Page images
PDF
EPUB

coal-ashes out of doors. A bushel or two of Jerusa lem artichokes and parsnips might be treated the same, just to have a few in hand in case of very severe weather setting in. Those who have not proper store sheds for keeping these things in, might stack up a quantity against any wall, or in any corner, and cover the whole with coal-ashes, and, over these, with either staw, leaves, or fern. In case of very severe weather, a month's supply of full-grown celery and endive might be treated in just the same way. JAMES BARNES & W.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.

OUR VILLAGE WALKS.
(No. 9.)

How rapidly time flies! We have entered upon the last month of the year-we are hurrying towards the shortest day, after which we look out for the pleasant harbingers of spring; and yet it seems but as yesterday that we were sitting under shady trees, and walking only in the cool of evening. Bright and mild has been the last month-sunny and cheerful. It has shortened the winter by leading us so pleasantly almost up to the close of the year; and although, after Christmas, we usually have the severest weather, yet the days are perceptibly lengthening, and a new Hower, and a new note, continually remind us that we are turning again to the cheerful sun. When far distant from his rays, nature droops. How lifeless is the soul when clouds of unbelief and sin shroud us from the glorious beams of the Eternal Sun!

But, the oak! there is still a remnant of dusky green upon its noble brow, in some sheltered situations, though all other trees are bare. It is the laziest in rousing from its winter sleep, and the last to throw off its rich apparel. A few brown leaves will even remain till the early spring gales whirl them away, but it does not retain them so generally as does the beech. It stands in its rugged simplicity, sternly and fearlessly among the rough blasts of winter, anchored and steadied by its own peculiar tap-root, and a striking sign of the promise made by the Lord to the forsaken land: "as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof." We still find an occasional acorn lying among the thick carpet of dead leaves beneath the boughs; it is full of language, and will give us abundance of food for a morning walk. The acorn is quite as much the emblem of old England as the rose,-uay, more So. It has for ages furnished her noble wooden walls that have so gallantly breasted her own element, braved "the battle and the breeze," and carried blessings temporal and eternal to many distant lands. If we reflect that every acorn our footsteps crush is the germ of a British oak, the parent of those unconquered decks and taper spars that guard our British hearths, whose unstained flag has never yet been lowered to any other ensign than that of the King of kings; if we reflect on this, we shall still more admire the smoothly rounded kernel, seated so snugly in its beautiful cup, and almost shrink from stepping on it as we pass. The oak must ever be dearer to the Briton's heart than any other tree; for, though it is a citizen of the world, yet it has been so long esteemed and used by us, above all other nations, that it is more peculiarly associated with the name and fame of Britain. But let us ever remember, that so long

only as the standard of the cross floats from our masts and battlements-so long as we "set up our banners in the name of our God""-so long as the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" goes forth with our hosts-just so long, and no longer, will the British Lion triumph. When the enemy shall come in like a flood," that standard only leads us to victory.

[ocr errors]

The oak is connected with the very earliest annals of our country. It was held in high veneration by the priests of her dark idolatrous days-the Druids, whose name is supposed to spring from "Deru," the name of the oak in the Celtic language. They held the mistletoe that grew on that tree as peculiarly sacred, and only cut it with a golden hook. How grateful ought our hearts to be that our lot is cast in happier days-in brighter light-in greener pastures-beside purer streams! The ancients generally revered the oak; and the mention made of it in prophetical scripture leads us to suppose it was then a valued tree. In the historical books it is particularly mentioned also. Beneath an oak Joshua "took a great stone and set it up," as a witness “of all the words of the Lord which he spake" to the people, lest they should deny their God. Beneath an oak sat the angel of the Lord in Optna, when he called Gideon, and sent him to be the deliverer of his nation. “Under every thick oak” did guilty, forgetful Israel in after times worship idols upon every high hill," thus making this majestic tree a perpetual memorial of God's tender love, and of His people's deep and black ingratitude. When we rest beneath its summer shade, on the dry crisp grass among which its gnarled roots wander fantastically -when we mark the picturesque outline of its gigantic limbs, in our winter's rambles, as it towers above the quiet silent woods, let us hear what the oak can say to the heedless children of men, for it lifts up a warning voice: it tells us that our foundation, too, "is in the dust,"-that our age is nothing, even in respect of the trees of the field; and that except our covenant with the Lord is faithfully kept-if we, like Ephraim, are "joined to idols"--the Lord will "let us alone," in like manner, to perish in our sins.

