456 



equally useful and effective, climbers which 

 might be made use of, such as Swainsonias, 

 Plumbago capensis and its var.ety alba, 

 heliotrope, rhynchospermum, etc.j and where 

 large quantities of Choice cut flowers lhave .to 

 be kept up it will ibe found that these plants 

 can always be relied upon to furnisih an 

 abundance. — Lewis Smith, Shotesham Park 



Gardens. 



THE ORCHID HOUSES. 



EAST INDIAN HOUSE.— In this house 

 the iErides, Sacoolabiums, Angrsecums, 

 Renantheras, Sarcanthus, Arachnanthes, 

 and other Vanda-like plants, now develop- 

 ing leaves and roots, should be given suffi- 

 cient water to keep the sphagnum moss on 

 the surface growing freely. These plants do 

 not need large quantities of water, but 

 great humidity in the atmosphere, there- 

 fore a moist atmosphere must be maintained 

 until growth is completed. The majority 

 delight in plenty of sun-heat, but an exces- 

 sive amount of fire-heat quickly debilitates 

 them. On warm, bright days the fire-heat 

 must be kept as low as possible, and, in 

 order to preserve a moist atmosphere, the 

 top ventiilators must be kept closed, the 

 lower ventilators being used to afford the 

 necessary amount of air. When both top 

 and bottom ventilators are open at the 

 same time, the air dries too quickly, espe- 

 cially in houses where it is necessary to 

 provide a humid atmosphere. In the ven- 

 tilation of the difierent houses it is always 

 necessary to consider the class of plants 

 they contain ; if a buoyant atmosphere is re- 

 quired, the top ventilators may be brought 

 into use; if a humid one, they must be kept 

 closed to prevent evaporation. The whole 

 secret to success depends on these small de- 

 tails. When the weather is bright the ven- 

 tilators should be closed about 4 p.m.; but 

 if the weather be dull and sunless it should 

 be done a lit tie e arl ie r , and t he hou se 

 "be at once thoroughly damped down and 

 the temperature allowed to rise as high as 

 possible. Where the glass is covered with 

 stippling, the blinds may be pulled up about 

 one hour later to allow the sun to shine full 

 on the roof. W^here there is any danger of 

 the plants scorching, this latter operation 

 must be deferred for some little time until 

 the sun has lost some of its power. For 

 several months to come a temperature of 

 about 70 degrees should be maintained, and 

 early in the morning, should the tempera- 

 ture, through rain or any other cause, fall 

 below 65 degrees, no damping should be done 

 until the pipes are made warm and the 

 proper temperature is obtained. Nearly all 

 these plants produce large, fleshy roots, 

 which are dainty morsels for cockroaches 

 and similar pests. 



DENDROBIUMS.— The young growths of 

 the deciduous and semi-deciduous dendro- 

 biums are now developing fast, and the 

 amount of water at the roots must be in- 

 creased, especially where the growth is 

 vigorous and roots plentiful. When grow- 

 ing strongly, the plants should be examined 

 occasionally, and the longest of the growths 

 looped up to prevent breakage, and admit 

 light and air freely. Dendrobiums of the 

 evergreen section, such as. D. thyrsiflorum, 

 D, densiflorum, D. Farmeri, and D. 

 Bronkarti, which have pas-sed out of bloom, 

 should be kept cool, and rather dry, until 

 growth recommenees. Strong-growing spe- 

 cies like D. calceolus are now producing their 

 new growths, and those that need repotting 

 must have attention. They should have 

 ample rooting space, and the receptacles be 

 well drained, using a compost as previously 

 advised for this familj'-. After potting, the 

 tallest of the pseudo-bulbs should be tied 

 neatly to stakes, so that eaeh plant is kept 

 firmly in position, as a rocking plant cannot 

 form root hold. Place the plants at the warm 

 end of the house, and when they are well 

 rooted copious waterings can be given until 

 the terminal leaf is completed. The above 

 remarks will apply also to other late-flower- 

 ing dendrobiums, such as D. chrysotoxum. — 

 J. T. Barker. The West Hill Gardens. 



HARDY FRUITS. 



