February 13, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
373 
EARLY DAFFODILS. 
To drop in at South Kensington as early as the 9th 
day of February, and there meet a fair gathering of 
Narcissus is a Welcome surprise, the more so since few 
people really expect them at so early a period, es¬ 
pecially with the very severe weather which we have of 
late experienced. But the Narcissus blooms staged on 
Tuesday have not encountered these vicissitudes of 
temperature, nor have they, on the other hand, been 
subjected to a temperature which may be termed for¬ 
cing, seeing that they were in good colour which would 
have been destroyed, or to a very considerable extent 
marred, had forcing in the general acceptation of the 
term been resorted to. As it is not very generally known 
wliat varieties readily lend themselves to being brought 
forward in this way, we may enumerate some of the most 
conspicuous in the group staged by Messrs. Collins Bros. 
k Gabriel, of Waterloo Road, and many of which were 
very fine both in colour and form, and exhibited in a 
marked degree what may be done with this class of 
plants where a little artificial heat may be had. 
It is noteworthy, too, that Messrs. Collins’ group 
contained not only some of the largest plants of their 
tribe, butalso some of the pigmies, the former represented 
by the much admired maximus, and the latter by the 
satiny white flowers of monophyllus albus, in company 
with which were the lemon-coloured citrinus, and 
the sulphur coloured form known as B. Graelsii. The 
pale sulphur of triandrus was very pleasing, as also was 
cerneus and moschatus, both charming species ; nanus 
was well represented, and among those where numbers 
predominated, were pallida prsecox, obvallaris, princeps, 
Incomparabilis stella, very delicate ; Incomparabilis 
aurantiacus plenus, large and full; the common double 
form of Incomparabilis and spurius major, these to¬ 
gether with poeticus ornatus, which is most valuable 
for commercial purposes, made up a very nice gathering 
of these increasingly popular plants. 
All that is necessary is to have them in flower from 
the end of January onwards in a pit from which frost 
may be excluded by a flow and return pipe. Pot them 
early in the autumn and there will be little attention 
required, save occasional watering. In the case of 
poeticus and all its forms, it may, where it abounds, be 
planted thickly together in such a frame, and if the 
flowers, as soon as the buds show colour, are plucked 
and plunged in strong bottom heat under bell glasses 
or such like in the forcing houses they will expand 
much earlier and form useful adjuncts in all establish¬ 
ments were cut flowers, and especially white fragrant 
blooms are required in quantity ; these may be plunged 
in a bottom heat of 100° with impununity. 
--—-- 
ROSES IN POTS. 
That the Rose is pre-eminently adapted to occupy 
the exalted position of the national flower of England, 
is amply borne out by the fact of its continued 
popularity after a reign of so many centuries ; for 
although as a nation we are being continually subjected 
to the never ending changes which all progressive 
countries undergo, yet the Rose still maintains its 
steadfast hold on the affections of the English people. 
It is admired alike by the highest nobles in the land, 
and by the humble cottager who toils throughout 
the day for his hard earned wage and devotes his 
evening hours to the culture of his garden plot, where 
he watches with pride and pleasure for the opening of 
his favourite blossoms, which to him are regarded only 
as summer and early autumn flowers, while the rich 
can have them in profusion throughout the year, by the 
use of large numbers of pot plants to keep up the supply 
during the winter and spring months. 
The present month is a capital time for bringing on 
pot plants, as the increasing amount of sunshine admits 
of the requisite amount of heat being kept up without 
having recourse to hard firing. Assuming that we 
have a number of plants (bushes) set apart for forcing, 
the first thing to be done before taking them under 
glass is to give them the necessary pruning. I have 
tried several ways of pruning and watched the result, 
and have come to the conclusion that the following is 
the best. Cut out all the weak shoots, as they only 
produce weak growths or small flowers in return and 
keep the bushes in a crowded state ; shorten those left 
to two or three eyes according to their strength, leaving 
them longer where they are required to fill up vacancies. 
If the bushes are allowed to extend gradually in this 
Way, they make more compact and better shaped plants 
than when left longer at each pruning, 'and they 
produce quite as many flowers and take up less room. 
Many advocate pruning Teas but little, but when so 
marry small shoots are left struggling with each other 
they gradually get weaker and weaker, as tiny are quite 
at the mercy of a few strong shoots that spring up here 
arrd there, whereas if they are pruned in a similar way 
to Hybrid Perpetuals, only leaving the shoots a little 
longer, they will be better equalised, and conse¬ 
quently the shoots become more even in size. After 
pruning all old soil should be removed down to where 
the roots are plentiful, and then receive a top dressing 
of compost, consisting of two parts fibry loam, two 
parts well decayed manure with a little lime rubble 
added, the whole being firmly rammed. They should 
then be placed in a cool house for a time, and a few re¬ 
moved at intervals into other houses where they can have 
a temperature ranging between 55° and 65°, and be kept 
well syringed in bright weather to ward off the attack 
of green fly. In this way a good supply of Roses can 
be kept up till they can be had from sheltered positions 
out-of-doors. After flowering, the plants should have 
the protection of a cold pit till they are gradually inured 
to a warm position in the open air ; the Teas should be 
kept under glass till all danger of frost is over. 