[ocr errors]

The oak grows to an immense size in England, and there are many celebrated trees in different parts of this island, but the great nursery of British oak is the wealds of Sussex, the largest valley in Europe. Here this noble timber flourishes, and is the best and most highly esteemed for ship building. From the earliest period on record, this beautiful county has been celebrated for its oaks, and not less than 170,000 acres are covered with them. What a beautiful scene, both for eye and mind, must the wealds of Sussex present! The only remarkable tree I will name, among the many that England possesses, is Queen Elizabeth's oak at Heveningham, in Suffolk, because, whatever is connected with her name must be interesting to a Protestant people. It was hollow when she was young; and tradition says, she was wont to take her stand in it, and aim at the deer as they flitted by. The remains of this venerable tree are all that time has spared us, but it is very striking and affecting to the mind to look upon even a fragment of that which the eyes of so many generations have gazed on, and which has stood calmnly among such scenes of bloodshsd and strife as desolated England in those eventful days.

The wood of the oak is more beautiful for furniture even than mahogany, when highly polished. I have seen slabs of the root, sawn out for small tables, of exquisite vein and beauty. Every portion of the oak seems of use. The bark, and leaves too, are valuable

for tanning; the apple is used in the process of dyeing, and so is the sawdust also. The gall-nuts are the most powerful of vegetable astringents, and, on account of the deep black they produce when mixed with green vitriol, are the best of all materials for making ink. Pliny says that acorns beaten to powder, and made into ointment with lard and salt, are very healing when applied to hard swellings and cancerous sores. The smaller boughs of the oak, when crooked and twisted, are admirably adapted for rustic porches, garden-seats, and all wood-work of that description, and lasts a very long time.

We still wear garlands of oak-leaves to commemorate the restoration of kingly power in England. The oak sheltered our fugitive monarch in his days of trial, and its boughs greeted him when he returned in triumph. Let us adore the mercy of God, who has so long preserved to us the blessings of peace,-who has seated on our throne a line of kings, who hold the sceptre in one hand and the sword of the spirit in the other-the only sword that can protect the land. By God alone "kings reign,' and princes decree justice."

CALCEOLARIA CUTTINGS.

MR. FISH says, many people find it difficult to strike the Kentish Hero calceolaria. I find no other difficulty than that it takes a little longer time than some of the sorts named; that is, if proper cuttings are taken at the proper time, for I do not think they can be struck well before the middle of August, perhaps not so soon, unless the plants have been kept in a shady situation, and the flower-buds picked off to make it throw out young gross shoots; which, with a damp cool atmosphere, and not allowing the cuttings once to flag, are, in my opinion, the chief things to be attended to.

I obtained a nice strong plant the first week in June for propagating, but the wind unfortunately blew off one half of it the day after I had it, and so disrooted the remaining half that it fairly flagged for a week or ten days; after that it gradually recovered by treating it as you recommended for potted-up plants from the borders. I never allowed it to flower through the summer, picked the buds off as fast as they appeared, and kept it under a north-east wall; so that, by the middle of August, I was able to take five nice young shoots, which struck in five weeks, in the following manner, the same as I strike pinks, verbenas, and a host of bedding-out stuff:

