298 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 10, 1891. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN. 
Bouvardias.—In order to obtain the best cuttings, 
plants that have now done blooming of last year’s 
raising should be closely cut down, in order to make 
them throw up from near the root. Comparatively 
young plants break freely and strongly. Keep them 
dry for a few days before cutting down ; after¬ 
wards shake them out of their pots, reduce the 
ball to a small compass, and plunge them in coco-nut 
fibre, close to the hot-water pipes in the propagating 
pit. Here they will soon throw out a sufficiency of 
cuttings. 
Ferns.—During long spells of cold weather, such 
as we have experienced for some time past, a consi¬ 
derable amount of hard firing i9 necessary, thus 
keeping the atmosphere of the house in a dry, arid 
condition. This is just the state of things to favour 
the development of thrips on a large number of subjects. 
As little work can be done out-of-doors, the present 
offers a favourable opportunity of cleaning the Ferns, 
the fronds of which are mature and firm, thus enabling 
them to stand the application of stronger insecticides 
than at any other time. Those with finely cut leaves 
may be dipped in strong tobacco water, to each gallon 
of which an ounce of Nicotine Soap has been added. 
Those with leathery leaves may be sponged with the 
same material, or with a strong solution of Gishurst 
Compound. 
Tree Ferns.—Where these are planted out and 
have almost reached the top of the house, or are growing 
too strongly for the space at command, their vigour 
may be checked by root pruning. If too tall the lower 
part of the trunk may be cut off, and the stem sunk 
down. This can better be done now than at any other 
time, and should not be resorted to after they have 
commenced growing, otherwise the leaves would flag. 
New roots will soon be thrown out from the mass 
covering the stem. 
Chrysanthemum frutescens.—For decorative 
purposes it is necessary to raise a stock of young plants 
every year ; but for the sake of cut flowers it will be 
found that large, old plants, if in good health, are very 
floriferous, producing a large quantity of bloom, even 
in the winter months. They can be accommodated in 
greenhouses, conservatories, or vineries where the frost 
is little more than kept out. Of course, if growth is 
expected, the temperature should be kept to 50°, with 
plenty of ventilation on favourable occasions. 
Richardias.—Plants that were broken up to single 
crowns and planted in the open air during summer, 
will now be growing strongly and throwing up their 
flower spathes. Assistauce iu the shape of liquid 
manure will assist the plants greatly, and enable them 
to make much finer spathes than they would otherwise 
do. 
Camellias.—These are liable to drop their blooms 
if kept in too high a temperature, unless there 
is a corresponding degree of moisture in the house. In 
greenhouses a dry atmosphere is necessary at this 
period of the year, therefore from 48° to 50° should be 
the limit, and where a higher temperature is required 
for any particular class of flowering plants, the Camellias 
may be kept at the cooler end of the house, that is if 
they are in pots or tubs. Assist with soot water, 
obtained by steeping a bag of soot in the tank. 
Climbers.—Where these are planted out in narrow 
borders in greenhouses or conservatories, great advan¬ 
tage will accrue by removing some of the old inert soil, 
and replacing it with sound, fibrous loam. If some of 
the roots have been uncovered in the operation, it will 
be advisable to give a good soaking of water to settle 
the soil, after which the roots will commence to make 
fresh headway, at least as soon as the cold weather 
gives place to a more genial state of the atmosphere. 
Early Vineries. —Little progress could be made 
during the cold and dark month of December, but 
with the lengthening days a better order of things may 
be expected, and the lost time in growth will soon be 
made up for. Tie down the shoots before they touch 
the glass, otherwise they will get destroyed by coming 
in contact with the cold or half frozen glass. Young 
canes that have been tied down horizontally to make 
them break evenly, should .be tied in their proper 
position before there is any danger of breaking the 
young shoots. The rods in succession houses that have 
just been closed, should be syringed twice a day with 
tepid water, to encourage the swelling of the buds. 
