February 8, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
371 
Donald Morrison is a first-class Pansy with dark 
purple blotches edged with yellow. Agnes Mabel 
has dark well-formed blotches laced white. 
Marmion is a large flower with violet blotches, and 
although not so well-formed as some, it has great 
substance and is quite a distinct colour. A very 
finely-coloured Pansy is W. H. Clarke, with dark 
glossy blotches, and a broad margin of yellow- 
Maggie A. Scott has dark purple blotches edged 
crimson and yellow. One of the best is Helen 
Christie with large and well-formed purple blotches- 
Mrs. Wm. Watson is a well-formed flower with rich 
dark blotches edged pale yellow. Very distinct is 
Lord Hamilton with circular blotches edged mauve. 
Mrs. M. Cuthbertson has dark blotches; margins 
bright yellow with splendid form. One of the largest 
Pansies grown is Mrs. D. Johnstone, with deep blue 
blotches edged white. Maggie Watson is edged 
white with deep blue blotches and is a large and 
well-formed flower. Maggie M. Phail has dark 
purple blotches with white margins. Very finely- 
coloured is Jeanie P. Tait with dark blotches edged 
crimson and yellow. James Campbell has den e 
violet blotches edged light yellow; a large and 
well-formed Pansy. John Allan is a large flower 
with deep plum blotches laced with white. One of 
the best yellow seifs is Annie Ross, with rich dark 
blotches and splendid substance. Wm. Watson has 
purple blotches edged creamy-white, and is a 
well-formed Pansy. Mrs. Mackie is white self with 
well-formed blotches. 
A well-coloured flower is Tamworth Yellow, with 
wide dark blotches, edged pale yellow. James S. 
Irvine has dark glossy blotches, edged golden-yellow 
streaked with rose. David Rennie is a large Pansy, 
with dense maroon blotches edged yellow. Very 
distinct is Thos. Gardner, with violet blotches edged 
yellow. Miss Stirling has dark glossy blotches 
with creamy-coloured edging. It is a splendid Pansy 
in every way. Bernard Doulton is a large flower 
with dark crimson blotches, belted with carmine 
and yellow. 
In the above list I have included Miss Stirling, 
and Bernard Doulton, both sent out in 1895. The 
former variety I consider the best Pansy in culti¬ 
vation, and no collection can be complete without it. 
There are many more good varieties which might 
have been added, but for beginners the list I have 
given is quite lengthy enough.— R. L. 
THE PLANT NOISES. 
The Stove. 
In accordance with the instructions given in the last 
calendar, the temperature of the stove may now be 
raised a couple of degrees, and will thus stand at about 
62° by night. On bright days it will possibly rise rather 
high as the sun is acquiring a good deal of power. 
In all cases where air is given by the top ventilators 
those on the sunny side only should be opened, and 
then they must not be left open after 2 p.m. In 
very large houses it is sometimes the practice to 
pack the grooves in which the lights work, with 
hemp or tow, in order to minimise the draught. It 
is true that when no top air is given, the growth 
made by the plants is more rapid than it is when the 
house is not kept quite so close, but the tissues 
formed under such conditions are always soft and 
delicate. It will be too early yet to start using the 
syringe regularly, but if the sun is very bright and 
warm a slight sprinkle overhead in the middle of the 
day will do no harm whatever. 
Cockroaches are usually more or less of a plague 
in the warmer houses, and they seem to find the 
warmth of the pipes especially comfortable during 
the winter. It is, perhaps, a pity to disturb them, 
from their point of view, but the rapacity with 
which they attack the leaves of the plants admits of 
no other alternative. Phosphorus paste spread on 
small pieces of crocks or cardboard, and laid here 
and there upon the plant stages will be devoured 
greedily, and the devourers will pay the penalty. 
Do not attempt to pick up the dead ones, but leave 
them for the delectation of the remainder, who have 
no scruples about eating their dead brethren. The 
poison appears to be just as fatal in this way when 
taken second-hand as when eaten direct from the 
bottle. 
