470 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March. 23, 1889. 
was “obtained” about 1877-8, and is therefore quite 
correct. It was not introduced in the commercial sense 
until 1881. —Ed.] “ Fair Play” says he has a distinct 
recollection of seeing at the Aquarium on the 21st of 
November, 1888, two plants of this sport, which was 
presented to the Floral Committee of the N. C. S. for 
their award. It was impossible for him to see it on 
that date, for there was no such meeting of that body 
at the Aquarium on the 21st of November, 1888. “ H. 
Shoesmith, a bronze sport from Mr. Bunn,” was 
certificated on the 24th of October, 1888, and not on 
the 21st of November as stated by “Fair Play.’’— 
Observer. [Here again “Observer” is wrong as regards 
the meeting on November 21st, which was certainly 
held at the Aquarium. The other date is correct. 
—Ed.] 
-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
Rose Pruning. 
The season has now so far advanced that we can 
hardly expect severe frosts after this date to do any 
harm to Roses. Hybrid Perpetuals, Noisettes, and 
Bourbon Roses should now be pruned. The first 
mentioned may be closely cut back according to the 
variety. Dwarf or weak-growing kinds should be 
pruned to the lowest live or healthy bud, and they will 
break all the stronger on this account. Those that 
grow more rampantly should not be pruned so closely, 
otherwise they are liable to grow coarsely without 
flowering in proportion. Teas and Noisettes will, as a 
rule, require little pruning beyond removing weak and 
useless wood in places which would otherwise be 
crowded, and shortening the improperly ripened tips. 
The two latter kinds when grown out of doors are 
generally trained to a wall, so that the amount of 
thinning out will depend upon how the space is 
occupied with shoots. Prune and train pillar Roses in 
pyramidal fashion. Weak shoots that can be dispensed 
with should be cut back to the very base. Tie in the 
strong ones after pruning away all laterals close to the 
lowest bud. Hybrid Perpetuals grown as standards 
must be pruned in such a way as to regulate the 
distribution of the branches, so as to form an equally 
balanced globular or semi-globular head. Of course, 
weak shoots should be dispensed with whenever they 
can be spared. In the pruning of the old Rosa 
multiflora and its varieties, which are generally grown 
on walls, always give encouragement or preference to 
strong young shoots from the base of the plant, to 
carry on the vigour of the same. 
Making a Hot-bed. 
Those who have the command of fermenting materials, 
and a frame to place on the top of the same, should 
now set about getting the material together and 
fermenting it for the purpose of making up a bed. 
Stable manure alone would be liable to ferment too 
rapidly, giving rise to violent heat; whereas, if mixed 
with some good, dry Oak or Beech leaves, fermentation 
will be milder and the heat much more lasting. The 
whole should be made up at first in a conical heap, 
shaking up the material in alternate layers. Allow to 
ferment for about three days, and then turn over the 
entire heap, making a fresh one, and at the same time 
thoroughly mixing the leaves and dung. After about 
a week the material should be made into a square, flat- 
topped heap and trodden down firmly. Level it and 
place the frame on the top, covering it with the glass 
sash. Immediately on completion or soon after, a 
quantity of soil should be put on over the fermenting 
material, iii order that it may get warmed up. After 
all danger of violent heating is over seeds may be sown 
directly in the soil, or what is better, in pots or pans 
stood on the top of the soil or half plunged. Each 
kind can then be removed to cooler quarters before it 
becomes drawn and weakly. 
Seed Sowing. 
Those who have the means at command of making the 
hot-bed recommended will find it very useful for 
raising seeds of many kinds, as well as for propagating 
cuttings of such things as will be necessary to make up 
a sufficient number of anything for bedding-out pur¬ 
poses that may have run short by damping in winter. 
As soon as the heat has cooled down sufficiently for the 
safety of the seeds, sow T such things as Lobelias, Golden 
Feather, and Petunias, all of which have small seeds, 
and require a long time to develop into useful size. As 
soon as they are well up, they may be taken to cooler 
quarters, provided they show any signs of damping. 
