Weekly Mail

BY T. X'ull, YZ.lgi1,UI. Abb.«¡y, G^auioigaiisiiiid. A3SVVKB5 1'0 rOIiRESFO*" f>BN*TS. Socaliiie or the ic*w Forsugv. Plant-.——Write "la Messrs. ffra. Cutbiuh and Son, Hie Nareeries, Hig!vjp»te, LO!1/k'Il, N., and ask them to send you the papers they publish oil it, which iJ:ey will do by return of post. Name of Climber.—"J. I). J."—It is a well-known plant named pyrus japuniea. It is somewhat like the apple in habit of growth, and is not readily pno- pagated from cuttings, but you can buy plants in any nursery at Is. each. Trip to America, &c.—"Observer."—I thank you very much for your letter and the clippings. All you saw must have been exceedingly interesting, and you evidently wemt the right way to gain knowledge. I would be very pleased to see tome of your designs of -att-le sheds, poultry coops, kc., and would return them to you again. Flcwer Shows in South Wales.—"Diantlnjs."—There are a gofcd many flower shows held in South Wales which would interest you or any visitor. The chief of tdiem Margam: August i; Aberdare, August 1; Neath, August 8; (Jower, August 8; Mountain Ash, August 5; Haesteg, August 14; Cardiff, August 14 end 15; and Porthoawl, August 21. Cauliflower Discoloured.—J. S. Burt..—The atmos- phere of the cellar is one of the causes of your cauli- flower becoming discoloured, as this always occurs in a close, somewtiat damp piace. The salt has also helped to produce it, and the pieces you sent are in a very bad state, only fit for the refuse heap. They would have kept longer and better in a cool, airy place, shaded from the sun. Colour, &e., of Orpington Fowls.—"T. B."—There are several kinds of Orpington fowls—white, buff, and black but the latter are the best known, arid should be perfectly black all over. There are rose- should be perfectly black all over. There are rose- combed blacks and single-combed blacks. They are very quiet. contented fowls, not inoiineu to fly or be troublesome to noghbours, and they suit you well in that respect, as well as for laying. Be sum! you get tlio pure breed. Protecting Cherries from Birds.—"Naylor.—The only way of protecting ripe cherries from birds a to net them. This can readily be done with wall trec6, but not so easily with lange standard trees. In Reiki and other places where cherries are grown « orchards the trees are never netted, but a good many of the birds are shot or frightened away, and this is the only way I can suggest for you to deal with them. As you say you have a large quantity of fruit, it would pay you to employ a small boy to keep the birds off when the fruit- is maturing. Young Bullfinches.—"Hedgerow."—The best way of securing young bull (inches or any other wild birds is to watch them until nearly ready to leave the nest. Then take a ca4e, lift the nest off the tree with the young birds jn it, and put nest and all in the lwttom of the cage and close it up. The old ones will then feed the young ones through the wires till they are well advanced, and, by putting a little food in the bottom of the cage, the young ones will take to it themselves. A little piece of oilcloth should be put over the top of the cage to shade them from bright sunshine and rajn. I have known many young bullfinches, goldfinches, and other birds secured with- out any trouble in this way. Inducing Geruniums to Grow.—"Slow Step.You cannot do better than expue your geraniums fully to the sim, but shelter them from strong wind. If the shoots are growing close together, put a few stakes in and tie them outwards. If you can get a 'little guano, give them a weak liquid made from this twice a week; or you could put a quantity of horse droppings in a bucket of water and water them with this They ought to be in full flower in July. If thure afe any flowers fully out- now, remove them, and only/aiiow than to remapn and open about a fortnight beiire you want them for show. The plant will then not be bearing .sui»erfluous blooms, and will all be fresh and bright when exhibited. A Grape Vine Failing.—"Luev."—You made a great mistake to cut any of the shoots off at the time they beginning to grow. They ought to have been removed when dormant. You say the only sign of in ttbe ttld rod is the "sap dropping out of it," but Irtlis is where the mischief occurs, as this wq- escape has eshausted the vitality of the vine. It will not do any good this season, and" may even die. The young rod is the one you should now encourage, and by all means let it take the place of the old one, but do not cut the old one away till it goes to rest in winter, as to do it now would set the "bleed- ing," as it is termed, so much ageing that it would perish altogether. Poultry Fanning.—Wm. Roberts.