The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-03-03 00:00:00

Countrp filigrellano.

To tionvert leaf buds to fruit wars on apple or
pear tree., in the month of May. make an incision
through the bark, half an lash or more above a bud in
a transverse direction; from this eat make another one
vertielly downwards sa fatal the bud, then with the
handle of • budding knife lift the bark from each side
of the latter incision as far aa the bud. This latter
begins to develope immediately lato • leaf-bad, but
which, by means of pinching, may be consorted into a
fruit bud. SO say M. Lonvot-Dupuis, who also says
that et other times of the year this operation is not
attended with the like remits.
KITCHIN GARD= OTIRATIONN. - Continue the pre-
paration of the principal quarter. for the reception, at
an early date, of some of the main crops. This, of
course, as indeed many other aperations enumerated,
will have to be undertaken according as the weather, he.,
agrees with the proper performance of smolt. Prick out
a few of *the young seedling Cauliflowers into • cool
frame, or where they may enjoy similar protection.
Those who have not already don* no should make a
DO It of them in a pen or box forthwith. Sow a good
I breadth of Parsley, and make • further sowing of Early
, Horn Carrota noon • warm sheltered border, having •
I south aspect. Thew may now he expected to grow, and
acme in nicely to follow the frame ones. Prick out the
, earliest Celery, aa soon as it is St to handle. It will
succeed best with a alight warmth beneath it, and with
the protection of a frame. Make another sowing of red
to succeed the last. Do not afford any stimulus in the
I form of liquid manure to Celery when very young. To
do .o will be to neutralise the proper effects of such an
agent at a later period, and when the aid of it is most
Deeded.

How ro Onow Miter—Mint is • hardy perennial,
which should be planted in good, open, clean ground,
not too stiff, that should have lain up in ridges all the
winter to sweeten and pulverise. In the spring, about
Marsh Or April, or as goon as young plants can be
obtained from tile old bed, let them be taken up with •
knife, taking care that they have good roots ; feed us.
ground, and plant in rows 15 inches apart, and let the
plants stand 12 inches asunder in the row. Keep them
free from wee& during the 6mt few months of their
growth, as it is next to imocentble to keep mint dean
afterwards if it be neglected at this period, the roots is
their litter growth becoming so matted together as to
prevent tuning. After this period it mast be band
weeded. Other eluding' of mint should be madam •
sheltered border, or on the south side of • wail or bank.
In order to obtain it a week or so earlier. It should
only be allowed to remain two years in the mese ground.
I mean by this, that it should be destroyed at the end
of the second summer after planting. This is readily
done by forking out the roots and burning them. For
forcing purposes roots should be taken from the young
plantation any time during the months of December,
January or February, Lod treated in the following
manner i—Make up • moderate hotbed, and cover it
lightly with fine mould; pot on the hoxim and light',
and allow the atom to pus off for &day or two; then
*over the bed thickly with mint roots. Cast over them
lightly come fine mould, and cover the frames with
litter until the mint pushes through the soil, when it
must be uncovered on all occasions when not frosty. It
will now require to have the lights pushed down for
air, but of course this most be regulated according to
the weather. As soon u the crop thua forced has been
pulled off, the remaining mint should be thrown to the
rubbish heap.
HMI 705 Aileen' FLORISTS.—EarIy in March
we most begin to sow &unlade for summer flowering, if
we would not let half the summer months pus by before
we have any flowers to bout of. To grow them well,
the soil should be rich and deep and light. The
necessary richness of soil Is to be ateured by digging in
plenty of rotten manure and decayed leaves; sod al-
though many kinds will do well withoutlany prepnration
of the ground, all sorts grow to greeter perfection under
each attention to the "like, and dislikes" of their roota.
It is also very desirable that the soil where annuals are
to be grown should bare been forked up two or three
times during the winter, and thus thoroughly exposed
to the air and frost, which will pulvericc it and render
it more easy for delicate roots to force their way through
It Although early in March is recommended as the
best time to begin sowing hardy annual seeds, it is not
so easy to fix a date for leaving off mowing them.
Where there is room for it in the garden to keep up
• sueemion of bloom of the some plant, fresh batches
of seed may be advantageously sown et the end of
every fortnight during the following three months.
Take for inatenoe that deservedly favourite flower, the ,
sweet pea, which most people have in bloom for two
or three weeks in July, and regret that it laete no
longer. This regret need not be felt, for if the follow:
ing hinu be attended to, their will be • 110013011A011 of
blooms from June till winter', first frost cuts down
all annuals to the ground. Divide the quantity of
sweet pea mod which you intend to 001.1 into eight
parcels, and mark them to be sown at the bn-
ning and middle of the months of March, April, May
and Jane. For the two early sowings nick out the
warmest parts of the garden, and you will thus get the
dowors in bloom earlier than if a colder part had been
chosen for the March sowing.. It does not matter
where the seeds are sown in April and May, se they ere
sure t. grow almost anywhere; but for the June sow-
ings, which are to give yos bloomy in October, be careful
to select thou parts of the garden which are lust
liable to trod., or where experience has shown that
frost when it comes does the least amount of injury.
It may be that the peened batch of seed sown in June
will not give you • dower for several seasons, owing
to the young plants being killed by early autumn frosts;
nevertheless it is worth the risk of them sacrificing one.
eighth part of your seed for the chance of getting a
handful of blooms so late in the lesson, even if it be
..171."...• &Mo. ye...• It will natal, k•
found impracticable to sow seeds just at the beginning 1
and middle of the month, on account of the weather, '
but • few days earlier or later will not matter. In
very wet weather the ground is so sticky that seeds
cannot be properly and evenly sown, while in very dry
it will be necessary to water the earth after sowing, in
order to prevent small seeds lying near the surfsee
from being blown about The best weather for sowing
seeds is after rain, when the earth has become dry
enough to crumble freely, and yet retains • good deal of
moisture. It is then that gardeners speak of the mound
as "working well," an expremion which has other mean-
ings when applied to a labourer, an engine, or•eask of beer.
There are some plants which will not bur transplanting,
end these mast of course be sown in the plaises where
they are to grow. Bat there are many which when an
inch or two high may with a little core be moved In
patches from one part of the garden to another. In
this way time and trouble may be saved. For, sup-
posing that you have enough of one seed to sow six
clumps, and you sow them all in one large clump, you
Mans have ouly one clump instead of six to look after, to
weed, to thin, to water. Again, if only half of the seeds
grow, you are able to transplant and makeup three good
clumps instead of six miserable ones. And, last not
least, if the seed should prove bad end not come up at
all, you have only one instead of sax dieappointments to
pat a good face upon. When space will permit, annuals
which are to be transplanted are best grown in pots ; if
the seed can be depended upon, the pots should be large,
so that each pot may constitute • clomp; but when the
quality of the seed is doubtful, it will be better to grow
It in small pots, of which three or more may be taken to
make up one clump. liardy annuals thus grown from
seed will do well if the pots are plunged in • bed of
ashes, about eight or nine inches deep. Tender annual,
will require the beat of skims as greenhouse, as their
seeds wi'l not geminate in the open air; some of Maw
will want their pots placed last over the hot-water pipes
of the greenhouse, so that the beat may be below the
seeds, before they will begin to grow. To revert ones
more to sweet peas: it does not appear to be generally
known that by matting off the green seed-pods as soon
es they appear, the plants will continue in bloom for •
mush longer period than if this be not done; and the
lune applies to many other plants. Scissors are better
than • knife for this.