August 3, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
775 
The Stove. 
The rather duller weather that we have had during 
the last week or two will have come as a welcome 
change from the fierce glaring sun of June and the 
beginning of July. The temperature, too, has in 
many cases fallen considerably, and thus more fire- 
heat will be necessary at night time to keep up a 
buoyant atmosphere. While a comparatively 
stagnant, moisture-laden atmosphere did no harm 
whatever in the spring, when the plants were just 
making young growths, it would do harm now, for 
it is necessary to keep up a good circulation of air 
in order to mature these growths. The top air may 
still be taken off rather early in the afternoon, how¬ 
ever, and the syringe plied vigorously and well. 
The increased light admitted by this means will 
assist in putting colour into Crotons and Dracaenas, 
which never look their best if closely shaded. 
Allamandas. —These, if well looked after will 
have been flowering for some time. Keep them well 
supplied with liquid manure, as the strain upon the 
plants at this season is exceedingly great. Where 
the growths have been trained up close aga : nst the 
glass they may be allowed a little more freedom now, 
otherwise the blooms will be injured by pressure 
against the glass, for the shoots grow strongly and 
invariably are to be found in close proximity to the 
roof. 
Cycads. —A sharp lookout [must be kept on these 
for mealybug throughout the summer months. Our 
old friend, Cycas revoluta, is a particularly gross 
offender, and once a large plant of it gets well 
colonised by bug it becomes a matter of considerable 
difficulty to get rid of it without a lot of trouble, as 
it sticks to the somewhat woolly lower surfaces of 
the leaves with remarkable pertinacity. 
Gloxinias. —As these showy plants go out of 
flower and become shabby in appearance and 
straggling in habit, they must be removed to a pit 
or frame to complete their growth. The supply of 
water may be greatly curtailed, but drying off should 
be done gradually, for if water is entirely withheld 
from them the tubers will be sure to suffer, and that 
to a considerable extent. A light shading will also 
be required during the middle of very bright days, 
for the leaves are very liable to schorching, and this 
should be avoided at all costs. 
Greenhouse and Conservatory. 
Climbers. —Continual attention is necessary in 
dealing with the climbers during the growing season, 
for when only left for a little while it is astonishing 
how soon the growths become matted together and 
well nigh inseparable. 
Tacsonias. —These, if growing in anything like 
congenial soil, usually make particularly rampant 
growths, which cast a proportionate depth of shade 
over the smaller plants occupying the stages beneath 
that cannot fail to be harmful to them. A large 
number may therefore be cut clean out, in order to 
let in a little more light upon the sorely tried sub¬ 
jects beneath. A selection must be made of course, 
leaving those that are showing for flower, or those 
that appear most likely to produce it; but still the 
thinning may be fairly severe. 
Tuberous Begonias. —As growth proceeds the 
shoots elongate considerably, with the result that 
they become more or less top-heavy, and thus, 
unless staking and tying is seen to, they are liable 
to become bent or broken, especially as in their 
earlier stages, if of good habit, they were well nigh 
self supporting. The pollenising of good flowers 
must be systematically carried on, so as to improve 
the quality of the plants grown as far as possible. 
To convey the pollen from the male flower to the 
female requires no great skill, but wherever crossing 
of this kind is attempted it should always be done 
with a definite object in view. Any improvements 
that can be made, either in the form and size of the 
flower or in dwarfness and sturdiness of habit, are 
always of advantage, and if only two or three good 
seedlings are obtained from one capsule the time 
spent in effecting the cross has been well occupied. 
In all cases pollenised blooms must be marked, so 
that after the petals have fallen the capsules may 
be easily distinguishable from the rest. Plants that 
exhibit an inferiority of fiower or a straggling and 
untidy habit should also be marked, so that they 
may be sent to their proper destination, i.e., the 
rubbish heap, as soon as they have become unsightly, 
This will prevent the wasting of a lot of valuable 
time and room next spring in potting up and starting 
these wastrels. 
Seedlings.—H ere also it is very necessary that 
the bad should be weeded from the good. As soon 
as the young plants have produced one or two 
perfect flowers, and it can be seen of what quality 
they are made, inferior ones must be ruthlessly 
pulled out and thrown away ; for if the first flowers 
do not come passably gocd it is very certain that 
subsequent ones will not. Those that are left may 
be very well divided up into sections according to 
their colours, and a label put to each, telling whether 
it be a crimson, yellow, pink, &c. This will prevent 
a good deal ol vexation, for upon lifting them in the 
autumn, the young tubers can be sorted out into 
batches according to their respective colours. 
Gannas. —No conservatory could be considered 
well furnished during the months of July and 
August without it contained a few of these 
gorgeously marked and showy flowers. Both foliage 
and flowers are distinctly ornamental, and thoroughly 
entitle the plant to extensive consideration. Although 
a little heat is necessary to start them in the spring, 
they do admirably in a cool house now. They 
should be placed in a light position ; for although 
too much direct sunlight is injurious, they need 
plenty of diffused light to develop to the full their 
bright markings and gaudy colours. Plenty of 
water is an absolute necessity ; neither must they 
be stinted for liquid manure, as they love rich 
feeding. 
