October 8, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
87 
walk. As soon as struck every few lines should be 
soaked, so that the bed be thoroughly settled and all 
crevices run together. Watering a propagating bed 
is largely a matter of judgment; after the first 
drenching the bed will probably require little water 
for a day or two. for if properly done at first they will 
be wet enough ; but the foliage should be sprinkled 
daily, and if the atmosphere is hot, dry, or if windy, 
should be kept constantly moist. During the first 
week in the bench, they should be kept rather wet 
and constant care employed to prevent wilting, and 
a damp atmosphere maintained though not a close 
one. After the first week less water should be applied, 
though the condition of the sand should never be 
allowed to approach dryness. We use an iron frame 
bench with slate bottom, on which we place about 
two inches of ordinary sharp bank sand, well firmed 
down and perfectly smooth, and believe it pays us 
to remove all sand after once using and replace with 
fresh for each successive batch of cuttings. A 
regular bottom heat, day and night, of not over 65°, 
and a top heat of 50" to 55 0 , with a free circulation 
of air, will supply the right conditions of temperature. 
Shading is of great importance, as too much sun will 
bring ruin to a freshly stuck cutting, though a little 
night and morning is, I believe, beneficial, and as the 
cutting becomes harder more sunlight can be allowed. 
It must also be borne in mind that a draught of air is 
fully as injurious as sunlight; on windy days the 
beds must be protected or damage will result. I do 
not believe in shading the glass as often done, for the 
reason that such shade cannot be removed at will, 
and of necessity must remain both on cloudy days 
and at night, when all the light possible is desirable. 
Before clnsing, allow me a word in regard to 
potting. When the cuttings have formed roots from 
one-fourth to one-half inchep long, which will be in 
from three to four weeks if the wood and the condi¬ 
tions have been proper, they will be ready for 
potting. I do not believe in potting when the roots 
are shorter than this, for the reason that many other 
roots are just about to start and they are not 
sufficiently strong to take quick hold of the earth, 
and thus insure rapid growth. On the other hand, 
if allowed to remain in the bench a day or two too 
long, the roots become long and wiry, making it 
much more difficult to pot them, and they lose some¬ 
thing of their ability for quick work, which is 
essential. 
The soil used for potting should be the best that 
can be obtained, the same that is used for planting, 
and for this first potting should be sifted. If very 
heavy add a little sand, and see that the soil is 
neither excessively wet or dry ; in the former case it 
will pack like a brick, and in the latter not enough, 
and will absorb the moisture from the roots ; in 
both cases retarding rapid potting very much. 
Frequent moistening of the foliage will be a great 
benefit. Do not shade the plants too long after 
potting ; for a day or two they should be shaded 
from direct sunlight, after which it should be allowed 
to shine on them morning and evening, gradually 
increasing the amount, until after a week none will 
be needed, and the roots will be showing through, 
growth commenced, and the propagation of the Rose 
completed. 
-- 
ROSES IN POTS. 
There is always more or less work to be done among 
pot roses, and the present season is one of the most 
important in this respect. There is the potting up 
of old plants, and also those from the nursery 
grounds. In the case of some plants that have been 
growing and flowering more or less all the early 
spring and summer, they will have been stood out of 
doors to secure the slight rest that all plants require 
once during the year. As they will now be as nearly 
ripe as pot plants generally become, it is a good 
time to overhaul them and repot any that need it. 
See that the drainage is all sound and trim out the 
weakly and spindly wood. Look closely to see if any 
scale exist on the plants, and if so, remove them 
from the rest and commence to clean with some 
strong insecticide. You can use a stronger solution 
now that the plants are more dormant, than could 
possibly be used while in full growth. 
Such plants as may not be much pot bound with 
roots, or have very few at the surface of the soil, 
may be mulched with good compost after removing 
some of the older soil. It is not well to disturb the 
roots more than you can help, especially if they be 
wanted for early forcing purposes. Keep them dry 
at the roots for some time yet, and still let them re¬ 
main in the open air. Pot Roses are far too often 
taken under cover prematurely. Frost will not hurt 
them, and provided you place a little litter among the 
pots, a few frosts will do the wood an immense 
amount of good. I do not mean severe frosts, but 
those we generally get during the latter part of 
autumn. 
Roses that are potted up from the open ground 
should be placed on the shady side of a hedge or 
wall, and kept well sprinkled overhead upon all fine 
or drying days. I would advise their being potted 
up at once, as the majority of plants are quite ripe 
enough for this purpose. There is another word of 
advice I would like to give amateurs, and that is to 
always allow their plants to come on much more 
steadily than is generally the custom. You must re¬ 
member that you are going against nature when 
forcing Roses early, and that all you can do is to get 
the plants in a more forward state, so that as soon as 
the days turn they may be the more ready to take 
advantage of it. 
It is astonishing how very soon all forced plant 
life alters in appearance directly the sun has turned 
and is gaining instead of waning in power. Cool 
and steady treatment at the first will pay well, and 
eventually catch up and pass those plants that were 
hurried from the start. You will also get many more 
and far better quality blooms by letting your plants 
come on in the steady way here advised, and which 
is much nearer to nature than introducing them to a 
high temperature at first. A slight increase early in the 
year is a totally different thing to giving it them in 
November, as so many do when trying to get early 
flowers.— Experience. 
-- 
THE VANILLA. 
