354 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 2, 1889. 
foliage of Purple Sprouting Broccoli is dark in colour, 
stiff, and in every way presents the appearance of 
vigour, and when it has been planted in rich well- 
cultivated ground in an open position the quantity of 
sprouts or little heads produced by a single plant is 
something remarkable. The colour of the sprouts is 
not very tempting compared with the ordinary white- 
headed Broccolis or Cauliflower ; but when cooked the 
whole becomes green, and as the flavour is excellent, 
few can have any objection to this useful vegetable. A 
fine breadth of it is now in bearing in the trial grounds 
of Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons, at Chiswick. 
Leeks. 
Most stress seems to be attached to the blanching of 
Leeks in private establishments ; but desirable as they 
may be when so treated, they are found most serviceable 
in some places in the green state for stewing. When 
properly done, and well flavoured with condiments, 
they make a most relishable dish at a time when green 
vegetables are getting very scarce—say in the months 
of March and April. Several kinds may be seen at 
present in the trial grounds of Messrs. J. Veitch & 
Sons, Chiswick. They are grown under similar 
conditions, and presumably were planted at the same 
time, but the variety named The Lyon has by far the 
broadest leaves of any, and produces altogether a 
greater bulk of foliage. Two others, named respectively 
London Flag and Musselburgh, have narrower leaves, 
but they are much darker in colour, and apparently 
equally good kinds. The last named is a very popular 
variety in the north. 
-- 
ORCHIDS AND THE FOGS. 
Those growers of Orchids who live far enough away 
from London to be free from the sad effects of the fog 
ought to be very thankful, for here, in such a season as 
the present, flowers which open in the morning are 
disfigured before night. It is very disheartening to see 
flower buds turn yellow and drop off after having been 
tended well for the previous twelve months, and 
especially when something good has been anticipated. 
The marvel is, that the plants themselves, in leading 
nurseries, look so well in spite of the thick choking 
atmosphere, which cannot be kept out of the houses, 
and'which, on departing, leaves such a deposit as to make 
frequent washing of the houses absolutely necessary. 
The Cypripediums seem better able to endure fog than 
most kinds of Orchids, and it is fortunate that the bulk 
of Cattleya Trianae are not yet far enough advanced 
to be much injured, so we hope to see them later on. 
Lfelia anceps has been crippled badly this season by 
fog, and it seems advisable to try and retard some of 
them in future so as to have two batches, for in several 
collections known to me they -were all spoiled about 
Christmas-time, which for the time, created quite a 
dearth of flowers in the Orchid houses. Odonto- 
glossum blooms here do not appear to have suffered, 
except that they are not quite so stout as in clearer 
weather. Cattleya and Lfelia flowers have experienced 
brief lives for their portion; while Odontoglossum 
Rossii majus, 0. aspersum, and O. Humean um have 
proved good fog resisters.— William Parks, Pernsicle, 
Bickley. 
GARDENERS OF THE FUTURE. 
I am glad to see that gardeners are taking more interest 
in the future welfare of our rising young men. The 
remark is heard on all sides that something should be 
done to prevent incapable men from foisting themselves 
into positions which they are not fit to occupy, and who 
bring nothing but disgrace upon the fair name of gar¬ 
deners. I heartily endorse many of the remarks of 
your able correspondents, and especially those of “ 0.” 
(p. 339) on the want of a Union. This Union might be 
in connection with a horticultural technical institution, 
which, I think, is greatly needed. I would suggest 
that young men, after serving an apprenticeship for 
three years in some leading garden or nursery, should 
feel it imperative for him to attend the institution for 
at least two years, in order to further his knowledge by 
means of a good garden attached to it, and attending 
its classes in botany, chemistry, physiology, geometry, 
drawing, &c. These subjects are very important to 
him in his future career, especially the three former, 
which he should pass satisfactorily. After this term, 
or longer if he chose to stay, he should have every 
facility afforded him to enter some good garden or 
nursery as journeyman or foreman. At the expiration 
of a few years he would feel competent to undertake 
some responsible post, with honour to himself and to 
the credit of horticulture generally. 
