glass, letting in the bees one or two at a time to see how they received their future sovereign. They at once took to her, so 1 transferred them to a full-sized Woodbury hive with six frames of brood from other condemned colonies. They were fed liberally, and are now one of my stock hives. My second essay was as follows : — 1 drove two other stocks of bees at once, and brought them to my trial ground, as I now styled the old orchard, which is upwards of 100 yards distant from the apiary. Being deprived of their queen as before, they were also left twenty-four to thirty hours. I then drove all the bees out of the two Stewarton boxes, taking them to the poor unfortunates, knocking the latter out on a sheet, and setting the heavy Stewarton boxes in front of them. They very soon began a march towards them ; and as they entered them with the song of gladness, I presented them with a young fertile Ligurian queen, which was welcomed with excessive joy, as they marched merrily into their well-furnished dwelling. The next attempt was with a stock of bees in a frame hive that had swarmed twice, and had one of those small queens which I have mentioned before. She wos removed, and another fertile Ligurian presented to them the same day, towards evening, on the top of the hive. All went well with this stock, for the next day they began to carry in pollen, and killed-oft their drones. In the same manner I continued my exchange of queens, the driven bees of one stock that was healthy being ready for the next. Simultaneously with the removal of the Ligurian queens from diseased stocks, I destroyed them, and so con- tinued until I had disposed of them all, principally intro- ducing them at the top of the hive. At times I had a rebel to deal with ; but I was in the end successful with the whole six. In the case of the seventh essay, both the theory and practice of giving queens at the top, as described by " J. R. J.," and which he seemed confident was never-failing, was thrown to the winds. Two other lots of driven bees were each early one morn- ing deprived of their queens. They even were so good- natured as to unite of their own accord. About thirty hours afterwards my favourite queen was offered to them, precisely the same precautions being taken, the same means used, and all visible conditions being precisely identical. But, no, they would not have her. One bee would fight, and a number soon clung round her like a ball, which I separated, bee by bee, in my naked hands without receiving a sting, until I came to the unfortunate queen. They did not seem to try to sting her, but only held her fast. After being rescued from them she was placed over the hive until the fourth day, when matters appearing a little more peaceable she was let in, but on the eighth day was turned out dead, proving that in bee life there is no rule without its exceptions. The instincts of the bees are, no doubt, sufficient for them in their native regions, and in their wild state. Here they are, as it were, under foreign conditions — driven from their stores, deprived of their queen ; and under such circumstances we must not be surprised if we do not always find results in accordance with our expectations. Further, if we could know all the unseen causes that are at work, I believe we should then find that they always do precisely the same thing under the same conditions. Apparent are not always real circum- stances. Apart from the accepting of queens, there is at times the refusal of combs, the refusal of hives, and many other apparent anomalies, all of which have their cause. Lastly, as regards the best method of giving bees new queens, with all due deference to Mr. Woodbury's plan which is, no doubt, the best for his hives, let me ask how he would carry it out in Stewarton boxes, without frames, and in common straw hives. It is not my intention to offer any opinion of my own. not, but that it is decided enough. In conclusion, then, I must apologise for having taken up so much valuable space in * I eventually destroyed it, keeping its Queen for future use; 20 JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 2, 1868. describing bow I succeeded, and where I failed in my manipu- Utiona. — J. B., Bracken Hill. [I may be permitted to remind my friend, that I stated at ih* time that the mode of adding Ligurian queens, which I described as being the best with which I am acquainted, was adapted only to moveable comb hives. For hives with fixed oombs, his mode of operating is probably as good as any that can be devised. — A Devon.shire Bee-keeper.] SILKWORM-REARING IN ENGLAND.— No. 4. Japanese Sillacorim. — I must more especially notice these worms, which have been introduced into Europe during the last few years, and are becoming much cultivated on account of their exemption from the " atrofia " so prevalent in other breeds. These are small worms of four sleeps, or changes of ekin, and produce yellow, white, green, or sulphur-coloured sUk. There is what is called the annual kind, which produces only one crop. This is the most esteemed. Then there are the "Bivoltiui and " Trevoltini," sorts producing two and three crops, but which are not much sought after in consequence of their produce being uncertain in very hot weather, and the difficulty of always having sufficient leaves to feed them ; for it is injurious, nay, impossible, to gather the leaves twice without spoiling the mulberry trees ; indeed, in England these should never be wholly stripped. On leaving Piedmont in August, 1867, I brought to England with me eggs of the Trevoltini which were hatching on my arrival in London, they being the third succession of eggs. On reaching home I fed and reared the worms quite successfully. The cocoons were .spun in October, and fresh eggs deposited by the moths in November. I think, if for rearing in Eugland, that the second crop would be the most useful, as it would be produced in the hottest of the weather here, the first crop being limited to the mere production of eggs, and in this way the mirlberry leaves would remain tm the trees to grow large before being used. I am not recommending the use of these silk- worms rather than the annual kinds, but there are circumstances in which they might be useful, especially in this climate. The eggs of the annual breeds are to be kept, by proper management, so as not to hatch too early in the spring, or until the mulberry leaves are well advanced in growth. I once laid a nearly full-grown silkworm on a yonng gentle- man's hand, to look at. He started with fright on feeling its coldness, and innocently said, " Oh, dear ! how cold you keep yonr silkworms ! " He did not know that silkw o ms are cold- blooded. Many persons do not know it. The heat of the silkworm's yellowish blood is about equal to that of the air in which it lives. The greater the temperature the quicker the functions of the worms, and therefore the faster the food ia consumed and the silk produced. Cold, on the other hand, retards the functions, and consequently the final result. When silkworms are within a day or so of their sleep, their appetite considerably diminishes, which may be readily observed by their not consuming the leaves so much as at other times. During their sleep they eat nothing. After the sleep and change of skin, which occupy two days, more or less, they again begin to eat, although sparingly at first, but in a •ouple of days they will be in full appetite. At each meal one may readily judge what quantity of leaves to distribute over them by the more or less rapid consumption. Just before their sleep they spin over the leaves, or other cbjects on the tables or stages on which they are, a fine web, hardly perceptible to the naked eye, over which they firmly station themselves, and thus their old skins are held while they walk out, leaving them behind. Wherever worms station themselves to undergo this operation, they must not be touched or moved, but remain under what fresh leaves are given to those not yet ready to sleep, for it rarely happens that all will do so the same day. The insect, during the sleep, keeps the head upwards, remaining fixed like a statue, and showing no sign of life unless interfered with. Immediately after the change of skin it is weak, and remains a short time while gaining strength before again eating. At the moment the change of skin is going on, there may be seen a certain humour exuding from the insect's body, between the old and new skin, which doubtless facilitates the shifting of the then useless and burdensome skin. The four changes of skin to which the insect is subject occur at intervals of from six to eight days. After each of the first three changes it increases in size to about double, but after the fourth change it becomes several times larger, growing rapidly during the period of ten days or so before spinning. When the worm has arrived at its full size it ceases to eat, and voids all excrements, becomes crisp about the skin above the head, and transparent in the body. It then goes about in search of a suitable place to produce the cone of silk. Mate- rials for the purpose must be suppUed. It is usual on the Continent to form a kind of hedge for the worms to work in, by tying together branches in broom fashion with open heads, and placing them upright on the worms' stages. The silkworm's li/e is divisible into seven periods, or " seven ages " — viz., the period from the time of hatching to the first sleep, from that to the second sleep, from the second to the third sleep, from the third to the fourth, from the fourth sleep to the spinning, from beginning to spin to the conversion into the chrysalis, and the change from the chrysalis to the moth or perfect state. The time occupied by the worm in spinning is variously estimated at from four to six days ; but the chry- salis is generally perfectly formed on the eighth day, and the moth may be expected out of the cocoon in about fourteen days more. These transformations depend, however, on the influ- ence of more or less heat. The degree of boat most suitable in a silkworm-rearing room is 70° Fah. ; I mean when artificial heat is employed, as it must be ; but when the natural temperature is more, say even above 80', it will not be injurious to the worms, provided plenty of air be admitted to the room. I fix 70°, little over or under, as the most beneficial for the worms during their entire life. Sudden variations of temperature are hurtful, and much of the success of silkworm-rearing is to be ascribed to the correct regulation of the temperature, to the supply of the leaves, to proper ventilation, and to cleanliness. A colder temperature is not really hurtful, but only retards the worms' development, unless when they are about spinnmg, in which case cold hardens the silky matter contained in their bodies, and they then cannot emit the silk. A suffocating heat is in general much more injurious than cold to a certain extent. A stagnant humid atmosphere is more prejudicial, especially when accompanied by too much heat. Dry weather is favourable to the worms, and for gathering the leaves, which should not be used in a wet state. Smoke will suffocate the worms, and bad rooms must be guarded against, as also mice, pigeons, and chickens, which will eat them with relish if allowed. Flies are also tormenting, and should be removed from the room or caught by some means. Light exercises a beneficial influence on the insect, and at night a proper illumination is beneficial. Care must be taken to avoid in the silkworm room putridity, which may arise from various causes, such as neglect of clean- liness, by allowing the excrements and waste leaves to accumu- late on the stages where the worms are. Various experiments have been made to test the degree of cold silkworms' eggs and silkworms themselves will endure without destruction. The eggs have been exposed to severe frost in alpine districts without the least injury. The worms have been laid on ice for several minutes, and have survived the shock. They may be immersed in water, and even when apparently dead will revive, if not left too long therein. To- bacco smoke and snuff will kill them, and death occurs instantly if their eighteen breathing holes be stopped. Having said thus much by way of introduction, I think it time to come to the more practical part, by noticing such instruments and other articles as are necessary in rearing silk- worms. — Leonard Harman, jdn. OUR LETTER BOX. Poultry Judges (A Subi^criber . — It ia sufficiently difficiUt already to find well-qualified judges without our rendering it still more difficult by casting suspicions on their decisions. If, as you suggest, "one hundred first-riite judges" could be named, from whom a choice might be made, there would be no difBeulty. We agree with you that judges sbonld not be residents near the show ; but we otherwise differ from you. Book (IT. H. H.).—" The Pigeon Book," by B. P. Brent. You can have it free by post from our office if you lorward twenty postage stamps with your address. Aqcarium Masino [An Inquirer).— Wc know of no work that we can recommend. Island of Pero. — *' I notice that a constant advertiser in the Journal speaks of White Peruvian Musk Ducks as "imported from the island of Peru." It is some years since I went to school, and I have forgotten my geography. Where is the place ?— T. C H." Dark Brahma Cock (Fairplay). — It may have been a prizeta^er last year. You had better write to the advertiser for particulars. Jfmnory 0, 18t'8. ) JOURNAL OF HORTIODLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 21 WEEKLY CALENDAR. Day Day AveraKe Tempcr.iture Rain in last 40 years. Sun Snn Moon Moon Moon's Clock before 8uu. ''eY tlontta of Week. J.\NUARY 9—15, 1868. near London. Rises. Sots. Kiuos. Sets. Age. Year Day. Nichl. Mean. Days. m. h. m. b. m. b. Davs. in. fl. 9 Tn 41.0 S0.8 35.9 14 Oaf 8 9aJ4 10af4 4af7 O 7 19 9 1(1 F 42.1 30.0 3fl 17 5 8 10 4 24 5 1 8 16 7 44 10 11 S Moetin-; of Itoyal llotnnir Society. 41.0 so.n 3.'-|.7 21 5 B 12 4 41 6 4-i 8 17 8 8 11 11 SrN 1 Sunday afteh Kiiimiany. 42.2 30.2 36.2 18 4 8 12 4 1 8 27 9 18 8 82 12 la M Meeting of Royal Geographical Society, 40.3 30.2 35.2 19 8 8 14 4 19 59 9 19 8 54 13 14 Tu [8.80 P.M. 40.1 30.0 85.0 19 3 8 15 4 1 84 10 28 10 20 9 J7 14 15 W Meeting of Society of .\rts, 8 p.m. 40.1 29.1 34.7 18 2 8 17 4 46 11 64 10 21 9 38 15 From observations taken near London dnring the last forty-one ycnrn, the average day temperaturo of the week is 41.0' ; and its night temperatura 30.1\ The greatest heat waa 64 , on the 9th, 1803 ; and l:ith 1852; and the lowest cold 4 , on the 14tl: , 183b. The greatest (all ol rain was 0.86 inch. HINTS FOR AMATEURS. r N these days of cheap glass and patent houses ■\vliich may be packed-up with other goods and chattels on a tenant's removal, it has become quite tlie rule to see at least one glass house in the gi'ounds of most suburban villas and otlier places of a similar eharac'er, in which that enthusiastic, individual the amateur may dis- play his gardening abilit}', and pass many an hour of liealtliy recreation and enjoyment. I believe I am correct in the conclusion that this enjoyment will be felt in proportion to the amount of practical knowledge possessed, and. therefore, a few remarks on this subject ma}- not be unwelcome. One of the iirst and most important considerations to be kept in view is econom}', not only of money but of space, so as to find room for the cultivation of as many varieties of plants as possible, and thus afford a greater amount of gratification ; not that 1 am at all an advocate for that system of which amateurs have so frerpiently been accused — namely, of attempting to grow cverytliing, and succeeding with notliing, but because, judging from many instances which liave come under my notice, I am certain that many owners of a glass house do not derive that gratification from its possession which it is faiidy calcu- lated to aftbrd. Of course, if the house is designed for the growth of any particular class of plants, that is a different affair, and has nothing to do with tlie kind of general-purposes house of which I purpose treating. I will suppose a house of this kind to be a lean-to, having a stage in the body of the liouse, and a slielf or stage near the front sashes, and over the pipes or flue, witli other shelves near the glass. Doubtless in winter the greater portion of the space will be occupied by bedding plants, and the remainder by a few greenhouse plants. Of these, one of the best for winter flowering is the Primula, whicli may be had in bloom all the winter by following tlie excellent cultural du-ections given in No. .S51. Alter tlie plants liave received their final sliift, and have a sufficient number of strong leaves, these should be drawn gently down to the edge of the pot by bast connected with a wire under the rim ; other leaves in abundance spring up, and fill the central space : more of these are brought down to meet tlie others iis may be required until a com- pact mass of leaves is formed, out of wliich the blossoms spring, interspersed with a few fresli young leaves. This training is not requisite in everj' case, as some varieties are natm'ally of a spreading habit. Cinerai'ias are also most useful for winter and spring blooming: also a few Camellias, Azaleas, winter- flowering Ericas, Epacrises, Carnations, and jNIiguonette, the last sown in March, and grown either as dwarf bushes or trained to pyramids, which form is, I think, the most grace- ful of all for this plant. Of Cyclamen persicum, young seedlings will produce thirty or forty blooms in the first year, if the seed is sown in March in heat, and the young plants put first into thumb pots, and kept in the same heat till somewhat No. 8M.— Vol, XrV., New Sebieb. established, when they are taken to a cool house, and shifted into large (iO's,"in which pots they bhissom early in the autumn if liept in the house all the summer. Tliis is a most desirable plant, continuing in bloom during the winter and the early part of spring. Solanum capsicastrum, with its bright red berries and deep green foliage, is a most useful and charming plant for winter decoration. Young plants turned out of the pots in May, and planted in any warm border in common garden soil, form pretty plants by the autumn, maldng a dense growth, and being loaded with green berries which become scirlet by Christmas. The phmts may be taken up early in October, and potted, retaining a slight ball of earth; they are placed in a shaded part of the liouso and syringed twice or thrice a-duy until they are established. This list might be extended considerably, but I think the plants named are well calculated to afford a pleasing and sufficient variety of blossom in the dullest montlis of the year, and are also all of most eas}' culture. To follow these there may be a few lierbaceous Calceolarias sown in June, shifted into larger pots as necessary during the winter, and kept on a shelf near the glass ; Pelargoniums, and, above all for a summer display, some Fuchsias, whioll may be wintered uiuler the stage. The removal of the bedding plants to the open air should be followed by the introduction of a row of pot Vines along the front stage, one to each rafter. Now, supposing th« rafter to be 12 feet in length, the pot Vines will not re- quu-e more than half of its length ; the remainder, or top part of the roof, may very profitably be turned to account by placing on the back stage under eacli rafter a large pot to be three-parts filled with rich loamy soil, with plenty of drainage, and a Cucumber plant to be turned out into each pot. It will add very much to tlie gi'ower's pleasure if a dill'erent variety be put in each pot, and much useful and interesting information may be gained in this way. Durmg the past summer I grew in pots a plant of eacIi of the following sorts : — Kirklees Hall Defiance, Dr. Jiivingstone, Empress Eugenie, Paul's Telegraph, and Hedsor Winter Prolific. Of these. Telegraph showed fruits first, and Empress Eugenie last. Dr. Ijivingstone was the most prolific, liaving as many as twelve fruit at one time all fit to cut, with plenty of smaller fruit. Kirklees Hall was the most handsome fruit, and Empress Eugenie the longest. The plants may be trained downwards to meet the pot Vines, and also to the top of the house. A few laths nailed to the rafters wUl form an excellent trellis. After the first crop of fruit is cut a top dressing of fresh sheep dung should be given ; this, together with occasional waterings of liquid manure, will keep the plants in full vigour as long as they are required, and cause the fruit to be fully deve- loped. Should this be neglected, the plants will soon languish, and the fruit become deformed. As economy is the order of the day in this case, I would recommend Rhubarb pots, which have been used during the winter months for their legitimate purpose ; these inverted will do admirably, and will want but little drainage, as they have neither bottom nor top. He, ices,— ToL. SXSIX., Ou> Sbbibs, 22 JOUENAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. [ January 9, 18£8. It will be seen that I have refraiued as much as possible from •enteiing upon cultural details, as the culture of all the plants named has been fully given in past numbers of " our Journal." I shall be glad, however, if these few remarks should call forth any additional hints which others may have to offer on this .fiubject. — Edward Luckuurst, Egertun House Gardens, Kent. ASPARAGUS CULTURE. (Continued from Vol. XIII., page 441.) In marliing-ont the beds it is well to arrange so that some of ■them shall run cast and west, and present their sides to the sun's rays when these are most direct and powerful, for in this way they have greater effect than when the beds run north and tfiouth, and the consequence is the beads are produced some- what earlier than in beds having their ends to the sun's rays -at mid-day. The beds most hkely to afford an early produce are those 3 feet wide, and they should run east and west. For the general supply it is quite immaterial whether the beds run •east and west, or north and south. The beds and alleys being marked out at the requisite dis- tance, a stout peg of some durable wood, as oak or elm (but mot the sap wood, as that decays quite as soon as larch), should he driven in at each corner of the beds ; the pegs ought to be of sufficient length to be firm in the ground, and yet have their tops G inches above its surface, and they will for a num- ber of years indicate the position of the beds and alleys. 5Irom the stakes or pegs the distances for the rows are to be measured ; and a line being stretched, a trench should be cut out as for laying Box, only it wiU need to be made deeper, so that the roots may be laid out straight without bending, or ■doubling-up their ends. On the other side of the line a corre- sponding cut or trench should be made, which will leave a sharp ridge, both the cuts being made in a slanting manner -from the line. The trenches will require to be about 'J inches ■deep. The planter should fake hull the roots in one hand, .and half in the other, place the plant astride the ridge, and . spread out the roots like a fan against the sides of the cuts. -A little fine soil should bo drawn over the roots, and the -trenches or cuts ought to be filled level with the crowns of the plants with some light sandy soil, enriched by mixing with it an equal quantity of leaf mould and well-rotted manure. This will prove rery beneficial to the plants ; but if the soil is na- turally light and rich this compost may be dispensed with, only it is well to cover the roots in all cases with some decomposed vegetable matter, making it pretty firm about the roots. In planting, -onmc are content to make but one cut, and spread out the roots like a fan against the cut. This answers very well ; indeed, there are many ways of planting, but the two named I think best. In planting, the crowns of the plants should be kept all on 'the same level, and they ought to be covered with 2 inches of tine soil, or be kept that depth below the surface. The plants ought to be carefully taken up with a fork, preserving the roots as entire as possible ; and they should be kept as little exposed to the air as can be, so that they may not become dried — indeed, tliey ought to be immediately covered when taken up, and when planted no time should be lost in covering them with soil. A good watering should be given after planting, and the plantation must be well watered for ten days or a fortnight, unless the weather be showery. Planting ought not to be done when the ground is very wet ; showery weather is best. The best time to plant Asparagus is when the plants have begun to grow, and have shoots from 6 to 10 inches in length. The beginning of May is a very good time, and they may be safely planted up to the middle of June. I am aware that March is the usual time for planting Asparagus, and to doing so then there is little objection if the soil is light and dry ; but when it is cold and wet, as it very often is in March, many of the roots perish before vegetation begins. 'When planting is performed from May to the beginning of June, the plants' juices are active and the soil warm : hence immediate growth is encouraged. Planting in March, so far as my experience goes, is attended with gaps in the rows, no matter how well the operation is performed, and how great the after-care ; whilst planting in May or June insures every plant growing and making more progress than those planted twe months earlier. In replacing plants failing in plantations made in March by fresh plants in June, with shoots S inches to a foot in length, there is a vast difference in the growth ; for although those _ planted in Jime may wither and turn brown at the top, they invariably make a better and stronger growth, and are easily distinguished from the March-planted. Under these circum- stances I am persuaded that Asparagus is best planted when it is growing freely. The best plants are those one year old, but two-year-old plants succeed admirably in soils favourable for Asparagus cul- ture, whilst in unfavourable soils one-year-old plants are best. In light soils I would employ two-year-old plants, and in heavy soils those one year old. The plants are raised from seed, which should he sown in good, rich, light, sandy soU in the beginning of April. It is best sown in drills ; five in a 4-feet bed, the two outer drills 6 inches from the sides of the beds, and the three inner drills 9 inches apart. One-foot alleys will be sufficient to allow be- tween the beds. The drills may be made from half an inch to three-quorters of an inch deep, and should be covered or filled with line soil when the seed is sown, as it ought to before the drills become dry. Sow it thinly rather than thickly. The beds should be kept clear of weeds, and the plants should be thinned-out to 2 inches apart, the strongest being retained. As to kind or sort, it is known that there is but one sort of Asparagus. The Gravesend, Mortlake, Deptford, Reading, Bat- tersea, Grayson's Giant, Dutch Eed-topped and Green-topped, are all simple varieties of the same plant, due to the variation of soil, situation, climate, and culture, one or other of which induces different appearances. Instead of sowing and rearing the plants in nursery beds, and afterwards transplanting them when one or two years old into permanent beds, seed m-ay be sown in the first instance in shallow drills at the distances already named for the rows of plants ; and the seeds being sown about an inch apart, they should be covered with half an inch of fine soil. The seedlings ought to be thinned-out, when 2 or 3 inches in height, to a distance of 1 foot in the rows, the strongest plants being left, and the weakest taken out. It will be the fourth year before the plants will be of sufficient strength to furnish Asparagus. Beds thus made are quite equal to those planted with one or two-year-old plants, and come into bearing quite as soon, only there is for the first year an apparently great waste of ground ; but this may be entirely avoided by taking a crop of Onions the first year, and a good row of Cauliflower may be had in each of the alleys. In the year of planting little will be required beyond keeping the beds clear of weeds, frequently stirring the surface, taking care at the same time not to injure the crowns with the hoe, nor to go so deep as to injure the roots. In June the beds may be well watered with liquid manure, and the application may be repeated once a-week during any dry periods that may occur in July and August. When the stalks are completely yellow and withered in autumn, the surface should be lightly stirred, and then receive a dressing of 3 inches thick of half- rotten short manure, which ought to be covered about 1 inch deep with soil from the alleys. Towards the close of February the beds should be forked over carefully, not going so deep as to injure the crowns, and the whole left rough. At the close of March or early in April, according to the earliness or back- wardness of the season, the soil of the beds ought to be stirred, making it fine with a fork and raking, the rough lumps being drawn off into the alleys. Line-oS the beds afresh, after making them level for their full width, and fork over the alleys ; and these and the beds having been made straight, the planta- tion will have a neat appearance. This brings us to the end o£ the first year alter planting. — G. Abbey. (To be continaed.) WINTER-FLOWERING PLANTS. It is very pleasing to observe the interest taken in winter- blooming plants by the contributors to the Journal ; I think such plants are an acquisition to any collection. Even Wallflowers have come in for their meed of praise, and, humble as they are, they have held a high place in my estimation for a number of years. I cultivate the German varieties from seed, and several of the old, many-coloured, double varieties, but especially the orange. These I strike from cuttings in the spring in heat, grow them on, stop them once during the summer, which causes them to throw out side shoots, and pot them as may be necessary, keeping them plunged in coal ashes, and supplying them with water as they require it ; sturdy growth is thus encouraged, and in the autumn they are placed in a cold pit. As they throw up their spikes of bloom, they are removed to the January 9, 1868. ) JOURNAL OP HORTIOOLTURB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 2S greenhouse or conservatory to perfume the atmosphere. When they have done bloominf^ in the spring I cut them down or throw them away, but old plants when well cared for often do well for years. Another very desirable winter-blooming plant is Jasminum nudiflorum, which can be made to assume any shape you please as a bush or a climber. Though common, it is, nevertheless, useful and ornamental, brightening-up any dull corner with its lively orange blossoms. Abelia uniHora is another very useful winter-flowering plant of easy culture. It can be grown in a compost of turfy loam, leaf mould, and sand, in well-drained pots, and will well repay the cultivator for his care, by producing a profusion of lilac- coloured Peutstemon-like flowers in succession all through the winter. TLiNTS IN FLOWEH IN BECEJIEEK, Dec. 4. Malcnmia raaritinm Uaminculus ivpeud Lamium albmn Jasminum uudiflurum Beilifi peronnis perennis, double „ 7. Viola odorata plena Daphne laureola Senecio vulgaris Polyanthus, vai-ious Viburuuiu tinus „ 10. Arbutus unedo Small-leaved Box Corydalis lutea Luuiium purpureum — M. H., Acklam Hall, MidiUcshorougli-on-Tees. Dec. 10. Chimonanthus fragrang „ 16. Garrya elliptica Hamamelis virginica Ruscus aeulcatus Viburnum tinus lucidnm Double lilec Primrose Erigerou Villavsii Hesperis matronalis Ancbxisa sempervirens Viola tricolor, various Erysimum Peroffskianum Helleborus niger Fyrethrum partbenium Antirrhinum majus, var. 20. 