January], 1 ?, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
295 
approaching a decent form when flowering for the 
first time, should be retained and given a chance to 
show itself in its proper form before discarding it. 
Notes, too, of the difference in the growths of 
Orchids, grown under varied conditions, are made. 
Some plants do better when suspended near the 
glass, whilst others will do better on the stage. 
Therefore, when you are master of each peculiarity, 
their culture is the more simple. 
East India House. —It has been easy up till 
now to keep the temperature up to the required 
height without hard firing, but the clerk of the 
weather has only been " kidding," and, as I write, 
there is an indication of a fall of snow. Now, snow 
falling on the glass keeps the temperature down. 
To avoid this, it is a good plan to put some mats on 
the roof, securing them with stout string at the top 
and bottom. Some use the blinds, but if it freezes, 
there is a difficulty in rolling them up until late in 
the day. The mats, od the other hand, can be 
easily removed, thereby securing to the plants all 
the light possible. 
Watering. —What watering wants doing should 
be done about midday, when the temperature is at 
its highest. 
Cattleya or Intermediate House. —The same 
care should be observed in this division, keeping 
things on the dry side, without undue shrivelling 
during severe weather. 
Cool House. —Odontoglossums dry up rather 
quickly with fire heat, and as they are moisture 
loving, it would not do to let them get dry at the 
roots. We look through ours every day, for there 
are sure to be some in the back row, immediately 
over the hot water pipes, that are dry. 
Odontoglossum pulchellum majus. —This 
pretty, free-flowering Odontoglot may not inaptly be 
described as the Lily of the Valley among Orchids, 
not only on account of its resemblance to it in the 
size and form of the flower, but it is very fragrant. 
It flowers, too, during the winter months, which fact 
should insure it a place in every collection. Added 
to this, it may be grown cool. Grown warm, as the 
plants sometimes are, they are liable to be attacked 
with white scale, which does not- touch them when 
grown cool. Owing to their neat and narrow leaves, 
a good number of leads can be got into a small 
space. Peat and moss in equal parts, with a little 
silver sand, grows them well, allowing plenty of 
drainage.— C. 
Kitchen Darden calendar. 
With the commencement of the year gardeners, as 
a rule, begin to think about making up their seed 
orders for the coming season. Before doing so, it is 
always well to consider if there are any new or im¬ 
proved varieties that may be substituted. Those 
who have kept a record of the productiveness and 
different qualities of the various vegetables grown by 
them, will have little trouble in weeding out the 
inferior ones, but those who only sow or plant in a 
hap-hazard manner, taking no account or only a 
casual one of their character, will be somewhat 
puzzled to know what to order. Every gardener 
ought to keep a register, as it were, of the quantity 
of ground planted with every crop, and note down if 
there was sufficient,or if at any time the supplies ran 
short, which variety gave the best results, and so 
on: If this were done in a systematic manner there 
would be little difficulty in knowing what to order 
and how much of every particular kind. There is 
always a great disadvantage to a young gardener in 
not previously knowing the requirements of a place; 
for when he takes charge of an establishment for the 
first time he is naturally anxious that there shall be 
nothing wanting; but as he has not previously had 
to think of the multitude of things necessary to keep 
the various branches of the establishment going, he 
often finds that something has been forgotten. To 
avoid any mishap, it is always well to keep a record 
of what was used the previous year as a guide for 
future requirements. There is always some satis¬ 
faction in turning over the pages of a book in which 
such useful information can be gleaned, as it decides 
at once whether certain crops have been satisfactory 
or not. Those who have not hitherto kept a strict 
account of the various crops in this department 
should commence to do so with the new year. 
Having ordered the seeds in good time they are 
usually despatched at once, whereas, when left until 
the busy season arrives, there is often some delay in 
getting them. When received they should be kept 
in a dry place until required for use. There are 
many vegetables that are the better for being sown 
early, and, where required for exhibition, time is of 
great importance. 
