366 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE, 



Mat 4, 1912. 



their receptacles in a short time. After 

 flowering, should it be a necessity, they must 

 be repotted, and they will succeed in a com- 

 post prepared as for C. cristata. Many 

 coelogynes are particular a*^ regards theix 

 surroundings and conditions, and when one 

 sees any particular plant doing well it is 

 wise to take notice of its environment. — J*. T. 

 Barker, The West Hill Gardens. 



CONSERVATORY AND 



HOUSE. 



CREEN- 



raised 

 have 



from 

 been 



STEEPTOCARPUS.— Plants 

 seeds sown in January should 

 pricked out in pans and be now growing 

 freely. The most forward are ready for 

 placing in 3in. pots. The best compost at 

 this stage will be two parts loam, one part 

 peat or leaf-mould, and one part silver »and, 

 passed through a fine sieve. When potted, 

 place the plants in a warm frame, or on an 

 h base, and keep close for a few days, 

 damping them over with tepid water. Young 

 plants readily respond to this treatment, and 

 quickly become established. Great care must 

 be exercitsed not to break or damage the 

 leaves, which are very brittle. Streptocar- 

 pus should he grown in these pots until 

 they open their first flower. The best varie- 

 ties should then be selected and the plants 

 potted into 32'h, using compost as before, 

 but in a coarser state. They should then be 

 returned to the same position they previously 

 occupied, and, with caretnl attention, they 

 soon make fine plants. When they commence 

 to flower thev are best moved to the conser- 

 vatory, and if the position is suitable they 

 will last in perfection for several months. 

 Streptocarpus, like many other subjects, 

 are much more effective when in bloom if 

 they can be staged by themselves in groups 

 or in company with maidenhair ferns. 



CALCEOLARIAS. — Herbaceous calceo- 

 larias are now making a fine show, and are 

 most useful for conservatory decoration. (I 

 hope to deal with seed-sowing and cultivation 

 in a later note.) Calceolaria Clibrani is a 

 new addition, and moet useful. The tall, 

 slender spikes of small, delicate, yellow blos- 

 soms, lend themselves most admirably to 

 floral display. It is best propagated by cut- 

 tings, and any side shoots will root freely. 

 The plants are best grown in batches; some 

 are now opening their flowers, while the 

 next batch, rooted in October, are fast filling 

 their flowering pots with masses of roots ; 

 whilst the third batch is rooted and potted 

 off into 60's. Tlie compost best suited for 

 them is good fibrous loam, leaf-mould, old 

 mortar rubble broken finely, a little soot, 

 and coarse sand. The best position to grow 

 them in is on a shelf near the glass, where 

 they get plenty of liglit; but care must be 

 taken that they do not suffer from want of 

 water. When the pots are full of roots give 

 weak liquid ma^nure. 



CYCLAMENS. — ^The^e are fast passing out 

 of bloom. All old corms and poor varieties 

 should be thrown away at once. If it is 

 thought advisable to keep a few of the beet 

 varieties, these should be placed in a 

 cold frame, and given water sparingly, 

 I>resently withholding it altogether and en- 

 couraging the plants to rest. The leaves 

 will die off completely. Seedlings raised in 

 February are ready for potting directly they 

 have formed two leaves. Pot them into 3in. 

 pots or pans filled to within one inch of the 

 position near the glass, and dew them over 

 frequently. 



PRIMULAS. — Seed-sowing time for these 

 has now arrived, and all who wish to have 

 good plants by November must sow at once, 

 as Primula sinensis, P. stellata, P. Kewensis, 

 and P. malacoides are all best sown now. 

 Choose pots or pans filled to within lih.of the 

 rim with sandy compost, make level and firm, 

 and sow the seeds thinly on the surface and 

 sprinkle with silver sand ; cover with a piece 

 of glass, and some paper, to encourage quick 

 germination. The old double white primula 

 and the improved form, Beauty of Exeter, 

 are ready for propagating. Eemove decayed 

 leaves from the stems and pack sphagnum 

 moss and silver sand firmly round the stem 

 bases. The stems will emit roots, and when 



sufficiently rooted the growths may be 

 severed, and each plant potted up separately. 

