eptember 10,1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
217 
shoots which spoil the evenness of the bed. I strongly recommend 
those who have not hitherto grown this fine type of Dianthus to 
give it a trial. 
Tropaeolums have been somewhat disappointing this year, 
owing no doubt to the want of sunshine and the continual 
showery weather. The plants have grown so strongly and con¬ 
tinually as to completely hide the majority of the flowers, 
although many of the leaves were frequently removed. Two 
Maltese cross shaped beds were planted with a broad band of Golden 
Feather round a circle of Pelargonium Mrs. Perry with the 
flowers picked off. The remainder of the bed was filled in with 
Amaranth us melancholicus ruber. These have been quite a success, 
and at the present time look particularly attractive. The Ivy¬ 
leaved Pelargoniums Madame Crousse and Souvenir de Charles 
Turner are also splendid for bedding, and have quite superseded 
the old type of Ivy-leaved varieties. A large bed planted with the 
first-named, edged with a band of Pyrethrum, has found a host of 
admirers ; the pleasing shade of salmon the flowers have seems to 
suit almost everybody, and as a combination of good colour the two 
varieties mixed in a bed are simply perfection. 
Among Zonal Pelargoniums Vesuvius still holds its own as a 
dwarf scarlet, but where a very dwarf habit is not of much con¬ 
sequence John Gibbons is the finest of all scarlet bedders. The 
FIG. 32.— MR. R. W. FAIRGRIEVE, DUNKELD. 
flowers and trusses are very large, bright in colour, and freely pro¬ 
duced. F. M. Atkinson nearly approaches it in merit, but where a 
sufficient stock can be obtained I would depend chiefly on John 
Gibbons. Mrs. Pollock, Black Douglas, and Marshal McMahon 
are a trio of showy and distinct golden tricolor and bronze 
varieties, while among the silver-leaved kinds Mrs. Perry and 
Bijou are the best I have seen. A very pretty silver tricolor which 
I have not seen for some years used to be grown under the name 
of Italia Unita. I wonder if any of the Journal readers grow it 
still. 
Clematis Jackmanni, trained over sticks bent in the form of an 
arch, is simply grand when in flower, especially if the bed is edged 
with a band of Dactylis glomerata variegata. The praises of these 
two plants when associated in a bed have been sung over and over 
again, but they are still worth repeating. 
Pansies have done remarkably well as summer bedders this 
season. They require a deep rich soil. When seen in good 
condition they are always admired, especially where the beds 
are filled with mixed varieties. Seed obtained from a reliable 
source produce many fine flowers, and the variety is so great that 
they are a constant source of delight. 
Propagating. —Pelargoniums should be taken in hand first. 
After trying various methods I have come to the conclusion that 
by far the best course to pursue is to strike the cuttings in boxes 
and pot them off: in the spring. In this way a large number can be 
wintered in a limited space. The cuttings root quickly and make 
fine plants. Shallow boxes of any reasonable size answer the 
purpose well, but those which I prefer are 1 foot in width, 3 in 
length, and 3 inches in depth, half a dozen holes half an inch in 
diameter being made in them for drainage. This is afforded by a 
layer of partially decayed leaves, and the boxes are filled to within 
a quarter of an inch of the rim with sandy soil made moderately 
firm. If the cuttings are about 2 inches apart the best use will be 
made of the space without having them so crowded as to cause 
damping, for the boxes are best placed on boards in an open 
position. If the weather is bright and apparently settled, apply 1 
water through a rose when the cuttings are inserted, but do not 
repeat the operation until the soil is quite dry. If showery 
withhold water. 
