682 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 27th, 1885. 
Fruit Culture under Glass. —Strawberries : 
Preparing Plants for Forcing.— The first step to be 
taken in this direction is to obtain the necessary 
number of 32 and 24-sized pots—only a small per¬ 
centage of the latter for late varieties—and well crock 
them by placing a large piece of crock in the bottom 
of the pots, then a couple of inches thick of two or 
three smaller sizes (the smallest pieces being placed 
on the top), over which sprinkle a handful of fresh 
soot, to prevent the ingress of worms, and over that a 
few rough pieces of loam or leaves. This being done, 
fill the pots to within an inch of the top with a com¬ 
post consisting of three parts good loam and one of 
horse-droppings rubbed through a quarter-inch sieve, 
ramming it in firmly together as the work proceeds. 
The pots should then be taken to the Strawberry 
quarters and placed so as to reduce to a minimum the 
chances of the runners being displaced in the process 
of watering the plants and gathering the fruits. 
The runners should be layered in the centre of the 
pots as soon as large enough to handle, and secured 
there by means of small pegs, a sufficient number of 
which should be made beforehand, out of old brooms, 
on wet days. The best runners should, as a matter 
of course, be selected, and the superfluous ones cut 
away as the work of layering proceeds. The plants 
thus layered should be watered overhead every after¬ 
noon during bright sunny weather; this, in addition 
to keeping the surface of the soil moist (which is all 
that is needed until the roots have pushed into it), 
will keep the young plants clean and fresh. As soon 
as they have become sufficiently established to admit 
of their being severed from the parent plants they 
should be removed to a favourable situation, where 
they will be well exposed to the sun, and placed, not 
too closely together, on sifted coal ashes, or on the 
brick walls enclosing Vine borders. 
From this time until the plants have completed 
their growth, they should have liberal supplies of 
diluted liquid manure at the roots, together with 
an occasional surface-dressing of Beeson’s manure, 
so as to develope large consolidated crowns, and, 
with this object in view, all the runners and any 
small crowns that may proceed from the original 
and principal ones should be removed as soon as they 
appear. As the runners are being layered, the points 
immediately beyond the miniature plants should be 
pinched out.— H. IV. Ward, Longford Castle. 
Floating Melon Gardens in Cashmere.—In 
the beautiful Valley of Cashmere, among the Himalayan 
Mountains, lies a lovely lake called Dal. Floating about 
on its surface, sometimes carried by the winds from 
one end of the lake to the other, are numerous small 
islands, on which grow the finest Cucumbers and the 
most luscious Melons known. The way in which 
these floating gardens are made is very curious. All 
about the main shores of the lake grow quantities 
of Heeds, Sedges, and Water Lilies. When these 
grow very thickly together people cut them from 
the roots which hold them near the shore. The 
leaves of the plants are then spread out over the 
stems, making a sort of trestle-work to support the 
soil with which it is next to be covered. After this 
has been done the seeds are planted, and the floating 
garden is left to care for itself until the fruits are 
ready for picking.— St. Nicholas. 
Venetian Fruit Houses.— Being about to put 
up a Peach-house, I should be obliged if some of your 
readers would give me their experience with the 
Patent Venetian Fruit House described in your paper 
some time since.— A. W. 
——- 
Flower Stands.— Mr. E. Behrens, Hamburg, has 
invented a flower stand with moveable bottom, which 
may be raised by a drum with linked levers at each end, 
and having a ratchet catch to fix it at any height, or 
the bottom may be inclined at any angle. The level- 
moving on a pivot has slots in each of its ends in 
which work levers. These move a plate through 
intermediate levers and pivots. A securing pin holds 
the lever in any desired position. 
Work in the Plant-houses. —It will now be 
time to consider what repairs, Ac. will have to be 
done during the time that the plant-houses can be 
emptied without inconvenience. So much depends 
upon circumstances, that it is impossible to say what 
ought to be done first, yet there are a few points 
which should always be borne in mind. In any case 
where there are no climbers or other plants planted 
out which cannot be removed, the stove-houses should 
be the first to have attention, as the plants will flo 
well in any house where a little artificial heat can be 
given in case of dull or wet weather. Where it is 
possible the stove should always be emptied once a 
year. After the houses have been emptied the first 
thing that should be done is to remove all rubbish, 
and any material that has been used for plunging or 
standing the pots on, after which the houses should 
be thoroughly washed out, glass, woodwork, walls, 
and in fact the whole of the interior. When 
thoroughly cleansed, they should be left open until 
the w-oodw-ork, walls, &c. are quite dry, and in every 
case where the houses are not to be painted, they 
should be washed with some kind of insecticide, and 
it is a good plan to add a little sulphur to the lime- 
wash for the walls. Before refilling the houses all 
the plants should be thoroughly cleansed from insect 
pests, and any that require it should be repotted. 
Another matter which should have attention while 
the houses are empty is the liot-w'ater apparatus ; the 
pipes should be examined to see if there are any 
leaky joints, and to see that they are on a proper 
level; the boiler should also be thoroughly cleaned, 
and if the masonry requires any repairs, if it is done 
now it will stand much better than if it is left until 
just before a strong fire has to be put on. 
Antirrhinums.—It is a remarkable fact that of 
all the florists’ flowers that are raised from seeds, 
and which are annually so raised by thousands, the 
Snap Dragon has yielded the least amount of novelty 
as regards colour. The form of the flower has been 
greatly improved, and such is the case also as regards 
size and substance, but of fresh shades of colour we 
have literally had none, not a “ fresh break” so far 
as we know for some years past. The Messrs. Dobbie, 
of Rothesay, are therefore to be congratulated on 
their success, after several years of careful selection, 
in obtaining a break or strain in which all the tubes 
of the flow-ers are pure white, instead of the whole of 
the flower being striped as in the old strain. We 
thus have a change at last, and one that is worth 
retaining, the pure tube affording a much more 
decided and very pleasing contrast. The spikes too 
are reported as being exceedingly large. 
