2l6 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



A?RIL 2, 1898. 



many spurs are left on, these leading to an aggravation of the evils mentioned. A 

 good rule as regards stopping is to pinch out the points of shoots as they reach the 

 length which allows them to meet their neighbours without overlapping, and 

 whether this should be at the second, third, or other bud beyond the bunch 

 selected will depend on the distance between the rods. Very good results are 

 sometimes obtained by stopping at one joint beyond the bunch, but with ample 

 room I prefer to leave one or two additional leaves. Whichever leaf is selected 

 for pinching back to there should be no delay in pinching when that point is 

 reached. In modern vineries where the training wires are placed at a good dis- 

 tance from the glass, it is best not to tie down the shoots until it can be done 

 without fear of their giving way at the base ; but where the vines are very near 

 the roof they cannot be left so long, and in this case, it is necessary to do the work 

 very gradually, only putting the slightest pressure on shoots of such brittle varieties 

 as Alicante, Gros Maroc, and the like, nothing being more disheartening than to 

 find some of the best breaks hanging suspended by a strip of raffia. Vines in 

 flower should have the atmosphere kept dry about them, damping down should be 

 suspended or only very slightly done, and evaporating pans kept empty, these being 

 necessary precautions, especially when the weather is dull, for with much atmos- 

 pheric moisture in the house the pollen cannot be freely distributed. Free-setting 

 varieties require nothing further than a few smart taps of the rod about noon, but 

 such shy setters as Muscat Hamburgh, Muscat of Alexandria, Alnwick Seedling, 

 and others must be dealt with more carefully. The best method I have found is 

 for some one with a naturally cool and dry hand to draw the hand gently over the 

 bunch ; this method rarely fails to produce a good set. Another good plan is to 

 use a big camel-hair brush, such as is used by exhibitors of chrysanthemums for 

 manipulating their blooms. In houses containing such varieties, it is a great help 

 to have at least one vine of the free-setting Black Hamburgh planted at the coldest 

 end, so that it may distribute its pollen through the house. 



Before the vines come into bloom, and as soon as the best bunches can be 

 selected, all surplus bunches should be removed, nothing being gained by leaving 

 them. Where grapes have to be cut and kept in bottles, it is well to bear this in 

 mind when selecting bunches of varieties that show more than one bunch on a 

 shoot, as the general rule to leave the bunch nearest home, provided it be a good 

 one, should not be followed in its entirety ; bunches so placed being sometimes too 

 close home to allow of cutting a sufficient length of shoot to reach the water in 

 the bottles. Thinning should be persevered with as soon as ever the berries have 

 reached a suitable size, as they swell quickly at first and soon get beyond the 

 stage in which they can be dealt with properly. I choose the early morning for 

 this work as it can then be carried out with greater comfort to the operator, but of 

 course it is not always possible to confine operations to this period. Watch care- 

 fully for signs of red spider, and apply the usual reimdy of sulphuring the pipes, 

 taking care to make the pipes as hot as possible previously. This remedy 

 should not be carried out, and will rarely be necessary, until the berries have 

 reached the size of peas, if done before this the strong fumes will cause rust. 

 Another precaution when sulphuring is to be sure and have a little ventilation on 

 the house at daybreak next morning, and gradually increase it, so that the 

 maximum of air is reached earlier than usual that day ; this will prevent scalding. 



Melons that are showing fruits should have the laterals stopped at one joint 

 beyond the fruits, and as the flowers open they should be fertilised. The more 

 nearly the flowers open together on each plant the better will be the chances of a 

 good set and uniformity of swelling. Should the plants fail to set the flowers on 

 the earliest laterals, or, should these fail to show a good lot of fruit, it will be 

 best to pick off what there are, and encourage a development of sub laterals. The 

 time lost will not be much, and the crop will be a bettei one by so doing. 

 During the flowering period, and after, keep up a brisk temperature by day, and 

 not less than 65 c egrees by night. The bottom heat should also be brisk, so that 

 the plants may grow freely. Sow for succession and for frame plants if these are 

 needed. — J. C. Tallack, Liver mere Park Gardens. *~ 



Malva crispa. — Many of the mallows are very beautiful subjects for the 

 decoration of the glasshouse, and for the most part are herbaceous perennials. The 

 species named above is an annual, and is well worth a place in the sub-tropical 

 garden or shrubberies. It is vigorous in growth, attaining to the height of six 

 feet or more, forming an erect pyramid of densely-packed, broad foliage, the 

 margins of which are beautifully curled, and of a pleasing shade of green. Seed 

 may be sown in March on a gentle hotbed, and when the seedlings are large 

 enough to handle they should be pricked off into small sixties and grown on 

 freely. Afterwards gradually harden off, and by May they will have become 

 strong plants for transferring to the position they are to occupy for the summer. 



