362 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 6, 1886. 
purpose of keeping the roots near the surface, a circum¬ 
stance, the importance of which cannot well he over¬ 
estimated. This work should be done in the autumn 
months and as soon as the trees have shed their leaves, 
if they are in a condition anything approaching to a 
state of good health no fear need be entertained re¬ 
garding a crop of fruit the succeeding summer, other 
conditions being equal. We now come to the elemen¬ 
tary part of the subject, of pruning, training, and 
nailing, and on which, perhaps, no lengthened com¬ 
ment is here needed. One great object should be to 
adopt such a course of treatment during the summer 
months as will necessitate very little winter pruning, 
and this desired state of things can only be brought 
about by practising the disbudding and pinching of 
young shoots in no half-hearted way, so as to have very 
little to be done at this time of the year beyond the 
nailing or tying in of successional shoots, and such 
others as may be required for the extension and frame 
work of the tree. 
One of our pet aversions in training is the over¬ 
crowding of young wood, and thus it is that we let a 
space of from 1 in. to 2 in. intervene between each shoot. 
When the trees are in flower, protection is afforded by 
Russian and home-made straw mats, stout poles being 
put against the walls to prevent damage being done to 
the trees in rough .weather. I would here remark that a 
better, but more expensive system of protection will be 
found in rollers and blinds made of frigi domo, or some 
such material as Eddy’s No. 3 Shading. To obtain a 
good “set” of young fruit, much care and sound 
judgment should be exercised in the matter of pro¬ 
tecting the flowers, especially during inclement or 
unpropitious weather. Occasionally there may be a 
day when bitterly cold hail and snow storms prevail: 
when such happens to be the case, the trees are much 
better with the mats or blinds down than they would- 
be if exposed to the weather, bearing in mind that 
partial darkness is far better than icicles and a crop of 
frozen stigmas. When the young fruits have com¬ 
menced to swell fairly well, or, say, when they are 
about the size of marbles, their number is considerably 
reduced by taking off the smallest and those which 
are ill placed, leaving only such a number as we think 
sufficient for a crop, according to the state of each 
tree, no allowance being made for falling off when 
stoning ; nor do we think it necessary, as such a thing 
rarely happens, except in cases of over-cropping. 
Close attention through April and May is very 
necessary, in the matter of pinching out abnormal 
shoots and blistered leaves. The same may be said 
about disbudding, and keeping down insect pests, such 
as Aphis. If the latter are not kept in abeyance, 
great amount of injury may be done in an incredibly 
short space of time. As a remedy and preventive, the 
trees should be syringed with some insecticide soon 
after the young fruit is set, the practice being followed 
up once a week for some considerable time. For this 
purpose we find nothing better than concentrated 
tobacco juice, mixed in proportions of one pint to four 
gallons of water ; but no hard and fast line can be laid 
down on this point, as the article itself so often varies 
in quality. The last, but by no means least important 
point to be alluded to, is mulching and watering 
during hot summer weather. At no time should this 
matter be overlooked, as the Peach tree is very sensi¬ 
tive to anything approaching dryness at the roots.— 
J. Horsfield. Hcytesbury. 
-- 
FRUITS, FLO WERS & V EGETABLES. 
Erica melanthera. — This excellent winter 
flowering Heath is a general favourite wherever it is 
well grown. It continues to bloom from November till 
March, and a few plants of it dotted about in the cool 
greenhouse or conservatory have a very telling effect 
during the dull winter months. The flowers though 
small, are produced in clusters, the colour being a 
delicate rosy pink when first opening, ultimately 
changing to white, and are very useful for cutting ; the 
plants may also be occasionally used for room decoration. 
After they have done flowering in March, they must 
be trimmed into shape, either as round bushes or 
pyramids, as fancy may suggest. When the plants 
show signs of breaking into growth, they should be 
potted very firmly into peat and silver sand. After 
potting, place them in a good growing temperature 
of 65° to 70° by day, and not lower than 50° by night, 
keep a moist atmosphere by syringing and damping the 
floor and pipes, and they will make rapid growth ; 
should any shoots start away longer than others, they 
must be pinched back to keep the plants in shape. 