Onions. —It is not many years ago that the prac¬ 
tice of sowing the seed under glass was first tried, 
but of late it has become more general, not only for 
the production of exhibition bulbs, but for those in¬ 
tended for general use. Onions take a long time to 
grow, therefore, those who can get a couple of 
months' start are more likely to succeed than others 
who only sow in the open ground. Plants raised 
from seed sown now will, if kept growing gently till 
the first or second week in April, and then planted 
out, be fully two months in advance of those sown 
in the open ground in March. There is also another 
advantage, and by no means a slight one. Plants 
raised under glass are usually sufficiently advanced 
by the middle of May to resist the attacks of the 
Onion Fly; for this reason, those who suffer from 
the ravages of this pest, would do well to give this 
method a trial and see if they cannot grow bulbs of 
fair quality. It is seldom that the fly attacks Onions 
sown in the autumn ; and with me they have never 
attacked those sown under glass and planted out. 
Lettuce and Cauliflower ought to be sown in 
a gentle heat for transplanting. There are several 
varieties of the former well worthy of cultivating 
under glass ; amongst these Golden Ball, or as it is 
named in some catalogues Golden Queen, is the 
best. This variety, when planted about 4 in. apart 
each way, will give fine compact hearts, there being 
no outside leaves. Of early Cauliflowers there is 
none to equal Early Forcing. It is of compact 
growth, and may be grown to perfection under 
glass. It is also one of the best for planting on a 
warm border. A sowing should also be made now 
of such varieties as Autumn Mammoth, Autumn 
Giant, Early Autumn Giant, and Michaelmas White, 
to follow those that have been kept in frames during 
the winter. 
All early Potatos should now be stood up on their 
ends, that the growths made may be robust. Where 
these are grown on hotbeds for a first crop material 
should be got together for making up the beds ready 
for planting. Where there is sufficient heat at com¬ 
mand, a few Cucumber seeds may be sown for an 
early supply, but unless a temperature of from 65° 
Fahr. can be maintained, better defer sowing for a 
little time longer. Rhubarb, Seakale, Asparagus, 
Endive, and such like, should be got into heat, as 
there will now be a greater demand for forced vege¬ 
tables. Make small sowings of Mustard, Cress, and 
other salads.— K. G. 
THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 
The generally fine and open weather that we have 
so far experienced has greatly expedited all outdoor 
work. Planting, pruning, tying, and nailing all take 
time, but they can only be prosecuted during open 
weather. These operations should therefore be 
pushed on as speedily as possible, for if the weather 
continues mild the buds will swell very early in the 
jear, and the season during which they can be 
handled with comparative safety will be corre¬ 
spondingly short. 
SmallFruit Quarters.— RedandBIack Currants 
and Gooseberries are looked upon as being suitable 
for filling up any odd corner, and on that account 
are to be met with all over the garden, especially 
between the rows of the larger fruits. But these are 
not as a rule, sufficient to keep up the supply needed. 
The bulk of the bushes have to be grown in 
“ quarters," and this is at once a convenient and 
economical method of procedure. The bushes in these 
quarters should be pruned over as soon as possible and 
the prunings cleared away, in order that the ground 
may be forked over and thus put ship-shape for some 
time to come. 
Cuttings of Gooseberries and Red Currants.— 
Where there is a good deal of bush fruit in the garden, 
and a big demand for it, it is necessary to put in a 
few cuttings each year in order to furnish material 
to replace annual waste. Big, old bushes are all 
very well—when they are properly looked after—- 
but we get the finest fruit from young, vigorous 
plants. Moreover, accidents will happen, and a few 
bushes are almost sure to come to grief annually. 
