108 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 16, 1886. 
The Grievances of an Amateur. —How 
much can sometimes be learned of the troubles and 
vexations to which amateurs are subjected. An old 
friend had a bed of very fine laced Alpine Auriculas, 
and he promised to mark a few of the best of them so 
as to send us plants in the fall of the year, and this is 
what happened, “ I labelled the best, intending to take 
them up, divide them, and send you a plant of each, 
but my dolt of a gardener set to work to weed the beds 
and pulled up all the labels.” Ah! those jobbing 
gardeners, they rob many a good man of his peace of 
mind by their stupid blunders. Our correspondent is 
an enthusiastic amateur, but, at times, unable through 
impaired health to do the whole of his gardening 
operations, so has to engage a gardener, and this is how 
he suffers. Hundreds of amateurs up and down the 
country are, unfortunately, able to proclaim the same 
tale of woe. Many of the ne’er-do-well of the com¬ 
munity take to gardening as a last resort, as if, having 
failed in everything else, they will be able to succeed in 
that; and what a role of blunders they commit. 
Pyracantha Lalandii. —1 saw the other day a 
plant of this new Pyracantha growing as a bush 5 ft. 
high, and covered with bright scarlet berries from top to 
bottom. I have no doubt it will become a very useful 
and popular plant, being suitable either for walls, or as 
single specimens on lawns.— F. P. L. 
Bad Stocks for Peaches. —In a Peach-house, 
60 ft. long, that I have had charge of for nine summers, 
there is a tree of the Barrington Peach worked upon a 
Cherry stock, and the result every year is an unsatis¬ 
factory crop. It makes a rampant growth, notwith¬ 
standing the severe root pruning that we have subjected 
it to. Indeed, it seems to me that the Cherry will 
bear a large amount of cutting at the root, when the 
Peach is the scion. As the growing season advances, 
the growth of this particular tree makes great strides 
also, and though I summer prune, and thin the shoots 
to allow the sun and air full play, we never properly 
ripen the wood, though it may look brown and solid ; 
and, as a result, it never sets a crop, and some seasons 
not a quarter of a crop. The trees are planted in an 
outside border, and have clear stems, about 3 ft. high 
before being worked. The stem of this Cherry is very 
much larger than the Plum stems the others are worked 
upon.— T. W., Norwich. 
Tuberous Begonias. —Some few years ago I 
tried these as bedding plants, but my experience was 
not of a promising character. They were a motley lot 
that came from seed ; they were of all colours, height's 
and habits, and I did not think then that they would 
ever be of much use as bedding plants. We have 
only to go to Mr. Laing’s Stanstead Park Nursery, 
however, to be convinced of the contrary. There they 
can be seen by the thousand (seedlings), sown in 
January, 1886, flowering abundantly, of fine colour, 
stiff and uniform in habit. They are sure to make way 
as bedding plants. —.1 /. 
Tropaeolum spsciosum. — A very simple and 
easy way of growing this beautiful autumn-flowering 
subject, is to plant small pieces in Rhododendron 
clumps or among similar-growing shrubs. It is very 
effective amongst the large foliage, and appears to grow 
more vigorous than when planted against hot walls 
and in dry borders.— F. P. L. 
Carter’s Leviathan Broad Bean—Second 
Crop. —Though this is admittedly one of the largest 
and longest Beans in cultivation, it is by no means 
coarse or of inferior flavour. There is, however, a 
peculiarity about it I only noticed yesterday when 
walking casually through my experimental vegetables. 
I had the stems cut away after the first crop, half their 
height. For two months they were unnoticed, chiefly 
through absence from home. New branches were 
formed, and judge my surprise to find a new second 
crop with pods well filled, smaller, but of more delicious 
flavour than the first, without either trouble or 
expense.— TP. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
- ->X<~ - 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
If not already done, lose no time in housing all 
plants which may have been placed out of doors, as 
there is great risk after this date. We are now placing 
our stock of Cinerarias in a house where, in case of 
frost, heat may be turned on, and as these are such 
particularly tender subjects, it is most advisable due 
provision should be made for their safety. We have also 
stored our stock of Azaleas, giving, where necessary, 
a good syringing. As Roses are trained on the roofs of 
the house in which these are wintered, we gave a good 
fumigating, to ensure as much cleanliness as pos¬ 
sible. The shingle on the stages, having become some¬ 
what soured, has also been renewed; in fact, the 
greatest care should be observed in the storing of all 
plants, or sad havoc will be made ere long through 
damping off and mildew. 
