January nth, 1896 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
303 
Erratum.—On p. 286, two lines from the bottom of 
the third column, for " now be let get dry,” read 
“ never be let get dry.” 
Presentation to a Successful Gardener.—Mr. 
William M’Kelvie, one of the most prominent horti¬ 
culturists in Scotland was entertained to supper on 
the 18th ult., and made the recipient of a handsome 
present by tiie citizens of Dunbar on the occasion of 
his becoming the tenant of Duncanlaw Farm, near 
Gifford. He has been the winner of over 500 prizes 
chiefly for Grapes. 
Chrysanthemums are ” hoff,” I fear; 
No stew nor soup, whether real or mock, 
No hash to cheer the dying year, 
Nor sauce for the Christmas “ bubbly jock,” 
Have been recorded, nicely worded. 
In your pages of facts and commentaries, 
Nor, I think, in your contemporaries; 
If to fry or boil 'em, but serve to spoil ’em, 
Let the “ mummers ” now take ’em and try to 
bake ’em. — Jarge. 
Railway rates for market gardening and agricultural 
produce.—Market gardeners and agriculturists in the 
West are still determined to leave no stone unturned 
to bring about a modification of railway rates in 
connection with the Great Western such as have 
been made by other railways ; and Sir Cameron 
Gull, M.P., their champion, is following up the 
scheme with commendable determination. Sir 
Cameron argues, with much truth, that the position 
of market gardeners and agriculturists in comparison 
to their foreign rivals is a serious grievance of long 
standing, and one to be redressed by the establish¬ 
ment of equality of rates for the carriage of pro¬ 
duce. 
Lewes Chrysanthemum Society.—The annual 
meeting of the members of the Lewes and District 
Chrysanthemum Society was held at the King's 
Head, Southover, on the 1st inst. Mr. A. T. 
Kenward was in the chair, and there was a large 
attendance.—The report of the committee showed 
that the last show was considered by experts, and 
reported on by one of the leading horticultural 
papers, to be one of the prettiest exhibitions held 
in the southern counties. The weather being fine, 
the show was well patronised, thus enabling the 
committee to show a balance in hand of £28 7s. iod- 
They tendered thanks to the ladies and all others 
who kindly gave their services in various capacities, 
and also to the General Manager of the London, 
Brighton, and South Coast Railway for many 
favours. The monthly meetings and lectures had 
again proved very interesting, and the experiment of 
engaging the lecture-room at the Town Hall was 
very successful, some really good and instructive 
lectures being given free to all. The committee 
hoped to meet with continued support to carry on 
this educational work. 
Ancient Society of York Florists.—The annual 
dinner of the members of this society was held on 
the 19th ult. at the North-Eastern Hotel, Tanner 
Row, York, when between sixty and seventy guests 
sat down to an excellent dinner prepared by Mr. F. 
-Halliwell. Mr. Alderman McKay presided in the 
absence of Aid. Sir Joseph Terry, J.P. During the 
course of the evening, Mr. Aid. Rymer, in proposing 
the toast of ” The Ancient Society of York Florists,” 
said the citizens of York were very much indebted to 
.the society for the pleasure which they afforded them 
by the displays which were seen at what were called 
the minor shows. The influence of the society in 
the development and culture of flowers was seen in 
the homes of York and every week in the public 
market-place. He believed the society had a grand 
future before it, and he thoroughly believed that it 
would still continue to make good progress. The 
vice-president, Mr. W. R. Robinson, said that their 
Chrysanthemum show was admitted, both by 
provincial and metropolitan critics, that there was no 
better in the country. Mr. G. Lamb, on behalf of 
the officers, said they had three wetjnights for their 
Chrysanthemum show, but despite that fact, which 
militated much against the attendance and reduced 
their receipts by some £23, they took ^249 at the 
doors, and when their expenses had been paid they 
would have a balance on the year of /15 or £16, so 
that with the balance of last year they would have 
something like £210 at the bank. Several other 
speakers followed, and a pleasant evening was spent. 
Glees and part-songs were excellently rendered by 
the York Quartette. 
A gale of exceptional severity prevailed throughout 
the district of Lochaber, on Christmas morning. 
Much damage was done in the town of Fort William, 
and numerous trees, including an old ancestral Elm 
at Invernevis, were uprooted. The wind on the top 
of Ben Nevis was blowing at the rate of 140 miles 
an hour, and none of the meteorologists at the 
Observatory had ventured out since the previous 
Monday. 
Two Crops of Peaches—One of our subscribers in 
Guernsey brought to our office the other day a fruit 
of Hales Early Peach about the size of a Walnut, 
and gathered on December 21st. It was one of 
twelve belonging to the second crop. His gardener 
thinks that these fruits will ripen in spring provided 
no frost occurs before that time. The tree is on a 
south aspect wall and well sheltered. The first crop 
was gathered in July. Last Winter was so severe 
that it nearly killed a fine specimen of Lily of the 
Valley Tree, 15 ft. high, and the drought of summer 
completed the mischief. 
-.4.- 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
T he Stove. 
With the turn of the year we may expect to see a 
gradual lengthening of the days, and things in the 
stove will soon begin to move slowly. For the present, 
however, nothing must be done to unduly excite 
them. The temperature in the warmest stove may 
be kept up to about 6o° Fahr. by night, for at least 
another fortnight, whilst for the intermediate house 
56° will amply suffice. In both cases, of course, a 
rise of from 5 0 to 7 0 must be allowed in the day¬ 
time. With the long spell of mild weather the coke 
bill should not have reached to a very formidable 
length, and it does not appear as if it will do so this 
winter, for at the time of writing the outdoor ther¬ 
mometer is standing at an abnormal height, being 
fully 7 0 or 8° above the average. The mild weather 
has been all in the favour of the plants under glass, 
and we are pleased to observe an almost total 
absence of those sickly yellow leaves that are the 
invariable tokens of want of vitality on the part of 
the plants that bear them—a state of things that too 
much fire heat is bound to bring about. 
