272 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 28, 1895. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Forcing Seakale. 
This vegetable, like Asparagus, is usually looked 
upon by the majority of people as one in which only 
the well-to-do can afford to indulge, and yet, when 
all things come to be considered, it is rather sur¬ 
prising that it should be so. The plant itself is ex¬ 
ceedingly easy to grow, and not more difficult to 
force. True, it is not a subject that would recom¬ 
mend itself very strongly to the attentions of the 
cottager, who generally wants something rather 
more substantial: but still, those who are on the 
look-out for a pleasant change from the usual run of 
vegetables will find Seakale a most valuable esculent 
during the winter months. The amount of ground 
it occupies is comparatively small—that is to say 
when no permanent plantations are made, and no 
special cultural attentions are necessary. 
In some large gardens such plantations are made, 
and the plants are forced as they stand by covering 
the crowns with pots, and surrounding them with 
fermenting material, as mentioned with regard to 
Rhubarb last week. This method, however, is not 
one that we should recommend to the holder of 
small gardens; for in the first place the space 
occupied is far too great for the amount of the 
returns. Then again, a good deal of labour is 
involved in shifting the manure to the plants, and 
last, but not least, there is the expense and trouble of 
procuring the requisite manure and the proper kind 
of pots. None of these difficulties, however, stand 
in the way of the practice of lifting the crowns and 
forcing them within doors in the Mushroom house, 
or, failing the presence of this, in warm sheds or 
cellars. Cuttings of the whip-like portion of the 
roots, some 3 in. or 4 in. in length, inserted in the 
open ground towards the end of March or the 
beginning of April, soon start into growth, and make 
good crowns suitable for forcing by the autumn. 
After the leaves have all fallen, a supply of the 
crowns may be lifted and stored in dry sand or soil 
so as to be readily got at in case of severe frost 
rendering the ground too hard to dig. If kept 
perfectly cool these lifted crowns will not start into 
growth any sooner than those in the ground outside, 
and they will keep plump and firm until wanted. 
Batches of these may be introduced into a gentle 
heat at intervals of from a week to a fortnight, so as 
to form a regular succession. 
Roughly speaking, the main root of the crowns 
will be from 6 in. to 7 in. in length. By means of a 
sharp knife the greater part of the small, thong-like 
growths should be cut off close to the main axis. 
These may be tied up neatly in bundles, covered with 
sand, and kept cool until spring, when they may be 
made use of as root cuttings for furnishing a supply 
of crowns for next year. A number of pans or boxes, 
just deep enough to receive the crowns when standing 
upright,should be procured. If the latter are preferred, 
a few holes must be bored in the bottom to admit of 
the egress of water. Over these a few crocks may 
be placed. The crowns may be potted up in leaf 
mould or in any other rough soil, just shaking it 
nicely down without attempting to make it unduly 
firm. The soil may be brought right up to the base 
of the fleshy bud that appears at the top of the 
central root. The crowns may be put in fairly 
thickly, some 2 in. or 3 in. of space between them 
being quite sufficient. If the soil is fairly moist 
water will not be needed, for a time at least. The 
Mushroom house, with its temperature of 55 0 Fahr. 
or thereabouts, is the best place for them, although 
in a warm cellar they will start into growth, only at 
a much less rapid rate. Wherever the crowns are 
placed, however, it is necessary to notice that they 
are kept in complete darkness, in order that the 
stems may be properly blanched. 
If any amateur who is desirous of growing his 
own Seakale will follow these simple instructions he 
will find that he will be able to enjoy this delicious 
vegetable very much more frequently than hitherto. 
— Rex. 
Erica hyemalis. 
As a window plant at this time of the year 
there are indeed few that can compare with this 
for beauty. Many an amateur proudly displays 
one or more in his window or his little greenhouse, 
although there are very few indeed who care to 
tackle its culture. Perhaps this is all the better fcr 
the market growers, who sell thousands of it annually. 