Under a wall facing north-east take out the soil, for one or more hand-lights, four inches deep; put in dry muck one inch thick, with a sprinkling of salt, firmly pressed down; on this put two inches of any light finely sifted soil, then add two inches of the following, sifted and well mixed: three parts light sandy loam, one part leaf-mould, one part peat, and one part silver sand; make it level and smooth. The cuttings were then taken with one joint to each, cut straight through just above the next joint below, and whilst the soil was dry thrust in up to their leaves, had a good watering from a fine rose, and (for calceolarias) the light put on directly; let it remain for a fortnight, then cleaned and a little water; the light returned for another 10 days or a fortnight, looking at them occasionally to clean and water (for they must not be allowed to get dry); and if the sun shines on them much in the morning I stick in some fir branches to break it, but no shading on the lights. These are now strong plants, and have had cuttings taken from them twice. When they were rooted they

were potted into small pots, and returned to the same place for a week, and then gradually inured to the air by tilting the light. Early in September I took nine more cuttings from the old plant, put them in a 4-inch pot, three parts full of crocks, a little moss over, filled up with sand, plunged in the natural ground, under the same wall as before, with a little salt at the bottom to keep out the worms; here I put on a small hand or striking-light under the larger one. These all struck in less than five weeks, and are now just filling their pots with roots. The middle of October I put in 14 more cuttings in the same way, which I shall pot off in a day or two. The last week in October I put in 12 more, and on the 7th of November 10 more, in pots, for the convenience of removing to a pit if the weather should set in severe; and I doubt not by turning-out time I shall have 40 or 50 strong plants. Had it not been for the first mishap with my plant, I calculated I should have had, at least, 100 by that time. I have not lost one cutting put in since August. This, however, is nothing like some of them; amplexicaulis, for instance, from one small plant since Easter I have 140 strong plants, and if I had worked it as I did the first three months I should have had 2,000. A friend of mine, after not being able to succeed, has adopted my plan with equal success. Calceolaria amplexicaulis I have struck all the summer in a flower-stand filled with sand, and kept thoroughly moist with water, shaded with a board in the front of a melon frame, with striking-glasses over them.-GEO. PENNY, Gardener to J. Swayne, Esq.

EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE.

MELTING WAX.-I have tried an experiment last and this year with making wax, which saves much labour, yields more wax from the combs, and is, in my opinion, better altogether. As usual, necessity has been with me the mother of invention. I put the wax into an earthen vessel, and set it in the oven to melt, and then, when melted thoroughly, I pour off the wax into the desired mould. If a cullender, or other vessel with holes in, and a press on the top of the combs, and set over another vessel, was put into the oven, the wax would drain through whilst melting, and run every particle of the wax out, which would be a greater improvement still.-A READER, Pinxton.

[This is from a cottager, and if every such reader would send us his scraps of information, we should very soon accumulate a mass of sound economical knowledge.-ED. C. G.]

POT-POURRI. No. 1.-Take one handful of sweetbrier, one of orange flowers, one of sweet marjoram, one of lemon thyme, one of lavender flowers, one of clove pinks, one of rosemary, one of myrtle flowers and leaves, two of stock flowers, two of damask roses, two of Provence roses, two of verbena leaves, two of sweet-scented geranium leaves, half of mint, oz. of cinnamon, and oz. of cloves, the rinds of two lemons dried and pounded; lay some bay salt at the bottom of the jar; then a layer of this mixture; then of salt; and so on till the jar is full. No. 2.-Put into a large china jar the following ingredients in layers, with bay salt strewed between the layers: two pecks of damask roses, part in buds and part full-blown, violets, orange flowers, and jasmine, a handful each, orris-root sliced, benjamin and storax two ounces cach, oz. of musk, lb. angelica root sliced, a quart

of the red parts clove-gilly-flowers, two handfuls of lavender leaves, half a handful of rosemary flowers, bay and laurel leaves half a handful each, 3 Seville oranges stuck as full of cloves as possible, dried in a cool oven, and pounded half a handful of knotted mar joram, and two handfuls of balm of Gilead. Cover all quite close. When the pot is uncovered the perfume is very fine. No. 3.-A quicker-made Potpourri. Take three handfuls of orange flowers, of damask roses, and clove-gilly-flowers, one of knotted marjoram, one of lemon thyme, one of rosemary, one of myrtle, one of lavender, half of mint, six bay leaves, the rind of a lemon, and oz. of cloves; chop all, and put them in layers with pounded bay salt between, up to the top of the jar. If all the ingredients cannot be obtained at once, put them in as you get them, always throwing the buy salt between the layers of every new article.

