August 4, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
767 
ORCHIDS. 
Clean Healthy Plants at Low Prices. 
Always worth a visit of inspection. Kindly send for Catalogue. 
CYI>HER, 
Exotic Nurseries, CHELTENHAM. 
LAXTON’ S STRAW BERRIES 
“ Don't be misled, but apply to the raisers for the 
true stock of Royal Sovereign and every other 
Strawberry worth growing.” 
with which the workman regards his cot¬ 
tage and surroundings when flowers not 
only make it attractive but so extensively 
brings in grist to the mill. St. Mary’s, 
the largest of the inhabited islands, has an 
area of 1,620 acres and a population of 
1,160 persons. 
The Late MR. DODWELL’S 
GRAND CARNATIONS. 
THE FINEST GROWN. 
All Classes, 10/6 per do 2 en. 
List ot Specialties can be obtained of— 
Mr. A. MEDHURST, 
Thk Cottage, Stanley Road, Oxford. 
HOW TO GROW 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS 
By Mr. Charles E. Shea, Mr. H. Shoesmith, and Mr. E. 
Beckett. Those who are in doubt how to treat their plants 
should secure a copy. Post free, 7 stamps. Address, 
H. J. 
Ryecroft Nursery, Hither Green, Lewisham, S.E. 
A 
SPECIALITY. 
12 beautiful Stove Ferns, 3s., larger, 4s., 6s ; 25 for 8s. 6d. or 
I2S. 6d. ; 50 for 21s. or 25s. ; 100 for 63E. or 75s.; all diflerent. 
Beautiful Ferns for Warm Greenhouse at same prices. 
Beautiful Ferns for Cool Greenhouse at same prices. 
Beautiful Ferns for Cold Greenhouse at same prices. 
Beautiful Hardy Ferns at same prices. 
For gd. per dozen extra above sent carriage free. 
Our collection is unrivalled. Our stock is immense. 
Catalogue of 1,400 varieties free on application. 
W. & J. BIRKENHEAD, F.R.H.S., 
Fern Norseries, Sale, near Manchester. 
AMATEURS 
Who follow the instructions given in 
‘The Amateur Orchid Cultivators’ Guide Book,’ 
By H. a. burberry, F.R.H.S., 
OPwCHID GROWER TO 
The Right Hon. JOS. CBAMBERLAIX, 5LP., 
GROW O RCHIDS 
In Cool, Intermediate, or Warm Houses, 
SUCCESSFULLY 
There is a Calendar of Operations for 
each month, and full information 
the treatment required by all 
mentioned in the book. 
First Edition. Just Published 
2s. 6d. ; post free, 2S. gd. 
“Gardening World'* Of&ce, 
I, Clement’s Inn, Strand, London. 
DONT FORGET! 
I hat worms and all vermin are kept out of plant pots by simply 
placing one of PORTER’S PATENT INVINCIBLE CROCKS in 
the pot. Hundreds of thousands are in use, and they are 
acknowledged by ail to be one of the simplest, cheapest and 
most useful articles ever oftered to the horticultural world. 
Fits any pot and lasts many years. 
30,1/-; 100, 3/-; 1,000, 25/-; carriage paid. 
A. PORTER, Stone House, MAIDSTONE. 
KILL 
FEED 
SMOKE 
SPRAY 
The STOTT” DISTRIBUTOR CO., Ltd.,Barton House, 
MANCHESTER. 
STR AWBERR IES. 
WM. CUTBUSH &, SON 
Have all the leading varieties 
READY in pots, strong plants for 
immediate delivery. List including 
several Novelties post free upon 
application. 
EARLY ORDERS REQUESTED. 
HIGHGATE NURSERIES, LONDON,N., 
and BARNET, HERTS. 
A Speci£tjlit3r* 
LAXTON BROTHERS, BEDFORD. 
For Index to Contents see pade 778. 
” Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man."— Bacon. 
NEXT WEEK’S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Monday. August 6th.—St. Neot’s Flower Show. 
Derby Flower Show. 
Mansfield Flower Show. 
Southampton and Liverpool Shows (continued). 
Northampton Flower Show (2 days). 
Tuesday, August 7th.—Flower Show in Abbey Park, Leicester. 
Thursday, August gth,—Taunton Flower Show. 
Friday, August loth.—Orchid Sale at Protheroe & Morris’ 
Rooms. 
Saturday, August iith.—Carnation Show at Old Trafford. 
