June 8, 1889. 
THE GARDENING 'WORLD. 
643 
correspondent will have discovered some other gem 
for the destruction of insect pests. 
As you justly remark, the difficulty lies in procuring 
it of the same strength and quality, which is easily 
apparent to anyone who burns it in lamps ; and also as 
you say, of getting men to use it the right way. Your 
correspondent takes exception to its use for syringing 
Gardenias. Now I happen to have had a benefit of 
those plants infested with bug, and had I attempted to 
keep them clean by sponging, I might have made 
fourteen days a week at the job, but as they were in 
pots, I carried them out of the house, laid them on their 
sides, and by turning them round, there were not 
many branches that escaped a driving dose of the 
mixture—a wine glass of paraffin in a three-gallon can 
of water. 
Sponging after syringing was greatly minimised, and 
as to syringing planted-out Gardenias, it would be a 
simple matter to lay something on the bed to prevent 
the mixture getting to the roots, if it be really detri¬ 
mental, though Mr. Rust, of Eridge Castle, declared it 
acted as a stimulant; and as to inconvenience and 
labour in the removing and re-arranging of plants 
referred to by your correspondent, anyone would infer 
that he either had a town of glass, or expected plants 
to remain fixtures, and treated them as such. As to the 
offensive smell, why that soon goes off, especially at 
this season when ventilation is abundant; and is the 
odour of paraffin more objectionable than the effluvia 
caused by continually damping down with manure 
water practised by many excellent cultivators 1 Those 
of your correspondents who advocated the use of paraffin 
in the garden did so from practical experience ; I can 
speak for myself, and it is mere idiosyncrasy on the part 
of anyone to blame the advocates for misapplication by 
others. — Pathfinder. 
-- 
A GAY CONSERVATORY.* 
How to Maintain It. 
Owing to the diversity of the structures themselves, 
some conservatories are much more difficult than others 
to be kept with a never-ending supply of bloom. In 
some, plants keep fresh and well for several weeks ; in 
others the same subjects would not be presentable after 
a week or ten days. This is mainly due to the fact 
that other things than the requirements of plants have 
the first consideration in the building of a conservatory. 
In this essay my remarks will be directed to the average 
conservatory, such an one in which a minimum night 
temperature of 40° Fahr. may easily be obtained during 
the winter months. 
To make a neat and tidy display, perfect cleanliness 
is indispensable. When the stages are clean, and the 
plants have no dying leaves, dust, or insects upon 
them, a much better effect is obtained than when these 
important matters are neglected. 
The Rafters and pillars of the building may be 
clothed with vegetation in the form of climbing or 
trailing plants, and a selection from the following can 
always he relied upon to give a pleasing appearance : — 
Lapageria rosea, L. alba, Passiflora I mperatrice Eugenie, 
Tacsonia mollissima, T. Van Volxemi, Cobtea scandens 
variegata, Clematis indivisa lobata, Trachelospermum 
jasminoides, Plumbago capensis, and Acacia lophantha. 
According to the extent of the house, tree Ferns, 
Palms, Cordylines, &c., may be arranged ; they tend 
to make the dressing less formal and monotonous. A 
selection can be made from the following, which will 
stand the required temperaturePalms : Areca 
sapida, Chamserops excelsa, C. humilis, Kentia Foster- 
iana, Rhapis humilis, and Seaforthia elegans. Tree 
Ferns and Fine-foliaged Plants : Dicksonia antarctica, 
D. squarrosa, Alsophila australis, Cyathea Cunning- 
hami, C. dealbata, C. medullaris, Grevillea robusta, 
Aralia Sieboldii, Cordyline australis, C. indivisa, 
Rhopalacorcovadensis, and Orange, Citrus aurantiacum. 
Flowering Plants. —In treating of this, the most 
important class of plants for conservatory decoration, I 
will give a few cultural details of the most popular and 
useful subjects individually, and of the less important 
ones in classes. 
Pelargonium. —I place this first on the list because 
it is one of the most showy of flowering plants grown, 
and members of one or other of its classes can be had 
in bloom at every season of the year. They are best 
propagated by cuttings, which should be inserted in 
the autumn, singly, in small pots, and placed on a 
shelf near the glass in a cool house. Very little water 
should be given—only enough to prevent the soil 
getting dust-dry. When well rooted they should be 
* First Prize Essay, by Mr. A. Reid, Possingwortli Gardens, 
Sussex. Chiswick Gardeners' Mutual Improvement As sociation. 
potted into 48’s, using a compost of good friable loam 
with a little leaf-soil and sharp sand added. 
