98 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 17, 1891. 
FLiORICUliTUfJE. 
Antirrhinums. 
Those who, having some fine seedling varieties they 
are desirous of perpetuating, put in cuttings a few 
weeks ago, as recommended at the time in these 
columns, will now have some nicely rooted plants, 
and they should be potted off singly into small pots 
and kept in a cold frame all the season as a measure 
of precaution. It is risky to plant out in the open at 
this season of the year Antirrhinums of value, 
hence the advice to winter them in a cold frame. 
Seedlings from the seed bed in the open ground 
should be planted out in order to get established 
before the winter sets in. 
Auriculas. 
Those who can give their plants a change during 
the summer, by placing them in a north aspect, 
will now be thinking about placing them in their 
winter quarters with a south aspect, whether the 
quarters be a house or a frame. A house with stages 
has the advantage of some amount of dryness, and 
a good circulation can go on below the pots as well 
as above. Those who have to winter their plants in 
an ordinary shallow frame should construct a stage 
of some sort, even if it is only a few narrow shelves 
placed on inverted flower pots; this keeps the 
plants near the glass and away from worms and 
insects, though no stage will prevent the snail from 
finding his way to them. Each plant should be gone 
over as they are placed in their winter quarters, and 
if an}' show signs of not being at home in the pots, 
turn them out, shake away the soil from the roots, 
examine them, and repot in fresh, sweet, suitable 
soil in pots only just large enough to take the roots. 
Giving attention of this kind will prevent the loss of 
a good variety. If the outsides of the pots have be¬ 
come foul they should be washed before being placed 
in their winter quarters. 
Carnations and Picotees. 
The general experience among growers this season 
is that layers are rooting very slowly. As soon as 
they are sufficiently rooted, even if they are only 
£ in. long, they should be potted, placing a pair in 
a 3-in. or q-in. pot, according to their size, and 
placing a little fine Cocoa-nut fibre about the roots 
to encourage action. At this time of the year the 
pots of layers, and those of the latter that are potted 
off, should have a free circulation of air ; indeed the 
former can remain in the open for a time. It is undue 
confinement which conduces to spot, mildew, etc. 
Winter flowering varieties should be housed, have 
as much sun as possible, and a free circulation of air 
day and night. A little fire heat is necessary in the 
depth of winter to assist in getting the buds expanded 
to blossoms. Enough water should be given, supply¬ 
ing it carefully, and creating as little damp as 
possible. : 
CINERARIAS; 
These should be in a dry pit or frame with all the 
air possible circulating among them. It is of the 
utmost importance to keep the plants stocky, robust, 
and thoroughly healthy. Cleanliness is of the first 
importance. Fire heat will be required in winter, 
only sufficient to ward off frost. The Cineraria 
possesses a certain amount of hardihood, and should 
frost seize upon the plants the best thing to do is to 
cover up the frame quite close, and keep the plants 
in the dark until the frost gets out of them. But it is 
a great deal the best plan not to allow them to get 
frosted. If they become infested with thrip a fumi- 
gator will soon dislodge the enemy. On no account 
allow the plants to suffer for want of water, but in 
watering do not wet the foliage, water lying about 
'and below' the plants is apt to generate mildew. 
Daffodils. 
Bulbs of these taken up in early summer may now' 
be planted. I flow'er some of the choice varieties, 
such as Sir Watkin, Emperor, Empress, Princess, 
and a few' others, in pots every season, and I have just 
potted the bulbs. They occupy a cold frame until 
the flower buds put in an appearance, then they are 
taken to a cold bouse to blossom. I am in favour of 
taking up the roots in early summer and replanting 
again in autumn, 
Dahlias. 
On October i I saw the Dahlias at the Royal 
Nursery, Slough, and I vv as astonished to see such 
fine blooms upon them. That beautiful light variety, 
(hnfwn of the Belgians, was simply superb : U hftf a 
very stiff habit of growth, and throws its flowers 
well above the foliage on stiff stems, displaying them 
to the best advantage. It is a beautiful late variety, 
and a first-class border flower. Unless a very sharp 
frosty time comes, and there is danger of it reaching 
the roots, there is no great hurry necessary in taking 
the roots up from the ground. The Pompon and 
single varieties are blooming late and abundantly. 
