December 7, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
219 
Attend to the first trace of green-fly that makes its 
appearance, and have the plants lightly fumigated one 
calm evening, and syringed the following morning to 
clean them. 
Cold Frames. 
Ventilate freely every day during mild weather, 
whether raining or not ; hut on fine days have the 
lights taken clean off. By thus regularly tending 
them, their occupants, such as Pansies, Hollyhocks, 
Pentstemons, Auriculas, Polyanthus, and other hardy 
or half-hardy subjects will be kept in a sturdy con¬ 
dition, and be far less liable to suffer in the event of 
severe weather, than if coddled and kept close in all 
kinds of weather with the idea of keeping them 
comfortable. The great enemy is wet and damp, 
especially in the case of soft-leaved subjects. In the 
vicinity of manufacturing and smoky towns, another 
factor that must be taken into account is smoke, and 
that, coupled with fog, deposits a sooty filth upon the 
foliage of everything exposed, and in order to counteract 
this it may at times be necessary merely to tilt up the 
sashes in order to admit air, but to exclude as much of 
the soot as possible. 
Gooseberries. 
Where birds are troublesome some people prefer to let 
the bushes go unpruned till spring ; but a crop may be 
frustrated by deferring pruning till the buds are too 
far advanced, and when the shoots are cut away the 
eyes at the base have no time to develop flower buds 
on the basal part left. This is more especially applic¬ 
able to northern gardens, where the pruning of Goose¬ 
berries is done on the spur system. All the young 
shoots are cut away to i in. at the base, leaving only 
the leading growths for the extension of the bush, but, 
of course, shortening them back according to their 
strength. In the more sunny southern counties a 
number of shoots are left, in order to keep the bush 
well filled up in the centre and afford more shade to 
the fruit, which is necessary on account of the greater 
warmth of the sun. To keep sparrows and other bud- 
destroying birds at bay, the bushes may be syringed 
with lime-water until white. A wineglassful of paraffin 
put in a large pail of the lime-water will also assist in 
making the buds distasteful to the marauders. 
Window Plants. 
The number of plants that may easily be procured for 
flowering in windows at the present time is not great, 
but a display may nevertheless be maintained by them. 
Chrysanthemums of dwarf habit, as grown for market 
purposes, Erica hyemalis, E. gracilis, Chinese Primulas, 
Cyclamens, Roman Hyacinths, and early Due Van Thol 
Tulips of various colours are amongst the commonest 
flowering subjects to be had at present. Berried 
Solanums are, however, plentiful and in fine condition. 
-- 
rARDENING MISCELLANY. 
Oestrum aurantiacum. 
The flowering period of this shrub all depends upon 
the treatment it receives, both with regard to tempera¬ 
ture and the time it receives its annual pruning. The 
proper time for the latter operation is when it has done 
flowering, so that it can make fresh growth and form 
flowering wood towards autumn. By pruning early or 
late, so the growth will be regulated to flower early in 
autumn, or even in August ; but if deferred till late in 
the spring then growth starts late, and the flowering 
will be continued over great part of the winter. Long 
cymes of orange flowers are produced at the end of 
every shoot, and these hanging down loosely are pro¬ 
ductive of a fine effect. In popular language we are 
wont to speak of the plant as a climber, but strictly 
speaking it does not climb in any way, although we 
treat it as a climber, simply because its long rambling 
habit suits our purpose for training against a wall or 
pillar, a method of treatment for which it is admirably 
adapted. It varies from 4 ft. to 6 ft. or more in 
height, and succeeds to perfection in a greenhouse with 
a night temperature of 45° or 50° at night. By grow¬ 
ing two or more plants in a house a long succession of 
bloom may be obtained. 
Some Good Things at Tatton Park. 
It is but seldom that we meet with Lasiandra ma- 
crantha in a satisfactory condition, but when visiting 
Tatton Park, Knutsford, the other day, I was pleased 
to meet with it trained up one of the pillars in the 
conservatory, and partly forming an arch. The plant 
was literally covered with its bright purple flowers ; 
there were hundreds open, and many to come on. 