—I cannot give you any-.encouragement to invest your money in poultry fanning. It has been tried by many, but not ",th success. You will sometimes see affairs of th« kind atlvertioed in the papers as going concerns, and they would he better to take to trying to establish a business; but I believe, if inquiries were made, the reason far giving them up woukl not be encouraging to a buyer. What I have often recorn- mended to readers in times past is to keep pigs, a few cows, a good garden, and such like in connection with a number of fowls, when the whole will yield a good profit, as well as pleasing employment to disposed for work of this sort, and it is a cdmbined busiress of this kind that I advise you to ay. on Hants Injured by Fumigating.—"Oldham.You did right to fumigate the plants to destroy the green fly, &c., but you had given them too much of it. Iiia foliage may 8lso have been wet, whereas it should always be quite dry when fumigated. This and excessive smoke will aiwavs discolour the foliage and otteu cause it to fall off, which checks the plants. Be 6::re the leaves are dry next time, and do not let the smoke be more dense than will allow you to see your outstretched hand distinctly. Cineraries do not often make go-tl plants the second year. They are best raised from seed annually. If the old plants are kept river they require much the same treatment as the seedlings did the first year. The secret in growing cineraries is to keep them free front insects. Clematis Montana. Amongst clematis there are varieties that produce flowers of great size and of different coiours, which are very attractive when in bloom; but, although the old-fashioned Clema- tis Montana is the smallest of all in the size of, its blossom, it is one of the prettiest of the' whole lot. It has an excellent habit of growth, and will produce shoots from three to eight or ten feet in one season. These are slim and graceful; and, when they are clothed the succeeding May with hosts of small white or slightly pink flowers, they delight all who see them. Wherever a climb- ing plant is wanted, this clematis may be introduced, as it not only adorns walls and pillars, but will entwine itself on tree stumps, branches, fences, &c. I know the new kinds with bic- flowers were the cause of this kind being neglected for a time, but, its many good qualities are again asserting themselves, and it will be preferred to many of the others by those who desire a graceful climber. The Bird Cherry. Recently I received flowers of this shrub from several readers; amongst others from Mr. Fred Yates. of Neath, South Wales, white he was stayiag at the Cammarch Hotel, Llangammarch Wells, Breeonshire, with the information that it created some discussion there as to what it was. The plant in question is the cerasus padus, or, com- monly, the bird cherry. It has many relations amongst the cerasus. including the common laurel (cerasus lauroceras illS), the Portugal laurel (eera-sus lusitanica), and the common cherry of our gardens (cerasus cap- roniana), as well as the double cherry I wrote of recently (cerasus serrulata). The variety under notice blooms in April and May, the flowers being produced in numerous sman racems of a cream colour. It is of compact habit of growth, and is a good lawn suiv-wet. Tlie fruit is not large-is sometimes called the hagberry. It is somewhat nauseous in flavour, but when infused in whisky or gin is said to improve those spirits; but this is- an experiment I have not tried. The Gardens and Farms of Holland, I have to thank many readers for letters expressing the pleasure they derived in read- in, my remarks on the above, and I fully appreciate the suggestion that notes on the conditions of other countries would lie accept- able. I also hear of one or two who think I did not do Holland justice, one reader going so far a-s to assert that England draws the greater part of its supplies of peaches, apri- cots, and grapes from Holland-a statement which, I fancy, will be news to most people. It is, as we all know, quite impossible to please everybody. I give myself the credit of keeping a-s near the truth at all times as my knowledge and observations will allow Jle, and, in my own mind, I have farmed an opinion of what I actually saw in Holland which will not be easily argued away. Lilacs. I do not think lilacs are very generally planted where choice shrubs and trees are introduced, as m,my regard them as being only common subjects, their being seen in ordinary gardens very often giving this idea; but it is a mistake to think they are not good enough for tlie best positions, as there are very few flowering shrubs so pleasing as lilacs when in blossom. As a white flower, the white lilac is amongst the purest grown, and the fragrance all emit is most agreeable. When forced in early spring they are valued as charming flowers, but they are just as much so whets more plentiful in early summer in the open ali' and they should be included in al! collections of trees or shrubs introduced to large or smah gardens, the white one especially wing included. They possess the advantage of succeeding well in