522 
THE GARDENING WOULD 
April 18th, 1885. 
Fruit Culture under Glass: — Vines: These, 
in the different houses and varying stages of growth, 
require to be well looked after in the way of dis¬ 
budding, stopping the shoots at two joints beyond the 
bunches, pinching off the sub-laterals at one joint, 
and the removing forthwith of all bunches but the 
one nearest the main stem from each lateral. The 
bunches must again be reduced, according to the 
length and strength of the individual rods, as soon as 
the berries are set, which is the case now in the 
second early house. Of course, the most compact and 
best placed bunches should be left for the crop. If 
Grapes of good finish and the permanent welfare of 
the Vines producing them are aimed at, the first 
step—assuming that their previous treatment has 
been in accordance with that recommended from time 
to time in these columns—to be taken with a view 
to securing such desirable results is, (1) to crop the 
Vines light rather than otherwise ; (2) to keep the 
roots well supplied with liquid manure (Beeson’s, I 
use), at the rate of a 9-in. potful to a 30-gallon tub of 
water; and (3) to keep the foliage clean, and give a 
free circulation of fresh air during favourable weather 
from the time the ventilators are opened in the 
morning until closed in the afternoon, leaving a 
little air on day and night after the Grapes commence 
colouring. 
Grape thinning is an operation requiring skill and 
care on the part of those performing it, who should 
also have a knowledge of the size to which the 
different varieties are capable of attaining to. The 
process of thinning the bunches should be proceeded 
with as soon as the berries are set, so that there may 
be no* needless exhaustion of the Vine’s energies in 
swelling berries which have to be removed a few weeks 
later, as is the case when the operation of thinning 
is deferred to a more convenient time. In thinning 
the bunches, the crown berries should be left, and 
at rather more than 1 in. apart, care being taken 
not to injure those left by touching them with the 
hand or scissors. Give the Muscats and other varieties 
a good watering at the roots before they come into 
flower, and again as soon as the berries are set. 
Ventilate, distribute moisture, &c., as recommended 
at p. 490 in the number for April 4th. 
Peaches.-— Defer the final thinning of the fruit unti 
they have “stoned,” when the number of fruit to be 
left on the individual trees must be determined by the 
condition of the latter and whether the owner has a 
preference for extra large or medium-sized fruit. If 
the former, leave one fruit to each superficial foot of 
tree, and if the latter is the object, the distance 
between the fruit may be reduced 3 ins. or 4 ins 
And with the object of seeming the best possible 
results, give copious supplies of tepid liquid manure 
to the roots, and keep'the trees clean by syringing 
them -well overhead morning and afternoon at closing- 
time. Aim at a night temperature of 60 dogs, to 
65 degs., with a rise of 10 degs. or 15 degs. by day, 
running the temperature up to 85 degs. at closing- 
time, with plenty of atmospheric moisture.— H. W. 
Ward. 
Late Apples.—At the meeting of the Fruit 
Committee at South Kensington on Tuesday, Mr. 
Charles Boss, gardener to C. Eyre, Esq., Welford 
Park, Newbury, staged a collection of fifty-two 
varieties of Apples, which created a considerable 
amount of interest, inasmuch as for the middle 
of April they were in a remarkably good state of 
preservation. Perhaps the most remarkable sample 
was one of Cox’s Orange Pippin, which we do not 
remember to have seen in such fine order at this 
season before. Other notable examples were of 
Brabant Bellefleur, Annie Elizabeth, Cox’s Pomona, 
Baldwin, Blenheim Orange, Northern Spy, Cornish 
Aromatic, Stunner Pippin (a grand dish), Mere de 
Menage, Tower of Glamis; Pearson’s Plate, Scarlet 
Nonpariel, Lane’s Prince Albert, Loddington Seedling, 
Court Pendu Plat, and Cockle Pippin, the last, how¬ 
ever, being somewhat shrivelled. The fruit room 
at Welford Park is, we believe, a double walled 
structure, thatched and tiled, but it would be interest¬ 
ing to know the exact details under which such fine 
fruit was preserved. 
