March 20, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
459 
climbing Fern), Adiautnm? capillns veneris (British 
Maiden Hair), Aspidium capense, Asplenium bulbife- 
rum, Cyrtomium (Aspidium) falcatum, C. caryoditeum, 
C. Fortunei, Davallia eanariense, D. Mariesii, Dictyo- 
gramma japonica, Lastrea varia, L. aristata variegata, 
L. erythrosora, Onychium japonicum, Pteris serrulata 
(the Ribbon Fern), and its crested varieties, P. cretica, 
P. cretica albo-lineata, P. tremula, P. longifolia, and 
Polystichum setosum. Most of our strong-growing 
native Ferns, too, grow well in the dwelling house, and 
are very handsome for the purpose, despite the fact 
that most of them necessarily become shabby for some 
time every year, on account of their foliage being 
deciduous and naturally wither. With those who hit 
on the right situation, Ferns grow indoors better than 
most things ; but in the matter of position lies their 
chief caprice, often when they refuse to grow and appear 
only to dwindle in one window, they will thrive in the 
best manner in another. To account for this in most 
cases, it may be sa\d, that, in bright sunny situations, 
as a rule, they do not grow well, but they like shady 
places, and that often when they will not thrive on the 
sunny side of the house, they not only grow well, but 
give little trouble on the shady side. 
In growing Ferns indoors it is better to err in giving 
too much water (rain-water being always used where 
procurable) than too little, for, generally speaking, the 
first thorough drying, particularly when in active 
growth, is fatal to the beauty if not the life of the 
plant. In watering, however, it is better to give a 
thorough watering and then wait for the effects of it to 
pass off, but not for the plants to become dry before 
giving another rather than to be continually giving 
in small quantity as some do. For soil, that recom¬ 
mended by “ Filix ” at p. 444 (whose general article 
on potting Ferns may be read with advantage), viz., 
equal proportions of turfy loam and peat, with a little 
leaf-soil and sand is the best, as it favours the pro¬ 
duction of good fronds, and helps to retain them better 
than peat and sand alone.— M. A ., Camb. 
-- 
FRUITS, FLO WERS & V EGETABLES. 
Phlox Drummondii. —Your notice of the de¬ 
mise of the widow of Mr. Squibbs, for many years 
gardener to — Turner, Esq., the Rook’s Nest, Godstone, 
reminds me of a very beautiful bed of Phlox Drum¬ 
mondii he had when I first visited him upwards of 
thirty years ago ; and there can be no question but 
that a bed of a good strain of this Phlox remains at the 
present time unsurpassed in the way of half-hardy 
annuals. Their varied and brilliant colours, and easy 
management, render them eminently useful both for 
beds and borders. The eye never tires of looking upon 
a group of these plants when the colours are nicely 
arranged. Sown at this time they can be grown on in 
pots or boxes and turned out in May, and will continue 
to bloom during the whole of the summer and autumn, 
in fact, no plant continues on so long or stands the 
weather better for such a lengthened period. I have 
gathered the flowers quite late in the autumn, when 
most of other things have been past. Sometimes I 
have been induced to take up and pot a few well-formed 
plants, and these have gone on flowering for months, 
producing a nice effect with their white, rose, purple, 
scarlet and crimson flowers ; the plants so taken up 
have stood somewhat singly in the beds or borders, and 
have been potted up with a good ball of earth attached 
to the roots, and well watered at the time. The plants 
strike root readily from cuttings, and should there be 
any of extraordinary beauty, I have adopted this plan 
to perpetuate them, and also with a view of obtaining 
seed of the most choice and select description.— 
Man of Kent. 
Fuchsia culture.—On page 427, “A Fuchsia 
Grower” asks for information respecting what might 
be termed the first stage (after striking the cuttings) 
m Mr. Lye’s method of obtaining specimen Fuchsias. 
“A Fuchsia Grower” remarks, and with much force, 
that “very many are the growers of specimen Fuchsias 
who fail in producing fine handsome ones, simply be¬ 
cause they do not understand the nature of the initial 
training required. The first year’s growth is that 
which must be clearly understood, and what follows, in 
future years, will be but the corollary of that ; as no 
one, be he ever so clever, can hope to create a giant 
pyramid in one year—barely, perhaps, in two years.” 
