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RURAL NOTES.

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RURAL NOTES. 5y Mr. J. Muir, Margam Abbey Glamorganshire. ANSWERS ro CORRESPONDENTS. Unless in special cases, no replies will be sen to feaders by post, but all inquiries will have prompt and careful attention under this heading, and we invite notes and questions on ALL i-ut-al 8itbiects. PLANTING BULBS.—" H. P. B." Cluonodoxa luciLae lias a pretty blue flower, produced early in spring. It is one of the best of the open air flower- ing bulbs, and should be more grown than hitherto. Scilla siberica is also blue, and blossoms with the snowdrops. It is dwarf and a useful companion to them. Thesa and the hyacinths, tulips, &e., may be planted in the open beds and borders in November. Dig the soil all over. Give a little manure if the soil is poor if stiff add a little sand and insert the bulbs till the crowns ara two inches below tho surface. The frost, will not injure them, and they will be sure to make an agreeable display in spring. Snowdrops do uot succuod well in pots at any time. CABLIFLOWKB DESTROYED BY GRUB.—"Dr. B." (Settle).Alany besides yourself complain of having ¡"st all their summer cauliflowers from grub. It is a most common and annoying com- plaint, not only with amateurs, but professionals. It is the larva of the curculio contractus, a small insect belonging to the beetle triba, that is the mis- chief maker, and is certainly one of the most troublesome pests in the garden. Previous to planting cauliflower tlie quarter should always bo dressed with sootor lime quite fresh. This should be dug all over the soil, and after the plants are put out sprinkle:thb satne materials frequently over them. In planting, the plauts should be made unpala- table to them by taking a quantity of soot and guano; mix them to the consistency of thin pain' with sonp suds, and dip the roots in this, so its to saturate tliem before planting. I never knew this to fail. Last spring we cured our plants here by watering frequently with guano water. It, was applied just as they showed signs of being attacked, and in taking the old roots up lately it was noticed where the roots had made new and strong roots after receiving the assistance of the guano. 1 have much faith in guano at an insecticide. DOG WITH A COLD.—" W. S.Give a dose of castor oil, and keep it warm, especitilly at night. A warm oatmeal gruel should be given it at night. Epaom salts is also a useful medicine to remove a cold, but in chronic cases ten glains of carbonate of ammonia, mixed in a litlle camphor water, should bi given daily for a week. A cold of thi* kind often weakens the dog, find it may be neces- sary to give cod-liver oil after this treatment. Daily exercise in the open air is one of the best preventatives of disease in dogs, and many suffer from too much confinement; one rarely hears of a shepherd's dog that is worked daily being ill. HEATING SMALL GREENHOOSK.—" Holly Batik Villas.You should huve siated the size of your greenhouse. Very small houses may be heated by a limp. if this is kept very clean and not allowed to smell. The best boiler for heating email green- houses and conservatoiiei is the Loughborough. It is cheap,-effective, and mo-t economical. I have known nice greenhouses to be put up that cost £ 30 or £ 40, and the contents allowed to di-i in winter, when they might have been kept in good condition by investing C3 in a proper boiler. The one in question is constructed by Messenger and Co., horticultural builders, Loughborough. MUSK PLANT INFKSTED WITH INSECTS.—" Mon." —It is natural for nil musk plants to die down in autumn, and the insects that now iuKst your plant are, no doubt, inking advantage of its decline to prey on the foliage. If it had been earlier in the season, I would have advised you to dip the pi mt in tob icco water, or fu.nigate with tobacco, but the best treatment you can give it now is to let it. die down gradually, and remove the dear1 foliage and growths with the insects on them. You will find the plant begin to grow with much vigour in March next, and then it is likely to be quite clean. NAMES OF BKGONIAS.—"Seriatim."—1. Begonia Miiiia, a. 2. B. Semper Floreus Alba. 3. B. Wet- toniensis. They are all greenhouse var;etie,, and may ba grown in windows. They are free grow- ing, arid do not require any special treatment. They may be treated like greenhouse geraniums. They are propagated from cuttings in spring, do not require any fire heat in summer, but shouid be kept in a little heat id winter. They should also be ki-pt somewhat dry at the root then, as, being Boft in wood and foliage, they are apt to suffer from damp. NAME OF APPLK.—"Querist" writes:—"Last season I sent you an apple to name, and after- wards I bought a tree of the name you gave, which has proved true, and has produced a splendid crop this season. I send another kind to uame." A clean fruit of Small's Admirable. It is a sure beaver, and one of the best of kitchen apples. NAME OF APPLE AND P.EAR.-IV. ltirkitisl,aw.- Apple, Gipsy King; pear, Autumn Ho garnet, but very small. Both kinds are fair bearers, but not the beat in any respect. FOWLS DYING.—"G. R."—I am of < pinion your fowls n.ust be picking up some poisonous tn iit-.r. Do not all >w them to run out for a week, but keep them clean and well fed in the house. It is possible the disease may be hurried on by the excessive wet weather, as this never agrees with fowls. CULTURE O^CAMOMILE.—"Atr p:a."—The camo- mile is a low growing hardy plant. It becomes n clnse tuft about 4ill. high, and the whole of the out-face is covered wi h flowers in summer. There ere gathered when fully open, and drie i car iiully. Two crops may be gathered in one year. You had better procure some plants fiOtn a nursery next spring. Plant them in a w. ll-manured piece of ground at a distance of 6in. from each d her, and keep them free of weeds at all times. Your situation is not too much exposed for them. FnulT TREES.