January 8, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
299 
maggot is to keep a constant watch, and pick off any 
leaf noticed to be spotted, as by removing the grub 
before it has time to get into the main branches, it is 
prevented from working the serious mischief it other¬ 
wise would. As to varieties attacked, all are apparently 
liable ; hut we find Miss Joliffe the most favoured by 
it.— Thomas Woodjield, New Hampton. 
Should Chrysanthemum Cuttings be 
Watered ? —Mr. W. J. Murphy, in your last week’s 
issue, p. 284, questions the judiciousness of watering 
Chrysanthemum cuttings as recommended by me in 
my Chrysanthemum Guide ; but I venture to think 
that my advice is perfectly correct. Cuttings that 
were inserted in November, Mr. Murphy will surely 
admit, will require some water before they are potted 
off in February (in our climate they do at all events); 
and knowing how very fond some amateurs are of using 
the watering can, I purposely made use of the words 
mentioned by your correspondent. The sort of com¬ 
post used for striking cuttings in has much to do with 
the question of watering. The soil recommended by 
me is equal parts of loam and leaf-soil or cocoa-fibre 
refuse (I give preference to the latter), with the addi¬ 
tion of plenty of silver sand. Where cuttings are 
inserted in soil thus composed, they will always keep 
moderately dry, and soon emit roots. Air should then 
he given on all favourable occasions, and any leaves 
showing signs of damping should be picked off; and 
whenever the soil is quite dry, the young plants should 
be carefully watered, i. e ., receive just enough moisture 
to well moisten the soil, and no more water should be 
given until the soil again gets dry.— W. E. Boyce, 
Archway Road, Highgate. 
Belvedere House Gardens, Wimbledon. 
—Those acquainted with the fine avenue of Evergreen 
Oaks at Belvedere, Wimbledon, will regret to hear that 
many of them suffered severely from the gale of Dec. 
26th. It is heartrending to see these noble specimens 
split about so much. They have enormous limbs, and 
in many instances half the trees are carried aw r ay, 
quite disfiguring the whole avenue. One fine specimen 
in a meadow which measured 16 ft. in circumference, 
and 20 yds. in the spread of its branches, is entirely 
disfigured, losing several of its enormous limbs. Mr. 
Lyne, the gardener, has done all that man possibly 
could do to protect them by using cable chains of 
enormous strength, but these were completely broken 
as if useless. The Cedars which many will remember 
have alike suffered severely ; and the splendid specimen 
Rhododendron, Lady Eleanor Cathcart, which has been 
the admiration of so many when in flower, has also 
suffered severely. This is a sad misfortune, for noble 
trees in the vicinity of London, such as these, are by 
no means too numerous, and it is a pity that any 
mishap should happen to the few that are left.— A. 0. 
Chimonanthus fragrans grandiflorus.— 
In the neighbourhood of London we are usually favoured 
in all ordinary winters with an abundant supply of the 
fragrant flowers of this plant during the months of 
December and January ; the past autumn was so cold, 
however, that the flowers did not expand, and this is 
altogether out of the question during the present severe 
weather. Should the unexpanded flower buds resist the 
frost unharmed in this condition, their flowering is 
only a question of time when the weather becomes 
more favourable. Their hardiness, however, remains 
to be seen, though if they had been flowering before 
the late severe snowstorm set in, they would, un¬ 
doubtedly, have been all destroyed. Lindley is re¬ 
sponsible for the name of this variety, which he 
describes as having clear yellow rounded flowers, whose 
outer segments are sometimes curled at the edge and 
spreading, while the inner ones are bright red. This 
form is figured in the Botanical Register, t. 6451. 
The type is figured in the Hortus Keicensis, and Curtis’ 
Botanical Magazine, and has small greenish yellow 
flowers, with the inner segments dull purple. This 
twiggy shrub must be propagated from seeds, which it 
sometimes ripens in this country, or by layering the 
shoots ; it is difficult or almost impossible to propagate 
it by cuttings. 
Heating by Hot Water. —Mr. Alexander 
Methven, in your issue of November 20th, 1886, states 
that “when the pipes are lower than the boiler, the 
working will not be satisfactory with two or more 
connections if on different levels.” This, however, is 
not always the case, as I saw proof of, a few days ago, 
at Mr. Troughton’s, Walton Nurseries, near Preston. 