I may here remark, that Mr. Lye has put on record 
this fact, which he stated in a communication made to 
me three or four years ago :—“ Several of my plants, 
that I exhibited the past season, were rooted the 
previous March twelvemonth. At eighteen months of 
age they were from 7 ft. to 8 ft. high, and from 3 ft. 
to 4 ft. in diameter.” So that in eighteen months (the 
Trowbridge Show generally takes place during the 
third week in August) plants 7 ft. to 8 ft. in height are 
obtained from cuttings. Now as to the initial stage of 
culture. In a letter just received from Mr. Lye, he 
wishes me to state that 1 ‘ the plants are potted on as 
they advance in growth from cuttings, and all the 
most vigorous shoots are pinched back as they make 
their growth, say to two or three joints from where 
they start. This practice I continue until I get the 
plants the height and shape required. If the centre 
shoot should grow too fast, and not throw out lateral 
growths where required, the point is pinched out. It 
will then throw out side branches, but another leader 
must be sought for, and allowed to go on, and be kept 
tied to a central stake.” It is in this way, then, that 
Mr. Lye lays the foundation of the splendid specimens 
he shows at two, three, four and five years of age. I 
think it will be found, from the. foregoing, that Mr. 
Lye does what “A Fuchsia Grower” surmises he does, 
in the latter part of his paragraph on p. 427. — R. B. 
Lord Roseberry Potato.— In your last issue, 
p. 438, your correspondent “AD” in reviewing some 
of the best and newer kinds of coloured Potatos, 
mentions one named Lady Roseberry, and remarks 
that it seems to approach to the Grampion in character, 
and is of good quality. Is it not possible that there is 
a slight mistake in regard to the name “Lady” instead 
of “ Lord Roseberry,” which variety was raised by me 
from a seedling off the Grampion, and sent out by the 
firm of Messrs. William Smith & Sons, Aberdeen. It 
bears the resemblance noticed by “A. D.,” and is of 
excellent quality and beautiful shape, and when the 
skin is damp is of a deep red colour with white 
blotches.— James F. Smith, Gardener, Bunecht, N.B. 
Manure for Fuchsias. —In reference to your 
notice at p. 409, of my system of cultivating Fuchsias, 
I should like to mention for the benefit of your readers, 
that I have tried Jensen’s Norwegian Fish and Potash 
Manure with great success. It not only tends greatly 
to the production of beautiful foliage, but adds much 
to the vigour of the plants. Care must be taken not to 
use it too freely at first, but when the plants are well 
rooted a surface dressing can be added. It is also an 
excellent plan to use about J oz., to a gallon in 
watering. The Fish and Potash Manure I had last 
year gave great satisfaction; we never grew finer 
Potatos, and our Mangolds did well where it was used, 
many of our roots weighing from 20 lbs. to 30 lbs., 
which I consider good for the trying season of 1885. I 
also used it on part of our Wheat crop with good effect, 
and mean to apply it generally this season. —James 
Lye, Clyffe Hall, Market Lavington. 
Taberngemontana coronaria flore pleno. 
—This is without doubt one of the most beautiful of 
our white-flowered stove plants, and deserves far more 
extensive culture than it now receives, for not only are 
the flowers deliciously fragrant, they are also very 
serviceable in a cut state, the only objection to them 
for use in bouquets or buttonholes being the shortness 
of their stems when gathered singly. This, however, 
may easily be remedied by wiring them, and as many 
of our choicest flowers require similar support, the 
Taberntemontana can scarcely be objected to for this 
reason alone. It grows freely in an ordinary stove 
temperature, and with proper treatment will flower 
almost continuously throughout the year ; the freedom 
with rvhich it produces flowers during the winter months 
renders it especially desirable whenever a supply of 
cut flowers is required at that season. It is best to 
grow some plants purposely for winter work, and a good 
plan is to root some cuttings of it in March, and keep 
them shifted on as they require it, pinching off all 
bloom buds as they appear until the end of August, by 
which time, if their requirements have been properly 
attended to, they will be nice bushy plants in from 
8-in. to 10-in. pots. The cuttings should be inserted 
singly into small pots, using peat and sand in equal 
parts, place them underneath a bell-glass in the stove, 
where they will root in about a fortnight, and must 
then be gradually exposed to the general temperature 
of the house. The soil to be used at all subsequent 
pottings should consist of equal quantities of fibrous 
peat and good turfy loam, with the addition of a little 
decayed cow-manure and plenty of sand. Pot mode¬ 
rately firm, and water carefully until fresh growth has 
commenced and the roots taken good hold of the new 
soil, when copious supplies of water will be necessary, 
as exceeding dryness at the roots is very prejudicial to 
its well-being. Occasional waterings with liquid 
manure, or top-dressings with some fertiliser, such as 
Standen’s or Clay’s, will greatly assist them after the 
pots are well filled with roots. They are naturally of a 
free branching habit, and require very little pinching 
to form bushy plants. All that is necessary is to stop 
any shoots which have a tendency to grow away from 
the rest.— C. L., P. 
