196 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. I [ March id. 1887. 
a. small nut for a 6-inch pot, to the size of an egg for those 16 inches 
diameter, all particles of small soil to be avoided for use in pots 
over 7 inches. 
Previous to shifting the plants a layer of peat fibre should be 
placed over the drainage, half fill the small pots with soil; they 
will then be ready for the reception of the young plants, the re¬ 
maining space to be filled to within a quarter of an inch of the top, 
not pressing the soil too firmly. Great care must be exercised in 
this operation, otherwise the very tender young roots will be 
injured. Water the young plants with tepid water through a fine 
rose, and return them to the propagating pit, which may be kept 
closed until the roots have taken possession of the soil, after which 
they should be gradually exposed to a more light and airy atmo- 
spere, eventually removing them to a shelf or other favourable 
position in the plant stove, or other house, where the heat and 
atmospheric conditions are suited to their growth. Some writers 
and cultivators of this plant strongly advocate plunging the pots in 
tan, leaves, or other material where bottom heat is obtainable. 
This may have its advantages, but I have had no experience of this 
system, indeed.' all gardeners do not possess the convenience; and 
for the encouragement of those who are not, I may state the most 
successful results may be obtained without it. For specimens in¬ 
tended for exhibition this practice should not be adopted, as the 
check to the roots, on being exposed, would be so great as to cause 
serious injury. As the young plants progress in growth and the 
roots reach the side of the pots, they must from time to time be 
shifted on into those two sizes larger, pressing the soil carefully and 
firmly around the balls, taking particular care to leave plenty of 
room on the top to hold copious supplies of water. Amateurs, and 
many gardeners too, have a habit of filling their pots too full of 
soil, in which case water has to be applied many times to penetrate 
every particle of soil in the pot. The size of pot for the final shift 
may be determined according to the requirements of the cultivator; 
those, however, from 16 to 18 inches in diameter will give ample 
root space for the largest specimens. 
STOPPING AND PRUNING. 
When the young plants are established in the 6-inch pots, and 
the growth has made satisfactory progress, they must be stopped to 
induce the formation of more “ breaks,” by which the foundation 
of the plant must become established. This operation may have 
to be repeated after the young growths have perfected another pair 
of leaves, the object being to secure six shoots of equal strength as 
near the base as possible. These should be staked out and en¬ 
couraged to grow strongly until they have attained a length of 
12 inches, when the tops should be pinched out and the growths 
brought down to an almost horizontal position. This will cause 
numerous “ breaks ” to push from the base and other parts of the 
plant; indeed, from this point all stopping of growths •with the 
object of building up specimen plants may be dispensed with. It 
has often been a matter of surprise to me why the orthodox 
practice of constantly “ pinching ” young plants should be so per¬ 
sistently followed. I am quite convinced the quickest, if not the 
best way, of growing a plant for exhibition, is by letting Nature 
have more of her freedom. Why remove that which it is the object 
to obtain ? I have repeatedly noticed, after a plant has been stiffly 
trained for exhibition, how checking the sap to the outer parts of 
the branches causes vigorous shoots to push from the inner, and 
consequently more ripened portions of the plant; thus, not only 
are the extreme portions of the shoots preserved, but the strong 
young laterals added, which causes that density of bush, without 
which a good even mass of bloom cannot be obtained. 
The question will naturally be asked, “ Surely this system of 
extension cannot be always followed ? ” No ; certainly not; neither 
is is desirable, because when the plants have attained the dimensions 
suited to the wants of the cultivator, be they comparatively small, 
or medium-sized plants in 8 or 10-inch pots for decoration, or for 
furnishing cut flowers, oi large specimens for exhibition, an annual 
pruning or shortening of the branches becomes absolutely necessary, 
not only to keep them within a given space, but to create that 
strength of growth which is so essential to the production of large 
trusses of flowers. This operation may best be done according to 
the time the plants are required to bloom; for those intended for 
decoration only it is immaterial, but for exhibition the case is 
different. If they are required for early summer shows prune 
during the month of September; if for late summer and autumn, 
January and I ebruary will be found sufficiently early. Always 
prune to a healthy-looking joint, from which two good growths are 
pretty sure to proceed. It may here be mentioned that immediately 
after the plants have commenced growth, and providing they have 
been in the same pots from two to three years, a repotting may be 
found necessary. Turn the plants out of their pots, and with a 
pointed stick remove about half the old soil. This must be done 
with extreme care, otherwise the crisp tender roots will be injured. 
