248 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 17, 1898. 
||ints for ^mateurs. 
Bulbs in the Plunging Beds.—Generally speaking, 
it takes about six weeks' seclusion in the plunging 
beds to induce Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissi, &c., to 
make strong root action. At the expiration of that 
period the activity of the roots causes the young 
leaves and incipient flower spike to push away at the 
top, and when this takes place it is about time that 
the bulbs were taken out to the light of day. If left 
in too long the young leaves become unduly 
weakened, and the plants receive a check, the flowers 
receiving proportionate injury. 
At one time it used to be a common occurrence to 
see the bulbs covered with ashes, nothing being done 
to prevent these ashes from having direct contact 
with the bulbs. The result was that the pushing 
young leaves were not only injured by abrasion 
against the cinders but the sulphurous fumes that are 
present to some extent in both coal and coke ashes, 
did the tender foliage considerable harm. Nowa¬ 
days people are getting wiser, and the careful gar¬ 
dener, be he professional or amateur, covers the 
bulbs with an empty pot, or adopts some other con¬ 
trivance to prevent the ashes from coming into 
direct contact with the young leaves. 
Where steps of this kind have been taken it be¬ 
comes an easy matter to lift the bulbs out of the 
plunging beds. This should, therefore, be done 
without delay, and the plants transferred to some 
place where they will be safe from frost, and whence 
they can be taken and placed in heat as they are 
required. The best place of all is a cold frame, for 
in such a position they will have plenty of light, 
wili be close to the glass, and will not be unduly 
hurried along. In order to spread the flowering 
season over as long a period as possible it is 
Decessary to retard the bulk of the plants, only tak¬ 
ing out and placing in heat sufficiently large batches 
to give a fair amount of bloom, these batches being 
taken into heat at intervals of from ten to fourteen 
days, according to the advancement of the season. 
Just now growth is naturally very much slower than 
it is in February and March, and thus a longer time 
must be allowed in order to obtain results. 
For a few days after the bulbs are taken out of the 
plunging beds they will need to be very carefully 
treated. First of all they will not stand beiog sud¬ 
denly taken from complete darkness to bright day¬ 
light, hence they must be gradually inured to the 
light, and shaded a little until the yellow leaves be¬ 
gin to develop their normal green. Water is the 
next consideration. The plants will not need a great 
deal, but they must not be allowed to become dry. 
No manure of any kind must be given. Keep the 
frame rather close for a day cr two after the shift, 
but subsequently give plenty of air whenever the ther¬ 
mometer is a few degrees above freezing point. 
Should severe frost threaten it will be wise to 
move the plants into the greenhouse or a cool pit, 
where they will be safer from the frost, and enabled 
to move steadily along. 
Freesias.—The present is rather a critical time 
with these handsome, bulbous subjects. Not a few 
people make the mistake of putting them in too arid 
an atmosphere, brought about by the high tempera¬ 
ture given to induce early blooming. The result of 
this is to be seen in weakened plants with yellow, 
sickly looking leaves. Green fly also puts in an 
appearance and helps to still further enfeeble the 
poor plants, and they throw only poor and insignifi¬ 
cant looking flowers. This may be all avoided if 
ordinary care is taken. The temperature of a warm 
greenhouse will suit Freesias very nicely, and if 
3 pace can be found for them on a shelf near the 
glass so much the better. Up to <he present time 
clear water has been quite sufficient to keep the 
plants going, but as soon as the flower buds begin 
to appear, a little weak liquid manure may be given 
once a week with advantage. Staking should be 
done before growth gets too far advanced. The 
best plan to give the requisite support is to insert 
several neat stakes in a circle round the rim of the 
the pot inside, and pass round these stakes a light 
strand or two of raffi3. Seeing how easily nice 
plants may be spoiled in appearance by clumsy stak¬ 
ing, it will be time and trouble well spent to do the 
thing neatly. 