It would be to the advantage of gentlemen to give 
preference to men who have undergone a course of 
examinations, perhaps not too severe for a few years, 
but these examinations should eventually be severe 
enough to be a real test of efficiency. This would prove 
an obstacle in the way to those men who, after they have 
been to “So.and-so’s place,” think themselves capable 
of anything, and who manage to ride over the shoulders 
of men of greater ability, but having less self assurance. 
It is very much to be desired that we should, as a 
body of gardeners, unite together for our own interests 
and that of horticulture. We see on the Continent and 
in America the formation of societies to promote horti¬ 
cultural commerce, and British horticulturists should 
not be left behind. Then rouse, brothers ! let us be 
up and doing ; horticulture has made rapid strides 
these past fifty years, but progress should still be our 
motto. We must not flag, or get weary in its cause. 
Mr. Alfred Gaut made a remark some time ago about 
the want of unity among gardeners, which I cordially 
endorsed, but a correspondent ventured to disagree, 
and rightly so, if it were intended to unite together 
against our employers. That was not intended either 
by Mr. Gaut or myself, but a society or brotherhood, 
to promote the interests of horticulture, practically and 
scientifically, as well as for the benefit of its members. 
If such a society were formed, I venture to say that we 
ought to include the employer as well as the employed. 
This could be established in connection with a horti¬ 
cultural technical institution, and would be the means 
of securing the support of all connected with 
horticulture. 
I firmly maintain that if we are, as British horti¬ 
culturists, to hold our own against the world, some 
of our leading men must step forward boldly and 
quickly. The Gardeners’ Orphan Fund has shown 
what they can do if they will only come to the front, 
and say they are in earnest. Noblemen and gentlemen 
there are who will render assistance to those, who by 
their labour, are striving to make gardening profitable 
as well as a pleasure to their owners. If every gardener 
would give a donation of 1 guinea, a handsome sum 
would be realised, and gentlemen would come forward 
in the good cause, because they would see we meant 
business. The result would prove that we should be 
able to support two institutions instead of one, which 
might be situated in the north and south of England. 
Brothers of the spade ! come forward and help on the 
day when we shall be an united body, and ready to 
maintain our supremacy in the horticultural world.— 
Hortus. 
-- 
IXORAS. 
Here we have some of the finest of stove plants, and 
which are subjects that require all the plantsman’s skill 
to bring them to perfection. To grow these well they 
must have plenty of heat both top and bottom, and as 
they are not very quick-growing plants, they also 
require a certain amount of patience as well as skill 
before they can be called perfect. If mealy-bug is at 
all about, it will find the Ixoras out, and soon cripple 
the tender young foliage. Thrip and brown scale are 
also very partial to them, therefore it behoves the 
grower to keep a watchful eye on their plants. Keeping 
the syringe constantly at work, provided the temper¬ 
ature is well kept up, is a good means of getting rid of 
thrip, and to a certain extent, of bug ; but independent 
of this, they must be continually gone over with a 
light brush, and some mixture of insecticide used to 
keep the bug down. They thrive best in a good rough 
sandy peat, and consequently do not want excessive, 
but careful watering, giving enough at one time to go 
through the whole ball of earth. See that the drainage 
is perfect, for they will not do with the smallest 
amount of stagnation. 
They strike from cuttings freely, but some of the 
weaker kinds may be grafted upon the strong-growing 
variety known as I. amboyensis, which in itself is a 
good high-coloured autumn-flowering sort. I. coccinea 
is one of the finest coloured varieties yet grown, but 
it has such a very bad constitution that many growers 
prefer some of the newer sorts to it. The better¬ 
growing kinds, such as I. 'VVilliamsii, I. Fraseri, 
1. Pilgrimi, I. princeps, &c , seem to find more favour 
with cultivators than what some of the older sorts do. 
At the P>.oyal Horticultural Society’s show, held at 
Liverpool in the summer of 1S86, some very fine 
examples of Ixoras were exhibited, good both for size 
and for being well flowered ; but as I have not my 
notes by me that I then made, I cannot say what 
sorts they were that were shown, but I have no doubt 
reference to The Gardening World of that date 
would give the kinds exhibited, as a very full report 
was made of the show on that occasion.— W. G. 
THE GARDENERS’ ORPHAN 
FUND. 