After the growth is complete, about August, take them 
into a frame and give an abundance of air to ripen their 
wood, at which time the flower buds will set all over 
the plants. This Heath will grow well with Azaleas, 
Epacris, and other plants that require heat and moisture 
during their growing season. — TV. G. 
Poinsettias at Seaham Hall, Sunderland. 
—In reply to the expressed wish of your correspondent, 
“ W. C.,”atp. 348,1 sendyousome particulars respecting 
the large Poinsettia that is grown here. I planted the 
specimen in question about twenty-five years ago, and 
it now covers a wall 11 ft. high and 23 ft. long. The 
stem at 1 ft. above the ground is 11 ins. round, and 
the average number of heads of bracts are about 240 
each year, and some I have measured were 16 ins. in. 
diameter. The plants have been in flower since the 
beginning of November until lately, and it would have 
been quite in a blaze now but the heads have been 
gathered for decorations. I may add that I have 
yearly cut off about 3 ft. from the top and both ends 
to keep the plant within bounds, as it grows so rapidly, 
through being planted out. No one can form any 
opinion of its brilliancy, except Those who have seen it 
in all its beauty in December. It is a plant that is so 
easy to manage, that I often wonder it has not been 
grown more extensively ; I am told by travellers that 
this Poinsettia is the largest in Britain.— R. Draper, 
Seaham Hall Gardens. 
Abutilon Boule de Neige.— Having just read 
a short note on Abutilons in your issue of January 
23rd, I should like to say a few words more in favour 
of this variety. I fully corroborate the writer’s 
statement in regard to its being a “good winter flowerer. ” 
We planted out, two years ago, in one of the span- 
roofed greenhouses here, two plants of this variety, 
which very soon filled the spaces assigned to them. At 
the end of the first season we found that one of them 
would easily supply us with as many cut flowers as we 
required, and so the weakest of the two was cut down. 
The remaining one, which I may say is a perpetual 
flowerer, has done remarkably well this winter having 
supplied us every week with handfuls of splendid 
blooms the whole winter through, and which have 
been much appreciated. It is so easily grown when 
planted out, and gives so little trouble, that I would 
strongly advise anyone who has a supply of white cut 
flowers to keep up during the dull months of the year, 
and who can spare a sash or two of a greenhouse, to 
lose little time in giving it a trial as a climber, as I am 
sure it would amply repay anyone for the space 
assigned to it. I much prefer planting it in a small 
border or some such equivalent, for cutting purposes, 
to that of growing it in pots, as it requires much less 
labour when so grown, which is of no little consideration. 
The following compost will suit it very wellTwo 
parts of good lumpy loam, one part of leaf-soil, with a 
liberal mixture of coarse sand and bone-meal, especially 
the former if the loam is inclined to be heavy. I am 
of opinion that many think this Abutilon requires 
more heat in winter than it actually does. The house 
that this one is growing in has seldom had a night 
temperature above 45° and has often been below 40°, 
and still it flowers as profusely as ever, and the flowers 
also stand much longer than when grown in a higher 
temperature.— J. E. Miln, Culzean Gardens, Ayrshire. 
The Warm Conservatory at Chalfont 
Park. —Mr. C. Herrin, the clever young gardener at 
Chalfont, has always a fine show of bloom, and even 
the protracted bad weather finds him with a display 
under glass which the dreary prospect outside only adds 
to the value of. The warm conservatory with its rock¬ 
faced centre stage, in which Ferns, Mosses, Tradescantia, 
&c., are growing, is a pretty sight, with fine specimens 
of Alocasia metallica, Dracaenas, Crotons, Palms, and 
Ferns, arranged together with the scarlet Euphorbia 
jacquiniseflora, fine specimens of Eucliaris amazonica, 
and other flowering stove plants, and Orchids, of which 
latter a collection is not attempted, but good plants 
of some, and especially those for winter flowering, are 
grown and well grown too. Among those now in bloom 
are several good examples of Coelogyne cristata, both 
the old and the Chatsworth varieties, Dendrobium 
Wardianum, some very high coloured and well bloomed 
Calanthe Veitchii superba, C. Turnerii, C. vestita, red 
and yellow-eyed varieties, and other handsome things. 