Cinerarias.—As long as the weather keeps mild 
these plants are better out in the cold frames, for 
they like the cool, moist bottom of ashes upon 
which they are standing, and always do much better 
upon it than when stood on dry, wooden racks in 
the greenhouse. The great enemy that has to be 
carefully watched just now, literally night and day, 
is slugs. These are very fond of the juicy Cineraria 
leaves. One slug in a pit will do a lot of damage, 
and the little pests are usually so small that it is 
difficult to see them. They are chiefly night 
feeders, and in order to catch them it is generally 
necessary to look over the plants by lamp-light. 
Lettuce leaves form capital traps, and if a few of 
them are laid about the floor of the fame and 
looked over occasionally the Cineraria should be 
safe, as far as slugs are concerned. See that the 
plants are given plenty of room, so that the air can 
pass in between them. Ventilate freely on mild 
days, but do not allow rain to enter, or damp will 
prove troublesome. 
Francoa ramosa.—The treatment of the Bridal 
Wreath plant is very similar to that of the Cineraria, 
and especially at this part of the year. They do 
better, however, when their root run is more confined 
than that of the Cineraria, for a 48-sized pot is quite 
roomy enough for quite a large plant. Where com¬ 
paratively small pots have thus wisely been used, an 
occasional dose of weak farmyard manure will be of 
service, but anything like heavy feeding must be 
avoided for the present. The Francoas and the 
Cinerarias may be grown side by side in the same 
frame and both will do well. 
Richardias Lifted from the Open Ground at the 
beginning of October, have now got over their shifting 
and have begun to make fresh roots. Some of the 
strongest of them are developing their flowers,as may 
be ascertained by feeling the pseudo-stems caused by 
the sheathing petioles or stalks of the leaves—those 
that are going to flower the soonest will be the fullest 
arid plumpest to the touch. These should be picked 
out and placed in a warm house, say, one with a tem¬ 
perature of not less than 55° Fahr. The stimulus of 
the higher temperature will work wonders in pushing 
the flowers along. The only disadvantage that 
attaches to the planting out and autumn lifting sys¬ 
tem as applied to Richardias, is that the plants can¬ 
not often be depended upon to produce early flowers. 
Now the value of a few Arums at Christmas time and 
the New Year is very considerable, and it is well 
worth while making special effort to gratify the 
ladies of the household in this respect. The best way 
to do this is to pot up a number of plants about the end 
of June, after they have had a rest from their previous 
season's exertions. These pot plants do not make 
such vigorous growth as their relatives that are 
out in the open ground, but they throw flowers 
rather sooner. 
Azalea Deutsche Perle.—For early forcing there 
is nothing to touch this variety, either amongst the 
white or the coloured flowers. If two or three 
plants have not been placed in heat it should not be 
longer delayed. Do not give too high a temperature 
at the commencement, otherwise the buds will drop, 
and the crop of flowers will be spoilt. A night tem¬ 
perature of from 50° to 55 0 Fahr., with a 5° rise 
during the day, will be quite sufficient for them i 
that is, the temperature of a house that is being used 
for forcing Deutzias, Richardias, Lilacs, Dicentras, 
and other similar subjects. Keep the syringe 
vigorously at work amongst the plants, using tepid, 
soft water. 
Chrysanthemums.—After all the flurry and excite¬ 
ment of the last few weeks the end has come at last, 
for with the exception of the very late varieties the 
plants are all out of bloom. They should therefore 
be cut down at once, and all the rubbish burnt 
straight away, and not simply carted to the rubbish 
heap and allowed to lie there for months. If this 
immediate burning of rubbish is practised, it will go 
a great way towards clearing out any spores of rust 
that may be present. Cuttings will be thrown up in 
plenty from the stools, and so it will be well to put 
the old plants in a place where they can be readily got 
at when it is desired to secure these cuttings. 
Gladioli that were lifted from the open ground last 
month, and were placed in boxes, and the corms 
covered with sand in order to give them a chance to 
finish the ripening-off process leisurely, should now 
be looked over, and the old stems cut away from 
them, after which the corms may be packed up in a 
little dry sand and stowed away in some frost-proof 
place for the winter.— Rex. 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page 
A nyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
"Amateurs' Page " on the top of their letters. 
