September 8, 18S8.] 



TEE GARDENERS 1 CHRONICLE. 



269 



ledge of their vagaries and idiosyncracies, and is 

 consequently a dangerous opponent at exhibitions, as 

 many of our friends have already learnt. We believe 

 that the business has not been established longer 

 than eight years, but even now the stock of saleable 

 plants is equal to any probable demands made upon 

 it, and will be increased as occasion demands. 



Plants and Their Culture. 



Begonias. — Begonia socotrana is just now starting 

 into growth, and should be repotted without delay- 

 as it is impatient of being disturbed after much 

 growth has been made. The new bulbils are pro- 

 duced round the base of the shoots, therefore keep 

 this part of the plant beneath the soil ; in re-potting 

 place the plants in a light position, near the glass, 

 and in a temperature of 60° — 65° ; maintain a moist 

 growing atmosphere, but water sparingly until they 

 have made considerable growth. The soil best suited 

 for this, as well as the other Begonias, is a rich loamy 

 compost rather inclined to be light than heavy. 

 There are several hybrids of B. socotrana, but I am 

 of opinion, that it is still better than any of its hybrids. 

 Any plants of other species which require potting, 

 should be attended to, and placed in a mild heat. 

 By shutting up early, fire-heat would not be requi- 

 site for some time yet. But to flower satisfactorily 

 in winter an intermediate temperature, about 55° to 

 (!0°, must be afforded them. 



Chrysanthemums. — The earliest-flowering varieties, 

 such as Illustration, Chromatella, Little Bob, &c, 

 are now coming in, and very useful they are. To 

 prolong their flowering season, stand them in a 

 position having a northern aspect, give plenty of air, 

 and shade from bright sun. Where dwarf plants are 

 much required, at a later period, the usual plan 

 of rooting large tops of the later-flowering sorts 

 taken from plants which are planted out, is a satis- 

 factory method of getting up a stock. 



Select clean robust pieces about 6 inches long, and 

 which are showing signs of breaking below the 

 terminal bud. Insert them three together in60-pots, 

 place in a frame with a gentle bottom -heat, watering 

 and shading to prevent flagging, when if all goes 

 well they should be nicely rooted in about twenty 

 days, by which time they will require potting into 5- 

 inch pots, employing a rich potting compost. 

 Insert a small stake to each plant, keeping them 

 rather upright, so as to form a dense head when in 

 flower. If single plants in the pots are desired, 

 they are best struck singly in pots of small size, 

 and perhaps put in a little earlier, These 

 small plants will be most useful for mixing 

 in flower stands, or, indeed, for any kind of dwarf 

 decorative work. The main stock of plants will now 

 require careful attention, and by this time it should 

 have been decided whether the terminal or lateral 

 buds are to be retained. Whichever has been 

 selected pinch out all subsequent superfluous growths, 

 so as to concentrate the plant's energies on the buds 

 which are left. In all cases where the pots are well 

 filled with roots, water with weak liquid manure at 

 regular intervals. Soluble nitrogenous manures, 

 such as nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, Ssc, 

 are valuable fertilisers, but when applied alone, they 

 are most serviceable just as the buds begin to show 

 colour ; they have then a wonderful effect both in 

 increasing the quality and size of the blooms. If 

 applied earlier, they are apt to cause too succulent 

 growth, with abortive flowers ; in any case, they 

 require to be cautiously used. Farmyard liquid 

 manure is the best in the earlier stage of growth, 

 but failing that, give a top-dressing of some concen- 

 trated fertiliser containing the important elements 

 nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash combined — say as 

 is found in Standen's, Clay's, Jensen's fish potash 

 manure, or similar compounds ; they will give ex- 

 cellent results. F. Ross, Pcndell Court, Bletchimjley. 



The Flower Garden. 



Flower-Beds. — The recent gales and thunder- 

 storms have played havoc amongst the usual summer 

 flowering and foliage plants. If not already attended 

 to, they had better be looked over at once, and put 

 into a neat and trim condition, which ought to be 

 sufficient to carry them on to the end of the season. 

 Zonal Pelargoniums should have all decayed flowers, 

 leaves, and seed-pods picked off, after which, if 



favoured with a little bright sunshine, they will 

 again make a presentable appearance. Petunias, 

 Heliotropes, Verbenas, and such-like plants should 

 have the shoots regulated, whilst Stachys lanata, 

 Perilla, and other dwarf foliage plants will need 

 pinching back and putting in line where overgrown. 

