December 23, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
Christmas where the required heat can be main¬ 
tained during the growing season. We have hun¬ 
dreds of spikes of C. Veitchii, carrying on an 
average thirty flowers, all expanded except four, one 
of their features being so lasting when cut and 
placed in water. There is also C. vestita and C. v. 
oculata, both very nice, but not so useful as the 
beautiful soft pink of the former. Euphorbias, too, are 
useful for indoor decorating, but, like the Poinsettia, 
better left on the plant, on account of their bleeding 
so freely which is greatly against their keeping 
qualities. 
White Marguerites, zonal Pelargoniums, and Tea 
Roses all come to the florists' hand,providing suitable 
houses are found to grow and flower them in. Lily 
of the Valley, too, will be getting plentiful by this 
time, as well as Freesias. Mentioning the latter 
reminds me that your writer of " The Plant Houses ” 
in your issue of the gth inst., mentions that they will 
have begun to flower thus early. I think it would 
be a valuable contribution were he to give cultural 
details in The Gardening World, and stating if 
home grown bulbs or imported, as I have found the 
latter flower a trifle earlier than the former. I have 
always considered it good work to get Freesias in 
bloom by Christmas, but shall be only too pleased 
if I can get them the first week in December. 
Tea Roses, too, will be plentiful where a house 
can be set apart for them; while the lovely Eucharis 
amazonica and other varieties will adorn many a 
stove; and here I must admit that I am not over 
successful in getting them to flower at this date, the 
plants not doing at all well the past two years. I 
am giving them fresh quarters early in the new year 
when I hope to have better results. Various 
Orchids beside Calanthes are to be had in bloom, 
but it is not everybody’s flower, and, to be done 
well, houses must be set apart for their wellbeing, 
but enough has been said to show that heaps of 
flowers can be and are got together to brighten the 
festive season of Christmas— Grower. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
The Stove. 
Tillandsias. —The curious vase-shaped arrange¬ 
ment of the Tillandsia leaves, help to recommend 
them to lovers of quaint stove plants. They are also 
beautifully marked, and from being symmetrical, 
they form a contrasting element to the other and 
more graceful stove members. Propagated by 
suckers, or seeds, they should enjoy a compost 
which is at once sweet, free, and moisture-holding. 
It may be taken as an infallible point in the routine 
of their culture, that they never care to be stinted 
in the water supply. A moist atmosphere, and warm 
temperature of 70° or so,must be maintained. Cool, 
dry conditions they will not admit. Such a com¬ 
post as the following is to their liking ;—Equal parts 
of fibrous peat and loam, about a quarter of pot¬ 
sherds, charcoal and sand, well mixed. The “ feel " of 
the mixture, of course, as a rule, determines its fit¬ 
ness to the experienced plantsman. Spring-time 
may be determined as the most fitting period to 
take the suckers, each of which should be strong. 
Having prepared and inserted them in 4 in. pots, 
place them in a propagating house, only this differ¬ 
ence may have been observed, that they object to 
what other plants more or less care for, that is, a 
close atmosphere. They are apt to rot if so con¬ 
fined ; therefore place them in a cosy corner but not 
in a close case. We do most of our winter and early 
spring propagating in a pit sunk in the ground, well 
heated with hot water pipes and used lor Melon 
growing in summer. Such a pit also answers for 
Eucharis and Begonias. 
Propagating Cases. —It may be as well to review 
a few examples of the means whereby plants are 
housed for propagation. In the smallest of gardens 
some kind of specially made case, or pit, by which 
the " cosy " conditions which are known as essential 
for unrooted slips, cuttings or seeds of plants, may 
be obtained, and maintained. One of the simplest 
means adopted is that of placing a small sized frame 
in a suitable part of a warm house. Having formed a 
loose base, permeable by the heat from pipes below it, 
cocoa-nut fibre refuse, or sawdust, which also 
answers fairly, must then be filled within the frame. 
This is made somewhat firm and should be slightly 
moist. When heated, the propagating case is ready 
for the pots which are plunged in the warm fibre or 
sawdust. Sawdust is apt to rot and turn mouldy. 
The better plan is to mix it with the fibre. Many 
soft-wooded cuttings root readily if they are inserted 
in the fibre, and afterwards very carefully potted up. 
The thick fleshy roots of most Dracaenas we 
always use for propagation and these are simply 
cut transversely into sizes and inserted deeply in the 
fibre. If a specially close case be necessary for 
certain cuttings, a hand light should be placed with¬ 
in the small frame. Then of course, in larger gar¬ 
dens, there are, or most certainly ought always to 
be, a properly constructed propagating pit having 
cases, shelves, and stages. The pit should have a 
central path and should be divided by a glass 
partition, one-half, the cosy end,being devoted to the 
cases, while the other should be given up for the 
staging of rooted plants just taken from the cases 
and which are being grown on, preparatory to being 
used in the plant houses. Ordinary cold frames may 
be turned to good account during the heavy part of 
the propagation of summer beddiDg-stuff, by being 
placed above a hot-bed. It is scarcely necessary to 
remind you that to propagate soft-wooded plants, 
such as Lobelia, Ageratum, Alyssum, or to raise 
vegetable seeds sown in boxes, in a steamy hot-bed 
frame, amid escaping ammonia too, is not a task for 
the thoughtless or forgetful person to tackle, and the 
use of hot beds and frames in this capacity must only 
be accepted as a necessity, and one to be free from 
if circumstances permit it. 
Stoking. —So much has been said before that a 
summary of points requiring thought and attention 
need only be given. During the hard weather 
keep clear fires, a steady glow to be maintained, and 
this by small additions rather than heavy feeding. 
