16 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



January 6, 1912. 



this error when propagating- time eomos 

 round. 



SOIL. — Place under cover good supplies of 

 the various soils needed for potting during 

 February and onwards. Mellow loam wdth 

 plenty of fibre is of inestimable value for 

 plant-growing, and a good stack should now 

 he dug from an old pasture for later use, 

 that stacked last year being used this season. 

 Oak or beech leaves should be collected in 

 sufficient quantitieis, and kept apart from 

 the general leaf heap to rot down for leaf- 

 .soiL Sphagnum moss should be gathered or 

 purchased while the weather xemainn open. 

 — H. T. Martin, Warren Wood Gardens. 



FRUITS UNDER CLASS. 



MELONS. — Where it is de^irablo to grow 

 early cropti of melons, preparations must be 

 made forthwith ; thoroughly cleanse the 

 house, giving the rafters, sashen, and gla.^6 a 

 good scrub' down with hot soapy water, after- 

 wards giving the whole a good rinsing with 

 hot water, applied forcibly with the garden 

 engine. In many places the bottom heat re- 

 quired for growing melons i^ supplied by the 

 meant> of hot-water pipes fixed m a chamber 

 immediately underneath the melon bed, but 

 where fermenting material is used to supply 

 the necessary bottom heat, this should be 

 brought into the house at once, using long 

 etrawy stable litter, to which should be added 

 some oak or beech leaves. Make the bed very 

 firm, treading down the material as the work 

 of filling proceeds ; allow the fermenting 

 material to settle down for a few days before 

 placing tile soil upon it. Use good fibrous 

 loam that has been cut and stacked for some 

 time; this should be cliopped up roughly, 

 adding a little leaf-mould, old mortar, and 

 wood ashes. The materials must be 

 thoroughlv mixed 

 firm flatfish 



plants. 



and made up into 

 mounds ready to receive the 

 Seeds should lie sown thinly in five- 

 inch pots, in a light compost, and plunged in 

 a brisk bottom heat. Cover the pots with 

 glass, and when th^ plants have made their 

 first rough leaf, put them singly into 

 three-inch pots. Some growers sow melon 

 seeds singly in small pots, but we find that 

 potting the seedlings induces a stronger and 

 more iH>bust growth. Carefully wat'?r the 

 plants, and when they have fairly filled the 

 pots with roots, place them in their fruit- 

 ing quarters. Strong stakes should be placed 

 in the mounds of soil, sufficiently long to 

 reach the first wire of the trellis, and to these 

 the plants should be trained with clean fstems 

 until they reach the trellis, after which the 

 laterals should be allowed to grow. Main- 

 tain a night temperature of from 65 to 70 

 degrees, allowing a rise of 10 degrees with 

 sun heat during the daytime ; lightly spray 

 the plants on all favourable occasions, and 

 guard against a superabundance of atmo- 

 spheric moisture. 



PROPAGATIOX OF VINES.— Tli- culture 

 of pot vines is practised in many gard -ns, and 

 no time should Ije lost in attending to their 

 propagation from "eyes." Where possible, 

 select the primings from vines which wer?- 

 forced early last reason, as the buds from 

 these start rca<lily into growth, and coiKse- 

 quently make bt^ttrr plants than those that 

 are selected from later iHuises; the cuttings 

 should l>e made into l \-inch lengths with the 

 bud in the centre; a little of the l)ark c-hould 

 be cut away on the under side of the cutting 

 to ensure early rooting. Tlie "eyes" should 

 be placed singly in three-inch pots, in a com- 

 post of loam and leaf-mould, with a little 

 sand added, and started in a temperature 

 ranging between Gi) to 70 degrees ; no bottom 

 heat will be required if the necessary house 

 temperature is maintained. The following 

 varieties are well adapted for pot culture: 

 Black Hamburgh, Fosters ^^eedling, Alnwick 

 Seedling, Alicante, Black Morocco, ^ladres- 

 field Court, and Grizzlv Frontignan. 



FRUITING POT VINES.— Tliese will re- 

 quire careful attention both in watering, and 

 maintaining the necessary bottom heat. 

