310 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 14, 1893. 
THE MALMAISON AND WINTER¬ 
FLOWERING CARNATIONS. 
Can anyone state with certainty who raised Souvenir 
de la Malmaison Carnation, when it was sent 
out, and who had the .credit of distributing it ? 
The Carnation authorities are silent upon that point. 
No history of the Carnation that I have seen throws 
light upon these points. That it is one of the 
perpetual, or tree Carnations there can be no doubt. 
But its striking individuality of character, its robust 
growth and massive blossoms makes it a very 
distinct type, and variations from the type appear to 
increase by means of sports rather than by seedlings. 
Its name suggests French origin, and perhaps some 
reader of the Gardening World may be able to 
supply some particulars. 
The Malmaison Carnation may be justly considered 
the flower of the Rothschild family, so largely is it 
growm in their gardens and so much admired and used 
as a button-hole decoration. Those of the members 
and friends of the National Chrysanthemum Society 
who joined the outing to Ascott Park, in July, 1891, 
well remember the wonderful display of Malmaison 
Carnations in pots, they saw there so grandly grown 
and bloomed, by Mr. Jennings, Mr. Leopold de 
Rothschilds’ gardener. The number of plants under 
cultivation was something astonishing. 
When at 'Ascott a short time previous to the outing. 
I had an opportunity of learning from Mr. Jennings 
some details of his method of treatment. The 
plants which bloom in winter and spring are, after 
they have ceased blooming, turned out of tbeir pots 
and planted in beds in cold frames, or else in a border 
specially prepared for the purpose, and there they 
are layered, which is done in July and August. As 
soon as rooted, which is about six weeks, the layers 
are potted off into 60-sized pots and stood in a cold 
frame upon an ash bed, then wdien established, 
shifted into 48 or 32-sized pots about November, and 
wintered in cold dry pits. In May the largest plants 
are potted into xo-in. pots, and while some will start 
at once into growth and form blooming shoots, 
others not until later. As a matter of course a year 
is required for the large plants to grow into size, and 
then they bloom twice, in July and again in the 
February following. 
The compost used by Mr. Jennings is made up of 
loam three parts, a little peat, some leaf soil, and 
dry cow manure laid by for the purpose. In potting 
Mr. Jennings finds it well to put a little soot over 
the crocks, as it acts as a fertilizer and also assists 
to prevent the ingress of worms. 
The varieties of the Malmaison grown by Mr. 
Jennings are the old blush, the pink, rose and scarlet. 
Winter Carnations are also grown at Ascot, and 
these are raised by means of cuttings taken about 
the middle of January and inserted in pots -in a 
compost formed of half loam and sSnd, adding a 
little cocoa fibre and having, as is usual, a half-inch 
of silver sand on the surface. Mr. Jennings unites 
with other growers in making it necessary to see to 
successful rooting, the base of the cutting should 
touch the bottom of the hole. The cuttings are 
placed in a temperature of from 50 to 60 degrees, 
and bell-glasses placed over them, which is a great 
advantage because the condensed atmosphere pre¬ 
vents the cuttings from flagging, and when they do 
this the rooting is delayed and often imperfect. At 
the same time it is well to cleanse the inside of the 
bell-glasses once in two or three days to prevent 
danger of damping off. 
The next process is to pot off' the cuttings into 60- 
size pots, using a compost made up of loam, 
leaf-soil and sand. The presence of sand at this 
stage facilitates the root action of the young plants, 
and it Is a great advantage to get them active as 
soon as possible. When potted the plants are 
replaced in the temperature in which they were 
struck till established in their pots, and then they 
are removed to a cooler temperature, and then care 
must be taken to water as required, and also to 
fumigate in order to keep down green-fly. At the 
end of April or beginning of May a shift is given 
into 48-size pots, the same compost being employed, 
with rather more sand, and some dry cow-dung 
rubbed fine, which Mr. Jennings considers one of 
the best fertilizers for winter-flowering Carnations. 
Then the plants go to a cold frame, they are near 
the glass, having plently of light and ventilation. 
Watering is a matter of importance. When Mr. 