When planted out in suitable situations it is a most 
desirable plant to have, its colour being always 
appreciated. Another grand old plant in splendid 
condition at Tatton is Luculia gratissima. This is 
planted and trained against a wall in one of the con¬ 
necting houses, and literally beai'3 dozens of fine 
trusses of its delicate rosy pink, sweet-scented flowers— 
a valuable acquisition at this time of the year. 
Another sight in one of the stoves I shall never forget. 
It is a span-roofed house, and trained up on either side 
so as to meet at the top are two plants of Epiphyllum 
truncatum, bearing fully 1,000 bright scarlet flowers. 
These plants are worked upon the Pereskia, and are 
wonderfully showy when seen as here represented, 
growing in the various tanks in the houses. Ouvirandra 
fenestralis is quite at home, some dozens of plants of 
various sizes growing most luxuriantly. Some of the 
leaves were considerably over 1 ft. long.— RuMicus. 
The Winter-flowering Begonia Adonis. 
There are many species of Begonia that flower in 
winter, but the great desideratum is to get a race with 
the large flowers and the brilliant colouration of the 
summer - flowering tuberous kinds. The greatest 
advance in this direction is Adonis, which has been 
obtained by Messrs. Veitch, as the result of crossing one 
of the tuberous kinds with pollen of John Heal—itself 
a hybrid, and a very charming one, but smaller than 
Adonis. Both of the last-named are notable from the 
fact that they were the sole representatives of two 
separate sowings of seed, and they are further interest¬ 
ing in bearing male blooms only, so that no seedling 
can be raised from them with the view of further 
improvements in their particular strain. The pollen 
they produce is also very scanty. Adonis makes bushy 
plants about 15 ins. to 18 ins. high, and as much in 
diameter, bearing a few axillary but larger terminal¬ 
forked cymes with twelve to eighteen flowers on each. 
The blooms are moderate in size, but of a beautiful 
warm rose, paler towards the centre, and drooping in 
habit. Specimens of various sizes have been flowering 
for a long time past at Tower House, Chiswick. The 
system pursued by Mr. T. Bones, the gardener, is to 
allow the plants to start into growth of their own 
accord in spring, and then to pot them and grow them 
on till autumn, when they flower grandly in a stove or 
intermediate house. 
Callicarpa purpurea. 
The members of this genus are grown solely for the 
beauty of their berrv-like fruits, which, although small, 
are produced in enormous profusion. The species 
under notice is deserving of more extended cultivation 
than it receives, on account of its utility for the 
decoration of the stove in winter. “We noticed 
numerous specimens of it about 3 ft. high or rather less 
in different structures at Tower House, Chiswick. 
Numerous cymes of small inconspicuous flowers are 
produced in the axils of the leaves along the greater 
part of the slender branches, to be succeeded by equally 
compact clusters of small, exceedingly pretty violet- 
purple berries. The leading branches are tied up, 
allowing the rest to droop naturally. The effect is 
enhanced by the uncommon appearance of the fruits, 
for they are totally unlike the Rivinias, to which they 
may be compared for size. The plants continue in 
beauty for a great length of time, and after their 
attractiveness is gone they may be hard pruned back, 
and then re-potted, when the buds commence to push 
afresh. Loam and peat in equal parts, with a little 
charcoal and sand, constitute a compost in which the 
plants will thrive, and provided a stove temperature is 
given—say from 65° to 75°—good growth will again be 
made during the summer, and another crop of fruit 
ripened in autumn. A batch of plants are therefore 
worthy of house-room for winter decorative purposes. 
The Golden Polypody. 
The popular name of Polypodium aureum applies to 
the rich golden or orange colour of the sori or circular 
clusters of spore cases on the back of the leaves. The 
general hue of the Fern is a rich glaucous or sea-green, 
and anything but suggestive of golden. The beauty 
of the plant, however, from the sporting to the adult 
stage is unquestionable, and is sufficient to account for 
its growing popularity for market purposes. The 
leaves vary from 18 ins. to 5 ft. in length, according to 
the age, size and vigour of the specimen ; but for 
market use the smallest of these figures is, generally 
speaking, too large. This is no doubt to be accounted 
for from the fact that the stock is continually being 
raised from spores, so that when fit for use in any way 
the plants are thrown upon the market in large 
quantities, appearing in every florists’ window and on 
every costermonger’s barrow whose occupation is the 
hawking of flowers through the metropolis. Curiously 
enough the species under notice is a native both of 
tropical America and Australia, so that it can be grown 
either in a stove or greenhouse. In market gardens, 
where a name is given to it at all, it is known as 
Phlebodium aureum. 
