582 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 11, 1889. 
plied by water companies or obtained from springs is 
usually bard, and its continuous use necessitates the 
frequent sponging of ornamental foliage plants to 
remove the white sediment accruing through the use 
of such water, which also has a similar effect on Grapes, 
so that it is advisable to discontinue syringing after 
the berries are set, and supply the necessary moisture 
by damping down the borders, floors, &c. I have had 
to practise frequent damping down during hot weather, 
but could never see the beneficial effects of it when 
the ventilators were wide open, and think it preferable 
to create humidity when the structures are closed in 
the afternoon, the inmates then receiving the full 
benefit, and such subjects as Vines, Cucumbers, and 
Melons, as well as other heat-loving plants, revel in a 
temperature of 90° and plenty of moisture when shirt 
up after a bright sunny day.— Geo. Potts, Junr., 
Northiam. [Damping down when the ventilators are 
open, in hot, dry weather, is decidedly beneficial to 
plant growth, as there is a great strain on young 
expanding foliage in a dry atmosphere.— Ed.] 
-- 
ARDENING fflSCELLANY. 
Crickets Among- the Strawberries. 
We are troubled with crickets among our forced Straw¬ 
berries, and would be glad of advice from any of your 
readers who have been troubled in a similar way. 
They eat out the seed pips whilst the fruits are swelling, 
and sometimes before colouring takes place. I have 
known ants and mice do the same thing, but never 
before knew of crickets attacking the fruits in this 
way. I have tried several sorts of beetle powder and 
paste, but have found nothing keep them from the 
fruits, except baiting with barley-meal and catching 
them in traps. We have caught hundreds in this way, 
but still they come.— P. [Mix two ounces of arsenic 
with one pint of oatmeal and a little ground aniseed, 
and lay small quantities on pieces of paper near their 
haunts. We advise, of course, extreme caution in the 
use of so deadly a poison.— Ed.] 
Datura Knightii. 
When well grown the double white flowers of this 
Datura are very effective, and remain in good condition 
for a long time. It is of garden origin, and besides being 
useful for pot work is largely used for sub-tropical 
bedding purposes, as much for the handsome character 
of its huge leaves as for the beauty of its flowers. The 
stimulus given to growth in the open ground causes a 
much larger development of the foliage than when the 
roots are confined in pots. As most of the kinds are 
gross feeders, the shrubby or arboreal sorts are very 
suitable for planting out in the conservatory, where 
they give a much larger percentage of bloom. Another 
character of this, as well as other woody kinds, is that 
flowers may be produced at any time of the year, 
provided the light is good, and the plants are in 
vigorous growth—a condition that can always be insured 
by cutting back the plants and re-starting them ac¬ 
cording to the time they are required to be in bloom. 
The long, pendent, trumpet-shaped flowers of D. 
Knightii are pale yellowish or creamy white during their 
growth, but after expansion are pure white and highly 
fragrant. A number of plants may now be seen coming 
into bloom at Gunnersbury Park, Acton. 
Two Fine Balsams. 
These are Impatiens Sultani and I. Hawkeri, of which 
we saw a batch of useful specimens the other day at 
Gunnersbury Park, Acton. It is now being pretty well 
ascertained by gardeners in general which of the two 
is the more useful for decorative purposes. The palm 
must be given to I. Sultani, which, under the most in¬ 
different treatment even, seldom fails to produce a large 
quantity of bloom. When well cultivated, however, 
the yield in flowers during the course of a summer 
season is something remarkable, nor will it refuse to 
bloom in winter, provided the light be fairly passable. 
With a very little care and attention, close bushy 
subjects are the result; but in this respect cultivators 
generally find that plants raised from seed are superior 
to those propagated by cuttings. When the plants are 
stimulated with a little artificial manure, the foliage 
assumes a healthy dark green appearance, which sets 
off the flowers to advantage. I. Hawkeri, on the other 
hand, will always be the finer with regard to the in¬ 
dividual blooms, which are of an intense carmine ; and 
the red metallic-looking stems have a rich appearance 
that cannot be gainsaid even when the plant is not in 
flower. It does not bloom so continuously as I. 
Sultani. 
Gardeners’ Holidays. 
