November 13, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
171 
should be no difficulty in always having plenty on hand. 
A batch of young plants about 18 ins. high, and pro¬ 
portionately bushy, will yield a surprising quantity of 
flowers, the colour of the flower being a beautiful rosy 
carmine. Those who have young plants at their com¬ 
mand, should pot them on at once, when they will 
flower all through the winter; the effect being very 
rich amongst other plants.— W. G. 
Grevillea Preisii. —This is a useful as well as 
curious plant, and all fond of good greenhouse subjects 
should have a plant or two of it. The habit of the 
plant is graceful, the stems being closely set with the 
most delicate pinnate and bipinnate leaves, and pro¬ 
ducing, at the extremity of each point, a raceme of 
bright rosy red flowers, tipped at the points with green 
and yellow—a very remarkable flower. When out of 
flower, and in a healthy condition, it is useful as a 
decorative plant; but when well grown and flowering 
freely—and this it does, with me, at least six months 
in the year—it is a superb greenhouse plant. Avoid 
damp parts of the house for it to stand in, as this is 
its most inveterate enemy. A dry cool house suits it 
best; but, like many other plants of its class, it likes 
a little warmth when in a young state. A mixture of 
peat and sand suits it to grow in, and it requires to be 
potted firm.— IF. G. 
Rose Hedges : A Substitute for Snow.— 
While experimenting at Oakwood, I have come upon 
two notions which I think are worth publishing. The 
first is a new hedge. We tried a small one in front of 
the cottage, and this succeeding, we have now made 
one, above 100 yds. long, of Japanese Rose (Rosa 
rugosa). The beauty of its flowers, fruit and foliage, 
the last while green, and afterwards in its golden 
state in autumn, make it ornamental, whilst its quick 
growth and many close thorns make it useful. The 
plants of our last hedge are seedlings taken out of a 
seed-bed not more than 2\ yds. square. This hedge 
has a backing of cut Furze ; I expect in three years it 
will be well-grown. Notion No. 2 is a substitute 
for snow as a protection for some bulbs and plants. 
Snow, as is well known, owes its efficacy to the air 
among it. I have tried many experiments to get some¬ 
thing that would take its place. Finding that plants 
sowed themselves on our gravel-walk, and came up 
better than in the seed-beds, I used a surface of finely- 
sifted gravel with good results, and now believe that 
for bulbs which it is undesirable to plant very deep, 
and yet which must not be frozen, a covering of 3 ins. 
to 4 ins. of sifted gravel-stones, about 1 in. long, would 
hold air enough to prevent frost getting down into the 
ground ; this could be easily removed in spring. With 
some precious bulbs and deciduous plants I have put a 
surrounding of bricks edge-wise, filling up the enclosed 
space with these gravel-stones. Smaller stones may be 
better ; this is a subject for experiment.— George F. 
Wilson, Heatherbank, Wcybridge Heath. 
Clerodendron nutans.— Under this name Mr. 
Head, garden superintendent at the Crystal Palace, 
exhibited a plant for which he received a First Class 
Certificate at the Floral Committee meeting on Tuesday, 
and which those who want good winter stove plants 
would do well to look after. It is a shrubby species, 
which he obtained from Calcutta, bearing fine terminal 
panicles of white flowers, which are succeeded by 
indigo-blue coloured drupaceous fruits, and blooming 
freely at this dull season is a plant worth growing. 
How to Make a Good Fertiliser. — A 
correspondent of The Field writes :—We hear a great 
deal about artificial manures and their value, but the 
fact is, that every gardener has around him—in the 
form of what is commonly called rubbish—the most 
valuable elements of such manures, if he will but 
utilize or prepare them. There can be no doubt that 
highly concentrated manures, in a handy form, are 
beneficial if rightly applied to pot plants just when the 
greatest strain is made on their growth, or during the 
flowering season. I have tried many kinds, and have 
made up the following for myself, and prefer it to any 
of the named kinds. To a gallon of bone dust add a 
gallon of dry fresh soot, a gallon of fresh wood ashes, 
and half a gallon measure full of guano, and about the 
same quantity of freshly slaked lime after it is cool. 
