February 3, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



i 



1 



their flowering pots. 



after the bulboii3 plants are over that they are 

 especially valuable, their flowers continuing until 

 blossoms out-of-doors are plentiful. Old plants 

 that were started in September and October 

 should be well rooted, and ready for planting in 



As a rooting medium 

 employ rich, friable loam mixed with a small 

 amount of well-rotted manure, lime rubble and 

 bonemeal. Pot firmly, as this favours a stocky 

 growth. Plants raised from cuttings inserted 

 last summer may also require potting, in which 

 case the same compost may be used. Young 

 plants last for a lorn r time in flower than older 

 specimens. Plants of Zonal-leaved Pelargoniums 

 that have been flowering throughout the winter 

 should be afforded a little concentrated manure, 

 after which, if growth is not too vigorous, they 

 will probably provide a fine display for some 



considerable time. The atmospheric temperature 

 should range from 50° to 55°. Maintain a rather 

 dry atmosphere, and on no account open the side 

 ventilators during damp, foggy weather. 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



By J. G. Weston, Gardener to Lady Northcote, 



Kastvvell Park, Kent. 



Pruning Climbing Roses. — All the prun- 

 ing necessary for climbing Roses is the removal 

 of weak and superfluous shoots, together with 

 dead and diseased branches. Plants growing in 

 the wild garden, or in other places where their 

 restraint is unnecessary, only need to be di- 

 vested of dead or worn-out branches ; but speci- 

 mens growing on pergolas, chains, pillars, or 

 walls need a more severe pruning. The best 

 time for the work is immediately after the 

 flowers are over, as the plants then have prac- 

 tically the whole of the season in which to 

 develop their growth. If the old flowering 

 shoots were removed entirely, and the new shoots 

 that developed from the base of the plant 

 thinned according to the amount of space to be 

 furnished, all that is necessary now is to cut off 

 the unripened ends of the branches and to make 

 the plants tidy and secure before growth re- 

 commences. The thinning of the shoots of 

 climbing Roses is often deferred until the 

 plants are given a general overhauling in the 

 winter, and where this is practised the pruning 

 must be done very sparingly, cutting out only 

 old and weak shoots, but retaining as much of 

 the strong wood as possible. There is a wealth 

 of beautiful varieties, and amongst novelties 

 may be recommended Climbing Polyantha's 

 "American Pillar," Lyon Rambler, and the 



newer Wichuraiana hybrids, Excelsa, Shower of 

 Gold, and Milky Way. 



Wichuraiana Roses — These beautiful 

 Roses are perfectly hardy, and therefore adapted 

 for planting in exposed situations, where tender 

 varieties would not thrive. Many are nearly 

 evergreen, for they retain their dark-green, 

 glossy foliage well into the winter. They are 

 not particular as to soil, but some loam should 

 be used when planting in order to give them a 

 good start. Dorothy Perkins, Hiawatha, Gerbe 

 Rose, Jersey Beauty, Paradise, White Dorothy, 

 Minnehaha, Edmond Proust, and Gardenia are 

 all desirable varieties. 



Climbing Polyantha Roses.— A few ex- 

 ceptionally good varieties of this type of 

 Rose are Tausendschon, Electra, Philadelphia 

 Rambler Queen Alexandra, Rubin, Climbing 

 White Pet, and Flower of Fairfield. 



*- P n NZ 1i NC ? Br,ars -— These Roses are prac- 

 tically all vigorous growers, and may be recom- 

 mended for forming hedges or screens. They 

 are seen at their best when allowed to grow at 

 win, very little pruning being necessary. Anne 

 of Geierstem, Lady Penzance, Catherine Sevton, 

 Lucy Bertram, Brenda, and Lucy Ashton are all 

 sterling varieties. 



Ayrshire and Evergreen RosEs.-These 



older Roses are very hardy, having robust con- 

 stitutions. Such varieties as Dundee Rambler, 

 Queen of the Belgians, Felicite-Perpetue, and 

 Kampant will thrive in almost any situatioA. 



