34 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



Januabt 13, 1912. 



whenever they appear in the least dry. Cat- 

 leyas and la^lias require less moitsture at the 

 roots now than at any season^ excepting 

 those plants which are now making new 

 growths, or developing flower spikes. Tlie 

 object at this season should be to induce the 

 development of roots, but not growth, and to 

 ensure this give just sufficient water to keep 

 the pseudo-bulbs and leaves green and plump. 

 Cattleyas and laelias will not root in a com- 

 post that is heavily charged with moisture. 

 Yandas of the V. tricolor and V. suavis sec- 

 tion occupying the cooler end of the cattleya 

 house, should, as soon as they are rooting 

 freely, have sufficient water to encourage 

 the sphagnum moss to groAv luxuriantly. 

 Vanda<5 of the terete-leaved section, such as 

 V. teres and Y. Hookeriana, should have 

 sufficient water to prevent shrivelling, as 

 this in any orchid is a source of much 

 danger. The various genera which occupy 

 the cool houses, such as odontoglossume, on- 

 eidiums, masdevallias, and maxillarias, are 

 in a growing state almost at all times, and 

 should be watered often enough to keep the 

 compost moist, but in? no ca^e should the 

 latter be allowx^d to become saturated. 

 Cochliodas, odonflodas, and plants of this 

 class must have water whenever the compost 

 appears dry. — J. T. Barkkr, The West Hill 

 Gardens. 



CONSERVATORY AND 



HOUSE. 



CREEN- 



mg 



PEEPAEATION WORK, 

 of the New Year, 



With the open- 

 the successes and 



failures of the one that is past should be 

 carefully considei*ed, and the lessons of 

 the most recent experience be taken advan- 

 tage of. Plant life under glass with the 

 slow return of sunlight and lengthening days 

 will gradually become active, and many 

 things will need attention. Chrysanthemums 

 will have yielded their blooms, and cuttings 

 will in demand. The first batch of these 

 put in small pots in November will now be 

 rooting freely, but some of the varieties are 

 slow in producing new growths suitable for 

 cuttings. Where the stock of plants of any 

 of the varieties is limited, the stools should 

 be placed in a light, airy house, with a 



temperature, and a^ near to the glass 

 a« posisible, and sprayed occasionally to en- 

 courage them to produce strong cuttings, as 

 those which are drawn seldom make vigorous 

 plants. TTie best results are obtained by 

 placing four cuttings in each three-inch pot ; 

 the compost should be two parts fine sifted 

 loam, one part leaf-^il, one part coarse 

 silver sand. Placsi the pots in a propagating 

 frame in an unheated house, keep close for a 

 few days, and when the cuttings commence 

 rooting admit air gradually. 



BULBOUS PLANTS.— Roman hyacinths 

 are plentiful and good; hyacinths and tulipis 

 are growing freely, and should be removed 

 from the ash bed and, if well rooted, started 

 in batches. Paper White and Gloriosa nar- 

 cissi will also be soon in bloom; freeaias and 

 lachenalias are also showing their flower 

 spikes. Liquid manure is very beneficial to 

 all bulbous plants, commencing with small 

 quantities and gradually increasing the 

 supply as the flower spikes develop. 



HIPPEASTRUMS.— The^e should be care- 

 fully examined, and those showing flower 

 apikas should be top-dressed and transferred 

 to a warmer house; toi>dres6 if necessary 

 with a mixture of fibrous loam and well- 

 rotted manure and coar.se sand. Do not give 

 any water until the flower spikes are well 

 abov^s the top of the bulb, or the foliage 

 will grow and the flower spike remain dor- 

 mant. 



BEGONIAS.— Gloire de Lorraine and its 

 varieties? are now making a glorious display. 

 As the plants go out of bloom thev should 

 cut down and given a short rest for a 

 couple of we?ks by withholding water. Sub- 

 sequently they should be top-dressed and 

 placed where they will have the assistance 

 of a warm temperature and moist atmo- 

 sphere. An early vinerv is an ideal place 

 overhead giving frequent syringings 



WINTER-FLOWERING CARNATIONS. 

