230 
December 12, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
pon), Nellie Rainford (pompon), Miss Rose, and Miss 
Owen (single). 
The bush plants mentioned, and others, are not 
housed until November ; and if frost occurs they are 
stood under the trees, or placed in a sheltered 
position and covered with tiffany. The mid-season 
varieties are those usually grown; the selection to 
a considerable extent is governed by form and 
colour, whites, yellows and dark varieties being 
much in evidence.— R. G. W. 
VEGETABLE ' CALENDAR. 
Trenching. —It often happens at this season of the 
year, that the labour connected with the kitchen 
garden gets called away to what appears more 
pressing work in other departments of the garden, 
and the thorough preparation of the vegetable 
quarters gets put off until work becomes so pressing, 
that many crops intended to stand the summer, are 
put out into half-worked land, with the result that, 
a short period of hot, dry weather nearly ruins the 
crop. Now is the time to lay the foundation for 
securing good crops next season, by thoroughly 
trenching all unoccupied ground during the next two 
months. No one should be satisfied with a kitchen 
garden that has not a tilth 18 in. in depth (2 ft. 
would be better, and 3 ft. deep better still). The first 
and second depths given, can be attained by the 
method termed “ bastard trenching,” and a lot of 
ground can be prepared in this way in a short time. 
To secure a root run 3 ft. deep, trenching will have 
to be resorted to, taking care to retain the best soil 
on the surface. Any refuse matter introduced into 
the lower layers of the trench will assist in improving 
the staple. Advantage should be taken of frosty 
mornings or dry days to get out manure on land it is 
intended to trench, and this should be spread 
evenly over the surface, with the object of keeping 
the ground free from frost, so that the work can be 
proceeded with during a spell of severe weather. All 
woody or other refuse unsuitable for trenching into 
the ground, should be burnt; and as a good deal of 
this accumulates at this season, in the shape of 
prunings, a smouldering fire should be kept going 
until the whole is consumed, when the residue should 
be placed under cover and kept dry. It will prove 
valuable for several purposes when crops require 
sowing and planting in spring. 
Preparations should be made for hot-beds, by 
collecting a stock of leaves and stable dung, in 
readiness for forcing various crops This should be 
turned frequently, and the leaves and dung 
thoroughly disintegrated and blended, so that when 
made into beds, it will give a steady, lasting heat. 
Early Potatos.— Where a heated brick pit is at 
command, a bed may be made for early Potatos at 
once ; and if the tubers are started in a moderate 
heat before planting in the frame, and the early 
growth made under the influence of light, it will add 
much to the strength of the plant and quantity in the 
crop. Where quality is of first importance, the best 
forms of the Ashleaf Kidney should be grown. A 
crop of Radishes may also be secured from the same 
bed, while the Potatos are making growth.— J. R. 
■*> 
Cypripediums. — By a careful selection of this most 
beautiful genus it is possible and probable that you 
will have one or the other in bloom throughout the 
whole year. There are now so many splendid 
hybrids that in an article like this it is impossible to 
do them justice I shall therefore confine myself to 
a few that are not only easy to grow, but are beauti¬ 
ful as well. For convenience sake I think it best to 
divide them into four groups or sections. 
First, C. barbatum and the numerous hybrids, of 
which this is one the parents, do best in a compost 
made up of rough fibrous peat, sphagnum moss, bits 
of crock, and silver sand well mixed. Pot culture is 
necessary for all the Cypripediums, and on account of 
their moisture-loving tendency, they must have at 
least three inches of drainage, so that the water may 
pass freely away. 
The second group includes C. insigne, one of the 
parents of some of the finest hybrids in cultivation ; 
C. villosum, and C. spicerianum, too, come in this 
section, and are like the preceding species, answer- 
able for some excellent free flowering hybrids. The 
compost differs very little from that suited to C. bar¬ 
batum, the addition of a little turfy loam being per¬ 
haps beneficial. 
