374 
PHE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 10, 1894. 
again, is beautifully striated with green. Hitherto 
it has proved rather difficult to cultivate, a drawback 
which may yet be surmounted. Many plants when 
originally introduced from their wild habitats have 
proved very refractory for years. Perseverance and the 
successive raising of plants from seeds ripened in 
this country might effect wonders of which we can¬ 
not at present forsee the significance. Certainly it 
is a prospect v.’orthy of the attention of cultivators. 
There is a variety G. n. globosa, with shorter seg¬ 
ments, globose flower and seed vessel, shown on the 
right hand of the illustration on the previous page. 
♦ 
Rotates. 
The cultivation of this important vegetable is doubt¬ 
less receiving more attention of late years from 
gardeners than it has hitherto done. More pains 
are taken in preparing the sets for planting, as here¬ 
in to a great extent lies the secret of success in their 
well doing. If these are allowed to harden on the 
ground in the autumn, and afterwards stored away 
in a cool, airy place, where the growth made will be 
short and sturdy, there need be little fear of them 
not pushing through the soil regularly and evenly. 
With some, it is a practice to plant on warm borders 
in February, but unless the place is a sheltered one, 
and the soil light and dry, but little advantage is 
gained by this process. We prefer standing the sets 
with their broad ends upwards in a light cool place, 
where there is a free circulation of air. but where 
frost can be excluded. Here they remain till the 
first week in April, or even longer if the weather 
should be unfavourable, or the soil not in a fit con¬ 
dition to plant, by which time the growth made is 
stout, so that there is little danger of it getting 
broken off at the time of planting. The ground at 
the beginning of that month has usually become 
somewhat warmed and dried, so that it works more 
freely, and is therefore in a better condition to receive 
the sets than it is earlier in the season. If, however, 
planting is deferred too late, tubers have not time to 
mature sufficiently before the tops are cut down by 
the frosts, and are on that account never so well 
flavoured. 
The distance allowed between the rows must de¬ 
pend somewhat on the variety, the kind of soil, and 
the situation. If the ground be in good heart, two 
feet six inches will be found none too much for the 
early varieties, and for the mid-season kinds, whose 
haulm does not grow over strong, three feet will be 
found none too much, while the late and robust kinds 
should be allowed three feet six inches. The dis¬ 
tance between the sets in the row must also be con¬ 
sidered, and here again the strength of the haulm 
must be the guide. Some kinds may be planted a 
foot from each other, while others will require 
fifteen inches, or even more, especially if they 
produce very strong shaws. It is now generally 
admitted that round sets of medium size are the 
best, and if these have been spread out as previously 
mentioned, it will be seen how many eyes have 
started. We consider three ample to be allowed to 
remain, and therefore remove all others before plant¬ 
ing, by which means the ground is not so over¬ 
shadowed with tops, thereby allowing the light and 
air to be admitted amongst the foliage, so that the 
soil gets dried quicker after a shower, and thus help¬ 
ing them to resist the disease. 
Potatos require a large amount of potash, and 
unless this is supplied in some form or other 
the crop will be a light one. Kainit is a good 
manure for this purpose, and should be given at the 
rate of about one and a half hundredweights per acre, 
to which should be added half its quantity of sulphate 
of iron, and about one hundredweight of nitrate of 
soda. We have also found sulphate of potash very 
beneficial to the Potato crop, but it is a more expen¬ 
sive manure than kainit. This should be pounded 
very fine, and sowed on the ground previous to 
planting. On heavy soil Potatos should not be 
planted more than three inches deep, for the nearer 
they are to the surface, the warmer and drier they 
will be, neither should they be earthed up too soon, 
as this induces young tubers to form up the stems 
which rob those at the root of a portion of sap. 
