72 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 22 , 1891. 
tionately numerous and fine. They are never more than a fortnight or 
so without plenty of flowers from these plants the whole year through. 
1 question if the dreaded “ mite ” would have the nerve to attack such 
splendid plants. No drying off as practised by some, but the plants 
are kept going ahead, which may partly account for results. At the 
back of these houses Orchids occupy one division, which are in good 
condition ; the remainder is filled with Palms and Crotons for decora¬ 
tive purposes. Ericas and small Azaleas fill another house, and promise 
a wealth of bloom. Other houses were devoted to table plants 
and Calanthes. In a cooler house some Orchids were flowering, many 
spikes being particularly fine. Pits and frames were full of Ferns, 
bedding plants, and Violets. 
The conservatory is a large iron structure, built on the ridge and 
furrow system, and contains some of the best and finest Camellias I 
ever saw ; most of them range from 12 to 14 feet high, and propor¬ 
tionately wide, with foliage and flowers to the soil. The Camellias 
alone are well worth going a long distance to see. Each plant is a model 
of health and vigour. They are planted in beds, and the mistake of 
crowding has been avoided. Ocher plants and climbers produce a very 
beautiful effect. As a good coating of snow lay on the ground it was 
not possible to note crops m the kitchen garden, but the fruit trees on 
the walls and by the sides of the walks looked very promising for good 
crops. Bramley’s Seedling Apple is highly spoken of as suiting the 
heavy soil. More might be written about Woodseat and its trees and 
shrubs, but the above will prove that the gardener is a good fruit and 
plant grower, and the more credit is due as the soil is bad, requiring 
a good deal of judgment in managing.—S. T. W. 
LILY OF THE VALLEY. 
Few flowers are held in higher estimation than the Lily of the 
Yalley, and although in some parts of the country it is found grow¬ 
ing wild by the acre, this does not make its cultivation any the less 
appreciated by lovers of flowers ; but what I am most surprised at 
is the vast amount of money sent to other countries for the pur¬ 
chase of crowns or clumps, when in certain parts of Great Britain 
they can be produced of infinitely better quality than the majority 
of imported roots. I do net infer that the common wild forms can 
ever be brought to the same perfection as some of the larger 
varieties that have recently been brought into cultivation. The 
variety we grow is one that my predecessor here “ singled out ” 
years ago, and is known as “ Harris’ variety.” It produces large 
spikes and from sixteen to twenty-four bells on a spike when well 
grown, but does not force quite so quickly as the smaller forms, 
although we generally manage to have nearly 1000 spikes ready for 
the annual decorations of the ballroom during the first week in 
January. 
Our beds altogether comprise about half an acre, a quarter of 
which is annually used for forcing purposes, giving a continued 
supply of flowers from the first week in January until they bloom 
out of doors. The method of culture is as simple as possible, for 
as soon as a good portion of one of the beds has been lifted for 
forcing we give it a good dressing about 6 inches thick of old 
Chrysanthemum and potting soil, thoroughly decayed leaf mould, 
and well decayed light manure in equal parts, also a good sprinkling 
of soot or wood ashes. 
The non-flowering crowns are singled out and tied in bundles 
on wet days, and when an opportunity occurs (we choose a fine 
day if possible) commence planting much in the same way as 
nurserymen transplant seedling trees. Let the drills be a foot 
asunder, and plant the crowns an inch or so apart, throwing in a 
little of the leaf mould to the trench before putting in the crowns, 
which ought to be well elevated and made quite firm. We find a 
border facing east the best aspect for them, and we give neither 
mulching nor any other top-dressing during the whole period of 
their growth, as by experience we find they do better without 
it ; but, of course, they are all lifted for forcing at the end of 
three or four years. During the two first years afeer planting all 
weeds are kept down by hoeing, but afterwards we want to leave 
the young runners to get the stock for subsequent planting, there¬ 
fore after that time the beds must be kept clean by hand-weeding, 
or using on a hot day a small Onion hoe to cut up the small 
weeds. 
Forcing is carried out under much the same conditions as have 
been recommended from time to time in these pages, only we do it 
more in a wholesale way. A bed of fermenting material is male 
up in the pit inside a Melon house. The pit is 45 feet long and 
3 feet wide, and is heated by two 4-inch hot-water pipes ; over these 
we place the material (leaves and litter), which has previously 
been well mixed together, turned, and sweetened ; then the Lilies 
are dug up, the non-flowering crowns pulled out, and the clumps 
placed on the fermenting material when the temperature is from 
80° to 90°, and a little moss, or failing this leaf mould, is placed on 
the crowns, and the whole pit is covered with lights, and kept dark 
until growth has fairly commenced. During this stage they are 
kept frequently syringed with water the same temperature as the 
bottom heat. When growth begins gradually admit the light and air 
until the spikes are well advanced, then the lights can be entirely 
removed. When the bells begin to open we make the roots up into 
the vases and boxes for house decorating, or if for cutting pack 
them closely into rough cutting boxes, so that they can be easily 
moved into cooler quarters for a few days before being cut. Later 
on successive supplies are brought on by simply placing the clumps 
on the floors of any of the forcing houses, where they start 
freely, and after forcing they are planted out in the woods. 
