138 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



order to have them constantly under 

 notice to be familiar with their differ- 

 ences and peculiarities. Success in our 

 case is not the result of any extravagant 

 care or labour. The oid stools are kept 

 in a pit, and from time to time sre 

 divided and potted in small pots during 

 winter and spring, as opportunities 

 occur. This part of the work is always 

 completed by the end of April ; and in 

 the meantime, if roofed suckers of any 

 kind are not sufficiently plentiful, cut- 

 tings are struck in heat, and potted off as 

 soon as they are strong enough. We 

 reckon on having the whole stock out 

 of doors fully exposed on a plunge bed 

 by the middle of May ; and thencefor- 

 ward they are shifted out as they require 

 it, and are in their blooming pots by the 

 middle of July. The soil used is good 

 loam, with a moderate addition of 

 manure and some coarse grit. If the 

 exact composition of the compost is 

 required, we cannot give it, for we really 

 do not know what are the proportions 

 used ; but a good rule will be — loam 

 three parts, rotten dung one part, 

 pounded oyster shells one part, coarse 

 grit one part. As above remarked, the 

 bloom is usually very satisfactory, last 

 year Bob, Riquiqui, and other of the late 

 kinds, were lull out by the 8th of 

 November, and made a gay show in the 

 beds till about the 8th of December, 

 when they were worn out. Four years 

 ago we planted a lot, and had them 

 taken up and potted in September. 

 They grew very strong, and when potted 

 were remarkably fine plants. But they 

 bloomed very badly ; in fact, such kinds 

 as Brilliant and Autumna were only half 

 out by the 5th of November, and many 

 of the plants were spoilt by frost before 

 they made a respectable show. Here, 

 then, is a failure which directly illus- 

 trates the query before us. Probably 

 ] " Constant Header " obtains too coarse 

 a growth ; and on the strength of long 

 experience we venture to advise — 1st, 

 That the plants that are to bloom under 

 glass had best be grown in pots from 

 first to last, and the earlier they are 

 rooted the better. 2nd, That they be 

 not over-potted, but shifted from size to 

 size as they require it ; so that at no 

 period of their growth will they have an 

 opportunity for growing rank. 3rd, 

 That they have their last shift in July, 

 and that after the 1st day of July there 

 is no more stopping. Late stopping is a 

 common cause of failure ; the practice 

 does not allow the plants time to form 

 flower buds. 4th, That the flower buds 



be thinned as soon as they are visible, 

 and as a rule the top bad, that is the 

 centre, or as it is sometimes called, the 

 " crown bud," only be left on each shoot. 

 5th, That the plants remain out o! doors 

 till the end of September in cold cli- 

 mates, and the middle of October in all 

 favourable positions. As the first frost 

 usually occurs about the 25th of October, 

 it is best to save them from it ; other- 

 wise the longer they are out the better. 

 "Constant Reader " probably puts the 

 plants in pots too late and under glass 

 too soon. In short, the failure of this 

 correspondent is evidently the result of 

 prolonging the growth of the plants to 

 too late a period, so that the wood is 

 not ripened during July and August as 

 it should be. 

 Vines in a Ground Vinery.— P. V. — To 

 leave a vine "three feet in length, the 

 thickness of a cedar pencil, with a dozen 

 buds on it," as received from the nursery, 

 will not do. Cut it down to the plump- 

 est bud, about six buds from the base, 

 and rub away the three lowest buds. 

 You will thus perhaps have three buds 

 and a leader. Let the leader start along 

 with the buds left below it till these side- 

 shoots are two inches long. Then pinch 

 them back, and a fortnight afterwards 

 remove them altogether. You will thus 

 get a straight strong rod to traiu along 

 the trench. Next season, cut back the 

 leader to twelve buds from the base, and 

 then the side-shoots are to be allowed to 

 push till they show their bunclies,and then 

 be stopped one bud above the bunch, 

 and all laterals be stopped two buds 

 from the base of the shoot they come 

 from. Every year you must leave on 

 each spur a bud for fruit and a bud for 

 wood, the wood bud to be the one 

 next the base of the spur, and the 

 fruit bud to be the fourth or fifth 

 from it ; the intermediate buds to be 

 removed. 

 Fern Culture. — J. Carter. — Aspleniurn 

 nidus is ordinarily propagated from 

 spores. A healthy plant never makes 

 offsets. For spores, therefore, you must 

 wait in hope. Mr. Chitty tells us of a 

 plant which lost its crown through bad 

 management, but after being kept with 

 care for twelve months it made three 

 offsets, which are now independent and 

 respectable young plants. Aspleniurn 

 Halleri is not in Mr. Sim's catalogue ; 

 but remember that is a catalogue of 

 plants offered for sale, and if Mr. Sim 

 has no stock of it sufficient to justify 

 an entry, there is no reason for it to 

 appear. 