STRAWBERRIES.— Before the fruits com- 

 mence showing colour, protection will be re- 

 quired against the attacks of blackbirds and 

 thrushes; one-inch mesh fish netting answers 

 the purpose admirably. For small beds or 

 borders three rows of inch-sc£uare rails sup- 

 ported on stakes will suffice to carry the 

 nets; the middle rail should be sufficiently 

 elevated to prevent the net sagging on to 

 the plants, the sides and ends of the net 

 must be securely pegged down to the 

 ground. Plantations of a larger area are 

 most conveniently covered by means of stout 

 stakes and rails, standing four feet six inches 

 to five feet clear of the ground, each row 

 of rails seven feet apart, with wire netting 

 around the sides, to which the top nets may 

 be securely fastened; this makes a neat pro- 

 tection, and though an erection of this 

 description entails more work in the first in- 

 stance, it amply repays the extra trouble in- 

 volved. In this particular distrct the prolonged 

 drought has had a serious effect on the 

 plants and swelling fruits, and watering 

 has become imperative to save the crop. The 

 planting out of i^cently forced plants on 

 well-prepared borders should ibe done as 

 soon as the plants have been duly hardened 

 off; with due care and attention these will 

 produce a crop of fruit by the latter end of 

 the summer, but this means the loss 

 of an early crop the following season. If 

 new plantations are contemplated, the re- 

 quired number of 60-sized pots may — on wet 

 days — be washed and a piece of turf placed 

 over the bottom in readiness for layering. 



The canes springing 

 stools should be 



and at every three and four leaves sVcce.. 

 ing. Syringe moTning and early afterno! 

 and damp the walls and floors at middav 

 maintain a constant moisture. 



OOIiEWORTS.— Make a plentiful sowing 

 of this highly esteemed vegetaible, perhate 

 one of the most iJUiportant early winter crop^ 

 we have. Sow in well-prepared beds or drills 

 in a partially shady place; protect from 

 birds^ and water as required. Plants will 

 then be ready to plant out on ground that 

 has been occupied by early peas and potatoes. 



PAK'SLEY. — ^It is a capital time now to 

 sow a good breadth of parsley for the winter. 

 Sown at this date it makes strong servicea;ble 

 plants in good time, therefore standing the 

 wintry weather more readily. A sowing can 

 be made on a border facCng south, and an- 

 other on a border facing west. Draw drilU 

 15in. apart, fill in with old potting compost, 

 and scatter some over the seeds also, as this, 

 I am sure, strengthens and invigorates the 

 seedlings surprisin,gly. Sutton's Winter 

 Curled tis an excellent variety for this sowing. 



WIISTTER GEEE^S.— Broccoli and late 

 cauliflowers must be planted as fast as 

 ground can be procured for them^ planting 

 them not less than 2ft. apart, with the excep- 

 tion of savoys, when 18in. all ways will 

 answer well. If it is found that all cannot 

 be planted out as one desires, and the plants 

 are thick, resort to thinning them out even 

 if many plants have to be destroyed. Give 

 a dusting of soot occasionally to ward off 

 fly. W^ater in when planting. 



LEEKS. — These are growing apace, and 

 will require every encouragement to bring 

 up the blanching as often as necessary. 

 Every week is not too often at this season. 

 In this operation take the paper tube in 

 one hand, and draw it slightly up, with the 

 other hand add little or much soil as the 

 case may be, but do not, on any account, put 

 soil higher than the bottom tube-leaf, or it 

 will get into the leaf-axils, and htain and 

 check growth. Overhead sprinkling is very 

 beneficial to growth 



iMARROWS are growing freely, and will 

 need copious supplies of water. Regularly 

 stop the leading growths. As the fruits get 

 large enough, and if not wanted for preserv- 

 ing purposes, cut when ready. If fruit-s are 

 wanted for jams, pickles, etc., it is the better 

 plan to grow a few plants expressly for this 

 purpose, and the early fruits can be selected 

 to ripen early, these being superior to late- 

 ripened fruits.^GEO. Ellwood, Swaumore 

 Park Gardens. 



