814 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 22, 1891. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN. 
Cuttings of Stove Plants. — The present is a 
good time to take cuttings of such things as Allaman- 
das, Clerodendrons, Ixoras, Aphelandras, Dipladenias 
and other stove subjects of which a stock of young 
plants may be desired. Place them singly in small 
pots, using a compost of peat with plenty of sand for 
the more tender kinds. The more robust will enjoy 
stronger material, such as a fair quantity of good 
fibrous but mellow loam. This will be the more 
necessary considering that the plants will have to 
stand in the pots till spring. 
Poinsettias and Euphorbias. —If agood batch 
of cuttings is taken off now and rooted, the plants 
obtained thereby will be dwarf and very useful for 
the front of the benches in the conservatory or 
for table decoration at Christmas. The bracts will 
not be so large as on earlier struck plants, but the 
dwarfness of the plants will more than compensate 
for the deficiency in other respects. Much the same 
applies to Euphorbia splendens, better known per¬ 
haps as E. jacquiniaeflora. 
Ixora macrothyrsa. —Should the stems of this 
plant get to considerable length without showing 
flower, do not make the mistake of shortening them 
back, otherwise no bloom will be obtained from them. 
The strong stems should be allowed to ripen their 
wood after which they will develop cymes of bloom 
a foot in diameter. 
Impatiens Sultani and I. episcopi — Plants of 
the first-named are best raised from seeds as they 
make bushy and floriferous specimens without any 
stopping. They may be grown to a great size (say a 
yard in height and as much in diameter) by shifting 
them into larger sized pots from time to time, so as 
to keep them growing. The stems must at the same 
time be staked out to prevent crowding and give the 
leaves every advantage of light. I. episcopi is 
usually grown from cuttings, and makes more 
bushy plants if frequently or occasionally stopped. 
Rivinias. — Young plants of Rivinias may be 
raised from cuttings, but seeds give by far the least 
trouble and the best results. A few racemes of 
berries may be sacrificed for propagating purposes. 
Plants raised now, or as soon as the berries are ripe 
will make larger plants next summer and also come 
into fruit earlier than if the sowing were delayed till 
spring. Of course the old plants may be cut back 
after the berries drop and be started again in a brisk 
heat. The yellow and red berried kinds are useful 
for contrast. 
Gloxinias. — Make note of the fine kinds for grow¬ 
ing on another year. Weed out all inferior sorts 
especially the drooping and tubular flowered kinds, 
which are not worth preserving seeing that so many 
fine, erect flowering kinds are now in cultivation. 
Save seeds of the finest kinds with the view of 
obtaining better ones from them. Propagate choice 
kinds by means of the leaves. As the plants go out 
of flower stand them in a cold pit or frame, where 
they can be freely ventilated, in order to ripen off the 
tubers ; withhold water gradually after the leaves 
show signs of dying dovm. The process of ripening 
must not be unduly hastened. 
Vines.—The night temperature in houses in which 
late varieties are grown should be kept up to 658 at 
night with a certain amount of ventilation to prevent 
moisture from settling upon the berries. More 
ventilation will be necessary during the day to assist 
in ripening, colouring and developing the proper 
flavour. It should be freely given on bright days 
withdrawing it early in the afternoon so as to 
economise sun heat. In very dull weather more fire 
heat will be necessary to preserve a buoyant atmos¬ 
phere. Lady Downs, Gros Colmar, Alicant, Gros 
Maroc, and Gros Guillaume more especially call for 
this treatment. 
Melons.—Every opportunity of hastening the 
ripening of Melons in frames where no artificial 
means of heating are at command, should be em¬ 
braced. Shut up the lights early in the afternoon, 
even with bright sunshine, damping the foliage at 
the same time, when no harm can result even with a 
high temperature, Young plants intended for giving 
? supply of fruif (luring the last two months of the 
year should not b= jsegt iq ppts till they nre root 
bound.. Should the mounds not be ready for their 
reception, give a shift into a larger sized pot for the 
time being. 
