490 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 2. 1886 
provided it is not stagnant; nor will moisture in the soil in 
flower pots. Let the roots have what they need and not 
more than they need, while the surface is comparatively dry, 
and with a buoyant atmosphere and genial temperature there 
will be little or no danger of the decay of the stems or leaves 
near the surface of the soil. 
“Yes.” the puzzled novice may observe, “that sounds 
right enough, but how can we give water to plants without 
making the soil wet on the surface in our desire to keep the 
roots moist below ?” It is not a question of momentary 
wetness of the surface, for that does no harm if water is 
given when plants need it, and only then, on the morning 
of a prospectively fine day, or when the air can be warmed 
artificially and the top ventilators slightly opened for the 
dispersion of moisture. Sharp currents of air should be 
avoided through the front sashes, these causing a chill to the 
plants by arresting the transit of sap. Anyone may have a 
conclusive example of this who may happen to have Vines 
in full leaf in frosty weather in March, the roots being in an 
outside border and the stems encased in liaybands, for he 
has only to remove a portion of the covering and expose a few 
inches of the stem of one of them to the frost and the leaves will 
speedily flag, no matter what the temperature of the house 
may be. Permit, then, no sharp wind to drive through the 
ventilators directly against plants in greenhouses in the 
winter. The air in a plant structure can be speedily changed 
through the top ventilators alone, the cold outside air sinking 
by its weight into the house and displacing the lighter, 
because warmer, air inside. Admitting air without a draught 
or sensible inrush of cold is the secret of successful venti¬ 
lation. 
To return to watering plants in greenhouses in winter. 
They should be examined every morning, and water as warm 
as the house given to those that are more or less dry on the 
surface, and those alone, passing all others, even if they 
remain wet for a week. But in this matter thought must be 
exercised, always remembering that a great mass of soil con¬ 
taining few roots may get drier with impunity, and even with 
benefit to the plant, than can a lesser bulk of soil containing 
many roots ; or in other words, a large plant well rooted in a 
small pot will take, and must have, more water than should 
be given to a small plant not well rooted in a large pot. If 
water is applied to plants when the soil is in a state to re¬ 
quire it, crumbling more or less when rubbed, it is very soon 
drier on the surface than it is below, provided sufficient be 
given to pass to the drainage ; and it must be given to that 
extent or the work will not be well done. It is well if not 
more than that is applied, especially in damp houses, for a 
stream passing through the soil indicates excess, rendering 
the air of the house moister than is desirable under the cir¬ 
cumstances. Water should be used, not wasted. It should 
be given sufficiently, but not in excess, to plants that need 
it, and withheld entirely from those that do not require any. 
There must be no half waterings, no dabblings or dribblings, 
no spilling on stages or floors, and any that accidentally falls 
where it can do no good, but may do harm, should be 
promptly dried up. That is, so far as our experience goes, 
the way to water plants in greenhouses in the winter. They 
must not suffer through drought then any more than at any 
other periods, but at the same time there is great danger in 
forcing water on them when the soil already contains suffi¬ 
cient for their support during the twenty-four hours next 
ensuing. 
A word on imported Camellias. Healthy-looking plants, 
set with buds, in small pots, have generally been grown in 
damp frames or moist pits, and the pots are usually filled 
with roots. If these plants are arranged on dry open stages 
in dry houses there is great danger in letting the soil get too 
dry before giving water. As a rule they are best stood on a 
close base, and damp rather than otherwise, for if dry air 
rises upwards, such as from hot-water pipes, and acts 
directly on the under sides of the leaves, the moisture is 
extracted from them too rapidly, the leaves curl and the 
buds fall. It is better to syringe them occasionally on dry 
days than to permit extreme transpiration; and on no 
account must the soil get so dry at any time as to shrink, 
even slightly, from the sides of the pots, or there will be no 
flowers. It is safer to err in slightly overwatering instead of 
underwatering these root-bound Camellias, but an opposite 
course will be safer in the case of plants with a limited 
extent of active roots in large pots. 
We trust these plain remarks on a plain yet not unim¬ 
portant subject, will be of some service to inexperienced 
readers other than those who have sought the information 
we have endeavoured to impart. 
HARDY SHRUBS AND PLANTS FOR FORCING. 
The species and varieties of these that are useful for forcing 
form some of the most charming plants for yielding flowers daring 
the winter and early spring months. Many of them being sweetly 
scented are all the more acceptable on that account. Another 
point in their favour is that they do not occupy valuable space 
under glass for many weeks in the year, because after they have 
flowered they can be gradually hardened till the weather permits 
of their being planted in the open air, where they should be 
allowed to remain throughout the following winter, and be lifted 
during the next autumn. This gives them time to make good 
growth, and be in the healthy vigorous condition necessary to 
enable them to withstand the weakening influence of forcing, 
and by having a good stock of plants and lifting half each 
season this can be easily done. Where not already done, those 
that are intended for this season’s forcing should be lifted, at 
once, and after being potted those that are not wanted for placing 
under glass at once can be plunged over the rim of the pots in 
the open air, and be taken into heat as required to keep up a 
succession of flowers. We always like to see the deciduous 
plants subjected to a few sharp frosts before being taken under 
Mass, as they do not appear to force well till the leaves have 
fallen. 
Deutzia gracilis is perhaps the first in point of merit to 
claim our attention, the pure whiteness of its pretty bell-shaped 
flowers, and, as its name implies, their graceful appearance, 
renders them general favourites. To have them in flower in 
November and December it is necessary to keep a stock of plants 
in pots, because when planted out they do not ripen their wood 
early enough to flower satisfactorily till after Christmas, the 
flowers often coming small and refusing to open properly. After 
flowering those that are to be kept in pots should be allowed to 
complete their growth in some structure that is kept at a mode¬ 
rately warm temperature. An early vinery suits them admir¬ 
ably. When they have made growth about an inch long, some 
of the shoots should be taken off with a heel, inserted in pots, 
and placed under a handlight, where they will qurckly root, and 
can then be shifted on as required, eventually planting them in 
the open air, as it is a good plan to always have young plants 
coming on which can be used in 5 and 6-inch pots The plants 
from which the cuttings have been taken should, when they have 
completed their growth, be gradually hardened and plunged in 
ashes during the summer months, when they can have the full 
benefit of bright sunshine and be well attended to in the matter 
of watering. In this way the growth becomes thoroughly 
ripened, and by the middle of October will be in capital condition 
for forcing, and may be had in flower from five to six weeks after 
they are taken into heat. D. scabra and the variety flore pleno 
will also succeed under similar treatment, but are very much taller 
growers than gracilis. 
Staphylea co'chica is also a useful shrub for floweringin pots, 
but it must not be subjected to hard forcing. It is not so much 
grown as Deutzias although it is superior to them in one respect, 
as it possesses a delicious perfume. The Gue'der Rose (Viburnum 
Opulus) are also much prized by some, and most effective they 
look with their white globular flower heads. Lilacs are very 
useful when scented flowers are in demand, but before lifting see 
that they have a fair number of flower buds, or disappointment 
will be the result. The old double Prunus is pretty on account 
of the pure whiteness of its flowers, but one great drawback is 
they are so short-lived, but for making wreaths and crowns, 
which are often not required to stand so more than a day, they 
are excellent. 
American Azaleas, which include the numerous varieties of 
A. mollis, bear forcing remarkably well, and if grown in suffi¬ 
cient quantities make quite an exhibition in themselves, which 
for the great variety of those soft and pleasing shades of colour 
which are now so much sought after, cannot be surpassed by any 
