Junnary 30, 1866. ] JOUENAL OP HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



85 



the trouble to tiuTi some of the plants out you will find vacant 

 spaces in cUffereut places arounil the sides of the ball, and the 

 roots broken and squeezed into every conceivable position. 

 All this happens simply because the operator does not consider 

 what he is doing, and his thoughts are concentrated on some 

 other subject. It always pains me beyond measure to see some 

 men take a plant in hand for the pm-pose of repotting it. For 

 this reason I could on no account allow any one to handle my 

 little pets. I have seen men potting plants in the fashion 

 described above, and I have seen others in the same shed using 

 eveiy care in performing a similar operation, and I could always 

 tell the difference in the growth of the plants afterwards, and 

 could easily point out the plant potted by No. 1, or Xo. 2. 



I have been particular in illustrating the different effects 

 which the two systems of potting have on the growth of plants, 

 for the purpose of more thoroughly impressing it on the minds 

 of the many young gardeners, who may, if they wiU, benefit 

 themselves greatly by applying these remarks to their practice. 



The soil should be in a similar state as to moisture to that 

 recommended for the last potting. It should also he about the 

 same temperatiu'e as that in which the plants are gi'owing. 

 There will then be no necessity for watering the plants for 

 several days after they have been newly potted. They .should 

 still be kept in a similar temperature to that recommended 

 before, and for a few days after repotting them the house should 

 be kept rather close. When it is found necessary to water 

 them they should be well soaked ; to do this effectually it wiU 

 be necessary to go over them twice. After they liave well 

 established themselves in their new pots they should receive 

 liberal treatment. The temperature may be increased as well 

 as the supply of water, giving all the air possible on every 

 favourable occasion. By this time the sun will begin to have 

 greater power, the days will be longer, and the progress of the 

 plants will be much greater in consequence. 



We will now suppose oiu'selves to have kept our plants from 

 harm, and with tender nursing and judicious care to have 

 brought them through the duU months of December, January, 

 February, and March. They wiU by this time have thoroughly 

 filled their pots with roots, and will have matured from ten to 

 twenty-five fully developed leaves. They should now be placed 

 on a shelf, where they will have all the air that can possibly be 

 given them, and the full benefit of the sun whenever it shines 

 upon them. They must also be watered very sparingly fi'om 

 the beginning of April to the end of May, when they should 

 be placed in the open ah-, and fuUy exposed to all weathers. 

 During the two months they are undergoing the ripening pro- 

 cess on the shelves, they should be frequently examined to 

 see that they are not soflering any injury from want of water ; 

 and if any of them are growing too luxuriantly, I find it a good 

 plan to push a sharp knife through the stem a little above the 

 pot, making a sUt upwards an inch or two in length ; I then 

 pnsh in a small piece of charcoal or di-y wood to keep the sht 

 open. This checks their vigorous growth, and causes them to 

 flower sooner. 



If the directions given above have been properly attended 

 to, by the middle or end of June many of the plants will 

 be in bloom. They shoidd then be supplied twice or thrice 

 a-week with manure water given in a vei-y clear state. It will 

 soon he seen after a few weeks of this treatment how many of 

 them are worth perpetuating. The best should be shaken' out 

 and potted into No. 16-sized pots, grown on under glass, and 

 subjected to high cultivation. This will soon prove whether 

 they are likely to be improvements on existing varieties by 

 their fa-eedom or shyness in flowering, the shape and colour of 

 the flower, size of truss, &o. The most promising varieties 

 are then propagated as rapidly as possible. Any that do not 

 appear to be up to the required standard are thrown away. 

 The second best are planted out when there is plenty of time, 

 between the months of July and October, to prove them. Thi-ee 

 or four cuttings of the best kinds are also struck as soon as 

 possible, and planted out in trial-beds to prove their adapta- 

 bility for bedding-purposes. Other cuttings of the same kinds 

 are struck and grown on under glass to prove their capabilities 

 in that. way. Early in September most of the plants will have 

 bloomed sufficiently to prove what they are likely to be either 

 for pot cultm-o or bedding-pm-poses. Then the stud-book is 

 brought into reqmaition. This is often a very hard task, for 

 there are sometimes a score or more of very promising flowers 

 that one would Uke to keep till another year. It is, therefore, 

 necessary to go over them again and again, to compare all the 

 different featiu-es of each plant as to habit, neatness of foliage, 

 freeness of flowering, shape of flower, size of truss, &c. When 



satisfied as to the superiority of one variety over the others, a 

 fuU description of it is written in the stud-book, and the work 

 of propagating the favourite varieties goes on as rapidly as 

 possible. 



