THE GARDENING WORLD 
345 
January 27 , 
1900 . 
interest to their growth to save and raise your own 
seedlings. There is always the probability too, of 
obtaining improved varieties. You should select 
and cress-breed carefully. Sow your seeds in boxes 
in cool houses or frames. Prick off the young plants, 
allowing them a plenty amount of light and air, or 
such conditions as obtain in greenhouses and frames 
during spring. Try to avoid cold draughts and also 
excessive dryness. Plant out the young plants at 
the end of April to well enriched sunny beds. If you 
are open to the visits of rabbits run wire-netting all 
around the bed. 
Sowing Sweet Peas. — H. L. : Personally, we do 
not think it profiteth anything to sow Sweet Peas 
so early as this period. We know it is done, yet, by 
waiting (or six weeks, you will find the ground in a 
better condition for working, and possibly warmer 
for the germination of the seeds. The young seed¬ 
lings are bound to suffer a great deal should sharp 
weather set in. The other seeds } ou mention can 
be sown now, in boxes, indoors, to be pricked off and 
planted in the brakes when the soil has become 
somewhat warmed. 
- - - nSa- - ■ - 
THE T00G00D SUB IRRIGATED POT. 
The principle of this device is that two pipes lead 
from the top to the bottom of the pot, thus ensuring 
the egress and ingress of air. It is intended also 
that all water given the plants grown in such pots 
good plan to turn the pots on their sides sometime 
after watering so as to let the superfluous water run 
out by one of the tubes. In the United States of 
America, flowers and vegetables are grown on 
benches, cemented at the bottom and sides so as to 
secure sub-irrigation, and the results are considered 
highly satisfactory. The accompanying illustration 
was put at our disposal by Messrs. Toogood & Sons, 
Southampton, for whom the pots are made. 
STOVE FLOWERING PLANTS. 
(Continued from p. 311.) 
Euphorbia Jacquiniaeflora (fulgens).— Here 
we have a grand plant for producing long and grace¬ 
ful racemes of bright scarlet, i8in. to 24 in. in length 
during November and the following three months if 
details as to culture given below are carried out; and 
no plant stove ought to be minus of this showy and 
useful subject. The flowers last a very long time if 
left on the plant, but soon hang their heads when cut 
similarly to its near relative, E. pulcherrima, usually 
known as Poinsettia pulcherrima, to which I shall 
allude presently. 
As soon as the plants have finished flowering, 
shorten the shoots back, a little beyond where the 
flowers began to appear, keeping them a little drier 
at the root, when young shoots will toon push out. 
These should be taken off when about 3 in. long with 
a heel attached if passible, placing the cut ends 
in a saucer of fine sand as a preventive to the lass of 
Towards themiddleof June and the next two months, 
a cold frame will do for them, lightly shading for a 
few hours only in the brightest part of the day. 
What is of pat amount importance is the refining of 
the shoots before giving them too much heat, and 
when they are housed, if you can put them up to 
wires or string, and about 4 in. from the glass, so 
much the better. Scale is the worst pest that attacks 
them. They must be constantly removed if in force, 
spraying with soapy water. 
E pulcherrima responds to very nearly the same 
treatment, only the plants of these can be stored 
away for three months or so after flowering, early in 
April being soon enough to commence propagating. 
Shoots soon push out by placing the old stools in a 
warmth of 6o°, and keeping them syringed twice 
daily. Bottom heat should be afforded these when 
rooting the cuttings, which should be placed singly in 
thumb pots, potting on when necessary. Five-inch and 
6-in. pots, respectively, will grow them well, giving 
both kinds rougher material at the final potting, feed¬ 
ing lightly when the pots are full of roots, and in¬ 
creasing the strength when you can see the floral 
bracts’ of E. pulcherrima forming. We kept our 
stock of these out in frames up to the end of Septem¬ 
ber this year, and as I said of the former, do not 
shade more than you are really compelled to. En¬ 
deavour to build up short jointed, firm wood, which 
is the sure fore-runner of good heads of bloom. Very 
little water at the root will be required when the 
flower is fully expanded, and naturally, none over- 
The Toogood Sub-Irrigated Pot. 
