October 13, 189#. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
103 
and Veronica Traversii all flower freely in their 
appointed seasons, as do Tamarix germanica and T. 
gallica; but the graceful character of the twiggy 
branches of the two latter are sufficient to recom¬ 
mend them. The small leaved form of the Cherry 
Laurel (Prunus Laurocerasus rotundifolia) is very 
distinct in its way with its shiny leaves. Euonymus 
ovatus aureus is very handsome at present, as are the 
green and variegated Ivies, in great variety. The 
twiggy branches of Azara microphylla with their 
small leaves are very graceful. Escallonia macrantha 
and E. Ingrami have showy flowers as well as ever¬ 
green foliage. The Mahonia (Berberris Aquifolium) 
and Berberis Darwini are grown in quantity. 
On a tract of moist and peaty land, various 
members of the Heath family, and usually 
spoken of as American garden plants, are 
cultivated rather extensively. We noted a 
plantation of seedling Rhododendrons three years 
old and transplanted. R. ponticum may also be seen 
in quantity from i ft. to 3 ft. high ; and named sorts 
in great variety are also well cared for. Azalea 
mollis is hardly an evergreen, but may be mentioned 
here on account of its affinity. Andromeda flori- 
bunda, Kalmia latifolia, and other American subjects 
also thrive in the peaty soil. 
Fruit Trees. 
The training of fruit trees is carried on with zeal, 
and the specimens are now ripening their wood. 
There still seems to be a good demand for standard 
Apple trees, judging from the plantations of them to 
be seen here. Horizontally trained or espalier Apple 
and Pear trees for the sides of walks are plentiful, 
and in vigorous, healthy condition. Dwarf-trained 
Peaches, Nectarines and Plums we also noted in 
considerable quantity and rude health. Red and 
white Filberts and Cobs constitute another feature 
of interest to the private or market grower. 
American Blackberries of sorts are grown by the 
thousand, so that something better than the ordinary 
Blackberries of our hedges and commons must find 
their way into our markets at no distant date. 
VIOLETS IN WINTER. 
The early culture of Violets is effected in pots. 
During September the plants are put in 6 in. or 8 in. 
pots, placed in a cold frame and kept close for the first 
eight days; then a little air is given. When the 
pots are well furnished with roots, one can, if the 
temperature is favourable, take the sashes com¬ 
pletely away. In November, the Violets are trans¬ 
ferred to a greenhouse into which the sun can easily 
penetrate; they are placed as close as possible to the 
grass. Forcing is commenced by giving them a 
temperature of 43 0 to 48° rising to 55 0 , taking care 
to ventilate when the heat becomes too strong. The 
cultivator must take particular care to choose a good 
substantial soil, to give much air while preserving a 
suitable degree of humidity. Flowers are easily 
obtained in that manner by the end of February. 
For slow forcing, culture in frames is preferable ; 
it is more simple and can be done at less cost. For 
that purpose the Violets are planted out in the soil 
in autumn in the frames. In winter, they ought to 
be well guarded against cold, but they should be 
relieved in spring, when frost is no more to be feared, 
of the material which served to cover them. The 
frames should be uncovered as early in the day as 
possible, so that sun and light can freely act. 
Watering, when it is necessary, should be done in 
the warmest and brightest mornings. Flowering 
commences in April. Multiplication is effected 
either by cuttings or by division of the mother plants. 
The best sorts for forcing are Verbesserte Hamburger 
Triebveilchen, Frau Hofgartendirektor Juhlke, 
Victoria Regina, The Czar, Augusta Veilchen, and 
Rossica superba.— Aug. van Eepoel in Revue de 
l'Horticultural Beige. 
The Stove. 
The atmosphere in the stove may now be kept 
rather drier than it has been during the last month. 
The plants should be looking at their very best at 
the present if their wants have been attended 
to properly during the past summer. Crotons, 
Dracaenas, etc., should have brightly coloured, 
clean, and healthy foliage, and the many kinds of 
Palms (such frequent and favourite inmates of our 
stoves) should have a rich dark green hue upon their 
leaves. An occasional dash with the syringe will 
serve to keep the foliage clean and free from insect 
pests, if a good cleaning has been given as recom¬ 
mended in a previous issue. 
In establishments in the vicinity of large towns the 
sponge must be kept pretty vigorously at work, for 
in localities of this kind the air is always charged 
with a greater or less percentage of filth that will be 
sure to settle upon the foliage of the plants. Plants 
of Euphorbia pulcherrima (better known, perhaps, 
as Poinsettia pulcherrima), which have been 
accorded cooler treatment during the past few weeks 
for the purpose of ripening their growths, may now be 
brought back into the stove to develop their flower 
heads. A batch of them may, however, be kept 
back for a while to form a suitable succession. 
Well grown specimens of the plant in question are 
among the gayest and most useful of late autumn 
and winter subjects. Whether it be for indoor 
decoration or for imparting a touch of colour to our 
plant houses they never come amiss. 
Bouvardias. —These free flowering plants are 
practically indispensable in every establishment. 
A number of them may be brought into the stove 
without delay, other batches following in suitable 
successions. By this means a supply of flowers can 
be kept up with very little trouble. 
Greenhouse and Conservatory. 
A far more sombre hue will now prevail in this 
department. The gorgeous summer flowering plants, 
like the tuberous Begonias and the Fuchsias, will 
have completed their allotted task and have given 
place to the earlier flowering Chrysanthemums, 
Salvias, etc. Coleuses, too, will have commenced to 
drop their leaves, and, in many cases, started to damp 
off. These brightly-coloured foliage plants do 
splendidly in a greenhouse temperature until the 
decline of the year, when they perforce commence to 
decline also. 
