THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 24 , 1900 . 
470 
in size from small bract-like growths to leaves 3 in. 
long by 1$ in. broad, and in form they are ear-shaped. 
A greenhouse with a temperature ranging from 55 0 to 
6 <j° suits it.— J. 
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BEGONIA MANICATA. 
This Begonia seems to have gone out of favour, as 
it is more frequently met in a neglected condition 
than otherwise. Doubtless the Begonias of a more 
recent date, such as Begonia Gloire de Lorraine and 
Gloire de Sceaux may account for this ; but when 
well grown, as it fully deserves to be, it is hard to 
beat for decorative purposes. While the two 
Begonias above mentioned require a stove treatment 
to grow them successfully, B. manicata will thrive 
in a warm greenhouse or vinery through the winter 
months. One of the best plans of growing this 
plant is to secure the strongest growths as cuttings 
and insert three round the sides of a 48-pot, retain¬ 
ing as much foliage as possible, using as a compost 
three parts turfy loam, one leaf mould, and sufficient 
charcoal and sand to render it porous. The middle 
of April is a good time to put in cuttings. They 
will strike readily in a night temperature of 55 0 , 
shading from hot sun, care being taken not to keep 
them too close and moist, as being of a succulent 
nature they are liable to decay. When the cuttings 
are well rooted pot them without disturbance into 
7-in. pots, using the same compost; and when 
established a weak solution of soot water is very 
beneficial. We have several plants grown as 
described, one in full bloom carrying fifty developed 
spikes of small pink flowers. The tallest spikes are 
2 ft. 4 in. in height.— W. D. C., Somerset. 
- X —- 
CELSIA ARCTURUS. 
This makes a charming plant in small pots of—say 
5 in. in diameter, flowering from April to November 
according to treatment For late summer and 
autumn display, make a sowing at once, using finely 
sifted loam and leaf soil, making the surface quite 
even as the seed is very small. Water the soil an 
hour or so before, and the merest covering, rather a 
sprinkling, of fine sand will suffice, placing same in 
a temperature of 6o°. Shade until germination takes 
place, when stand near the glass, pricking off the 
seedlings, when large enough to handle, in pots or pans 
two inches apart. A vinery at work will do for them 
now, potting into 2^-in. pots before they get crowded, 
finally into the size first mentioned, using a little 
peat with the loam and leaf soil, not omitting the 
necessary sand. Towards June a cold frame fora 
month will suffice, closing early in the afternoon 
with a syringing. Harden gradually for placing out¬ 
side on an ash bottom where they can enjoy the full 
sunshine with an overhead dew from the syringe 
after hot days, and well cared for as regards water¬ 
ing. Pinching out the points after each potting will 
give the grower nice little decorative plants for the 
front row of the show house or conservatory by the 
early part of September. The flowers are very pretty, 
of a bright yellow, borne on tall stems which con¬ 
tinue to expand for some time. They can be grown 
from cuttings.— J. Mayne. 
VANDA CAERULEA. 
The above is unquestionably one of the most beauti¬ 
ful of the Vandas ; but it is a variety rather difficult 
to cultivate, a fact admitted even by men with good 
Orchid growing expsrience. Now, if there is one 
reason more than another attributable to this diffi¬ 
culty, I believe, it is from placing the plant in too 
high and moist a temperature. As is well known 
most of the Vandas require a fair amount of heat 
and n oisture, but V. caerulea will thrive much 
better by being placed where more air and light are 
obtainable. A more suitable place can scarcely be 
found than suspended from the roof at the cool end 
of the Cattleya house. Should any plants require 
attention in the way of repotting, the present month 
is generally found most suitable to carry it out. 
Whatever receptacle is used to grow them in— 
whether pot, pan, or basket—let it be three parts 
filled with drainage, and then use sphagnum with a 
few bits of charcoal as potting material. For some 
time after this operation no real watering will be 
needed, but only a slight dewing of the moss and 
outside roots with the syringe or a fine rosed water¬ 
ing can. This Vanda blooms in early autumn, the 
flowers being of a beautiful sky-blue colour and pro¬ 
duced on upright spikes springing from the axils of 
the leaves. It is a native of the Khasia Hills.— C. 
