September 12, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
‘A'i 
revolute and pointed. Award of Merit. Messrs. 
Dobbie & Co., Orpington, Kent. 
Begonia, Louise Closon improved. —This is a 
fine foliage Begonia with large leaves and robust 
habit. The leaves are deep velvety black heavily 
spotted towards the centre with dull rose blotches. 
Award of Merit. Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest 
Hill. 
Caladium Donna Carmen Macedo. —A new 
Caladium with medium sized, cordate, and crinkled 
leaves, in colour a deep rosy-red with conspicuous 
broad green veins. Award of Merit. Messrs, j. 
Laing & Sons. 
Campanula Profusion. —This Campanula is of 
hybrid origiD, being obtained from a cross between 
C. isophylla alba, and C. carpatica alba. The 
flowers, lavender blue in colour, and about i in. in 
diameter, are produced in great profusion, the plant 
being barely io in. in height. The leaves are broadly 
ovate in shape, with the margins slightly serrate. 
Award of Merit. Mr. E. H. JeDkins, Hampton Hill. 
Fruit and Vegetable Committee. 
Pea The Gladstone. —This new Pea has been 
tried at Chiswick where it received three marks in 
July last. The pods are 5 in long, much curved, 
pointed and of a dark shining green. There are 
about nine or ten dark green seeds of good quality in 
each pod. Award of Merit. M. W. G. Holmes, 
Seed Merchant, Tain. 
Where successional crops of salading are in regular 
demand, the value of cold frames and turf pits for pro¬ 
tecting and advancing small crops will be found very 
useful after this date. All such structures should be 
put in working order at once ; and additional turf 
pits formed to meet the demand. Easily moved 
coverings of straw or strong canvas should also be 
in readiness for sudden frosts that may occur at any 
time now. 
Dwarf Beans. —Sowings of these should be made 
without delay to succeed the latest out-door crops. 
Sow in 10-in. pots, and earth up the plants as they 
advance in growth. A few hundred seeds may also 
be sown singly in large 6o’s ; these will be handy 
for planting out in any available positions in warm 
houses, or they can be potted on singly, and will 
give better results than the more crowded plants 
in larger pots. Good kinds for forcing are Ne Plus 
Ultra, Sir Joseph Paxton, Canadian Wonder, and 
Mohawk. The pots should be placed in a frame to 
insure a quick and healthy germination. Give air 
freely as soon as the plants are up to insure sturdy 
growth. 
Cauliflowers. —These should not be allowed to 
become crowded in the seed bed, and the strongest 
should be pricked out in turf pits and under hand 
lights, so as to get well-rooted before winter. Where 
slugs are troublesome a dusting of lime and soot 
around the plants will keep the slugs in check, and 
also assist in giving a healthy growth. Another 
sowing of Walcheren may be made in a sheltered 
position, or in a skeleton frame, where protection 
can be given during severe weather. Advancing 
crops of this vegetable should be frequently hoed to 
encourage rapid growth and tender heads of flower. 
Lettuce. —There should be abundance of young 
plants of these in the various seed beds, ready f >r 
transplanting into turf pits and skeleton frames 
filled with prepared soils of leaf mould and light 
loam. Select the strongest seedlings and plant them 
about 8 in. or to in. apart. With favourable 
weather they will make rapid growth, and a little 
protection later on will insure a useful crop. Any spare 
boxes, 6 in. deep, may also be planted, and placed in 
a warm position outside, ready for removal into cool 
houses or a warm frame when the nights get cold. 
A warm sheltered border should also receive a 
special preparation by working in a quantity of light 
manure to render it porous and friable ; and a spring 
crop planted on the first favourable opportunity. 
The hoe should be freely used among the early 
planted beds, and any commencing to fold in should 
have a tie placed around them to prevent the wind 
from displacing the outer leaves and exposing the 
centre. 
Celery. —Every encouragement must be given to 
the late planted rows to ensure a good growth before 
winter. Earlier rows that are growing freely should 
be kept free from suckers, and a light bang loosely 
tied should be placed round each plant to hold them 
together. Crops required for early use should be 
earthed up during dry weather, and the soil well 
pulverised before placing it around the plants. 
