THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 5, 1898. 
863 
TUB Orclild Growe rs Calendar. 
East India House or Stove. —The deciduous 
section of Calanthes which include C. Veitchii, C. 
vestita rubro-oculata, and C. v. luteo-oculata will 
very soon require potting up again. It is a very good 
plan to place the pseudobulbs thickly together in 
shallow boxes in an upright position to start them. 
When the growths are about 2 in. high they may be 
potted up. Treated this way you can select the most 
forward with each growth well up. 
The potting compost should consist of two parts 
nice silky loam, and one part cow dung which has 
been dried (the top of the furnace is a good place to 
dry it) and rubbed through a $-in. sieve. To this 
add some charcoal or crocks broken up rather fine, 
and a little silver sand. See that it is not too wet or 
too dry. The pots may be of various sizes to suit 
the requirements of the establishment. We have 
seen good strong spikes of C. Veitchii from a 
medium-sized bulb in a 6o-pot, and where a lot of 
house furnishing has to be done, their usefulness is 
at once apparent. For general purposes one large 
pseudobulb will fill a 5-in. pot, whilst three medium¬ 
sized ones would make a good show in 6-in. or 7-in. 
pots. The drainage should be ample, but not so much 
as when potting Cattleyas and the like, as the bulbs 
do not require to be elevated. Indeed, they should 
be, if anything, just below the rim of the pot. 
Watering— Great care must be exercised or the 
young growths will become spotted and damp off. 
Too much moisture in the early stages and a low 
temperature must be avoided. 
Dendrobiums. —The plants of the early flowering 
D. wardianum are making rapid growths, and should 
be re-potted at once, using the best peat obtainable, 
with a few live heads of moss worked in as the work 
proceeds. See that the peat is not too dry and that 
the moss is not too wet. When such a state of things 
exists, the plants very rarely take hold of the compost 
kindly. Water sparingly for a time, as there is more 
harm done by over-watering newly potted plants 
than a great many suppose. 
Cattleya House. —The mild weather tends to 
hasten the potting of such things as Laelia autumn- 
alis atro-rubens, L. gouldiana, the early flowering 
forms of L. anceps, &c. We have always found that 
to make success doubly sure, it is a good plan to 
afford the plants some fresh compost to root into 
each season, although the compost they are in does 
not appear to be quite exhausted. There is, how¬ 
ever, but very little left in it for the plants to feed 
on. A small quantity of fresh material will induce 
the new roots to push out in quantity from the newly 
made-up growths. In a word it acts like magic. 
Therefore do not try to grow Orchids well without 
providing them with the necessaries of life; for, if 
you do, you are almost sure to fail. 
Temperatures. —Warm division, 65° at night; 
intermediate, 55 0 to 58° ; cool, 50° at night, with a 
rise of 5 0 or io° by day.—C. 
- 
KltcHBn G arden Calendar. 
The dry open weather of the last month has been a 
great help to those who had much digging to do, as 
the ground has been in splendid condition for work¬ 
ing. Where any light land has yet to be dug, this 
should be done as soon as possible, that the soil may 
settle down again before the dry weather sets in. 
When light land is worked late in the season, too 
much moisture is extracted for the benefit of the 
crops; for this reason, where such vegetables as 
Onions, Peas, and other moisture-loving crops are 
intended to be grown, the soil should be somewhat 
consolidated before sowing or planting takes place. 
Peas sown in November are looking well, therefore, 
to prevent any mishap now, it would be a good plan 
to stake them as soon as possible, and afterwards 
protect them with some evergreen boughs stuck 
alongside the rows. Another sowing may be made 
in the open quarters. When the land is dry choose 
some of the early Marrow kinds such as Early 
Giant, Excelsior, Empress of India, Duke of York, or 
Gradus. 
Broad Beans that were sown in the autumn have 
made splendid progress, and may be now trans¬ 
planted with little fear of loss, though in cold 
districts where the plants are not too forward, this 
operation may be deferred till a little later on. 
There are many fine varieties of Broad Beans not in 
general cultivation, which, if well grown, are sure to 
give satisfaction. There is the Green Longpod, 
Masterpiece Longpod, Green Giant, and White 
Longpod, all of which will be found most useful. A 
sowing of any of these may now be made in the 
open quarters, taking care to allow plenty of room 
for them to develop, as there is nothing gained by 
overcrowding. 
Cauliflower, Lettuce, and Onions that were 
sown in boxes early in the last month will by this 
be large enough for pricking off. Where a slight 
hot-bed can be afforded them they will make far 
more rapid progress than if put out in boxes; there¬ 
fore an effort should be made to provide space in 
such quarters to give them a start. Where, how¬ 
ever, this cannot be done, boxes are ^preferable to 
pans, as the soil in them does not dry too rapidly. 
The chief evil in growing these things under glass is 
caused by not making the soil firm enough for the 
roots to take hold of. In all cases the soil used 
should be made firm. A small sowing of both 
Cauliflower and Lettuce may be made in a cold 
frame. Those who experience any difficulty in pro¬ 
curing fine heads during the latter part of July and 
August should make a sowing of Mammoth, 
Autumn Giant, and Early Giant. If these are 
planted early they will take hold of the soil before 
the hot weather sets in, and may then be had in good 
condition at the time requited. Lettuce, too, may be 
grown in the same way, but the ground must be 
heavily mulched to prevent evaporation. 
The Forcing Department will need much atten¬ 
tion at the present time. See that a succession of 
French Beans is put in as the spaces become vacant, 
that there may be no blanks. Any that are in flower 
should have rather a drier atmosphere for a few days. 