24. EVERGREENS IN HOUSES. When the days are at the shortest, and the long dark nights herald in but little of sunshine, and the old year is near its dying-out, then we think of an ancient almost universal custom in Christian countries, that of bringing in evergreens from the woods to adorn our houses. Not only our homes, but churches, chapels, theatres, concert rooms, every place, we try to make glad with the growth of the summer we have left behind. We bring in the Ivy, the Laurel, the IloUy, and the Pine — anything and everything that will not fade before the bitter cold blasts of winter. We count nothing trouble, and spare no expense according to our means, to brighten-up our homes, be they rich or poor. Varying taste and skill find expression in how we do all this. Some gather the dark branches together and hang them up in hall or corridor, a heavy, shapeless bundle, as if for it to be there were enough, and with no feeling akin to that which prompted the heathen in the old time to arrange for his gods to see. Others put it here, and there, and everywhere, until comfort is invaded, and yet no good effect gained. Others make of it a work of art, with great care join dark leaves and light together, relieved by scarlet berries, thus making a deli- cate tracery for door, window, or arch, or small-leaved wreaths for picture, bust, or statue. All do not share in this home decoration with the same enthusiasm, some think nothing of it, and so make little do, and then only as complying with a custom. Save tor custom sake they would not mind if their homes stood out bare and leafless as the trees outside ; and what is worse, they have no sympathy with those who do it, call it mere child's play and make- work, and not worth the trouble and expense, just for a few weeks ; yet the same people never count the cost of a ball or banquet which is but for a few hours. Some content them- selves with twining a few sprigs among the gas burners, not minding if they darken the dinner table below, and throw strange shadows on the faces of their guests; whilst some, again, thrust sprays in the windows between the sashes, making them holdfasts against the storms which are sure to come. Then there are some who object to decoration on the plea of its spoiling their houses, like Mr. Butler, who, having bought a new house for his bride, fears it will not last out their time, and trembles at the sound of a hammer, lest a tack should be driven into his boards, or a nail into his walls ; and is sure that a Camellia from the conservatory would do just as well as a cartload of evergreens. But his wife, unwilling that their pretty home should be unadorned, and yet mindful of the lately taken though low-spoken vow, brings all her skill and ingenuity to work, and spends uncounted hours sewing small pieces of Laurel, or Pine, or Ivy, to a broad strong band oi calico, which is then passed in and out among the pillars sup- porting the staircase handrail. A largo Kern crowns the summit, and the whole ia done with the aid of a thick needle. Though her husband admired her taste, seeing his wish Lad been obeyed and his property was uninjured, yet her mother thought it " very useless work, all very well if she had the time. Married people did not alwaj'S have much to spare. For her part she thought it quite enough to put a buneh oi Holly with berries on the plum pudding." " Yes," replied her sou, " and lot it burn away with tte brandy." There are, too, some people who overdo the decoration, crowding every available corner with heavy branches. With them it is quantity, not quality — like the Doctor up at the Old Lodge, who darkens his windows, and spoils his paintings, and laughs at his wife when she becomes cross, and declares " th€ie is no good in it ; for no sooner is the house cleaned down than in comes a lot of dirty, sooty evergreens, with which the whole place is grimed over. Fingermarks, large and broad enough for a day labourer, are left upon chairs, walls, and everything ; and what ia worse, his poor patients are not visited. It might be all very well to house-decorate down in the south about London, where the plants are clean, and where the evergreens are green, not black, as they are about the Old Lodge." And then there are some who would not on any account take evergreens into the homes of those who were suffering from a near loss ; not that they are indifferent to the legend, or fancy themselves beyond the reach of its blessing, but from a seem- ing perverted idea " that it is not right do so." Few are like the Scotch gardener, who used to spend many evenings providing evergreen.'?, and would have no place go un- adorned. It is said that in his enthusiasm he one winter hung a large piece of Pine over the ale barrel. Fine pieces of Aucuba he used to send in for the parlour, with leaves broad and bright, and as beautifully painted as those of a Croton ; and ho used to say, " They would be as much thought of if they were less strong and hardy ; and for winter uses they were worth a vast deal more, for they would brave all the tempests that blow over our i.«land, while the Croton would not survive the first breath below .32°." Nor did other places go unremembered ; even the kitchen must have its huge bunch hung up over the new bacon, "to flavour it as itdried-in." Stable, outhouse, and greenhouse, everywhere was there some reminder of the festive - time. Then there was the little maiden who, a stranger to our northern ways, ever took away the finest bunch of Holly tc put over the bee hives, to let the bees know Christmas had come, " lest there should be no luck in the coming summer, for offended bees make no honey, and where she came from they told the bees everything." And then there is the Grange, a grand place enough in its way, yet nearly squeezed in at its centre, certainly much air kept out of it, by the big Portugal Laurels, and Hollies, and the like, grown so near to it, that the wonder is their roots have not moved it before this. Why the boys and girls hving there care for no evergreens to decorate with, save the Mistletoe, and no wonder, they see so much all the year round. Their good mother ever affirms that the only berries that never stain, however hard they be trodden down into the carpets, are the white berries of the Mistletoe, and truly within its influence we all make merry, if there is any mirth left in us, and would not that our evergreens should ever miss their complement ; though, as the youngest Grange girl says, " Kisses at Christ- mas under the Mistletoe do not mean anything but fun, so she is not sure she cares about thtm." So with the thought that it is not only an old custom, but a glad thing to do, may we ever brighten-up our homes to their very utmost at Christmas-tide, for the sake of our friends as well as our own. Let us to try to hang up our evergreens with a deeper joy and a fuller reverence as the years pass. Ah ! hang them up in very gladness, whatever be our surroundings, for they will show forth as brightly in road- side cottage as in stately mansion. — Maud. THE MISTLETOE IN FRANCE. In Mr. Eobson's interesting paper on the Mistletoe, lately published in the .Journal, I observe that he remarks — " I believe that the Mistletoe is more plentiful in England than in any other countrj-. I think I have heard of its growing in the north-west of France, but less plentif liUy than in some of tis 24 joubnaij of hobticultuee and cottage gardener. [ January 9, 18f8. Boutli-weBtern counties of England." With regard to this, I beg -to assure Mr. Kubson that the Mistletoe grows in this neighbour- hood (St. Malo, Brittany), in such abundance, as, I believe, is not to be equalled in any county in England. Vast quantities are sent over from this port to Southampton by the London and South- Western Company's steamers during the Christmas sea^son. It is consigned to merchants in London as a regular article of export; and one would suppose that more than «nough of it is sent away from this country to supply all the purchasers in that metropolis. Its beauty is also equal to its abundance. We have cut from a small plot of ground adjoining our house small trees of Mistletoe, perfect in form, and with pearly berries as numerous as the leaves. The country at this moment is green with the Mistletoe; it affords an agreeable relief to the eye from the otherwise bare and leafless aspect of Nature. It is to be re- ■gretted that its growth should be so pernicious to the Apple trees, which, in the depth of winter, it clothes with its deceit- ful verdure. I have seen it also in abundance in all parts of Normandy, ■near Avranches, St. Lu, Caen, where it grows freely on tlie trees bordering the canal, and at Honfleur, from which ex- an on the top of the stove is to a certain extent a preventive of this pest. 4th, The stove in its combustion emits sulphurous and deleterious fumes impregnating the atmosphere of the house, and is in some degree hurtful to vegetation. No. My ex- perience does not teach me this. I will state a fact relevant to this point. During the spring of last year, while the house was painted, the occupants of a plant stove were transferred to this vinery, in which the Arnott's stove was working. The stove was heated to the utmost in providing a temperature suitable to this class of plants, which consisted of Ferns in active growth. Begonias, Caladiums, Dracanas, Gloxinias, and Gesneras in bloom, and other plants of a very tender nature and susceptible of in- jury from any cause ; but after a three-weeks sojourn not a, frond of the most delicate Fern, or the texture of a flower bo admittedly tender as a Gesnera or Gloxinia, was in the slightest degree injured or discoloured. Indeed, I could have wished they had remained a week longer, for they did receive a certain amount of injury from the paint on returning to their esta- blished quarters. I need say no more on this subject. I say not a word against hot water; I am fully cognisant of its value as a heating medium, and cheerfully accord to it many advantages and general superiority, but still it does not on all points meet the views or requirements of every class, and as every class looks for information through the columns of the Journal, the ex- perience may suit some one. Therefore, for a small detached house for general purposes, and where Grapes are not required before August, I unhesitatingly recommend Arnott's stove as safe, clean, efficient, and in a pre-eminent degree economical. As an addendum to this communication, and in order that everything bearing on the case may be made public, I may say that when the greenhouse and plant stove were to be heated by hot water, it occurred to my emploj-er, that instead of having the nuisance of a chimney in the garden, the smoke might be carried across a walk and along the front of the vineries, escaping by a chimney in the back wall of the vinery. This plan has succeeded perfectly. It adds a gentle warmth to the front of the hou.=ies, and I have had no trouble from smoke. This does not in the least degree detract from the capability of Jannary 9, 1868. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 2!J the Btove, as it answered every requirement for many years before this convenient mode of getting rid of an unsightly object was effected. My employer says, that in an article on Arnott's stoves a tribute should be paid to Dr. Arnott, who, having discovered how by slow combustion the greatest quantity of heat can be obtained from the smallest quantity of fuel, made known the principle to the public, instead of turning it to his own ad- vantage by a patent. JIany stoves called " patent " are con- structed on this principle. A stove similar to the one I have described burns in the lobby of the hall, and distributes a genial warmth throughout the house, and another warms our large parish church. As gas is made on the premises, we have a constant supply of good coke, but the value consumed in any one stove does not exceed the amount I have named — los. — J. W. PEARS. 5. Altuorp CiasANNE. — A dessert Pear of finest qnality. Ripe from October to December. It was raised by T. A. Knight, Esq., and first fruited in 1630. — (Fruit Manual, p. •2'6'J.) 5. Altborp CraBanne. C. Amadotte. — Fruit medium-sized, 2J inches wide, and the same in height, of a roundish obovate shape, and flattened at the apex. Skin thin, of a pale green colour, which changes as it ripens to clear lemon yellow ; but where exposed to the sun it is of a deeper yellow, and faintly tinged with red. In some parts it is thickly marked with rough, brown, russetty dots, particularly round the eye, and sometimes it is entirely covered with fine cinnamon russet, except on some parts that are very much shaded, and then the ground colour appears. Eye half open, with long acuminate segments, and placed in a small and sometimes pretty deep basin. Stalk stout, Ij inch long, obliquely inserted on the summit of the fruit, with a fleshy protuberance on one side of it. Flesh yellowish white, crisp and juicy, half melting like I'asse Colmar, and with an nnuBually sugary, rich, and very strong musky or rather anise flavour, which, as Diel says, " one seldom meets with." It ripens in the end of October, and continues in nse till about the middle or end of December. The Amadotte has been long known in England. It is one of the varieties. which Rea says "are choice Pears lately ob- tained out of France by the diligence of Sir Thomas Hanmcr. It is said to have been discovered in a wood in Burgundy, 6. Amadotte. belonging to Lady Oudotte, and hence called Dame Ottdotte, which has since been changed into Amadotte." 7. Amande d'Etr. 7. Amande d'Etk. — Fruit somewhat about medium-sized 2J inches long, and 2i wide. It is of an obtuse pyriforiu shape, 30 JOURNAL OP HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEK. [ January 9, 1868. rounded at the apex, and tapering gradually to the stalk, even and regular in its outline. Skin smooth, pale green at first, but changing as it ripens to a pale lemon yellow, without any colour next the sun, and marked with a few traces of thin pale russet. Eye quite open, with short segments, and placed in a very flat and shallow depression. Stalk 1 j inch long, slender and woody, inserted in a small round and narrow cavity. Flesh white, rather firm, not buttery, nor very juicy, sweet, and with a distinct almond flavour and perfume, but with no character in it to merit notice. An inferior Pear, ripe in the beginning of September, and soon rots at the core. The tree bears well and regularly, and forms a handsome pyramid on the Quince. NOTES AND GLEANINGS. We are happy to hear that the Crown has decided to relieve Me. Ixgbam from the care of the Eoyal Gardens at Frogmore, an office which he has held with great credit to himself for a period of fifty-four years, and that an ample retiring pension has been conferred upon him. Four years ago, when Mr. Ingram had completed his fiftieth year in the service of the Crown, a number of his friends presented him with a handsome testimonial, as a mark of their esteem for him as a friend, and of their appreciation of those qualities which enabled him to fill for so many years, and during so many reigns, a position of high trust not unattended with some difficulty. During his active career Mr. Ingram has rendered good service to the profession he so much adorned, as is testified by the many varieties of fruits which bear his name and that of the Eoyal garden, as well as several florists' flowers which have taken a prominent place in our gardens. We congratulate Mr. Ingram on this termination to bis long and active labours; and we know that he will carry with him into his retirement the good wishes of his friends and of all with whom he has come in contact in his professional capacity. With the beginning of the year a new series of " The Florist and Pomologist" was commenced,which in all respects, as regards the i)lates, typography, and literary matter, is not surpassed by any other pictorial gardening periodical. The plate contained in the first number is worth all the money charged for the magazine itself, and illustrates two extraordinary Begonias, introduced by the Messrs. Veitch & Sons, the flowers of which are as large as those of the Christmas Eose, and the plants themselves perfectly hardy. The moderate price of one shilling, at which the magazine is published, brings it within the reach of aU who wish to keep informed of the in- troduction and dehneation of the best novelties. WORK FOE THE WEEK. KITCHEN GAKDEN. At this season, when there is little cropping to be done, everything should be made clean and neat. All vegetable re- fuse may be collected into a heap to rot for manure ; nothing of this kind should be lost. Vacant ground may be turued-up roughly, to be fully exposed to the action of the weather. This is especially necessary in the case of strong soils, in order that the frost may render them more friable. When manure is applied, a little at a time, and as often as an oppor- tunity and the nature of the crops will allow, will be better than when the ground is overloaded with dung. Peas and Beans, defend forward crops from slugs by quicklime or coal ashes, or strew tender leaves of Cabbages on the ground, and examine them every morning. Early Radishes, Lettuces, Ilcrhf, and Small Salads may now be forwarded on slight hotbeds. The earliest crop of Potatoes may be potted in 48-sized pots, placed anywhere in the stove till fairly up, and then be removed to a cold vinery to harden. Afterwards turn out the plants in; a turf pit, covering with reeds, and placing a little hot dung- Under them. FEUIT GARDEN. Continue to prune any fruit trees if not done already, taking care, however, to keep the spurs short and close, otherwise they soon become long, and give the trees an unsightly ap- pearance. Stirwhciries, it will be well to take some into a ■cold vinery or Peach house, and place them on the shelves. j FLOWER GARDEN. If the weather is mild, the planting of shrubs and trees may be proceeded with, as may also the pruning where pruning is necessaiy. All the spare ground in the reserve garden, if not already dug, should be laid-up in ridges, and where the ground is heavy a good dressing of leaf mould and sand, 2 or 3 inches thick, will improve it much. Take advantage of frosty weather to bring in a quantity of sand, in which to plunge half-hardy plants when hardening-ofi for the flower garden. Auriculas require gi-eat attention just now. If healthy they will with- stand intense frost with impunity. Care must be taken to remove decayed leaves, stripping them downwards to avoid wounding the stem. The surface soil should be kept stirred, and the jjlants be allowed all the air possible, bearing in mind tliat drip or too much moisture at this season is very injurious. Polyanthuses must have all trusses of flowers removed as these appear, if good blooms are to be expected at the proper season. Tulips appearing above ground should be covered on frosty nights with mats or hoops placed across the bed. If sand is put on them it must be white or silver sand ; if covered with pit sand impregnated with iron it will have a most deleterious effect on the foliage. Carnations must have all the air possible if they are well established and of a fine glaucous hue ; but tbey require little attention in comparison with those that have been potted late. If in frames, bricks ought to be put at each coruer, raising the woodwork at least 4 inches from the ground to secure good ventilation. Ranunculus beds, which ought to have been prepared in the autumn, may have a dress- ing of old cow manure and decayed leaves forked slightly iu preparatory to planting in February. Examine Pink beds, and where the pipings have been raised by the frost or worms they must be carefully fastened. In bad weather labels ought to be made, hand-glasses mended, leaden layer pegs straightened, Carnation sticks made, and similar work carried on. GREENHOUSE AND CONSEIIVATOET. A great step towards the proper management of stove plants in winter was made when those in flower at this season were found to do well enough in a temperature averaging 45° in the conservatory. Euphorbia jacquinifeflora is the best stove plant we have in winter, and the flowers are even more brilliant in winter iu the conservatory than in the stove. Among the forced flowers the Narcissi, Hyacinths, and early Tulips, with some of the diiierent Eoses, are now the most prominent. Sweetbriar is always most welcome in winter, and no place should be without Mignonette in pots or boxes. Polygala chamrrbuxus, a very dwarf plant, is excellent for forcing, and will keep a long time in flower in any dark corner, where little else would thrive. It requires abundance of water. Fre- quent failures result from the careless watering of greenhouse plants in winter, not by too much, but the contrary. The best criterion is to have all the soil in the pot of equal dampness throughout, and neither wet nor dry. Keep these and all other plants free from dead leaves and insects, and neatly tied- up to stakes, or trained according to the habit of the plant. STOVE. Many of the Orchids are now enjoying a comfortable repose, while others, less fortunate, have to struggle on against our long nights and comparatively dull days. Assist the latter class by giving them as much light as you can, and do not excite them to too rapid growth. Look also over the Hedychiums now piled under the stages or on shelves, and start a few roots into growth to prolong their season. No plants are more fragrant or more suitable for the conservatory when in flower than Hedychium maximum, coronarium, and Gardnerianum ; but the flowering of the last is, unfortunately, of short duration. All sorts of foreign stove seeds, or of any description from abroad, may now be sown with safety. This is the best time to sow seeds of fine Ehododendrons, Azaleas, and Kalmias. If the paths, stages, plants, &c., are kept clean, and the heating apparatus is m good working condition, there will be little necessity for giving much air in dull weather at this seasoa to stove plants at rest. FORCING PITS. These are now crowded with Eoses, Lilacs both common and Persian, Sweetbriar, Cinerarias, Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissus, Jonquils, Anne Boleyn Pinks, Gardenias, Rondeletia speciosa, Franciscea Hopeana and latifolia. Acacias, Chinese and other Azaleas, Pelargoniums, Rhododendrons, Andromedas, &c. These may be syringed once a-day and smoked occasionally, and a temperature of from 55° to 65° should be maintained. PITS AND FRAMES. Take advantage of the first leisure hour to take stock of the i plants for bedding-out in these structures ; and if you have not JanniU7 9. 