February 19, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
397 
the violet lines fade to faiDt, nearly colourless striae, 
except a dark violet stripe on either side of the 
yellow disc. It is a delicately marked and very 
choice variety, well worth the First-class Certificate 
awarded it. Philip Crowley, Esq. (gardener, Mr. 
J. Harris), Waddon House, Croydon. 
Phaiocalanthe grande, Hyb. nov. bigen. — The 
seed parent cf this bigeneric hybrid was Phaius 
grandifolius, acd the pollen parent Calanthe Bryan, 
itself a hybrid. A strong spike bore nine large 
flowers, the sepals and petals of which are creamy- 
white, with a purplish tint at the base. The rPh 
purplish-red, projecting lip is a striking feature of a 
flower that was greatly admired by connoisseurs. 
Award of Merit. N. C. Cookson, Esq. (gardener, 
Mr. William Murray), Oakwood, Wylam-on-Tyne. 
Calanthe splendens, hyb. nov. bigen. — This 
bigeneric hybrid was raised from Limatodes crossed 
with Calanthe Bryan, and has a close affinity with 
Calanthe Veitchi. The flowers are large, of a rich 
rosy-carmine, and very handsome. Award of Merit. 
N. C. CooksOD, Esq. 
Floral Committee. 
Anthurium Dr. Lawrence. —The large, heart- 
shaped spathes of this hybrid are similar in form to 
those of A. andreanum, which was one of the parents, 
but they are less rugose or wrinkled, and of a beauti¬ 
ful soft salmon colour. The spadix is yellow and 
ultimately changes to cream. First-class Certificate. 
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart, (gardener, Mr. W. Bain, 
Burford Lodge, Dorking. It is named in compli¬ 
ment to a son of Sir Trevor Lawrence. 
Fruit and Vegetable Committee. 
Apple Lord Hindlip.— The fruit of this Apple 
is of large size for a dessert variety, conical, deep 
yellow, shaded with red and marked with crimson. 
It is a good keeping Apple of excellent flavour, and 
having previously received an Award of Merit, was 
now voted a First-class Certificate. Mr. J. 
Watkins, Pomona Farm, Hereford. 
Pear Passe Crassane. —The fruits of this late 
keeping Pear are of large size, pyriform, and heavily 
shaded with russet on a yellow ground. The flesh 
is juicy and melting except about the core, and of 
sweet, agreeable flavour. First-class Certificate. 
Roger Leigh, Esq. (gardener, Mr. G. Woodward), 
Barham Court, Maidstone. 
Cucumber Every Day.— The fruits of this 
variety are of medium length, but of even thickness 
almost from end to end, and of a beautiful dark 
green colour. It has been in bearing all the winter, 
and is a cross between Rochford’s Market and AU- 
the-Year-Round. Award of Merit. Her Majesty 
the Queen (gardener, Mr. Owen Thomas), Windsor. 
-- 
Kltcljen Garten Calendar. 
In sheltered situations, and on dry sandy soils, a 
sowing of early Carrots may now be made; but 
where the land is cold and stiff this had better be 
deferred for another fortnight. Though Carrots are 
hardy, and will withstand the frost, there is little or 
no advantage gained by sowing too soon where the 
land is wet and heavy, as the rains usually beat 
down such ground until the surface becomes so 
hard that the young plants have a difficulty in 
pushing through. On light soil there is this 
difference, instead of the surface becoming baked 
when dry weather sets iD, the particles of earth do 
not run together, therefore the young plants ars 
able to push their way through. Early Gem, 
Parisian Forcing, Early French Forcing, and Eaily 
Nantes are all good kinds, and may be sown in drills 
6 in. apart. 
A sowing of Early Milan Turnips may also be 
made on a warm border. The seed should be well 
protected from small birds, which are troublesome 
at this time of the year. A pinch of Lettuce, Early 
Cauliflower, and Brussels Sprouts may also be put 
in, as well as Radishes. The seed will not germinate 
very quickly, but the plants will be earlier than 
those from sowings made in the next month. Where 
the land is hot and dry in summer there is often 
some difficulty in getting good Cauliflower during 
August, but if a sowing be made now of Autumn 
Mammoth, Autumn Giant, Magnum Eonum, 
WalchereD, or the Pearl, and the plants put out in 
good time, before the dry weather sets in, fine, close, 
compact hearts may be had from the end of July 
onward. 