Though the weather has been mild, there has been 
an absence of sun to raise the |temperature of the 
forcing house in the daytime. Have small batches of 
Endive, Chicory, Seakale, and Rhubarb put into 
heat as the others 'become exhausted. These will 
blanch much faster now than they would a month or 
two ago ; therefore a less amount should be intro¬ 
duced at one time, while shorter intervals should be 
allowed between them. The last batch of Asparagus 
may now be taken up for forcing, as the permanent 
beds may soon be brought into use by covering them 
with lights, and putting a lining round. If raised 
beds are planted with this object in view, having a 
space of 4 ft. between them, there is no difficulty in 
introducing sufficient fermenting material to main¬ 
tain the requisite heat to encourage a healthy 
growth 
During wet weather see that the vegetables stored 
away are carefully looked over, and all decayed ones 
removed. Seed Potatos should be spread out 
thinly, and exposed to the light, that the growth 
made may be sturdy . — Kitchen Gardener. 
THE FLOWER G&RCEN. 
Surely there never was such a mild January as that 
we are now passing through, which has, indeed, 
nearly come to a close. The days have been quite 
warm and springlike, and the result is that things 
generally are getting dangerously forward. The 
young year, 1898, has indeed signalised its advent in 
a remarkable manner, but gardeners generally will 
not be at all thankful for it if March or April bring 
frosts with them to nip precocious flowers and 
foliage. The early season must, to some extent, 
force the gardener's hand; and much as he would 
like to defer them the advanced state of vegetable 
life calls for their attention. A spell of frost now 
would be a real blessing, for it would keep things 
back in their proper place. 
Pruning Climbers. —In the southern counties, at 
least, a start should be made with the pruning of 
these, and tying or nailing will follow immediately 
after. It is well to get this work forward as soon as 
it is possible to do so, especially where herbaceous 
borders run along 'neath the shelter of the wall, for 
it is not economic of labour to give the borders their 
spring digging and manuring until the greater part 
of the necessary treading upon them has been got 
through. In the northern counties a start should 
first be made with the hardier subjects, leaving the 
tenderer plants until the last. 
Roses. —As the soil is now in fairly good working 
condition, the planting of all Roses, except Teas, 
should be carried on. Nothing suffers from late 
planting more than the Rose, and as the middle of 
March is quite late enough to plant in an ordinary 
season, and we are weeks earlier this year than is 
usual the present is a favourable time to inquire 
into the condition of any Roses that appear to be in 
a sickly condition. Take them up, and carefully 
look over the roots, cutting out any that are injured 
or appear to be unhealthy. Any suckers that show 
should also be removed. In replanting, take away 
part of the old soil, and substitute for it some good 
fresh loam with a little old mortar rubbish mixed. 
Timely attention, such as this, will often prevent 
plants from going wrong, or getting so bad that they 
are past recovery. All the newly planted Roses 
should be mulched with short stable or farmyard 
manure which, for the sake of appearance, should 
not be too strawy. 
The Rose Garden. —Any alterations or extensions 
that it is proposed to make in the Rose garden should 
not be longer deferred. In making new beds it 
should be remembered that beds of intricate design 
are not suitable. The size does not matter, for it 
may vary from the little circle not more than a foot 
in diameter, and containing only a single standard to 
others in which fifty or sixty plants may be 
accommodated without crowding. Generally speak¬ 
ing, however, it is well to have the bsds of good size 
as they are much more effective, but too large bsds 
do not admit of the flowers being cut without tread¬ 
ing on the soil, which should be avoided as far as 
possible. See to the cutting of the grass edges, and 
attend to the renewal of the surface of gravel paths 
if necessary. 
Narcissi. —If any bulbs of Narcissijhave been kept 
out of the ground for any reason, they should be 
planted at once. It is, of course, too late to put them 
in flower beds, for the bulbs have been greatly 
weakened by their inability to makej roots, and will 
take some time to recuperate themselves, possibly a 
full season. If they are employed for planting in the 
grass, however, failure to bloom, or poor flowers will 
not so much matter, and next season they will be 
right enough. Bulbs of this kind may be purchased 
cheaply enough at this time of year, and they are not 
at all a bad speculation. 
General Work. —If by stress of weather outside 
work should become impossible, there is plenty that 
may be done under cover. Labels and stakes may 
be made and painted in readiness for use during the 
forthcoming season. Seeds collected last year should 
be looked over, and those ordered from the seedsman 
run through, and placed in readiness for sowing, for 
the season will soon be here now. If the frost, of 
which there is no sign at present, supervenes, the 
hardness of the ground may be utilised for wheeling 
or carting manure or soil from the yard to the points 
at which it is to be employed. 
* 
Wall Trees. —The pruning, and nailing or tying of 
these should be hurried on, as the buds are swelling 
rapidly under the influence of the mild weather. 
Apricots. —As these are among the earliest of the 
hardy fruits to flower, they should be dealt with 
before any of the other wall trees are touched. If 
the trees were properly seen to last summer for 
pinching there will be comparatively little pruning 
to be done beyond cutting off any ragged ends of the 
spurs. Neglect in pinching is sure to result in long 
ragged spurs that project far out from the wall, and 
thus neutralise the advantage that should be 
obtained from the shelter of the latter. The 
branches of the Apricot have a most reprehensible 
habit of dying off without any warning, and for no 
apparent reason ; hence it is always desirable that a 
little young wood should be trained in to fill a possi¬ 
ble gap. This must not be overdone, however, for 
crowding is an evil that must be studiously avoided. 
Sturdy young shoots of last year's production that 
may be required for succession should be shortened 
to about a foot in length, varying this length accord¬ 
ing to the strength of the shoot; thus it may be 
longer if exceptionally strong, and shorter if weaker. 
If any large branches have died during the winter 
these should be cut clean out at once. 
Peach Walls. —If insect pests have been trouble- 
