60 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 26, 1885. 
Lily of the Yalley. —A great favourite, in uni¬ 
versal demand, concerning which it may be truly said 
that success or failure is easily obtained. Many so called 
practical gardeners frequently fail to grow or force this 
plant to their satisfaction, and why ? Merely because 
one or two cardinal points (in regard to success) are 
either misunderstood or neglected. The way “ not to 
do it ” is to dig up clumps or crowns from outside beds 
or borders, stand them in a cold frame for a week or 
two, then place them in a Mushroom-liouse for a like 
period, afterwards introduce into a plant-stove or some 
such structure where a temperature of from 60° to 75° 
is maintained. This method of treatment is not at all 
rare, and what is the result in most instances ? Simply 
a few flowers in advance of the leaves, or, may be, the 
latter are wanting altogether. Speaking from ex¬ 
perience, we ourselves say if the best results are desired, 
by all means obtain imported roots, either clumps or 
crowns ; of their superiority over home-grown stuff for 
early forcing there cannot be any doubt. Consign¬ 
ments from the continent usually arrive in this country 
about the middle of October, and should be obtained as 
soon as possible if flowers from them are desired as early 
as Christmas. Two parts of turfy loam, one of leaf- 
mould, and one of sand will be found a suitable compost 
for them to grow in, and 6 in. pots, fairly well drained, 
will be quite large enough for clumps. Single browns, 
if very early flowers are desired, are in the opinion of 
many preferable to clumps, and from twelve to eighteen 
crowns should be planted in a pot of 4 ins. or 6 ins. in 
size. 
As soon as potted they should be plunged in ashes or 
cocoa-nut fibre refuse, either outside or in a cold frame 
for a few weeks, having previously been well watered to 
settle the soil about the roots. Afterwards they may 
be introduced into a temperature of from 50° to 60°, but 
light must still be excluded from the crowns. A 
Mushroom-house is a very good place to put them in, 
and they may be covered with half-decayed leaves to a 
depth of 6 or 8 ins. Presuming they are required to 
flower at Christmas, they should be brought into a 
stove or forcing-house, where a close moist atmosphere 
and a temperature of from 70° to 75° is maintained, and 
if they can be given a little bottom heat so much the 
better ; an inverted pot should be placed over the 
crowns for a brief period, by this means leaves and 
flowers come away simultaneously. It is also important 
to bear in mind not to allow them to suffer from the 
want of water from the time of potting to their coming 
into flower, not forgetting that it is in the later stages 
of growth that most is required. To keep up a long 
succession, they should be grown in batches, and intro¬ 
duced into heat at intervals of two or three weeks 
throughout the winter and early spring. We have here 
been led into greater details than we at first intended, 
but from our knowledge of the fact of many persons 
meeting with failure, or at best only partial success with 
this subject, we trust our remarks may prove advan¬ 
tageous to those whom it concerns. 
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum ml'ltiflorum). — 
This plant is well worth the attention of all cultivators 
of early-forced flowers. The latter, which are white 
tipped with green, and produced on short branching 
peduncles, are very pretty and much appreciated when 
intermixed with other flowering plants early in the 
season. As it is a British plant, being wild in many 
places, and also frequently met with in herbaceous 
borders, there ought not to be much difficulty by those 
who do not already possess it in obtaining a good 
supply at a reasonable cost. November will be quite 
early enough to take up roots from open borders for 
potting. Smaller than 8 in. pots should not be used, 
and from eight to twelve crowns may be planted in 
each. Allow them to remain in a cold frame for a few 
weeks, and their subsequent treatment should in all 
respects be similar to that accorded to Lily of the 
Yalley. 
Hoteia (Sit r. a;a) japonica.— This is, unquestion- 
ably, one of the very best and most accommodating 
plants we have for forcing, and a decided favourite with 
growers for the market ; its popularity for furnishing 
and decorative purposes being such as few other subjects 
can lay claim to. Of this plant it may also be said, 
that imported roots are by far the best for early work, 
giving, as compared with home-grown roots, a maxi¬ 
mum of flowers with a minimum of trouble. The 
sooner they are potted after they come to hand the less 
trouble will be experienced in getting them into flower 
early; such a compost as we have previously recom¬ 
mended will be found to be very suitable in this case. 
