492 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 3, 1886. 
Megaseas. —The broad thick-leaved Saxifragas to 
which this name is applied are attractive garden plants 
far early-flowering, but, this season, like most other 
plants, are very late,.and, moreover, are considerably 
injured by the frost. I have some large clumps of 
cordifolia and its variety, purpurea, which seem almost 
past recovery, and though they have been grown in 
the same position for a dozen years, they have never 
suffered so much before. Curiously, the handsome 
M. Straeheyi, which some have found more tender, 
has quite escaped ; but it occupies a rather sheltered 
corner.— M. 
Specimen Fuchsias.—The question with refer¬ 
ence to the growing of large specimen Fuchsias in 
many minds resolves itself into this—the inconvenience 
of keeping such large monsters safely through the dor¬ 
mant season, which must of necessity be rather a lengthy 
one. In the greenhouse when out of bloom after their 
flowering time is past, the plants at once become un¬ 
sightly objects, and require to be safely placed away 
out of sight altogether, until the season for reaction 
comes round. Where there is the convenience many 
keep the plants underneath the plant stage, but in most 
instances with large plants this becomes a difficult 
matter. In some establishments there is no lack of 
stowage room, such as good sheds, &c., where such 
plants can be safely and properly housed for five or six 
months, and where easy access can always be had for 
the little attenion required, such as, perhaps, an oc¬ 
casional watering, &c. Some of the varieties of Fuchsias 
can be very quickly grown into specimens compared to 
that of other kinds. The late William Cole, sen., about 
1843, fully demonstrated this fact, for in something 
like nine months he produced some remarkably fine 
plants with which he was very successful wherever he 
exhibited them. This happened to be the beginning of 
his career as a master hand at plant growing for exhi¬ 
bition purposes. Some varieties are naturally of a 
free constitution, and can be freely pushed on, and soon 
make fine plants of almost any shape by constantly and 
judiciously stopping the young growth, and other 
varieties can be grown which require but little attention 
as regards stopping or pinching of the shoots, being of a 
more dense growing character. As an illustration of 
this I may state that I have sown seed in the month of 
February, and have had them in bloom at the end of 
June and the beginning of July, some of the plants 
showing bloom when only 10 ins. high, handsome 
specimens from 1 ft. to 2 ft. of close growth, supported 
by perhaps only one central stick. Some of my Fuchsia 
friends can verify this statement. As a matter of course 
if large plants be the desired object to be attained, time 
and space are the only considerations, the manipulating 
detail in their cultivation being in my estimation of an 
ordinary character in the hands of a skilful and pains¬ 
taking grower .—George Fry, Leivisham. 
Onion Culture.—In my opinion the quality of 
the soil is the first thing to look to if success is to be 
attained in Onion culture. A good heavy loam will 
grow Onions well if worked properly. Trench two 
spits deep, and manure heavily with cow and horse 
dung mixed. Put the manure below the top spit, and 
trench in in the winter or early spring, if possible, and 
subsequently a light dressing of lime, soot, and sand 
mixed (the sand makes it spread more regularly), will 
be beneficial. Before sowing—about the 1st of April— 
I tread the ground, rake it level, mark out the beds, 
and sow in rows 9 ins. apart, returning the soil back to 
the rows with the back of the rake ; then I get some 
quicklime, soot, and sand mixed, sprinkle it along the 
rows, and pat the rows gently over. I consider that 
the top dressing after sowing is of more benefit than 
gallons of poisons put underneath, especially in heavy 
and open loamy soils. Light soils should be very 
heavily manured with cow dung, and must also be 
trench dug. To grow large Onions on a light soil 
plenty of water must be given to the beds. I do not 
approve of a light and open soil for Onions, but where 
it cannot be avoided there a constant supply of mois¬ 
ture must be kept up. I sow the Onions here thinly, 
and do not thin them out except when used for table, 
and I gather bushels of good sized and clean bulbs. 
