262 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 28 , 1889 . 
all the benefit of the sun’s heat reflected hy the same. 
The soil may further be enriched hy good, fat farmyard 
manure in liberal quantity. At pruning time, say in 
March, if the stems and branches are covered with a 
dense spray of weak shoots, thin out and regulate the 
number, otherwise few flowers will be produced. The 
latter are produced on the shoots of the current year, 
so that when pruning there is no danger of cutting away 
the flo ver buds. 
Few would probably grow the plants with the 
intention of fruiting them, as they seldom do so in 
this country ; hut at the same time it would he so 
novel in British horticulture, that a few plants grown 
expressly from this point of view -would be exceedingly 
interesting. Of course, the single-flowered varieties 
should be grown for this purpose, whereas the double 
kinds, which at present are the most common in this 
country, are grown solely for ornament. 
Whether for ornament or for fruiting purposes, the 
best plan is to grow the plant in large pots or tubs in 
the same way as Oranges are treated. They may he in 
the form of pyramids.or standards, the latter being 
most easily managed. The compost should consist of 
good fibrous loam, with a large quantity of well-rotted 
manure. Drain the tubs well and pot firmly. The 
tubs may be kept in an orangery or greenhouse during 
winter, and stood out of doors in a sunny position 
during summer, in the same way as is done with 
Oranges or Myrtles. Terraces, gateways, and the 
sides of walks are suitable positions; and during 
summer they should he allowed to grow naturally and 
without check, as they appear the least formal and the 
prettiest under these conditions, and flower best. Our 
continental neighbours, the French, show us a good 
example in this respect, for in the Luxembourg 
Gardens, and in the Trocadero section of the Universal 
Exhibition of last summer many good examples in 
different varieties might have been seen, many of 
which are described below. 
The typical Punica granatum has single scarlet 
flowers, and is worthy of cultivation for these alone. 
The fruits ripen in November in this country if the 
season has been a warm one, but in the event of fruit 
being produced on plants in tubs, the latter should he 
taken indoors during the latter part of September. The 
variety P. g.'rubrum is a native of Mauritania, and has 
single red flowers with the pulp surrounding the seeds 
also reddish ; it is very hardy. P. g. albescens has 
white petals, a yellowish calyx and pale red pulp, but 
is more tender than the last named, and is to be 
recommended chiefly for the sake of variety. There was 
an old variety named P. g. flavum with yellow flowers, 
hut it is questionable whether it still exists. 
The prettiest of the single varieties for ornamental 
purposes is P. g. nana des Antilles. A large quantity 
of this, grown in the form of globular-headed standards, 
was shown in the grounds of the Trocadero Palace, in 
Paris, last summer. Many of them were 5 ft. high and 
grown in tubs, hut a still greater number of smaller size 
were stood about in various parts of the grounds, and a 
large oval bed was occupied with exceedingly neat 
specimens, from 2 ft. to 2J It. high. They had been 
grown in tubs and plunged out. The flowers are small, 
red, single, and oblong while in bud, resembling crimson 
berries at a short distance. The plants bearing them 
form dense-habited, twiggy and thorny hushes, with 
small leaves, greatly resembling those of a Myrtle. The 
variety might be grown to . great advantage in this 
country for ornamental purposes. On terraces and 
balconies they could not fail to he greatly admired and 
appreciated. 
There are several double varieties of considerable or¬ 
namental value, and, of course, can only be grown for 
that purpose. A very old one is the double red P. g. 
flore pleno, which is moderately common, but slightly 
more tender than the single one. Then there is the 
double whitish variety, P. s. alboscens flore pleno, 
which has nearly white flowers, hut is more tender, 
perhaps, than any of the red-flowered kinds. In the 
French gardens and nurseries there is a pure white form, 
namely, P. s. alba pleno, hut this and the former are 
hardly so effective as the red kinds when grown by 
themselves. Comte de Caverni has very large double 
scarlet flowers ; and there is something attractive about 
P. g. Le Grellii, which has double, light scarlet flowers 
with white edges to the petals. 
If sufficiently hardy to be grown in this country as 
hedges, the Pomegranate and its varieties would soon 
become popular. The dwarf single variety would he 
admirably adapted for the purpose, and if allowed to 
grow freely during the summer would produce a large 
quantity of bloom at the tips of the shoots. Propa¬ 
gation is readily effected in various ways, namely, by 
seed sown as soon as removed from the fruit, by cuttings 
of the roots or twiggy shoots, hy layers, and grafting. 
