December 8, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
231 
than 55S Fahr. must be maintained if the blooms are 
to open with any freedom. 
Put in cuttings of Chrysanthemums as fast as 
they can be obtained until a sufficient stock has been 
worked up, treating them in the manner recoin- 
mended in the previous calendar. 
Mignonette. 
Large plants which were potted into eight inch 
pots some time during the middle or end of October, 
in order to furnish a supply of cut bloom for winter, 
should now be coming well into flower. Keep the 
plants neatly staked out, and accord them occasion¬ 
ally suitable stimulation in the way of manure water ; 
weak solutions of guano will give as satisfactory 
results as anything. 
Francoa ramosa. 
This is one of the most useful and easily grown 
greenhouse subjects we have. Seed sown in 
February or March will furnish plenty of little 
plants, which should be grown on to flower during 
June or July of the following year. A little care 
with them now is, however, necessary. They must 
not be allowed to suffer from lack of water, and pot¬ 
ting must be performed before the roots get matted 
in the pots. 
All cold frames should be ventilated freely when¬ 
ever possible, and, those containing violets, border 
carnations, etc., should have the lights pulled off 
them whenever the weather is mild and dry, as 
nothing whatever is gained by undue coddling of 
such hardy subjects as these, plenty of air and 
abundance of light being essentials to success in 
their culture— A. S. G. 
* 
Early Potatos. 
In most large establishments these are looked for 
very early in the season, therefore provision must be 
made if the cultivator is to keep pace with the times. 
If tubers have been selected and stood on their ends 
in order that the growths proceeding therefrom may 
have become robust they will be ready for planting. 
When this has not already been done the first 
opportunity should be taken advantage of before the 
sprouts get too far advanced. There is but little 
difficulty in securing sweet early tubers where 
suitable heated pits are at command, as the requisite 
warmth can easily be kept up; but where the gar¬ 
dener is forced to use all sorts of rude contrivances, 
he is often put to his wits' end to know how to 
supply the many demands made upon him. If there be 
no heated pits, and the old rude hot-bed has to do 
duty, much time may be saved by planting a 
sufficient number of sets in 6-in. pots and standing 
them on a stage in one of the houses till the beds are 
ready for them ; by this means the young tubers 
will be well advanced before there is much decline 
in the temperature of the bed. As soon as the 
haulm appears above the soil they should be stood 
near the glass to prevent them becoming drawn. 
Potatos do not like a close temperature, but in 
the dull cold months at the beginning of the year it 
is often difficult to afford them the necessary warmth 
if air be admitted in sufficient quantity to keep them 
healthy. If, however, the plants are treated in the 
manner above described, there will be sufficient 
warmth in the soil to cause a healthy root action. 
Very little water is needed, in fact, none should be 
given unless the soil has a tendency to get dry, and 
if any is given it ought to be several degrees warmer 
than the soil in which they are growing, so that it 
may not lower its temperature. A little kainit 
sprinkled between the rows previous to watering is 
very beneficial to the plants, as it assists growth. 
French Beans. 
These are so often called for during the early spring 
that all gardeners are expected to provide them, and, 
as so often happens, places that ought to be occupied 
with other things have to give place to these. It is 
a long time since we had such a season as the 
present one, for in some places the French Bean 
leaves are still quite green in the open, and those that 
had the protection of frames are still giving a supply of 
pods, so there has not been at present much strain 
on the resources in this direction. The heavy rains 
and dull weather we have experienced this autumn 
have prevented a number of the flowers from setting 
as freely as they otherwise would have done; there¬ 
fore, in all probability, supplies will soon run short 
on this account. Fresh sowings should be made in 
heated pits every three weeks, or oftener if conveni¬ 
ence will allow, but where these useful structures 
are not available for that purpose, recourse must be 
had to sowing them in pots or boxes. We prefer the 
latter, as the plants are not so apt to get dry at the 
roots. If these are made of common boards about 
7 in. wide, they will hold sufficient soil to keep 
the roots moist in case watering should at any time 
be neglected. If made 2 ft. long they will be of 
convenient size to move about should it be found 
necessary to do so. There is nothing gained by 
sowing the seed too thickly, a dozen plants will be 
ample for each box. If pots are used, then those 
g in. in diameter are a convenient size, allowing five 
or six plants in each. Red spider is a most trouble¬ 
some pest to French Beans; therefore, the syringe 
must be kept well at work to keep them under. Air 
must be freely admitted when the weather is 
favourable, but when cold winds or sharp frosts 
prevail, this must be done with caution. The night 
temperature should be from 55 0 to 6o°, and this may 
be 5 0 or io° higher according to the weather. 
