February 9, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
375 
draw upon it by means of leaf transpiration. As the 
borders of the early vinery will in the majority of 
cases be mulched with short, thoroughly rotted 
manure, the need for applying fertilisers is abolished. 
Where the mulching system is not practised a 
dustiDg of Thomson's manure should be supplied 
once a fortnight, or oftener. Muscat Grapes should 
not be so hard forced as Black Hamburghs, as the 
lull flavour is only attainable in Muscat Grapes cut 
about midsummer. Later Vines should be started 
in the way recommended in previous calendars. 
Melons. —The earliest batch of Melons will now 
be sown, and preparations should at once be made 
to get in the soil to the house in which they are to 
be planted. For early sowing one can depend on 
Read’s Scarlet Flesh, The Countess and Frogmore 
Orange. 
Cucumbers should also be sown to take the place 
of the winter plants. 
Strawberries, as previously advised, should be 
brought on successively in Peach houses or Melon 
houses with a temperature not below 6o°. The 
pinching of Peach tree laterals, by the way, should 
be regularly attended to. The trees in flower should 
be fertilised either by smart tapping or by a soft- 
haired brush. Figs should be maintained warm, 
close and moist; the growth must also be constantly 
tied in and regulated. Cherries also demand atten¬ 
tion.— D. K. 
-•*—- 
WORK UNDER GLASS 
Increases daily now, and the would-be head gar¬ 
dener, of which a deal is being written just now, 
must be on the alert, airing with every care in the 
early fruit houses as the young foliage of Vines and 
Peaches is very tender, and so soon crippled with 
cutting winds from the cooler quarter, which have been 
prevalent this past week. No front air is necessary 
in these houses for another month, and not even 
then in the vinery. Put on a chink of air at the top 
when theglass reads 68° or 70°,increasing gradually as 
the sun gains power on the house. The heat should 
dot much exceed 8o°, closing soon after 2 p.m., with 
plenty of atmospheric moisture; night temperature 
58° to 6o°. Peaches in flower require daily attention 
as to fertilisation with a camel’s hair brush about mid¬ 
day, keeping the trees dry overhead until passed out 
of flower, but damping down paths, borders, &c., 
twice daily when bright. Give air at 60", and avoid 
the thermometer reading much over 70° at any given 
time or until stoning is passed. Close between 2 and 
3 p.m. ; night temperature 45° to 50°. Early 
Strawberries in this house with us will soon 
be in flower, when the said brush will find its wav 
amongst these. Push on with the propagation of 
Iresine, Coleus, Mesembryanthemums, Heliotropes, 
Alternantheras, Geraniums, &c , uptil the required 
number is secured. Plant out Cucumbers raised 
early last month. Keep near the glass and the 
house about 70° at night with a rise of io° or so 
with sun-heat. Sow a few Melons for a first crop, 
two or three seeds in 2j-in. pots, and confine to one 
plant, and that sturdiest, as soon as you can decide. 
Insert Begonia Gloire de Lorraine cuttings from the 
base of old plants as soon as procurable. They are 
not over fastidious as to compost, leaf soil, cocoanut 
fibre, or silver sand respectively will induce them to 
form roots. Keep close and fairly moist.— 
Experience. 
KltcRen Garden Calendar. 
Digging operations will be pushed on during the 
present spell of sharp weather. Wherever more 
than 2 0 or 3 P of frost are registered, planting should 
be stopped in the case of all sub-shrubs, but trees 
and larger shrubs can still be placed in, although 
every care should be exercised to prevent the roots 
from becoming frosted. Manure heaps and heaps of 
decaying vegetable matter, leaf mould and such like 
can at this season be turned over so as to allow of 
further decomposition, Vegetable mould should be 
clean, that is, the vegetables composing it should not 
have been diseised, and in turning it over at this 
time a considerable quantity of lime should be spread 
between each separate layer of the mould. Char¬ 
coal fires, and fires of all the garden rubbish for 
making wood ashes, should be kept going. Light 
soils are especially benefited by the application of 
wood ashes. Heavy soils as a rule contain plenty of 
potash and the only real benefit to them would be 
the mechanical change that might accrue. But 
road scrapings would be better than wood ashes if a 
mechanical agent is desired. 
Peas. —Weekly sowings of Peas can be made dur¬ 
ing this month, in pots, and in favoured gardens in 
the southern counties of England, a warm south 
border may be chosen for an outdoor sowing. These 
early open-air sowings should be made against a wall 
if possible and should be protected by Spruce 
branches. When the seedlings have made an inch 
or two of growth they should be earthed up, and 
the branches need only be placed to shelter them 
during the coldness of the night. Sparse twiggy 
branches may then be got and placed to support 
them. The dwarf Canadian Wonder furnishes a first 
rate early variety for out of doors. 
Cauliflowers may also be sown in boxes, along 
with other sowings of Cabbages and Onions, in 
separate boxes, for early spring planting. When the 
soil is in good working condition sowings of the 
above may be made. Turnips. Radishes, Lettuces, 
and Carrots may be again made in warm frames for 
successional supplies. Endive under glass can be 
blanched by placing pots over the plants; or they 
can be treated in the same way out of doors. New 
Mushroom beds must constantly be made and 
spawned. Seakale and Asparagus roots for forcing 
should be placed in warm darkened cellars ; such 
cellars can be conveniently arranged alongside of 
heated Mushroom houses. 