1868. ] JOURNAL OF HOETICULTORE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. .n snUtlcient o( some kinds, introduce a few plants into licat to supply cuttings for propagation. Where there is the advuntiige of a little heat, a sowing of Ton-week and Intermediate Stocks may be made ; and if strong plants of Clintonia and Brachy- come are required for bcddingout, seeds of these may also be sown. — W. Kkank. DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. Tde weather has been a hindrance to much of the usual routine of out-door labour, and many workers have been un- able to pursue their usual employment. For all, and especially for those frozen-out, it is good that " Christmas times " do come once a-year. KITCHEN GARDEM. Wheeling, trenching, collecting ice, and preparing for plant- ing have been the chief work out of doors in the severe weather, little of the weather as yet being sufficiently stormy to render house work necessary, which, therefore, has been kept in abeyance. Fresh successions of Sea-kale, Rhubarb, &c., were placed in the Mushroom house. The Celery was allowed to remain covered-up, and hardly anything in the vegetable way that was coming on and protected received light, except Asparagus, which otherwise would have become very white. The little snow has been a good protection to Cabbages, Broccoli, and Greens in the open garden ; no vegetable seems to have suffered as yet. It is advisable to go over early Broc- coli, such as Snow's and Grange's, and not only turn over a leaf, but place a little clean hay over the heads that are forming. Our Cauliflowers heading in an earth pit will do good service if ■we can manage to keep vermin at a distance. FEUIT GARDEN. Much the same as in previous weeks, only we gave, in a snowy daj', when the glass was covered, a good fmnhjathm to one of our orchard houses, with cut and bruised laurel leaves and twigs. The smoke would enter every cranny where even hot water might miss. Eight or wrong, we attributed our free- dom from insects last year to this smoking. We do not mind how dense and suffocating the smoke is, provided there is no flare or flame, and the smoke does not become hot. Wlien fairly lighted, therefore, we generally cover the laurel leaves over with damp grass, to prevent anything like flame. These houses are very open, no glazed laps, and therefore smoking would be useless unless the glass was covered, and there is no covering so good or so economical as snow. We know it is not common to fumigate trees when thus in a state of rest ; but it takes little time, and prevention is better than cure. We might have used tobacco but for the price, and we have not yet tried any of that exempt from duty, but mixed with sulphur, as we do not know what quantity of sulphur may be in the mixture. Most likely such a mixture might be used safely for such trees and plants when in a state of rest if the wood were thoroughly ripened, and there had been no movement in the buds, as we have frequently used sulphur al«ue, cove red-up with damp moss, to prevent it flaring ; and for empty pits and houses such smoking is beneficial before cleaning and filling them afresh. As stated, however, in answer to correspondents lately, huni- ing sulplnir with open flame, or flame smothered as above stated, will kill every green growing plant, and it will kill wood of a deciduous plant when in a state of complete rest, if the wood is not thoroughly ripened. The late Mr. Errington used it, mixed with sawdust, for vineries, &c. ; but it should never be used by beginners, unless in empty houses and pits ; for if the wood of Vines, even, is not thoroughly ripened, the burning sulphur will seize on every part at all green, and kill as far as it is green. We have had the bark of the young shoots of Peach trees affected by it in spots, when we thought the whole was sufficiently indurated to stand it ; and though it did not injure the future swelhng of the fruit, these shoots thus spotted we did our best to cut out and replace with fresh in the following season. In answer to " Alpha," then, we say, first, that we have not yet tried the Government-permitted tobacco mixture ; secondly, that we should be chary of using it in houses at rest, unless where the wood of Vines was as hard and firm as the shoots of Oak trees ; and thirdly, that for all green-leaved growing plants its use as smoke by burn- ing would be ruinous, and that in proportion to the sulphur contained in it. Were we much troubled with insects we would be inclined to try the strong tobacco water, advertised as manufactured from untaxed tobacco. If sure that there was nothing in that but tobacco we should know what wo were about, and wo could make a smoking material from it, most likely much more cheaply than we could cultivate and preserve home-grown to- bacco, for if not properly sweated and cured it is of little use for the destruction of insects. The worst that can be said against tobacco paper, much of which is very good, is that not knowing what it is made of, we are always somewhat uncertain as to " how " to use it. We have seen smokings from tobacco paper kill every insect and not injure a single leaf. We have seen it used with equal care, and if it did not kill the insects, it nearly destroyed the plants : hence the importance of pre- vention rather than cure. In all smokings of green growing plants two conditions are essential to safety and success ; The leaves and stems of the plants should be dry, and the air confined also pretty drj', and the smoke must be cool. Hot tobacco smoke, however pure the tobacco, will injure any growing plant, and just in proportion to the heat and the vigour of the plant. As frequently observed, when plants are covered with insects it is lost labour in general for that time to waste tobacco on them. A smoking box is extremely useful and economical in most places. A few plants may thus be cleared as effectually by means of a pinch of tobacco as would have required ounces or pounds in large houses. Where the spade would penetrate the ground — which it would easily do where the ground was carpeted with rough grass — no time could be better for collecting the soil for composts, bor- der-making, and similar purposes. We shall be more particular in allowing our fruit trees to have the soil about them mostly, if not altogether, to themselves, when we become thoroughly convinced that many trees in small compass will yield a better and more interesting return than a few large trees, for which ladders and other appliances must be obtained to reach and ga- ther the produce. As nothing can be produced beneath these trees.we trust the time is at hand when, if kept, they will be kept to themselves in the orchard, with long grass for the fruit to fall on, and be completely banished from the kitchen garden. Even dwarf fruit trees we would prefer to be planted in quarters or groups by themselves, and then they could be easily protected from frosts and their many enemies. ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. Moving plants, potting, watering, cleaning, and placing soil over furnaces and in stokeholes to warm and mellow, formed om- principal work, in order to be ready for many purposes as the weather improves ; confining the potting and top-dressing as far as possible to the houses or the sheds adjacent, without taking the plants out of doors, as in general the wind was very cold for the degree of cold indicated by the thermometer. CUmhcrs and Tiviwrs. — The dull weather has given us an opportunity for regulating these. A considerable uncertainty exists among amateurs as to cutting and pruning. In the great proportion of climbers the flowers are produced on young shoots of the current season's growth, as Passifloras, Tecomas, Stephanotis, and Mandevillas. In young plants, therefore, the aim should be to obtain one or more vigorous shoots, and to have these well ripened, and then by merely shortening these shoots a little, so as to remove the greenest part, the buds behind will break into shoots, and be flowering shoots just in propor- tion as the primary shoot was well ripened. Such climbers may therefore be treated as Vines bearing on the long-rod system, dispensing with all the small shoots and flowering part, and supplying with fresh rods every season. This, however, involves much trouble, and is chiefly useful to be followed until the plant has filled its place, and then it wUl be more easily managed on the one-main-shoot system — or rather principle — like a spurred Vine. Some of the finest Passion- flowers we ever saw were run as a main stem all the length of a house, and were thickly studded with flowering shoots hang- ing down all the way. These were cut back in winter, when more light was requu-ed, generally at twice, with an interval between the two operations, leaving only a bud or two at the base, next the main stem. Next spring the flowering shoots came again from these buds, just as in the case of the Vine, and the pruning and treatment were thus reduced to the least amount of trouble and supervision. In all cases free-flowering shoots can only be obtained from well-ripened wood. — E. F. TILiDE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. James Carter & Co., 237, '238, and 201, High Holbom, Lon- don, W.C. — Gardeners' and Farmer's Vade-2Ieanii. Part I.^ 32 JOUBNAti OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAliDENER. [ Janoaiy 9, 1868- Flower Seeds, Plants, and Bulbs, Part ll,~Vegetahle and Agri- cultural Seeds. E. & T. Lant, 7, Easy Row, Broad] Street, Birraingiiam.— Descriptive Catalogue of Agricultural^ Flower^ and Vegetable Seed&. COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Januart 8. ALTHOi'fJH the holidays maybe considered aa terminated, there is no revival of business, and the slicht advance of last week has been barely maintained. French importations comprise Lettuces, Endive, and As- paragus. FRUIT, Applea 4 sieve Apricots doz. Cherries lb. ChestnotB bush. Corrants ^ sievo Black do. Fica doz. Filberts lb. Cobs lb. Gooseberries . . quart Grapes, Hothonse. .lb. Lemons IQO Artichokes dnr. Asparafrus 100 Beans, Kidney 100 Beet, Red doz. Broccoli bundle Bras. Sprouts i sieve Cabbage doz. Capsicums 100 Carrots bunch Cauliflower doz. Celery bundle Cucumbers each Endive doz. Fennel bunch Garlio lb. Herbs bunch Horseradish . . bundle i. d. fl. 6to4 Melons each 2 0! Nectarines doz. 8 Oranges 100 Peaches doz. Pears (dessert) .. doz. Pine Apples lb. Plums i sieve Quinces doz. RaspborriAs lb. Strawberries . 8 I lb. d. 8. d OtoS 10 4 6 Walnuts bush. 10 do per 100 1 VEGETABLES, s. d. 8. d to 10 6 4 6 3 3 Leeks bunch Lettuce .... per score Mushrooms .... pottle Mustd.Jt Cress, punnet Onions per bushel Parsley per sieve Parsnips doB. Potatoes bushel Kidney do. Radishes doz. bunches Rhubarb bundle Savoys doz. 1 Sea-kale basket 2 Shallot3 lb. Spinach bushel 4 Tomatoes. . . . per doz. Turnips bunch 1 3 fi 5 5 1 5 6 1 1 2 3 5 G TO CORRESPONDENTS. Books (An Inquirn-).~\ volume with numerous plans nf gardens, small and large, will be published at this office early in this year. Ratn Water from Asphalted Roof (G. £.).— We would not like, for watering plants, the water that came from an asphalt roof for at least six months after it was laid down. After that, if the surface of the asphalt was roughened with sand or gravel, our observation would lead to the conclusion that the water would be pure enough. VniES rv AN Intermediate HorsE U SKfeirrj^fj).— It will do noharm -} !?*^ ^ ^^ ^^^^ '° * hou^e all the winter where fire heat is used, pro- vided that fire heat does not raise the temperature of the house nmre than from 40 to 4& . In an intermediate hou.se. where from 45- to 55^ of temperature i^ maintained, the Vines should be brought to the front of the house, and there managed so as to secure a lower temperature whilst m a state of rest. If the Vines, so healthv-lookijig, showed no fruit, we fear that merely graftmg them would be of no use, unless thev were some kmds of foreign origin that do not thrive under gUss. We suspect your Vine wood has not been sufficiently ripened. Strawberry— Vinery {Half-pm,).— For a sure and plentiful-bearing Strawberry, there is none to beat Keens' Seedling. Six Vines are quite enough for your 15-feet-long house. Your Vines are weak ; but if they have commenced rooting pretty well, and if the kinds are suitable, we would try them another year, cutting them as far back as would be con- venient, just a little above a bnd. and allowing only one shoot to come nest season, fastening it carefully as it grows. As you describe the young growth to have made a head Uke a Currant tree, we presume from this that the roots have made some progress, and that therefore the Vine mil come stronger ne^t season when the strength is thrown into one aboot. As you say you know nothing of pruning, we have given the above advice to cut down to the lowest convenient part of last vear's wood, take only one shoot from a Vine, and train that without stopping it until it almost extends the length of the roof. As it grows, subsidiary shoots will como from each joint; stop these when two leaves appear, and allow them to remain until September, then cut them all off', and atop the point of the main shoot. Keep the house dry and warm to en- courage the hardening of the wood, and next winter, or by this time, prone back your Vines, leaving from 1 to 2 or more feet, according to strength. If strong, the Vines may bear from one to two or three bunches m the following season. The leading shoot must be grown and treated as last season, and the shoots that come from the buds beneath the top one should be stopped a joint or two beyond the fruit, and, at any rate, at the fifth or sixth jomt. By that time, if yon are not well acquainted with them, we will enter into all the details of pruning, according to the system adopted. If you prefer stronger Vines to plant, you mi-^ht take up the present ones and pot them ; but the new Vines you would also have to cut back, and tbey might not do much better than those you have, if the roots are in good condition, as, in this respect, they will have an advantage over fresh-planted ones now. If so weak as "you say you could obtain nothing from them in the way ef fruit next summer. After potting you would have to cut them down to the surface of the soil, and srow a shoot or shoots from them, which, if well ripened and well grown, J^oald frnit in another year. You do not tell us where the a-feet border ea this 15-feet-long hoiuo is placed. If against the back wall a Peach tree might certainly be planted there, and all the better if yon could raise and place good soil under the flagstone ; but unless you had a large tree that would fruit quickly, it would be of little use planting one or two young trees, as wilh six Vinos up the glass in front, the shtide would be so dense th;it nothing would thrive well under it. If you wished variety, instead of planting out, we would have Peaches and Nectarines, and even a Fig tree or two in pots, if you like Figs. They would come in early, be set before the Vines wanted mnch heat, and then when the fruit was gathered the plants could be set out of doors to obtain all the light possible in the autumn. You would find much to suit you in the " Vine Manual," which may be had from our office, free by post, for thirty-two postage stamps. We have forgotten to say that if,'aa wo suppose, your Vine roots are out of doors, you should protect them from frost and much wet in winter. Heating a Tank (A J^Tor/Vc).— See what is said to-day in answer to "Half-pay" as to heating a small tank from the pipes in a hothouse. Your tank is smaller. 6 feet bv2i leet, but fi inches deep— jnst double what is necessary. You do not tell us how you heat your greenhouse, and, of course, you conld heat your tank from a boiler heated by fuel, as you say ; but it neems a large amount of work to have a boiler for such a small aiTair. though, in our opinion, if the tank is secure, it matters but little whether you hnve water in it, or pipes passing through water. If your house is heated from a boiler you could do as "'Half pay" has done, take a pipe from the pipes in the house. There is this objection to the plan, that you cannot have heat in the tank witliout heating the house, whilst you might want heat there when no artificial heat was needed in the house. I'nder such circumstances small propagaiinp tanks or cases in a greenhouse or living room are I)est heated separately by gas. or II lamp, the heat passing through the water in pipes ; or, simpler still, by having the tank about 2 inches deep, a plug or tap at one end, and an o]iening or funnel at the other, and removing cold water and replenishing with hot as necessary. A supply of hot water by moans of the garden pail once in twenty-four hours, and twice in very cold weather, if hot water can be easily had, would cost less trouble than having anything in the way of a separate boiler and means of heating. We havefound water, when surrounded outside with wood, keep warm frequently for thirty hours. Tank not Heating (IT. .4. O.).— If you had shut-in 6 feet of vour flow pipe you might have had enough of heat for your purpose. We under- stand exactly about the tank you have cast, which is 6 feet long. 4 feet wide, and 3 inches deep, and which you have connected with the flow and return pipes in the house by raeuns of a 1-inch load pipe; but we cannot be sure why. though the main pipes in the house arc so hot yon can scarcely touch them, you have little hent in the tank, unless it is that the tank is not placed right as respects its level with the flow pipe. There will be a circulation if the tank is on the level of the top pipe; but if other arrangements will permit of it, the hot water will circulate much better if the bottom of the tank is at least as high as the top of the flow pipe. That elevation secured, we would let the small pipe from the flow enter at one end, and the return be connected with the return at the other end of the tank. If these connecting pipes are striiigbt. without bends, it will be all plain sailing, and work they must. We lay all the more stress on this fact, because in several cases in our own practice, when connecting such a tank to a higher level, with a flow 4-inch pipe beneath it. and tn suit convenience we had bent the small connecting pipe a little in form of the letter S, we found at times air accumulated nt the bends, and impeding the circulation. A small air pipe inserted in the bend, rising above the level of the tank, settled the matter, and if not so soon as we wished, we had only to blow down to obtain a very rapid circula- tion of the water, so that the water in the tank and the water in the pipes was soon at the same heat. We say this mnch as respects level, because the other day a tunk. formed at some expense, could not be heated, as it was below the level of the flow pipe, from which the heat was to be borrowed. LiLiuM AURATiTM (Idem). — The numerous small bulbs loft after the decay of the old bulbs, are something to be thankful for. Your treat- ment seems to have been quite correct. Too much damp after the bulb is ripe will sometimes accelerate such decay, and cause the bulb in natural defence to put forth its last energies in a brood of young bulbs. Mandarin Orange {Idem). — We would grow it in good brown fibry loam, with a fenrth part of rotten dung, fibry heath mould, and a little silver sand. We would merely stop the strong shoots, and if the others are very thick thin them a little; but in most cases, if the shoots are regular, and light and air can reach them, they will need little to be done to them. Potted Rhododekdbons (Wcm).— They should be encouraged to grow freely when done flowering, and until the buds are set for blooming, and then when pijttiug is needed they should be repotted, giving small shifts, and so that the new soil may be well filled with roots before winter. Pruning Mandevilla scaveolkns (Wtm).— The straggling shoots may he pruued-in now. If used to it, the plant may be pruned like a Vine on the spur system. If not used to it, and you have some good long shoots, leave them to break all over, Uke a Vine on the rod system. See " Doings of the Last Week." Various (.4 Subscriber from the First).—'* The Florist and Pomologist " begins a new volume this month — January. You might grow a Royal Muscadine or a Black Hamburgh Vine in your narrow cold pit ; but you would not do so well with the Alicante. There are not many of the small gardens given in the "Horticultural Directory." unless distinguished for something particular. The number given will, no doubt, be increased every year ; but to give every garden would require a very large volume, and then few would care about it. Ventilating an Orchard House (A SubscTiber). — For an orchard house, :^-feet in length by 24 feet in width, span-roofed, with side ventilation, an opeoing at each end beneath the apex would be enough. For a greenhouse or forcing house, the roof ventilation would be best secured by having a double ridge board, with a space of 9 to 12 inches between the boanis for wooden ventilators hung on pivots, and with that space covered with a cowl of boards outside to let in the air and keep oat the wet. These ventilators will be easily managed from the path in the centre of the house. If the path is not in the middle, then it would ba better to have two openings to shde, besides the openings at the ends. Spots on Tricolored pELABrtONiuMs (9t. ZWtJiM).— They probably have been kept too cold and too damp. More beat, more ventilation, and January 9, 186B. ] JODBNAL OP HORTICULTURR AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 35 tcfls water will, probably, restore thom. Coratcsse do Jaucourt ifl ft very superior Rusq. Nkw Zkai.and T.acbel [O. .V.).— It ia the Corsnoocarpns lipvigatus, and is thus raeulioned in the " Trea^un* *^' ilotany :"—" The tree, ftccordinjf to Dr. Pennett. is vrxluod in New Zealand for the sake ol its fruit and Heeds ; the former i» of the size of a Pluui, pulpy in the interior and sweet. Tiie seeds are used iu times of scarcity, and contain a tasteless forinaoeous subatanre. The raw seeds, however, are poisonous, and pro- duce ypiiKUiodic pains, piddinees, and partial paralysis ; to obviate which efl'octs they are atciimed for twenty-four hours, and then either buried in the griiund, or allowed to snult in nater for some days." TviNU-iN 8TnAc.e.LiNO Cyi'Ress Trkes {n. T.).— We should tr>* to tie-in the bra'iches dittplaced by the snow storms of the winters of 1865 and I86C. We would use strong tarred rope, equal in thickness to the brnnches to be tied; and if the tyinf? be done effectually the branches will, pro- bably, recover their erect and proper position in the course of a few years. The tiirred rope will lust a lonf; time, but it may be necessary to renew it in order to keep the strag.'^lint* branches in their proper put it iri well not to overpot. as it flowers mure freely when its roots are confined than when nven^otted. The dr.iinase should be good, and thero- foro the plant should be turned out of its pot and tho drainage made Cood, placing in a larger pot if tho roots are very much matted. Loosen tho ball, and remove as much of the old soil as pussible, but be careful not to injure the roots. If tlio plant has very few roots shako away all tho old soil, and pluce it in a i)ot twice the diameter of the bulb, for thot size is sufficient. If you have more than one bulb in a pot. the pot may be larger in proportion. The book you name is a good one, but not tho best. Croccbes Eaten by Mice f.7. F. C.).— We think that the mice eating the Crocuses in the beds and lea\ing those in pots untouched, is attri- butable to the former not beiog planted so deeply as the latter, and being, tliertjfore, more ef\sily attacked. When the mice have devoured those in the beds they will find ont those planted more deeply. We are not aware that mice devour the foliage; but they will, probably, att:ick the bulbs in pots as soon as it appears above ground, if not before. You may trap them wiih a figure-4 trap, baited with the half of a Crocus bulb, or a whole small one. Mealy Btg on Vines (Y. Z.).— We would remove all the loose bark, especiallv that on the spurs, and it maybe done quite down to the wood. Under the old bark you will find the insects in greater numbers than you supposed. There they lurk until forcing is commenced. Any dressing of the Vines will be of little or no avail, because it cnnnot reach the bugs unless the loose bark lie taken oft. After clearing the Vines well of loose bark you may wash them thoroughly with water at 140^, and afterwards paint them with a solution of Gishuret Compound at the rate nf 8 ozs. to the gallon of water. This strength will not injure the buds if you only apply it before they begin to swell. The Vines slumld be washed with a p.iint brush, and the solution of Gishurst applied with the same, rubbing it well into every crevice. Cinerarias Losing their Floweb Stems f7rfcm).~We are unable to Assign a reason for the stems dying off. Probably their being eaten by some insect is a cause for it ; but we are not able to form an opinion with so little knowledge of the treatment the plants have received. There must be some cause of the decay at the surface of the soil. Appleby's "Orchid Manual" will suit you. You can have it free by post from our ofSca by enclosing thirty-two stamps with your address. Gardeners' Examinations (Idevi). — Write to Mr. Richards, Assistant Secretary. Royal Horticultural Society's Garden, South Kensington, London, \i. Orciuds {A Qw-n/).— Of tbe list of Orchids sent tlie following would succeed in a greenhouse with a temperature of 50^ in winter, a corre- sjionding beat being given during the summer, with a moderately close and humid atmosphere: Oncidium ornilhorhynchum, O. leucochilum, O. crispum, and O. pulvinatum ; Odontoslossum grande, O. citrosmum, O. pulchellum, and O. maculatum ; Trichopilia tortilis ; Epidendrum vi- toUinum, E. aromaticum, and E. macrochilum album ; Brassavola glauca ; ' Cattleya citrina; L:rlia albida, L.acamiuatu, andL. furfuracea ; Lycaate Skinneri, ond L. aromntica : Sophronitis cemua ; Acinota HumlwldtiJ and Ilarkeria LIndleyana. All theno we have grown »n ii cool house* 5 lower than the temperature you name. The otheru named we havo tried to Home extent, but they do not Buccocd. They require a store temperature. Pottino Cyclamens {Calcnrin\ — Seedling bulba of Cyclamens may h© potted at this season, especially if of the pertiicum rare, «nd they aro Udt expected to bloom befuro February. It is a good practice to arlopt with gro\\ing, but not blooming, plants of Cyclamen persicum. especially when a late bloom and extra-sized plants are required, the potting being carefully perfumied without rtisturbiMg tho ball. Other Cychimons do best if placed in their Ijlooming potH before, or when they are beginning to grow. Disturbing them in any way when ahowing for bloom is bad, as it more or less disarranges the lulijigo. Selaoiweli.a Offsets (/"(/rm). — You could not have adopted abetter plan, and there ia every reason to conclude they will do well. I>o not keep the boil very wet, but let it be moist, and admit a little air every day, but without reducing the moisture nnd temperature so much as to cause them to flag. When they become rooted they will succoed in anight tem- perature of 50\ Select Camellias (IT'. G. f;.i. — Mario Morren, Queen of Beauties, Storyi. Rubens, Fimbriatn, Alba ]>lcnn, Benneyii. Mathotiaun, Jenny Lind, Mrs. Cope, Giovaui Santarelli, and Carlotta Popudoff. We are not a^varo that grafting Camellias on Onin^o and Lemon stocks has been Itractised. and we do not think thoy would succeed. It is a matter for experiment. Vine Fibres Decayed {J. Ji. B.).—Tho roots sent havo many of tho fibres quite dead, and, we think, owing to the unsuitable materials of which the border is composed, which cannot be otherwise than too close and retentive of moisture. Being principally clay, it has settled into a close wet mass, which, inwtead of improving, must get worMc, there being nothing to keep it open but the lime rubbish and bones. We cannot understand how any one can be so stupid as to endeavour to drain a Vino border by putting rubble over tlie bottom, and then concreting npon tho rubble. How is the water to pass away ".' It ia only making a receptacle for water to lodge in. Tho concrete ought to have been at the bottom of the border to prevent the roots going do\Tn, and then the rubble 9 inches thick, with a drain at the lowest point to carry off any accumulation of water; tut as it is, the water cannot pass through the concrete into the rubble and to the drain. The concrete where it is, is worse than if tbe border had not been drained nnd no rubble put in. Clay is a bud material to form a Vine border of. A little marl may do pood ; but clay should be avoided. Good turf, cut '2\ or S inches thick from a pasture whtre the soil is a light rather than heavy loam, is best for Vine borders. We do notwouder at the fibres decaying ; it is only what might be looked for. Climbers for Stove (Idem). — Allamanrta grandiflora, A. Schottif, Thunbergia Harrisii, Manettia micans, Hoya carnosa, Clerodendrou Thnmson.T, Bignonia grandiflora, Combretum purpureum, Passiflora qundrangularis, and Stephanotis floribunda. The wall must not bo shaded by plants or by climbers on the root, othertvise they will not succeed. Apples for Espaliers (A. F. i».).— Ashmead's Kernel, Cockle Pippin* Corniah Gilliflower, Cox's Orange Pippin. Downton Pippin, Kerry Pippin, Margil, Nonpareil, Pitmaston Nonpareil, Scarlet Nonpareil, Sturmec Pippin, and Jonnetting. Names of Fruit {J. D.).— Apple it : 1, Colonel Vaughan's ; 4, Court Pendu-Plat; 5, Lemon Pippin; 6. Winter Greening ; 8, Winter Pear- main, or Duck's-bill ; 9. Braddick's Nonpareil. (J. W.,.iun.) —I, Spencer's Seedling, is a local variety; 2, Minchall Crab; 3, Nelson Codlln. (J. P. Lvmbar'd, /hibfi/i).— Your Apple ia Cambusnethan Pippin. Names or Plants (T, Brown ).—Gnflphalium arenaria. (.S.).— 1, Euphor- bia apocyneiefolia (?) ; 2, Euphorbia jacquinireflora ; 3, The leaf appears to be that of Comnielyna or Aneilema. {R. F.).— 1, Adiantum formosum ; '2, Aspidium aculeatum ; 3, Coronilla pentaphylla ; 4, Ageratum cony- zoides ; 5, Acacia Cipsia, var. (J. T.).— 1, Erautbemum sanguinolentum ; 2, Chama'rauthemum Williamsii, var. (T. »'.).—!, Justicia {Ruellia> assurgens ; 2, Acanthace;e, but not possible to determine without a flower. {,Ja.rf?.— First, Mrs. H. Dean, Upton. Southam, Warwick (White). Second. Miss J. Milward, Kewton St. Loe, Bristol. Third, H. Mapplebeck (Buff). Brahsia Pootra (Dark).— First and Cup, R. W. Boyle, Galtrira House, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Second, H, Lacy, Hebden Bridge. Third. Mrs. A. Hui't. Highlv Commended, F. Crook, Forest Hill, London. Chickens.— First, Lieut-Col. H. B. Lane. Secon.l, R. W. Bovle. Third, Mrs. A. Hurt, ^derwasley, Derby. Commended, Miss H. Attye, Ingon Grange, Strat- iord-on-Avon ; L. Wright, Southwell Street, Bristol. Brahma Pootra (Light).— Firbt. H. Dowsett, Pleshev, Chelmsford. Se- cond, Miss Harvey, Salisbury, Southampton. Third, H. Lacy. Chickens. — Fii-st and Third, J. Pares, Postford, Giuldford. Second, A. Herbert, Egham. Highly Commended. A. Hurijert; H. M. Maynord, Holmwood, Isle of Wight. Commended. A. Herbert. Brahma Pootra (Any variety).