AND HORTICULTURAL ADVERTISER. DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, ARBORICULTURE, BOTANY & RURAL AFFAIRS. EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN, FORMERLY HEAD GARDENER TO CALEB COPE, ESQ., AT SPRINGBROOK, AND AT the BartrAM BOTANIC GARDENS, MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. AUTHOR OF "AMERICAN VOLUME XV, 1873. PHILADELPHIA: CHARLES H. MAROT, PUBLISHER, No. 814 CHESTNUT STREET. 1873. HINTS FOR JANUARY. HINTS FOR THE MONTH. At the beginning of every new year we note in our audience new features, among the many old faces, to whom some little introduction seems necessary. Be it known then that once on a time there was a little plot of land much given to gardening, which contained several millions of people, and they were all willing and anxious to do all things by rule and square. In those days there was little science. No one cared to know the reason of things. It was enough for them to know that work was to be done, and to do it. This little tract of land did not contain more than perhaps 8000 square miles, about the size of one of our average states, and as the sun rose and set generally at one time, and spring came in and spring went out nearly on the same day-nay, even the sun shone, and the rain fell, and the winds blew, pretty much all alike at one time over every part of it, it was very easy to set forth every day a job of work to be done that day in the garden. Hence arose good men who got up gardener's calenders, in which all the work of a garden was mapped out for the year-just what should be done on a certain day, and what should not. Some of the descendants of these men came to America, and of course they wanted the same thing done here. But how was this to be in a country where at one end the snow has hardly began to melt, and at the other end has ripe strawberries! A calender is preposterous! But besides this there is not the need in these days for this precise way of working. Science has pervaded the masses. They may not call it science, but the general application of abstract knowledge picked up here and there, is but science applied. All people need now is general suggestions, and what they have seen and heard of before enables them to turn these suggestions to a useful account. Thus we give in these columns but seasonable hints, generally timing them so much in advance, that any one in any part of the Union may profit by some of them. FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND. To many of our readers the only "pleasure ground" they will have at this season is the few pots growing in windows or plant cabinets. But since the introduction of coal gas into our dwellings, it is not so easy to grow plants well as in former times. But as this gas is only lit up at night, if provision be made for enclosing plants from the fumes at night, they do pretty well. This is accomplished very easily where there are bay windows, by drawing curtains across, or by having plants so arranged that cases can be closed around them. New beginners in growing window plants often ask us how often they should water plants. The more freely a plant is growing, the more water will it require; and the more it grows, the more sun and light will it need. In all cases, those which seem to grow the fastest, should be placed nearest the light. The best aspect for room plants is the south-west. They seem like animals in their affection for the morning sun. The first morning ray is worth a dozen in the evening. Should any of our fair readers find her plants, by some unlucky calculation, frozen in the morning, do not remove them at once to awarm place, but dip them in cold water, and set them in a dark spot, where they will barely escape freezing. Sunlight will only help the frost's destructive powers. It is better to keep in heat in cold weather by covering, where possible, than to allow it to escape, calculating to make it good by fire-heat, which is, at best, but a necessary evil. Where bloom is in demand, nothing less than 55° will accomplish the object; though much above that is not desirable, except for tropical hot-house plants. Where these plants are obliged to be wintered in a common greenhouse, they should be kept rather dry, and not be encouraged much to grow, or they may rot away. After Cyclamens have done blooming, it is usual, at this season, to dry them off; but we do best with them by keeping them growing till spring, then turning them out in the open border, and repot in August for winter flowering. In potting window plants, the soil for potting should be used rather dry; that is it should be in such a condition that it will rather crumble when pressed, than adhere closer together. Large pots-those over four inches, should have a drainage. This is made by breaking up broken pots to the size of beans, putting them in the bottom a quarter or half an inch deep, and putting about an eight of an inch of old moss or any similar rough material over the mass of "crocks" to keep out the earth from amongst it. Little benefit arises from draining pots below four inch, the moisture filtering through the porous pots quite fast enough; and the few pieces of "drainage" often thrown in with the soil placed right over, is of little or no use. Ferneries are now so deservedly popular, that we must have a word to say for them at times, though their management is so simple there is little one can say. It is probably their ease of management, and the great results obtained for the little outlay of care that has rendered them so popular. It should not, however, be forgotten that the case in which they are enclosed is not to keep out the air, but to keep in the moisture, as ferns will not thrive in the dry atmos phere of heated rooms. A few minutes' airing every day will, therefore, be of great benefit to them. Decayed wood, (not pine), mixed with about half its bulk of fibrous soil of any kind, and a very small proportion (say a tenth of the bulk) of well rotted stable manure, makes a good compost. Most kinds particularly like welldrained pots. This is usually effected by filling a third of the pots in which the ferns are to grow with old pots broken in pieces of about half an inch square, on which a thin layer of moss is placed, before filling the pots, to keep out the soil from choking the drainage. In regard to the kinds of plants for windows and rooms, as a general thing bulbous or succulent plants do best. Those plants which in their native places of growth choose dry places, seem also especially adapted to room culture if they have plenty of sunlight. The old wall-flowers and stockgillies are excellent for this purpose; and there are few things superior to the modern race of carnations, known as the perpetual or tree