Septomlxir 18, 1866. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



223 



CULTURE OF LILIUM AURATUM. 

 Is reply to the inquiry about Lilium aurntum, I repot the 

 bulb every year in spring, being very careful of all growing 

 roots. As regards the compost, I use good fibrous loam and 

 peat in equal parts, with a good proportion of sand and leaf 

 mould, after which I add cow or sheep-dung, dried and beaten 

 up small, in the proportion of 1 oz. to every 2 lbs. of the 

 whole of the other soil. After potting, the soil should bo kept 

 moderately moist until the. roots are thoroughly in action and 

 the young stems are 2 or 3 inches high, when a liberal supply 

 may be afforded. I never give manure water until the buds 

 have been formed, and it is gradually withheld as the flowers 

 expand. After flowering I give a moderate greenhouse tempe- 

 rature, and reduce the quantity of water slowly and carefully, 

 thereby securing a very gradual decay of the loaves and 

 stem, which is of much advantage to the bulb. As soon as 

 all signs of life have departed from the stem I. keep the bulb 

 in the coolest greenhouse, being careful not to allow the soil to 

 become too dry, which may be guarded against by setting the 

 pot on a damp bottom, so as to keep the roots slightly in 

 action. It is one of the greatest mistakes possible to allow 

 these bulbs to be entirely dried off during the winter. — Robert 

 Bullen, Gardener to A. Turner, Esq., Bote Bridge, Leicester. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



On Saturday last, at the meeting of the Foinological Con- 

 gress of France, which is now being held at Melun, the large 

 gold medal, presented by the town of Melun, was awarded to 

 the Royal Horticultural Society of London for a collection 

 of Grapes and Pears. Some of the Grapes, as Canon 

 Hall Muscat and Muscat of Alexandria, which were very fine, 

 excited great admiration, and formed the chief attraction of 

 the Show. 



It would be well if amateurs delighting in any scientific 



pursuit would follow the example of the microscopists in and 

 about London. They have formed a club, the annual subscrip- 

 tion to which is no more than 10*. annually, with no entrance 

 fee, and they meet one evening in every month " to exchange 

 ideas without that diffidence and constraint which an amateur 

 usually feels when discussing scientific subjects in the presence 

 of professional men." It is a great success, and we wish we 

 could obtain for our pages the notes read at their meetings on 

 such subjects as these: — "Five New Forms of Microscopical 

 Fungi ;" " How to Arrange and Keep a Cabinet ;" and "The 

 Pigment Cells of Plants." About two hundred members belong 

 to the Association, Dr. Lankester is its President, and it has 

 assumed the name of the " Quekett Microscopical Club." Why 

 it is named the "Quekett" will be a mystery to most of our 

 readers, but not to those who knew the admirable man whom 

 it commemorates. 



At the meeting of the Irish Royal Horticultural Society 



on the 8th inst. the attention of the members was directed to a 

 well-flowered specimen of one of the ground Orchids of Southern 

 Africa, among which are Disa grandiflora and D.cornuta. The 

 species then exhibited, Salyrium roseum, lacks the flamingo- 

 like brilliancy of the Disa, its flowers being pure white, except 

 a faint tinge of rose on the outer portion of the helmet. The 

 two radical leaves are large, subrotund, and of great substance. 

 The stem rises some 2} or 3 feet high, the lower portion having 

 from six to seven alternate, spathe-like, sheathing leaves, which 

 gradually diminish in size as they ascend, until they pass into 

 the large floral bracts. The flowers are from thirty to forty in 

 number. They are especially remarkable for the double spur 

 that proceeds from each. Unless on close examination, this 

 curious development would escape notice, as the prongs aro 

 very closely pressed to the sides of the ovary, extending not 

 only its entire length, but down, and adhering closely to a con- 

 siderable portion of the stem. The cultivation of Cape Orchids 

 has long been a stumblingblock with growers, but nothing 

 could be more successful than the present instance. It was 

 considered the first time of its being in flower in this country, 

 but we suspect it is identical with Satyrium carneum, figured 

 iu the " Botanical Magazine " as long since as 1812. 



"WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Ground becoming vacant should be trenched up as roughly 

 as possible, manure being applied if necessary. Gravel 

 walks must come in now and then for a share of attention 



in weeding, rolling, &c. Cabbages, trench and manure well 

 for the winter crop in due time, and plant out some more 

 strong plants of tho early kinds fur late Coleworts. Endive, 

 plant out more for the last batch, using high slopes, which 

 may have covers, or hoops and mats, when severe weather ar- 

 rives. Cauliflowers, young seedlings must not be allowed to 

 stand too thickly in the seed-bed ; the thinnings may be pricked 

 out thinly, and they will make good stocky plants. Lettuce, 

 plant some strong Bath Cos and Hardy Green on sloping banks, 

 to stand through tho winter. These banks may be rather 

 small, not more than 1 ft-et through at the base, and steep ; 

 plant both sides of the bank, and it will produce a succession. 

 Spinach, the winter sort to be thinned to about C inches apart, 

 and the hoe worked through it. Turnipi, thin in due time, and 

 pass the hoe through them. 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



Any of the Peach or Nectarine trees which are observed to 

 be growing too freely should be gone over, stopping all the 

 stronger shoots, and those which were treated in that way a 

 few weeks ago should also be looked over again, stopping a 

 further portion of the shoots, if this appears necessary, to pre- 

 vent the formation of gross strong wood. Pear, and indeed 

 all trained fruit trees, should also be gone over, removing aU 

 superfluous wood so as to expose the trees to sun and air as 

 fully as possible, which will be of service in maturing the fruit 

 spurs and bearing wood before winter. Where mulching has 

 been used for Peach and Nectarine trees, this should be re- 

 moved at once, for the fruit is seldom well flavoured if the 

 roots are excluded from the action of the sun and air during 

 the period of ripening. See that the Strawberries in pots for 

 forcing are well cared for, placing them in an open, sunny situ- 

 ation, where they will have all the light possible, and do not 

 allow them to suffer for want of moisture at the root. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



As the season is now considerably advanced, it cannot be too 

 often repeated that the propagation of all the more important 

 bedding-out plants should be pushed on as quickly as possible. 

 Late-struck cuttings are difficult to keep through the winter in 

 consequence of their having an insufficient amount of roots 

 and badly-matured wood. Let Scarlet and other Pelargoniums 

 struck in the open ground be taken up and potted immediately 

 they have made roots ; they will require a close frame for a 

 week or two, when they should be placed on a dry bottom in a 

 southern exposure to harden them for the winter. For the 

 same purpose Verbenas, Petunias, &c, struck in pans and in- 

 tended to be kept in them through the winter, should be placed 

 in a similar situation, at the same time stopping the points of 

 the shoots. It should, in fact, be a point to keep them as hardy 

 as possible by fully exposing them until they are placed in their 

 winter quarters. Mignonette, for winter and spring flowering, 

 may yet be sown. Phloxes and other herbaceous plants will 

 now be making a tolerably good show, and should have 2are be- 

 stowed on them. Let the borders be cleaned and neatly raked 

 over, filling up vacant places with spare Chrysanthemums, 

 spring-struck Pansies, or spring-flowering bulbs. That the 

 present is a favourable time for transplanting large-sized ever- 

 green shrubs and trees is seldom disputed, nevertheless, it 

 more or less annually happens that a great amount of this 

 kind of work i3 put off until so late that the plants have no 

 chance of pushing a few fresh roots to enable them to resist 

 the cold, drying winds of March, and there are, doubtless, 

 many of our readers purposing to shift large evergreen shrubs 

 and trees this season, who have as yet hardly thought of com- 

 mencing. We would, however, strongly advise all such to begin 

 as soon as circumstances will permit,' and they will find that 

 plants shifted during this month will require but little attention 

 in the way of watering next spring and summer, as compared with 

 others transplanted in winter and spring. Also let ground in- 

 tended to be planted with young plants from the nursery be 

 turned up as soon as possible, especially in the case of strong 

 adhesive soils, which are quite unfit for planting until they 

 have been some considerable time exposed to the mellowing 

 influence of the sun and air. We may soon have indications of 

 the near approach of frosty nights, and it will be well to be 

 prepared with something with which to cover any of the beds 

 liable to be injured by slight frost, such as Heliotropes, &c. 

 Wistaria sinensis, Jasmines, and the Virginian Creeper may 

 be propagated by cuttings ; China Roses, Heartsease, or the 

 tree Violet, may also be increased at this time. 



GREENHOUSE AND 0OKSBRVAIOBT. 



Large conservatory plants which have been retained within 