— Coci.— First, R. W. Boyle. Second, J. Hinton, Hinton, near Bath. Third, S. Felgate, St. Margaret's. Ipswich. Cockerel. — First, R. W. Bovlc. Second, C. Cork (Dark). Third, J. K. Fowler, Aylesbury. Highly Commended, L. Wright. Game (Black-breasted and other Reds).— First and Cup, J. Fletcher. Stoneclough. Manchester (Black Reds). Second. E. Aykroyd. Bradford (Reds). Third, W. Boyes, Beverley (Reds). Highly Comnaended, Rev. G. S. Cruwys, Cruwys More-hard Court, Tiverton; S. Dupe, Evercreech, Bath; Rev. J. Mellor, Colwick Rectory, Notts (Black Reds). Gaite (Duckwings and other Grevs and Bluest.- First, J. Fletcher (Duckwings). Second, W. Dale, Weston-super-Mare. Third, S. Dupe. Commended, A. K. Briggs, Bradford. Game (Any other varietv). — First, J. Fletcher (Piles). Second, S. Matthews, Stowmarket (Pile's). Third, J. Vincent, Bromyard (Black). Game (Any variety).— C/jicA-<:u•«•• Game {Uodsl.— First and Second, C. Cbaloncr, Worksop. Highly Com- mended, W. Neodhum, Dartlold, Barnslev; C. E. Rhodes, Rotherham. Game (.\ny other variety!.— First. Kev. T. O'Grady (Dnekning). Se- cond, W. J. Cope, Barnsley (Dnckwing). Highly Commended, E. Hall, Brimington, Chesterrield (Duckwing). HiUmunGiis (Silver-poncilledl. — First, Messrs. W. il J. Bairstow, FearncUfTc, Biuglev. Second, W. Ilurvey, Shofliold. Hamburi-.iis (Golden-pencilled).— First, W. Harvey. Second, Messrs. lilirch & Boulter. Highly Commended, T. Wrigley, jun., Middleton, Manchester. Ha.mbcrghs (Silver-simngled).— First, Messrs. S. &R. Ashton, Mottrara, Second, Hon. W. C. W. Fitzwilliam. Wentworth Woodhouse. Hambuhoiis (Golden-spangled).- First, G. Haigh, Ogley Green, Holm- tirth. Second, T. Walker. Highly Commended, W. A. Hyde, Hurst, .^sbton-undor-LyHC ; W. Wood, Wiilkley, Shcflield. Commeuded, Miss M. Bnrch. Polish.— First, Mrs. Proctor, Hull. Second, J. Battye, Hill House, Hnddersfleld (White-crested Black). Highly Commended, W. Harvey (Silver and Golden) ; R. Cbarleswortb, Manchester. French Fowls.— First, Hon. W. C. W. Fitzwilliam (La Fltche). Se- cond, Hon. W. H. W. Fitzwilliam (Creve Coeurs). Highly Commended, Col. Stuart Wortley, Grove End Road, London; Hon. W. C. W. Fitz- william (La FKche). Commended, O. E. Creswell, Hanworth Rectory, Hounslow (floudau'^). Any Varietv not Previously Mentioned.— First, W. Mason, Denton, Manchester (Black Hamburglis). Second, Rev. G. Hustler, Stilliugfieet Vicarage, York (Malays). Highly Commended, H. Saville (Japanese Silkies) : C. Sidgwick i Black Hamburghs). Game Bantams.— First, F. M.Tindall, ShefBeld. Second, J. Tomlinson, Sheffield. Highly Commended, G. Smith, Stavely. Bamta-ms (Any other variety).— First, J. Siddall, Sheffield (Black). Se- cond, Messrs. S. & R. Ashton (White). Ducklings (.\ylesbury). — First and Second, Hon. W. H. W. Fitzwilliam. Highly Commended. R. "Chambers, Rotherham. Ducklings (Rouen). — First, J. White, Whitley, Netherton. Second, C Sidgwick. Selling Class (Any variety". — First, Messrs. Burch & Boulter. Se- cond, H. Saville (Cinnamon and Buff Cochins). Commended, Rev. T. O'Grady (Golden-pencilled Hamburghs) ; .T. Crookes, Crookes Lloor Side, Sheffield (Silver-spangled H' naburgbs) ; Rev. W. Elmhirst (East India Ducklings) ; T. Houlker, Revidge, Blackburn (Rouen Drake and Duck) ; Hon. C. W. Fitzwilliam (Silver-spangled Hamburghs and Wild Ducks) ; Hon. H. W. H. Fitzwilliam. Ga^ie Cock (Undubbed, Any variety). — First, C. Chaloner. Second, ■G. Wostenholme, Sheffield. Highly Commended, Earl Fitzwilliam, Went- worth Woodhouse (Brown Red). SWEEPSTAKES FOR SINGLE COCKERELS. GA3IE. — First, J. Cope. Second, C. Chaloner. Highlv Commended, Rev. T. O'Grady. Dorkings. — First, O. E. Creswell. Second, Hon. H. W. Fitzwilliam. Game Bantams. — Prize, O. E. Creswell. Judge. — Mr. Tegetmeier, Fortis Green, London, N. LEIGHTON BUZZARD POULTRY SHOW. The first Exhibition of the kind yet held at Leighton Buzzard took Ijlace on the '2uA and 3rd inst. The following is the list of awards : — Dorkings (Any variety) — Cup, First, and Third, Mrs. Seamons, Hart- well, Aylesbury, Bucks. Second, W. Denison, Wobum Sands. Highly Commended, J. Haward. Ipswich, Suffolk; O. E. Cresswell. Hanworth Rectory. Hounslow. Commended, Rev. A. N. Neumann ; W. Denison ; H. Ridgway, Leighton Buzzard. Si'ANlsH.— First and Second, P. .James, Peckham Rye. Third, W. R. Bull, Newport Pagnell, Buc\a. Commended, W. R. Bull; Hon. Miss Douglas Pennant, Penrhyn Castle. Bangor, North Wales. Cochins (Buff).— Cup and First, G. Shrimpton, Leighton Buzzard. Second, Hon. ^liss Douglas Pennant. Third, Mrs. Clarke, Bedford. Highly Commended, Miss Hanmer, Stockgrove, Leighton Buzzard. Commended, Rev. S. C. Hammerton, Warwick. Local Classes. — Cup, G. Shrimpton. Cochins (Any other variety) — First, B. S. Lowndes, Stony Stratford (Partridge Cochins). Second and Third, Mrs. Cl.irke (White Cochins). Highly Commended, J. K. Fowler, .Aylesbury (Partridge Cochins). Com- mended, M. Ridgway, Dewsbury, Yorkshire. Brahma Pootea "(Any colour). — Cup and First, Hon. Miss Douglas Pennant (Dark Brahmas). Second, M. Leno, Markyate Street, near Dun- -table. Third, F. James. Highly Commended, Mrs. Seamons. Com- mended. J. H. Cufi", Metropolitan Cattle Market, London. Hamburghs (Gold and Silver-pencilled).- Fii'St and Second, C. Havers, ngatestone. Esses. Third, withheld. Hamburghs (Gold and Silver-spunglcd).- Prize, Rev. F. Tearle, Gazeley Vicarage. Newmarket. PoLAXDS (.\ny variety).— First and Second, G. W. Boothby, Louth, Lincolnshire (Silver and Gold Polands\ French Fowls (Any variety).— First and Third, Col. Stnart Wortley, Grove End Road. London. Second, M. Leno (La Fb-che). Highly Com- mended, :\Iiss Hanmer (Creve-Cceur) ; M. Leno (Creve-Cceur) ; J. K. Fowler (Houd.ins and Cri-ve-Coeur). ■ Game (lilack-hreasted Red).— First, R. B. Stafford, Bedford. Second, Rev. C. Mayor, Wavendon, Wobum. Third, J. Haward. Game (Any other varietv). — First, Rev. C. Mayor (Erown-hreasted Red). Second, Rev. H. C. Russell, Doncaster (White Game). Game Bantams.— Cup and First, W. B. Jeffries, Ipsn-ich. Second, G. H. Raynor. Third, W. Boucher, Blenheim Crescent, Netting Hill, London. Highly Commended, J. Allen, Ampthill; T. P.. Willis, Winslow, Bucks; M. Ridgivay. Commended, M. Leno; Rev. E. S. Tiddoman, Childerditcll Vicarage. Brentwood, Essex. Bantams (Any other variely).— First, M. Leno (Silver). Second, T. C Harrison, Hull. Third, Mrs. Holmes, Shepherd's Bush, London (Brown- breasted Bed Game). Highly Commended, Baron M. do Uothschild, Mcut- morc, Bucks (Golden Sebrigbta) ; H. Bentley, Finningly Park, Bawtrj", Yorkshire (Japanese) ; M. Leno (Gold-laced) ; -M. Ridgway (Black). Ducks (Ajlesbury).— First and Third, Mrs. Seamons. Second, J. K. Fowler. Highly Commended, F. Cresswell, Hanworth, Middlesex; J. K. Fowler. Commended, W. R. Bull ; 3Irs. Clarke. Ducks (Rouen).— First, J. K. Fowler. Second andThird, W. Donnison. Ducks (Any variety).— First, T. C. Harrison (Carolinas). Second and Third, Mrs. Clarke (White Peruvians). Highly Commended, M. Leno (Black East Indians). . Geese (Any variety).— First, J. K. Fowler. Second, R. Bentley (White). Third, Mrs. Seamons. Highly Commended, Mrs. Jary, Wobum (Hun- garian); Mrs. Clarke (.^strachan and Toulou.se) ; Lady M. Macdonald. Turkeys (Any variety).- First, J. N. Beasloy, Chapel Brampton, North- ampton. Second and Third, Boron M. do Rothschild (Black Norfolk and White Norfolk). Highly Commeuded, W. Denison (Norfolk and Cam- bridge). Any Variety.— Very Highly Commended, Baron M. do P^othscbUd (Silver Pheasants). PIGEONS. Tumblers. — Prize, W. Denison. -- t^.. Carriers.- First, E. S. Smith, Boston, Lincolnshire. Second, H. Ridg- way. Highly Commended, J. .\llen. , - t- Pouters. — First, Second, Highly Commended, and Commended, F» Gresham, Shefford, Beds. Fantails.— Prize, J. W. Edge, Birmingham (Blues). Anxwerps.— First, J. W. Edge. Second, E. S. Smith. Runts. — Prize, J. Allen. Dragons.— First, J. W. Edge. Second, Rev. H. C. Russell. Any other Variety.- First, J. W. Edge (Red Swallows). Second, J. Allen (Black Swallows). Highly Commended, M. Ridgway (Black Trumpeters). Commended, W. Denison (Mottled Trumpeters). CAGE BIRDS. Canaries (Dark Yellow).— Fir-st, G. Bamesby, Derby. Second, Kev. C. Russell. Canaries (Mealy).— First and Second, G. Bamesby. Canaries (Belgian).— First and Second, G. Barnesby. Canaries) Any other sort .—First, G. Bamesby. Second, and Highly Commended, Rev. H. C. Russell. Goldfinches.— Prize, Rev. H. C. Russell. Bullfinches.— First, Rev. A. H. Glennie, Kirkby Lonsdale. Second, G. Barnesby. Highly Commended, Rev. H. C. Russell. Linnets.— First and Second, Rev. H. C. Russell. Any Sort of Caged Birds.— First, G. Barnesby (Goldfinch and Canary Mule). Second, G. Shrimpton (Goldtinch and Canary Mule). Cage of Six Birds (Any variety).— First, G. Barnesby. Commended, Rev. A. H. Glennie ; J. Webster. The .Judge of Ponltry and Pigeons was Edward Hewitt, Esq., of Sparkbrook, near Bii-mingbam ; and Mr. Baker, of Cambridge, awarded the prizes for large birds. SUNDERLAND POULTRY SHO-W. (Froyn a Corrcapoiuleiil.) This Show was held Januaiy 1st, in the Central Hall, John Street, Sunderland. The arrangements were very good, and reflected great credit on Mr. Toft, the Hon. Sec, and the Committee of Management. Bantums formed the principal feature, and the show of these was very good indeed. Black Beds bad the palm, Duckwings ranning them very closely. We also noticed a very good pen or two of Sebrights. The first-prize pen of Game Bantams, although suffering from cold, were most beautiful biids. The first-prize single Game ben, a Brown Bed, was very exceUeut. Blacks and Whites were a fair show. Large birds formed a moderate show as to numbers, but the quality was in most cases of a high order, Piilauds and JJurUnrjs bemg the best. Altogether the Show was a decided success. Mr. Hodgson, of Darlington ; and Mr. Sim, of West Cramlmgtoti, were the Judges. The following is the pi-ize list :— Bantams (Black Reds, for Club Members only).— First and Second, C. Grimshaw. Third, J. Clark. , , „ „ o a r> r ■„ Bantams (Duckwings).- First and Third, J. BurreU, Second, C. Gnm- B.\ntams (Piles and White).— First, C. Grhnshaw. Second, J. Moirhead. '^ gI^e BaStIm -Cocl-.-First, D. Hunter. Second, W Dixon. Third, T. Toft. Hen.— First, A. Bugdcn. Second, C. Grimshaw. Third, J. Bantam's (Sebrights).— First, Messrs. Scott & Ackroyd. Second, T. Bantams (Black and White, Rose-combed).— First and Third, W. Dixon. Second, J. Muirhead. Hcn.-First, J. Clark. Second, W. Dixon. Third, Messrs. Scott & Ackroyd. j t /n i >m,-.j Any V.uilETY.— Old Cocits.— First, W. Dixon. Second, J. Clark. Third, Messrs. Scott & Ackroyd. OU Ucm.—Tnai, A. Bugden. Second, J. Mullens. Third, J. Muirhead. . , „ ^ ,, o /i a Game Bantams (Open to all England).— First, R. GouU. Second, A. Sugden. Third, Messrs. Scott ,!t Ackroyd. LARGE BREEDS. Gajie (Black Reds).— First, Second, and Third, J. T. French. Game (Duckwings).— Prize, J. Mullens. Game.— Coct.— First, J. Black. Second, J. T. French. Hcn.-First, J. Black. Second, G. Allen. Third, G. Carrocb. HA5IBUEGH (Pencilled).-Fhst and Second, H. Whitfield Hellen. PoLisH.-First, G. Allen. Second, J. Clark. Third, T. Hunter. Cochins.— Prize, D. Rutter. mi • j t ^iT-ii-na Dorkings.- First, D. Rutter. Second, G. Grimsbaw. Third, J. Mullens 36 JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. I January 9, 1868- Ant OTHEn VAnrETY.— Prize, T. Toft. (These were very large birds, across between Dorkintj and Brahmap.) Cock. — Firet, D. Rutter. Secund, C- Grimshaw. Hen.— First, J. Clark. Second, D. Kuttcr. Ducks.— First, Second, and Third, J. Black. ULVERSTON POULTRY SHOW. This was held on the 1st aud 2nd iust., when the following awaiils were made : — Cap to the most saccessful Exhibitor in the Show— H. Beldon, Goit- stock, Bingley. Cup for the best yen of Game— J. Fletcher, Stoneclongh, near Man- chester. Cup for the best pen of Cocliins or Brahmas- R. Smalley, Lancaster. Clip for the best pen** of Ha,in>mr^hs — II. Beldon. Spanish (Black).— First, H. Beldon. Second, H. 'Wilkinson. Skipton. Third, J. Thre&h, Bradford. Highly Commended. J. Sichel, Timperley. Commended, L. O- E. Mackiunon, Kirkby ; 51. McMellon, GloBSOp, Derby- shire; H. Wilflon, St. Bees; W. Ripley. Ulverston. Dorkings (Any colour).— First, R D. Holt, "Windeimere. Second, J. Sichel. Third. J. H.Wilson. Game (Black-breasted or other Reds).— First, J. Fletcher. Second, J H. Wilson. Third, G. Hall, Kendal. Game (Dackwinps and other Greys and EluesK — First. L. Casbod, Ulverston. Second, J. Pnole, Ulverston. Third, J. Fletcher. Highly Commended, W. J. Cope, Barnsley. Game (Any other variety). — Prize, W. Robinson, Old Park, near Cartmel. Cochin-China (Cinnamon nud BufTi.- First, H. Beldon. Second, E.A. Aglionby, Hawkshead. Third. .T. Poole. Cochin-China (Brown nnd Partridge)- — First, J. Coward. Ulverston. Second, E. A. Aglinnhy. Third. J Poolo. HighW Commended. B. Waites. Cochin-China (White).— First, Second, and Third. R. Smalley. Hichly Commended. J. F. F. ScholHck, Aldingham Hall. Commended, J. F. F. Schollick ; J. H. Wilson. Cochin-China (Anv varietv).— First. J. Poole. Second, A. E.Aglionbv, Third, T. Thexton, Ulverston. Highly Comiacnded, T. Theston. Com- mended, J. Poole. BnAHMA PooTRA (Any cnlourl. — First, W, Hargreaves, Bacup. Second, J. Poole. Third, H. Lacy, Hebden Bridge. Hijjhly Commended. F. Powell, Knaresboroueh ; J.iPoole. Commended, E. A. Aglionby ; J. Sichel; J. W. Harrison, Spalding ; M. IJrooksbank, Slaurhester ; W. Hargreaves. HA3iBuni:HS (Golden-pencilled).— First. H. Beldon. Second. H. Pickles, jun.. Earbv, near Skipton. Third, F. D. Mort, Moss Pit Houec, nenr Stafford. Highly Commended, Messrs. Bowman & Fearon, Whitehaven. Commended, J. Sichel. Haubi'rghs (Silver-pencilled\~First, H. Beldon. Second, J. Smith, Kendal. Third, H. Pickles. Highly Commended, J. Walker, Knarcsborough. Hambdrghs (Golden-spangled).— First, H. Beldou. Second. M. A. Hyde. Ashton-under-Lyne. Third, J. White, Xetherton, Wakefield Highly Commended, J. D. Nicholson, Hawkshead; W. McMellon; J. "Walker. Commended, H. Pickles jun.; T. Wallter, Jan., Denton; S. Burn, Whitby, Yorkshire. HAMBrnGHs (Silver-Rpanplcd).— First, H. Beldon Second. H. Pickles, jnn. Third, J. Fielding, Newchurch, near Manchester. Highly Com- mended, J. Sichel. Commended, J. Walker. Any other Distinct Brked.— First, H. Beldon. Second, J. Sichel. Third, Col. Staait Wortley, London. Highly Commended, W. F. Dixon. Game Bantamb.— First, G. Maples, jun., Wavertree, near Liverpool. Second, G. Hall. Third. J.Poole, Highly Commended, J. Downs, Glossop; F. Powell. Commended, T. Robinson ; J. Poole; M. Redbend, Kendat. Bantams (Any other variety).— First, R. Ashton. Second, H. Beldon. Third, T. C. Harrison. Highly Commended, W. J. Cope. Ducks (White Aylesbury). — First. Messrs. Bowman & Fearon. Second, D. Hardie. Third, M. Perrand,Dalton, near Hudderstield. Commended, "W". F. Dixon ; J . W. Harrison. Ddckr (Rouen).— First, J. White, Wakefield. Second, D. Hardie. Third, T. Robinson. Highly Commended. S. Sattherthwaite, Ulverston. Commended, T. Iloulker, Blackburn; T. Robinson, H. Dowsett, Chelms- Jord. Ducks {Any other variety). — First, S. & R. Ashton. Second, T. C. Harrison. Third, 8, Bum. Highly Commended, T. Houlker. Com- mended, R. Smalley. CANARIES. Belgian (Yellow). — Firpt, W. Jones. Second, J. Pastor, Ulverston. Highly Commended, T. Woodend ; W. Jones. Commended. W. Jones. Belgian (Bnffi. — First, T. Woodend. Second, W'. Jones. Highly Com, mended, J. Williamson ; H. Gelderd, Ulverston. Mules. — First, J. Baxter. Second, W. Bradley. Highly Commended, T. Ward. Commended, W. Slater; M. Clarkson. Piebald (Yellow or Buff).— First, J. Paxton. Second, J. Bonlton. Highly Commended, .T. Williamson ; G. R. Martin. Lizard (Gold or Silver-spangled).- First, M. Clarkson. Second, W. Downham. Common (Yellow). — First, T. Cockerton, Ulverston. Second, B. Kirkby, Ulverston. Hipbly Commended, J. H. Matthews, Ulverston. Common (Bufifj. — First, 51. Hunter, Ulverston. Second, Mrs. McLester, Ulverston. Goldfinches.— First, M. Clarkson. Second, H. Geldert. Highly Com- mended, W. Bradley. EXTRA PRIZES. Game (Any colour).— Co<.-fc.~Cup, J. H.Wilson. Second, T.Robinson. Third and Fourth, J. H. Wilson. Highly Commended, W. J. Cope, Barnsley ; T. Mason; J. Fletcher. Commended, W. Henry, Mancbester. Cock and Hen. — First, W. Bonlton, Parkhouse. Second. W. Boulton. Third, E. Swaineon, Nibthwaite. Highly Commended, L. Casson ; M. Satterthwaite, C/i«'A«ns.— Cup, J. Fletcher. Second, J. Barrow. Third, J. Fletcher. Highly Commended, J. Pennington, Birkenhead ; D. Hardy ; M. Graham. Commended, D. Tate; T. Robinson; J, Pnole. Pullet*. — First, L. Casson. Second, T. Robinson. Third, M. Graham, Highly Commended, .T. H. Wilson. Game Bantam— r^cA,-. — First, Messrs. G, & C. Fnmess, Accrington. Second, J. Wood, Chorley, Lancaehire. Third, O. Maples, jun., Waver- tree. near Liverpool. Highly Commended, W, Boolton, Parkhouse; J. Smith, Kendal. Commended, J. Poole. JuDiEs. — Pmiltry — Mr. E, Hutton, Pudsey, Yorl;shire. Caiuines — Mr. J. Hunt, Borrow, PAISLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION'S SHOW. The fourteenth Exhibition of this Association was held on the Ist and 2nd iust., in their Large Hall. "William Street. "We have only room this week for the prize list, which is as follows : — Spanish.— First, J. Yuill, Airdrie. Second, J. M'Inne«, BroorolandS' Paisley. Third, W. Neilson. Johu.'-tone Fourth, J. Cr.iwford, Beith- Cocfc.— Medal, J. Yulll. CocA-crr?.— Mednl. J. M'Innes. Chickfn)t.—Vix»t and Second, J. M'Innes. Third. T. Leitch, Cross ArLhurlie, Barrhead. Fourth, J. Campbell, Ardrossan. Dorkings (Coloured). — First, R. Brock, Claremont Lane, Glasgow. Se- cond, D. Heggie, Glasgow. Third, W. Reid, Hayston. Kiikintilloch. Fourth, R. Dickson, Airdrie. CotA.— Medal, R. Brock. C'tc tens.— First, G. Alston, Craighead, Hamilton. Second, Mrs. Martin, PaiBley. Third, J. Gray, Airdrie. Fourth, W.Reid. Dorkings (White). -First, Second, and Fourth, J. Aitken, Paisley* Third, J. Pettigiew, Dalmellington. Chinese.- First and Third, J. Stewart, Thistlebank, Helf nf^burgh. Se- cond, Countess of Eglinton and Winton. Fourth, R. 'Jrou, Ualmellington, Cock. — Mediil, J. btewart. Brahma PooTRA.— First, J. .'^tc-wart. Second, .T. A. Dempster, Stirling, Third, G. Alston. Fourth. Mrs. Gillisou. CorA.— Modal. J. Stewart. Old Scotch Breed. — First, R. Blair, Thomhill, Johnetone. Second, C. M'Diarmid, Glasgow. Third, J. Fulton, Beith. Fourth, W. Crow, Busby. CycA;.— Medal, R. Blair. Hamburghs (Gulden-Spangled). — First, -T. Jardine, Kilmarnock, Second, H. M'Latcbie, Whiteford Hill, Ayr. Third, D. Eiack, Paipley. Fourth, T. Walker, Fenton, Manchester. CofA'.- Medal, J Jiirdine. Hambuughs (Golden-pencilled). — First and Second, J. Smith, Stewarton. Third, H. Arndle. Stonefield. Paisley, Fourth, W. Bacop, Stonetield. Paisley. Cocfr.— Modal, J. Smith. Hamburghs (Silver-spangled). — First, B. Gardiner, Anchencmive, Ayr. Second, W. R. Menzies, Crossrayloof. Third, J. Stewuit. South Arthnrlie, Ba»Thead. Fourth. A. Stirling, Barrhead. CofA.— Medal, B. Gardiner. Hamburghs (Silver-pencilled), — First and Hocond, H. S. CoUigan, M.D., Puisley. Third, W. Bachop. Fourth, R. Ferric. CVc/v.- Medal, H. S. Colliguu. PoLANDS (Topped). — First. Countess of Eglinton nnd Winton. Second, R M'Nab, Cardonald, by Govau. Thiid,J. Forsyth, Carmyle. Fourth, G. W.Boothby. Game (Black-breasted and others) — First, Pecond, and Fourth, P. Alexander, Bridge of Weir. Third, J. M'Nab. Coc/:.— Medal, P. Alexande». Game (Any other colour).— First. W. R. Menzies. Second, C. Johnatone. Third, H. Goodall, Limehouse, Kirkcaldy. Fourth, J. M'lndoe, Gateside, Barrhead. CocA.— Medal. W. R. Menzies. Ant other Breed not before Mentioned.— First, W. White, Well- meadow. Pnialey. Second, W. R. Park, Melrose (Cr» ve-Ctcurs). Third, J. Allan, Kilhirnie. Fourth, T. Leitch, Cross Arthurlie. Ducks (.\ylesbury).— First, J. Dryborough, Arkleston. Second, Z. H. Heys, Barrbeiid. Third, J, Henderson, Cleckhimin, Motherwell. Fourth, J. Robertson, Kilmarnock. Drake ami Duck. — Medal, J. Drvbrugh. Ducks (Rouen).— First and Second. J. Robertson. Third. J. H. M'Nab. Fourth, 8. Young, Kirkton Mill, Neilston. Drake and Duck. — Medal, J. Robertson. Ducks (Any other variety). —First, J. Robertson. Second, R. Dickson, Airdrie. Third, W. Abercrombie, Castlehead. Game Bantam.s.— First, W. Mabon, Jedburgh. Second, B. M'Gregor, Sunnybower, Perth. Third. J. Harvie, Castlcgate, Jedburgh. Fourth, D. K. MacKay, Chapelfield, Glasgow. CocA-.- Medal, VJ. Mabon. Bantams (Black).— First, W. K. Menzies. Second. S. & R. Ashton, Mottram, Cheshire. Third. T. C. Harrison, Hull. Fourth, W. Morris, Paisley. Cocfc.— Medal, W. R. Menzies. Bantams (Any other variety).— First and Second, W. Morris. Third, T. C. Harrison. Fourth, A. Mitchell, jun.. Paisley. Selling Class.— First, H. S. Colligan, M.D. Second, J. Walker, Bar- shaw. Third, Mrs. Gilliaon, Milngavie. Fourth, W. R. Park. PIGEONS. PoUTKRS (Blue).- First, R. Fulton, Teptford, London. Second, W. Lightbody, Glasgow. Third, J. Hawley, Bingley, Yorkshire. Pouters (Black).— First, J. Sharp, Johnston. Second, R. Fulton. Third, W. Lightbody. Pouters (White).— First, W. Nelson, Johnstone. Second, R. FoltoD. Third, J. Sharp. Pouters (Any other colour).— First, G. Wallace, Bumbank, Glasgow. Pecond and Third, R. Fulton. Tumblers (Short-faced). — First and Second, R. Fulton. Third, J. Hawley. Tubiblers (Any other variety).— First, J. Sharp. Second, J. Hawley. Third, A, Morrison, Glasgow. Carriers.— First and Second, J. Hawley. Third. R. Wardrop. Fantails.— First. J. Sharp. Second, G. White, jun,, LadyLum, Paisley. Third. W.Crawford. Beith. jAcoBi:iriiie. Rocond, J. Grabaon, Kilmiirnork. Thirfl. A. Kelly. Fourth, W. M'Lrnd, (llnspow. Hrv.— First and Third, .T. Muir, Kilmarnock, Second, It. Turnbull, Glasgow. Fourth, W. Weir, Paislev, Ili,f-ij,_(;ocA-.— First. P. Allftn, Kilbirnio. Second. G. Graham. Third. \V. Strtvons m, lukenuann. Fourth, K. ('nirdintT. GlanRow. HcTt.— First. A. Kolly. St'cond, R. Houston. Third, J. Dunlop. Fourth, J. Mitchell, Perth. ■ PiEB ALT). —First, A. Crawford. Second, M. Tode, Paisley. Third, R. M*ood. Pa Id ley. PiEUALD I Yellow V—Ctjr;-.— First, J. Dunn, Galston. Second. G. Hora- hurgb, Glasgow. Thi'd, T. M'Murtrio. Kuockintiber. Fourth, J. Fislier, Ortlry. //''«*.— Firht./l. B. M'Loau, Glu^tiow. Secoud, J. Fisher. Third, •T, Grawford. Fourth, C. Gardner. Pn-MiAi.n (Buff).— C'ocA-.— First, X. MLoan. Second, R. ITunter. Third, .1. Glasyow. Fourth, A. Cochran, i/cii^.— First, W. Snnter, Paisley. Se- cond. R. Muntor. Third. T. M'MTirtrJo. Fourth, W. Crawford. 'ioLDyiKCH MuLK. — Flrflt, J, Gray, Airdrie. Second, A. Kerr. GoLDt-iNCii.— First, .J. Wutchraout, Stevenson. Socond. J. Crawford. HoMT, OH FoUEKiN BiitDS.— First, J. Lambie, Paisley. Second, J. Barr, Paisley. Bkst Cecil Canauv.— Silver Medal, R. Houston. Hen.— Silver Medal, A. Kelly, The followinij wt>re the Judges : — Ponltrji — Messrs. "\V. F. Farqnhar, Barrhead; .1. Patou, Stewartou ; i>. Brown, Perth; J. Milk-r. Ulas- 30W ; .J. Crawford, Glasgow; A. Patersou, Airdrie; J. M'Innes. Pflisloy; auil IT. Todd. Paisley. Pi'i'-ons — Messrs. J. Huie, Glasgow ; and A. Mitchell. Pai.slev. Small BlnU — Messrs. W. Taylor, Glasgow ; T. Buchanan, Glasj^ow'; W. Orr, Bi;ith ; J. ^Yren, Pollokshaws ; W. White, Kenfrew ; .T. M'Lean, Paisley ; A. Mitchell, Paisley ; ami M. Wilson, Paisley. THE ESKDALE POULTRY SHOW. Thk sixth annual Exhibition of this Society was held in the 1'iskdalc Teiuperanre Hotel Hall, Langholm, on the 1st and 2nd inst. We must (Iffer remarks till next week. Subjoined is the piize list : — DcuKiNcs fAuv colour). — First, Miss Malcolm, Milnholm. Second, D. AYhitc, Driffield. Third, D. Hardie, Sorbie. Gaue (.\ny colour).— First, D. Hardie. Second and Third. J. BrouRh, Carlisle. Highly Commended, J. U. Wil:on, St. Bees. Commended, J. Brougfa, Carlisle; A. Thomson, H.irraby Green; R. Robinson, Wif;ton. DonKiNiJS (Silver). — First and Socond, D. Hardie. Chickens.— Yivsi, D. Hardio. Seuonii, T. L. Jackson, Bush. DonKiNOS (Dark).— First, T. L. Jackson. Second, R. Reid, Moat. Highly Commcaded, J. Corrie, Lanjtholm. Cluckem. — First. G. Hodley, U'olhernl. Socoud, D. Hardie. Highly Commended, Miss Malcolm ; D. Hardie. Commtndi'd, R. Pweid. Spanish.— First, W. Patersun, Langholm. Second, J. C. Wilson, Annan. Chickens. — First, M. Tombull, Melrose Mills. Second, W. Paterson. Highly Co ;u mended. W. Pnterson : Messrs. Bowman &Fearon,Whitehaveu. Commendi'd, .T. H. \Vil3on ; W. Paterson. Gamk I Black or Brown Red).— First, D. Hardie. Second, J. BrouRh. Highly Commended, ■'>. Brou^h. Commended, A.Tliorason. Chickenst. — First, \V. Ur.iuhTrt, Lanyholm. Second, J. Brough. Highly Commended, W. Tait, Hfttherlie. Selkirk. Game {.\ny colour). — First, J. Brough. Second, A. Thomson. C-ochis-Chinas (Any colourj.^First, Messrs. Bowman & Fearon. Se- coud, R. Ddl^liosb, Billholm. Highly Commended, W. Park, Abbotts- moadow, Melrose. Brahsea Pootra 1 Any colour). — First, D. Murray. Second, A. Paterson. HiRhly CommoDdeii. V.'. R. Purk, Abhottsmeadow. HAMBUKiiHs . Hardie. Second, Mf.M.srs. Bowiu I'l & Fwaron. Highly Commended, J. Scott, Castlegate, AedbuTf^h ; J- ito'oerts, Selkirk. Bant IMS iDnokwincs Plleii, «tc..).— First, W. Mabon, Jedburgh. Se- ojnd, — H > l^s- ij, Wyjt Terrace, D.irlington. Highly Commended, J. Lumi. Jedb fL^h. BANTAsrs Any variety).— Prize, Messrs. S. & R. Aohton. Ti'BKKVs.— First. T. "l*. JacUsou. S'^oond, D. Hardie. Highly Cora- meuded, T. J. Harrison, Singleton Park. Pou/t(.— First, J. 'Smith, Grantliam. Second. D. Hardie. GEE3E (Grey or Mottled).— First, R. Reid. Second, D. Hardie. Gf.KSK (Wiiiie.i -First, Miss Paterson, Terrona. Second, M. Tumbnll. 0( mmended, A. Grieve, Alhierigg. Ducks (.\ylHtburyi.— Kirst, D. Hardie. Second. R. Latimer, Forgebrae- IK) *d. Coiumoudrd, ft*. Bell, Ewes Mill ; D. Hardie. DfCKs (Kouto).— First, und Second, D. Hardie. Highly Commended, — IJu,in, C'lveu-u 3i House, Keighley ; R. Dalglie^h ; A. Grieve. Ducks (Any ot'it-r variety).— First, E. Huttou, Pudsev, Leed?^. Second, J, U. Pdte Boa. Hiijhiy Commended, Miss Patersou ; Miss Palmer, Dash- w«U Or-'iu ; A. Prfibin.-on, Longtown. C'TiAO '.(•<' "'i.A'^ii roR THi: TOWN OF LANGHOLM fAuY Breed).— First, *^'. Uf UU.I-: (3och-ns). S;cond, W, Bullantyne (Spanish). Third, W. Bole (Bamhu ji ). CoitaoerV Class for E'^rdale (Any Breed).- First, R. Latimer. Pe- ooiid, M.v. Hirvey, Sorbie Cottag; lUorkings). Third, Mrs. Armstrong. Kirktou (Dorkings). Highly Commended, J. Carruthers, Ilopsrig ; G. Oliver, Millgillfuut (Cocliinsl; Miss Graham, Blisspath (Dorkings); C. 3;ualtie, Bus'<. Sblli-iu Ci.\S3.— "^irst. G. Bell, High Street, Wilton. Second, D. Harlie {D.r:iia3.-*). Third, W. Paterson tSpamshi. Highly Commended, Miss Palmer (Wild Ducks); T.L. Jackson (Silver Duckwings) ; D. Hardie (Dorkings] ; MissF. Johnson, Walton House; W. Urquhart. Commended, W. R, Park (Silver Polandsj. PIGEONS. CnoPPERS.- First, J. Grant, Corstorphine Hill House. Second, J. Campbell, Langholm Distillery. Commended, R. Irving, Langholm. TuMDLERS (Almond).— First, J. Campbell. Socoud, R. Whittaker, Delph Hill, near Bolton. TuMiiLERs (Any other variety).— First, J. Campbell. Second, R. Whittaker. Highly Commended, Dle.ssrs. Sibson &. flume, Carlisle. .Iacobins. — First. J. Toworson. Second, J. Campbell. Fantails. — First, W. K. Parlt. Second, J. Thomson, Bingley. ('arrieus. — First, J. Toworson, Egremont. Syuond, J. Campbell. Nuns. — First, R. Paterson. Second, R. Davidson, Swinnie, Jedburgh. Highly Commended. R. Irving ; J. Thomson. Tup'ritp.— First, J. Thomson. Second, R. Paterson. Highly Com- mended, W. R. Park. Commended, J. DuRdale, Carlisle. Any other Variety.- First, W. R. Park (Owls). Second, J. Hardie (Magpies). Highly Commended, J. Campbell. Selling Class. — First, W. R. Parit (Fantails). Second, R. Paterson (Fantails). Highly Commended, \V. R. Park (Turbits) ; J. Barton, Jed- burgh (Carriers); J. Grant; J. Hardie. CANARIES. Scotch Fakcy (Yellow).— Cyt-Zi-. —First, J. Kemp, Galashiels. Second, H. Donald, Galashiels. Highly Commended, J. Hope, Galashiels. Ucn. — First, J Smart, Galashiels. Second, J. Hope. Highly Commended, J. Cleghoru, Galashiels. Scotch Fancy (BuIT.-Coc/.-.— First, J. Kemp. Second, R. Bell. Highly Commended, J. Hope. Hcti.— First, J. Hope. Second, T. Scott, Gala- shiels. Belgian Fancy (Yellow).— Coefc.— Second, J. Kemp. Belgian Fancy (Buff),— Cocfc.— Fir.7,t, J. Kemp. Second, T. Scott. Hev. — Second, J. Kemp. Fancy Flecked (Yellow). — Cock. — First, W Scott, Langholm. Second, J. Cleghorn, Galashiels. Hen. — First, R.Kyle, Hawick. Second, J. Cleg- horn. Higlily Commendei, T. Scott. Fancy Flecked (Buff;. — Co(?A.