This, of course, will depend upon the heat of the frame 
and the amount of ventilation given. Half-hardy 
annuals of all kinds may now be sown, provided there 
is a cool frame for their reception. Whenever the seed¬ 
lings of such things as Stocks, China Asters, Zinnias, 
French and African Marigolds, Helichrysums, and 
other subjects are well above ground, they should 
be pricked off into boxes, or into a bed of soil 
prepared in a cool frame, where they can receive the 
proper amount of watering and ventilation. 
Seeds for the Children. 
I remember my father buying my brother and myself a 
shilling’s-worth of mixed annuals, and giving us a bed, 
and I most distinctly remember the pride of pro¬ 
prietorship. Just to be the possessor of a corner, or to 
hold a small portion of a bed or space for a plant is 
something, but it is nothing at all to having a 
whole bed to yourself. So we cultivated this bed, and 
I daresay in weeding we pulled a few young annuals 
up ; but, however, what were left were such a great 
gratification to me that I shall never forget it as long as 
I live. I think it was about the best laid-out shilling 
that I have ever known of in the whole course of my 
life. I remember now quite distinctly the greater part 
of the plants that were in that bed. As soon as ever 
I came from school I was at it, and I was at it before I 
went to school, and I spent, in fact, the greater part of 
my leisure time upon it. I remember that we had five 
kinds of Lupins, including rose and white ; French 
and African Marigolds, Virginian Stocks, Muslin 
Poppies in charming varieties, and a large number of 
other things, including Mignonette. The moral of 
this is that if any of your children show any dis¬ 
position or taste for gardening, buy them a packet of 
seeds, and give them a little plot of ground. If they only 
get a tithe of the pleasure that I got it will be money 
well spent. — S. Barlow. 
-—- 
Hardening Hiscellany. 
Protecting Wall Fruit Trees. 
In his remarks upon this subject at (p. 436), our friend 
Mr. Gaut has quite overlooked one of the most simple 
and efficient protectors anyone can wish for. I allude 
to ordinary garden netting. In many places garden 
walls are, to a certain extent, fitted with glass copings. 
These are all very well in their way, but they are not 
sufficient without some material being suspended in 
front of them. I have always found that netting thus 
suspended in three thicknesses is sufficient. It is easily 
fixed, being hung upon hooks placed on the under-side 
of the coping, and kept in its place by being tied to 
stout stakes driven into the ground the same distance 
from the wall as the copings project from it. "Where 
glass copings are not in use, it is a good plan to drive 
iron supports into the wall, upon which an 11-in. 
plank can be placed. These supports should be fixed 
about every two or three yards apart, and provision 
should be made to allow the boards to be screwed down 
to them. This does away with any danger of their 
being disturbed by high winds. The netting may then 
be fixed as to the copings. As the netting does not 
exclude sun cr air there will be no necessity to remove 
it till all danger from frost is over. — Thomas Nutting, 
The Gardens, Childwiekbury, St. Albans. 
Tacca cristata. 
This singular plant is just one of those subjects which 
have sufficiently distinctive characteristics of their own 
to entitle them to a place in even moderate collections, 
not on account of their gorgeous colours, delicate scent, 
or elegant habit of growth, but simply from the 
grotesque formation of their flowers. This is one of the 
most quaintly distinct of all flowers, and will always 
attract attention and impart a unique feature to any 
arrangement of plants in -which it i3 staged. It is a 
stove herbaceous plant from one of the warmest parts 
of the East Indies, and cannot well be subjected to too 
much heat and moisture. A compost of peat and loam 
with a fair proportion of silver-sand suits it well, but 
over-potting should be avoided. An 8 in. pot is quite 
large enough, and always keep the collar of the plant 
well above the soil. It will be found that as the 
lower leaves die off, fresh roots are sent down into the 
soil. After flowering, the crown of the plant may be 
cut off with some of the roots, this will make a new 
plant, and the old stool will soon send up two or more 
young shoots, which may be divided into separate 
plants; this method of propagation will enable most 
people to increase their stock sufficiently. It can be 
propagated from root-cuttings, but that plan will seldom 
he adopted, unless in nurseries. Old plants ought to 
be shaken out once yearly in the spring, and be 
re-potted in fresh material.— W. B. G. 
Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. 
As it seems to be a settled matter that a second fete in 
aid of the Orphan Fund shall be held in Covent 
Garden Market, it is hoped that whilst on the one hand 
every effort will be made to ensure a handsome product 
to the fund, that on the other the charges made for 
admission will not be absolutely prohibitive. There 
may be some sacrifice made on the part of growers of 
plants in thus enabling the public to see one of their 
remarkable displays, but generosity may be discounted 
if the charges for admission shut out from seeing the 
show all but the rich. Market growers last year, it will 
be remembered, did make an exceptionally good market 
the morning after the fete, and were thus pecuniarily 
well repaid for any extra trouble thrown upon them. 
The terrible crush which had to be endured then, with 
such a poor pecuniary result after, was owing to the 
lavish giving away of tickets of admission. That was 
erring in one direction, whilst very high charges will be 
erring in another. The public should have some 
consideration, as well as the fund.— X. 
Warnham Court. 
This noble mansion, the seat of C. T. Lucas, Esq., is 
beautifully situated about a mile and a half from 
Horsham, in the centre of a splendid park, and sur¬ 
rounded by fine trees. Gardening in all its branches is 
carried to a high state of perfection in this establish¬ 
ment by Mr. G. Duncan, and at the time of my visit 
there were hundreds of Amaryllis coming into bloom, 
among which there were many new and rare varieties of 
the most gorgeous colours. The forcing of fruits, 
flowers, and vegetables at all seasons of the year is 
another feature iD this fine place, the demand for them 
being very great. Vines and Peach trees look promising, 
and with an abundance of good weather there will be 
heavy crops. Orchids are not extensively grown ; how¬ 
ever, there is one worthy of note—viz., Dendrochilum 
glumaceum, a fine specimen, measuring 2 ft. across, 
and carrying upwards of eighty glorious racemes in 
prime condition. Palms, Crotons, Dracaenas, and 
Ferns are grown in quantity for house decoration, all 
of which are in the best of health.— J. McNdb. 
Rhododendron, Princess Beatrice. 
Amongst the newer kinds of hybrid greenhouse Rhodo¬ 
dendrons, we noted Princess Beatrice the other day in 
the nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. The 
vigour of the race is being greatly increased as new 
kinds come into flower. The leaves of Princess Beatrice 
are oblong elliptic, leathery, and of great size ; and the 
shoots are terminated with great trusses, bearing flowers 
of a size removed a long way from the original type. 
They are of a soft blush with a tint of salmon, but so 
difficult to define precisely, that we would fain avoid 
attempting the task ; the particular shade would also 
vary according to the incidence of the light and the 
position of the beholder. In order to obtain bushy 
plants of this class of Rhododendron, they should be 
well cut back in their early stages, in order to encourage 
the development of shoots from near the base. After¬ 
wards, when a bushy habit has been induced, the shoots 
should be allowed to complete their growth and form 
buds, when they will flower abundantly. Training or 
tying into shape may be practised successfully. 
Bougardia Rauwolfii. 
Considerable interest attaches to this plant, both on 
account of the family to which it belongs, its real 
beauty, and from the fact that its tuberous underground 
stem is boiled by the Persians in the same way as we 
do Potatos, and eaten as an article of food. It belongs 
to the Barberry family, and is a native of Greece, ex¬ 
tending through Asia to Afghanistan. The leaves are 
pinnatisect, with the lateral branches divided into 
about four segments, each of which is green in tbe 
upper, and beautifully purple in the lower half. The 
branching inflorescence bears numerous bright yellow 
flowers with a red margin along the sepals. The purple 
markings on the leaves resemble what are seen on 
several species of Oxalis, and the leaves, it may be 
added, are eaten in the same way as those of Oxalis or 
Sorrel. It is nearly hardy in this country, but requires 
a bell-glass placed over it in winter to keep the tubers 
dry. It also forms a beautiful subject for cultivation 
in pots for a frame or cool greenhouse. It may be 
seen so grown in the hardy plant house in the herbaceous 
ground at Kew. 