Mix the whole well together, and add an equal bulk of 
dry sandy soil, after which the whole may be sifted or 
screened, and then preserved in a tub in a dry place for 
use as it is required. It must be used dry, in the shape 
of a top-dressing, and a very slight sprinkling is 
sufficient, as it is very stimulating in its action ; and 
on no account should it be sprinkled over the foliage of 
such woolly-leaved plants as Pelargoniums, Gloxinias, 
Gesneras, &c., these being quite spoiled if it- touches 
them. 
Excessive Rainfall at Liverpool.—For the 
fourth time this year the rain gauge has registered a 
fall of rain of 1 in. or over in twenty-four hours, which 
is considerably above the average. The first occurred 
on May 13th, with a fall of l - 04 ; the second on 
September 9th, with 1'43, which is the heaviest 
recorded since August 15th, 1882, when 1 '45 was 
registered. October 1st shows l'OO, and November 6th 
1‘23 ; from 10 a.m. on the 5th, to 11 a.m. on the 6th, 
or twenty-five hours, the total amounted to 1'30.— Jl. 
G. Waterman, Roscleigli, Woolton, Liverpool. 
Tomato Notes.—This season, from one sowing 
of seed, I think I have raised nearly all the various 
forms in cultivation. Originally the seed was saved 
from Keyes’ Prolific, and sure enough, in this instance, 
the name has been very appropriate, both as regards 
fruitfulness and the great variety in the shape of the 
fruits. Some you could scarcely distinguish from a 
beautifully-formed Apple, with the eye perfect, both 
round and conical ; some like large Cherries, others 
like handsome Plums of dissimilar forms, and some 
representing those old kinds with which I was acquainted 
over fifty years ago ; hence, the plants from which the 
seed was obtained, must have been fertilised in some 
way, or there must be an inherent disposition in the 
nature of the plant itself to sport; but still I have 
failed to discover, in the various forms, that there is 
any material difference with reference to the flavour or 
quality of the pulp of the fruit, dress them how you 
may, or even should they be eaten in a crude form. 
Like the hare, if you can but catch it, the Tomato is 
capable of being dressed for table in a variety of ways, 
and to suit the palate of the most fastidious epicurean ; 
and there can be no question but that its use in any 
form has a most salutary and beneficial effect, evidenced 
by the fact of its extended cultivation of late years, 
and its great commercial value at the present time. 
Have any of your readers experienced similar results ? 
■—George Fry, Lewisham. 
Begonia John Heal.—This interesting and, 
at the same time, most useful winter-flowering decorative 
variety was shown at South Kensington, on Tuesday, by 
Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons, and attracted much 
notice by reason of its singular habit of not producing 
female flowers, and retaining its pretty, deep rose- 
coloured blossoms until they 'wither on the plant. 
It was certificated last year, and is the result of a cross 
between the species B. Soeotrana and a tuberous-rooted 
variety named Countess of Doneraile, and from another 
tuberous-rooted variety crossed with pollen from John 
Heal, we believe the same firm have obtained a 
tuberous-rooted variety 'which also produces no female 
flowers. 
Salvia splendens.—This, among soft-wooded 
plants, which are easily managed and adapted for the 
decoration of the drawing room or conservatory during 
the early winter months, for its rich bright red colour 
stands unrivalled. An objection raised against it, in 
common with other Salvias, scarcely holds good, for 
although it, like them, soon drops its flowers, the catyxes 
remain for a long time on the stalk, and being of the 
same colour as the flower, the flower spikes retain their 
usefulness for decorative purposes for a lengthened 
period. When well done, this old friend stands unique 
among autumn-flo-wering plants, and will bear very 
favourable comparison with the Poinsettias, both for 
richness of colour and real usefulness. A plant of the 
latter in a 32-sized pot yielding one head of coloured 
bracts, is not to be compared with one or two dozen 
spikes of Salvia in the same-sized pot. Many of our 
spikes of bloom this season measure from 6 ins. to 
9 ins. in length, the plants having been grown in 
32-pots, than which we never use a larger size for it. 
Our cuttings are struck in heat in April, potted off 
into 60’s when rooted, and are stopped once to make 
them bushy. They have a shift into 48’s about the 
middle of May, and about the first week of June they 
are placed outside in the shade, and are kept well pinched 
back. By the end of June, or very early in July, we 
place them into the 32’s, using similar compost to that 
given to zonal Pelargoniums. They are kept all the 
season in the shade, and when they have well filled 
their pots with roots receive a liberal supply of manure- 
water ; our only care for them when in flower is to 
keep them well watered, and place them where they are 
well guarded from damping—a dry rather than a warm 
atmosphere being best suited for them. When they 
have done flowering we reserve a plant or two for stock, 
the others are thrown out, and the stock plants are 
introduced into a -warm frame or pit to produce cuttings 
during the month of March. — W. B. G. 