The fiat has gone forth that Heaths are difficult to 
grow and so they undoubtedly are, unless they are 
properly attended to. Taken from the cool, moist 
houses they love, and exposed, first of all, to the keen 
cutting draught of the market, or it may be the 
rougher winds to be met with in our streets as they 
travel round from house to house on some itinerant 
vendor’s barrow, and afterwards placed in the dry 
parching heat of rooms lit with gas, it is small 
wonder that the delicate pink and white blooms fall 
so soon and that the plants soon begin to turn shabby. 
A long sojourn in rooms of this kind inevitably 
means death to the plants. When they are placed in 
the greenhouse, however, it is quite another matter, 
for here they should not prove so very intractable. 
The great thing is to give them plenty of water and 
never to let them get really dry at the root. Air 
must be given whenever possible, although draughts 
must be studiously avoided or mildew will be pretty 
safe to put in an appearance. After the blooms are all 
over the plants may be cut hard back with a sharp 
knife so as to get a nice symmetrical head. They may 
then be kept a good deal warmer than they were 
during the flowering period so as to induce them to 
break into growth quickly, although after the shoots 
have attained an inch or so in length it will not be 
necessarry or even advisable to coddle the plants at 
all.— Fungus. 
-- 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. 
Rose Border —Will you give me through the 
medium of the amateurs’ page a few brief 
instructions how to make up a border suitable for 
growing Roses, as I wish to cover a wall having a 
western aspect. Would this suit a Marechal Niel ? 
First of all dig out the border to the depth of at 
least 2ft. 6in. Fill in the bottom with clinkers, lime 
rubbish, or broken bricks to form an efficient 
drainage. The soil may then be put on the top of 
this. A suitable compost may be made of two parts 
of good turfy loam, chopped up roughly with a spade 
and one part of well rotted stable manure. The 
border may be made now, but it would be better not 
to put the plants in until after the winter is nearly 
over. A Marechal Niel would do very well in the 
situation you mention, and would soon cover the 
wall. 
Apple to name —Kindly name the Apple enclosed, 
say if it is a sort that generally gives satisfaction. 
With me it does remarkably well.— E. Ames. 
Mere de Menage is the name of the variety in 
question. It is one of the very best culinary Apples 
we have, and, moreover, it keeps for a long time in 
splendid condition. The trees if properly looked 
after usually fruit well and freely, and possess a 
strong constitution. 
Azaleas.—From which species are the ordinary 
greenhouse Azaleas descended ?— A. R. Sarson. 
They have been obtained principally from A. 
indica, which instead of coming from India as the 
specific name would denote hails from China. A. 
amoena is also grown to some extent and a pretty 
race of hybrids has resulted from the crossing of 
these two species. 
Heating a greenhouse. —I have purchased an oil 
stove for my greenhouse, but although I have no 
fault to find with its working, I am unable to keep up 
the temperature as high as I should like during cold 
nights without a great deal of trouble. Can you help 
me out of the difficulty by advising me as to what is 
best to do.— H. Jacques. 
The best plan for you to adopt is to cover your 
greenhouse over at night with some light protective 
material. It is astonishing how much even a slight 
covering will effect in the saving of fuel. The same 
difficulty as you complain of is also felt in large 
glasshouses during winter when the fires have to be 
driven as hard as possible to keep the temperature 
up, the atmosphere thus becoming very dry and 
parched, and very unsuitable for plants. We should 
advise you to invest in a sufficient quantity of Frigi- 
Domo to cover the house. This need not run you 
into a deal of expense as it can be obtained very 
cheaply from almost all dealers in horticultural 
requisites or it may be obtained direct from the 
makers. Messrs. Benjamin Edgington &Co., London 
Bridge, S.E. 
Thrips on Azaleas.— Artus writes in sad plaint—He 
has half-a-dozen small Azaleas in 32-sized pots but 
they are so infested with thiips that he does not 
know what to do with them. Many of the leaves 
have dropped and others look exceedingly shabby 
and woe-begone. He asks if it is possible to get rid 
of the little pests and save his plants. He has tried 
dipping the plants in a solution of soft soap but this 
appears to have had not the slightest effect. 