Sponging.— It will not be possible to use the 
syringe regularly yet, for another six weeks at least, 
and thus whenever a few moments can be spared the 
sponge should be set to work upon Palms, Crotons, 
Dracaenas, etc., in order to remove any dust or dirt 
that may have settled upon them. Not only do the 
plants look all the better for thus having their faces 
washed, but they are kept in much better health 
than they would be if allowed to remain dirty. 
Anthuriums. —These are among the noblest of 
our stove plants, and, as such, are well worth any 
little extra care or trouble that they may need. 
January is the best month in the year to carry on 
their propagation, for they can then be handled with 
less fear of a check than at any other time. The 
crowns of the old plants may be divided up and 
potted separately, taking care to injure the roots as 
little as possible. Long lanky plants may have 
their tops taken off with a few of the aerial roots 
attached, and potted. These soon grow into dwarf, 
sturdy stuff. The old plants that are thus beheaded 
if kept syringed will soon make fresh growths, 
which may likewise be taken off and put in to make 
plants if needed. In order to treat the Anthuriums 
properly they should be placed in a low, close pit, 
where they can be given the heat and moisture they 
love. In potting, a compost of equal parts of 
fibrous loam and peat, with a liberal addition of 
broken crocks, charcoal, [silver sand, and chopped 
sphagnum moss, will be found the most suitable to 
use, whilst the value of good drainage can scarcely 
be over-estimated. 
Pits and Frames. 
Fuchsias. —It is now quite time to see about putting 
a few plants into heat in order to obtain the stock of 
cuttings necessary to supply the demand for young 
stuff. Some of the old plants should, therefore, be 
taken out and slightly pruned, shortening the shoots 
to about half their length. They may then be 
placed in a gentle heat in a place where the syringe 
can be plied amongst them regularly twice a day. 
They will soon break into growth, and will furnish 
any amount of cuttings in a few weeks’ time. Of 
course, it will not be necessary to disturb them at the 
roots just yet. The remainder of the old plants not 
required for the above purpose may still be kept in 
their quiescent state for a few weeks longer. 
Gloxinias.— No matter at what time of the year 
these plants come into flower they are always 
accorded a warm welcome. A batch of the old 
tubers may now be started to come into bloom early 
in the season. The pots in which they have re¬ 
mained throughout the winter may be placed on a 
snelf near the glass, with a night temperature of 
about 55 0 , rising to 6o° by day. The surface of the 
soil may be moistened several times a day by means 
of the syringe or a fine rose-can. Some growers 
deluge the pots with water, but this we do not 
believe in, as the tubers start into growth quite as 
well without it. As soon as the shoots are about 
half an inch in height the plants may be shaken out 
of the old soil and potted up into a compost of good 
turfy loam and leaf soil in equal parts, plenty 
of sand being added to give the soil the necessary 
porosity. 
Roses in Pots. —Keep the syringe well plied 
amongst these until the flower buds begin to show 
colour, after which it will not be safe to continue the 
syringings. Plenty of liquid cow manure is of great 
service to the plants at this stage. 
Cannas. —Where it is desired to raise a stock of 
these wonderfully showy plants from seed, a sowing 
should be made as soon now as possible. As the 
testa of the seed is exceptionally hard, something 
has to be done to lessen its powers of keeping intact 
for a long time, and thus to help forward the process 
of germination. Some growers file away a portion 
of this horny integument, others soak the seed in 
warm water for an hour or two until the testa can be 
pared off with a sharp knife. Both of these methods, 
however, although efficacious enough, need very 
careful performance. Decidedly the best plan in our 
estimation is to soak the seeds in warm water for at 
least twenty-four hours before they are sown. As 
the roots of Cannas, when in a young state, are 
especially brittle, it is advisable to sow the seeds singly 
in thumb pots, and thus to obviate the necessity for 
such an early shift as would be required were the 
seeds sown collectively in a pan or shallow pot. A 
temperature of about 75 0 will be needed now to 
ensure prompt germination. If these early seedlings 
are looked alter properly for potting, feeding, etc., 
they will commence to flower about the end of June 
or the beginning of July, although they will be at 
least a month later if planted outside in the flower 
garden. 
Herbaceous Calceolarias. —These must not be 
coddled in any way, but should be kept near the 
glass in a perfectly cool house or frame, and given an 
abundance of fresh air. Even ice-cold water, as 
long as it is soft, does not appear to hurt them in the 
slightest, and, as long as frost is just excluded from 
the house they are occupying, nothing more will be 
required. A sharp look-out must, however, be kept 
for the appearance of aphides, which are particularly 
partial to the juicy leaves. A light fumigation may 
be given as soon as their presence is observed. 
Seeds. —Very soon now the time for sowing under 
glass a good many of the various kinds of seeds will 
be upon us. A general survey of the stock in hand 
at the earliest opportunity will, therefore, be of the 
utmost advantage. Those whicfi are to be sown 
first should be got in readiness, so that they may not 
be forgotten when the time comes for them* to be 
dealt with. 
Soils. —Often enough the gardener has at his dis¬ 
posal a certain amount of unskilled labour. During 
the winter months, when such men are prevented 
from working out of doors by stress of weather, 
their services may be turned to good account in the 
preparation of soil, in readiness for the time when a 
great deal of potting has to be done in as little time 
as possible. Loam may now be chopped and peat 
pulled to pieces in readiness for use when required. 
All dirty pots and crocks should likewise be washed, 
labels, stakes, etc , made, and everything done that 
it is possible to do in order to save time presently.— 
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