Austrian Briars. -The Austrian Briars are 

 a quite small section of the Rose family, but the 

 plants are very beautiful, and a good specimen 

 m bloom always attracts attention. The plants 



are not strong growers, therefore little pruning 



is necessary, the principal requirement being the 



removal of weak and worn-out shoots. The 



flowers are produced on shoots of the previous 

 year. 



Planting Roses. — Though the orthodox 

 time for planting Roses is past, the work may 

 still be done, with every prospect of success. 

 Climbing Roses may be purchased from the nur- 

 serymen in pots. If strong pot plants are pro- 

 cured and planted carefully in good soil, a fair 

 show of bloom may be expected the first season, 

 but a little extra attention is needed when the 

 planting is done very late in the season. 



PUBLIC PARKS AND GARDENS. 



By Chief Officer. 



Advertising Public Parks.— At first sight it 



may appear somewhat absurd to suggest the 

 necessity or even the advisability of advertising 

 among its own residents the public parks of any 

 town. One may be very readily excused for re- 

 garding such a proposal as unworthy of a 

 moment's consideration. To most people a public 

 park is, as it were, its own advertisement, and 

 if it is not patronised or if its management is 

 not quite understood by the public then they 

 have only themselves to blame. This, however, 

 is quite the wrong attitude for public authori- 

 ties to take up, for, without the slightest doubt, 

 the more widely the parks of a town are adver- 

 tised among the residents, and the more the latter 

 know regarding the management, the greater 

 will the parks be appreciated, and the easier 

 will the public be controlled when visiting them. 

 It is always found that where parks are properly 

 advertised the public are enabled to make the 

 greater use of them, and as a consequence one 

 is justified in concluding that the general health 

 and happiness of the people are proportionately 

 increased. 



Suitable Methods. — Ordinary advertising 

 methods, although very useful in their way, are 

 not, so far as parks are concerned, the most suc- 

 cessful in attaining the end in view. Cheaper, 

 and as a rule more efficacious, ways are always at 

 hand provided the chief of the Parks Department 

 sees fit to make use of them. One of the easiest 

 modes is to enlist the help and sympathy of the 

 journalists associated with the local papers. In- 

 teresting paragraphs relating to the parks and 

 the doings therein always tend to keep the eyes 

 of the public fastened on the Parks Department. 

 In this connection it is always well when the 

 meetings of the Parks Committee are open to 

 the Press, for although this has its drawbacks in 

 other ways, it helps in a very real manner to 

 keep the residents in touch with the work car- 

 ried on in the parks. 



Popular Lectures. — Another most useful 



method of advertising the parks is by making 

 them the subject of popular lectures. If the 

 chief officer or one of his assistants is able to 

 give interesting lectures relating to the parks it 

 is an admirable system of advertising them. 

 Once it becomes known that a public official is 

 able and willing to lecture — especially when he 

 is in a position to illustrate his subject by the 

 aid of lantern slides — his help is sought by all 

 kinds of societies in the town. Church literary 

 societies, naturalist societies, ratepayers associa- 

 tions, and numerous other public bodies are 

 anxious to secure the assistance of a lecturer who 

 gives his services free. Lectures on parks and park 

 management, delivered before audiences such as 

 are gathered at meetings of this varied charac- 

 ter do an immense amount of good. On occasions 

 of this kind it is possible not only to enlighten 

 the public regarding what is actually being done 

 in their interests in the parks, but also to edu- 

 cate them to appreciate the very restrictions 

 which have to be enforced upon them when using 

 the parks or other open spaces. Lectures of a 

 similar character delivered to juveniles in the 

 " Children's Halls n of public libraries — as they 

 often are in large municipalities — tend very 

 naturally to educate the younger generation to a 

 right and proper regard for the parks and open 

 spaces in their own and other towns. No one 

 who has the slightest experience of such matters 

 will deny that this is a condition of things greatly 

 to be desired, therefore no opportunity should 

 be lost in attempting to bring it about. 



"Wardism.''— When dealing with the ques- 

 tion of " wardism " in our last month's article,. 

 we took occasion to state that later on we would 

 touch upon a very useful means of combating it. 