-. — First, R. Kyle. Second. W. Finline, Jedburgh. Hen. — Prize. J. .Smart. Goldfinch Mole.s (Yellow Flecked).— Coct.— Prize, A. Graham, Row- anburn. Goldfinch Mlt-es (Buff Flecked).— Coct.— First, A. Graham. Second, T. Wilson, Hawick. CoiiMON (Yel]ow).—Cc>ct.— First, A. Graham. Second, P. Martin, Lang- holm. Common (Buff). — TocA.- First. M. Rome, Langholm. Second, J. Corrie, Langholm. Hen. — First, T. Wilson. Second, J. Corrie. Highly Com- mended, J. Steel, Langholm. Common Flecks (Yellow). — 9ock, — Prize, W. Hotson, IMilnholm. Hen. — First and Second, W. HotL^on. Common Flecks (BufF). — Cock. — First, J. Steel, Langholm. Second, R. Warwick. Langholm. Hen. — Prize, J. Kemp. SwEEP.=iTAKES (Greou Cock or Hen).- First, H. Donald. Second, R. Kyle. Highly Commended, T. Brown, Harwick. GoLDFJNcats. — Cock. — First and Second, A. Graham. The Judges were Mr. Beldon. of Goitstock, for Poultni and Pif/eons : and Mr. Thomson, Hawick, for Ganmies. DUMFRIES AND MAXWELLTOWX ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETYS SHOW. The ninth annual competition of I'oultry and Cage Bii'ds under the anspicea of this Society, was held on the Ist and 2nd inst., in the Mechanics' Institute Hall, Dumfries. Gajie (Black Reds, Blacks, and other Red.? and Blues).- First, J. Harding, Dumfries. Second, J. Brough, Carlisle. Highly Commended, T. Parker, Kirkgunzoon. Commended. W. D. Dickson, Carroncroft, ChickeTWi. — Firbt, T. MasweU, Sloan's Cottage. Second, A. Robinson, Longtown, by Carlisle. Game (Dnckwings, 'U'bitos, and other Greys). — First and Second, T. Maxwell. Commended, T. Hill, Collin. ChickrvR.— Medal and First, J. Brough. Second, J. Baird, Thornhill. Highly Commended, T. Maxwell. Commended, C. Turner, Dumfries. Spanish (Hlack).—liledal, First, and Second, J. Neilsoo, Eccl'ifecban. C/i If fccn*.— First and Commended, J. Kerr, Brocklehirst. Second, J. C. Wilson, Anuan. Dorkings. — Medal and First, W. F. H. Arnndcli, Barj.irg Tower. Second, W. G. F. Lyons, Kirkmichael House. Highly Commended, R. Reid, Loncjton, by Carlisle ; T. Parker; J. MilHgan. ' C/ih-ftrn«.--First, T. Ferguson, Maxwelltown. Second, Mrs. Corrie, Heathat Hill. Highly Commended, W. G. F. Lyons. Commended, Miss A. M*Holm. Cochin-China (Any colour). — First, Lady J. Johnstone Douglas, Lockerbie House. Secoud and Highly Commended, Mrs. Moffat, Kirtle- hridge. ('ojnmouded, S. Cowan, CJlaronceficld. ChJckcnx.—Fir^t, Lady J. Johnstone Douglas. Second, J. Neilson. Highly Commended, &. Cowan. HAMBCRGH8 (Golden-spangled).- First. Mrs. Corrie. Second. T. Mus- grave, Longtown. Highly Commended, H. Currie, Ardrossan. ChickcTis. — i-'irst and Second, Mrs, Lorrie. Hamburoiis (Golden-pencilled). — First, R. Barrow. Second, T. Mus- gravp. Highly Commended, W. Bowe, Carlisle. Chickens. — Medal, First, und Second, R. Little. Highly Commended, W, Bowe. Hamburghs (Silver-spangled).- Medal and First, J. Hunter, Gntelaw Bridge. Second, T. Musgrave. Highly Commended, J. Douglas. Caim- side. Chickcm. — First an'i Commended. J. Douglas. Hccond, W. Bowe. Highly Commended, R. Kerr, Barjarg Tower, bvAuldgirih; J. Huutbr. Commended, J, Douglas. Hamhuhgiis (Silver-penciUed). — First, J. Muagrave. St cond, H. M. JohnstoiiC, Broadholm. Chickens. — Fiist, J. Musgruve. f-ecoad. W. Little, Dumfries. Brahma PooTi{AS.~Fir^i inches. Second, W. Allison, Buck. Length of ears, 22 inches; width, 5i inches. Weight.— First (Silver Cup), — Frith, Doe. Weight, 9 Ib5. Second, J. Leigh, Doe. Weight, 8 lbs. ^V. Allison, Sic, S, Ckenei; Mow, Skcffidd. Philoperi-steron Sooiett. — The grand annual Show of Pigeons of this old Society will be held at the Freemasons' Hall, Great Queen Street, on Tuesday, .January 14th, from 1 to 4 P.M. Admission by ticket only, to be had on application to the Hon. Sec, Matthew Hedley, Esq., Claremont, Eed Hill, or on the day at the above Hall. DOINGS IN A SMM.L APIARY IN 1807. Although the bee season of 1867 has been a decided failure, I venture to give an account of some little doings in my apiary, believing they may possess an interest to some readers of otir Journal. The spring found me in possession of three hives of black bees, each in good condition. I had restricted myself to this number, having in view the introduction of the Ligurian species, on which some notes may not be uninteresting at a future period. I have had no swarms, and no honey to appro- priate. Of my three hives. A, a two-year stock in a 14j-inch square straw hive with a wood top, was very strong. Two bell-glasses and a 9-inch square glass-framed super were placed on in May, but not until late in June were they fully taken to. In July the bees ceased comb-building, also the storing of honey. None of the combs was ever sealed; the honey being of a very dark colour, I allowed the bees to consume it, or remove it to their stock hive. Besides this, in October I had to give the stock II lbs. of syrup food, to make it up for wintering. The empty combs are the only produce. B, a two-year stock, in a common round hive, was used as a non-swarmer in 18(5C, as also this year, by placing a nadir hive under it late in May. By the middle of July there were only three combs partially built, and little honey stored. Seeing that I should obtain no yield of honey, I at once removed the nadir, drove the bees into an empty skep, and transferred them into a home-made, square, straw, bar-and-frame hive. From their original hive I took 13 lbs. of very dark-coloured honey. This, together with sugar syrup, was given them in their new domicile, and they are now in fair order for win- tering. C, the tintortunate stock of 1866, wintered well. It was fed a little in spring and was the most active of the three. A 13-inch glass-framed super was put on in May ; at the end of July this was three-fourths full of combs very partially sealed : the honey was of a very dark colour. Being unfit for table, I have distributed it to make up my stocks for winter. In Oc- tober this stock required 6 lbs. to make it up to 20 lbs. nett. This autumn I have sought to extend the system of driving, and have gained some converts, as well as effected a saving of bee life. In all I have driven seventeen stocks successfully, and have only to record being stung twice. Here, amid other remedies for the sting of a bee, I would recommend the appli- cation, immediately after extracting the sting, of a little — very little — pure spirit of ammonia. Of the seventeen driven stocks, some were added to other stocks with varying success. A few, kept single, I have distri- buted to be again fed up, and, so far as I now know, believe they will succeed. The bees, in each case, I was allowed to have for the driving. — J. G. C, Fiouth KortIianq>tons]iiie. (To be continued.) OUR LETTER BOX. Northern Potn-TRY Club's Show. — We shall give next week a report of this, together with a list of the awards, both having arrived too late for insertion to-day. CoLoruED Dorkings {H. S.).—lf we had to choose, we should breed frnm cocks and pullets with their second eggs. It does not at all injure Grey Dorkings to be crossed with the Silver-Grey ; but the slightest mix- ture of grey is fatal to the Silver-Grey, because any mixture of white, however trifling, in the tail or on the breast, is a disquplitication. It is easier to breed the pullets than the cocks, therefore the most scrupulous care must be taken iu selecting the cock for breeding. 8oFT Food for Foavls {€.). — We do not for a moment believe feeding on soft food has a tendency to make combs grow; but we are quite sure feeding on potatoes has much to do with making them fall over, in con- sequence of the lack of condition which such food induces. Weighing a Fowl with Head Downwards (.■Im^/fs/Vfc).— The cock was snflering when you weighed Mm ; but there is no doubt the cause of death was the rupture of a vessel from the downward floW of blood. You should always weigh a fowl iu a bag or basket. Space for Poultry (J. E. 3f.).— I'nder the trees will do very well. If you will enclose seven postage stamps with your address, and order the *' Poultry Book for the Many," you will have it free by post, and it con- tains plans, &c., for poultry enclosures. Buying Poultry (A Lover, rfr.).— Write to some adverlisers in our .Journal, and buy a cockerel of one vendor, and the pullets of finother. Buy the "Poultry Book for the Many" and the " Garden Manunl," both to be had at our office. A poultry show in and near Loudon hna beeu repeatedly tried, and as often failed. Jannftry 16, 1868, ) JOUBNAB OF HORTIOULTDRE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 30 WEEKLY CALENDAR. Day Dny of of VIonth ■Week. If, Th 17 F 18 8 19 s™ 20 M 21 Tn 22 W JANUARY 16—22, 1808. MeetiDg ol Royal, Linnefln, and Chemical [SocieticB. Royal Hortiimltwral Socidy, Fromenado. 2 S'dnd.^y after EnPHiNY. Meetinc of Uoynl Asiiitic Society. Royal llorticiiitural Society, Fruit. Flora], [aud Oeueral Meetijjg. Average Tempcratare near LondoD. Rain in last 40 years. Day. 4I).2 4II.» 40.3 40.!i 4'.>.7 4;i.9 44.2 NIffht. I Mean 30.0 31.1 81.0 30.8 Hl.O 32.3 32.7 35.5 85.7 86.6 35.6 3^.8 38.1 38.4 Days. 20 14 17 19 15 19 17 Snn Rises. m. h. laI8 8 Son Sets. Moon Rises. m. b. : na. h. 20 af 4 I mom 58af 5 2 7 8 8 4 6 5 57 5 Mood Sets. m. h. lOafll 4() 11 after. 45 13 1 2 45 2 Moon's Age. Dava. ( 23 24 25 26 27 28 Clook before Sun. m. a. 9 59 10 19 10 89 10 67 11 15 11 S3 11 49 Boy Year 18 17 18 19 20 21 Xi From observations taken near London during the last lorty-one years, the average day temperature of the week is 41.7"; and its night temperature 31.4\ The greatest heat waB 68'-', on the lath, 1823; aiid the lowest cold 4^= below zero, on the 19th, 1838. The greatest i»li ol rain was 0.88 inch. THE GLADIOLUS: ITS CULTURE AND ■^DlQ^ " D.," Deal, DISEASES. S some of your correspondents seel; for in- formation on tlie Gladiolus and its culture, I venture to give ray experience on the subject. ha\-ing grown tliis gorgeous autumn flower extensively for the last few years. Tlie following is my mode of culture, both for flowering the bulbs, and for raising and growing seedlings. First let me premise that I liave never suflered much from the fatal disease, like and others. In the wet and cold September of 186G I had a collection growing on a border with rather a stiff' soil, and on lifting the bulbs in October some of them were marked with black spots. A few of the best named sorts wliich were affected I tried to save in the following maimer : — At lifting tune I dried them thoroughly off, and tlicn potted them, witli a handful of wood-charcoal dust round the bulbs. The soil in the pots was kept dry till .\pril, when the pots were plunged in a frame, and the bulbs started with a slight bottom heat. In June the plants were planted-out, and flowered weU. and the new- formed bulbs were perfectly healthy when taken up in October. Last year at lifting time I jjicked out a few spotted bulbs, which have been kept separate from the others, and will be planted in April or May witli some charcoal dust round them. Itliink all black-spotted bulbs should be planted later in the season than tiie healthy ones. If planted in Feb- niaiy or March they will lie some time in tlie gi'ound before growing, and the rot is then sure to end fatally. The cause of these blaclc spots on the bulbs, if due to at- mospheric influences, may be as mysterious as tlie Potato disease, and as difficult to prevent. As to the time of planting, I believe healthy bulbs may be put in from February "to May, or June, according to the weather and state of the soU. The Cardinalis and Ra- mosus sections, being the earliest in flowering, should be planted first ; and, ending with the Gandavensis varieties in April and May, a succession of flowers may be kept up from July till October. Great stress is laid by some growers of the Gladiolus on the advantages of changing the ground it grows on every year. Of course, if no fresh soil is added, a change to another place woidd be desirable ; but I find tliis is not necessary where plants from pots are planted-out, for they are always in fresh compost, and the Gladiolus roots do not go very deep, nor ramify much. When the Gla- diolus is growai in rich stimulating soils, no doubt it will produce the largest and finest spikes ; but I believe it will do this at the expense of health in the bulbs. I find the varieties gro-ivn in the borders and PJiododendron clumps, in poor sandy peaty soil, have the healtliiest bulbs when lifted, and produce the most "spawn." The border in wliich I grow my seetUings has now been planted with them tliree years consecutively, and I can perceive no deterioration in their growth or disease amongst them. Every autumn, when the little bulbs are taken up, some light turfy soO, No. 335.— Vol. XIV., New Series, mixed with very rotten deer dung, is dug into it, and at planting time, in April, a good dressing of shai-p red sand is added. After flowering, and as soon as the leaves begin to change colour in October, the buDjs are taken up, and spread in a dry airy room, secure from frost. After they are thoroughly dried, the old stems ai'e cut or clipped off, and tlie old dead corms removed, saving all the increase of the difi'ercnt varieties. As tliere is a great dift'erence in the shape of the flower in the Gladiolus and the way it is placed on the spike, owing to the Ramosus or Floribundus blood inherited by the difi'erent varieties of Gandavensis, I think the time is coming when only the best-shaped flowers and spikes will be tolerated at exhibitions of this flower. About twenty years ago, when Tansies were not of so good a shape as they are now, I had a tolerably good collection of the best sorts grown then. On the occasion of a ^-isit from a neigh- bouring gardener he inspected my bod, and begged a few cuttings, saying his at home were all very "sow-lugged." Now we are in the transition state with the Gladiolus, and all " sow-eared " and winged flowers will have to be dis- carded in collections of show flowers. In 1H().5 I flowered a seedling, raised from Monsieur Blouet, with all the petals nicely rounded, and of nearly the same size : in fact, quite a florists' flower. Tliis seed- ling I crossed with Queen Victoria, and some others of the best-shaped flowers I had out at the time, and saved some seed from the crosses. This autumn the young bulbs will bloom, and I expect something good from them in shape and colour. The autumn of 180,5 was the best I have known for saving Gladiolus seed : for, with the precaution of setting tlio flowers, nearly every kind seeded freely in August and September. I shall have tlris autumn between five and six thousand bulbs to bloom, raised from seed sowti ia April, IMOG, and it is astonishing how small a bulb will bloom late in the season. I find it is the safest way in our uncertain climate to grow in pots some of the most expensive and finest kinds when seed is wanted from them ; you can then keep them under cover and from the bees. It is quite a sight to watch a collection of Gladiolas in flower on a sunny morning, for every few minutes large lumbering humble bees will be sucking in tlie nectaries, and as fast as one is satisfied another will be ready to take its place. In 18(;(J and 18(j7 I saved but little seed from my col- lection ia the open air, and depended on bulbs grown in pots. I find the best way of raising seedlings is to sow the seed in April on a south border, the soil being made very light with plenty of red sand and leaf moidd. If the seed is sown in pans or boxes, the roots become cramped, and the small bulbs never grow so fast as in the open air. As " B." enumerates some of the varieties he has foimd the best for shape and colour, I have done the same, and shall begin with the new sorts sent out in 18()7. Adolphe Brongniart, flamed orange and red ; FOIicien David, cherrj' rose, striped carmine ; I..ady Franklin, white ground, flaked with carmine and rose — in my opinion the best shapcdflower Ko. 1007.— Vou XXXIX., Old Seros, n40 JOUUNAL OF HOBTIOULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. [ Jannary 16, 1868. Bent out in 1867; Princess Mary of CambriJge, white, blotched ■with carmine ; Sir W. Hooker, cerise, blotched with carmine. Of the older flowers, without taking any notice of the year in ' which they were sent out, I consider the following as the best : White or Lif]ht Varieties. — Queen Victoria, Eurydice, Eleanor Norman, Shakespeare, and Milton, creamy white and flaked. Red and Scarlet. — Meyerbeer, Marechal Vaillant, Fulton, Ensign, The Colonel, Comte de Morny, and Napoleon III. Cerise. — Bernard Palissy, Le Poussin, John Waterer, and Due de Malakoff. Lilac. — Anais, Bella Gabrielle, Empress Engfinie, and Ma- dame Furtado. Yelloic. — El Dorado. Ease. — Noemie, Princess Clothilde, Penelope, Charles Dickens, and Madame Vilmorin. The few I have grown of Mr. Standish's varieties, such as Eleanor Norman, The Colonel, and Ensign, I consider better shaped than the very best of the foreigners. — William Tilleet. THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S SPRING AND SUMMER SCHEDULES FOR lso8. These are now before the public, and, taken as a whole, are ari'anged in a very liberal spirit and on an extensive scale. In looking through them, however, there are a few things that strike one as being open to improvement. First, greater inducements are offered to the trade than there are to amateurs and gentlemen's gardeners. Both of the latter have to compete at a great disadvantage with the trade for this reason — neither the amateur nor the gardener has the stock to select from that the nurseryman has, nor have they conveniences to produce plants or flowers, at an early period of the season especially, such as the nurseryman has. In either case, the amateur or gardener must have his houses filled to overflowing with subjects suitable for his family or his employer's purposes. There are very few places in the country where the gardener will find houses for the express purpose of growing plants, &o., for exhibition only — a thousand things are gene- rally required from the gardener, whether he has few or many glass structures for horticultural purposes. In glancing over the schedule of the show of Hyacinths and Early Spring Flowers, to be held on the Uth of March, the highest prize is offered to nurserymen only, and Class 2 being open, the highest in it is almost sure to go to the trade. The great point in their favour is that as soon as their stock of bulbs arrive in the autumn, they can at once select the very strongest and most suitable for their purpose, whilst the amateur or gardener must do the best he can with what he has sent him. The wording of the schedule, in my opinion, should therefore be reversed, allowing the gardener or amateur to compete on more equal terms with the nurseryman. This could be done by making a division for amateurs in Classes 1 and 2, which should read thus : " Class 1 : 18 Hyacinths distinct, nursery- men, £2, £1, 15s. Class 1, amateurs : 18 Hyacinths, distinct, £3, £2, £1 ;" and Class 2, instead of being" open, should be arranged in a similar way. This would give the amateur a fair chance, and the consequence would be that the number of exhibitors would be very much increased, thereby making the Society's exhibition much more attractive to the public, and consequently bringing together a much larger number of visitors. A similar drawback again occurs in the schedule for the Show of Eoses and Early Spring Flowers, to be held on the 18th of April. Nine classes out of thirteen are open, thus giving the trade nine chances to the amateur's four. Something similar occurs in most of the succeeding schedules. At the Grand Summer Flower Show, to be held on the 2nd of June and three following days, in Class 1 there should be provision made for the amateur as well as the nursery. man, by giving another set of prizes of equal amount, thus confining the competition to nurserymen in one half of the class, and to amateurs in another. There are few amateurs who could compete, with any hope of success, with the fine collections of Messrs. Yeitch, "Turner, Eraser, Glendinning, and others. The consequence is that many fine collections are kept at home, and the exhibition loses much in effect and extent, visitors telling their friends who may have made up their minds to see the exhibition on the following day that it is scarcely worth their going to see, as the competition is con- fined to five or six exhibitors, and that on this occasion there are only the same plants they have frequently seen before exhibited again. Offer the amateur and gardener the same advantages, and we shall see five times the number of plants exhibited, and a much greater amount and variety of talent and skill displayed by exhibitors. Fresh ideas will be intro- duced at each exhibition, and instead of seeing large one-sided masses of colour, we shall see plants that will be a credit both to the managers of our exhibitions and to cultivators as well. The schedule for the great Rose Show, to be held on the 30th of June, is much more equally balanced, and shows at a glance that much more care and thought have been used in compiling it. At this show the amateur competes on equal terms with the nurseryman ; and if this can be arranged for the lovers of the Kose, why is it not done for the lovers of plants generally ? There are fully as many gardeners and amateurs who are quite as enthusiastic in the cultivation of other flowers. I need not here prolong my criticism, as, no doubt, this letter will be the means of drawing out the opinions of others who are more interested in the matter than I am. I would remind the Council of the Eoyal Horticultural So- ciety that greater punctuahty is necessary in the distribution of their medals, &e., after they have been awarded to exhi- bitors. If these have to wait six, nine, twelve months, or two years before they receive their medals, much of the in- terest they would otherwise feel is lost, and the employer is apt to say, " It is of no use your exhibiting at the Eoyal Horti- cultural Society, for you will have to wait a year or two before you receive your prize." — F.E.H.S. C0NIFERJ3 AT MR. MITCHELL'S, PILTDOWN. In the latter part of the summer of 1866 I paid a visit to Mr. Mitchell's nurseries at Piltdown, in Sussex, a notice of which appeared in the Journal of September 18th of that year. The duration of the visit being limited to a few hours, the notes were necessarily restricted to a general review of the nurseiy stock, among which some fine specimens of Conifers were especially mentioned ; but there are also many others of the same and different species that were then passed over. Among them are some of the largest and most perfect forms of particu- lar kinds of these beautiful and stately trees that can be seen. Nor was it by the particular specimens only that my atten- tion was strongly interested, for the stock of the different kinds, in some instances to be counted by hundreds, was similarly remarkable for healthy growth, colour of foliage, and every essential requisite for forming fine specimens. I was, therefore, very desirous of ascertaining as far as possible under what conditions these invaluable subjects for the adornment of our gardens and grounds could thrive so uniformly well. If the Editors and readers will accept this as a sufficient reason for again bringing these nurseries before their notice, they will also judge how gladly I accepted an invitation from Mr. Mitchell to again visit Piltdown, and make such further in- spection and observations as my time permitted. Doubtless, the soil and situation of Piltdown are the para- mount influences in producing the free and perfect growth of every kind of Conifer in cultivation there ; but to these must also be added the vigilant care with which they are watched over by the proprietor, .aided in no small degree by the intelli- gence and superintendence of his son. Conifers of some kind will grow almost everywhere. In situations less favoured than Piltdown, if they do not thrive quite so satisfactorily, much may be done by cultivation. It is a mistake to suppose that having selected and planted out cue or more of the many beautiful kinds now so easily to be obtained, there is an end to all further care about it, except to those easy-going people who are indiSerent whether their plants become specimens worth regarding hereafter or not. Our (the gardening) world is not so quietly ordered that we can treat any class of subjects as an exhibition of waxwork, the only difference being that the vegetable figures are expected to grow larger. Such at least is not my limited experience as regards Conifers, especially when the plants are young, al- though admitting the great fact that the many thousands planted out annually for ornamental purposes only, receive little or no attention after planting, and that very many of them do well. It does not follow, however, that many might not do better, even if it is prudent sometimes to " let well alone." They, therefore, in common with every class of plants taken under man's care, require a certain amount of culti- vation according to their habit and age ; it is a requisite to all improvement, and even to the maintenance of the natural condition of kinds brought from distant lands. Junniry 16, 1866. ] JOURNAL OF HOBTIOULTURB AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 41 To note in this place the different points of attention that might be judicionsly applied to the various species of Conifers, especially while the plants are young, would bo to digress too far from the subject of this paper. I may, however, add that having taken upwards of eighty kinds under my care, I have found that the growth of young plants can be promoted, and their symmetry improved, by carefully studying their require- ments. This study mainly consists in knowing the kind of soil in which they are found in their native home, the altitude above sea level at which they thrive best, the mean annual temperature, and the extremes of winter and summer. To judge from these data (some of which may be easily ascertained fur practical purposes from any of the excellent physical atlases that have of late years been published) the probability of the species succeeding or the reverse, will save much after-trouble and dis- appointment. This is particularly applicable to the Cypress and its allies (Cupressina;), as Thuja, Eiota, Ketinospora, and Juniperus. Among these and some of the Pinus tribe the liability to suffer from extreme cold, high winds, and unsuit- able soil, renders more care necessary than for most of the Abies, Pinnses, &c., found in latitudes corresponding to our own, and which scarcely require any attention. At Piltdown many of the most important ornamental Coni- fers find the elements necessary to their well-being. The soil is a deep, rich, friable loam, naturally well drained by the gentle slope of the nursery on one side towards the S.E., and in another direction towards the S. It retains sufficient moisture in hot and dry weather to promote free growth, with- out causing the temperature to sink too low in the cold weather that proves so fatal in this country to the Coniferas of warmer cUmes. Instances will be noticed presently. The pure bracing air of the downs, tempered by the vicinity of the sea, less than twenty mUes distant, is also an additional circumstance emi- nently favourable. With these preliminary remarks I now offer some notes of the principal kinds growing there. Arancaria imhricata claims the first notice on account of the size many of the specimens have attained, their number, and their perfect growth. The largest, near the entrance gate to the nursery on the east of the road opposite Mr. ifitchell's re- sidence, is probably the finest specimen in England. Its height is upwards of -10 feet ; the circumference of the trunk near the ground is fi| feet ; its lowest branches springing from the trunk are 11 and 12 feet in length, thence gradually and uniformly diminishing in length towards the top. The ramifications of each branch are similarly uniform and equidistant, most nu- merous at the extremities of the main branches, and by their weight give these a graceful curvature and somewhat pendulous habit (the true character of the Araucarias), the curvature and pendulous character becoming less and less towards the top in proportion to the length of the branches. The tree bore cones last year, but none this season. From its height and colour of foliage, this magnificent tree is a conspicuous object from nearly every part of the nursery. It was planted about twenty-six years ago, and it is manifest that its progress has been unin- terrupted under every circumstance of a variable climate. The next tree, on the other side of