 Lewis Smith, Shotesham Park Gardens. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



RUNNER BEANS.— After this date it 

 should be quite safe to sow the first row of 

 this favourite vegetable. They are better, 

 more lasting and prolific, if trenches are 

 prepared for their reception, as previously 

 advised for celery. Keep the surface below 

 the general level of the ground, this answer- 

 ing equally for watering, mulching, and 

 keeping cold winds from the young plants 

 when up. As very few vegetablets are 

 more tender than beans, every care should 

 be taken to promote a regular growth. Pre- 

 vious to sowing, give the trench a surface 

 dressing of burnt garden refuse, as beans 

 revel in this material. Plant the seeds with 

 a dibber, three inches deep, in double lines. 

 Protecting material will probably be needed 

 after germination has taken place, on cold 

 nights; spruce or yew boughs are very handy 

 and useful for this purpose. Make sowings 

 at intervals of three weeks until the middle 

 of June. Prizewinner, Hackwood Success, 

 and Scarlet Emperor are excellent varieties 

 for both home and exhibition. 



FRENCH BEANS. — Good breadths, both 

 of climbing and dwarf kinds, should be sown 

 at intervals to maintain a good supply of 

 young and tender pods. Make still one more 

 sowing in a frame 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS.— Those sown in 

 boxes, and ultimately pricked off into skele- 

 ton frames, are now quite hardy and large 

 enough for their final quarters. The site 

 should command full sun to encourage a 

 fitm and hardy growth to withstand the 

 winter. Providing the plot was early 

 trenched, all it will need is levelling, at the 

 same time harrowing in a good dressing of 

 soot. Stake out the rows at three feet apart, 

 and allow a distance of two and a-half feet 

 from plant to plant. If dry, give a soaking 

 of water immediately after planting. Dwarf 

 Gem and Matchless are perhaps the two 

 most profitable varieties. 



BEETROOT.— The main batch should now 

 be sown. Ground previously occupied by 

 celery or leeks answers admirably for thit^ 

 crop, particularly if a good dressing of old 

 rubbish-heap ashes, soot, and lime rubble can 

 be strewn over the site and well worked into 

 the surface soil. Rake and level up, and 

 draw drills a good inch in depth, at fifteen 

 inches apart. Blood Red, Dell's and Chelten- 

 ham Greentop are excellent varieties. If 

 birds are troublesome, a few strands of thin 

 twine stretched over the bed three inches 

 above the soil wards them off wonderfully 

 well. 



extension, the best-placed shoots should be 

 selected and trained in without being 

 stopped ; all shoots at the back of the 

 branches should be rubbed off, and those 

 selected to form fruit spurs must be pinched 

 at the third or fourth joint. The foliage 

 of the various cherries differs 

 in size, and due consideration 

 must be borne in mind when 



considerably 

 of this fact 



pinching or 

 selecting growths for fruit spurs. Keep a 

 sharp look-out for aphis, and, if noted, spray 

 with quassia extract or some other suitable 

 insecticide, as a preventive ; it is good prac- 

 tice to spray the trees immediately after 

 the flowering period. 



PLUMS. — The general treatment of plums 

 follows on similar lines to that advised for 

 cherries; here again varieties differ in their 

 habit of growth, and must be treated ac- 

 cordingly. Such varieties as Reine Claude 

 de Bavay, and Transparent Gage (old 

 variety), must not be pinched too closely 

 back; rather more latitude must be allowed, 

 otherwise they fail to produce fruiting spurs. 

 There is every appearance of a heavy crop, 

 and early thinning of fruits should take 

 place when it can be definitely decided which 

 fruits are likely to swell away satisfactorily. 

 The Plum Aphis has already put in an ap- 

 pearance, and unless prompt measures are 

 taken to eradicate the pest by spraying, it 

 will quickly gain a strong foothold, and 

 once the young leaves^ commence to curl up 

 *it is a difficult matter to reach the enemy. 