 The means we alluded to was the judicious in- 

 fluencing of public opinion in a right direction,, 

 and there is no more powerful method of doing so 

 than by the aid of the Press, as already indicated, 

 and through public lectures. Where 'this is well 

 and wisely done, there is but little fear of 

 " wardism " becoming a real danger to the 

 managing authority of a parks department. 



A Warning.— One note of warning, however, 

 is needed in concluding this subject of park adver- 

 vertisement, or more harm than good may arise 

 from it. It is this : let it be clearly understood 

 that it is the parks and their work that have to 

 be advertised, not the work of the officials. How- 

 ever much an official may have done in working 

 out a successful policy of management, he must 

 bear in mind that without the assistance of the 

 committee in authority over him it could hardly 

 have been carried out, and naturally it is their 

 efforts which deserve commendation. A lecturer 

 or a writer who never loses an opportunity of 

 praising his own efforts soon ceases to carry any 

 weight with his audience or his readers. 



THE OKCHID HOUSES. 



By J. Collier, Gardener to Sir Jeremiah Colman, Bart., 



Gatton Park, Reigate. 



Oncidium. — Most of the winter-flowering 

 Oncidiums, such as 0. concolor, O. Forbesii, and 

 those of the vericosum section, will soon have 

 finished flowering, when the plants should be 

 kept rather dry at the roots, but not so dry as ta 

 cause the growths to shrivel. The plants will 

 soon commence to grow afresh, and any that re- 

 quire potting should be attended to as soon as 

 roots develop from the young growths. These 

 Orchids are best grown in pans suspended from 

 the roof rafters, in a temperature ranging from 

 52° to 55°, allowing it to rise to 60° or 62° as the 

 season advances. A suitable rooting medium is a 

 mixture of good fibrous peat or Al fibre, half- 

 decayed Oak leaves, rubbed through a £-inch 

 sieve, and Sphagnum-moss, in equal quantities, 

 adding plenty of crushed crocks to keep the com- 

 post porous. The pans should be only just large 

 enough to accommodate the plants, as they need 

 a restricted space for their roots. Pot moder- 

 ately firmly, and place the base of the young 

 shoot well down into the compost, so that tha 

 young roots may soon get well into it, thus mini- 

 mising the danger of damage by slugs or wood- 

 lice. Both these pests are particularly fond of 

 the young roots of Oncidiums. Plants of 0. 

 macranthum and 0. lamelligerum are sending 

 up their flower-spikes. These should be 

 trained along the roof of the house, or around 

 sticks, and when they have reached a reasonable- 

 length the tip may be pinched off, as this will 

 cause the spikes to branch and the flowers to de- 

 velop finer. 0. Cavendishianum, 0. flexuosum, 

 O. Kramerianum, and 0. papilio require a higher 

 temperature than the others mentioned. 



lia. — Lselias of the Anceps type, also L. 

 autumnalis and L. Gouldiana, should be afforded 

 but little water at the roots after the flowers are- 

 over, it being only necessary to keep the pseudo- 

 bulbs from shrivelling. Grow the plants in a 

 house having an intermediate temperature, stand- 

 ing them in a light position near to the roof -glass. 

 Specimens that need repotting should be at- 

 tended to just before young roots begin to push 

 from the new pseudo-bulbs. The old root* 

 should not be disturbed more than is necessary, 

 as root disturbance may result in unsatisfactory 

 blooming. The following season, plants that have- 

 overgrown their receptacles may, if there are 

 numerous pseudo-bulbs behind the leading 

 growth, be broken up and made into shapely 

 specimens, retaining two or three pseudo-bulbs 

 behind each lead. I prefer pans to grow them 

 in, but I have seen these plants doing well in 

 teakwood baskets. A suitable compost consists 

 of good fibrous peat and Osmunda fibre in equal 

 parts, and a quantity of Sphagnum-moss. 



Cattleya. — Most Cattleyas are now at their 

 season of rest, bat plants of C. Trianae and its 

 varieties are pushing up their flower-buds, and 

 will require an increased amount of water at the 

 roots. As soon as the flowers have developed r 

 the supply of moisture should be reduced again r 

 affording but very little until new roots appear. 



