44 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September IS, 1886 ' 
Nectarines, commencing on the fruit when it was quite 
green, and eating holes both at the top and under the 
fruit, which rotted and dropped off before ripe. We 
attacked them by hand-picking at night with lanterns, 
when as many as six have been found eating into one 
fruit, and on both fruit and leaves from fifty to one 
hundred and fifty were caught most nights by hand¬ 
picking ; and often as many more were found in the 
morning in pieces of the stems of Broad Beans, cut about 
4 ins. in length and inserted amongst the trees, and 
from whence they were taken and blown into the hand 
and destroyed. Many of the trees have the appearance 
of having been riddled with shot. Where the foliage 
has been eaten into holes we place pieces of Bean¬ 
stalks amongst our Chrysanthemums, and find the 
Earwigs take to them much better than the inverted 
pots.— S. P ., Chelmsford. 
Crinum Powelli.—I see Crinum Powelli is dis¬ 
cussed in one of your contemporaries. A bulb of this 
Crinum given me by a horticultural friend, and planted 
in November last in an open part of the wood at 
Oakwood, Wisley, has lately bloomed beautifully ; it 
had no sort of protection. Yallotta purpurea is just 
coming out, but this last winter was covered over with 
a wicker hen-coop with dry bracken interlaced.— George 
F. Wilson, Hcatherbank, Weybridge, Sept. 14 th. 
Matricaria inodora flore pleno.— Where 
white flowers are wanted in quantity in the autumn, 
good beds of this useful plant should be made up in the 
spring. The quantity of flowers a bed 4 yds. long by 
1 yd. wide will yield is something enormous ; you can 
cut and come again, and yet there seems to be no 
diminishing of the quantity for some weeks. To protect 
the white flowers from heavy rains, which often causes 
them to look dirty, I simply place a pole about every 
yard on each side of the bed, with a strong rail fastened 
on the top, upon which we rest a few frame lights ; 
this protects from wet and soot, and allows plenty of 
air to still circulate amongst the plants. To propagate 
it, take small bits in the autumn at the same time as 
bedding Calceolarias, and give the same treatment. It 
should have fresh beds made up every year. — JF. G. 
Onions. —At the Oxford Mills Flower Show, held 
at Ashton-under-Lyne on Saturday last, there was a 
strong competition with Onions, and you may think it 
worth while to publish the weights of the winning 
roots, which were as follows :—- 
Onions (White). 
ozs. 
ozs. 
J. A. Isherwood . 
. 14 
J. Cowley. 
. Hi 
J. Cowley . 
A. Rushton . 
. 101 
J. Nelson . 
. 12J 
II. Rushton . 
. 10* 
T. Goodier. 
. m 
J. Bridge . 
. 10* 
J. Nelson. 
. 12i 
J. Metcalfe . 
. 10 
W. Cowley . 
. 12 
G. Bridge . 
. 8 
J. Rushton . 
. Hi 
Onions 
(Red). 
ozs. 
ozs. 
J. A. Isherwood . 
. 17| 
J. Cowley. 
. 13* 
J. Rushton . 
. 15* 
A. Rushton . 
J. Nelson . 
. 15 
J. Metcalfe . 
J. Nelson . 
. 14J 
T. Goodier. 
. 12* 
T. Cowley. 
. 
G. Bridge. 
.in 
W. Cowley . 
. Hi 
H. Rushton . 
. 10 
— Visitoi'. 
Peat or Moss Litter.— Can any of your 
correspondents inform me as to the quality of the above 
for Mushroom culture. Having successfully kept up a 
supply of Mushrooms previous to using the above 
litter, and since the introduction of the same, have 
entirely failed to produce a crop, I should be glad 
to know the experience of others. As soon as they 
reach the size of a small button on the peat beds, they 
turn black and die away. The spawn and treatment 
are exactly the same as before the failure occurred. 
Any information on the subject would oblige.— IF. C. 