In the case of zonals for winter flowering they should 
be grown without check, all blooms being removed as 
soon as they make their appearance until late in the 
season. They may be stood out of doors in the sun on 
a border of clean coal ashes during the summer, as it 
helps to make the growths short-jointed and hard. 
The show, fancy, and Ivy-leaved varieties flower during 
the summer, and as soon as the flowering season is over 
they should be placed in an exposed position out of 
doors to ripen the wood, care being taken that the 
plants do not get too wet at the root. During heavy 
showers the pots should be laid on their sides. When 
well ripened the plants may be pruned and taken into 
a pit or frame (in which a little heat is at command) to 
be started into growth again. The good varieties of all 
the classes of Pelargoniums are so numerous that it is 
unnecessary to make a selection. 
Chrysanthemums. —From the time the summer 
varieties commence flowering until the later are finished, 
a space of six months intervenes, so I think the 
Chrysinthemum is indispensable, and deserves its 
prominent place in public favour. Propagation is 
effected by cuttings, which should be taken in Novem¬ 
ber or December, and put either singly in small pots, 
or three or four round the rim of a 48 ; these should be 
placed in a cold frame, where they will strike readily. 
When rooted, they should be potted off in a mixture of 
turfy loam, broken fine by hand, leaf-soil, and sand. 
They should not be allowed to become much pot-bound 
until they are in their flowering pots, for which 8-in. 
or 10-in. size are very suitable. For the final shift the 
soil employed should be rather richer than before, a 
little manure and bone meal being added ; moreover, 
when these last pots are very full of roots, weak liquid 
manure is very beneficial, and should be given in some 
sort or other at every alternate watering. 
For conservatory decoration the Chrysanthemum is 
most suitable in a bush form, so the leading shoots 
should be pinched out when young to induce others to 
break away ; these, again, should be pinched back when 
long enough, so that eight or ten strong shoots may be 
taken up. These should each be neatly attached to a 
stake, and kept tied, so that they may not break down 
or become deformed. A good selection can be made 
from all the classes—singles, pompons, large-flowering 
incurved, reflexed, Japanese, and Anemone-flowered. 
Begonias. —The Tuberous Begonia has most 
deservedly become very popular of late years, thanks to 
some of our leading nurserymen and horticulturists. 
Plants may be obtained from seed sown early in the 
spring, or from cuttings taken after the tubers have 
started into growth. A tolerably good display may be 
had the first season with seedlings if they do at all well ; 
but plants obtained from tubers a year old are much 
larger, and make a better show. These should be 
started in February or March in a warm house, and 
when the growths are well up the plants should be 
attended to with regard to potting. They should then 
be kept in a cooler house, or the plants will be drawn, 
long, and weakly. The soil used in potting should 
consist of about three parts good loam, the rest decayed 
leaf-soil and sharp sand. In potting, the soil should 
be made firm, but not hard. After flowering, the 
plants should be gradually dried off, so that the tubers 
may become ripened for another year. These may be 
stored away in sand in a cold dry place, but they keep 
better if allowed to remain in the pots in which they 
grew until required to be started again. After the 
tubers are four or five years old the plants obtained from 
them deteriorate, consequently they had then better 
be destroyed to make room for younger ones which 
should have been brought on to succeed them. 
Fuchsias. —These make a nice ornament in the 
conservatory during the summer when well grown. 
Cuttings should be taken in the autumn, and kept 
close and shaded until rooted, when they should be 
potted off and placed on a shelf in a warm house. They 
will not grow very fast during the winter, but with 
the lengthening of the days they will improve, and 
should be potted on when requisite. Fuchsias like a 
light rich soil, which should be firmly placed around the 
roots. If well-shaped plants are desired, attention 
must be given to the side shoots, those at the apex of the 
plant being pinched rather closely in, so as to strengthen 
those lower down. The same plants may be grown 
several years, and will look well. These should be 
pruned hard back in January, taken into heat to be 
started into growth, and treated afterwards the same as 
young plants. 