Planting Strawberries. —Fresh plantations of 
Strawberries may be made during the present month, 
and if made at once, using strong well-rooted runners, 
they may be allowed to bear next summer. , On light 
soils plantations do not as a rule remain in good 
condition for a longer period thanjtwo or three years. 
It is therefore of great importance that a crop 
should be obtained from them the first year. Some 
varieties bear best and ripen their fruits earlier the 
first summer after being planted. This is the ex¬ 
perience of some growers with regard to Noble. 
Bedding Plants. —Proceed with the propagation 
of such things as Pelargoniums, Iresine, Ageratum, 
Heliotrope, Gnaphalium, Coleus, Lobelia, &c. All 
of the above will require a little more shading than 
the Pelargoniums during bright sunshine; but if 
they are kept properly moist, shading can and must 
be dispensed with except during bright sunshine. 
Evergreen Shrubs.— Cuttings of several things 
such as Cherry Laurels, Portugal Laurels, Aucubas, 
Euonymus japonicus and its varieties, together with 
several others of that class, may now be propagated 
by means of cuttings taken oft about a foot long and 
inserted in a cool shady border. They would be 
greatly assisted by a free use of leaf soil and old 
potting bench material for mixing with the natural 
soil. Dig over the soil as the work goes on and take 
out an even trench in which to insert the cuttings. 
After insertion tread down the soil firmly about the 
cuttings. 
CHEMICAL MANURES.* 
The Principles and the Theory is the first of three 
volumes on Chemical Manures written by M, 
Georges Ville, the celebrated French experimentalist 
on agricultural chemistry. The book runs to 388 
pages and has now reached its seventh edition. The 
author has been working at the subject since 1861, 
and since that time he has continued to give a series 
of public conferences annually on the results of his 
studies upon the means of maintaining and in¬ 
creasing the fertility of the soil. He is now in the 
course of publishing a new edition of the whole of 
his works on various subjects bearing upon agricul¬ 
ture one way or other, and extending to ten volumes. 
He considers that the subject of chemical manures 
is called upon to determine a revolution in agricul¬ 
ture as considerable and as fecund as the invention 
of the steam-engine has effected for industry. 
Furthermore that within the last forty years the 
doctrine of chemical manures has been fighting its 
way against ignorance, routine and envy, and has at 
last impressed itself upon the most sceptic as on the 
most hostile. The first edition of Engrais Chimiques, 
or chemical manures, appeared in 1868, and trans¬ 
lations of it have been published in most of the 
countries of Europe, including England and also the 
United States. 
Numerous analysis are given in the body of the 
work, showing not only the elements of which the 
plants are composed, but the carbonaceous and 
nitrogenous substances which are formed in vegetable 
tissues. Several tables are inserted in the body of 
the work showing the relative effect of certain kinds 
of manure on Wheat, Clover, Hemp, and other agri¬ 
cultural crops. A complete manure applied to a 
crop of wheat gave a return of 6,941 kilogrammes (a 
kilogramme is a little over 2 lb. avoirdupois) of 
straw and 3,750 kilogrammes of grain per hectare (a 
hectare is about two and a half English acres). A 
nitrogenous manure without mineral matter gave 
3,487 kilogrammes of straw and 1,650 kilogrammes 
of grain. In another' trial mineral manure without 
nitrogen gave 3,003 kilogrammes of straw and 1,287 
kilogrammes of grain. Without manure of any kind 
the produce was 2,640 kilogrammes of straw and 902 
kilogrammes of grain. The net results would there¬ 
fore argue strongly in favour of the complete 
manure. 
The author in another passage compares the value 
of chemical manures with those of the farmyard, 
and states that with 2,310 kilogrammes of chemical 
products one can compose a manure of a richness 
equivalent to 40,000 kilogrammes of farmyard 
t Les Engrais Chimiques, by M, Georges Ville, Vol, I,, 
The Principles and the Theory, (bibrairg Agricole, 26, Rue 
Jacob, and Libralrie G. Masson, jzp. Rpubvard gaint] 
Germain, Paris.) . ' 
manure. The facility of employing, distributing, 
and the economy in transport all speak favourably 
for chemical manures. The nitrogen of the latter is 
immediately assimilable, but not so in the case of 
farmyard manure which has to undergo decom¬ 
position, during which about 30 to 40 per cent, of 
the nitrogen escapes in the air, and for all practical 
purposes is lost. 
