68 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 24, 1895. 
admirably. The plants should be potted soon after flowering, using 
thoroughly clean pots two-thirds filled with drainage. For the 
larger plants a small pot may be inverted over the hole of the 
larger one, and the space around and above it filled with crocks ; 
this makes them lighter to handle, and insures a free passage for 
the water. The drainage must be covered with the rougher 
portions of the sphagnum to prevent the peat being washed 
downwards by watering. 
Fix the plants in position, allowing the base of the leading 
pseudo-bulbs to be about an inch above the level of the pot, and 
proceed with the dibber to lay the compost evenly and firmly 
about the roots. See that the plants are so firmly fixed, by staking 
and tying if needful, that they cannot rock, or the young brittle 
roots are very liable to be snapped oS in moving the plants. The 
ends of the moss and peat must be clipped off neatly, and the 
compost left a little higher in the centre than around the rims of 
the pots. Water very sparingly at first, giving more as the roots 
begin to run in the new compost, but avoid at all times wetting the 
pseudo-bulbs more than is absolutely necessary. When growing 
freely the compost should never be very dry, but if frequent 
syringing between the pots is practised, it will not be necessary to 
give water at the roots oftener than twice or thrice a week, 
according to the weather. A free circulation of air is of the 
greatest importance in growing Cattleyas, and during the summer 
months the lower ventilators should be partly open day and night. 
C. Trianse is subject to the attacks of white scale, which must 
be kept in check by sponging, or the appearance and health of the 
plants will suffer in consequence. I have described the treatment 
of this Orchid somewhat in detail, as it is similar in many respects 
to that required for all the labiate group of Cattleyas. The chief 
difference is that the summer and autumn blooming species, as the 
true C. labiata, C. Gaskelliana, and others, require repotting in the 
spring instead of immediately after flowering. A few kinds, too, 
like rather more heat, as mentioned in these pages under the 
headings of the respective species. The resting and growing 
seasons must be decided, but the plants ought not to be over-dried 
or allowed to shrivel. 
Imitate Nature as far as practicable by a gradual increase and 
fall in the temperature in the spring and autumn, and remember 
that although the plants in a house must, to a certain extent, bo 
treated collectively, the individual wants of each separate plant 
should always be kept in mind.—H. R. R. 
MUSHROOMS IN PEAT MOSS AND SAWDUST. 
I HAVE not had experience with peat moss for Mushroom growing 
after it has been used as litter, but perhaps my practice of sawdust used 
in the same way, and afterwards for making Mushroom beds, may be 
helpful to “ R. C. W.” (page 518). At first I had considerable difficulty in 
getting the beds to bear regularly, and I thought if sawdust was used in the 
loose boxes I should have to give up Mushroom growing, but by working 
the materials about more, and having the heap turned daily for a fort¬ 
night, and adding chopped turf, also Oak or Beech leaves, well mixing 
all together, I have had good beds of Mushrooms, and have them at 
present bearing well. I called on a neighbour, Mr. Dalby, at Greenham 
Lodge, near Newbury, a few months since, and he bad good Mushroom 
beds in bearing. They were covered with turf cut thin and beaten 
down like miniature lawns, but of course the growth was blanched. He 
assured me that the Mushrooms came cleaner, more free from grit, and 
the beds continued longer in bearing than when cased with soil in the 
ordinary way. 1 have since tried the plan, and so far it answers very 
well.—R. M,, Nemiury. 
MARGARET CARNATIONS. 
The Margaret Carnations are comparatively easy to cultivate, and 
from one packet of seeds a great variety of colours may be obtained, 
many of which are almost equal in beauty to the best named varieties. 
Grown as a pot plant for greenhouse or drawing-room adornment it has 
few superiors. Graceful in habit, and throwing up a profusion of flowers, 
the sweet scent and bright colouring cannot fail to attract admiration. 
If planted out during the summer, taken up before the severe frosts 
set in, and placed in a light airy house, an abundance of bloom may be 
obtained during the greater part of the winter, the usefulness of which, 
those who are in the habit of treating it thus can amply testify. The 
best mode of cultivation I find is to sow the seeds during February and 
March in shallow pans, a light compost being used, and the seeds thinly 
covered with fine soil. Place in a moderate heat until the plants are 
large enough to be handled, then put singly in small pots, and place in 
a cool house close to the glass. When they again want potting the 
number required for pot plants should be placed in well-drained 6-inch 
pots in a compost consisting of stiff loam, leaf mould, and sand, with a 
little decayed manure added. A cool-house shelf or frame will then 
suit them admirably, and as they grow attention should be given to 
staking and tying. If green fly asserts itself a light fumigation will be 
found necessary. 
The remainder of the plants not required for pot culture may be 
planted out on any light sunny border, to be taken up and potted in the 
autumn for winter flowering, and by this means a continuation of bloom 
may be kept up far into the winter months. Care should be taken when 
lifting the plants to insure their having good balls of earth attached, 
for if the roots are broken they will turn sickly and die. A compara¬ 
tively dry atmosphere will be found most suitable for wintering the 
plants, from which, under favourable circumstances, an abundance of 
bloom may be obtained.—G. Hollingwoeth, Alton Towert. 