I confess to some disappointment respecting this fuud, 
that the excellent move made at Chiswick and at Ches¬ 
terfield in promoting entertainments, soirees, concerts, 
&c., in aid of the fund have not been followed up, and 
the anticipation that a considerable addition to the 
fund income would have remitted from that source, 
does not look like being realised. Why that which 
was found so easy of accomplishment in one or two 
places, with a financial benefit of some £40, should 
not have been followed up almost with eagerness in 
many other directions is hard to explain, as there has 
been ample evidence given, since the establishment of 
the Orphan Fund, that it has supporters, and many 
very earnest ones too, in all parts of the kingdom. 
I hope the encouragement given to local committees, 
whether of gardeners or horticultural societies, by the 
comparatively modest yet substantial product of the 
Chiswick soiree last October, was not rather deflected 
by the more ambitious product of the Chesterfield 
concert. It is certain that in a majority of cases the 
modest £5 or £10 is easier obtained by local effort than 
is the considerable sum of £30. 
The fund specially recommends itself to the support 
of gardeners on account of its being so economically 
managed ; still farther, because it is applied to the 
support of little ones, of none of whom can it be said 
that they have themselves to thank for their misfor¬ 
tunes. Children are peculiarly helpless, and these 
merit all our warmest sympathy ; whilst, therefore, the 
winter is still upon us, I hope the concert and soiree 
element will be materially utilised for the benefit of 
the Orphan Fund .—A Subscriber. 
-->*<*- 
A TWICKENHAM NURSERY. 
The houses at the Amyand Park Pioad branch 
Nursery of Mr. W. Gordon, Twickenham, are entirely 
devoted to the cultivation of Orchids. A great display 
of bloom can hardly be expected, least of all in winter, 
seeing that the shop in town has to be kept continually 
supplied with cut flowers. Every corner of the houses 
is, however, filled to overflowing with all the leading 
and most showy species of this popular family, while 
the roof overhead is closely hung with baskets. It is 
difficult to see where fresh importations can be stored, 
yet these are continually being made. Some grand 
pieces of Loslia purpurata, newly added to the stock, 
consist of from 100 to 200 pseudo-bulbs, each with 
about two dozen leads. A large batch of Cypripedium 
callosum in good condition has lately been secured. 
Amongst established Orchids is a fine piece of 
Angrajcum eburneum superbum, about 4 ft. high from 
the top of the pot; three spikes carried from eighteen 
to twenty flow-ers each. A piece of Dendrobium 
speciosum, when in flower, may turn out to be the 
variety D. s. Hillii, judging from the strength of the 
pseudo-bulbs. Some fine pieces of Pisnanthera coccinea 
are firmly established on pieces of charred wood, having 
been so treated by the natives where the plant grows. 
A fine piece of Oncidium sarcodes gives evidence of 
good cultural treatment, judging from its pseudo-bulbs, 
which are from 6 ins. to 10 ins. long, and the flower 
spike, which is 4 ft. long, and carries twelve good 
branches. Other species of Oncidium include healthy 
pieces of O. crispum, O. Forbesii, O. flexuosum, 0. 
prsetextum, with a beautiful form of 0. fuscatum. 
The spring-flowering Cattleyas are just commencing 
to bloom, C. Eldorado and C. Trianie taking the lead. 
C. Mossise and C. Mendelii, now showing their sheaths 
strongly, will soon follow. The leading varieties of 
L:elia anceps, namely, L. a. stella, L. a. Schroderiana, 
and L. a. Sanderiana, have just been cut after flowering 
well. A very pretty variety of L. albida is almost as 
highly coloured as the variety named L. a. bella. 
There are fine established pieces of Lielia crisps in 
baskets, as well as of other favourites. The white- 
flowered Pilumna nobilis gives out its Gardenia-like 
scent, for which alone it would deserve a place in a 
collection. A large quantity of Sophronitis grandiflora, 
in pots and baskets hung up near the light, flowers 
almost continuously ; this is a plant which amateurs 
would do well to possess, as it requires little heat, 
and occupies space not appropriated by tall-growing 
kinds. 
Several houses are devoted to the growing of cool 
Orchids, including a large number of Odontoglossums. 
In a patch of 0. vexillarium just becoming established 
some fine varieties may be expected as they come into 
flower. One already opened exhibits deep rosy purple 
petals and lip, the latter organ being specially fine. In 
the same house were some fine pieces of Oncidium 