the gateway, is about 30 feet in height, resembling the first in all respects. In a line with these two grand plants is a continuous row of up- wards of sixty others, varying in height from 20 to 30 feet. In front of them, a well-kept roadway runs the whole length of the Une ; on the other side of this roadway, and opposite the first row of Araucarias, is another line of upwards of forty more of like magnitude, thus forming an avenue of unexampled interest. A single specimen of Arancaria is eminently pictur- esque, always causing admiration when the specimen is well grown. When, therefore, so large a number of this remarkable South American Conifer is found at one place an extraordinary feature is presented to view, so striking, so unusual in this country, that the scene dwells in the memory as a strange sight Been in a foreign land, or read of in books relating distant travel. This impression is very forcible at a point where, owing to the nature of the ground, the pathway and avenue are diverted from the straight line ; the space behind the Arau- carias on either side being planted with various other Conifers and exotic shrubs, all traces of native vegetation are shut out of view, and tho illusion of being suddenly transported to some unknown region, if indulged in for the moment, is complete. It is gratifying to record the fact that the intense cold of last winter, so disastrous to many Araucarias, did not inflict the slightest injury on these noble plants. Mr. Mitchell has many other young plants in excellent condition. Jiiota (Thuja) aurea. — This Conifer has become such a ge- , neral favourite, that plants of it are now met with almost every- where, and in every nursei-y the stock of it is generally found to be conspicuously planted, or in such numbers as to attract attention. Piltdown is no exception to this rule, great num- bers in different parts of tho nursery attest the universal de- mand for tliis pretty ornamental shrub. Tho attention of visitors is at once arrested by the two fine specimens near the great Araucaria. These plants are now about 5 feet, or a little more in heigh:, with a circumference of 18 feet ; their growth is perfect throughout, and in form spheroidal almost approach- ing globular, the diameter being but a trifle greater than the height. Biota aurea is one of the handsomest lawn plants ever introduced, being equally suitable for small as for large plots, in the latter case more than one specimen might be planted. It may be frequently noticed that as Biota aurea increases in size and age, the bottom becomes thin, thereby exposing the stems of the shrub. When this is the case, it will be found in many instances that tho roots have penetrated deeply into a barren subsoil, whence they can derive no nourishment. I have found this defect to be partially checked by renewing the soil around the plant. In nurseries this defect is almost en- tirely avoided by the occasional transplanting of the stock. Thuja glgantca. — There is a question of nomenclature affect- ing this species which it is very desirable should be set at rest. It has also been called Libocedrus decurrens. According to Mr. Berkeley, the lamented Lobb, who discovered this and the Thuja hitherto known as T. Lobbii, did not name these kinds as we have them, but owing to some oversight the names became as it were transposed, the specific "gigantea" being applied to the kind Lobbii, and vice versa. Judging from the habits of the two species, the rapid growth of T. Lobbii sometimes increasing its height as much as 3 or 4 feet in one season, would the more readily suggest " gigantea," than the slower and more compact growth of the other. Every honour should be paid to the memory of Lobb, who may be regarded as one of the martyrs in the cause of botanical and horticultural science. His name can with propriety be retained for one of the kinds. Why Libocedrus should have been applied does not yet appear sufficiently clear, unless there are points of dif- ference in common with the other species still known as Li- bocedrus. to warrant their separation from the Thujas, as a distinct genus. The specific " decurrens " is objectionable, as not expressing any property in the kind, nor of botanical usage that I am aware of. Synonymes should, if possible, be avoided ; and it would be an immense gain to botany if some competent authority could be established, not only to revise, but to sim- phfy existing nomenclature— a task well worthy of being under- taken. The large specimen at Piltdown of Thuja gigantea, or if we are to call it aright, T. Lobbii, is now about 13 feet high ; the circumference of the branches at half that height is much greater than at the bottom. I am inclined to believe that this is not the general character of the tree, having never observed it nor any tendency to it in other specimens. This is, how- ever, the largest I have ever seen. The deep glossy green of its foliage renders it a most beautiful and picturesque object at all seasons ; its hardiness has also been fully established. It ap- pears to be shy of removal, probably on account of scarcity of rootlets. I have to regret the loss of a good plant G feet high from this cause. It might be overcome by grafting on a more vigorous kind, but this process is very objectionable in many Conifers. Thuja sibirica, or plicata, for I believe them to be identical, is too well known to need description. It is more valuable for contrast with other Conifers in colour of foliage and formality of growth than as single specimens. Mr. Mitchell's largest is about 12 feet high, quite conical in shape — the characteristic of tho species. I know of no Conifer so frequently planted where it ought not to be as T. plicata, the colour of its foliage only showing to advantage when contrasted with other species. A dwarf variety of it, called T. minima, is deserving of a place under similar restrictions. Cuprcs.tus Lau-soniana. — The hardiest and most graceful Of all the Cypresses proper, and therefore the most valuable of them for ornamental purposes. From its readiness to produce seed, even in a young state, it might become as common as Larch if it possessed any economic value, but with the excep- tion of some of the Junipers none of the Cupressina; yields timber appUcable to any general purposes, being far surpassed in this respect by many of the Pinuses and Abies. Like other species of this family, it appears to be susceptible of change under cultivation and on different soils, showing varions forms 42 JOUENAL OF HORTICDLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 18, 1868. of variegation and colour of foliage. SpecimenB at Piltdown are numerous, and seedlings from them occupy a whole quarter. Jimijicrus ericoides is one of the specialities of ilr. Mitchell's nursery. It is really a very pretty tree, and deservedly in- creasing in favour. Less formal and rigid than the Irish or Swedish .Juniper, the Heath-like form of its foliage during the period of gi-owth gives it a very distinctive character. I have seen this plant inserted in more than one nursery catalogue under three different names. This ought not to be. Jiiniperiis virt/imanu variegata. — Excepting the Holly and Enonymus, the best, most distinct, and most beautiful forms of variegation in hardy ligneous plants undoubtedly occur in many deciduous ones. The variegation in Conifera? seems to impart an unhealthy appearance to the plant that cannot command even the ordinary epithet of "pretty," especially at the time when the variegation is most wanted — that is, in y?inter. .Such, at least, is my impression of it. Nevertheless, it would be unfair to pass unnoticed the variegated form of the old Red Cedar, which at Piltdown and in other nurseries shows a marked contrast with other kinds, and is one of the most distinct in cultivation. Ccdrm deoilara. — If we were to assign social positions to the different kinds of Coniferie, the Deodar would claim the rank of royalty, as one of the grandest and most majestic trees known. Yet its high rank would not have brought it under special notice in this place were there not some evidence respecting it desirable to be obtained. Its perfect hardiness is now doubtful, for large plants of it 10 and 12 feet high in Messrs. Ivery's nursery at Dorking were killed to the ground last vpinter, and had to be dug up ; but there the temperature fell to several degrees below zero. At other places we hear of its having been much injured. My tree, about 18 feet high, had scarcely a leaf browned, but it had not to endure much more than 20° of frost. What is its limit of endurance? Another question connected with it is of some botanical interest. Is it a distinct species, or only a variety of C. Li- baui ? As it increases in age it appears to approach more and more closely to Libani, especially as regards foliage — a circumstance first pointed out to me at Linton by my respected friend Mr. Kobson, and, I think, noticed by him in these pages. At Piltdown the soil, i-c, doubtless influence its growth, but the largest plants, 15 to 20 feet high, are forming largo spread- ing branches precisely after the habit of C. Libani. Difference of locality where found produces differences in kinds, wiiich may disappear when both or all are brought together, as it were, on neutral ground, remote from the original districts. There is a problem to be solved which may not unlikely diminish very sensibly the long lists of species, alike burdensome to the memory of the followers of science as it is perplexing to the uninitiated. Ccphalotaxm Fortuni.—'H.ere, again, is a question of nomen- clature, there being two kinds under this name— one called the male, the other the female — but upon what grounds ? Mr. Mitchell's largest plants of both kinds are well-grown specimens, showing their habit and character very clearly. The species hitherto known as the male has this year produced a quantity of fruit, the berries being in size and form somewhat Uke those of the common Aucuba, and, when I saw them, green and hard ; the flowers were not observed at the proper time, otherwise the sex of the plant would have been determined. Cephalotaxus is a useful addition to our Yews, forming a compact and circular bush of moderate growth, with foUage bolder, and in one kind lighter in colour, than any other of the family. It will be seen to best advantage in large collections, planted singly or iu pairs apart from other trees. Like all the Taxads, it will eyidently bear pruning to any extent.— Aoolphus H. Kent. IS A DRY OR MOIST ATMOSPHERE THE MORE CONGENIAL FOR SETTING MUSCAT GRAPES ? Upon this subject many gardeners differ, the majority, however, advocating a high temperature and dry atmosphere when the Vines are iu bloom ; some few go to the reverse extreme by even syringing the Vines when in flower. Consulting what I consider the nearest approach to Nature's laws in all my experiments in cross-fertilising varieties of fruit trees, flowers, and vegetables, I have had the opportunity of be- ing in search of pollen frequently in aU sorts of weather. These experiments having been made in-doors and out, during bright and sunny, dry and humid, cloudy and wet weather, I must say I have not been so sensibly convinced of the effects produced in-doors by a wet or dry atmosphere on the production of pollen ; but I am decidedly convinced, from careful watching, that in a dry hot atmosphere out of doors I could seldom obtain pollen to operate with, whilst on a cool day, with a rather moist atmosphere, I have found pollen always abundant. Therefore, as pollen is the agent needed for fructification, I consider that what holds good out-doors in producing the desired effects should be the aim of the cultivator in an artificial temperature. — WiLLiAii Melville, Dalmeny Park. THE CULTURE OF TREE MIGNONETTE. It is very easy of culture, and by exercising a little judgment in the sowing of a few seeds at diiierent seasons of the year, and care in cutting away the dead flowers as they appear, it may be had in bloom in the conservatory every month in the year. It may be formed into various shapes according to the taste of the cultivator. Some prefer growing it in the shape of a cone, with one plant in the centre of a pot, the stem of the plant tied to a neat stake, the side shoots regularly stopped and trained, and the flowers pinched-ofi as they appear, till the plant has attained its desired height and size. Others choose to have five or six plants in a 32 or 24-sized pot, and when these are neatly trained they are very useful, and never fail to be admired at this season and onwards for several months. I have grown a few very pretty standard Mignonette plants, and as they are generally much admired, I will briefly detail their cultivation. About the end of March seed was sown in several small 48-sized pots, placing three or four seeds in each. The com- post used chiefly consisted of decayed turf pulled to pieces with the hand, but not riddled, intermixed with horse drop- pings passed through a fine sieve ; sand being added to keep the compost open. In a mixture of this description. Mignonette seems to thrive well and bloom freely. When the seeds were sown the pots were placed in a cold pit, and as soon as the seedlings were large enough to distinguish which were the largest and strongest plants, the best were selected to remain, and the others thinned-out, and thrown away. As soon as the pots were filled with roots, but before the plants became pot- bound, these were moved into 6-inch pots, and in this size single plants will form good heads of bloom if occasionally as- sisted with weak manure waterings. Some prefer larger-sized pots in order to grow extra-strong plants, but I rather like 6-inch pots, for they can then be placed in a small vase, and used occasionally for dinner-table decoration. When the plants were several inches high, a neat stake was placed to each to keep them erect. The side shoots as they appeared were carefully pinched-off near to the main stem, carefully leaving one or two leaves at the base of each successive shoot to strengthen the plant, and keep the roots active. This I consider rather important, as, if the plant were denuded of all its leaves as the stem progressed, its health would become impaired, and premature decay would set in. Much the same course was pursued until the plants had at- tained the desired height. As the plants became established they were removed from the cold pit, and placed on a bed of coal ashes out of doors. They were stopped at heights varying from 16 inches to 2 feet, and as the flower buds appeared these were regularly pinched- out, to force the plants to form a neat bushy head, until about the end of September, when each was furnished with a pro- fusion of shoots, which were allowed to expand then- bloom. By pinching-off the decayed blooms, the plants will continue to flower throughout the winter months ; but to secure the perfection of fragrance, they require both sun and air, and, consequently, when convenient, should be placed in proximity to the openings by which the air is admitted into the houses, — QcrSTIN REiD. HAVE MERCY ON YOUR PEAR TREES. I MUCH regret to see, in your number of the 2nd inst., that my old instructor in Eose-budding, Mr. Charles Ellis, of Upper East Sheen, has been guilty of the great imprudence of allow- ing 276 fruit to ripen on a young Beurie Clairgeau Pear tree, only 11 feet high ; and, not content with this, actually pub- lishes the fact, with the view of encouraging others to go and do similarly. After profiting by Mr. Ellis's instructions in Eose-budding, Jaaaory IC, 18€8. J JOUXlNMi OF HOBTICULTURE AND COXTAGE GABDENEB. 43 I went on to fniit-growing, and by diligently carrying out the diroctions contained in M. Ba Breuil'a " Treatise on Arbori- culture" (French edition), I have now an excellent collection of Pears. I have received 18s. a-dor.en from a fruiterer in Eichmond for Easter Leurri-, and never less than Vis. a-dozen for those I wish to part with. Quality, tested by actual sale, should be the object of .iU amateurs, and " the quality of mercy must not be strained " by such an exaction as twenty-three dozen from a young tree onlv 1 1 feet high. When, next year, Jlr. Ellis's fruit room is destitute of Beurrc Clairgeau Pears— as destitute it will be— I will endeavour to supply his " ripe " wants from young and vigorous plants of about the same size, which are permitted, and rarely fail to produce, year by year, five or Bix dozen first-class fruit. — • Henky W'. Pownall, ,S'(. Margant'a, Twickenham. WHAT IS A CORDON.' As an article in your last impression attempts to answer this question, and gives a definition of the term entirely at variance with the commonly accepted one in France, you will perhaps allow mo to state what a cordon really means in the language of French fruit-growers generally. We know it is one of those terms that have many meanings, and hence occurs the twisting it has received of late. Clearly what we want is to know the generally accepted meaning of the term. To say, as you do, that it means any form pruned on the spur system, is "quite erroneous, and so is Mr. Bn'haut's definition. The Peach, when trained en cordon in France, has its branches laid-in the same as those of trees of the larger forms. This is true of Peaches whether grown in or out of doors, the only exception being the system of Grin, in which an attempt is made to do without the uailiug-iu. This is adopted in but very few places, and is not liked by the French fruit-growers. For us it will prove completely useless. You quote Professor Du Breuil. I have now the last edition of his vrork before me. You say he invented the term to " express certain modes of training which we have called the spur system,'' A-c. The truth is, he invented the form for a purpose which he very clearly expresses. Struck with the long time it takes to cover walls with the larger forms, even when under the best management, and other difficulties and com- plications which he enumerates, it occurred to him that the adoption of a simpler form would be desirable. At page 339 of the very latest edition of his book {13(j8j, he says " Frapjxi de ces inconvenient^ nous avonx cherche a y remedier en imagi- nant dc nouielles formes qui, heaiicoup plus aisees a ctablir que toutes les autres, promisscnt de couvrir regulierment toute la sur- face du mnr dans un laps de temps Veaiicoup plus court, etjissent donner aux arbres leur produit marimnvi heaucoup pilus t'lt, sans abrener leur durce." These new forms he called cordons. The spurring-in of these in the case of the Pear was exactly the same as that applied to tho branches of the larger forms for years before. Therefore it is quite a contortion of the author's meaning, and tends, moreover, to confuse the mind of the reader, to say that the term was introduced simply to '■ express what we call the spur system." I think the French language contained a name for that a long time before the Professor's appearance, and he certainly did not invent the term to sup- plant what they were previously known by. At page 480 of the work above quoted is a figure of the Peach en cordon, with the wood laid- in in the ordinary way. From the greater degree of vigour iuduced by the tree being confined to a single stem, the wood to be laid-in is often more profuse than from a branch of a large tree. At page 483 he even gives a figure of a very neat mode of covering a wall for cordons, and in which there is special and careful provision made for the tying-in of the young side branches of the Peach. I, " one of the disputants," did not use the term cordon " In a very limited sense, conveying the idea that it referred only to the manner in which Apples and Pears are trained to form edgings to garden walks." I said especially that there were many forms of cordons, but that that particular one was the best for general use. With your general estimate of the cordon system , I quite agree, but think you will yet find the low edging cordon excellent when well managed, and am certain that it has distinct merits for this country. Against walls, it is true, the cordons cover the space quickly from being usually confined to simple stems ; but then their energies are confined too much, and, besides, the expense of planting trees so closely together is objectionable. A better way to attain a consider- able variety from a small space and cover the wall quickly, is to adopt forms with four or five ascending stems. This has been recently done on a large scale at Versailles, and with an excellent result. By the way, X have looked through Du Breuil and other good French authors, and in none of them do I find the word cordon applied to any large form of tree ; but I have just seen a very clear definition of what it is in M. C. Baltet's book on the Pear — ■" Le cordon est la forme rMuite a sa plus simple e.Tjiression ; une seule tige garnie de brindilles fruitieres. L'avantage du cordon est de simplifier la charpente ct de rfunir une collection dr rarletes dans un espace restreint." — (Culture du Poirier, p. 20.) Therefore the term cordon does apply to a particular and well-defined class of forms, and is not a particular mode of pruning, as is abundantly shown by the work of the inventor of the system, who is, I may add, the leading professor of fruit-growing in France. The French certainly do not apply the term to indicate a tree pruned on the spur system ; and it is clear enough that the English have never done so. That they will adopt the term cordon in lieu of the old one is most unlikely in either case ; but unless they depart widely from what is generally accepted in such matters, they must call the forms embracf d under that name by the expressive term given them by their originator— a term widely accepted on the Con- tinent. — One of the Disputants. [We have only to repeat that M. Du Breuil uses the word "cordon" generically, and not specifically. In the edition of his book so long ago as 1846, he there defines it as " the primary ramifications of the stem, and which are generally simple ;" and in his edition of 1350 he says, " The forms of this group [cordons], are ail composed of horizontal, obhque, or even vertical cordons issuing directly from the stock of the tree, or supported from a stem more or less elevated." The various kinds he describes are the simple horizontal, the simple ver- tical, the simple oblique, the horizontal unilateral, and the palmetto cordon. Of the last a figure is given which represents a tree with no less than tirimttj-tiro horizontal branches or cordons upon it. ' What is that if it is not " a large form of tree?" The quotation our correspondent has given above from M. Du Breuil is most unfairly stated, inasmuch as he quotes just enough to suit his own purpose, and then he says, " These new forms he calls cordons." Now M. Du Breuil does no such thing, as our correspondent well knows. What he does say is, " We have given to this new disposition, contrived by us for the Pear tree in 135'2, the name of cordon oblique s'iv:ple." So much for M. Du Breuil, the eminent professor. Then there is that skilful old pruner, M. LepiTe, who, after all, we believe to be the originator of the term, and not M. Du Breuil. If our correspondent will turn to his book he will find eight pages devoted to "Pahnette Peach trees with horizontal cordons," and the text illustrated on plate v. M. Lepere's definition of cordons is, " these are the secondary branches of the Peach tree formed en palmctte." Surely this cannot be applied to M. Baltet's cordon, which is a solitary stem, furnished with fruit-bearing hrindilks (elongated spurs), and which has no branches at all. M. Carriere, also, an author of note and of authority in French gardening matters says, " Particularly in arboriculture, every part of a plant trained a little horiz.ontally is called a cordon, and on which branches are placed which are kept short by pruning, and to which the name of branches coursonnes ig given. In a handsome cordon the coursons* are well directed, they are well displayed— that is to say, that they have no rami- fications, and that they do not form what may be called bushy masses. Cordon is appUed also to Pear trees, Apple trees, or any other tree when it is subjected to this form." bur correspondent has correctly quoted M. Charles Baltet, a respectable French nurseryman, who, like himself, uses the word in its most restricted sensr ; his cordon being the cordon simple of M. Du Breuil. Whatever loose appUcation M. C. Baltet or '■ the French fruit-growers generally" may make of the term, is not to the piu-pose ; our acceptation of it is not I.L Baltet's, but that of those eminent arboriculturists who for thirty years or more have devoted their attention to the inven- • Catnons are in Peaches the analogues of the spurs in Pears or Apples, produced by close-pruniog and pinchins in the same way as spars are. We submit this note with great diffidence to car correspondent after his authoritative assertion that our and Mr. Brehaufs deftnitions aro " (inite erroneous ;" but wo cannot help informing him, for he does not aeem to know, that the modem system of close-pruning the Peach in branches coursonnes, inciu'ling the little laying-ia that is required, is totally different from tho old system of "laying-ia" to which we referred. 