JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
March 2, 1882.] 
it gets nearer the surface, and consequently more exposed to the 
effects of frost. 
4, There remains, then, the only other cause, disease; and not¬ 
withstanding the statements of our great English grower, this I 
believe to be the true cause. He ridicules the idea and says, “ Do 
you not suppose that with my large culture I ought to know ?” 
This is much like the answer of a very excellent person who was 
remonstrated with for bad singing, “ Why I know the tune and 
so must be right.” My reply is that this is not a matter to be 
decided by the amount of acres in cultivation. The facts are the 
same whether twenty acres or four hundred corms are grown ; and 
in the deduction from those facts the little man may be as good 
as the big man, aye, and even much better. We know so little 
of the causes of diseases in plants that to say what causes this 
may be as impossible as to determine the cause of the Potato or 
Lily disease ; but I think on no other ground can any satisfactory 
answer be given as to the loss occasioned in them and to the 
capriciousness in those losses, some corms are alone spared, the 
rest perished. To argue as some have done that because we do 
not plant our Hyacinths a second year on account of their having 
exhausted themselves, and that the same holds good with regard 
to Ixias and Lilies, is beside the mark. The Hyacinth does not 
perish, neither do the Ixias, and the Lily does die of disease. 
Moreover, if we could buy the best varieties of Gladiolus at 
Stevens’s for 4 d. a piece, as I have seen Lilium auratum sold, we 
should not say much about it, but, as in that case, replenish our 
losses. 
I do not believe that sand or charcoal, or planting deep or 
planting shallow, or growing in pots first and planting out later, 
will ward off the malady. Growers must take their chance and 
do the best they can. This may sound poor comfoit, and I am 
told that 1 discourage the growth of the flower. Well, surely 
truth is above all things that which we want to find. Nothing 
is in the end gained by any other course.—D., Deal. 
179 
“ Vick’s Magazine ”—“ During cold stormy nights, and often on 
cold windy days, frames will require protection in order to keep 
up the heat. The readiest means of shelter is found to be the 
use of straw mats. These mats are easily made, and one can 
employ his time upon them in very cold or stormy weather, when 
no Ling - can be done to advantage outside. In order to make a 
good article and to work to the best advantage, it is best to employ 
a frame such as is shown in the engraving (fig. 37). This frame 
may be made of two pieces of 2 by 4 wood for the sides, of the 
length required for the mat, and of two transverse pieces morticed 
into them at the ends. Four feet will be found a very convenient 
width for the frame. This framework can rest upon a pair of 
wooden horses about 2 feet in height, in which position the labour 
can be most easily performed. Iu the engraving we have shown 
only two strings, but a mat of 4 feet width should have at least 
four strings, which will make the spaces between them about 
9£ inches in width ; closer tying than this even would be pre¬ 
ferable. Screws are inserted at the proper distances on the cross¬ 
pieces, to which the strings are attached. The straw is placed on 
the strings so as to have all the butts, or lower ends, come against 
the sides of the frame, with the tops meeting in the middle, and 
so thin as to have the mat not more than 
three-quarters of an inch thickness when 
finished. The stitches should not be more 
than three-quarters of an inch in width. 
The tying string should be wound on a 
reel, and there should be one of them for 
each stationary string. The method of 
tying is shown in the small engraving 
(fig. 38). Take a little of the straw with 
the left hand and work the reel with the 
right, first over the straw and then under 
the stationary string, bringing it back between the two strings, 
pulling tightly and pressing the straw so as to have a flat stitch. 
In this way the work is continued until the mat is finished.” ] 
Fig. 38. 
STRAW SHELTERS. 
Some years ago when I had many plants that needed shelter— 
bedding plants, Celery plants, Cauliflower plants, &c.—and could 
not procure mats, I made some straw shelters that proved of the 
greatest service and lasted many years. They were made as 
follows—Some three-quarter-inch boards were sawn into strips 
about 2 inches wide. These were cut into the required lengths, 
about 5 feet, for forming the framework of each shelter. Two 
of these pieces were laid on their edges exactly parallel with 
each other and at the requisite distance, and cross pieces were 
attached for forming each frame. These were “ let in,” so as 
when secured they were flush with the edge of the side pieces. 
One piece was nailed across each end, and three others at equal 
distances from them. The framework, now complete, was turned 
over, and the straw, drawn very straight, was laid in carefully 
and compactly half an inch or more thick. This was secured in 
its place by lengths of stout flat plasterers’ laths cut just to fit 
within the sides and laid exactly over the cross pieces on which 
the straw rested. A few flat-headed inch nails were driven 
through at 6 inches apart, and a light close rigid shelter was 
formed. The straw is better if not passed through a machine, 
and it should be Wheat straw. 
These shelters, made exactly of the size of frame lights, are 
valuable for placing over the glass, while for laying across space 
enclosed by boards on edge, or excavations in the ground, no 
mats can equal them, and hundreds of plants of various kinds can 
be protected. 
When the frames are being made and straw fixed in them, they 
must be laid on a very level floor. If the work is well done and 
the straw trimmed these shelters have a very neat appearance, 
and their usefulness will be admitted by all who try them.— 
A Doctor’s Gardener. 
[Undoubtedly straw shelters and mats are of great service in 
gardens at this period of the year, and we cite the following 
method of making the latter from the February number of 
GALANTHUS NIVALIS var. MELVILLEI. 
This form of Galanthus nivalis, as was stated on page 156, 
originated at Dunxobin Castle, and is quite distinct from all the 
existing forms of Giant Snowdrops. 
It is similar to G. nivalis but much larger in all its parts. Leaves 
the same, but stouter and longer. Flowers creamy white, of good 
substance, rather over an inch in length ; the flower segments 
oblong ovate, broadest near the centre, each one fully half an 
inch across the widest portion. The flower retains in a marked 
degree a fine globular form, and is faithfully represented on 
page 157. 
It was awarded a first-class certificate by the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, March 25th, 1879. 
The small-flowering variety has been called by the Rev. H. 
Harpur-Crewe “ Galanthus serotinus, a tiny late-flowering variety, 
quite a little gem in its way.” This variety also originated at 
Dunrobin, and is one of the dwarfest and tiniest-flowering of the 
Galanthus family.—D. Melville. 
THE CULTIVATION OF PRIMULA SINENSIS. 
There are few small indoor flowering plants so generally 
useful as the Chinese Primrose. It has been in this country 
now some fifty years, but it is within this last twelve or fifteen 
years that the greatest advance has been made in raising im¬ 
proved varieties. The double sorts are very valuable, especially 
for cutting, as they last much longer than the single varieties. 
For bouquets they are also most useful. As decorative plants, 
however, the single varieties are in the greatest demand, and are 
the most serviceable. The Primula is easy to grow, provided it 
receives fair treatment and its requirements are studied. A light 
position is all-important. In the winter the plants cannot be 
too near the glass, and at that season they require a little more 
heat than an ordinary greenhouse, otherwise, as most growers can 
testify, they are liable to damp off at the collar. 
The usual method is to raise fresh plants every year, destroying 
the old plants as soon as they have flowered or have ripened seed, 
except in the case of any that may appear to possess some superior 
quality. To have them strong for flowering towards the close of 
the year, the first sowing should be made at the beginning of 
March. Well-matured plants that have not been pushed on too 
quickly are not so likely to damp off as those which have been 
hurried. The seeds of Primulas require care in sowing, or they 
will not germinate. In all stages Primulas cannot endure any 
approach to stagnation in the soil, consequently the pans must be 
well drained, placing a layer of dry manure over the crocks. 
