346 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 28, 1888. 
few pieces of charcoal to keep the water sweet, placing 
them on the hot-water pipes, where they will soon 
emit roots, and may he drawn out of a wide-necked 
bottle without injury when sufficiently rooted, and 
placed in pots of a suitable size. I have treated them 
thus and scarcely lost a leaf. As to insect pests, thrips 
are most troublesome, and they soon disfigure the 
foliage if not removed by sponging, which should be 
carefully performed, so as not to split the leaves. 
The species of DracEeuas are very numerous, having 
been introduced to this country from the South Sea 
Islands, Madagascar, East Indies, &c., but most of the 
beautiful sorts now grown are hybrids that were raised 
a few years ago by Mr. Bause, when at Anerley. The 
following varieties will form a good collection :—Albo 
marginata, Aurantiaca, Barroni, Bausei, Ilibberdi, 
Metallica, Mrs. C. J. Freake, Shepherdi, Splendens, 
Sydneyi, Tellingi, and Terminalis alba.— George, Potts, 
Junior. _ i J .^ | . , 
GLAZED POTS FOR PLANT 
GROWING. 
Since the use of glazed pots was advocated some four 
years ago in a horticultural paper by one of our leading 
gardeners, they have apparently grown in favour with 
many amateur and professional gardeners, judging 
from their comparatively extensive use at the present 
day. There are still some, however, who have doubts 
as to their capability of admitting a free circulation of 
air to the roots of the plants that are growing in them, 
but such cavillers should first give them a fair trial 
before giving their opinion. An enthusiastic and 
successful amateur in this district, referring to glazed 
pots, mentioned that when on a visit to Drumlanrig, 
he asked Mr. Thomson whether he found plants 
thriving well in them, when he received the significant 
reply, “Just take a look at them.” 
With the view of economising time and labour in 
the general keep of a conservatory a considerable 
distance from the gardens, the use of glazed pots for 
such plants as would be chiefly employed in its 
decoration was thought likely to contribute not a 
little towards the desired end. 
Before going in for a general use of them, however, 
I was desirous of satisfying myself fully of their 
capability of serving the purpose, with regard to the 
free growth and floriferousness of the plants which 
would be chiefly grown in them. These are principally 
Ferns, Palms, Dracaenas, also Fuchsias, tuberous-rooted 
Begonias, Pelargoniums, Cinerarias, and other soft- 
wooded plants. I have not tried Azaleas, Heaths and 
Camellias in them, nor any other hard-wooded plants, 
but I should be interested to hear from anyone who 
has done so successfully. Ptegarding the soft-wooded 
plants mentioned, the results have been perfectly 
satisfactory, and they were grown under the same 
cultural conditions as others grown along with them 
in ordinary pots. Where labour-power has to be made 
the most of, as is generally the case, the little extra 
cost of glazed pots will be amply compensated for by 
the saving of time occupied in scrubbing ordinary pots, 
where there is much conservatory work, to say nothing 
of the superior appearance of the former, which is not 
unimportant -where a direct view of the stages can be 
had from the interior of the mansion.— M., North 
Britain. __ 
ARDENING ffllSCELLANY. 
The Frangois Lacharme Memorial. 
M. Leveqtje, on behalf of the Committee in Paris 
and Lyons, organised for the purpose of raising a 
memorial over the grave of this noted Rose grower (as 
mentioned by you last week), has asked me to distribute 
some circulars, inviting the co-operation of English 
Rose growers. Naming the request to some members 
of the National Rose Society, it was suggested that it 
would be a graceful act if the contributions of the 
English growers took the form of a medallion with an 
English inscription on the tomb or monument, and on 
conveying this suggestion to M. Leveque, he writes 
that they would gladly accept such a contribution, and 
would give the English memorial a place of honour. 
Either Mr. D’Ombrain or I would be happy to receive 
any contributions to this fund, which I need hardly 
recommend, so weU was Lacharme’s name known to all 
Rosarians. Subscriptions ranging from five shillings 
to ten shillings would suffice for all that is necessary.— 
George Paul, The “ Old ” Nurseries, Cheshunt, Jan. 
Uth. 
Bullfinches and the Fruit Buds. 
