862 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February! 3, 1900. 
STANLEY PARK, LIVERPOOL. 
This park, of about ioo acres at the northern por¬ 
tion of the city, is about to be enriched by the 
generosity of H. Yates Thompson, Esq., who has 
erected for the benefit of this thickly populated dis¬ 
trict a handsome and imposing conservatory or 
winter garden, 115 ft. in length, 54 ft. wide, and 45 ft. 
high. The form is a span roof with a large lantern. 
The contractors are Messrs. Mackenzie & 
Moncur, of Victoria Road, Glasgow; Balcarres 
Street, Edinburgh ; and 8, Camden Road, London ; 
and now that the house is nearing completion there 
appears every promise of their fulfilling the contract 
in the same satisfactory manner as that of the Palm 
House in Sefton Park, erected by the same builders 
for the same generous donor. 
The base of the structure is Woolton stone from 
Messrs. W Oliver & Sons' Woolton Quarries. This 
js of a soft red colour, which shows off the structure 
to advantage, which is composed of iron and glass, 
with the exception of the doors and frames of upright 
lights in the lantern which are of teak wood. The 
lantern roof is supported by twelve massive iron 
pillars. The upright portion is glazed with polished 
plate glass, the squares being about 5 ft. by 2J ft. 
The roof and lantern are of selected 30 oz. sheet 
glass, in squares about 3 ft. by 18 in., with circular 
ends, which will cause the flow of water down the 
centre. The estimated weight of the iron and glass 
is 300 tons. The ventilation is by four screws, 
opening each side of the lantern, and six to open the 
lights along the whole length and ends of the house 
just above the heating pipes, which should ensure 
ample ventilation. 
The heating is by two powerful Trentham boilers, 
placed in the yard. Some thirty yards distant the 
mains are carried in a 3 ft. square tunnel, which will 
admit of inspection at any time. Eight 4 in. pipes, 
or about 1,400 ft., run round the house, close to the 
outer walls, which should be ample for the needs of 
the plants suggested for the house. 
Messrs. Standing, of Garston, under the super¬ 
vision of the contractors, have carried out the 
foundations, and have formed a rockery at each 
end of the building, that on the west end of tufa 
rock,that at the east with Derbyshire spar. Fountains 
of various forms will play at will; in the centre of 
the east end is a marble figure of a boy holding in an 
upright position a large, struggling fish. A small 
tufa rockery in the centre is furnished with Ferns. 
The borders run all round the house 15 ft. wide, 
which leave ample promenade in the centre, which is 
of Belvin gravel. The seats inside are from the 
timber of worn-out ships composed of teak wood, 
with galvanized iron bearings. The ships repre¬ 
sented are the Dreadnought, Albion, &c. 
On the north side, and facing the bandstand, is a 
verandah running the full length of the honse, and 
ten feet in width, which must prove valuable as a 
promenade or resting place whilst listening to the 
band. The front of the verandah, which is a span 
roof, is faced with an iron pallisading, and here we 
find the only attempt at ornamentation. The iron¬ 
work is in panels; and scrolls or festoons of fruit, in 
hammered iron, occupy each panel, no two being 
alike. Three sets of concrete steps lead down to the 
band promenade, which is undergoing improvement 
and enlargement to meet the increased expected 
demands. 
As will be seen from the accompanying sketch (p. 
361), the exterior is solid but plain, the only relief 
being the figures of two flying northern birds at 
either end of the lantern, and of the ship Columbus 
over the centre entrance of the verandah. The paint¬ 
ing throughout is a light self colour. 
Mr. W. Hall, the resident superintendent, is now 
fully occupied with planting and furnishing; the 
plants being utilised are Palms, Camellias, 
Dracaenas, Bamooos, Imantophyllums, Callas, &c. 
The designers and builders are to be complimented 
on their satisfactory work, for with Mr. Hall we think 
it will prove satisfactory for growth, the light 
being ample and the roof not too high. 
The donor, undoubtedly, will not only be the re¬ 
cipient of the thanks of the Lord Mayor and Council 
for this valuable gift (costing fully £7,000), but by 
the thousands of artisans and work people who 
throng there daily throughout the summer. 