Preserving Calceolarias during Winter. 
For a number of years I have adopted the following 
method, and always with satisfactory results. About 
the middle of September I place an old frame in some 
dry and sheltered spot in the garden, and on the bottom 
I put a layer, about 1 in. deep, of coal cinders ; on this 
I sift a quantity of leaf-soil (a year or two old), and 
add about a fourth part of ordinary soil, well mixing 
them together. When levelled down I cover the 
surface with a layer of river sand to the depth of \ in. 
As damp is so injurious to cuttings kept outside in 
winter, I think it is a great point to have the place 
where such are kept well drained, and to put a good 
coat of sand on the surface. After the cuttings have 
been put in, and shaded from the sun for some days, 
the next important point is to make preparations for 
protecting them from the winter and spring frosts, 
which is done in this way. I place a cover of thin 
boards over the glas3, and then cover it up to a depth 
of 1 ft. or 14 ins., with fresh leaves, and the drier 
the better for keeping out the frost. Oak or Spanish 
Chestnut leaves are very suitable for this purpose. I 
uncover them every suitable day throughout the 
winter, of course, but I have seen them covered up in 
this style for six weeks during severe weather, and 
when uncovered they looked quite fresh, and, to all 
appearance, none the worse for their long incar¬ 
ceration.— Gillk Callum. 
Chemical Composition of Stachys 
tuberifera. 
It may interest those who intend giving this vegetable 
a trial that the tubers contain a considerable amount 
of nutritive matter in quite a different form from that 
of the Potato, the leading reserve matter of which is 
starch. Instead of this, 7671 per cent, of the dried 
tuber consists of hydrates of carbon, chiefly forms of 
(jalactane, a substance intermediate between starch and 
sugar. Of the rest, 6-68 per cent, consists of protein¬ 
aceous substances, 771 of amides, 0'82 of fat, 3 38 of 
cellulose, and 47 of ash. The most valuable ingre¬ 
dients, then, of the tubers—that is, from an economical 
point of view—are the proteids and amides, containing 
nitrogen and galactane. Adding these together with 
the fat, we get 91 *92 of food material, while the 
remaining 8'08 consists of cellulose and ash. Granting 
that all of the above useful materials could be digested 
and absorbed by the stomach, we are in possession of a 
vegetable in which the waste is comparatively nil. The 
small quantity of cellulose present explains the perish¬ 
able nature of the tubers, which cannot be kept in 
fresh and usable condition for a few days even, if 
exposed to the influence of the atmosphere. As far as 
seems at present to be known, the best way to preserve 
the tubers is to leave them in the soil until required, 
and protect from frost in severe weather. 
Adiantum Fergusoni. 
Few who know the variable character of A. Capillus- 
Veneriswill fail to see in A. Fergusoni a close resem¬ 
blance, and something like a giant form of that 
cosmopolitan species, which varies in dimensions or 
vegetative vigour according to the climate of the 
country which it inhabits. The late Mr. Moore 
believed it to be related to A. Capillus-Veneris, but 
concluded it might be a hybrid or a sport. The huge 
leaves are triangular-ovate, and vary from 18 ins. to 
30 ins. in length, and 8 ins. to 12 ins. in width. The 
whole leaf is of a rich green with a black stalk, and 
has a bold and massive appearance, owing to the great 
breadth of the individual pinnules, which are broadly 
and bluntly ovate. They are very fertile, and young 
plants spring up freely wherever there is a sufficiency of 
moisture for the germination of the spores. The Fern 
was imported from Ceylon in 1884, but whether it 
grows there in a wild state or originated as a chance 
form is not quite clear. Certain it is that for the 
decoration of the Fernery, or warm, moist plant-house 
it is a great acquisition. 