Fuchsias. 
Under glass these are still gay and floriferous, and 
should be encouraged to bloom as long as they will. 
Plants that have been stood out in the open to 
harden off should have a w'atch kept upon them, 
the temperature becomes low' at night and frosts 
may come ; so it is safe to house them. 
Holxyhocks. 
Such growths as are sent up from round the base 
of the flowering stalk make good cuttings at this 
season of the year, and they are all the more valuable 
if they can be taken off with root fibres to them. 
But cuttings placed singly in small pots, placed in a 
cold frame, and kept close will root in course of time 
and make nice plants by spring. They can be 
plunged in a bed of cocoa-nut fibre with advantage. 
Any ripened seed from good sorts should be carefully 
gathered, and rubbed out for sow ing early in the 
year. 
Pansies. 
Rooted cuttings of these may be planted out in 
beds to flow'er in spring ; but those imperfectly 
rooted can be placed round the sides of pots, or 
potted singly in small pots, and wintered in a cold 
frame, placing them out in the open ground early in 
March. Beds should be prepared for seedlings, and 
then planted out as soon as convenient, so as to be 
well established before winter. Pansies in beds 
have a much finer effect than when planted singly 
in the border. 
Pelargoniums. 
Specimen plants that were shaken from the soil, 
disrooted and repotted at the beginning of August, 
may now' be shifted into, the flowering pots. Such 
plants under proper treatment will flow er in May. A 
succession of plants will keep the flowering period 
going till the end of August. Any rooted cuttings 
should be potted off singly into small pots ; and any 
young plants potted a few weeks ago may be shifted 
with advantage. Pelargoniums, and the fancy 
varieties especially, will require but little water ; but 
the latter need a closer and warmer atmosphere 
during the winter than the former. If damp, cold, 
dull weather sets in, the fancy varieties should have 
the assistance of a little fire heat. 
Polyanthuses. 
The gold-laced varieties in pots are now getting es¬ 
tablished, and they may be stood in the open air, 
but if possible screened from h.eaN-y, drenching rains. 
Young plants should be potted as quickly as possible, 
the smaller the pots at the first potting the better. 
Seedliftgs may be planted out and the soil pressed 
firmly about them ; and beds of established plants 
should have the soil drawn up well about them. 
Caterpillars are very destructive on plants in the 
open at this season, and should be carefully looked 
after. 
Tulips. 
All Tulips, early and late blooming, are best planted 
by the end of the month ; it should be done on a 
bright, fine, drying day, and such a day is more 
likely in October than in November. A bed of choice 
late Tulips should be raised above the ground level 
to throw off the autumn rains. 
Show Dahlias as Borden Flowers. 
It is sometimes said by those who must be unac¬ 
quainted with the show' varieties of Dahlias, that 
they are not adapted for border purposes, that they 
lack freedom of bloom, and that they hang their 
flowers instead of throwing them up erect on stiff 
stems, and so display them to the best advantage. 
I think anyone looking through a collection of 
Dahlias being grown for exhibition, might reach such a 
conclusion from taking a cursory glance merely ; 
but an attentive one w’ould soon show there are 
several of the show' varieties particularly well 
adapted for and most effective as border varieties. 
Dahlias th,at are grown to produce show flowers 
are thinned cut—more or less severely according to 
the variety, three or four or go of main shoots are 
left 11 produce flowers, and the lateral growths cut 
away. This is- how it isj that an impression some¬ 
times gets abroad that certain Dahlias are rot 
free. 
When looking over the Slough collection of 
Dahlias at the end of September, I made a note of 
the following varieties of the show' and fancy sec¬ 
tions as being particularly well adapted for border, 
being of good average habit, bright in colour, very 
free and throwing their flowers well up to view on 
stiff erect stems. The variedes I am about to name 
are model border varieties, and in ja season when 
Dahlias have grown freely. I selected nothing that 
exceeded four to four and a half feet in height. 
