360 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 4, 1899. 
FOR 
MATEURS. 
The Cold Snap.—At the time of writing we are 
experiencing a snap of cold weather which, 
after the comparatively high temperature of the last 
month, finds us unacclimatised. The frosts and cold 
east winds are, in one way, a welcome change from 
the south-westerly gales and the torrents of rain, for 
it is, at least, easier to get about. To plants, which 
the mild weather has excited into untimely growth, 
it is even more trying, for the cold east winds dry up 
the tender tissues of the young growths even more 
quickly than actual frost. In addition to pro¬ 
tecting plants outside, it will be necessary to keep a 
close watch upon those under glass. 
The Greenhouse.—Here the fire will need to be kept 
going at night-time in order to keep up a steady 
temperature ranging between 40° and 45 0 Fabr., the 
former temperature being the minimum. If the 
house is furnished with a fair amount of piping, a 
gentle heat in the pipes will be sufficient, except in 
very cold weather. Too much fire heat is very harm¬ 
ful to plants in flower, for it shortens the lives of the 
blooms considerably. 
Ventilation will require special attention. During 
bright days the heat of the sun will cause the tem¬ 
perature of the house to rise fairly high, and the 
dampers of the flues must either be shut down, or the 
fires must be drawn. As soon as the temperature 
begins to rise ia the morniDg a little air should be 
put on, by the bottom ventilators first of all, for then 
it will be warmed in its passage over the pipes. If 
the temperature continues to rise, a chink of air 
should be put on the top lights, and this may be 
increased as the day wears on, until about 3 o’clock 
in the afternoon, when the top lights may be shut up 
and the lower ventilators partly closed. By shutting 
up thus early part of the sun’s heat may be 
imprisoned in the house, and the sun heat is far 
more congenial to plant life than fire heat. The 
fires should also be started a little later. These 
instructions will apply only during bright frosty 
weather. If we get dull days with cold east winds it 
may not be possible to open the top ventilators at all, 
whilst on the other hand, if- mild weather returns, 
plenty of air may be put on from the first thing in 
the morning until the last thing at night. 
Cold Frames,—Nothing very tender should be 
allowed to remain in cold frames during severe 
weather, for in addition to the danger from frost the 
loss of light during the time that the coverings are 
upon the frames is a serious matter. Covering up 
must be carefully seen to each night, and all cover¬ 
ings used must be dry, otherwise their value is 
heavily discounted. A dry mat will keep out more 
frost than three wet ones, and the same thing applies 
to straw, bracken, and other covering materials. As 
soon as the coverings have thawed in the morning, 
they should be taken off the frames and spread out 
somewhere to dry. The frames should be opened a 
little as soon as the glass is above freezing point. 
This is particularly important in the case of border 
Carnations and Violets, which strongly resent being 
coddled. Keeping Violet frames shut up closely is 
almost sure to cause leaves, flowers and flower buds 
to damp off. 
Window Plants.—Frosty spells are always very 
trying to window plants, by reason of the great 
fluctuations of temperature to which it subjects them 
as well as the direct injury they receive from the cold. 
The temperature of a dwelling room usually gets very 
high when fire and gas have been kept going for a 
few hours. Not only is the air vitiated but it be¬ 
comes dry and harsh and very unkindly for plants. 
This cannot well be avoided, but when to this is 
added leaving the plants to be frozen in the window, 
after having been baked for a while it is small wonder 
that so many of them succumb. Upon retiring to 
rest therefore the owner should lift the plants from 
the window into the middle of the room, where they 
will be safe enough from the cold until morning. 
Propagating Dahlias.—Where there are any new 
or rare varieties of which it is desired to increase the 
stock, now’s the time to see about it. Nothing is 
more effective than a clump of plants of the same 
variety, certainly the results produced are more 
striking than they are when many sorts are grown 
and intermixed. The old stools should be brought 
out from the store shed and packed closely together 
in a box, covering them with any light soil that may 
be to hand. Old potting soil will answer quite as 
well as anything else ; indeed the kind of soil is a 
matter of very small importance as long as it is 
sweet, clean and not too wet. Cover the roots up to 
about the same depth as they were when in the open 
ground. Labelling must not be forgotten, for a good 
deal of trouble not infrequently arises from careless 
naming. The names get mixed up and by and bye 
the cultivator finds perhaps that instead of one 
variety he wanted he has got another that he didn’t 
want, and then comes the vexation of spirit conse¬ 
quent upon such untoward mistakes. If a warm pit 
is handy the old roots should be consigned to it 
giving them a place near the glass and sprinkling 
them over occasionally by means of the syringe. 
Failing the warm pit a vinery that is being forced 
will answer capitally, as this will give just the moist 
heat required. If both of these conveniences are 
missing, recourse must be had to the all-bandy 
greenhouse, although in this case progress will 
naturally be slow. 
As soon as the roots are three or four inches in 
length they may be removed, cutting each of them 
off just below a joint or node in the usual way. Mix 
up a little light soil with plenty of sharp sand. Take 
some thumb pots, put a crock in the bottom of each, 
two or three crocks on the top of that and then fill 
up with the prepared soil. Dibble one cutting into 
each pot and place them all in a propagating frame. 
The latter must be kept close for a couple of weeks, 
after which a little air may be admitted. As soon 
as the cuttings have rooted they should be taken 
out of the frame and placed on a shelf near the glass 
for a few days, after which they may be removed to 
a cooler house. 
