56 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 23, 1898. 
and others of similar half-hardy nature into the pro¬ 
tection of a greenhouse until the end of September. 
After that time there is risk in leaving them out.— 
Experience. 
PETUNIA NYCTAGINIFLORA. 
In face of the numerous fine varieties now to be seen 
in gardens, there are few who would trouble about 
that under notice ; yet it is considered to be one of 
the parents of the numerous improved kinds. The 
relatively large, trumpet-shaped flowers are white 
with a purple tube, and having a purple line running 
down the middle of each segmant externally. They 
are distinctly fragrant, the odour resembling that of 
the night-scented Tobacco. Being nearly hardy, it 
might be grown in the herbaceous border or on the 
rockery, for the sake of its large white flowers and 
fragrance. It has been flowering all the summer in 
the herbaceous ground at Kew. 
A CHOICE POPPYWORT. 
The bright yellow flowers of Hunnemannia fumari- 
aefolia recall those of the Iceland Poppy (Papaver 
nudicaule) or the Welsh Poppy (Meconopsis cam- 
brica) but they are much larger and proportionately 
showy. Unfortunately, however, it is less hardy 
than either of those, and requires some protection in 
winter. By sowing early, how'ever, and planting out 
the seedlings they will flower in the open ground the 
same year, and bear handsome foliage. The leaves 
are two or three times divided in a ternate manner 
with linear segments, recalling those of Eschscholtzia 
californica; but the habit is entirely different, the 
stems being upright with closely ascending branches. 
This year they are only i8 in. high, but in a wet 
season they attain a height of 2 ft. to 3 ft. The 
flowers consist of four crumpled petals, which last a 
long time, as the seed pod attains some considerable 
length before they drop. 
ERYTHROLAENA CONSPICUA. 
The most correct name of this plant is Cnicus con- 
spicuus, and to speak in ordinary language, it is 
simply a Thistle, similar in many respects to the Bur 
Thistle (C. lanceolatus) of our fields and pastures. 
It is moreover a bold and handsome Thistle, with 
large conical heads covered with crimson-red bracts, 
or scarlet as some describe them. The numerous 
styles are very much projected beyond the head, and 
are of a deep rose colour. The leaves are bipinna- 
tifid and spiny like those of the Thistle above 
mentioned, but the midrib and principal nerves are 
red, adding somewhat to the fine appearance of the 
plant. The species is a native of Mexico, and is 
biennial in its nature, requiring to be grown one 
year and flowered the next in pots or out of doors at 
the option of the cultivator. When grown 
vigorously out of doors the stems attain a height of 
5 ft. or 6 ft., but in pots it may be kept down to half 
that height. Its sub-tropical effect is considerably 
enhanced when developed to its full size, for then the 
stems become considerably branched. 
* 
Endive. 
A PLANTING of both moss curled and Batavian 
Endive may now be made, to follow on those planted 
in August. Plant from 12 in. to 15 in. apart on a 
warm border, give a good watering, and keep the 
border free from weeds. This crop must have some 
protection against severe frost; bracken or other 
light litter will do, but in the event of wet it must be 
removed, or the plants will rot. If a covering can 
be put over the litter to throw off the rain, it would 
be an immense advantage. I have practised a plan 
by which I have preserved Endive through severe 
frosts, and which I do not remember having seen 
mentioned in your pages, but it may be of advan¬ 
tage to some of your readers. For their benefit I 
will therefore briefly describe it. First form a ridge 
of coal ashes on a dry bottom, about a foot in height 
and say 20 in. in width at the base, and made as firm 
and smooth as the material will allow of. Having 
the Endive plants tied and well grown, lift them 
with a ball of earth or all the roots which can be 
saved, and arrange them with their heads sloping 
downwards along the sides of the ride pretty close 
together. Then cover well up with coal ashes. 
Tw'o or more layers may be placed in the clamp, 
.provided enough material is placed between them. 
but one layer is preferable. Put sufficient ashes on, 
if they can be had, to keep frost from penetrating to 
the Endive, or, what is of less trouble, cover with 
litter sufficiently to exclude frost. I have had 
Endive of most excellent quality treated in this way. 
