March 13, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
439 
ridges formed for them, may be much crowded if they 
were to remain, and may now be carefully transplanted. 
A trowel should be used, and the roots nicely placed in 
the fresh soil, stirring the surface and levelling the 
soil nicely among the plants left. A good dusting of 
soot and fine ashes mixed, will do much to check the 
ravages of slugs among all such crops. Batavian 
Endive is a very useful adjunct at this season, and 
generally more manageable than Lettuce. Onions 
which have stood the winter may be wholly trans¬ 
planted into fresh dug ground or thinned, leaving a 
crop 4 ins. apart in the rows. Potato Onions are 
valued by some for planting now, and on rich land 
may be placed 1 ft. apart each way. 
If there is likely to be a scarcity of green Onions, and 
plenty of the dried Onions are still in store, they may be 
planted in rows a few inches apart, and useful supplies 
may be expected. Shallots and Garlic may be planted 
in the same manner, and a good dusting of soot will 
keep birds from pulling them up and check the work of 
grubs. We have always found this practice useful and 
very effective in checking grubs, but followed up the 
dustings again and again during showery weather. 
Last season and the year before were two of the most 
trying seasons with vermin we ever knew. Soot mixed 
with a little lime and guano was dusted, then a 
drenching of water given the same evening. There was 
a long drought during late spring and early summer, 
but by persevering with mulching after a heavy soaking 
of water, difficulties were generally overcome. Potatos 
may be planted in sheltered positions as soon as the 
land is in condition ; kidney kinds planted in drills, 
and covered with old Mushroom manure or leaf-mould, 
will move kindly into growth, and by this practice 
the tubers are large, clean, and of general good 
quality. 
Rhubarb requires good soil; plantations of favourite 
kinds may be made forthwith. Two of the best are 
Prince Albert and Victoria, the former being very early. 
After Rhubarb has been hard forced it is greatly 
weakened, but if carefully planted, protecting the 
crowns, the roots soon recover. Horse Radish always 
commands a high price, and well it may, as the roots 
require much room and deep tilth. Pieces put down 
18 ins. in finely-broken soil with a large dibble, in 
rows 2 ft. by 1 ft. apart, will develop large useful 
roots free from forking. Sea Kale cut into short 
lengths, and let down a little under the surface soil, 
soon start into growth and form good crowns the same 
season ; but seed sown and grown two years on land 
well manured we think best for lifting to force. Herbs 
may require lifting and re-planting. Seed may be 
sown to make up deficiencies. The stock should be 
carefully examined now. Chives are of much value 
during spring and early summer, and take the place, 
to some extent, of young Onions.— M. T. 
Weather and the Crops. —February weather 
all through was wintry, and March began in unsur¬ 
passed severity (so old people tell us) ; but when 
reading a column of disasters, both by sea and- land, 
from the inclemency of the weather in our daily paper, 
we find that from the 1st to the 3rd inst. we have 
passed comparatively unscathed, having less frost, and 
not a fourth of the snow which has fallen in some 
places. The midland and northern counties of England 
have recorded more intensity of cold than we are able to. 
Much of the instructions in cropping, &c., which have 
been given in the carefully written calendars in garden¬ 
ing papers cannot have been put into practice generally. 
The continuous frosts, sleet and snow-storms having 
rendered the ground totally unfit for seed sowing or 
planting, must have kept cultivators, to some extent, 
in a state of anxiety. We have long since learned to 
keep cool over such untoward matters, as it has often 
happened that after unusually long winters crops have 
during summer and onwards been the best. Last season 
we sowed some Onions on the 3rd and 14th of March, 
the latter were by far the best of the two lots, and 
though not the largest bulbs we have grown, they have 
been good keepers. During the seven weeks of early 
summer last season, in which no rain fell, maggots at¬ 
tacked the Onion crops, and threatened its destruction; 
but frequent dustings of soot mixed with a little lime 
and fine ashes eradicated the pests. Parsnips were 
sown after the second week of March, and such as we 
are using now would, I think, please the most fastidious. 
