148 



JOURNAL OP HOBTIOULTURH AND COTTAGE GABDENEP. 



[ February Is, 1573. 



to do BO, to grow a quantity of suckers. A strong Queen may 

 have half a dozen or more ; these should all be removed except 

 one or two near the base of the plants. Th8 otber two sorts 

 named do not usually tijrow-up more th«u one or two suckers 

 on each plant. The suckers should not be taken off until they 

 are strong, say from a foot to 18 inches in length, as in their 

 earlier stages they grow very much more rapidly on the plant 

 than they do taken oft and putted. The ancient system of dry- 

 ing the suckers fi)r a week or more previous to potting them 

 has bpoome obsolete. It is not necessary to dry them for a day ; 

 our practice is to pot as soon m they are taken from the plant, 

 and to plunge the pots in a brisk bottom heat at once, but not 

 to water the pots for a week at least; by that time the young 

 rootlets will be forming or formed, and the watering with tepid 

 water encnurages tbem to grow. We had some suckers of a 

 Piae from rernambuco which came to hand at midwinter; they 

 were not in good condition, but with care we had no fear of 

 their growing. Tliey were potted in the usual way, and should 

 not have been watered for two weeks ; however, one of the men 

 by mistake gave them water at once, and the result was, as ex- 

 pected—every one of them began to rot at the base, and the 

 decay spread upwards, so that in a day or two the heart would 

 have been reached. Instead of this they were taken out of the 

 pots, all the rotten part was cut off, and the suckers potted as 

 before. This time water was withheld for two or three weeks, 

 and every ono of those suckers male good plants. 



Oranijes.— The trees that flowered earliest have not set their 

 blossoms so freely as they would have done if the treatment had 

 been different. They were in a vinery where some of the atmo- 

 spheric moisture was kept up by some fermenting manure on 

 the ground. The ammonii from this was not strong enough to 

 discolour the leaves, nor were the tender leaves on the Vines 

 injured in the least; yet not only did the Orancre blossom fall 

 oft in showers when the tree was shaken, but many of the 

 young leaves fell off also. Of course the trees were removed at 

 once to another house where the night temperature was from 

 60' to (io'-", and the atmosphere drier. Here an improvement 

 was immediately appari'nt, and other trees that were started in 

 this house at once made good progress, nor did either leaves or 

 flowers drop off. It is well to set the blossoms with a camel- 

 hair pencil, as bnes are not to be found at this season, and the 

 air in the house is scarcely agitated. Syringing is discontinued 

 when the trees are in flower, but they are freely syringed after- 

 wards. 



Figs.— The trees in pots are carefully watered until the buds 

 open and fresh roots are formed. When in leaf the Fig takes a 

 large supply of water, and will soon show signs of distress if 

 the soil becomes dry, while it is not uncommon to see the trees 

 become sickly from over-watering. The greatest danger arises 

 from top-dressing the trees instead of repotting them. The 

 surface compost ruay be quite moist when the soil underneath, 

 which is quite full of roots, may be dry. It is bad management 

 to top-dress Fig trees in autumn; they ought always to be 

 turned out of the pots and repotted st that time. Another ad- 

 vantage obtained from repotting is that the tree has good drain- 

 age; not uofrequently this becomes quite choked-up in one 

 season, aod the Fig is very impatient of stagnant water at the 

 roots. The trees are freely syringed, which causes the buds to 

 start well, and wards off red spider. It is a great advantage to 

 the trees if they can ba plunged in a bottom heat of 85°. 



PLANT STOVE. 



Potting Fents.— These in some instances had been growing 

 in the pot for a longer period than was good for them, as the 

 soil had become sodden, and nearly all the roots were dead, yet 

 the fronds had not shown the effects of anything being wrong 

 at the roots; but, of course, the effect would have been visible 

 farther on in the year. All the roots that were not sound have 

 been removed with the surrounding soil, and the plants have 

 been repotted in good turfy loam, peat, and sand in smaller pots 

 than they had been growing in previously. Healthy free-grow- 

 ing species have been shitted into larger pots. 



Deciduous species of Calauthe are starting into growth ; they 

 have been shaken out of the pots and have been repotted. The 

 size of pot is a matter of taste ; some growers use 11 or 13-inch 

 pots or pans, and place a dozen or more bulbs in each. The 

 most useful pots for our purpose are 5 or 6-inch, and two large 

 or three small bulbs are potted in each. We drain the pots 

 well, then place some very fibry turf over the crocks and fill 

 up with the compost, which is turfy loam two parts to one part 

 of turfy peat with a little rotted stable manure and sand added 

 to it. 



Thyrsacanthus rutilans is a moat distinct plant of easy culture, 

 is drooping panicles of scarlet flowers will soon be in full beauty. 

 A mistake is made by retaining the old plants, which if neglected 

 soon become leggy, whereas plants from cuttings struck now or 

 early in March will form good-sized plants with plenty of foliage, 

 and produce a score or more panicles of flowers 2 or 3 feet in 

 length. Turfy loam and leaf mould is a good potting material, 

 and cuttings struck now should by a series of pottings ba in 

 9-inoh pots by August or September. As the plant has been 



introduced from Central America it requires a high tempera- 

 ture. Our plants are grown in the Cucumber house. 



Looking carefully over plants that had been bug-infested; 

 the only w%y to thoroughly destroy this pest is by persistent 

 hunting. 



FLOWER 04KDES. 



