458 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
Match 21st, 1885. 
Fruit Culture under Glase: Melons. —Make 
suecessional sowings and plantings of Melons at 
intervals of about three weeks during the next four or 
five months. The plants should always be planted on 
the ridge, or shifted into larger pots, while preparations 
are being made for their reception, before they become 
pot-bound at the roots, in which case the growth is 
stunted and the plants seldom make a kindly start 
afterwards. Therefore as soon as the plants have 
pushed their roots through the soil in the pots they 
should, as already stated, be either planted forthwith 
on the ridge or shifted into larger pots before the roots 
become matted. In planting in houses, pits, and 
frames on hot-beds in which the soil, consisting of 
rich fibry loam, with a little lime-rubble added, has 
been for twenty-four hours, do not bury the plants 
deeper in the soil than they were in the pots, make 
the soil firm about them, water with tepid water, and 
shade the plants from bright sunshine for a few days 
until the roots have taken to the soil. As the roots 
protrude through the sides of the hillocks in the early 
house, add a few inches thick of the same compost in 
which the plants are growing, and continue to make 
such additions until the intervening space is filled 
with soil, leaving, however, the base of the plants and 
the soil immediately around the stems a few T inches 
higher than that between the plants, to prevent the 
lodgment of water in that quarter, and consequently 
the stems of the plants from being attacked by canker. 
Plants growing in frames on hot-beds which have 
been treated during the interval as set forth in The 
Gardening World of February 14th, p. 378, will by 
this time have made shoots 12 ins. to 15 ins. long, 
which should be stopped. This will cause them to 
send out fruit-bearing shoots, which should likewise 
have the points pinched out at one joint beyond the 
fruit-blossom. The latter, when fully open, should be 
impregnated with the male flower about mid-day when 
the pollen is dry, and during this stage of the plant’s 
growth, and until the fruit is set, a dry, airy atmosphere 
should be aimed at. 
Figs. —Vigorously-growing shoots should be stopped 
so as to direct the flow of sap to the enlargement of 
weaker ones, and the swelling of the fruit. And with 
this object in view, remove forthwith any suckers that 
spring from the base of the trees as soon as they 
appear, and keep the roots well supplied with tepid 
manure-water. Syringe the trees thoroughly morning 
and afternoon at closing time, when the temperature 
may be run up to 85 degs. by sun-heat, but open the 
top ventilators a little before going to bed, and aim at 
a night temperature of 60 degs. to 65 degs., and 5 degs. 
higher in the day-time by fire-heat.— H. IF. Ward. 
A Hundred Bushels of Apples from one 
Tree.—A tree in this town (Cheshire, Connecticut), 
belonging to Mr. Delos Hotchkiss, is believed to be 
the largest Apple tree in New England. In 1880, 
when I measured it, it had eight large branches, each 
of them as large as an ordinary full-grown Apple tree. 
The spread of these branches is six rods ; five of them 
in one year have borne eighty-five bushels of fruit, 
since Mr. Hotchkiss owned the place; and his 
predecessor had over one hundred bushels in one year 
from the same five branches, which had a habit of 
bearing one year, and the other three the next.— N. S. 
Platt, in American Gardeners' Monthly. 
Propagation of Fruit-Trees.—While visiting 
Mr. Bogie, overseer to the Hon. Mr. Vernon, Auchans, 
I was shown a young Apple-plant, about 3 ins. high, 
and bearing some blossom-buds from which one would 
naturally look for fruit. Mr. Bogie had found it quite 
accidentally growing in his propagating-pit, into which 
it had evidently fallen from an “Old Nonesuch” in the 
process of pruning. It was growing in a pot under 
glass, and was quite healthy in appearance. I would 
like very much to know if fruit-trees are reared from 
cuttings, or if this is, as I have been led to believe, a 
freak of nature, and altogether phenomenal in its 
occurrence.— Nescio. [The apple is very seldom pro¬ 
pagated by cuttings, but several varieties, notably the 
Burr-Knot, will strike readily enough in a warm, 
moist soil. There is nothing phenomenal about it.— 
Ed.] 