The third section, C. caudatum, &c., have thick 
stiff leaves, and are some of the best exhibition 
plants grown. The compost should be of a lumpy 
description, finishing when potting with some nice 
live sphagnum moss. 
C. niveum, C. concolor, C. Bellatulum, &c.— 
When well grown these are amongst the best in cul¬ 
tivation. They like bits of sand-stone mixed with 
the compost; failing this, burnt clay rubble is good 
for them. Judging from the particles of red earthy 
matter that is found clinging to the old roots of 
newly imported plants, this is something like what 
they get under natural conditions. Another useful 
group is Selenipedium, which may not inaptly be 
designated perpetual flowering. The hybrid C. 
Sedeni is one of the best, and one that is always in 
bloom. This hybrid does well in the Cattleya 
house; but the majority of the Cyprepediums 
require the heat and moisture of the East India 
house to do them with any degree of success. 
Insects.— There is a little yellow thrip that 
attacks the young growths, and if not kept under 
will soon disfigure and weaken the plants. One or 
two dippings in weak tobacco water keep them in 
check. 
Remarks. —It is advisable to get in a good stock 
of peat and moss for future use; for should hard 
frosty weather set in it would, of course, be 
impossible for the moss to be supplied. 
Temperatures. —East India House 60^ at night; 
Cattleya house 55 0 ; Cool house 45 0 to 48° ; a rise of 
io° by day should be given in each division.— C. 
TIE PLANT HOUSES. 
The Stove. 
The wisdom of airing the plants pretty freely 
towards the latter part of the summer, and thereby 
hardening the tissues of the leaves, will now be 
abundantly manifest. Plants which have been sub¬ 
jected to such treatment will be in a far better con¬ 
dition to stand the trying winter months than others 
which have been kept close and confined all through. 
Not only does a little judicious exposure mean in¬ 
creased strength of constitution, but from a decora¬ 
tive point of view such plantsjire far more valuable, 
as they are much better coloured. 
Anight temperature of about 6o° Fahr., with a 5 0 
rise during the day will be quite high enough now. 
In cold weather indeed, unless the house is well 
furnished with piping, it will be difficult to keep the 
house up to this without driving the fires a good 
deal. The aridity of atmosphere resulting from the 
application of so much fire-heat must be kept well 
under by judicious damping down both of the paths 
and the shingle upon the plant stages. 
Nymphaeas. — These are, or should be, now 
entirely at rest, and nothing should be done to un¬ 
duly excite them. The water may be lowered to 
about half way down the pots, and allowed to remain 
so for a few weeks. After the new year the cleaning 
out of the tank, and the potting up of the plants may 
be proceeded with. 
Cycads.— For large and roomy stoves there are 
few more handsome plants than these, but the great 
spread of their fronds precludes the possibility of 
their inclusion in small houses. If possible, they 
should be given a position at an angle or corner of 
the bed, where they will have space to spread out at 
least on three sides. Mealy bug is the insect pest 
that troubles them most, although scale will 
occasionally put in an appearance in force. Cycas 
revoluta is perhaps the dirtiest subject of any, and 
the bug sticks to the under side of the pinnae with 
great persistency. We have found Fir Tree Oil 
most efficacious for cleansing purposes. In syring¬ 
ing the plants they should be laid on their sides, for 
not only does this position admit of the under sides 
of the leaves being cleansed more easily, but it pre¬ 
vents the insecticide getting among the roots. 
Baugainvillea glabra. — Whether grown in 
pots or planted out in specially prepared borders the 
plants will for some weeks past have been gradually 
going to rest. No water at all need be given now, the 
object being to ripen off the wood as perfectly as 
possible in order that pruning may be seen to. It is 
desirable to get this done as soon as practicable, for 
the long growths are taking away a good deal of light 
from plants standing on the stages beneath. Once 
the wood is well ripened the shoots formed during 
the past year may be spurred closely back to the 
main stems in much the same fashion as Vines. If 
mealy bug is apt to prove troublesome a washing of 
Gishurst Compound may be given with advantage, 
and this may be repeated twice or thrice if thought 
necessary. It is also not a bad plan to paint the 
larger branches with some of the same-staff as that 
used to paint the Vines ; it can do no harm, and may 
be of some service as a preventive of insect attacks. 