Herbaceous Calceolarias. —These must be kept 
as cool as possible. When they need water it should 
be given to them quite cold, but as soft as can be 
obtained ; if rain water, so much the better. Give 
plenty of air otherwise the leaves will go yellow and 
the plants will become weak and sickly. A cold 
frame with a clean ash bottom is the best place for 
them and anything like ordinary frost will not hurt 
them. We have seen them with the soil in the pots 
frozen as hard as bricks and yet the plants have 
taken no hurt. The final potting must take place 
just as active growth begins (for the last two or three 
months the plants have been practically at a stand¬ 
still) and this spring growth generally takes place 
about the beginning of March. The flowering pots 
will be either 8 inches or 10 inches in diameter, 
according to the size and strength of the plants. 
Old Crotons. Not infrequently we see an old 
Croton or two rusticating in various plant houses 
that look as if they might have been relics from a 
past age, so scrubby, and stubby, and leafless are 
they. Veneration for age, however, is a ruling 
passion with some people, and thus these old incap- 
ables are allowed to linger on, a prey to nearly every 
fly that flies, and every bug that creeps, and a sort 
of warning to the younger plants that “ in the midst 
of life we are in death." As these old stagers stand 
they are only in the way, and taking up room that 
might be much more profitably occupied with some¬ 
thing else. 
Now is a good time to turn these old plants togcod 
account. They should first of all be thoroughly cleaned 
from scale, and bug, and thrips. This done, they 
should be placed in a warm, close pit, and regularly 
syringed with tepid water twice a day. As soon as young 
leaves begin to push the tops of the shoots should 
be taken off and put in as cuttings. The syringing 
should still be kept up upon the old plants, however, 
to induce them to make other growths, which 
they will do at the highest buds left on the naked 
stems. The young shoots may be taken off when 
they are 4 in. or 5 in. long, aDd the bud below the 
cut will then swell and break into growth. This 
process may be kept up for a long time, and until 
each of the old plants has furnished scores of cut¬ 
tings, after which it may as well be thrown away. 
The cuttings soon root if put in sandy soil, and 
placed in a close propagating frame. By the end of 
the summer they will have developed into useful 
little plants, suitable for table decoration or the 
filling of small vases. Certain it is they will do far 
more service, and give a much better return for the 
room they occupy than the stubby old parents from 
which they were taken. If the amateur himself 
does not feel inclined to work up a stock of 
young plants from any old specimens he may 
possess, the latter can generally be disposed of advan" 
tageously to some nurseryman, for there is usually a 
demand for material of this kind for propagating 
purposes, that is supposing the varieties are fairly 
good.— 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. 
Border for Climbers .—Ard Righ : You must have 
some outlet for the surplus water in the border in the 
shape of a drain, unless your sub-soil is very gravelly, 
and thus naturally well drained. In your case the 
best way to do this would be to make the floor of 
your greenhouse, which you say is bricked over, the 
bottom of the border. Eighteen inches in width by 
fifteen in. in depth would make a good border in 
which you could grow anything that the temperature 
of the house will permit. It would be quite big 
enough for Lapagerias. Sheets of slate cemented 
in form a clean and sightly enclosure for the soil. 
Planks nailed to wooden uprights fastened in the 
ground would also answer well, but you would 
require to have them painted green, otherwise they 
would look rather unsightly. The wood would last 
for a long time. A few holes must be left at the 
bottom of the planks or slates close to the floor, to 
let the surplus water drain out. A layer of 3 in. of 
broken bricks would be enough for a border of the 
depth indicated, and would ensure perfect drainage. 
If you will inform us what kind of creepers you want 
to grow we can advise you as to the right kin d of soil. 
Potatos in Pots. — Dip .: Yes, Potatos may be 
forced in pots, but you will find it very heavy work. 
Forcing in frames is much easier and more profit¬ 
able. 
Rhubarb after Forcing.— Henry C .: The roots 
which have been forced may be re-planted in the 
open ground. Of course the roots will be 
greatly weakened by the forcing and hard pulling of 
the leaves, and will need time to recuperate. Cer¬ 
tainly they would not be fit for lifting again next 
autumn, and probably not the year after. Two 
clear seasons of growth would be necessary, and 
during that time the vigour of the plants must not 
be restricted by pulling in the open air. 
Streptocarpus.— E. P.: If you sow seed now the 
plants will commence to flower about the end of 
June or the beginning of July if you look after them 
properly. The seed must be sown, and the young 
plants grown on in heat. Mealy bug is the one pest 
you must keep a bright look out for. 
Adiantum aethiopicum. — Ferns : This is a strong¬ 
growing stove species, and to cultivate it properly 
you must have a warm house, for it will not do in a 
cool one. Given a fair amount of heat it is easy 
enough to grow, and if you can give it a temperature 
of not less than 6o° by night during the growing 
season, you would experience no difficulty in getting 
it to grow. 
Potting Phoenix rupicola. — Palms: Your 
Phoenixes would undoubtedly benefit by a shift into 
a larger pot. The rising of the bole of the plants out 
of the pots, as it were, is quite common, and is caused 
by the pressure on the bottom of the pot by the 
mass of thong-like roots which healthy Phoenixes 
always make, The plant, as it were, braces itself 
against the pot by means of these roots, and hence 
the lifting out. About the beginning of March will 
be a good time to effect the shift as, by that time, 
the amount of light will have increased considerably, 
and this will act as a stimulus upon the plants. The 
pots should be big enough to allow of, at least, an 
inch of fresh soil being worked all round the ball. 
If the plants have not been potted for some years, 
you will find that you will be unable to reduce the 
ball much, for it will mostly consist of roots, and you 
must not pull these about, unless you observe any 
dead ones, when you may cut them off. The soil 
should consist of good loam, to which has been added 
one-fifth part of cow manure, a few pieces of char¬ 
coal, and a liberal sprinkling of sand. Pot firmly, 