Seasonable "Work in the Plant-houses : 
Casielllvs.— To get these to bloom in the autumn, or 
rather before their natural period of flowering, they 
should be encouraged to make their growth as early as 
possible. Plants that have now done flowering should 
be subjected to a warm growing temperature ; a good 
position is a vinery where the Vines are being 
forced; the temperature cannot be too high if a moist 
atmosphere is maintained, and if not grown under 
Vines, the house must be shaded. Before the plants 
are started, they should be gone through and carefully 
cleaned, the surface of the pots loosened up, and, if 
necessary, top-dressed with a little fresh soil; the 
plants will also be greatly benefited by an occasional 
watering with soot-water during their growing period, 
and must be regularly syringed; if the syringe is kept 
well in use, it will do much towards keeping the plants 
free from scale, which is perhaps their greatest 
enemy. 
Aspidistra ltjrida varlegata.— The present is a 
good time to attend to this most useful plant. Old 
plants may be divided, and younger ones potted on, 
and to get them to make good large' leaves they 
should be plunged "where there is a little bottom-heat. 
After the plants have made their growth they may 
be kept in any temperature, and will stand a dry 
atmosphere better than most plants, which makes 
them very valuable for decoration. 
Lapagerlas. —These will now be throwing up young 
growths, and as snails and slugs are very destructive 
at this period, careful watch should be kept, and as 
soon as the young shoots appear above the surface of 
the soil, a piece of wadding should be put round 
them; this we have found to-be the most effective 
method of keeping off the most troublesome pests 
that the Lapagerias are subject to. 
A rare American Shrub.—Neviusa alabamensis, 
a singular shrub, which has much the habit of a 
Spirrea, is figured in The Botanical Magazine for 
March. It flowered at Kew, in May, 1883, nailed to 
an east wall, the numerous corymbs - o£ snow-white 
flowers forming a beautiful contrast with the pale- 
green ovate leaves. It is one of the rarest plants of 
the United States, being- only known from some 
shaded cliffs near Tuscaloosa in Alabama, It is 
probable that in our climate some protection from 
severe frost should be given. 
“ The Blue Marguerite ” Agathsea coeles- 
tis.—Among blue flowers for cutting purposes during 
winter, I think this old-fashioned plant forms a fitting 
companion to the Marguerites, for it lasts in a cut 
state fresh for a week, is very free-flowering, and of a 
pleasing light blue colour. It can also be used for 
many other purposes where the Marguerites would be 
out of place as plants, not being so gross a grower, 
and serviceable-sized plants may be grown for ordinary 
purposes in 5 in. pots, a size that cannot fail to be 
useful. In order to have nice plants for next season’s 
flowering, it is advisable to put the cuttings in at once, 
either in a propagating frame or hot-bed, using for a 
compost, two parts of loam to one of leaf-mould, and 
a sprinkling of sand. After the cuttings are rooted, 
they will require to be gradually hardened off. Being 
busy at this time, and all places full up, I put them 
in a vinery for a few days; and when they are some¬ 
what acclimatized, pot them off singly into 3-in. pots, 
using soil similar to that previously recommended, 
and standing them again in the vinery, the shade 
from the Vines being acceptable to them until they 
are established, after which, as soon as space is at 
liberty, I get them into a greenhouse. They then 
require frequent stopping until the middle of 
September, to cause them to throw out more shoots ; 
and when the pots are fairly filled with roots, they 
will require to be placed in 5-in. ones, which will be 
large enough for all ordinary purposes, using for a 
compost three parts of loam to one of rotten dung 
instead of leaf-mould as previously advised. When 
the plants have done supplying cut-flowers or have 
become shabby for conservatory decoration, they will, 
if room can be found for them until all danger from 
frost is past, make nice objects during the summer in 
the herbaceous border, growing and flowering profusely 
throughout the entire summer, indeed far into the 
winter flowers may be gathered from them.— E. Dumper, 
The Garden, Summerville, Limerick. 