Feed from the front. Keep the live fire all on the 
bars, not upon the dead plate. Clear the fires, give 
full draught but do not make up, at the first start in the 
mornings. There should always be body enough of 
fire to run for half an hour without an addition of fuel 
when first seen to in the morning. Regulate the 
damper so as to keep a steady fire going and to re¬ 
tain the heat in the furnace, not up the chimney. 
This is an operation easier to refer to than to do, 
but practice, of course, makes perfect. The flues 
must be thoroughly clear. Water below the furnace 
bars in the ash bed has a wonderful power in creat¬ 
ing a good draught. The bottom doors can be used 
almost with as fine effect as the damper. Do not 
slack the fires much at any time. It is easy to 
maintain a warm temperature once it is reached, but 
it is very hard to raise it against a falling temperature 
with perhaps wind with it. Mats may be placed on 
heated pits, &c., and so conserve much of the heat. 
— J. H. D. 
KitcHen Barden Calendar. 
Since writing the last instructions the frost has put 
a stop to many outdoor operations, but those who 
took the precaution to have work well in hand in the 
way of digging and protecting the crops will have no 
cause to regret, as there are always plenty of things 
requiring to be done in frosty weather. It was 
formerly thought that wheeling on manure and 
shifting soil heaps should be deferred till such times, 
but the kitchen gardener who thoroughly under¬ 
stands his business gets such work done if possible 
while the ground is dry in the autumn that all may 
be turned up in readiness for the frost when it sets 
in. 
The work in this department at this time of the 
year lies chiefly in preparing and forcing vegetables. 
We must therefore in a great measure turn our 
attention to those crops that are being brought for¬ 
ward under glass. Still there are many outdoor 
operations that can be done quite as well in frosty 
weather as in any other, such for example as 
clipping hedges, cleaning out water tanks, looking to 
drains, collecting leaves, sharpening pea sticks and 
preparing soil for pits and frames. Where such 
work is deferred till later on, it often happens that 
something turns up to prevent its being accom¬ 
plished. In the case of sharpening Pea sticks if 
these are tied in convenient bundles after being 
sharpened they will be ready for putting to the early 
rows as soon as planted out and will thus afford the 
plants some protection. 
2G3 
Water tanks that are cleaned out now will stand a 
chance of getting refilled again before the hot 
weather sets in, and drains that are made to work 
freely will carry the water off better should there be 
a rush. The store rooms should also be looked over 
to see if any roots have started to decay, and if any 
such are found these should at once be removed. 
As the old saying goes one “ scabby sheep infects a 
flock ” so one bad root causes others to decay. 
Where Potatos are earthed up in clumps short litter 
of some description should be put over the soil to 
exclude the frost. Three or four years ago when we 
experienced such severe weather many tubers were 
spoiled owing to neglect in protecting them. It 
should always be borne in mind that anything 
elevated the same as a Potato clump is more exposed 
than if flat, so that the frost penetrates much further 
into it. Onions in open sheds should not be handled 
when frozen as this causes them to rot. We have 
never experienced any harm to bulbs thus exposed 
provided they are kept dry and not handled till the 
frost has left them, and ours have often been exposed 
to the most severe weather. 
Potatos for planting ought to be spread out thinly 
and kept as cool as possible, so long as they do not 
get frosted the place in which they are stored cannot 
be too cold. Those who have space at their com¬ 
mand would do well to stand all the early varieties 
on their ends in order that the growths made may be 
even and robust. 
The time for ordering seeds is at hand. One is 
forcibly reminded of this by the reception of next 
year’s catalogues. Before ordering it is well to take 
a review of the past year, and see if there is any im¬ 
provement that can be made by way of introducing 
fresh varieties. All gardeners for the information of 
themselves should keep a special record of the 
merits of each variety they grow, and at this time 
of the year when the evenings are long these notes 
could be looked over and compared with what has 
been done in previous years. There is no depart¬ 
ment in the garden that requires so much skill as 
this, though it may seem so simple. It is certainly 
easy enough to sow a row of Peas, Beans, Carrots 
or Turnips, but it is no light task to keep up a good 
supply of them from a limited piece of ground such 
as is usually allotted to the kitchen gardener. 
To have a regular and an abundant supply should 
be the aim of all; and those who can do this need not 
fear being drawn over the coals as the saying goes. 
Cooks, as a rule, are very extravagant, they have but 
little idea of the difficulty there is at times in pro¬ 
viding the necessary supplies, and if once it becomes 
known that there is a scarcity of any particular 
vegetable there is sure to be a run on that special 
article; for this reason it is well to refer back to what 
has been required in previous years and see if there 
can be any alteration made either in the cropping of 
the ground or the quantity of any particular crop. 
As this can be done by the fireside these long 
winter evenings it would be well not to let the 
opportunity pass by.— K. G. 
©leanings fifom ffjc Dmtlb 
of Sctent$. 
At the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 
on the 5th inst., the undermentioned subjects were 
discussed :—■ 
Chinese Cabbage.—Dr. Masters gave some 
account of this species, Brassica chinensis, which is 
cultivated in China and also in the tropics, where 
the common Cabbage does not succeed. It has a 
taller stem, but does not appear to form so sound a 
" heart ” as in our Cabbages. It is the custom to 
protect the heads in pits, frequently turning them 
over ; they thus provide an excellent supply for 
winter use. The communication was received from 
Mr. Carles, Consul at Foochoo. 
Kermes Fagi.—This destructive but too common 
pest of Beech trees was received, with inquiries as t j 
the best means of destroying or preventing it. If 
the trees are but slightly attacked, spraying with 
petroleum and soapsuds in water should be per¬ 
severed with, repeating the process from time to 
time. If, however, the trees are too badly attacked, 
nothing but cutting them down and burning at least 
the bark can prevent it spreading to other trees. 