 Wliere this is supplied by means of hot-water 

 pi|>es, built in a chamber immediately under 

 the pots, it is much easier accompliwhed than 

 where fermenting material has to be used. 

 Syringe the rods daily when the weather per- 

 mits. The buds will be pushing into growth. 



and a night temperature of from 55 to 60 

 degrees should maintained, with a day 

 temj>erature of 5 degrees higher. Frequently 

 damp down the house to create a moist, 

 genial atmosphero, and when the outside con- 

 ditions will allow, give air to strengthen the 

 young growths. — H. R. Farmer, Cardiff 

 Castle Gardens, 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 



much stress cannot be laid upon the import- 

 ance of soil preparation for whatever planter 

 are to be grown, w^hetlier hardy perennials, 

 annuals, or tender bedding plants. It is 

 well to commence the work as soon as the 

 ground is dry enough to be properly dealt 

 with. Frosty weather affords a good oppor- 

 tunity for wheeling manure on to the beds 

 or borders, and in addition to this, burnt 

 refuse, wood ashes, and road-scrapings are 

 excellent materials for incorporating with 

 the more heavy and retentive soils. It is de- 

 sirable to cultivate the land to a deptli of at 



the least two feet, as tliat enables the plants 

 to root down deeply and withstand a pro- 

 longed drought with comparative ease. 

 Leave the surface as rough as possible, for 

 the weather Avill soon crumble this down, 

 and as the work proceeds apply a good dust- 

 ing of lime and soot, which helps to destroy 

 slugs and other pests. 



PLANTS IN FRAMES.— Tlie various sub- 



r 



jects tliat are being wintered in cold frames, 

 like border carnations, chrysanthemums, 

 pentstemons, etc., should be well supplied 

 with air during favourable weather, and be 

 afforded adequate protection from frost at 

 night. Remove decayed foliage, and water 

 with es^^ecial care. Lobelia cardinalis will 

 pass the winter safely in a cold frame, and 

 while water must be given it sparingly, it 

 should not become dust dry. Salvia patens 

 succeeds under the same treatment. 



TRANSPLANTING SHRUBS.— Where this 

 work is not yet completed take advantage of 

 favourable weather to finish the operation, 

 so that the various specimens may become 

 well establif^hed before the growing season 

 commences. It is desirable to remove all 

 specimens with a good ball of soil attached to 

 the roots, and in the caee of those coming 

 direct from the nursery, use plenty of old 

 potting soil around the roots when planting, 

 particularly where tlie natural soil is heavy 

 and retentive. Wlien transplanting it is im- 

 portant to l>ear in mind the necessity of 

 allowing each plant sufficient space to develop 

 its natural habit of growth without over- 

 crowding its neighbours. All specimens 

 that need support should be securely staked 

 and tied to hold them in an erect position. 



RHODODENDRONS.— From now onwards 

 rhododendrons and azaleas can be success- 

 fully transplanted. They will succeed in 

 most soils where lime is absent, but a peaty 

 or sandy loam suites them the best. Heavy 

 retentive soils should have a liberal amount 

 of peat incorporated with them. Established 

 l>eas will be greatly benefited by a top- 

 dre-i-<:ng of equal parts of peat, leaf-soil, and 

 well-decayed manure. This not only en- 

 courages root action, but helps to feed and 

 pluui]) up the Hovver buds: as the^^e subjects 

 are surface-rooting, avoid digging anions 

 them or forking up the surface 6f the beds. 

 J. Gardner, Batsford Park Gardens. 



The only resemblance 



betw^n a Pine Sprs,y Syringe 

 and others is in the shape of the 

 barrel. The metal ia more eub- 

 fitantial. For the rest, the oo_ 

 bination epraying head rendere 

 Spray, Rose, and Bend inetantly 

 obtainable without the addition 

 or removal of a single fitment, 

 w h ilo the ad j b 1 e le«ith e r 

 bu-cket plunger gives perfect auc- 

 tion, nerer allows water to escape 



past it and up your eleeve, and 

 bly. 



written request from your ironmonger or 

 man, and a Syringe will be sent in 34 hours 

 for your approral. Price 10/6. Sole proprie- 

 to™ and manufacturers, Robinson Bros,, Ltd., 

 West Bromwlch. 



wears interm 



A 1 



THE ROYAL INTERNATIONAL 



HORTICULTURAL 

 EXHIBITION OF 1912. 



