October 8, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
821 
situation, high ; land with a steep slope facing south and south-west.— 
John A. Williams, Alderminster Lodge, Stratford-on-Avon. 
[The tubers were wonderfully fine, not hollow, and they cooked well; 
one that was baked proving particularly good.] 
CROWN ANEMONES. 
Writing to the Times respecting the above plants Mr. F. W. 
Burbidge thus describes his method of treatment. “ The many 
variations of the Anemone coronaria are so universally thought of 
as spring flowers only that, in the interest of a rapidly increasing 
class of amateur gardeners, I wish to say that they flower most 
luxuriantly at the present season in many localities if the precau¬ 
tion be taken of raising plants from seeds sown in the open air in 
early spring. Gardening has been described as an art ‘ which does 
mend Nature ; change it rather ; ’ and so it comes that in mild 
localities near the sea this Windflower of the Greeks may add 
beauty to our gardens in this, the Dahlia, season, even if not also in 
company with the Chrysanthemum and the Christmas Rose. 
“ The ordinary method of Anemone culture now practised in most 
gardens is confined to the autumnal planting of French or Dutch- 
grown roots for blooming during the following spring days, and this 
plan, if not actually ‘ as old as the hills,’ dates from the days of 
Shakespeare. Parkinson, in his 1 Paradisus,’ published in 1629, 
indeed tells us that the spring-blooming Anemones vary as much 
from seeds as do the Tulips ; but, as far as I have been able to 
gather from books, no attempt was made in the olden days to treat 
the Crown Anemone as an autumnal-flowering plant, as is now quite 
possible. There is no magic in the method I recommend. The 
woolly seeds are rubbed up together with dry sand or earth so as to 
separate them thoroughly, and during February or early in March 
they are sown very thinly on a bed of earth well enriched below the 
surface with cowdung, the seed and sand being sprinkled on the 
surface together. After sowing, water during dry weather, and 
when the seedlings appear thin them so that that those remaining 
are fully 6 inches apart. During July and August the growth of 
the young plants may be strengthened by the application of weak 
liquid manure or soot water. The first flowers begin to appear 
during September and October, or say seven months after the seeds 
are sown, and near the seashore or in warm sheltered localities 
flowers are produced during mild weather all through the winter 
months, the finest flush of blossoms coming in March and April. 
“ The flowers sent herewith are pulled from a seed bed sown so 
late as March last. This system of obtaining brilliant flowers of the 
Crown Anemone during the autumnal and winter months is so 
ample, and the results so satisfying, that it seems to me to merit 
the attention of flower-loving amateurs. 
“ In former years our finest Pears were reared from seeds in 
Belgium ; even the garden varieties of our national emblem, the 
Rose, were reared for us in France, and now our bulbous flower- 
roots come from Holland. But foreign competition has, of late, 
taught us many things, and so to-day we at least know that it is 
possible to raise the finest of fruits and of flower-roots on English 
soil. English varieties of Queen Rosa now equal, even if they do 
not surpass, others ; and last, but not least, it is fairly proven that 
the same statement is true in the case of the double and semi¬ 
double varieties of the Crown Anemone.” 
EFFECTS OF EARLY PRUNING ON VINES. 
In the Journal of September 24th, page 274, there is an article 
on the above subject by your valuable correspondent, Mr. Iggulden, 
which will interest all those who are in the way of showing Grapes, 
as well as that greater number who are in the habit of shortening 
laterals. I will venture to say that there has already been many a 
spur marked from which part of the lateral has been cut with the 
bunch, and not a few will remember that it was but last week they 
shortened the laterals in a vinery in order that they might let in 
more light to the Chrysanthemums that have to be put inside. 
From what I can gather from Mr. Iggulden’s article he is of 
opinion that the practice of shortening laterals to about 6 inches or 
so is injurious to the Vine, and in support of this he mentions a 
case where the Vines in the centre of a Muscat house had been 
heavily cropped, and a considerable number of bunches were cut 
therefrom with parts of the laterals attached to the bunches ; the 
result in the following year being that the Vines made a weak 
break, and the cause of this is attributed to the shortening of the 
laterals. Now, I think it would have been more reasonable to 
attribute the cause of the weak break to the heavy cropping of 
the Vines instead of the shortening of the laterals. It seems 
to me that this case does not support his views, because we 
have always the heavy crop to be considered. I have not given 
the subject as much attention as Mr. Iggulden has done— 
—judging from what he says his observations have been for “ the 
past three seasons,” but this I can truthfully assert that in a cer¬ 
tain early vinery where Grapes are grown for the market the 
laterals are always shortened to about G inches, “ while yet the 
Vines are in full leaf.” The Vines are about nine years old, 
and this year they finished what any reasonable individual would 
call a splendid crop, and certainly showed no signs of that 
“ slowly ” going to ruin which Mr. Iggulden would expect to see. 
