April 25th, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
539 
Seasonable Work in the Plant-houses.— 
The most important work in the plant-houses at the 
present time will be to see that everything is kept 
well watered. As many of the hardier bedding plants 
may now be put into more exposed quarters, it will 
afford an opportunity for giving other plants more 
room, and for potting on those that require it. While 
there is so much work of importance that demands 
attention from day to day, the future must be studied, 
for it often happens that failure is caused by plants 
being neglected in the initial stage. At this season, 
when plants are making rapid growth, they must be 
potted on as they require it, and in the case of any 
plants that require stopping, this must also be 
attended to. In stopping such plants as Bouvardias, 
Fuchsias, &c., care should be taken that all the 
shoots are stopped at the same time, or they will not 
form well-shaped plants. 
P oinsettias .—As these begin to start into growth 
they should be placed in a favourable position, and 
be given a little mild stimulant to induce them to 
make a good strong growth. The cuttings may now 
be put in as soon as they have attained a sufficient 
length. The treatment of these will depend a good 
deal upon what the plants are required for; if for 
conservatory decoration or any purpose where tall 
plants are serviceable, they may be grown on freely 
without being stopped, but early struck plants 
require great care to keep them from losing their 
bottom leaves. To secure good dwarf plants with 
clean healthy foliage down to the pots, the tops 
should be taken off the young plants and put in as 
cuttings again. To have good plants from 1 ft. to 2 ft. 
high, it will be time enough if the cuttings are put 
in about the end of August, that is if good strong 
cuttings can then be obtained. The old plants, except 
under very favourable conditions, will not provide 
good cuttings so late in the season, therefore it is 
better to commence propagating early. The young 
plants that have their tops taken off, if cut back to 
within three or four eyes of the bottom, will branch 
out and produce three or four heads of bracts. 
Anopteris glandulosus. — When introduced 
from Van Dieman’s Land some forty or more years 
ago, this very handsome evergreen shrub had a future 
before it as an exhibition plant, but somehow or other 
it never came well to the front, and is now but seldom 
seen at all. Its laige, lanceolate, serrate, shining, 
deep green leaves, and showy panicles of pure white 
flowers, render it, however, an object of great beauty. 
It is a plant that requires plenty of root-room, and, 
for that reason, should be planted out in a bed of peat 
and loam in a temperate house, where it will thrive 
well with plenty of water when making its growth. 
--»$<- 
Two Good Hardy Primulas. — Primula 
Viscosa nivea is a real gem on the rock-work or a 
shady border, and a grand plant to grow in pots to 
assist in keeping the cold-house or pit gay in spring, 
for embellishing the stands, &c., in the house, or to 
cut for select bouquets, &c. Wherever used it is not out 
of place, and meets with many admirers ; it is so 
pure and white, and flowers in such dense clusters. 
Primula rosea is a fine companion to the above; on 
a rock-bank here it has been simply grand. It produces 
four and five trusses of flowers on a plant of the most 
lovely rose-pink colour. These two should be grown 
by every owner of a garden.— J. C. F. 
Camellia Jaoksoni. — When in the Glasgow 
Botanic Garden a week or two ago, Mr. Buflen, the 
able curator of the establishment, directed our atten¬ 
tion to a most beautiful double white Camellia under 
this name planted out in the large circular winter 
garden. It is quite distinct from alba plena, and has 
a beautiful round petal, of great substance and purity. 
. e tree is a good grower, and the flowers of good 
size. It can well be described as a perfect beauty. 
Scented Tree Carnations.— It has often been 
remarked that perpetual-flowering Carnations are not 
sweet-scented, but it should in justice be noted that 
the assertion does not apply to all of them. Our 
correspondent Mr. Warden has favoured us with 
blooms of Empress of Germany, white; Valencia, 
crimson; and Vulcan, bright red, which are all 
highly perfumed. Our correspondent remarks that 
he does not consider Empress of Germany, one of 
Mr. Turner s fine seedlings, is so well known as its 
merits deserve. It is certainly a very fine white. 
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Tuberous Begonias. —It will doubtless be a sur¬ 
prise, even to those who know something of the 
immense trade done in these plants, to hear that 
Messrs. John Laing & Co.’s stock of seedlings this 
year numbers no less than 90,000, and ah obtained 
by crossing the best varieties. We understand that 
the Messrs. Laing will show this season some striking 
novelties in edged and striped flowers, and also a 
sweet-scented variety, the most valuable acquisition 
of all “ a large flesh-coloured flower, sweeter than 
Violets,” having made its appearance among last 
year’s seedlings. The show-house is already filled 
with strong plants, many of which are in bloom, with 
the promise of a marvellous gathering of flowers 
to follow soon. 
The Rose Garden. —Frost and Green-ply : 
I have been taking a look through my Boses and 
those of some of my neighbours, and have had an 
eye for green-fly, Bose-maggot, and other depredators, 
especially in some, more advanced than the'rest, that 
I had from Swanley, and that I planted in a warm 
border in the front of a south wall. Those in the 
open, that were soft and luxuriant, and that I pruned 
early, have had the young shoots and foliage badly 
turned back by recent frosts. At this time last year 
those shoots were a mass of aphis, and required 
constant syringing with carbolic soap and water to 
keep them in check : now not one is to be observed. 
I want to know if you think this is to be attributed 
to the frost?— W. J. Murpluj, Clonmel. [No.— Ed.] 
Rhododendron Gibsoni. —In the division of the 
new range in the Glasgow Botanic Garden devoted 
to Indian Azaleas, of which Mr. Bullen grows some 
neat, thrifty, trained specimens, we noted recently a 
handsome specimen of this beautiful Sikkim species, 
producing a rich profusion of its large white blossoms.' 