Seasonable Work in the Plant-houses.— 
Begonias for Winter Flowering : There are few 
classes of plants which provide so much variety, and 
such a continuous supply of bloom throughout the 
whole year, as do the Begonias; and although the 
winter-flowering species are not so brilliant in colour 
as the summer-flowering tuberous sorts, yet they are 
indispensable where a supply of bloom is required 
during the dullest months of the year. In most cases 
it will be better to propagate fresh stock every year 
and discard the old plants after the necessary stock 
has been obtained, or in the case of those that are 
raised from seed, the old plants may be discarded 
as soon as they have done flowering, that is if a few 
good pods of seed have been saved. 
To get good plants for the following winter, the 
cuttings should now be put in as soon as convenience 
will allow ; they will strike very freely where there 
is a little bottom-heat, but they must not be kept 
too close, and water should be used very sparingly, 
or they will be liable to rot off. The cuttings should 
be selected from fresh young growths that are quite 
free from flower buds, and the shorter the cuttings 
are the better. We like to cut them off close below 
a joint, and put them in without removing any of the 
leaves; if the cuttings are put in just deep enough 
to keep them firm, they will root much more freely 
than they do when the bottom leaves are removed 
and the cutting is put in deeper. In raising seedlings 
care should be taken not to sow the seed too thickly, 
and as soon as it begins to germinate the pots should 
be placed in a position where they get plenty of light, 
and as soon as they are large enough they should be 
pricked off. Either cuttings or seedlings should be 
potted off as soon as they are sufficiently advanced, 
and those that require it should be stopped from time 
to time until they have formed bushy plants. 
Potting. —In potting the plants on into their 
flowering pots, the sizes used will be regulated by 
the growth the plants have made, and some sorts 
require larger pots than others. B. insignis will 
require 6-in. or 7-in. pots, while B. Knowsleyana, B. 
Ingramii, &e., may be flowered well in 5-in. pots. 
Compost: any good, rich, light soil will suit them, 
say, loam, leaf-mould, and well-rotted stable manure 
in equal parts, with a good sprinkling of sharp sand 
added. Liquid manure may be used freely after the 
pots are well filled with roots. No class of plants 
better appreciate liberal treatment than do the 
Begonias, and after they begin to show flower, they 
must on no account be allowed to become too dry 
in the pots, or the buds and flowers will fall off. 
Varieties.— B. Insignis: We give this the first 
place, as it may always be had in good condition at 
Christmas. The variety grown at Chiswick under 
this name is different to that usually met with, being 
of more compact habit and remarkably floriferous. 
We think the right name of the Chiswick variety - is 
probably B. incarnata. This should be grown in a 
cool greenhouse during the summer, and will flower 
well in an intermediate temperature. If well exposed 
to the sun the flowers will come a bright rosy-pink, 
but they come much paler if grown in a shady posi¬ 
tion, or where there is too much heat. B. Knowsleyana: 
although this will flower throughout the summer, yet 
it may also be had in good condition during the winter 
if the plants arc grown on from seed, and stopped if 
they show flower before required. In the winter the 
flowers come almost pure white, though in summer 
they are deeply shaded with pink. B. Ingramii is a 
useful variety with bright rosy-red flowers, and of 
dwarf compact habit. B. moonlight: this beautiful 
hybrid, which was raised by Col. Clark, is an almost 
perpetual bloomer; it will flower well in the greenhouse 
through the summer, but should have stove treatment 
during the winter. B. odorata is a useful variety for 
cut blooms; the flowers, which are pure white, are 
produced in large trusses. It should be grown in the 
stove, and to flower it well it should be kept in rather 
small pots. B. manicata : this makes a useful decora¬ 
tive plant if well managed. It should be grown in the 
stove, and will flower freely through February and 
March. B. Socotrana is a beautiful species of later 
introduction, from which some improved varieties 
have already been raised which promise further ad¬ 
ditions to this beautiful class of plants. 