The ground here is yellow loam on the heavy side, and 
I do not hesitate to say that old dark loamy soil will 
grow Onions equally as well as new or fresh soil. Also 
to grow them always on the same piece, and find the 
crop always improves. Nourishment and trenching 
are what I believe essential to success.— J. L. 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
Most of the plants desired to be increased by propaga¬ 
tion, both foliage and flowering should now be sufficiently 
forward and quite ready for potting off, and let this be 
done without further delay : pot off singly into small 
60’s, afterwards placing them in good warm quarters 
where they may readily start—after being disturbed 
after which those thatmay require cooler treatment,must- 
be removed accordingly to more airy situations to encour¬ 
age a sturdy growth. Shouldit be necessary to place them 
in cold frames, let them be sparingly ventilated for a 
time, and matted up at night ; Salvias, Eupatorium, 
Libonias, and such like, may thus be treated. 
Look to the stock of Solanums and keep them grow¬ 
ing, so that they may be well advanced preparatory to 
planting out. Callas, which have been forced, will now 
be going out of flower, let the stools be placed anywhere 
where they can be kept well watered, because, being an 
aquatic (or rather delighting in the treatment), they 
must not be allowed to suffer for want of water. The 
stock of Fuchsias should now be well advanced ; where 
sufficient cuttings have not already been obtained, put 
them in without further delay ; let the old plants be 
liberally treated, so far as heat and moisture is concerned, 
preparatory to receiving another shift, after which 
cooler treatment will suffice. 
The Zonal Pelargoniums which have been in the 
Peach-houses, and which have made a good start, we 
are now putting on the greenhouse stage by 
themselves ; by this means they can be better attended 
to than if mixed with other stuff. 
Our stock of Chrysanthemums potted oft' a short 
time since, have made a good start, and have had the 
points pinched out of them. This will give us numerous 
breaks, and lay the foundation for a good stool; they 
are now freely ventilated, and we shall, within a day 
or two, place them in the cold frames. We have re¬ 
moved all bedding Pelargoniums from the vineries, as 
they had become well established ; and, moreover, they 
were getting in the way of the necessary operations to 
the Vines. All bulbs, such as Tulips, Hyacinths, and 
Narcissus will now come on sufficiently fast in frames 
facing the south, and be more satisfactory than if placed 
in heat. Attend to the bringing forward of Azaleas, as 
may be required, for decorative purposes. 
THE FORCING HOUSES. 
Little can be added to last week's calendar with 
regard to the work, both with the Vines and Peach 
trees, only be careful that there is no neglect. In the 
early vinery, if the Grapes have begun to stone, main¬ 
tain a steady temperature of 68° by night, 75° by day, 
running to 85° with sun heat; while the cold winds 
prevail ventilate cautiously for fear of rust, damage in 
this respect is frequently caused at this season of the 
year by the ventilators not being opened early enough 
in the morning, the sun now having great power, the 
temperature rises very rapidly, and then six inches or 
more is put on at once with rust as a consequence. 
Let the thinning of the fruit on the Peach trees be 
carried on as soon as it can be discerned which are 
likely to be the most perfect and best placed. In the 
late houses disbud and heel in as soon as sufficiently 
advanced, for these are operations which must not be 
neglected, or great damage will be done both to the 
crop and to next season’s wood. As the Strawberries go 
over, let the shelves be renewed from batches from the 
other houses ; should the red spider have made its 
appearance upon those which have fruited before placing 
others where they have been, have the sash bars and 
shelves well washed with soapy water, and give all a 
good syringing after, as one cannot hope for good 
Strawberries if the plants are infested with spider. 
Attend to the Melons and Cucumbers as previously 
advised, and if any young plants have filled their pots 
with roots, and they are not required for planting at 
once, let them have a good shift that they may be kept 
growing. It will be advisable now that the French 
Beans should be grown in cooler quarters, the Pine 
stoves and Cucumber houses are too hot ; we are now 
putting ours on the stages inj the Peach houses, here 
they will receive abundant syringing so very necessary 
to keep them clean, and also the lower temperature will 
give us better pods and prolonged gatherings ; as to 
varieties, we find none equal to _the old Pale Dun for 
spring work, but for autumn and winter, we rely 
solely upon Osborne’s Forcing, which although rather 
small in the pod is very persistent in fruiting in mid¬ 
winter. _ 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
But for some heavy rains which we have had, we 
should have made good progress in this department. 
