March 2, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
423 
syringe kept plied vigorously among them morning 
and afternoon. 
Hyacinths. —As these go out of flower they should 
be removed to the shelter of a frame, but not, as is 
often the case, kept without water. Many people 
imagine that once a Hyacinth is forced it is of no 
further value. This, however, is not the case, for if 
looked after for water and allowed to complete its 
season of growth in a natural manner, such bulbs 
will come in very nicely for planting out in the mixed 
border in the flower garden. 
Stimulants. —Many of the flowering plants will 
be the better for occasional doses of manurial 
stimulants. These may be applied either in the 
liquid form or by the sprinkling of small quantities 
of the powder upon the surface of the soil, afterwards, 
watering it in. The former method is to be pre¬ 
ferred to the latter, especially for the amateur, inas¬ 
much as it is the safer of the two, for most of the 
artificial manures require exceedingly careful 
handling, as an overdose may easily be given and 
will infallibly be attended with great danger to the 
plant. 
Pits and Frames. 
In many cases the occupants of the pits and frames 
are in a sorry plight from the exclusion of the all 
important light for such a protracted period. Still, 
these etiolated subjects will soon regain their normal 
green now that they are once again uncovered. As 
soon as circumstances permit all frames should be 
thoroughly overhauled and all dead or useless plants 
removed, and the remainder cleaned and pruned or 
cut back where necessary. 
Air as freely as possible all cold frames, taking 
steps, however, to exclude the rain during unsettled 
weather. Covering up must still be looked after 
regularly each night no matter what the weather 
may look like, for we shall not be safe from frosts 
for some time to come. 
Carnations.— Plants of the border section which 
have passed the winter in pots will now need to be 
looked after for water. This must be applied care¬ 
fully, for if allowed to get into the hearts of the 
plants a large number of them will be sure to rot off. 
Where it is the custom to propagate plants of the 
hybrid perpetual division by cuttings taken in spring 
no time should be lost in making a start. The cut¬ 
tings may be placed five or six in a pot and if plunged 
in a gentle bottom heat will root quickly and surely. 
Chrysanthemums. —Continue to pot off thosecut- 
tings which have sufficient roots, keeping them close 
for a few days to enable them to recover from the 
check. Plants which were potted previously must 
be kept as near the glass as practicable and more air 
allowed them. Draughts must however be studiously 
avoided or mildew will soon make its appearance to 
the detriment of the plants. 
Fuchsias.— A later batch of cuttings may now be 
put in, and supposing those which were inserted 
earlier to have formed sufficient roots to warrant 
potting off they must also be attended to. The old 
plants which were shaken out and potted a few 
weeks ago should now be growing away nicely—a 
light dewing over with the syringe on bright morn¬ 
ings will help to keep them in health and ward off 
insect attacks.— A. S. G. 
TUI ORCHID HOUSES. 
East India House.— The occupants of this division, 
such as Saccolabiums, Aerides, and the autumn or 
winter flowering Angraecum sesquipedale, will in 
most cases require at least top-dressing with fresh 
sphagnum moss, and those that have become leggy 
will be all the better for being cut down, so that 
when put into the new basket or pot, as the case 
may direct, the bottom leaves just rest on the new 
compost. Our practice is to let the plants become 
moderately dry before attempting to re-pot or re-sur¬ 
face them with the new material, also to make sure 
that the new compost to be afforded them is not too 
wet, and that it is made warm by placing it in the 
house where the plants are growing a day or two 
before being used, so that the roots will not receive 
any check by having material placed about them 
lower in temperature than that they are used to. 
This is most important, especially with orchids 
growing in stroDg heat. 
Everything being ready, commence by removing 
all the old worn-out moss, and as many of the 
crocks as convenient without damage to the roots, 
then wash the remainder by a free use of the syringe. 