When earthing, care should be taken not to break 
the haulm, for if this happens, a check is caused to 
the growth thereby. Of varieties little need be said, 
as sometimes what does well on one soil will not 
succeed so well on another ; but for an all round crop 
Windsor Castle is one of the best. We do not 
advise planting those kinds whose only recommenda¬ 
tion is the colour of their skins, or the perfect shape 
of their tubers, but give preference to such as are 
productive, of good quality, and keep well. That 
there are many such there is no doubt. Out of 
several tons of different kinds grown last season, we 
did not have half a bushel diseased ones, and all 
have kept sound up till the present time .—Kitchen 
Gardener. 
- -i- - 
PETUNIAS. 
During the summer of 1893 the Petunias were 
among the most satisfactory of the flowering bed¬ 
ding plants. They seem to withstand periods of 
prolonged drought better than almost anything else, 
and one of my rambles during the hottest months of 
the year I came across a bed of double Petunias, 
the like of which I would gladly walk several miles 
to see again. It was without exception the most 
beautiful bed of flowers I saw during the season, not 
excepting the best Zonal Pelargoniums or Tuberous 
Begonias ; they seemed to glory in the sunshine, and 
were all of one variety, a fringed white with large 
blotches of dark Plum colour. I have often found 
the single varieties among the best subjects in the 
flower garden in hot dry seasons, and as before the 
memorable summer of '93 we had several compara¬ 
tively wet cold seasons it is, I submit, quite reasonable 
to expect that one or two more dry summers will 
follow. So to those who have not given the Petunia 
a trial lately, I would say do so. There are now 
many excellent strains of seed in the market, any 
one of which if sown soon in a warm house or frame 
will furnish a good stock of sturdy plants by bedding- 
out time, which cannot fail to please. Plants rai.sed 
from cuttings are more floriferous, and those who 
can command a supply of these can have beds all of 
one colour; at the same time there is much more 
labour attached to the rearing of them, and a mixed 
bed of seedlings will please the generality of people 
well enough. For pot culture I prefer the double 
varieties, _among which there will be found in 
Nurseries some very beautiful things, and which it 
seems a great pity are not more generally known and 
cultivated.— W.B.G. 
— -- 
THE PLANTS OF THE 
COAL MEASURES. 
On the 30th ult., the members of the Ealing 
Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society assembled 
in goodly numbers to hear a lecture on the above 
subject, by J. Allen Brown, Esq., F.G.S., 
F.R.G.S. Mr. Geo. Cannon presided, and in in¬ 
troducing the lecturer took occasion to remark that 
the subject was not only an interesting, but a deep 
one. 
Mr. Brown concurred, and said that the depths of 
the subject were not so profound but that he hoped 
to be able to impart some interesting facts concern¬ 
ing it, which, by the aid of diagrams and fossils, 
would, he trusted, be made additionally clear. Mr. 
Brown then stated that no geological era was of 
more value or interest than that which was known 
as the Coal Measures, or the carboniferous period, 
and after describing the dangers and difficulties 
which beset the miner, through the nature of the 
coal seams, he proceeded to show specimens of this 
wonderful black stone, and explained the difference 
between the leading varieties, which was due 
principally to the amount of carbon which they 
contained. As to Anthracite, that was of the most 
stony description, and came nearest to the diamond, 
for it contained from 90 to 95 per cent, of pure 
carbon. Cannel coal, or “ Candle ” coal, was 
dilated on and finely powdered portions ex¬ 
perimented with, to show the illuminating power of 
this valuable product. 
An illustration of a coal mine in Nova Scotia was 
exhibited, which showed as many as sixty-eight 
bands of this truly wonderful vegetable deposit. 
Ages and ages must have passed away since the 
formation ot this material, and yet, Mr. Brown 
said, we had plenty of scientific evidence to prove 
the exact nature of these deposits, the way they 
were formed, and the animals and plants which they 
contained. It was a curious fact that, below every bed 
of coal, there was a stratum of shale, called the 
" underclay,” and this underclay represented 
the veritable soil in which the plants grew. The 
vegetation of that far-away period was of the rank¬ 
est and most luxuriant character, and consisted, for 
the most part of Cryptogamous plants, such as 
Ferns, Calamites, Sigillarias, Lepidodendrons, &c. 
