262 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 2- 189’. 
weather than upon cirrying out the work at any particular date. 
If the seed be sown earlier than April theie is a risk of sharp frost 
checking the free growth of the plants while they are tender. 
Where turf of good quality, free from coarse weeds, such as 
Plantain especially or Daisv roots, it is of crurse preferable to seed 
for immediate effect ; but where suitable turf is not obtainable 
it is better to sow seed than to be troubled with weeding the 
lawns annually before a good sward can be secured. In some 
locilities great prejudice exists against forming a lawn by sowing 
seeds, which also extends to breaking up pasture land as a means of 
improving the quality of the grass. 
Success in obtaining a good sward in a short time depends 
entirely upon the manner in which the ground is prepared, the time 
the seed is sown, and how the grass is attended to afterwards. 
Given suitable weather, warm and showery, the seed will germinate 
quickly, and the lawn look quite green in fiv^e weeks, and in as 
manv months quite a thick c'rpet of grass can be had. 
We will assume the ground was well broken up in the autumn, 
the surface soil will be well pulverised now by the frosts ex¬ 
perienced this winter. Even in the growth of grass it is surpii ing 
what a ditference is perceptible where the soil has been deeply 
stirred, and those who are desirous of obtaining a close velvety 
lawn in a short time would do Avell t > dig the ground at least 
15 inches deep. The level which the future lawn is to assume must 
be made now, as after the seed is sown it is too late to make any 
alterations. The surface must be raked fine, and then rolled to 
secure a firm bed for the seed. On the day the seed is to be sown 
the surface should be raked again, and sown at the rate of GO lbs. 
to the acr’, or a little less than half a pound to the rod. 
Sowing can be done in two ways—first up and down the piece, 
afterwards crossing the site. In this manner plenty of seed w)ll be 
se.atfered to produce an even sward. A still day should be chosen 
for sowing this fine seed. Again rake the surfa'^e as evenly as 
possible, and repeat the rolling to findly settle the scil and the 
seed. Some leave the surface smooth from tho roller, but it all 
depends upon the kind of soil which has to be dealt with. If it be 
of a heavy retentive nature it would not le wise to allow the 
surface to remain smooth, because it would be too hard buked if 
the rolling was followed quickly by rain, thus preventing the seeds 
pushing through, and encouracing the surface to crack. In this 
case it is better to again light'y rake the sail, sa as to leave the 
surface loose, but not sufficiently to disturb the seed. Where the 
soil is sandy the roder will leave the best possible finish, as in this 
case the surface is not likely to bec^'me crusted. Make provision 
in some way to scare off small lirds, and it is surprising what a 
quantity they will pull up, just when the seels begin to germinate, 
if lefc unprotected. To scare them procure two pieces of glass 
about G inches square, suspend them to the end of separate stakes 
thrust into the ground in a slant rag direction towards each other, 
but so that they do not touch each otte". The glass is tied to 
the end of the stakes with string 1 foot long, and in such a 
manner that upon the least movement the pieces of glass chink 
together. This will keep the birds away until the .seed germinates, 
which will not take more than ten days, cr a fortnight at the 
most, if the weather be warm and showery. The green liianet and 
chaffinch are the worst lirls to contend with. 
As soon as weeds can be discerned remove all Doek.s, Dandelions, 
and others of coarse growth ; choose damp weather for this work, 
as the weeds come up more readily. When the grass is sufficiently 
high mow it lightly with a scythe, repealing tl is operation directly 
the grass is long enough to be cut. Repeated cutting off the tops 
of the grass induces it to fill out mare readily at the base, and to 
form a thick sward. Repeat mowing as occasion requires. A light 
iron roller may be run over the grass often enough to make the 
surface firm ; in fact, it cannot be rolled nor mown too much.—S, 
FLOWER CULTURE FOR PROFIT. 
CcELOGYXE rUtlSTAT.A.. 
White flowers generally realise the best prices. Probably some 
of the delicately coloured Cattleyas, Loelias, and other Orchids do 
fetch higher sums than the Crelogynes ; but, all things considered, 
it IS doubtful if any pay better in the long run. At the present 
time we are sending flowers of the Orchid under notice to a shop 
in London, and after expenses are paid I’ecelve 3s. per dozen. 