The clumps being put into 5 or 6-inch pots, well 
drained, should be plunged in a cold frame, or outside 
in cocoa-nut fibre refuse, for a few weeks, preparatory 
to introducing them in batches as required into a moist- 
growing temperature of from 60° to 70°. When it is 
seen that root action has fairly commenced, syringing 
overhead and copious supplies of water at the roots 
should be the order of the day, indeed, when they are 
in full growth and in a high temperature, they may 
almost be treated as semi-aquatic. Just as the flowers 
begin to open, the plants should he moved into a some¬ 
what cooler structure to prolong their duration of 
flowering. 
Dielytka spectabilis. —We need hardly say, that 
this is one of the most graceful and effective plants we 
can grow for early spring flowering, its handsome 
spikes, from one to two feet long, bearing a profusion 
of its beautiful soft pink-coloured flowers, rendering it 
very attractive and admirably suited for room decora¬ 
tion. It delights in rich light soil, with a little sand 
and leaf mould added thereto. The end of October 
will be early enough for potting, and the plants should 
be well protected from frost till they are brought into 
heat, which ought not to be much earlier than the 
middle of December. If they can be given a cold 
frame and plunged in leaves, then they may be re¬ 
garded as being comparatively safe from frost, care, 
however, must be taken not to cover over the erowns, 
to any appreciable extent otherwise -weak and spindly 
spikes will be the result.— J. H. 
( To be continued). 
-->X<-- 
FRUITS, FLOWERS & VEGETABLES, 
Exotic Plants in the Isle of Wight.— 
Seeing the note in your last issue (p. 36) on Hydrangea, 
reminds me of a grand display of them which I 
saw in the College gardens at Ryde a short time back. 
They were planted in lines forming a broad margin to 
the shrubbery borders from 2 to 3 ft. high, and were 
one mass of flowers. It is not easy to imagine what a 
fine effect the broad lines of these plants have when in 
full flower as there seen. It would appear that con¬ 
siderable care had been taken in preparing the stations 
for the different lines, as in some places they produced 
blue and in other delicate pink flowers. It is very 
rarely on the mainland that we see such a display of 
these plants as can be seen in the Isle of Wight. In 
the grounds I also noticed fine bushes of Acacia 
dealbata, which prior to the winters of 1880 and 1881 
had reached about the dimensions of large trees, as also 
had the Blue Gum, Eucalyptus globulus. Magnolia 
grandiflora grows on the open lawns like forest trees, 
and open their deliciously perfumed flowers most freely, 
and the beautiful kinds of Myrtles grow and flower 
and emit their sweet perfume in almost any position. 
In one of the gardens near by we noticed some beds of 
Camellias in perfect health, and the old single Donke- 
laarii bearing large fruits. In the same garden were 
growing side by side with the Azalea mollis good plants 
in perfect health of the Indian section, and which I 
was given to understand had been standing out of doors 
several years.— C. Warden. 
Judging Fruit at Exhibitions.— It lias 
always appeared to me unfortunate that a fair and just 
decision cannot be arrived at in judging Melons at ex¬ 
hibitions without having to cut the fruits, which all 
know does not enhance their appearance, especially if 
the exhibition extends over more than one day, and we 
happen to get damp or rainy weather during the time. 
Accepting the rule of tasting in the case of Melons as 
being an objectionable necessity, I should like to ask 
the opinion of others if they would be prepared to 
welcome the application of the same rule to Peaches and 
Nectarines, as was adopted by the judges at the autumn 
show held at Bath. Under this system of judging, it 
is quite possible for poor half-developed fruit, in the case 
of Nectarines, to be placed before handsome well-coloured 
specimens.— C. W. C. 
Roses for Winter Flowering.— In reply to 
Mr. A. Swanson s enquiry (p. 42) I should say it would 
be too late now to give his plants a rest if he wishes 
them to flower during the winter. The best way to 
treat them would be to cut out all the small wood, 
leaving only the strongest and best ripened shoots, 
which may be shortened back a little, and after this has 
been done the beds should be forked over, and a dressing 
of manure be given ; this may either be forked in or 
used as a mulching for the surface. To succeed well 
with Tea Roses during the winter, it is essential that 
the house should be well heated with hot water. At 
the same time plenty of air should be given on all 
favourable occasions, but cold draughts must be care¬ 
fully avoided. Although plants grown on without 
having a rest may flower well through the winter, yet 
plants that are ripened off early in the autumn, and 
then given a fresh start about this time or a little later, 
will generally succeed better. — H. 
