February 22, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
389 
The Hall for Horticulture. —The following amounts 
have been added to the list given in our last issue :— 
S. Courtauld, Esq., £150 ; N. N. Sherwood, Esq., 
£150 ; P. Crowley, Esq., £100 ; T. B. Haywood, Esq., 
£100 ; Rev. W. Wilks, £50 ; Mr. T. E. Rivers, £50. 
The Auricula and Carnation Society.—By the 
courtesy of Mr. Henwood, the honorary treasurer, we 
have been favoured with copies of the annual reports 
and cash statements of the National Auricula and 
National Carnation & Picotee Societies. The total 
income of the former society was £89 9s. Id., and the 
expenditure £72 10s. 4 d., leaving a balance in hand of 
£7 18s. 9(7. The income of the Carnation and Picotee 
Society was £74 11s. 9 d., and the expenditure 
£69 13s. 10c?., leaving a balance in hand of £4 17s. 11(7. 
Both societies will again hold their shows under the 
auspices of the Royal Horticultural Society, and Mr. 
Henwood will be happy to send schedules or reports to 
any one who will write to him at Auricula Villa, 
Hamilton Road, Reading. 
London Fogs.—Dr. Oliver and Professor Scott have 
presented an interim report to the Scientific Committee 
on the investigations undertaken by them respecting 
the effects of London fogs on plants under glass. 
Specimens of Orchids affected by fog had been received 
from Messrs. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea ; and of Tomato 
plants from the superintendent of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society’s Gardens, at Chiswick. On the 
suggestion of the chairman, it was 
decided to take up an investigation 
of the chemical constituents of 
London fog, and trace the exciting 
causes of the injury to plants. The 
question was a very important one, 
and demanding considerable time 
and attention. In order to carry ' 
out the woilc under advantageous 
circumstances, it was resolvfed to 
make application to the Government 
Grant Committee of the Royal 
Society for pecuniary aid. 
--s=3g<—— -- 
DAPHNE INDICA 
RUBRA. 
Some of the finest flowering speci¬ 
mens of this fragrant plant I ever 
saw are planted out in a centre- 
raised bed in the Rose-house at 
Gunnersbury Park. On the south¬ 
west side a good amount of light 
falls upon the plants ; overhead are 
the Roses trained against the roof ; 
and behind the Daphne some hushes 
of Camellias. The act of cutting 
during the winter keeps the plants 
bushy, and they bloom every year 
freely. There are probably few 
plants in cultivation possessing a 
more agreeable fragrance than this 
sweet-smelling Daphne. Although 
by no means new, for it was intro¬ 
duced some years ago from China, 
and not endowed by nature with 
showy attractions which characterise 
many of the inhabitantsof our planthouses, yet itis a sub¬ 
ject with strong claims upon the attention of gardeners. 
Flowering as it does during the dreary, late autumn 
and winter months, and by reason of its freedom of 
bloom well adapted for decoration of the conservatory 
and plant-house, it is well deserving of extensive culti¬ 
vation. 
The usual method of propagating this plant is by 
grafting or inarching it on stocks of the more vigorous 
kinds ; but it is found to do equally well when raised 
from cuttings. The best cuttings are made from young 
side shoots when the wood is termed about half ripe, 
taken off with a heel, cut smoothly over, and then 
inserted in a fine peat and sandy soil in well-drained 
pots. Placed in a gentle bottom heat, and covered 
with a bell-glass, they are found to strike in a month 
or six weeks. The month of August is the best time 
to put in cuttings ; they should be put in the cutting 
pots until the month of March, and then potted singly 
in 3-in. pots, giving the young plants a rather warm 
temperature during the spring, and pinching out the 
points of the little shoots when the plants are estab¬ 
lished and making growth. It is a peat-loving plant, 
and a good compost is one half fibrous peat, with loam 
and well-decomposed manure in equal parts, and 
enough of sharp sand to keep the compost open. 
Mr. Baines has well observed that the plant is easy 
to grow when it has received the attention it requires. 
Whether the plants be grafted, or on their own roots, 
they root sparingly, and therefore should not be over¬ 
potted. If too much root-room is given them, it is 
almost impossible to keep them in good health. They 
are also impatient of too much water, and Mr. Baines 
observed on this point, that “never, even when making 
active growth, must water be given before itis required 
by the soil, which in their case should be allowed to 
get drier than with most plants, yet not so as to allow 
the young growth to flag. But it is in the dormant 
season, after the growth is completed, that it is 
necessary to exercise more than ordinary care that 
water is not applied too soon.”— E. D. 
-- 
EARLY-FLOWERING GLADIOLI. 
For horticultural purposes a great acquisition was made 
by the hybridising of the old Gladiolus cardinalis with 
G. tristis. The former is in itself a good thing, with 
scarlet flowers, and lozenge-shaped white blotches on 
the three lower segments. The resulting progeny has 
now given rise to a great deal of variation in the way 
of rich, pale, delicate, and withal exceedingly pleasing 
colours. On the centre of each of the three lower 
segments is a blotch of a different hue from the ground 
colour, and the blotch is surrounded by a band of 
greater or less breadth and intensity of colour. G. 
