January 19, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
329 
Ficus elastica.— W. Hash : It is of common 
occurrence to find the leaves dropping from tall¬ 
stemmed plants. What you must do is to cut half¬ 
way through the stem, about 3 in. below the lowest 
of the remaining leaves ; and having cut so far, take 
the knife in an upward direction so as to make a 
tongue at this half severed part. Keep the tongue 
or notch open by fixing in a small chip of wood, 
then bind the whole pait round with damp moss to 
form a spiadle-like fixture. Keep this moderately 
damp and if you have a warm greenhouse to place 
the plant in after the operation, success will be more 
likely. The notched part of the stem emits roots in 
the course of a month or two and when a fair num¬ 
ber are observed, sever the stem below the moss and 
pot the newly-rooted plant. 
How is Zero Reckoned.— J. Telfer : Zero in the 
Fahrenheit scale—the scale mostly in use in our 
country—is registered as 32° of frost, 32 0 being the 
freezing point of water. Zero was first reckoned as 
being the lowest degree. 
Plum “ Gumming .”—Arthur Biggs: From your 
note we conclude that your Plum is on a stock 
that is uncongenial to it. The bark in the middle 
part of the tree may have been torn by cats. You 
must get someone to closely examine the tree, and if 
our conclusions are correct a young tree should be 
planted in place of the present one. 
Sowing Tomato Seeds: Good Hardy Varieties. 
— Robt. Rowaite : The middle of March is quite soon 
enough for sowing Tomatos for outdoor planting in 
May. They may be sown in the usual way, in pans, 
under glass, the temperature about 6o°. The 
earliest sowings of Tomatos have been made some 
time ago. Plant the hardy Tomatos about the 25th 
of May. Good varieties for your purpose are 
Laxton’s Open Air, Earliest of All, Conference, 
Carter's Outdoor, Market Favourite, Chemin Rouge, 
Acme, Conference, and Challenger. The first four 
are most reliable out of doors. Always select the 
sunniest and most protected spot. 
Recently introduced Cactus Dahlias .—Alf. Tait: 
Among others of the more recently introduced 
varieties that we can recommend are the following : 
Mrs. J. J. Crowe, yellow; Uncle Tom, very dark 
blackish-purple ; Mrs. Carter Page, crimson, very 
rich; Green’s White ; Mayor Tuppeney, orange; 
Artus, orange-buff; Lyric, fiery red ; Vesta, rose- 
pink ; Rosine, rose; Eclipse, lemon-yellow; Ajax, 
orange-salmon ; J. W. Wilkinson, deep rosy-red ; 
Zephyr, rose-pink ; Red Rover ; and Major Weston, 
deep red. There are some of the older varieties 
such as Starfish, Capstan, Debonair, and others 
which are unsurpassed. 
A FINE DENDROBIUM DENSIFLORUM. 
At present this fine species of Dendrobium does not 
seem to enjoy the popularity which it had a decade 
ago, being pushed aside for a time by other and more 
favoured species. The accompanying illustration 
prepared from a photograph represents a healthy and 
vigorous specimen which has bloomed regularly with 
Mr. J. Fraser Smith, gardener to the Countess of 
Seafield, Cullen House, Culien, N.B., for the past 
ten years. During that time there has been no 
evidence nor question of degeneracy, for it has been 
increasing ever since he had it, and at the time it 
was photographed it carried twenty one trusses of 
bloom. The trusses and flowers are much larger 
and darker in colour than is usually the case in D. 
densiflorum, so that the cultivator may well be 
proud to afford it space. He had the original piece 
from Java twelve years ago, so that it would appear 
to have been a selected plant cultivated there ; for it 
is a native of the Himalayan regions from Nepaul to 
Assam, where it flourishes at elevations between 
2,500 ft. and 3,500 ft. or 1,000 ft. of vertical range. 
