Sup.—To the Right Honourable Sir W. Milbourne James, Knt.
A Dirty Grate Makes Dinner Late.
243. Officers of the Navy and Army.
Sup.—To the Honourable Sir Richard Saunders Dundas, Admiral of the White.If untitled, they are simply styledSir.Commodoresare addressed in the same way as admirals.Captainsare addressed either to "Captain William Smith, R.N.;" or if on service, "To William Smith, Esquire, Commander of H.M.S.—"Lieutenantsare addressed in the same way.
Sup.—ToGeneralSir Frederick Roberts.Subalternsare addressed asEsquire, with the regiment to which they belong, if on service.
244. Municipal Officers.
Comm.—My Lord (Madam).Con.—I have the honour to be, my Lord, Your Lordship's (Madam, Your Ladyship's) most obedient humble servant.
245. Ambassadors
Ambassadors have
Excellency
prefixed to the other titles, and their accredited rank added.
Sup
.—To His Excellency Count Karolyi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from H.I.M. (His Imperial Majesty) The Emperor of Austria.
Sup
.—To His Excellency The Right Honourable Earl of Dufferin, K.P., G.C.M.G., K.C.B., Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Sublime Ottoman Porte.
Comm
.—My Lord.
Con
.—I have the honour to be, My Lord, Your Excellency's Most humble obedient servant.
The wives of Ambassadors have also Excellency added to their other titles.
Envoys and Chargés d'Affaires are generally styled Excellency, but by courtesy only.
Consuls have only their accredited rank added to their names or titles, if they have any.
246. Addresses of Petitions
To the Queen's most Excellent Majesty in Council, The humble Petition of M.N., &c., showeth That your Petitioner.... Wherefore Your Petitioner humbly prays that Your Majesty will be graciously pleased to.... And Your Petitioner, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
The humble Petitioner &c. And your Petitioner [or Petitioners] will ever pray, &c.
247. To those who Write for the Press
It would be a great service to editors and printers if all who write for the press would observe the following rules. They are reasonable, and correspondents will regard them as such:
248. Hints to those who have Pianofortes
249. Gardening Operations for the Year
250. January.—Flowers of the Month.
Christmas Rose, Crocus, Winter Aconite, Alyssum, Primrose, Snowdrop.
251. Gardening Operations
In-door preparations for future operations must be made, as in this month there are only five hours a day available for out-door work, unless the season be unusually mild. Mat over tulip beds, begin to force roses. Place pots over seakale and surround them with manure, litter, dried leaves, &c. Plant dried roots of border flowers in mild weather. Take strawberries in pots into the greenhouse. Take cuttings of chrysanthemums and strike them under glass. Prune and plant gooseberry, currant, fruit, and deciduous trees and shrubs. Cucumbers and melons to be sown in the hot-bed. Apply manures to the soil.
252. February.—Flowers of the Month.
Snowdrop, Violet, Alyssum, Primrose.
253. Gardening Operations
Transplant pinks, carnations, sweet-williams, candy-tuft, campanulas, &c. Sow sweet and garden peas and lettuces, for succession of crops, covering the ground with straw, &c. Sow also Savoys, leeks, and cabbages. Prune and nail fruit trees, and towards the end of the month plant stocks for next year's grafting; also cuttings of poplar, elder, willow trees, for ornamental shrubbery. Sow fruit and forest tree seeds.
254. March.—Flowers of the Month
Primrose, Narcissus, Hyacinth, Wallflower, Hepatica, Daisy, Polyanthus.
255. Gardening Operations
Seeds of "spring flowers" to be sown. Border flowers to be planted out. Tender annuals to be potted out under glasses. Mushroom beds to be made. Sow artichokes, Windsor beans, and cauliflowers for autumn; lettuces and peas for succession of crops, onions, parsley, radishes, Savoys, asparagus, red and white cabbages, and beet; turnips, early brocoli, parsnips and carrots. Plant slips and parted roots of perennial herbs. Graft trees and protect early blossoms. Force rose-tree cuttings under glasses.
