6 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September, 4, 1886. 
them are many Brazilian plants, which are not usually 
so treated, but which evidently relish the cool and un¬ 
stinted supply of air thus secured. 
The Conservatory. 
The large ornamental conservatory which is kept as 
an intermediate house is a pleasant adjunct to the 
house ; in its centre bed are two tall tree Ferns, their 
stems being clad with Ficus repens, the centre between 
them being occupied by a large ornamental vase of Be¬ 
gonias and other plants—Palms and flowering specimens 
making up the group. Bound the house a bright dis¬ 
play of flowering Begonias, Coleus, Allamandas, scarlet 
Anthuriums, and Ferns and mosses are arranged, and 
from the roof depend a good collection of Stanliopeas, 
some of which bear their large w T ax-like fragrant 
flowers. Adjoining the conservatory is the rockery 
house, which may be regarded as one of the prettiest 
bits of the garden, the proportions of the handsome 
foliaged Begonias, some of which are 3 ft. across, being 
truly grand as they mingle with the long fronds of the 
Nephrolepis, Pteris, Aspleniums, and other Ferns with 
which the rock is planted ; the old green and silver 
Tradescantia drooping over here and there, and proving 
its usefulness and beauty for such work. 
The Peach and Nectarine houses, Vineries, and other 
fruit houses are, or have recently been all well-cropped, 
and the spacious walled-in kitchen garden is in good 
keeping with all the rest of the garden which Mr. J. 
Penfold manages so well. On the wall there is a good 
show of fruit, the trees of Cox’s Emperor Plum es¬ 
pecially being very heavily laden with its large fruits, 
which are excellent either for kitchen or dessert. 
--—- 
NOTES ON PEAS. 
The Pea season is now drawing to a close, and so 
far as I have had experience, the season appears to have 
been a good average one, although in some localities 
and soils the hot dry weather considerabty retarded 
their growth and finish. I have previously stated 
regarding successful cropping, no matter what the kind 
may be, that so very much depends upon soil and 
season. It has, I think, been fully demonstrated again 
and again that whatever the sort of Pea may be grown, 
good or bad, fresh soil broken up deeply is the great 
object to aim at to ensure successful results. Poor, 
shallow, dry, exhausted soils never did, nor ever can, 
produce good crops. The only chance of their doing 
so has been when the weather has been warm and 
showery. 
Old gardens which have been under cultivation for a 
number of years should, for the Pea crop, always be 
turned up at least two spades deep, with plenty of 
manure worked-in with the first ingoing spit at the 
bottom of the trench ; or should this have been 
neglected to have been carried out at the proper time, 
the plan adopted forty or fifty years ago to my know¬ 
ledge should be had recourse to—viz., prepare the 
ground in the same way as for Celery. I have always 
found this plan, when judiciously performed, very 
materially aid in improving and prolonging the produce 
of the plants, more especially the second and late Peas. 
A report of the trial of Peas at Chiswick, 1886, is just 
to hand, in the perusal of which one is almost befogged 
by such an array of names and detailed descriptions. 
There can be no question but that these trials are well 
and carefully manipulated, and are of great service to 
those who may not have an opportunity of testing the 
numerous sorts, or supposed varieties themselves ; but, 
however valuable this tribunal may assert itself, I do 
not always regard the finallity of these trials, because 
it may so happen that those Peas reported on as being 
second or third rate in quality, may really turn out to 
prove in other soils and localities with generous treat¬ 
ment in every respect first-rate kinds. I have even 
myself sown Peas out of one bag, in different soils, and 
the result has been of a decidedly dissimilar character, 
the one being in good well prepared fresh ground, 
growing the height of 4 ft. to 5 ft., with fine large well 
filled pods of large size, while those sown at the same 
time in a poor exhausted soil, the growth has been 
short and weakly, bearing small short pods. So marked 
was the contrast that it seemed preposterous to suppose 
that the two separate sowings were made at the same 
time and out of the same bag, and there can be no 
question but that in some instances, if not of frequent 
occurrence, inferior kinds grown under favourable con¬ 
ditions, are superior to many better varieties grown 
under adverse circumstances. All Peas are more 
mellow and tender when the season is of a genial 
character, any prolonged growth always militates very 
perceptibly against the quality of almost all vegetable 
productions, and I may add Peas in particular. 
