MAY 28, 1898- 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



347 



• 1 rw*rhes should have their growths thinly ana «*u"* v - — 

 Successional ^^^^ the colouring stage, they should be exposed 

 the wires, and, « he truits app ^ due atfcent to watering, 



5««S Mrtfe'-l maint^he 



House Decoration. 



The growth of house decoration, as regards both plants and flowers, during the 



t0 - Sf liquid manure water if desirable, and ^^^^ twenty-five years has been something marvellous. Twenty-five years ago, 



S .So4™., - . S&SfliX^^^hStt h£rfd «» ? «- . o'.'h. weaUhy, v Hy UuU ™ the, done in ,„= wnj of adl' 



ffS^^^ Sood and mediocre fruits. 



thC S ° ^Tfruits will soon be ready for final thinning, that is, in p 

 houses the fruits win J™ d rf tI f stoning period or to injure from any other 

 fruit is not tabteto chop during^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ n?t e 



T Se A I JS owL to a peculiar form of mildew which attacks the fruits in June 

 th , Cy are Sing quite big and most of such fruits have to be removed, as, 

 *S* h Sur wm kill the mildew, a blemish is left on the fruit which detracts 

 i^^ZxTso sufficient are left on for the present to allow for the removal 

 fr , 0m , SSSS This mildew is not the ordinary form of mildew which attacks 

 of th « at £^ to the fruits alone, and is due, I believe, to a 



*^&yZ*«*Te which has an insufficiency of ventilation in very 

 S : wSh« ^ consequently the occupants are ^exposed to great extremes of 



tem i^ r mid e season vineries the bunches will have finished stoning, and should 

 have a final examination, cutting out all seedless and surplus berries. At this 

 Stoning it is necessary to recognise the question of the size of berry to which 

 S variety swells and thin accordingly, so that the berries may be sufficiently 

 Hose to render the bunches firm, but not close enough to prevent proper swelling. 

 Youne beginners have a tendency to underestimate the ultimate size of berry, 

 and leave the bunches so thick that the berries become jammed together, by which 

 not only is size lost, but the fruit falls a prey to damping soon after it ripens. After 

 this date it will be possible to ventilate from the side or front lights without much 

 fear of mildew, except when the wind is easterly and cold ; but the advisability of 

 doing so is not apparent in all cases, and will depend 'greatly on the structure in 

 which the vines are growing. The only generalitrule that can^be laid down for 



ment beyond a very limited number of plants, and a still more limited quantity of 



cut flowers. In fact, at that period it was almost looked upon as sacrilege to cut 



flowers. In this matter there has been a wonderful revolution, for most people 



nowadays seem to think flowers are only grown to be cut, and so popular have 



they become for personal adornment that even the street urchin will be found 



"swelling "his buttonhole. To meet this rapidly-increasing demand for plants 

 and flowers enormous ranges of glasshouses have been erected all over the country, 

 but chiefly in the vicinity of large fashionable towns. Foreign markets, too, have 

 sprung up to aid in supplying the demand, and the better facilities for transport 

 and delivery, combined with experience in methods of packing, have enabled 

 vendors in this country to place before their customers hyacinths, tulips, narcissi, 

 and many other flowers almost as fresh as when cut. Of course, the home grown 

 article is always best when it is possible to obtain it, but this is not in sufficient 

 quantitities at command at all times, for an extensive grower remarked the other 

 day to me that they were waiting for the flowers to open to cut them. 



Although many of the flowers seen in our markets are of foreign growth, plants, 

 are nearly all of home production, as evinced by the huge nursery establishments 

 devoted to their culture. For example, the nursery firm of Messrs. Dickson 

 (Limited), Chester, have a field of glass for the purpose of meeting the require- 

 ments of their extensive business in the three"" kingdoms, with private customers, 

 and the public demands at home. fc The subjects which seem to be in greatest 

 favour for house and indoor window adornment are palms, and of these the 

 Messrs. Dickson growjnillions. In the various ranges of glasshouses they utilize 



HYDRANGEA JAPONICA MARIESI, TEMPLE SHOW. (Flowers rose-pink, suffiised blue.) 