By carrying out the different operations as described in this 

 and my previous article I am enabled to cross the flower, ripen 

 the seed, raise the young plants, flower and prove them, all 

 within the twelve months. 



I should have stated that the varieties of Pelargoniums be- 

 longing to the Mrs. Pollock section require, during the various 

 stages of their growth, to be treated rather differently from the 

 more common bedding kinds. For instance, they will not 

 stand the severe drying ordeal that the other varieties have to 

 undergo dm-ing the months of AprU and May ; they are also 

 kept when in their young and delicate state at the coolest and 

 driest end of the house, and about the middle of June are 

 planted out on a piece of very rich ground. — J. Wills. 

 (To be continued.) 



WmTERING PL.VNTS FOR BEDDING-OUT. 



The preservation of flower-garden plants dui-ing winter is 

 so important to every gardener, that it has been the subject of 

 much reflection how best to accomplish it. It is of the ut- 

 most importance that the plants intended to be preserved 

 should be secm-ed before frost set in, and with this object in 

 view they should be taken up from the beds with care, carried 

 to the potting-shed, and, after having been carefully deprived 

 of all their leaves, except those at the points of the branches, 

 potted in soil well aired, and mixed with leaf mould rather 

 dry than otherwise. I never use crocks for this potting, as I 

 think that rmnecessary. Water is never given for several days, 

 unless the weather be very di-y and warm ; it does much harm 

 to plants prepared for wintering. In fair weather give all the 

 air possible by taking off the sashes, otherwise have them 

 tilted at back, thus avoiding stagnant air and mouldiness, the 

 results of bad ventilation. I have preserved plants from the 

 end of October to March, without watering, in pits heated with 

 hot-water pipes. People too often water plants when so doing 

 is quite unnecessary ; thus I have observed young gardeners 

 after having potted newly-struck cuttings soaking them with 

 water, and so ensuring the destruction of their plants. It 

 would be much better to pot firmly, and avoid the water. As 

 the potting of the store plants is at hand, I advise the young 

 gardener to use water sparingly and pot firmly, which is much 

 better practice than putting in loosely with the intention of 

 making firm with water, as many do. Geraniums and other 

 bedding plants may be kept in cold frames or pits, but water 

 must be altogether withheld, and the foliage of Geraniums 

 should be entirely removed. Calceolarias thus keep nicely. 

 Cleanliness must be sedulously attended to in every depart- 

 ment of plant-gi-owing. — James Eeu). 



GAS-LIGHTED CONSERVATORY. 



I SEE in your Joivmal of the 16th inst. a case of lighting a 

 conservatory with gas. I have the management of a conser- 

 vatory and stove, about 64 feet long, 23 feet wide, and 19 feet 

 high, lighted by twenty-one gas-bxu-ners. I have had it lighted 

 up at different times during the last two winters, and on the 

 20th inst. for fom- hours and a half, without any bad effects. 



I generally water all the plants the first thing in the morn- 

 ing ; give all the air I can to have the house properly dried 

 before night ; and before lighting I open the top ventilators, 

 and leave them a little open while the gas is burning. Before 

 putting it out I open them all at the top as wide as the weather 

 will allow, and leave them open until the next morning. 



I have not lost either a leaf or a flower from the use of the 

 gas that I am aware of. There is a fine plant in a tub of Spar- 

 mannia africana, 9i feet high by 5^ feet thi-ough, in splendid 

 foliage and fine bloom, in the middle of the house. There are 

 Azaleas, CameUias, Epacrises, Geraniums, Fuchsias, Primulas, 

 and a general collection of plants, with some splendid Acacias 

 upwards of 6 feet high. 



I do not flunk gas will do any harm to the plants if the 

 house is dry, and there is sufficient air on at the time. — 

 A Gaedbner. 



YonNG A-PPLES IN Jancabt. — I have forwarded you a sample 

 of young Apples, gathered on the 16th instant. The tree 

 vras bearing its fruit last September, and these Apples are 



