AUGUST 



27, i898 



GARDENERS' MA GAZINE 



555 



GARDENIA CULTURE. 



1 n A cireetlv scented flowers of the gardenias are always 

 ^ [ now -that they are in season, a few words on their culture 



THE 



welcome, ^^"7'""^ would-be growers. Gardenias delight in plenty 

 ff 5 atSce oTmoisture and fich feeding, in fact, the gardenia and 

 of heat, abundance u requirements of the one being exactly 



with, I do not like old plants, as the 

 f ^ « ^ never so fine after the second year, though they are fairly 

 n tn five vears ; the plants, however, attain such an enormous size 

 l^irT/a very difficult task to keep the foliage clean-not so much from 

 lefts as from the deposits from the water. In spite of this, a 

 Smen with about one hundred blooms is a feature in a stove Cut- 

 ^ Tre best rooted in the spring, the young shoots being selected ; 

 IS should be put in six-inch pots just within the rim, using plenty of 

 u^and fine peat or leaf-soil ; they will strike in a temperature of 65 to 

 Screes as easily as alternantheras. Keep them well syringed, and 

 2a they are rooted pot off singly using three-inch pots this time giving 

 C a compost of peat, loam, cow manure, and sand in nearly equal 

 nrooortions ; put the plants back again into a dose pit, and as soon as 

 start into growth pinch the tops out, in order that they may break 

 at the first joint. When these pots are filled with roots shift the speci- 

 mens into five-inch pots, using compost as before ; press the soil very 

 when potting, and see that there are no insects to check the plants, 

 rhev mav be returned to the pit or house again with a temperature of 

 lot less than 70 degrees. Keep them well stopped, and do not neglect 

 :o syringe heavily at least twice daily, not merely wetting the foliage 

 ibove, but also underneath, in order that the plants shall be kept clean 

 ihich can be done by effective syringing. Another shift will com- 



, and in this case have the pots well 



pete the potting process for the first y 



drained/as the plants will remain in these pots some considerable time, 

 and the longer the plant is to stop in the pots the better should the 

 damage be. 



After this final potting for the season, and as soon as the pots have 

 become full of roots, the plants should have a rest, which means a little 

 less heat and a reduction in the moisture at the roots, but not less syringing. 

 The specimens now should be capable of producing from three to four 



iio en 'lowers, and if Sowers are wanted as early as they can be obtained, 



then, after a rest of a couple of months, give a few plants a top dressing 

 of Standen's manure, and put them into a warm stove, and not far from 

 the glass ; if they can be stood on a fibre bed so much the better. Turn 

 the plants round occasionally in order that the syringing may be directed 

 immediately upon all the young branches, for cleanliness is the most 

 important factor in growing gardenias perfectly. I have never yet seen 

 in unhealthy plant that had been kept clean. After the flowers have all 

 been cut the plants may be afforded one shift, but do not cut back ; if too 

 tall, then tie them down ; or if large plants are not required throw them 

 my. A two-year old plant is, I consider, the best when one has plenty 

 mnom for their development. All through the growing season the 

 K^atest care should be taken to keep them clean, for it is when the plants 

 wre completed growth that they are frequently allowed to become dirty, 

 W then put on one side uncared for. This is the fatal mistake, for the 

 enia needs plenty of attention always, and cannot at any time be 

 FOhUbly neglected. Gardenias should under no consideration be allowed 

 »*conie dry, so that the leaves flag. To maintain a healthy stock we 

 Propagate a set every year, and throw away the oldest plants every 

 ***on, immediately they have flowered. 



Compton Bassett. ' W . A . CooK . 



prices, unless to the affluent among daffodil enthusiasts, are absolutely 

 prohibitive ; a description even more expressive of Weardale Perfection, 

 advertised in the catalogue of the leading British cultivators of the 

 narcissi at £\2 12s. per bulb. Among those that may be called inter- 

 mediate trumpets stand prominently Sir Watkin, of enormous size ; 