It may not be marketable, because the green outer 
leaves are apt to decay, but after trimming that 
which is blanched is all that can be wished for. It 
is best where Endive is constantly in demand to 
make these clamps at interval of two or three weeks. 
—IF. B. G. 
Earthing up and protecting Celery. 
It seldom happens in severe winters but that a 
number of complaints are heard respecting the damage 
done by frost to this crop. This will scarcely seem a 
seasonable note with the bright sun and high tem¬ 
perature we are now experiencing, although the frost 
has already seriously damaged Coleus in places; but 
to be forewarned is to be forearmed, and there is one 
little item in the earthing up of Celery that work¬ 
men are often careless about, which often results in 
damage and loss to a greater extent than need be. I 
refer to the closing in of the soil tight round the 
heads at the approach of frosty weather to exclude 
all air possible. It will often be found on exami¬ 
nation that this is very loosely done, and the air has 
a free passage down to the heart of the Celery, 
leaving it a prey to frost which soon causes decay. 
This is a very simple matter which if not attended 
to will militate considerably against the efficacy of 
any covering placed over the ridges.—IF. B. G, 
Spinach. 
This year has been one of the worst known for this 
valuable vegetable, I put in six lots of summer 
Spinach but did not get a single dish, the plants 
running to seed as soon as they came through the 
ground. On the loth of May I put in a row of 
Carter’s New Perpetual Spinach, and I have gathered 
from it every other day for three months, and it 
looks as though it would last another three months. 
I intend trying it for winter use, and can strongly 
recommend it to any one who is in the want of a 
good dry weather Spinach. You can cut and come 
again, and the more you gather the faster it seems 
to grow.— Thos. CockeyiU,The Gate House, Wivhstvorth, 
Derbyshire. 
-- 
NEW VEGETABLES CERTIFICATED. 
Onion Sutton’s Ai.—S ix handsome specimens of 
this Onion were exhibited by Messrs. Sutton & Sons, 
at the last meeting of the R.H.S. The bulbs may 
be described as very broad and flattened, rising 
slightly in the centre to the heck of leaves, and very 
firm. The outer scales are of a pale brown, fading 
to straw-colour as the outer withered scales are 
removed. First-class Certificate. 
Potato Sutton’s Triumph. —This may be 
described as a pebble-shaped Potato of medium 
size, but amply fitted in that respect for table pur¬ 
poses. The tubers are oblong, flattened, with 
shallow eyes in most cases and a rough but white 
skin. First-class Certificate. 
Potato Windsor Castle. —The tubers in this 
■case are larger than those of Triumph, but still of a 
useful size, and quite devoid of the coarseness 
•characteristic of many of the popular modern 
Potatos which are most at home, unfortunately, on 
the exhibition table. They are pebble-shaped, oval, 
blunted at either end, often slightly flattened, and 
white with a rough surface. First-class Certificate. 
The exhibitors of both were Messrs. Sutton & Sons. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS, 
The Orchid Growers’ Calendar. 
The Cool House. —We are busy now repotting the 
bulk of our plants of Odontoglossum crispum, 
which we hope to get done by the end of the month, 
as after that date we do not care to disturb anything 
unless it is in a very bad state. The plants should 
be allowed to get moderately dry before being turned 
out of their pots, for if done when in a sodden state 
they do not take kindly to the new compost, which 
should consist of good fibrous peat and sphagnum 
moss in equal parts, unless the peat is exceptionally 
good, in which case we would then only use a bit of 
live moss here and there as the work proceeds, 
pressing the compost very firmly around the plants. 
The pots must be free from dirt, as also the crocks 
used for draining the pots or for mixing with the 
compost. It will all depend on the quantity of roots 
the plant may have as regards the amount of 
drainage given, the rule being that the more roots 
there are the more compost will be required. For 
a fine healthy plant the pot should be about half full 
of drainage, but where the roots are limited, more 
drainage must be allowed. V ery little water at the 
roots will be necessary until they have begun to take 
hold of the new material, but they should be freely 
syringed between the pots and overhead on all 
bright days. This keeps the sphagnum fresh and 
the bulbs from shrivelling. 