Nineteen weeks lience we sliall all be 

 wondering how that great exhibition will 

 look^ for which some of us have been hop- 



Too ever since we knew how to crock a pot 



or plant a potato. Twenty weeks hence 

 we shall know whether^ as a horticultural 

 people, we have done the right thing at 

 the right time ; in shorty the financial and 

 horticultural success of the Royal Inter- 

 national Horticultural Exhibition of 1912 

 will by then have been won or lost. It 

 seems hardly possible that the exhibition 

 can be aught else but a horticultural suc- 

 cess, because the nurserymen^ seedsmen, 

 and sundriesmen will not lose the grand 

 opportunity the occasion affords for the 

 display of their best goods. What is 

 greatly needed, however, is an assurance 

 that the noble and wealthy owners of 

 famous priv^ate gardens will exhibit freely, 

 and that amateurs with fewer conveniences, 

 but who ;so splendidly specialise in some 

 plant or flower, will show well. Regarding 

 the financial success of the gTCat event this 



two 



seems likely to depend largely on 

 things, and these are the amount of pub- 

 licity given during the next few weeks, 

 both at home and abroad, and then upon 

 the weather during the eight days com- 

 mencing Wednesday^ May 22. 



The place of exhibition is, as every hor- 

 ticulturist knows, the grounds attached 

 the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, including tlie 

 famous Ranelagh Gardens, all tof which 

 are under the care of Mr. T. W. Turner, 

 who was at one time general foreman at 

 the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens, 

 Chiswick. The exhibition will occupy about 

 twenty-four acres, and there is a long, 

 broad, central avenue, and quite a large 

 nvimber of goodly trees about the place. 

 The huge tents for the tender plants will? 

 really, be big canvas covered structures 

 after the character of those with which 

 visitors to the great Ghent and other Con- 



tinental shows are familiar, 

 tent will cover about 



3| 



^ acres 



The largest 

 : it will 



be 220 yards long and 45ft. high, and ar- 

 ranged in five spans, all well fitted with 

 complete arrangements for ventilation. It 

 was originally intended to cover in about 

 five acres of ground^ but a very large de- 

 mand for space from Continental growers 

 led to the acquisition of about three acres 

 more erround, and so several large tente 

 will be erected, with connecting corridor, 

 for exhibits from abroad, and each coafl- 

 try, notably France, Belgium, and Gei^ 

 many, will have one tent, and be permitted 



the interior decorations, ano 



subject 

 their 



conditions, arrang^ 

 This feature shonW 



to provide 



to certain 

 own displays, 

 add materially to the interest of the ex- 

 hibition, and will give it a strong interna- 

 tional <'hari)ct('r. , 



Durino; recrnt vears the devehjpnient 

 rock and water gardening has been so 

 marked that designers are asking for nn\(^ 

 space at the exhibition. To meet their 

 qnirements the embankment end of tn^ 

 Ranelagh Gardens has been set aside, 

 a winding waterway, bridged in four 

 five places, will be provided. In the upP^^ 

 part of the Ranelagh Gardens and als^ 

 alontr tlie w(>st side of the covered aren- 



't 



h a r<l \ 



trors and shrubs will be display^' 



a nd serve- 

 the^o sub jcr'ts. 

 hvbriilists. , 

 Horticultural 



to show the progress made 



thanks to travellers <^^^ 



sundries 



ar- 



ranged 



PINE SPRAY SYRINGE 



(patent). 



are to be 

 near the Bridge Road, all alo'^? 

 the east ^;ide of the Ranelagh Garden^' 

 while kiosks for the publishing and siniij^'' 

 trades will occupy positions on either s^" 



1 



