October 6, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
291 
plant, should be used, and these filled with crocks or charcoal in 
'lumps. It is also necessary in many cases to elevate the plant above 
the rim. Under these conditions there is very little fear of their 
• becoming too wet, which is of vital importance if the plants are to 
■ make strong growth. When root-action has well commenced some 
■of the crocks or charcoal may be carefully removed, so that about 
1 inch of peat fibre or moss may be added to the surface. This is 
necessary for the sake of economy, and will materially reduce the 
labour in keeping the necessary moisture about the plants. This 
will be ample for the first year, and in many cases for two or three 
years until it is decomposed. 
Often we have noticed that plants started in the most satis¬ 
factory manner have been overpotted the following season. This 
is a very general mistake. Who has not observed sturdy Odonto- 
glossums in 2-inch pots placed the second season into those G inches 
in diameter, or Cattleyas, Lailias, Aerides, and others started in 
5 and 6-inch, transferred into 8 or 10-inch pots, pans, or baskets ? 
Frequently when they are turned out they have few roots. If a 
collection of Orchids be examined, it will be found in nearly all 
•cases that those apparently restricted are the healthiest, possessing 
better and more roots than those plants in pots too large for them. 
It must not be concluded that I advocate any system that will 
unduly restrict the growth of these plants. They should be allowed 
to take full possession of the material given them, and then increase 
the root space. Orchids do not Peed potting on annually. To 
avoid potting too often the material used should be of the very 
<best, and of such a nature to last until the plants have crowded it 
with roots, as well as the crocks or charcoal used for drainage. 
'The plants will not only cling to these, but in most cases firmly 
-*o the pot.—W. B. L. 
ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 
( Continued from page 26S.) 
General Cutting. —In a plantation of Asparagus there are several 
degrees of size—viz., small, medium, and thick. The small is good in 
soups, the medium may pass for the servants, and the thick is esteemed 
by everybody. The large heads are all cut up to the very last, and the 
-shoots reserved for furnishing the buds .for next season’s crop are the 
“ weaklings ” of the current year’s growth. The heads in subsequent 
years are not so good as in the fourth or even third year from the seed. 
All the best heads are cut and the beds are expected to afford them in¬ 
definitely. If fine heads are wanted the “ grass ” must be fine in the 
.previous season ; therefore, some of the best must be allowed to remain 
in time to form a strong haulm. The medium growth must be treated 
similarly— i.e., save one growth at least of equal vigour to the heads cut, 
or if not wanted allow the first head to remain until the second appears, 
when it being stronger cut away the first, and so on as advised for 
■seedlings in the third year. So likewise with the small ; if not wanted 
leave the first growth until the appearance of the second, and so on to 
midsummer. To save bother and prevent mistakes cut all great and 
• small up to the third week in May in an early, or the end. of May or 
•early June in a late season, then leave the strongest growth at the. time 
dndicated, one at least to each stool, or more according to its size and 
age, and get the number required within a fortnight of the first reserva¬ 
tions. 
Thinning. —Apportioning the growths to the vigour of the plants is 
a very important matter, for as the “ grass” is one jear so are the heads 
- the next ; therefore, the fewer growths the energies of the plant, and 
. nutriment of the soil is concentrated upon the stron er will they be. 
2t, however, requires to be taken in relation to light. From a crowded 
growth we have quite as much “grass” as from a thin growth weight 
for weight, but the first is sprue and the other large. The more dis- 
dance the Asparagus is given (always having regard to judicious employ¬ 
ment of space) and the better it is attended to the finer it will be. If 
"••the heads are wanted fine the “grass” must be thin, and so grown from 
the beginning, all haulm left having space for its full development with¬ 
out crowding from the day it appears as heads. It will not do to let all 
grow together until say early July, and then cut half or a large portion 
away, though that is better than leaving it a perfect thicket until the 
end of the season, for the character of the Asparagus next year is then 
already formed ; therefore, thin early, and finally by or before July. 
Securing Plants for Forcing. —In preparing plants -for this 
ipurpose the course advised in the third 3 ear will prove satisfactory, they 
being allowed to make three years’ growth as seedlings, cr two-after 
•transplanting before lifting ; but the plants will not have attained to 
Their maximum of vigour generally, and 1 therefore advise their not 
being lifted until the close of the fourth year’s growth. In the fourth 
year the first heads may be cut, but there must be a reservation by the 
•middle, or at latest, the third week in May, cutting away all other growths 
ms they appear. The number of growths may be three to five, according 
to the strength of the plants, but as a rule those having least growths 
left give the finest heads, which of course depends on the vigour the 
haulm exhibits in the previous year. By selecting the early growths the 
buds are perfected earlier, and are consequently better adapted for 
forcing. Cutting the first heads and selecting the second or third 
■ secures to the latter a more favourable season of development than 
were the first or second retained, which are liable to suffer from frost 
or be stunted by cold. 
