May 19, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
371 
The collectors tell us that Cattleya Mendeli is getting scarce 
in its native home, and that much difficulty is experienced in 
securing really good forms. By way of showing that they at 
least are equal to the occasion Messrs. Sander & Co. put some 
450 lots under the hammer on Friday last. Except for a few 
specially fine and distinct specimens the individual prices were 
not high ; nevertheless, the gross sum realised would doubtless 
make the importation a profitable one. But will it prove to be 
the last for a long time to come ? We shall see. 
It is very satisfactory to hear of the good progress that is being 
made at Kew with the gigantic task of forming an Orchid herbarium 
to serve as a substitute for the one which Reichenbach took such 
extraordinary precautions to keep out of British hands. We shall 
do very well without it after all. While the vast stores of infor¬ 
mation that he had gathered together, largely from English sources, 
are mouldering under lock and key, a fresh superstructure will be 
erected which will, in all probability, be far in advance of the old 
one when that again sees the light of day. Mr. Rolfe is working 
assiduously, and he has efficient helpers in many private and public 
orchidists.— Nova. 
THE CULTIVATION OF LATE BROCCOLI. 
No matter where one goes the general query and complaint is, 
“ How have your Broccoli stood the winter ? Mine are nearlv all 
dead.” They stood the early winter all right, but the cold cuRing 
east winds of February and March have withered up most of them. 
This should certainly lead us to look about, and begin to devise 
ways and means of improving matters by sowing and planting, 
also to consider the best method of cultivation and the protection 
of next year’s supply. The only two sorts that I have seen which 
have stood the last winter are Model and The Queen. I have 
seen several breadths of Model, dwarf, sturdy, good plants, with 
useful heads that fetch good prices. I saw some sold at 6d. and 
8 d. each in the market last Saturday retail. This is a good price 
for small heads of Broccoli, and will do something towards repairing 
the loss caused by the partial failure of the crop this season, but 
the excessive price forbids the working classes buying so useful 
a vegetable, 
A supply of late Broccoli being so important, I think it only 
a matter of duty to the community at large for trained and 
practical gardeners to put on record the fact of this or that variety 
being good and hardy for the benefit of amateurs and cottagers. 
As to sowing the seed, I find it a good practice to sow late Broccoli 
about the third week in May onaborderonthenorthsideof awall, and 
when the seedlings are large enough to handle transplant at 9 inches 
apart, in the same border, afterwards planting out on open ground 
from which Peas have been cleared, without any forking or digging, 
simply hoeing off the weeds and applying a mixture of agricultural 
salt and soot. The quantity of the former should be regulated by 
the nature of the ground, whether it be wet or dry, and a few 
days after it has been used plant out, 2 feet apart each way, in 
rows. Some prefer to give more room, but I think the majority 
of gardeners cannot afford to plant at a great distance apart on 
account of the scarcity of ground ; where it can be done it is 
certainly advantageous. After planting keep all weeds down by 
hoeing to the end of September or October, according to the 
weather and the growth of the plants, then fork between the rows, 
and draw the soil up as if for Potatoes. When treated as indicated 
late Broccoli has a better chance of withstanding the onslaught of 
the east winds and the winter and spring snow on account of the 
stems being protected by the soil. 
I have found the following to be good sorts for a spring supply. 
The three first to be named I have generally lifted with balls of 
earth and placed under cover (early) for the better preservation of 
the heads—namely, Veitch’s Spring White, Adams’ Early White, 
and Early Penzance. Sorts to succeed these in the open ground 
are — Leamington, Knight’s Protecting (a good old variety), 
Dickson’s Late May, Model, and The Queen. I have tried Lauder’s 
Goshen and Ledsham’s Latest of All, but Model has beaten all 
varieties as far as I have seen for hardiness. I have cut heads until 
the extra early forcing Caulifiower sown in January and grown in 
frames was ready for use.— John Chinnery. 
DOUBLE IVY-LEAF PELARGONIUMS. 
These do not appear to become popular in the same way that 
the Zonal section have done. They lack the brilliancy of these, 
and no doubt many who tried them in the earlier days of their 
history were on that account, and also because of their rambling 
habit, somewhat disappointed with them as all-round useful plants. 
Since the time that the distinctly beautiful and dwarf upright¬ 
growing Madame Thibaut was introduced there has been a number 
of good sorts distributed. Indeed, every year a small set of new 
varieties is put on the market, but the number is still limited that 
one can confidently recommend as really first-rate. 