 ■These will now be producing plenty of 



flow'&rs which will improve with the increased 

 light. Give liquid manure every alternate 

 time of watering, as carnations are grosts 

 feeders. Cuttingis of these should now be 

 put in whenevsT procurable. These are best 

 inserted in three-inch pots, four or five in 

 each. The pots should be washed and filled 

 witli silver sand, watering each thoroughly. 

 Insert the cuttings when ready, pre?.* firmly, 

 and place in the propagating frame in a tem- 

 perature of 60 degrees, keeping close until 

 rooted, which will be in from ten to sixteen 

 days. Directly the cuttings are rooted they 

 should be potted oft' singly, using small pots, 

 and a mixture of fine turfy loam and sand, 

 a dash of leaf-soil, or peat will be beneficial. 

 The soil should be raised to the same tem- 

 perature as the house in which the cuttings 

 are already growing before using. — Lewis 

 Smith, Shotesham Park Gardens. 



HARDY FRUITS. 



PLANTING AND PRUNING.— The excee- 

 tiive rainfall of the past few weeks has con- 

 siderably retarded the work of pruning and 

 planting. It is to be hoped that as we have 

 now entered the New Year the climatic 

 conditionti will be favourable to the comple- 

 tion of such operations as are in arrears. 

 The soil in this district being of a light 

 sandy loam does not feel the effects of a 

 heavy rainfall, as in the case of heavy loams, 

 and consequently we are enabled to carry on 

 the work of planting and pruning, etc., 

 when others who have to deal with loams of 

 a stiffer nature can make but little, if any, 

 progress. In the latter case it will be 

 necessary to take advantage of every favour- 

 able opportunity for speeding up operations. 



SPRAYING.— It will soon be time to pre- 

 pare for spraying the trees. For the winter 

 ispray I have for several years used caustic 

 alkali wash with excellent results. This I 

 procure in tins, as I find it saves a certain 

 amount of time and trouble, and is a con- 

 venient method where spraying operations 

 are spread over a considerable area. To 

 those who prefer to mix the materials for 

 themselves I append the recognised formula : 

 31bs. soda carbonate — (1 p.c. 98), lib. potash 

 carbonate, 3lb. soft soap, 10 gallons of wat?r. 

 Indiaruber gloves should be worn during 

 spraying operations to protect the hands. 



GENERAL REMARKS.— During wet days 

 coping boards (where used) may have a coat 

 of paint, shreds cut ready for use, goose- 

 berry and currant cuttings prepared and laid 

 in for insertion when a favourable oppor- 

 tunity occurs. Rake up and burn all prun- 

 ings as the work proceeds. A short length 

 or two of trellis will })e found v^^ry handy lor 

 wall tree work; the soil does not become 

 panned down by the constant movement of 

 the feet, and the operator works under more 

 comfortable conditions. The pieces of bark 

 used as a protection against excessive sun- 

 heat sliould be removed from the stems of 

 wall trees, and if sound and serviceable, 

 plunged into boiling water for a few minutes. 

 Fresh pieces should receive the same treat- 

 ment to kill any insect life which may be 

 pix?sent. 



PEACHES AND NECTARINES. — The 

 prunmg, spraying, and tyine^-in of peaches 

 and nectarines is usually left over until all 

 other kinds of fruit trees have been attended 

 to, with the result that, owing to pressure 

 of other w^ork, the above operations are un- 

 duly hurried over. If the trees were care- 

 fully pruned immediately after the fruits 

 were removed, very little pruning will now 

 l>e needed, merely cutting out any faulty 

 shoots which may liave boen overlooked with 

 the trees covered with foliage. The ti^es 

 should be loosened from the wall, tying the 

 bunches into convenient sized bundles, and 

 then sprayed with a sTiitalile insecticide, tho- 

 roughly damping 'every portion of the tree. 

