376 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 13, 1892. 
WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN. 
Ixoras. — Young plants consisting of a few stems, 
and which it is desired to grow into bushy form, 
should have all the young shoots pinched back, 
unless it is desired to get them into bloom as early 
as possible. Some varieties are liable to get leggy if 
allowed to grow on without being checked in some 
way. Ixora macrothyrsa, on the other hand, must 
be allowed to grow on without stopping, otherwise 
it will fail to bloom. The stems do undoubtedly get 
large and leggy, but that is a matter which cannot be 
helped. 
Gardenias. — The batches of plants whose buds 
are now swelling should receive plentiful supplies of 
water, and it will greatly assist them if supplies of 
weak liquid manure are given them occasionally. A 
genial and growing atmosphere should be maintained. 
Clerodendron fallax. —Plants of this, and young 
ones especially, are apt to concentrate their energies 
on a few leading shoots, which by the time 
of flowering give the plant a leggy appearance. 
The young shoots should be pruned hard back 
to the lowest bud or two, and when these break into 
growth, all the stronger and leading shoots at least 
should be pinched back to encourage the production 
of a number of growths. 
Cape Bulbs.—Now that the bulk of these in 
greenhouses and similar places are making rapid 
growth they should receive close attention in the 
matter of light, ventilation and watering. A shelf 
near the glass would give them all advantages in the 
matter of light; but in this position they should not 
be neglected in the matter of water, because out of 
sight. 
Hyacinths, Narcissi, &c. —The stock of these in 
pots even for late work has now made a considerable 
amount of growth, and should have the ashes 
removed, at least from the top, so thaf the leaves may 
gradually assume their wonted green colour. If 
allowed to get drawn before this is done the evil 
can never afterwards be remedied. Where the 
plants are in cold frames, the pots might be lifted 
out, the ashes levelled, and the pots returned to 
their old quarters until required for use elsewhere or 
to be hastened into bloom. 
Early Vinery. — The most advanced vines will 
soon be in a position to require thinning of the 
berries, if not already in that state. The sooner 
this is done the better, when it can be perceived 
which of the berries have taken best and give the 
most promise. If the bunches are too numerous, 
the weakest cannot be removed too soon. The 
evaporating pans 'should be kept ^well filled with 
weak liquid manure, and water the border or pots 
likewise with it, first of all heating the water till it 
becomes tepid. The night temperature should be 
kept at 65°, giving a rise of io° early in the day. 
Fruit Trees on Walls. — Where trees were 
transplanted in the autumn, the soil will by this 
time have settled down, so that the branches may be 
put into position and nailed on the wall. Young 
trees should receive the necessary pruning if that 
has not already been done. The side shoots should 
be shortened to encourage the growth of a strong 
leader to be nailed in the following season. If left 
unshortened the apex often terminates in a bloom 
bud to the injury of the tree in after life. The 
leader should also be shortened back to the desired 
height from whence laterals are desired for covering 
the wall. 
Heading down Old Trees. —Where oldorur.re- 
munerative trees or bad varieties of Apples andPears 
exist, and it is intended to head them down for the 
purpose of grafting, it should be done without further 
delay, in fact it might have been done to advantage 
last month. The scions intended to be grafted upon 
them should also be selected and laid in soil behind a 
north aspect wall or in some similarly shaded position, 
until required for use in March. Lay them in 
thinly, and cover them up for half or three parts of 
their length with soil. 
Raspberries. —The young canes that w-ere left in 
the autumn to furnish fruit this year should be 
shortened back to the desired length and firmly tied 
to the stakes. Good ones may be left at 4 ft. high, 
while weaker ones may be cut down to 3 ft. Thin 
and weakly ones cannot furnish a good crop of fruit. 
Autumn fruiting kinds should be cut down within a 
foot of the ground, so that the young canes in spring 
may receive every encouragement to make an early 
growth and fruit in the autumn. Give the ground a 
fresh mulching of manure to make all neat till 
spring. 
Peaches. — Attend regularly to the disbudding of 
the young shoots as soon as it can be seen where 
they are being developed in unsuitable-places, or in 
too great quantity for the space to be apportioned 
them next year. Syringe the trees two or three 
times a day and keep the paths and soil well damped 
down. 
Obituary 
On the 23rd of January last, at Charleville Forest 
Gardens, Tullamore, passed away the “Veteran 
Grape Grower of Ireland,’’ Mr. John Roberts, 
gardener to Lady Emily Howard-Bury. After an 
illness of but two days’ duration he succumbed to an 
attack of pneumonia brought on by influenza. He 
had reached the 62nd year of his age, and Jhe 36th 
year of his service in the Charleville family. Mr. 