—"Nemo" (Rochdale).—Bush trees of apples. Pears and plums will do very well on the grasp, and allowing fowls to run amongst, them all the year round will not do them any harm. The two make a profitable combination. The mulberry grows very well on a lawn. or may be planted with the others. The small trees may not bear for half a dozsn years or mora. It is not a profitable fruit, and is noLmuch planted. Where the soil is not good in planting fruit trees a square h< le 4ft. or 5ft. wide and 3ft. deep should be taken out and filled with old turf chnppod up into pi. ces several inches square. Notes on planting will appear shortly. MUSHROOMS FAILING IN BOXES.—" Cheshire."—A box 15in. by 15in. by 24in. ii too small. A certain body of manure is necessary, and you should try a box three or four times the size. Do not n'ix any loalll with the manure, but put it in pretty fresh, when it will be sure to heat, and retain it for a good while. It should not be used straight from the stable, but must be dried a little t > clear off superfluous moisture. FHEKSIAS.—" W. C. D."—Ilmve not. grown them in the window of a sitting-room, but I believe they would succeed there, as it i., the kind, f atmos- phere that suits them. Soil that is suitable for Eyacinths will grow them very well. See reply to a reader in last week's Notes. LIQUID MANURE FOR COOL ORCHIDS.—" W.F. No, it is not, as a rule, beneficial, and I do not advise you to use it. NAMES OF PLANTS.—" III.F.No. 1, Coreop-is fanceolata; 3, Co'.oneaster simonsu; 4, Inula fcirta. NAME OF FLOWERS AND PEARS.—"Aigbuith."— Flowers too much withered when received to name accurately. The pear is Josephine de Malines, a prolific sort, of gcoi quality. It is most difficult to clear vines of mealy bug. It is rarely and. as your vines are old, you should clear them out, paint and clean the house thoroughly, and plant anew. THE PLANTING SEASON. Experiments have been made all the year round to ascertain which pertod of the year is the most suitable for tree planting, and, although some success has attended summer planting, the proper time to plant is, undoubtedly, from the end of October until the end of March. Some winters are so mild and open that planting may be done through- oat the whole winter; but at other times, suoh as last winter, when much frost and snow oooiirs, planting is much retarded, and, unless done in autumn or spring, may not be done at all. I am, therefore, in favour ^f beginning to plant early in autumn, and doing as much as possible then, while if much has to be done and the weather continues favourable, it may be continued throughout the winter. DIFFERENT PLANTERS. These vary greatly. Some may plant thousands of forest trees, other may only wish to make their hedges good or renew them, while not a few will desire to beautify their large or small piece of pleasure ground, and in all cases planting ha3 to be done under the same circumstances, so far as weather and such like is concerned. In my own case, I hope to have over 100,000 different kinds of trees planted over a wide range of ground before April. Some oLthese will be planted at a great elevation and much exposed, while more valuable sorts will be placed in more favourable positions. PREPARING TO PLANT. Where the land is of an agricultural character and in fair condition, the tree& may be planted without any great preparation, but it is a great advantage to have the surfaoe of the ground clean and free from ruobiah. The best way of treating this is to burn it, and when the surface is covered with bracken or other low growing matter the whole of it may be burned all over. Hough grasn may be treated in the same way, and if small branches have been left from a previous crop of trees, these should also be burnt. W here the trees are desired to grow extra well the ground is often drained and sometimes trenched, and I am much in favour of draining previous to planting, where necessary, as no tree will succeed in a wet soil. In small gardens, where choice bushes are to be planted, good soil should always be put to the roots. Plants that will never assume an important form may be planted in shallow soil, but where they have to become fine specimens they must have a good depth of soil. No tree will develops for any length of time in a soil only 1ft. in depth, but with a soil 2ft. or even 3ft. in depth they can hardly fail to succeed. A good, natural subsoil is a great boon. I know of some trees that begin to grow in the most promising manner, and on the eve of their becoming attractive in size they ceased to develop, the cause being the roots penetrating on the foundation of an old dwelling. Sites of this kind must be avoided in planting. A FINE TREE NURSERY. There are many nurseries where trees may be bought in various parts of the country. I recently inspected many of these in the neighbourhood of Kdinburgh and elsewhere, but for useful classes of well-grown trees I cannot think of one so well stocked as that of Mr. Shaw, Gowerton, near Swansea. This gentleman is privileged in having an extensive bush and tree nursery well exposed to the healthy influences of sun and wind, while the soil is peculiarly adapted for the production of young trees of the most healthy description in rout and branch. Some of the specimens retained as ornaments near the margins of walks admirably illustrate to the visitor the fine appearance they are capable of assuming, while the stock of small trees of both common and choice subjects is, as' I have already indicated, one of the most noteworthy I have yet met with. The lots are so extensive and varied that I do not particularise any, and, although some planters may have their special nurseries where they procure their plants, I know from past experience that my indicating Mr. Shaw's will save me much private correspondence, which at present I have little time to devote to. BUYING TREES. All nurserymen who have large quantities of different trees are apt at times to find that some kinds they have not