816 
THE GARDENERS’ 
CHRONICLE. 
[Marcu 5, 1887, 
however, should be given to a vta rich sandy loam, 
0 
remove ne protecting material afforded in autumn, 
also any decayed Seon of the stems, leaves, &c. 
John pes „Ие Cou 
THE ае IRIS. 
remarks on lris germanica 
гаан me particularly, 
of this valuable class of plants 
Your correspond 
at p. 210, Febr arca 712, 
than anything else. If the eft to get 
too large, the plants would grow into а ring, and 
so eve tumn I made a point of 
up the masses of Flag and planting small 
at any other time, and no manure was ever given 
to them 
The Florentine Iris and the crimson Prony flower 
at the same time, and form 
while a more graceful floral 
exist than a spray of Solomon’s Seal in blossom and 
a white Flag. G. Layard, 
A LONDON SEED WAREHOUSE. 
Ir is all-important that the зо тлее 
and horticulturist should be able t seed 
of a guaranteed quality, and reir: is “that so as 
regards the two first-named, as they risk large quan- 
tities of one seed on a wide extent of land, as, for 
instan meadow and Wheat lands, € 
recently had > уш of see 
Carters n High Holborn, танда, 
have had eap evidence of the ‘iene 
trade of the firm 
There are four warehouses, of various dimen- 
sions, occupied by Messrs. Carter, a one а — 
is entirely devoted to 
enabled to see the machinery ыа for the кыы 
of the seed, pe^ also for the purpose of separating it 
out into different qualities. The process consists 
,8s collected 
constantly in motion, and slightly inclined. The 
larger p 8 
below which is divided into four troughs, the coarsest 
quality passing off the sieve at the other end. "The 
seed which falls into the third and fourth trough is of 
the best quality, and is about as as could 
ably be desired. The contents of the two 
remaining troughs are the finer grass seeds and the 
impurities, so these are carried to another machine 
and r a cleared in a эы ne gi which does its work 
a fine 
here 
with that from other clearer, 
and ee for sowing on waste land, ra bank- 
ments, &c. "These two machines wil clean from 30 
to 35 ewt. per diem, and that i is the ете quantity 
acre: 
the colonies на other places abroad, as well as lands 
in Great Britai 
As may wel be imagined by any one who is 
ünted with the seeds of the Meadow Foxtail, 
it is a dificult seed to separate from the impurity 
common to it, viz, the tufted Hair-grass, and it 
has always been a sore problem how to effect this ; 
to the ground, with t the 
a upper end resting on cog- 
= а in revolving cause the whole frame 
то tremble, as сав be 
hand on it, although to all appearance it is quite 
steady. This is the invention of Mr. Sharman 
been dispatched to а output to that 
тш only, in опе being ver ж» е. 
seed ——— s peculiar conditions, as there 
mask: be plenty of fresh air playing on it to dry 
it; and then there is the mite, which has to be 
considere d too. d per cent. is de- 
stroyed by this little pest! A lot certainly, as we 
testified by putting our hands into a sack of this 
season's seed, when they were covered with the débris 
of the ruine 
with the Radish, 
another Ne & wise precaution ; for what would 
Swede if kept side by side? In the busy season 
(March) as many as 20 tons of farm seeds are dis- 
patched per d 
An озан sight in the work is the cleaning of 
Peas, which are first of all passed dra a sifting- 
eae а b die De el by women, 
are 150 hands 
employed i in p нша "id а Ша part ofthe 
"Abo this department, and on the roof of the 
warehouse, is a hothouse, where the rapid gaps of 
the Lem nating power of seeds is conducted; for of 
eourse in the e ordinary way this is done at one of the 
sing. but in an emergency it is found useful to 
conduct experiments at Holborn. This testing- 
us jun. 
Bulwer 
Lytton should ha n f of Мена. 
arter’s warehouse, and what would he not have 
At the time of our visit the “rush” of orders for 
flower and vegetable seeds was on, and we were 
informed that 20) guinea packets of collections of 
seeds are sent off daily, and besides this there are 
the orders from the list. Аз is usual at this time, 
all the orders had come in together, e a heavy 
wie for the own of customers are in the habit 
not ordering their seeds until they aire actually 
owing. 
Although every one knows that seedsmen sift 
their seeds, it is not perhaps generally understood 
that the seeds undergo much more rigorous tests, 
but the analysing department of Messrs. Carter's 
business is a highly important feature. Here 
samples of all seeds are critically examined by 
an expert under microscopes, and the result tabu- 
lated in a book for this purpose. But more than 
this is vo for ro a delicate remit roo 
a given number seeds taken from the sample 
under ао. is weighed em а correspond- 
be see 
is submitted to these tests, and before the sale is 
concluded the analyst has examined at least three 
samples, and it is on the strength. of his reports that 
ransactions are effected. 
to all seeds offered 
seed, for ex xample, their official figures show two 
thousand of impurities, which, for all practical 
purposes, is pure 
But we pass rpd on, through stores upon stores 
of seed, qox at the leadin ie features, such as the 
despatch department, ya ару e 
reach the strong rooms ihe. 
always neatly stored a all the mers of exe- 
cuted orders of the previous ten or twelve years. 
Here it is one man's duty to see to the proper 
еа of these enum: of executed orders. 
is situated above the иќ shop in 
Hi ema m is as yet small, but contains 
of interest, the chief of which are 
life-size paintings and specimens of English-grown 
b 
preservative, were pointed out to us. 
excellent models of the curious hybrid Potatos 
Rem recently by us at p. 111 
is is Messrs. Carter’s jubilee year as well as 
the Queen's, they having entered the premises at 
High Holborn in 1837, nt: ing then a small ware- 
house as a store an ice, and where they 
can now only find room f ote 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
BEDS FOR HARDY PLANTS. 
Beps for Hollyhocks and Dahlias should receive 
a liberal manuring and trenching. 
should be planted soon ; 
ever, set in, it will be safe to keep a ее beside 
ight. Beds for 
his is allowed to be the best 
to em » the purity of light ground varieties. 
Roses. 
few Roses in well- sheltered nooks may also now 
be pruned for early 
is possible the buds may get nipped by frost, 
shoots if cut a couple of eyes longer e usual will 
have back buds which are dormant, and which would 
s if perchance the forw 
a sight worth 
in fr 
Roses are still anplanted they should 
March 
1 
covering them with haybands, and pp them well 
sy ringed, will be found a good th 
mulch of manure should be 
ud a couple of inches of soil thrown over the top to 
make all tid 
PROPAGATION. 
Push forward as rapidly as possible 
tion of all bedding plants. Pot or box off » cuttings 
when rooted. If possible phe them. the sam e tem- 
an intermediate one. ту 
rapidly and with greater success 1 
removed with the cutting; do not let тт cuttings 
exceed 3 inches in length before taking them. 
SEEDS. 
Great caution is necessary in + 
Pyrethrum and other delicate subj к 
р them from dam off. 
removed. uisi SM 
wn be got in at once if stili u 
Mignonette and a few hardy annuals flowering 
sown in sheltered situations for early 
succeed those sown in autumn. If the 
а а da VETE ОЖОР 
