362 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 2, 1901. 
the dark blues can scarcely be sold. Something 
more enlivening seems necessary at this season when 
everything around us is dull. 
Mr. Batho has recently been adding considerably 
to the number of his houses and has converted a 
hitherto useless stream to the very essential purpose 
of keeping his water tanks tilled. By damming the 
stream he gets a sufficient body of water to tax the 
powers of an engine which has been erected within 
a square brick building and which works on alter¬ 
nate days. This engine forces the water up to a 
great cistern placed on high ground at a considerable 
elevation above the level of the houses, and which 
holds 32,000 gallons of water. From this cistern a 
strong force of water is supplied to the pipes 
through all the houses, every pipe being turnished 
with a tap. Where the cost of water is so great, 
amounting to hundreds of pounds sterling per 
annum, in some of the large vineyards, it behoves 
the market growers to make use of all the natural 
helps that are at hand. The winter season is 
scarcely a fit time to make an inspection of the 
vineries, but where Grapes are supplied all the 3 ear 
round, it may be said that there is always something 
to see. The earliest houses had been started in 
November and were already showing flower bunches. 
None of tfce vineries have outside borders. For one 
reason, these would occupy too much space; and, 
again, in a market garden where £ s. d. has to be 
strictly considered ia all operations, and where young 
and fruitful Vines, instead of great old specimens 
are to be maintained, large borders are not necessary. 
The grower wants to know just where the roots are 
that he may feed and water them, and outside bor¬ 
ders altogether would necessitate a great deal of un¬ 
necessary expense and labour. The inside borders 
of the early vineries are mulched with short dung. 
By referring again to the illustration an idea will be 
obtained of these handsome houses in their summer 
or autumn condition. Mr. Batho will be noticed 
sitting in the front, and next him Mr. Maskell, with 
the foremen sitting further back. Within the last 
two years the owner of these vineries has entered 
the lists as a competitor at some of the great fruit 
shows. He has only exhibited on a few occasions 
and has come off first or second in each case. He 
had a much admired dozen bunches on the stand of 
the Ichthemic Guano Co. (Ipswich), at the Septem¬ 
ber show of the Scottish Horticultural Association 
held at Edinburgh two years ago. He was first in 
the open class for Canon Hall Muscats over a year 
ago at the November show of the National Chrys¬ 
anthemum Society; first last September at the 
Crystal Palace great fruit show in the market 
growers' open class; at the Paris Exhibition the 
Nether Street Grapes were easily first; and in 
November last the second prize was gained for three 
bunches of white Grapes at the N.C.S. show. It 
will be long before the prestige of the British Grape 
grower, either in private or commercial gardening, 
declines.—D. 
- «*»«-— 
ZONAL PELARGONIUMS, 
Better known as greenhouse Geraniums, are a wide 
and varied class of plants. The plants to furnish 
our display in summer will require to be looked at. 
Cut down to a few joints, using the ripened points 
as cuttings. Insert these in boxes or thumb pots 
filled with sandy soil, and replace in a brisk tempera¬ 
ture of 6o°. Water with a rose, which will be enough 
before they are rooted. It will be advisable to wait 
a fortnight before repotting after being cut down. 
Prepare a compost of 1 part loam, 1 leaf-mould, 1 
Mushroom dung, and 1 part consisting of lime rubble, 
soot, bonemeal, sand, and charcoal. Repot firmly 
in 6 in. and 7-in. pots, that will induce firm, short- 
jointed wood. The footstalk will be able to uphold its 
trusses of bloom. Gro w on in a vinery or a Geranium 
house. Regulate shoots and pick off all flowers up 
to the end of April. The following six months the 
greenhouse or conservatory will be in a blaze of 
incessant flowers of all hues. There are innumerable 
varieties to choose from, both in flower and leaf. 
Trained specimens of the bicolor and tricolor 
sections are much in vogue now. At no time damp 
the leaves of Pelargoniums when watering. When 
root-bound feed three times a week. Keep clear of 
greenfly by the use of XL All fumigator.Repot cuttings 
when struck in 4-in. and 5-in. pots. Plunge outside 
in an open frame when all fear of frost is away. 