Freesias. —Who could but admire the beautiful cut 
blooms of Freesias seen at South Kensington on the 
9th inst. Freesias represent a lovely genus of Cape 
bulbs requiringsimilar treatment to the I xia and Sparaxis. 
They grow about 9 ins. in height, and produce six or 
eight large flowers upon a stem. Mr. Ware had some 
bunches of these, charming in their chaste beauty, and 
of ivory whiteness. There was F. Leitchlinii, ivory 
white or delicate primrose, shading to yellow ; Leitch¬ 
linii major, a gigantic form of the preceding, flowers 
considerably larger and very easily forced. The third, 
and to our mind the most charming of the trio, is re- 
fracta alba or odorata, the flowers pure white, and 
deliciously fragrant, with the scent of a sweet Tea Rose. 
The bulbs are small and white, and should be got in 
August if possible, and a few put into 5-in. pots in a 
light sandy soil, well drained, and placed in a cold 
frame, bringing them on into the greenhouse as required. 
By potting a few successionally, the flowers can be had 
from January until June. In growth the Freesias are 
very like Ixias and Sparaxis. They increase under the 
soil readily enough, so it is very easy to work up a 
stock. It would be very delightful to see these Cape 
bulbs in Jersey, where they are largely grown in 
common with other Cape bulbs. They soon ripen off 
their growth, and then they should be shaken from the 
soil and put into bags in dry sand or cocoa fibre, and 
kept in a cool dry place until wanted for potting. 
Notes on Forcing Strawberries— In my 
notes on this subject at p. 437, I should have said in 
reference to thinning out of the fruit after they are set, 
that all flower spikes or flowers that show on the plant 
after that operation has been performed should be re¬ 
moved forthwith, so as to concentrate all the energies 
of the individual plants to the swelling and ripening 
of large even-sized fruit. It is a great mistake to allow 
the same plants to ripen a suceessional crop of fruit in 
the forcing house, under the impression that by so 
doing a greater weight of fruit is secured from each 
plant than could be otherwise obtained. The result, 
however, would be the reverse of this, as the fruit of 
both crops would t be small and of inferior quality, by 
reasonhf the plants being impaired by the simultaneous 
development of two crops in different stages of growth 
-—from the opening of the flowers to the ripening of the 
fruits—and the ravages of red spider, which, under the 
circumstances, would be unusually troublesome, and be 
sure to spread rapidly to fresh batches of plants, as well as 
the permanent occupants of the house, assuming them to 
be Vines or Peach trees. Hence our advice in thinning 
the fruit to leave a certain number of the best and most 
even-sized berries to form the crop, so that they may all 
swell and ripen together, be gathered, and the plants 
removed forthwith before they get infested with spider, 
to make room for a fresh lot of plants. The foregoing 
remarks are specially intended for the guidance of the 
inexperienced in Strawberry forcing, as all practical 
gardeners are well posted in such matters.— H. TV. 
TVard. 
Setting Strawberries. —In reply to “Dart- 
fordian,” allow me to state that I go over the flowers 
of our first and second batches of Strawberries daily 
with a camel hair brush, with the satisfactory result 
that not one per cent, of the plants has to be thrown 
away through defective setting. With later batches 
the use of the brush is unnecessary, the trusses are 
simply shaken, and when the sun is shining the pollen 
may be seen flying in all directions, and the hand will 
be covered with it after a few pots are gone over. But 
in January and February we have to touch a great 
number of flowers before our brush shows any signs of 
having been in contact with pollen. — TV. P. R. 
Wintering Strawberry Plants in Pots. — 
It is with the gravest consideration of what I am 
undertaking that I venture to cross swords with such a 