Madame Thibaut, already named, is of a soft rosy shade of 
colour, is exceedingly floriferous, and is dwarf in growth. Alice 
Crousse is of a bright .pink shade, and also good. Galilee, a clear 
rose, is a most lovely sort ; it is not so dwarf in habit, but this is 
easily overcome by a judicious system of pinching. Souvenir de 
Charles Turner is of quite a distinct form from any of these, but 
withal it is a most beautiful variety. Robert Owen is also very 
good. Jeanne Gillet is a distinct shade of bright violet. Le Prin- 
temps and Michelet are both good forms. 
For bedding purposes Madame Crousse is the one I like best. 
It is of a rank spreading growth, but flowers with great freedom, 
and is of a soft and lovely shade of rose. This, Galilee, Souvenir 
de C. Turner, and Alice Crousse are the varieties I prefer. The 
blooms of many of the large-flowered newer kinds do not open out 
kindly, and are therefore disappointing. The whole of the varie¬ 
ties are less amenable to greenhouse culture than the Zonal section, 
and a slightly warmer temperature during the winter and spring 
will do wonders in keeping the plants in good health. 
I have been somewhat annoyed by a parasitic fungus which 
attacks the foliage. This I believe is prevalent on these plants on 
the continent, and as it is from continental sources that almost the 
whole of our new sorts are procurable, there is an ever recurring 
danger of importing fresh stock. My method of keeping down 
this pest is to remove every affected leaf. By this means it may 
be kept in check. 
I propagate a stock of plants each year from cuttings taken in 
autumn—September—and in spring another batch of cuttings is 
rooted. The September cuttings are placed in 6-inch pots, several 
in each. These are fine strong plants in spring. They are trans¬ 
ferred singly into small pots in February, and in March into 5 or 
6 -inch, in which most of them flower in early summer. The 
cuttings which are rooted in spring are grown in cold frames with 
other plants in preparation for flowering in autumn. They require 
pinching two or three times, and at least one stake is needful for 
the support of the main stem and the three or four shoots which 
proceed from it. Excellent showy specimens are formed by 
keeping a few of the previous year’s plants over the winter and 
shifting them into 7 or 8-inch pots in early spring. Judicious 
pinching and the provision of a few stout stakes to keep the shoots 
in position are the chief points to be seen to in order to get a good 
groundwork to begin the summer campaign with. The older 
varieties, which were of a loose habit of growth, required a 
framework to train the shoots on, but the best kinds of the present 
day require nothing more than a few stakes. 
When I first began to take an interest in the double Ivy-leaf 
section I expected the flowers would prove of service when cut, and 
especially to send a distance. For the latter purpose they are 
unfortunately no better than single Zonals, as in hot weather, I am 
told, the trusses arrive with the petals shaken off. 
As to the most suitable compost, I do not find them at all 
particular. I have grown equally good plants in a compost of loam 
with one-fourth of fine cow manure and a little sand added, as in 
others of loam, leaf mould, and sand, or loam, peat, and sand. 
Plants received direct from the continent are invariably potted in 
peat and sand. It is necessary, in order to keep the plants in good 
condition and flowering continuously, that liquid manure or surface 
dressings be given periodically.—B. 
NOTES ON VINE MANAGEMENT. 
We often see the foliage of Vines inconveniently crowded, even 
in vineries where those in charge ought to know better. I have 
gone through houses where it was almost impossible to see a ray of 
light from above—not only in those devoted to early varieties, but 
in others in which Muscats alone were grown, also in late vineries. 
It is a fault to overcrowd the leaves of such an accommodating 
Grape as Black Hamburgh, but it is a worse one in the case of 
Muscat of Alexandria, and such late sorts as Alicante. I could 
name places where as many as three and sometimes four shoots 
were left growing on each spur, and only on one of these was 
a bunch of Grapes to be seen. I have more than once made the 
remark, “ Why do you leave so many shoots to one spur ? ” and the 
answer invariably is, “ I thought the more foliage I had the more 
roots the Vines would make.” 
In the case of Muscat of Alexandria I never saw a presentable 
bunch from Vines managed in this way. Not far from where I 
write is a vinery, half of it being planted with this variety. The 
rods were too close, but with the addition of superfluous growth 
