230 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ March 80, 1871. 



many to know that they could he able to raise something new and good, 

 if not enpeiior. — G. H. Kenton. 



CHINESE PRIMULA CULTURE. 



Geneeallt speaking, this lovely v?inter-flowering plant is 

 not so extensively cultivated as its merits entitle it to be, nor, 

 where it is grown, is a sufficient amount of care bestowed upon 

 it to bring it to perfection. 



In large establishments, or where the demand for winter 

 flowers is great, I would still adhere to the old practice of two 

 annual sowings — one early in March, and another at the end of 

 April. The first answers the call lor flowers at the beginning 

 of September, and fills up the gaps created by the summer 

 plants ceasing to afiord bloom. The plants from this sowing 

 may be calculated on as furnishing continuous bloom during 

 the dead of winter, while the second sowing forms a good suc- 

 cession, besides affording substitutes for plants in the early 

 collection killed by damp or other causes. 



While advocating this system as the best to follow, I may 

 remark that when the Primula is properly grown there is no 

 difliculty, one sowing blooming in profusion for seven months — 

 that is to say, frcm September to April successively. In sup- 

 port of this assertion I may mention that the majority of our 

 plants now in a blaze of flower were staged in like condition 

 along with the Chrysanthemums; at the same time the 

 demand on them for cut flowers has been enormous. 



Before entering into cultural details I would impress upon 

 the intending cultivator the desirability of securing seed from 

 a nurseryman who can be depended on for supplying seed of a 

 good strain, for much vexation is caused when the cultivator 

 finds that his summer's care and labour have been spent on 

 trash ; and, if possible, this annoyance is aggravated on seeing 

 a neighbour's stock of plants with flowers the smallest of 

 which might put his best ones to shame. 



As regards sowing, it is important to have the seedlings in 

 the rough leaf before the days, and consequently the duration 

 of sunshine, become lengthened too much, so that the sooner 

 in March that the seeds are sown the better. The soil which 

 I have found to answer well for sowing in is a mixture of leaf 

 mould and silver sand in about equal parts, with a small pro- 

 portion of light, friable loam added, then sifted through a 

 fine riddle. Pots of 6 inches in diameter, after being suffi- 

 ciently drained, should be filled to the rim with this soil; it 

 must then be gently pressed and smoothed, after which the 

 seeds may be scattered over the surface, covered lightly, and a 

 sprinkling of water given through a fine rose. The pots are 

 then staged out of the blaze of the sun, with a piece of glass 

 or white paper placed over them to prevent too rapid evapora- 

 tion, and to avoid the risk of supplying over-much water while 

 germination is going on, for too much water in the early 

 stages of growth is apt to render the seedlings soft and sus- 

 ceptible to the eifects of sunshine, damp, and drought. Damp 

 in particular causes great destruction, and should be carefully 

 prevented. The most suitable temperature is low rather than 

 high, say an average of 55° at night and 60° in the day, with, 

 of course, air admitted when the weather permits. 



With respect to the general management of the plants, while 

 these are in the seed bed water sparingly in the afternoon, 

 giving enough water at a time to penetrate beyond the roots, 

 but be careful to guard against saturating the soil. When the 

 second pair of leaves are well expanded lose no time in potting 

 off, using pots of the smallest dimensions, and the same sort 

 of compost as that employed for sowing. Transfer the young 

 plants in the most careful manner, retaining about their roots 

 as much soil as will adhere to them. It is well to plunge the 

 pots in shallow boxes among sand. This in a great measure 

 defends the roots against strong heat and drought, while the 

 plants grow much more rapidly than when exposed in small 

 pots on the open shelf. 



I will now consider the proper place for the plants to occupy. 

 Undoubtedly, moderate shade, moisture, and a steady, mild 

 flow of fresh air, united, are highly beneficial to rapid growth. 

 Practice has fully persuaded me that at this stage the more 

 closely one can conform to these principles, especially in the heat 

 of summer, the better will be the plants. The best shade for the 

 purpose is a thin whitewash made of quicklime dissolved in 

 water along with a few handf uls of common salt. I have put salt 

 into the same mixture for whitewashing the back walls of our 

 vineries, &o., this spring, and find it most satisfactory. In 

 this case there was no plaster, and many of the stones are 

 ; eoayed, and fall away in scales, leaving the wall blotched and 



unsightly. The lime and the salt have eiJectually preventedl 

 the progress of the decay, and 1 believe that a strong dose ot 

 salt along with hot lime must likewise be very destructive to 

 insects. Let the wash for shading be of the consistency of 

 milk, and apply it while the sun is shining. One application 

 will last for the season. 