 Sub-tropical plants of a soft-wooded nature will also 

 need attention, when grown in groups, arranging 

 that each specimen stands clear of its neighbours. 



Carpet-beds, in some districts, have doubtless been 

 a failure this summer owing to the cool nights and 

 want of sunshine ; in favoured localities, however, 

 of which perhaps ours is one, some of the plants 

 employed have made luxuriant growths, and more 

 than ordinary attention has been wanted to keep 

 them within bounds. Such beds will require to be 

 looked over twice more at the least before the end of 

 the month to keep the various lines and panels as 

 accurate as is practicable. 



Violets. — Preparations should now be made for 

 transferring these to their winter quarters, and 

 brick pits or frames with 9 inch walls are un- 

 doubtedly the best in cold districts. When made 

 up the bed of soil ought to be sufficiently near to the 

 glass as to give the plants head room only ; the 

 surface soil of the beds should have a depth of 

 6 inches, and should consist of good turfy loam and 

 leaf-mould, three parts of the former toone of the 

 latter. As regards distance at which to plant, this 

 will depend on the size of the plants ; they ought, 

 however, to stand quite clear of each other, so that 

 in dull damp weather there will be less risk of the 

 flowers damping off. Cucumber and Melon frames 

 are frequently made use of for this purpose, and in 

 some of the southern counties it is only necessary 

 to move the frames to the borders on which the 

 plants have been growing during the summer. In 

 these cases the end of the month or early in October 

 will be quite early enough to put the" frames over 

 the plants. Previous to planting cut off all runners, 

 and for some little time afterwards put the lights on 

 at night only, leaving them slightly tilted at the back. 



Shrubs. — Examine clumps and borders occupied 

 with old plants, regulate and cut back straggling 

 shoots of this season's growth where they are over- 

 crowded or encroaching on their neighbours, of Yews, 

 Laurels, and other plants whose flowers do not con- 

 stitute their principal attraction, and burn all 

 prunings immediately afterwards. Look over those 

 that were planted spring and autumn, tying up the 

 leaders and loosening old ties where necessary. 

 J. Horsefield, Heytcsbnry. 



Fruits Under Glass. 



Pixe-apples swelling their fruit will now require 

 careful attention, to keep the soil in a genial state 

 of moisture, for if this becomes too dry the fruits 

 will shrivel, and if too wet they are liable to become 

 black in the middle. Do not afford them too strong 

 doses of manure-water as the sun declines in power. 

 Use the syringe with caution on swelling fruits, 

 otherwise the crowns will develope to undesirable 

 dimensions ; let the temperature be 80° at 10 p.m., 

 falling to 75° at daybreak ; sprinkle the paths and 

 plunging material on the morning and evening of 

 fine days. 



Successions. — Queens which are intended for start- 

 ing early should be induced to rest by gradually 

 withholding water, lowering the temperature, and 

 giving free admission of air on all favourable occa- 

 sions. Guard against excessive dryness at this 

 season, as the sun shines forth with great power at 

 times and the plants -vould be seriously crippled if 

 not permanently injured if the soil were too dry. 

 Cease syringing overhead and resort wholly to 

 sprinkling the paths and other surfaces ; a tempera- 

 ture of 70° will be high enough as a maximum at 

 10 p.m., allowing the thermometer to fall to 65° by 

 the early morning. Growing stock should be kept 

 steadily moving until the growth is fully made for the 

 season, and the pots are filled with roots ; supply 

 them with weak manure-water every time they 

 require watering, changing it each time, weak 

 guano, drainings from a dung heap, and a dust over 

 of Thomson's Vine manure being all employed 

 in turn. Cease the use of the syringe over- 

 head and only damp the paths, walls, &c. 

 Shut up so as to secure a temperature of 95° for a 

 time, but let the temperature decline to 75° by 

 10 p.m. ; and the fires should be started in good time 

 to prevent a too rapid subsidence. Look carefully 

 after young stock, and pot on all suckers which have 



filled their pots with roots. These plants should 

 not require water for two or three weeks after being 

 potted, unless the soil was in a very dry state when 

 potting took place. Slightly dew" over with tepid 

 water, and shade during brig'ht sunshine for the first 

 fortnight, but do not allow the shading to remain 

 over the plants longer than is necessary. Let the 

 bottom-heat be kept as near 85° as possible. 