A “Stout” Budder. —In my holiday wanderings 
I was much amused by the following story, which was 
related to me by one well acquainted with its hero :— 
At the small town of T- in Norfolk, an old 
gardener gained his livelihood by tending the gardens 
of the more well-to-do of the residents who could not 
afford to keep a regular gardener. This man was very 
fond of stout, and when the Bose-budding season came 
round, he actually refused to bud the Boses of these 
people until they gave him a pint of stout, for, said he, 
after he had drank the stout he spat in the hole where 
the bud had to go, and this gave it a sure start!— 
D. J. E. 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
The zonal Pelargoniums for autumn and winter 
flowering will now need to be placed under cover ; a 
cold pit with a south aspect will be preferable to at 
once placing them in a house. Let them be fully ex¬ 
posed and freely ventilated, that the growth made may 
be as firm as possible, for it is next to impossible to 
produce flower in any quantity from sappy unripened 
wood, albeit the plants may appear in excellent health. 
As the flower is not at present wanted, it will be ad¬ 
visable to continue to remove the trusses as they 
appear, unless a few plants of any particular variety for 
colour may be required for staging or house decoration. 
Those of deep pink or amaranth-coloured flowers may 
he used with striking effect if staged amongst light or 
white-flowered groups, and have a most pleasing effect. 
By quite an oversight, I had forgotten, a week or 
two since, to speak of the re-potting of Anthurium 
Seherzerianum. If not already done, no time must be 
lost. As a rule, August is the best month in which 
these should be attended to. Where the plants received 
a shift last season, and the soil is in good condition, it 
will be hardly necessary to re-pot. Carefully remove 
as much of the surface soil as possible without dam¬ 
aging the roots, and replace with good fibrous peat and 
a liberal addition of good-sized lumps of charcoal, in 
which the plants delight. Where it is deemed ad¬ 
visable to pot, be very careful that the pots are 
thoroughly clean and an abundant diainage given, 
because although the plant delights in liberal treatment 
in the way of water, it will not thrive where there is 
any trace of stagnation in the material in which it is 
growing. After potting, the plants will be benefitted 
if kept sprinkled overhead through a fine rose fre¬ 
quently during the day ; and lest this may not be done 
without injury to other plants if missed, it will be ad¬ 
visable to stage them by themselves until a good start 
is ensured. Keep a sharp look-out at night for insect 
pests of any description, as the foliage when young is 
so readily damaged ; added to which, without perfect 
foliage the plant is not presentable. 
Where the practice of striking the tops of the Pom¬ 
pon Chrysanthemums is followed, now will be a good 
time to put them in, as the buds are set; five or six 
put into a 4-in. pot will be found ample. Let the pots 
be plunged in a nice brisk bottom-heat, so that they may 
strike quickly, and be as careful as possible that the 
cuttings do not at any time flag, so that they must be 
kept closely shaded. The varieties of Cedo Nulli are 
good for this purpose, and they will be found most 
useful for staging in front of mixed groups. I need 
hardly say that as soon as rooted they must be kept 
well fed with liquid manure to fully develop the flowers. 
Where a fixed shading has been used for the roofs of 
plant houses, it will now be advisable to remove a part 
of it; this will greatly tend to the hardening of the 
growth of the inmates, and they will keep much better 
through the winter. 
THE FRUIT HOUSES. 
In this department little else can now be done than 
to see to the thorough ventilating of all Vineries, and 
also being careful that the borders do not become too 
dry. Damping-down where the Grapes are intended 
to hang may be entirely dispensed with, and to 
prevent too rapid evaporation, a mulching of light 
material should be placed over the inside borders ; this 
will only apply where the Vineries are on high ground. 
In low-lying districts the great difficulty will be found 
to keep the borders dry enough through the autumn 
for the Grapes to keep well. 
Look over the Hamburghs and other thin-skinned 
varieties at least twice a week, and remove all berries 
which show the least trace of decay. In dull weather 
the pipes may be chilled in the morning, and at night 
the doors throughout the range may be opened between 
each structure to admit of a circulation of air to pre¬ 
vent anything like a “stuffy” atmosphere prevailing. 