Mr. Brown stated that the Ferns were very similar 
to those now growing in New Zealand and Brazil; 
the Calamites were allied to the Equisetums, or 
horse-tails, although in those days they attained 
gigantic proportions—from 20 to 40 ft., while the 
Lepidodendrons, or scale trees, were distantly 
allied to our Pines, inasmuch as they had short, 
stumpy leaves, with terminal fruits of cone-like 
character. 
The Sigillarias also were remarkable trees, and 
predominated amongst the plants of those distant 
days. In fact, they towered above many of their 
congeners, were true cryptogams, and rose to a 
height of from 50 to 80 ft., with a branchless stem. 
The Sigillarias had been proved to be near relations 
of our club-mosses ! 
One of the commonest of fossils found in the 
underclay was a plant called the Stigmaria, from 
the punctures with which it is covered, but recent 
research had disclosed the fact that it had no in¬ 
dependent existence, but was the roots of the 
Sigillarias, and which enabled these trees often to 
maintain an upright and vertical position. The 
majority of the coal beds, then, were evidently 
formed by the growth and decay of successive 
generations of plants in situ. Doubtless the same 
wonderful process was still going on at the deltas, or 
mouths, of the Ganges, the Nile, or the Brahma¬ 
pootra. Mr. Brown insisted that flow’ers, as we know 
them, had no existence. Although insects and animals 
were numerous, the latter, were amphibious and 
reptilian in character, a huge drawing of one of 
them, Archaeosaurus minor, being suspended on 
the wall. 
Much other information was accorded in a 
pleasant and chatty style, and when Mr. Browm 
resumed his seat he received quite an outburst of 
enthusiasm and applause. 
In replying to a vote of thanks, Mr. Brown very 
generously invited the members to visit his museum, 
which, we believe, is the largest private collection 
of this kind in the Thames Valley. 
--*•- 
ORCHIDS AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 
{Concluded from page 359.) 
Cattleyas. 
These must now receive our attention, for these^ 
especially that section known as the Labiata, have a 
horticultural importance that is scarcely equalled. 
The flowers of most of the species are large, and 
adorned with a wonderful variety of the most deli¬ 
cate shades of pleasing tints. Especially striking is 
the labellum or lip, which is remarkable for the ex¬ 
treme richness of colour often developed in its 
anterior lobe, and for the beauty of the pencillings 
and marking in the throat. Cattleyas have alternate 
seasons of growth and repose. When growing on 
trees in their native country they increase in size in 
one direction only, which is always the ascending- 
New growth invariably commences in the rhizome 
at the base of the stem formed in the preceding sea¬ 
son. When new growth is matured it emits a dense 
spreading fascicle of roots. The geographical dis¬ 
tribution of the Cattleya is over that vast territory 
extending from Mexico in North America to the 
thirtieth parallel of S. latitude. By far the greater 
portion, however, are concentrated in three distinct 
regions widely separated from each other. Mexico 
and Guatemala in the extreme north, and from the 
Cordilleras of New Granada to British Guiana^ 
then along the maritime provinces of Brazil. One 
of the most striking facts connected with the geo¬ 
graphical distribution of the Cattleyas is that with 
but comparatively few exceptions they occur in 
localities elevated considerably above the sea level 
Thus, those from Mexico and Guatemala are found 
6,000 to 8,500 feet elevation. Here, according to 
the altitude, the temperature varies considerably, 
ranging from 508 to 120° F. Within this elevated 
region there is an alternation of wet and dry seasons ; 
the former lasting from five to eight months ac¬ 
cording to locality, and during which the rains are 
heavy and frequent. The latter season continues 
through the remainder of the year. Owing to the 
elevation of the Mexican plateau and its position in 
respect to the north-east trade winds the atmosphere at 
night is very humid. Even during the dry season and 