Melons. —If a sowing be made now, ripe fruits may 
be obtained about the end of April or the beginning of 
May. To obviate the necessity of potting off the 
seedlings singly, and the consequent risk of losing 
some of them, the seeds may be sown singly in 60-size 
pots, covering the latter with a piece of glass till the 
seedlings germinate. They can be shifted into larger 
sizes as they require it, without breaking the ball. 
The pots may be plunged in a brisk bottom heat in the 
propagating pit, where the night temperature is kept up 
at 65° or 70°, provided the weather is not too severe. 
Cucumbers.—Seeds must now be sown for the 
production of a supply of fruit in spring. Sow in rich 
light soil, and give them much the same treatment as is 
given to Melons. Use a rich light soil by way of com¬ 
post, and keep the plants as near the glass as possible 
after they are well up. 
-- 
Hardening Miscellany. 
Cosmos bipinnatus albifiorus. 
Comparatively few have yet made the acquaintance 
of Cosmos bipinnatus, although introduced as early 
as 1799 from Mexico, of which place it is a native, like 
its near relation the Dahlia. The rays of the plant, as 
known to us at the present day, are rosy violet, while 
the disc is yellow. A snow-white variety has arisen 
from it, and can be perpetuated from seeds, according 
to the Bulletino della R. Societa Toscana di Orticultura. 
The value of the plant for cut-flower purposes is not 
yet fully comprehended, otherwise it would be more 
largely grown. In Italy the flowers are cut and placed 
in masses in crystal vases with water. The white 
variety forms a beautiful contrast to the typical form. 
While the heads resemble Dahlias in miniature, they 
are infinitely more graceful, and require no wiring or 
other setting up in order to show themselves off to 
advantage. The leaves being tender, like those of the 
Dahlia, the best plan of raising seedlings is to sow 
seeds under glass, and treat them like Stocks, Asters 
or single Dahlias, planting them out when the weather 
becomes fine. By this means they come earlier into 
flower, aud last till frost cuts them down. 
Mealy-bug on Vine3. 
As requested by you, I have pleasure in stating that 
the Vines I fumigated with McDougall’s Tobacco 
Sheets, and so effectually cleared of mealy-bug, were 
not in foliage. But I have also used these sheets for 
fumigating stove climbers, including Stephanotis ; aud 
also for thrips on Lapagerias with equally good results, 
and without the least injury to the foliage. With 
regard to the editor’s remarks as to the eggs of the 
mealy-bug remaining on the Vines after the fumigation, 
I think he will see, on reconsideration, that after the 
powerful fumes of the tobacco sheets had overpowered 
the insects, maternal instincts would be of little avail. 
■At any rate, I can only repeat that in my case the 
mealy-bug fell to the ground in showers, leaving the 
cocoons on the Vines, which, however, as previously 
stated, were removed by the subsequent syringing. 
Our editor has apparently overlooked the fact that the 
cocoons are attached to the surface of the foliage or 
stem, and not to the insects, although he is quite 
correct iu stating that the female insect remains over 
the eggs until they are hatched.— H. A. R. [Our corre¬ 
spondent m akes use of terms he apparently does not under¬ 
stand. We presume what he means by the cocoon is 
the white, fluffy substance which emanates from the 
body of the bugs. The female does not acquire wings, 
and consequently does not want a cocoon. When she 
dies the waxy exudation from her body assumes a 
woolly appearance, covering both her and the eggs 
beneath her.—E d.] 
Fogs. 
To those who are interested in horticultural pursuits, 
the recent fogs have meant something more than a mere 
name. The inconvenience and expense to the public 
arising through this cause cannot be estimated ; when 
we read of the receipts of one London gas company 
exceeding their normal sum by £5,000 per day, the loss 
to the entire country must be simply appalling. But to 
the lover of flowers, who has been subjected to the 
same inconveniences as other mortals, the fogs have 
been a great source of disappointment, for after having 
bestowed many months of care and attention upon 
his Phalmnopsids, La;lias, Calanthes, &c., and having 
watched their progress from day to day, as they were 
gradually unfolding their petals, he has seen them 
finally cut down by the devastating and pestilential 
fogs. How long will it be before those who live in the 
neighbourhood of large cities will be able to enjoy to 
the full extent the beauty of their flowers 1 Let us 
hope that science will soon come to onr aid.— J. McNab. 
