June 6, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
639 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
The Stove. 
Up to the present time the stove has been kept 
rather close, in spite of the hot weather that 
characterised the greater part of May. It was 
necessary to do this in order to stimulate many of 
the plants to make fresh grovth. Now, however, 
the young leaves and shoots should be fairly well 
advanced, and more air may be given with safety 
and advantage. The tissues will thereby become 
hardened, and the plants better able to stand a shift 
into colder and less genial quarters, should they be 
needed for decorative purposes within the mansion. 
Calapiums.— Attend to the staking and tying out 
of the leaves of these as they require it. In shifting 
or watering them they must be handled carefully so 
as to avoid laceration of the leaves. For the larger 
and more vigorous plants occasional doses of a solu¬ 
tion of cow-manure and soot will prove an excellent 
stimulant. 
Palms.— A pinch of nitrate of soda sprinkled over 
the surface of the soil just before watering will work 
wonders in imparting that dark green hue to the 
foliage which is so much to be desired. Once every 
ten or twelve days, however, is quite frequent 
enough to give the nitrate, as it is very strong, 
and too much of it may easily be given. 
Pandanus Veitchii. —Side shoots taken off old 
plants soon root if inserted singly in small pots in 
light sandy soil, and placed in a brisk heat in a 
propagating frame. Small well-shaped plants are 
always acceptable, and it is well to have a stcck 
of them on hand. 
Tall-growing Adiantums, such as A. aethio- 
picum, A. polyphyllum, and A. trapeziforme, will 
now require to be staked out. A. aethiopicum, 
especially, must be attended to before the fronds 
get too thick and crowded; for if neglected it is 
almost impossible to get the plants into shape 
without harming them, as the stipes of the fronds 
are so easily broken. 
Hanging baskets.— Now that we are in the 
midst of the hot weather, these must be looked 
after very carefully for water. The best plan is to 
dip them each morning ; but in cases where their 
size renders this impossible they must be watered 
two or three times with short intervals between. 
Even this will not be enough for such things as 
large specimens of Adiantum cuneatum in full 
vigour of growth, and it will be advisable, there¬ 
fore, to water these again the last thing at night. 
Pits and Frames. 
These will now to a very great extent be emptied of 
the numerous bedding plants which have, up to the 
present, been calling for every inch of available 
space ; for if all the bedding out has not been 
finished the remaining plants will, in most cases, be 
standing out-of-doors awaiting their turn. A great 
deal of the strain will thus be relieved, and the room 
set at liberty will prove of the utmost service ; for 
during the summer months there are many plants, 
including some that are usually ranked as stove 
subjects, that will do very well in cold frames. 
Acalyphas, for instance, colour splendidly in such a 
position, and plants that have resulted from cuttings 
struck early in the year may well be shifted into a 
vacant space, and the more valuable room in the 
stove relieved somewhat. 
Herbaceous Calceolarias.— Few subjects yield 
a better return than these, for in their flowering 
season there is nothing more showy, and the con¬ 
servatory or greenhouse that holds even a few of 
them will assuredly not be destitute of attraction. 
The present is a capital time to make the main 
sowing, as better plants are, as a rule, forthcoming 
from it than either the early sowings in May or the 
late ones in July. The soil in which the seed is 
sown must be fine, fairly rich, and, above all, 
porous. Shallow pans should be used in preference 
to pots. These must be drained well, and filled 
with soil to within about three-quarters of an inch 
of the rim. Carefully level and press it down fairly 
firm with any flat surface, as, for instance, a piece of 
board. See that the compost is fairly moist so that 
it will not need to be watered. If it is dry the pans 
must be watered before sowing. In the latter opera¬ 
tion a deal of care is requisite, for the seed is so 
minute that a puff of wind will blow it all over the 
place. Bearing this in mind, it will be as well not to 
open the packets until the moment they are 
required. Cover the pans with a piece of glass, and 
consign them to a pit or frame, which may be kept 
close. Artificial heat is not required. Careful 
shading will, of course, be necessary. Should water 
be required, the best plan will be to stand the seed 
pans in saucers containing water, so as to guard 
against washing the soil and seed up in heaps. 
Primulas.— Attend to potting these off into 
thumb pots as required. The plants which were 
pricked off two or three weeks ago should now be 
quite ready for this. Primulas do very well upon a 
bottom of sifted ashes in a cold frame, much better 
than they do upon dry wooden shelves or stages. 
A compost of equal parts of good loam and leaf soil, 
with sand will answer well. If desired, a sowing to 
furnish plants for late blooming may be made 
within the course of the next week or ten days. 
Cinerarias will also require potting off. It will 
be wise to pot up at least twenty per cent, more 
plants than will be actually needed, for a few deaths 
are almost sure to occur amongst them be they never 
so carefully looked after. A cool frame or pit facing 
north suits Cinerarias wonderfully well, and like the 
Primulas, they like sifted ashes to stand upon better 
than anything else. 
Chysanthemums.—A ll being well a start may be 
made in the way of getting the Chrysanthemums into 
their flowering pots. The tall plants, which are 
intended to produce large flowers, may be operated 
on first. The bush plants may be dealt with sub¬ 
sequently. Soil and pots will have been got in 
readiness if the instructions given in a previous issue 
have been followed. In potting see that the soil is 
worked well round the roots. The pots also must 
not be filled too full, a mistake that young gardeners 
are often apt to make, unless advised to the contrary, 
A full inch at least, from the top of the pot should 
be left, so as to allow of sufficient water being given 
at one time to soak the ball thoroughly. After 
potting, the plants should be stood in a rather shady 
place for a day or two, and the syringe drawn over 
them twice a day. This is much better than delug¬ 
ing them with water at the outset. 
