The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-21 00:00:00

HORTICULTURE.

FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERIES.—The pro-
pagation of next season's bedding stock should be
commenced at once, and gone about with the utmost
possible expedition until every cutting is got in so as
to ensure having strong and well established plants
before winter, and this without the being under the
necessity of keeping them so close and warm as to
induce weakly growth. The wintering of bedding
stock is generally a somewhat difficult matter, but
the difficulty is often greatly increased through the
cutting being put in too late in the autumn to allow
of having strong stocky plants before winter. It is
doubtless true that the convenience for wintering bed-
ding stock is insufficient in many cases, but however
good the convenience may be, the cuttings should be
rooted early in the autumn, for many of our favourite
bedding plants are troublesome subjects to carry over
with the best accommodation, unless properly prepared,
whereas plants that are well established by the end of
September, and can be freely exposed to the open air
on every favourable opportunity after that time, are
by no means difficult to carry over the winter. Cut-
tings of such things as anagallises and nierembergias
should be afforded a gentle bottom heat, and if this
can be commanded without too much top heat, it
will encourage the emission of roots in less time,
without drawing or weakening the cuttings. Holly-
hocks are unfortunately somewhat tedious to propagate,
and do not afford cuttings very freely, consequently
they are not over plentiful about most places. The
choice sorts should be looked over frequently, putting
in cuttings as they can be obtained, as autumn-rooted
cuttings make prime strong plants for flowering the
following summer, whereas those rooted in winter and
spring often bloom but poorly the first season. Plants
from which cuttings are wanted should be liberally
supplied with manure water, mulching them with
rotten dung in the event of dry weather, which will
assist in promoting a vigorous habit of growth and
inducing the formation of young shoots. See that
these and dahlias are secure against a sudden storm of
wind. Go over the masses of verbenas, &c., frequently,
for the purpose of regulating the height, &c., and
preserving the appearance of order and neatness over
the whole garden. Get stocks for spring flowering
sown at once ; also transplant Brompton and Queen
stocks to where they are to bloom, or, if this cannot
be done, plant in nursery beds, allowing them plenty
of space, in order to induce a stocky habit.

KITCHEN GARDEN.-It is now too late for this
season to prescribe a remedy for the gooseberry cater-
pillar, but while the subject is exciting attention it
may be worth while to state that syringing the affected
trees with a decoction of foxglove leaves will be found
a certain cure. The gooseberry and currant trees
here have escaped the pest this season, until some
three weeks since, and then the caterpillars made their
appearance so suddenly and in such force, that every
leaf would have been devoured before all the hands at
command could have saved them by picking off the
insects. A quantitl of foxglove leaves were procured
and steeped in a boiler of boiling water, and the decoc-
tion drawn off and sprinkled , over the affected trees