Roberts was the faithful servant of five members 
of this house, including three Earls, having been 
engaged by the second Earl of Charleville, while in 
the old Pine Apple Nursery, Maida Vale, London. 
Previous to this, he had served Lord Ellesmere at 
Worsley Hall, Lord Windsor at Hewell Grange, and 
Sir Joseph Radcliffe, Bart., at Rudding Park. As 
a gardener Mr. Roberts was very successful, he had 
an intense love for Horticulture and indeed for 
Aboriculture also ; this together with the gift of a 
rare intelligence and a liberal education was the 
means of advancing him to a high rank in his pro¬ 
fession. It was as a Grape grower, however, that he 
made his mark, and at the shows of the Royal 
Horticultural Society of Ireland held in Dublin, he 
generally swept the board. His exhibits at such 
times were surrounded by a circle of admirers, and 
the “ Charleville Grapes—again’’ passed from mouth 
to mouth. Several times he carried the war into 
the Sister Islands and wrested victory from noted 
and able opponents, as at the Internationals held in 
Manchester, Edinburgh, &c. During his career as 
an’exhibitor he gained over 50 .medals, including 
several of the coveted Veitch Memorial Medals. 
Mr. Roberts was the raiser of an improved variety 
of Gros Guillaume and exhibited several very large 
bunches, one of which weighed over 23 lbs. He was 
held in high esteem by all those with whom he was 
brought in contact, and his services were highly 
valued by his noble and generous employers. Some 
years ago he was taken out to Algiers by the 
Countess of Charleville for the purpose of laying out 
the gardens and grounds attached to the winter 
residence of the family in that place. He leaves a 
widow, five sons, and two daughters to mourn his 
sudden demise. His son-in-law, Mr. Robert 
McKenna, of the Chief Secretary’s Gardens, Dublin, 
succeeds him. 
Qmmom add adsojcks. 
Names of Plants.— Aberdeen : x, Platvloma rotun- 
difolia ; 2, Aspidium (Polystichum) angulare prolife- 
rum ; 3, Nephrodium (Lastrea) spinulosum dila- 
tatum ; 4, Polypodium vulgare; 5, Asplenium flacci- 
dum ; 6, Doodia aspera ; 7 and 8 are varieties of 
Aspidium (Polystichum) angulare; 9, Asplenium 
Trichomanes ; 10, evidently a seedling of Asplenium 
flaccidum, but too young to make certain ; 11, Blech- 
num Spicant ; 12, Ligularia Ksempferi aureo-macu- 
lata, frequently called Farfugium grande. 
Names ofFruits. — R.J. Carter : Apple,Lucombe’s 
Pine.— IV. Shrives. Apples: 1, Golden Noble; 2, 
Claygate Pearmain. 
Japanese Wineberry. — William Allibone: No 
botanical name, as far as we are aware, has been given 
with the advertisement relating to the Japanese 
Wineberry; but, judging from the illustration of it, 
we think there can be little doubt about its being 
Rubus phoenicolasius, a Japanese Bramble which 
was introduced to this country in 1877. At present, 
however, it can only be found in a few gardens out¬ 
side of botanical establishments. You might be able 
to get it from Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, 
Tottenham, or Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Sweet Peas, Medicinal Plants, &c. — L . E.G : 
Nasturtiums and Sweet Peas are amongst the more 
popular of annuals grown in gardens at the present 
day. Nasturtiums have been greatly improved 
within recent years, and Sweet Peas even more 
recently have been brought to a state of great 
perfection. You must have been improperly 
informed as to their popularity and decorative value. 
In ancient times every plant .was supposed to possess 
medicinal properties, so that we cannot undertake 
to name all the wild plants growing in or around 
London The young shoots of Nettles and Hops 
were formerly esteemed as good vegetables, and they 
no doubt were wholesome if not medicinal in their 
properties. The Mallow and Milfoil (Achillea 
Millefolium) do possess medicinal value even if not 
much used at the present day. All occur in the 
suburbs of London. The term Simples was applied 
to medicinal plants generally, and at one time they 
were doubtless more common at Battersea than at 
present, because much of the ground is now built 
upon. The Simpler’s Joy was Verbena officinalis, a 
noted medicinal plant of those days, although it is 
not now considered to possess any medicinal 
properties. The plant is still to be met with on the 
banks of the Thames in the western suburbs of 
London. It may exist at Battersea, but we have 
not seen it there. The story of the Moonwort 
(Botrychium Lunaria) thriving best on human 
corpses we believe to be all fabulous and imaginary. 