I cultivated Champion of England when first sent 
out by Mr. Fairbeard, and obtained true as it was at 
that time, I scarcely think that any better Pea could 
be found, or even desired by any epicurian of the most 
delicate taste. It was from this variety that I obtained 
my “Prince Imperial” about sixteen years ago, and 
which may be described as an improved Champion of 
England. I have grown the Prince Imperial during 
the lapse of time since its introduction, with most of 
the most popular favourites, and there is not one 
amongst the many tail-branching Marrow's with which 
I am acquainted, that I should feel disposed to give 
the preference. Last season, I obtained a seedling 
from it, and my stock for sowing this spring was about 
three dozen peas, which by sowing in a pot and trans¬ 
planting, gave me two rows about 9 ft. and 11 ft. each, 
20 ft. long in the aggregate, from which I gathered 
one good dish early in July ; the remainder of the 
produce I am saving for seed, a good deal of w'hieli is 
already harvested. The plants, although subjected at 
the present time to mildew, are still flowering from 
the lateral growth, at the same time yielding ripened 
seed from the old stems, which is gathered from time 
to time when in a fit state. 
This seedling has, to my mind, some special qualities 
that may possibly commend themselves ; it is a good 
table Pea, and may be classed with the branching 
Marrows of rather tall growth—5 ft. and upwards. 
The pods are comparatively very thin and small, when 
the yield is taken into consideration, viz., an average 
of nine in each pod, filled completely, almost to com¬ 
pressed packing. I enclose examples, not that you 
can judge of its flavour, but that you may note what I 
consider its somewhat peculiar characteristics, with 
reference to the largeness of the fruit yielded, in so 
small a space afforded by pods so small and thin in 
texture, and should I be spared another year, will 
afford an opportunity of thoroughly testing its merits 
on a more extended scale. —George Fry. 
-- 
FEEDING AND DISBUDDING 
THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. * 
Of all the plants and flowers that adorn our conser¬ 
vatories and greenhouses during the dull season of 
autumn and the early part of v'inter, there are none 
which surpass the Chrysanthemum. Many other 
plants which wake up with the voice of spring, clothe 
themselves in green leaves, and in due time develope 
their gay colours, fulfill their mission and go to rest be¬ 
fore these invaluable and welcome friends robe them¬ 
selves in their gay attire. The Chrysanthemums 
deserve all the care that can be bestowed upon them, 
and when well grown are objects of admiration, which 
call forth the spontaneous praises of their admirers. 
M T hat with their varied colours and forms, their dark 
green foliage, and beautiful habit, as they can be 
trained into almost any shape the cultivator’s fancy 
may dictate, they may be said to rank amongst our 
most useful decorative flowers. I can think of no class 
of plants which pays for good cultivation better than 
does the Chrysanthemum, but in how many cases do 
we see the plants treated as they ought to be ? They 
are often huddled together in some out-of-the-way cor¬ 
ner, where they receive the most meagre attention, and 
when the blooming season arrives, the cultivator won¬ 
ders why his plants are not so good as his neighbour’s, 
who gives them all necessary attention. I say give 
the plants a fair chance, treat them properly, and you 
will, for any trouble you may bestow upon them, be 
repaid with fine and beautiful flowers. It is, as a lover 
of this beautiful plant that I have undertaken to read 
a paper on a very important part of its cultivation ; but 
I should wish it to be understood that I do not do so 
as an expert, or as a perfect professional. I am, in¬ 
deed, a learner, and if we all approach the subject in 
the same inquiring spirit, our knowledge of these fine 
flowers will be considerably increased. 
Standards. 
