442 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 8, 1886. 
resumed. But I have said enough, and some others can have their “ say ” 
on the subject if they like. 
Some common-sense remarks on Asparagus appear on page 415, but 
neither of your correspondents tells us what I think not a few readers 
wish to know—namely, whether cutting the small growths known as 
“ spray ” as they spring up in the beds towards the end of April or early 
in May weakens the plants or the reverse. Some old and successful 
growers chop them all off till about the middle of May, while the 
younger school permit them to grow. Considering the matter philosophi¬ 
cally this would appear the right course to adopt, but is it ? What do 
Messrs. IgguldeD, Muir, and others who may have tested the matter say 1 
It is very certain that late cutting or clearing off every head as thick as 
a pencil till the end of June is injurious, and has permanently weakened 
many beds of Asparagus. 
I BEAD with much pleasure Mr. Udale’s excellent article (page 395) 
on planting out Gloxinias. I remember once seeing 50,000 planted out 
in frames, and I shall not soon forget the wonderful effect produced. 
They were seedlings raised in February, transplanted and grown in boxes 
till June, then planted in light yet generous soil. The corms produced by 
these plants were much finer in the autumn than those produced by plants 
from the same batch grown in pots. I have tried the plan exactly as 
recommended by Mr. Udale, and in no other way have I produced such a 
supply of handsome flowers for cutting, with such little trouble. Gar¬ 
deners and others having spare frames and partially exhausted hotbeds, 
also some sturdy young seedling Gloxinias, might do worse than follow 
the advice tendered on the page quoted. 
In the matter accompanying the beautiful figure of Dr. Duke’s Odon- 
toglossum on page 403, I find a few lines worthy of being brought into 
greater prominence. Here is the sentence :—“ A point observed at The 
Glen, that is also studied in other establishments, is to have the floors of 
Orchid houses of earth, both the paths and beneath the stages, for a more 
steady supply of moisture is thus afforded than from brick, tile, and stone 
floors.” There is more “ in ” that small paragraph than many persons 
imagine, otherwise we should not see so many smooth, poreless floors, 
even iron grating, where it could well be dispensed with in Orchid houses, 
forcing houses—indeed, in plant and fruit houses generally. Grarei 
paths neatly kept are the reverse of unsightly, and might with great 
advantage be found in numbers of supply or preparing houses in gardens. 
They are cheaper, and in every way better than smooth fancy floors, 
being much more conducive to the health of the occupants of the struc¬ 
tures and as preventives of red spider and other pests that invariably 
establish themselves the soonest where there is no earth moisture. Archi¬ 
tects’ ranges and conservatories are too often great insect nurseries and 
plant death traps, a source of never-ending trouble to gardeners and a 
credit to nobody. If I were having Orchid bouses or forcing houses 
erected and could have them paved with glazed tiles for nothing I should 
decline the proposal, knowing the gift would be dear in the end. Dry 
open stages over hot-water pipes, iron gratings, and smooth dry surfaces 
are inimical to the health of plants, Vine9, and trees, and ought to be 
dispensed with as far as possible in favour of a moisture-yielding base. 
It is the dry air in many structures that more than anything else prevents 
the healthy growth of Orchids and other plants. I am glad “ L. C. ” in¬ 
corporated that useful sentence in his interesting article. Descriptions of 
places should always, in my opinion, contain practical hints, as they 
mostly may do ; then are they both agreeable and instructive. 
Another example of the embodiment of instruction with description 
is afforded on page 381, in connection with the apparently most effectively 
arranged and decidedly attractive winter garden there represented. It is 
observable, too, that the paths are of gravel, and scarcely a doubt can be 
entertained that if they were paved with smooth ornamental tiles and the 
plants arranged on stages that the effect would be less pleasing, at greater 
coat. Granting the trustworthiness of the young men and Mr. Sanders’ 
good management, the health of the plants, and Rose on the roof, is in a 
great measure due to the earth moisture steadily rising from the beds and 
gravel paths. Dry air acting on the under sides of the leaves of most 
plants is unquestionably inimical, and I can never suppress a feeling of 
pity for gardeners who are in charge of high, dry, smooth, prim and 
polished architects’ conservatories. Experienced horticultural builders 
can design and erect structures as ornate as is desired in which plants 
will thrive, and it is very deplorable to see so much money expended on 
buildings that do not, and cannot, satisfactorily answer the purpose for 
which they were erected, as designed by persons of gTeat skill in their 
own line or profession, but who know little about the requirements of 
plants. Gardeners should he consulted in the erection of garden struc¬ 
tures and the work carried out by horticultural builders if the requisite 
expenditure is to prove a satisfactory investment. 
