February 1, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
355 
THE GARDENER. 
A Parody. 
(With apologies to Mr. C. M. Thomson). 
Away from civilization, 
Away from the haunts of men, 
In some odd pokey corner, 
Is found the “ gardener's den.” 
The Ivy's trailing branches 
Darken the window pane ; 
The wind soughs round the gables 
With sad and weird refrain. 
The walls are damp and clammy, 
And often, too, alas ! 
The smoke from out the chimney 
Can not be made to pass. 
The food is poor and scanty, 
For “ the gardener’s ” wage is low, 
And his children, too, are many; 
Why should these things be so ? 
From early dawn till twilight, 
And under the scorching sun, 
He toils throughout the summer, 
But his work is never done. 
With chilly winds and bitter, 
'Neath winter’s icy sway, 
He wrestles on with Nature 
To obtain a labourer's pay. 
'Tis true he woos fair Flora, 
And tends her children rare ; 
But the children—like the mother !—■ 
Are fractious oft, tho' fair. 
He hovers round his charges 
And trains their growing shoots; 
And waits—Oh disappointment!— 
Few flowers and fewer fruits. 
His busy brain and watchful eye 
Know not the name of rest; 
Hands, brain, and eye by night and day 
Pursue their eager quest. 
And when, perhaps, at night-time 
In slumber he is lost. 
The twinkling stars shine wickedly— 
For ten degrees of frost ! 
Who'd choose “ the gardener’s " calling 
While there's " rags and bones ” to cry ? 
Who’d be a “ cabbage grafter ” 
If they had the choice ?—not I. 
—G. A. S. 
Pot Vines. —The bunches of fruit borne by these 
will have at least been gone over once for thinning, 
and the berries should now be beginning to swell 
nicely. Carefully attend to the stopping of shoots 
and the pinching out of the points of laterals at the 
first leaf. Manure water must be given very care¬ 
fully at first, as it is far better to err on the side of 
giving it too weak than too strong. Farmyard 
manure, when it can be obtained fresh, is an 
excellent stimulant, and Thomson's Vine and Plant 
Manure is one of the safest, and at the same time 
one of the most effective, of chemical manures. The 
house may be kept up to the same temperature as 
advised in the last calendar—viz., 63° Fahr., rising to 
70° by day. It is not a good practice to force the 
plants too hard at this stage, as it is sure to result in 
weak, thin, and unhealthy leaf tissues, which, in 
their turn, cannot fail to exercise a prejudicial effect 
upon the quality of the fruit. 
Earliest Permanent Vinery. —This should not 
now be allowed to fall below 6o c by night. A chink of 
air should be given in the daytime as soon as the 
thermometer indicates 65°. Some cultivators give 
no air until the house is up to 70°, but we fail to see 
exactly what benefit the vines receive from being 
subjected to such a stuffy atmosphere. In giving 
air the utmost caution must be observed against the 
causing of draughts. The evaporating troughs upon 
the pipes must be kept full of water, and dampings 
down may be pretty frequently given, especially 
during cold weather, when more fire heat is 
employed. 
Peaches and Nectarines. —In the earliest house 
the fruit should now be nicely set, and the syringe 
may be put to work again regularly morning and 
night. Continue the removal of superfluous shoots 
and thus avoid the check to the tree which would be 
the inevitable consequences were a large number 
removed all at once, 
The temperature may stand at about 55 0 by night 
for the next couple of weeks, rising from 7°to io° by 
day, according to the amount of sunlight. Black fly 
often makes its appearance at this stage, and its 
advent must be carefully watched for. Light 
fumigations may be given if desired. In this case, it 
may be observed the foliage must be perfectly dry 
before operations are commenced. The house should 
only barely be filled with smoke the first time, 
making the fumigations rather stronger at the second 
and third time. This may be followed up by a more 
than ordinary liberal syringing. If the fly is 
observed to be present on a few branches only a 
dusting of tobacco powder may be given, washing 
this off after the lapse of a couple of hours or so. 
This latter method does away with the necessity of 
so much fumigation, which, no matter how carefully 
it may be performed, must be enfeebling to the 
plants subjected to it if it is strong enough to 
kill the insects against which it is directed. 
Succession House. —As soon as the flowers here 
begin to open, the pollenising brush must be set to 
work regularly each day. The atmosphere must be 
kept drier as well, and hence fire-heat, which, of 
course, must have a parching effect, should be used 
as little as possible. A night temperature of 52 0 
rising to 57° by day with sun, will be amply suffi¬ 
cient for the present. A little air should be given as 
soon as the thermometer indicates 55 0 . 
TIE FLOWER BARBER. 
With such an open winter there has been but very 
little check indeed experienced in this department. 
One or two rather rainy periods have, it is true, 
proved somewhat of a hindrance in localities where 
the soil is very heavy, and thus does not soon dry 
sufficiently to admit of working upon it. As the 
planting season is now fairly well advanced any 
shifting or planting of fresh trees and shrubs should 
be finished as soon as possible, for it must not be 
forgotten that February is usually credited with 
being given to the introduction of heavy falls of rain 
or snow, either of which would prove a serious draw¬ 
back to work outside. 
