Jcne 1, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS CHRONICLE. 



3G1 



fresh soil; those not repotted may receive copious 

 supplies of this stimulant, which is bettor spread 

 over many waterings than given in strong doses 



occasionally. 

 Next month the majority of pot Roses will do 



better in a sheltered spot outside. But I will 



refer to this later ; what I wish now to point out 



is that it is better to keep the plants under cover 



during June if the space can be spared. If not, 



then place them in a light position out-of-doors 



where they will be sheltered from winds. 



Practice. 



red variety of R. arboreum), R. Auckland!! X R. 



album elegans, R. Otto Forsteri, R. argenteum, 

 R. Shiltonii, R. racemosum, R. Loder's white, 

 and R. Loderi 



can get good crops from fair-sized beds seem to 

 fail with boxes. The reason for this, I believe, 

 is that the heat of the manure in such small 

 bulk is apt to disappear so quickly that the 

 spawn has no time to "run " proper! v, and if 

 the temperature falls below 60° or 70°' Fahren- 

 fine white variety is R. Loderi var. Patience, heit wi *h"» the first week or so after the spawn 



(see fig. 175). Th 



are 



plants of R. Loderi of several colours, more or 

 less with a pink tint or flesh colour ; one specially 



named after Sir Edmund Loder's daughter. R. 

 (Azalea) amoena and its varieties also bloomed 

 very early, and even some of R. (Azalea) ponticum 

 and the Ghent Azaleas. 



Magnolias have been splendid, and have made 

 a brave shown. The frost injured a good many 



has been inserted, a good crop of Mushrooms is 

 an impossibility, and complete failure more than 

 probable. The manure for boxes requires no 

 preparation such as is desirable when a good- 

 sized bed is being made, for the danger of over- 

 heating does not exist in the former case. All 



RHODODENDRONS AT LEONARDSLEE. „ owe „, r ^Z **, TZ VZZS. ££ Z7Z>*>°%£ .t =tt! '' ± 



Owing to the extraordinary summer last year, 

 many choice species of Rhododendrons of the 

 Himalayan section flowered 



this spring. 



abnormally early 

 At Leonardslee many plants were 



sun caught them early in the morning, but the 

 undeveloped buds afterwards opened well. The 



tervals of a day or two after the material comes 

 from the stable, and it may then be put straight 

 into the boxes. The lattir are half filled and 



in bloom in April, but the frosts damaged some across. W. A. Cook, Leonardslee Gardens. 



Camellias have never been so good; amongst the then rammed as hard as possible with an iron or 

 many thousands oi blooms, some were 6 inches wooden rammer (I prefer the former), and 



" ~ second layer is treated in the same fashion, so- 







riG. 176. — A FINE HYBRID OF RHODODENDRON AUCKLANDII IN SIR EDMUND LODER's GARDEN, 



[Photograph by H. N. King. 

 LEONARDSLEE : FLOWERS WHITE. 



milS? A* Si . trusses > and the wet winter also 



latt« m** 8 ? 1 * 18 * -i he SeaS ° n ' S floweri «g- At the 

 which" P many varieties w «re expanded 



bloom n, f, normal sea son are not usually in 



R ll ' thC ^ hird Week in M »7- B »t Plants of 

 •on also 7" u aV6 been es P ecia Uy good this sea- 

 Pom Tk arboreum album and R. campylocar- 

 Bome' to i e / a P ety , mention ed last is stated by 



*°st RhodoT T bUt * his is not m y experience ; 

 turf* !iT° dendrons th at are found at an alti- 



000 



1th 



ensis, various R. Aucklandii hybrids 



hardy. 



aardv Chu Ii — *--t,w\j ioei- are iairiy 



dude R u " that have been specially good in- 

 (see fiff ' S 6n 4 1S ' Various R - Auckland!! hybrids 

 ochrolenr.,,^'. \f° rtun€i x R - Aucklandii, R. 



eucuin 



Ascot Bril- 



Gill's Triumph, R.' Standishii, R. 

 leonardslee (R. Aucklandii X a blood- 



MUSHROOMS IN BOXES. 



There 



and 



satis- 



ing Mushrooms than in boxes of an easily port- 

 able size, the great advantage of the plan being 

 that such contrivances can be stowed away in 

 any odd corner. The kind of box most useful — 



it will produce a crop quite as 

 factory in every way as anyone could desire — 

 is about 2 fe€t in length, 8 inches wide, 

 and 6 or 7 inches deep. At the present time 

 I have several such boxes under the staging of 

 the greenhouse, and the Mushrooms are coming 

 up so thickly that the soil is being literally 

 heaved over the edges. There is really no more 

 difficulty in producing a crop of Mushrooms in 

 this manner than in any other, but many who 



in- 



that after the second ramming the boxes a 

 about two-thirds filled. The spawn is then 

 serted — about seven or eight good-sized pieces to 

 each box, or about two-thirds of a cake — and 

 another layer of manure put on and again 

 rammed hard. This will leave a space of about 

 an inch at the top, and this is filled with fresh 

 moist loam and rammed so that it comes flush 

 with the edges. The boxes may now be put 

 away anywhere where a temperature of 55° or 60° 

 can be maintained, or in a cooler building if they 

 are covered with straw, and the Mushrooms 

 should begin to appear in about six or seven 

 weeks from spawning. It may be added that 

 spawning in boxes is always safe when the 

 manure is no hotter than the hand can bear when 

 thrust into the heap. East Sussex. 





