August 14, 189?. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
791 
for late autumn and early winter use. A position 
sheltered from west winds should be selected, to pre¬ 
vent the plants getting injured when nearly full 
grown. As this crop will be required for lifting into 
frames or other protectors, it is necessary to get the 
highest development, and to this end the ground 
should be well enriched with well-rotted dung, and 
the plants regularly watered during spells of dry 
weather. Another sowing may also be made at the 
present time for planting in vacant frames and under 
handlights, in which to finish up their growth during 
the winter. For this sowing, the best kinds of Cab¬ 
bage Lettuce will prove the most useful. 
Spinach. —A first sowing for a winter crop may 
be made on the first favourable opportunity. Where 
the land is very dry, it is a good plan to dig it and 
sow immediately it is turned up. As this crop will 
have to stand the heavy rains of autumn and winter, 
it is very necessary to select a piece of friable, well- 
drained ground to secure good results. If the drills 
are watered with some Nitrate of Soda, 2 ozs. to a 
gallon of water, it will give the young plants a 
vigorous start. Another sowing should be made at 
the end of the month. 
Onions. —Sowings of these should be made both 
for early spring use and drawing young for salads. 
In the former case an open sheltered position will 
tend to promote growth during the winter months, 
and give strong plants ready for transplanting early 
in spring. As the earliest will come from the seed 
bed, this should be carefully prepared, by deep dig¬ 
ging ; at the same time a good dressing of soot and 
burnt refuse will promote early growth and give a 
strong plant before winter. In the case of plants 
grown for drawing young, small beds will be most 
convenient, and several may be sown in succession 
during the next six weeks. 
Cauliflowers. — The early spring crop will 
require sowing about the 20th of the month, and a 
succession may be sown a fortnight after. A warm 
aspect should be selected for the first crop, and if the 
second can be made in a turf pit, or where protection 
can be given, the plants may remain undisturbed 
through the winter. The principal point is to get 
sturdy plants, and this will be best secured by sow¬ 
ing thinly and allowing plenty of room between the 
rows in the seed beds. 
Turnips. —Any vacant land under trees, not too 
heavily shaded, may be sown with White Stone, 
Chirk Castle, or other hardy variety of Turnips. 
Should the weather prove open and mild, some useful 
roots may be secured in spring. In any case a use¬ 
ful crop of Turnip greens will be secured. The 
thinning and hoeing of earlier crops will require 
regular attention to secure a good supply of roots for 
winter use.— J. R. 
—-- 
THE FLOWER GARSEN. 
One of the disadvantages that pertains to the 
generally adopted plan of summer bedding is that 
the plants have scarcely become established in their 
flowering quarters when the march of the seasons 
brings the idea of propagation .with it. Another 
year’s plants have to be thought about, and in cases 
where a good deal of stock is required it is not 
possible to drive off the operation for too long. 
August finds most of the owners of country houses 
in residence, and garden and tennis parties in full 
swing. Under such circumstances the gardens are, 
of course, expected to look their gayest, and sweep¬ 
ing, mowing, and tidying up generally fill up a large 
amount of time. As the cutting about of bedding 
plants necessary for obtaining cuttings would, to a 
large extent, ruin the appearance of the beds for a 
time, it is not unnatural for the gardener to put off 
doing this for as long as possible. 
Bearing in mind, however, that it cannot be 
reckoned with certainty that frost will keep off for 
many weeks longer it is advisable to make a start 
with cuttings of zonal Pelargoniums by the middle 
of the month. If only a few cuttings of each variety 
can be spared then these should be taken, and this 
early batch supplemented by others presently. 
Dibbling the cuttings into an outdoor border is a plan 
that is followed by some cultivators in preference to 
putting them in pots, which is the more usual 
method. The cuttings root very freely out of doors, 
but the lifting and potting up in the autumn usually 
give them a heavy check, so that for all practical 
purposes pots or boxes are to be preferred. 