Cuttings may now be selected from the prunings of 
Gooseberries and Red Currants. These cuttings 
should consist of well-ripened portions of the young 
wood from 10 in. to 1 ft. in length, cut off with a 
" heel." The eyes for the lower six or eight inches 
of the cuttings should all be picked out with the 
point of a knife, leaving three good ones at the top, 
in order that the youDg plant may have a clean stem 
and be free from suckers. The removal of these 
lower buds also causes the buds that are left to break 
more strongly. The cuttings should be planted 6 in. 
apart in rows, about 1 ft. being allowed between the 
rows. They should be inserted to a depth of at least 
4-in., and the soil trodden firmly all round them. 
This firming of the soil is important, as the cuttings 
root much better in a firm soil than they do in a 
loose one. 
Black Currants. —Like the Raspberry the Black 
Currant revels in a rich and well-drained but moist 
soil, and it is only in such positious that first-class 
fruit can be obtained. Often enough we see but 
inferior fruit, owing to the fact that sufficient atten¬ 
tion is not given to the plant. In making new 
plantations, if the soil be sandy and rather poor it 
should be enriched with a liberal dressing of cow- 
dung, or good stable manure. On the other hand, 
if it be too close and heavy, and inclined, as a con¬ 
sequence, to be cold and wet, its mechanical condi¬ 
tion may be improved by the addition of road 
scrapings, burnt refuse, or even coal ashes. Heavy 
soils of this class have usually plenty of plant food 
locked up in them, and the required improvement is in 
a mechanical direction rather than in a chemical one. 
Cuttings from the prunings may be put in, but none 
of the eyes need be picked out as in the case of 
Gooseberries and Red Currants. The ravages of the 
Black Currant mite (Phytoptus Ribis) are getting 
more serious each year, for although the mites 
increase rapidly and " swelled bud,” once it makes 
its appearance, soon affects a whole plantation, there 
seems to be no simple and practical, but yet effi¬ 
cacious, method of checking it other than the drastic 
one of picking off the affected buds and burning them. 
It is obvious that, as the " swelled bud ” is due to the 
irritation caused by the presence of the mite within 
the bud, no insecticides can possibly reach it to kill 
it unless the bud is first killed. The only plan 
therefore, for the present, is to go on picking off and 
burning buds that show the slightest signs. The 
practical gardener, tco, will keep a sharp eye upon 
importations of plants or suckers from other sources 
in order that he may not entertain the pest un¬ 
awares. 
Labelling Fruit Trees. —If anything can add 
to the charm of good fruit it is to have it correctly 
named. Labels of all sorts have been invented, some 
of which are really good, whilst with regard to 
others the less said about them the better. For 
standard trees the iron labels with the name in raised 
letters, and mounted on stout iron stems, are the 
best. Wooden labels may be used, it is true, but 
they look rather glaring, and, moreover, required to 
be frequently renewed. The only objection to the 
iron labels, on the other hand, is that of expense. 
For wall trees there is really nothing to beat home¬ 
made labels made of strips of sheet lead, with the 
name stamped in by means of steel punch letters, of 
which a stock can be procured very cheaply. The 
" punching " can be done by the men during weather 
when outside work is at a standstill, which occasions 
occur every winter. When these laoels are fastened 
to the wall they are absolutely safe, and will last 
almost for ever. 
Fixing Wires to Walls. —There are very few 
gardens, indeed, in which there is not some amount 
of nailing to be done, but to continually drive nails 
into a wall is a sure plan to spoil the look of it and 
to hasten its end. Advantage should be taken of 
the winter season to fit all fruit walls with wires, 
that have not hitherto had them, and to make what 
repairs are necessary to systems of wires that already 
exist. The trees must be detached very carefully 
from the wall, and their branches tied togeiher in 
bundles, avoiding as far as possible bruising the buds. 
If the operation is carefully carried out the trees 
should not come to any harm, Some careful culti¬ 
vators make a point of unloosing all wall trees each 
year, and lime-washing the walls in order to clear out 
insect pests which may be finding harbourage in 
crevices in the brickwork.— A.S.G. 
