December 12, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
231 
course, one reason why Orchid flowers remain in fresh¬ 
ness and beauty so long in our hothouses is owing to 
the above elements of injury being absent. Everybody 
knows that if by accident an Orchid flower is fertilised 
by a bee or a fly or by artificial aid, then the blossom soon 
shrivels and fades, while the same would have endured 
fresh for weeks if this fertilisation had not occurred. 
I have observed that in the morning after heavy dews, 
and at all times after showers, that the ground reeks 
with heat and moisture, and in the forests this up¬ 
rising of moisture is always taking place from decay¬ 
ing leaves and other debris, and I believe the roots of 
epiphytal Orchids are especially fitted to absorb atmos¬ 
pheric plant food of this kind, and the safest plan of 
supplying manurial stimulants or plant food to Orchids 
is by watering the floors or stages with volatile manures, 
and on no account do I advise the application of solid 
or liquid manures to the compost or roots of these 
plants. Nature is not an infallible guide, but she 
places a thin bed of rapidly decaying leaf mould under 
the trees on which Orchids grow, and the finest Dendro- 
biums I ever saw of their respective kinds were growing 
in a Pine pit, and I have no doubt, whatever, that their 
vigorous growth Was in a great measure due to the 
exhalations of the rotten leaves and tanners’ bark in 
which the Pine plants were plunged. 
The Apprentice System. — I have read the remarks 
of “A. M.,” at p. Ill, on apprentice premiums, and 
may say that I have more than once made an onslaught 
in the gardening papers on this iniquitous practice, and 
had thought that such extortions had become extinct; 
I hope it is not now general. At one time the practice 
was much in vogue, and lads seemed to be put with 
much ease into positions which, in most cases, ended 
with bitter regret and disappointment. I am, however, 
in touch with “A. M.” as regards the paying of 
premiums to highly qualified men in positions where 
gardening in its various branches is well represented, 
and who take pains in teaching the youths who enter 
their employment and aspire to shine in their profes¬ 
sion. This is quite a different thing to the mean 
practice of extorting from youths a portion of their 
hard-wrought earnings, and giving nothing in return.— 
M. T. 
—-->-A<-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
Chrysanthemums. —A short time ago the varieties 
of these were comparatively limited, but now it is 
hardly too much to expect that w T e shall soon have 
them the whole year round ; but be this as it may, the 
late kinds coming in now, and that will last long after 
this are the most valuable, and should be taken every care 
of, as there will be little else to make the greenhouse 
gay for some weeks yet to come. The way to keep them 
fresh and prolong their beauty to the latest period 
possible, is to maintain a dry cool atmosphere, by 
having very gentle fires and the ventilators slightly 
open, which will cause a free circulation of air, and 
this will not only be favourable to the Chrysanthemums 
but to every plant in bloom in the house. 
Vallotas. —Few bulbous subjects are more showy 
than these or more easy to cultivate, and they should 
be grown by every amateur. The mode of treatment 
requisite now they have done flowering, is to keep 
the soil just moist, so as to preserve the roots alive 
and the foliage fresh and healthy, when the plants will 
start strong again in the spring. Although Vallotas 
do best in a general way when left undisturbed, they 
require dividing now and then and repotting, and the 
present is a good time to do this work, the most 
suitable mixture for them being peat and loam, or leaf- 
mould and the latter in about equal parts, and if a fair 
sprinkling of sand be added the plants are sure to do 
well. 
Calla iethiopica— Plants of this that were planted 
out and taken up and potted as advised, ought now to 
be getting forward, and if placed in a light warm 
position will soon send up their fine stately blooms, 
which will be an ornament at this season when there is 
so little to make a show. 
Hyacinths, Tulips, and Narcissi.—I t is time 
now that these were removed from under the ashes, 
cocoa-nut-fibre, or other material thev have been 
covered with, but after this is done they must not be 
exposed to light suddenly, or the tender blanched 
leaves will become discoloured and injured at the tips, 
and to prevent this a mat should be run down by day, 
till they get a little hardened and inured to the change. 
As soon as they are in this condition, the most forward 
may be placed on a shelf near the glass in some warm 
pit or house to bring them into flower, and thus 
lengthen the display, as the others will come on in 
succession. 
Roses. —Tea Roses are excellent plants for green¬ 
house decoration, especially such plants of them as have 
been in pots a year and have become well established, 
and those who have not any of that kind may buy them 
cheap and start them at once. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Chrysanthemums. —Although we have had a mild 
autumn, Chrysanthemums have not been at all good 
out in the open, and the only way to make sure of 
producing fine flowers, and obtaining them in a satis¬ 
factory condition, is to plant and grow the plants under 
the shelter of some wall or fence where they can have a 
sunny aspect, and be protected should the weather prove 
cold and severe. As Chrysanthemums like rich soil, 
and generally exhaust the ground after they have been 
standing a year, it is advisable at this season, as soon 
as they have done blooming, to take the whole of the 
stock up, and lay the plants in in some sheltered spot 
till the spring, when they may be lifted, pulled apart, 
and divided, and the strongest and best suckers re¬ 
planted again. 
Christmas Roses. —These are so late blooming, and 
so valuable during winter, that no garden should be 
without them ; and those who are so fortunate as to 
have established clumps, will find it a good plan to 
place hand-lights or bell-glasses over them, or im¬ 
provise some shelter by turning a bottomless box over 
them, and laying a sheet of glass on the top. This 
protection will not only render them safe against hard 
frost, but will cause the flowers to expand freely, and 
come with great purity of colour, and thus add to their 
beauty when cut. The most suitable situation to plant 
the Christmas Rose in is a shady border, or where the sun 
is partly kept off during the heat of the day by shrubs ; 
the soil in which the plants do best being a mixture of 
peat and loam, or leaf mould and loam, and if so 
favoured they are sure to do well. 
Increasing and Planting the Stock. — The 
way to increase the stock is to divide the plants, which 
may be done by carefully cutting through the crowns, 
or pulling them apart, so as to secure roots with each 
piece, and these, if planted with the hearts just level 
with the top of the ground, and kept watered while 
making their growth, will form strong clumps in a 
year. 
Shrubbery and Herbaceous Borders. — The 
custom with many is to dig among these, but is a bad 
practice to do more than just prick over the soil to bury 
any small weeds and give a fresh appearance to the 
surface, as the going deeper must of necessity cut and 
destroy many roots, which does great harm to the 
plants. 
Top Dressing. —Instead of digging and disturbing 
herbaceous plants, it is far better to top dress with 
short rotten manure or leaf mould, and allow which¬ 
ever is used to lie on for the winter, and work it in in 
the spring, when any plants that are too large, or 
require re-arranging, may be divided or re-planted in 
positions to suit them. 
Bulbs. —Hyacinths and Tulips, if not planted deep, 
will soon be showing through the ground, and to 
prevent injury by sharp frosts it is a good plan to 
scatter over the beds, or parts of the border where they 
are planted, a little leaf soil, cocoa-nut fibre, or any¬ 
thing of that kind to protect the young tender crowns ; 
and it will be necessary to keep a very close watch on 
Crocuses, as mice and rats are particularly fond of them, 
and once they find them out, will soon eat them up. 
Walks. —The soaking rains we have had has 
brought forcibly under notice any defects in these, and 
shown how requisite it is to have them sound if a 
garden is to be enjoyed ; and where they are not in a 
satisfactory condition, no time should be lost in re¬ 
making or repairing them, one of the chief things 
being to get rid of surface water, which may be done 
by means of well-arranged gratings and drains to carry 
oft the rain as fast as it falls. This done, the next im¬ 
portant matter is to get some good hard material for 
a foundation, and to make this firm and solid, fine 
chalk should be scattered amongst it, and if then some 
adhesive gravel with sufficient fine stone in it is placed 
about 2 ins. or 3 ins. thick on the top, it will bind as 
hard as a rock. To force it to do this it will 
need frequent rolling, the proper time to do this being 
when it is a little wet, as then the roll tells. 
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 
Pruning. —Little or nothing can be done in this de¬ 
partment of the garden till the pruning is completed, 
and this operation should therefore be pushed on with 
all speed, as not only must the necessary digging or 
pointing over the ground remain in abeyance till that 
particular work is carried out, but it can be done 
with much greater speed and comfort while the weather 
continues mild and open, as it is now. The trees that 
demand attention first are the Pears and Apples, the 
first named of which, if trained on walls or frames as 
pyramids, cordons, or espalliers, should be kept closely 
pruned, as not only does it give them a better appear¬ 
ance, but when the spurs are short and near home the 
trees bear much finer fruit. 
Thinning the Branches and Spurs. —Another 
important matter in the culture and management of 
Pears is to have the branches and spurs thin, without 
which sun and light cannot have full play, the proper 
distance apart for the branches being about a foot, and 
three inches or so, quite close enough for the spurs, 
which will bear shortening back or thinning out to al¬ 
most any degree, the only thing to be particular about, 
when doing this, being to leave sufficient flower buds 
to afford a good crop, and these buds may easily be dis¬ 
tinguished by their short plump condition. 
Apples. —These, if grown and trained in a similar 
way or as dwarf bushes, require much the same treat¬ 
ment ; but if in orchards, where they have plenty of 
room to spread and develope, they are much better left 
pretty much to themselves, as then all the attention 
they need is judicious thinning, so as to prevent branches 
crossing and crowding each other. This may be done 
by going carefully over the Dees and removing any of 
the shoots that can be spared from the inner part; but 
in taking them out, the cuts should be made clean and 
smooth that the parts may quickly heal over again. 
American Blight. —This is the greatest of all pests, 
with which Apple Trees are affected, and there are 
few gardens really clear of the parasite, which shows 
itself in white patches, and cause swellings to take 
place in the bark. The best remedy against this 
troublesome insect is paraffin, and if this is mixed, in the 
proportion of a pint to a gallon of water, stirred up 
with clay, and made of the consistence of paint, and then 
worked into the parts with a brush, it will destroy the 
whole lot that are there. Moss and Lichen.—The 
way to get rid of these is to syringe the trees with fresh 
lime wash, which will kill every particle of moss it 
touches and leave the trees, after it falls in the spring, 
clean and bright in the rind. 
The Gum Trees in the Isle of Arran. —The 
annual report of the continuous growth of such exotics 
as Eucalyptus, Tree-ferns, and Acacias, in this well- 
known health resort of the Firth of Clyde given by the 
Rev. D. Landsborough, of Kilmarnock, to the Edinburgh 
Botanical Society, has come to be looked for with 
interest by arboriculturists. This year three Australian 
Gums have been successfully introduced, which from 
their native mountain habitats apjiear to promise a long 
vitality even in the severer frosts and gales incident to 
other parts of Great Britain than the lovely isle where 
they now luxuriate. The white gum (E. pauciflora 
syneoriacea) from the Blue Mountains, New South 
Wales, planted in 1880 at Craigyard, Lamlash, had not 
a leaf browned in the severe winter of 1880-81, and is 
now 18^ ft. in height, and 7| ins. in girth. Its leaves, 
which approach in size those of the Blue Gum, are 
covered with a whitish bloom. The leaf of the Alpine 
Gum is large, thick, and remarkably broad, being 9 ins. 
by 4 1 ins. It was planted last year at Corrie Hotel 
within 35 yds. of high water mark, and is now 3J ft. 
in height. It is a native of the Alpine regions of 
Australia, and, like some Alpine plants, grows well in 
the vicinity of the sea. The Cider Gum or Mountain 
White Gum (E. Gunnii), has two representatives in Arran; 
one 6 ft. 5 ins. high at Craigyard, Lamlash, and a 
a smaller specimen at the Free Church Manse, Whiting 
Bay. It grows freely in the open air at Kew. — Forestry, 