Our Cinerarias are a good stout lot, some of the 
earliest well advanced towards flowering, and most 
useful will they be found for decorative purposes ; un¬ 
fortunately they are of but little use for cutting, the 
flowers so soon fading, and for travelling they are quite 
worthless. We saved our surplus stock of single Dahlias, 
allowing them to remain in small pots until the begin¬ 
ning of August, when they were shifted into 7-in. 
pots ; they have made a good growth and will be staged 
in the greenhouse, where we hope they will give us a 
good supply of blooms for cutting, as most useful we 
find them. 
Of course there will be an abundance of Chrysan¬ 
themums just now, still, these form in a cut state a 
pleasant relief, more particularly if placed somewhat 
carelessly in the vases. The stock of show and fancy 
Pelargoniums must be carefully attended to, an 
abundance of air admitted upon all possible occasions, 
and in case of foggy, damp weather, the pipes in the 
house in which they are staged may be warmed in the 
morning to dry up excessive moisture ; remove all dead 
and decaying foliage as it may appear, and keep all 
about them scrupulously clean, especially the fancies. 
Those for early flowering or forcing should at once 
receive their final shift, using a good sound compost 
and not over-large pots, remembering that for success¬ 
ful forcing or early flowering of all plants an abundance 
of roots is essential—in fact, pot-bound plants force 
much the best. 
Some of our earliest Azaleas are now opening their 
flowers ; the semi-double whites are extremely useful 
for bouquet work, and always appreciated. Placing one 
or two in the intermediate house they come on gently, 
and so give the general stock a longer rest. We have 
planted out the pit of Neapolitan Violets as advised ; 
the remainder of the stock will be potted for the green¬ 
house. We are also making up a bed under the Morello 
wall for putting in a good stock of Pansies, Roses, 
and Pentstemons. Cuttings put in in this way give 
little or no trouble, and as a rule, strike very readily, 
making good stuff ready for spring planting. Alpine 
Auriculas should now be divided and replanted without 
delay. - 
THE FRUIT HOUSES. 
Great care must now be taken with the ventilating 
and heating of the Vineries in which Grapes are ex¬ 
pected to hang for any length of time. Carefully warm 
the pipes in the morning before the ventilators are 
opened, and be cautious that the front lights are closed 
early in the afternoon before the air becomes at all 
damp ; much greater care is necessary now than later 
on, when the Vines are quite at rest. As the fruit is 
cleared from the succession houses, let the Vines be 
partly pruned in to, say, three or four eyes ; and should 
the border be at all dry, let it be watered, or next 
season’s crop will suffer. Throw the house completely 
open, to harden as much as possible preparatory to final 
pruning. If possible, let the interior of all the Vineries 
be painted ; if this were done annually it would be 
better for all concerned. 
We have found it necessary to re-plant a part of our 
early Peach house ; the trees were very old and quite 
exhausted. The border having been re-made a few 
years since, we found it was only necessary to turn it 
over preparatory to the young trees being planted. 