They should be returned to the same sized pots, or larger if thought 
desirable. 
(To be continued.) 
CULTURE OF THE FANCY PELARGONIUM. 
Fancy Pelargoniums must not be confounded with the Show 
Pelargoniums, which have larger flowers and are stronger in growth 
than Fancy varieties. These are more profuse in blooming, the 
flowers smaller, but very neat and pretty. They are also more 
tender in growth than the large-flowering, and require a lighter soil. 
Small plants are very effective and are grown from cuttings, but 
when large specimens are required they are generally grafted on a 
strong-growing Show variety. Grafting should be performed after 
the plants have finished flowering. The plants selected for the stock 
must be what is termed a half-specimen, which has been tied down 
so as to form a good framework. The shoots must be pruned after 
flowering to well-ripened wood, and the grafts, which must be well 
ripened, should be placed equally over the plant, so as to form a 
symmetrical head. The stock and scion must be tied neatly and 
closely together with soft matiing and covered with damp moss. 
The plants should be placed behind a north wall or in a shaded pit until 
united. I have seen beautiful plants formed the following season 
after the operation. 
The culture of the Fancy Pelargonium differs from that of the 
Show varieties in the former not being pruned hard back after flower¬ 
ing to such an extent. The shoots should be thinned out to prevent 
crowding, and partially cut back. Propagation may be carried out 
at any time from May until the plants have finished flowering. 
Before blooming there are often two or three or more short-jointed 
cuttings 2 or 3 inches in length about the base of the plant, which 
may be removed without detriment. These should be inserted singly 
in thumb pots, the compost consisting of equal parts of leaf soil, 
loam, and sand. Insert the cuttings singly in thumb pots and give 
a good watering, and place them in a close greenhouse or pit, when 
if kept carefully watered and shaded from bright sun they will soon 
form roots. These small plants must be placed cioso to the glass, and 
if possible be stood on a cool base. After the cuttings have grown an 
inch or so the points will probably require to be taken out so as to 
make the plants bushy. One more stopping after this will probably 
be sufficient so a3 to form a bushy plant. 
After the cuttings are fairly rooted transfer them to 3-inch pots, 
the soil consisting of two parts turfy loam, and one part each of peat, 
leaf soil, and well pulverised horse manure, with a good sprinkling of 
sharp silver, river, or sea sand. The best position will be in a well- 
ventilated light plant pit close to the glass. When the plants become 
fairly rooted in these pots repot into 5-inch, or what is termed 48’s. 
Pot firmly, water carefully, and fumigate occasionally to kill green 
fiy. As the winter draws near be more sparing with the water; the 
best position during the winter is a light, low, span-roofed house, or 
a shelf in a large house. From the beginning of November until the 
first week in February very little water will be required, just sufficient 
to keep the plants from suffering. By the middle of February water 
more freely, and after this time the soil must not be allowed to be¬ 
come dry. When the bloom buds appear weak liquid manure should 
be applied at every alternate watering. If the above directions are 
carried out good healthy plants will be the result. The following are 
good varieties :—Atlantic, Silver Cloud, Miss Emily' Little, Countess 
of Dudley, Pink of Perfection, Fanny' Gair, Duchess of Edinburgh, 
Roi des Fantasies, Princess of Teck, Bridesmaid, Lord of the Isles, 
and Mrs. Alfred Wigan.—A. Young. ' 
GLAZED WALL COVERS. ... 
We take the illustration, fig. 36, from the copiously illustrated cata¬ 
logue of Messrs. Messenger & Co. of Loughborough as representative 
of a protector for fruit trees on walls that would be of great service in 
many gardens. This kind of glazed cover combines a “ house ” with a 
tree protector, as its width of 6 feet at the base and 4 feet at the junc¬ 
tion of the upright sashes with the broad coping affords space for a 
narrow path next the wall, and for dwarf fruit trees in pots on the 
opposite side. We have seen much-prized crops of Strawberries in pots 
in enclosures of this kind before the open air crops were ripe ; also a 
profusion of Roses when they were particularly acceptable. In the 
summer we have further seen bountiful crops of Tomatoes grown at 
intervals along the front without the slightest prejudice to the trees on 
the wall in the autumn. Such wide cases arc useful in the autumn 
for Chrysanthemums ; and in winter for Christmas-Roses,, the latter 
always being welcome for home decoration, and grown extensively and 