It is scarcely to be expected it would, Artus 
Thrips, once they get such a footing as they appear 
to have done on your plants, are very difficult to dis. 
lodge. Try dipping them in tobacco water, or if 
that is not easily procurable a solution of nicotine 
soap. If either of these mixtures are used it will be 
necessary to syringe the plants well with clear water 
after. - 
Fruit trees for a north wall.—Will you be good 
enough tell me the best kind of fruit trees to plant 
against a north wall as I have one about 10 ft. in 
height which I should like to utilise to the greatest 
advantage.— G. Walton. 
For the position you name you cannot do better 
than plant Morello Cherries, which will be almost 
sure to do well. If, however, you do not wish to 
devote the whole of the space to Morellos you might 
put in a few Plum trees for furnishing late fruit. 
Coe's Golden Drop is one of the very best varieties 
for the purpose. A north wall is often of great 
service for growing Gooseberries against, when it is 
desired to keep the fruit till late in the autumn. 
Should you feel disposed, therefore, a few of these 
may well be planted as they will yield an excellent 
return. - 
Pelargoniums—Would you kindly tell me when 
the Pelargonium was first introduced into this 
country, and by whom ; also the distinction between 
Pelargonium and Geranium ?— Constant Reader. 
Our zonal Pelargoniums are supposed to have 
orig inally descended from two or three species, 
chiefly P. irquinans and P. zonale, both of which 
were introduced from the Cape early in the 
eighteenth century. With very few exceptions the 
species grouped under this genus which number 
about 170, are all natives of South Africa. The 
flowers are irregular, one of the five petals beiDg 
spurred. The genus Geranium on the other hand 
contains about 100 species of hardy herbaceous 
plants distributed pretty evenly throughout the 
temperate regions of the globe and represented in 
Britain by eleven species. The number of petals is 
the same, but the flowers are quite regular. 
Pruning Roses —The Roses in my front garden 
look rather untidy and I should like to make them 
look ship-shape as soon as possible. May I prune 
them own, or must I wait until spring.— Constant 
Reader. 
It would appear that " Constant Readers" are 
getting very numerous, or else that the non-de-plume is 
a favourite one, seeing that we have two questions 
this week signed by the same name. W T e should 
certainly advise Constant Reader No. 2 to wait until 
spring before he prunes his Roses ; as if they were 
cut now a spell of severe frost might do them a good 
deal of damage. Roses that are to be pruned in 
autumn should be seen to at least a month or six 
weeks earlier than this. 
Chrysanthemums for Show.— T.T. forwards a list 
of Chrysanthemums which he intends to grow, and 
asks for some information as to their various heights, 
and also whether they will be in time for the Novem¬ 
ber shows without topping. 
Miss Maggie Blenkiron, Beauty of Teignmouth, 
President Armand, Queen of Buffs, and Wm. 
Sparks are dwarf—that is to say under five feet in 
height; Mrs. T. Denne, Mrs. W. H. Lees, Wm. 
Bolia, Miss Ethel Addison, John Machar, Vice- 
president Calvat, Mephisto, and Pride of Madford, 
are of medium height ; and Van den Heede, Mrs. 
A. G. Hubbock, E. L. Jamescn, Madame Cambon, 
Mrs. Falconer JamesoD, and Kirg of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums are tall-growing varieties. The Egyptian we 
do not know. All the sorts mentioned are good mid¬ 
season ones, and will therefore come in finely f jr 
the November shows without topping, except in the 
case of Mr. A. G. Hubbock, which should either he 
allowed to bear one bloom only or be topped in 
March and three shoots taken up. Wm. Bolia, 
Van den Heede, Madame Cambon, and King of 
Chrysanthemums also need especially good feeding 
if they are to be had in first-class condition. 
