f.82 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 22, 1895. 
same time, we may say for ourselves that the most 
abundant crop we ever saw or had off it grew under 
a very large Lime Tree, where some seeds were 
thrown away thinking them too old to germinate. 
Marjoram.— There are two kinds of this—the 
Sweet, which is an annual, and the Pot Marjorum. 
The same treatment recommended for Savory will 
answer well enough for these respectively. There 
are other herbs, namely, Rue, Horehound, Balm, 
&c., which have been used for medicinal purposes, 
but are rarely used now and not much asked for. 
W. B. G. 
-•+■- 
ROSE CULTURE UNDER GLASS. 
At the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
which was held in the Drill Hall at Westminster 
on June nth, Dr. Masters being in the chair, a 
goodly number of the visitors to the show flocked 
into the end of the hall usually devoted to the 
delivering of the lectures, to hear Mr. Frank Cant’s 
paper upon " Rose culture under glass.” As a large 
proportion of the audience was composed of 
amateurs it was a curious and, perhaps, a happy 
coincidence that Mr. Cant had treated his subject 
chiefly from an amateur’s point of view. The essay¬ 
ist began by stating that although it was quite true 
that several treatises upon the Rose, and the par¬ 
ticular methods of cultivation necessary to produce 
it at its best, that were excellent in their way 
existed, there was yet very much real truth in the 
amateur's complaint that these were much too 
technical for his limited understanding of things 
horticultural to grasp, and thus they were not 
likely to be of such good service to a large number 
of Rose growers on a small scale, as they might 
otherwise have been. Whatever may be the 
general opinion with regard to the truth of these 
remarks there can be no doubt about it that to 
those who would like to grow Roses under glass, 
and who naturally want to know how they may best 
do this the information contained in Mr. Cant’s 
paper should be valuable in the last degree. 
As the essayist is one of the best cultivators of 
Roses in the kingdom it is not at all wonderful that 
his remarks should have been characterised by great 
practicality, and the advice given was communicated 
in as simple a manner as possible, and free from all 
undue technicalities. In describing an ideal Rose- 
house the lecturer said that it should be span-roofed 
and run north and south, thus giving the plants it 
contained the full advantage of the morning sun, but 
shielding them in a measure from its rays during the 
middle of the day. The house should likewise be 
fitted with movable lights, as during the summer 
months it was important that it should be thrown 
open as widely as possible. Two methods of culture 
might be followed, and both, if consistently carried 
out, would result in success, viz., planting out in 
beds or borders, or by growing in pots. A centre 
bed should therefore, he said, be made and planted 
with teas, which in habit might be either standards 
or as climbers, thinly trained to the supports and 
roof of the house. A path should run round these, 
whilst the hybrid perpetuals might be accommodated 
in pots placed on stages running round the house 
next to the side lights. For planting out Roses the 
first week in November was the best time of the 
year, the plants being pruned a month or two later. 
With regard to pot plants he declared that it was 
useless trouble to lift plants from the outside garden 
and to pot them up, expecting them to produce 
plenty of bloom the next year, for this they would 
not do. 
For soil the essayist recommended good turfy 
loam, which had been laid for about six months in 
alternate layers with cow manure; firm potting 
being likewise an essential. Watering was, in his 
opinion, one of the most important operations con¬ 
nected with the culture of Roses under glass, for 
upon its proper performance depended in a great 
measure success in their treatment, for careless and 
injudicious watering was a fruitful cause of that worst 
of all the enemies of the Rose, viz., mildew. Theessay- 
1st then proceeded to give general directions with re¬ 
gard to the usual routine of forcing. In doing this he 
said it was necessary to transform the months of 
January, February, and March into April, May, and 
June, starting with a comparatively low temperature 
such as outside plants receive during the beginning 
of April, and gradually increasing this as growth 
proceeds until the flowering period is reached. The 
syringe must be kept busily engaged throughout the 
whole of this period until the flower buds commence 
to open, when it must be discontinued. By thus 
maintaining a fairly moist atmosphere Red Spider, 
which always proves such a nuisance when the air 
was allowed to become dry and arid would effectu¬ 
ally be kept in check. Aphis or Green Fly was 
usually to be found amongst Roses under glass, and 
although it would be necessary in order to make sure 
that they were totally annihilated to adopt the 
" catch ’em and kill ’em ” dodge still judicious fumi¬ 
gations would stop their ravages. For the purpose 
nothing could be better than McDougall’s fumigating 
sheets, which, while they were much cleaner and 
easier to use than the evil-smelling tobacco rag or 
paper were very effective in destroying Aphides, and 
at the same time quite harmless to vegetation. 