The writer of an article in your paper of 27th April, 
on “Holidays for Gardeners,” seems to forget that 
gardeners only work from light to dark for many weeks 
of the year, and their occupation is a very healthy one, 
whereas most trades and factory hands work from 6 
a.m. till 6 p.m. all the year round, and often in a very 
unhealthy atmosphere .—A Constant Pleader. [We are 
afraid our correspondent does not thoroughly appreciate 
the real difficulties of a gardener’s position, or she 
would not assume that they work only from light to 
dark at any season of the year, or compare their occu¬ 
pation with that of any other class. If gardeners only 
work from light to dark, who does the stoking and 
takes care of the houses in the winter time, and who 
sits up sometimes more than half the night in severe 
weather to save their plants and the pockets of the 
owners of the hundreds of ramshackle heating appa¬ 
ratuses and worn-out old kettles of boilers to be found 
up and down the country ? The fact is, if a gardener 
ceases at dark to work with his hands, he does not do 
so with his head if he is worthy of the title of gardener ; 
and as regards the healthiness of his occupation, well, 
there are seasons when he has to work, under glass, in 
atmospheres highly prejudicial to health, and changing 
from heat to cold so often as he is obliged to do, 
frequently renders him liable to rheumatism, bronchitis 
and other ailments incidental to the profession. We 
have said nothing about Sunday work, but in many 
establishments the responsibilities of the head gardener 
are as great on the first as the last day of the week, and 
for the men on duty the labour on Sunday is often 
more arduous than on any other day.— Ed.] 
A Few Good Zonal Pelargoniums. 
When looking through Mr. Samuel Barlow’s collection 
of zonal Pelargoniums at Stakehill, Castleton, a few 
days ago, I made a note of the following as useful 
decorative varieties : — Col. Holden, Dr. Orton, and A. 
Henderson, crimson and scarlet varieties ; and Lady 
Sheffield, pink. It may be said this is but a very few 
varieties, but they are thoroughly good ; the flowers of 
good shape, produced in bold trusses, and quite large 
enough in point of size. I think they make good 
exhibition varieties also, and they are good bedders in 
addition.— R. D. 
Cistus Florentinus. 
This is the white-flowered Florentine Cistus, and it 
■was introduced from Italy as far back as 1825. I saw 
it the other day in one of Mr. Samuel Barlow’s plant 
houses at Stakehill. Though old, it is not much 
grown, and yet it makes a pretty greenhouse plant. It 
is of dwarf growth—that is to say, a small plant of it— 
and when in bloom it produces an abundance of white 
flowers with a yellow centre. The Cistuses are not 
long-enduring, but they make up for it to some extent 
by the freedom with which they bloom. — R. D. 
Heuchera sanguinea. 
Roaming through the houses at Kew lately, I 
came across this plant in flower in a pot, and very 
pretty it looked. I should scarcely have recognised 
in it the herbaceous plant of the border, as it looks 
rather different, no doubt owing to its having been 
forced under glass .—Alfred Gaut. 
Cineraria cruenta. 
I was very much struck with the effect produced by a 
group of these plants in flower at the end of one of the 
houses at Kew. It is a tall-growing plant, with lovely 
lavender-coloured flowers. The individual flowers are 
not so large, or composed of such brilliant colours as 
the florists’ Cineraria, which has been raised from it ; 
but the effect produced is very pretty, and the plant 
would be well worth growing for decorative purposes.— 
Alfred Gaut. 
Caladiums at Maida Vale. 
A large number of small and moderate-sized plants of 
Caladiums, in all the leading colours and well-known 
kinds, is grown in Messrs. Hooper & Co.’s Pine Apple 
Nursery, Maida Yale. A handsome kind is Leopold 
Robert, with large leaves suffused with rose on a white 
ground and reticulated with green. Candidum is 
another exhibition kind, with white leaves faintly 
reticulated with green, and furnished with green mid¬ 
ribs on a white ground. Rather a singular but distinct 
variety is L’Automne, whose foliage is of a creamy 
greenish white blotched with pink. The rosy pink, 
often sub-transparent leaves of Madame Fritz Kochlin 
are very effective when seen at their best. Other 
beautiful and strong-growing kinds are Princess of Teck 
and Excellent; both have greenish yellow foliage with a 
red centre, but the latter, in addition, is also variously 
blotched with white. These are a few of the finer kinds 
we noticed recently but the number of varieties is 
very extensive. 
