January 19. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
301 
5 trees had progressed so as to give the what was once a 
i bleak waste quite a woody appearance. These hills are 
now covered with very fair timber, and this instance of 
great success in making the wilderness to smile, even in 
the owner’s life-time, ought to stimulate all proprietors 
of waste lands to go and do so likewise. 
T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
THE TUBEROSE. 
This fine, sweet-scented flower, Polianthcs tuberosa' 
was introduced from the East Indies so long since as 
1029. The tuberous roots are grown in Italy as an 
■ article of commerce, and are brought over ^ in con- 
j siderable quantities to this country annually. They are 
i mostly imported by the Italian warehousmen in London, 
| and come generally along with Orange and Lemon-trees, 
the large flowered Jasmine (Jcisminum grandijiorumj, 
and the Arabian Jasmine (Jasminum Sambac). As this 
is the season to purchase the roots of the Tuberose, and 
plant them, I trust a few remarks on its culture will be 
acceptable and useful to the readers of The Cottage 
Gardener. 
Soil .—The soil I have found to suit them best is a 
rich, alluvial loam, mixed with about one-lourth tho¬ 
roughly decomposed hotbed manure, or two years old 
cowdung, well reduced, will answer admirably. It the 
loam is not naturally sandy, a sufficient portion should 
be added to the compost. I find river-sand, sifted so 
as to clear it from stones, the best kind of sand for the 
purpose. 
Pots —The diameter of the pots should be, for ono 
tuber, 5 inches; for two, 7 inches ; and for three, Sc¬ 
inches. The pots should be chosen as deep as possible, 
because the roots of the Tuberose, like all other bulbs, 
descend rapidly and deeply into the soil. The pots 
should be used quite clean, and must be well drained. 
Previously to potting the roots all the small side-shoots 
should be carefully rubbed oft, as well as all the remains 
of the old withered roots and leaves Ibis dressing of 
the bulbs must be done with care, so as not to injure or 
wound the main tuber. The Italians, I suppose, send 
them over with all these excrescences on them to make 
them look larger, or, perhaps, to preserve the main 
tuber. When they are thus cleaned let them be potted. 
Planting .—Fill the pots with the soil, and press it 
firmly down, leaving the pot so full as to allow the neck 
of the tuber to be level with the rim of the pot; then 
insert one, or two, or three, as may be thought most 
convenient, in each pot in proportion to its size, filling 
the earth in firm round each tuber. 1 have grown them 
equally well in all the three sizes, but for placing in a 
conservatory, when in bloom, 1 should recommend the 
largest size, and three tubers in each pot. The tuber 
only produces one flower-stem, though each stem pro¬ 
duces sometimes as many as ten pairs of flowers. 
Varieties .—There are two varieties, namely, the single, 
and double. The latter, generally, is preferred, though 
I think the single equally beautiful. The flower-stems 
rise to the height of from three to four feet, and, con¬ 
sequently, iu a conservatory, the pots should be on a 
level with the floor, to bring the flowers nearer to the 
eye; hence, three flower-stems show much finer and to 
greater advantage than one. When used only as cut- 
flowers, the one-tuber-in-one-pot system might be adopted. 
I imagiue the flowers are somewhat finer and larger by 
that method. Where few are grown, too, it may be 
desirable to put one or two bulbs only in each pot. A 
succession of bloom may be obtained by potting a hatch 
in February, and a second in March, and a third in 
April—later than that will not answer well. In order 
to be certain of a good bloom choose the soundest 
tubers only. If the central part feel soft, or is decayed, 
throw such away at once—they are worthless, and will 
only disappoint the cultivator if potted and attempted 
to be grown. 
Culture .—When all are potted, then plunge them in a 
very moderately-heated bed of tanner’s bark, or fer¬ 
mented leaves. I always plunged them in such a bed 
made in a deep pit, and seldom failed to bloom every 
tuber, though I have frequently witnessed a failure 
where they were merely potted and kept in a warm 
house without plunging. Of course, the different batches 
to be bloomed in succession were plunged at different 
times. And here I would remark that this East Indian 
plant would do best by being excited into growth 
hy bottom-heat, whilst such bulbs as the Hyacinth, 
Narcissus, &c., require, previously to being placed in 
heat, plunging iu a cold material, until new roots 
were formed, whilst the Tuberose requires a moderate 
bottom-heat at first to start the roots into growth. 
As soon as the leaves begin to spring from the top 
of the tuber then commence watering, giving small 
quantities at first, and increasing as the growth ad¬ 
vances. Numerous leaves soon appear, and when the 
growth is vigorous so that the leaves require a large 
amount of support, then give the plant some weak liquid- 
manure every third time of watering. 
As the season advances give plenty of air on every 
fine day to prevent the leaves from being drawn. The 
flower-stems will soon be seen pushing up from the 
centre of the leaves. They must be watched daily (for 
they grow very quickly), and as soon as they come to 
within six inches of the glass lift them carefully out of 
the pit. It will be found necessary to place a stick in 
each pot, and tie up to it all the leaves, as well as 
flower-stems, nearly their whole length, or they will 
infallibly be broken if removed without this precaution. 
Place them in a warm greenhouse, or intermediate 
stove, for having got the flower-stems fairly started they 
are sure to bloom. The great difficulty is then over¬ 
come. Afterwards, give plenty of water, and use the 
syringe freely, to prevent the attacks ot the red spidei, 
till the blooms begin to open, when the syringe must 
be dispensed with, and the plauts removed into a cool 
greenhouse, or conservatory, to prolong the bloom. 
The late R. Salisbury, Esq., wrote a long paper on 
the culture of this plant, so as to bloom the young sucker, 
and thus save the trouble and expence of importing 
them ; but really the price of imported full-grown 
blooming bulbs is so reasonable, that the saving is very 
questionable ; the nurserymen only charge four shillings 
a dozen for such roots. Now, to grow a sucker, or side- 
shoot, from its being separated from the parent bulb to 
blooming, requires a large amount of care, trouble, and 
expence ; and at least three years, even if successful, to 
accomplish it. I think there are few cultivators, it any, 
that would not buy them full-grown and ready to 
flower at once, rather than be at all this trouble and 
exnence of growing the small roots into a blooming state. 
' 1 ° T. Appleby. 
SEA-KALE. 
It has been justly observed that there are few things 
which are not better when grown in a natural way than 
forced, but one of those few is, assuredly, “ Sea-kale, — 
not that it is entirely useless grown in a state ot nature, 
but that it does not then possess the qualities we have 
Ion" looked upon as constituting its principal ments. 
One of these qualifications is that crisp tenderness 
which iu a blanched condition it receives, diffeung in 
this respect from Asparagus, which, when not allowed 
to show its head above ground, is said to eat sticky and 
tough, the under part being, in tact, unfit for iood. 