-- 
BEARDED IRISES. 
The German Irises, or the Bearded Irises (some¬ 
times spoken of under the collective name of Iris 
barbata), are fast growing into favour for their 
beauty and diversity of colour, and for their close 
resemblance to the Orchid. The common Iris 
germanica is most admired, being more generally 
known and cultivated in many gardens, but those 
who are not acquainted with the varieties of this 
family cannot conceive the intense beauty and 
delight that is to be found in them. Few garden 
flowers can boast of the beautiful combinations of 
colour that are found in a collection of them, as 
they seem to have appropriated almost every con¬ 
ceivable colour and shade. Indeed, language and 
the brush of the artist have failed to describe them 
justly. The glaucous leaves and branching flower 
scapes range from a few inches high to three and 
four feet in different types, and this gives additional 
beauty and value to them either as garden border or 
rockery plants. Many are delightfully fragrant. 
They are described in such a manner that is easily 
understood; the •' standards ” are the erect petals; 
the “ falls ” the reflexed ones ; the beard is a brush 
of hairs on the falls of a soft primrose to a deep 
orange. The culture of these Irises is very simple, 
as generally they will thrive and flower in the most 
unpromising of gardens; indeed, one may plant 
them with impunity either on the margins of lakes 
or streams, on sunny banks, or in a shade, but they 
are seen to advantage when planted with a back¬ 
ground oi low growing trees or shrubs. For a 
unique collection I recommend the following list to 
be grown in all gardens, as they are invaluable both 
as a garden plant, and also for cutting for table 
decoration. They last well in water, often for a 
week or ten days, and each bud develops as per¬ 
fectly as when left on the plant. 
I. germanica atropurpurea; s. and f., claret- 
purple. 
I. germanica Crimson King ; s.. deep crimson; f., 
crimson-purple. 
I. germanica Kharput; s., rich blue; f., violet- 
purple. 
I. germanica Fontarabie ; s., violet-blue ;f, violet- 
purple. 
I. germanica Purple King ; s. and f., purple. 
I. aphylla Madame Chereau ; s. and f., white, 
frilled blue. 
I. aphylla Bridesmaid ; s., pale lavender; f., white, 
shaded lavender. 
I. amoena Glorietta; s., white; f., white, tipped 
violet. 
I. amoena Alice Barr ; s., white ; f., white, shaded 
lavender. 
I. amoena Mrs. H. Darwin ; s., snow white ; f , 
white, violet at base. 
I. amoena Victorine . s., white, mottled blue ; f., 
violet-blue, mottled white. 
I. neglecta Cordelia ; s., pale lilac ; f., velvety- 
crimson. 
I. neglecta Boccage; s. lavender; f., claret, 
mottled white. 
I. neglecta Florence Barr , s., rose-lilac ; f., white, 
tipped rose. 
I. neglecta Miss Maggie; s., lavender ; f., suffused 
soft rose. 
I. neglecta Virginie ; s., lavender ; f, violet. 
I. squalens A. F. Barron ; s., bronze ; f., madder- 
brown. 
I. squalens Arnols ; s., claret; f., velvety-purple. 
I. squalens Jacquiniana ; s., bright copper, shaded ; 
f., rich maroon. 
I. squalens Phidas; s., brown-bronze; f., deep 
crimson. 
I. squalens Walneriana; s., lavender, flushed 
bronze ; f., pale violet. 
I. pallida Aulmatica; s., lavender; f., clear 
lavender, rose tinge. 
I. pallida Khedive ; s. and f, soft lavender. 
I. pallida Queen of May ; s. and f., soft rose-lilac. 
I. pallida Walner; s , lavender ; f., purple-lilac. 
I. pallida Garibaldi; s and f., rose-lilac 
I. varirgata Aurea ; s. and f. chrome-yellow. 
I. variegata Chenedolle; s., chrome-yellow; f., 
crimson, white, and purple. 
