490 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 3, 1886. 
pans and sow the seed thinly, sprinkling a very small 
quantity of fine soil over it, damping it with water 
from a fine rose can. The seed germinates best in a 
warm frame, but great care will be needed to prevent 
the soil becoming dry, either before or after the seed 
has germinated. When the young plants have formed 
two or three leaves, either prick them out thinly into 
other boxes, or into little beds prepared in a cold frame. 
If intended for culture in pots, they can be dibbled 
into 60 or 48 size as required, placing sufficient in them 
to form a full pot when the plants have grown to 
flowering size. If those in frames make good progress, 
they can, affer being properly and gradually hardened 
by ventilation, be transferred to their permanent 
quarters in May, but they must at all times be well 
attended to with water. The soil should be of a similar 
character to that previously advised, but a small pro¬ 
portion of old well-decayed manure may be added ; it 
must, however, on no account be rank, and should be 
thoroughly mixed with the soil. — B. 
- —>330 - 
WHITTINGHAME. 
(Concluded from p. 474. ) 
The glass-houses are, as previously stated, numerous 
and of modern erection. The principal range consists 
of eleven houses. No. 1, 36 ft. long, 16 ft. wide, and 
the same height, is a late Peach-house, having one fine 
tree of Barrington on the back wall, and Plums trained 
half way up the front, which yield fine crops every year. 
PTo. 2, the same.rsize as the preceding house, is a late 
Vinery, consisting of Mrs. Pince and Gros Colmar, which 
were carrying good crops of excellent fruit as regards 
size of bunch, berry, and finish. No. 3 is a span-roofed 
greenhouse with octagonal front, opposite the entrance 
to the garden, and it contain a variety of suitable and 
well-grown plants. No. 4 is another late Vinery ; this 
house and the next four have also a lantern roof with 
front and back ventilation, so that either or both can 
be used at pleasure. They are all the same size—35 ft. 
long, 18 ft. wine, and 21 ft. to ridge of lantern, giving 
a length of rafter of 24 ft. This house is planted with 
Lady Downes, of which (like the Muscats) there was a 
heavy crop of good-sized bunches, which, in point of 
perfect finish, reminded me very much of the grand 
examples of those varieties which I saw a few days 
earlier at the Tweed Vineyard, near Galashiels ; but, as 
the Lady Downes is not liked at table, the rods have 
all been grafted with Gros Colmar, a variety which 
finds much favour at Whittinghame. No. 5 is the 
early Peach-house; the trees—Royal George and Dr. 
Hogg—have made fine, sturdy, well-ripened growth 
conditions which augured well for this season’s crop, 
which is generally ripe in May. No. 7 is a span- 
roofed stove, 30 ft. long and 25 ft. wide, and is filled 
with large Palms, Crotons, Dracamas, Pandanus, 
Perns, &c., mostly for house decoration, and for which 
purpose they are admirably adapted. There is also in 
this house a large plant of Bougainvillea glabra, covering 
the whole of the gable wall, and from which enormous 
quantities of flowering sprays are gathered for decorative 
purposes ; the colour—a lilac-peach—is very telling 
when judiciously arranged with flowering shoots of 
Lapageria alba and L. rosea, pink-flowered Begonias and 
Pern. No. 7 is the early Muscat-house, and No. 8 the 
early Hamburgh-liouse, opposite which there is another 
garden entrance. The Vines in both houses appear to 
be in fine condition. Next comes another plant-house, 
similar in size to No. 3, but chiefly devoted to Orchids, 
such as Dendrobiums, Cattleyas, Vandas, iErides, 
Oncidiums, Calanthe veratrifolia, Cypripediums, &c. 
In one of the Vineries I noticed a good batch of nice 
plants of Calanthe Veitchii and C.vestitaoculata,sending 
up flower-spikes as thick as one’s thumb, and which no 
doubt rendered a good account of themselves afterwards. 
