138 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 1, 1890. 
the best of all. That produced from a cow-shed is 
bad as it keeps too close, engendering superabundant 
moisture, and worse than all at this season is quickly 
caught by frost. Any mulching for fruit trees cannot 
be too loose and open, and hence leaves themselves, 
or leaf-soil, would be preferable to cow manure. 
It is a remarkable fact, and one worthy of note, that 
all trees planted at this season of the year bear a 
marked contrast to trees planted in March and April; 
indeed, the former may be said to steal a march on the 
latter by a year. Autumn planting has most advocates 
of all others, and unquestionably it is the season best 
suited for the planting of fruit and other deciduous 
trees.-— J. Proctor, Glenfinart. 
-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
-* 5 -- 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN. 
Eucliaris.—Where these have become overcrowded 
in the pots the present is a good time to have them 
turned out and re-potted. Some of the larger and 
finer bulbs may be potted separately for use in places 
where large specimens would be inadmissible. Good 
fibrous loam, and a fair quantity of well-rotted cow 
manure, with a dash of silver sand, will prove a 
suitable compost. Drain the pots well. 
Bouvardias.—Although these may be grown with 
a fair amount of success in a greenhouse, a succession 
of bloom cannot be much longer kept up unless the 
temperature of an intermediate house is maintained, 
This will more especially be necessary where cut bloom 
in large quantities is wanted. Assist with weak liquid 
manure at every alternate watering. 
Ardisias. — Plants should be raised from seed 
annually, as they give the most satisfactory results in 
a dwarf state when so multiplied. They give much 
less trouble, and can be raised in larger quantities than 
by the old method of striking cuttings, which can never 
be obtained plentifully. Seedlings soon acquire fruiting 
dimensions, and form the most shapely plants. 
Bougainvillea speciosa.—Should this plant be 
too rampant during the season of growth, means for 
restricting its root-room should now be adopted. It 
may be root-pruned and put in a tub, or the area of its 
root-run should be circumscribed by means of a brick 
wall. Water should also be withheld to such an 
extent as to keep it in a semi-starved condition 
throughout the winter. It will flower all the better 
for such apparently untoward treatment. 
Chrysanthemums.—The weather has been very 
changeable for some days past. Rain and fog are very 
destructive to the flower buds of Chrysanthemums, and 
the moistness of the atmosphere should be counteracted 
by raising the temperature of the house and admitting 
a little air at the top. Be careful, however, that 
growth is not excited by too much fire heat. Water 
early in the day and mop up all superfluous moisture. 
Achimenes, Gesneras.—As these go past their 
best, they should be removed from the houses they have 
helped to keep gay, and stored where they can be kept 
dry and free from drip. If no other accommodation can 
be given them, they should be laid on their sides 
underneath the stages of the house where the tempera¬ 
ture does not fall very low. 
Roman Hyacinths and Early Tulips.—Do 
not be over eager to hurry these into bloom, otherwise 
the results may be disappointing. The latter especially 
are liable to come blind if they have been hard forced, 
at this season of the year especially. The night tem¬ 
perature should be kept rather low. 
Dielytra, Spirasa, &c.—Plants intended for 
forcing should be lifted and potted up at once to allow 
the roots to get settled in the soil some time previous to 
their being forced. It is a mistake to lift them from 
the ground, pot them, and to commence forcing 
immediately. A few of the more forward growths 
start away, leaving perhaps half of them in the rear. 
Rliubarb.—Seedling roots are the best for forcing 
purposes, and the provident gardener will see that he 
sows a sufficient amount every year to supply the 
requirements of the place. The roots should be lifted 
a week or more prior to the time they are placed in 
heat. If stored in a dry shed in the meantime, they 
will afterwards make more progress when introduced to 
heat. 
Peacbes.—It may be taken for granted that the 
trees in the earliest house have been dressed and got in 
readiness for starting, and if it is otherwise, no time 
should now be lost in having it done. Wash the bark 
and shoots with soapy water, and afterwards with 
Gishurst Compound at the rate of 4 ozs. to 6 ozs. to 
the gallon of water. Thoroughly cleanse every part of 
the house, and then proceed to tie up the trees, being 
careful not to crowd the branches. Other houses may 
be treated. in the same way in succession. This work 
should be prosecuted during wet weather, when outdoor 
work is brought to a stand-still. 