I AM fully in sympathy with “ C. A. G.,” w T ho writes 
so kindly, at p. 328, on behalf of “Bully,” also with 
“ H. D. T.” (who has slaughtered so many in days 
gone by), and with all plodding gardeners who are 
expected to have a good crop of fruit in due season, 
irrespective of friends or enemies. Personally I am a 
lover of small birds, and consider that there is no need 
to destroy them or to go without a crop of fruit. For 
several years now our practice has been at this time of 
the year to mix up a quantity of lime and soot to the 
consistency of thick paint, and after the same has been 
run through a very fine sieve, to give the Gooseberry 
bushes a good dressing of the same with the aid of the 
garden engine. "Where anyone has several acres 
growing for market purposes, the cheapest way would 
undoubtedly be to employ a boy armed with a rattle at 
about four shillings per week, until the buds have 
advanced in growth to a state of safety.— H. 
A Caulescent Cyclamen persicum. 
We are so accustomed to the ordinary so-called 
stemless or acaulescent habit of the Cyclamen, that a 
caulescent one, iii which the stem becomes elongated, 
bearing leaves and flowers, is out of the question, or 
altogether unexpected. The corm is a true stem, but 
owing to its shortened and subterranean character the 
leaves are termed radical, and the peduncles, scapes, 
from the old-fashioned but erroneous notion that they 
spring from an underground fleshy root or rootstock. 
In the case of the plant under notice the corm or main 
axis is not elongated, but normal; while amongst 
ordinary one-flowered peduncles, structures arise 
having every appearance of true branches bearing 
flowers and leaves. Four or more of these peculiar 
growths are produced on one plant. The most highly 
developed was about 6 ins. in length, bearing four 
leaves of different sizes and four flowers. The assump¬ 
tion is, that the whole structure must be considered as 
a true branch, or that the leaves and flowers owe their 
positions and general appearance to uplifting and 
displacement, or in other words, these organs remain 
inseparate and grow up together in a solid mass. The 
internal structure would favour this latter view, as the 
fibro-vascular bundles, or, in this case, the bundles of 
spiral vessels are not arranged in a circle, as in a normal 
flower-stalk, but assumes a wavy-oval or elliptic out¬ 
line, which seems to favour the view that this abnormal 
structure has been formed by the coalescence or in¬ 
separation of four leaf and four flower-stalks. The 
lower two leaves are opposite, the upper two scattered. 
The terminal flower was fuliy expanded, with one of 
the leaves, small and bract-like, directly under it; 
while the rest were in the bud state. Two of the latter 
sprung from the stem a little above the axils of the 
lower pair of leaves ; while the third bud was carried a 
considerable way above the axil of the third leaf, and, 
curiously enough, the lower end of its stalk was torn 
from the axil of the leaf and had curled upwards, 
preserving an attachment for a short distance on one 
side only. The rupture had apparently been caused by 
the more rapid growth of the rest of the structure to 
which it was attached. This curious monstrosity has 
cropped up amongst a batch of Cyclamens at Style 
Hall, Chiswick.— J. F. 
An Easy Method of Mushroom Culture. 
Abundant crops of Mushrooms are grown at Style 
Hall, Gunnersbury, on a principle that might readily 
be adopted by an amateur whose means were not very- 
ample. The necessary conditions are a sufficient 
quantity of stable-manure, horse-droppings, or such 
as will readily ferment, and an outhouse, where the 
beds when made up can be kept perfectly dry. In 
other words, the house need not be artificially heated, 
but should be water-proof both at top and bottom. 
After the manure has been sufficiently fermented, make 
it up in a bed or beds according to the quantity re¬ 
quired, and cover with 2 ins. of soil. When the 
temperature of the bed is sufficiently high insert the 
spawn in large lumps, breaking the bricks in four or 
six pieces ; cover with coarse litter, and a crop may be 
expected in six weeks from the time of spawning. The 
basement of the conservatory at Style Hall consists of 
arches forming a roof to an enclosed space a little below 
the general level of the ground, and this shelter is 
sufficient for the purpose. The beds have now been in 
bearing for a number of weeks, and the quantity of 
Mushrooms taken from them the other week was 
sufficient to convince us that many similar places could 
be turned to more profitable account, even in winter, 
than they are at present. 