Jennings repots he uses soil sufficiently moist so that 
the plants will not require water for a few days, as 
water given to newly potted plants before root action 
has set in may prove injurious to them. 
When well rooted and from 5 in. to 6 in. in height 
the plants are stopped to induce a branching habit; 
a few are stopped once only but most of them twice; 
this is a matter of knowledge gained by experience. 
In June a final shift is given and Mr. Jennings em¬ 
ploys pots larger than is generally used, and as he 
grows fairly large specimens he puts his-plants into 
8 in. pots in width. Then they go to a cold 
frame for a week or two, and finally on to beds of 
coal ashes or boards in the open, employing these to 
keep the worms from finding their way into the pots. 
Early in September some liquid manure or surface 
fertilizer is employed, staking is attended to and clean¬ 
liness has special attention, copious syringing being 
given. At the end of September or early in October 
the plants go to light and airy span-roofed houses, 
and care is taken to have them well fumigated before 
they get into bloom. If a few fine blooms are 
required, some disbudding will be necessary. 
Mr. Jennings’favourite winter-flowering Carnations 
are Winter Cheer, bright scarlet, which he praises 
very highly ; Madame E. Bergman, pink, very pleas¬ 
ing ; Lovliness, pink and white flaked; Selby, a fine 
yellow, Germania, these two Mr. Jennings strikes in 
February in rather more heat than he emplo) r s for 
the others; Empress of Germany,white, striped rose ; 
Miss Joliffe, very largely grown and undoubtedly the 
best all round Carnation in cultivation for forcing 
purposes; President Carnot, crimson ; Sir Rivers 
Wilson, white and sweetly fragrant; Alfred de Roth¬ 
schild rose ; Bright Pheobus, bright scarlet; and Sir 
Henry Calcraft, large red.— R. D. 
WOOD RIPENING, 
Scarcely a year passes without the failure or partial 
failure of some of our fruit crops being attributed to 
defective wood ripening. Whilst not ignoring the 
necessity of wood ripening to some extent, I have no 
hesitation in stating that too much importance is 
attached to it,and that it is my firm belief there is quite 
as much wood roasted as unripened, and that the 
process of maturing the wood takes place under far 
less favourable conditions than we imagine. I ask 
where were the recognised necessary elements for 
wood ripening in the past two seasons ? The}' were 
entirely absent in Lancashire, and by all accounts in 
other parts as well. Yet last year we had in many 
gardens more than usual of Plums, and nearly a full 
crop of Pears. Apples w'ere destroyed by caterpillars, 
but the year before we had a good crop of these. 
The failure of forced Strawberries is frequently 
referred to immature crowns, but I very much doubt 
the correctness of the inference. During the past 
two cold, wet, sunless seasons, w'ater laid on the 
surface of the soil in our Strawberry pots day after 
day, though they stood on boards, and last year the 
crop was as good as need be, and I do not despair 
of it this, though everything was so entirely opposed 
to our notion of what was necessary to perfect the 
crowns, on which so much stress is laid. 
Stone fruits, as a rule, are regarded as subjects 
requiring favourable conditions for wood ripening, 
but how about the Morello Cherry trees on a north 
wall, that never see the sun, the chief element in 
ripening wood ? Again, not long ago a writer in a 
contemporary stated that the only Greengage Plums 
worth eating he had this year were from a north 
wall. A few years ago a gardener not far from here 
tied the wood of his Peach trees in an early house in 
bundles of three’s and four’s, scarcely a shoot having 
a couple of inches of room, but the set of fruit was 
perfect, giving far more trouble to thin the fruit than 
moving and regulating the shoots would have done, 
these being left, it was said, in order to have plenty to 
select from. 
The beneficial effect of the good old practice of 
moving the roof lights from Peach houses had more 
to do with preventing wood roasting from defective 
ventilation, with its attendant red spider, than with 
wood ripening. The trees also received the autumn 
rains when uncovered, whilst their water require¬ 
ments would be overlooked were the lights left on. 
From my experience with trees under glass here I 
have grave doubts as to whether the Peach tree 
making the orthodox growth ever failed to ripen its 
wood under glass, however primitive the structure. 