Strawberries in Pots.—The temperature of the 
house where the plants are now in a fruiting state 
should be kept up to 60° at night. The atmosphere 
should also be kept buoyant and dry, so as to prevent 
damage to the fruit by the condensation of moisture 
upon it. All watering should be performed in the 
early part of the day, so that all superfluous moisture 
may be dried up before night. 
Cucumbers.—The night temperature in houses in 
full bearing should be kept up to 65°, but in the event 
of a frosty night, it may be allowed to drop to 60°. If 
the plants have been bearing for some months past, a 
top-dressing of rich light loam and some well-decom¬ 
posed cow dung will give the fruits a fresh impetus and 
enable the grower to obtain a supply of fruits for 
some considerable time longer, till the winter batch 
comes into bearing. 
Hardy Fruit Trees.—Advantage should betaken 
of the present condition of the soil and the weather to 
get all fruit trees in the open ground transplanted, 
where this is considered necessary. The fresh trees 
should also be attended to as they come in from the 
nursery. It is bad policy to heel them in somewhere 
out of the way till a convenient time arrives, when it 
is well known the sooner they are planted they will be 
all the better established in the ground before springj 
and consequently be able to start into growth freely. 
-- 
GARDENERS’ IMPROVEMENT 
SOCIETIES. 
Referring to the excellent and practical observations 
which have recently been given in your pages by 
Messrs. "Wright and Gaut, on the interesting and—to 
the gardener—all important subject of mutual im¬ 
provement associations, I presume others, although 
they be not engaged in the gardening profession, may 
take part in the discussion and elucidation of the 
problems therein referred to. An educational seminary, 
such as is implied in the title of an “Improvement 
Society,” cannot have other than very important results 
and consequences to those who take part in the 
proceedings. As a member of two of these societies, 
and as one who evinces the greatest delight in the 
progress these organisations are making in west 
Middlesex, perhaps I may be permitted to add my 
quota to the controversy. 
•With all that Mr. Wright urges with so much force 
and ability I am in entire accord. And this adhesion 
was duly advanced at the meeting before which the 
paper was delivered, and at which I had the honour 
to preside. The discussion which ensued was rather of 
a desultory character, most of the members accepting 
with great reservation the examination clauses—not 
from fear of being replaced by better men, nor from the 
fact that Mr. Gaut adduces, viz., that too many so- 
called gardeners know too little about gardening, but 
that the time was not quite ripe for the acquisition of 
the technical knowledge these examinations implied. 
Gardeners then—and I have mixed pretty freely with 
them—are evidently not much in favour of competitive 
examinations. They prefer to rely upon the practical 
results of the exhibition table, or the specimens in the 
garden. 
But I think the gardener is here much mistaken. 
Physical work involves mental power, and he who 
thinks for himself is surely more likely to succeed than 
the one who adopts that method which is said to be 
the sincerest form of flattery, viz., imitation. More¬ 
over, the great variety of work which necessarily 
receives attention at the gardener’s hands, must in 
itself favour and be conducive to mental improvement; 
for how can the thoughtful gardener prosecute his 
labours without reflection 1 Reflection leads to enquiry, 
to research, to greater dexterity in all departments of 
garden work. The exigencies of plant culture are con¬ 
tinually recurring, and as “ gardening is essentially an 
empirical art,” much patience, prudence and fore¬ 
thought are required to crown his efforts and his 
experiments with success. A good gardener should 
possess all these virtues, and some say, also a know¬ 
ledge of the several sciences bearing upon his profession. 
I cannot avow that. But while I do not recommend 
that all gardeners should become learned, I do insist 
that every one who so desires can acquire sufficient 
information to render himself intelligent, instructive 
and entertaining to others, and thus—apart from the 
money question—lay up a store of information for his 
own enjoyment, a reserve fund, so to speak, which in 
after years, when the “ills that flesh is heir to” come 
upon him, he may utilise to his advantage, his conso¬ 
lation, his reflection. 