44 JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. [ Jannary 16, 1868. tionand perfecting of this modem system ofprnning; and surely neither M. Baltet nor onr correspondent will be inclined to dispute the interpretation given of the cordon by the authorities we have quoted, and by whom the term was defined and made use of before either ef them could have_ given much or any heed to the subject. We hold, therefore, that a cordon is a simple branch close- pruned or spurred, and not a tree, except when that tree con- sists of one simple branch only, and then it is a cordon simple, and not simply a cordon. We will shortly furnish iUustrations of the various forms of trees trained on the cordon principle.] YUCCAS AND THEIK PROPAGATION. I HAD lent me the other evening the last July number of The JocRNAii of Horticulture. Mr. Kobson's remarks on Yuccas (page 57), recalled to my recollection some experiments relative to these plants, which were carried out here about eight years ago. Having had no opportunity of seeing any subsequent number of the Journal, I am at a loss to know if any additional remarks have appeared in reference to their propagation. As the results of those experiments, together with my subsequent experience, do not correspond with Mr. Eobson's assertion that "the Yuccas increase but slowly," I send you some particulars respecting the experiments and the results. On each side of a long terrace walk there stood a row of overgi-own, large-headed Yucca plants. Although some of them produced flower spikes almost every year, yet from having become top-heavy they never looked neat. Some were kent one way, others another, and some were propped-up. At last they became unmanageable, and were condemned, the stems being sawn through just above the surface of the soil. They were then planted, some with the stems entire, others with the stems shortened. The operation was similar to planting a post for a gate, a good ramming included. The object of this experiment was to ascertain if the plants would grow in that state, and, if they grew, to see if they would flower more regularly. If those two points could be gained we hoped to succeed in forming dwarf, compact bushes of Yuccas, with a dozen or more spikes of bloom on each. For some time the plants were sorry-looking, and some of them were soon dressed in mourning. An occasional sneer was indulged in when the operation was going on ; but now the laugh was outright. Nevertheless, some of them grew, others died, I fear from over-ramming, or careless ramming, which bruised the bark of the stems and caused them to rot. Those, however, that grew have not flowered as was expected. Since then we have put in heads of plants with naked stems more carefully, and they seldom fail to grow. The roots come out thickly all over the stem. Those that were planted so that the shoots which formed the head came in contact with the soO, in two years furnished a good supply of young plants. Some plants rooted in this way are now 3 feet high. In two or three years they will have an appear- ance which I consider far more effective than that which they will present after they have flowered, and have become large- Leaded and top-heavy. " How do you manage to obtain so many young Yucca plants ?" said a nurseryman to me one day, " I find them very slow." 1 then related to him the following experiment, which proved them not so slow of propagation as it would appear they are generally imagined to be. In digging-up the roots of the plants we had sawn off, it oc- curred to me that they were likely to sprout if lightly covered with BoU. I had, therefore, all the roots of the size of one's finger, or larger, collected, cut into lengths of 3 or 4 inches, and placed in a border, covering them with jast sufficient soil to hide them. This was done in the month of May. My ex- pectations were more than realised, for I had two and some- times three shoots on a bit of root. We have had an abun- dance of Yuccas ever since. Some plants thus raised are now 2 feet high to the tips of the leaves. Even some of the very small bits that were thrown away grew, although several of them were fully exposed. Any one having an old Yucca plant can, by digging around it, and taking some of its largest roots, soon secure a supply of young plants. The Yuccas treated as above were plants of Y. gloriosa ; but I have two or three other sorts, and I found them quite as easy to propagate iu this way. I advise those who try this mode of propagation to place a few twigs over the roots when planted to prevent these being disturbed. — H. Mills, Eny^, Pcnnju. REVIEW. The Gardener's Almanack, and Poultnj-Kccpcr'/ and Apiarian's Calendar for the Year 1S68. Edited by G. W. Johnson, E. Hewitt, and T. W. Woodbury. Jocr.siL of Hokticul- ICEE Office, 171, Fleet Street. In this Almanack we have a great desideratum supplied, which is none the less valuable for its combining so much that is useful to the confraternity of gardeners, poultry-keepers, and bee-keepers, who are very often " iresjuncti in vno." Here, under the same cover, and for the moderate price of one shilling, each and all will find much valuable information special to then- separate hobbies, besides the usual information given in all good almanacks perhaps fuller than usual. The " Gardening " calendar (if it may be so called), supplies an essay every month on such subjects as the following : — " Vines in pots," " Fuchsias," " The Oleander," " Potting and Kopotting," "Melons," " Vines in a Greenhouse," "Pelar- gonium Cuttings," " Clerodendrons," " Koses in Pots," &c. There are also "Lists of Flowers for Amateurs," the best ol each kind, with descriptions. Then there is an essay on " Poultry-Keeping," by Mr. Hewitt, with remarks on " Prevalent Faults at Poultry Exhibitions," followed up by an admirably arranged table for memoranda for every day in the year. Here at a glance the poultry housewife can see what kind of fowl has been sat, on what number and kind of eggs, date of hatching, number of chicks, and how many reared, with a daily list of eggs laid by any and every variety of fowl. The ai-rangement is completeness and per- fection itself. In the Bee-keeping department we have a Calendar of Operations for every month in the year, with a blank page for each month of the busy season for the jotting-down of memo- randa. The calendar is moat complete and most carefully written. Whoever foUows its instructions with docility can hardly fail of success. It is specially designed for the scien- tific bee-keeper, as we might expect from the pen of Mr. Wood- bury, the first apiarian of the day ; but there is matter of profitable instruction for all — learned or unlearned. There are capital illustrations of the bottle feeder and of the mode of securing and fitting combs to the frame bar. — B. & W. METEOROLOGICAL NOTES AT LINTON PARK, ICENT, 1807. Rain in iuchea. J.anuary 3.05 Februai^ 1-53 M.arch 8-42 . AprU 1-67 May 2.85 Jime 0.85 July 4.53 August 1-55 September 1.43 October ^.65 November 1.26 December 2.42 No. of No. ofJroUji rainy days. .... 18 .... 17 .... 23 .... 18 .... 11 9 .... 11) .... 10 .... 12 .... 16 days. 21 5 23 3 5 18 1 7 10 19 Total 2G71 176 94 The greatest faU of rain in one day was on July 26th, when 1.51 inch fell. The greatest number of consecutive dry days occurred from the 19th of June to the 2nd of July, and also fi-om the 2nd to the 14th of November, both twelve clear days. The hottest day was August 14th, thermometer 90'. The coldest day was January 5th, thermometer 10". The readings of the barometer taken at noon each day, and, consequently, not likely to be either extreme, were as follows : — Maximum, 30.42 inches, on March 2nd. Minimum, 28.23 inches, on January 8th. The winds, as taken at noon show during the year, E, thirteen days; S.E., 24; S., 80 ; S.W., 72; W., 46; N.W., 27 ; N.,Oi) ; N.E., 43 ; and two not determined. _ As compared with former years, the rainfall of 1S67 is about half an inch above the average of the preceding twelve years, and the number of rainy days nine in excess. The winds from S., and S.W., have been more prevalent, especially those from the S., while the days on which it blew from N.E. were much January IC, 18C8. ] JOUENAL OP HOETICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. U fewer. The nnmber of frosty days is about tbe average, and in May almost unprecedented. An early frost on September 25th reduced the period between spring and autnmn frosts to exactly lour months, an unusually short time. Certainly the frost of the latter period was not quickly followed by others equally sharp, but for the most delicate of out-door plants the autumn was early. Pelargoniums, Gazanias, &c., continued tolerably fresh up to the beginning of December. — J. Kobson. ASPARAGUS CULTURE. {Continued from page 22.) The second year the plants cannot be too liberally watered with liquid manure. Once every fortnight is not too often to give a good soaking, and at every alternate watering 1 lb. of salt may be dissolved in each three gallons of water. The waterinf,'s may commence in June, and end by the middle of September. Weeds ought to be removed as they appear. In autumn the stalks, when withered, should be removed by cutting them oil close to the surface, and the weeds being cleared off, the beds should be forked over and the loose soil drawn off into the alleys. The beds are then to be covered with 3 inches of well-rotted manure, which by February will be considerably reduced ; then soil from the alleys should be thrown ovit over the beds so as to cover them 2 or 3 inches thick, and the alleys ar'e tilled with half-rotten manure quite level with the beds. In March the beds are forked over, not going so deep as to injure the crowns of the plants. The alleys are to be dug, or rather trenched, so as to bury deeply the manure put into them, and when the ground is in good working order the beds are raked and made level, and the edges straightened. A dressing of salt ought then to be applied, so thickly as to render the surface white, or it may be at the rate of 1! to 2 lbs. per square yard. This completes the second year's culture, or brings us to the end of the second year after planting. In the third spring the Asparagus will be of a size fit to cut, but I would recommend allowing the plants to grow untouched another year, and more and finer heads will be secixred. The summer cultm'e for the third year is not different from that in the preceding season, only when the shoots are from IS inches to 2 feet in height the weak ones are cut clean away, four to sis of the strongest shoots being left on each pilant. The strong shoots, having the lead, will thus attain more strength, and will keep down the weak shoots, and the beds may be gone over again early in July, removing any weak shoots that have made their appearance since the first thinning. Early in May another dressing of salt is given, and the beds are well watered with hquid manure once a-fortnight. In autumn, as soon as the ground is cleared of dead stalks and weeds, all the loose soil is drawn oii tho beds into the alleys, and the beds dressed with 2 or 3 inches of rotten manure. In February soil from the alleys is thrown over the beds, covering these 3 or 4 inches thick ; and the alleys, which, from the removal of the soil to put over the beds, will be considerably lowered, are filled up quite level with the beds with the half-rotten manure usually found in the outsides of hotbeds. This is trenched into the alleys and left until March, when the beds are forked over, not going so deep as to injure the crowns, and the soil is well broken and made fine. The beds are then raked, drawing oH a considerable portion of soil into the alleys. A dressing of salt is given, as in the preceding year, and again towards the close of the cutting. The lieads will be large and fine in the fourth spring, and the beds may be said to be in full bearing. In cutting, a little of the soil may be taken from beside the shoot with the knife (an Asparagus knife is best), which is then thrust down, but not so as to damage the crown or other shoots pushing up, and turning the edge of the knife towards the shoot, it is cut or sawn off. I prefer to cut off all shoots as they appear, when of a sufficient length — 6 to 9 inches, until the end of May, unless the plants are weak, when a strong shoot is left to each plant, and this promotes root action, and is conducive to vigorous growth. Half the beds aro not cut after May, and dependance is placed on these beds for the first cutting in the following spring. From the remainder of the beds the heads are cut until the 20th of June, when cutting ceases altogether, but early in the month two shoots, or at least one strong shoot, should bo left to each plant, but all the others of any size are cut up to the time named. The seasons have a great effect on the growth of Asparagus. In early seasons cutting will commence early, and in that case it ought to be discontinued sooner than when the season ia a late one. The coming-in of i'eas is generally taken as the time when tho cutting of Asparagus may cease ; but 1 fear there is often more of convenience in this than any regard to the benefit of the Asparagus, and in some places where tho demand is of long continuance the heads are cut later than is good for the plants. The vigour of tho plants ought also to have an influence as to tho time when cutting should cease, for if weak they ought to be allowed to grow early and make as much foliage as possible, thereby acquiring greater vigour for another year. The culture in succeeding years is tho same until the beds are worn out. Good culture and well-made beds at the com- mencement will keep Asparagus in full bearing for twenty years, and in some cases much longer ; but when the beds are failing others should be made, so as to prevent a deficiency in the supply. The mode of culture described, I may be told, is a very old one ; but by it good Asparagus has been and is now grown. There are other modes of culture, which some may think I might have noticed, rather than have placed before your readers a system practised so long and so extensively ; but my object has been to explain how good green or unblanched Asparagus can be gi'own. I omitted stating that the dressing of manure in autumn may be of pigeon's dung, sand, and seaweed in equal quantities, or the first and last without either of the others, in place ol the dressing of rotten manure ; also that tho shoots should be thinned early in July, leaving no more than four or six of the strongest to each plant, these only being allowed to mature. In order to produce blanched Asparagus the preparation of the beds and planting are not different from the practice already described, nor, indeed, is there any difference until the plants are strong enough for cutting ; then a quantity of sand or very hght soil is placed in the alleys, and the beds are covered with it 3 inches thick. It is quite soon enough to put the sand on the beds when the heads are just peeping through the soil ; and when they show through the first layer of sand, put on another and another as the Asparagus appears, until the sand is about 8 or 'J inches thick. When the Asparagus again makes its appearance cutting is commenced by drawing away the sand, and cutting the heads level with the surface of the beds, or about 8 inches long, and the sand is levelled again after each cutting. In the autumn following, the sand or light soil is drawn off into the alleys, and left until spring, when it is again used as above described. The beds have in autumn a dressing of rotten manure, and the rougher portion of the soil is raked off in spring before covering with sand. Another mode of blanching Asparagus is to cover the beds in March to the depth of 8 or 9 inches with half-rotten leaves, the cutting taking place when the heads are just peeping through the covering, which should be carefully removed from the stems, and after cutting replaced. In autumn the leaves aro drawn oft' into the alleys and dug in, and the beds receive a dressing of rotten manure 3 or 4 inches thick. The plants for blanching are best grown in rows 30 inches apart, and the plants 1 foot apart in the rows. The object of blanching Asparagus is to have it white, tender, and finer- flavoured. — G. Abbey. XOTES FROM FRANCE AND ITALY. Me. Eoeson, in writing on Mistletoe, stated, "It is snid that it grows in the north-west of France." I may inform him that if he journey by railway from Dieppe to Iljuen he will be able to see it growing abundantly on the trees on his left. I cannot tell him what the trees are, but I take them to be a kind of Poplar. Some time ago I was making a knapsack tour in the south ; and on the hills above La Grande Chartreuse, on the north side, I found a wild Dog Eose with a most remarkable perfume. I had just come from the monastery, where I had tasted the celebrated liqueur which bears its name, and I was so much struck with the strong resemblance of tliis Eose's perfume to that of_ the liqueur, that I felt satisfied (and my travelling companion was of the same opinion), that it formed an impor- tant ingredient in its manufacture. I obtained a good root, which I carried for some weeks most carefully iu my sponge- bag, and brought home in a healthy growing condition, but the want of care or skill of tho gardener to whom I gave it for planting, caused it to be lost. If you make this known to your 46 JOUEKAL OF HOETIOULTTJRB ABD COTTAGE OARDENEB. ( Jaouar7 IG, 1868. readers no doubt some of those who go that way will procni-e some plants for trial in this country. The climate on these hills is much the same as that of England. In northern Italy they sometimes servo a frnit, which, though I cannot recommend it, is very pretty. I have seen it growing wild between Turin and the Saperga, and it would be highly ornamental in our greenhouses or for table decoration. The name of the plant, as I understood it, is Gioinga (pronounced Cidchinrja). When ripe both the fruit audits pod, or envelope, are of a brilliant scarlet tipped with orange. In other places I have seen another variety which is of a pale green, turning to a dusty brown when ripe. I have no doubt it would grow easily in a hothouse, or, perhaps, on a sunny border. Again : in going down the southern slope of the Col de Tenda I found plants of a species of Salvia with the terminal leaves on the branches of a brilliant violet colour. Can you tell me what is its name, and if it can be procured in England ? — D. S. [The Kose, we think, is Eosa alpina. The Cicinga is Phy- galis alKebengi, one of the Winter Cherries. It any of our readers recognise the Salvia they will oblige us by sending the specific name.] TRANSATLANTIC JOTTINGS. AMEEICAN VINES, AND PKUNUS MARITIMA AS STOCKS. Mt impression is that stratified and expensive borders, defective root action, and shacking Grapes, could aU be dis- pensed with if a few of your progressive Grape-growers could he induced to test some of our American varieties as stocks upon which to work the varieties of Vitis vinifera. I do not refer to grafting varieties of Vitis vinifera upon varieties of jestivalis and labrusca, but to inarching green wood upon green wood at such a point as to prevent the possibility of the in- arched variety rooting, and thereby rendering it entirely de- pendant upon the stock. Grafting the Vine is under all cir- cumstances aa uncertain operation, and the scion sooner or later emits roots, defeating the intention of the operator. As stocks for varieties of Vitis vinifera, the varieties of labrusca and jestivalis present many advantages. They are the most vigorous growers in existence, and are uninjured by heat or cold, or atmospheric changes ; some ripen late and some early. It matters but little whether the roots are growing in dry or wet soil, light or heavy, drained or undrained. They are to be found flourishing under almost all circumstances in every section of the Union ; battling with trees and under- growth for root-room, and their tops clambering over the highest trees of the forest. Some varieties Sourish best in swamps, their roots revelling in sour clay and water ; others on hill sides, seeking nourishment among stones and gravel, where varieties of vinifera would starve. Those varieties that have their habitat ia swamps, if removed to dry and sandy positions, grow as luxuriantly as though they were revelling in the swamp. All that is required to make varieties of labrusca and a;stivalis flourish, and insure healthy root action, is to give the roots work, plenty of top work, as an outlet for their vitality. Give the tops work, and the roots will extend and flourish in a wet or dry soil, in sunshine or shade, in stratified or uustratified borders where varieties of vinifera would languish and die. Without pruning, the varieties of vinifera, owing to their weak vitality, soon succumb, even if planted in good soil ; on the contrary, American varieties will seek nourishment in thick undergrowth, and clamber from tree to tree, covering the tops of the highest in the forest. It is common to find them measuring from 12 to 18 inches in circumference at the surface of the ground in many portions of the Union. In one instance we measured a wild Vine 3G inches in circumference at 1 foot from the ground. . I am inclined to refer the vigour of some of the American Grapes to the formation of their roots. Those that are tm- aftected by mildew, and that grow luxuriantly, possess nume- rous small wiry roots covered with fibres. In varieties of vinifera the roots are large, few in nimiber, spongy, and with but few fibres. A few days since I was much interested in an examination of over four himdred seedling Vines which I removed from their seed bed. About one-half were hybrids, and they presented a few large spongy roots, with but few fibres ; on the contrary, the seedling natives of pure race possessed numerous, small, firm roots with a numoer of fibres. A number of our new American Grapes are liable to mildew, and upon examination I find that the roots of such are large, spongy, and with but few fibres. My impression is that the roots of our hardy vigorous varieties have much to do with their growth, and their ability to succeed in adverse soils and situations. If American varieties were used as stocks, but little prepa- ration of the soil for borders would be required, and for ground vineries they would answer admirably, for they would grow luxuriantly in any common garden soil. For pot culture they would be a success, for they would flourish in a small space. I have inarched a large number of the varieties of vinifera upon varieties of ai-stivalis with the intention of thoroughly testing their value as stocks, and, if acceptable, shall report progiesB in the future. Inarching the Grape has under all circumstances proved a simple and successful operation in my hands, and if I thought it would interest your readers, I would describe the process in detail. I cannot resist the temptation of directing the attention of your readers to the advantages to be derived from using the Prunus maritima as a stock for Peaches, Plums, and Apricots. Those possessing a hght sandy soil experience great diffieulty in cultivating the Plum, and I see no reason why their efforts should not be successful. All that is necessary is for your nurserymen to test the Prunus maritima as a stock. Portions of our sea-coast consist of banks of almost pure sand deposited by the waves and winds. Upon these drifts, within reach oi the ocean spray, flourish the varieties of Prunus maritima, a dwarf-growiug species, varying from 3 to 5 feet high. This year I raised a number of seedlings upon a rather heavy loam, and they made a most vigorous growth, proving that it wiU flourish in other soils besides sand. Although small, the fruit is excellent, and produced in immense quantities. It seems to me that this species would make an admirable stock for Peaches, Plums, and Apricots for orchard-house culture and for small gardens, more especially where the soil is so sandy as to interfere with the growth of the usual Plum stock. — Al Fr.Esco, LijiU, X.J., U.S. of America. CUTTINGS OP PELARGONIUMS. I a:j pleased to have an opportunity of replying to Mr. Perkins's doubts in regard to my method of propagating th& Pelargonium. I held for years the same opinion that Mr. Perkins holds, and it was only after seeing the success that attended the efforts of a first-class propagator in a large Lon- don nxirsery, that I felt so thoroughly convinced that the close- plan was so advantageous. At first I was careful to only adopt it in a modified form, but I soon saw the full force of keeping the cuttings close, and I only advise Mr. I'erkins to give the system a fair trial, when, I think, he will bear out the greater part oi what I have stated. In regard to the number of cuttings I lose per thousand, I may say that the loss is very small indeed in most cases. Of Lady Plymouth, although it is generally considered to be difficult to root, I find on the close system I do not lose twenty cuttings, and it strikes as soon as Tom Thumb or any of the strong growers, of which I may also state that I do not lose a larger per-centage. The varieties most liable to damp-off with me are the SUver-variegated Zonals, if not looked carefully alter, in about a week or ten days after the cuttings are put in, on account of the lower leaves decaying. The varieties of the Golden section all do remarkably well, the loss being small, not exceeding from twenty to thirty per thousand. I would observe, that immediately after you find the cuttings- rooted commence giving air, or damping-off will soon take place. Mr. Perkins says that my mode of treatment may do very weD where the coal heap can be run to. Here I differ from- him ; for I have found by experience that, although the cuttings are put in later, they strike so much faster, that before the winter sets in there is ample time to harden them oft', so as to enable them to withstand the dull and trying weather we are experiencing at the present time. I beg to thank Mr. Perkins for commenting on my method, and trust that he and numbers of the readers of the Journal may see their way clearly to the adopting of my plan. — Jaijeb STET,'Ar;T, Nunehaiii Fail;. Tea Ccltcp.e in India. — To those interested in the cultiva- tion of Tea in India the following information may prove satisfactory : — In a letter just received from one of my sons iiL Assam, he states that in his garden the plough is being used' Jonoary Iti, 1868. 1 JOURNAL Oli' HORTIOUIiTUflE AND COTTAGE QAEDENEB. 47 with the best resnlts ; it is drawn by bullocks, and he Bays the work done is quite as good as by the hoe, and the expense trifling. I have four sons in Assam, three of whom are Tea planters. I am a (jreat believer in the cultivation of Tea in India. — Oesf.isvkii. SHRUBS FOR GA.ME COVKRTS. Refkkking to the inquiries relative to Game coverts and injury to plants, I can state from twenty-five years' experience, and with game of all sorts np to my doors, that hares and rabbits will destroy any sort of trees or shrubs when young, except the Rhododendron, Box, Privet, and Bramble ; that I can now rear a yonng plantation on any part of my property only by sunounding it with wire netting, and cannot enclose a field escept with timber or wire fencing ; and that I have fre- quently known Ash trees as thick as a man's thigh totally ruined in spring by the hares and rabbits, though a com field was in braird cloee to the covert, they appearing not to feed upon the bark, but to do the mischief merely for amusement's sake. The plants mentioned I have had well tested, and never saw them injured ; and no shrubs form a better or more beautiful covert, or grow more freely on fairly good, rather dry, loamy soil. The Bramble will gi-ow under trees, close along the ground, or as high as a man's knee, retaining its leaves all winter ; the Rhododendron will grow close to the ground, affording an ex- cellent low cover, and seldom rising above 8 feet, flowering beautifully every summer ; the Privet will shoot np to 10 feet, keep its green leaves far into spring, and flower very sweetly in summer ; whilst the Box will grow 2.j feet high, is very beautiful, and the wood of great value. If a friend were to ask me how to make a game covert in his park, I would recommend him cither of the following two methods : — 1st, Plough all parts possible in September or October ; sow and harrow-in early in spring plenty of Bramble seed. Barley, or Beans (the two latter for winged game in autumn) ; plant on the same ground Silver and Scotch Fir, Oak, Hazel, and Privet, in equal portions, 4 feet apart ; surround the whole for six years with wire netting, and thin-out liberally every three years. 2nd, Plant and sow as above mentioned, with the exception of the Bramble ; and plant early in spring on the same ground Box, Rhododendron, and Privet, but no trees or rabbit net required. Of course all must be well fenced from cattle, and rides may be left, or cut out afterwards. The plants should not be much dug about, as their roots are tender ; but the grass in July should be torn np round them to prevent smothering. Any one who has in his park five or six such coverts, of about five acres each, is much to be envied, and he will find it pay much better than deer. — W. G. GRAFTING AND INARCHING VINES, I CAN fully confirm what Mr. Douglas says (page 25), about the inutility of inarching the Red Frontignan on the Black Ham- burgh. A branch in my vinery so treated shanked this year even more than the parent plant. As to the Chasselas MusquC-, I fear that no stock will prevent its cracking, for this cracking seems to arise from the texture of the flesh and skin, which are impatient of moisture during the final swelling-off, particularly if the temperature be low. The same takes place in Green Gages against a wall when a wet and cold August succeeds a dry July. The Chasselas Mns- qufi is so unequalled in point of flavour, unless, perhaps, by an unusually well-ripened Muscat of Alexandria, that one is loth to dismiss it from one's collection. It has been recom- mended to thin the Grapes severely ; but as the effect of thin- ning is to increase the size of the berries, and as the largest berries are always the first to split, I should rather recommend that this variety be thinned less than others. If the roots were so confined that they could not obtain any water except at the will of the cultivator, if moisture were liberally sup- plied during the growing season, and withheld during the ripening period, with sufficient air and warmth I think few berries, if any, would crack. I wish I could hit upon any plan which would, with any | probability of success, prevent the shanking of Frontignane. Is it true that they never shank against an open wall ?^Cx. S. POTATO PRODUCE— INFLUENCE OF THE SETS. The following are the results obtained by Mr. May, of Benthall, near Broscley, from experiments made in the year 186.5 on 129 trial plots. He endeavoured to ascertain — Firstly, The influence of the size of the set on the economic results of the crop — i.e., whether any incre.ise, and to what extent, ;.