—W. J. Ireland, Singleton, Swansea. 
Chrysanthemums for Decoration. 
The remarks by ‘^1. P.” concerning bush plants are very opportune^ 
as the rage for large blooms for exhibiting has doubtless caused many 
useful varieties to be either discarded or not to have the cultivation 
accorded to them that their merits deserve. To those who have not the 
chance or privilege of exhibiting, bush plants can be more readily grown 
for conservatory and cutting purposes, and make a good addition to 
those plants grown in 8-inch pots to carry three, four, or six large 
blooms, as the case may be. For large bush plants I have usually in 
January placed three cuttings in a 60-sized pot, stood them in a warm 
greenhouse or vinery just started, and when rooted I have taken them 
to a cold greenhouse, potting them without dividing into 48’s as soon 
as ready, and the end of March shifting again into 7-inch pots, placing 
them in a cold frame with plenty of air at all times. Plants that have 
done duty in 48-pots are very useful for growing again. Some of them at- 
the present time may now have four or five strong shoots. Shake them 
out and replace into the same pots, and shift as required. A cool green¬ 
house is the best place for them till March. 
When the weacher is favourable about the end of May they are- 
finally shifted into 10 or 12-inch pots, and some a little larger, according 
to the strength of the plants. An open position is accorded them 
throughout the summer, and liquid manure is given about three times 
a week from August onwards. At their final potting a few sticks about 
18 inches long are used, and the shoots drawn out and tied to them to 
admit more air and keep them strong. From the commencement pinch¬ 
ing the extreme points of the shoots when 3 or 4 inches in length is 
resorted to, the large-flowering varieties up to the middle of June, and 
Pompons till the middle of July. No attempt is made to tie down or 
train the shoots, as in the case of plants gr wn for exhibiting ; but in 
August seven or eight good sticks of sufficient length and strength 
are placed in the pots, and the growths tied and looped up about, 
every three weeks. This is essential, as if not attended to a windy day- 
will do much mischief ; and even if winds do not prevail their own 
weight will cause them to hang down, and not have so sightly an 
appearance in the autumn. In the size of pot named, plants have 
ranged from 3 to 5 feet high, 3 to 4 feet through, carrying from fifty to 
100 heads of bloom. I have also seen, when short of large pots, large 
bushes grown in Seakale pots for cutting purposes, these pots not usually 
being in use from May to December. 
Varieties are so numerous and good that anyone with a limited 
space for housing them have a difficulty sometimes respecting which to- 
select for the purpose named. I have found that those having a decided 
colour are the most appreciated in a cut state. Good whites, such 
as Lady Selborne for October; Avalanche, Elaine, and Madame Lacroix 
for November ; Fair Maid of Guernsey for December ; and Ethel for 
January. Good yellows, such as Peter the Great, Mrs. Dixon, and 
Thunberg ; and good reds, such as Cullingfordi and Julie Lagravere. 
This last-named, although an old one, in still one of the best of its 
colour, and its foliage is good. In fine autumns like the past one, it 
has been excellent outdoors. Some plants of this grown purposely in. 
this kitchen garden for cutting have furnished a large quantity of 
flowers. At the present time the only three kinds we are cutting from, 
are Ethel, Thunberg, and Meg Merrilies; these three sorts were kept in 
a cool house through October, November, and December. Meg. 
Merrilies is the latest of the three. Other good varieties of various- 
colours for making bushes are Ealph Brocklehank, Hiver Fleuri, 
Madame C. Audiguier, Edouard Audiguier, Margot, Mons. Ardene, 
Bouquet Fait, James Salter, La Triomphante, Madame Bertier 
Rendatler, Edwin Molyneux, Mrs. G. Bundle, and Princess Teck. 
Those who have a liking for Pompons will find Soeur Melanie, White 
Trevenna, Cedo Nulli, and Madame Marthe good whites; Golden Circle, 
Aigle d’Or (early), and St. Michael good yellows; Bob, Calliope, and 
Brilliant good reds. The Anemone Pompons are pretty for cut flower 
work, Antonius, Madame Montels, and Madame Sentir being excellent- 
types. The variety Marie Stuart is a free grower, and makes a fine 
bush, and should find a place in the most limited of collections.— 
A. Harding. 