The latter is the best method of increasing the double 
kinds, as they are much more floriferous when grown on 
the roots of the single varieties, than when raised from 
cuttings. Seedlings take many years to reach a flower¬ 
ing state. 
- •>*««> - 
VEGETABLES IN SEASON. 
It may prove of interest, and give a little system to my 
paper on cropping a kitchen garden (see p. 247) 
if I now give a list of vegetables in season during 
the different months of the year. 
January. —Jerusalem Artichokes, preserved Beans, 
Brussels Sprouts, Beet, Carrots, Coleworts, Celery, 
Endive, Garlic, dried herbs, Horse Radish, Leeks, 
Onions, Parsley, Parsnips, Potatos, Salsafy, Savoys, 
Scotch Kale, Spinach, Shallots, and Turnips. 
February. —Jerusalem Artichokes, Brussels Sprouts, 
Beet, Broccoli, Carrots, Coleworts, Celery, Endive, 
Garlic, dried herbs. Horse Radish, Leeks, Onions, 
Parsley, Parsnips, Potatos, Salsafy, Scorzonera, Savoys, 
Scotch Kale, Spinach, and Turnips. 
March. — Jerusalem Artichokes, Beet, Brussels 
Sprouts, Broccoli, Carrots, Celery, Endive, Garlic, 
Horse Radish, dried herbs, Leeks, Onions, Parsley, 
Parsnips, Potatos, Salsaf 3 T , Scorzonera, Spinach, Tur¬ 
nips, and Turnip-tops. 
April. —Beet, Broccoli, Cabbage, Horse Radish, 
dried herbs, Leeks, Onions, Parsley, Potatos, Salsafy, 
Scorzonera, Spinach, Turnips, and Turnip-tops. 
Mat. —Asparagus, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, 
Carrots, Horse Radish, Herbs, Lettuce, Leeks, Onions, 
Parsley, Potatos, Radishes, Sea Kale, Spinach, and 
Turnips. 
June. —Asparagus, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Cabbage, 
Cauliflower, Carrots, Cress, Herbs, Horse Radish, 
Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, Peas, Potatos, Radishes, Sea 
Kale, Spinach, and Turnips. 
July. —Globe Artichokes, Broad and French Beans, 
Cabbage, Cucumbers, Cauliflower, Carrots, Cress, 
Herbs, Horse Radish, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Parsley, 
Potatos, Spinach, Turnips, Tomatos, and Yegetable 
Marrows. 
August. —Globe Artichokes, various Beans, Cabbage, 
Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Carrots, Cress, Herbs, Horse 
Radish, Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, Peas, Potatos, 
Spinach, Turnips, Tomatos, and Vegetable Marrows. 
September.— Various Beans, Beet, Cabbage, Cauli¬ 
flower, Carrots, Cucumbers, Celery, Cress, Endive, 
Herbs, Horse Radish, Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, Peas, 
Potatos, Radishes, Spinach, Tomatos, Turnips, and 
Vegetable Marrows. 
October. —Beet, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Runner 
Beans, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Cardoons, Herbs, 
Horse Radish, Endive, Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, Peas, 
Parsnips, Potatos, Spinach, Shallots, Savoys, Turnips, 
and Tomatos. 
November. — Jerusalem Artichokes, preserved 
Beans, Beet, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Cabbage, 
Cauliflower, Carrots, Cardoons, Celery, Endive, Garlic, 
Horse Radish, Herbs, Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, 
Parsnips, Potatos, Spinach, Shallots, Savoys, and 
Turnips. 
December. —Jerusalem Artichokes, preserved Beans, 
Beet, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, 
Celery, Endive, Garlic, Herbs, Horse Radish, Lettuce, 
Onions, Parsley, Parsnips, Potatos, Spinach, Shallots, 
Savoys, Scotch Kale, and Turnips. 
Vegetables Recommended for Culture. 
I have thought it well to give the names of different 
kinds of vegetables which I have succeeded with in my 
own practice. I can thus speak confidently of them, 
and also recommend them for general cultivation. 
Beet. —Pragnell’s Exhibition and Dell’s Crimson. 
Beans. —Broad, Windsor Improved and Carter’s 
Leviathan ; French, Ne Plus Ultra and Sion House ; 
Runners, Ne Plus Ultra and Scarlet Champion. 
Broccoli. —Veitch’s Self-protecting, Dilcock’s Bride, 
Sander’s Goshen, Late White Protecting, and Purple 
Sprouting. 
Brussels Sprouts. — Exhibition and Scrymger’s 
Giant. 
Cauliflowers. —Veitch’s Extra Early Forcing, 
Early Erfurt, and Autumn Giant. 