The practice of thinning the shoots of our orchard trees 
with the view of ripening the wood by allowing the 
sun and air to play more freely amongst the branches 
left, and so secure crops of good fruit, is really imagi¬ 
nary, and does not operate in that direction at all. 
When the crops are improved by pruning I contend 
that it is the effect of removing some of the branches 
so that all the sap which would have been expended 
in supporting the part removed is directed into the 
parts which remain. There are very few if any bush 
or standard fruit trees which make more wood than 
can be properly matured. — IF. P. R., Preston. 
FRUIT NOTES. 
Apple Court of Wick. 
It is notorious that a large number of the best and 
most highly flavoured Apples are small, more 
especially if we compare them with the well-known 
and culinary varieties, Warner’s King, Peasgood’s 
Nonsuch, Lord Suffield, Stirling Castle, and others 
of that stamp. Court of Wick, like Kerry Pippin 
is a small Apple when grown upon standards in the 
ordinary way ; but the tree is an abundant bearer 
and the fruit is decidedly shapely and pretty. The 
skin varies considerably in colour, apparently 
according to the soil or the locality in which it is 
grown. The usual colour is clear yellow with an 
orange cheek next the sun, or faintly flushed with 
red. The suburbs of London are not as a rule con¬ 
ducive to high colouring, yet the variety under 
notice assumes a handsome appearance at Gunners- 
bury House, Acton. The whole of the exposed side 
becomes red with crimson streaks, the rest being 
yellow. The skin is shining as if varnished, and is 
likewise marked with round, triangular, and elon¬ 
gated russety specks. The eye is open with reflexed 
sepals set in a wide, shallow and even basin. The 
flesh is yellow and firm, but crisp and pleasantly 
acid, or highly flavoured as some describe it, and 
therefore makes very pleasant eating. As a variety it 
is very old, having been recorded in cultivation 
more than a hundred years ago, while it no doubt 
existed for a long time prior to the record. In 
olden times it was a favourite both for dessert pur¬ 
poses and for making cider. 
Apple Ross Nonpareil. 
This variety would seem to behave differently under 
different conditions. Some consider it a dessert 
Apple of the first quality, lasting from November to 
February. Last season’s crop was getting past its 
best by Christmas in the gardens of the Royal 
Horticultural Society at Chiswick. The texture of 
the fruit was rather spongy and dry, but had not 
lost its original aromatic and appetising flavour. 
Although describable as spongy, the flesh was really 
very tender and agreeable to the palate. In the 
early stages it was firm, crisp, and sugary. Possibly 
the soil might not altogether suit it, or the fruits 
were gathered from the trees a little too early. The 
fruit is of small or medium size, globular, and thinly 
russety all over, and by no means tempting in 
appearance, but once tasted it gains in favour 
largely. It originated in Ireland. 
Apple IVadhurst Pippin. 
None but those who are thoroughly acquainted with 
this Apple by growing it can detect a difference be¬ 
tween it and Blenheim Orange. The tree, however, 
reaches a bearing condition at an earlier age, and 
would therefore find favour with some growers on 
that account. During the recent demonstration on 
fruit drying at Chiswick it proved to contain more 
solid substance than Blenheim Orange, giving another 
point in its favour, while its ripening or coming into 
use a month earlier in the fruit room adds a third 
recommendation. It is in season from October to 
February. Although stated to be a culinary variety 
it is equally suitable for dessert purposes, and in its 
early stages is briskly flavoured, but soon becomes 
mellow and mild in taste. 
Pear Josephine de Malines 
The most of our Pears have been raised on the Con¬ 
tinent, from whence we continue to receive new sorts 
from time to time. The bulk of them that are of any 
value for dessert purposes ripen during October and 
November when a plethora of varieties are in season, 
thus reducing their value. The requirements of a 
new variety should be that it is an improvement upon 
existing varieties that ripen during the same period, 
or that it comes into use when all other varieties are 
unfit for use. Varieties that are in a seasonable con¬ 
dition from February to May are few and far be¬ 
tween. The aim of cultivators should be to make 
good this deficiency ; yet they do not seem to work 
on principles calculated to attain this. end. Pears, 
owing to centuries of cultivation and improvement, 
