May 26, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
611 
which checks growth and throws the plants into 
flower. Standards are produced by growing up a 
single stem to the required height and letting them 
branch out from that. To do this train up a single 
stem by pinching out all side shoots to two eyes 
from the stem, that is one clear joint from the stem. 
All tying necessary must be attended to constantly, 
as breakages soon spoil the appearance of the plants. 
— IV. B. G. 
-- 
TIE vgsEiAiLE mmm. 
Salads. 
In most places a constant supply of these must be 
kept up, though sometimes it is not an easy task to 
do so, for often the requirements of the place far 
exceed the convenience for production. In hot, dry 
weather, when they are much in demand,growth is not 
of the freest, and when severe frosts put a check to alt 
outside growth there is often some difflculty in pro¬ 
curing the requisite supplies; for this reason recourse 
must be had to find substitutes to such things as 
Lettuce, Mustard and Cress, Radishes, &c , so that 
the extention of the cultivator is directed to the 
blanching of the foliage of such plants as Dandelion, 
Chicory, and Endive. The two former are easy 
enough to get, as they are quite hardy ; not so, how¬ 
ever, with the latter, as some skill is required to 
keep up a constant supply of plants to introduce 
into the forcing house for blanching. Chicory is 
sometimes used as a vegetable, likewise Endive, but 
our object now is to describe their cultivation for 
salads. It should be the aim of the grower to get 
roots as strong as possible, for such produce the 
finest and most tender foliage when blanched. If 
the seed be sown too soon it sometimes happens that 
just at the time when growth should be complete 
they send up a flower spike, thus rendering them use¬ 
less for blanching. The seed ought not to be sown 
later than the latter part of May, or there will not 
be sufficient time for the plants to develop them¬ 
selves fully before the foliage is cut down in the 
autumn. On rich ground these will make a rapid 
growth, particularly if they be allowed sufficient 
room. 
We prefer sowing in drills 15 in. apart, then 
thinning the plants to a distance of a foot from each 
other in the row. In this way, though there is not 
so many plants to a piece of ground, more leaves of 
the best quality are produced when blanched. If 
liberally treated, roots the size of Parsnips will be 
obtained, from which an abundant supply of salad- 
ing can be gathered through the winter. Blanching 
may be done in the same way as that adopted for 
Seakale, but the heat must not be so great, or the 
foliage will be tough and woolly. When required 
early a few roots may be taken up and placed in a 
dark cellar ; any light soil will do for planting them 
in, so long as it will hold moisture; care must be 
taken to exclude all light, for unless growth is made 
in perfect darkness it will be bitter. A succession 
of roots must be introduced to keep up the supply. 
When blanched in the open ground all that is 
necessary to induce growth is to exclude frost. 
Dandelion is a wholesome plant, and both its 
foliage and roots are used for medicine, therefore as 
a salad it has few compeers. A rich light soil suits 
this plant best. Sown in rows at the end of May 
the seedlings soon appear, and when large enough 
to handle, if they are thinned to nine inches apart 
they will make fine roots by the autumn, when they 
may be lifted and treated as recommended for 
Chicory. 
Endive there can be no doubt is a great favourite 
with all connoisseurs in dressed salads ; not only 
this, the mossy curled varieties make very pretty 
garnishing for cold dishes when nicely blanched. 
It is also much used as a vegetable, particularly in 
first-class establishments, therefore it is essential that 
a supply be kept up all through the winter months. 
This in some places is not an easy task, particularly 
on cold heavy soils in low situations ; in such it will 
be necessary to make special preparations to ensure 
success. The seed should be sown in shallow drills, 
about six inches apart, and when the plants are 
large enough they should be transplanted. The 
distance allowed between them must depend on the 
varieties, as the broad leaved kinds require more 
room than those with curled foliage. Those intended 
for the first supply may be grown in the open 
quarters, but a sheltered situation on a dry border 
is best for the late supplies, as in such they do not 
grow so rapidly, and therefore withstand the frost 
much better. Sowings may be made from June 
till August, the latter ones being more suitable for 
spring use. For these, when the situation is wet, 
raised beds should be made, so that the moisture 
may more easily be got rid of. Blanching can be 
done in any place where there is a little heat, and 
where a light can be excluded, but too high a 
temperature must be avoided, as this causes the 
leaves to become tough. In autumn pots turned over 
the plants, covering the hole at the top to exclude 
the light, will answer the purpose,or tying the leaves 
together, the same as Lettuce ; covering with slates 
or tiles, etc., will soon cause them to blanch.— 
Kitchen Gardener. 