No. 10 is a mixed Vinery, chiefly Muscats, Hamburghs, 
and Gros Colmar, all in fine condition, every bunch 
being fit for the table of a prince or any of the metro¬ 
politan exhibition tables; and this is not to be wondered 
at, seeing that the accommodation for the production of 
such excellent Grapes is good, and that Mr. Garrett is 
an old pupil of Mr. William Thomson, having lived 
with that gentleman at Wroth am Park prior to his 
going to Dalkeith ; and, as I have already remarked, 
there is a marked similarity of finish in the Grapes at 
Whittinghame and Clovenfords. No. 11 is a Peach 
and Nectarine-house; the condition of the trees 
promised well for this year’s crop. Standing on a large 
square of ground behind this range is a group of heated 
pits for the growth of Melons and Cucumbers, and for 
growing on plants as feeders for the larger plant-houses. 
There is also here a large iron curvilinear-roofed 
Camellia-house; the trees are all planted out in the 
border along with some tall tree Ferns. The former are 
studded with large flower-buds, some of which ere this 
are unfolding their varied-coloured petals ; while the 
large green fronds of the latter indicate that the con¬ 
ditions under which they are grown are congenial to 
their requirements. A slate stage runs along the front 
and across both ends of this house for growing pot- 
plants on, such as Heaths, &c., the roof being draped 
with the flowering-shoots of various climbing plants, 
and which, depending therefrom with just sufficient 
circulation of air to cause them to move to and fro, are 
very effective. A large collection of Chrysanthemums— 
about 400, mostly in 10-in. pots—are grown ; the same 
may be said of Amaryllis—numbering several hundred 
plants—Primulas, Cyclamens, Poinsettias, &c. The 
whole of the houses are abundantly supplied with hot- 
water piping—a piece of practical economy that should 
never be lost sight of in the erecting and heating of 
fruit and plant-houses on however large or small a 
scale—and hot-water can be drawn from the pipes in 
each house during the forcing season. 
Good shedding accommodation, in the way of store 
rooms, fruit rooms, packing and potting sheds, Mush¬ 
room houses, &c., is a necessary adjunct to all gardening 
establishments with any pretension to completeness. 
Such is the case here, as the accommodation is com¬ 
mensurate to the requirements of the place. While on 
this subject, it may be interesting to mention that 
spread out thinly on a long table covered with soft 
paper in the entrance lodge to the “ old Castle ” in the 
grounds, which is in close proximity to the forcing 
houses, and is like the large piers close by, an elaborate 
piece of workmanship of the age in which it was exe¬ 
cuted, and is in a fine state of preservation. I noticed 
a fine lot of Peaches which had just been gathered from 
the trees in the late house. In this lodge, through.the 
gates of which in days gone by passed many a noble 
chief and warrior brave, fruit is found to keep well, 
and this is not to be wondered at, seeing that the 
walls are of great thickness, and the atmospheric 
temperature cool, dry, and equable—conditions es¬ 
sentially necessary to the preservation of well-ripened 
fruit of any kind. 
In conclusion, I may be allowed to say that the con¬ 
dition of the plants, fruits, &c., in the respective 
departments, together with the uniformily good keep of 
the whole place, reflects great credit on Mr. Garrett, who 
is a thoroughly good all-round practical and courteous 
gardener, and to remark that when next I go north¬ 
ward I hope to be able to avail myself of Mr. McKellar’s 
kind invite to visit Floor’s Castle Gardens, which I 
understand have been considerably improved during 
Mr. McKellar’s management.— H. IV. Ward, Long¬ 
ford Castle. _ [ _ 
LOBELIA DURING WINTER. 
One or two very good suggestions anent wintering 
this most useful bedding plant have been given of late 
in the pages of The Gardening World, and I doubt 
not many will avail themselves of the instruction 
given. It is now ten years since I conceived the new 
idea of propagating Lobelia in the way described by 
your correspondent, Mr. Fry, at p. 456. As my mode of 
procedure differs slightly from that described, I will 
briefly cite it. Having planted the number required 
in bedding arrangements, I took such as I deemed 
sufficient, and planted in a reserve bed, these having 
once flowered were cut over and not allowed to flower 
again ; this kept them compact and bushy, and full 
of young vigorous growth. Early in September these 
were lifted and pulled into small pieces, i.e., containing 
about six shoots, and dibbled into boxes in the 
ordinary way of cuttings, and placed in a cold frame 
and shaded for a few days ; here they were allowed to 
remain for some three weeks, and afterwards taken out 
and fully exposed if the weather admitted ; if they show 
signs of growing too weak the tops were cut off with 
a sharp knife. By the arrival of frost the plants in 
the boxes were as large as those ordinarily bedded out, 
and bristling with roots at the base. 