The planting of Roses of the hybrid perpetual 
section may also proceed apace, as well as the prun¬ 
ing of the same. As soon as the latter operation is 
completed, the prunings cleared away, and all further 
need for trampling on the beds over (for the time at 
least), a light forking over of the soil may be given, 
followed by a nice mulching of short, partially- 
decomposed stable litter. Tea varieties, however, 
should not be meddled with yet for a few weeks, for 
we often get very sharp frost in February, much 
sharper indeed than the somewhat tender Teas are 
able to put up with. 
Climbers on Walls. —As long as the mild 
weather lasts, temporary coverings that have been 
placed over the more tender subjects should be 
rolled back to give the trees the full benefit of the 
light and air. The pruning and training of all 
climb rs that can readily be got at should be 
attended to at the first opportunity, for, usually, walls 
that are adorned in this way have herbaceous 
borders running along beneath their shelter. These 
latter will soon need to be forked over, cleaned, and 
division of the roots of any subjects that may require 
it looked after ; and it is very certain that it is no 
use to dig a bed or border if it has to be trampled on 
very much directly after. 
Hedges composed of Hawthorn or other 
deciduous subjects may now be pruned as soon as 
time can be found. It is advisable to get as much of 
this kind of work over before the inevitable press 
comes with the advancing spring. 
Gravel Paths. —Favourable opportunities must 
be seized for rolling these. Other walks that require 
renovating should have the old gravel loosened by 
means of the pick before the new layer of gravel is 
spread over. Repeated rollings with a good heavy 
roller given immediately afterwards and repeated as 
frequently as occasion offers will soon produce a 
fine, hard, even surface upon which it will be a 
pleasure to walk. 
Grass Edgings. —The straightening of these by 
means of the turfing iron is an important operation, 
and one that must on no account be passed over. 
Care should be taken to see that the iron in the first 
place has a keen edge, otherwise a ragged and 
untidy-looking cut will be sure to result. It may be 
necessary to put it upon the grindstone for a few 
minutes to bring it into proper working order. In 
using it the shaft should be held perfectly 
perpendicular, for nothing looks worse than an 
edge sloping from the top outwards or inwards as 
the case may be. In places where the verges are 
more than 15 in. above the surface of the gravel the 
roller may be passed over them to bring them down 
somewhat. 
In frosty weather, should it fall to our lot to 
experience it, advantage should be taken of the 
hardness of the ground to wheel or cart any manure 
or soil to positions where they are required for use. 
At other times when the ground is soft, continued 
wheeling, whether upon paths or grass, should only 
be conducted over planks laid down for the purpose. 
—A.S.G. 
-- 
Cattleya House— Most of the Mexican Laelias, 
which include L. anceps, L. autumnalis, and the 
sweet-scented L. albida, may now be afforded some 
fresh material for the new roots which are just 
beginning to push from the base of the newly-made- 
up growths to root into. We grow all our proved 
kinds in baskets, which we think suits them much 
better than pots, as it admits of their being suspended 
close to the glass, where they get more light and air, 
a state of things more approaching the conditions in 
which they are found growing naturally. 
Top Dressing. —Where the plants have not out¬ 
grown the baskets it may be only necessary to pick 
out the old material and re-surface with some good 
rough peat and live sphagnum moss in equal parts, 
with pieces of crocks worked in here and there. It 
is, however, only in rare instances that we top-dress 
this class of Orchid, for they so readily re-establish 
themselves when put into fresh baskets, that in most 
cases we prefer to give them everything fresh and 
sweet, and thus do away with any insects that may 
otherwise be concealed amongst the crocks. 
Watering. —Very little water must be given to 
plants newly potted or basketed ; a gentle sprinkle 
when finished, just sufficient to keep the moss alive, 
is all they will require until the new roots have taken 
hold of the fresh compost. 
Cool House. —There is always something in this 
department that wants re-potting during the spring 
months, for, unlike most species, they have no set 
time for flowering ; consequently they are in different 
stages of growth. I am, of course, now thinking of 
the Queen of Orchids—Odontoglossum crispum. 
There still seems to be with some people a lot of 
mystery about the treatment of this beautiful plant. 
I suppose it is because most writers say the work 
must be done just so, and at a given hour of the day, 
or it would be next to impossible for them to succeed. 
Again, the drainage must be put in in a certain way, 
or they will not thrive. Neither must the tempera¬ 
ture be allowed to rise or fall below the figures given, 
or disaster will follow. Undoubtedly the tempera¬ 
ture that suits the plants best is one that ranges from 
45 0 , as minimum, to 55 0 , as a maximum, at this season. 
In the summer time the cooler they are kept the 
better. 
For myself, I prefer imported plapts to start with : 
they grow away and do much better than those that 
have perhaps been coddled. The best time^of year 
to buy newly-imported plants is no doubt about 
March, as, having the summer before them, they have 
a better chance of becoming established. We brought 
in a quantity last spring, all of which have done 
well, bearing any amount of spikes, some with nine 
and ten blooms, and this on plants in 60-size pots. 
Naturally with a large batch they are in various 
stages of growth. Those that are only partly made 
up we are re-potting now, using peat and live moss 
in equal parts.— C. 
Orchids of the highest quality, every plant guaranteed 
true to name, from 2/6 each. Please send for free list.—P. 
McArthur, The London Nurseries, 4, Maida Vale, London, 
W. 
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