Pits and Frames. 
Chrysanthemums. —It is now quite time that the 
earliest cuttings should be got in. We have found 
that anything like attempting to strike cuttings in 
heat is a mistake. Fire heat should be avoided as 
far as possible. Use small thumb pots filled with 
light sandy soil, and insert one strong cutting in each. 
If any low pits are available some hand lights should 
be taken inside these, and brought up as close 
against the glass as will admit of the tops being 
taken off and on. A bed of ashes may be made up 
within these hand lights, and here the cuttings may 
be plunged. The Chrysanthemums may then be 
kept as close as desired until they are rooted, and 
they will then not interfere with other plants in the 
house. Fire heat may be turned on in sufficient 
quantities to keep out the frost, but if the cuttings 
are enclosed by the hand-lights they will not be so 
likely to suffer from the fire heat, as they will have 
an atmosphere of their own. Cuttings struck thus 
by cool treatment are invariably healthier, and give 
more satisfaction than do others which are coddled 
up in the early stages. 
Lilacs, Staphyleas, and Deutzias must be 
introduced into heat in succession batches with 
from ten to fourteen days’ interval, and of a size 
according to the demand there is for them. 
Astilbe japonica, or to give it the old name of 
Spiraea japonica, which seems as if it will ever be 
identified with it, is well nigh an indispensable sub¬ 
ject for winter decoration. Clumps of it should 
either have been bought in from the nurseryman or 
lifted from nursery plantations in the open, and 
potted up several weeks ago. This latter operation, 
if it has hitherto been neglected, may be seen to now, 
although rather better results are obtained when lift¬ 
ing is performed at an earlier date. The formA.j.multi¬ 
flora compacta is a great improvement upon the 
species.lt is dwarfer and more compact in habit,as the 
varietal name would signify, and is, moreover, a 
rather freer flowerer. 
Sp raea confusa is very amenable to forcing of 
medium strength, and when we take into considera¬ 
tion its beauty and elegance it seems almost in¬ 
explicable why it should not be a greater favourite 
with gardeners than it is. The flowers, it is true, 
possess no great amount of last, but then all forced 
flowers are inclined to be flimsy, in proportion to the 
degree of forcing. By placing the plants in a gentle 
beat of about 508 Fahr. by night, to start with, a 5® 
rise being given during the day, excellent results may 
be obtained, and those who give it a trial once, will 
be sure to follow it up. As the plant is perfectly 
hardy it may stand out of doors until it is necessary 
ta bring it in, only taking care that the pot is covered 
up from frost. 
Roses. —Where pot Roses are forced in any 
quantity it is advisable to set aside a small pit 
entirely for them. They are delicate subjects to 
manage at any time, and if the best results are to be 
forthcoming, no trouble must be spared. The pit 
should be furnished with a brick bed, to contain 
fermenting material, to plunge the pots in, and must 
be light and well-ventilated. All plants that are to 
be subjected to forcing should have been established 
in their pots for at least a year. 
If the plants have been looked after for disbudding 
the H.P.'s will not need much thinning, but will 
only want to be shortened back to three or four 
eyes. The Tea varieties will require even less 
pruning. 
Plunge the pots to the rims in the fermenting 
materials, and keep the plants up close to the glass to 
encourage short jointed and sturdy youth. In such 
a position they will obtain the maximum amount of 
light. The temperature should range from 50° to 
558 by night, with a rise of not more than io a by 
day. Keep the syringe well to work among the 
plants morning and afternoon. Give sufficient air to 
keep the atmosphere of the house sweet and whole¬ 
some, and take every precaution to avoid draughts. 