256. April.—Flowers of the Month.
Cowslip, Anemone, Ranunculus, Tulip, Polyanthus, Auricula, Narcissus, Jonquil, Wallflower, Lilac, Laburnum.
257. Gardening Operations
Sow for succession peas, beans, and carrots; parsnips, celery, and seakale. Sow more seeds of "spring flowers." Plant evergreens, dahlias, chrysanthemums, and the like, also potatoes, slips of thyme, parted roots, lettuces, cauliflowers, cabbages, onions. Lay down turf, remove caterpillars. Sow and graft camelias, and propagate and graft fruit and rose trees by all the various means in use. Sow cucumbers and vegetable marrows for planting out.
This is the most important month in the year for gardeners.
258. May.—Flowers of the Month
Hawthorn, Gentianella, Anemone, Ranunculus, Columbine, Honeysuckle, Laburnum, Wistaria.
259. Gardening Operations
Plant out your seedling flowers as they are ready, and sow again for succession larkspur, mignonette, and other spring flowers. Pot out tender annuals. Remove auriculas to a north-east aspect. Take up bulbous roots as the leaves decay. Sow kidney beans, broccoli for spring use, cape for autumn, cauliflowers for December; Indian corn, cress, onions to plant out as bulbs next year, radishes, aromatic herbs, turnips, cabbages, savoys, lettuces, &c. Plant celery, lettuces, and annuals; thin spring crops; stick peas, &c. Earth up potatoes, &c. Moisten mushroom beds.
260. June.—Flowers of the Month
Water-lily, Honeysuckle, Sweet-william, Pinks, Syringa, Rhododendron, Delphinium, Stock.
261. Gardening Operations
Sow giant stocks to flower next spring. Take slips of myrtles to strike, pipings of pinks, and make layers of carnation. Put down layers and take cuttings of roses and evergreens. Plant annuals in borders, and place auriculas in pots in shady places. Sow kidney beans, pumpkins, cucumbers for pickling, and (late in the month) endive and lettuces. Plant out cucumbers, marrows, leeks, celery, broccoli, cauliflowers, savoys, and seedlings, and plants propagated by slips. Earth up potatoes, &c. Cut herbs for drying when in flower.
262. July.—Flowers of the Month
Rose, Carnation, Picotee, Asters, Balsams.
263. Gardening Operations
Part auricula and polyanthus roots. Take up summer bulbs as they go out of flower, and plant saffron crocus and autumn bulbs. Gather seeds. Clip evergreen borders and edges, strike myrtle slips under glasses. Net fruit trees. Finish budding by the end of the month. Head down espaliers. Sow early dwarf cabbages to plant out in October for spring; also endive, onions, kidney beans for late crop, and turnips. Plant celery, endive, lettuces, cabbages, leeks, strawberries, and cauliflowers. Tie up lettuces. Earth celery. Take up onions, &c., for drying.
264. August.—Flowers of the Month
Geranium, Verbena, Calceolaria, Hollyhock.
265. Gardening Operations
Sow annuals to bloom indoors in winter, and pot all young stocks raised in the greenhouse. Sow early red cabbages, cauliflowers for spring and summer use, cos and cabbage lettuce for winter crop. Plant out winter crops. Dry herbs and mushroom spawn. Plant out strawberry roots, and net currant trees, to preserve the fruit through the winter.
266. September.—Flowers of the Month
Clematis, or Traveller's Joy, Jasmine, Passion Flower, Arbutus.
267. Gardening Operations
Plant crocuses, scaly bulbs, and evergreen shrubs. Propagate by layers and cuttings of all herbaceous plants, currant, gooseberry, and other fruit trees. Plant out seedling pinks. Sow onions for spring plantation, carrots, spinach, and Spanish radishes in warm spots. Earth up celery. House potatoes and edible bulbs. Gather pickling cucumbers. Make tulip and mushroom beds.
268. October.—Flowers of the Month
Asters, Indian Pink, Chrysanthemum, Stock.
