THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 2, 1894. 
6*28 
FliOt^ICUliTORE. 
Shanking in the Pansy. 
I HAVE looked in vain through Mr. James Simkin’s 
book on the Pansy without finding any reference 
whatever to that scourge to southern growers— 
shanking. What is " shanking ” ? Its appearance 
takes the form of a plant in rude health in the 
morning, being practically dead by night. If any 
one will examine a "shanked” Pansy he will find 
that the main stem just below the lowermost 
branches has become blackened, and in a short time 
rottenness had set in. It seems as if something had 
seized upon the neck of the plant, preventing the 
flow into the shoots of the juices which give life, 
health and vigour to the plants, and they die. The 
cause of shanking it is difficult to discover ; whether 
it is inherent in the plant in the form of constitu¬ 
tional weakness ; whether it is akin to blood poison¬ 
ing : whether it arises from conditions of soil or 
temperature, it is difficult to say, and I do not think 
anyone has attempted to assign a cause, though they 
may speculate on this point. 
Shanking in Pansies has occurred for years past, 
and in the north as well as in the south. The late 
Mr. Charles Turner wrote about it years ago when 
contributing some papers on the culture of the 
Pansy to one of the earlier volumes of the Florist, in 
which he attributed it to heat, though it is doubtful if 
this is the cause, because shanking occurs in the 
cool moist districts of the north. Mr. Turner 
wrote :—" Entire beds have been known to shank- 
off during a very hot summer, and all we can say of 
this part of the subject is, that the farther the Pansy 
is removed from its state by high cultivation, the 
more the plants shank off in this manner ; plants 
that appear to be full of health and vigour in the 
morning will be down before mid-day, as if they had 
been severed with a knife.’’ The effect is sudden, 
but what of the cause! Is it also sudden, like an 
attack of paralysis in the case of a human being. 
Or is the cause one of growth in two or three or 
more preceding days, and manifesting itself where 
the cause of shank is most acutely felt by the plant, 
which goes down as soon as the hot mid-day sun 
shines upon it. When I was at the Royal Nursery, 
Slough, during 1853-57, when the Pansy trade had 
become a very popular one, when the show varieties 
(for the time of the advent of the Belgian Pansies 
had not then come), were largely grown and propa¬ 
gated, and many seedlings raised—in those dajs 
increase of named varieties was mainly by means of 
cuttings, taken as early in the season as possible, 
rooted in small cool frames under shaded hedgerows, 
and planted out in beds when sufficiently rooted. 
Not only did shanking occur in the case of well- 
established plants, but the young plants when put 
out in the beds died by the hundred, even when 
carefully shaded The beds were made up with the 
greatest care, and every precaution taken, but our 
best efforts proved of no avail. That was the 
beginning of the end, for in a very few years 
the culture of the Pansy at Slough had to be 
abandoned. 
That hot drying weather, like the summer of 1893^ 
is hurtful to the Pansy is well known, and we are 
equally sure that in the event of a hot dry summer 
the loss of plants from this cause is great. What 
the Pansy requires is a cool, moist bottom, and then 
it will stand exposure pretty well; but dryness at the 
roots, in combination with a dry atmosphere, pre¬ 
disposes the plants to attacks of thrip, and then they 
will cease to exist. Waterings in dry weather, with 
frequent mulchings of soil upon the.surface, are all 
helpful in preserving health and vigour and in pre¬ 
venting loss. 
Unfortunately, it is the best varieties that shank as 
well as common ones, and after a plant has once 
gone down nothing in the way of watering or shading 
will restore it. Therefore as soon as a plant of good 
variety shows signs of flagging the best thing to do 
is to remove the young shoots and drop them into a 
can of water to restore them to freshness, and then 
make them into cuttings ; or make them into cuttings 
at once, and then immerse them in water, and in 
many cases the cuttings will strike root and the 
variety be preserved. My own impression is that 
shanking is pretty much in the form of a disease, 
because the blackness found in the main stem of a 
shanking plant \vill rapidly spread to the branches, 
and render them unfit for cuttings.— R. D. 
DECORATIVE PELARGONIUMS. 
