February 17, 1900. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
391 
sphagnum and a free mixture of charcoal, broken 
crocks and sand. 
The pots employed should not be too large, yet 
Alocasias do Dot suffer crimping ; they will not thrive 
if the roots are confined. Those which are not 
started may be potted, but water, if given at all, 
must be allowed sparingly, else the roots may decay 
before they get a start. 
Gloxinias and Achimenes, as stated at an 
earlier date, may now be started. Those which were 
prepared earlier are now making good headway. 
Heat and moisture are the prime factors for their 
welfare. 
The Greenhouse. 
New batches of forced plants must continue to be 
brought into the conservatory or greenhouse. 
Spiraea prunifolia is a splendid subject for forcing. 
It causes little or no trouble to grow a large batch in 
pots. 
Libonias, especially L. floribunda, of which 
cultural hints were fully given a week or two ago, are 
very valuable. They have been in bloom for weeks 
past and are still fresh. Spiraea Van Houttei is 
also a worthy subject and easily forced. Erica 
mediterrannea hybrids, a bushy and very small 
growing pinky-flowered variety, comes in handy 
beside the Primula floribunda and the forced Lily of 
the Valley as an edging plant. Boronia megastigma, 
that old-fashioned inconspicuous bloomer, with the 
sweet scent is also in flower. The many forms of 
Primulas and Cyclamen, the Due Van Thol Tulips, 
the Hippeastrums or Amaryllis and the bushy but 
tall-growing Acacias are all yielding their quota. 
Eriostemon buxifolius and others, together with the 
perpetual flowering Chorizemas are also to be seen 
in full beauty. The star Cinerarias are likewise 
beginning to throw up bloom and soon will be a 
picture of brightness.— J. H. D. 
Pruning Peach Trees. 
In those gardens, more or less sheltered, and where 
wall Peach trees are not likely to be inflicted by frost 
injury, left in skilful hands the Peach trees may be 
pruned and nailed to the walls by the middle of this 
month, weather permitting. By deferring the 
operation till the buds are more prominent, we also 
stand a better chance of pruning only the useless 
matter out and of leaving good flower buds. This 
point should always be borne in mind, for anyone 
who has not had experience, or who is careless, may 
in a year or two ruin the formation of his trees 
through blunders in having pruned to flower buds 
instead of to wood buds. Rather would I leave the 
pruning until the buds had begun to swell than make 
any mistake in this business. The points of the 
leading shoots, and laterals, too, for that matter, 
should always have a good wood bud, this to be left 
for the elongation of the shoot and to aid in drawing 
up the sap. Sometimes it happens that in such 
sorts as Royal George and Hale’s Early, the young 
shoots have bloom buds the whole length of ihe 
shoot, which terminates in a wood bud. In such 
cases the whole shoot must be left. To cut back a 
shoot of this sort is to spoil it. Wood buds, like the 
flowerless heads of Lily of the Valley, are loDg and 
tapering, the flower buds being round. It is safe 
enough to prune back to a triple bud which has at 
least one (the central) wood bud. Before full develop¬ 
ment takes place one of the flower buds should be 
rubbed out. In fact this is another point worthy of 
special mention, that when trees are too heavily laden 
with blossoms, these should be cleanly thinned out to 
4 in. apart at the very least. When operating with 
the pruning knife, be careful not to injure the stems. 
Such injuries occasionally originate that troublesome 
complaint—canker. Thin liberally. If light, air, 
and the dew from above do not have full play upon 
the trees in all their parts, strong and well matured 
wood cannot be expected. Sunlight upon the fat, 
well fed leaves and shoots is the precursor of luscious 
Peaches. Crowded wood means disorder, and a life 
of evergreen beauty, but devoid of crop! Six to 
eight inches apart is near enough to nail in bearing 
shoots to each other. Make the cuts clean and close 
in ; leave no jagged ends. Cut from the under side 
where possible. Do not make long oblique cuts but 
short and sharp ones. Loosen the shoots and 
branches annually, or at least those pliable enough, 
and wash them with a mixture of soft soap, 4 ozs., 
one wineglassful of petroleum, with a gallon of hot 
water. Clay, sulphur, soot, and lime may be added. 