Securing Early Heads. —Plants treated as above may be covered 
with handlights, those at the 8 feet stations. I use 2 feet square boxes, 
11 inches deep of inch deal, with loose hipped tops, glazed with 
21 ounce glass. They should be placed on about the first week in March 
and the top put on, keeping it close, the soil being brought up the sides 
of the boxes a little so as to exclude air, but that is not material if only 
they rest evenly and closely on the surface. The sun will heat the air 
inside and the earth absorb it; therefore place a little litter on the 
ground around the boxes, and throw a mat over the lights when the sun 
leaves the glass, withdrawing it whenever the sun shines. The heads 
will appear in due course, and they can be blanched if required by 
putting on suitable material, still following the same course with the 
lights. If we want English Asparagus we must ventilate by placing the 
top more or less across the corners, so as to admit air, and we have only to 
place the mat over the handlight at night, closing early. Ten days or a 
fortnight make a difference in the estimation and price of Asparagus, 
besides the certainty of escaping damage from frost. The handlights, 
it is needless to say, should be removed gradually so as to inure the 
plants to the change. The plants so treated afford heads earlier the 
second year than the first, therefore keep to them for the early supply. 
Early Purple-topped Argenteuil is the best for this purpose. 
Insects.—I know only one that attacks this plant—namely, the 
Asparagus beetle (Crioceris asparagi) the larvne of which feed upon the 
leaves, gnaw the rind, rather devour the. stems, and perforate the buds. 
The only rtmedy is to, place cloths on the ground under the haulm, 
shaking the beetles and larv® on to them. A gauze net answers even 
better than the cloths, holding it with one hand and shaking sharply 
with the other. These pests are most fond of the tender extremities of 
the haultu. They may also be destroyed by hand-picking, which, how¬ 
ever, is a very tedious process. The larvae, beetles, and eggs are found 
from June to the end of September. 
Slugs are very destructive to the young heads, eating them off whilst 
in the ground and even whilst dormant. The only remedy is a dressing 
of salt, or preferably nitrate of soda, but they very often escape these 
applications through the Asparagus crowns being at a considerable 
depth ; therefore remove the soil over the crowns where the slugs are 
troublesome, leaving no more than from 3 to -1 inches thickness of 
fine soil.— G. Abbey. 
THE HOLLYHOCK. 
When I wrote some months since regretting the want of interest 
felt in the Hollyhock, and spoke of the olden times when the 
Hollyhock was a most popular plant and we had so many grand 
varieties, I little thought that there were so many growers about, 
and it has given me very great pleasure to see the various communi¬ 
cations in the Journal respecting this flower. Mr. William Paul’s 
communication was especially welcome, for his “ Hour with the 
Hollyhock.” and the interest he took in this flower when he was at 
Cheshunt, are well remembered by some of us “ old ones.” The old 
National Floricultural Society did an immense amount of good 
'whilst it existed, and I often refer to its printed reports to freshen 
my memory and look over the list of plants and flowers exhibited 
there and the names of the Judges, the greater part of whom have 
now passed away. Mr. Mundell’s letter also gave me much pleasure, 
and I have since found that the Hollyhock is again taking roothold 
in so many places, and bids fair to assume a leading position at our 
autumn shows. 
I have to thank Mr. Steel most sincerely for his courteous reply 
to my note through the Journal and for the list of his varieties. I 
should like to see old Memnon again, a grand old crimson sent out 
many years ago by Mr. William Paul. I cannot remember in what 
year, but on referring to the “ National Garden Almanac ” for 1856 
it is mentioned as one of the best crimsons then in cultivation, and 
Black Prince, raised by Gibbons, mentioned by Mr. Steel, is also in 
this list. I am not a grower of Hollyhocks at present, except a 
few plants Mr. Blundell kindly sent me, but if spared until next 
year I hope to grow a quantity and must go to our good grower 
for supplies. I am therefore unable to comply with Mr. Steel’s 
request. 
My old friend Mr. William Boston of Bedale knows what 
Hollyhocks were and should be as well as any man living. The 
late Mr. Parsons of Welwyn should have prominent mention 
amongst our old Hollyhock growers, for he was the raiser of several 
of the splendid varieties Mr. William Paul purchased and sent out, 
and ultimately the late Mr. Charles Turner bought Mr. Parsons’s 
later seedlings, and I was sent to Welwyn by Mr. Turner to make 
a selection for sending out. The late Mr. Bragg of Slough, a well- 
known florist in years gone by, also sent out some good kinds, his 
own seedlings and those raised by his old friend, the late Mr. Roake, 
for many years gardener to the late Ed. Foster, Esq., of Clewer 
Manor of Pelargonium fame. Mr. Boston is quite right as to Mr. 
John Laing at Dysart, and I also well remember his Beauty of 
Dysart and others ; and then Mr. Laing, still happily amongst us 