Better, however, for the place to be a few degrees 
lower than to have the pipes too hot to bring on red 
spider. When the plants are 6 in. high, small sticks 
should be put to them to prevent their falling over; 
as growth advances more water will be necessary 
both at the roots and over the foliage. Syringing, 
however, should be discontinued when the plants 
are in bloom, unless it be first thing in the morning 
on bright sunny days, for unless the flowers are dry, 
they will not set freely. When the pods are 
swelling, weak liquid manure should be given them 
twice a week particularly if in pots .—Kitchen Gar- 
dener. 
-« .|> - — 
East India House. —Phalaenopsis Amabilis, the 
pioneer as regards flowering of this beautiful genus 
will soon be in bloom. If the spikes are large and 
have branches, it will be as well if the plant is to be 
kept in good condition to remove some of them. 
The flowers too that are left will be much finer. 
The atmosphere of this division should now be 
rather dry as compared with what it has been for if 
overcharged with moisture, flowers and may be the 
foliage also, will become spotted. Especially will 
this be the case, should the temperature go down 
very low, or if the plants are stood immediately 
over saucers containing water, we never use them our¬ 
selves believing that they do more harm than good. 
Cattleya House.— Odontoglossum citrosmum : 
Our plants have finished up some very fine bulbs 
this season, but they are we think softer than usual 
and will require ripening well, if we are to get good 
strong spikes. With that end in view they have 
been transferred from the North side of the house 
to the South. Where they are suspended within six 
inches of the glass. Here they will receive very 
little water, in fact only just enough to keep them 
from shrivelling until the spikes appear, when they 
will receive a good soaking. The atmosphere of 
this house will be kept much drier consistent with 
the well being of the plants, and the temperature 
gradually lowered so as to induce them to rest. 
DiSA’s.-^It seems rather early to talk of potting 
this beautiful greenhouse Orchid, but there is no 
help for it. Ours have made a start and must be 
seen to or they will suffer. I have so fully dealt with 
the general culture of this genus in these columns 
that I need only mention that a mixture of peat, 
sphagnum moss, cow or other manure well rotted, 
with a liberal amount of silver sand grows them well. 
The great thing is to keep them cool and moist, 
without letting the frost quite reach them, and to 
keep them free from thrips. 
Cool House. —The bright weather of the past 
few days with which we in this district have been 
favoured, has had a wonderful eff*ct on our Odon- 
toglossums, casting to the winds the idea that they 
require a structure facing north to grow them well. 
A north aspect during a very hot summer may be 
all very well, but I should want it reversed during 
winter. 
Watering.— We have not been slow to take 
advantage of the bright days to give the Odonts a 
thorough good soaking, which will last them for 
quite a week, for we do not keep them soddened wet 
at any time of the year, but when we do give water 
the plants know they have had it.— C. 
QMqaninga fttom flit; IDurtti 
of Science. 