[ocr errors]

TIGRIDIA PAVONIA CULTURE.-A clergyman, near Oxford, who has been highly successful in blooming this flower, thus details his novel mode of culture:The roots were planted in pots, in the autumn of last year, and kept in a cold pit through the winter. They were planted in deep pots, and with the compost recommended for hyacinths in your No. 7, p. 69, and, in addition to being drained with crocks, 14 inch of wood-stack refuse and 14 inch of cow dung was put into each pot, and the compost on these. The tigridias have been covered with a profusion of flowers of fine colour. How should they be treated now? I planted my hyacinths in the same manner, and nothing could surpass their vigour and fine colour. They were kept in a dark warm place, until two inches of shoot had risen."

[Keep the earth about the tigridias a little moist, till the end of January; the pots to be in the cold pit; then dry them slowly, and shake them out of the soil. Repot them about the end of March, and they will soon be in growth again. Will you be so kind as to try one pot-without removing the bulbs -but merely to keep it dry for two months, and then water it again, to see what difference, if any, that will make in their flowering next season, and report the experiment to us, for the use of others. The fine bloom on the hyacinths was more owing to the culture in the previous season.-ED. C. G.]

POTATOES INDIAN CORN.-Last year I adopted your suggestions in planting my potato crop, and, although the results were not altogether what you predicted, I intend this year to adopt your golden rules, as they appear to me founded on well-ascertained facts. I should premise that I live in Jersey, on a hill exposed to every wind; the soil being sandy, resting on brick clay, under which, at an average depth of three feet, is the rock, a kind of clay slate, running into the trap for water. My earliest potatoes came up well, and promised a healthy crop up to April, when, you may remember, very chilling winds came on, which quite destroyed the stalk not only of mine, but also of those in the most sheltered situations, the only ones escaping belonging to those who planted late. The later kind of potatoes, such as ripen in July and August, were not so much affected, and yielded an excellent crop. The latest kind were attacked slightly with the murrain on the 15th July, when I had the stalks cut off, but as the tubers were not ripe I left them in the ground; however, not to lose the use of the ground, I sowed between the rows turnips. The result has been different from Mr. Weaver's, as I have not discovered any diseased tubers; but the

potatoes are small, and I have determined to follow your first rule, only to grow such as ripen in August. People are making so much noise in England with respect to maize quarantai, that I would beg to say that I believe it to be nothing else than Cobbett's corn, perhaps slightly modified by Pyrenean cultivation. I grow it every year successfully, from grain which I obtained from a friend in Hampshire, who purchased the grain originally from old Cobbett himself. It has, therefore, been ripened every year for the last twenty years in Hampshire, without any other means employed than for other grain, being planted in April. I find a moderate return from the seed, not, however, as remunerative as wheat; but the great benefit to me, in my dry situation, is from the green leaves, which the cows eat with avidity; and they even eat the stalks when the cobs have been plucked, an operation which takes place in September. I send you a cob, taken at random, as a specimen, which I much wish some of your friends to grow a few plants from.-SCRUTATOR.

[The head of Indian corn is perfectly ripened, and very regular. It contains 276 grains, in 12 rows of 23 grains each. Scrutator's evidence, from an island where this corn can be ripened, that it is not so profitable as wheat, is another reason for its not being cultivated in England, where it can be ripened only under the most favourable circumstances of soil, situation, and season.-ED. C. G.]