Potting.— With the second week in the month a 
start should be made in shifting such plants as need 
more room, fresh soil, etc. Those subjects exhibit^ 
ing the greatest amount of vigour must be operated 
on first, weaklings being left until the last. Avoid 
filling the pots too full of soil. This is a mistake 
that young gardeners are very apt to make if not 
properly looked after. Sufficient room must always 
be left between the surface of the soil and the rim of 
the pot to hold enough water to thoroughly soak 
the ball of the plant at one watering. 
Firmness in Potting is a question that would 
take a deal of space to properly thresh out, but it 
may be taken for granted that all plants which have 
to be kept in relatively small pots in order to be really 
useful must be potted firmly. In dealing with 
plants that have but few roots, or are naturally 
weak growers, on the other hand, the soil must not 
be made too firm, for to do this would only be adding 
another check to the vigour of their growth. 
Allamandas. —Where it is desired to obtain some 
small plants of these handsome stove climbers, the 
present is the most favourable time for seeing about 
it. Look over the prunings and cut off the upper 
portions, inserting these as cuttings. They should 
be placed singly in small pots, the soil made nicely 
firm about them, and then they may be plunged in a 
brisk bottom heat of about 75 0 Fahr. If looked 
after properly for watering, etc., they will soon start 
into growth at the tops, and roots will also be formed 
at the bases. Subsequently, potting on must receive 
careful consideration. 
Caladiums.— Preparations may be made now for 
starting a few of the tubers into growth. For the 
commoner sorts shallow boxes will do admirably for 
laying the tubers in, but for the rarer ones small pots 
are better. The tubers must be knocked out of the 
pots in which they have passed the winter, and put 
in the pots or boxes, as the case may be, covering 
them with light, sandy soil. A brisk bottom heat 
will expedite matters, although an atmospheric 
temperature of from 65° to 70° will amply suffice. 
Do not be too free in the use of the watering-can, 
but lightly sprinkle the soil twice a day, damping 
the house or pit in which the pots are placed at the 
same time. 
Poinsettias which were late in flowering may now 
be cut down and removed to a rather cooler house to 
rest for a while before they are allowed to start into 
growth again. In this quiescent stage they will 
require little or no water. 
Pits and Frames. 
Seed Sowing. —In a week or two’s time the work of 
sowing seed under glass of a great variety of sub¬ 
jects will be actively in progress. It will be well to 
mix up a quantity of soil suitable for the purpose, so 
that it may be handy for filling pots, pans, or boxes 
when the time comes. As it is necessary that the 
house or pit in which the seed pans are to be placed 
should have plenty of light, it should receive a good 
washing now, if time can be spared. All work of 
this kind should be got as forward as possible, for 
bye and bye there will be but little time to spare. 
Chrysanthemums. —The cuttings take a deal of 
watching during the damp days of the early part of 
the year, although the passage of every week helps 
to improve matters in the way of increased light. 
After the cuttings are rooted nicely they must not 
be coddled in any way, but must be aired pretty 
freely when conditions are at all favourable to induce 
sturdy and short-jointed growth. Nothing beats 
ashes for standing the pots upon, and if they have to 
be brought up close to the glass by the erection of a 
temporary staging of boards a layer of ashes should 
be placed on the latter. PottiDg the cuttings off 
must proceed apace as soon as they have made 
enough roots to warrant so doing. It is not a 
good plan to disturb them too soon, but on the other 
hand they must not be suffered to remain in the cut¬ 
ting pots till the roots have become matted together. 
A compost of equal parts of loam and leaf soil, 
the former chopped up finely with a spade and the 
latter rubbed through a sieve, will answer admir¬ 
ably. Plenty of sand must be added to impart 
porosity to the soil. After potting, the young plants 
may be returned to a cold frame, keeping this rather 
■closer than usual for a few days. 
Fuchsias. —A few plants were put into heat about 
the middle of January in order to furnish material 
for cuttings. The work of taking these off and 
putting them in, must be carried on until a sufficient 
number has beenobtained. It is quite likely that this 
end will not be gained until two or three batches have 
been inserted. The remainder of the old plants may 
now be taken out from the greenhouse ttage, or 
wherever they may have been stored, pruned, placed in 
a cold frame, and kept rather close. Water may now 
be given sparingly. It is a much better plan to 
start the plants a week or two earlier and not to 
hurry them afterwards, than it is to drive things off 
till later on and then rush them into heat. 