Allow them to make wood in summer. A few 
flowers may be had during the last months of the 
year before you allow them to rest, previous to being 
potted in spring .—Adam V. Main, Coltness Gardens, 
Wishaw, N.B. 
DRESSING HARDY FRUIT TREES. 
All kinds of hardy fruit trees derive great benefit 
from an annual cleaning, yet in some gardens they 
are left to themselves for years. If the loose pieces 
of bark on such trees were removed all kinds of 
grubs and insects would be found concealed, which 
in the spring time awake to new life and creep up¬ 
wards to renew their ravages on foliage and fruit. 
The stems and main branches as high up as one can 
reach at least should first be scraped with an old 
trowel, especially if moss is growing thereon, then 
brushed down with a stiff brush, and afterwards 
painted, rubbing the dressing well into the crevices 
and round the angles of the branches. The follow¬ 
ing is a very good and cheap mixture to use. Cut 
1 lb. of Lifebuoy Soap into slices, put in a bucket, 
pour on two gallons of boiling water, and make this 
into a thin paint by adding soot and lime, using 
rather more soot than lime, as plain lime-washed 
trees are unsightly objects in a garden. The above 
mixture dries a greyish colour, and is not at all 
objectionable. Lifebuoy Soap is supposed to be 
very helpful in healing the cankered parts on Apple 
trees.— G. B., Mona Cottage, Holbeach. 
- —— ■ 
JOURNEYMEN. 
I think, with Mr. C. Blair, that smaller places are 
better for gaining knowledge than large ones ; and 
that if a man gets into another department he is still 
under the same head gardener, and consequently 
working in the same groove as before, in many 
respects, such as, for instance, watering, ventilating, 
&c. If he has the energy a young gardener should 
have, he will go into a place and do his utmost for 
his own benefit, and by so doing he will give satis¬ 
faction both to himself and the gardener he is under. 
Should he be in a large place he will, of course, have 
charge of a much less variety of plants or fruits, as 
the case may be, than in a small one. In this case, 
in my opinion, one year is sufficient. Then if he 
has done his duty, where is the head gardener that 
would not do his duty by him in trying to get him a 
situation suitable to his ability ? But Mr. T. S. 
Dick seems to think that head gardeners look upon 
their assistants as slaves. This may be the excep¬ 
tion, but, I think, not the rule. I think that when 
he has held a head gardener's place for a few years, 
he will find it is harder work to please master and 
man than to fill the place of a journeyman, which he 
now evidently finds so trying.— F. G. Brewer, head 
gardener, Terlings Park, Nr. Harlow, Essex. 
- --e-- 
BOTHWELL CASTLE, BOTHWELL. 
I recently paid a visit to that fine old noble resi¬ 
dence, Bothwell Castle, one of the seats of the Earl 
of Home. Bothwell Castle has been long noted for 
a fine show of Chrysanthemums. So late as Decem¬ 
ber 23rd, more like November 1st, I was quite sur¬ 
prised to see such a fine lot of 500 odd plants 
arranged in the centre of a fine span-roofed house,50ft. 
long and 18 ft. wide, rising from 2$ ft. in front, with 
an even slope to 9 ft., and at the extreme end 6 ft. 
wide. Plants averaged four blooms each, in g-in. 
pots, fresh, and as fine as anyone could wish for so 
late. Mr. Archibald, his lordship’s able and enthusi¬ 
astic gardener, told me that her ladyship always 
depends on the Bothwell Castle 'Mums for Christ¬ 
mas, for church decoration, and on the day after 
24th of December they would be all cut for that 
purpose; but on leaving that house we entered 
another lean-to which was well filled with well 
grown free sorts which looked like to keep up the 
supply for at least months to come. 
On leaving this house we entered another lean-to, 
which made me open my eyes, when, to my delight, 
I saw such a fine lot of Begonia Gloire de Lorraine, 
about four dozen plants in 65-in. pots, averaging 
20 in. each way, on a sloping stage, relieved very 
effectively with well grown plants of Grevillea 
robusta, in 5-in. pots, in the pink of health. This 
show was very fine. We then passed from this 
house through a very pretty little stove fernery, also 
in the pink of health. The front stage had some 
very fine plants, Gymnogrammes of sorts in fine 
order. We then passed through a span-roofed 
plant stove. Here there was a fine mixed^collec’.ion 
of plants. Some good Orchids were seen here, such 
as Laelia anceps, fine type ; good Cypiipedinms of 
sorts ; and Zygopetalum Mackayi, with fine spikes. 