Winter flowering Pelargoniums. —If these 
have not already been transferred into their flower¬ 
ing pots, no time should be lost in getting it done. 
Six inch pots are the handiest size to use. For soil 
a mixture of two parts of good loam, one of leaf soil, 
and one of dried cow manure, or part of a spent mush¬ 
room bed with sand will answer admirably. Keep 
the flowering buds picked off the plants, and stop 
any shoots that require it.— A. S. G. 
With a continuance of the drought, matters in the 
vegetable department, will soon give cause for some 
anxiety, as full development of growth under such 
conditions—except by the aid of much labour in 
watering—cannot be expected. After a spell of such 
weather, those who have taken the precaution to 
trench their land 2 ft. to 3 ft. deep, will be in a much 
better position than those who cultivate only one 
“graft” deep. In the former case, crops will be in 
a condition to take full advantage of the first good 
rain, while under shallow cultivation, the crops 
will be dwarfed and stunted, and will take some time 
to get into free growth again. Most of our kitchen 
gardens are well cultivated, but they fall far short of 
being worked, and pulverised to the extent and 
depth they ought to be, to insure the very best 
obtainable results. 
Peas.—A good breadth of these should be sown to 
come in between the main and latest crop. There 
are now so many kinds to select from, and nearly all 
good, that it becomes a difficult matter to make a 
choice. Many are tempted in their choice by the 
size of the pods, but it is the pea and not the pod, 
that should be the guide. The qualities we look for 
are moderate growth, good cropping capabilities, 
and high quality when cooked. These conditions 
combined, are found in ail Dr. MacLean’s Peas, and 
the one we recommend for present sowing is Dr. 
MacLean. Land cleared of late Broccoli will suit 
this crop, and it will be an advantage at this season 
if a trench is thrown out, the same as for Celery, a 
good dressing of manure put in and forked well up 
with the bottom soil of the trench. Place a thin 
layer of soil over the manure and sow the Peas 
singly in rows about 2 in. apart, and three rows in 
each trench. This will be found a great saving of 
seed over the old plan of sowing ; and will give 
stronger plants and better results. The ground 
between the Peas can be used for a crop of Lettuce, 
or Leeks may be planted a little later on. 
Turnips.—A full sowing may now be made with¬ 
out fear of them going to seed. Snowball is a good 
Turnip, but for quality Veitch’s Red Globe is the 
best, and if all the roots are not used up by autumn 
it keeps well when lifted. If the drills are moistened 
with water in which 2 oz. of sulphate of ammonia 
have been dissolved to every gallon of water before 
sowing, it will give an impetus to the young plants, 
aud carry them safely through an attack of " fly.” 
Beans.—A late sowing of Scarlet Runners should 
be made. These may be sown 3 ft. apart in the 
rows, and allowed to grow without sticks, merely 
stopping them occasionally. Grown in this way 
slight autumn frosts do not get through them so 
readily as when grown on sticks, and they are easily 
protected. Another sowing of Dwarfs and also 
Longpods may be made. 
Broccoli and Borecole.—A sowing of the former 
for the latest crop should be made, also a good bed 
of Asparagus Kale. This is an excellent quality 
Kale; stands any weather, and keeps in cutting 
longer than any other. 
Coleworts.—A sowing of these will be found 
most useful for filling up vacancies as ground gets 
cleared of crops, and a good breadth should always 
be forward in growth before autumn. Endive.—An 
early bed of the Dwarf Green Curled may be sown 
in a shady spot. Close attention must be given to 
thinning all young crops, and keeping them free from 
weeds, and transplant any crop likely to be damaged 
by overcrowding in the seed beds.— J. R. 
- 
©leanings ftrnm flj^ SDnrlb 
nf Sctenci}. 
Lime in Plant Chemistry.—In the most recent 
issue of the Annals of Botany (Vol. x., No. 37) P. 
Groom gives an account of some experiments on the 
function of calcium in plant chemistry. It is well- 
known that plants will not thrive unless supplied 
with a small amount of calcium in their food ; one of 
the symptoms of mal-nutrition when this element is 
absent being the accumulation of starch in the 
tissues, 
More than twenty years ago Boehm came to the 
conclusion that one of the functions of calcium was 
to assist the carrying of carbohydrates. Working 
subsequently on the same subject, A. F. W. 
Schimper showed that, in plants which normally 
contain crystals of calcic oxalate, oxalic acid is a bye- 
product in the building up of proteids, and that, in 
the absence of calcium, acid potassic oxalate 
accumulates in the leaves and buds and acts as a 
poison. He concluded that the calcium served to 
neutralise this salt, but played no fundamental part 
in the conduction of carbohydrates, since these were 
proved to travel without a corresponding movement 
of calcium. 
Groom suggests that the choking of the tissues 
with starch may be due to the fact that potassic 
oxalate arrests the change of starch into sugar, and 
shows by experiment that the diastatic action of 
extract of malt upon arrow-root^starch is hindered 
by even very dilute solutions of the acid salt; also 
that the same substance retards the process of the 
change of starch into sugar in^ the living leaf of the 
Canadian water-weed (Elodea canadensis ); and 
further, as the soluble oxalate accumulates, that 
the manufacture of starch is retarded, and, finally, 
the protoplasm is killed. The possibility of the 
diastatic action in plants, which, like Oxalis, normally 
contain a considerable amount of acid potassi; 
Oxalate in solution in their leaves, is explained by 
the fact already elucidated by Giessler, that the salt 
is stored in the epidermis, not in the assimilating 
tissue. Giessler suggested that the object was pro¬ 
tection from snails and the like, but Groom thinks, 
from his own experiments, that the protective 
significance is at most secondary, and that the 
primary reason of the superficial storage of the 
oxalate is because its presence in the underlaying 
tissues would derange the metabolic processes.— 
Natural Science. 