A new Dioscorea.—A beautiful new Dioscorea is 
figured under the name of D. crinita in the March 
number of The Botanical Magazine. Sir J. D. Hooker 
remarks of it, “ As trained on a balloon trellis, this 
forms one of the most elegant conceivable pot-plants, 
from its delicate pale-green translucent foliage and 
copious snow-white pendulous racemes.” It is 
closely allied to D. retusa, in fact was for some time 
cultivated as that plant, but has proved quite distinct. 
The notice of D. retusa in The Gardening World for 
October 4th last, p. 68, relates to this plant. The 
leaves are composed of five lanceolate leaflets, arranged 
in digitate fashion; and the snow-white pendulous 
racemes are from 2 ins. to 31? ins. long and very 
numerous. The plant figured was received from Mrs. 
Eliza Steane, of New House Park; Bickmansworth, 
Herts., where it flowered in September, 1S84. It 
thrives well in the stove in a loamy compost, and is a 
native of Natal. 
Acacia armata and A. Drummondi.—In these 
plants we have two of the most beautiful species of the 
Acacia family, but like so many more of the older kinds 
of greenhouse plants, they are nowbut seldom met with. 
This is, perhaps, owing to the system now in vogue, 
of growing large batches of certain plants, to come 
into use at special times, which is an excellent 
practice, and doubtless the best way to keep pace with 
the requirements of gardens in general. But in doing 
so, we are apt to neglect many good showy plants, 
which would help to give the variety that is so 
necessary in all kinds of floral embellishments. A. 
armata produces its bright yellow blossoms around 
the stems of long gracefully-arching shoots, which 
makes it so well adapted for dotting among other 
plants at intervals to produce an informal outline, and 
in such positions it is seen to advantage. A. 
Drummondi is more compact in its habit of growth 
and suitable for making nice bushy plants. The 
colour of its flowers is a fine clear yellow, having the 
rich appearance of velvet. A. armata will grow 
vigourously in a compost of half loam and peat, with 
the addition of sand and charcoal, but I have found 
A. Drummondi to thrive best with a greater proportion 
of peat. Both plants flower in March and April, and 
should have ordinary greenhouse culture, and 
an abundance of water during the growing season.— 
H. Dunkin, The Gardens, Longford Castle. 
■ -—- 
Drummond’s Golden Hod.—Solidago Drum¬ 
mondi is figured in the March number of TheBotanical 
Magazine. It is a useful autumn-flowering plant, as it 
flowers throughout the month of October. It is a 
rather tall herbaceous perennial, attaining 5 ft. high, 
and terminating in a large panicle of small yellow 
heads of flowers. The panicle is looser than in many 
other species of the genus. S. Drummondi is a 
native of the warmer States of North America, from 
South-West Hlinois and Missouri to Lousiana, but is 
quite hardy with us. The Kew plant was received 
from the Harvard University Botanic Garden, in 
1878. 
A Hybrid Echium.—I have cultivated for many 
years two large Echiums upon the terraces of the 
Luinto do Yalle (Madeira), 300 ft. above the sea— 
namely, E. fastuosrim, the Madeiran littoral species, 
a perennial shrub 3 ft. or 4 ft. high, with hairy light- 
green leaves and branching stems crowded with 
scorpioid racemes of light-blue flowers, with white 
stamens; and, secondly, E. simplex, the giant Cana¬ 
rian species, maturing in Madeira in the second year. 
This remarkable plant has large, smooth, silvery 
leaves, and terminates its growth in one unbranclied 
stem densely packed with folded flower-stalks bearing 
jiure white blossoms, and forming a pyramid reaching 
sometimes 14 ft. in height. E. simplex dies after 
flowering. The flowers in both species last three to 
five weeks, and the unfolded flower-stalks measure 
2 ins. to 3 ins. in length. Until 1882 the two Echiums, 
though growing together and having their scentless 