Chrysanthemums that are grown as standards, either 
for decorative purposes in houses, or for furnishing 
*A paper read by Mr. E. Austin, gardener to J. H. Allcard, 
Esq., Broomville House, Glossop Road, Sheffield before the 
Rotherham Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society. 
flowers for the exhibition table, are greatly improved 
by frequent supplies of liquid manure, from the time 
the roots touch the sides of the pots until the bloom¬ 
ing season arrives. If the plants receive their final 
shift in the first or second week in June, and the 
weather is favourable for their growth, the roots will 
have made considerable progress, and pretty well per¬ 
meated the new soil by the latter end o,f July ; this is 
the time when the feeding should commence, and, as 
far as my experience goes, I believe this is the most im¬ 
portant period of the Chrysanthemum’s growth. With 
regard to stimulating the Chrysanthemum, the old- 
fashioned idea of feeding the plants was only to begin 
after the buds were set, a fallacy which has long ago been 
exploded by good cultivators. I remember very well, 
in my early days of gardening, after we had given the 
plants their final shift, which would be about the time 
above-named, we used to stand them in the shade until 
the end of August, then they were brought out into 
the full sun, and about the middle of September we 
began to give them liberal supplies of manure water ; 
but with all our care we never saw such plants or 
flowers as are produced at the present time. This was 
no doubt owing to their poor growth, and the immature 
state of the wood. Just allow me to say, as a passing 
remark, that without well ripened or mature wood we 
cannot attain success ; everyone who wishes to be suc¬ 
cessful in obtaining fine flowers must aim at developing 
well matured wood. 
Feeding at the wrong time. 
To return to the subject of feeding. Of late years 
we have found out that if a plant is not grown with 
sufficient strength to swell and develope a large bud, it is 
a hopeless case to endeavour to obtain fine flowers by 
giving the plants strong doses of manure water in the 
last stages of their growth. I know that in some cases 
the old plan is still adhered to ; no stimulants are given 
until the flower-buds appear. Strong doses are then 
given at long intervals ; the result is that many collec¬ 
tions are badly grown, or, perhaps what is a more 
common occurrence, they are greatly injured, and, in 
some cases, altogether ruined (I mention this as a very 
important fact). But let there be no misunderstanding, 
that even now the feeding of these plants is very im¬ 
perfectly understood by many ; the resources of the 
Chrysanthemum have not yet been fully developed ; 
but we are learning more and more, and in the future 
finer plants and flowers will be produced. But to be 
clear with regard to the feeding, we must take into 
consideration the nature of the compost the plants are 
potted in, also the time of potting ; the size of the pots, 
as well as the nature of the drainage. To some this 
may appear trifling, but it is the foundation upon which 
we must base our treatment-if satisfactory results are 
to be obtained. 
Weak doses at first. 
In commencing to feed the Chrysanthemum, it is a 
safe practice to let every second or third watering be of 
weak liquid manure, specially prepared for the purpose, 
and gradually increase its strength until the time when 
the flower buds are formed ; after which the strength of 
the liquid should be considerably increased, according 
to the capacity of the plants for utilising it. Always 
commence by applying it weak ; I begin by giving it 
every third watering for the first three weeks, at the 
end of that time every second watering for the next 
month ; they then have manure water every time 
the plants are watered until the latter end of August 
or beginning of September, which is the time the 
buds are forming, when they have the liquid con¬ 
siderably increased until the buds begin to colour. 
At this period the strength of the manure must decrease, 
for if given, too strong after that time, it will cause the 
blooms to open before they are fully developed ; there¬ 
fore, gradually decrease the strength with every succes¬ 
sive watering, until you get back to clear water. Ever 
remember that the Chrysanthemum is a gross feeder, 
and that it must never be allowed to suffer for the want 
of water, for if once it becomes dry at the roots, it 
receives a check from which it scarcely ever recovers. 
The best kind of Stimulants : - Insects, &c. 
The sorts of liquid manure which I have found 
the best to use, are drainings from a stable or cow 
yard, diluted according to its strength ; guano, at 
the rate of 2 ozs. to 3 ozs. to the gallon of clear water ; 
and cow manure, mixed with soot, which is very bene¬ 
ficial ; the cow dung feeds the plants, while the soot 
gives to the leaves a dark green colour, and a healthy 