Now is the time that the greatest difiioulty is experienced to 

 find room for bedding plants ; they are moved out of one vinery 

 after another as it becomes necessary to start the Vines. Melon 

 and Cucumber houses are also required for their respective 

 occupants before the plants wintered in them can be turned out 

 into turf pits or even into cold frames with any degree of safety ; 

 however, we have ventured to remove into cold frames plain- 

 leaved Zonal Pelargoniums, Centaureas, Lobelias of the Erinus 

 section, and any other subjects that will not suffer even if the 

 leaves are slightly touched by frost. This has given us an 

 opportunity to clear out the Melon house, which contained 

 tricolor and variegated Pelargoniums ; these have been removed 

 to a heated pit, from whence the more hardy subjects had been 

 taken. Cuttings of Verbenas, Coleus, Alternantheras, i'c, that 

 had been struck in a high temperature have also been removed 

 to a cooler house, where they will remain a week previous to 

 potting them off. — J. Douglas. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*,' All correspondence should be directed either to " The 

 Editors," or to " The Publisher." Letters addressed to 

 Mr. Johnson or Dr. Hogg often remain unopened unavoid- 

 ably. We request that no one will write privately to any 

 of our correspondents, as doing bo subjects them to un- 

 justifiable trouble and expense. 



Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions 

 relating to Gardening and those on Poultry and Bee sub- 

 jects, and should never send more than two or three 

 questions at once. All articles intended for insertion 

 should be written on one side of the paper only. Wo 

 cannot reply to questions through the post. 



Mr. Oemson (J.), — Yon have been misiutormed. Mr. Ocmaon, ii you mean 

 Mr. Ormson, Horticultural Buil.ier, Kinjj's Road, Chelsea, is naw ready for 

 consultation there. He was ssriously ill, but is quite recovered. 



Books (J. Milham). — Din's catalotjue has lonj; been out of print. The 

 '' Cottage Gardener's Dictionary " states all that Don's catalogue does, and 

 gives cultural directions besides. 



Dwirj? KiDXEV Bean- (E. H.).— The beaa you enclosed is the China 

 Dwarf, or Kobin's Egg. 



MowrxG Machines (Capt. S ).— They all work well if carefully managed. 

 "Write to any manufacturers who advertise in this Journal and tell them what 

 you need. 



Elue Cor.NFLoWER. — I have often experienced the diiiiculty "A Little 

 Savage" complains of. Messrs. Dimmick & Sons, Nurserymen, Ryde, Isle of 

 Wight, always supply me with the blue Cornflower true, and will, no doubt, 

 be happy to send seed to "A Little Savage." If not, I will send some of 

 my own saving. — W. D. Fox, Sandowii, hlr of fVijht, 



Mildew on Cinerarias (H. A. P.), — Dust them and the Geraniums with 

 flowers of sulphur. We do not remember receiving any specimens from you. 



Kemoving Large Cedars (T. S.). — We know of no one who lets on hire 

 a machine for the purpose. 



Ajuga reptans IMarlcy). — We do not nnderstand what you mean. There 

 is no variety of Ajuga rep'ans, and its popular name is Common Uugle. It is 

 portraited and fully described in our " Wild Flowers of Great Britain." 



Plans or Flower Gardens (J. (J.).— A new edition of the volume by the 

 late Mr. Fish, with additions by 3Ir. Luckhurst, is printing. 



Eed and PrNK RnsES for TCast Wall IE. H.t. — As you want continuous- 

 flowering kinds. Hybrid Perpetuflls would be most suitable. Reds— QUry of 

 Walthara and Maiarae C. .Toigueanx. Itost or Plnk—'La, Ville de St. Denis 

 and Sovvenir de la F.eine d'Angleten-e. 



Celery with E\RTiiv Flavour (.4 Connlmit Sithscribcr). — The carthinesB 

 is due to the soil employed for earthing being largely composed of decaying 

 ve-'etable matter, and the remedy is to avoid it, employing sawdust or the 

 Wortley Celery collar, so as to keep the earth from the stems. Salt will not 

 make Celery tender, but it tends to make the plants less susceptible of injury 

 from frost, and destj-oys slugs and worms. 



.VsTERS Sowing to Flower in July and .A-dgcst '(Alpha). — Sow the 

 seed the third or fourth week in March in a mild hotbed, admitting air so 

 soon as the seedliugs appeal*. Prick-off when they show the second leavss 

 in pans or hoses of rich light soil, keeping them near the glass in the frame. 

 Give air carefully at first, yet hardening the plants well off before planting- 

 out in May. 



Apples Keeping Late (Idem). — Apples keep longest and most "plump 

 and sound in a cellar having a uniform low temperature, or any cool room not 

 so dry as to cause shrivelling. For very late-keeping, place sound specimens 

 in earthenware jars in silver sand, puttirg on the lid, stop with tape, and 

 seal all round with pitch, placing the jars in a cool and damp rather than dry 

 place The sand may be removed with a brush. The fruit will keep in this 

 way for a long time. 



Geranicm Seedlings Stopping— Potting fSEEDLiNos and Ccttinos 

 iBiccpa\. — Wo should not stop the seedlings until the middle of March, and 

 then cut them bii:k to three or four eyes above the soil, keeping dry, and 

 when they have broken turn out of the p-its, loosen the sides of the ball, re- 

 moving any old soil, and pot in the same or a slightly larger size of pot, 

 watering carefully for a time, increasing the supply with the growth. The 

 parts removed may bo made into cuttings and potted, and in gentle heat, as 