 The wall should also be thoroughly cleansed 

 to destroy any insect life which may be 

 hidden in the holes and crevices. This 

 applies more particularly after the experience 

 of the past hot summer, when red-spider 

 was so very much in evidence. Tlie arrange- 

 ment of the branches and shoots may follow 

 clos-ely on the heels of the spraying. Tlie 



distance between the shoots should be ample 

 for the laying-in of young growths without 

 undue crowding. To obtain fruits of the best 

 quality, and well-ripened shoots for the fol- 

 lowing season it is most essential to train 

 thinly. Apart from peach cases, blinds, and 

 netting are the usual means of affording 

 protection. If these are early placed in posi. 

 tion the flowering period may be considerably 

 retarded. — W. Messenger, Woolverstone 

 Park Gardens. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN- 



SOIL PREPARATION.— The weather of 

 the past month will be remembered in this 

 locality for its abnormal rainfall ; a record 

 month's fall for the last ten years here, viz., 

 10.76in. As the result, trenching and dig- 

 ging will be in arrears. With fairer weather 

 these operations must be push'3d on with all 

 possible speed, bearing in mind in carrying 

 out this work the many lessons of the past 

 excessively hot and dry season. A system of 

 deep digging, whether "bastard" or double 

 digging, should be practised as far as one 

 is able, as deep cultivation will promote a 

 lasting and steady growth throughout any 

 trying period that may occur. Manure, both 

 long and decayed, should be used, as the 

 work proceeds, where the ground is intended 

 for iDcas, beans, onions, cauliflowers, and 

 such gross feeding plants. Other plots, pro- 

 vided they were manured for the previous 

 crops, and are now intended for parsnips, 

 carrots, beet, and even potatoes, will only re- 

 quire trenching. Then previous to sowing 

 the seed give a good dressing of old leaf- 

 soil, burnt garden refuse, soot, and lime, and 

 harrow it in. When digging or trenching 

 always leave the surface as rough as pos- 

 sible, to enable the action of the weather 

 to pulverise and sweeten it. 



BROCCOLI.— These have up till now pro- 

 duced a regular supply of excellent heads, 

 due to the mild weather we have experienced. 

 Precautions should now be taken to main- 

 tain a constant supply by lifting the most 

 forwardest plants with a nice ball of earth, 

 and plant them thickly in pits or even cold 

 frames. In open weather remove the lights 

 entirely, unless "curds'* are scarce, when 

 every encouragement must be given to main- 

 tain a steady growth. It is remarkable what 

 nice heads are obtained in this way. Winter 

 Mammoth and Snow's Winter White are two 

 excellent kinds at this season. 



SEAKALE.— This is so important a crop 

 that it might be regarded as indispensable. 

 At this season it will force quite easily if 

 placed in pots or boxes with light soil, and 

 placed in a dark and warm place; a daily 

 syringing is all that is required. Insert the 

 crowns at intervals of ten days. If the 

 whole are not consumed, cut when about 

 eight inches long and stand in shallow water. 

 It will keep a few days treated thus in a 

 cool dark place. 



TOMATOES.— The autumn sown plants 

 have made a fine steady growth this se*atson, 

 and will now benefit by a shift into 5 or 6-. 

 inch pots. U&3 a rather light compost of 

 loam, leaf-soil, and a dash of sand. Do not 

 pot too firmly; and when potted place near 

 the . glass in a structure with a tempera- 

 ture of 55 degrees. Be sparing with water. 



GENERAL REMARKS.— Maintain a con- 

 stant supply of salads. Chicory and dande- 

 lion can be placed in the mushroom house at 

 intervals of ten days; mustard and cress 

 sown in boxes in gentle heat. Endive is far 

 crisper and nutty if blanched in a cool tem- 

 perature, a cold frame for preference, where 

 a clean mat can be placed over it in the 

 frame )>esides matting the glass also. 

 frosty weather litter may be required. Pro- 

 cure protecting material, fiuch as long litter, 

 bracken, or fir boughs, which can be used 

 as a protection against wind in exposed 

 places. Have under cover loam, sand, leaf- 

 soil, and burnt garden rcfu.sc, as manv seeds 

 should be sown from the midfUe of the'^month 

 onwards. Make boxes suitable for seed sow- 

 ing during wet weather; prepare earlv pota- 

 toes by standing them up in boxes in a light 

 warm position to sprout previous to plant- 

 ing in pots, boxes, and frames. — G. Ellwooo, 

 Swanniore Park Gardens. 