Callipsyche mirabilis. 
This bulbous Amaryllid is stated to flower in July and 
August, but it seems to depend largely upon the time 
the bulbs are potted and started, for it is now in flower 
at Kew. No leaves are developed till after the flowering 
period, when they finally attain a length of 2 ft., in¬ 
cluding the petiole, and 5 ins. to 6 ins. broad. The 
flower scape is about 2 ft. long, bearing an umbel of 
numerous flowers, drooping somewhat after the style 
of those of Olivia nobilis but smaller and shorter. The 
tube is very short and green, while the perianth seg¬ 
ments are yellow, tipped with green. The flowers 
themselves are rendered the more conspicuous by the 
white stamens and style, which are decimate and attain 
a length of 3 ins. The stamens are first matured and 
droop, while the style remains perfect for some time 
longer. The species is a native of the Andes of Peru, 
from whence it was introduced in 1868, and may be 
described as both carious and pretty. 
Euphorbia heterophylia. 
The times and the fashions change, and this plant 
seems to have disappeared from this country although 
introduced as early as 1690 from the West Indies. It 
is also found in various parts of tropical America, from 
Peru to Panama. There is a plate of it in the Botanical 
Magazine , t. 765, and a figure in the Bulletino della 
R. Societa Toscana di Orticultura for last month. 
When first introduced to this country it was grown in 
the dry stove. It grows about a yard high, the lowtr 
part being woody and the upper part soft or herbaceous. 
The lower leaves are lyrate-pinnatifid, or deeply angled, 
while the upper ones are oval. The bracts Grounding 
the cymes or clusters of flowers are large, variously 
lobed or angled like those of Poinsettia pulcherrima, 
and rosy scarlet. The species does not seem to have 
reached continental Europe before 1806. In some parts 
of Italy, in the climate of Naples for instance, it forms 
an evergreen shrub, but iu colder parts the leaves 
drop during winter, so that no doubt it would require 
the shelter of a greenhouse, or one with an intermediate 
temperature in this country. 
Jacobinia Ghiesbreghtiana, 
Of the numerous Acanthads grown for winter flowering 
few of them give a more satisfactory return in flowers 
than that under notice. Sericographis Ghiesbreghtiana 
is the name usually given to it in gardens, and it must 
be confessed that it is very distinct in general appear¬ 
ance from Jacobinia magnifica, owing to the absence of 
the large head of bracts, which is so characteristic of 
the latter species. The flowers of the plant under 
notice are scarlet, and produced in loose, terminal 
panicles, which remain in good condition upon the 
plant for many weeks. The foliage also remains fairly 
good, while that of other members of the same family 
are very liable to drop through unfavourable circum¬ 
stances. The flowers are also very durable, while those 
of the once favourite Eranthemum nervosum (better 
known perhaps as E. pulehellum) do not last for any 
length of time, but drop in a few days. It is true that 
others are developed in succession, but we should like 
to see them remain till a display is made by a largo 
number. 
Luculia gratissima. 
The American Florist states that some magnificent 
clusters of Luculia gratissima were shown by Mr. F. L. 
Harris, at the Horticultural Hall, Boston, December 
6th. This superb plant with its noble foliage and 
deliciously-scented flowers, although an old favourite 
with English gardeners, is prac tically uukuo wn here to the 
public aud to the general florist. This grand old plant 
is too seldom seen, but I have a vivid remembrance of 
good-sized plants planted out in the shaded coolest 
parts of large conservatories, when in such places the 
Luculia grows and flowers freely,— D. S. H. 
Gaultheria Shallon. 
There are something like ninety species of Gaultheria 
belonging to the Heath family, but comparatively few 
of them are iu cultivation. They are popularly spoken 
of as Aromatic Winter-green. The species under notice 
is the most useful and popular in this country, and the 