I know of nothing so suitable for packing such fruits as strawberries, figs, and thin 

 soft fruits for travelling long distances as the leaves of this mallow, for they are 

 soft as silk, and the cuiled edges of the leaves appear to me admirably suited to 

 the purpose, preventing, as they do, the fruits when packed rubbing against each 

 other ; in fact, they are a boon, for they have no equal. If a piece of rather 

 poor ground can be spared near the packing shed on which to sow the seed, so 

 much the better, for they will then be close at hand to furnish supplies. Sow the 

 seed rather thickly, that the plants may not attain large dimensions, for the small 



leaves will be of more service than large ones for the purpose named. — H. T. M., 



Sloneleigh. 



Double Cinerarias. — These beautiful flowers do not seem so popular as 

 their merits deserve, for they are far preferable for cutting than the single forms, 

 whereas for furnishing they last in good condition much longer. I do not despise 

 the single varieties, as these are extremely useful for conservatory or greenhouse dec- 

 oration and materially assist in keeping a bright and effective display all through 

 the months of winter and spring. The double-flowered varieties are just as easy 

 to cultivate as single ones, and may be either grown from cuttings or raised from 

 seed. When one has a good colour or an extra fine form it should be propagated 

 and this can easily be effected by offsets obtained from the base of the plant. 



II trie specimens, when flowering is over, are put into a warm moist house they will 

 soon emit young shoots which can be removed and propagated in the orthodox 



Tpmj 7n, T *l a n e rooted & row them in a cold pit,rpottiug them on as they 

 require it till they fill a seven inch pot ; after this feed them with liquid manure, 



s ? on U the flow *r heads aie showing give them about half a teaspoonful of 



SEfe m v Ure ^ft? lhis Wil1 hel P very considerably. Their greatest 



£2S7% ^ f th » 8h r oald be kept away by fumigating with XL All 

 IK V ? e > nd ° Se . d a few b,0onis whi <* were produced from seedlings raised 

 K^SiH^K I u*te M ? St ° f «• ™» »™> at Christmas I had a 

 a «5 hall ffJ°*t WhUC ' Which 1 am. propagating. It had flowers as large as 

 the* Lble for™ £Si " DUmer ? US M t° a35y c ° ver the foliage. We find 



The Cinchona in India. 



Quinine is principally obtained from the bark of tree* * n A l l 



the genus Cinchona. Indeed till about twenty-seven 2L* ***** to 



known that it was obtainable from any other genus ; but it h har % 



b^v* -v-m ~ - — ««* at miiune prices, remiiia, or Cunre* 1* u 



it was commercially called, was imported from South America for ?k c k » 11 

 quinine factories in very large quantities ; but later on, when the L l ^J 0 *** 

 stocked to overflowing with the rich cultivated cinchona barks of T H" r 8 

 Java, South America, and other countries, prices fell and the ~? loil » 

 Cuprea Bark became unprofitable, and, consequently, ceased The SSSS. * 

 is now so low that it would hardly pay the manufacturers to w^u^S 

 with its small proportion of alkaloids, even if they got it for nothing W 

 expensive manipulation of a large quantity of bark, to get only a little In i5 

 quinine cannot be a profitable operation. Owing to over-production the 

 both cinchona bark and sulphate of quinine has fallen so low that the 1 

 get actually less for the bark than it costs them to grow and market it *E2 

 quinine-makers can hardly have fared much better ; but the fever-stricken m II* 

 of the malarious parts of India and other hot countries reap the benefit • an?!! 

 benefit them, rather than either planter or manufacturer, was the avowed Mm 

 of our Government in introducing the cinchonas to India and other countries 

 The results have exceeded the most sanguine expectations, for the introduction 

 has been the means of bringing the price of quinine so low as to place it withb 

 easy reach of the very poorest. It is one of the few medicines of foreign mar!* 

 facture that the natives of the East, almost without exception, implicitly belie* 

 in, and their confidence in it is likely to continue whilst quinine remains so cheaD 

 that there is but little temptation to adulterate it. Many substitutes have ban 

 from time to time put on the market, but not one has stood the trial test a. 

 quinine is likely to remain, as it so long has been, the only safe specific for 

 malarial fevers. 



Formation of Cinchona Plantations. 