Stoke-holes and Heating by Hot-water. 
■—I am pleased to see the discussion respecting deep 
stoke-holes in your paper ; the system of a gradual rise 
in the flow pipe, though probably generally sound, is 
not absolutely necessary. The first instance of this 
which came under my notice, was in a range of vineries 
I had charge of at St. Ives, Ringwood, where the flow- 
pipe, to save blocking up the door-way, was carried up 
to a cistern at the back of the house, and from there 
distributed by pipes running along the wall and over 
the doors into each house, the returns passing under 
the walks back to the boiler. This boiler was fixed by 
a Southampton firm, whose name I do not at present 
remember. I used to think that this plan of allowing 
the rise to be direct from the boiler to the highest 
point, and making all the heating pipes returns, resulted 
in a quicker circulation than the orthodox style, and it 
certainly, altogether, prevents the reverse action, which 
is ,sometimes troublesome in that system when heat is 
required in a hurry. The orthodox plan assumes that 
it is necessary for the boiler to be at the lowest point 
of the circulating column of 'water, but numerous 
exceptions in all parts of the country prove this to be 
needless, if care is taken to allow the heated water 
room to rise ; the water simply takes the form of an 
endless band, and if the rise of the hot-water is provided 
for, no fear need be entertained that the return will not 
take place, as the one necessitates the other. The 
arrangements in some of the trade-growers’ houses, who 
know about as w T ell as anybody what will work, are 
a long way from being orthodox. I hope some 
correspondent will work out a plan to avoid the deep 
stoke-hole altogether.— T. Woodfield, New Hampton. 
Pontederia crassipes var. delicata. —Plant 
lovers at South Kensington, on Tuesday, were much 
pleased with the appearance at the Floral Committee’s 
table, of a flowering plant of this lovely aquatic, 
brought up by Mr. Frank Ross, from Sir George 
Macleay’s interesting garden at Pendell Court. It bore 
a spike of lovely pale flesh-coloured flowers, with a lilac 
blotch on one of the upper segments. Mr. Ross stated 
that he grew it with the Nymphseas ; but not until he 
treated it liberally by adding plenty of manure to its 
compost had he succeeded in flowering it satisfactorily. 
From this it would appear, that its so seldom flowering 
in the past has been due to starvation. 
Japanese Chrysanthemums. — I should be 
obliged if some of the Chrysanthemum-growers among 
your readers would tell me if there is a dark golden or 
amber-coloured Japanese variety—the same lovely 
colour as Agrements de la Nature, but of a dwarfer 
habit. L’Or du Rhin is not dark enough, and rather 
a small bloom. Are any of the dark reds—Jupiter or 
J. Delaux—moderately dwarf? A few names will 
oblige.— L. H. 
Large versus Small Celery. —Large vegetables 
are very fascinating ; in many instances size is the 
first and foremost consideration, and, in the case of 
produce for exhibition, it is often necessary to stage 
huge specimens to catch the judge’s eye ; but when the 
kitchen supply only is considered, we generally find 
the small or medium-sized produce the most favoured. 
There may be one or two exceptions to this rule—with 
Asparagus for instance—but not in Celery, as, however, 
sound the heads may be, if they are from 2 ft. to 3 ft. 
in length and from 18 ins. to 2 ft. in circumferance, 
they will be rejected by many cooks in favour of heads 
half that size. Stewed Celery is a delicious dish at this 
season, and when nice little sticks are cooked and served 
something after the style of Asparagus, they are highly 
satisfactory, but huge heads are of no use in this way, 
and if they must be used, three parts of the outer leaves 
must be drawn off before reaching the centre part, and 
reducing them to a presentable size. It is for reasons 
of this kind, that we find large Celery not favoured on 
the table ; and I am of opinion, that were small varieties 
generally grown they would give much more satisfaction 
than the monstrous sorts, which are often coarse and 
have to be greatly reduced before they can be served in 
any form. The “largest Celery in cultivation ” has no 
charm for me. — J. Muir, Margam Park, South Wales. 
