December 3, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
215 
specimens of the true variety of C. Maulei in full 
flower. C. Spicerianum I was told had been grand. 
Amongst other varieties we noticed the pretty little 
C. concolor, a fine specimen ; C. selligemm, C. argus, 
C. Sedeni, and the rare C. Sanderianum. Phalrenopsids 
are evidently at home, judging from the way they are 
flowering ; such species as P. amabilis, P. Sanderiana, 
0. Stuartiana, and the pretty little 0. Esmeralda were 
in full bloom. The finest variety of Sophronitis 
grandiflora I ever remember seeing is in flower here, 
measuring as much as 2 ins. across, and the colour 
being everything to be desired. Calanthes just open¬ 
ing their flowers include C. Veitchii, C. vestita rubra, 
and a plant of the true form of C. v. gigantea. It 
would take too much space to enumerate all the 
varieties that are in flower, the display of bloom at 
present being an exhibition in itself. 
Although it was my intention only to note the 
Orchids, yet when a sheet of bloom meets the eye at a 
distance one cannot help but enquire about it, which 
resulted in my being introduced to a house wherein 
are planted two fine plants of the old Brugmansia 
suaveolens, one plant alone carrying fourteen fully 
expanded flowers of trumpet-like appearance—a most 
pleasing sight. Another species most admirably 
grown is Pinguicula caudata, which is to be seen in 
quantity. 
It is not Orchids alone that claim attention at this 
establishment, the curious having an equal share with 
the beautiful ; thus proving a visit to Hapton House 
is well repaid.—7. 
—--- 
Hardening ffoiEs from 
Scotland. 
Royal Horticultural Society of Aber¬ 
deen. —The annual general meeting of the members 
of this society was held on November 26th. There 
was a large attendance, and the president, Town 
Councillor Lyon, occupied the chair. The annual report, 
which showed a surplus for the year of £16 15 s. 3d., 
to meet a deficit brought forward from the previous 
year of £15 llr. 87., was read by Mr. A. M. Byres, 
C.A., secretary. The chairman, in moving the adop¬ 
tion of the report and the year’s accounts, said they 
were met that night for the first time for more than 
ten years in a position to say that they owed 
no man anything, and he congratulated the society 
on having a balance on the right side. Mr. A. 0. 
Gill, Fairfield, seconded the resolution, which was 
unanimously adopted. The next business was the 
appointment of directors for the ensuing year. The 
chairman said he had great pleasure in proposing 
the re-election of Lord Provost Henderson as hon. 
president, and the proposal was heartily agreed to. 
At the end of the voting for directors, it was found 
that the following gentlemen were appointed as repre¬ 
sentatives of their respective classes. Professional 
gardeners : Messrs. Proctor, Devenha House ; S. Ross, 
Cranford ; A. Grigor, Fairfield ; and AV. Ogg, Morken. 
Market gardeners : A. Milne, Rubislaw; A. Mortimer, 
Tullos, Nigg ; G. Taylor, Raeden ; and W. Anderson, 
Cornhill. Nurserymen : D. Darling, of Cardno & 
Darling ; J. Cocker, sen., of James Cocker & Sons ; 
A. Robson, of Smith & Sons ; and J. M. Troup, of 
Ben. Reid & Co. Amateurs : G. Mintz, Canal Road ; 
A. Lyon, Carden Place ; D. Smith, Argyll Place ; and 
Dr. F. N. Moir. Working classes : A. Ewen, Hard- 
weird ; A. Gillespie, Jack’s Brae ; J. Craigen, Hilton ; 
and W. Shireffs, Esslemont Avenue. Mr. A. M. Byres 
was unanimously re-elected secretary. Mr. Alex. 
Robson, in accordance with notice given, moved “ That 
only one show be held in 18S8, on a day to suit the 
convenience of the exhibitors—probably in August.” 
Mr. Reid, seedsman, seconded the motion. Mr. A. 
Milne, Rubislaw, thought the course suggested by Mr. 
Robson a wrong one, and moved the following amend¬ 
ment :—“ That the society continue to hold two shows, 
as formerly.’’ After an animated and lengthy dis¬ 
cussion, Mr. Robson’s motion was carried by a large 
majority. A very hearty vote of thanks was accorded 
the chairman and the retiring directors for their 
services during the year. 