In warm places in the South, Lettuce that was 
planted out in the autumn should be looked over, and 
where there are any blanks these should be failed up 
from the seed bed. Lettuces in this part of the 
country have never suffered so much during the 
winter, for the foliage was \ery tender owing to the 
mild autumD, and the foggy weather about Christmas 
took hold of them severely. With us it was not 
only those in the open ground that suffered, but 
plants in frames were killed in like manner. Where 
the soil is cold, planting had better be deferred for a 
few weeks yet, as we may possibly get some severe 
weather in the next month. Do not be in a hurry to 
transplant autumn-sown OnioDs, particularly on cold 
wet land. It is no uncommon thing to see the plants 
lifted out of the soil by the frost in March, if plant¬ 
ing is done thus early ; better by far leave them 
until the end of the next mODth in the seed beds. 
Spring Cabbages are very forward this season, and 
should the weather continue mild, several of the 
varieties will be ready for use early in April. Those 
planted in September will be greatly benefitted by 
having a sprinkling of sulphate of ammonia or nitrate 
of soda. This should, however, not be allowed to 
come in contact with the foliage, but should be care¬ 
fully put between the rows, to be hoed in when the 
surface is dry. Such manures soon dissolve when 
the soil is moist and are, therefore, quickly taken 
up by the roots. 
Seakale cuttings may now be planted. We prefer 
doing this as digging proceeds, so as to prevent 
trampling on the ground afterwards. If sets have 
been made as previously advised, these can be planted 
in rows 2 ft. apart, allowing a distance of 9 in. or 
10 in. between the sets according to the quality of 
the land. Lily White is a first-class variety which 
forces much easier than the old purple; it is, how¬ 
ever, not quite such a strong grower unless the 
ground is extra good The tops of the sets should 
be kept about 2 in. under the surface of the soil; by 
so doing they will be out of the reach of frost and 
will start more readily into growth. Pay special 
attention to all vegetables under glass, and see that 
none suffer for want of air. During mild, showery 
weather snails and slugs are very troublesome, 
especially to the young tender foliage of Carrots, 
Lettuce and Cauliflower, all of which they will 
devour with the greatest avidity before the young 
leaves are well through the soil. Dusting with lime, 
soot, or such things as will make them distasteful to 
their palates, will usually keep them off.— Kitchen 
Gardener. 
- 
Tfie Drctjrt Grower’s Calendar. 
Potting. —The potting shed for the next few weeks 
will be the scene of great activity, and as success 
depends in a great measure on doing things at the 
right time, it behoves us all to be ready with plenty 
of material for the work on hand, so that it may be 
done quickly and well. The preparation of the 
compost claims the attention of the thoughtful 
grower, for he knows by experience that Orchids as 
well as other plants like to have about their roots 
something that is sweet and nice, neither must it be 
wet and heavy, or on the other hand too dry. He, 
therefore, like ourselves, examines the peat and if 
(which is generally the case) it is too dry adopts some 
means to make it sufficiently moist for his purpose. 
If the compost is used in a dry state the water given 
the plant runs off instead of soaking through the 
whole, the consequence beiog that whilst the moss 
is sodden wet the peat is dust-dry just under the 
surface; such a state of things as this never suits 
the plants. 
The way we manage is to wet the turves that are 
dust-dry and place them on the top of the stoke-hole 
furnace in the evening. The heat causes the moisture 
to penetrate the whole mass, so that when pulled to 
pieces next morning it is warm and in a fit state to 
use. With the sphagnum moss just the opposite is 
generally the case, and even were it not so the wash¬ 
ing which is required to free it from the small slugs 
and their numerous eggs makes it so wet that it has 
to ba dried before it can ba used. It dries but 
slowly in an open shed, so that some other means 
have to ba adopted or valuable time is wasted. The 
plan we find answers well is to spread it out evenly 
over the floors of the warm divisions at night. The 
heat from the hot water pipes will dry it sufficiently 
that it may, after all the rubbish is picked out, be 
used with the peat. 