The crux, however, of the whole question is, How 
can the young gardener—aye, and the elder too—best 
advance his own interests and that of his profession 1 I 
unhesitatingly reply by joining one of these societies, 
where they exist, by reading, by study, by investi¬ 
gation, and by introspection. Bacon hath it that “ he 
who enquireth much learneth much” ; hence I incline 
to societies where they can be embraced, as they 
produce the requisite amount of friction, and generate 
the necessary stimulus, without which emulation hangs 
fire, and advancement lingers by the way. But to be 
practical, like our friend, Mr. Gaut, let us try and do 
something. Let us take council together, for, in the 
language of Bernardin de St. Pierre, “ Nature has 
given to each of us ignorance, and has placed science 
within the reach of all, that we may render ourselves 
necessary and interesting to one another.”— C. B. G., 
Acton, W. 
-- 
THE ROHAIS NURSERY, 
GUERNSEY. 
About a mile and a half from St. Peter’s Port is the 
nursery of Mr. ¥m. Cruickshank, on the Rohais 
Road, and therefore easily reached along one of the 
main thoroughfares that seem to radiate in all 
directions from the greatest commercial centre of the 
island. Ornamental trees and shrubs constitute one 
of the leading features of the nursery, and they 
consequently abound everywhere, fresh ones meeting 
the visitor at every turn. If the place were trans¬ 
formed into a private residence, it would prove 
one of “great capabilities,” owing to the undulating 
nature of the ground and the presence of a winding 
stream running through it. A great variety of plants 
could therefore be grown, including those that prefer 
a dry state of the ground for their roots, and also those 
that delight to grow on the banks of a running stream, 
as well as aquatics pure and simple. 
Trees and Shrubs. 
The suitability of the climate for Camellias is well 
exemplified by some large specimens now well set 
with flower buds. The clean and shiny character of 
the foliage is also such as one seldom sees indoors. A 
huge bush of Cup of Beauty measures 10 ft. high and 
16 yds. in circumference, and a larger one of Mar¬ 
chioness of Exeter is 12 ft. high and 24 yds. in 
circumference. In another part of the nursery the 
bushes were 25 ft. high. Benthamia fragifera, which 
flowers only in the most favoured parts of England, 
here attains a height of 25 ft., and carries an abundance 
of its globular clusters of fruit. Pittosporum Ralphii, 
about 8 ft. high, was also fruiting freely when we saw 
it recently, giving evidence that it flowers readily. A 
large specimen of Acacia longifolia, about 35 ft. high, 
was notable for the fineness of its foliage. Close by 
was a similarly luxuriant specimen of A. dealbata, 
which flowers beautifully in early spring. A. melan- 
oxylon betrayed itself by its two forms of leaves. Along 
with the two former was a grand specimen of Eucalyptus 
globulus about 40 ft. high, with a broad head, and the 
drooping, not horizontal foliage, characteristic of the 
adult tree. All of the above are grown in rich soil on 
the banks or in the vicinity of the stream above 
mentioned. 
"We noted Escallonia macrantlia in bloom grown as a 
standard. Besides Myrtles and Eucalyptus a number of 
species belonging to the same family also prove hardy 
here, including the New Zealand Tea (Leptospermum 
scoparium), Eugenia apieulata, a beautiful Myrtle-like 
evergreen shrub that flowers profusely, and Metro- 
sideros scandens, sometimes called M. buxifolia, bearing 
bluish berries in the axils of the leaves. The Olive 
family are represented by the "Wild Olive (Olea 
europsea), about 5 ft. high. Osmanthus Aquifolius 
illicifolius thrives admirably, and we noted a tree about 
10 ft. high full of bloom. The beautiful Eurybia eru- 
bescens is a handsome subj ect for villa gardens on account 
of the fine appearance of its evergreen foliage ; the 
flowers themselves are not very conspicuous. The tall 
climbing Semele androgyna, better known as Ruscus 
androgynus, is a native of the Canary Islands, but 
seems to be at home in the more northern latitude of 
Guernsey. Seedlings of Cordyline indivisa show leaves 