Since the demise of the old Pelargonium Society, 
which used to bring together such fine annual 
displays of all sections of the Pelargonium in the 
gardens at South Kensington, the purely show type 
has almost come to a standstill as regards the pro¬ 
duction of really fine new varieties, and perhaps as 
a class they are grown in fewer numbers now than 
at any time for some years past. The advent of the 
regal and so called decorative sections had an 
important influence for the worse on the show varie¬ 
ties, which, bright and free blooming as they were, 
were no match in the eyes of the general public for 
the compact habited, sturdy growing and wondrously 
free-blooming, if less refined type, that found such 
extraordinary favour with the market growers some 
fifteen or twenty years ago. And yet, though these 
have taken along lead of the show type, they have 
made no very remarkable progress, and the number 
of raisers of new varieties are more limited to-day 
than when the Pelargonium Society was in existence 
to encourage the raising of seedlin.gs by the granting 
of certificates and the offer of monetary prizes. 
The raising of seedlings has of late years, so far as 
we know, almost been confined to the W'ork of an 
old market grower, Mr. Hayes of Edmonton, who 
has raised and sent out some grand things in his 
time ; but now a younger and more energetic man has 
taken them in hand, and we wish for him an abund¬ 
ant measure of success, for it would be a pity indeed 
that interest should slacken in these grand decorative 
subjects. 
Mr. H J. Jones has for two or three years past 
been getting together a select collection of the very 
best sorts in cultivation, and as he grows them 
well and breeds for quality, there is no reason why 
the Ryecroft Nursery, Lewisham, should not become 
as famous for decorative Pelargoniums as it has 
done for Chrysanthemums, Begonias, etc. Mr. 
Jones aims in his crossings to obtain seedlings 
possessing the perfectly rounded form, rich colour¬ 
ing and refinement of the show flower, combined 
with the robust constitution and free flowering pro¬ 
clivities of the decorative section, and it is a grand 
ideal to work up to. Since Christmas last he has 
put up a handsome new show house 85 feet long 
and 18 feet wide, span-roofed, with an octagon in 
the centre, and central and side staging, and this is 
now a perfect blaze of colour from end to end with 
decorative Pelargoniums. The plants range in size 
from large 6o’s to 24’s, and all are exceedingly dwarf, 
very neat and superbly bloomed. 
Looking over the collection, and noting as we 
thought the cream, we jotted down Eclipse, 
Little Richards, Philip Ladds, and Achievement 
as being first rate reds with maroon blotches. 
Philip Ladds has the blotch on all the petals instead 
of on the upper ones only. Achievement is very 
rich in colour, and Little Richards is one of the 
best of the late bloomers, coming as good as it is 
now as late as July. Of reds of a rosy shade of 
colour and smaller maroon blotches, H. J. Jones 
takes the lead, and is one of the best varieties in 
commerce, very dwarf in habit, and a wondrous 
bloomer. Rose Bard is of a darker shade in the 
upper petals, and has denser blotches. H. M. Stanley 
is of the same type as the last named, and a very 
neat and brilliant flower, while Radiant, of the same 
type, is, though not quite so smooth a flower, extra¬ 
ordinarily bright and good. Of scarlet ground 
flowers, Empress of India is exceedingly bright, a 
light scarlet, with white centre and pale purple- 
brown blotches. Edward Perkins is of similar 
character, but has a bright cerise centre. Prince 
of Orange is an orange scarlet and is blotched on 
all the petals; and Gold Mine of the same section 
has a much lighter centre, and only the upper petals 
blotched. 
Pink grounds include Dorothy, pale rose-pink 
with a light centre, and neat blotch ; Princess 
Maude, similar to the last in colour, but having crisped 
edged petals; W. E. Boyes, very free and bright 
with crimson spots, and has six petals instead of the 
normal number ; Miss Wetherall, a most taking 
flower, with white centre and small blotch ; Princess 
May, neat and pretty, smaller than the average, and 
having a very light blotch ; Lady Folkestone, small 
and pretty, with a purple blotch ; Rose Queen, very 
pretty, with small blotches, almost a self; and Jules 
Ferry, a pretty pink, also having a small blotch ; 
White grounds include the fine new Mrs. W. Wright 
which was certificated at the Drill Hall on the 8th 
ult., and is a very good novelty; Champion, very 
large pips, with lovely maroon blotches on the 
upper petals and smaller red spots on the lower 
ones; Jubilee, a smaller flower altogether, and a 
smaller blotch, extra good; Alice, a showy variety, 
with good blotch and a dash of colour on the lower 
petals ; and Duchess of Edinburgh, an old and well- 
known sort and still one of the prettiest. Volutte 
Rationale alba. Pearl and Eucharis are all white 
seifs, the last named only being new and very fine, 
a grand variety for wreath work. Sir Trevor Law¬ 
rence is a rich crimson ground, with a white centre 
and light shaded blotch. 