Early Culinary Apples for Market.— C. G.: Such 
varieties as Potts’ Seedling, Lord Suffield, Lord 
Grosvenor, Ecklinville Seedling, and Early River's 
are all good kitchen Apples, but it is advisable to 
market the produce directly it is gathered from the 
tree. The expense of storage is hereby saved, and 
this is an item of some moment, but the real 
cause of immediate marketing being necessary is 
that these Apples are so soft that they will not keep for 
any length of time, for even Ecklinville Seedling, 
which is the latest of the five varieties named, can- 
Dot be kept long after the expiration of October in an 
ordinary year. This 5 ear the season was fully two 
or three weeks later than usual. 
Potting Chinese Primulas.— Amateur ; We should 
not advise you to pot up the plants now, seeing that 
the season has so far advanced. A large 60-sized 
pot will hold a very nice plant, andjwe think you 
would do better to leave your plants in the pots they 
now are rather than to risk them by giving them a 
shift into a larger size. Primulas, like many other 
things, do very well in small pots, and flower with 
great freedom, although the individual blooms may 
not be so fine as those on the larger plants. For decor¬ 
ative purposes you will find that the smaller plants 
will be fully as useful as the larger ones, and there 
are some purposes, such as the filling of small orna¬ 
mental vases, for which they will be more useful. 
Is Ficus repens hardy ?—L. Colville : The pretty 
Ficus repens, or to give it its correct name, F. 
pumila, is usually grown in warm houses, where it 
luxuriates in plenty of heat and moisture, both at the 
roots and in the atmosphere. In positions where it 
can obtain these conditions it grows with such 
vigour that it usua'ly gets beyond the limits of the 
tnuse, and it is not infrequently to be seen flourish¬ 
ing on the wall outside. Several walls partly 
covered with it have come under our notice from 
time to time, and in most cases, unless the winter be 
very severe, the protection of the wall is sufficient. 
The plant may, therefore, be called half-hardy for 
England generally, although in the mild south¬ 
western counties it is probably very nearly hardy. 
Smilax.— A. J. O. : The plant popularly known as 
Smilax, and usually to be met with in gardens 
under the name of Myrsiphyllum asparagoides, is 
correctly Asparagus medeoloides. It may be grown 
in a cool greenhouse, but it loves a little heat, and 
always thrives best where it can obtain it. You 
made a mistak e in training it to wires, for it is quite 
hopeless to attempt to untwine the growths from the 
wires. Strings should have been used, and then 
when sprays were wanted for decorative purposes, 
the strings could have been cut with the spray, and 
allowed to remain attached to it. This system is 
followed by those who grow for market. 
Forcing Rhubarb.— M. R .: If your cellar has a 
temperature of about 50° Fahr. you could force 
Rhubarb in it easily, although growth would natur¬ 
ally be slower than it is when a higher tempera¬ 
ture is given. All you need do is to put a layer of 
soil 2 in. or 3 in. deep upon the flcor, lift the roots 
from the open, and stand them upon it, packing 
them quite close together, and sprinkling a little 
light soil over—just enough to cover the roots. If 
the cellar is not quite dark you may cover the plants 
with an old mat or carpet to exclude the light, for it 
is this exclusion of light that leads to the excessive 
development of the leaf stem, which, being the part 
that is in request, is just what is wanted. Sprinkle 
the roots occasionally with tepid water. It will 
take at least four or five weeks before there will be 
any Rhubarb fit to pull. 
Aucuba japonica .—Question : There are male and 
female plants of Aucuba japonica, and from what 
you say, your plant is a male, and will naturally pro¬ 
duce no berries either this year or at any other time. 
If you want a berried plant you must apply to a 
respectable nurseryman. You may occasionally get 
what you want from the peripatetic plant seller, but 