Tuberous Begonias. 
Early started tubers are now coming into flower, 
and plants in the early stage have a healthy, fresh 
appearance just as the buds expand. Ye noted some 
double and some unnamed kinds in this condition the 
other day at Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons’, Swanley, 
Kent. A double red kind with loosely arranged petals, 
and named J. Marshall, had a pleasing appearance, 
without the dense, crowding characteristic of many 
doubles. A number with undulating petals, very much 
resembling a Hollyhock, are also beautiful and meri¬ 
torious. The great size of the flowers is also notable, 
and should satisfy the most fastidious in this respect. 
Of these Mrs. Felton was pale yellow, almost white ; 
the Hon. Mrs. G. J. Goschen, soft flesh-coloured ; and 
Countess of Dudley, pure white, and very fine. A 
number of unnamed seedlings of last year’s raising are 
also coming into bloom. They have single flowers, and 
one was pure white, another tinted or suffused with 
pink, while a third had huge rose-coloured flowers. 
An immense number of seedlings are now in various 
stages of advancement. 
Cinerarias from Edinburgh. 
A box of Cineraria blooms reached us the other day 
from Mr. John Downie, Beech Hill Nurseries, Murray- 
field, Edinburgh. The self-coloured flowers were the 
most numerously represented, but there were also a 
good sprinkling of the bicoloured kinds, or, to speak 
more definitely, of those kinds having the ray-florets of 
two distinct colours, because where such is the case the 
disk is usually of a different shade, making three 
colours. Of the self-coloured kinds there was a great 
range of variety, not of washy tints, but each showing 
the most definite and richest of its kind. These in¬ 
cluded rose, magenta, red, crimson-red, purple, blue, 
and violet, in varying shades of intensity up to what, 
for want of a better term, we should call velvety 
maroon-violet or purple. One was pure white with the 
exception of the disk, which was blue. This kind is 
now becoming very common, and is much sought after 
by the florists, who find a ready sale for it either as 
plants or for cut flowers. The dark centre on a pure 
white ground gives the flower-heads a very pretty 
effect. The forms with a narrow or broad zone of 
white round the eye were varied and beautiful; a 
collection should always include a mixture of both 
kinds. The rays were broad and well overlapped. 
Anthracite Goal. 
Much has been said from time to time in our columns 
with regard to economy and efficiency of anthracite 
coal for horticultural purposes, and quite recently we 
had additional testimony in its favour from Mr. P. 
McArthur, The London Nursery, Maida Yale, who 
uses it entirely for keeping up the temperature of his 
hothouses. He finds it cheaper than coke, and more 
economical in various ways, especially in the reduction 
of labour that is always necessary in the use of coke 
for heating purposes, on account of the frequent stoking 
and attention it requires. Fires fed with anthracite 
coal during the spring months require stoking only 
once a day, and the same at night. A brisk fire made 
up at 7 p.m. will last in good condition till 7 a.m. 
For this reason one man can attend to a large number 
of fires, and avoid all night-work. 
Streptosolen Jamesoni. 
If stood in a greenhouse amongst other subjects kept 
in a flowering condition, this beautiful plant requires 
no other or special treatment. A light and sandy but 
rich compost is all that it requires in the matter of soil. 
As the plant grows, flowers will be produced in suc¬ 
cession for many weeks together. These are of a bright 
orange, in many cases showing a decided tint of scarlet, 
and are useful for cut-flower purposes. Both in habit, 
size and the wrinkled appearance of the leaves, the 
plant may be compared to a Heliotrope, although in 
structure and every other respect it is widely different, 
being a member of the Solanum family. It is some¬ 
times named Browallia Jamesoni, and structurally is 
closely similar to B. elata, an annual frequently culti¬ 
vated in pots for greenhouse decoration, whereas the 
subject under notice is distinctly shrubby in its habit, 
and produces numerous drooping or arching twigs. 
We noticed some plants of it in the greenhouse at 
Boston House, Brentford, under the care of Mr. 
Jeffries. 
