December 8, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
511 
The practice followed ia cultivating these is very simple. The plants 
are put out in a batch as thickly as possible, not the orthodox 18 inches 
apart, watered once or twice, and then left to take their chance till 
lifting time. At the time of my visit they were splendid stuff, full of 
bloom and buds. Many other good things were to be seen, and I returned 
home satisfied that I had picked up many wrinkles.—G. T. D. 
THE GARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION 
AND YOUNG MEN. 
“ Well-wisher’s ” letter on page 482 of the Journal of Horticulture 
is a laudable attempt to further promote the usefulness of this valuable 
Institution. In supporting the Institution gardeners in general are 
laying up for themselves (if ever needed) the means of support in their 
old age, and if never required so much the better for them. There will 
be the satisfaction that we, by our yearly contributions to the Institu¬ 
tion, have been the means of helping to assist some of our brothers or 
their widows in distress in their old age. I know that there are gardeners 
who would gladly, if their means would allow them, support the In¬ 
stitution. On the other hand, there are doubtless many who never 
give the Institution more than a passing thought, except when a discus¬ 
sion or an appeal is issued in the gardening papers. 
The idea to invite foremen and journeymen to join is excellent, and 
1 hope if agreed upon that many will co-operate, and have votes in pro¬ 
portion to the amount of their annual subscription. Another plan I 
should like to mention which, if adopted, I think would be a benefit to 
the Institution. Head gardeners who desire to join and do not feel 
themselves able to contribute the guinea all at one time should, by a 
new rule, be permitted to tender their subscription in two half-yearly 
subscriptions of 10s. 6d., or four of 5s. 3d. quarterly, as it is not every 
gardener who can spare a guinea all at once. It is all very well for some 
people to say that a guinea is not much, but when this and other sub¬ 
scriptions are taken into consideration, to which head gardeners who 
desire to keep themselves informed of all that goes on in the gardening 
world contribute, I think we should stop and think before we speak too 
harshly of those who have not seen their way to join this Institution, 
but rather see if ways and means to make it more easy for them to do 
so cannot be devised. The Manchester Unity and Foresters, &c., adopt 
monthly and quarterly subscriptions with success, and the same means 
should be provided to make our Institution popular, then young gardeners 
might join more freely under a system of graduated subscriptions.— 
John Chinnery. 
CYCLAMENS AND BOUVARDIAS. 
[Abridged from a paper read at a meeting of the Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ 
Association by Mr. JAMES PAYNE. J 
Dealing first with the Cyclamen, the essayist said that it was one of 
the finest decorative plants for the greenhouse, the conservatory, or for 
house decoration, and on account of its free-flowering habit, its pretty 
foliage, and its gay flowers was particularly serviceable during the 
winter months. In growing it he counselled sowing fresh seed every 
year in the month of August. The seed should be sown in pans well 
drained and filled to within an inch of the top with finely sifted loam, 
leaf soil, and a little coarse silver sand, pressing the soil rather firmly in 
the pan. Before sowing the seed water the soil and let it settle for an 
hour. Place in a temperature of about 55° and put a little moss or a 
piece of slate over the pan to shade it and hasten the germination. 
When the plants are large enough to handle prick them off into 
4^-inch pots, six in a pot, in the same kind of soil and temperature. In 
the winter months the plants should only be “dewed” with a fine 
syringe morning and afternoon. Towards the end of December the 
seedlings should then be large enough to pot off singly ; and when, in 
March, the sun gets stronger, they should be partially shaded else they 
are apt to droop. A check of this kind throws them a long way back. 
In June give the plants another and final shift into their flowering pots 
(4^-incli). Let the corm be a little above the soil, and mix a little well 
decayed cow manure and road scrapings with the compost. A little soot 
at the bottom deters the ingress of worms. In growing Cyclamens in 
frames they ought, by means of shingle or coal ashes, to be raised to near 
the glass to keep them stubby and strong. This is an important matter 
in growing them well. 
The ideal house for growing the Cyclamen in is a span-roofed 
structure with the path in the centre. Care must be taken not to let the 
plants get a chill through a sudden frost coming on. Cyclamen can be 
grown on a second year, but unless it is well done it is better to start 
afresh every year. In picking the blooms they should be pulled right 
up, as, if the part of the stalk remaining rots down, it is apt, by 
contagion, to damage the incipient buds. Cyclamen come true from 
seed. If large flowers are wanted grow the giganteum varieties. 
The same kind of soil and temperature that suits the Cyclamen will 
do for the Bouvardia, The latter is best propagated by cuttings in 
spring, although division of the root is practised by some gardeners. 
When the cuttings are taken off they ought to be plunged in a bottom 
•beat of about 75°, and kept shaded until they strike. When growing 
their straggling points should be taken off. The plants should be 
flowered in 5£-inch pots, which are large enough for the first season. 
When in the frames they should be shaded, but when the warm weather 
sets in they should be stood right out in the open—in cocoa-nut fibre if 
possible, as that keeps an even temperature about the roots. Upon no 
account must they suffer then through want of water, and a little help in 
the way of l'quid manure will not be lo3t upon them. 
Early in September they ought to be taken into a cool house and 
brought on to the flowering state. In placing them out of doors in the 
summer they must not be exposed to a blazing sun, as that would scorch 
them. The north side of a wall is more favourable. Red spider is apt 
to affect them, but that can be got rid of by some of the insecticides 
sold by the seedsmen. Gardeners who have Cyclamen and Bouvardias 
to cut from need never be at a loss when asked to make up a spray 
for a lady to wear in her dress or in her hair, nor for a buttonhole 
bouquet for a gentleman. As decorative plants their value is still 
greater. 
JAMESIA AMERICANA. 
Although perfectly hardy out of doors, and amongst the earliest 
of the North American plants, Jamesia americana (fig. 68) is admirably 
adapted for forcing. It may be lifted and potted in the autumn much 
in the way recommended for Rhododendrons and similar plants, or kept 
in pots and transferred to the greenhouse early in January. It will 
FIG. 68.—JAMESIA AMERICANA. 
flower early in March, and extend over April, in mild seasons sooner. 
As it never fails to bloom, and seems quite indifferent to either wet or 
dry seasons, it is a valuable acquisition, and should be extensively 
grown. 
The plant grows naturally of a rather straggling habit, but this may 
easily be remedied by pruning. The shoots are stout and woody, and are 
much-branched. The flowers are in large corymbose heads, and are 
borne laterally, also opposite, on every joint, and smaller than the lateral 
ones. They are pure white and slightly fragrant, lasting a considerable 
time in a cut state. The leaves are borne in opposite pairs on the young 
shoots, stalked, oval-shaped, and evenly and sharply serrated. They 
are of a fine light green colour, and covered with a fine silky down, 
which makes them quite silvery underneath. As it rarely if ever 
ripens seed in this country, the best way to increase it is from cuttings, 
which should be placed in cool frames in a shady position, and watered 
very sparingly until rooted. 
As a low-growing shrub it is unequalled in early summer, its pure 
white flowers having a peculiar fascination where the run on white 
cut flowers is large at that season. Equally useful also as a tall shrub 
for the background, it is exceedingly floriferous in either position. 
The flowering season in the open air extends over May and June, and the 
flowers are produced in profusion. 
A LUCKY SHOWMAN. 
I have read with much pleasure the note of Mr. Portsmouth on 
page 483 on Grape culture in the North of England, and can confirm 
every word he has said. His article is headed “ A Lucky Showman,” 