See that scales are unfixed before usiDg this painting 
or wash.— J. H .D. 
— -of>- 
KitcHen Barden Calendar. 
With such weather as we have been experiencing of 
late, there has been much difficulty in pushing for¬ 
ward outdoor operations, for in some places the 
ground is covered with snow to the depth of several 
inches, and is frozen so hard that it is useless to dig, 
sow, or plant. Gardeners, however, have always 
plenty of work on hand, so that there is no necessity 
to stand still, even in places where there is not much 
glass, as often at this time of the year hedges require 
clipping, and no better work could be found for the 
men at the present time than that of cutting these 
and making them tidy. How often, too, we see the 
box edgings alongside the kitchen garden paths got 
into that unsightly state as if no one owned them. 
Though it may be impossible to plant in such 
weather, if the soil is not frozen too hard, some of 
the box might be taken up in the middle of the day 
when the weather is warmer, when, if wheeled to a 
cold shed or other sheltered place, it could be pulled 
to pieces and got ready for planting as soon as the 
weather is favourable. Nothing adds more to the 
neatness of a well-kept kitchen garden than trim box 
edgings, but they are troublesome to keep tidy ; and 
when allowed to grow out of bounds are a harbour 
for snails and other pests. Gravelling, too, should 
receive attention where necessary. 
Turning to work under cover, it has long been 
recognised that if Potato sets are started to grow 
evenly before being planted the-y come up more 
regularly than if allowed to lay in a heap and then 
put in indiscriminately. We have sometimes seen 
such blanks in the rows through want of forethought 
of this description that one is inclined to ask if the 
cultivators take any pains to ascertain whether the 
sets are blind or not at the time of planting. If 
those who have not hitherto paid any special atten¬ 
tion to this will just give it a trial they will have no 
cause to regret doing so. It should be the aim of all 
gardeners to grow the best of everything, and as 
Potatos are the chief winter vegetable extra care 
should be taken to have these as good as possible, 
and to do this a start must be made with preparing 
the sets. Choose those of even size, about two 
ounces in weight, and lay them singly in a cool 
place. Away from frost in this position they can 
remain till the first or second week in April. 
The Mushroom House will also require attention 
at the present time, for often this structure has to do 
duty for a whole host of purposes. It is frequently 
in here that Seakale, Endive, Rhubarb, Chicory, 
and other vegetables are brought forward, though 
it is far better it a separate structure can be 
provided for these as they somewhat interfere with 
the Mushrooms, for they take up much valuable 
space. Not only so, but during the time the door 
has to be opened for changing the material of the 
beds, these tender vegetables are apt to suffer. 
Material should be prepared for making new beds 
as others become exhausted so that there be no 
delay. 
Root Stores should be looked over, and any 
roots that show signs of decay ought to be removed, 
as these would soon contaminate the rest. As a rule 
these have kept well this season, and are still in good 
condition. 
Shallots. —As soon as the weather is favourable i 
and the soil sufficiently dry to admit of getting on 
without it sticking to the boots these should be 
planted. It is far preferable to mike holes just deep 
enough to cover the bulbs than to press them into 
the ground between the fingers and thumb, for when 
this latter mode is adopted on heavy land the soil 
beneath the bulbs is rendered so hard that instead of 
the roots penetrating it readily as they should do 
they lift the bulb up out of the soil; and should a 
sharp frost follow they thus become injured and 
seldom give satisfaction. In fact, they frequently 
wither off in the summer without any apparent 
cause. Avoid planting too deeply as this prevents 
the offsets swelling as they otherwise would if nearer 
the surface. 