 Princess Mary, whose crown is yellow, while the beautiful perianth is 

 \a io«fe octu silvery white; the single Incomparabilis, or "Peerless Narcissus"; 

 I do not i ke ^ d J^ C. J. Backhouse, a highly distinctive flower; Barri conspicuus, already 



eulogised ; Duchess of Westminster ; the Leedsi varieties, of graceful 

 aspect ; the late-flowering Nelsoni major ; and the richly fragrant and 

 prolific Narcissus odorus, sometimes called "the Great Jonquil," one of 

 the brighest and best hybrids in garden cultivation. Small Trumpet 

 narcissi are well represented by the exquisite N. poeticus, and is the pre- 

 decessor of N. ornatus ; N. grandiflorus praecox, the largest of this fragrant 

 family ; N. poeticus plenus, the " Sardinia" narcissus, which I find some- 

 what unreliable ; and the handsome M Burbidgei " forms, which seldom 

 fail to succeed. Without the odorous jonquils and the classical Polyanthus 

 narcissi, of Grecian extraction, no garden would be complete. 



The culture of daffodils is not very exacting, otherwise such splendid 

 varieties as Emperor, Empress, Ard-Righ, Maximus, and Horsfieldi 

 would not have such a wide distribution. In favourable situations these 

 grow almost as freely as the Orange phoenix, or the venerable Tela- 

 monius plenus, with much grander results. The more vigorous forms are 

 very beautiful, and also highly picturesque when #rown in woodlands and 

 on lawns ; the finer hybrids require a sandy, porous, somewhat fertile 

 soil. Early planting and adequate drainage are of the utmost import- 

 ance ; also periodical prevention of that inevitable tendency of all 

 narcissi — too crowded an accumulation of superfluous bulbs, decrease in 

 flowering capability, and ultimate decay. David R. Williamson. 



Potato Experiments. 



Our esteemed friend and , critic "Lux" regrets that the Ontario 

 Agricultural Department did not give in our recent report on potato 



experiments (see Gardeners' Magazine, July 23rd, page 476) the 



weight of the sets employed. 



This part of the enquiry has, however, not been neglected. In 1895 

 and in 1896 an experiment was conducted in which potato sets one- 

 sixteenth, one-eighth, one quarter, one half, one ounce, and also two 

 ounces in size were planted side by side. No piece contained more than 

 one eye. The object of this experiment was to ascertain the influence of 

 the size of the potato sets on the crop produced. The varieties used 

 in 1896 were the Empire State, and the Pearl of Savoy, which were 

 planted on May 27, in rows four rods long and twenty-six inches apart. 

 The potato sets were planted to a depth of about four inches, and 

 flat cultivation was used throughout. The following is the result :— 



Percentage 



(One eye in each set.) of whole 



crop marketable 



Per cwt. 



Each set containing ri6 oz. 



1 -8 oz. 



II 



II 

 99 

 II 



II 



II 



• • • 



• • • 



I 4 oz. 



I '2 OZ. 



1 O OZ. 



2 O OZ. 



* I * 



87-5 



94-ti 



94*6 

 94 o 

 92*0 



89-3 



a a 



• • • 



Yield of 



Potatoes 

 rer acre. 

 Bushels. 



. 60 



105 



138 



145 

 165 



182 



Narcissi. 



Ht*JZ* TS> °!> hi< i h bulbs sh °uld be planted during the next week or 

 Slate flf* u . har glories of the spring. Early summer, also, owes to 



loJrr . fof rrT-li" 8 u, rm j much of its attractiveness. Then period of 

 t*f slQerabl ? du ™t.on, extending through March, April, and 



The results in the above table are very interesting, and show the great 

 influence which the size of the potato sets have upon the amount of 

 the crop produced. The smallest-sized pieces produced decidedly the 

 smallest yield, and there was a gradual increase according to the increase 

 in the size of the seed tubers. The two ounce sets gave the largest yield 

 per acre, although the percentage of marketable potatos was somewhat 

 reduced in this experiment. 