carnation. The English, single and double, and the Chinese primroses, together with the whole race of violets are capital for window culture, where the room is not too warm-they do not do well where the temperature is over 55°. These last named plants, especially, as well as many others, are liable to the attacks of the Red Spider, which is the great foe to window plant culture. They are so small as seldom to betray their existence until some damage is done. The first we know is a slight yellowish tint among the healthy green of the leaves, and then a common pocket lens will decide whether the little insect is doing the damge. On primroses and violets they usually keep on the under surface of the leaves, and hence are very difficult to be got at. We have found the best thing is the plan first recommended some years ago in the Gardener's Monthly, to take warm water, say about 120° or 130°, just a little greasy, and with a little powdered sulphur floating on it, and dip the plant in for an instant only. It will rarely destroy a leaf unless very tender, by growing too much in the shade, while it bothers the red spider badly. The Green Aphis may be got rid of in the same manner. FRUIT GARDEN. There are few things connected with fruit growing which gives greater pleasure than a knowledge of the names of the varieties. Utilitarians may say with truth that of all the long lists in the catalogues and in the books, the half of them are worthless, and of the other a dozen at most is all one need have. But there is a satisfaction in a good number of kinds, and though we find most men desirous to cut down their lists to two or three kinds, they always hesitate to do it, when the time for action comes. then people will have an "assortment' of kinds, As season. Orchard trees generally get too much pruning. In young trees only thin out so as not to have the main leaders crossing or interfering with one another. Or when a few shoots grow much stronger then the rest, cut these away. Insist on all the branches in young trees growing only on a perfect equality. On older trees which have been in bearing a number of years, it will often benefit to cut away a large portion of the bearing limbs. By a long series of bearings, branches will often get bark bound and stunted, preventing the free passage of the sap to the leaves. In such cases the sap seems to revenge itself by forcing out vigorous young shoots a long way down from the top of the tree. It is down to these vigorous young shoots that we would cut the bearing branches away. One must use his own judgment as to the advisability of this. If the tree bears as fine and luscious fruit as ever, of course no such severe work need be done, but if not, then now is the time. it becomes an important question how to label them so that it shall be permanent, and yet not take too much labor and trouble to accomplish. In planting, the trees of course are in some kind or order, usually in rows, and a book should, at once on setting out, be provided, and the names entered therein in the order they run on the ground. But we do not want to have the book always with us, so must have labels attached to the trees in some way. The cheapest and easiest is the Wilder plan with the zinc labels. These are cut about four or six inches long and from one half to an inch wide, and after being put in water a day or so to oxydize, are written on with a common lead pencil. It needs no "chemical "ink. It is not very legible at first, but blackens with age. We believe such labels will last perfectly plain for fifty years or more. The only trouble we have found is in the wearing away of the holes through which the attaching wire passes, by the wind. If some "eyelet " of durable material could be stamped in the hole for the copper wire to rub against, it would be perfection. The wire must of course be loose enough to allow of the branch increasing in size, but even with this wires must be looked to sometimes, for wood does not grow as we all thought it did a few years ago, by a downward layer from the leaves, which would naturally push out of the way any foreign thing on the outside of the bark; but by the germination or budding out of cells, and thus even a loose wire will be enveloped by the new growth of wood, as badly as if it fitted tight, provided the wire be perfectly sta-grown in grass, we prefer top dressing in June tionary. It is a good season to go over and ex- or July, but if it has not been done then, do it amine the wires of fruit trees and attend to these now. Where trees are kept under clean surface other labeling and naming matters; of course culture, the manure is of course ploughed or when the weather is sufficiently warm to allow harrowed in with the crop in the spring of the of it being done with comfort. year. To know whether trees require manure or not ask the leaves. If in July they are of a dark rich green, nothing need be done to them, but if they have a yellow cast, hunger is what is the matter. This of course is supposing they are not infested by borers, in which case they will be yellowish in the richest soil. And above all look after the nutrition of the trees. Some people say that land which will raise good corn will grow good fruit trees, which is all right; but they should add that like corn they require regular and continuous manuring. There are some parts of the country where corn can be successively taken for half a life time without manure; on these soils we need not manure fruit trees, but in all others we must to have good results. This is particularly essential where trees are grown in grass, as both the trees and the grass require food. Where trees are Yellowness will also sometimes come from trees being in wet ground while they are grow In young orchards some species of scale insects are likely to be troublesome. These should be killed by washing at this season. If the trees be very badly infested, cut back the young shoots, and the stouter branches can then be more thoroughly done. Some people use weak lye for washing, with good results; we do not object to some lime and sulphur going in with it. Old trees are very much assisted by having the roughing; but fruit trees should not be planted in wet bark scraped off of the trunk and main branches, and then coated with a similar wash. Never mind what people say about stopping up the "breathing pores." Try it once, and you will always want to repeat the practice. ground. At the same time if one has a piece of wet ground desired to be used for orchard planting, we would not underdrain it. We do not think it ever paid any man to underdrain for an orchard. The roots in time, will very likely get This is generally supposed to be the pruning into the drains and choke them. We would |