140 
the gardening world 
October 31, 1885. 
This state of things continued until I removed it into 
a cooler, damper, and shadier house. Now, in place of 
growths 1 ft. high it has some 4 ft., and from the upper 
part of the old growth numerous side shoots have sprung 
out, and are flowering together with the new growths 
made from the base of the plant ; moreover, it remains 
proof against red spider or thrips. Arundina Bam- 
busaefolia delights in an abundance of water at the 
roots when growing freely, and plenty of moisture in 
the air. Never let it feel the drying influence of hot- 
water pipes. — T. Simcoe. 
Oncidium macranthum. —This is one of those 
beautiful, moisture-loving, cool-house Oncids that well 
repay one for good culture. I have not yet attained 
the success that some growers in the north have with 
this Orchid, whose plants have produced such marvel¬ 
lous spikes of fifty or more flowers upon them—and such 
flowers ! But the success I have met with is sufficient 
to induce me to write about it. In November, 1879, a 
small plant of 0. macrantha was purchased from 
Messrs. Hugh Low & Co. for two guineas, and in May, 
1883, the same plant was sold in flower (in order to 
make room for others) at Stevens’ Booms, and knocked 
down for thirty guineas !—not a bad investment. We 
have two other plants, even larger than that, which 
now have leaves upon them 30 ins. long and 3) ins. 
broad, and several other smaller ones that are growing 
into nice specimens, and which will give a good suc¬ 
cession of bloom. This year, for instance, we had a 
plant in flower at the end of May, another one at the end 
of September, and a third has a spike showing, which will 
open its flowers about Christmas. A renowned Orchid 
grower, when walking through the houses here some 
time ago, attributed the health and vigour of these 
Oncidiums to a back wall near which they stand. No 
doubt the damp wall lias something to do with it, 
because, in addition to the wet floor below, it tends to 
promote a nice genial atmosphere at all seasons.— T. S. 
-—- 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
The Stove. —All stove plants should be gone through 
as opportunity occurs. For sponging Dracaenas, Crotons, 
or other fine foliage plants, pure rain water should be 
used, or if any kind of insecticide is used it should be 
very weak. We think there is nothing better than 
soft soap, say about an ounce to a gallon of water ; the 
soap should be dissolved in boiling water and used at a 
temperature of about 85° or 90° Fahr., and Dracaenas 
or other plants with stem-clasping leaves should be 
turned up to drain the water out from the leaf-stalks, 
or they may be dipped in clean water after being sponged 
with insecticide. To colour Dracaenas well, they should 
now have the full benefit of all the sunlight that can be 
obtained, though plants that are.well coloured may be 
kept in a lower temperature than those that are not so 
well developed. If stood in a cool house for a few 
days, they will stand better when required for table 
decoration ; this also applies to Crotons, or, in fact, 
any stove plants will be better if they are kept in rather 
a lower temperature for a few days before being taken 
out for use. 
Poinsettias. —The coloured bracts will now begin to 
show, and to encourage them to develope a good tem¬ 
perature should be maintained, and the plants may be 
liberally supplied with liquid manure ; to keep the 
plants dwarf, they should be grown as close to the glass 
as possible. Centropogon Lucyanus is a useful stove 
flowering plant, which should now be coming into 
flower, and it is .just at this time that they require great 
care in watering, as if the plants get a little too wet 
they will go off. Euphorbia Jacquinaeflora is also very 
liable to die off just as they are coming into flower if 
over-watered ; on the other hand, they must not be 
allowed to become too dry. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Frame Ground. —Decaying leaves of Lettuce or 
Cauliflower should be cleared from the plants as soon 
as seen, and ventilate freely during fine weather ; but 
when frost threatens close the sashes at night, and 
should it be sharp cover with mats and Fern. Be on 
the alert for slugs, which are very troublesome in 
frames ; they may be easily caught at night, when they 
are feeding on the tender leaves of young Lettuce and 
Cauliflower plants that are destroyed in a few nights if 
the creatures are not caught. A mixture of new soot 
and lime dusted over the plants occasionally when 
damp, and also (more heavily) along the sides and ends 
of the inside of the frame, will have the effect of keeping 
these destructive pests in check. 