Tree Lucerne. —This is a popular name which has 
been applied to Cytisus proliferus a species of Broom, 
originally a native of Teneriffe. In this country it 
requires the protection of a greenhouse, and when 
allowed to form a good sized bush it produces a 
wealth of white flowers much larger than those of 
the Portugal Broom (C. albus). It is not, therefore, 
a species of Lucerne (Medicago) at all. Dr. Schom- 
burgh originally introduced it to Australasia in 1881 
and since then some attention has been drawn to it 
as a fodder plant. The leaves consist of three 
leaflets and the branches being twiggy and having 
some resemblance to Medicago sativa on a larger 
scale, the plant has been called Tagosaste, or Tree 
Lucerne by the people of New South Wales, who 
have made the acquaintance of it. There it proves 
hardy and there is some prospect of its proving 
useful as a forage plant when it has been grown on 
a sufficiently extensive scale to thoroughly test its 
capabilities, It grows well on poor land but requires 
that the same should be well drained, otherwise the 
roots are liable to perish. Mr. J. L. Thompson of 
the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, New South 
Wales, says that the Tagosaste was sown there on 
the 12th October, 1892, and has now reached a 
height of 12 ft., and that he is so satisfied with it 
that he is sowing it largely all over the farm. Its 
value as fodder and shelter renders it one of the 
most useful plants that have ever been introduced to 
the colony ; and he considers that a plantation of it 
will last fifteen or twenty years. 
A British Fodder Plant. —-For some years past 
attention has been given to the possible utility of 
Lathyrus sylvestris as a fodder plant. In some 
chalky districts of Surrey and other southern 
counties it grows very luxuriantly, forming a mass 
of straw which several have taken the trouble to 
make into hay. Since attention has been called to 
it, seeds have been sown in several gardens by way 
of trial. The Kew Bulletin for October says that 
the seeds contain a poisonous alkaloid, and when 
eaten in quantity by horses or for any length of 
time, the animals suffer greatly unless the seeds 
have previously been subjected to heat to dissipate 
the poison. This is by no means the first instance 
of the discovery of a poisonous or injurions principle 
in the seeds of members of the Pea family. 
Lathyrus sativus. —Various names have been 
given to this annual in gardens, including L. 
azureus, L. a. roseus, and Lord Anson’s Pea, all of 
which are erroneous. As long ago as 1671, George 
Duke of Wurtemburg, forbade the use of this pulse, 
the seeds of which were made into a light and 
pleasing kind of bread. This law had evidently 
been suffered to go by default, for Leopold, the 
Duke’s successor, sought to enforce it by two other 
edicts in 1705 and 1714. When the meal was mixed 
in equal parts with wheat flower it appeared to be 
harmless. Those who used the pulse alone for any 
length of time were affected with rigidity of the 
limbs, and though this was practically a painless 
ailment it was sometimes preceded by a weakness of 
the knees; nor was it fatal, but was incurable. 
Swine fattened with it, lying upon the ground even 
after they lost the use of their legs. Horses fed for 
some months upon the dried hay had their legs 
rendered rigid. Pigeons suffered in the same way, 
especially the young ones. Cattle in Switzerland 
did not seem to be affected by it. Peasants at 
Florence mixed it with wheaten flour at the rate of 
one part of the former to three of the latter, and they 
experienced no ill effects from the use of it. 
Differences in the soil were believed to exert a con¬ 
siderable influence upon the qualities and character 
of the seeds, and that those from a heavy or rich 
soil were reckoned more injurious than those from a 
light one. 
The Laburnum. —No ill effects appear to have 
resulted to cattle from eating the foliage of Labur¬ 
num, and it is well known that rabbits are very fond 
of the bark, so much so that the tree has been 
planted in woods for the express purpose of attract¬ 
ing the rabbits away from other trees. The seeds 
would seem to be highly poisonous to human beings 
at least, if we are to trust the numerous cases that 
have been reported of children dying from having 
eaten the flowers and young seeds. These cases 
occur at intervals of a number of years, but no 
action appears to have been taken to ascertain the 
actually poisonous principle and to warn the general 
public to guard against children eating the same. 
