224 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ March 19,1891. 
flowering plants, that you cannot be too sparing.” If any grower 
in England uses Clay’s fertiliser for his Auriculas his experience 
would be interesting. I shall apply it to a few plants and judge of 
its effects for myself. Alpines are vigorous and healthy, and almost 
every one will give bloom. One grower in this neighbourhood 
informs me that so far as he can yet judge of the trusses of his 
stage varieties, he thinks many of them will have fewer pips than 
the requirements of competition schedules. This is not the case 
with my own plants, as my trusses show the usual number of 
p'ps.— John Morris, 
VEGETABLES—THEIR VARIETIES AND 
CULTIVATION. 
[A condensel report of a paper read by Mr. J. Lambert, Tlie Gardens, Onslow Hall, 
Shrewsbury, at a recent meeting of the Birmingliam Gardeners’ Association.] 
(^Continued from joage 201.') 
Good Onions make a telling dish amongst twelve vegetables, 
and as yet I have not been able to grow them so large as those we 
see gi’own further south, especially by Mr. Wilkins in Dorsetshire. 
Growers in these districts are enabled to plant out a month earlier 
than we can in Shropshire. I have tried many ways, and find 
the best results from sowing in boxes or in pots and transferring 
the seedlings into small pots or boxes until they can be planted in 
the open ground. 
For this crop it is advisable to trench the ground in autumn, 
giving a good dressing of manure, and in spring fork it over, 
mixing in a heavy dressing of soot, treading the ground when dry 
before transplanting the Onions. Be sure also to make the soil 
frm around the plants when turned out of pots or boxes and 
planted, placing a stick with a tie to each to prevent the young 
plants breaking down. Syringe and keep them moist until they 
get plenty of roots, and by the end of September good bulbs may 
be expected. 
Seakale is truly a gardeners’ friend, this season especially. I do 
not employ Seakale pots covered with fresh manure for heating. 
I lift all my roots every year, trimming off spare roots and sorting 
into two sizes, first and second; I then bury them in the ground, 
and bring in a supply once a week and force them. From the 
roots cut away in trimming we select all the largest for growing on, 
cutting each piece about 3^ inches long, and before planting them 
we start them into action by tying them in bundles of fifty and 
placing them in a little heat, causing them to grow and show 
several crowns or growths, removing all but two when planting 
out, and this is done with a dibber, so that the new crowns are 
about 3 inches below the surface, and filling up the hole with some 
good fine soil, and afterwards disbud to one crown. Seakale must 
have change of soil, and the land needs two dressings of salt, one 
at planting time, the other when trenching or digging the ground. 
I advise all to secure the new Lily White Seakale, and work up 
a stock from roots, not relying upon seeds. With me it grows 
much stronger than the old sort, and realises a better price in the 
market. Plant out Seakale sets as you would a flat of Cabbages, 
about 9 inches apart from plant to plant, and the rows 16 or 
18 inches apart. 
Another good vegetable, and one that will be largely grown 
when more known, is the new Chinese Artichoke, Stachys tuberi- 
fera, and the best way to cook it is to fry it in butter. I saw this 
vegetable first at the Vegetable Conference in London, and I now 
grow it, and am very pleased with it. It crops abundantly, and 
from one small tuber from eighty to one hundred are easily 
obtained. Plant in a warm situation, as you would early Pota¬ 
toes, in rich soil; and give a plentiful supply of manure water 
in dry Aveather. In the autumn lift all the roots, and keep 
them in damp sand, to be used as wanted. With Potatoes for 
exhibition purposes I have the same trouble through the soil here 
being so stiff. On each set as planted we place two good shovels 
full of good prepared soil, mixed for the purpose, consisting of 
sifted potting soil from underneath the potting bench, burnt earth, 
and lime mixed together. This keeps them free from scale until 
the roots are in the garden soil, then they become scabby and 
disfigured. 
I scarcely need allude to Tomatoes more than to say that for 
exhibition purposes they must be grown under glass. I find Peach 
houses excellent places, and grow the plants on the one-stem plan 
either in pots or planted out. If planted outside against walls very 
strong plants must be prepared, but there is always an uncertainty 
as to a crop. 
The Cardoon is a favourite dish with a great many. One 
short row will supply a good table, and if not sown too early they 
will not run to seed. The midrib is eaten after being blanched 
with paper or hay bands wrapped around the stalks like Celery. 
