246 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 16, 1899. 
loam with the usual drainage and it is quite aston¬ 
ishing the wonderful vigour and healthy growth that 
the loam compost has produced; indeed. I have 
never seen such healthy foliage and pseudobulbs. 
Mr. Strachan gives them a position near the roof 
when making their growth and feeds liberally, the 
roots clinging round the outside of the pots quite 
thickly. 
Chrysanthemums are well grown and at the time 
of my visit promised to make a splendid show. The 
Japanese varieties are mostly favoured and include 
all the best varieties of recent date that have proved 
themselves reliable. Very promising indeed were 
the “ Morel ” family, Australian Gold, John Pockett, 
Phoebus, &c. 
There were many interesting subjects on the lawns 
and flower garden, which will require to be dealt 
with in some future article.— Visitor. 
SALVIAS. 
The timely article from the fluent pen of Mr. J. 
Mayne, Bicton, p. 197, November 25th, will most 
Certainly have been closely read by all those who 
are anxious to retain their conservatories in a gay 
state throughout the winter. His appreciative sum¬ 
mary is valuable. S. patens we grow as a pot plant 
for winter use, and, of course, it is one of the hand¬ 
somest border plants of the summer garden. The 
old S. Blue Beard has slightly larger flowers than 
S. patens, and may on that account be preferred. It 
does not lose its leaves or blooms quite so readily 
either, so it would seem to be more suited as a pot 
plant than the former. S. splendens and S. s. 
grandiflora are kings amorg Salvias. The latter, 
of course, is a decided improvement upon the speci¬ 
fic form, yet the former for bedding purposes and 
for the grower with limited space will yet remain and 
be treasured. Anent Mr. Mayne’s note on keeping 
S. splendens and S rutilans till the spring, may I 
ask whether any pruning back is done, or aught 
else, before the plants renew their flowering capaci¬ 
ties? S. s. grandiflora, though at the present time 
a sight to behold, in 10-in. and 12-in pots, generally 
goes past towards the end of February— J. Harris. 
SUTTON’S AMATEUR’S GUIDE IN 
HORTICULTURE. 
The century now drawing to a close has witnessed 
the rise, progress and decay of many periodicals. 
The number of works in existence which date back, 
without intermission, to the earlier years of the 
nineteenth century is exceedingly small, but among 
these it may be claimed that "Sutton's Amateur’s 
Guide in Horticultnre ” is now far more interesting 
and attractive than at any former period of its 
remarkable career. Originally this publication was 
issued without illustrations, but gradually it has 
been developed into a work of fine art. In the 
edition for 1900 the number of illustrations exceeds 
three hundred. Many of them are singularly 
beautiful and all possess the merit of faithfully por¬ 
traying subjects and scenes which cannot fail to 
interest every lover of horticulture. 
During the long period of its issue "Sutton’s 
Amateur's Guide ” has exercised a wide and 
powerful influence in creating the modern taste for 
flowers. In recent years the range of colours has 
been extended by an immense number of new and 
beautiful tints, and at the same time there has been 
a large accession of diverse forms which add to the 
charm of the garden, conservatory and house. In 
decorative subjects alone the resources now at the 
gardener’s command were unknown to former 
generations. What the future has in store it is im¬ 
possible to foretell, but the increasing appreciation 
of new and striking colour affords evidence that in 
horiiculture there can be no finality. 
Quite as much has been achieved in the vegetable 
garden, and this aspect of Messrs. Suttons’ labours 
concerns the daily comfort of all grades of society. 
After years of wrestling with Nature the season of 
many highly prized vegetables has been greatly pro¬ 
longed, the flavour has been improved and the 
general usefulness augmented. Especially is this 
true concerning Peas, Beans, Broccoli, Salads and 
other subjects which contribute both to health and 
the enjoyment of life. And in at least one instance, 
a great national danger has been averted. The 
Potato crop became so precarious through the 
ravages of disease that in very unfavourable seasons 
the prospect of famine had more than once to be 
faced, especially in Ireland. By distributing 
original seedling potatos, possessing a strong con¬ 
stitution, the danger has been minimised, and it is 
only just to acknowledge that in this important 
work there is no parallel to the successful labours of 
the great Reading Firm either in this or any other 
country. 