269. Gardening Operations
Sow fruit stones for stocks for future grafting, also larkspurs and the hardier annuals to stand the winter, and hyacinths and smooth bulbs in pots and glasses. Plant young trees, cuttings of jasmine, honeysuckle, and evergreens. Sow mignonette for pots in winter. Plant cabbages, &c., for spring. Cut down asparagus, separate roots of daisies, irises, &c. Trench, drain, and manure.
270. November.—Flowers of the Month
Laurestinus, Michaelmas Daisy, Chrysanthemum.
271. Gardening Operations
Sow sweet peas and garden peas for early flowers and crops. Take up dahlia roots. Complete beds for asparagus and artichokes. Plant dried roots of border flowers, daisies, &c. Take potted mignonette indoors. Make new plantations of strawberries, though it is better to do this in October. Sow peas, leeks, beans, and radishes. Plant rhubarb in rows. Prune hardy trees, and plant stocks of fruit trees. Store carrots, &c. Shelter from frost where it may be required. Plant shrubs for forcing. Continue to trench and manure vacant ground.
272. December.—Flowers of the Month
Cyclamen and Winter Aconite Holly berries are now available for floral decoration.
273. Gardening Operations
Continue in open weather to prepare vacant ground for spring, and to protect plants from frost. Cover bulbous roots with matting. Dress flower borders. Prepare forcing ground for cucumbers, and force asparagus and seakale. Plant gooseberry, currant, apple, and pear trees. Roll grass-plats if the season be mild and not too wet. Prepare poles, stakes, pea-sticks, &c., for spring.
274. Kitchen Garden
This is one of the most important parts of general domestic economy, whenever the situation of a house and the size of the garden will permit the members of a family to avail themselves of the advantages it offers. It is, indeed, much to be regretted that small plots of ground, in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis more especially, are too often converted into flower gardens and shrubberies, or used as mere play-grounds for children, when they might more usefully be employed in raising vegetables for the family. With a little care and attention, a kitchen garden, though small, might be rendered not only useful, but, in fact, as ornamental as a modern grass lawn; and the same expense incurred to make the ground a laboratory of sweets, might suffice to render it agreeable to the palate as well as to the olfactory nerves, and that even without offending the most delicate optics. It is only in accordance with our plan to give the hint and to put before the reader such novel points as may facilitate the proposed arrangement.
It is one objection to the formation of a kitchen garden in front of the dwelling, or in sight of the drawing-room and parlour, that its very nature makes it rather an eyesore than otherwise at all seasons. This, however, may be readily got over by a little attention to neatness and good order, for the vegetables themselves, if properly attended to, may be made really ornamental; but then, in cutting the plants for use, the business must be done neatly—all useless leaves cleared from the ground, the roots no longer wanted taken up, and the ravages of insects guarded against by sedulous extirpation. It will also be found a great improvement, where space will admit of it, to surround the larger plots of ground, in which the vegetables are grown, with flower borders stocked with herbaceous plants and others, such as annuals and bulbs in due order of succession, or with neat espaliers, with fruit trees, or even gooseberry and currant bushes, trained along them, instead of being suffered to grow in a state of ragged wildness, as is too often the case.
A Waiting Appetite Kindles Many a Spite.
275. Artificial Mushroom Beds
Mushrooms may be grown in pots, boxes, or hampers. Each box may be about three feet long, one and a half broad, and seven inches in depth. Let each box be half filled with manure in the form of fresh horse-dung from the stables, the fresher the better, but if wet, it should be allowed to dry for three or four days before it is put into the boxes. When the manure has been placed in the box it should be well beaten down. After the second or third day, if the manure has begun to generate heat, break each brick of mushroom spawn (which may be obtained from any seedsman) into pieces about three inches square, then lay the pieces about four inches apart upon the surface of the manure in the box; here they are to lie for six days, when it will probably be found that the side of the spawn next to the manure has begun to run in the manure below; then add one and a half inch more of fresh manure on the top of the spawn in the box, and beat it down as formerly. In the course of a fortnight, when you find that the spawn has run through the manure, the box will be ready to receive the mould on the top; this mould must be two and a half inches deep, well beaten down, and the surface made quite even.