bad a great demand for have become very large, or too large to suit ordinary purposes. These are often offered at a cheap rate to effect a clearance, but I do not advise these being extensively planted, as neither their roots or branches are adapted for satisfactory growth or good effeot. It ia better to plant trees of a small size than overgrown ones. Compact, robust specimens give the utmost satisfaction, as a rule, and their chances of growing and becoming ornamental and useful far exceed those of the overgrown tiibe3. If a tree is raised from seed or cuttings, and allowed to remain in its original position without being transp anted, the main root will, as a rule, have gone straight down with few side ones and no rootlets. It is a difficult matter to transplant these successfully, and buyers should insist that their trees have been transplanted a year or two before. The roots are then clustered round the bottom of the stem, with many fibres, and just in a condition to transplant without receiving any check Xur- sArymcn know the value that transplanting implies, as their catalogues generally state 11 y how often the differentjiubjects have been transplanted, and planters should see that, they secure this advantage. Very choice specimens should be lifted with balls of soil attached to the roots, but in the case of forest trees it is impossible to secure this, but it is not wanted, as they transplant very well without it. Indeed, I have planted thousands of forest trees that came 400 miles by rail and were a week on the road without losing 3 per cent. of them, and no soil was attached to the roots, but it was moist weather and the roots were not exposed to any drying wind. This is most injurious to them and must be avoided with all. When received from the nursery it is impossible to plant them all in a short time, and the first precaution to take with them is to put a quantity of soil over the roots, and if the weathor is severe also cover their tops with straw or some slight protec- tion. Should they become dry, as they do sometimes on a long jouiney, or from some other causn, they should be well watered overhead. This will revivetlit-rn and will prevent the young wood from shrivel- ing, which must, if possible, be guarded against. AVOID PLANTING IN WET. One of the main points to avoid is never to plant in wet, sticky soil. This is ruinous to the hardiest tree. Some, who may order a quantity of trees, think to facilitate matters by digging out the holes for their reception before they arrive, but should the holes be filled with water, or even much wet, before planting, the soil will become hard and stiff where the roots will press against, and this will not induce free root action in fact, it is much against this, and the holes should never be opened until immediately before planting. It may be taken as a simple guide that when the soil adheres to the spade or feet the les3 planting that is done them the better. INever allow the hole to be too small for the roots. When they have to be twisted into it, or pushed in and down with the feet, careless planting is being done, but when the roots can be put in without any effort each one will find its proper position. It is not a good way of planting to put the roots much deeper in the soil than they were in their previous quarters, bnt the soil should be made very firm all over the top of them and round the stem. TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. All trees that are transplanted are not small. Some are bought in large, and in many other cases the trees were planted closely together while small, but have become so large that they have to be thinned out to give the permanent plants space to develop. This should never be de- layed. Very many fine bushes and trees are ultimately spoiled by being allowed to crowd on each other. To keep them in per- fect condition they should never be allowed to touch each other, and the time to trans- plant is when the branches meet. The worst grown specimens and those of the least value should always be transplanted, allowing those that are thoroughly at home in their place to remain. Transplanting often benefifs the others. They should be dug up with balls of soil to the roots, and neither the roots nor branches should be injured. The holes for the roots should be ample, and a precaution which should never be omitted is to secure the plant firmly in its place with a stake as soon as planted. Large trees newly moved are very easily blown over, and I have always noticed that when once they are changed, no master how slightly, from the first position they are sure to receive a check. THE BEST KINDS OF TREES TO PLANT. These may be divided into two classes- one of the forest or useful section, the other the ornamental. The most useful forest trees are the oak, ash, larch, firs, especially the Scotch fir, elm, and sycamore. Here the sycamore is of little value, although I have been offered 3s. per foot for it in the North. Elm is always in demand where tin-plate boxes are much used. Scotch fir forms a use- ful and very good substitute for foreign deal. Larch is one of the best of all pitwoods. Ash is a timber that has been greatly neglected, and a quantity of it would be a fortune to its possessor. The oak, although a slow grower, is a standard wood, for which there will always be a demand. Ornamental trees and bushes are innumerable, and at present I can only indicate their classes, or a few of them, such as abies, araucaria, cedrus, cupressus, junipei us, retinospora, taxus/and tlmga amongst conifers, whilst ornamental and flowering evergreens and deciduous shrubs include arbutus, barberis, box, tuonymus, holly, deutzia, elder, mag- nolia, spirsea, syringa, weigelia, and many others, but further details of special classes suitable for certain soils and situations will be given in future notes.

ENRICHED BY A PANTHER.

A BOY'S LETTER TO HIS MOTHER.

LORD BEACONSFIELD AND THE…

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