Forcing Department. —Where there are no proper 
means for forcing French Beans, it will be difficult to 
keep up the supply, however, much may be done by 
fixing shelves in Pine-stoves, Cucumber-houses, and 
early Vineries ; but the latter—after the vines push 
into leaf, at any rate—should be the last to have re¬ 
course to for such purposes, inasmuch as red spider 
would be likely to get on the Beans and spread to the 
vines. Another sowing should now be made in 8 in. 
pots, a little more than half filled with light rich soil. 
Eight or nine seeds in each pot will be ample, and the 
pots may be placed anywhere in heat (failing a better 
place, a Mushroom-housewould do) until the plants come 
through the soil, when they should, as a matter of 
course, be placed near the light, and when they have 
grown a few inches above the rim of the pot, be earthed- 
up. The points of the shoots must be pinched out to 
make them branch. Syringe frequently, when other 
plants will not be injured by doing so, to check the 
spread, if not prevent the attacks, of red spider, bearing 
in mind, however, that the syringing of the plants 
should be more or less frequent, according to the high 
or low temperature of the house, of which 55° to 60° 
will be high enough at night for the Beans, 
Where Asparagus is wanted early in the season, a 
batch of roots taken up carefully with a digging-fork 
should be put into force without further delay. Where 
properly heated pits are not provided for the forcing of 
this much-esteemed vegetable, the next best way of 
forcing it is by means of the old-fashioned pigeon-holed 
pits, which have an outer space for linings 3 ft. wide 
and 4 or 5 ft. deep, enclosed by a 9 in. wall, and covered 
with shutters made of Oak, having a little incline out¬ 
wards to throw off the rain. These pits, as a rule, are 
divided by partitions, one of which should be filled 
with Oak or Chestnut leaves, to within 12 ins. to 15 
ins. of the top, and well trodden down. Over these 
place 2 ins. thick of short dung, and then a like 
thickness of soil, upon which the roots should be placed 
closely together and covered with soil to the thickness 
of 2 ins. or 3 ins., following this with a like thickness 
of sifted leaf mould. When the stems have grown 2 ins. 
through the mould, they are fit to gather. The leaves 
maintain a gentle and steady warmth, which causes 
every crown to push forth its buds. A bottom heat of 
60° to 70° should be aimed at. 
Where there are no such pits the ordinary hot-beds 
must be had recourse to. This should be made up of 
onepartleaves and one of long stable litter, ineludingthe 
droppings, which should be made into a conical heap 
and be turned over a couple of times during an interval of 
eight or ten days before being used, so as to get rid of 
the rank heat. A sufficient quantity of droppings 
should be kept on hand for the purpose of making up 
the linings of the hot-beds and for new beds. When 
the heat has declined to a lower temperature than that 
indicated above, linings become necessary. As soon as 
Rhubarb and Sea Kale plants have shed their leaves, 
no time should be lost in getting some of each into the 
Mushroom house, or other suitable place. When 
preparing the roots of the latter for forcing, save the 
thongs or extremities, cutting them into lengths of 
about 4 ins., and placing them in a box with earth or 
sand, to be kept until planting time. 
We grow our Sea Kale in what may be described as a 
large shallow box, in a part of one of the two beds 
reserved for its growth, and that of Rhubarb under the 
lower shelf in the Mushroom-house. We prefer this 
method to the pots, on the score that we can 
secure nearly double the quantity of Kale of equally 
good quality from a given space, as well as effect a 
saving of time and labour in doing the necessary work. 
Failing Mushroom-house accommodation, Rhubarb and 
Sea Kale may be grown in light mould in boxes, of 
sufficient depth to admit of the respective plants 
attaining to suitable dimension, the mould being packed 
firmly round the roots. These boxes may be placed 
under a stage, or in any convenient corner in a forcing 
house. Light and air should be excluded from the Sea 
Kale until it is fit to cut, say, when it has attained the 
height of 6 ins., otherwise it will be wanting in crisp¬ 
ness and good flavour. Both may be grown on an 
ordinary hot-bed, in which case the Sea Kale should be 
treated as advised for Asparagus.— H. W. Ward, 
Longfcrrd Castle. Wilts. 
--- 
THE PEAR SHOW AT CHISWICK:, 
Owing partly, no doubt, to the unpropitious weather, 
but more we suspect to the little public interest 
taken in Pears as compared with Apples, the 
attendance of visitors at Chiswick up to the present 
time has been much smaller than at the Apple 
congress, and unless a great increase in the num¬ 
ber takes place during the next few days, the exhibition, 
from a financial point of view, at all events, must be a 
failure. Leaving the general public out of the question, 
it may be noted that even among gardeners and trade 
growers there is nothing like the same amount of in¬ 
terest shown in this display as in the former, and this 
seems to us to be accounted for in two ways. In the 
first place, the Pear crop is not such an important one, 
as the Apple ; and in the second place, as we pointed 
out last week, there are not so many unnamed or 
wrongly named varieties in cultivation, so that the de¬ 
sire for information, certainly, as regards nomenclature, 
is in the case of the Pears almost, if not, entirely want¬ 
ing. This fact is strikingly brought out in the vast 
display at Chiswick, by the few names, very few com¬ 
paratively speaking, which the revising committee 
have had to alter. The trade collections, for the most 
part, appear to be remarkably carefully named, and 
we may mention, as a fact, that is most creditable to 
the exhibitor, that in one collection of some fifty sorts, 
only eight were considered to bear wrong appellations. 
At the Apple show comparatively few were sent with¬ 
out names of some sort, but at this exhibition several 
growers have sent samples under numbers; and, as far 
as we could see, the sorts have been mostly identified. 
From one nobleman’s garden a collection of consider¬ 
able extent has been staged under numbers only, and 
the committee have identified them all. 
Still further comparing the present show with the 
previous one, we note the marked difference between 
the two displays as regards the number of new varieties 
brought to the front. At the Apple Show several val¬ 
uable acquisitions came prominently under notice ; but 
among the Pears there seems to be very few novelties 
of transcendent merit. Of really good, but not much 
known varieties, the most conspicuous is Messrs. Rivers’ 
Princess, a handsome seedling from Louise Bonne of 
Jersey, which in colour it much resembles, while its 
flavour is said to be good, and its season November and 
December. The most striking among the few actual 
novelties, is a Japanese variety named Diamio, shown 
by Mr. Haycock, Barham Court, and which for its 
ornamental appearance—its edible qualities are nil—is 
well worth growing in a mixed collection. The fruits 
are medium-sized, pyriform, inclining to round, and 
the skin clear lemon or citron coloured, regularly dotted 
with small even-sized russetty spots. Mr. Haycock 
states that it is an excellent bearer on the Pear stock. 
As regards stocks, it is worthy of note, that quite 
three parts of the samples shown come from trees 
worked on the Quince ; but a comparison of specimens 
in different collections, show that most of the leading 
sorts come of equally good quality worked on the Pear 
stock, whatever may be the difference as regards yield. 
Another fact which is well brought out, is that the 
finest samples, almost without exception, are obtained 
from cordon trained trees. 
Of the leading trade collections, there appears to be 
very little difference as regards size and appearance 
between those from Kent and Middlesex, though the 
latter county is represented by the greatest numbers. 
The Messrs. Veiteli’s collection is a very fine one, the 
quality being good all through, the sorts carefully 
named, and for the most part from pyramids on the 
Quince stock. The most conspicuous samples are, per¬ 
haps, those of Grosse Calabasse, a large and handsome 
stewing Pear ; Beurre Baehelier, Duchesse de Angou- 
leme, Pitinaston Duchess, a favourite well shown in 
most collections; Gansel’s Bergamot, an old favourite, 
and good October dessert variety when well grown ; 
Glou Morceau, Marie Louise d’Uccle, Bellisime d’Hiver, 
a stewing Pear of much excellence ; Huyslie’s Princess 
of Wales, Beurre Clairgeau, General Todtleben, Mare- 
chal de la Cour, and Durondeau. Mr. Roberts’ 
collection from Gunnersbury House is a very nice one, 
all the samples being of good average size, and very 
clear in the skins. These are nearly all from upright 