The latest suckers should now be got in without 

 further delay, in order to have them well-rooted 

 before winter sets in. Strong growing sorts, like 

 the Cayenne, Charlotte Rothschild, Providence, and 

 Black Jamaica, may be placed in 8 and 9-inch pots, 

 provided the suckers are of good size ; but suckers 

 of Queens and small ones will be better if put into 

 6 and 7-inch pots. Ample drainage should be 

 afforded, and a handful of soot should be placed over 

 the crocks. In preparing the soil for potting sift out 

 the smaller particles and make use of the fibry part, 

 and to every 2 bushels of loam add a 6-inch potful 

 of bone-meal or Thomson's Vine manure and the 

 same quantity of soot. If the soil be in a proper 

 state of dryness it cannot be made too firm by 

 ramming it into the pots ; plunge the plants, so that 

 they are close to the glass, and let the bottom-heat 

 range from 85° to 90°. Shade during very bright 

 sunshine, and dew over with water at 85°. This 

 should not be done so as to cause the moisture to run 

 off the leaves into the pots. Whenever the roots 

 appear at the sides of the pots give a good watering, 

 and no more should be given until the plants actually 

 require it. After the first application of water cease 

 the use of the syringe overhead. W. il. Bail/ie, 

 Luton Hoo. 



The Kitchen Garden. 



Oxioxs. — These should now be got under cover as 

 soon as possible before they are affected by the slight 

 frosts which are not rare at this late period, otherwise 

 they will not keep well. If the bulbs are still green, 

 the tops should be laid down flat, the bulbs exposed to 

 the sun, and as soon as growth ceases they should 

 be pulled up. In view of continued showery weather, 

 it will be best to remove them altogether from the 

 beds to hard walks or hurdles, where they can easily 

 be turned over to dry, and quickly covered if neces- 

 sary. When sufficiently dry, they may be spread out 

 thinly in a dry place, to be cleaned and sorted as 

 opportunity offers, when they may be tied in ropes, 

 or placed on shelves in a dry, cool shed. 



Cabbages. — A plot of ground should now be got 

 ready for planting ; many gardeners make a practice 

 of planting the main crop of these on the ground 

 the spring Onions have been taken from. In 

 any case, the ground should be well manured (cow- 

 manure being the best for the purpose), and deeply 

 dug previous to planting. The roots should be pre- 

 served as much as possible when lifting, to prevent 

 any check to their growth. It is well to plant some 

 Cabbages from the earliest sowing on a border with 

 a southern aspect, or some other warm position, in 

 order to get a supply as early as possible in the 

 spring. Smaller varieties, such as Ellani'a Early, 

 may be planted 18 inches apart each way ; but for 

 Mein's No. 1 and many others, large growers, 2 feet 

 each way is not too much if the soil be rich. 



General Work. — A quantity of French Beans 

 should now be sown in pots, and put into cold pits, 

 to be eventually removed to warmer quarters ; and 

 when frost is anticipated it is well to gather all of 

 the Scarlet Runner Bean pods that are ready. They 

 will keep fresh for a considerable time if spread out 

 thinly in a cellar, or similar cool, damp place. 



Peas may also be had in winter by sowing at the 

 present time Chelsea Gem, or some similar variety, in 

 8-inch pots, placing the pots in a frame now, and on 

 a shelf in a Pine stove by-and-bye. 



All fruits on Tomatos should be exposed to the 

 sun as much as possible. Any that are partially ripe 

 will ripen successfully for use if they are placed on 

 shelves in a late vinery. 



Advantage should be taken of dry weath er to destroy 

 weeds, especially among Spinach and other standing 

 winter crops. W. H. Divers, Ketton Hall, Stamford. 



HECKFIELD.— The first show of a cottagers' 

 society to be called the Heckfield and Mattingley 

 Horticultural Societv, was held in the gardens at 

 Heckfield Place, on Tuesday, August 28, by the kind 

 permission of Viscount Eversley. Mr. W Wild- 

 smith is the Secretary. 