The nights now become considerably longer and cooler, 
and in the Fig-house it will be found advisable to use 
less moisture, or the fruit will crack badly. Keep the 
house comfortably warm through the day, which can 
readily be done without resorting to fire-heat. Blanche 
du Soissons we find one of the most reliable fruiters. 
Extra care must now be taken of the late Melons, or 
they will speedily canker off. Unless the sun is very 
fierce, the house may be syringed and shut up soon 
after mid-day ; the bottom-heat, too, must be kept 
regularly renewed. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
So soon as the rows of winter Spinach can be well 
traced, let the plants be singled out, as in the case of 
Turnips, by this means they make a more sturdy 
growth, and are much better able to withstand severe 
frosts. Cabbage for early spring cutting, must now be 
planted out, so that they may become thoroughly 
established before winter. Keep the hoe well at work 
through all the quarters, as weeds grow apace after the 
recent storms ; where there are dangers of seeding, 
hand-weeding previous to hoeing is advisable, and in 
the end saves time. 
I regret to say we find traces of disease in the 
Potatos ; through press of work, we were compelled 
to leave a small breadth of Woodstock Kidney in the 
ground, and they are badly affected. Magnum Bonum 
show traces in the haulm of a visitation, so that even 
now the Potato crop may not be so abundant as 
anticipated. See that the Strawberry squares are 
kept free from runners and weeds, and where the 
ground is very tenacious, they will be benefitted if 
lightly forked between the rows, they can also be more 
readily cleaned, than if a crusted surface is allowed to 
remain. 
The old stools of Cabbages which have furnished a 
supply until now, had better be removed, as the young 
spring-sown ones should be ready ; the ground upon 
which these have been growing should be double dug 
and well dressed, as the crop is always an exhaustive 
one. Pay attention to the gathering of dessert Pears, 
and store carefully. Madame Treyve, Jersey Gratioli, 
and Beurre de 1’Assumption, are now ready with us.— 
Walter Child, Croome Court. 
-- 
ORCHID NOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
Potting Cool Orchids. —“W. R. W.’s” advice 
(p. 28) to begin potting these in August or September, 
and his remark that he finds that the best time gives 
another instance of the different means employed by 
different growers. After trying different times for 
doing the work, I found the first week in January the 
best, particularly for those whom I am in the habit of 
addressing on the subject—viz., amateurs with small 
collections, and many of them in the neighbourhood 
of towns. “ W. B. W.” recommends beginning in 
August “if August be dull, with frequent showery 
days or nights.” My opinion is that beginning either 
in August or September on the strength of that kind of 
weather is delusive, as later on we generally get a spell 
of weather as bright as any in summer, and liable to 
do harm. There is no doubt that any time after 
September sets in the plants are ready for repotting, 
and that many from choice or convenience repot them 
at that time with good results if the plants are carefully 
shaded and tended, but many amateurs cannot give 
them constant attention, and as far as I can glean it is 
not necessary to run any risk by early potting ; hence, 
later on, after the plants are settled down to the 
amount of fire-heat they are to have, and there is no 
risk of excessive aeration from bright, dry weather, is 
in my opinion, better. 
Against doing the work in the dead of winter I 
object that the plants are better left undisturbed during 
the dull, foggy season, it being better to wait until the 
turn of Christmas or the first week in the new year 
brings new life into the air. What I mean by this is 
noticeable in or near towns more particularly, and 
those who have tried early forcing of Hyacinths, Lilies 
of the Valley, &c. there, know how slow and stubborn 
they are until after Christmas, when all of a sudden 
they produce their blooms quickly and kindly, thus 
showing that a time for movement in plant life has 
come through some change in nature which has taken 
place—a more genial state of the atmosphere obtained 
by the light of coming spring-time being cast before 
it. I have considered and watched this matter for 
many years, and I conclude that if the repotting of the 
cool Orchids is begun at any time whereby they may 
get finished by the end of January (according to the 
quantity to be got through) no better time can be 
assigned which will work well in all collections, great 
and small. At the same time our thanks are due to 
“ W. R. W.” for his very clear note on the subject, 
which contains good practical remarks applicable at any 
season when repotting is going on.— James O'Brien. 