Sparmannia Africana. 
This fine old winter-flowering greenhouse plant has 
long been introduced to this country, but not sufficiently 
grown. It is a plant of easy culture, and produces 
large clusters of white and orange-coloured flowers for 
several months during the winter, when showy flowers 
are most appreciated. But the object of this note is 
to call attention to the double-flowering form which is 
not so well known, but is certainly one of the most 
useful plants that has been introduced for some time. 
The habit of growth is much the same as the type, but 
the flowers are produced in large clusters averaging 
from twenty to thirty flowers in each, and from four 
to six trusses in a cluster ; these are produced from 
the terminal end of the shoots. The flowers at first 
sight would remind one of a large double white 
Primula, but on close examination a little colour is 
detected at the base of the petals, which rather adds to 
the beauty of the flower. "Where cut flowers are 
required this will be found most invaluable, also as a 
decorative subject. The plants should be cut close 
down soon after flowering so as to make good growth 
for the following season. The general treatment is 
precisely the same as for S. Africana. A number of 
these plants are now in flower at the Victoria and 
Paradise Nurseries, Holloway, and have every appear¬ 
ance of continuing for several weeks.— TV. B. 
Celeriac or Turnip-rooted Celery. 
In its various forms as flavouring for soup or in stews 
and salads Celeriac is said to be more generally used on 
the Continent than it is with us ; but in some gardens 
in England it is grown to be used as a vegetable dished 
and served up with white sauce the same as Celery, 
and when well grown forms a very nice change with 
other vegetables during the winter months. "We find 
it very useful. A little seed maybe sown in February, 
but for main crop it is better to wait until the middle 
of March and sow in gentle heat, and treat the same 
as Celery, but taking care not to prick them out 
deeply, as it is necessary in all its stages to keep the 
plants well above ground. As soon as they are strong 
enough to be finally planted out they should be pulled 
(not lifted out) from the beds, and the lateral leaves 
and roots removed (some cut the roots, and I understand 
on the Continent they even tie the roots in a knot), 
and planted in rows 2 ft. apart, with 15 ins. from 
plant to plant on little ridges, the object being to keep 
the plants well up. The ground should have been 
deeply dug, and well manured. They will then require 
abundance of water, and to be kept clean and free from 
weeds. Occasionally the whole bed should be gone 
over, all the lower leaves removed, and the ground 
about the plants well stirred with a sharp-pointed 
stick, breaking all the surface roots. Treated in this 
way they will produce good large fleshy roots. Before 
the winter sets in the soil should be drawn well over 
the roots, and some litter or bracken spread over the 
ground to protect them from frost, and some may be 
taken up and stored in sand to be used during hard 
weather. — Alfred Gaut, Copped Nall, Totleridge, 
Herts. —♦— 
Hybrid Azaleas. 
I have to-day sent you a few blooms of my seed¬ 
ling Azaleas, A. amcena being the pollen parent, and 
Mons. Thibaut, La Yictoire, and Flambeau the seed¬ 
bearing parents. They shew in a very striking manner 
the influence of the pollen parents, the habit of all 
the seedlings being as like A. amcena as possible, the 
colour is largely of that variety also. This plainly 
shows that we must select in the pollen parent the 
qualities we want to produce as the result of a cross. 
The small variety I have marked had Flambeau for its 
maternal parent. I expected something good out of 
this cross ; but the mistake in making Flambeau the 
seed-bearer is very evident. I have been crossing them 
for about twelve years, and have 200 plants. Out of 
that number I have only named one—General Gordon. 
It is a fine hose-in-hose variety after the style of A. 
Caldwellii, but larger and finer in colour. I should 
mention that not more than six plants of the 200 are 
like A. amcena in habit. — George Bussell, Redlands, 
Hillhead, Glasgow.—[The, box of blooms sent by our 
correspondent fully bore out what he says of them ; 
and we may add that the blooms themselves showed a 
wonderful amount of variation, ranging from rosy pink, 
through purple, red and crimson shades, both self- 
coloured and spotted, while many of them are semi¬ 
double. The leaves of all resemble those of A. amcena, 
but in some cases they are larger and better ; while, with 
the exception mentioned by Mr. Russell, the flowers 
show considerable improvement with regard to size and 
