1 66 



THE 



GARDENERS' 



MAGAZINE. 



March 



tr ate but that the soil at the required water level is of so porous a 

 ' Naturally, the first impulse in such 



T 



Beard 



Usually it is not 



But there 

 Instead of excavating 



surprising to find considerable divewitv ■> 

 of a large genus. But I an. afraid a first acquaints- "■:* mon * 

 hundred species of disas would produce incredulity 

 as to their connection in one genus. ' - 



nature that it would not hold water. 



1 case would be to excavate the pond to the depth of the natural layer 

 o*f clay, and then form banks of clay puddle at^ the sides, 

 is a much cheaper and more simple plan. T _ 

 to the clay, excavate only to a depth sufficient for growing aquatics 

 (say two or three feet), and instead of piling up clay against 

 the sides leave the sides untouched as much as possible, 



preferring the natural slope of the ground to dip below the waterline. To the character s of some that they were formerly known imH« n. 

 prevent waste percolation, surround the whole pond by a trench about their respect i ve groups as distinct genera. As constituted, 

 eighteen inches wide excavated beyond the depth of the natural clay sub- grQup Endisa contains the species with most diverse habit rT* 



appearance ; and in the five species under Herschelia " 



4. 



— - ine varied habit *nA 



development of different parts of the flower have afiorded m P 

 them into ten well-defined groups, and that with few of thei t0 

 similar as to be easily mistaken for each other. * • - SDe< 



Indeed, so marke 



t 



eilJIUCCU IIH-llCJ »»iuv ^.»^«» »••»»•»» / 1 — — — _ * 



soil. The whole of this trench should then be filled with clay-puddle to a 

 height extending slightly above the water level, filling up the remainder 

 with ordinary soil, so that the whole is completely hidden. The trench 

 should not be close to the shoreline, neither need it follow the curves of 

 the shore, but, as it would be invisible when finished, it might even be 

 perfectly straight in some places if this would be a saving in distance. 

 The advantages of this system are obvious. The water-tight puddle 

 would be situated where it would neither wash nor crumble away. But 

 the greatest advantage is that the ground intervening between the trench 

 and the actual outline of the pond would be continuously soaked, and a 

 natural bog for plants that love the waterside is thus formed without 

 much trouble. 



Very frequently a pond most suitable for a water garden can be formed 

 by throwing a dam across a valley traversed by some streamlet. Gene- 

 rally, this is effected by a straight or slightly curved wall, which is 

 afterwards covered with soil, turf, and plants, with an opening from which 

 the overflow water may emerge as a waterfall. As a rule such an opening 

 is left near the middle of the dam and looks most unnatural, because the 

 overflow emerges from what would be the broadest side of the pond. In 

 Nature, this could scarcely ever occur. If we observe the natural forma- 

 tion of ponds, we find almost invariably that a streamlet becomes 

 gradually wider and wider till a lake-like expanse is formed ; it then 

 almost just as gradually contracts, and finally emerges again as a narrow 

 streamlet. If the dam has to be made it would, therefore, be much more 

 natural to have two walls gradually contracting till the desired outlet or 

 overflow is provided. Any formal edging of stones or any other material 

 around a pond would at once deprive the latter of all natural appearance, 

 however carefully it might have been constructed. The best way of 

 securing the shoreline against crumbling and washing, is to round off all 

 edges till they form a gentle slope, and then lay down long pieces of good 

 tough turf, which should be continued quite a foot below the watermark, 

 and should be further secured by long sticks driven firmly through them 

 and into the bank. 



Islands in ponds should be arranged with due regard to such forma- 

 tions in Nature. In natural lakes we find them not often in the middle, 

 but generally just beyond a promontory, where they would justify the idea 

 of having been severed from the mainland by the breaking through of the 

 water, or if they are of a rocky nature, by upheavals from the bottom. A 

 circular mound of soil in the middle of the pond generally looks as ugly 

 as can be, and most unnatural. 



Exeter. F. W. Meyer. 



Spring-planting Tomatos. 



ALL tomato growers will be more or less busy making a start at planting. 

 I, among others, would be glad if we could wait a week or two longer, 

 even into April, as we should have far less trouble and much more 

 satisfaction in the results. With vines to be started we plant out tomatos 

 according — and though potato-baiting the whole ground before planting, 

 sometimes we find it extremely difficult to master that busy underground 

 pest the wireworm. Strong plants are put in, and then, even with all the heat 

 necessary for the vine growth and with good sunshine, only a slow growth 

 is made. The roots take hold of the soil, but top growth always seems 

 backward at this season. Our space is against growing more than a 

 thousand plants in a batch ; and as fast as we plant out the pots are 

 washed and again filled, the second batch always carrying far the heaviest 

 weight of fruit. The ground cannot be too well worked before planting 

 tomatos ; in my own case digging where practicable is practised, followed 

 by forking more than once to thoroughly pulverise the soil. This, though 

 it may encourage the wireworm, gives us the opportunity of reducing the 

 pest each time we are at work, and we know well that roots in such soil 

 quickly start business. We plant out from forty-eight-sized pots so as to 

 have a good start, and are always careful to only just cover the surface of 

 the ball, as it is found that deep planting encourages the wireworm to 

 enter just at the base of the stem. The tomatos, being well watered before 

 planting, require but little for some time after, and so long as the soil is 

 fairly moist the less water given the better for the plant, as watering 

 lowers the temperature of the soil. We have also proved that roots at 

 this time of the year take to the new soil quicker when the borders are 

 not too wet. A quick root-start will, ot course, mean better results above 

 ground. Varieties of tomatos are numerous, and each grower has his 

 own selection, but all ours for the later planting will be of the Chemin 

 Rouge type, as after June fruits of the Old Red class are difficult to 

 market profitably. 