WHAT curious people there are in the world ! That is what I thought 
when reading of someone “ poking fun ” at “ D., DeaJ for transferring 
his Lapagerias from pots to boxes. Some of the finest plants in the 
kingdom, excluding those planted in borders, are in boxes, in which, as a 
rule, Lapagerias grow better than in pots. A more equable temperature 
and root moisture can be maintained in the former. Given an abundance 
of drainage (charcoal), so that much water can be applied without souring 
the soil, a shaded rather than a sunny position, a rather firm yet springy 
compost of very fibrous peat mainly, and Lapagerias are bound to grow. 
The more water they receive, when established, provided the soil is sweet, 
and the less sun in hot weather, the more luxuriant they are, and, like 
Orchids, they appear to grow as well in towns a9 in the purer air of rural 
districts. Mere descriptions of gardens without a suggestive hint are, to 
me, bald and profitless. One of your correspondents’ “ descriptive hints,’ 
given some years ago, and briefly repeated on page 396, enabled me to 
grow satisfactorily the “ Flower of the Gods,” Disa grandiflora. Gar¬ 
deners and garden lovers want, and must have, something to readout 
they like those narratives the best that have “something in them; at 
least that is the opinion of—A Thinker. 
CULTURE OE THE HYDRANGEA. 
It is now some ten years since I first detailed in the Journal of 
Horticulture the mode of culture practised by the London market growers 
for producing Hydrangeas in 5-inch pots, with heads of bloom from 12 to 
18 inches across, and as it differs somewhat from that detailed by “ G. G.. 
Hants," at page 408, I will describe it again, as it may benefit numerous 
younger readers. 
In the early spring large plants of well-ripened wood are introduced 
into an intermediate temperature fully exposed to the light and air, so as 
to make the cuttings sturdy. These are taken off, not necessarily with a 
heel, when the cuttings are strong enough, the size selected being tho'e 
which have about two pairs of large leaves and a plump terminal buu. 
The two undermost leaves are removed, and the cuttings inserted singly 
and firmly up to the second pair of leaves into thumb pots, the soil con¬ 
sisting of equal parts of leaf soil and loam, with a liberal sprinkling of 
sand. The cuttings must be well watered in and plunged in cocoa-nut 
fibre refuse under a close propagating frame or handlight in an interme¬ 
diate house or a half-spent hotbed. If kept shaded and fairly moist they 
will soon form roots, when they should be stood out in the open part of the 
house, and be eventually removed to a cold frame before they make any 
top growth, the aim being to keep them dwarf and sturdy. After they 
are hardened and are fairly rooted, transfer them into 5 inch pots, the 
soil to consist of four parts turfy yellow loam, and one part each of leaf 
soil and well pulverised manure. Pot the plants firmly, and return them 
to the frame until the roots commence taking to the fresh soil, when 
they should be removed outside. The best position is on a bed of coal 
ashes fully exposed to the sun and air, which is an important point, to 
insure dwarf plants. Watering must be carefully attended to, as on no 
account must the soil he allowed to become dry. Stimulants must be 
avoided during the summer, as that would excite them into 
instead of forming a plump terminal bud, but a little soot water would be 
beneficial. _ ... 
The plants must remain in the open air until frosts appear, which writ 
cause them to lose their leaves, when they should be removed to a cold 
frame for the winter. Plants should be introduced into a light inter¬ 
mediate house early in March, and others at intervals so as to form a 
succession. Clear soft water must only be used until the flower buds 
appear, at which time stimulants must be applied so a9 to force the 
head of bloom to a large size. Dryness at the roots must be especially 
guarded against, as the pots would be filled with roots. 
Large quantities of decorative plants may be grown in a simple 
manner if the work is well managed.—A. Young. 
A selection of the best plants in the late Professor Morren’s 
collection of Bromeliads at Liege has been purchased for the 
Royal Gardens, Kew, and form an important addition to the already 
extensive collection of these interesting plants in that establishment. 
- We learn that Mr. George Nicholson has been appointed 
Curator of the Royal Gardens, Kew, succeeding Mr. John Smith, who 
recently resigned after twenty-two years’service. Mr. G. Nicholson has 
assiduously performed the duties of Assistant-Curator for fourteen years, 
having been originally appointed clerk to the Curator in a competitive 
examination. Mr. W. Watson, foreman and propagator, succeeds Mr. 
Nicholson as Assistant-Curator, but retains charge of the indoor depjrt- 
ment, which has been under his superintendence for several years, during 
which time the collections have steadily improved. 
_Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons are now sending out a distinct 
and handsome plant under the name of Impatiens EpisCOpi. It flowers 
with the same remarkable freedom as I. Sultani, but is of more compact 
habit, and the flowers are of a purplish-carmine colour. 
_One of the best plant novelties of the present year is Impatiens 
Hawkeri, which will be shortly distributed by Mr. William Bull, 
Chelsea. It is like a magnified form of I. Sultani, but it is more robust in 