Its free branching habit lends itself more easily to 
the formation of a neat specimen than do most of 
the Indian species, but-we do not often see a better 
example of it than this, which is about 5 ft. high. 
Cineraria Snowflake is the name of a new white 
vaiiety of much merit, which has been submitted for 
our inspection by Messrs. James Carter & Co. Good 
white Cinerarias have always been at a premium, 
so poor, as a rule, do they generally come; but in 
Snowflake we have a flower 2 ins. in diameter, with 
broad, substantial, ray florets, and a purple disc. 
The Kitchen Gardener’s Calendar.— Celery 
Planting: There are various ways of carrying out 
this operation, but the most preferable is, in my 
opinion, the following :—The trenches, which should 
run north and south, and be one spit deep, 16 ins. 
wide and 4 ft. from centre to centre, should be got 
ready at once for an early planting, and the ridges 
between should have a good slope, in order to leave 
the trench well open to the rain. Six ins. or 8 ins. 
thick of the best manure obtainable on the place 
should be dug into each trench, and the soil broken 
fine as the work proceeds. Then, assuming that the 
plants have been properly hardened off in the manner 
indicated in these columns from time to time, take 
them up carefully with a ball of earth while moist at 
the roots. Bemove any suckers that may be found, 
and plant one row in each trench at 9 ins. from plant 
to plant, taking care in doing so that the plants are 
not buried deeper in the soil than they were before, 
and that it is made moderately firm about their roots, 
which should then be watered to settle it. The ridges 
can be planted before the Celery with two rows of 
Lettuce 9 ins. apart and 12 ins. asunder from plant 
to plant in the row. The planting should be done 
from the trench before the dung has been put on, and, 
in the absence of rain, then watered. 
Vegetable Marrows and Cucumbers. — Plants 
intended for growing under hand-glasses should be 
planted forthwith on mounds of prepared soil (three- 
parts of light loam and one of rotten dung and 
leaf-mould). Make the soil firm about the roots in 
planting. Water and shade the plants from bright 
sunshine for a few hours during the heat of the day, 
until the roots have pushed into the soil, after which 
it will not be necessary. Damp the plants overhead 
with the syringe on bright afternoons when closing 
the lights, over which place mats at night as a pro¬ 
tection to the plants from a few degrees of frost. 
General Work. —Prick out young Celery plants 
in 2 ins. thick of finely sifted soil which has been 
placed over a like thickness of short dung on a hard 
surface out-of-doors. The rows should be 4 ins. 
or 5 ins. apart, and the plants the same distance 
asunder in the rows. Water and shade the plants for 
a few days, and see that they have plenty of water 
when established. Onions which were sown on 
March 2nd are up nicely, even in the rows be¬ 
tween which the Dutch-hoe has been run somewhat 
deeply, so as to well loosen the surface of the soil, 
which, as is usually the case with crops of this 
description the first hoeing after they have come 
through the soil, was rather hard. If not already 
done, remove the pots and boxes from Bhubarb 
plants and store them away for use another season. 
Forcing Department.— Give copious supplies of 
tepid liquid manure to the roots of Tomato plants 
swelling their fruit, and keep the shoots and leaves 
of the same well pinched, and the fruit fully exposed 
to the sun. French Beans, which should now be 
grown in pits, will require daily attention in the way 
of airing, watering, and syringing; and Capsicums 
which are intended to be fruited in pots should be 
shifted into larger ones as they require more room 
at the roots, and those which are intended for plant¬ 
ing out-of-doors later on, at the foot of a south wall 
or fence, should be gradually hardened off for that 
purpose.— H. W. Ward. 
Blanching Endive;— In gardens where a white 
salad is in demand every day in the year, as it has 
been here during the seven years I have had charge of 
this garden, several methods of blanching Endive 
have to be resorted to. Lettuces and Endive are the 
salad plants most appreciated by my employer, and I 
think I am not far wrong in saying that everyone else 
prefeis these to any other two salading plants grown, 
such a nice, delicate, and digestible salad do they 
make. In blanching the Endive, we adapt our 
methods to the weather. Early in the season we tie 
them when dry like Lettuces; sometimes we put pots 
over them, such as large Seakale pots, instead of 
placing pieces of slate or board over the top, in which 
case they rot in wet weather. Our favourite method 
when the winters are not too severe, is to cover a 
quarter of plants in the open ground with dry fern, 
when they are nice and dry, and in this way we get 
good white heads of the very best Endive all through 
the winter, except in extreme weather. To make sure 
of a good supply we take up some plants and keep 
them in a cold shed under mats, and others are put 
in the Mushroom-house. Being short of room in the 
pits which are filled with tender border plants, &o., 
we can only afford a three-light box for Endive, and 
this we put over five rows on the border, sown very 
late in summer for late use, and these keep us going 
till the end of April. I have seen them planted in 
deep drills and earthed for use in September and 
October. After trying many sorts we now grow 
nothing but Batavians. I may add that we grow 
other salad plants, and our mode of cultivation shall 
be detailed at some future time.— J. C. F. 
Manure for Potatos. —A Wiltshire correspondent 
of The Field advises every grower of Potatos to try 
Messrs. J. Jensen & Co.’s Fish Potash Manure, which 
after three years’ use on poor soils he has found the 
best manure for Potatos that can be used. The 
manure contains the essential ingredients of ammonia, 
phosphates, and potash in a form hitherto deemed 
impracticable, and uniformly good results have 
followed its application. 