Thrips have been rather troublesome this season 
amongst the Od. crispums, and unless kept well in 
check will be a source of great annoyance later on, 
doing damage to spikes as well as foliage. Now is a 
good time to wage war with them, for if left till we 
are compelled to use fire heat they will be difficult 
to keep under. Our plan is to have a pail of strong 
tobacco water by our side when repotting them, so 
that any plant with the least signs of them can be 
dipped and thoroughly cleaned before potting up. 
As almost every plant passes through the hands of 
the operator very few should escape his notice. 
Miltonia Vexillarium, Masdevallia tovarensis, 
Ada Aurantiaca, Odontoglossum Harryanum, &c., 
that have been located in the cool houses during the 
summer months, should now be taken back to their 
winter quarters. The Cattleya house, we find suits 
them well. These too, should be thoroughly over¬ 
hauled, for thrips are very partial to them, especially 
the Miltonias. 
Temperatures. —We have found it necessary to 
warm the pipes of the cool houses at night this week, 
to prevent the thermometer falling below 50.° Low 
temperatures at night, when the plants are 
perhaps reeking wet, cause the points of the young 
growths to turn brown. The Cattleya house should 
not go below 60° at night, whilst for the East India 
house, a minimum of 70° should be maintained.—C. 
Odontoglossnm Thompsonianum. 
The flowers of this Odontoglot show that it belongs 
to the exceedingly variable O. luteo-purpureum and 
to the hystrix section, which is characterised by the 
spiny looking crest and the greater or less amount of 
toothing or fimbriation of the sepals or petals. In 
the case under notice the flowers are of medium size 
but round, with broad sepals and petals more or less 
overlapping at the base. The sepals are of a rich 
dark brown with a yellow tip and edges, while the 
petals are almost rhomboid and of a lighter yellow 
variegated on the middle with a large brown blotch 
with smaller ones towards the base. The pale 
yellow lip has a large brown blotch in front of the 
crest and some smaller ones at the sides towards the 
base. The plant flowered about the end of May 
last in the establishment of the Horticulture Inter¬ 
nationale, Brussels, and soon after passed into the 
collection of W. Thompson, Esq., Walton, Stone, 
Staffordshire, who is a keen lover and collector of 
Odontoglossums. A good plate of the plant is given 
in the Lindenia, pi. 38S 
Freak of Cattleya Gaskelliana. 
A BLOOM of a pale variety of Cattleya Gaskelliana 
has been sent us by Mr. R. Hinde, gardener to R. 
Wells, Esq., Broomfield, Sale. The sepals, petals, 
and the greater part of the lip were of the palest 
blush-white. The lip, however, was characterised 
by a very large orange blotch extending to the base 
of the tube. The peculiarity of the flower consisted 
of an attempt on the part of the lateral sepals to 
develop into lips, making three in all. One half of 
each lateral segment was normal, but the contiguous 
half of each resembled the side of the lip in being 
widened, crisped at the edges, and more or less 
stained with orange like the blotch of the lip. Still 
more singular was the fact that a nectar cavity was 
developed at the base of these sepals, as in the lip 
proper. Mr. Hinde tells us that the plant bore six 
flowers, all showing the same malformation. 
Oncidium Dasytile. 
In company with some other flowers, Capt. Robert 
Twiss, Birdhill House, Limerick, Ireland, sends us a 
raceme of this Oncidium, popularly known amongst 
growers as the Bee Orchid. The sepals and petals 
are spotted with brown on a yellow ground, and the 
large, pale yellow lip has a large black crest of 
peculiar shape, not unlike a bee or other insect lying 
upon the lip, when seen at a short distance away. 
It is a neat and interesting species, not requiring 
much space in which to grow, and possesses further 
value from the fact that it flowers at various times 
during the summer months when flowering Orchids 
are by no means too plentiful. 