Pot Vines.—The season is now at hand when 
many purchase Vines in pots to give early supplies of 
fruit, with the view of retarding the permanent ones, 
which, to some extent, harvests their strength ; and 
the practice i3 attended with a greater amount of 
economy than by forcing Vines permanently planted 
in borders. Great numbers of pot Vines are raised in 
private places, which are well ripened and carefully 
prepared for early work ; but much disappointment is 
often experienced by purchasers, especially by amateur 
growers, who cannot spare time and means to raise 
fruiting canes for themselves. The canes may be 
large, short-jointed, buds well developed, and the roots 
healthy and abundant. They may also break well 
and grow freely, but be minus of fruit ; and when such 
is the case disappointment is great. It is not always 
possible for purchasers to combat with this difficulty, 
and receive Vines on which they can implicitly depend 
lor a good show of fruit. The chief source from which 
the evil arises is unripened wood. A bark well 
browned does not always indicate maturity, and often 
Vines which would have been a credit to purchaser and 
vendor alike have been positively destroyed at the 
period when the greatest amount of attention was 
necessary to render the plants worthy of space in a 
forcing pit. 
It is a practice yet too common, when pot 
Vines have made the growth allotted to them, to 
remove the lights of the structures in which they have 
been grown, or—more common still-to stand them 
out in the open air against walls, if any are avail¬ 
able, or against Beech, Yew, and other hedges ; 
and under such conditions the foliage soon becomes 
limp, droops and falls off just at the period when 
they are required most to mature the fruiting 
buds, and prepare the Vines for usefulness. Even 
for planting purposes, when fruit is not wanted, 
this is untoward treatment. If purchasers can ascer¬ 
tain that Vines in pots have thus suffered, they should 
eschew them altogether, and not consider them worthy 
of a trial. 
On the contrary, there are those who grow Vines 
for sale, and for years have deservedly had a 
great name for the excellence of their fruiting Vines, 
and are fully alive to the necessity of maintaining their 
good character, which has been secured, not only by 
careful culture during the growing period, but by 
strict attention at the end of the season to the matura¬ 
tion of the fruiting buds, maintaining a warm dry 
temperature, with abundance of air at all times, when 
the weather admits of such, and keeping the foliage 
clean and laterally well stopped. When wanted earl}', 
for forcing from November onwards, the Vines should 
be well advanced in August, in order that they may be 
rested after the foliage has dropped naturally before 
forcing. 
The late Mr. John Spencer, when gardener at 
Bowood, Wilts, made a speciality of Vines in pots, and 
was a most successful cultivator of them (as he was 
with every kind of fruit). When preparing the canes 
for early work they were placed along a shelf at the 
back of a steep narrow house ; the rods were allowed 
to hang down the back wall exposed to the full sun, 
and in due course of time were subjected gradually to 
the rosting period, which rendered failure almost 
impossible. Forcing of Vines in pots is very uncommon 
now that Grapes can be easily kept until May in good 
condition, and such is very advantageous to northern 
growers, who have less sun during autumn for ripening 
the canes.— Caledonian. 
Ipomsea Thomson!. — Among climbers for 
decorating the rafters of stoves this is much esteemed, 
and comes into bloom when free-flowering plants are 
very valuable. The enormous amount of white 
blossoms with crimped petals which one plant can 
produce during November and December is most 
striking. On an average, we notice that from twelve 
to twenty fully-developed flowers are out at one time 
on every foot run of rafter. It has been alleged that 
this climber does well with greenhouse treatment, but 
we have not proved it so. On the back of a Peach 
house we tried a plant along with a Stephanotis flori- 
bunda some four years ago ; the latter has done fairly 
well ever since, but the Ipomrea died. With the roots 
curtailed in a pot, and allowed to grow out at the 
bottom into loam, peat and sand well mixed, our plant 
flow'ers very profusely. Reverting to the Stephanotis, 
at the present time — middle of November — the 
structure in which the plant is growing has, for the 
resting of early Peaches, to be subjected to a very cool 
treatment. The young growths are cut very hard 
back, and the roots confined in dry open soil—chiefly 
loam, charcoal and sand. One of the finest displays 
of inflorescence ever seen on a Stephanotis was in a 
narrow greenhouse belonging to a clergyman in East 
Anglia. Dryness and thorough rest during winter 
seem to be the chief requirements of the plant.— 
Caledonian. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
Laying-out and Planting the Lawn. —A fort¬ 
night ago, the levelling of the lawn and the method of 
procedure were explained. I f any necessary alterations, 
as suggested, have been made, the next thing to be 
attended to will be the formation of such beds as are 
desirable, or that are adapted to the extent and suit¬ 
ability of the place. It is necessary to say suitable, 
inasmuch as the desire often prevails of making the 
most of the space at command ; and in doing so the 
whole thing is overdone by crowding so much into a 
small area, that would, with greater propriety, be 
occupied by one-half or one-third the bedding designs 
and planting material. When the space is frittered 
away with a great number of beds, it mars the whole 
effect by engendering a confined appearance and a sense 
of narrowness which ought to be avoided. The general 
effect will be greatly improved, and the real extent of 
the lawn apparently widened, by the use of a few bold 
designs planted with suitable material. 
