416 



now presented. The dry weather which pre- 

 vailed throughout April enabled the neces- 

 sary weeding and general cultivation, by 

 way of horse and machine labour, to be 

 proceeded with under excellent conditions, 

 and at present (May 10) large areas have 

 received the final touches by way of mould- 

 ing the drills. i ^ 

 Of course, it is impossible to foretell what 

 the weather may be during the remainder 

 of the month, but should it continue favour- 

 able—and the time when frost of much 

 severity in this locality and in positions 

 assignt^d to the crops is rapidly passing 

 away— long and well-experienced cultiva- 

 tors predict a season of unusual earliness 

 and weight of produce. The third week in 

 June may be regarded as the average date 

 for the sales of the crops, privately or by 

 auction, and raising commences imme- 

 diately thereafter, but with a continuance 

 of the moist, warm breezes now prevailing 

 this period may be accelerated by at least 

 ten days, thus, over an extens.ve tract ot 

 country, constituting a record for ear Imess. 



Epicure has now largely dispWd the 

 one-time favourite Puritan, chiefly, no 

 doubt owing to its earliness and free crop- 

 ping qualities, as also to the very uniform 

 size of the tubers when raised, there being, 

 as a rule, comparatively few unsaleable. 



Early potato culture has of late years 

 become a very important industry m the 

 West of Scotland, not only to the owners 

 themselves, but equally so to large num- 

 bers of the wage-earning class, who mvade 

 the district, and find pleasant and remune- 

 rative employment, and the start of the 

 season of open-air labour. 



James Day. 

 Galloway Hou.se, Wigtownshire. 



JAPANESE AZALEAS. 



Readers who are conversant with the 



glowing 



RHODODENDRON 



DILATATUM. 



This si>ecie.s belongs to the azalea group 

 of the genus, and is one of the forerunners 

 of the numerous kinds which bloom between 

 April and July. Normally the flowers 

 open about mid-April, but, with many 

 other shrubs, the flowering time is advanced 

 by quite three weeks this year. Of Japan- 

 ese origin, it is a less common plant in 

 British gardens than its ornamental quali- 

 ties warrant, for it grows into a good-sized 

 upright bush, and produces its rosy-purple 

 blossoms with the same freedom as the 

 later-flowering kinds. The flowers are 

 borne in small, loose clusters, each blossom 

 being about l^in. across. As is the case 

 with other specie? from Japan, they lack 

 the fragrance which i> such an attraction 

 in the North American sorts. 



Fortunately it is a species which may 

 easily be propagated from cuttings, if short 

 pieces, 3in. to 4in. long, of semi-ripe shoots 

 are taken in July and inserted in pots of 

 sandy peat in a close propagating case. 

 These root in a few weeks' time, and tlie 

 best plants are formed when the rooted 

 cuttings are planted in peaty soil in a cold 

 frame for a vear before placing them in 

 the o}>en. Wlien selecting a position for 

 this species it is adyisa])le to choose one 

 which is shaded from the east, so that the 

 sun does not shine on the flowers very early 

 in the morning after a frosty night. 



W. D. 



Gesnera cardinalis.— Known also 



as Gesnera macrantha, this is a very pretty 

 plant for the warm greenhouse. It is one of 

 those gesneras that produces a solid tuber, 

 from which is pushed up a stout stem to a 

 height of a foot or so. Tins stem is clothed 

 with bright green heart-shaped leaves, while 

 tht^ curved tubular flowers, borne in terminaj 

 heads, are velvety crimson in colour. — W. T. 



effects of azaleas when grouped 

 upon the hillsides or in the gardens of 

 Japan, must surely at times wish that these 

 same exquisite effects might be reproduced 

 in our English landscapes. The colourings 

 of some of these azaleas are so attractive, 

 so superb for distance effects, that I may 

 be pardoned if I dilate a little upon such a 

 subject. The ase of Azalea mollis has be- 

 come general, and botJi for garden decora- 

 tion and for forcing its varieties have at- 

 tained great popularity. For planting 

 banks and slopes, this class of azaleas is 

 very attractive, and Iboth at the time of 

 blossoming and in the autumn, when the 

 leaves take on their glowing hues of scarlet 

 and gold, they decidedly enhance the 

 beauty and the interest of the garden. 



Azaleas of the A. ledifolium and kindred 

 types are being brought into use for wild 

 garden effects in south country gardens, 

 and the results have been very pleasing, 

 the pure white variety leucanthemum being 



capable of fine effects. 



A. amoena, or Hatsu-giri, is of distinct 

 service for rock gardens, and when it does 

 well, is quite attractive witli its purplish 

 blossoms. The Korean A. acuminata comes 

 near to it in colour, though a trifle paler, 

 but the habit of the latter is much taller 

 and more robust. A. acuminata deserves 

 note on account of its earliness and 

 hardiness, as it often blooms like 

 Rhododendron prsecox, on a snow-covered 



landscape. 