BRAMBLES FOR BEE-HIVE MAKING.-The proper time for cutting these is between the middle of November and the middle of February. The age is not particular; but choose them as clear of knots as possible. Slit them ready for use immediately after cutting them, or you may store them away, drying them thoroughly in the air, and slit them as you want them, previously soaking them well in water. The above is a system adopted by an old cottager, a near neighbour of mine.-JOSEPH RICHARDSON.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We request that no one will write to the departmental writers of THE COTTAGE GARDENER. It gives them unjustifiable trouble and expense; and we also request our coadjutors under no circumstances to reply to such private communications.

HIMALAYAH PUMPKIN SEED.-All the seed which has been kindly sent to us by one party-and we have received none from elsewhere-proves to be abortive.

FUCHSIA CUTTINGS (A. C. W.).-You ask whether a Fuchsia corolina, raised from a cutting in July, should be kept dry during the winter? A fuchsia of any kind, or any other plant, propagated last July, will not be of sufficient substance to endure the drying process this winter; and a cold pit is a better place for it during the winter than a drawing-room, unless it is in flower. Some of our F. corolina are now in beautiful bloom; and it is our favourite of all the race.

PLUNGING MATERIAL FOR PIT (Ibid).-Tan is the worst thing possible for the bottom of a cold pit-unless it were kiln-dried,-and cinder ashes the best. Geraniums, and all other plants propagated lately, had better remain as they are, and not be "potted off" until the winter is over.

TREE MIGNONETTE (Sylva).-To destroy insects, which appeared upon this, you applied tobacco water, and now some of your plants look sickly, and the leaves turn yellow. If the tobacco and the water were in the proportions we recommended, the tree mignonette could not be injured by the application. We hope it is only a temporary check. Keep the plants dry till the end of next February; and no place is more suitable for them than a good window, and on fine sunny days to be turned outside for a few hours in the middle of the day-a treatment which we have recommended all along for window plants.

PRUNING TRANSPLANTED ROSES (A. T. B.).—Prune your transplanted roses now. Mr. Beaton said, long since, that roses ought to be pruned six weeks before they are transplanted; and he also repudiated the antiquated idea of transplanting roses not being pruned

[blocks in formation]

CAPONS (S. Pen-and-ink).-The very details you give show its cruelty, and one of such a nature as ought not to appear in pages circulating in family circles. It is quite true that the treatment of oxen and sheep is equally cruel; but here there is the plea of necessity-the flesh of bulls and rams is not catable. Your suggestion is under consideration.

PAPER-MAKER'S REFUSE (Paper-maker).—Your residuum, after making chlorine gas, is chiefly a mixture of glauber salt (sulphate of soda), common salt, and manganese. It might be put upon vacant ground, and would there destroy vermin. A little-5lbs to 30 square yards-would be beneficial, if applied twice or thrice a year, to asparagus beds-say early in March, July, and September.

STIFF SOIL ON CLAY SUBSOIL (I. L. Sheard).-As you cannot obtain pipes for draining it, cut drains two and a half feet deep, and twelve yards apart, and fill these to half their depth with flint-stones, putting turf, &c., over these, in the usual course of draining. Mix coal-ashes and lime rubbish to lighten the staple; gradually breaking up and mixing a little of the subsoil until you get the surface soil a foot deep. Black currants and raspberries will probably succeed on your soil.

BLACK BARLEY (X. Y. Z.).—Our correspondent wishes to know if winter tares would not come in well after this barley, as of those tares he wishes to get a crop, and then one of Swedes after the tares? Now, as we have not tried the black barley, we cannot give an opinion upon the point; and a very intelligent farmer of Hampshire writes to us thus:

"It is the general opinion among farmers, and my own experience goes with it, that they cannot get a good crop of Swedes, or turnips, succeeding winter tares; not, I believe, because there is not time enough, but because either the tares exhaust the peculiar food of the turnip, or because the roots of the tares render the soil so light and spongy that it does not suit the turnip root, albeit fond of a highly pulverised soil. I believe the latter is the case; but if the failures proceed from either of these two causes, the sowing the tares earlier, which will give the roots of the tares more time to possess themselves of every portion of the soil, is not likely to correct the evil. Your correspondent is probably aware that there is a variety of the winter vetch called Racer vetches, which come into blossom full ten days, or nearly a fortnight, sooner than the common winter vetch, and, consequently, must be fed off, or cut, earlier than the common sort. This gives a longer period for a succeeding crop of turnips to perfect themselves, and it also would give time to work the land with more than one ploughing, and to break down the sponge-like condition with a heavy Crosskill roller; so that the finely pulverised earth may sit close and tight to the turnip-seed, being at the same time easily permeable by its tender roots, which, I believe, is what is wanted. never get a good plant of turnips on loose hollow ground. The Racer vetch does not give so large a produce as the common sort. When in full bloom it is about as bulky as the common winter vetch is when opening its first blossom. I usually sow some of both, side by side, so that I may have a succession."

I

LIST OF HALF-HARDY PLANTS (Tyro).-What do you mean by "plants?" Do you require annuals or perennials-herbaceous or shrubby plants? Many greenhouse plants may be grown during the summer in a verandah facing the south, and be wintered in a pit.

OUT-DOOR GRAPES (H. N.).-For your south wall at Wiveliscombe, we recommend you to grow the Royal Muscadine, white, and the Black Hamburgh. The best celery we have ever grown is Nutt's Champion. Keep your hyacinths in glasses in the dark until they have made more roots.

POTATO PLANTING (Stupid).-Do not use manure of any kind. Your question about your peaches, &c., next week.

GLASS FOR GREENHOUSES (L. R. L.).-We cannot recommend you to use glass tinged of any colour; it is more expensive, and has been proved to be without benefit. We recommend rough glass; it is cheap, strong, and prevents scorching. We are not responsible for advertisers. We cannot give you an estimate for glazing; ask two or three glaziers to tender for the job. Muriate of ammonia will not be of use to remove the crust from the inside of your boiler.

RAPE CAKE (H. C. Mills).—This, which your cattle refuse to eat, may be powdered, and drilled in with your turnip seed. A quarter of a ton per acre will be enough. It is found to be most beneficial on heavy soils.

PLUMBAGO CAPENSIS (W. Savage).-The mealy appearance underneath the leaves is natural to the species. To clear your plant from the red spider dip it into tepid water; or use the sponge, as recommended by Mr. Appleby to-day. Stephanotis floribunda is a stove plant, and requires more heat than will agree with the other plants in your greenhouse.

FUCHSIAS RAISED FROM LEAVES (H. Benton).-The plants thus raised are the same as the parents from which the leaves were gathered. Pray refer to what we have said about wintering fuchsias in recent numbers, for our observations will apply to yours unless they are some particular species. New varieties of the chrysanthemum or of any other flower can only be raised from seed. Leave your leeks as they

are; they may come round into good vigour in the spring. If your bookseller does not supply you with THE COTTAGE GARDENER regularly, go to some other bookseller in Plymouth, who, being in a larger way of business, does have a weekly parcel.

SWALLOWS (A Lover of Birds).-Our correspondent says he saw two swallows pursuing flies under the south wall of his garden at Ramsgate, on the 18th of November, and one of the same birds was there on the 22nd. This is three weeks later than Mr. Jenyns ever saw even a straggler at Swaffham, in Norfolk. During 12 years' observations, he never saw one there later than October 31st. Those which stay after the departure of the main flock are supposed to have been late-hatched birds. The swift was seen as far north as Tynemouth Priory as late as the 4th of November in 1822; and in Times

Telescope for 1825, it is stated that " swallows have been seen in mild weather to congregate previously to taking their departure so late as the middle of December."

VENTILATING TAYLOR'S HIVES (Ciris).-You say there is no ventilator provided for the top hives of this kind. In reply, we have to state that the upper box of "Taylor's Amateur's box-hive" should on no account remain upon the stock-box during the winter; let it be removed, and should the stock-box contaln less than 20lbs, of honey, let this be made up to that weight by feeding by means of the feeder supplied with the box; the feeder remaining upon the stock-box for the winter makes an admirable ventilator and condenser.