Such of these as are light enough are suspended over¬ 
head, and look charming with their graceful spikes 
hanging over fine specimens of Adiantum Farleyense, 
A. gracillimum, and other elegant foliage plants. 
Much skill is displayed in the arrangement, and, that 
of course, adds to the attraction of the whole displav.— 
J. B. 
Acacia ovata. —This is almost a counterpart of 
A. arrnata, but in some ways preferable. Its flowers 
are not quite so large but of a deeper colour, and 
the habit though similar is more healthy in appearance. 
I find the shoots have not that tendency to go off as 
A. armata has, so that it has some advantages over the 
older kind. The Acacias are very desirable plants for 
the conservatory decoration, especially so at this time 
of the year. With the two above mentioned I would 
like to recommend A. Drummondi, A platyptera, and 
A. Riceana. There are several other kinds, but these 
are the best for general work. — J. S. T. 
Hardiness of Variegated-leaved Phor- 
mium tenax. —I am sorry to be obliged to differ 
altogether with your well known and usually accurate 
correspondent “R. D. ” in the opinions he expresses on 
p. 348 of your last issue. I have had considerable 
experience with all the beautiful variegated-leaved 
forms of these fine and handsome plants, namely, P. 
Veitclii, P. Colensoi, and P. tenax variegatum, 
perhaps the finest of them all, and regret to say that 
even here on the comparatively mild seaboard of the 
south of Ireland there are none of them hardy. I grew 
them for several years in a mild and sheltered valley 
close to the sea, where they grew into fine strong tufts, 
and P. Colensoi even bloomed, but they were all killed 
in the winter of 1880-81. — TV. E. Gumbleton. 
Cucumbers, Tomatos, and Strawberries. 
—In answer to a question by “T. M.,” at p. 350, as to 
the quantities of Cucumbers, Tomatos, and Strawberry 
plants required for houses of the dimensions indicated, 
and the amount of produce they should yield under 
successful management, I may say that I have been 
engaged in the production of the same for market, and 
send you the following figures, taken from notes on 
crops in the years 1882, 3, and 4, which were considered 
fairly successful ; but a great deal would depend upon 
the arrangement of planting and staging. My method 
in the case of Tomatos would be to plant on each side 
of the house and train the plants up the same as 
Cucumbers, and have some four or five rows in the 
centre of the house trained perpendicularly, taking three 
leaders up from each plant. “ T. M." would thus 
require about 1,040 plants, the produce, taking 6 lbs. 
per plant as an average, would amount to 6,240 lbs. 
In the case of Cucumbers I should plant but three 
rows, namely, one on feach side and one in the centre, 
trained up to the angle of the roof, thence downwards 
to meet those on either side, but not planted nearer 
than 3 ft. from plant to plant ; placed thus I have 
grown forty-five good fruits per plant, not to say any¬ 
thing of those classed as Gherkins. The number of 
plants required thus would be 225, and the produce of 
the same should be about 10,225. In the case of Straw¬ 
berries, I find that in the year mentioned, something 
like 6,750 pots would be required, that is to say,'if 
grown in 6-in. pots and placed on a span shelving 
stage of six rows on each side, and a row on each side 
of the house, resulting in a yield of 1,690 lbs., or an 
average of a j-lb. per pot. When 1 ‘ T. M. ” says a year, 
I presume he means a season, say from March until 
the end of October. — G. Baslcctt. 
The Lattice-leaf Plants of Madagascar.— 
Those interesting aquatic plants, Ouvirandia fenistralis 
and O. Bernieriana, although much admired in this 
country, are seldom met with in a good state of health. 
As I have seen them grown successfully, I venture to 
give a little of my experience hoping that it may be of 
service to those who are interested in them and have not 
succeeded in growing them well. Good fibry loam mixed 
with a few small crocks should be used as compost, and 
great care should be taken in potting to see that the 
plants is only put in but a little above half way up the 
pot, and that the compost is made firm before, for when 
immersed in water if there is too much soil it will swell 
over and leave the plant loose, which will greatly 
impede its growth. They flourish well in au oak tub 
and the leaves are also seen to great advantage in a 
large white pot, but a lead tank does not suit them. 
Raise the plant in the vessel so that the rim of the pot 
is not more than 1 in. under water when the vessel is 