Chrysanthemums. —These will now be needing a 
great deal of attention, and as by this time they will 
have filled their pots with roots, watering will be 
rather a heavy item. The dry bright weather was 
all in their favour, as conducing to hard short- 
jointed growth. The giving of stimulants is one of 
the most important points in Chrysanthemum 
culture, and one that requires the exercise of both 
care and judgment. Solutions of cow or sheep 
manure, either mixed or varied with soot, are the 
very best stimulants that can be given, being both 
inexpensive and effective. With ordinary care in 
their application the evils resulting from over-dosing 
need not be feared. If any artificial manures, such 
as Clay’s, Thomson’s, or Standen's, are used the 
powder should be sprinkled lightly on the surface of 
the soil, and a good watering with clear water given 
directly after, for if this is not done the tender 
surface roots will be almost certain to suffer injury 
in some degree. For plants that are being grown for 
exhibition purposes the pinching out of side growths 
will need continual looking after. Neither should 
these laterals be allowed to wait until they are a 
couple of inches long before they are removed, as 
this is only taxing the energy of the plant to no 
purpose whatever. 
Taking the Bud. —Simple as is this operation, a 
great deal depends upon its proper performance, for 
if the bud is allowed to develope too soon the flowers 
resulting, although, perhaps, large enough, do not 
exhibit such good form and substance as they must 
do if they are to stand a fair chance in the forth¬ 
coming competitions. On the other hand, late 
formed buds do not produce such large flowers as 
the earlier ones. Nothing but experience can help 
the grower in this case, as each variety has its little 
peculiarities that must be attended to if really fine 
blooms are required. Thus, for some, the terminal 
bud gives the finest flowers, whilst others, and we 
add here by far the greater majority, do best from 
the crown bud. As a rule, some time from the 
beginning of the second week in August to the second 
week in September is the most favourable season. 
Syringing. —At the close of hot days a good 
sprinkling overhead, either from the hose, the garden 
engine, or the hand syringe freshens the plants up 
wonderfully, and serves to keep the foliage green and 
healthy. A few minutes in the evenings of bright 
days are well occupied in paying this little attention, 
and should therefore be a regular part of the cultural 
programme. 
Insect Pests.— ■ Earwigs are usually more or less 
of a nuisance and traps of Bean stems, or of small 
pots partly filled with hay should be sec, as advised 
in a previous calendar examined each day and the 
contents destroyed. Black Fly (Aphis artemisiae) 
often causes trouble nibbling the young stems and 
tender leaves and leaving ugly brown blotches 
behind, A washing with tobacco water is an 
excellent mode of getting rid of it I of if preferred, a 
dusting with tobacco powder may be given. In both 
cases the shoots where these insicticides have been 
applied must be washed with clear water soon after 
their application.— A. S. G. 
TIE ORCHID HOUSES. 
Laelia crispa. — This fine summer-flowering 
Laeli, which with us is just opening its delicate 
flowers, makes a grand exhibition plant when well 
grown. There are several varieties, all of which 
are beautiful, the best perhaps being L. c. superba, the 
flowers of this variety being much larger than those 
of the type. -We have grown it in shallow pans, 
teak baskets, and in pots of the ordinary shape. In 
all cases they have done well, but we think pots 
are the most suitable, on account of the difficulty 
experienced with baskets when they require a shift 
into a larger one. The roots cling to the rods so 
tightly that it is impossible to free them without 
damage to a great number; with pots it is different, 
most of the roots that are cliDging to the side being 
easily removed with a sharp thin knife, or it may be 
necessary to break the pot where they have taken a 
firm hold inside and out. 
Compost. —Peat alone, and that of the best, we 
find suits them best, mixing in some moderate¬ 
sized crocks to keep it porous. It should not be 
pressed in too firmly, or the water will not pass 
freely away. A few neat stakes can be used until 
the plants have again become established, to keep 
them from swaying about. 
Watering. —This must be carefully done after 
the plants have been newly potted ; any excess would 
cause the roots to rot; but when well established 
they will take a good quantity, always, of course, 
giving them time to absorb what is given at one 
watering before affording them more. 
Time of Potting. —After flowering, we think, is 
the best time to do this, and as they do not last 
above a fortnight in flower, they will, before I write 
again, in most cases require attention ; when done at 
this season they will not want so much water. 
Odontoglossum grande. —This, too, is another 
fine summer flowering Orchid. It is best grown in 
pots in peat and moss, using about equal parts. 
When growing, as it is now, and pushing spikes 
with the young growths, it will take a good quantity 
of moisture at the roots, but after the flowering 
season is over and the bulbs are made up it should 
receive a good season of rest. Unless this is given 
them it is next to impossible to keep them in good 
health for long. Slugs are very partial to the succulent 
spikes, and sometimes they will attack the young 
growths, doing great damage. A good plan to 
capture them is to place a few heaps of bran or fresh 
lettuce leaves close to the plants, looking them over 
in the evening when locking up for the night. 
Position. —The best place we find for them is at 
the cool end of the Cattleya house, where they make 
good growths and flower freely.— C. 
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©Iqantngs from ffje t IPudh 
nf Science 
The Food of Humming Birds. —The opinion 
at one time prevailed amongst naturalists, but 
particularly amongst botanists, that the food of 
humming birds consisted chiefly, if not wholly, of 
nectar found in the flowers which they frequented ; 
but partly through direct observation, and partly 
from experiments in feeding, is has been discovered 
and more or less directly proved that they are also 
carnivorous, and feed upon insects as well as nectar. 
In the forests of tropical America, humming birds 
are abroad as soon as it is daylight, and commence 
visiting their favourite flowers. Insects are also 
plentiful, and many of them pass the night in the 
long tubular flowers. The rising sun raises the tem¬ 
perature, and insects also become active, and are 
devoured by humming birds when they (the insects) 
are crawling out of the blossoms which afforded 
them a night's lodging. The tongue of the birds 
consists of two semi-cylindrical portions enclosing 
an extensile portion, so that it is adapted for the 
sipping or suction of nectar, as well as for collecting 
small insects. 
