422 
THE GARDENING WORLD March 3, 1900. 
FERNS. 
Although the subject has already appeared in your 
columns, a little concerning those which have to be 
raised from spores, might be interesting, providing 
the fertile fronds have been gathered and dried. The 
spores should now be rubbed out and sown. For 
this some 48 pots are the best. They should be 
half filled with crocks, covering with some rough 
material, and filling with a mixture of ordinary 
potting soil to within x in. of the top, making it 
moderately firm. The soil, if not baked or scalded, 
should have a thorough soaking of boiling water so 
as to kill all insects or seeds of moss, &c., it might 
contain, being then allowed to drain for a few hours. 
The spores might then be sown, and the pots stood 
in saucers filled with water which will keep them 
about moist enough, placing a.piece of glass over the 
pots. This will require to be turned every day when 
the spores have commenced to germinate, so that 
the moisture collected does not drop on the prothalli, 
and cause them to start damping. In about six or 
eight weeks from the time of sowing they will be 
ready for picking off into small trays in a compost of 
loam, peat, and sand, placing them in a stove 
temperature, which suits them, until established in 
6o’s. Where small plants are required better results 
are obtained in this manner than from division of 
the old plants. — W. Waite, Southfields. 
---f—■- 
COELOGYNE CRISTATA. 
Some of the most useful and best to my mind of 
stove Orchids are the above Coelogyne, and its 
varieties. They may now be said to be at their 
best. Two of the varieties only are grown in these 
gardens, the well-known cristata and alba. Two 
plants are growing in No. i pots, and it is intended 
to work the bulbs round the outside of the pots by 
Wiring th^m in a comp ist suitable to them, con 
sisting o( fibrous peat chopped sphagnum and char¬ 
coal. When potting fill pans or pots half full with 
crocks. I find the more root room given them, the 
better the/ seem to do. The. are now in full 
flower. A temperature of 55 0 will be required, water¬ 
ing modera'ely. When the growing period is upon 
them they require a temperature of 70° with appli¬ 
cations of liquid manure at intervals, and plenty of 
moisture round and about them. Flowers are white 
and yellow, and fragrant. I find them very useful 
for table decoration, in small vases of water. Plants 
need keeping close to toe glass at all times, shading 
during hot sun. To amateurs who may have a 
small s:ove or warm house, I strongly recommend 
a few of these plants. With careful attention, no 
very great trouble will be necessary. There are 
some eighteen species in cultivation, and about six 
varieties. If slugs are troublesome a hunt round 
with candle or lantern at night will be a great saving 
to the sprays of flower.—S. Jordan, Danesbury 
Gardens, Welwyn, Herts. 
SWEET PEAS. 
All lovers of the Sweet Pea, and I am sure they 
are numerous wili hail with delight the proposed 
cekbrasion of the bi-centenary to be held at the 
Crystal Palace in July next. Few summer blooming 
plants a e more easily grown, more apprec¬ 
iated, or give such good returns as these. 
They are as easily brought to perfection by 
the humbiest of our cottagers, as by the 
professional gardener. To obtain the best results, 
the seed should be sown thinly, early in March, in 
well-drained, large 60 sized pots, and placed in a 
a greenhouse or c old frame. The soil should not be 
too moist; air freely, keep near the glass, and on no 
account must they be allowed to become drawn. 
When they have attained to the height of 3 in. to 
4 in., they should be planted out on well prepared 
ground, in their summer quarters, at a distance of 
4 ft. apart, and staked at the same time. If possible 
three lines should be grown on a border. These 
enjoy and revel in well enriched and deeply trenched 
ground. 
Strict attention must be paid to the seed pods, 
which should be picked off directly they appear; or 
if allowed to remain on will considerably lessen the 
size of bloom, and their flowering season. If this is 
done constantly they will under favourable conditions, 
flower till quite late in the autumn. During dry 
weather mulch with long litter and water freely.— A . 