The gardening friends of Mr. H. Herbert, super¬ 
intendent of parks and gardens, will be glad to hear 
that such valuable additions as the Sefton Park and 
Stanley Park grand structures have been added 
to his already fine collection of glass in various 
parts of the city. 
-- 
CULTURE OF BUSH CHRYSANTHE¬ 
MUMS. 
Though there is a large following of devotees to the 
hobby for specimen blooms, yet, probably, there are 
more growers who content themselves with plants 
for cut flowers for decoration. Among these must 
be classed the great majority of our amateur garden¬ 
ers. The culture of Chrysanthemums in a bush 
form, to provide sheaves of flowers for rooms, or as 
plants for the halls and lobbies, is simple on the 
whole. Toward the later stages, the plants require 
a deal of attention in regard to their water supply. 
For those who cannot give constant care, it is ad¬ 
visable to plunge the pots in the ground, or to protect 
them by mounding ashes around the base. Enough 
may have been gleaned in the pages of the Garden¬ 
ing World for the amateur or other interested 
person to have been successful with his cuttings. 
Starting from the rooted cutting stage, the first shift 
should be to place each in 3 in. and 4 in. pots, 
according to their size. Very soon they will require 
to be place from the slightly warm house in which 
they were rooted, upon the shelves of another house 
which is cool. The atmosphere should not be too 
dry. 
A few weeks hence and some of them will require 
a further shift. This next shift should be to the 
5 in. pots. Firr potting is necessary at this shift, 
but the compost which is employed should be simply 
of loam, leaf-mould, and sand, using about two and 
a half parts of the former to one of leaf-mould, add¬ 
ing a goodly quantity of sand. The drainage at all 
times ought to be well laid. It pays to be careful. 
The plants now being in 5-in. pots must have further 
space given to them for well-balanced development. 
Crowding is one of the chief points to avoid. And 
it must all along be kept in sight, that the plants are 
largely "made” in their young state. 
Neglected urchins seldom or never develop Into 
“ strapping ” men, so in like-fashion the young 
plants require properly laid foundations if they are 
to be good samples. While growing on at this stage, 
it will be well to look over the plants to pinch out 
one shoot from any plants which may be showing 
two leaders. 
They will be kept in the cool house until they can 
safely be placed out in the frames in April, or before 
then. When the 5-in. pots are filled with roots, and 
the plants are seen to be suffering, lose no time in 
preparing for an onward shift. Some might be in¬ 
clined to pot them straight away into an 8-in. or 9-in. 
pots. When three plants, each in 5-in. pots, are so 
treated, the shift is proper ; otherwise it is too much. 
But as three plants are very often placed together at 
the last potting, for bush plants, it may be set down 
as the rule to follow. Toward the end of April the 
plants may be cut back to within half a foot from 
their base. Three shoots may be led up afterwards 
from each of the plants. Later on these may be 
again pinched, but reason rather than rule must be 
taken to guide one in this work. 
The compost for the final shift into 8-in. pots (or 
larger, probably) should be rich and good, as follows : 
—Four parts of the best turfy, brown loam, two parts 
Mushroom dung and leaf-soil, one-sixth part crushed 
bones, shells, and sand. Some charcoal and soot 
may be used. The soot is best if kept confined to 
the region just above the drainage. It prevents 
slugs and worms from entering. The compost should 
be turned over two or three times and well rammed 
and knocked in around the edges and between the 
plants when potting. 
In May begin to harden them to the evening air. 
Previously, the frames should have been ventilated 
at all favourable opportunities. Now, after the final 
potting, they may be placed outside along the paths 
in a sunny position. See that the pots stand level. 
Indeed, they ought to be on planks. They now re¬ 
quire constant looking over, daily syringing, and 
occasional watering. As the days begin to grow 
hotter and growth advances, more water and more 
frequent syringings should be given to them. They 
will soon need to have stakes placed to them. Then 
the time will come on when they will require to be 
fed. In no case stint them. If need be they may be 
plunged to the brims of the pots in soil. This 
saves watering and helps the roots. Regulate the 
shoots and keep tying them in. 