Bot tes ford Vineries, Notts. Stephen Castle, F. R. H. S. 



Horticultural School.-M. Durand-Gasselin who, under the will of M. 



Denitm^nM"? T a /° rtUne ^ nearl y thirt y ™ 1,ion f ' ancs > has Presented to the 

 S lm f ° f ^ ^eure the sum of three hundred thousand francs for estab- 



o r K «^5SSM SC ^° U * d million francs for the erection of plant houses 



Sr^S ft )IOnial P,ants for the improvement and decora- 

 the ™ rk g£S bu,,d [ n g s - The horticultural school will be formed in 



DouC B,a "«eau, * short distance from Nantes, in the commune of 



large, 



arc 









ft * 







greatest uniformity. These two and the Vexillata section f u ™ 5 1* 

 largest and most beautiful flowers of the genus, with colours • 

 from various shades of blue, through green and yellow, to vivid sc^P* 

 In the Herschelia group, to which I shall confine these notes A r 

 is usually bearded, and the odd sepal developed into a perfect hood 1 

 a short blunt spur, while the side sepals spread out well between tu! 

 and complete a distinct form of flower. The tubers of all are extrem? 



^ w and the foliage is long and narrow. Disa graminifolia ami 

 D. purpurascens are the exceptions as regards bearded lips ; theothen 

 are I), barbata D. lugens, and I), venusta ; these have flowers of a lovek 

 blue with a white or purple lip, which is, however, very variable in ton! 

 and intensity. Dotted about in broad, open spaces the brightly coloured 

 flowers of these disas are very pleasing, and at a distance appear as 

 strings of quaintly-shaped butterflies fluttering above the waving gran 

 These three latter species are found in very porous soil, most nearW 

 resembling a sandy peat, and are directly dependent on the rains fori 

 supply of moisture. D. venusta and D. purpurascens flower towards th* 

 end of November, usually after the rains have ceased for the summer. 

 This season heavy showers extended to the end of that month, but at 

 lengthened intervals, and the abundance of flowers shows the season to 

 have been more favourable for them than when an early drought sets in, 

 as in last year. It is a well recognised fact here that disa blooms , 

 much more plentiful some seasons than in others ; and apparently it is 

 the extension of the rains that governs the supply of those found in the 

 open. That all, excepting D. graminifolia, have a decided rest is ce 

 But the glossy character of the restios, the dry grasses, and the sand, 

 soil of the valleys or slopes in or on which they are found combine to 

 counteract the parching effects of the sun during that period. 



It is also certain that sufficient moisture to keep the tubers fresh aid 

 plump will rise by capillarity, as the underground supply is not to 

 rapidly exhausted or lowered as in stiff soils, which crack deeply and 

 allow the moisture to be licked up by the winds. That really it is only 

 the surface which becomes very dry I had convincing proof when lifting 

 a few corms of Antholyza lucida on a slope which received the pitiless 

 rays of a February sun. About a foot down, among pieces of rock 

 imbedded in a hard soil, they provided me with more laborious and 

 exhausting work than I should have previously imagined could be put 

 into half an hour. Putting my hand in the holes the hot moisture fck 

 just as one feels it when entering a recently-closed plant stove. Andtlm 

 is what 1 want to enforce -that even those bulbous plants found in the 

 driest positions are not subjected to so absolutely dry a rest as is generafly 

 imagined, for by the character of the vegetation or the nature of the 

 ground the parching effect of the sun is minimised, and evaporation a* 

 siderably restrained. That many bulbs are capable of withstand!* 

 severe and prolonged drought is undeniable, some even for years; W 

 they are not then seen at their best, although having been subjected to 

 such conditions may assist towards their better development mUK 

 season of heavy rains. As witness the "blaze of colour ' one hean 

 of in the arid regions after heavy rains. How readily they must respow 

 to the more favourable conditions to produce such an eftect in arc 

 weeks one can but imagine. The same may be said of the Dujdwj 

 plants in this district, but in a less degree ; for the rams, varying wm 

 in quantity and prolongation in different years, are ^ ore , cons ^.! ti | 

 their seasons. However, I am digressing somewhat, but the sudjo. 



so interesting that one is apt to wander. ^ 

 To return then : Disa barbata bears in October from two 



faintly-pencm^ scapes ^^^-^^ 



inches in length. Occasionally flowers are seen with a mac ii|* 

 m„A f~ ■ , a a^'iApA m-pference is evintcu 



for 



furro 

 fit* 



sun so much power as when they are in bloom, nor win 

 dry when at rest, although it does occur as stragglers in < 

 than the spot described. D. venusta, D. lugens, and the aoo 

 fined to the districts which are in no place many feet aoo* 



become 



r places 



area** 

 sealed 



i elm 



descr.w" 



in the 



does 



not 

 or 

 I 



issue 

 commence 

 rather 



of 



was 



it 



unable 



tion, and 'the slopes b7graminifolia beautifies are over a ™" uSaD 

 above the sea. The conditions of D. graminifolia were 



May 8th, i8 9 7, and, as there 

 growth until the wet season i ble ua* 

 apparently does , not. For a cons * 

 to understand th.s peculiar * 



: were collected ^^JS 

 when in flower, and planted immediately. During May } "j lder of 1* 

 them and found no sign of roots or leaves ; but at trie ^. (T - 

 tuber was a peculiar wart-like excrescence, which tn J«JJ ^ ^ ofc 

 developed to indicate that it was a new tuber. A ^' of n0U risbt»«£ 



show** itself 



^» » v^iy Ull-gctlUCIlCl Air*-*- 



tubers to see what they were doing. 



rotten tuber when next examined. So 1 am u ^ aDAC /^_ seen to 

 the peculiarities of this lovely disa, but sufficient uas 