The water, I need hardly point out, should be of the 
same temperature as the house in which they are 
growing. The batch of plants thus treated should 
be allowed to stand over until the next day, so that 
the roots may become dry before filling in again 
with new crocks, which should be placed carefully 
in until they are within about two inches of the top 
of the pot. Then finish off with a good layer of 
live sphagnum moss, with which mix small bits of 
potsherds. This we find to keep sweet much longer 
than charcoal ; in consequence the latter is going 
out of date with most Orchid growers. Give a gentle 
watering after all is complete, and place in a shady 
part of the house, and keep the atmosphere about 
them fairly moist until they can with safety be 
returned to their proper quarters. A little precau¬ 
tion like this will save them from loosing their 
bottom leaves. 
Shading. —The exceptional weather we have ex¬ 
perienced tends to put us off our guard ; but the 
time of year tells us that we should be prepared for 
strong sunshine and most likely a searching east 
wind during,next month, and after such weather the 
plants must be shaded during the middle of bright 
days, or several of the old leaves are sure to turn 
yellow. The running down of the blinds, too, keeps 
the temperature from rising unnecessarily high and 
thus avoiding the admission of cold draughts by 
having to open the ventilators. I would much rather 
shade than open the top ventilators at this time of 
year, provided it is not carried to excess. The tern - 
perature may be allowed to gradually rise as the 
weather becomes milder.— C. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
The Weather and the Crops. 
It has'not been possible to do much of late in this 
department; but as the season is getting so far 
advanced most gardeners will be anxious to prepare 
for sowing. Some, no doubt, will be in too great a 
hurry, and will in that way only hinder, instead of 
forwarding growth. As before pointed out, more 
may be done by good management than by a lot of 
needless worrying of men and oneself. Where a 
plan of the kitchen garden has been prepared, with a 
key to planting the same, we have only to refer to 
the numbers of plots to see where the crops are to 
be grown. Early Peas that were sown in pots have 
made good progress, so that no further trouble need 
be made about them. Broad Beans, too, are looking 
well, and will be ready for transplanting whenever 
the weather is favourable and the ground in a work¬ 
able condition. Last year we planted the second 
week in February, and had one of the finest crops 
we ever grew ; this season it will be quite the middle 
of March before planting can be effected. 
Most of the winter green crops have been sadly 
cut up by the frost, Spinach and Broccoli in particu¬ 
lar, and as these are two vegetables much in request 
in early spring, it will be difficult to replace them. 
Seed of the former that was sown early in September 
has withstood the frost fairly well; as soon as the 
weather is favourable this should have a sprinkling 
of artificial manure to be worked into the soil with 
a hoe. If a cold frame could be spared a sowing of 
this could be made in it, which would give a supply 
till that out-of-doors had grown sufficiently large to 
gather. We have previously pointed out the 
advisability of always planting a good breadth of 
Kale, and this season has proved that such advice 
was sound practice, for these have .withstood the 
frost better than anything and are now giving a 
plentiful supply of wholesome food. There are 
many varieties of these, but with us Sutton’s Ai is 
the iavourite, though the green curled is very useful. 
It is too soon to tell with certainty how the 
Broccoli has fared, as often the stems are frosted 
through, and this does not show itself till mild 
weather sets in. It will be well, however, to be 
prepared for the worst by pushing forward a good 
batch of early forcing Cauliflower, and if a slight 
hot-bed can be afforded these it is astonishing how 
quick they will grow. Some of the plants can be 
taken out for planting in the open ground on a warm 
sheltered border. All gardeners know the value of 
Seakale, and this season there will be a greater 
demand for it than usual. To prolong the supply 
have some roots laid in at the back of a north wall, 
and when the weather gets warm enough to cause 
them to commence growth remove them to a cool 
cellar, where they will grow slowly and be perfectly 
blanched; treated thus the growth is far more crisp 
than that obtained by covering in the open ground. 
—Kitchen Gardener. 