Here we saw one of the finest plants of Epiphyllum 
coccineum. Mr. Archibald says it is over sixty 
years old. The main stem will be quite 4 in. in 
diameter ; the plant will be about 6 ft. through, and 
I should say carries thousands of flower buds, just 
ali about bursting into flower. It must be a fine 
sight when in full bloom. We passed into another 
span-roofed Croton house, which was also fine, all 
the plants being table size. 
Mr. Archibald is at present much interested in 
Apples and Pears. We found him very busy pre¬ 
paring borders for planting new and replanting half 
specimens of all the leading sorts most suitable for 
the district, for which he is well informed. Both¬ 
well Castle Gardens are very extensive, and lie 
beautifully on the banks of the Clyde, overlooking 
that fine old village where Dr. Livingstone, the great 
African explorer, was born. After passing a most 
enjoyable hour with Mr. Archibald we returned very 
much pleased and edified with our afternoon.— J.M. 
SOPHRONITIS GRANDIFLORA. 
This little gem deserves a place in every cool 
Orchid house. When in flower it is everyone’s 
favourite ; colour brilliant scarlet. It is a very small 
growing plant, requiring a limited space only. Now 
is a good time to purchase plants newly imported. 
The following mode of treatment I find suits it best, 
using shallow pans 3 in. and 4 in. and suspended 
near the glass in a cool house. Delighting in shade 
it should not be exposed to bright sunshine, as it 
browns the leaves. In making up the pans place 
about eight to twelve leading growths together. 
Drain the pans carefully and use peat and sphagnum 
moss in equal proportions, with a few small pieces 
of charcoal to keep the compost open and porous. 
It should be kept moist all the year through. The 
best time to pot established plants is when new 
roots are showing at the base of the last made 
pseudobulb. When the flowers are showing I remove 
them into the intermediate house to open, which 
increases the size of flower and gives better colour. 
— Geo. Walker, The Gardens, 43, Circus Road, St. 
John's Wood. 
MAKING OF SPAWN. 
One way of helping to down the expense of the 
garden is to make our own Mushroom spawn. Take 
as materials a barrowload of cow dung, rather stiff, 
and two barrowloads of horse droppings, and half a 
barrowload of fibrous loam. Mix these into a stiff 
mortar-like substance until well incorporated, and 
look like grafting clay. Then make a frame of wood, 
say Jdn. boards, and in four pieces—that is, two 
sides and two ends—enclosing a space of 9 in. loDg, 
4J in. wide, and ij in. deep. Obtain a clean board 
and bucket of water, dip the frame in the water, 
place on your board, fill it with the prepared mix¬ 
ture, strike level with a trowel, and turn out the 
bricks, placing them on edge on boards to dry. In 
a few days make holes in the bricks, but not going 
through—say about an inch in diameter—turn the 
bricks until they are very dry, then into each hole 
place a piece of good spawn and cover with clay or 
cow dung to prevent from falling out. Next make 
a hot bed, and build the bricks on edge in piles in 
honeycomb or pigeon-hole fashioD ; cover with litter 
so that a temperature of 80° will be kept. The 
bricks must be removed (as the spawn runs), and 
kept in a dry place until wanted for use. This is 
really a good plan.— T. S. Dick, Castlemilk Gardens, 
Lockerbie. 
-- 
CAMPANULAS. 
Some of our most interesting and beautiful plants 
for the flower borders and rockeries in the summer 
are the Campanulas or Bellflowers, so called from 
the shape of the flowers. There are so many 
different species, and such a diversity among them 
that they may be grown by all, the pretty Campanula 
isophylla and its white variety, alba, being often 
seen growing luxuriantly in cottagers’ windows. 
Mayi is a newer form, floweriDg more freely and 
stronger than the type. Some of the Bellfbwers 
are annuals, among these being C. macrostyla, a 
half hardy one, and C. attica and its white variety, 
hardy annuals; the two latter are a pleasing 
association of colour, and only grow g in. high. Of 