Coleuses.— No time should be lost in getting in a 
batch of these. The tops of the stock plants obtained 
from cuttings taken last autumn will soon make 
plants. If room,cannot be found for them in the 
propagating frame they will strike quickly enough if 
given a place on a shelf near the glass in a pit kept 
up to stove temperature. 
General Work.— Batches of cuttings of Lobelias, 
Alternantheras, Zonal Pelargoniums, Dahlias, etc., 
may be put in as fast as they are forthcoming. 
Herbaceous Calceolarias may be given their final 
shift into their flowering quarters. An 8-iD. Dot 
should be large enough for the general run of the 
plants, although especially strong ones may need a 
12-in. Auriculas may be top-dressed with good rich 
soil. Cold frames containing Violets, Carnations, 
etc., must be freely ventilated. The watering-can 
must be used very judiciously amongst plants in 
unheated structures; in fact, but very little water 
will be required yet, even if the weather keeps mild, 
and still less if it should turn cold and wintry.— 
A.S.G. 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS. 
By the Editor. 
Saccolabium bellinum.—A fine specimen of 
this charming little Orchid has been flowering for 
some time past in the gardens of T. McMeekin, 
Esq., Falkland Park, South Norwood Hill. The 
plant is 13 in. high, has four flower spikes and 
eleven flowers on one of them, the rest having each 
a smaller number. The variety is a very fine dark 
one.” As far as we know it is the finest specimen in 
the country of this particular species, and the gar¬ 
dener, Mr. Wright, may well be proud of it. We 
have heard different opinions about this plant even 
from Orchid connoisseurs, and lovers of this particu¬ 
lar class of plants. In one case a plant was 
purchased in expectation that the flowers were not 
only beautiful but produced in long racemes like the 
fox-biush type of Saccolabium, and the purchaser 
was disappointed. The flowers are borne in umbels 
and their extreme beauty might well compensate for 
their small numbers. The plant is indeed a gem 
for suspending in small baskets, but grows equally 
well in pots. 
Oncidium Warscewiczii.—The first description 
of this species was given by Professor Reichenbach 
in 1852, and that veteran had known it as early as 
1850. Another name was given it by Dr. Lindley, 
who described it later on ; but there can be no doubt 
about the identity of the plant so that the above, 
being the oldest name, must be retained. It is 
practically a rare plant, though it has several times 
been re-imported. Mr. C. H. Hale, gardener to 
Col. Shipway, Grove House, Chiswick, recently 
sent us a spike of its golden-yellow flowers. The 
sepals are oblong, the petals broader, and the tip 
has a transverse apical portion. The five-toothed 
crest is white, with four red spots on it, and there 
are red edges to the claw. The ^habit of the plant 
is that of a Gomeza, but the special feature of the 
species is the large, spathaceous bracts which recall 
those of the Coelogynes. Mr. Hale tells us that he 
had it from Costa Rica several years ago, and that 
is the source from which Reichenbach had it It 
has flowered regularly every year at Grove House 
since it was established there. Other importations 
show that it is also distiibuted over New Granada. 
The species is both interesting, pretty, and remark¬ 
able distinct amongst the 300 or so of species known 
to science. 
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. 
New Homes In the “Sunshine State’ 1 of Amerlca.- 
Exceptlonal opportunity to join Fruit and Vine growing 
Colony in U.S.A. Only small capital required. Land on ten 
years' time. Experienced local adviser. Income first year. 
Large profits. Superior market and railway facilities; 1,500 
miles nearer than California to Chicago and New York. Four 
to seven weeks earlier fruiting season. Ideal climate for weak 
lungs. Splendid shooting. For free illustrated pamphlet and 
full particulars, address—Mesllla Valley Irrigation Colony 34, 
Victoria Street, London, S.W 