For this edition a special paper has been made. 
It is perceptibly thicker and smoother even than 
that of which last year’s " Guide " consisted, so that 
it lacks the hard metallic surface of art paper, much 
to the advantage of the illustrations. The Peas# 
Beans, Runner Beans, Asparagus, Beet, Kales, 
Broccoli, Cabbages, Carrots, Leeks, Lettuces, 
Melons, Parsley, Onions, Tomatos, Potatos, Radishes 
and other vegetables are admirably portrayed and 
lifelike. Flowers are equally well done, very fine 
being the Cinerarias, Gloxinias, Petunias, Poppies, 
Primulas, Polyanthuses, Chinese Primulas, Stocks, 
Sweet Peas, Sweet Williams, and many other 
subjects. 
FLOWER SHOWS. 
The flower show season, with its amenities, triumphs 
and defeats, for the present year, is now a thing of 
the past. At the present time, especially so when 
the favourite ’Mum shows have become so numerous, 
it has become a most necessary matter of considera¬ 
tion to many growers within the London district 
where the. will take their productions ; and naturally 
those societies which hold out the best inducements 
will be the most patronised. It is a sheer impos¬ 
sibility for any one grower to visit and exhibit at all 
the shows, which take place within a limited area, 
because they have become so numerous ; and in no 
other direction have the results of friendly rivalry 
been more shown than these which have raised the 
" queen of autumn ” to her present lofty position, 
the 'Mum shows rivaling those devoted to the honour 
of the “ queen of summer.’’ The stay-at-home man 
may possibly do great things to the rejoicing of his 
own heart, and be wellsati fnd with the results of 
his own labour. At the same time it may be that 
should they be pitted against those of his more go- 
a-head neighbours, in open competition, he would 
have some of the egotism, which comparative isola¬ 
tion engenders, taken out of him. Of course in saying 
this I am fully aware that there are many good men 
who through the action of employers are debarred 
from showing. This is a regretable incident in the 
situation, for the interest centring around flower 
shows extend far beyond gardeners and gardening. 
The annual flower show gives to many lovers of 
flowers their one opportunity during the year of see¬ 
ing flowers, iruit or vegetables grown to the highest 
attainai le perfection ; gives them a mental feast of 
the highest order. There may be those among 
employers who, if they could be induced to look upon 
the question in a more public spirited light, might 
withdraw their ban upon flower showing, both to 
their own interests and that of the public at large.— 
W. B. G. 
WINTERING PLANTS IN POTS. 
At this season of the year, when everything of im¬ 
portance has to be housed, we generally feel as 
though we could do with three times the amount of 
space we have at disposal. Probably the more 
experienced growers may be beyond the reproach of 
having overdone the thing, I mean, have grown more 
plants than they can house; but younger enthusiasts 
or amateurs, with the desire to grow a few samples 
of everything, are subjects to whom warnings may 
not be amiss. However, in the present case, warn¬ 
ings about not to grow too much stuff is synonymous 
to locking the stable door after the horse has 
been stolen. Almost every grower must perforce 
have a large number of pot plants which trouble 
him, either specimens which have stood out about 
during summer, or batches of plants which have 
cropped up along with the passing weeks. 