Notwithstanding the various preparations that 
have lately been put upon the market as substitutes 
for the Vanilla for flavouring purposes, a great deal 
of attention is still directed to the cultivation of the 
plant, and the preparation of the fruits for commercial 
purposes. Perhaps the most recent and formidable 
rival in the cultivation of Vanilla is Fiji, from whence 
some good samples have more than once been 
received. The first consignment sent to London 
brought from the consignees a very congratulatory 
report on the prices realised, namely, 22s. 6d. per lb. 
for three-fourths of the consignment, and 21s. 6d. for 
the remaining fourth. The consignees further say that 
unless the quality had been very satisfactory no 
such price could have been obtained, and if further 
consignments are up to the quality now sent in, we 
can say that Fijian Vanillas will command a good 
price and a great sale. Speaking from an experience 
of nearly forty years, during which we have handled 
a considerable quantity of Vanillas, we can unhesita¬ 
tingly say that the quality of that sent here is equal 
to any Vanilla grown in the Mauritius or elsewhere. 
The beans are plump and well cured, and are begin¬ 
ning to throw out splendid crystals. In future 
consignments it will be necessary to sort the Vanillas 
and tin them according to lengths, and to take care 
not to pack the tins too closely.” 
In connection with the subject of the preparation 
of Vanilla for market, one of the most striking de¬ 
partures from the ordinary mode of drying the pods 
seems to be that of keeping them moist or rather 
wet, for some sample pods have recently been received 
in London preserved in alcohol. They are described 
as of fine appearance and good aroma, though, of 
course, partly exhausted by the action of the spirit, 
which, it has been suggested, will probably be sold 
with the beans. It is said “ that by placing the pods 
in alcohol when freshly gathered, a much more 
fragrant tincture is obtained than by exhausting 
the cured beans purchased in Europe .”—Society of 
Arts Journal. 
-►**- -- 
Gardening Miscellany. 
sjj soyo 
CARYOPTER1S MASTACANTHUS. 
Michaelmas Daisies and Sunflowers now reign 
supreme in the open border, and the amount of 
variety amongst out-door flowers is considerably re¬ 
duced. There is room, therefore, for the plant under 
notice to be received with all due favour. What 
tells most against it is that the plants are not alto¬ 
gether hardy. It is a native of China, from whence 
it was introduced in 1844, and has possibly been lost 
several times and reintroduced. The flowers are of 
small size individually, but are very freely produced 
from the axils of the leaves all along the stems, and of 
a rich violet-blue. Their colour is, therefore, very 
unusual amongst out-door plants at this season of 
the year. The stems are herbaceous, about 2 ft. 
high, thickly clothed with dark green leaves, and 
keep flowering till late into October, or even longer 
according to the state of the weather. The plant 
belongs to the Verbena family, of which very, very 
few are hardy. When shown at the Drill Hall on 
Tuesday last by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, 
we recognised an old but comparatively little known 
friend. 
SEEDLING BORDER CARNATION. 
We have received flowers of a beautiful white Car¬ 
nation from Mr. Robert Hindmarsh, gardener to Mr. 
McIntyre, Hillingworth House, near Newcastle-on- 
Tyne. He raised it from seeds obtained from Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons, in the spring of 1890. It has been 
flowering since midsummer, and is still beautiful al¬ 
though it has recently been subjected to heavy 
storms of rain and wind. The flowers are of medium 
size and consequently do not split their pods, and 
have broad, pure white petals, almost entire at the 
edges, and not in any way crowded. For bunching 
and cut flower work generally it is highly suitable, 
and is almost certain to find many admirers and to 
be more or less widely cultivated ; indeed it has at¬ 
tained a considerable amount of popularity and repu¬ 
tation already in the locality of its origin and for 
some distance around. It is scented, although not 
strongly so. 
THE LIZARD’S TAIL. 
The name above given has been applied to the 
genus Saururus, consisting of two aquatic species, 
one of which is a native of North America and is 
known as the American Swamp Lily, while S. 
Loureiri comes from Eastern Asia. They belong to 
the Pepper family, of which they are aquatic repre¬ 
sentatives, inhabiting marshes, swamps, and similar 
wet places. The last-named species may be seen in 
the aquatic tank tank by the herbaceous ground at 
Kew, where it has been flowering for some time past. 
The flowers are very small individually, and white, 
but produced in a dense terminal raceme not longer 
than the uppermost leaf, and collectively may be 
termed pretty, although not particularly showy. This 
raceme of flowers has been fancifully compared to a 
Lizard’s Tail. From a garden point of view, how¬ 
ever, some of the uppermost leaves constitute the 
ornamental feature of the plant. The ordinary ones 
are heart-shaped and of a rich dark green, while a 
few of the uppermost are white and netted with 
slender green veins. These seem to be produced 
only on those stems which bear flowers. They 
probably serve as a flag of attraction to draw insect 
visitors from a distance, as in the case of the Poin- 
settia and others. 
THE BEGONIA AS A WINDOW PLANT. 
The tuberous Begonia is certainly " the flower of the 
future,” and deservedly popular—as a bedding plant, 
a window, or a greenhouse plant. A few days ago 
I saw some healthy, well-flowered plants in a cottage 
window; the tubers were given to their present owner 
in the winter and have been grown entirely in the 
window without artificial heat, and at the present 
time are flowering freely, developing fine, healthy 
foliage, and bid fair to outrival the once indispensable 
Pelargonium.— -A. P. 
LAPAGERIA ROSEA MACULATA. 
Several varieties of the Lapageria are grown in the 
conservatory and the long corridor connecting the 
new range of glass houses together at Falkland Park f 
South Norwood Hill. That under notice bears very 
large flowers of a soft rose colour. All the segments 
of the flower are spreading at the mouth, and the 
inner ones, which are very much the broader at the 
apex, are conspicuously spotted with white. There 
are several spotted varieties in cultivation, but.L. r. 
maculata is also noted for the great size of its flowers, 
almost rivalling the Nash Court variety, but differing 
in having paler, spotted flowers, and in the segments 
of the perianth being spreading at the mouth. Those 
of the Nash Court variety slightly diverge upwards 
but are not in any way revolute at the mouth. 