- ^ - 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
By John Fraser, F.L.S., Kew. 
Cypripedium Calceolus. 
The beauty of this species is great, and because 
hardy its value is much enhanced. The stems vary 
from 6 in. to 10 in. in height or more, and bear a 
solitary flower of relatively large size ; in fact, it has 
the largest flowers of any British Orchid, and the 
pity is that it is so scarce in a wild state. The upper 
sepal is lanceolate and of a rich brown, while the 
linear twisted petals are of the same hue. The 
inflated lip on the contrary is of a clear, soft yellow, 
while the oblong, grooved staminode is of the same 
hue and spotted with red. Had all the segments of 
the flower been brown, the bloom would have been 
dull indeed, but the contrast of the two principal 
colours is well marked, and renders the species very 
handsome. It is now at its best in the open air. 
Orchid Growers' Calendar. 
Dendrobiums.— Such fine kinds as D. nobile, D. 
crassinode, D. Wardianum, D. aureum, D. Falcon- 
erii, D. Devonianum, and the hybrids, D. Ains- 
worthii, D. Leechianum and D. splendidissmum, are 
now growing freely, and must receive every 
encouragement to make good pseudo-bulbs. This is 
done by keeping the atmosphere well charged with 
moisture, and by keeping up a brisk temperature 
of not less than 80 ° by day with a rise of 10 ° by sun 
heat. If the house is closed early in the afternoon 
the temperature may be allowed to run up to 100 ° if 
the damping down is well attended to. The above- 
mentioned kinds require a thin shading during the 
hottest part of the day, but it must not be carried to 
excess or the bulbs will be weak. The D. bigibum 
section, which includes such fine things as D- 
Goldiei, D. Phalaenopsis, D. superbiens and D. 
Schroderae, do best when almost fully exposed to 
the full sun, but care must be taken not to allow 
them to get dry at the roots during their growing 
season, and at no time can they stand the drying 
process adopted with the Nobile section. Peat and 
live moss suit all Dendrobiums well with good 
drainage. The great point to be aimed at if you are 
to be successful in their culture is to afford them 
plenty of heat and moisture when growing, to be 
followed by a £ood season of rest. 
Manure Water. —I think most growers give their 
Dendrobiums some kind of stimulant when growing, 
either direct or indirectly. Damping down with 
manure water from the stable if diluted is excellent. 
There is no fear of the plants becoming infested with 
red spider when the atmosphere is well charged with 
ammonia. 
Dendrobium thyrsiflorum, D. densiflorum, D. 
suavissimum and D. chrysotoxum, now in flower, 
must not receive any check by being placed in too 
cool a quarter, or by keeping them dry at the roots, 
as the young growths are well advanced and must be 
encouraged to make up good growth, the some¬ 
what drier atmosphere of the Cattleya house we find 
a good place for them when in flower. 
Cypripediums. —Thanks to the hybridist, some 
of the finest Orchids grown are to be found in this 
genus, and considering their easy culture and their 
adaptability for growing in or near large towns, they 
should be largely grown where such things as Odonto- 
glossums do not thrive well. When looking through 
one of the largest London Nurseries I found there 
was nothing in the Orchid way that looked so 
healthy and well as the Cypripediums. Most of 
them like a good brisk temperature with plenty of 
moisture about, and nearly all of them like a compost 
of peat, moss and sand, but C. concolor, C. belatu- 
lum, C. Godefroyae and C. niveum, we find, do best 
when some good fibrous loam is added.— C. 