HARDY FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. 
Almost every garden, no matter what its pretensions, has a 
shrubbery, and frequently this is the most interesting feature of the 
place. In a well-managed shrubbery there always appears to be some¬ 
thing fresh, some object of interest that one has not noticed before. By 
judicious planting a good supply of flowers may be had during the whole 
of the year. I am sorry to say, however, many of our shrubberies are 
more of the character of wildernesses during the winter, when, by reason 
of the dullness every effort should be made to make the garden as bright 
and cheerful as possible. 
As year succeeds year an enormous number of new flowering trees 
and shrubs are introduced to notice, and a good many old and almost 
forgotten kinds are rescued from an undeserved oblivion. These, of 
course, tend to swell the list to such a formidable extent that one 
scarcely knows where to begin. I have decided, however, to make no 
mention of trailing shrubs and those which must be grown as wall plants, 
neither, despite their undoubted utility, shall I refer to Conifers. 
Winter Flowering Kinds. 
For convenience, I shall divide my subject under four headings— 
Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—and as winter is with us I will 
begin with that season. As one would naturally expect, the list of 
winter flowering trees and shrubs is short, but nevertheless there are 
sufficient to make a grand show. The best known, and I think I may 
say the most useful, is the Laurustinus, and it is so well known as to 
need no description. Another shrub equally well known and beautiful 
is our native Furze, Ulex europmus. Ulex europaeus flore-pleno, the 
Double-flowered Gorse, is still more beautiful, and when it does well its 
masses of golden flowers completely cover the plant. 
The Cornelian Cherry, Cornus mas, is quite a picture in February. 
This is a small-growing tree, about 15 feet in height, and bears a pro¬ 
fusion of bright yellow flowers, which appear a short time before the 
leaves. Erica carnea is not nearly so well known as it deserves to be. 
This dwarf hardy Heath produces its whorls of pale red flowers in great 
prolusion early in January, and frequently in December. The Daphne 
is a very useful shrub, and a good supply of sweetly scented flowers may 
be obtained from January to July. D. mezereum is probably the best 
known, and is deservedly popular. The flowers are produced early in 
February, and vary in colour from pinky white to red. D. laureola, the 
Spurge Laurel, bears its greenish yellow flowers in January, Its chief 
recommendation is the early date of flowering. 
Spring Flowering Kinis, 
Magnolia conspicua is the most beautiful of all the early flowering 
trees. Its height will range from 20 to 50 feet. The flowers are of good 
size and shape, white, often tinted with purple, and very fragrant. 
The leaves appear somewhat later than the flowers, and are of a 
beautiful pea-green colour. 
Of spring flowering shrubs the foremost position must be given to 
the Ghent Azalea. The variety of colour is very wide. There are pure 
white, bright red, pinks, and yellows represented. To be really effective 
Azaleas should be planted in masses, and are very beautiful in the 
flowering season. In the morning, and again in the evening, the 
perfume is delicious. Then there are the Rhododendrons. We have 
R. arboreum with its white and rose flo .ers, and the rose-coloured 
R. dahuricum open in March, followed by a succession of most beautiful 
and useful flowers of almost all colours, finishing with R. caucasicum, 
rose-coloured outside and white within, in August; and R. album with 
its rather small white or cream-coloured flowers as late as November. At 
this period fspring), we have the Horse Chestnut with its abundant spikes 
of pinky-white flowers, which contrast finely with the rich green of its 
' ample foliage. The Judas Tree, Cercis siliquastrum, is well worthy of a 
place. Its rosy-purple flowers clothe the branches in May, and are 
followed a little later by the peculiarly shaped leaves. The Flowering 
Dogwood, Cornus florida, bears flowers of a greenish yellow, which are 
surrounded by an involucre of large white bracts. 
The Thorns are sufficiently numerous to require a long chapter to 
themselves, but as they are so well known I will content myself with 
giving the names of a few varieties most worthy of cultivation:— 
Crataegus Azarolus, C. coccinea, C. crus-Galli, C. Douglasi, C. flava, 
C. oxyacantha punicea and the double form, C. pyracantha and 
'C. tanacetifolia. Halesia tetraptera, the Snowdrop Tree, is very 
welcome, as also is Laburnum vulgare. Magnolia acuminata is not 
met with nearly so often as it should be, for apart from its flowers, 
which are rather insignificant, it is a fine handsome tree, 45 or 50 feet 
high, bearing oblong leaves quite 8 or flinches long. M. glaucadoes 
not attain the noble height of the former, but its fragrant white flowers 
make it very desirable, while M. grandiflora is more usually seen as a 
wall plant.. c There are also such well-known trees as the wild Cherry, 
[Bird Cherry, the Common and Portugal Laurels, and numerous others, 
all very beautiful in their places. 