Mushrooms —The present is the most favourable 
time for making up beds, and several should lie 
formed during the next few weeks under different 
conditions to ensure a long supply. A good bed should 
be made in the Mushroom house where heat can 
be applied if necessary ; another may be formed in 
any cool dark shed or cellar, while a third can be 
made in a sheltered position or in a turf pit outside, 
where protection can be easily applied. A layer of 
well-rotted cow dung about 3 in. thick placed over 
the droppings after the beds are spawned, and 
previous to earthing up will be found of great 
advantage in producing fine Mushrooms and a heavy 
crop. 
Radishes.— -Sowings of these made after this date 
should be in cold frames or turf pits, where protection 
can be given during rough weather, and in all cases 
the seed beds should face the south.— J. R. 
-- 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
Pits and Frames. 
The chief work here will be the potting up of Dutch 
Bulbs as fast as they come to hand. If a fair 
measure of success is expected, it is imperative that 
as long a period as possible should be given the bulbs 
before forcing is commenced. The pots must be 
well filled with roots before the plants are taken into 
heat, or the flowers will be poor and flimsy. In 
plunging the pots subsequent to potting care should 
be taken that all the earliest varieties, such as the 
Roman Hyacinths, are placed toward the outside of 
the bed, from whence they can be easily removed 
without disturbing the rest, should it be necessary to 
leave them a while longer. If by any chance bulb 
orders have not yet been sent in, no further time 
should be lost, as every week is of importance where 
early flowering is looked for. Appended is a short 
list of a few of the most useful and best varieties. 
Hyacinths, single. —King of the Whites, Mont 
Blanc, Queen Victoria, and Alba Superbissima, 
whites ; Grandeur a Merveille, Anna Poulowna, and 
Leviathan, blush ; Bleu Mourant, Kiog of the Blues, 
and Masterpiece, dark blue; King of the Blacks, 
very dark, nearly black ; Charles Dickens, Grande 
Maitre, Lord Derby, and Princess Mary of Cam¬ 
bridge, blue; Lord Macaulay, carmine and rose ; 
General Pelissier, and Robert Steiger, crimson; 
L’Amie du Coeur, red; Norma, Lady Derby, and 
Fabiola, rose; King of the Yellows, Ida, and 
Obelisque, yellow. 
Double varieties. —These are not nearly so use¬ 
ful as the single ones, as they are too stiff and heavy 
to be really graceful. A few of them may be grown, 
however, for the sake of variety. The following are 
some of the best :—Laurens Koster, purple ; Pasquin, 
lilac with a black centre; Prince Albert, dark 
purple; Blocksberg, porcelain; Murillo, pale blue ; 
Waterloo, red; Regina Victoria, rose ; Florence 
Nightingale, and La Tour d’Auvergne, white; and 
La Virginite, blush. 
Miniature Hyacinths. —These are well worth 
growing. They only produce comparatively small 
spikes of flower, but they give as good an account of 
themselves in a small way as the large bulbs. Thtn 
again price has to be considered, and a large quantity 
may be obtained at very little cost. 
Tulips. —As these come in very handy for con¬ 
servatory decoration in the early months of the year 
a few dozen bulbs may well be included in the order. 
Due Van Thol is one of the most useful, and forces 
exceedingly well. There are a number of different 
colours of this to be had, and the scarlet, white, 
crimsoD, rose, and yellow forms should all be grown. 
In addition to these the following will be found very 
serviceable :—Artus, rich scarlet; Chrysolora, one 
of the best yellows; Joost Van Vondel, crimson, 
flaked with white ; Keizer Kroon, vivid scarlet, and 
yellow; Pottsbakker, white; Proserpine, rose- 
scarlet ; Rose Luisante, deep rose; and Van der 
Neer, deep violet. 
Polyanthus Narcissi. —A collection of early 
flowering bulbs.could scarcely be complete without 
a few of these showy subjects. As tfie bulbs are so 
large, the pots must be proportionately roomy, and 
the soil should be made rich, for Polyanthus 
Narcissi love rich feeding. For early blooming, 
nothing is better than Double Roman, and Paper 
White. Other good varieties are Lord Canning, 
Bazelman major, Illustre Soleil, and La Comtesse. 