observance is that sharp draughts should never be created. My own opinion is 

 tbat as regards the vines themselves, independent of other occupants of the houses, 

 no such ventilation is necessary. The present is a capital time in which to plant 

 out young vines that have been retarded for the purpose. It will be found that 

 such vines will overtake those which have been planted earlier, .and,; as the 

 weather will probably be warm and genial, a good cane is sooner made, and with- 

 out so much Liability to insect pests, as if planted when much fire-heat has to be 



wnrwi ^ * S a ' S ° * ^° OC * t * me now to * narc k vmes * n mid-season houses, where the 

 ood is beginning to harden, for at this stage a union is easy, and made without 

 ganger of injury to the young vine. A long slice taken off from the sides of stock 



th t^ 011 at a P°* nt w ^ ere ttle y can k e easily brought to meet, and then binding 

 e two together so that the cut surfaces join is all that is necessary, taking care, 

 wever, that the pieces removed are not thick enough to reach the pith at any 



point. —J. c. Tallack, Livermere Park Gardens. 



Mark? et?b,es in Season - 



Looking at a vegetable stall in the Kingston 



offered 1 f ^ i° r tW ° since ' 1 could but struck with the variet y of Produce 

 regards ™ e i and generally excellent too, at a time of year that is usually 



Wed baIdest of the seasons. Thus there were in abundance small well 



ble to r** g °° d white brocco,i > solid curled kale > spinach, asparagus, sea 

 mustard j ' d and new potatos, beets, radishes, lettuces, French beans, 

 RSS ^ d ^ and ^me other things. [ [ 



No doubt ° Wln *» ln a nota ble way how abundant were ordinary garden vegetables. 

 Ve getables We ° W £ mncil to tIle genial nature of the winter through which all 

 heads so JjJ* 88 ;i unharmed. It is a rare thing to see such a wealth of broccoli 

 mu ch later * s h° w s that new varieties can be of no service if they are not 



* * * * 



Of course, not all of home growth, 



**ts alreaH tu , rnin S in than are the Late Queens, Models, and other good 

 —A. D. 80 plentiful - Really, we have much to be thankful for this spring. 



for palms the most fastidious can be satisfied, for plants, from cotyledon to the 

 size of twelve feet in height, can be selected. This public taste for green plants 

 with bold or elegant foliage, either for the cottager or the lord, in adding 

 life and beauty to their homes, speaks well for the discriminating .powers of both, 

 as no class of plants looks better or lasts longer in a healthy state than palms. This 

 last remark, however, refers only to well grown plants-plants with abundance 

 of sturdT healthy folkge-such as are seen at Chester, and not those drawn and 

 b icne 'by tussive heat and want of light. Among the more select palms that 

 I saw in Messrs. Dickson's nurseries were Acanthophcemx crinita, a lovely subject 

 for dinner-table decoration in a young state ; and Pritchardia pacific*. Of these 

 there were a representative lot, not but that .Acanthophcemx crinita is likely to 

 become of general use in private gardens when beUer known The older and 

 bette? known sorts were in their thousands, of which I noted Areca Bauen, 

 lutescens, monostachya, sapida, and Verschaftelti, Calamus cihans Caryota uren 

 Cham™ Ifortuni and humihs Cocos plumosa and Weddelhana, Dypsu 

 a ™cJ;,;»n«;<: Rmnoma eraci Us, Kentias in variety, Litania borbonica and 

 "SSS^S^^^^^^ and tenuis, Rhapis flabelliformis 

 Sabal nubraculifera, Seaforthia elegans and robusta, Thnnax elegans, and 



VerschafFeltia splendens. . 



Even among these generally well known species a selection may be made of 

 those that are most suitable, both as regards powers of endurance and effectiveness, 

 for the cottaS wSdow and the castle. Therefore, I would include in the twelve best 

 suited for all Areca lutescens and lapida, Chamaerops humilis, Cocos Weddelhana, 

 Corypha australis, Kentia australis Belmoreana and Fosteriana, If^ box. 

 bonica, Phcenix reclinata and sylvestns, and Seaforthia elegans. The amateur 

 will find Chamcerops humilis, Corypha australis, Phcenix rechna a, and Latania 

 borbonica the ones which will do best with him. Cocos Weddelhana is 

 such a graceful plant that many fall in love with it at sight, but unless it can be 

 given a stove temperature and only used for house decoration for short periods 

 occasionally, it will become a short lived subject. It is one of the more tender 

 palms, and also one requiring skill to grow it successfully. Cestriax. 