It generally grows in wet meadow land, and dislikes 
being disturbed at the roots. Further we, believe it 
its roots were placed in contact with a decaying 
body it would die in a short time. 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution.— 
G.A., Tenbury: Apply to the secretary-, Mr. G. J. 
Ingram, 50, Parliament Street, S.W. 
Various.- — Flos : The true Cicuta virosa when 
growing wild, occurs on the banks of ponds and 
ditches. Some other plant must be meant when it 
is said to grow in arid fields. From what you say 
of the Ulma it may not even be a French plant; at 
all events something more definite must be said about 
it before it can be indentified. The Tithymale, like 
all other Euphorbias, is to some extent poisonous. 
The Oleander has long, lance-shaped leathery leaves, 
and largy showy, pale yellow, white pink or rose 
flowers. It does best in a stove and succeeds fairly 
well in a greenhouse. The Thorn Apple (Datura 
Stramonium) has large, ovate coarsely toothed leaves, 
white flowers, and a large fruit covered with spiny 
outgrowths; it is an annual. The roots of the 
Wheat may be dried up in dry soil or droughty 
seasons for w-ant of moisture. Provided there is 
plenty of the latter in the ground, no amount of heat 
we get in the country will injure the plant. We do 
not believe that the heat goes down the hollow stalks 
doing the mischief you speak of. The Pimpernel 
(Anagallis arvensis) opens best in fine weather, and 
closes if cloudy. Stagnant pools are most offensive 
in warm weather, say in summer time, by the decay 
of animal and vegetable matter in the water. The 
Sweet Briar never twines. The Caprifoil twines in 
summer when making its growth, and would retain 
this growth in spring, so that the stems twisted 
round the Blackthorn in summer w-ould be there in 
spring if they have not in the meantime been re¬ 
moved. The Buckbean would open in early summer 
whether the w-eather was the most favourable to the 
well being of the flowers or not. 
Blackthorn in Spring.- — Flos.: The Blackthorn 
like other plants does not always behave in the same 
way. Sometimes it forms an arching mass of branches 
which might be compared to a bower; but at 
other times it forms a dense and almost impenetrable 
mass of thorny erect shrubs. When tall with spread¬ 
ing branches -and covered with myriad of white 
blossoms, a poetical imagination would readily con¬ 
clude that it formed a bower or arbour. Other 
plants that occasionally climb over it are Brambles, 
(Rubus), Honeysuckle or Caprifoil, (Lonicera Pericly- 
menum) and other subjects af a climbing nature. 
Communications Received. — A. H.—D. C. — - 
T. B.—Tuberose.—H. E.—T. W. S.—E. S. D.—-J. S. 
—W. C.—M. C.—R. T.—R. & Co.—T. P. 
--- 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Edward Webb & Sons, Wordsley, Stourbridge. 
—Annual Catalogue of Farm Seeds. 
M. de Reydellet, a Valence (Drome), France. 
—Chrysanthemums and Cannas. 
John Green, Norfolk Nurseries, Dereham.— 
Vegetable and Flower Seeds, Rooted Cuttings, &c. 
John Forbes, Hawick, N. B.—Vegetable and 
Flower Seeds, &c. 
Ireland & Thomson, 81, Princes Street, Edin¬ 
burgh.—Vegetable and Flower Seeds, &c. 
Vilmorin, Andrieux & Co., 4, Quai de la Megis- 
serie, Paris.—Flower and Vegetable Seeds, Bulbs, 
Plants, &c. 
H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley.—Floral Guide for 
1892. 
Pitcher & Manda, Swanley, Kent. — Catalogue of 
Chrysanthemums. . 
Knight, Clarke & Co., Westham Nursery, 
Langney, Eastbourne. 
John K. King, Coggeshall, Essex.—Illustrated 
Garden Manual for 1892. 
McDowell, Guarjardo Hnos, Monterey, Mexico. 
— Price List of Cacti. 
J. E. Barnes, 9, Exchange Street, Norwich.— 
Vegetables, Flower and Farm Seeds, 
W. Cooper, 751, Old Kent Road, London, S.E.— 
Plant and Fruit Houses, Horticultural Sundries, &c. 
Dickson, Brown, & Tait, 43, 45, Corporation 
Street, Manchester.—New Farm Seeds. 
Dicksons & Co., 1, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh.— 
Select Catalogues of Fruit Trees and Roses. 
Richard Dean, Ranelagh Road, Ealing.—New 
and Choice Hardy Plants, Seeds-, Potatos, -etc,. 