No record seems to have been made of its having 
occurred in Java. In any case the flower trusses 
and the broad leaves show that it has responded well 
to the cultivator's arl. As seen in the illustration, it 
has a background of Thunias, Gloxinias, Caladiuin 
argyrites and Abutilon. Mr. Ftaser Smith has been 
a cultivator of Orchids for many years, even before 
he took charge of the gardens at Cullen House, and 
he does them well too. 
PLANTS IN FLOWER AT GLENDOUNE, 
GIRVAN. 
From many quarters, especially from across the 
border, we are hearing about the " mildness ” of the 
season. I have read several left rs in The Standard 
giving lists of various plants in bloom at Christmas 
in Sussex, Norfolk, Shropshire, &c. Verily we have 
had what we in Scotland call a " Green Yule ” and 
is associated, not with flowers, but a “ fat kirk 
yaird.” The winter, thus far, has undoubtedly been 
an open one, and the rainfall, too, has been unusually 
high here, in South Ayrshire. In December we had 
5 25 in. of rain, the total for the year being 43 78 in., 
quite 5 in. above the average of previous years. 
Work is in arrears in most gardens and farms here¬ 
about, and the young men will consequently have to 
" spur up” when favourable weather comes, which 
we trust will be soon. As an evidence of the ex¬ 
treme mildness of the “ New Century ” it may 
interest your readers to know I noticed the following 
Polyanthus 
Snowdrops 
Wallflower 
Periwinkle (Vinca) 
Agrostemma coronaria 
Hepatica 
Tradescaotia virginica Salvias and scented Ger- 
alba.Kaffir Lily.Schiz- aniums, quite fresh and 
ostylis coccinea. green. 
—John Simons, The Gardens, Glendoune, Girvan, N.B. 
FLOWERING OF DAHLIAS. 
I note the success of J. C., Chard, of early flowering 
of Dahlias by curtailing gross root action. I have, 
of la'e years, been trying my best to get early 
flowers in our damp, cold soil, and not without a 
goodly measure of success. I kept the roots con¬ 
fined in pots plunged in the soil of a border. Tb e 
result is the confined roots checked gross growth 
and induced free flowering, weeks earlier than from 
the plants planted out in the usual way. The quan- 
Dendrobium densiflorum at Cullen House. 
plants and shrub; blooming in the gardens and 
ground|> here on New Year's Day. Many more 
might have been included had it not been necessary 
to clear them off to make room for spring • 1 bedders ” 
or for sake of tidiness. 
List of plants and shrubs in bloom, in the open, at 
Glendoune, Girvan, on New Year's Day. 
Flowers. 
Winter Aconiie (Eranthus 
hyemalis) 
Christmas Roses 
Lenten Roses, various 
hybrids 
Doronicum 
Sweet Violets 
Viola, various 
Primrose, double and 
single 
Auricula 
St. Brig d Anemone 
Roses, various 
Mignonette 
Marguerite 
Shrubs. 
Rhododendron nobleanun 
Desfontainia spinosa 
Laurustinus 
Hydrangea 
Berberis Mahonia 
Aralia Sieboldii 
Spurge Laurel 
Pyrus japonica 
GenLta, various 
Escailonia macrantha 
Jasminum nu'liflorum 
Arbutus Unedo 
Common Laurel coming 
into bloom. 
tity of flowers was more abundant, but smaller some 
what. When flowering begins manure water is 
given, which is of great benefit. In ground quite 
hard and holes made not much larger than to take in 
the roots easily (they were in pots 5 in. to 7 in. deep), 
the effect on earliness of flowering and compactness 
of growth was striking. 
I have often been struck by the little difference of 
time which Dahlias come into flower in Scotland 
compared with what I have seen in the south of 
England. In the immense breadths of ground set 
apart by Messrs. Dobbie and Co., at Rothesay, I 
have seen Dahlias earlier in flower than anywhere 
else, even hundreds of miles further south. Any 
information to aid one in getting plants to flower so 
early would be valued by many of us who want early 
supplies and cannot easily get them. The resource¬ 
ful J. C., Chard, does not write in vain when he 
records his methods of practice out of the ordinary 
course as indicated. We learn this season that 
Dahlias along with many other flowers were in great 