CHINESE PIGS (J. Ball).-You may write to J. Crisp, Esq., Hope Cottage, Norwood, Surrey.

CUTTINGS OF LECHENAULTIA FORMOSA (Homo).-Those will strike very easily any time from the end of February to August, but the spring ones do best afterwards. Take small pots, drain well, and fill with equal parts of peat and sand, with a thin layer of sand on the top; water and press down, and they are ready for cuttings. Make the cuttings an inch, or rather more, in length; plant them firmly, and put a bell-glass over them, in a gentle bottom-heat. Thousands of other plants will grow from cuttings thus treated.

GREENHOUSE AND STOVE PLANT SEEDS (Ibid).-Acacia seeds, and those of all greenhouse and stove plants, as well as mimulus seeds, will grow best from spring sowing, any time in March. Zinnins ought to be treated as half-hardy annuals; that is, to be sown in a hot-bed, and the pots removed to a cooler place as soon as the seedlings are well up; but they will do after the middle of April without

the aid of the hot-bed.

MOVING STRAWBERRIES (Alcyone).-Your new strawberry-bed ought to be made with young plants, not by removing the old ones; from the middle of February to the middle of March is the proper time to plant the young plants, or remove the old ones, as you must do so between this and June.

CLEMATIS AND HONEYSUCKLE PRUNING (Ibid).-Those which have overgrown their space, and all other hardy climbers in like condition, ought to be pruned very cautiously and by degrees, any time from the end of October to the beginning of March. Proceed thus-unfasten all the ties, and separate the tangled mass of shoots from each other, then cut down one half of the branches to different lengths, say from a few inches to as many feet from the older wood; then train the other half over the whole space, and thus some of the top branches will have to be trained downwards to the bottom of the wall. But we will ask Mr. Beaton to write more fully on the subject.

REMOVING LILIES OF THE VALLEY (Ibid).-Do this forthwith. October is the best time. A deep sandy loam, partially shaded, suits them best. Select those plants or runners with the most prominent

buds.

VINES OVER-LUXURIANT (H. A.)-Your two sweet-water vines in a greenhouse, with a good south-west aspect, have only produced two or three bunches; but the young wood is three or four yards long, very robust, and with numerous laterals from these. You have allowed the vines to grow to the utmost, in the hope they will exhaust themselves, and now ask for our advice. We fear your vines are wrong at the root: the soil is, probably, too deep, too damp, and too rich. You had, perhaps, better take them carefully up (after pruning them pretty close) remodel the soil, or border, according to instructions in our back numbers, and plant them again. You will see a series of papers on vine culture in the course of a few weeks, beginning with to-day. Study the principles, as there explained, carefully, and you will not be misled."

SEA KALE BLANCHING (Ibid),—No wonder that all your plants died which had no more room, and no other protection from the hot steam and ammonical fumes of fermenting dung than that afforded by two or three house tiles. If you cannot have large pots of some kind, you had better raise annually a succession of plants to take up and grow in the manner recommended by Mr. Barnes.

PREPARING CARROTS, &c., FOR STORING (B. M. J.)-There is a deep ring, or collar, round the top of these. Cut so much of the carrot or parsnip away as to entirely remove that ring, for out of this the foliage would come forth. Do not apply liquid manure to your out-door kitchen-garden crops, except whilst growing and vigorous in spring and summer. The reference to Brussels sprouts should be to page 347. In very rich soil they do not button well. CUTTING POTATO SETS (R.S.).-We never plant cut sets, and cannot advise it to be done at any time; but we would rather use them in spring than in autumn, if compelled to employ them. If the Bangors are a late-ripening variety, do not grow them at all. WINTERING CARNATION CUTTINGS (A young Amateur).-Your carnation cuttings planted in August are most likely rooted, and ought to be taken up, carefully potted in a light compost of sandy loam and leaf-mould or very rotten dung:-if leaf-mould, one-half; if rotten dung, one quarter. Use pots 54 in. across, drain well, and put a pair of rooted cuttings in each pot. Place them in a cold frame (not in a hotbed), shade from sunshine; water moderately, and protect with mats from severe frost, giving air freely in mild weather. See instructions under the head "Carnations." The address is correct.