The larger specimens of the hard wooded plants 
will now be placed in their winter quarters after 
their sojourn outside during summer. The presence 
in the house of plants of this kind necessitates free 
ventilation. Air abundantly, therefore, on all possible 
occasions. A little fire heat may be necessary during 
dull and foggy weather to expel damp. This, how¬ 
ever, should be but sparingly used, for in an ordinary 
mixed greenhouse collection there are very many 
things (as, for instance, the Ericas and Epacrises) 
that positively dislike fire heat, and strongly resent 
its continued application. 
Pits and Frames. 
It is to this department, as a rule, that we look for 
the supplies of decorative material wherewith to 
furnish our conservatories, and at this time of the 
year they are generally pretty full. At no season, 
moreover, is such great care required, for at no 
other part of the year do they contain such a varied 
collection of plants necessitating, of course, different 
methods of treatment. Some like the Amaryllises 
will be resting, others like Cinerarias, herbaceous 
Calceolarias, and the like should be in full vigour of 
growth. 
Heaths. —Where autumn potting of these is 
practised, great care and attention will be necessary 
with regard to ventilation and watering. They must 
be kept rather close until the roots get a fair hold of 
the new soil. 
Hyacinths. —Batches of these that were potted at 
the beginning of September must now be taken out 
of the ashes with which they were covered. As a 
rule, from five to six weeks is a sufficient length of 
time to induce healthy and vigorous root action. 
The plants should be placed in a cold frame and 
gradually inured to light and air. Batches of them 
may then be introduced (when it is thought fit) into 
a gentle heat, to supply early flowers. 
Lily of the Valley.— This lovely flower is 
certainly one of the most popular with all classes of 
society, and is in very great request during winter 
and spring. A batch of crowns may now be potted 
for forcing. Either pots or boxes, as convenience 
shall suggest, may be used. After potting they may 
be placed in a frame or pit in which there is a gentle 
heat, kept close and shaded until the crowns com¬ 
mence to grow. 
Cyclamen persicum. —Seeds of this may be sown 
to furnish a stock for next year. Well drained pans 
should be used, and a temperature of not less than 
55 q Fahr. will be essential to insure germination. 
Mignonette. —Plants of these that were sown in 
early summer and have been potted on should now 
receive their final shift into 8-in. pots. If staked 
out and grown on in a gentle heat large fine plants 
may be obtained, which will furnish quantities of 
bloom for cutting that will prove of the utmost 
service. 
Verbenas that are sufficiently rooted may be 
potted off singly into thumbs. Any light sandy soil 
will do, and they should be placed on a shelf near 
the glass. Introduced into heat in spring abundance 
of cuttings may be obtained from surprisingly few 
plants. 
Fuchsias that have been turned out of doors to 
ripen their wood after their flowering season has 
passed should now be housed out of harm’s way. 
They may be laid on their sides in an empty frame 
or beneath the greenhouse stage (if no better place 
offers) in such a way that water cannot reach the 
roots. They may remain in this condition until 
spring. No water should be given them until it is 
desired to start them into growth. In most cases 
we get a more or less abundant supply of rain during 
the autumn months, and plants that have been 
standing outside will have received quite sufficient 
water to last them for the season. Before laying 
down, in the case of named varieties, take care that 
the labels are fixed firmly in. After a season’s use 
they will most likely be rotten where it comes in 
contact with the soil, and during the processes of 
shifting, etc., may readily drop out. This is a fruit¬ 
ful source of much of the wrong naming that obtains 
in so many establishments, an account that is often 
laid to the charge of the never-too-much-abused 
nurseryman. 
-» « ■ 
Ripening Off.— Every encouragement should be 
given to plants that have not finished making up 
their growths by placing them in the best possible 
position at the warmest end of the division in which 
they are grown, so as to fit them for passing through 
the dull winter months successfully. The necessity 
for this will be patent to all keen observers, and I 
never yet met a good cultivator who was not quick 
to grasp the situation and vary the treatment of the 
plants under his care accordingly. So much depends 
on the position and construction of the houses, to 
say nothing of the locality, that it makes it difficult 
for any writer to lay down any hard and fast rules 
for the guidance of cultivators. 
Fire Heat.— So wet and foggy has the weather 
been in this district that we have been obliged to 
have the fires going in the daytime as well as at 
night, not even excepting the cool house, but in this 
only just a little at night, so as to keep the atmos¬ 
phere buoyant and thereby prevent the tips of the 
leaves from going off, which they are liable to do if 
kept very wet and the atmosphere charged with 
moisture to saturation point. A little warmth in the 
pipes will soon dispel this superfluous moisture, to 
the benefit of the plants. 
Shading.— There will be very little need for 
shading now, only for an hour or two in the middle 
of very bright days, and this more to prevent the 
temperature from running up too high than for any¬ 
thing else. For this season alone it may not be 
advisable to have them removed for a week or two, 
but the shading from the ends or north sides of 
houses may with safety be removed. 
Cattleya Harrisoniana, now in flower, is a very 
fine late summer and autumn Orchid. It flowers 
freely and possesses the fine quality of lasting a long 
time in full beauty. The plants require liberal 
treatment as regards heat and moisture when grow¬ 
ing, and a rather exposed position when at rest. 
The thick leathery leaves to be found on imported 
plants at once suggests that they get a good season 
of rest after a quick growth in their native habitat. 
If in a few cases we are able to improve on plants 
grown under natural conditions, it does not do to go 
against the dictates of Nature in the long run. 
Dendrobiums. —A few plants of D. Wardianum, 
D. nobile, etc., that have had a good rest may now 
be introduced into heat again so as to provide 
flowers for the festive season. These two species 
adapt themselves to this kind of treatment better 
than any others, and if I was tied down to one 
variety I should certainly stand by the grand old 
Dendrobium nobile. -C. 
