May i, 1897. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
house would be the best place for them. Most of 
them have drooping spikes so that basket culture is 
the best for them. C. christyanum, however, has 
erect spikes and does well in pots. 
The compost should consist of the best peat two 
parts, and one of moss; to this may be added bits of 
finely broken crocks to keep it sweet and porous. 
Water must be afforded sparingly, even when in 
active growth, and when at rest, only just sufficient to 
keep them from shrivelling. 
Gongora.— This is a very much neglected genus 
generally speaking, for it can only be found 
in what may be termed representative collec¬ 
tions. Like the Catasetums they should 
be acommodated with a position at the 
coolest end of the Cattleya house, but here the 
similarity ceases, for they require a very liberal 
supply of moisture at the root, together with a 
syringing overhead when damping down during the 
summer months; but when the growth is complete, 
gradually reduce the supply until it is withheld 
altogether. The best kinds are, we think, G. 
maculata, G. maculata alba, G. tricolor, and G. 
odoratissima. 
Now that we are discussing this peculiar class of 
plants, a few words in favour of Cycnoches would 
not be amiss. Here we have another member of the 
curious family from tropical America, requiring 
similar treatment to the preceding. A few more 
degrees of heat is preferable so that the coolest end 
of the stove should be set apart for them when 
growing, but when at rest a much cooler and drier 
position is best. Rough fibrous peat and good 
drainage they must have to do them well. 
Coryanthes.— Here we have another of the quaint 
kinds, but as the flowers last but a few days in per¬ 
fection they have not found much favour amongst 
amateurs. They delight in plenty of light and air. 
A position near the door or ventilator, where they 
can get a free circulation of air about them each 
time one goes in and out of the house, suits them ; 
without this they rarely flower satisfactorily. The 
compost and treatment in other particulars should be 
the same as for the others mentioned above. 
General Work.— Particular care must now be 
given to shading, watering, and airing in all depart¬ 
ments. Most of our watering is done with the 
syringe. We find that the sphagnum grows much 
more kindly by this system, but care must be 
exercised in doing it or some of the young growths 
might damp off if any quantity of water was to lodge 
in the centre of them ; especially would this be the 
case with Cattleyas, but we have never lost a growth 
amongst Odontoglossums through syringing overhead 
during spring and summer.—C. 
Grape Thinning.— As the rush of Grape thinning 
takes place within the next fortnight or so it may be 
well to touch slightly upon the subject. At such a 
time the whole strength is usually brought to bear 
upon the task, for every day is of importance. Good 
Grape thinners are made and not born ; in other 
words it is impossible for an inexperienced hand to 
thin a bunch properly. Ragged shoulders and seed¬ 
less berries [when the fruit is ripe indicate the work 
of the green hand. Such a one should therefore, be 
carefully looked after and guided where he is apt to 
go astray. The first thing to do is to cut out all the 
small and inside berries which would not have a 
chance to swell. Then the larger outside ones must 
be carefully thinned, with a close eye kept upon the 
ultimate shape of the bunch. A mistake that is often 
made is the cutting away of the berries on the under 
side of the shoulders. These should only be thinned 
in the same way as the rest of the bunch, the 
shoulders themselves being supported with light 
straws of raffia as soon as the berries reach any size. 
Pricking the berries with the point of the scissors 
must be vigilantly guarded against, and in order to 
entirely steer clear of this evil a start must be made 
with the bunches before the berries get too thick and 
crowded. All the workmen should wear caps, since 
if the bunches are rubbed by the bare heads some of 
the berries are almost sure to rust. 
Early Peaches and Nectarines. —Directly the 
stoning of the fruit is completed the final thinning 
should be given. An allowance has to be made for 
falls during stoning, although healthy well-cared-for 
trees do not drop many fruits, and thus it is not 
possible to do all the thinning until this risk is over. 