Verbenas, Ageratums, Alternantheras, Mesembryanthemums, 
and Petunias I like to have either in pans or 7-inch pots, as they 
are handy for wintering on shelves. If pots are used they should 
be filled one-half of their depth with drainage, and the cuttings 
kept quite close in a frame till rooted, shading them from sunshine, 
and damping with a syringe in the middle of bright days. Coleuses 
and Iresines succeed well with the same treatment. Marguerites 
are conveniently wintered in boxes to supply a good stock of 
cuttings in the spring. Spring-struck cuttings grow into plants 
quite large enough for bedding by the time they are wanted.— 
H. Dunkin, Warwick Castle. 
KEEPING PEARS AND APPLES. 
Having been very successful last year in keeping the above 
named fruit many months longer than usual, I wish to record my 
mode of treatment. Some might like to prevent their fruit ripen¬ 
ing all at once, and to extend the process over a long time. For 
instance, I had a fine simple of Blenheim Pippin Apples until, 
the middle of June last year. The plan is very simple. I provide 
a package of German moss, or peat, and break it up rather fine, 
also hampers, boxes, large garden pots, and anything which will 
hold the fruit. I then hand-pick the finest fruit on a tree (Apples, 
or Pears) before they become quite ripe and fit for table, leaving 
the smaller fruit some time longer on the Iree that it may gain its 
full size. I then take a hamper and lay the moss over the bottom 
about 1 inch thick, then a layer of the fruits evenly, just touching 
each other, then moss on them an inch thick, thus alternately until 
it is filled. I fill all the pots and pans and boxes in this way, and 
put them in a dry cellar where the frost cannot reach them, occa¬ 
sionally examining the different sorts, as of course some ripen 
earlier than the others. It is of no use to pack away any that 
have ripened on the trees ; they must be of full size, but not quite 
ripe, and they must be free from bruises and other faults, or they 
will not keep. Those which the winds cause to fall, if they fell 
on grass lawns or soft mould, will do very well in this way, but 
if placed on wooden floors they would shrivel and never ripen. 
Many small Pears have lately fallen in my garden, and I have 
stowed them away as I did last year so successfully, and they will 
keep till after Chx'.'stmas. 
The fruit is green as a rule when packed away in the dry mo-s, 
but as it ripens it gains its perfect colour and flavour, in no case 
shrivels, but remains firm and sound if not left too long. It seems 
to me to be most desirable to retard the ripening of fruit in this 
or any other simple way, for a long time to suit consumers or 
dealers in fruit, rather than have the whole crop on a tree ripen all 
at once. If you think well to insert these notes it may be 
specially useful to growers of fruit at this season of the year.— 
Wm, Moody Bell, 8, Colonnade, Cheltenham. 
[They are most readily inserted, as they describe clearly a 
simple method of keeping fruit that has proved successful ] 
AURICULA GROWING MADE EASY. 
I should like to describe my manner of treating these beau¬ 
tiful plants, not only in summer but during spring, summer, 
autumD, and winter. I consider it so s : mple that any person may 
grow them well without a glass house or even a garden fiame if he- 
has only a garden border or a yard where a border might be made, 
open to the sun and fresh air. A few bandlights are required to 
protect them from too much sun heat, by shading, also from the 
intense cold and cold winds in wintry weather, and f.om the 
autumn and spring rains. 
Some twelve months ago I described my treatment to Mr. 
Turner of the Royal Nurseries, Slough, and in reply he said, “ He 
should think I would be very successful.” Most persons know him 
to be a great grower of all the best Auriculas. I have plants of 
all sizes—named, stage, and commoner ores, all perfectly healthy. 
The largest one I have, as the leaves lie on the ground border, a 
self, measuring from tip to tip, is no less than 16 inches, which 
anyone may see by calling at my garden, Belleville, St. Marks, 
Cheltenham. 
When I bought my edged plants in pots I immediately removed 
the pots and planted the Auriculas near the edge of my Vine border,, 
which is about 2 feet above the path, so that the drainage is good. 
I take them up in the beginning of August and add fresh loam, 
leaf mould, and cow manure (two years old), then replant in groups 
of four or five according to the size, and cover them w 7 ith handlights 
placed on three pots about 4 inches high. To give shade for about 
