February 17, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



141 



those of the C. persicifolia type^ are useless 

 in this direction. 



Hybrid pyrethrums can be treated so as 

 to liave an early aiitiiann disp^^ay from a 

 spring sowing, and the valne of Gaillardia 

 grandiflora^ and, in a lesser degree, Coreop- 

 sis iri'aaidiflora is suffieientlv notable to be 



CD f 



taken into account, especially where large 

 quantities of cut flowers are required. Then 

 again, Michaelmas daisies make fine 'bushy 

 plants from spring-sown seeds, and fu-rnish 

 a grand display of blossom, without attain- 

 ing the weedy, over-grown appearance of 

 plants which remain year in and year out 

 in the same situation. Other subjects (per- 

 haps equally good) mig'ht be mentioned, 

 but the foregoing will prove the possibility 

 of treating perennials as annuals." 



P. S. Havward. 



CYMBIDIUM LOWIANUM AT 



DUNORLAN. 



Few orchids are so useful as Cynibidium 

 Lowiamim^ and certainly no member of the 

 cymbidium family is so easily or so widely 

 cultivated. AVe make no pretence to be 

 orchid growers at Dunorlan ; tliat is to say, 

 we Jiave not a collection of orcliids^ but 

 grow batches of some of tlie commoner 

 kinds, because of their value for cutting. 

 We find Cymibidium Lowianum extremely 

 useful. The flower spikes usually ibegin to 

 open their flowers in February, and re- 

 main fresh for fully two months, but it is 

 not wise to leave them so long on the 

 plants. This year, owing possibly to keep- 

 ing the flowers on the plants longer than 

 Tisual in 1911, our specimens are neither 

 flowering so well or so strongly as usual. 



Once established in a good compost of 

 fibrous loam, peat, and sand, and given 

 plenty of drainage and ample root room, 

 this cymbidium grows and flow ers freely in 

 a cool house, and is a capital orchid for an 

 amateur to cultivate. 



performed only when really necessary, as 

 the thick flesJiy roots are sure to be 

 damaged somewliat during the process, 

 with the result that flowering is deferred 

 or is poor for a season. Plenty of water 

 is needed when the plants are growing 

 fi-eely, and a little weak Hquid manure is 

 beneficial at this stage if the pots are well 

 filled with roots. Under no consideration 

 must Cymhidium Lowianum he allo^\ed to 

 become dry at the roots. 



Some of the plants shown in the accom- 

 panying illustration I secured at a sale 

 many years ago, and for some years pre- 

 viously they had been freely exhibited as 

 •^pec-unens, and had ahvays flowered finely 

 aiKl regularly. It will thus be seen that 

 vynibidium Lowianimi is long lived, an 

 G-asy plant to manage, and a very useful 

 subject. E. H. Caterer. 



I^unorlan Gardens, Tunbridge Wells. 



Potting should be 



f-clingring Vines. 



vu- i P'^P^.^^^ity of Ampelopeis Veitchi, or 



1 great deal 



Vifi • i "^'■^""■^^"-j ^xui|jeiop«ii3 veiTcni, or 

 tn ^'^f^*^^*^"^' i^lso called, is owing 



of t'' f * ""''^ planted it takes care 



fiirfi; mounts upwards without 



-enl .nil ^*t^uti«n- A fact, however, not so 

 foiiiit 7 is that there are several 



4owL 1 popular climber. The strong- 

 doe^ 1^' sometimes as robusta, 



the , "^^^^ tlie autumn as 



a fo Tf x''"*'- ^^^'^^ there is 



leaSs JP'^'T''^^^' .Y^'""^^ freshly^xpanded 



^liSinct T ^ T'^^y the 

 "unct Lowi, whose small leaves are deeply 



^here ig a variety of the common Vir- 

 mann? ZT'^u ^""'"^ muralis or Engle- 



^vith adv.nf Japanese kind. It might 



ni advantage be more often grown tha£ it 



MAGNESIA. 



We always used to be told in books, lec- 

 tures, and papers, that the four essential 

 plant foods we need concern ourselves with 

 were nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and 



and that. 



lime, 



althoxigh 



iron 



soda, 



cut. 



magnesia, sidphur, etc., were almost 

 aJways present in the ash of plants, it was 

 never necessary to consider them or apply 

 them as a manure, because all ordinarv 

 soils containe<l enough of them for plant 

 nutrition. 



The last few years, however, we have 

 been hearing a good deaJ from certain quar- 

 ters about the necessity of applying mag- 

 nesia to the soil. One pamphlet which is 

 distributed freely says that the use of 

 carbonate of magnesia is of great import- 

 ance in potato and fruit culture, while a 



ium salt, such as carbonate of magnesia, 

 but it soems that it was not because that 

 particular salt was necee^^ary, but because 

 it, like the saJts- of soda, potash, and lime 

 has the effect of setting free stores o^ 

 potash which are locked up in the soil in 

 an insoluble condition. Experiments at 

 Kothamsted prove this pretty clearly, and 

 iMr. A. D. Hall, iii his recent book on ^'Fer- 



r 



tiH>ers and Manures,'' says that, while mag- 

 nesia would render ''available some potash 

 in the soil, common salt would do the sa 

 tliiiig more cheaply. Carbonate of mag- 

 nesia has from time to time been sugffested 

 and even put upon the market as a 

 manure, but there is no evidence to show 

 that its action is in any way different from 

 that of calcium carbonate ; tliat is, it be- 

 haves as a base, and is not of anv further 

 value as supplying magnesia to the plant.'' 



i 



1 



—4 



CYMBIDIUM LOWIANUM AT DUNOELAN, TUNBEIDGE WELLS. 



recent booklet on <j;arden manuring says 

 that in exceptional cases its application has 

 proved beneficial, and that where there is 

 an insufficient supply of it in the £oil the 

 leaves will be of a pale yerowisli-green, 

 and consequently the manufacture of food 

 in the leaA'es will go on slowly. It seems to 

 be a. fact that vines do best in soils which 

 are rich in magnesia^ wliile it is state<l that 

 roses have been found to grow weakly in 

 a mil which is deficient in this substance, 

 and in ,such cir<'umstances have derived 



its application. If it 

 is a. fact that any soils or plants need the 

 application of magnesia to ensure the best 

 results, it is a little ciu-ious that^ notwitTi- 

 standing the fine produce displayed on the 

 exhibition tables, we have until recently 

 lieard little or nothing about it. 



It is doubtless ti"ue that gond resuHshave 

 followerl from an applicuitm of nrigncs- 



That seems pretty conclusive, but those 

 who think magnesia is necessaiy in tlieir 

 gardens should try it in comparison with, 

 sav, salt and lime, one of each of the three 

 on a given plot carrying the same crop. 



The results would certainlv be interestinc;. 

 not only to the experimenter : but to a 

 wider circle as well. Algkr Petts. 



great benefit fioni 



Epacris onosmideflora flore 



plenai — This is interesting in being, as 

 far as I know, the only double-flowered mem- 

 ber of the genus, and withal a pretty flower- 

 ing plant for the greenhouse. This species, 

 wliicli is, by the way, also known as Epacris 

 purpurascons, is a stouter grower than most 

 of them, and branches but sparingly. The 

 long shoots are, when at their best, wreathed 

 for the greater part of their length with 

 white rosette-like blossoms. — T. 