should be poured into the tubes which carry it 
directly to the bottom from whence it has to rise by 
capillary attraction to moisten the soil. There is no 
hole in the bottom of the pot, so that table and 
window plants require no saucers in which to stand 
them. The soil and roots are aerated by means of 
the pipes, and water, beiDg conveyed by the same 
channels, always leaves the surface soil loose and 
friable. It is claimed that there is less danger in 
overwatering than in ordinary pots ; and less frequent 
watering is necessary. The difficulty often attendant 
upon the fitting of ordinary pots into the ornamental 
ones is here obviated, as the plant is put directly into 
this one. Repotting is only necessary once a year, 
or less often. 
The pot is made in two sizes, namely, 8 in. high 
by 9 in. wide at the top, and 7 in. high by 8 in. wide 
at the top. They are made of the strongest ivory- 
white ware, relieved with a raised pattern, chased 
with fine gold, and variously decorated with designs 
of Lilac, Paeonies, Carnations, Chrysanthemums, 
and ether flowers, in their natural colours 
The potting soil used should be light and porous, 
consisting of loam, leaf-mould, and sufficient sand to 
make the whole open and permeable by the roots. 
About an inch of pot sherds or crocks should be put 
in the bottom. Newly potted plants require little 
water ; and even when they are in full growth it is 
better to use little than much. When the surface 
gets quite wet it is a sign that too much water is 
being given. At all dull periods of the ytar it is a 
sap. Iq the meantime 3 in. pots should have been 
prepared, using loam leaf-soil and peat, finely sifted, 
with a good percentage of silver or river sand, press¬ 
ing fairly firm, and surfacing the same with a little 
fine sand, when all will be ready to receive the cut¬ 
tings, fo’or to six in a pot. A watering with the rose 
can should be given, placing the pots under bell- 
glasses or hand lights on the stage in the stove. I 
find these root better without the aid of bottom heat, 
lightly shading when necessary, and a gentle spray 
over head with the syringe occasionally, not keeping 
them two wet, or decay soon sets in. I give a little 
ventilation as soon as rooted, when in a week’s time 
the pots can be stood on a sheet near the glass, but 
avoiding draughts, In another week they will be fit 
to pot off siogly in thumb pots, or moving bodily into 
5-in. ones, in which size they are to flower. 
Cuttings can be put in from February to May, 
stopping the earliest struck batch once when about 
6 in. high, if in pots singly ; or they can be grown on 
without stopping, especially if five or six are in a pot. 
in which case, by Christmas, you will have no mean 
specimen. There can be no doubt the less stopping 
they get the better the results. I enclose a spray 
that had no stopping [It was nearly 2 ft. long, and 
covered with clusters of flowers throughout its 
length. The leaves ware large and of a rich dark 
green.—Ed.] After potting, the plants must be kept in 
a growing atmosphere of 6o° to 70° keeping them 
well up to the glass, usiDg great care that no more 
water is given than for the well-being of the plants. 
head. In these dull months, from November to 
February, both last much longer if placed in a house 
that stands about 6o° during the day, falling to 
50° during cold nights. 
Mealy bug can generally be found on E. pulcher¬ 
rima. If any is in the house, they seem particularly 
fond of getting among the bracts, so, much pains 
must be taken to clean the plants of this enemy in 
all its stages. Good culture will grow heads from 
12 in. to 15 in. across, having a most telling effect 
about Christmas. Various plans are adopted when 
these are used as cut flowers to allay the bleeding, 
by burning the ends, placing in hot water, as well as 
cold, and in sand ; but I find when treated either way, 
they soon, more or less, hang their heads, especially 
if growing in much heat at the time of cutting.— 
Grower. 
(To be continued.) 
Large v. Small Potatos as Seed,—At the Canadian 
Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario, experiments 
have been carried on for some time to test the 
relative merits of large, medium-sized or small 
Potatos. The (rials were carried on over a period 
of four years. In the result we read that without 
exception the large Potatos produced the greatest 
5 ield of tubers. More than this, it was found that 
the decrease in the size of Potatos produced corres¬ 
ponding decrease in the yield. The percentage of 
marketable tubers from the large seed Potatos was 
also much in advance of any of the others. 