The last two sorts made a brave show at the exhibi¬ 
tion of spring flowering plants held at the Crystal 
Palace in March of the present year, and are 
certainly a great acquisition to the ranks of these 
charming plants. 
Crocuses.— A few pots or pans full of these will 
come in very useful for conservatory decoration in 
early rprmg, and they may be had in bloom soon 
after the commencement of the year, without very 
much trouble. Caroline Chisholm, and Mont Blanc, 
fine white; Louis D’Or, yellow ; La Majestueuse, 
violet striped; Purpurea Grandiflora and David 
Rizzio, purple; and Prince Albert, lilac; are all 
varieties that may be thoroughly depended on. 
Mignonette.— Where seed was sown in pots about 
the middle of last month as advised in a previous 
calendar the seedlings will now be large enough to 
handle. Thinning out should, therefore, be seen to 
at once before the young plants become crowded and 
drawn. Three of the strongest plants will be 
sufficient to leave in a pot. Keep the plants near the 
glass, and give them all the light possible with plenty 
of air. Take care also not to overwater, for if the 
soil is thus made sour before the dull season 
commences, the plants have a poor chance of getting 
through the winter without being crippled. 
Tree Mignonette.— A few large bushes of 
Mignonette are thought very highly off in some 
establishments, and they are invariably very useful, 
if only for the purpose of cutting from. To obtain 
large specimens seed should be sown in April or 
May, the seedlings thinned down to one in a pot, and 
subsequently pinched to keep them from flowering. 
By this time these plants will have made sturdy 
hard-wooded stuff. Pot them on now into 8 in. pots, 
using a compost of two parts of good loam, and one 
of dried cow manure. The latter should be rubbed 
through a half-inch mesh sieve. A sprinkling of 
coarse rivers and will also be needed. After potting, 
the plants should be staked out, and placed in a frame 
or pit near the glass. A gentle sprinkling with the 
syringe will be of service.— A.S.G. 
-**»-- 
THE ORCHID HOUSES. 
Cattleya guttata Leopoldii. —This, one of the 
finest of the tall growing Cattleyas and a summer¬ 
flowering one, is, when well grown, an object of 
great beauty, and is very telling as an exhibition 
plant. Its treatment differs very little from other 
Cattleyas, the only exception to my mind being that 
it does best when given a somewhat higher tempera¬ 
ture in the Cattleya house; and on that account 
it should be afforded a light position during the 
early summer months in the warmer division. 
The compost best suited to its requirements is 
good rough lumps of peat with just a little live moss 
inserted here and there. It should be made 
secure in the pots by neat stakes ; sometimes we 
make the plants fast to a rough piece of an Apple or 
Cherry branch before placing them in the pots. The 
compost then can be put more loosely about the roots, 
too firm potting being injurious, as the water cannot 
pass freely away. 
C. marginata. —This is one of those charming 
little Cattleyas that should be grown, not on account 
of its beauty alone, but because it takes up but very 
little room. We grow ours in small pans which are 
suspended close to the glass on the south side of the 
intermediate house. The pans must be well drained, 
and when repotting, work little pieces of broken 
crocks in here and there as the work proceeds. This 
will serve to let the water pass freely through the 
whole. 
The plants are now coming into flower, and as they 
push new roots from the base of the flowering 
growths, as soon as the flowers fade we do what 
repottiug is required then. Very little water must 
be given to newly-potted plants, just enough to keep 
them plump and the moss alive. 
Cool house. —If all has gone well with Oncidium 
tigrinum, the plants will now be pushing up their 
spikes, as they do so before the young bulbs are 
above half made up. They are so succulent and sweet 
that, if not protected, they will soon fall a prey to 
the ravages of slugs, which are always plentiful just 
about this time. Pieces of cotton wool put round 
the spikes, the roughest side outward, help to keep 
them at bay ; but we think the safest way is to hang 
them up and keep a vigilant eye on them when going 
round the last thing at night. We have not at present 
used any fire heat in this division yet, but should the 
weather remain as it is now, dull and wet, we shall 
just warm the pipes to dispel any superfluous 
moisture consequent on cold damp nights.— C. 