Grow in trenches as you would Celery or Leeks, sowing the seed® 
in the trench in May. 
Celery and Leeks.—For both make good trenches, filling in 
with good light soil after digging in a good dressing of rich 
manure, and mixing in salt for the Celery and soot for the Leeks. 
When ready for earthing use brown paper in preference to soil,, 
and keep them well watered during dry, hot, summer weather. I 
have seen no Celery yet grown by gardeners to equal some grown 
by mechanics or cottagers. The finest I have yet seen was grown in 
Leicestershire. 
Globe Artichokes are much esteemed at a gentleman’s table. 
Judges, as a rule, look for these in twelve varieties of vegetables. 
Beyond making fresh plantations in good soils, they require but 
little attention, and each clump should consist of three plants,, 
and clumps 4 feet apart ; but as these are often produced from 
seed, it is difficult to get a good variety. That I grow for exhibi¬ 
tion purposes was awarded a certificate at the Vegetable Conference- 
as being the true variety. 
Just a few words about Asparagus. To obtain fine heads I 
should by all means grow them as single plants, in rows, on the- 
French system. I regret that on one occasion I had some dug up- 
for forcing, but they were not acceptable at the house table,, 
as the smaller growth from some thirty-year-old beds is preferred,, 
the flavour being so much superior ; but I am not allowed to cut 
after the end of May. This restriction, together with liberal treat¬ 
ment by good manure, is the cause of their bearing so well at their 
great age. We also cut back all branches bearing seed pods at tb«e 
earlier stage, not quite to the ground, and I attach some importance 
to this. 
With regard to the cultivation of a kitchen garden, we are all 
well aware Avhat an important thing it is to always keep the hoe 
disturbing the soil amongst young growing seedlings, and this 
should not be neglected, even if we are obliged to let weeds grow 
in other parts of the garden through being short of labour. 
Frequently with amateurs and cottagers, and some gardeners, time 
is spent in making up trim neat beds for seeds and crops. This is 
really a waste of time, and frequently a drawback to the crops on 
such beds. Carrots, Parsnips, Onions, and other vegetables are 
very often sown in rows not more than 6 to 8 inches apart with a 
pathway between the raised beds probably 18 inches in width. 
This 18 inches of space Avould be much better divided between the 
rows, much to the benefit of the crop. The rows of Carrots should 
not be less than a foot apart. Onions at least 10 to 11 inches apart, 
and quite 15 inches for Parsnips, thus enabhng a Dutch hoe to be 
used, and much better crops Avill result than when grown much 
closer together. When growing these crops for exhibition pur¬ 
poses,! recommend sowing on level ground and watering when neces¬ 
sary, and drills can be left here and there for passing up and down 
for watering them. Brussels Sprouts, to have them fine, should be 
sown early, and planted early in firm good soil and with plenty 
of room. ^ g continued.) 
LIBONIAS. 
When well grown these are useful plants for decoration ai 
this time of year. They may be raised annually from cuttings of 
young wood taken from the plants after flowering. They strike 
freely in sandy soil in a temperature of 60“ if placed under hand- 
lights or in the propagating frame. Directly the cuttings ars 
rooted and hardened by exposure in the house in which they 
have been rooted, place them into 2-inch pots in a compost of loam 
and leaf mould in equal proportions, vith a little sand added. 
When roots have commenced forming freely place the plants on 
a shelf, or, better still, plunge the pots where the night temperature 
ranges about 55°, in which they can remain until the end of May 
or the beginning of June, then carefully harden and place them 
in cold frames. When the young plants are 4 inches high pinch 
the point out to induce them to branch. Shoots that take the lead 
may be stopped from time to time until the beginning of July, when 
they can be allowed to grow unchecked. The one thing important is 
not to allow the young plants to become root-bound until they are 
placed into the pots (^5 or 6-inch) in which they are intended to 
flower. In the final pottings one-third leaf mould only should be 
used, and one-seventh of decayed manure may be added. It does 
not matter materially whether the plants are grown under light 
shade or not until July, but after the final pinching they can be 
grown fully exposed to the sun. 
In some seasons they succeed planted out, but the fault of this 
system is, if the season proves a wet and sunless one, they will 
grow luxuriantly enough, but often fail to flower profusely. We 
have attained the best results—namely., plants covered with small 
but good flowers, by keeping them in cold frames throughout the 
season. The lights are thrown off when the weather is fine and 