To keep them without artificial heat was one chief 
aim, as long as I could consistent with safety, when 
they were placed in a cool house. These plants passed 
admirably through the winter, and in the early days of 
the new year, when propagating time came round, I 
discovered that I had not only wintered a splendid 
stock, but that I had sufficient without commencing 
the somewhat tedious business of taking cuttings, and 
only needed to pull my autumn plants to pieces to 
have enough and to spare, these being again trans¬ 
ferred to pots and boxes. Having succeeded with 
Lobelia, I adopted the autumn plan of propagation the 
following year for Alternanthera with equal success. 
The Lobelia is a half-hardy annual, and if this is fullv 
realised, what may we expect but death from plants 
which have been flowering continuously through the 
summer, and lifted and potted in autumn. The 
orthodox position—a shelf near the glass, can hardlv 
give them biennial duration, thus it is that so many 
are driven to extremes to secure sufficient against 
bedding time. 
Some gardeners pot some extra plants for stock, and 
allow them to flower as usual, which is almost as bad 
as lifted plants, as. the latter nearly always fail, some¬ 
times die outright ere the new year arrives, and as a 
natural consequence are a source of anxiety and care, 
and blame is frequently attached to those in whose 
charge they may happen to be.— E. Jenkins. 
As some difficulty appears to be experienced in various 
quarters in the wintering of Lobelias, from which 
to propagate in spring a sufficient number of 
young plants to embellish the beds allotted to their 
culture in the flower garden during the summer 
and autumn months, I will, therefore, give the 
method of procedure practised, here with perfectly 
satisfactory results, and which is simplicity itself, 
viz. :—early in September ,a couple of dozen plants 
in a mixed bed are cut down within a few inches of the 
ground, and as soon as these make fresh growth they 
are taken up with nice balls of earth and roots and 
potted moderately firm in light mould, in 6 in. pots, 
well crocked. They are then put into a frame, watered 
through a rose to settle the soil about the roots, and 
shaded from bright sunshine for a few days until the roots 
have taken to the soil, after which it is discontinued. 
The plants are wintered on a shelf near the glass, in 
company with stock pans of Ageratums, &c., in a 
house having a minimum temperature of 40”; and, 
like all other bedding plants, they are kept on the dry 
side at the roots. But on the approach of spring the 
plants are put into heat and kept moist at the roots 
to cause them to push into growth, from which to pro¬ 
pagate young plants. IVe had just taken every cutting 
off our stock plants and put them into boxes filled 
with light mould, and having a surface of sand, and 
which we placed in a hot bed, when Mr. Gilbert's note 
on the subject appeared, otherwise I should have 
had the pleasure of sending him a few cuttings.— 
//. W. Ward. 
In my note on -wintering Lobelias, at p. 456, 
it should have been stated that the thumb-pots 
are “inverted” instead of “inserted.” It is my 
practice in preparing pots for cuttings of Pelar¬ 
goniums, &c., in the autumn to adopt this mode of 
drainage in preference to using potsherds &c., the cut¬ 
tings being put round the edge of the pot, the work is 
done with greater facility, and the cuttings apparently 
infinitely better, in fact, even in sowing seeds in pots do 
I invariably adopt this practice, and also in pricking 
off seedlings from the seedling pots, as not only is 
effective drainage ensured, but the ingress of worms is 
at the same time effectually precluded, should the 
inverted pots be nicely adjusted.— George Fry, 
Lewisham. 
- —->*<- - 
SOOT AND THE ONION MAGGOT. 
Having only recently seen the letters which have 
appeared in your columns on this subject, perhaps, 
Mr. Editor, you will kindly allow me to contribute my 
experience of that troublesome pest, the Onion maggot. 
Although not wishing to cast any doubt on the state¬ 
ments of Mr. "Ward, I must say at once that I cannot 
agree with him ; for my experience of the use of soot 
does not justify me in so doing. I would add, also, 
that I am not so narrow-minded as to think that any 
fixed remedy or method can be set down as a rule for 
everyone to go by. I should be just as read}- to believe 
that one kind of medicine would cure every patient 
that suffered from the same complaint or disease, when 
most people’s experience leads them to think the 
contrary. But I am digressing. Now to the point. 
Having had an opportunity of seeing several gardens, 