RASPBERRIES. - 

 from autumn-fruiting 



thinned out to five to each stool if supported 

 by stakes, but if supported by wires a dis- 

 tance of ten inches apart should be allowed. 

 The young growths on early fruiting stools 

 should be treated in a similar manner, and 

 as growth advances they may be looped up 

 to the stakes or wires, otherwise many of the 

 strongest and best growths are apt to be 

 damaged when gathering the fruit, or by 

 strong winds. If mulching has not yet been 

 accomplished a good thick layer of manure 

 should be at once applied ; this will naturally 

 assist the swelling fruits and young growths. 



PEACHES AND NECTARINES. — The 

 young growths should be regularly attended 

 to in the way of tying in and stopping; 

 lateral growths should be pinched at the 

 first leaf, unless required for extension pur- 

 poses; to provide an equal balance of growth 

 it is usually necessary to keep the growths on 

 the top portion of the tree closely stopped 

 after the shoots have made the desired 

 growth. The final thinning of the fruits 

 should be done without further delay, the 

 best placed fruits on each shoot should be 

 selected, the remainder being pulled off. For 

 peaches, one square foot is the general allow- 

 ance for each fruit, and nine square inches 

 for nectarines. Much, however, depends upon 

 the health and vigour of the individual 

 tree; trees making extra vigorous growth 

 may be, with advantage, more heavily 

 cropped; while those of a weakly cjiaracter 

 should carry a much lighter crop. The trees 

 should be frequently and forcibly syringed 

 to keep down red spider, and the border 

 ust be kept moist.— W. Mesbengek, Wool- 

 verstone Gardens. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



CUCUMOBER HOUSE.— Tlhe early batch of 

 plants is almost exhausted. Pull them out 

 and plant again with sitrong young plants 

 that were ra^ised a month previously, and 

 are now well established in O^n, .pofts. The 

 old bed should be taken clean out, the glass 

 and woodwork washed with strou'g soft soap 

 and water, the walls lime-wasihed, and the 

 new bed placed in position. For thi^ purpose 

 use equal parts stable manure and leaves. 

 Place thereon a compost consisting of three 

 parts good turfy loam, and one part leaf- 

 soil, with a dressing of lime rubble and a 

 little soot. Plant on hillocks at 3ft. apart, 

 after the heat from the bed has somewhat 



receded. Stop the leads at the first wire, as these— J. Harkaway, 



and 

 G.B. 



Gerbera Jamesoni.— The leaves of 



this plant somewhat resemble those of tne 

 Globe artichoke, except that they are ffiucii 

 smaller. The flowers are borne on long 

 stems well above the foliage, and are nearly 

 five inches across, on strong, well-grown 

 specimens ; the colour is a very pleasing nen 

 orange-scarlet. The plants flower m the sum- 

 mer time chiefly, but strong ones continue 

 to bear blossoms until late in the autumn. 

 They are very attractive greenhouse sud- 

 jects, the temperature of this structure being 

 "suitable for them both in summer anu 

 winter. Loam, leaf-soil, rotten manure 

 coarse sand form a suitable compost.— 



Chrysanthemum Mrs. C- 



Rundle It was with great pleasure i 



saw in a recent issue of the wKlely-circu 

 lated Gardeners' Magazine references niaa 

 by "S. W." and J. B. Riding" to Chry- 

 santhemum Mrs. G. Rundle .and its j 

 These are grand old favourites of mine, aui 

 I have grown them for over thirty y^a^^^ 

 We have a class for them at our ^^^^f^^jj^^. 

 to amateurs and gardeners alike, and i ' * 

 say that, although I am only ^ f^}^ ^' 

 I have won first prize in this well-fiUecl lUi 



for many years. iMrs. Rundle 

 grown and sliown in this district to my 

 ledge for forty years, and I do not tnn^^^ 

 there are any chrysanthemums to beat 

 Rundle family for decorative effect, i ' . 

 greatly surprised so few societies V^^J 



classes for flowers tliat arc so easily gro 



Northampton. 



has 



het'U 