The nights having become longer and much colder, we 
have found it necessary to warm the Fig house, to 
hasten the ripening of the remainder of the crop, 
which, in some cases, showed signs of damping. This 
will, we hope, soon have the desired effect; added to 
which, it will harden the wood. Where the sashes 
were removed from the early Peach trees, replace them 
before heavy rains come, and let the house be put in 
order ready for starting by the middle of November. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Asparagus beds may now be cut down near to the 
surface of the ground, weeds, if any, removed, and 
those not required for forcing receive a good mulching 
of rich manure, which will greatly benefit next season’s 
growth. Continue to plant out Cabbage plants, those 
sown in August being now ready ; they will have time 
to get established before hard weather sets in. Cauli¬ 
flower, too, must now be pricked out or potted singly 
into 60’s—the mode we prefer, as the plants do not 
suffer so much when planted out in the spring. Con¬ 
tinue the planting out of the different sorts of Lettuce ; 
if frame room can be spared, a good batch of All the 
Year Round should be pricked out, which will furnish 
good salad all through the winter.’ As a Cabbage 
Lettuce, none succeeds with us or comes in so early as 
the Hardy Winter White, particularly if in some 
sheltered spot. 
When there is danger of frost, take care that the 
Cauliflowers which are fit, or nearly so, for use, are 
lifted, and stored in some open shed or other suitable 
place until required. The late batch of Celery should 
receive the final earthing as soon as weather permits ; 
the stormy weather which now prevails will not 
admit of this being done. All vacant squares should 
be dug at convenience, bearing in mind that where 
necessary, double digging should be done, and for all 
crops that require a rich soil, a liberal dressing of 
manure should be given ; in gravelly and light soils 
manuring had better be deferred for a time at least. 
Prepare for the planting of fruit trees of all kinds, 
giving, if possible, a barrow-load of fresh turfy loam to 
each.— Walter Child, Croorne Court. 
-- 
FLORICULTURE. 
♦ 
Pelargoniums, Large-flowered or Show. — 
Calling at the Royal Nursery, Slough, a few days ago, I 
saw they were very busy potting up the cuttings of 
large-flowered Pelargoniums struck this summer. The 
amateur growers should do the same without delay. 
The soil used was made up of some good yellow loam, 
leaf-mould, sand, and a little well decomposed manure. 
It is best to mix this well together, and let it have the 
benefit of the air for a few days before using, as this serves 
to sweeten it. All the strongest cuttings were being put 
into 48-sized pots, and the smallest into large 60’s. The 
young plants are then carried to a frame and kept close 
for a few days, and then taken to a lean-to house. A 
Pelargonium cutting is pretty certain to put forth a 
leading shoot; this should be pinched back to three 
eyes or so, and then it breaks forth into growth, and 
makes by the spring a nice young “bottom” as it is 
termed. The stopping of young plants very much 
depends upon the manner of their growth ; the great 
thing is to so manage it as to secure a symmetrical and 
well-formed bottom to start with. As most of the 
leading varieties are of vigorous growth, stopping may 
be done freely ; in the case of a variety of w T eakly 
growth it must be done more sparingly. 
Any early-struck cuttings that have been stopped, 
broken into growth, and are progressing vigorously, 
should be repotted, giving them a slight but sufficient 
shift. Such plants, if grown on with care, will make nice 
exhibition specimens in July and August, if carefully 
attended to in the matter of stopping. Those plants 
can be potted into their flowering pots early in March 
next. 
“Bottoms” of Pelargoniums as they are termed— 
that is, specimen plants that were cut down in August, 
and repotted as they had broken into growth—will 
need another shift if they are required for flowering in 
May. They should now be placed in their flowering 
pots, kept a little close for a few'days, and then have 
an airy part of the greenhouse. As a matter of course, 
they must be kept from frost ; all that is required is 
that they be kept cool consistent with their well-being, 
have plenty of room, and to be as near the glass as 
possible so that they are not drawn, and be encouraged 
to grow as hardy and as wiry as possible. "Water 
should be given sparingly during the autumn and winter. 
"When fire-heat is put on, it should be ofldy sufficient to 
keep the plants comfortable. As far as possible, Pelar¬ 
goniums should be grown during the dead season of the 
year with plants not requiring more heat than them¬ 
selves. 
That the fine and showy large-flowering Pelargoniums 
are not grown so much as they used to be cannot be 
denied. One rarely sees good plants at country shows 
nowadays, although classes are provided for them. It 
is a pity it is so, but such is the fact, amateurs some- 