By-and-bye, the buds will appear, and it behoves 
the grower, then, to see that they develop steadily 
and properly. Dust the foliage with sulphur, should 
mildew put in an appearance. Insect pests must be 
kept in abeyance. As soon as the buds are the size 
of a finger nail, say about the end of August or Sep¬ 
tember, house the plants. Some care is then needed . 
to maintain a dry and bouyant air. 
The following may be taken as useful decorative 
varieties :—Etoile de Feu, Mytchett Glory, Mytchett 
Beauty, Mrs. Wingfield, and Vivid, which are more 
or less new; Barbara Forbes, Beauty of Exmouth, 
Cullingfordi, Edie Wright, Elaine, George Glenny, 
Harvest Home, Lady Fitzwygram, Mdme, Marie 
Masse, Mdme. Desgranges, Market White, 
Ma Perfection, Mrs. Geo. Rundle, O. J. Quintus, 
Ryecroft Glory, W. H. Lincoln, William Holmes, 
and W. Seward. In the above list will be found a 
capital selection of colours, including both incurved 
and Japanese reflexed varieties. Half-a-dozen good 
singles are :—Earlswood Beauty, Framfield Beauty, 
Mary Anderson, Miss Rose, Miss Annie Holden, and 
Golden Star.— Caledonia. 
CHEMISTRY FOR THE GARDEN. 
II.— Gaseous Elements. 
(Continued from p. 343.) 
Oxygen.— This material is so abundant in every 
substance in Nature that it forms by far the greatest 
quantity of the entire globe. An idea of its univer¬ 
sal distribution can easily be formed from the fact 
that nearly one-half of the solid matter of the earth 
consists of oxygen ; eight parts of every nine parts 
by weight of water, three of every four parts of 
animal matter, four of every five parts of vegetable 
matter, and one part of every five of the atmos¬ 
phere. 
It will be evident that this gas exists in three 
different forms, viz., solid, liquid, and gaseous. The 
two former are in combination with other substances, 
but that of the air is in the form of a mixture, and 
therefore at freedom to act upon materials for which 
it has an affinity. Its effects are very marked on 
bright iron when left exposed a short time to the air, 
by causing it to rust. This rust is now a combina¬ 
tion of iron and oxygen, which is termed oxide of 
iron. The acidulous, or rather corrosive, nature of 
this element in the free state, as often observed by 
its effects on metals such as iron, leads us to think 
that if a little more of it were in the air in the same 
state it would be disastrous to all organised beings. 
The apparent duties of oxygen are to decompose 
all things by burning. It would seem to be the great 
scavenger of Nature, laying hold of everything 
organic and otherwise, and burning it in its capacious 
destructor. To this useful agent the gardener owes 
much. The manure heap is fermented and ulti¬ 
mately prepared for plant assimilation, chiefly by the 
action of this element. In such actions, whether 
slow or rapid, there are always new compounds of 
oxygen formed, which are invariably of the greatest 
consequence to the gardener. Oxygen, it may be in¬ 
ferred, from its general distribution, can combine 
with all the other elements. 
It combines with carbon to form the staple food of 
all vegetables, viz., carbon dioxide, which is in due 
course decomposed in the leaves by the action of 
light, and the oxygen again escapes into the air, and 
the carbon retained, as we all know, to build the 
structure of the plants. 
In a word, every food for plants must be assimi¬ 
lated under the control of oxygen. That is, all 
plant food must be oxidised before being available. 
The gas is easily made artificially from various sub¬ 
stances by the application of heat, and many inter¬ 
esting experiments illustrative of its nature can be 
performed. 
Nitrogen. —This gas may be considered the 
antithesis of the last one, which is a supporter of 
combustion, while nitrogen is not. Four out of 
every five parts of the atmosphere are composed of 
Ditrogen, the other part, as we have seen, is oxygen. 
Its distribution is limited chiefly to the atmosphere, 
animal and vegetable matter. Nevertheless, the 
amount on the earth must be very great, It appears 
to be extremely shy of combining with other sub¬ 
stances. Unlike oxygen, it does not combine with 
anything left exposed to it in the atmosphere; it has, 