Taking the first set of plants, the specimens which 
have been placed at various prominent and effective 
places in the grounds or near by the buildings, we 
have Aloes and Agaves, some of them ungainly 
enough in all conscience, trained Bay trees, Myrtles, 
and huge plants of Agapanthus, Araucarias, Euca¬ 
lyptus, and so on. These may find places in quite a 
variety of structures. Vineries and other fruit 
houses may be filled without much inconvenience 
with the Agaves and Agapanthuses; but the larger 
and hardier plants, ornamental shrubby plants men¬ 
tioned above should have a house to themselves. If 
the house is light and able to be heated, so much 
the better. If not, the pots, tubs or boxes in which 
they grow, should be bound round with mats or have 
Spruce boughs, Bracken, dried leaves or straw be¬ 
tween them. Protected thus, they may he safely left 
over winter in any disused room or building. I 
know of a gardener in Haddingtonshire, who yearly 
has to store many plants, such as I have named, in 
some disused stalls of a stable. The heat of the 
place and its humidity prove acceptable to the 
plants. 
Then for plants such as Strawberries and much of 
the hard-wooded spring flowering stuff, room has to 
be found in ordinary cold frames. It is better for 
the plants to keep them thus in cool quarters. 
Leaves form the hardiest and best material for pack¬ 
ing around the pots, for if the pots be placed in the 
frames alone, the chances are that if we get a sharp 
spell of frosts we may find half of the pots have 
burst. Deutzias, Azaleas, Staphyleas, and things of 
this sort are generally wintered in frames. Loose 
mats, so long as they are thick enough, are better 
than closely knit mats for resisting frosts. Along 
with these, I mean for covering up with, it is well to 
have a load or two, according to needs, of protective 
stuff from a farm. The bruised and half-trampled 
almost fresh straw from stables forms a very efficient 
protective material. For all outdoor border plants, 
half decayed leaf-mould placed around or over the 
crowns and slightly earthed over is a good method of 
protection. For the base parts of wall Roses, &c., 
the much recommended Spruce branches are not to 
be beaten.— Prepared. 
-- 
THE EXTINCTION OF FERN SPECIES. 
Among those who may be classed as a bane to their 
commonwealths and of humanity, those ardent, 
assiduous and persevering, yet all the time thought¬ 
less collectors of plants, whose whole desire is to 
discover and eradicate from its station some species 
whose existence is the merest factum, and whose 
entire extinction may depend upon circumstances 
during the life history of the existing representa¬ 
tives. 
The Fern Bulletin for October gives directions for 
collecting Ferns, but might be more pronounced in 
its warnings against indiscriminate uprooting of rare 
species. The following extracts show the gist of the 
hints:— " Those who make collections of Ferns 
usually have the single object in view of getting as 
many different species as possible, and when good 
representatives of each are obtained seldom or never 
collect more of the same species. But when it is 
considered that in North America, north of Mexico 
there are less than 200 species of Ferns, and that 
fully one-half of these are so rare or so difficult to 
obtain that none but the most fortunate of collectors 
can hope to obtain them, the limit of this sort of col¬ 
lecting is not difficult to see.” The manner of and 
what to collect is then spoken of. “This consists in 
collecting everything relating to Ferns that will 
throw light upon their life histories. Why should 
we be content with the mere tops of Ferns—tops 
broken off at the surface of the earth—and think our 
collection complete when it still lacks root-stools, 
prothalli, fronds in bud, young fronds, and all the 
curious and wonderful variations of the mature 
plants.” " The ideal collection for a student is one 
that contains representatives of each species from as 
many different localities as it is possible to obtain 
them.” 
Of course, this article does not purposely direct 
one to hunt up and eradicate the rare gems, at least 
we ourselves do not take it so ; but go-ahead enthul 
siasts would certainly take it in that sense as an 
object greatly to be striven for. If there is less than 
200 species of Ferns north from Mexico not a few of 
which, we suspect, are rare, how many dozens of 
species would there be in a dozen years if all the 
Fern ” students ” could get a single specimen each ? 
What is it all for ? What do the Fern students want 
to do with the knowledge that they are so eager to 
amass ? If there is healing or medicinal qualities in 
any parts of the Ferns they so carefully uproot t 
press, mount, and study, they might collect and sow 
spores to get stock for study and otherwise. If not, 
if it is merely knowledge for its own sake, I'd rather 