An experiment has been conducted for two years in succession, to 

 obtain some information in regard to the influence of the number of eyes 

 on pieces of potatos as affecting the succeeding crop. Potato sets of one 

 ounce in size were used throughout the experiment, and on number one 



■*«n«ric with thi 7 "™ uc s uu LU its supremacy, alter a onn V e in si/e were used throughout tne experiment, ana on numoui one 



3ght and the treating warmth of X th e se ^contained one eye in etch piece ; on number two plot, two 



*«F. which filled tul daff ° d J ls come r to us Y lth that ^nderly graceful . on number three plot, three eyes ; on number four plot, four eyes ; 



*+A'ti " ucu me treat heart of WnrHQurrit-f^ W UV» „„A ^y*~* > ^" _ . ^ * Tk« V 



«*<uy. W hirh fiiilj A "<" luu " a ™ us wun mat tenderly graceful 



Ne C 2 t the great heart of Wordsworth with rapture, and 

 «e&ble lovelinpf? that t he y h , ast ed away so soon ; because even their 

 1 never fW*f al, , thin g s beautiful, predestined to decay. 



**and innS^ i e u Ghgh } of Matthew Arnold, perhaps the nearest in 



I IKSr^k " modern s,n S ers to the " High Priest of Nature," 



•>*or . C I? ? (Ia y that will ever be radiant in my 



^itecin^r r. WOods of Surrey, we suddenly came uoon an 



on number five plot, five eyes. The Empire, State, and Pearl of Savoy 

 varieties were used in the experiment The land was similar in character, 

 and the cultivation was of the same nature as for the previous investi- 



gat The" potatos were planted on May 27th, and the following is the 



result ; 



A vera c yield of 

 Potatos from 

 each Set. each Eye. 



Acres. Acre*. 



a • 



Each potato set containing : 

 I or. and I eye 



2 



fines! 



of 



1 j 9 



I M 

 I II 



I II 



• 1 



3 » 



4 t» 



5 



t • • 



« • • 



• • • 



t * 



7-28 



8 00 

 7 -88 



774 

 S-63 



• I • 



• * t 



I • • 



7'28 



4*00 

 2.64 

 1.72 



1 75 



■ * • 



• • • 



• • # 



Yhki of 

 Potatos 

 \*cr acre. 

 I'.ushels. 



158 

 176 

 182 



186 



198 



well u.«Li! ybn , ds of its s P ecial das 

 . Xrll 0 ^ of being permanently 



«5^'»n^coToin SOmCOf the .& rande st are Bicolor Emp._, 

 nSXt' ^ised by riLS:W-i™- t i on to absolute perfection ; 



In the foregoing table it will be observed, in the first column of figures 

 point very 



Zr"?'. one 



^mmriv to the conclusion that much more depends upon the 

 point very strongly to me sets d lhan m 



compara ve sue of po ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ jjj^ 



-n»w . «"•<=, uernans thp lat^t n f *u- -,, fu mpa uL., V th* largest vields being produced from the largest potatos, 



gSM* * th * ^tst ff j^^h^,^^ S n Ctl ° n t0 bl ° 0m ; th, ?^ h0Ut ' £,S from the smallest potatos which were planted. 



^5! 2d V^j 1 " Primrose hue t' » M g ?? en " yelloW ^ ""V ^ ™ i ttl nrentTth potatos in my own garden at Harpenden 



40(1 Go den Sn.,r u ' ** 1 J *. M * Camr o> a very handsome I have an experiment wu v <tr \\.\ na \l thf > r L.,u, nh»ained at the 



^ accoun t er th '. Wh ° Se as P f ect is ^race itself; John Nelson this year, which confirms, most str.kingly the results obtained at the 



" Ontario experiment sect.on. • J T Wiu is 



^^is, 



Jbojus, acco ' os< 



e *Pen S ive te a d r e th r , if*?* °L them ~ alK Ver Y impressive, and 



1 are Glorv of Leiden and Madame de Graaf, whose 



Harp. 