NAMES OF PLANTS (J. Burgess).-Your climber is Loasa lateritia. We are sorry to say that your other application is too late. (Florum amator).-Your flower is Geum strictum. (Sigma).-Your plant is a Loasa, but the specimen was too imperfect for us to determine the species; We think it is volubilis.

LONDON: Printed by HARRY WOOLDRIDGE, 147, Strand, in the Parish of Saint Mary-le-Strand; and Winchester High-street, in the Parish of St. Mary Kalendar; and Published by WILLIAM SOMERVILLE ORE, at the Office, 147, Strand, in the Parish of Saint Mary-le-Strand, London.-December 6th, 1849.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

LUCY.-This virgin martyr was a native of Syracuse, and her festival is said to have been retained because it regulated, and still regulates, the occurrence of the winter Ember days. Having distributed all her wealth among the poor, she is said to have been denounced by him to whom she was betrothed, and was martyred on this day, A.D. 305, for adhering to her faith. She is said to have been deprived of her eyes whilst in prison, and in Italy and elsewhere it is usual for Roman Catholics suffering from diseases of those organs to address to her prayers for aid.

O! SAPIENTIA.-This was the commencement of a Latin anthem, which, in Roman Catholic times, began to be sung on this day, and was continued through Advent. The first line was "O! the wisdom (O! sapientia) which proceeded from the mouth of the Most High." This is the most probable explanation, although some writers think Sapientia was one of the 11,000 virgins martyred with St. Ursula. METEOROLOGY OF THE WEEK.-The average highest temperature occurring during days in the last 22 years is 45.6°, and the average lowest temperature 26.7°. The highest observed heat was on the 13th

in 1842, when the mercury rose to 61°; and the lowest observed heat, 11°, was on the 13th in 1846. During the 22 years there have been 70 days of this week on which rain fell, and 84 days were fine.

NATURAL PHENOMENA INDICATIVE OF WEATHER.-Feathers on the surface of water, dried leaves, dust, and other light bodies whirling about in circles, intimate the approach of rain. The eddies of wind which cause these movements are miniature illustrations of the great hurricanes of the tropics, which usually travel in a circle. Fieldfares usually arrive soon after the middle of November; and if they appear much earlier, as they do sometimes at the end of October, it portends a severe winter. The winter setting in with unaccustomed severity in their more northern haunts drives them earlier to our latitude. Fish, when they take the bait with more than ordinary readiness, gambol near the surface of the water, and thus shew great aptitude to feed, portend rain. Fires burning bright in winter indicate a cold atmosphere out-of-doors, which increases the draught, and a dry atmosphere that promotes the combustion of the fuel. When the fires burn dully it arises from the air being mild and moist, and consequently producing opposite effects.

[graphic]
[ocr errors]

merous streaks like net-work; the hind-wings are brown. Thorax ochrish in front, pale in the middle, with a black bar behind. The female is provided with a strong egg-depositor, with which she introduces her eggs into the bark of the tree-often 1000 in number; the young caterpillars living at first in and between the outer and inner bark, and afterwards, when they are stronger, penetrating into the wood. When the existence of one of these creatures is detected in a

trunk, by its excrement, relief comes too late for the tree, even if we are able to kill the caterpillar, the mischief being already done. Notwithstanding this, the caterpillar should never be left undisturbed, and an attempt should be made to reach it by enlarging the opening with a garden knife, cr endeavouring to kill it by thrusting a piece of pointed wire up the hole. It is called the Goat moth from the peculiar smell both of the insect and its larva.

No. LXIII., VOL. III.

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »