January 23, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
331 
hardly name varieties, but still do not forget Parvi- 
flora and Weltoniensis, two of tlie most useful for 
decorative purposes. 
The stock of Pelargoniums must now he gone over, and 
those for early flowering selected and potted on at once, 
those for later work may he pinched hack, and after 
they begin to break may receive their final shift. Use 
a good rich sound compost and feed with liquid manure 
as required at the time of flowering ; “Clay’s ” is one of 
the very best manures for them. Look well to the stock 
of bedding stuff, and if short, increase as fast as possible, 
our stock has wintered remarkably well, having lost 
scarcely a plant ; Lobelias, Mesembryanthemums, and 
all such like may now be readily increased by propagat¬ 
ing, and will have plenty of time to make good stuff 
preparatory to being pirt into cold pits. 
Let the potting of stove plants be continued as can 
best be done. Dracrenas of all kinds, that through use 
or other causes have become leggy, are much better 
headed down, and a part of the stem if cut into eyes 
will give a good stock for another season ; plunge the 
remaining part into strong bottom heat, and good 
cuttings may soon be had, which, taken off, with a little 
heel, strike readily, and very quickly make good plants. 
The points of Crotons should now be taken off for propa¬ 
gating, according to the demand for decorative plants, 
place them singly into small thumb pots, plunge them 
in a good strong bottom, cover with bell glasses, and 
do not let them flag, of course, remove the shading 
material in the evening and replace when necessary ; be 
careful, also, that the bell glasses are well wiped twice 
a day, this will prevent damping off. 
FORCING HOUSES. 
Work here now comes on apace, and the utmost 
vigilance is necessary or injury w r ill soon become ap¬ 
parent. Look well to the disbudding and stopping of 
the early Yines, but do not strip the Yines of super¬ 
fluous growth all at once, or a check will ensue. Let 
this be done at intervals of a few days and all will be 
well. The early Peach trees should now be in flower, 
that is if fruit is wanted by the end of May ; let the air 
be dry and buoyant about mid-day, when the trees may 
be gone over w T ith the camel’s-hair pencil (we always 
use a rabbit’s tail, and find it much better than a pencil), 
afterwards giving the trees a good shake to distribute 
the pollen that may remain ; and if the trees have been 
properly attended to during the autumn and winter 
with regard to water at the roots, no fear need be 
entertained as to securing a crop. 
We have placed another batch of Spiraea japonica, 
Lilacs, Lily of the Valley, and Indian Azaleas into 
heat, also two dozen standard Eoses in pots into the 
early Yinery. As the temperature rises these will be 
removed to cooler quarters, and will give us many a 
good bouquet before the Marechal Niels in the green¬ 
house come in. Our first Lily of the Valley and Spiraea 
are now well in bloom, and most acceptable they are, 
particularly for house decoration. 
Take great care to make good sowings of French 
Beans. Where these are required all the year round, 
as with us, it requires some amount of care to always 
have a good dish. The variety we find most suitable 
for mid-winter work is Osborn’s Prolific ; but from now 
onward none are, in my opinion, equal to the old 
“ Pale Dun,” if sown in a box in leaf-soil, and when 
ready, placed six or seven in an 8 in. pot, they will be 
more fruitful than if sown in the pots ; it also checks 
too luxuriant a growth, and avoids pinching. For 
mid-winter work it is more desirable to sow them in 
the pots in which they are intended to fruit. 
We are now preparing a hot-bed for the second batch 
of Cucumbers. This should be well rammed, and 
allowed some days to settle, and before the hillocks are 
made more material added, so that it may sink as little 
as possible. See that the supply of Mint and Tarragon, 
together with small salads, is fully kept up. A good 
potfull or two of Solomon’s Seal should also be put in 
now ; this is always admired in a cut state, and when 
the plants are over they may be planted out again for 
lifting at some future time. 
We managed to get our third batch of Asparagus in 
on Friday last, and glad we were of the opportunity. 
Look well to the Mushroom-house, keep a temperature 
of about 58° ; see that the beds that have been bearing 
for some time do not become too dry, should they 
require water give them a good dose. Take three parts 
of a bucket of quite dry cow-dung and fill up with 
water, let this soak for twenty-four hours before use, 
mixed with hot-water and the beds will be greatly 
benefited thereby. 
Collect materials for working up beds as required, 
and also look after the supply of Sea Kale and Ehubarb. 
Endive lifted with a good ball and stocked on the floor 
of this house will blanch readily. See also that the 
supply of Chicory is kept up, this we find most useful 
all through the winter months when salading becomes 
rather scarce. “Witloef” is far superior to the old 
variety. - 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
The welcome thaw has come, and once more we enjoy 
a sight of the soil. Lose no time in pushing on the 
digging of all vacant squares ready for receiving the 
crops which "were determined for them last autumn. 
^Vhere wire-worm or grub are troublesome to the Carrot 
crop after the ground is dug, put a good sprinkling of 
gas lime, and allow it to remain until sowing time, 
when rake it in with a wooden rake previous to the 
drills being drawn, and there will not be much trouble 
with that pest; the same remarks apply equally to the 
Onion grub, and the square devoted to that crop may 
receive a similar application, but as, of course, the 
ground has been dug some time since, a frosty morning 
must be chosen to get it on the ground. 
Keep the ground well stirred between the early 
Coleworts, and when they start fairly into growth draw 
the soil to them to keep the wind from rocking them, 
and also as a protection to _the stems. Look well to 
the Sea Kale quarter, and as soon as time will permit 
lift all that is required for this seasons use, storing the 
crowns in sifted ashes from which they can be taken at 
any time ; be careful to remove all the sizable thongs 
to remake the plantations, but be sure do not plant 
anything but thongs, old crowns never make good stuff; 
we devote sufficient space to the growth of this vegetable 
to lift only every other year, which gives us good 
crowns. 
Select the ground to be devoted to Jerusalem Arti¬ 
chokes, as, if these are not planted in good time the 
crop is seldom first-rate, we always endeavour to plant 
ours towards the end of this month. Make a good 
sowing of first and second early Peas, and also of Broad 
Beans, and if those sown inside are sufficiently advanced 
let them be planted out, being coddled up in frames 
will shortly spoil them ; it will be as well to cover 
seeds now with old soil from the potting benches, 
which should be saved for such purposes. Look well 
to the Radish bed, and if the first sowing is well 
advanced make another, and then one may shortly be 
made on some sheltered border of the French Breakfast 
to succeed those sown inside. 
A box of Eclipse Cauliflower and Paris White Cos 
Lettuce may be also sown, placed in heat until they 
germinate, then remove at once to the cold pit ; this 
Cauliflower will be found to succeed the autumn sown 
ones, and always do well, in fact, it is by far the best 
variety with us.— Walter Child, Croovie Court. 
-- 
ORCHID NQTESMD GLEANINGS. 
Odontoglossum Alexandras. — I have read 
with great interest Mr. W. Thompson’s note (in your 
issue of January 9th) on plants flowering “in 1881 as 
extra fine, being small puny things in 1885.” I have 
been told by a northern grower that one of his grandest 
varieties, which made a fine growth, threw a strong 
spike and little wretched blooms upon it. He after¬ 
wards told me, in response to my queries on its 
cultivation, that it had been put into a cool frame for 
the second summer’s growth, and as he did not know 
when the plant returned to its proper quarters, I expect 
that bulb was chilled in its immature state, and was 
unable to secrete the needful matter to produce fine 
flowers ; I am sure the cultivation must have been at 
fault and not the plant. I have a lot of the fine broad 
forms that bloomed early in 1885, which I have pre¬ 
served flowers of, and as they are all now pushing grand 
spikes, I will in due time send blooms of them for your 
inspection and notes on the subject. I do not approve 
of frame culture personally, and we at Rosefield have 
some 0. Alexandras which have as good spikes on them 
(second season) as man need wish, and the buds of 
those far advanced show they will be far from puny 
things. 
A cry raised of this sort is enough to frighten many 
of the younger growers into stopping the pet hobby, 
and selling them in fear of having poor ones come out 
of the ones they saw fine last time. I expect that the 
twenty-one guinea plant he quotes had a tremendous 
spike on it when bought, and it was kept on for a long 
time, and, perhaps, tore the plant to pieces so that it 
could not recover itself in time. It might possibly 
have had a label carelessly changed in re-potting if it 
was among a large stock. I am glad to say that in 
every instance in which I have bloomed an imported 
0. Alexandra for its two first seasons in my own 
houses, that it has flowered finer or had more blooms 
equally as fine as the first season. I can understand a 
plant, cultivated for the first year and sold in bloom 
by one owner, deteriorating under worse culture or 
changed circumstances in its second owner’s hands. I 
hope Mr. Thompson will find some difference to account 
for the poor “ puny flowers of 1885.” 
It may be that the plant has exhausted the compost 
in which it is, for, as a rule, the newly-imported plant 
is under-potted, not over-potted ; they can be left in 
this pot too long. Y 7 e find that a larger pot than most 
people give for the first shift is beneficial, and if anyone 
likes to see them they are welcome to do so. The bulb 
they make in the largish pot is no doubt improved, and 
it is able to secrete all it wants to produce its “quota ” 
of good blooms. If it has not room for its roots to 
permeate, and each root has not a sufficient space to 
extract its full supply of food, the bulb must suffer and 
the plant too, and therefore the spike will be poor. 
We do not pretend to be cleverer than others, but we 
shall be glad to show the plants we have to back up 
my statement in due time. 
I think there may be another reason advanced to 
account for the puny flowers. In the case of a plant 
grown by one who wants to sell it, he naturally leaves 
the bloom on as long as possible in hopes of its looks 
selling it, for “an Orchid’s face is its fortune.” Per¬ 
haps the spike is left too long on the one year imported 
plant, which may not have as many roots as it ought 
to have ; the second year the poor thing may show its 
over-straining, though it may make up a large bulb. 
My practice is almost invariably to cut the first spike 
as soon as fully expanded ; under this regime I cannot 
think a fine variety will become a “puny one.” 
Another way would be to always cut out the second 
season’s spike, and then, perhaps, the owner would 
never be discouraged. I have prevented some of my 
plants blooming for three seasons because they were fine 
varieties- and not sufficiently strong to throw a good 
spike ; the first spike does undoubtedly try their 
powers more than any subsequent one. When I allow 
these plants to bloom I will send you a comparative 
blooming—1883 to 1886—if I do not forget. I should 
like to ask a question on this subject of changing 
varieties. I have been once told that a good variety 
which bloomed in January one season bloomed in 
November and turned out good. All viy fine ones, no 
matter when they bloom, are always alike. I should 
like to have others’ experience on this .—De B. 
Crawshay. 
Odontogdossiim Hybrids.— Numerous as this 
beautiful and varied class now is, fresh varieties fre¬ 
quently flower which beat their predecessors in then’ par¬ 
ticular branch of the family. A very pretty example is 
now in bloom with Messrs. Shuttleworth, Carder & Co., 
of Park Road, Clapham. In some of its features, and 
particularly in its triangular lip and its markings, it is 
like 0. Andersonianum obtusatum, but it is more 
massive in all its parts, and in form more nearly like a 
neat and compact 0. crispum. In colour it is clear, 
bright yellow, marked with what may best be called 
bright chestnut, but which some would name dark 
bright red. Another year’s growth will make it a 
great beauty. 
Orchids in Scotland. —In reply to Mr. Craw- 
shay’s inquiry, at p. 316, about the Odontoglossum 
Alexandra, at Oswald Road, Edinburgh, I have to say 
that, having destroyed the notes taken at the time of 
my visit, I wrote to Mr. Grossart for the required in¬ 
formation, and send you a quotation from his reply, 
from which Mr. Crawshay will perceive that I have 
understated the number of flowers borne by the plant. 
Mr. Grossart says, “I have gone over the Odonto¬ 
glossum Alexandra again, and find it has 141 flowers 
on five spikes, the largest of which carries fifty-two 
flowers. This plant, two years ago, produced a spike 
that carried 65 flowers. It has twelve bulbs, eight with 
leaves and four without them, and is growing in a 10 
in. pot ; I enclose you a flower which measures 3 in. 
one way and 4 in. the other. ” 