Carpet Beds. — Although carpet bedding has 
been very much cried down by those who affect to 
despise anything artificial there is no doubt that it 
still possesses a great hold over the affections of the 
general public. There is certainly this to be said for 
the carpet bed, that it is more independent of the 
weather. In a dull, cold season when other plants 
do not flourish the carpet bed is always gay, and 
after heavy storms of rain, when Pelargoniums and 
tuberous Begonias are knocked to pieces, and Cal¬ 
ceolarias bedraggled with mire the carpet bed always 
looks fit. Just now the plants will be needing a little 
pinching in order to keep them within bounds. If 
this is not done the distinctive lines become lost, and 
the design of the bed obscured, when, of course, it 
is robbed of a good deal of its merit. 
Box Edgings. —After all that has been said against 
it, and despite the fact that it harbours slugs and 
other vermin there is nothing that looks better than 
a well kept box edging. Growth is now calling for 
the application of the shears. Any cutting that is 
done should be seen to on a dull day if possible. 
Hollyhocks —It is not too late to put in eyes of 
these to furnish plants for next spring planting. 
These eyes may be obtained in abundance from the 
firmer side shoots thrown out by the main stem. 
A siDgle leaf may be left to each eye, both for con¬ 
venience of handling and to assist the young plant. 
Make up a bed of sandy soil in a cold frame, cover it 
with a layer of sand, and dibble in the eyes closely 
together. Keep the frame close and shaded, and 
syringe the eyes regularly each day. A goodly per¬ 
centage should then take root. 
Roses. —After the first flush of bloom there is a 
dearth of Hybrid Perpetuals now in the flower 
garden. This will give an opportunity for giving the 
trees a picking over, and also to get the garden 
engine to work among them, by which their appear¬ 
ance will be much improved. Budding may be 
vigorously prosecuted. It is not always a disadvan¬ 
tage to bud late, for better buds can often be pro¬ 
cured, the wood from which they are taken being 
better matured. Briers that were budded about 
three weeks ago should now be looked over, as most 
likely the ligatures will require loosening. 
Scillas and Narcissi should be planted without 
delay, for the bulbs have nothing to gain by being 
kept out of the ground , but on the contrary are losing 
a good deal. — A. S. G. 
-■=» > 
©leanings ftrorn fljt; SDurlti 
of Srtencq. 
The undermentioned subjects were discussed at the 
meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, on the 27th ult. 
Hybrid Orchid. — Mr. Veitch exhibited a new 
hybrid, Epilaelia x, between Epidendrum radicans 
and Laelia purpurata. The former grows to from 
7 ft. to 8 ft. in height, but the hybrid is only about 
18 in. Its leaves more resemble those of Laelia, 
nor does it root so freely as the Epidendrum. The 
The flowers are larger than those of the latter 
parent, and scarlet, but with a much broader and 
blotched lip, approximating that of the Laelia, 
though the deep mauve colour of this species is 
entirely wanting. Mr. Veitch observed that it is 
remarkable that the pollen of Epidendrum radicans 
is potential in crossing Laelia, Cattleya, and 
Sophronitis, but not with itself. Dr. Masters 
remarked that this hybrid thus corroborated Reichen- 
bach’s statement that the two parents were allied. 
Apples Diseased. — Dr. Bonavia inquired as to 
the nature of a disease which so commonly attacks 
Apples. Dr. Masters pronounced it to be most 
probably Fusicladium dendriticum, which attacks 
Apples and Pears, causing them to crack. Mr. 
Veitch observed that it generally occurs when the 
tree is in a poor condition and recommended a 
renewal of soil in the autumn to strengthen the 
growth. 
Wheat-eared Carnations.—Some examples of 
this well-known peculiarity were received from Mr. 
Colvile Browne, of Hextable, Kent. Mr. Veitch 
observed that whenever Carnations were grown in 
large quantities for market, some plants generally 
appear among them with this malformation. Dr. 
Masters added that it was said that the immediate 
cause was the attack by mites at the apex. 