About the end of May the whole stock should be 
looked over, and those that require it potted on in a 
compost consisting of two parts fibry loam one of horse 
droppings, and a little lime rubble which should be 
rammed very firmly. Those that are already in pots 
as large as it is convenient to have them, can be kept 
in a healthy vigorous state for years if they are well 
fed with liquid manure and other stimulants, an 
occasional sprinkling of Clay’s Fertiliser being very 
beneficial. Those that have been potted should be 
placed in a shady position, and be kept well syringed 
for a week or ten days, after which the whole stock 
can be plunged to the rim of the pots in ashes in an 
open situation. When plunging care should be taken 
to keep the newly potted ones in a batch by themselves 
so that those that have not been disturbed at the roots 
can have an occasional dose of liquid manure from the 
present time to the end of August, while the newly 
potted ones will not require it till the roots have 
pushed well into the fresh soil. 
The other cultural requirements necessary throughout 
the summer are to keep them well supplied with water, 
give a good syringing overhead during the afternoons 
of bright days, to stop any strong shoots that appear 
likely to rob their neighbours, and keep the pots free 
from weeds, and the buds picked off, and should green 
fly be noticed syringe with a strong solution of soft 
soapy water. To keep up the supply of flowers during 
the autumn months select some of the strongest plants 
of such varieties as Safrauo and Niphetos, which by the 
end of August will be found pushing a number of 
young shoots. If these are placed in a moderately dry 
warm house, and kept well attended to they will yield 
blooms during October and November. Towards the 
end of October a few more may be pruned and gradually 
brought on in heat to succeed them, the two varieties 
above named and Celine Forestier being among the 
very best for the purpose. Some persons find mildew 
very troublesome even with Roses in pots, which is 
sometimes caused by a too free use of the syringe 
accompanied by a low temperature, when perhaps the 
plants are stood very closely together, so that air has 
but little chance of circulating around them. Another 
cause is through letting the plants get much too dry at 
the roots, and by allowing the atmosphere of the house 
to be kept in a parching condition. From whatever 
cause it arises an effectual remedy is to paint the pipes 
with sulphur, keep the house close for one night, and 
heat the pipes till the fumes from the sulphur smell 
strongly when entering the house. 
The following varieties will be found reliable for pot 
work 
Hybrid Perpetuals. 
Alfred Colomb 
Anna Alexieif 
Baron de Rothschild 
Charles Lefebvre 
Dr. Andry 
Duke of Edinburgh 
Dupuy Jamain 
Fisher Holmes 
General Jacqueminot 
Jules Margottin 
La France 
Louis van Houtte 
Madame Victor Verdier 
Marie Baumann 
Paul Neron 
Senateur Vaisse 
Xavier Olibo. 
-— H. Dunkin. 
WARNHAM COURT. 
The fine mansion of Warnham Court, the residence 
of Charles Thomas Lucas, Esq., is situated about two 
miles from Horsham Station, and forms a very striking 
feature in the landscape. The grounds are well planted 
and tastefully laid out, and the park contains some fine 
timber and a splendid herd of deer. All round gar¬ 
dening is well carried out, and that Mr. Lucas derives 
great pleasure from his garden is not a matter for 
surprise, when one considers the admirable manner in 
which the various departments are maintained. The 
forcing department is very extensive; the early Vineries 
and Peach-houses are showing well for fine crops in 
the ensuing season, as also do the Strawberries in pots. 
The later Vineries are ready for starting when required, 
and some extra fine young Vines planted last season 
promises to be all that can be desired. Cucumbers are 
plentiful even now. Other houses are devoted to 
Melon growing, and there are here also some nice 
useful span-roofed houses suitable for growing almost 
anything. One compartment is full of fine clean 
healthy growing Gardenias planted out, and full of 
buds. 
A choice collection of Orchids, although not extensive, 
occupies another section, Dendrobiums and Lycaste 
Skinneri are flowering freely, and other good useful 
sorts for cutting from are here also in the picture of 
health. Another house is devoted entirely to Ama¬ 
ryllis, and if the varieties are as fine as the bulbs a 
glorious display can be looked forward to. Other 
divisions are devoted to Bouvardias, &c. for cutting 
from ; tree Carnations are also extensively grown, all 
the leading sorts being represented in nice healthy 
plants. A long span-roofed house in three divisions is 
a noticeable feature in the establishment. No. 1 divi¬ 
sion is devoted to Ericas, Epacris, and other hard- 
wooded plants; of the former, fine specimens of hyemalis 
Willmoreana, melanthera, &c., 3 ft. through are very 
conspicuous. No. 2, or the centre division, is planted out 
with Roses which have been flowering some time and 
are now very fine, Niphetos, Safrano, Gloire de Dijon, 
and Duke of Edinburgh are examples of the sorts now 
in perfection, and cut by the dozen daily. No. 3, the 
end house, is a stove in which Palms, Draeienas, and 
Crotons are well done and finely coloured ; of Crotons 
fine specimens of Weismanni, Warreni, Variegatus, 
Majesticus, Queen Victoria, &c. are represented by 
fine well-grown plants 4 ft. high and as much through ; 
Eucharis amazonica is also finely grown. 
Another fine span-roofed house was planted with 
Vines last season, which have made extraordinary fine 
Noisette. 
Celine Forestier. AVe find 
this one of the best of 
all Roses for supplying 
buds from Christmas on¬ 
wards. 
Tea-scextf,d. 
Catherine Mermet 
Devoniensis 
Gloire de Dijon 
Madame Falcot 
Mareclial Niel 
Grace Darling 
Niphetos 
Souvenir d’un Ami 
Madame Lambard 
Perle d’Or. 
—- 