Azaleas.— The best of these for the conservatory are 
A. indica and A. amcena. Plants of these are usually 
obtained from the Continent, whence they arrive in the 
autumn after the flower buds are set. They make a most 
gorgeous display from March to May. After flowering 
tho plants should be examined, and those that require 
re-potting should have their wants attended to. The 
best material to pot them in is fibrous peat and silver 
sand. They should then be placed in a gentle heat for 
a few weeks, and kept well syringed to induce a good 
growth, which, when made, should be well ripened. 
The plants may be placed in the open air towards the 
end of summer, but they must be taken inside again 
before the cold weather comes. Care should always be 
taken in showery weather that they do not get too wet 
at the "oot. This may be avoided by laying the pots 
on their sides during such times. 
(To le continued). 
-—>Z-<-- 
ffoTEs from Scotland. 
--J-- 
Hints for Amateurs. —Fruit-growing in Pots. 
—The system of growing fruits in pots does not seem 
so popular as it once was, and in northern gardens 
it is now rarely met with, at least, under the name of 
orchard-house culture, and probably it is well that it is 
almost a thing of the past, as it never became very 
profitable, and during these times of high pressure it 
would barely be considered a thing of ornament. The 
time required for pinching, watering and cleaning could 
not be bestowed upon the trees, and they consequently 
would suffer in appearance as well as usefulness. In 
the few places where they had received proper care the 
collection of orchard-house trees unquestionably com¬ 
manded special attention, and always were admired. 
The kinds were well represented. Their distinctive 
features were noted, and they formed a guide, in a 
pomological sense, which is not possible in the ordinary 
system of culture under glass. "Why the orchard house 
fell into disrepute was by improper application of water, 
drenching the surfaces while the best and most active 
roots were starving; “ dropping of fruit, ” insipid quality, 
and insignificant size were the results of much labour 
unskilfully bestowed. Bad drainage and destruction 
of roots by allowing the soil to become sour and sodden 
were also causes of failure, and now that Tomatos, 
Cucumbers and Melons are cultivated extensively in pots 
(we grow quantities along the back of Pine stoves and 
in other structures), let the watering on a proper and 
skilful system be a matter of primary importance. 
When the roots get to the side of the pots, watering 
twice daily is necessary. If the pots with the soil and 
roots can be placed into others with rich material they 
will root through and do grandly.— Stirling. 
Lawns and Grass Seed. —It is a fact beyond 
dispute that the formation of lawns by sowing a good 
selection of lawn grass seed gives by far the finest and 
cleanest sward, but it is too often the case that when a 
proprietor is looking forward to the pleasure of having 
a fine grassy carpet surrounding his dwelling disap¬ 
pointment is awaiting him, and a weedy, patchy space 
is the sole recompense after months of patient waiting 
and watching. There are many causes of failure, but 
unfortunately the seedsman too often gets more than 
his share of blame. It is beyond doubt, however, that 
many of the vendors of grass seeds are not capable of 
forming a selection. The causes of failure most 
generally met with are from the bad preparation of the 
soil, a poor inert surface to sow the seed on, ravages of 
birds, and sowing when drought sets in, continuing 
till the seeds are destroyed. When preparing ground 
already full of weeds trenching must be had recourse 
to, burying them two spades deep, but if the soil under 
the surface spit is poor and unhealthy double digging 
cannot be done ; it is then necessary to remove the 
deep-rooted weeds from the surface soil, and burn 
them. Weed destroyers can be used where deep roots 
are established ; we have used Lawn Sand with the 
best results. When the levelling and firming is 
finished a coating of rotted manure and bone-meal may 
be pointed into the surface of the space to be sown. 
Rather than risk the sowing of seeds in a dry season, 
to be scorched up (as in many cases they were two 
years ago), we would leave the sowing till September. 
Such a course often saves heart-burnings at home, and 
the accusing of seed vendors abroad. The best wearing 
and most satisfactory lawn in every respect was sown 
during September, and was the following season well 
coated with grass fit for any ordinary purposes. With 
bowling-greens we have had the most bitter experience, 
by receiving “lawn grass seed ” instead of the “ special 
mixtures ” for bowling-greens.— Stirling. 