Underground Onions. —Where there is a diffi¬ 
culty of growing good bulbs from seed sown in spring 
these should be grown. It is astonishing the amount 
that may be produced from a small patch of ground 
under good cultivation and lioeral treatment. They 
should be planted in the same manner as recom¬ 
mended for Shallots, but given a greater distance 
both between the plants and rows. If fair sized 
bulbs are planted, these ought to be allowed nine 
inches from set to set and the rows ought not to be 
closer together than fifteen inches. 
Garlic. —This too should now be planted before 
growth gets too forward. If the rows are put 
eighteen inches apart and the bulbs put nine inches 
from each other, this will allow ample room for them 
to grow freely — F. W. J. 
Ttie Orctiiil Browers’ Calendar, 
The Weather— Hold on, says Jack Frost, with 
your pushfulness, and give the stoker a chance Ah ! 
that stoker chap, who thinks of him, up late at night, 
and again before daylight, battling, perhaps, with 
obsolete furnaces and bad fuel as well. At such 
times as these it gives one an opportunity to say a 
good word for that best of all fuel, anthracite coal. 
Given a quick draught, and it is as easy to stoke with 
as coke, and its heating power is double ; jcu can 
bank up with it and feel comfortable about the 
temperature beiog right in the morniDg. 
Its strength is so great that it is necessary to either 
draw the fires, should the days be bright; or steady 
it by throwing some ashes on the top. With the 
cool divisions it is best to draw the fires for a few 
hours if they are heated by a separate boiler, or if, 
which they sometimes are, connected with the warm 
houses, to turn the heat off. 
Sophronitis grandiflora. —I do not think there 
is any Orchid that pays better to grow than this 
brilliant little gem. Small imported plants, that were 
bought for eighteen pence or two shillings apiece, 
are now fetching five and ten shillings each, and for 
an extra fine variety, of course, more. The run on 
them is no doubt for hybridising purposes. The long 
lost Laelia jongheana and Sophronitis ought to pro¬ 
duce a very pretty hybrid; we have no doubt but 
that this cross has already been affected. 
I do not know another Orchid that takes up so 
little room as does the ODe under notice It does 
finely in pans suspended close to the glass above the 
Odontoglossums. They should be elevated pretty 
well above the rim, so as to show off the flowers to 
better advantage. The compost used is similar to 
that recommended for Odontoglossums, namely, 
good peat, and live sphagnum moss in about equal 
parts. They require plenty of moisture when grow¬ 
ing, and should not be allowed to shrivel unduly at 
any time. 
Imported Odontoglossum crispum. —I hope the 
readers of The Gardening World bought some 
of those offered by Messrs. Protheroa and Morris, on 
Friday last, because they were the right sort. As¬ 
suming that they did so, a few hints as to their im¬ 
mediate requirements may be useful. Imported 
plants at this time of the year are ‘‘ kittle cattle.” You 
buy plants, and think by their appearance that there 
is no risk, but bless you, they have a knack ot going 
off suddenly, so that it is just as well to be careful 
with them in the early stages. We buy large batches 
annually. Last season we bought over a thousand, 
so that I know what they want. Well, the first 
thing we do is to lay them out in sizes on the stages, 
then go over them, cutting away all rotten pseudo¬ 
bulbs and old spikes. Should the weather be bright, 
lay some sheets of paper over them, as after beiDg 
boxed up for a long time they do not appreciate ex¬ 
posure all at once to light. No water is afforded 
them the first week or two direct; all the moisture 
they get is from the atmosphere of the house, which 
will be found to be quite enough whilst they are 
passing through the—shall I say ? —distemper. As 
they begin to plump and to root, the forward ones 
may be potted up, and so on, until the whole batch 
is attended to. 
Cymbidium lowianum, showing spikes in various 
stages, will be much benefited by applications of 
liquid manure. Weak guano water is good for them ; 
but the best I think is that made by placing horse 
droppings into a bag, and putting the same in a tub 
A bushel would be ample tor jour purpose. After a 
day or two it will be ready for use. A half pint of 
the liquid to a gallon of soft water will make a good 
stimulant. Always remember that it is better to 
give tonic in a weak state than to give it strong at 
wide intervals.— S.C. 