Away from all the foregoing are the 

 azaleas from the warm mountain slopes of 

 Japan^ which are almost, if not quite, un- 

 equalled among dwarf shrubs. The usual 

 varieties of Azalea indica do not hold the 

 warmth of colouring and brilliancy of these 

 new subjects, though the small glossy ever- 

 green foliage bespeaks their near relation- 

 ship to the indica type. One of the best 

 known of this section is the glowing red 

 A. Hinode-giri, which is capable of very 

 fine effects, and wnth the following, is no- 

 table for tlie multitudes of blossoms which 

 crowd the plants. Good as A. Hinode-giri 

 isj A. Kirishima, tome, is far better. Ima- 

 gine a set of dwarf shrubs clouded over 

 with sheets of starry rosy-red flowers, a 

 veritable blaze of rich colour, and you will 

 have some conception of A. Kirishima. 

 Provided that A. Kirishima proves hardy 

 enough for the sheltered southern counties^ 

 we shall get even yet a touch of Japanese 

 colour in our garden scenes. 



Equally good is A. Yaye-giri, one of the 

 most exquisite shades of orange-red ever 

 noted among floral subjects. XTnlike A. 

 Kirishima, A. Yaye-giri produces dupl 



blossoms, but it is not the duplex flowers 

 that one cares about, but the glowing, ap- 

 pealing orange-red shade which lights up 

 the whole of its surroundings that com- 

 mands attention. If one were compelled to 

 always cultivate this azalea under glass, its 

 beauty would more than ca.mpensate for the 

 time and trouble expended upon it, but in 

 the sheltered South I have hopes that it 

 may find a permanent home on the sunny 

 slopes of a warm rock or wild garden. 



Grown as pot plants under glass the fore- 

 going azaleas flower in March, but plants 

 grown cool will be at their best in May. 

 It is with the hope that these Japanese 

 azaleas may be more widely admired and 

 utilised that I pen these notes. They ai e 

 deserving of the closest attention, nm] 

 should have a good future ; and apart from 

 their usefulness for private gardens, they 

 should be valuable to the market grower, 



P. S. Hayward. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



The plants, grown for various purposes 

 will now require considerable attention 

 from the cultivator. The stock should W 

 finally selected-^for the production of exhi. 

 bition blooms, cut, and on specimen plants 

 for consei'A^atory decoration, the outside 

 border, and for walls- — ^so that ample 



room may be allowed for their development 

 las at this stage, they require much space 

 in the frame and nursery ground. 



Plants for Larg^e Blooms, 



The experienced cultivator knows his 

 plants well ; he will not allow them to re- 

 ceive a check through lack of nourishment, 

 but the new grower, who is content to Tvait 

 until certain dates come before he does the 

 necessary repotting, and carry out other 

 details, will not have the best plants at 

 the end of the season. If certain plants 

 become pot-bound, they should be shifts! 

 into larger -sized pots at once, if too early 

 for the final potting ; but if intermediate 

 repotting be out of the question, then judi- 

 cious feeding must be done. Plants with 

 hardened stems just above the soil, rarely 

 ever recover sufficiently to- yield the best 

 blooms. Rather than starve young plants 

 in small pots now, I would at once put two 

 of them into an Sin. pot, and then finally 

 transfer them to others, 12in. in diameter. 



ixins the Compost. 



The inexperienced grower should not rely 

 too much on fancy mixtures, composts con- 

 taining many kinds of ingredients, espe- 

 cially of chemical manures. 1 ha^ seen 

 healthy plants at this stage— the final pot- 

 ruined by unsuitable composts, the 

 roots perishing instead of pushing their 

 way freely through the soil. Again, I re- 

 peat, the old hand knows what should be 

 done. But the novice seeks for a gmde. 

 The safest course I can suggest is to use a 

 compost consisting of fibrous loam two 

 parts, leaf-soil one part, decayed manure 

 and coarse sand half a part each. To sis 

 barrowloads of the above, add a 7m. pottiu 

 of bone-meal, a similar quantity ot 

 one peck of old mortar rubble, and a lOin. 

 potful of wood ashes. He cannot go wrong 

 in using such a mixture, and he can supply 

 the plants with additional food later on. 



Mix the ingredients on a level surtace, 

 and keep the heap flat ; then the lunipy 

 portion will be evenly distributed, and m 

 roll to the sides all round ; in fact, all tne 

 parts will remain where placed. 



I believe Mr. Molyneux used to have 

 compost mixed a few weeks before it^'^^ 

 actually required for use, and I followed 

 lead, and found it a good plan. 



ting 



Wal 



d 



In some gardens there are walls and bo 

 ers in front of them, which might be 

 nished with early summer and autun 

 flowering varieties rather than ^^^^^^^ jj^ 

 space bare. The general efi^ect is . 

 very pleasing, the plants furnish bloon 

 for cutting in quantity, and it is a ^.^ 

 easy matter to protect the late 

 from early frosts. My plan is to F 

 fairly tall and dwarf varieties alternai . ■ 

 and so clothe the wall all over t ■ 



and flowers. Three feet from the 

 the wall put in a row of d^^^^^-S^X^ 

 varieties, and treat the plants as Di^^^.^^ 

 Here again, very early and late var 

 may be mixed, and so prolong ^^f J^^. 

 blossom. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS.-For fidl ^"f '''g'^ia 

 Culture of Early-flowering Cnirymnthemuro 

 or borders for garden or greenhouse d^oc^ra ^^^^^j, 

 the Se<y*nd Edition of CHRrsANTHEMtrMS ru» ^^t; 



or by post 26. ICd.. from W. H. aud Com B 

 148 and 149. Alde^g^ate Street. I>oiiaon. 