In the cultivation of Beetroot for the production 
of sugar the author has met with a considerable 
amount of opposition. He argues that with the use 
of chemical manures he can obtain a heavier crop 
and of better quality than by the ordinary methods 
of culture, and the roots possess the same richness 
in crystallisable sugar, extractible by the usual 
methods of manufacture. A chapter is devoted to 
the giving of formulas of manures for different crops, 
such as Wheat, Oats, Barley, natural Grasses, Hemp, 
Colza, Beetroot, Carrots, Cow Cabbages, Hops, gar¬ 
dening, etc. Complete manures suitable for the 
different kinds are given with the percentage of the 
various ingredients used, so that the cultivator may 
mix them for himself if so inclined or if he be fond 
of making experiments. 
Rotation of crops is dealt with at the same time, 
showing how Wheat may be grown upon the same 
land year after year by the use of the chemical 
ingredients which that crop in its growth removes 
from the soil. The author finds that the exclusive 
culture of Wheat on the same ground has the effect 
of favouring the multiplication of bad weeds, entail¬ 
ing considerable expense in weeding in order to keep 
up the Wheat crop to a high standard. He advo¬ 
cates cropping the land with Potatos or Clover the 
third year to counteract this result. On the whole, 
we should have liked that the author had gone a 
little further in making experiments upon garden 
crops, with the view of elucidating what might be 
done in special cultures with chemical manures. 
. 
QUEENWOOD, CHERTSEY. 
I recently paid a visit to Queenwood, Chertsey, the 
residence of L. H. Otter Esq., and was rewarded 
with the sight of one of the finest crops of Peaches 
and Nectarines that has ever come under my notice, 
and which was certainly worth a day’s journey to see. 
The trees in question were planted in a cold house, 
and when the able and courteous gardener, Mr. Stuart, 
took charge of the place, some four or five years ago, 
he was told that the trees could not be induced to set 
their fruits. But by renewing the border, by setting 
the fruits with the aid of a light brush, and giving 
copious waterings, good crops have been obtained 
during the last two or three years, and this season 
one would imagine that they are at their best—for 
nothing better could be desired. The trees on walls 
outside, in a well-kept, but not large kitchen garden 
are also carrying wonderful crops. 
Some Pear trees on the walls are also doing remark¬ 
ably well, and notably the old Seckle, which is 
bearing a fine crop, and I fancy is not often seen on 
a wall, but was so planted at Queenwood by the 
express desire of Mr. Otter. The soil here is not very 
deep, and consequently the Pears had got into the 
habit of ripening their wood prematurely, but by 
giving copious waterings, backed up by strong pota¬ 
tions from the liquid manure tanx when in flower, 
and afterwards mulching with wood ashes, &c. Mr. 
Stuart has got the trees into rare condition again, 
and they well repay the trouble that has been taken 
with them. 
During a walk round the garden) my friend let fall 
the remark that he once overheard the question asked 
of a competitor at a fruit show how he managed to 
produce such fine fruit, and the reply was “Well, I am 
a butcher by trade the inference to be drawn from 
the remark being clearly that he understood how to 
make the best use of the refuse from the slaughter¬ 
house. The collection of fruits at Queenwood, 
though not large, I can testify look extremely well. 
As a contrast to the Peach crops, here, I may 
mention the trees in the well-kept garden at Cowly 
House, which were in flower during the time that 
heavy fogs hung over the district, and the place being 
near water, though the house was heated, the crop 
suffered very much. Some Vines at Cowly are 
carrying remarkably fine bunches, considering the 
Vines are so young, the glass being of recent con¬ 
struction. I spent a very pleasant time in each 
garden, and also picked up not a few. wrinkles -= : - 
'A, J, Brown, CWertstjE 