Hoya Bella as a Basket Plant. —Those who 
have not grown this little gem as a basket plant 
I would strongly advise to do so, as it possesses 
a delightful perfume, and bears its drooping bunches 
of flowers in great profusion, as you can see by 
enclosed branches, which were grown in a basket 
suspended from the roof over the pathway of a plant- 
house, and, consequently, near the light. It is grown 
in a mixture of peat, loam, sand, and leaf-mould, and 
kept in a temperature of 55 degs. by night, with a rise 
by day in the winter ; and until it commenced to open 
its flowers it was kept at a night temperature of 
65 degs., with a rise by day of 10 degs. after March. 
It is now in an intermediate house to prolong the 
flowering as much as possible.— Joshua Atkins, The 
Gardens, Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire.— [This 
beautiful East Indian species is the finest of all for 
basket work, being so neat and compact in habit. It 
should be found in every stove.— Ed.] 
->*«■-- 
Cytisus hirsutus. —This handsome hardy shrub 
is figured in the June number of The Botanical Maga¬ 
zine, from a specimen grown by G. Maw, Esq., of 
Bentlial Hall, Shropshire. It is an old garden plant, 
having been cultivated by Philip Miller, at Chelsea, in 
1739, and is said to be a useful plant to relieve the 
monotony of the shrubbery border. The flowers are 
deep yellow, and borne in clusters in the axils of the 
leaves. It is a native of South Europe, ranging from 
Southern Switzerland to Greece, Bosnia,and Bithynia. 
Bauhinia varieg-ata. —This very handsome plant 
is figured in The Botanical Magazine for June. It is 
said to be “ an exceedingly common plant throughout 
India, being more often seen planted than indigenous; 
it forms a small tree, 6 ft. to 20 ft. high, and when 
covered with blossoms, which appear in March, it 
resembles a gigantic Pelargonium, and is indeed a 
glorious object.” It appears to have been grown by 
the Earl of Portland as long ago as 1690. There are 
doubtless two reasons why the plant is not more grown, 
one being that it requires too much room, the other 
that it requires a hot, dry season to ripen the wood. 
The flowers vary greatly in colour, from white varie¬ 
gated with yellowish-green, to rose variegated with 
crimson, cream-colour, and purple ; in size they 
measure about 4 ins. 
PhyUocacti, a showy genus of Cactaceous plants, 
deserve much more attention than they usually receive. 
We have seen them in several establishments put 
away beneath the stage, or some other out-of-the-way 
quarter, and only brought into view when a charming 
flower has attracted attention. Under such a system 
of treatment they wear a very scrubby appearance, 
and look more fit for the adornment of the rubbish 
heap than either the stove or the greenhouse. They 
like a good open compost to root into, and to be kept 
moderately dry during winter, but at the turn of the 
year water may be freely given, with an occasional 
dose of weak liquid manure, and they should be 
syringed often on fine days. A plant of Phyllocactus 
Edwardsii, in a 10-in. pot, had twenty-two blooms, 
twelve of which expanded at the same time. These 
flowers, like many other members of the order 
Cactacefe, open towards the evening, and last from 
two to three days. P. latifrons fades away sooner 
than any other that I am acquainted with. We have 
had a succession of these beautiful flowers all through 
May, and some are still flowering. The following 
have proved very attractive with us:—Phyllocactus 
nitens, P. Gordonianus, P. Edwardsii, P. crenatus, 
P. multiflorus,.P. Jenkensoni, and P. latifrons.— W. II. 
The Kitchen Gardener’s Calendar. —Planting, 
&c.: This will be a good time to make another 
planting of the strongest plants of the respective 
varieties of Savoys, the distance between the plants 
each way being, as with kindred subjects, determined 
by the size which the different varieties attain, as 
well as by the nature of the soil, in poor land less 
space being required than in rich ground. Small 
varieties, like Tom Thumb and Early Ulm, may be 
planted as stated in my last calendar, in rows 15 ins. 
apart and 12 ins. from plant to plant in the rows, 
while Drumhead should have a space of 2 ft. between 
the plants each way. In taking up the plants, care 
should be exercised in examining the roots and hearts 
of the same to ascertain whether they are clubbed 
or button-hearted or not, and all that show symptoms 
of such deformities should be destroyed. 
Continue to make successional plantings of Celery 
in trenches prepared as advised at p. 539, and in the 
manner there indicated, and see that the plants do 
not suffer for want of water at the roots at any time. 
Do not trouble about earthing them up until they 
have attained to 12 ins. or 15 ins. in height, and 
thereby not only economize labour in the operation, 
but also lessen the chances of the soil getting into 
the hearts, which is frequently the case when the 
plants are earthed up when only 6 ins. or 8 ins. high, 
and the object—blanching the head—is secured as 
completely as by carrying out the operation at more 
frequent intervals. 
Toaiatos Out-of-doors. —The chief points to be 
observed in Tomato culture, whether indoors or out, 
are to keep the shoots and leaves well stopped and 
thinned. If the plants are trained up the wall or 
wooden fence with one or more stems, these should 
not be closer to each other than 10 ins. to 12 ins., all 
side shoots should be pinched at the first joint and be 
kept persistently stopped afterwards, and the leading 
and secondary branches stopped above the fruit. As 
soon as the latter have set, their development will be 