In a house about 60 ft. long and 170 ft. from the boiler, 
some of the pipes are 18 ins. below the level of the 
flow-pipe at its departure from the boiler, and lower 
still than those heating the adjacent houses. To follow 
the usual rule laid down by those who undertake the 
heating of our houses, it would have involved the 
expense of either lowering the boilers and the whole of 
the stoke-hole, which is a large one, or raising the 
house ; for when first erected it was unheated, and in¬ 
tended only as a protection for hardy shrubs and other 
plants for forcing ; but as the demand for cut flowers 
increased, it had to be filled with Chrysanthemums, 
and then came the question of heating to keep the 
flowers dry. The glass houses here are numerous, and 
the majority run at right angles with another range, 
which must multiply the connections, and necessitate 
the pipes being on different levels. Those that I felt 
at 230 ft. distant from the boiler were too hot to be 
comfortable for the hand for any length of time.— 
JV. P. R. 
Centropogon Lucyanus. — This is a most 
useful, high-coloured winter-flowering stove plant. 
If well grown on during the summer season it will 
yield a surprising lot of its rosy red Salvia-like trusses 
of flowers ; and after the terminal truss has been cut, 
it will throw up others all the way down the stem, 
thus prolonging its usefulness for a considerable period 
during the dull winter months. It appears to like 
rather a strong compost, consisting of loam, rotten 
manure and leaf-soil, broken up roughly, with a 
sprinkling of sharp sand, and potted rather firm. It 
delights in a good stove temperature, and enjoys the 
syringe during summer ; but I find it will not stand it 
at all in the winter, when it should stand well up above 
other plants, so that air can circulate freely around it, 
or it is apt to lose its bottom foliage. This is a great 
detriment to the appearance of the plant, which has a 
very graceful habit when well grown. If you cannot 
cultivate it well, do not attempt it at all, for it is one 
of those plants that must have good cultivation to 
bring out its fine winter-flowering qualities.— IF. Gf. 
Staking Peas. —When the men are staking Peas, 
frequent complaints are heard through the skin being 
lacerated, and clothes torn by the rough stakes, and 
the head gardener complains too, if he sees the sticks 
laid on the tender shoots. To remedy this I had made, 
two years ago, a light open frame hand-barrow, 10 ft. 
long, and 3 ft. wide, on which to carry the stakes from 
the wood-yard to the Pea quarters ; and I would 
strongly recommend other gardeners to do the same. 
I have found it a most efficient and requisite article 
where work has to be done in a careful and expeditious 
manner .—Alexander Methven, Pelaiv House Gardens, 
Dec. 31sC., 1886. 
Plumbago coccinea superba.— This is a 
high-coloured winter-flowering stove plant, and is very 
attractive to the eye when mixed with a general col¬ 
lection of stove plants. It seems to enjoy any amount 
of heat, and likes a free use of the syringe during the 
summer and autumn months. This encourages growth 
and also prevents thrip and red spider from committing 
their depredations upon its foliage. It strikes freely 
from cuttings in the spring months of the year, and 
should be grown in a compost of equal parts of loam 
and peat, with a dash of good sharp sand. Young 
plants flower freely, but older ones make strong shoots, 
and after the terminal spikes of flowers have been cut, 
it will throw up spikes from all the latent buds, and 
thus continue flowering a long time.— IF. G. 
Causes of the Fall of the Leaf.— The follow¬ 
ing observations on the causes of the fall of the leaf 
have been made by Dr. H. Molisch, and are quoted in 
the “Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society”:—If 
transpiration is suddenly stopped in branches which 
ordinarily transpire strongly, the leaves fall, while 
plants which thrive in a moist atmosphere often preserve 
their leaves for a long time in saturated air. A not too 
rapid but continuous diminution of the water in the 
soil tends to the formation of the separating layer, and 
in many cases to the fall of the leaf, which is then 
greatly favoured by the saturation of the soil. The fall 
takes place indifferently, whether the withering is 
caused by increased transpiration, by insufficient supply 
of water, or by both causes ; but if the withering takes 
place too rapidly the leaves dry up before the separating 
layer is formed. Cut branches which transpire slowly 
shed their leaves even when lying on the ground. An 
insufficient supply of water is also the cause of cut 
branches, dipped in water, losing their leaves earlier 
than when growing on the tree, and also of plants 
shedding their leaves when moved from the open soil 
into pots. Stagnant water in the soil injures the roots 
and causes plants partially or entirely to lose their 
leaves. The same result ensues from want of light. 