Turner. 
■ ■ ■ ■ —«* -— 
TIDINESS IN THE GARDEN. 
How truly does the old saying a place for every¬ 
thing, and everything in its place, apply to the 
garden. Tidiness is the principal feature, and un¬ 
tidiness the worst defect in a garden, which is always 
first noticed by the master and visitor alike. Tidiness 
completes a garden as much as a frame finishes a 
picture. On Saturdays, especially, aim at having 
the drives and walks brushed up, leaving no rubbish 
of any kind about. In summer, for instance, if the 
mowing machine has been used, take care to have it 
put away in a shed reserved for its use, and clear all 
the grass away to the rubbish heap. Have all the 
sheds, potting shed, tool shed, &c., thoroughly 
cleaned out, and if scrubbed with water will be much 
more satisfactory. Do not let any labels in the 
borders or pot plants kick about, but have them 
placed firmly in an upright position. On walks, 
have the weeds eradicated—a very suitable job for a 
young beginner, as tidiness is his first study, and if 
thoroughly learnt will prove very useful. A crop of 
vegetables will look much more pleasing if the dead 
leaves and refuse are taken away and buried. This 
will prove useful for trenching purposes ; also the 
drive and lawn sweepings. Any staking that is done 
should be upright, and the plants tied neatly with 
bass or string to prevent breakage by storms such as 
we have experienced this year.— A. Thatcher, 
Aldenham, Elstree. 
SNOWDROPS AND POLYPODY FERN. 
A pretty sight due to the happy combination of two 
familiar things, and the circumstances under which 
they were seen, recently excited admiration. The 
common Polypody Fern and Snowdrops are known 
to everybody, but methinks not often in such har¬ 
monious alliance. The great blizzard and snow¬ 
storm which levelled telegraph wires and blocked 
trains about the middle of February had spent its 
fury, and a welcome thaw had set in, though snow 
still lingered in secluded nooks, when theco-partnery 
was observed in a rocky dell with a placid lake in its 
midst. The sides of the rock were lavishly bedecked 
by Nature with the Fern, but artistic hands had in¬ 
troduced quantities of Snowdrops on the irregular 
ledges, and other coigns of vantage dominating the 
glen, whose appearance immediately after the 
terrible wintry weather was charming in the extreme, 
and suggestive of many similar places being beauti¬ 
fied and enriched. In the summer season, when the 
Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Spiraeas, and Foxgloves 
fringing the lake are in bloom, this place is a verit¬ 
able fairyland. Pocky dellsof the magnitudeof theone 
alluded to, and flushed with such summer garniture, 
cannot,of course, be made to order, but the salient 
features of this February scene can be reproduced 
in many quarters, otherwise barren and devoid 
of interest. Polypody Fern, a shelving rock or two, 
however small, and Snowdrops blooming ere the first 
breath of returning spring has banished the last 
vestiges of winter are the essentials of the scheme.— 
J. McAra, Kingsburgh, Prestonhirk, March igth, 
1900. 
~——»*—-- 
SAP FLOW. 
In a former note I indicated that the popular 
notion of the flow of sap from the roots to the leaves 
of plants and back again to the roots by the inner 
bark and cambium, had been exploded. At p. 45S 
" H " says be fails to see what the sentence implies, 
" with the other circumstances of the case.” He 
admits that the superfluous water is sent about its 
business through the stomata after it reaches the 
leaves. The superfluous water must be a very large 
proportion seeing that the food of plants is taken up 
by the roots in very dilute solutions. Since it is 
sent off by the leaves it cannot return to the roots; 
hence there is no circulation of the sap comparable 
to the blood in animals. 
He does not like the idea that the roots 11 pump ” 
up sap. Well, it is only a common-place expression 
of the phenomena of absorption of water by root- 
hairs and the younger portion of roots, and likewise 
the root-pressure set up as a result of their absorb¬ 
ent activity. The bleeding of Vines in spring when 
a stem or rod has been cut is good evidence of this 
root-pressure. Some scientific men have found 
that the root-pressure in Vines is equivalent to the 
weight of a column of mercury 30 iD. to 32J in. high. 