Peas and Cauliflowers were more difficult to deal with, 
but the late supplies were useful and plentiful. This 
season there will be great scarcity of early Brassica 
plants ; in the brakes of Cabbage we notice few va¬ 
cancies, and the crops promise well.— M. T., March 8th. 
-->=£<-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
The long continued severe weather still necessitates 
■ the employment of brisk fires to maintain a suitable 
temperature, especially at night, for though a high 
degree of heat must be most carefully avoided, yet, if 
it falls too low the plants will be proportionately 
injured, particularly those that have been introduced 
from a forcing pit or a warm house. This is a very 
difficult month for ventilating, for while the sun has 
gained sufficient power to render a house hot on a clear 
day, yet the wind is often piercingly cold, and a keen 
draught damages the plants considerably more than a 
close atmosphere. Advantage must, however, be taken 
of bright weather, whenever the wind is not too keen or 
high, to ventilate the house, chiefly at the top, but 
where Heaths are largely grown place them in a 
position where they can receive more air without 
exposing the other inmates of the structure too much. 
Heaths and hard-wooded plants suffer sooner than 
anything from being kept in a close warm house, and 
though the effects may not be apparent immediately 
they will be seen when it is too late to restore the 
plants. With close attention to the supply of water, 
free ventilation, and a good well drained soil, it is not 
difficult to keep most Heaths in satisfactory condition, 
but once allow them to be checked in any way or 
weakened by too much close heat, and they will try 
the skill of the best cultivators to bring them into 
health again. Some of the soft-wooded Heaths, like 
Erica gracilis and E. hyemalis do not suffer so quickly, 
or if they get into bad condition can soon be restored, 
but it is different with the hard-wooded varieties. 
Those of the E. hyemalis type can be cut hard back 
after flowering, repotted and induced to grow vig- 
ourously, assisting them with applications of weak 
liquid manure, and the stout shoots thus produced 
yield fine blooms another season ; such treatment as 
this would, however, cause the death of scores of other 
Heaths. 
Pimelias are now advancing for flowering, especially 
the beautiful P. spectabilis, which everyone should 
grow who admire such plants, some of the Croweas, too, 
particularly C. brilliantissima, are very pretty, and 
with the Epacrises assist in rendering the house 
attractive. All these should receive more water now, 
but do not be too liberal, exercise a little judgment in 
watering, never giving it indiscriminately, but keeping 
the eye in advance of the pot, and if there is a doubt 
whether a prlant needs water or not, try the soil with 
the finger, tap the pot or lift it to test the weight, a 
little practice with observation will enable anyone to 
quickly perceive the value of these tests. 
Azaleas are still furnishing abundance of flowers, but 
some of the earliest will be getting past their best, and 
a few will have lost all their flowers. Pick the remains 
of these off and place the plants in a little heat, 60® to 
65° will be sufficient to encourage growth, syringing 
freely once or twice a day according to the weather. 
If the plants require shifting it must be attended to 
directly the flowers have fallen, then the plants can be 
started, and will make root and top growth freely at the 
same time. Good fibrous peat must be empfloyed with 
a liberal dash of silver sand, and if some leaf soil can 
be procured similar to that used in Belgium, namely, 
that which has not been fermented, mix a good 
proportion with the peat, say one third. In a free 
soil like this the plants make splendid growth, and it 
is only necessary to ensure the maturation of this by a 
gradual exposure to air and sun with a period outside 
during the summer in a sheltered place to ensure the 
formation of plump flower-buds and the early pro¬ 
duction of flowers. The earlier the growth is made 
and ripened the sooner will the blooms be obtained, 
and the better they will force. Forcing of any kind 
cannot be carried on without a suitable and timely 
preparation of the plants, but when that is attended to 
one season it becomes an easy matter afterwards. 