I. variegata Darius; s., chrome-yellow, f., lilac, 
brown, and white. 
I. variegata Enchantress; s., clear yellow; f., 
madder brown. 
I. variegata Gracchus; s , primrose ; f., crimson, 
reticulated white, margined primrose. 
I. variegata John Fraser; s., chrome-yellow ; f., 
crimson, reticulated white. 
I. variegata Sans Souci; s., deep chrome ; f., re¬ 
ticulated crimson, brown, and white. 
I. albicans Princess of Walts ; s. and f. white. 
I. flavescens; s. and f., primiose yellow. 
The dwarf growing varieties, those more adapted 
for growing as edging or for grouping in small beds, 
or for the rockery, are exceedingly beautiful, and 
flower from February to May. The following are 
some of the best:— 
Iris pumila bicolor ; s., white ; f., purple. 
I. pumila Count Andrassy; s., azure-blue; f., 
blue. 
I. pumila lutea maculata ; s., primrose ; f., brown 
and yellow. 
I. pumila versicolor; s., blue and white; f., sul¬ 
phur, mottled lilac. 
I. olbiensis alba ; s. and f., sulphur-white. 
I. olbiensis grandiflora; s. and f.. violet-purple. 
I. nudicaulis; s. and f., purple. 
I. Fieberi; s. and f , deep blue. 
I. Chamaeiris alba ; s. and f., white. 
I. Chamaeiris aurea ; s. and f., deep yellow 
I. Chamaeiris italica; s. and f., deep purple. 
I. biflora maculata; s. and f., blue. 
I. Balcing Miss H. M. White : s. and f., sulphur, 
flaked purple, very beautiful. 
I. Balcing Miss C. M. Owen; s. and f., white, 
flaked blue, very beautiful. 
W. L. 
-- 
RED SPIDER ON GOOSEBERRIES. 
Like our old acquaintance the Red Spider of our hot¬ 
houses it soon disfigures the subject it attacks, but 
unlike the enemy of our exotics it is usually present 
on the upper surface of the leaves, the exception 
being during moist or dull weather, when it returns 
to the under surface. This is fortunate as there is a 
much better chance of dealing with it than if it con¬ 
stantly took its abode on the under part of the leaf. 
Miss Ormerod states that in fruit-growing districts 
spraying with a wash of soft soap alone or mixed 
with paraffin or sulphur is much recommended,which 
has an uncertain ring about it, and I should prefer 
reading that it was a positively effectual remedy. A 
writer in a contemporary who has been recently 
appointed to lay out and manage a twenty-acre 
orchard recommended dusting the trees with sulphur 
amongst other things. Cheap as that substance and 
the other articles recommended are, the writer 
referred to will find his balance on the wrong side if 
he has many berry trees to dress, and that probably 
more than once. Last year the berries in tbis part 
at one time sold for ninepence per dozen quarts and 
they are likely to be as cheap this year, a fact which 
allows no margin for laborious and costly experiments 
with syringe or water-engine. It would be much better 
to abandon the culture of Gooseberriesfor a few years, 
as many have done the Black Currant in con¬ 
sequence of the mite. Amateurs and those having 
only a few trees may, if they think fit, apply the 
sulphur and soft soap remedy, but the soapy water 
and paraffin I would advise to be used, at first ex¬ 
perimentally on a few shoots or single tree to 
ascertain how the mixture affects the foliage and fruit. 
With the aid of pocket lens they will be able to see 
the effect on the insects. 
I should like to know to what extent the above 
insecticides have been effectual, and I object to any 
hearsay evidence. We had some of our trees badly 
infested last year, and all were affected more or less, 
and, from my previous experience with lime and 
soot, I dusted the trees all over on a still, dry, sunny 
day. If done in wet weather or when the leaves are 
wet it is either washed away or rendered useless by 
forming a convenient travelling ground for the 
insect. When I first experimented with this mixture 
I picked off a few badly affected leaves, and dusted 
them slightly with the aid of a muslin bag. The 
movements of the insect being always hurried the 
dry particles impeded locomotion, and it was 
delightful to see the insect tumbling and tossing 
amongst the particles until exhausted, when it falls 