Edited by BRIAN WYNNE, F.R.H.S. 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 1894 . 
f ARDENING IN THE SciLLY ISLES. —So 
flourishing has now become the market 
gardening in the Scilly Islands, that it is 
said to almost rival, in point of remunera¬ 
tiveness the gold diggings of California or 
Australia. Be this as it may it is perfectly 
certain that there is no part of Great 
Britain that can vie with Scilly as a flower 
producing centre. As Mr. Walter Besant 
very correctly asserts in his much-praised 
“ Armorel of Lyonesse,” flower farming is 
a com.paratively new industry in the Scilly 
Isles. Formerly the chief occupation was 
the growth of early vegetables for the 
London and other markets, but the enor¬ 
mous quanlities of spring flowers imported 
from the South of France suggested to the 
Scillonians the possibility of turning a soil 
and climate, equally as favourable, to better 
advantage, and the result of so doing is 
that the islanders are much the richer for 
it. 
To-day one may walk through miles of 
fragrant gardens. From one farm alone, 
in the season, some seven thousand boxes 
of Narcissi are delivered for shipment in 
a day, and about four hundred tons from 
the Islands in the season. When flower 
culture was commenced, it was found 
necessary that the hill sides should be 
divided by evergreens, hedgerows, or oblong 
plots formed in order to shelter the beds 
Lorn the stormy winds. For many months 
in the year the Escallonia macrantha is 
almost covered with crimson blossoms 
which offers a delightful contrast to the 
glassy green foliage. The Escallonia 
flowers sparingly in the southern counties, 
but here, within reach of the sea spray, it 
thrives luxuriantly; so also does the 
Veronica with its wealth of purple bloom. 
The trumpet Lily, Richardia aethiopica, 
flowers abundantly, too, in the open air. 
But apart from the larger farms there is 
hardly a cottage which has not its plot of 
ground set apart for the growth of the 
Narcissus. One may imagine the interest 
^PEN Tanks in Orchid Houses.— The 
general practice when building new 
Orchid houses is to provide them with 
tanks running the whole length of the 
house, and on each side if it be a span- 
roofed structure. No doubt a good deal 
may be said in favour of the system, 
especially on the score of time and labour 
saved in having the water close at hand 
when watering and syringing. But it is 
also claimed that the close proximity of 
standing water is of benefit to the plants, 
and this is an assumption that all growers 
do not agree with. Discussing the subject 
the other day with a very able Orchid 
cultivator, he emphatically expressed his 
belief that the plants derived no benefit 
whatever, not even during the hot summer 
months, while during the cold winter 
season he considered the open tanks any¬ 
thing but beneficial, if not positively harm¬ 
ful to plant life. 
When the tanks are filled in winter 
during heavy rains, or as the result of a 
fall of snow, with water that in tempera¬ 
ture is but a few degrees above freezing 
point, the atmosphere of the house strikes 
cold and chilly when entered, even though 
the pipes be so hot that the hand can 
hardly bear the heat, and that, our friend 
argued, could not be considered a condition 
favourable to the promotion of health and 
vigour. Another argument in favour of 
closed tanks is that as generally constructed 
the stages permit of the drainings from the 
plants falling into the open tank to be used 
again, and that is not a desirable pro¬ 
cedure. It must not be assumed from 
what has been said that the storage of rain 
water in tanks is objected to, on the 
contrary, every Orchid grower knows the 
value of a capacious tank of soft water, 
and the nearer at hand it is the better, even 
inside the house. But there is clearly a 
substantial objection to the open tanks, and 
the matter is worthy of the fullest considera¬ 
tion. If they are harmful, rather than 
beneficial, then they should be covered in 
before winter comes on, and only a 
sufficient opening be left for dipping the 
water out, and to admit of cleaning when 
necessary, which should be much oftener 
than is usually done in all plant houses. 
Some tanks have hot-water pipes running 
through them, but they are a very doubtful 
advantage, for experience has shown that 
water which is too warm is worse than that 
which is cold. Generally speaking, for 
watering in winter it is best to have a small 
tank or receptacle of some kind in the 
house that can be filled up every morning 
after watering, and be allowed to stand 
until the next morning, when it Avill be 
about the same temperature as the house, 
and warmer than that it should not be for 
any plants that have but a small amount of 
compost about their roots. 
--- 
Dressing Seeds.— Mr. E. Griffith Hughes, of Man¬ 
chester, has patented a process of treating seeds be¬ 
fore they are sown with a solution, containing salts 
of lead and pyroligneous tar or acid, ” to assist 
germination and to preserve them from the attacks 
of parasites, insects, birds or the like.’’ 
The Rothamsted Experiments. —A Set of Diagrams, 
prepared by Sir J. B. Lawes and Sir J. H. Gilbert 
for the Chicago Exhibition, as illustrations of the 
agricultural investigations conducted at Rothamsted 
during the past fifty years, is now temporarily 
exhibited in the Western Galleries of the South 
Kensington Museum. 