In the space of five or six weeks the mushrooms will begin to come up; if the mould then seems dry, give it a gentle watering with lukewarm water. The box will continue to produce from six weeks to two months, if duly attended to by giving a little water when dry, for the mushrooms need neither
light
nor
free air
. If cut as button mushrooms each box will yield from twenty-four to forty-eight pints, according to the season and other circumstances. They may be kept in dry dark cellars, or any other places where the frost will not reach them. By preparing in succession of boxes, mushrooms may be had all the year through.—They may be grown without the manure, and be of a finer flavour. Take a little straw, and lay it carefully in the bottom of the mushroom box, about an inch thick, or rather more. Then take some of the spawn bricks and break them down—each brick into about ten pieces, and lay the fragments on the straw, as close to each other as they will lie. Cover them up with mould three and a half inches deep, and well pressed down. When the surface appears dry give a little tepid water, as directed for the mode of raising them described above, but this method needs about double the quantity of water that the former does, owing to having no moisture in the bottom, while the other has the manure. The mushrooms will begin to start in a month or five weeks, sometimes sooner, sometimes later, according to the heat of the place where the boxes are situated.
Some Hours We Should Find for the Pleasures of the Mind.
276. Dwarf Plants
The following method of producing miniature trees is taken from an article on this subject in
Gardening Illustrated
.
"Take an orange, and having cut a hole in the peel about the size of a shilling, take out the juice and pulp. Fill the skin thus emptied with some cocoa-nut fibre, fine moss, and charcoal, just stiffened with a little loam, and then put an acorn or a date stone, or the seed or kernel of any tree that it is proposed to obtain in a dwarfed form in this mixture, just about the centre of the hollow orange peel. Place the orange peel in a tumbler or vase in a window, and occasionally moisten the contents with a little water through the hole in the peel, and sprinkle the surface apparent through the hole with some fine woodashes. In due time the tree will push up its stem through the compost and the roots will push through the orange peel. The roots must then be cut off flush with the peel, and this process must be repeated at frequent intervals for about two years and a half. The stem of the tree will attain the height of four or five inches and then assume a stunted gnarled appearance, giving it the appearance of an old tree. When the ends of the roots are cut for the last time, the orange peel, which, curiously enough, does not rot, must be painted black and varnished."
The writer of the article saw this process carried out by a Chinaman that he had in his service, and the trees thrived and presented a healthy appearance for eight years, when the Chinaman left his employ and took the trees with him. He tried the plan which has been described but failed, but he was successful with an acorn and a datestone which were planted each in a thumb-pot in a mixture of peat and loam. The dwarfing was effected by turning the plants out of the pots at intervals of six weeks and pinching off the ends of the roots that showed themselves behind the compost. This shows that the production of dwarf plants is chiefly due to a constant and systematic checking of the root growth.
277. To Clear Rose Trees from Blight
Mix equal quantities of Sulphur and tobacco dust, and strew the mixture over the trees of a morning when the dew is on them. The insects will disappear in a few days. The trees should then be syringed with a decoction of elder leaves.
278. To prevent Mildew on all sorts of Trees
The best preventive against mildew is to keep the plant subject to it occasionally syringed with a decoction of elder leaves, which will prevent the fungus growing on them.
279. Your Friend the Toad
Toads are among the best friends the gardener has; for they live almost exclusively on the most destructive kinds of vermin. Unsightly, therefore, though they may be, they should on all accounts be encouraged; they should never be touched nor molested in any way; on the contrary, places of shelter should be made for them, to which they may retire from the burning heat of the sun. If you have none in your garden, it will be quite worth your while to search for them in your walks, and bring them home, taking care to handle them tenderly, for although they have neither the will nor the power to injure you, a very little rough treatment will injure them; no cucumber or melon frame should be without one or two.