The difficulty of stopping the bleeding of Vines is 
another object lesson in evidence of root-pressure. 
During the night the leaves of Vines and other 
plants cease to give off water by the stomata. The 
roots continue their work of absorption until the 
tissues get gorged with water. The latter then 
filters into the cavities of the vessels and rises till it 
reaches water pores at the edges of the leaves where 
it oozes out, and has often been noted by gardeners 
in the form of drops at the edges of the leaves in the 
morning. If a shoot is then cut off the portion 
below the cut will bleed; but if the cut shoot is 
placed in water and its top cut off it will not bleed, 
because the root-pressure has been removed by 
severing it from connection with the roots.— P. L. 
STOVE FLOWERING PLANTS. 
(Continued from p. 395 ) 
Linum trigynum supplies us during autumn and 
early winter with a colour conspicuous among other 
plants I have already treated on, especially when 
arranged with the lovely blue Eranthemum pulchel- 
lum ; and the two should be grown by all who wish 
their stove or intermediate house to look gay during 
the dull months of winter, as a good yellow flower is 
none too plentiful at this season. The one under 
notice is very free. Cuttings can be inserted for 
the next six weeks or so with every prospect of 
success if the routine given here be followed out. 
Place any old plants in a warm moist house when 
young shoots will soon be ready to handle, putting 
several in a 4-in. pot filled with sandy loam and leaf 
soil. Keep the same close in a warm case with a 
slight bottom heat. The same after treatment will 
grow them well as that which has been recorded 
for Eranthemum and Plumbago. Pinch the points 
several times so as to get the plants bushy, thoroughly 
inuring them to plenty of sun and air towards the 
end of August, so that the young growths become 
well ripened for flowering during October and 
succeeding three months. It is more often met with 
under the name of Reinwardtia trigyna, but what¬ 
ever name is given, makes it none the less useful, and 
it is not so often found in our collections as its merits 
deserve. Fight against red spider its most destructive 
enemy.— Grower. 
KEW NOTES. 
Lonicera sempervirens. —Though this famous 
Honeysuckle is frequently to be seen in outdoor 
gardens, it is but rarely seen as a greenhouse climber. 
It only requires to be seen in perfection as at Kew 
to impress one with its quality and usefulness in this 
respect. A system of hard pruning induces an 
abundance of small side growths, each of which 
bears verticells of the orange-red tubular flowers. 
The plant can be grown in a greenhouse border and 
forms a pretty subject for early spring flowering. 
Sparmannia africana, which is the old name of 
a well-known greenhouse plant, is incidentally 
referred to because of the perfection of the flowers 
for buttonhole making. A change of blooms for such 
use is often trying enough to uphold, but is always 
striven for and appreciated. S. africana bears beauti¬ 
ful white flowers with petals reflexed, while a blaze 
of bicoloured stamens shoot straight out in an 
opposite direction, the effect of the yellow-brown 
stamens and white petals being extremely beautiful. 
The plant is shrubby in its nature and easily grown 
in a greenhouse. 
Bomarea patacocensis. —In the Cactus house, 
growing from a shallow root hold of soil is a large 
and healthy specimen of the above. One shoot of 
about 12 ft. in length terminates in a lovely pendent 
corymb of tubular flowers. The colour of these 
beautiful flowers is rich and deep, a mixture of orange 
and crimson—producing a colour better imagined 
than described. Each tubular flower is about 4 in. 
lODg and from twelve to twenty are borne in a 
corymb. The Bomareas do not obtain half enough 
of attention. 
Coptis brachypetala. —Here we have a little 
hardy alpine. It flowers before the leaves appear, 
the flowers only being 4 in. from the ground, borne 
at the end of brown stalks, three heads on each, 
and are dull white with small petals and prominent 
stamens. The plant may be of interest to the lover 
of alpines. 