The Royal George Peach. —"We send you 
herewith, half-a-dozen ripe fruits of the Royal George 
Peach, which have grown and ripened on the young 
trees in the nursery rows, without the slightest shelter 
or protection. Is it not an unusual occurrence ? The 
fruit is small, but would no doubt have been larger if we 
had watered the trees ; possibly, however, if that had 
been done, it might have kept them growing, and so 
prevented them from ripening. They grew on young 
trees just as Plums and Apples occasionally fruit in the 
rows, where the trees stand to be drawn from.— Thomas 
Frost <£• Son, Bower <£• Ling Xurseries , Maidstone, Sept. 
23rd. [So far as we know, it is a very unusual occur¬ 
rence, for small trees to ripen their fruits so well under 
such circumstances. — Ed. ] 
Nicotiana affinis. —When looking through your 
issue of September, 5th (p. 11), it gave me much 
pleasure to read “T. W’s” letter on Nicotiana affinis, 
for it is a plant certainly not half so well known as it 
deserves to be. But unlike some of its congeners, it is 
not well adapted for sub-tropical bedding, as far as my 
experience goes, but no one who comes in contact 
with it, in the quiet shades of evening, can fail to be 
struck with its delicious fragrance ; in short, having 
once grown it, one would be loth to part with so sweet 
a flower. I cannot speak of its value as a pot plant, 
but shall not fail to give it a good trial in the coming 
year. It is of great value for cutting, its beautiful 
white blooms, intermixed with scarlet zonal Pelar¬ 
goniums, and graceful fronds of Ferns, having a very 
pleasing effect, to say nothing of its delightful odour. — 
G. B. Baskett. 
Mignonette, “Machet.”— In the Gardening 
World of September 12th, “H ” contributes a paper 
on “ Mignonette for early spring sowing,” but he does 
not mention, and probably has not seen a new variety 
of continental origin, and sent out in the spring of this 
year. It came with the name of “Machet,” and in my 
opinion it is a valuable and distinct variety. I send 
you a plant, so that you may see what it is, but we have 
been having, and still have, very wet windy weather, so 
that it is not in good condition. Up to this time, it 
has been a long way ahead of all the other Mignonettes, 
and the admiration of all who saw it. Its sturdy short- 
jointed habit and floriferousness, and its excellent 
condition and the size of the spikes, will bring it 
prominently into notice as a valuable variety for pot 
work and general use. It is so compact in habit, that 
it will be welcomed by (all. In this variety, and “Golden 
Queen ” and “Miles’s Spiral,” we have three pretty 
distinct and excellent kinds, and all thoroughly frag¬ 
rant.— William Dean, Florist, Walsall. [The speci¬ 
mens received bear out all that our correspondent claims 
in its favour. Its fragrance is very rich.— Ed.J 
Disbudding and Feeding Chrysanthe¬ 
mums. —Chrysanthemums will now require a good 
deal of attention in disbudding. Those plants which 
are grown for decorative purposes on what is called the 
bush system will hardly be showing the bloom buds, 
but those grown on the long single stem system will 
now require to have their blooms thinned, and the 
grower should always bear in mind that the terminal or 
centre bud will produce the best flower. A great many 
other buds will be found clustering arouud the centre 
one, and these should all be taken off carefully, leaving 
the centre one only on each shoot. A small pen-knife 
is the best instrument to use for the purpose, care being 
taken not to damage the remaining bud or the stem. 
The plants should also now be carefully attended to 
with stimulants, and there are many sorts of manure 
which can be used successfully, but generally speaking 
each cultivator has a particular fancy of his own. 
There is nothing better than the drainings from the 
farm-yard diluted until it becomes about the colour of 
brandy ; guano, dissolved and used weak, forms another 
good stimulant; sheep-droppings, placed in a bag and 
soaked in a tank for some time, answers well ; and a 