Foremost stands Queen of the Belgians, a delicate 
variety of great beauty, with a good branching habit 
and displaying every flower fully to view. Some 
plants of this had ten and twelve glorious blooms — 
so free is it—and one great feature of this variety is 
that it appears to increase in beauty as the days 
shorten. If any Dahlia deserves to find a place in 
any garden, it is Queen of the Belgians. Agnes is a 
fine pure yellow, a first rate late variety, and perhaps 
the very best yellow for border decoration. Diadem, 
deep crimson, is a very erect and gay flowering 
variety, height 3 ft. to 4 ft. James Stephen, bright 
orange scarlet, 3 ft., is another erect flowering variety. 
John Bennett, yellow, broadly edged with scarlet ; 
J. T. West, yellow, heavily tipped with purple; Mr. 
George Harris, crimson scarlet, extra fine ; Mrs. C. 
Humphries, another delicate variety in the way of 
Queen of the Belgians ; Mr. George Rawlings, cream 
suffused and edged with rosy-pink ; Mrs. Shirley 
Hibberd, cream, shaded with pink, a strong grower 
and very dwarf; Perfection, orange buff; Prince 
Bismarck, puce, shot with purple ; Prince of Den¬ 
mark, dark maroon, very fine and bold; Purple 
Prince, a very distinct bright purple ; R. T. Rawlings, 
clear yellow, very fine; Seraph, blush, a very pretty 
flower, and very fine late; and William Rawlings, 
crimson purple, extra fine. I could not resist adding 
Mrs. George Rawlings, though it grows to a height of 
5 ft., but it is exceedingly pretty and throws its 
flowers up well. 
Two new varieties should find a place in this col¬ 
lection, viz., Nugget, deep yellow or orange, slightly 
tipped with scarlet ; and Coronet, dark red ; very 
effective. 
I have selected but two fancy varieties, viz., Mrs. 
John Downie, orange, striped with scarlet, and Mrs. 
Saunders, to my mind the most charming fancy 
Dahlia grown, yellow, tipped with white —a variety 
that always throws good blossoms. 
As some of the finest exhibition flowers are exclu¬ 
ded in this list, it cannot longer be said they are not 
adapted for border purposes. They are admirable 
border varieties, and much more effective than a 
large number of the so-called Cactus and decorative 
types.— R. D. 
-■—J—- 
CAPE BULBS. 
(Concludedfrom p, Sy.) 
Vallota purpurea 
Is a fine old greenhouse plant probably well known 
to you all. It affords a familiar example of another 
section of Amaryllis, which, being of a more nearly 
evergreen character, does not require the severe and 
protracted dr}' season of the Nerines. In these days, 
when most handsome plants are attempted to be 
grown in quantity for the purpose of cut flowers or 
for indoor decoration, this fine bulb has come in for 
attention in that direction. Lately I have been told 
that in some places where it has been largely grown 
the stock has completely died out, and when asked 
the reason, I have said it was probably due to the 
plants being kept too warm, and in a too moist at¬ 
mosphere ; to their being over-potted, or too 
frequently repotted, which is one of the most fruitful 
causes of decay in Cape bulbs. Wishing to get to 
the root of the matter, I addressed questions on the 
subject to an old friend in South Africa, and his 
reply fully bears out my conjectures. His remarks 
are brief and to the point, and I give them in his 
own words ; " Vallota purpureas always die here if 
planted in the open ground. The only way that we 
can keep them alive is to keep their roots compressed 
into a small space, either in small pots or among 
rocks or stones. They will thrive by keeping them 
in pots until the roots burst the pots, and they will 
flower profusely.” These remarks give the key of 
success to the culture of all Cape bulbs Nothing 
is more fatal to them than the annual repotting which 
gardeners are so fond Qf giving to all. plants alik^, 