(Meanings EDarlfc 
of 
The Disease of the Larch —It is now well known 
to scientific men that the disease of one of the most 
useful timber trees is brought about by a fungus 
named Peziza Willkommii, whose mycelium threads 
penetrate and ramify amongst the tissues of the 
inner bark and cambium that are soft and rich in 
plant food. There is still great diversity of opinion 
amongst various observers as to the causes that 
favour the growth and wide dissemination of the 
fungus in plantations of Larch trees, and many still 
fail to recognise the fungus at all. The English 
Aiboricultural Society has been conducting inquiries 
on the subject, and Dr. Somerville gives a long 
report of them in Vol. III., Part IV., of the Society’s 
Transactions. The fungus most generally attacks 
young trees with no great thickness of stem, and kills 
the bark and cambium at the points of attack, and 
as these proceed round the circumference from year 
to year they at length meet, thus preventing any 
growth or thickening below the dead portion, so 
that the tree at no distant date succumbs. 
Age of trees most liable to attack —Most 
observers agree that Larch trees are most liable to 
attack between the seventh and fifteenth year. 
Others have observed that old trees are not exempt 
from attack, but that the upper branches or younger 
parts only suffer in this way. Then it is evident 
that the germ tubes of the fungus are only able to 
penetrate the thin bark of young trees or of the 
younger branches of old ones. Taking it for granted 
that frost is the fertile source of wounds in the bark 
and through which the germinating spores are able 
to penetrate to the cambium layer, it can readily be 
perceived that young bark would the most readily 
suffer, and old bark seldom or never. It follows 
therefore that trees which escape the fell malady till 
they are old could go on producing good timber 
below the range or seat ot the fungus, in spite of the 
loss of some of the upper branches. Young trees, 
being attacked near the base, very soon succumb, 
because the roots and tops get severed by destruc¬ 
tion of the vital parts immediately under the bark. 
Effect of high and breezy situations on the 
fungus. —The bulk of the evidence on this point is 
that trees planted at high, relatively dry and breezy 
situations are less liable to be destroyed by the 
fungus than those occupying land in deep moist 
valleys and similar situations. At high elevations 
the conditions are unfavourable to the development 
of the fruiting portion of the fungus, whereas, on the 
contrary, sheltered and moist situations, where the 
air is often stagnant, favour the production of spores 
in such abundance that the trees get attacked and 
destroyed in a wholesale manner. Frosts also are 
generally, if not always, more severe in such situa¬ 
tions. Scientific authorities have also observed that 
the Larch succeeds better in mixed woods than when 
the whole of the ground is occupied by it. Further¬ 
more, evergreen Conifers seem to show the better 
results to most advantage even if they do not contri¬ 
bute to it. The only apparent reason that can be 
assigned for this is that the spores are caught and 
detained amongst the thick foliage of evergreen 
Conifers that do not themselves contract the disease. 
The Larches are, as it were, isolated from one 
another, and diseased trees may die without affecting 
their neighbours. 
Can the disease be cured or mitigated.— 
The previous paragraph affords evidence whereby 
the disease can, to a considerable extent, be mitigated , 
but a complete cure has not yet been discovered. 
Some experimenters have found that if the diseased 
portions of a tree be dug out with a chisel or knife 
in its early stages and the wound dressed with graft¬ 
ing wax or coal tar, that the tree may recover. But 
this operation is too tedious, and consequently 
expensive, to be practicable on any extended scale in 
a wood or plantation. Preventive measures, such as 
good methods of sylviculture, including judicious 
thinning, pruning, selection of situation for planting, 
and drainage of wet land, are most likely to be pro¬ 
ductive of beneficial results. 
Vines and Vine Culture.—The best book on Grapes. By 
Archibald F. Barron, Superintendent of the Royal Horticultural 
Society’s Gadens, Chiswick; Secretary of the Fruit Coni- 
rnitee. Demy 8vo., Handsomely bound in Cloth. Price, 5s., 
post free, 5s. 3d. Publisher, Gardening World, i, Clements 
Inn, Strand, W,C, 
