THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 7, 1900. i 
®02 
old corms which flower later than the one year old 
Siedlings, this being a great advantage when one has 
io keep up a floral display at all seasons. I hope 
men of longer experience will voice their opinions on 
this subject, especially as to the first-named subject. 
— J. Mayne, Bicton. 
[Flowers of the varieties Butterfly, Vulcan, and 
Giant White accompanied the above notes, as well 
as a rose variety with crimson base, and they were 
certainly handsome as far as size, form and colour 
were concerned. The size and snowy purity of the 
white varieties sufficiently indicate the reason for 
their popularity with gardeners and growers gener¬ 
ally, the absence of scent notwithstanding. The 
broad, rcunded segments of the flowers of Giant 
White measured ij io. to ij in. across.—Ed.] 
--Jo- 
THE PREPARATION OF LILAC FOR 
FORCING. 
The Lilacs for pot culture are budded’on the com¬ 
mon Ligustrum, and those for cut flowers on the 
common Lilac. Almost all are forced in pots. The 
treatment the plants receive till they are big enough for 
forcing, is the same as in Eugland ; the difference lays 
in the time at which the plants are potted. The 
winter before the plants are to be potted, they are 
cut round with the spade, so as to cut all roots which 
would have to be cut when the plants are taken out. 
About the end of June or the beginning of July, 
when the plants have made their growth, and just 
before they are going to make buds, they are dug out 
and put in pots according to size. Once potted the 
plants are left in full sun, and are syringed nearly 
every hour for a few days. The plants flag their 
leaves a little, but they are soon re-established, after 
which they start making buds, during that time and 
till winter. Besides water the plants receive weekly 
a supply of manure water. Lilacs treated in this 
manner make splendid buds and when forced give the 
best results— G. Van Overberghe, Colombusstrasse, 
34 /// r , Munchen, Giesing. 
-.--i-- 
DIPLADENIAS. 
These are admittedly the best of our flowering 
stove climbers, and when well-grown produce a 
wealth of bloom. They are in great request for the 
embellishment of the dinner table. A few blooms 
set off with sprays of Maidenhair Fern give quality 
to any arrangement. As an exhibition plant it has 
few rivals. The compost best suited to their re¬ 
quirements consists of turfy peat, a little fibrous 
loam and silver sand. The drainage should be 
ample, as they require an abundance of water dur 
ing the summer. When in full swing a soaking of 
liquid manure, in a weak state, once a week will be 
of great benefit, giving colour to the foliage, and 
substance to the flowers. In winter they should be 
rested by removing them to a somewhat lower tem¬ 
perature, and withholding water. They are propa¬ 
gated by securiag cuttings of ripe shoots in sandy soil 
and placed under a bell glass in gentle bottom heat. 
Tbeie is ano her and I think better method of pro¬ 
pagation, and that is by layering, because you get a 
decent sized plant straight away. Get a 48-pot, fill 
it full of sandy soil, then select a good strong leader, 
give it a twist just below a joint sufficient to break 
the bark, then peg it down on the prepared pots, 
keep moist and roots will soon appear. When the 
pot becomes full, separate the layer from the parent 
plant and pot on. Summer temperature 65° to 8o° ; 
winter temperature, 55 0 to 65°.—S. Cooke, Rosefield 
Gardens, Sevenoaks. 
--- 
SAND BED FOR PROPAGATING. 
I do not propose to call this a “ new idea” as I know 
the method is practised in many places, but, for the 
benefit of my fellow craftsmen, who do not know, and 
who hope to pick up a few wrinkles from these short 
rrticles, I have persuaded myself to put it into print 
again. Who is there amongst gardeners, that has not 
felt, and perhaps felt most keenly, the great difficul¬ 
ties and endless little worries that attend the propa¬ 
gation of not a few plants ? Disappointment does 
too often attend some of the best-meant efforts to 
iccrease the stock of some much-prized plant, or 
plants. A great deal of these failures can be done 
away with, by following this little bit of “ practical ” 
advice. Instead of the usual extra trouble of prepar¬ 
ing pots or boxes, in which to insert the cuttings, and 
all the attendant risks, have a hot bed made up in the 
usual way ; or, better still, if you have a propagation 
pit or frame, where you can command a good regular 
bottom heat from the pipes, put a good depth of 
cocoanut fibre in, first, say (if you have hot water 
pipes to deal with) about a foot (less if a hot bed); 
then about 3 in. or 4 in. of nice sand, not too sharp, 
in fact, ordinary building sand will do on the top of 
the fibre. When made nice and comfortable, put the 
cuttings in, and a great many things that before had 
been difficult to strike, will root readily in the sand 
and fibre. Another point in its favour, too, is, it is 
always ready whenever one has an odd half-hour to 
spare to go and dibble a few cuttings in and no pots, 
etc., to prepare first. Stove or greenhouse, hard or 
soft wooded plants, all do equally well, and when 
struck, the plants can always be lifted carefully with 
a good ball of sand, as it adheres to the roots readily. 
Chrysanthemums and other kindred subjects, only 
require the bed of sand without the bottom heat.— 
H.A.C. 
THE BOUVARDIA. 
While some men cultivate the above plant most 
satisfactorily, there are others who signally fail to do 
so. Perhaps the following few remarks will prove 
useful to those whose efforts have not been so suc¬ 
cessful as they might have been. Make it a practice 
to raise a certain number of fresh plants every year, 
and also to re-pot some of the best stock plants. 