PEARS. — All growths not required for ex- 

 tension should be pinched at the fourth or 

 fifth leaf, and in some cases, to avoid over* 

 crowding of the growths, thinning out is 

 needed. The trees are carrying a wealth of 

 blossom, and, so far as can be at present 

 noted, the sharp snap of frost has not done 

 much damage. If no further .setback occurs, 

 a considerable thinning-out of the fruits will 

 be necessary to relieve the strain on the 

 trees, and to eventually produce fine fruit; 

 this operation should be carried out at an 

 early stage of growth. Trees which are 

 troubled by attacks of the Pear Midge 

 should be carefully examined, and the in- 

 fested fruits removed and burnt. The pest 

 can be distinguished by the abnormal size 

 and shape of the fruits. 



planted 



MULCHING. 



Tree-s newly 



NEW ZEALAND 

 vegetable for 



SPINACH.— A useful 

 dry seasons. Sow in drills 

 eighteen inches apart on any narrow border 

 in the kitchen garden ; thin out to fifteen 

 inches apart. 



CELERY. — ^The first hatch, uorw nicely es- 

 tablished in l>oxes, is ready for planting out 

 in prepared trenches. The trenches for this 

 batch need not be so wide, as for the late 

 and maincrop varieties, these not needing the 

 amount of earthing that is necessary to pre- 

 serve the later batches from frosts. Plant in 

 single or double lines, one foot from plant 

 to plant. Lift very carefully, and plant 

 firmly, afterwards giving a watering. To pre- 

 vent attacks of the dreaded celery fly apply 

 a slight dusting of soot over the foliage fort- 

 nightly, this acting both as a tonic and in- 

 secticide. The maincrop and winter celery 

 trenches should be prepared as soon as the 

 ground becomes vacant, using the ridges for 

 turnips, lettuces, and endive. Ply the hoe 

 through all crops regularly. — Geo. El wood, 

 Swanmore Park Gardens. 



HARDY FRUITS. 



SWEET CHERRIES ON WALLS.— Some for. 



against walls quickly feel the effects of dry 

 weather, and require early attention in the 

 way of watering and mulching ; the mulcli- 

 ing material does not require to be ot a 

 rich, feeding nature; the principal object 

 is to keep the soil in a moist condition, 

 the event of mulching material not being 

 available, the surface soil should be kept 

 well stirred with the hoe. Trees recently 

 planted in open quarters should also receive 

 attention, and not be allowed to suffer tor 

 lack of moisture. 



STRAWBERRIES.— The littering down of 

 the bedfi should be completed as soon as pos- 

 sible ; the surface soil should be well stirrea 

 and freed from weeds, and a dusting of soor 

 applied before laying down the litter ; stva^J 

 litter when used direct from the stable^, 

 unless well washed by rains prior to tne 

 fruits ripening, is liable to impart an un- 

 pleasant taste to the fruits. Means sHoum 

 be taken for protecting the early blossoins 

 from frost and cold winds.— H. Messenger, 

 Woolverstone Park Gardens. 



varieties of cherries naturally form too many 

 growths on the spurs, and branches need to 

 be freely disbudded to properly mature the 

 wood and produce fruit buds. Where 

 growths are needed to fill up spaces or for 



Prunus Pissardi Moseri ^^^f 



pi ena.— The original Prunus 1 1^^^^^ 

 rapidlv made headway in popular t^y"" 

 owing^to the rich purple colour of ^.f^J 

 while, regarded from a flowering point 

 view alone, it is decidedly ornamental, 

 the whitish blossoms are borne in great p 

 fusion. For forcing for early flower.s 

 merits must not be overlooked, but 

 respect it is greatly surpassed by this ^ 

 form, whose pink blossoms are larger i 

 those of the type, and of a &enii-doubie^ 



also 



racter. As the foliage — , ^ 



coloured, it will no doubt, from the snu j 

 nature of its blossoms, be also m demana 

 outdoor planting. — T. 