Thatcher, Aldenham House, Elstree. 
PEAS FOR EARLY SUPPLY. 
We have found no Pea to surpass Gradus in the 
north for an early picking. It fruits abundantly 1 
the pods are of good size, and the quality is first- 
rate. As a dwarf Chelsea Gem is all one could 
desire—planted on a border 2 ft. or ft. apart—this 
sort has for years borne immense crops of good sized 
pods. It does not waste itself speedily by its free 
bearing proclivities. The ground being well mulched 
(if soil is not very deep and of light texture) will en¬ 
able this valued Pea to last long and maintain the 
fine quality of the Peas. I fear we are apt to sow 
too many small podded Peas for first supply. 
Though they are (in many cases) finely flavoured, 
they are not generally appreciated in the culinary 
department. No Pea, north aDd south of the Tweed, 
seems to have retained its popularity longer and 
better than the good old Ne Plus Ultra. Once when 
on a visit to a leading nurseryman in Surrey (a keen 
connoisseur of Peas), I was told by the gentleman 
that he sowed this old favourite in November and 
gathered capital crops from it in June. The good 
old Sangster’s No. 1 and Dickson's Favourite Peas, 
as second earlies, are capital and still popular. 
Some of the large podded sorts do not fill well in 
some parts, and are of less value than they are con¬ 
sidered to be.— M. T., Canon, Stirlingshire. 
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WATERING. 
Here is a subject that has been written on again 
and again, yet each writer has a different way in 
placing it before his readers, but all to the same pur¬ 
pose, that the greatest care is necessary with young 
gardeners in using the water can, especially during 
November and the following three months or so. If 
they will only study the question a bit they will soon 
see that very few plants succumb at being kept 
rather on the dry side, compared to those that get 
over-watered at this time of year. Many men when 
attending to the watering of pot stuff, rely solely upon 
knocking the pot with their knuckles, as to the ring 
it gives out, whether it requires water or not. This 
is certainly a guide though not always a safe one to 
follow, especially with plants that are potted with 
loose material; besides the tap with the knuckle the 
soil on the surface should be examined with the 
finger, not stuck in an inch as I have often seen done 
on newly potted plants. If requiring water give a 
good soaking, not merely a driblet, perhaps only 
enough to go half way down the pot. Always 
bear in mind that plants potted in much peat should 
be gone over the second time, as they absorb water 
much slower than when loam is the staple soil. A 
trustworthy man with his water pot is on the right 
road to make a good gardener.— J. Mayne, Bicton. 
THOSE THAT KNOW. 
Of all the people that visit our public gardens none 
are more amusing to hear than the “ones that know 
everything.” These persist in informing one and 
all of their knowledge, and although this class is 
occasionally well informed they more often tack any 
name or description to a plant or flower. The 
Acalypha hispida passes as the “ Love Lies Bleeding 
— quite a common garden flower.” Indeed, this fine 
species has many remarks, usually unfavourable, to 
put up with. “ Funny,” " peculiar,” aDd “ funereal ” 
are some of the adjectives applied to this plant, very 
few appearing to admire it. Cotton wool wrapped 
round Orchid spikes to prevent the attacks of slugs 
affords the public a puzzle. With many the Orchid 
becomes the cotton plant, while a few suppose the 
tufts to be the work of some insect. A gentleman 
pointing to a Dendrobium attached to a substantial 
block of wood remarked that after the Orchid had 
" eaten the wood up ” it would be given fresh material. 
He evidently credited the plant with a good digestion. 
“Darling,” asked a young wife, “ what are those 
yellow things ? ” referring to the unopened buds of 
Stanhopea Wardii, hanging from a basket. "Some 
tropical fruit similar to Bananas,” was her husband's 
original reply. A father, showing his daughters 
some Pitcher plants made the startling statement 
that " when the flies fall into the water the lid goes 
down with a pop.”— David S. Fish. 