A great deal of time is often wasted in keeping the 
beds clean and tidy, and the edges neatly trimmed, 
when there are numerous beds or bare spaces of ground 
to be tilled and planted. If the greater part is laid 
down in grass, all that is requisite is to run the mowing 
machine over it once a week or ten days, according to 
the season of the year and- the amount of growth made, 
which will, of course, depend on the weather. This 
arrangement will also be more satisfactory to those who 
wish to enjoy the soft green turf in summer. 
Should the grass plot consist of a small square, such 
as we generally find attached to villas in towns or 
suburban residences, a large circular, oval, or similarly 
appropriate bed should occupy the centre ; or if a 
central walk leads through the grass from the front 
door of the house to the garden gate, one bed of the 
kind mentioned should occupy each square. A narrow 
border should bound the grass on all sides, and be from 
2 ft. to 4 ft. or more in width, according to the size of 
the area enclosed. A small circular bed might occupy 
each corner, leaving ample room to walk round them 
for the convenience of mowing the grass and cleaning 
the borders and the beds themselves. The latter need 
not be large, but may be occupied with standard Roses 
at the option of the owner. If the latter is fond of 
Roses grown in this way, a row of them may be placed 
at distances of 4 ft. or 6 ft. apart all round the lawn. 
They may be planted on the grass—that is, the latter 
may be allowed to run close up to their stems if it is 
undesirable to cut up the lawn by the formation of so 
many beds. There are various reasons, however, for 
advocating a series of small beds in which to plant 
standards even. In the first place, there is great 
danger of the stems being barked by the mowing 
machine when the grass runs close up to them ; and, 
further, there is much less facility for feeding the 
Roses, and no opportunity at all for mulching them. 
The root system of Roses grown in this fashion is 
generally very deficient, and to expect good results 
liberal treatment must be given ; therefore, a series of 
small beds would allow of this being done. 
The Central Bed in each plot may be planted 
with shrubs or flowering plants, according to the desire 
of the owner ; but in all cases avoid the use of large 
trees in small areas, and especially in close proximity 
to windows. How frequently do we see Sequoia 
(Wellingtonia) gigantea or Araucaria imbricata placed 
immediately in front of, and in close proximity to 
windows, which must in a few years be darkened by 
them, much to the disadvantage of the inmates. This, 
if allowed to go on, must get worse and worse every 
year, and to cut the trees down is both a loss and a 
great misgiving on the part of the owner. A fine effect 
may, however, be produced by the use of evergreen or 
deciduous and variegated or otherwise ornamental- 
foliaged shrubs. Amongst evergreens may be mentioned 
numerous variegated and other varieties of the common 
Holly, Aucuba japonica, variegated and green species 
of the Box, Conifers in great varieties, Euonymus 
japonicus in both green and variegated forms, the 
Laurestine (Viburnum tinus), Berberis (Mahonia) 
aquifolia, B. Darwini, and many other most appropriate 
and handsome subjects. Deciduous shrubs might be 
represented by Berberis vulgaris purpurea, Prunus 
Pissardi, Rhus glabra laciniata, the foliage of which is 
very handsome, especially in autumn, when the decay¬ 
ing leaves assume crimson and golden tints ; by 
Hydrangea paniculata, Deutzia gracilis, and D. crenata 
flore pleno ; and the whole may be edged with 
Euonymus radicans variegata, Cotoneaster microphylla, 
C. m. thymifolia, Erica carnea, and Calluna vulgaris 
flore pleno or the white variety. The planting must 
be entrusted to some one familiar with the subjects in 
question, so that the tallest may be planted in the 
centre and the dwarfer ones towards the sides. Avoid 
overcrowding, — F. 