We have now a gay show of bulbs and other plants 
in flower, but an especial favourite is the old Tazetta 
or Polyanthus Harass gloriosus, which has white 
sepals and petals and a gold cup, and is very fragrant; 
we have a quantity of this, and the bulbs having 
mostly two spikes and being quickly forced, it proves 
extremely useful for cutting. Lilies of the Valley are 
beautiful now, as we get them with their foliage, and 
they are much more useful then than when forced hard 
to get their flowers very early. Tulips, especially the fine 
scarlet Vermilion Brilliant, are excessively bright and 
furnish a most welcome colour in the house. — Scolytus. 
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CAMELLIAS. 
During the next few weeks those who possess a 
good collection of Camellias will be looking forward to 
the finest varieties opening their blooms. It is a great 
mistake to suppose that the Camellia is naturally a mid¬ 
winter flowering plant, it can only be had in bloom 
during the early winter, by commencing to grow the 
plants early in the spring months, and the young 
grower cannot make a more fatal mistake than to 
attempt to force his plants into bloom. The most 
disastrous results mil follow this attempt, the buds 
will drop off, the plants start prematurely into growth, 
and a general weakening of the whole plant will occur. 
Camellias are oftentimes overpotted, which is one 
cause of their not doing well, and opinion varies con¬ 
siderably as to the time when they should be potted. I 
have always found autumn the best time to pot any plants 
that may require it, by so doing you give the new roots, 
which are made during autumn and winter, the benefit 
of penetrating into the new soil, and thus becoming 
established before calling upon them to make their 
growth at an early season of the year if so required. 
Some may say, “ But all the buds will drop off if I pot 
at this time of the year” ; nothing of the sort, I have 
practiced it for some years without any evil results. 
If the plants are healthy they only -want a shift on, 
and, therefore, the roots should not get injured if this 
work is carefully done. Plants treated in this manner 
make better growth, and are more vigorous than those 
potted in the spring. The above remarks apply chiefly 
to young plants that require to be grown on into 
specimens ; larger plants do not want potting every 
year, because, if the roots are healthy and the plants 
in pots large enough, all that they -want is well feeding 
during the growing season with weak liquid manure ; 
this keeps them in good health and vigour. 
After the plants have finished flowering they should 
be cleaned and placed in a growing temperature about 
65° to 70° (a Vinery is a very good place to grow them 
in, the shade from the Vines suiting the Camellia) 
with a slight shade, and a continually damp atmos¬ 
phere must be kept up by syringing and damping the 
floors to encourage growth. Weak manure water can be 
given the plants twice weekly during the growing time, 
it helps to keep the foliage sturdy, and of a good dark 
green colour. When the plants have finished their growth 
the setting of the buds commences. This is a very 
critical time with the plants, and great care is required 
to see that they do not get too much water, or instead 
of setting flower buds they will start away into a second 
growth. At this time also the heat should be gradually 
taken off, and more air gradually given to ripen the 
wood. If this operation is carefully managed, by the 
time the buds are set the plants will have become 
inured to ordinary greenhouse summer temperature. 
If a house cannot be spared for their culture they will 
now require to be taken into pits or out of doors to 
thoroughly harden the wood. They must not be stood 
out in the open sunlight, but should be placed in some 
position where a partial shade can be secured for them; 
but on no occasion stand them under trees, because in 
wet weather the dripping from the trees is very in¬ 
jurious to the Camellia. If kept in a greenhouse, 
which is much the best where it can be managed, air 
must be given continually day and night till the month 
of September, when they will have to come under the 
ordinary treatment of greenhouse plants. 
The amateur grower will think that he should begin 
to get flowers at once as soon as the days get shorter, 
he will do so providing he started his plants early 
enough into growth, and got the buds well set on his 
plants by midsummer, not without. I have invariably 
found that some of the very finest varieties will not 
open their' buds before their natural season (March), 
give them whatever treatment you may—and possibly 
this is not a very bad fault—for the flowers then are 
very much finer, the extra length of day seeming to add 
to the extra size and substance of the flower. If these 