Lime and Potash are the predominating ingre¬ 
dients in the production of wood, stones, and pips in 
fruit trees. 
Tlie Ordim Browers’ Calendar. 
Cypripediums. —There is no set-time for re-potling 
these interesting Slipper Orchids as they flower at 
various periods; but generally the bulk will be 
ready about the spring of the year. Most of them 
except the Selenipedium groups may be termed 
somewhat of an aquatic, so that in the re-potting of 
them the operator should bear this in mind and not 
elevate the plants above the rim of the pots as is 
customary with most Orchids. The compost, too 
should be of a more heavy nature, such as the ad¬ 
mixture of one part fibrous loam to two parts of 
lumpy peat would impart; taking care, however, 
that the drainage be perfect, and that nodules of 
sandstone, crocks or charcoal aDd a little silver sand 
be mixed with the compost to make the whole 
porous, so that the abundance of water which they 
require during growth may pass freely away. 
The Selenipediums such as C. longifolium, C. 
Roezlii, C. Sedenii, C. Schlimii, and the various 
garden hybrids, of which C. Sedenii was one of the 
first, seem to like being elevated above the rim of the 
pot and to be grown in a lighter compost, such as 
peat and live moss only, working in pieces of crock 
as the work proceeds. After the potting is done 
place in a shady part of the warm division and keep 
the syringe going about between the pots, but do not 
apply much direct or the compost is apt to become 
sour before the rcots get thoroughly hold of it, 
which is undesirable. 
Cattleya House.— The Cattleya labiata section 
may now be re-potted or top dressed, if not requiring 
larger pots, taking in hand the summer flowering C. 
1 . Warnerii first, as it has made some progress as 
regards new growths. I mentioned top-dressing. I 
may say that this should not be adopted as a general 
practice, because it is difficult to get rid of all the 
woodlice that are to be found amongst the drainage. 
Cool House.— Growing and flowering freely in 
this house is the pretty little Odontoglossum Cer- 
vantesii decorum. Its culture is so easy that we 
wonder it is not met with more often. Like most of 
these dwarf growing gems, it does best when grown 
in pans, suspended near the glass. The compost 
should be good peat and moss in about equal parts, 
always avoiding over potting, as it is much easier 
and better to afford them some fresh material when 
required. 
Shading. —We would recommend that the roller 
blinds be fixed up at once, so that should the 
weather be bright, they may be run down for an 
hour over the Odontoglossums, and also the Phalae- 
nopsis, during the middle of the day. This advice 
applies more to the country where the atmosphere 
is much clearer than in and near large towns.— 5 . C 
-- 4 ——— 
TIE PLANT HOMES. 
The Greenhouse. 
Pyrus floribunda. — Among the many sweet 
forced flowering shrubs of the present time I think 
few will compare with this one. It is easily fjrced, 
and not difficult to treat during the summer. If 
plunged outside in ashes along with the other hard 
wooded plants which have been forced and hardened 
off, it will be quite happy till the end of autumn. A 
nice selection of young shoots should then be made, 
pruning out those which have done service or are 
past blooming. The flowers are borne on the young 
wood, so that this will have to be thoroughly ripened 
if a goodly quantity of flowers are wanted the 
following winter. It is well not to pot on too fre¬ 
quently, but rather to rely on top-dressing and feed¬ 
ing with liquid manures. Nice flowering plants can 
be raised from cuttings. 
Hippeastrums. —The potting of these may still 
continue. An open compost with goodness in it is 
what they like. Plunge the bulbs in bottom heat, 
and supply the needful moisture. Good bulbs are 
able to throw up strong flower spikes, even though 
their roots are very scarce. A very great deal de¬ 
pends on the thorough ripening of the bulbs in 
autumn. 
Forced Lilacs. —Plants which have done their 
duty should immediately be pruned close back to old 
wood, care being taken to leave buds enough to 
grow out for the formation of bushy plants again. 
They should be grown on in nice cool pits until such 