Rose grounds include Mabel, bright rose with an 
immense, almost black blotch; Blush Rose, 
very pure in colour and deep maroon blotch • 
Emma Hayes, beautifully coloured, with purple 
blotch and very neat ; James Douglas, a show 
flower in quality, with a heavy maroon 
velvet blotch; and May Queen, deep rose with 
maroon blotch. The Salmons consist of Linda, 
Countess and Miss Tell. The first named has a 
light centre and small blotch, almost a self ; while 
Countess is new and has a large blotch ; and Miss 
Tell is an old favourite, very soft in colour, and very 
attractive. Of purple or rosy-purple grounds there 
are a larger number. Lady Isabel may be described 
as a rosy-lilac, small and neat ; Mrs. Stanley, paler 
in colour, with heavy maroon blotch ; Purple 
Empress, large in pip and fine in colour; Lady 
Ibbetson, a very soft shade with small blotch, and 
the petals somewhat reflexed ; W. Jeffery, new, a 
rich rosy-lilac, with an almost black blotch and ex¬ 
ceedingly free; and Mrs. John Stone, rich purple 
lilac, with white centre and deep purple venation. 
Of the regal type. Bush Hill Beauty has a white 
ground suffused with rose and a small blotch, and is 
semi-double and very fine. Lady Duff has a white 
centre and all the tops of the petals coloured rosy- 
scarlet. President Harrison is of a similar type, 
but with a lighter shade of scarlet. Duke of York is 
one of Mr. Hayes’ last year’s novelties, a grand 
massive flower, white ground veined with light rose ; 
Prince of Wales is a deep scarlet with alight centre ; 
and Duchess of Fife is rosy-scarlet with a white 
centre and all the petals crisped. 
-— 
DENDROBIUM NOBILE. 
Those of our readers who visited the Temple Show 
two years ago will remember the pair of extra¬ 
ordinary plants of this grand old Dendrobe which 
were there exhibited by Mr. H. C. Prinsep, gar¬ 
dener to Lord Portman at Buxted Park. Uckfield, 
Sussex, and which, as being the result of the cutting 
down system, created so much interest among 
Orchid growers. Mr. Prinsep has kindly sent us 
photographs of the same plants taken when in flower 
this spring, and of the smallest one we give an 
illustration on the next page. 
The plant figured is 6 ft. 3 in. through, but the 
largest of the pair measures 8 ft. in diameter. 
This, Mr. Princep informs us, was put into a larger 
basket, 22 in. square, while the one illustrated re¬ 
mains in the same basket as it was shown in two 
years ago. The one which was put into a larger 
basket grew away rapidly, and made growths from 
3 ft. to 3 ft. 6 in. in length, but owing to the house 
not being large enough for them to be staked in an 
upright position, they were allowed to hang down, 
with the result that they were not ripened up to the 
points and consequently did not flower their full 
length. The other not being so strong had its 
growths placed up near the roof, so that they were 
thoroughly ripened and flowered right up to their 
tips, thus showing the advantage of being able to 
ripen them thoroughly. The plants were kept in a 
cool house during winter, in which the temperature 
ranged from 45® to 50° Fahr. 
Most gardeners know the value of this popular old 
Dendrobe, and many grow it remarkably well, but 
Mr. Prinsep certainly goes one better with it than 
any other grower of our acquaintance. He grows it 
largely in all sizes and in batches, so as to secure a 
long season of bloom, and cutting down is a sine qua 
non, for he uses them largely for room decoration, 
and may literally be said to gather them in sheaves, 
for he cuts down the stems their whole length and 
every year, a practice which but a few years ago 
would have been considered sheer madness, and we 
opine would be a dangerous experiment even now in 
the hands of a less skilful plantsman. 