This is shown most by strong transpiring plants with 
herbaceous leaves, such as Coleus ; less by those with 
coriaceous strongly cuticularised leaves, such as Azaleas, 
Rhododendron and Abies pectinata ; scarcely at all by 
Evergreen Conifers or by the Box. The influence of 
temperature on the fall of leaves is very complicated. 
It acts both directly and indirectly by influencing the 
transpiration. Leaves immersed in water become de¬ 
tached much later than those growing in moist air. 
-->=£<-- 
VINE BORDERS AND PLANTING 
VINES. 
The Vine is probably the most important subject 
the gardener has to cultivate, and as its growth and 
fruitfulness depends, in a great measure, on the border, 
a few further notes (see p. 266) as to both construction 
and planting may not be thought inopportune at this 
period of the year, when those who contemplate 
planting fresh houses in the coming spring are pre¬ 
paring borders, &c. In constructing Vine borders, 
much depends on the situation. In low-lying districts, 
I would advise that the borders be raised as much as 
possible. Again, the sub-soil must be taken into con¬ 
sideration. If of clay, good drainage must, of neces¬ 
sity, be made ; but if of a gravelly nature, so much 
the better, nature having proved herself of great assist¬ 
ance in the matter of drainage. "Where a little cost is 
not of great moment, I would advise the bottom of the 
border to be covered with a layer of concrete or bricks, 
with a slight fall to the outside ; some 2-in. pipes, laid 
in different directions, leading to an exit in the lowest 
portion of the border, and then about 1 ft. of broken 
brick-bats. This will ensure a perfect drainage, and 
also act as a preventative to the roots" getting down 
into bad soil. 
As to the borders being inside or out, this, too, is a 
matter for consideration, water being one of the chief 
points. Some prefer them to extend both inside and 
out; but my opinion is that the practice is bad, and 
one that is going out of date, although some good fruit 
has been, and is now, grown on that principle. Still, 
I prefer them either inside or out ; and to sum up the 
matter in a few words, I would say, for early and late 
houses, if possible, have the borders inside. For mid¬ 
season Grapes, the borders will be as well outside. No 
doubt the extra labour of watering is the thing most 
deprecated in inside borders, and the supply of water 
is unhappily, in many places, insufficient for the needs 
of the garden, and too much water can hardly be given 
to Vines during the season of growth, providing the 
border is perfectly drained. As to the depth of the 
border, about 4 ft. is ample, and with the 1 ft. of 
drainage no fear need be entertained of the border 
getting soddened. As regards width, this is a matter 
of opinion, but if inside, only the width of the house 
can be given. I prefer the border made in a “piecemeal” 
fashion, restricting the roots to a portion of the border 
(say a third, or half to a small border), by a wall a 
single brick thick. As the piece becomes filled with 
roots, extend the border, and when so extended, it 
outside, enclose the last addition with a good wall 
which will prevent roots from getting into inferior 
soil. From 12 ft. to 18 ft. I think should be about the 
width of a border. 
When the requisite quantity of drainage is placed in 
the border, some fresh cut turves should be laid over 
it, the grass side downwards, and then the compost 
made of good maiden loam, of a yellow fibry character, 
chopped up about the size of bricks, to every ten 
cartloads of which should he added two loads of old 
mortar rubble, half a load of wood ashes, and five or 
six cwt. of inch bones, well mixed together. This may 
be well trodden down, and I would not advise the 
border to be filled too full ; the soil will naturally sink 
considerably, still the Vines in after years will be 
greatly benefited by an occasional top-dressing, and 
it filled too full in the first instance this operation is 
not so easily performed after. 
In planting Vines one great error is often committed, 
viz., planting too deep, or what I should term burying. 
This is more generally the case in plant houses where 
the borders extend both inside and out, under the 
pretence of the roots requiring to be placed on a level 