This may not appear a particular good price, hut it muat be remem¬ 
bered that they are sold at a wholesale rate, and also that a fairly 
strong or good average pan of bulbs is capable of annually pro¬ 
ducing twenty spikes and upwards, each bearing from four to six 
flowers, which means a return of from 20s. to 30s. per year. As a 
matter of fact one good crop of flowers is worth more in the 
market than the plants producing them would fetch at an ordinary 
plant sale. Those, therefore, who have a good stock should take 
good care of it. They cannot be increased rapidly from a few 
small pieces, but are not particularly dear to buy. Undoubtedly 
the Chatsworth form is superior to the ordinary vanety, but its 
value is more apparent than real as far as growers of flowers for 
market purposes are concerned. There is also a difference 
observable in the common type, those with long oval pseudo-bulbs 
flowering the most surely and strongly ; at least such appears to 
be the case with those we have. 
A few years ago ave succeeded very indifferently with th® 
Coelogynes. They made fairly good growth, but either failed to 
form flower spikes, or else the latter damped off while yet in the 
sheaths. Private places varying so much in the arrangements of 
plant houses and everything else, it takes some time to find out 
where various choice plants succeed best, and those unacquainted 
with the facts of each case can therefore only advise generally. 
We shifted our Coelogynes from one place to another till at last 
the right spot avas found, and there they will be kept as long as I 
have chai’ge of them. They are not natives of the hottest part of 
India, and what as a rule suits Cattleyas also agrees fairly well with 
them. Where, however, they succeed best is on a side bench in a 
fernery. Here they have plenty of light, but no bright sunshine 
reaches them, while the temperatures ai’e never high and seldom 
very low. During the winter the night temperatures vary from 
45° to 55", according to the external weather, and in the daytime 
there is usually a rise to G0°, or rather less. During the spring and 
summer months moi’e heat suits the Ferns, as well as the Orchids 
gi’own with them, and an ordinary stove tempei’ature is therefore 
maintained, plenty of moisture being maintained in the atmrsphere, 
I am awave that many succeed in growing Coelogynes well 
under very different treatment, the plants being kept in a strong 
heat while active growth is going on, and then rested in a warm 
greenhouse, being reintroduced into a plant stove to flower. Ours 
do not require to be rested. They certainly get the most heat and 
moisture both at the roots and atmospherically while active growth 
is proceeding, but they do not require to be moved, and are never 
really dry at the roots. Under this treatment scarcely a strong- 
pseudo-bulb has failed to flower on all but one pan. 
There are a few other details that ought to be referred to. 
We find the plants succeed better in pans than pots, and the less, 
often they are pulled to pieces with the view of increasing the 
stock the better, those kept for several years in the same pans, 
being by far the mast floriferous. The pans ought to be freely 
drained, and the plants potted rather high in a mixture consisting 
of equal parts of the best brown fibrous peat and chopped 
sphagnum, a few small potsherds and lumps of charcoal being 
added. We make no attempt to keep the smface of the soil 
clothed with live sphagnum, and fail to see the necessity for so- 
doing. It is possible to pay too much attention to the live moss 
coverings, as it does not always follow that what suits th's will 
also benefit the more precious roots underneath. Should the soil 
become sour it is advisable, in extreme cases, to separate and wash.- 
what roots may be alive cleanly from it, and repot in fresh compost. 
Sometimes the roots become very bare, and in anticipation of this; 
we, every April, go over all of the pans, and top-dress wherever 
this is needed. Occasionally extra large pans are to be met with; 
havinor long strings of pseudo-bulbs hanging down their sides,, 
but though these frequently flower freely, the growths would be 
stronger and finer spikes be produced if the stems had some- 
compost to lootin^o. It is these large overgrown specimens that 
would pay best for splitting up and repotting, and I would travel 
a considerable distance on the chance of being able to buy one or 
more of them. Insect pests do not seem to greatly trouble. 
Coelogynes, and woodlice prefer the roots of most other Orchids. 
We gather the floweis singly, always allowing thirteen to the- 
dozen, and pack them closely, flatly, and in a single layer in shallow 
boxes line! with cotton wool faced over with tissue paper. They 
are covered with another strip of thin paper and on this sufficient, 
cotton wool is placed to fix the flowers tightly when the lid is shut, 
down. Thus packed they will travel well, and any distance, either 
by post or rail. Here let me once more add how unwise it is ta 
nail down the lids of flower boxes so very strongly, any number 
of wire nails being driven in. They cannot be opened without 
breaking the lids, and not infrequently the contents are alscv 
damaged by the rough treatment necessary.—M. H. 
REGULATING THE GROWTH OF PEACH 
TREES. 
Attexdixg to the wants of Peach trees in disbudding, stopping-, 
and tying, is one of the pleasant operations of gardening, and 
affords ample scope for the exercise of observation. Those who- 
concentrate their attention upon this work quickly find that with, 
caa-e young trees may be moulded into well-balanced specimens. 