Twin Apple Leaf. — Mr. Browne also sent a 
specimen in which two leaves were apparently 
united half-way up, and back to back. An examina¬ 
tion of the distribution of the fibro-vascular cords 
showed that there was only one petiole, a section of 
which was crescent-shaped, with three or four cords 
on each half. These coalesced higher up into two 
distinct bands, from which the cords supplied to 
each of the twin blades arose. It was analogous 
to a foliaceous stamen of Jatropha, described by Dr. 
Masters (Teratology, page 255). 
Lantana Attacked by Insects.—Specimens 
were received from Chiswick covered with a white 
mealy bug known as Orthezia insignis, Douglas, and 
called the " Kew bug.” 
Seeds germinating within a Melon.—A 
specimen was received in which this peculiarity had 
occurred. It is not infrequent in Cucumbers, 
Oranges, and the Papaw. It was observed that the 
cotyledons were green, though in the absence of 
light within the fruit. Such occurs also in Pistacio 
Nuts, Mistleto, pods of Cassia fistula, &c. Professor 
Church remarked that it probably arose from some 
modification of the rays of light which were capable 
of " greening,” although their energy was altered 
in character. It is observable that plants turn 
green under all the coloured rays of the spectrum, 
though Ferns will be green in total darkness if the 
temperature be adequate. 
Pelorian Calceolaria.—Mr. Henslow showed 
two flowers of the ordinary yellow bedding-out plant, 
which had assumed the sleeve-like shape instead of 
the usual slipper. 
Cypripedium two-lipped.—Dr. Masters showed 
a specimen with this malformation, the flower being 
apparently also changed as to the number of its 
parts. It appeared to be really synanthic, like the 
Cattleya shown at the last meeting. 
Rosa rubrifolia.—He also showed a spray of this 
red-leaved species, received from Mr. G. Paul, 
having the gall, “ Robin's pincushion,” likewise 
intensified in colour. 
Hybrid Aristoiochia— Dr. Masters showed a 
blossom of the first hybrid ever raised in this genus, 
between A gigas (form) and A. elegans from Bolivia. 
It will be more fully described elsewhere. 
Cream-coloured Vallota.— He also exhibited 
blossoms of this variety. A white one is known to 
have existed, but is apparently lost to cultivation. It 
was suggested that crossings should be made with 
the present one, so that possibly the white variety 
may re-appear. 
Chemical Analyses of Orchids.—Prof. Church, 
having carefully considered Mr. Smee’s second 
paper on the chemical processes which are supposed 
to take place in Orchids, observed that it was some¬ 
what difficult to follow the author's observations, as 
there was a want of systematic cohesion throughout 
the paper, some parts appearing to be rather 
irrelevant and others open to question. Thus 
chemists are not agreed upon the composition of 
chlorophyll, and if they were there would be in con¬ 
sequence no special light thrown on the cultivation 
of Orchids. In his observations upon the presence 
of nitrogen in sewage grass Mr. Smeehad altogether 
omitted any mention of nitrates, and no conclusions 
can be drawn from the absolute quantities given, as 
they bear no relation to the actual quantities 
employed, but not stated in the experiments. The 
diagram supplied by Mr. Smee Prof. Church thought 
interesting, as approximately representing the gradual 
loss of earthy salts as one of the causes of decline 
and death. With reference to his observations on 
phosphates in connection with the flowering process, 
it is well known that phosphates generally increase 
the inflorescence, while nitrogen enhances the foliage 
and deepens the green colour of chlorophyll; but 
Mr. Smee’s remarks upon the decomposition. of 
phosphates are extremely doubtful. It has been 
found in all experiments that ammonias in which 
phosphorus has replaced nitrogen have always 
proved fatal to plants. Mr. Smee's experiments on 
scents, as being formed in the flower itself, are well 
founded. Lastly, the suggestion that thorough 
analyses should be made of all parts of Orchids was 
advisable, if practicable ; but such would require 
very accurate work on definite lines. Such only 
would give valuable results. 