It will now be possible to give a rise of several 
degrees of temperature, both by night and day, with¬ 
out danger. Ply the syringe well morning and after¬ 
noon, and do not fail to give the borders copious 
supplies of water. Sufficient farm-yard manure may 
be used to colour the water a light brown. If well 
looked after the fruits should start vigorously on 
their second swelling, and should finish successfully. 
—A.S.G. 
-—- 
With the advent of May we enter upon one of the 
busiest times of the year. All vegetable life is 
striving to make up for the inactivity of winter and 
routine work becomes of the greatest consequence. 
Added to this there is the near approach of the 
summer bedding season, and preparations in this 
direction will not suffer delay. 
The Lawns in themselves constitute no small 
share of the work, for the grass is growing with 
great rapidity, and the mowing machine will thus 
have but little rest. The outlying portions of the 
ground over which the machine has to operate will 
not give so much trouble, but even here the grass 
should not be allowed to get too long or the strain 
upon both machine and horse will be much too great. 
Tennis, and cricket grounds, and bowling greens 
must receive very close attention. Here the sward 
must be close and tough if it is to play properly. 
Weeds of all kinds, more especially Plantains, must 
be rooted out as soon as seen and the holes filled up 
with fresh soil, a few grass seeds being sprinkled on 
the top. 
Tulips.— Not only are these very gay in their 
natural position in the garden but they look exceed¬ 
ingly well when cut and placed in water. They last 
a long time too under such conditions; almost as 
long in fact as they would if left on the plants. 
The half-opened buds are the best for cutting, as they 
expand readily enough in water. Care must be 
exercised in the cutting, however. Some of the 
upper leaves may be removed with the flower stalk, 
but two leaves must be left attached to the bulb 
which would otherwise be considerably weakened by 
the removal of the greater part of its foliage. 
Chionodoxas. —The various forms of these seed 
freely, and the seed germinates very quickly. This 
may be easily verified by observing how the seedlings 
come up for some distance around the parent bulbs if 
left undisturbed. The seed vessels are now fit to 
gather, and may, therefore, be collected at once, and 
taken to a dry place to ripen. The seed may then 
be sown at once in shallow drills and out-of-doors. 
In this respect it is well to imitate nature, which 
sows the seeds as soon as they are ripe. 
Herbaceous Border.— Here the hoe must be 
kept busily at work whenever possible. Just as 
spring weather suits the cultivated plants so also 
does it favour the growth of weeds. By having the 
surface soil constantly stirred, the growth of weeds is 
not only kept down, but a more perfect aeration of 
the soil is obtained, which, where the latter is 
inclined to be heavy, is of inestimable value. 
Polyanthuses. —These are old-fashioned flowers 
but they are not the less beautiful on that account. 
If given a fair amount of attention they can be 
depended upon to produce a grand show in the 
spring months. Their value in spring bedding plans 
is, accordingly, immense ; and whether allotted beds 
to themselves, or in conjunction with other taller 
subjects such as Tulips, or dotted here and there in 
masses in the front ranks of the mixed border, they 
are equally a success. The quaint forms of Jack-in- 
the-Green, and Hose-in-Hose varieties have also a 
charm of their own that must not be overlooked. In 
addition to their propagation by division of the roots, 
a packet or two of seed of a good strain should be 
sown each year. Some cultivators prefer to sow in a 
gentle heat in February and March, afterwards 
transferring the plants to the open. The practice of 
sowing out of doors may likewise be recommended. 
Choose a shady spot whereon to make the seed bed, 
for the plants like to be sheltered from the fierce 
rays of the sun throughout the summer. Any time 
from the commencement of the present month till 
the end of July will answer, but May is the most 
favourable month. 
Calceolarias. —If necessary, a start can be made 
with the summer bedding by getting out some of the 
551 
Calceolarias. The under-glass room thus obtained 
may be of considerable value for other things. The 
plan of bedding out the Calceolarias thus early is 
only possible when they are to be planted in masses 
in such a way that they can be easily protected 
should occasion require it. A few long supple sticks 
may be bent down over the plants so as to form 
hoops, and over these mats can be quickly and easily 
thrown if frost threatens. Where the plants have 
not had a shift since the putting in of the cuttings in 
the autumn they are getting perilously thick, and the 
thinning out is much needed.— A. S. G. 
©leanings fttumffa IDurltt 
ttf Scientq. 
The undermentioned subjects were brought before 
the Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural 
Society on the 13th ult.. 
Mushrooms Raised from Spores.—With 
reference to this subject, the following communica¬ 
tion was received from Dr. D. H. Scott Mr. 
Massee, of Kew, has referred me to what seems to be 
a thoroughly successful solution of the problem, how 
to raise Mushrooms from spores. Two French 
authors, Costantin and Matrachot, have raised fine 
varieties true from spores, carrying on their cultures 
in sterilised food solutions, and subsequently on 
sterilised manure. The whole development is said 
to take from six to seven months.”—(“ Comptes 
Rendus,” vols. 117 and 118, 1893-4.) 
Wireworms, Cure for.—With reference to this, 
discussed at the last meeting, Mr. Masters remarked 
that Mustard as powder, or dug in green, had proved 
to be effective in destroying this pest. 
Daffodil with Frilled Corona.—Dr. Masters 
exhibited a blossom having this peculiarity, which 
occurs also on Cyclamens, Primroses, and a variety 
of Chrysanthemum. The structure of the fibro- 
vascular cords is peculiar in the Daffodil in 
having its elements reversed in position from those 
of the perianth itself. It was received from Mr. 
Dick, of the firm of Messrs. Cooper, Taber & Co. 
Anemone fulgens.—He also showed specimens 
of this flower from the Riviera, and also the Greek 
form with rounded sepals. Several of the former 
were becoming double just as is the case in the South 
of France. Dr. Masters observed that the wild Ane¬ 
mone, A. nemorosa, had become double in his garden 
after some years’ growth. Mr. Henslow added that 
the same had occurred with him; specimens 
originally single, received ten years ago from woods 
in Wiltshire, were now semi-double. 
Larvae of Bibio..—Mr. McLachlan observed 
that an error occurred in the statement about pro¬ 
pagating soil containing the larvae of daddy-longlegs, 
in the report of the meeting on March 9th. It 
should have been that of a species of Bibio. 
Tulip Leaves Diseased.—Mr. Thos. Wannock, 
of Polegate, Sussex, sent specimens of leaves show¬ 
ing discolouration. They were forwarded to Kew 
for examination. 
Cineraria cruenta.—Mr. Herrin, of Dropmore, 
sent specimens of the original form of this plant ex-, 
hibiting different shades of colour, as well as a cross 
between it and the garden form. The latter was of 
a deep crimson tint. 
Daffodils synanthic.—Rev.jC. W. Dod sent two 
specimens, each consisting of two flowers, of which 
the stalks were fused for the entire length from base 
to flower; they were the var. Empress. He 
observes that in one case " the union was by a 
superficial membrane only ; but in the other the 
combination was complete, the joint scape being 
hollow at the base, without any visible joining.” 
[Daffodil Empress behaved in the same way with 
us in a flower pot. The perianth consisted of five 
plus five segments, and the stamens five plus five in 
number. The union was complete, and the com¬ 
bined flower of fine form. Ed.] 
Earthnuts—Mr. Wilks brought specimens of this 
Umbellifer, which is common in the woods and 
hedges and open hills about Croydon, the tubers 
being much eaten by children in that neighbourhood. 
He remarked that two, of the ages two and ten, had 
lately died, apparently poisoned by eating the leaves 
of some wild plant, but its nature could not be dis¬ 
covered. [The doctor's report on the case was that 
the two children died suffering from acute enteritis, 
probably caused through eating the young shoots of 
Privet, a leaf of which was found in the stomach of 
the younger, surrounded by inflammation. We have 
frequently eaten the tuberous rootstock of Conopo¬ 
dium denudatum, in common with other schoolboys, 
under the name of “Arams.” The younger and 
firmer ones are the most toothsome. Ed.] 