Assuming the latter were cut back and restarted in 
February, the present will be a suitable time for 
carrying out both of these operations. Let me take 
increasing the stock here. This may be done either 
by taking cuttings, or by division of roots. As the 
former method is well known I will only offer sug¬ 
gestions regarding the latter. Select a few plants 
not required for re-potting, cut them down level with 
the soil and divide the roots into two or three por¬ 
tions according to the strength of them. Then place 
the roots in pans or boxes having a little soil, and 
lightly cover them from view. An ordinary stove 
will do to start them in, and the use of the syringe 
will give sufficient moisture until growth is advanced 
a little. Afterwards, they may be potted, hardened 
off, and grown in cold frames all through the 
summer. Another mode of root propagation is, 
instead of dividing the roots as above to select just 
the strongest rootlets, cut them into lengths of about 
2 in. and treat exactly as advised above.—C. Turner, 
Middlewich. 
-—- 
PEOPLE WE HAVE MET. 
Mr. M. McIntyre. 
The subject of our notes on this occasion is Mr. M. 
McIntyre, gardener to Sir Charles Tennant, Bart.. 
The Glen, Innerleithen, Peebles, whose features are 
well portrayed in the accompanying photograph. To 
frequenters of the spring and autumn shows of the 
Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, more par¬ 
ticularly at the former show,he is well known; but to 
readers at a distance and who have not the privilege 
of attending the shows the portrait will serve to in¬ 
dividualise the redoubtable exhibitor known to them 
only by repute. 
Mr. McIntyre commenced his career as a gardener 
with the late Mr. Cowan of Maryfield, Dunoon, prac¬ 
tically on the steep hill sides rising from the Firth 
of Clyde. Here he served the usual apprenticeship 
in Scotland of three years. Then he was employed 
by Mr. James Gemmel, then at Annfield in the same 
township, where he gained a considerable knowledge 
in the lifting and transplanting of trees; also in the 
construction of rockwork. A considerable amount 
of hard work usually falls to the lot of young men in 
Scottish gardens and Mr. McIntyre enjoyed his 
share of it to the full. On leaving Annfield he went 
to Ardpeaton just after a gentleman of the name of 
Walter acquired it, so that a geat deal of hard work 
had to be accomplished in putting the place in order. 
Mr. Daniel McIntosh was the head gardener, and 
under his guidance the subject of these remarks 
gained much insight in the remodelling and over¬ 
hauling of the gardens. The value of such work 
was fully appreciated by him in after years, for it 
meant the making of young gardeners. 
His next move was to Niddry House, where he 
acted as foreman under the late Mr. Gordon 
when gardener there. From that day till the death 
of Mr. Gordon the two men were the closest of friends, 
each understanding the other and working for the 
common good. Here Mr. McIntyre first became 
interested in the Edinburgh shows, a love which he 
acquired under the tuition and encouragement of his 
master, who was a keen and successful exhibitor. 
They had no mean opponents in those days, for Mr, 
William Thomson, of Dalkeith Palace, Mr. Smith, 
Mr. Malcolm^McIntyre, 
of Melville Castle, Mr. Anderson, of Oxenford 
Castle, and Mr. Paterson, of Millbank, were all 
arraigned in the scales against them, and formidable 
competitors they were. Mr. Paterson is still with 
us, but most of the others above mentioned have 
gone to swell the majority. 
By this time the schooling which Mr. McIntyre 
received at Niddry House, had the effect of bringing 
out his qualities as a gardener, and this was recog¬ 
nised, for an uncle of the late General Wauchope 
appointed him head gardener to Mrs. Evans, of Ford 
Abbey, Dorsetshire. Here he remained for two 
years,after which he was engaged in a similar capacity 
by Sir Henry Doulton, to manage his gardens at The 
Woodlands. Mr. Kemp, late of Birkenhead, was 
then engaged in the laying out of Sir Henry's place, 
so that Mr.McIntyre had the benefit of professional 
skill in the laying out of an estate. 
After a sojourn of five years he returned to Scot¬ 
land, being engaged as gardener to the late Walter 
Richard, Esq., of Kingsmuir Hall, Peebles, where he 
accomplished another five years of useful work. 
After this he was appointed to The GleD, Inner¬ 
leithen, giving and receiving satisfaction for the long 
period of twenty-two years. During that time he has 
effected great alterations both in the way of improv¬ 
ing the landscape, and in having great extensions 
made to the glasshouses. On his arrival at The Glen, 
he again met his friend Mr. Kemp, who was then 
carrying out some alterations in the grounds of the 
estate. 
Some idea of the extent and excellence of the work 
accomplished by Mr. McIntyre, in the way of plant 
growing, may be gleaned from the fact that he has 
taken upwards of a thousand prizes, including medals 
and cups at Jhe shows of the Royal Caledonian Hor¬ 
ticultural Society. For some years past he has 
proved a champion prize taker at the spring show. 
He is a life member of the society, being one of 
four, and is one of the Council; and has, indeed, been 
connected with the society since 1865—a period of 
thirty-seven years. The quality and variety of 
material in the way of pot plants, which he brings 
all the way from The Glen, to the spring show of 
the society is marvellous, and helps greatly to make 
the spring show what it is. A glance at our reports 
during this and past years will show the nature of the 
plants he exhibits and their high class quality, as 
testified by the awards. 
Mr. McIntyre is much in request as a judge at 
different shows in various parts of the country; and 
this year he has already been booked for Newcastle 