Colvillei and G. C. alba, also known as The Bride, are 
Early-flowering Gladioli. 
two of the oldest and best known forms. More recently, 
a large number of very beautiful varieties have received 
distinctive names. The accompanying illustration, for 
which we are indebted to Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, 
Chelsea, shows some of the variations to which we 
allude. A number of them are quite hardy ; but they 
are all admirably adapted for pot culture, and prove 
most acceptable for the decoration of the greenhouse or 
conservatory. By gentle forcing they can be had in 
bloom during April and May ; but if so desired they 
may be given cool treatment throughout, when they 
will come into bloom about mid-summer. A succession 
may then be kept up for four or five months byjudicious 
treatment. __ 
GALANTHUS ELWESII. 
The finest of all the Snowdrops is undoubtedly that 
here named. To recount the reeommendable qualities 
we must take into account the broad deeply glaucous 
leaves and the large snow-white flowers beautifully 
marked with deep green. The outer segments vary 
from semi-globose to elliptic, and all are concave. The 
inner segments are erect, with a slightly spreading 
mouth, and are lined internally with deep green, and 
have a horseshoe-shaped blotch around the terminal 
notch externally, and a large blotch near the base, 
rendered the more conspicuous when the outer segments 
attain full size and spread out. 
FUMIGATING. 
All plants that are prone to the attacks of green-fly will 
need timely attention as regards fumigation, as at this 
season of the year—greatly aided by the mildness of the 
weather—this pest to the gardener may be expected to 
make its appearance, especially on such subjects as 
Cinerarias, Calceolarias, and Pelargoniums of the show 
and fancy section. The old adage, “ Smoke where 
there is no fly,” is very good and true, and should be 
borne in mind by all plant cultivators. It is very bad 
practice to allow plants to become smothered with fly, 
and then start fumigation. A “stitch in time saves 
nine,” and lightly fumigating before fly makes its 
appearance must save a lot of annoyance ; this should 
be apparent to the careless cultivator when his plants 
are smothered, thereby rendering them dirty and unfit 
for decoration. 
Green-fly is generally very troublesome in small 
structures such as the enthusiastic amateur possesses, 
because they usually contain a mixed collection of 
treasures, some requiring a closer temperature than the 
plants I have above mentioned. In these structures, the 
fly, when it makes its appearance, rapidly increases in 
such an atmosphere, and timely fumigation is therefore 
needful. There are several fumigators, all more or less 
useful in large establishments, but the amateur scarcely 
cares to “set up” one of these ; he requires something 
more home-spun. I have frequently used an old sieve 
when fumigating a large house, and 
have at other times called into 
requisition for the purpose broken 
flower pots, not too much damaged, 
so that they would hold a few embers 
and a handful of tobacco paper. I 
remember having to take part in 
smoking a large conservatory where 
Bougainvillea glabra and several 
climbing Roses grew aloft — both 
good lodgments for green-fly—and 
our modus operandi was to procure a 
dozen 24’s, which we distributed 
through the structure, each pot 
being stood on two inverted 60’s, 
by way of giving draught to the 
tobacco paper when lighted, and 
also as a preventive of damage to 
the ornamental paving ; one indi¬ 
vidual went round with a shovelful 
of charcoal embers, dropping a few 
pieces in each pot, while another 
followed with a tray of tobacco 
paper that had been pulled to 
pieces and was slightly damped, if 
too dry, to prevent flaring. 
As I have remarked, a close, 
stuffy atmosphere is very favourable 
to the production of green-fly. I 
have my Cinerarias and Pelargo¬ 
niums in a span house, where I do 
not turn heat on unless it is freezing, 
or is likely to do so at night-time. 
Air in abundance is given on all 
favourable occasions, and during the 
greater part of this month has been 
left on until 9 p.m. The plants are 
well up to the glass, so that when I wish to fumigate, 
which I always contrive to do on calm evenings, I 
am enabled to place the fumigator under the 
staging, so that the smoke ascends amongst the 
plants, the pest being invariably on the underside of 
the foliage, which I endeavour to have dry when 
fumigating. 
In structures where the glazing is faulty, it is best to 
fumigate when raining, as the smoke is then confined 
more readily. It is probably a matter of opinion as to 
which is the best material for fumigating purposes. I 
have used both paper and rag, and of the former found 
Appleby’s strong and effectual. I now use Sutton’s, 
which is very good and easily started, as if not kept too 
damp it can be lighted with a match, and when well 
goiDg, I slightly damp the remainder of the paper used. 
If there is any likelihood of flaring, a piece of perforated 
zinc is useful to lay over the top of the pot, as that, 
partially confines the smoke, and prevents it bursting 
into a flame. 
Fumigating is a task that does not suit every¬ 
one, and I often wonder whether fly is unknown at 
those places where they employ a non-smoking 
gardener. Surely fumigation in such a case is out of 
the question, or if the genuine weed is used, I expect 
the individual who has to do so, would as readily inhale 
saltpetre ! — Geo. Potts, Jan., \Ehnside Gardens, 
Northiam, Sussex. 