Should it hold fine, we hope to finish Potato-planting 
this week. The ground is in capital condition, conse¬ 
quently planting proceeds apace. The small seeds 
which we sowed on the 11th of the month are nearly 
all up ; the nets are left on as a protection against the 
birds, and it also greatly helps to break the wind from 
the plants. Savoys, Broccoli (Autumn), Cauliflower, 
Brussels Sprouts, Couve Tronchuda, and so on, are in 
full row. 
"We have also sown what herbs it was necessary, such 
as Sage, Thyme, and Savory ; by sowing a packet of 
each annually, a good stock is easily kept. Parsley we 
sowed as advised last week, and we also put in half a 
dozen drills of early Beet-root, deferring the sowing of 
the main crop for another fortnight or more. We also 
made, on Friday last, another sowing of Peas, including 
Telephone, Satisfaction, and Duke of Albany ; the 
last-named did well with us last season. At the same 
time we put in a couple of rows of Broad Beans, and we 
have yet a sowing of Windsor to make. Having pre¬ 
pared specially a square of ground for Asparagus, we 
marked out the beds, and instead of waiting to put out 
plants, we have sown seed in drills, four in each bed, 
1 ft. apart, as an experiment, the result of which I hope 
at some future day to give to the readers of The G a li¬ 
lt enixg Would. — Walter Child, Croome Court. 
-- 
ORCHID NOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
Orchid Calendar: Potting Calanthes.— 
The present is a very good time to pot all these, 
although in some places, no doubt, the varieties of C. 
vestita and C. Yeitchii have been ready for the 
operation, and have been attended to. C. Turneri, the 
varieties of C. Regnieri, and some of the other newer 
varieties are not so early in their flowering and growing, 
and it is not well to re-pot any of these Calanthes 
long before their growing time. Where it is considered 
convenient to pot all together, it is better to keep the 
vestitas until now than to re-pot those not ready with 
them earlier. However, where attention can be given 
to each in their turn, they may be re-potted as soon as 
the young growths are seen to be coming well on. 
Those who grow these plants will get admirable results 
by plotting them in almost any material, while others 
seem not to be able to do them to perfection no matter 
what care they may take with them. The chief points 
to be observed to ensure success, are to re-pot at the 
proper time, to water sparingly until the new roots are 
taking hold, and afterwards, liberally, and to give 
plenty of moist heat, and in a good light situation 
in a shaded house until the bulbs are fully made. 
Some who have had but poor success with these plants 
when grown in pots and on the stages have grown 
them to perfection by placing them in Orchid pans, 
and suspending them near the glass. Whenever they 
are not doing well, it should be considered that there must 
be, in most cases, a remedy available, as they are very 
easy plants to manage when once the proper way is hit 
upon. In the matter of potting material for Calanthes 
various mixtures are recommended. For my part I 
have had the best results with that composed of two- 
tliirds turfy yellow loam, and the rest made up of equal 
parts of broken charcoal, dried cow-dung, and sphagnum 
moss. This is a good mixture which admits of and 
retains the weak liquid manure, which gives such a 
help to these plants when growing. 
In potting, the extra large bulbs can be prut singly 
in 6-in. pots, three or more smaller in 8-in., and the 
little ones which it is required to keep in stores. The 
same mixture as that recommended for the Calanthes 
does well for most of the strong growing terrestrial 
Orchids such as Phajus, Calanthes of the veratrifolia 
section, &e., or where the loam cannot be got of a good 
fibry quality peat should be used, with a sprinkling of 
leaf mould added. There is no doubt that a little 
help from a safe and mild manure is of great service to 
terrestrial Orchids, but if great care is not exercised in 
using it and giving it of an uniformly low strength it 
is better to leave it alone. Shade is very essential to 