In large establishments a heated potting-shed is 
generally provided, but where there is no such 
accommodation, it is advisable to do the potting in 
the house in which the plants are growing. A simple 
contrivance or make-shift is to get a box, knock out 
one of the sides, stand the box on the stage, and you 
have a nice little bench, which you can easily shift 
about. This is specially adapted for small houses 
and small plants. When large ones are dealt with, 
it may be best to lay a mat over the staging. 
It will hardly be necessary for me to point out 
that the crocks for drainage and the pots or pans 
must be clean, the latter inside and out. 
Everything having been got ready as mentioned, 
commence with those plants that have gone through 
a slight season of rest. Cattleya labiata autumnalis, 
for instance, should be repotted now. Those plants 
that are well-rooted and in a thriving condition may 
require a pot or pan one or two sizes larger, but 
those with few roots must be kept in as small pots 
as possible. The pretty little Sophronitis grandi- 
flora, that has now done flowering, will be all the 
better for a bit of new stuff, also the white Masde- 
vallia tovarensis. In the cool house there will be 
several plants that were not repotted in September 
that may be done at this season. 
Shading.— It is as well that the blinds should be 
fixed as soon as possible after the middle of the 
month, for the sun has some power already. Their 
use will depend on the position of the houses a great 
deal—one of our cool houses is very much exposed, 
so much so, that we had to throw mats on the roof 
last week.—C. 
FRUIT UNDER RUSS. 
Thinning Early Grapes.— A start should be made 
betimes with the thinning of the berries on the pot 
Vines, for with the mild and bright weather they are 
moving at an unusual pace for the season. Keep a 
sharp look-out upon lateral growths, and pinch at the 
first leaf all that appear. The evaporating troughs 
must be kept filled with water, and the supply of 
moisture given by these assisted by frequent damp¬ 
ings down. 
Early Permanent Vinery.— The Vines in this 
house are now in flower, and a drier atmosphere 
must accordingly be kept up. The sunny fore-half 
ofFebruary has largely made up for the comparatively 
sunless January, and the growths, with the foliage, 
have become much firmer and more substantial 
during the last fortnight. They were inclined to be 
weak previous to that date. 
Succession Vinery. —Here the work of tying 
down the shoots in their places must be carried on. 
Considerable caution must be exercised in this part 
of the cultural routine. The amount of pressure 
put upon a s hoot at one time should never be very 
great,and as every Vine has a trick of its own, so to 
speak, the shoots upon one standing far more with¬ 
out snapping out than those of another, too much 
care cannot be exercised. Make a running knot on 
the strings that hold the shoots so that pressure may 
ba increased or decreased according to necessity. 
Early Peaches. —After the fruit has been set the 
syringe may be started to work again morning and 
afternoon. The work of disbudding too will claim 
immediate attention. It is not too much to say that 
disbudding is the most important part of the prun¬ 
ing of the trees, for if the latter are allowed to de¬ 
velop a lot more shoots than are necessary, they be- 
become heavily handicapped from the commence¬ 
ment of the season in comparison with others that 
are properly attended to in this respect. Avery little 
reflection will suffice to convince the cultivator that 
it is bad practice to remove too many shoots at one 
time. The operation should therefore be spread over 
a week or two, allowing from four to five days to 
elapse between each distinct operation. As a rule 
two buds will be enough to leave to a small bearing 
shoet, although three may occasionally be necessary 
in order to cover the space. The lowest well-placed 
shoot must in all cases be left for succession, and 
may be trained in by the side of the bearing one for 
that purpjse. It is also necessary to have a bud 
beyond the fruit near the apex of the bearing shoot 
in order to foster a flow of sap past the fruit. On 
bearing trees intermediate buds may be removed. 
A start may be made by taking out badly placed 