towns, and this is an important recommendation. Transplanting Parsley. Parsley was nearly all killed last winter; it is still scarce, as the young plants raised from seed do not grow very quickly. I fear it will also be scarce this season, as the maggot is at work amongst it, which is gene- rally the case in a dry season. The plants bear transplanting very well, and where they are growing closely together some of them may be taken out and planted elsewhere. The soil to which they are transferred should be well manured and heavily dressed with soot, which should be dug in immediately before planting. The roots should also be puddled in a liquid soot mixture before they are planted, and they should be freely watered afterwards with soot water. Some of the plants should be put along the bottom of a wall or in a position where they can be protected in winter conveniently. If atten- tion is given to this, there will be little danger of the parsley supply failing alto- gether. Choice Ivies. I regret to find some of the choicest of these are not quite hardy. I do not notice that any of the green ones were killed by the severe frost in the spring, but t. e smvr and golden kinds suffered severely, aot a few of them being killed outright. I daresay, for all this, some will still advocate their being planted, but I do not, unless in very mild localities or where shelter is afforded that is not generally available. Thinning Annuals. There are many very beautiful flowers in the class generally described as annuals, their colours being choice, with good lurn; and many are very fragrant; but in not a few ca.ses they are not seen in their best characters, one reason for this being that they are often sown very thick, and the plants are not thinned at all or sufficiently to admit of their attractions being fully displayed. The choicest of plants that are generally grown in aots would loose much of their interest if they were crowded together as close as they could stand in the soil, and yet this is the condition annuals are generally seen in. Their owners appear to think they would be de- prived of much of their beauty if they were thinned, but the contrary is the c.ase, and the whole of them, wherever they are grown closely together, ought to be thinned. This should be done before they have become a mass, as many of them would be drawn up weakly then but, if thinned before they are more than three or four inches high, each plant will become robust and produce the best possible effect, both in foliage and flower. Before thinning the plants should be -well watered at the root; draw the weakest out first, and allow those that re- main to stand quite clear of the next. They may be left a few inches apart at first, and given more room afterwards if necessary. They should also be well watered after thin- ning. Balsams. These are a class of indoor annuals often grown by amateurs, but I am not in favour of them, and growers would be much better off were they to give attention to other classes of plants, and not grow balsams. They are apt to have a long, unsightly stem, with rather a scraggy head, unless' extra well grown; and at their best- they are not very useful, as they are soon over. They afford a favourite resort for red spider, and on this account often prove a graat pest. I When to Cut Meadow Eay. As a rule (writes "Yorkshireman"), meadow hay is too late in being cut. Many allow it to remain uncut, when they know it to be ready, thinking it will increase in quantity, while all the time it is decreasing in quality, as well as in quantity. The proper time to cut meadow hay is just when the bulk of the different grasses are maturing their seeds and they are fully developed. If left till the seeds are ripe, they will all be shaken out in making the hay, and this deprives it of one of its best feeding propeities. If cut too early it will shrink, but cutting it too late is just as bad. The aftermath crop, too, is a valuable one, but it is never so early or abundant on late mown fields as on those which are cut at the right time. As a rule, all my meadow hay is cut from the middle to the end of June. Noble Strawberry. The late Mr. T. Laxton raised many new strawberries, and some he was experimenting on have been offered to the public since his regretted death, but I believe Noble will perpetuate his memory as long and fully as any kind he ever produced. I gathered some full-grown fruit of it in the open air on the 1st of June, and it is the earliest of many sorts grown here. This is a most desirable qualification, and one that is much valued. It is enormously prolific, with exceedingly large fruit of a fine colour. Young plants put out last August will yield us over half a pound of fruit each shortly, and those which have been bearing for the last two years are as fertile as ever. Some kinds of strawberries refuse to grow, or at least to bear well, in certain gardens