fximn M)arlD 
nf Science* 
A Useful Nematoid.—As a rule, when we speak 
X)f nematoid worms in connection with plants it is 
almost certainly in cases where the creatures are 
productive of great harm, and are killing the host 
plants as a rule. Cucumbers and Carnations are 
instances where the microscopical worms in ques¬ 
tion do great harm. At a meeting of the Academy 
of Sciences, at Paris, in March last, a question was 
raised concerning a nematoid which in the African 
desert attacked plants with soft foliage, but which, 
instead of destroying them, caused tubercles to grow 
upon them, in which a reserve of water accumulates, 
thus permitting the plants to live in the midst of 
drought which would otherwise kill them. Notwith¬ 
standing this evidence of utility, it is a kind of 
service which is not likely to do much real good in 
this country, and we hope the nematoid will remain 
in Africa, and not seek to extend its beneficial in¬ 
fluence or otherwise to Britain. 
Native North Amer can Plants.— Nurseries 
exclusively devoted to the cultivation of native 
plants are probably as rare in the United States as 
here. From our point of view this would seem 
strange as far as American plants are concerned, 
because they are both very numerous and a large 
proportion of them are really very beautiful. That 
is our opinion on this side of the Atlantic, but the 
Americans in a large majority of cases neglect their 
own natives for those of Europe and other exotic 
countries of the old world. Both in parks and 
gardens this is the prevailing feeling with regard to 
the planting of subjects of native growth. There is 
at least one notable exception to this in the person 
of Mr. Harlan P. Kelsey, who for the past nine 
years has been collecting and cultivating the plants, 
native chiefly of the Carolina Mountains. 
Location of the Nursery.— The Highland 
Nursery is situated at Linville, North Carolina, at 
an elevation of 3,800 ft. above sea level, and under 
the shadow of the great Grandfather mountain. 
Such a situation should be well adapted for the 
cultivation of Alpines, for the summer is long and 
cool, and the winter not very severe. Such situations 
are really the most suitable for the cultivation of 
many herbaceous and Alpine plants in this country, 
but at somewhat lower elevations however. 
The Plants Grown. —A glance at the list shows 
many old garden plants with which we have been 
familiar from our youth up, because, like the 
Americans, we favoured the cultivation of exotic 
plants. To give instances, we have only to mention 
the Maples, the Pavias, Snowy Mespilus, Magnolias, 
Tulip Tree, Snowdrop Tree, the Red Cedar, Kalmias 
Pinus, Tsuga, Rhododendrons, Clethras, Azaleas, 
Ribes, Rhus, Roses, Robinias, Spiraeas, Virginian 
Creeper, and many others too numerous to mention. 
The same applies to the Ferns, which are mostly 
valuable in this country because hardy, and can be 
grown in the open air fernery along with European 
species and varieties. The aquatic or bog plants 
include Dionaea muscipula or Venus' Fly-trap, and 
the Sarracenias. With exception of S. purpurea, 
their cultivation is seldom attempted here. The 
Orchids include the beautiful speciesof Cypripedium, 
Goodyera pubescens, and the rare and curious 
Ponthieva glandulosa. All of these have been 
grown at one time or other in this country, but the 
last named is comparatively seldom seen. The broad 
and coarsely-hairy leaves present a type seldom seen 
in the order. Herbaceous plants are largely grown, 
but the bulk of the really good things are mostly 
familiar in British gardens. They must be largely 
grown, however, for they are quoted at the rate of 
10 , 100 , and 1 , 000 . 
European plants amongst them.-i-Consider- 
ing that the object is the collection and cultivation 
of native American plants only, we should hardly 
expect to find European ones amongst them, but 
there are several that are common to both hemi¬ 
spheres. Amongst Ferns we find Asplenium 
Trichomanes, Cystopteris fragilis, Osmunda regalis, 
and Polypodium vulgare, all of which are British 
species. Amongst aquatics are the Sweet Flag 
(Acorus), Drosera longifolia, and Impatiens fulva 
(naturalised here). Goodyera repens is rare in 
America as here. Anemone nemorosa. Prunella 
vulgaris, Lily of the Valley, Circaea Luteriana, 
Hepatica triloba, Oxalis acetosella, Pyrola rotundi- 
folia, Sisyrinchium bermudianum, Veronica serpylli- 
folia, and V. officinalis are all British plants, with 
exception of the Hepatica, which is Continental. It 
is interesting to find so many of our British plants 
native to America. 