Should the plants prosper, pots of larger size will be soon 

 wanted, likewise a change of soil. Use at this potting pots 

 3 inches in diameter, and soil consisting only of light, rich, 

 fibrous loam, with one-tenth of bone meal, and a small quantity 

 of leaf soil. These incorporated in an unsifted state are perfec- 

 tion. Pot moderately firmly, using plenty of crocks, tisplaoe 

 the soil from the collar of each plant until the upper roots are 

 laid bare at the places where they join the stem. Never mind 

 if the plants fall to one side ; they must be supported by small 

 stakes, one at each side. The plants being again placed up- 

 right, with a piece of matting to embrace the stakes, 20 per 

 cent, of them will be saved from the " rot." 



I have now to advise quite the reverse of what I advocated 

 early in the spring — namely, water in abundance during 

 the summer, afforded both at the roots and by sprinkling 

 overhead in the evenings after strong sun heat. This prac- 

 tice ought to be steadily followed up throughout the sum- 

 mer till the commencement of September, when it must be 

 discontinued, and water supplied only when the soil becomes 

 dry, and then with the greatest caution not to wet the foliage 

 or stems of the plants. As much air as possible must be 

 given, in order to harden the plants and enable them to with- 

 stand the changes that occur in a conservatory in winter. See 

 that all flower stems that start up are removed before the end 

 of August. These only stunt the growth ; the fiowers that 

 succeed may be allowed to grow. As the plants advance in 

 growth, provide pots two sizes larger until they ultimately oc- 

 cupy pots from 6 to 8 inches in diameter. 



With respect to the succession plants, the same routine of 

 cultivation ought to be pursued, with this addition — namely^ 

 that their flowers should be removed constantly as they appear 

 until the new year, which will be soon enough to permit flower- 

 stems to start, in order to succeed the plants from the first 

 sowing. — A. Eeek, Carbet Castle, 



DEATH TO THE WIREWORMS. 



" We drenched them with a draught so deadly cold, 

 It soon congeal'd * * • ® * 

 The channel of their hlood and froze them dry." 



" J. E. S. C." (page ISO) closes an interesting article on the 

 wireworm with what I believe to be one of the grossest popular 

 delusions that beguile the horticultural mind, "the oddest 

 remedy "■ — viz., " cramming it to death with luxuiious food," 

 an insidious generosity which I tried to exercise in vain. 

 Having a piece of newly-broken-up grass land much infested 

 with wireworms, I invoked every one's aid to exterminate or 

 diminish this pest, and "cramming to death" became apart 

 of my horticultural education in this wise. Finding no marked 

 result from any of the suggested remedies, I conceived the 

 idea, being able to submerge the land in question, of drowning 

 my enemies, and, to try the experiment on a small scale, first 

 collected about two hundred, and kept them in water for two 

 days and nights ; not one auccnmbed to this treatment, though 

 all were affected by it. They were then transferred to a small 

 wooden tub half full of earth, and after allowing them two or 

 three days to recover from their cold-water cure, I mixed two 

 large handfuls of rape cake with the earth, and planted a 

 potato, and the wireworms had peace and luxurious plenty for 

 some six months, till Dr. Hogg visited me, and we proceeded 

 to examine the results of the repletion theory. The tub was 

 inverted, and out came the most fat, golden, and active wire- 

 worms that ever worried a crop or a gardener. The potato had 

 been attacked in divers places, yet had produced two small 

 tubers, and, as we thought somewhat remarkable, these had 

 not been touched. After halt-an-hour's absence we returned to 

 have another look at our enemies, whom we had left on the 

 ground so provokingly well, and behold they were all dead as 

 Julius C.-Esar ; a thermometer at 32° had finished them. My 

 conclusion was that rape cake is a delusion (I had tried it pre- 

 viously drilled in), and that wireworms cannot stand cold: 

 hence we find them in winter in the second spit, and deep 

 digging in winter is good, because it exposes them to cold and 

 death. 



Potato traps— i.e., slices on pointed slicks, placed about 

 4 inches deep, are most UEefal.i.I have constantly taken from 