Marica gracilis.—Mariea gracilis, or more cor¬ 
rectly Cipura gracilis, i3 a lovely stove or warm 
greenhouse Iridaceous plant, not nearly so well 
known as it ought to be. It is very easy to cultivate, 
and deserves a place in the greenhouse of every 
amateur. The flowers are produced in panicles, and 
in colour are pale blue and orange, and though of an 
ephemeral nature individually, they are produced in 
long succession, and their beauty is so pleasing, that 
the cultivator feels amply compensated if he only 
obtains one expanded flower at a time, and is delighted 
if he has the good fortune to have from six to a 
dozen expanded at once. In general appearance the 
Marica very much resembles the Iris, to which it is 
closely allied. It is a native of Brazil, and was 
introduced in 1830. Marica coerulea is a charming 
companion for the above, being of a darker blue shade 
of colour. 
The plant is easily propagated by means of seeds 
and oSsets, which are freely produced.’ Seeds should 
be sown in light soil in spring, and placed either in a 
stove or hotbed. When the seedlings are large enough 
to handle, they should be pricked off into a compost 
of loam, peat, leaf-mould, and sand, in equal propor¬ 
tions, and kept constantly growing. OSsets may be 
readily obtained, and should be potted at once into 
similar soil to the above, and be kept close and moist 
until new roots are formed and the plants become 
established. They should afterwards be fully exposed 
to light and sun, and in due time the flower-spikes 
will appear.— J. Udalc, Shirecliffe Hall Gardena, 
S heffield. 
Epiphyllum Russellianum Gaertneri.—Mr. 
Barron has in flower at Chiswick a novelty of German 
origin which lovers of these beautiful, but too much 
neglected, plants should make a note of. The 
Brazilian E. Bussellianum, which is generally con¬ 
sidered a distinct species on account of the different 
form of its flowers from other Epiphyllums, usually 
blooms in May, its flowers being of a delicate rose 
colour. The habit of the new variety, Gaertneri, is 
that of an Epiphyllum, but here the similarity to a 
great extent ends, for its rich crimson-scarlet blossoms 
are of the shape of those of a Cactus, and have the 
same habit of closing at night. It is a very free- 
flowering plant, and altogether a good thing. It 
was sent to Chiswick by Mr. Heinrich, of Altona, 
Hamburgh. 
Forcing Lily of the VaUey. —You ask, at 
p. 508, what advantage is gained by freezing the roots 
of Lily of the Valley, and my reply is that the 
freezing thoroughly checks them, with the result that 
immediately the roots are excited by heat and 
moisture, they throw up better and stronger spikes, 
and in less time than do those which are not exposed 
to frost. This I consider a great advantage.— S. 
->-£<- 
New Indian, Azaleas. —From Mr. W. Nicoll, 
The Nurseries, Lower Merton, Surrey, we have 
received some fine blooms of his new double white 
Azalea, Princess of Wales, which was shown for the 
first time about twelve months ago, when it was 
awarded a First-Class Certificate by the Floral Com¬ 
mittee. The flowers measure quite 3 ins. across, with 
a full centre, of spotless purity, and the segments 
beautifully crisped. It has been compared by some 
to Deutsche Perle, a variety -which increases in favour 
every year, but it is certainly distinct from it, and not 
so early. The fine shape and early-flowering habit 
of the Deutsche Perle are its leading characteristics, 
and when we consider that such a good double variety 
can be had in bloom in November and December, and 
without much forcing, we cannot wonder at its becom¬ 
ing popular. At South Kensington, on Tuesday, Mr. 
Turner, from whose nursery at Slough so many good 
new Azaleas have been put into commerce, exhibited 
a new variety of great merit, named Elise Lieber, 
a large, delicately-tinted white flower, striped and 
spotted with rose, of fine form and substance, and 
showing a slight tendency to doubling. It is a first- 
rate novelty, and as such was awarded a First-Class 
Certificate. 