=! obtained over and above the extra weight of the set, in the planting of large, in lieu of small, sets. Secondly, The influence on the crop of the distance at which the sets are planted ; or the results of close and wide planting of various sized Potatoes. Thirdly, The comparative results from planting similar weights of large and of small Potatoes per acre. Fourthly, The relative advantages of cut and whole sets. Fifthly, The influence of thick and thin planting, and of the size of the set on the proportion borne between the weights of the sets and the weight of the crop, and the rate of increase under various conditions. Sixthly, The relative productiveness of different varieties of Potato. Much diversity of opinion seems to prevail in these points, which are of economical importance in relation to both the farm and garden cultivation of the crop. The selection of the Potato sets appears commonly to be more a matter of present expediency than prospective profit. The general course is to appropriate the large.st for use, the very smallest for pig-feeding, the tubers of intermediate size- being preserved for replanting ; this method of assortment results in the use of sets of from 2 to 3 ozs. in weight, and a set of less than 2 ozs. is as often planted as one exceeding 3 or 4 ozs. Our primary question is, whether an increase in the size of the set win produce an excess above the extra weight of the sets planted ; such extra weight going to increase the strength of the individual sets without increasing their number. The unequivocal results in favour of largo sets, obtained from my experiments carried out in 18G4, as well as from those which form the subject of this report, induce me to describe carefully the conditions under which the experiments were conducted. Every precaution was taken to ensure the most perfect uni- formity in the conditions under which the various experiments were made. The manure was separately weighed out, and distributed on each 20 superficial feet of ground. The distance (2 feet) between the rows was the same throughout the trial ground ; and to counteract the influence of any slight variations in the character of the soil, the particular experiments that would he brought into immediate comparison were placed as nearly as possible in juxtaposition. External rows were rejected for the experiments, and planted with part of the ordinary crop ; and every individual set was separately weighed and selected to the specified size, and planted to measure, at precise distances. The gross average return per acre of numerous varieties was from — Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. loz.sets 10 19 3 17 2 oz. sets 12 15 2 15 4 oz. sets 18 9 2 6 oz. sets 16 13 1 16 8oz. sets IR 11 16 The following are the amounts of nett profit per acre for each ounce in the increase in the weight of the sets from 1 oz. up to 8 ozs. (each ounce in the weight of the set occupying 2 square feet, being equivalent to 12 cwt. 17j Ibb. per acre) of seed : — Tons. cwts. qrs. Ibfl. Fromlto2oz 1 13 2 71 „ 2 to 4 oz. for each extra oz 18 3 14 „ 4to6oz. „ 1 12 21 „ 6to8oz. „ 18 3 14 The average of a number of experiments with different varieties planted 9 inches apart in rows gave very similarresnlts. as follows : — GROSS RETtTRNS PER ACRE. Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. ozs. loz.sets 10 12 23 or 14.21 per s«t. 2oz. sets 15 2 2 11 or 18.45 „ 4cz.Bets 17 17 3 12 or 21.99 „ 48 JOUBNAL OF HORTICOLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAP%DENER. [ J.inaary 16, 1868. After deiJucting the weight of the sets, the nett balances of produce per acre stand thus : — Tona. cwts. qrs. lbs. ozs. loz. sets 9 16 or 13.21 per set. 2oz. sets 13 10 21 or 16.45 4oz. sets 14 13 4 or 17.99 „ The average produce of a number of varieties planted at intervals of inches in the row also exhibited similar advan- tages in favour of the larger sets, viz. : — GROSS AVERAGE P.ETCnKS OF DliFERENT VARIETIES PER ACRE. Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. oza. loz. sets 13 4 1 20 or 10.85 per set. Soz.sets 15 19 12 or 13.15 „ 4oz. sets: 22 2 S or 18.11 „ After deducting the weight of the sets, the nett balances of produce per acre stand thus : — Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. ozs. 1 oz. sets 12 18i or 9.H5 per set. 2oz. sets 13 10 1 27 or 11.15 „ 4oz. sets 17 S 1 5 or 14.11 „ Every step in each of these three series of experiments gives, without an exception, unequivocal evidence that each increase in the weight of the set produces more than a corresponding increase in the weight of the crop. The following statement will, however, show that the advantage in the employment of large sets is mnch less striking in the early than in the late varieties ; out of the examples before given, the average pro- duce of the early varieties, planted 1 foot apart in the row, exhibit the following result : — Gross Crop. Nett. Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 1 oz. sets 9 3 3 26 .... H 11 3 S-J 2oz.scta 10 14 2 17 .... 9 10 1 lU-i 4oz. seta IB 19 7*.... U 10 1 221 6 0Z. sets 15 C 22 .... 11 18 1 2J 8oz. sets 7 17 21 .... 2 19 3 23 Although there is throughout an inciease over an(J above the extra weight of the sets, the advance between the larger sizes is not very marked, and is much below that wherein the early and late sets ai-e averaged together. There is even a falling-off in the produce of the S oz. sets, in comparison with those weighing C ozs. ; but this is partly from accidental cir- cumstances, the S oz. sets being much sprouted before plant- ing ; indeed all the larger sets of the early varieties were much more advanced than those of smaller size. After separating the early sorts from the general average results of early and late, the average produce of the late varieties, taken separately, will stand as follows : — Gross Crop. Nett. Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. I oz. sets 12 15 .... 11 7 3 26 2oz. sets 15 8 1 19 .... 13 19 13 4oz.setB 17 IC 24 .... 15 7 2 11 6oz. sets 30 6 2 11 .... 26 13 2 19 8 oz. sets 31 3 3 24 26 6 2 26 To establish the influence on the crop of the distance at which the sets are planted, I shall compare, separately, each series o€ experiments on Potatoes of the same weight, planted at different distances : — AVERAGES OF 1 OZ. SETS. Bistance Gross. Nett. Varieties, apart. Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. Tons; cwts. qrs. lbs. 13 1 toot .... 10 9 3 17 . . 9 17 8 II 9 in 10 12 ' 23 .. 9 16 11 6 in 13 4 1 20 . . 12 13 AVEEAGE3>F 2 OZ. SETS. 18 1 toot .... 12 15 2 4 .. 11 11 1 7 12 9 in 15 15 2 11 . . 13 10 21 10 Gin 15 19 12 .. 13 10 1 27 AVERAGES OF 4 OZ. SETS. 12 Ifoot .... 15 17 2 15i .. 13 9 2} 6 9 in 17 17 3 12 . . 14 13 4 3 6 in 22 2 3 . . 17 3 1 5 AVERAGES OF 4 OZ. SETS (SlUHuUt VARIETIES). 3 1 toot .... 15 8 8 24 . . 13 1 11 8 9in 15 19 2 14 .. 12 14 S 6 3 6 in 22 2 3 .. 17 3 1 5 These comparisons all show an advantage in planting the smaller gets at intervals closer than 12 inches in the rows ; but the results are not very decided, and in one or two cases the gain in the gross crop does not make up for the extra weight of the sets planted. The following comparisons refer to the eiiect of planting the sets more than a foot apart in the rows : — Three experiments averaged together — viz.. Eight-ounce Flukes, six-ounce Flukes, and four-ounce Late Red, gave a gross crop of 23 tons IG cwts. 1 qr. 8 lbs., and a nett average of 20 tons 3 cwts. 1 qr. 17 lbs. The same sizes and varieties, planted at intervals in the rows of 1 foot 3 inches, produced a gross crop of 18 tons 13 cwts. 1 qr. 2 lbs., and a nett crop of 15 tons 14 cwts. 3 qrs. 20 lbs. — a falling-off of 4 tons 8 cwts. 1 qr. 25 lbs. per acre. Indeed, the produce of each set was as nearly as possible the same, whether planted a foot apart or 15 inches, so that the additional distance was so much loss to the crop. The average produce of six-ounce and eight-ounce Flukes shows a similar falling-off when planted more than a foot apart in the rows. The nett average produce per acre was : — Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. Flukes, at 1 foot 17 10 1 25 „ at 1 loot 3 in 15 8 2 61 ,, at Ifoot 6 in 12 16 5 This diminution of the crop, through reducing the number of the sets per acre, is remarkably uniform, and as nearly as possible proportionate to the distance at which the sets are planted. The general tenor of these experiments points to an interval of 10 or 12 inches in the rows as being the most profitable distance at which to plant large, full-sized Potatoes, of from 4 to 8 ozs. in weight. A moderate increase in the nett crop may be expected from still further diminishing the distance when the sets are below 4 ozs. in weight. The general bearing of the results obtained is : — Firstly, Every increase in the size of the set, from 1 oz. up to 8 ozs. in weight, produces an increase in the crop much greater than the additional weight of the .set planted. The nett profit, over and above the extra weight of the sets, in planting four-ounce sets in lien of one-ounce sets, amounted, on the whole series of experiments, to between 3 and 4 tons per acre ; and the further profit, on the increase of the size of the set from 4 ozs. to 8 ozs., averaged about 5 tons an acre ; all the intermediate steps partaking proportionately of the increase. Secondly, The advantages in favour of the large sets is more marked in the late than in the early varieties. Thirdly, In the use of small sets, of from 1 oz. to 3 ozs. in weight, a larger balance over and above the weight of the sets was obtained by planting from 6 to 9 inches apart in the rows than at wider intervals. Fourthly, Increasing the intervals at which sets are planted, even of the largest size, in the rows, to more than 12 inches, diminishes the crop ; and the wider intervals induce no increase in the weight of the produce of the individual sets. Fifthly, It may be broadly stated that the weight of the crop is proportionate to the weight per acre of the sets, and that small sets will produce the same crop as an equal weight per acre of large sets. The fact is, however, of limited application, as a weight of very small sets equal to a weight of full-sized Potatoes could not be got into the ground, except by planting them so closely as to be prejudicial to the crop. The advan- tage, therefore, of large sets remains practically unimpaired. Sixthly, Weight for weight, cut sets produce, as nearly as possible, the same weight per acre as whole Potatoes ; but for the reasons given above, the weight of the sets should not ba reduced by subdivision. Seventhly, Smaller sets give a larger produce, in proportion to their weight, than the larger sets. Eighthly, When the intervals between the sets in the rows are diminished to less than a foot, the produce of each indi- vidual set is proportionately diminished. Though this is not necessarily accompanied by a diminution of the weight of the crop, no increase in the produce of each individual set is caused by placing the sets at intervals wider than a foot. Ninthly, With reference to the relative produce of different varieties, a late red sort takes the precedence throughout the expei'iments ; and of the several varieties of Fluke, Spencer's King of Flukes and The Queen of Flukes are much more prolific than the ordinary variety. — (Joimml of lioyal Agricul- tural. SocirtlJ.) FRUIT-GROWING IN THE FAR NORTH. A.-i we are now in the midst of our planting season, with the time for propagating or grafting fast approaching, it may be interesting to your readers to learn what sorts of fruits succeed so far north as the shores of the Moray Firth, in Scotland. Although our climate is so dry and sunny as to make Wheat our staple crop, yet varieties of fruits that succeed here must be endowed with a certain degree of hardiness. We have had a rather extensive collection here for the last thirty years, and January Ifi, 1808. ] JOCBNAIi OF HOBTIOULTUKB AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. ■Ill profiting ly our cxperienoe. Fomo of your readers may avoid the disappointment attending experiments in growing new fruits. Tliose that suecceii best here may reasonably bo ex- pected to do well further south. A great hindrance to the growth of good fruit in Scotland and in the north of England, is the uncertainty and disappoint- ment occasioned by planting varieties unsuited to the climate. As Pears and Phims are the two sorts of fruit that have of late received the most important additions of improved va- rieties, I shall for the present confine myself to these. The first-rato Peais that succeed on the wall here are — Jar- gonelle, ripe in .\ugust and September; Sinclair, in October; Marie Louise, Thompson's, Beurre Superfin, Beurri5 Hardy, Van Mons LCon Leclerc, and Brown Beurre, in November; Winter Nelis and Hacou's Incomparable, in December and January; Easter Beurru, in P'ebruary and March; Beurre de Ranee, in March and April ; Fortunoe, in April. Citron des Carmes, ripening in July, a good second-class Pear, is a desir- able addition to the foregoing. The following are first-class as standards — viz., — Benrri' d'Amanlis Panache and Sinclair, ripe in October ; Beurre Superfin and Aston Town, in November; Zephirin Gregoire and Beurre d'Arembcrg, in December and January ; Monarch and Beurrfi de Eance, from February to April. These have not yet borne abundantly. Good and useful second-class Pears as standards are — Sum- mer Doyenne, ripe in August ; Beurre Giffard, in September ; Williams' Bon Chretien, in October; Muirfowl's Egg, in November ; Achan, in December ; Forelle, in January ; and Lfion Leclerc de Laval, an excellent baking Pear, from November to May. Some of the varieties that do not succeed ■well here are — Passe Colmar and Beurre Bosc, hardly first-rate ; Louise Bonne, Urbaniste, Fondante d'Automne, Glou Mor^eau, Dunmore, Josephine de Malines, and Fjergamotte d'Esperen, all second- rate ; Flemish Beauty and Duchesso d'Angouleme, third-rate; Chaumontel, Beurre de Capiaumont, and Suffolk Thorn, fourth- rate. Some newer famed varieties have not yet fruited. Of Plums — July Green Gage, Jefferson, Bryanston Gage, and Beine Claude de IJavay, are first-rate wall fruits. Coe's Golden Drop is the best, but drops the greater portion of its fruit when quite small. Belgian Purple, Denniston's Superb, and Lawson's Golden Gage are abundant-bearing, first-rate standard Plums. — John McCcLLocii, Gardener, Duff'us, near Elgin. amounted to about five hundred per stalk, did not ripen, as I planted them two months after the prescribed time." This is all he could tell me about it. — W. F. KAoeLYn-n. [Unless the Chinese Sugar Grass is sown in a hotbed, and the seedlings planted out, no seed is ripened by the plants in this country, nor even then except in favourable localities. — Eds.] HABITATS OF THE MISTLETOE. I n.WE a plant of it here from seed sown on an Apple tree, and now it is a bush about 9 feet in diameter. There are a few more in Ireland, but none throwing naturally. In France, the orchards one passes on the way from Calais tp Amiens are loaded with Jlistlotoo. In the south of France it abounds on the trees about Pau, chiefly on Poplars. I have not seen it on the Oak ; but in the Pyrenees near Gabas I have observed the Silver Fir loaded with it. It is also stated that it grows most abundantly on Pinus sylvestris in the forests of Germany, about Magdeburg. Query, Does it really live on the sap of the tree, or only attach itself as a bai-nacle does to the rock ? The Apple tree on which mine hangs seems c^udently exhausted, as if by supplying its food ; but, then, is it not ex- traordinary that the saruo plant should live upon the sweet sap of the Apple and Poplar, and on the resin of the Pine tribe ? The analysis of the 5Ustletoe (French Oui). from such different species of trees would be curious. — C. W. H., IIaniv:ood. WOOLLAND HOUSE. DORSET, The Seat of MoNTAf^u Wn.i.iAMs, Esq. To-day, January 0th, I visited my friend and neighbour, the frost being hard, and the ground lightly covered with snow — not a very favourable time for a review. The honse is a fine mansion, commanding a magnificent Borthem view of the grassy vale of Blackmoor for many miles. It is situated under the same range of hills as my own house. The views from the hills behind our houses is, perhaps, one of the finest in England. I have never seen anything to equal them, except the Weald of Kent, from the windows of Hors- mondcn rectory, the property of the Rev. Hugh ilarriott. On the west side of the house is a new church built by Mr. WUliams, capable of holding the few parishioners and the household. It is quite a model of its kind. In front of the house is a lake stocked with carp, tench, and other fish. I was asked to look over the gardens. Of course, with snow on the ground, it was not avery propitious time ; but I saw one or two matters of public interest, which are the main object of this article. I saw a galvanised wire trellis for Peaches, Nectarines, and other wall fruit. I think in process of time of copying this. Mr. Williams told me that it answered admirably. It is well put up, the wires being (l inches apart, and strained so as to fit closely to the walls. There is no need of nails or nail holes, the habitats of woodlice, earwigs, and other pests. The other subject of interest were specimens of HuUett's Chinese Sugar Grass, hung up in the vinery. I refer to this (see page 14), in compliance with the wishes of " H. C. S. G. KITCHEN GARDEN WALLS. (Continued from page 10.) Garden walls are usually 9 inches, 14 inches, and 18 inches in thickness. The thickness of a wall should be in proportion to its height. A wall between G and 8 feet in height will, pro- viding the workmanship is good, prove secure if one brick or 'J inches in thickness ; but if the height exceed 8 feet, piers wUl be needed. A 9 inch brick wall 9 or 1(1 feet in height should have piers 22; inches, or two stretchers and one header, in breadth, and the piers should be 12 feet apart. They should proceed from the foundation and be carried up to within 2 feet of the top of the wall or coping. They ought not to project more than half a brick, or 4j inches, from the wall. It is well to have a coping on the tops of the piers. A 'J-incb wall sup- ported by piers is unsightly, the trees are difficult to train upon it, and they succeed better upon walls unshaded by piers. In constructing the wall the piers may, indeed ought to be built on the less important side, so that the more desirable aspect may present a plane surface for the training of the trees. A wall 14 inches in thickness is very substantial, and may be carried up to a height of 12 feet without the support of piers. Walls 14 inches thick are unobjectionable, and are as strong as will be necessary in most instances ; but in particular cases, as in bleak and exposed situations, whore walls are required of a greater height than 12 feet above the ground level, a wall 18 inches in thickness will be much more secure. The thick- nesses I would recommend, are for walls not exceeding 8 feet in height, 9 inches ; 9 feet and not exceeding 12 feet, 14 inches ; and 12 feet and not exceeding 18 feet, 18 inches; and in all cases I would do without brick piers, which are imsightly. A wall 14 inches thick built hollow will be found quite as substantial as a 14-inch solid wall, whilst an 18-inch hollow wall is stronger than a 14-iuch solid wall. Hollow walls are drier and warmer than those which are solid, and being fully as durable ought to supersede these entirely, more particularly those built 9 inches thick, with piers. All walls, more particularly garden walls, ought to have good foundations ; in all cases these should be the depth of the borders, so that in trenching these the foundations may not be undermined, or the soil loosened. If the bottom of the trench is firm it will not require to be concreted, but if soft it may be- necessary to concrete it, if not its full length, at least in some places where the ground is soft. In such places the trench should be of a greater depth than where the bottom is firm, and be filled to the level of the firm bottom with concrete, which may consist of coarse gravel run with mortar. Bam this quite firm, and then put on a layer of fine gravel. The Mr. Williams pointed them out to me, and said, " These are ! bottom ought to be made quite level, and if the ground slope the famous Sugar Grasses you have lately heard so mnoh I proceed by horizontal steps, short or long, according to the about. I had ten seeds, which cost me 2s. Of these, three did incline of the ground. The bottom of the trench should not come up, seven came up, two were cut off by the frosts, two exceed in width the thickness of the wall, for the base of this grew 5 feet high, ftnd three grew 10 feet high. The seeds, which ' must be twice the thicknesa of the wall, or have two " sets-on," 50 JOUKNAIi OF HOETICULTDKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB, [ Jnuuary IC, 18€8. -9 M- on each side. A 9-inch wall will need an 18-inch base, a 14-inch wall one of '2'2! inches, and an 18-inch wall a base of 27 inches. When the ground is very firm, one-half of the above breadths of base will do ; but in places where stone is procurable the base may be of that material, commencing with the width of base required for the wall, and battering both sides of the wall upwards, so that at the ground level the thickness will be that of the wall to be built. This is a great saving of bricks, and affords a foundation quite as substantial as these, if not more so. Stone, however, cannot always be had, or its costliness is an objection to its use. Fir/s. 1, 2, and .') are sections showing different modes of forming the foundations of garden walls. It will not be necessary to give further sections, as it will be evident from those given, that the foun- dation or base should project i^ inches beyond both faces of the wall whatever its thickness may be. In some cases, as where the ground is soft, a wider base may be desir- able ; then the base may be twice the thick- ness of the wall, diminishing the width by equal steps on both sides, each step or " set- on " not exceeding 2; inches. Sometimes stone is plentiful, but not of a description suitable for forming a good face or convenient courses for training. To economise bricks, I have seen walls with stone bases to the ground line, and the less important side of the wall built of stone, the other being cased with 4! -inch brickwork, l'^ 'S./JW/f ". — and they were very substantial. The bricks Fig. i. — Section of (headers), should be well bonded with the ab-incbWaUwith- stoue, and the stone with the bricks. »"' Piers. Stone walls are necessarily of greater thickness than those of brick, and it is customary to incline them upwards on both sides so as to be wider at the base than the top ; for instance, -if:wcHF.s. IV.I'V <-s.iri'->-i 1 T J_T -r 22.J inches. ~^i Fig. 2. — Section of a 9-inch Wall throngh Pier, the dotted upright line showing the line of 0-inch wall. Fig. 3. — Section of 18-iacU Wall, with a stone base from foundation to the ground line. a wall C feet G inches high is made 20 inches thick at the bottom, and rc-iluced to I'i inches thick at the top ; one 10 feet high is made '24 inches thick at the bottom, and reduced to IG inches at top. A stone wall from 12 to 15 feet in height needs a base of 28 inches. I have not noticed beaded and other descriptions of bricks by which it is .mid that the necessity for nailing is obviated. My experience of them is very limited, and I am not prepared to give an opinion, only I do not like their projecting and affording an uneven instead of a plane surface. The process of tying, also, is more tedious than that of nailing. I may here likewise state, that there is no objeclioa to a stoneiwall, however uneven th.? courses, provided it be covered with a trellis of No. 10 galvanised iron wire. The wires should be fixed horizontally, from ! to 4J inches apart, being passed tbrougli holdfasts entering the wall about 2 inches, and pro- jecting from threo-quartors of an inch to an inch, bo that the wii'es may be about half an inch from the wall. There must be an iron plate nt each eud of the wall, through small projecting eyes in which the wires can be run and fastened, straining them at one or both ends according to the length of the wall. The plates, therefore, ought to be made secure to the wall, and to maintain the wires equidistant the holdfasts should be put in 3 feet apart, or as near that distance as the joints in the wall will permit. The appearance is good, the trees thrive well against the trellis, the wall is not damaged by nailing, and the wires are very durable. I know some iron trellises which have been fixed nearly half a century, and are still almost as good aa ever. Wood trellises are heavy, quite as expensive as iron, and not half so durable. I have taken them away quite useless not twenty years after they had been erected. In constructing garden walls, good brick, or good durable stones of a suitable thickness, are essential, and not less important is good mortar in which to sot or lay them. The quality and quantity of lime has a great influence on the firm- ness of the work. Good lime, such as plasterers use for " run- ning " to make "putty," is unquestionably the best for all descriptions of brickwork, whilst for stone walls a hotter description of lime will make better work. As to sand, it should be sharp, in order to become hard when blended with the lime, but for garden walls it may be too sharp ; hence river sand is not good, nor pit sand approaching to gravel, but rather sharp pit sand of a loamy nature. Two tons of sand and one ton of lime make very good mortar, sotting sufficiently hard for garden walls. Cement, or the adJition of any hard-setting material should be avoided, as it is almost impossible to drive nails into it. Not only should good materials be employed, but these must be properly disposed in building. The work ought not only to have an even or plane surface, be plumb, but the bricks should be well bonded. There is no question that the Flemish bond is a b b Fig. 4.— 9-inch Wall, Flemish bond. l3t course. preferable to English bond. In Flemish bond the headers, a, aro laid alternately with the stretchers, h, in the Ist course (fin.i), and in the 2nd course (fig. 5), where c is a stretcher and d a H" Fig. 5. — 9-inch WaU, Flemish bond. 2uJ course, header; whilst in English bond (fins. G and 7), the courses are alternately one of headers and another of stretchers through- out, as c stretcher.s, f headers. Sometimes in English bond the f Fig. 6.— 9-inch Wall, Engli^jh bond. 1st course. beadors are put in alternate courses with the stretche t)ut in general four courses of stretchers are laid to one rs, of e 1 i i (' 1 1 Fig. v.— 9-inch Wall, Euglii^U bond. 2nd course, headers, but the work is not so good as when the courses are alternately headers and stretchers. To make good work of a Dincli wall, the bricks must be of uniform size — usually 9 inches long by 4V inches in breadth, 1 I Fig. B.— 11-inch Wall. Flemish bond. Ist coarse, and scarcely 3 iuohes in thickness. If the bricks are fully 4i inches in breadth and scarcely 9 inches in length, no brick- layer can make good work with a 9-inch wall, as the ."ftretcher course will prove too wide for the header course ; hence the surface will be in and out, and the joints irregular and bad. In walls of greater thickness thf^n 9 inches, the irregularity in January IC, 1866. 1 JOURNAL OF HOBTIOULTUKE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 51 the dimensioDB of tho brickH can to a certain extent be accom- modated, but where Good work is wanted tho bricks cannot be too regular in size. In constructing 1 1-inch walls in Flemish bond, on one side a half brick must be used for a header, whilst on tho other side a whole brick is laid (seeyi,''- *^)- I" the next course (jiij. '.)), the headers are reversed, so that they will lie on the course of headers on the other side, and the third course (fiij. 10), is laid with whole headers in place of half headers. The headers are Fig. 9. — 14-mch \S'all, Flemish bond. 2nd course. made to cross the internal as well as external stretchers, and there will be a thorough bonding of the work, but it is at the expense of putting two cotuses on the same side of the wall ' Pig. 10.— 14-incIi Wall, Flemish bond. 3rd conrso. with half bricks for headers. The headers in the next course will cross the headers in the third course, and so on. If the headers are carried up perpendicularly, the wall will have a neater appearance than it would have if it were built in English Fig. 11.— 14-inch V. aU, Eaglish bond. Ist course, bond, examples of the courses of which are shown in Jif/s. 11 and 12. In this mode of building the headers are laid in al- ternate courEes, with first a row of headers and then a row of stretchers, there being a row of headers on one aide, and a row Fig. 13.— 14-ineh Wall, English bond. 2nd conise. of stretchers in every course. This makes a very good bond ; but in ordinary building it is not usual to lay a row of headers upon every course of stretchers, but to put four courses of stretchers and then a row of headers, which is not so tedious to build, but the work is not so good. Hollow walls are built both in Flemish and English bond. Fig. 13.— 14-inch Hollow Wall. 1st course. but the former is much preferable, hence it is the only kind of hollow wall which I shall describe. As in the