Cabbage.— Ellam’s Dwarf Early Spring, Wheeler’s 
Imperial, Little Pixie, and Rosette Hardy Coleworts. 
Carrots. —Veitch’s Matchless and Early Nantes. 
Celery. —Standard Bearer and Sandringham Dwarf 
White. 
Cucumbers.— Telegraph and Stoekwood Long Ridge. 
Endive. —Improved Round-leaved Batavian and 
Green Curled Improved. 
Kales. —Dwarf Curled, Scotch, and Read’s Hearting. 
Leeks. —Ayton Castle and The Lyon. 
Lettuce. —Early Paris Market, Veitch’s Perfect 
Gem, White Cos, and Bath or Brown Cos. 
Onions. — Veitch’s Main Crop, Brown Globe, Tripoli 
Giant and Rocca. 
Parsnips. —Hollow Crown and The Student. 
Peas. — Chelsea Gem, William the First, Dr. 
McLean, Criterion, Telephone, Ne Plus Ultra, and 
Sturdy. 
Potatos. — Myatt’s Ashleaf, Beauty of Hebron, 
Magnum Bonum, Schoolmaster, Reading Russet, and 
Vicar of Laleham. 
Savoys. —Dwarf Green Curled and Gilbert’s Uni¬ 
versal. 
Spinach. —Victoria Improved, a very fine variety 
for summer or winter use. 
Turnips. —Eirly White Stone and Veitch’s Red 
Globe. 
Tomatos. —Hackwood Park, Prolific, Perfection, 
and Golden Queen. 
Vegetable Marrows. —Pen-y-Bydand Long White. 
— T. Bones. 
-=->$<—- 
TROPICAL FERNS.* 
( Concluded, from. p. 267). 
Hybridising Ferns. 
The hybridisation of Ferns is a matter which has 
claimed the attention of cultivators and scientists to a 
great extent. The former have, I believe, arrived at 
the conclusion that there is no systematic way of effect¬ 
ing this as with flowering plants, while the theories 
held forth by scientists, when put into practice, have 
met with no success. Of course, hybrids among Ferns 
are to be found, such as Adiantum rhodophyllum, A. 
Bausei, A. Victoria, and Dicksonia Lathomii, hut, 
I am inclined to think, they are more the result of 
chance cross-fertilisation than of any attempt on the 
part of the cultivator. 
One theory advanced, is that a prothallus of two 
species of the same genus should be divided, and the 
portions placed in close proximity to each other, to 
enable the antherozoids of one to fall on to the arche- 
gonium of the other. This sounds very feasible, but 
how is one to know that the sexual organs on these 
divided prothalli will be in a fit state simultaneously 
to enable fertilisation to take place ? A method 
sometimes adopted by a few of our leading Fern 
growers to obtain hybrids of species nearly allied, is to 
sow spores of two different kinds in one pot. The 
prothalli of these growing side by side may hy chance 
become cross-fertilised, although when it is borne in 
mind, the amount of time it would take to prick off 
every individual prothallus, on the chance of obtaining 
a few hybrids, it will be admitted that the result (if 
any) would hardly pay for the means employed to 
effect it. And so we must leave it to nature to supply 
us with hybrid Ferns, as I firmly believe she has done 
in plants taken from their natural habitat, and when 
under cultivation classed by botanists as varieties of 
species. 
Culture. 
The ways and means employed in the successful culti¬ 
vation of Ferns must, of course, depend a great deal 
upon the climate, the state of the soil from whence the 
plants come, the individual peculiarities of species, and 
the uses to which they are to be put. If small plants 
of the common Adiantums, Pteris, &c., are required for 
market purposes and other cases in which they must 
show value for labour expended, plenty of heat and an 
abundance of moisture in low houses or pits is all that 
is required, any light open soil being suitable. Such 
plants as the above may be grown to a size large enough 
for some market purposes in from ten to twelve weeks 
from the sowing of the spores ; hut before being exposed 
to the “tender mercies” of the salesman, should be 
gradually exposed to lower temperatures, or the fronds 
will inevitably shrivel iu a short space of time. 
The growing of a large collection of plants, each of 
which it is desired to make a specimen, is a very 
different matter. Of this I now propose to treat, 
taking those from the tropics and warmer temperate 
regions. The house wherein it is necessary to mingle 
all kinds of Ferns should be built to suit the greatest 
happiness of the greatest number. Such a house should, 
except in the case of tree Ferns, he built no higher than 
can possibly be helped, and made as light as possible. 
White glass should he used; green glass, which has 
been employed by some growers in various parts of the 
country, is, I believe, admitted by those who have tried 