and localities, but I never heard of Noble failing anywhere. As a variety for cottagers or amateurs who desire plenty of fine strawberries, it is invaluable, aad all who do not possess it iu quantity should introduce it largely. Charlock in Corn Crops. The charlock (sinapis arvensis), or corn mustard, is a plant much seen in cornfields at this season. Its flowers are yellow, and very often the surface of the corn is a sheet of that colour, which attracts attention and makes many wonder what it is and what it is doing there, it appearing as if under culti- vation but it is not, and is only a weed. The charlock is remarkably plentiful this season. The seed is very tenacious, and will remain dormant if the crop is unsuitable to it for seine years, but once it gets into a corn crop it luxuriates. A little of it is not very harmful, but when it appears as a crop in itself it certainly takes a, great deal out of the soil, and if mixed with the straw and corn renders both impure. If allowed to seed much of the seed will fall out in the soil, when the stock will be perpetuated but, as the charlock grows above the corn when in flower, the majority of its heads may be mown off before they seed, and this is a good way of treating it to help to exter- minate it, or at least reduce it in quantity, and as much as possible of it should be cut over before the seed forms or ripens. Transplanting Onions. Some of the spring sown onions failed this spring. The soil was very cold when the seed was put in, and the dry weather in May cheeked them very much. The crop is a leading one, and cannot be well done without. It is now too late to sow seed to produce plants that will bulb this suiMmtr ■ but where the plants are close together, as they are in some parts, some of them may be drawn out and transplanted into the blanks or elsewhere. This should be done, if possible, in moist weather, or they must be watered now and again till they begin to grow. Onions Destroyed by Maggots. The dry weather encouraged the maggots, and they threaten to do harm. If once they become established it is difficult to check them, and all young onion plants should be I dressed with soot, whether the maggot is present or not. Those affected should bt watered with soot water every other day. Lime water may also be used in the same way. Liquid manure should not be given, as it favours the insects, but the soot acts as a stimulant. Potted Butter. Miss A. A. Bengafield, "Titing in the "Bath and West of England Society's Journal," re- marks:—"June is the best month for potting butter, it being then not only of a good flavour and colour, but very plentiful. It can be taken out in the winter, cut into small pieces, and washed in fresh butter-milk or in pure cold water, to remove the salt, and when made up it will be ready for immediate use. Cleanliness is a great factor in the successful packing of butter. The boxes and baskets should be scrubbed and scaled often, and the cloths must never be used a second time without being washed. Potted butter should be made from cream that has been ripened and churned in the same way as for fresh butter. It must be very carefully washed to ensure perfect freedom from butter-milk. It is necessary to dry-salt it when on the butter-worker, using from ioz. to loz. of salt to each pound of butter. A fine dry soft salt should be used. This should be scattered over the butter, while the latter is still in the grain, through a dredge to pre- vent any large pieces from coming into con- tact with the granules. Work the butter until it is comparatively dry. then roll it up, leaving a hole in the centre to allow the air to pass tarough. It should then be wrapped in a dry muslin cloth, and left for twelve hours to allow the salt to dissolve. When this time has expired the butter must be worked again until it is quite dry. Take a jar which is well glazed inside and ouf, and scald thoroughly. When it is cool wipe it quite dry, and then spa-inkle a little salt over the bottom and sides. Next cut the butter into small pieces, and press them tightly into the jar, so that all air may be excluded. For this purpose use a cool muslin cloth to cover the hand. The jar should be three- parts filled. Occasionally dip the cloth into clean cold water and wring out thoroughly, for it naturally becomes heated while held in the hand, and would then not only soften the butter, but injure its keeping quality. Fill up the jar with a brine, which should be made the previous day by dissolving 3 £ lb. of salt in one gallon of water. The brine should be boiled for a few minutes, and then cooled down to as low a. temperature as possible, keeping it covered to prevent con- tamination from the air. If the brine is not •»••• f but simply made by dissolving the salt in cold water, it will require to be changed once in ten days. Cover the jar with parch- ment paper, and kesp in a dry, cool place."