With regard to forming cinchona plantations, Mr. J. A. Gammie, who has 

 recently retired from the charge of the Bengal Government plantations, a charge 

 extending over thirty years, told the members of the Horticultural Club that the 

 planter in the East has no convenient nurseryman to indent on for his plants as his 

 brother at home has, so must raise his own, and, in fact, do everything for himself, 

 from the making of bricks to the building of factories and fixing machinery. In 

 Sikkim there were, practically, but two methods of raising plants practised, rii., 

 by seed and by cuttings. In the earlier years of the enlerprise seed was not obtain- 

 able, and plants had to be raised from cuttings, which was done in the ordinary 

 way. There were three main species to deal with : C. succirubra, or Red-bark ; 

 C. officinalis, or Crown-bark ; and C. calisaya var. Ledgeriana, or Yellow-hark 

 Usually ninety-five to one hundred per cent, of the succirubra cuttings rooted 

 without any trouble, but officinalis was not so accommodating, although n< very 

 troublesome, and Ledgeriana was almost a complete failure, but of many and 

 many a batch of it not a single cutting rooted, and seldom more than five to ten 

 per cent. 



There was nothing peculiar either in the way the seedlings were raised. The 

 seed was sown in long, narrow, terraced beds, protected by low thatched roob 

 from rain and sun, but open at the sides for free admission of air and light The 

 seedlings were kept in the same sort of protected beds, with several transplanting 

 as they grew and required more room, till six or nine inches high, when advantage 

 was taken of a spell of dull weather to remove the thatch and get them inured to 

 the weather previous to planting out in the plantation. The sites selected for 

 plantations were on the steep mountain slopes, at elevations lying between o«e 

 thousand and five thousand feet, flattish ground being avoided, as cinchonas can- 

 not long endure stagnant water at their roots; and artificial dr linage, however 

 elaborate, does not do much good with a yearly rainfall of one hundred and twenty 

 to two hundred and fifty inches. On the selected sites the jungle, usually conn* 

 ing of a mixture of trees, bamboos, and shrubs, is cut close to the g rm "™» 

 great care taken to leave nothing uncut to ensure everything dying and drying 

 together, otherwise there might be an imperfect burn which would entail extra 

 work in the final clearing. The cutting is best done in December, after the dry 

 season has fairly set in, and the burning in the end of March, when the weatnei * 

 hot and dry. After the ground is cleared, roads have to be traced and madc »*r 

 pegs put down in straight rows at the distance apart it is proposed to plant, usuaur 



four to six feet each way. Then pits of about two feet across and nearly as 

 in depth are dug out, and afterwards filled in with the same soil mixed wim any 

 convenient decayed vegetable matter, and on those little mounds the plants ; 

 firmly planted, one at each peg, after the soil has been well saturated wiw w 

 and the sky is overcast. At the time of planting, the seedlings are usuaiij t n 

 twelve to fifteen months old, counting from date of the sowing. For ™ T( *£ ^ 

 years the ground between the plants has to be kept fairly free ot 

 occasionally dug over. Afterwards but little cultivation is necessary, as inc h— - 

 will be covering the ground and able to take care of themselves. 



Varieties of Cinchona. 



When the first plants were large enough to yield bark suitable lor cn ^ 

 analysis, it was found that the Red Bark, whether from 

 fairly uniform in quality, and of the typical character, i.e., rich in 

 alkaloids, cinchonidine, and cinchonine, but; rather poor in q uimn *\^ r 

 only a question of expediency whether the plants were raised r ~ fnr auin j* 

 tings, the result in alkaloids being the same, 

 making, but is, perhaps, the most useful to 



anH nthpr nr*»rva ration <• TU „ D n .1r xi 



It is not a good bark for q 



tm 



b , ™ ^tuap, tne most useiui 10 uw j -~r*~ y... 



and other preparations. The Crown Bark was also uniform in q ua " l > 

 type, however raised. It is one of the very best barks for tne m 



iiAct 



w infeo* 

 sootbeit 



Its stem bark will yield from three to six per cent. 1 

 quinine. The Yellow Bark behaved quite differently, 

 of course, vielded hark r>f »v*/»tiv tfip same composi 



aalayan reg** 



t of 5ulpta»JJ 

 ^raised 



l partus - 

 turent* and 



, sixteen p« 



ot sulphate of qmnine, but the inferior sorts, wnicn w«<= * 

 perhaps more so, less than two. To make matters worse, in fc 

 quite indistinguishable from most of the bad till the trees ( gro* r 



and nnt alwave th^n «,r^ tu.. „-;.-,;;,.. 1 »><>ds. from tne Anuca, j 



mixed a progeny as the Indian grown did in later years. l " e J f { fc kill** 

 Bolivia for a Mr. Ledger by his half-caste servant, who w* (after* 

 having procured them for export, and thus destroying the nionup ^ ^ ^ w 

 a product to its native inmh. These seeds were hrst on«c« 



country 