Again, I am acquainted with a somewhat famous house of Vines 
where there are from fifteen to twenty bunches of Grapes cut for 
exhibition every year, having of course a good piece of the lateral 
along with them. Now, all this being cut from some ten rods 
yearly ought, according to Mr. Iggulden, to be telling upon them, as 
it has been going on for at least five years. But instead of their 
falling off I see this year’s beautiful crop being praised in the 
Journal of Horticulture. 
The subject, I think, is a most important one ; for if it can be 
proved that shortening laterals at this stage is weakening to the 
Vines, there are thousands of gardeners about this time who will 
be injuring their Vines, but if it does no harm those who practise it 
and find no evil results would do well to give us their experience, 
as the shortening of laterals is very serviceable where space for 
winter-flowering plants is limited.—R. Gilchrist. 
THE PRIMULA CONFERENCE. 
From a copy of the programme of the Primula Conference, to 
be held on the 24th of April, 1886, under the auspices of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, it appears that an exhibition of these interest¬ 
ing plants will be held in the conservatory at South Kensington on 
the 23rd and 24th of April, 1886, in conjunction with the Exhibi¬ 
tion of the National Auricula Society. The President of the Con¬ 
ference, John T. D. Llewelyn, F.L.S., and the Chairman of the 
Committee, Dr. Michael Foster, F.R.S., are supported by a nume¬ 
rous Committee of gentlemen interested in the subject in this 
country, both amateur and professional, as well as by the repre¬ 
sentatives of a large number of the chief botanical and horticul¬ 
tural gardens and museums abroad. It is proposed that the plants 
to be exhibited shall be arranged under eleven classes—namely, 
I. The Primula. II. The Primrose and Polyanthus. III. Varieties 
of Primula Sieboldi. IV. Varieties of Primula sinensis. V. 
European species, varieties, and hybrids of the genus Primula. VI. 
Himalayan and other Asiatic ditto. VII. Chinese and Japanese 
ditto. VIII. American ditto. IX. Plants allied to the genus 
Primula, such as Cyclamen, Dodecatheon, Androsace, Cortusa, &c., 
of the species only, not garden varieties, will be admitted. X. 
Primulaceous plants grown to illustrate special modes of culture, 
&c. XI. Specimens, models, and drawings illustrative of the 
structure and mode of growth of Primulaceous plants. 
In order to assist in the arrangement of the European Primulas 
at the Exhibition, Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., has kindly drawn up 
for the Committee a list of European Primulas, classified in three 
groups, published as an appendix to the programme, which may 
serve as a preliminary bassis for the discussion at the Conference, 
and also as a guide, as far as possible, to the exhibitors in giving 
names to the plants they exhibit. 
The provisional programme of the Conference on April 24th, 
1886, includes—1, The origin and history of the florist’s Auricula, 
on which subject an introductory paper will be read by Mr. Shirley 
Hibberd. 2, The directions in which efforts should be made with 
the view of improving the florist’s flowers belonging to the genus 
Primula ; introductory paper by Samuel Barlow, Esq., J.P. 3, 
The nomenclature of Alpine Primulas ; introductory paper by 
Mr. J. G. Baker. 4, Culture of hardy Primulas ; introductory 
paper by Dr. Maxwell T. Masters on root structure and mode of 
growth as affording indications of the probable best culture. 
This Conference following closely, as it does, on the heels of 
the Apple Congress and the Orchid Conference, and with a Pear 
Congress in course of arrangement, together with the active part 
being taken by the Society in housing and caring for growing 
plants to be shown in the forthcoming Colonial and Indian Exhi¬ 
bition by the various colonies, gives evidence that the Royal 
Horticultural Society, under the energetic management of the 
present Council, not only still holds, but has taken a step in advance 
of its well-known position as the horticultural authority in this 
country. 
FERNS IN VINERIES. 
I AM no advocate for filling vineries with plants, yet having a par¬ 
tiality for Ferns I grow a few, which improve the appearance of the 
houses. The vineries being 20 feet wide I have a row on each side, and 
these being 8 feet from the stems of Vines I am not afraid of their con¬ 
veying insects to the Vines. The culture of Ferns is very simple, and 