The store cellars for root crops, &c., should be 
overhauled, or at least should be kept clean and airy. 
In case of severe frost Broccoli in the open-air should 
be heeled over, or a leaf or two may be broken down 
over the heads. Parsnips still in the ground should 
now be lifted .—Kitchen Gardener. 
—- - I— - 
©leanings ftpim tfje Dtntlh 
nf Science. 
The undermentioned subjects were discussed at the 
Scientific Committee Meeting of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society on the 15th ult. 
Loss of reserve matter in pruning.—The fol¬ 
lowing communication on pruning Vines was 
received from Mr. Thomas Sharpe, Westbury, 
Wilts. :—“ The method in vogue of managing the 
growth and subsequent pruning of Vines appears to 
result in considerable loss ot reserve matter. 
Physiology teaches that the compounds elaborated 
in the leaves, after necessary supplies are made to 
Current growth and fruit, are stored for future use. 
Some of these are stored for the use of buds on the 
shoot the following spring. No. x, the lowest or 
basal bud, is required for fruiting lateral next 
season, but No. 2, the next and onwards, are not, 
and are therefore cut off at pruning time, resulting 
in the loss of all the reserve matter stored in the 
shoot above No. 1. If I understand aright, every 
living cell of a plant is a perfect entity, though the 
connecting strands of protoplasm may manifest a 
quasi symbiosis, the supreme object of which is per¬ 
petuation eitfcer sexually or vegetatively as environ¬ 
ment may render exigent. A mole, a rat, a rabbit, or 
even a toad may burrow under a Strawberry plant in 
summer, destroying more or less ot the roots. The 
plant, deprived of a full supply of sustenance, 
becomes a suitable host for red spider, which makes 
its wonted havoc. The plant in consequence makes 
but miserable growth in August and September. 
The flowers of this plant next season will be small, 
but the pollen abundant, the growth of the tori 
stunted, but it may bear a mass of seeds. Again, a 
healthy Blenheim Apple tree attracts attention, the 
owner having arranged a manure heap in such a 
position that the liquid ftom it will keep the Blen¬ 
heim over-supplied. Result: More growth the first 
season, but a diminishing growth afterwards for a 
few years, then two heavy crops of wretched fruit, 
all core and seeds. In these two instances of 
untoward environment the plants have adapted 
themselves by concentrating all their stamina to 
seed production. Can we turn such adaptations to 
account by the prevention of preparation for vegeta¬ 
tive perpetuation above-No. 1 bud in the Vine 
growth? Acting upon these thoughts I disbudded 
my laterals above No. 1 last July. Apart from 
really satisfactory appearance the Hamburghs 
exhibit no striking developments near the spurs, hut 
the Muscat shows protuberances at the bases of the 
spurs, aod these are quite conspicuous on that part 
of the rod which is four years old." 
Mr. Hudson observed that it is always the basal 
bud which is used for stock purposes, as the eyes or 
buds are inferior in strength from below upwards 
along the literal shoots. The basal bud always 
gives the most compact bunches of Grapes, the 
others supplying looser. He added that no pruning 
should be done until all the leaves had fallen. If 
the reserve material be contained in the shoot above 
the basal bud, and it be suggested by Mr. Sharpe 
that this could be utilised, then every bud must be 
suppressed except the basal. Experiments would 
show by comparison with those in which the lateral 
had been pruned down to the basal buds, whether 
the Grapes showed any superiority. It is hoped 
that Mr. Sharpe would continue his experiments, 
and record comparative results. 
Injured Peach shoots—Mr. James Hawkes, of 
Oiterly Park Gardens, Isleworth, sent shoots with 
the following remarks:—"During the past two 
seasons, about the time the house is closed for forc¬ 
ing, a great many of the young shoots cf Royal 
George (age of tree twelve years, growing in an early 
Peach house, and ripens end of June) have black 
rings round them, and from the buds small globules 
of gum exude. The tree in question has cropped well, 
has plenty of fibrous roots, and the growth is not 
over-strong. It has not been subjected to high or 
extremes of temperature, and is well supplied with 
water, nor has it been overfed with manure.” 
The specimens were sent to Dr. W. G. Smith for 
examination and repot t. 
Climbing Cactus. — Dr. Masters exhibited 
photographs of a spirally climbing Cactus having a 
flattened stem, and spines, both small and large, 
proceeding from the edges. It was probably a 
species of Phyllocactus from Brazil. The photos 
were received from Dr. Schumann, of Berlin. Mr. 
F. Im Thurn observed how Cereus in Geu ava at first 
grows flat against a support, but when it grows 
freely above assumes a more cylindrical character. 
It would seem, therefore, to be one of Kerner’s so- 
called “ leaning ” climbers, often forming a lattice- 
work by intersection of their shoots, if it have no 
adhesive roots, such as some species of Cereus 
possess. Mr. Henslow observed that the change 
of form is probably correlated with a different 
distribution of the mechanical or supporting tissue, 
for he finds that an Ivy shoot when supported has 
more pith and less wood than one of the same 
diameter, but growing freely in the air, in which the 
proportions of wood and pith are reversed. 
Carnations, single and double, on one 
plant.—A drawing was received from Mr. Cuth- 
bertson illustrating this not uncommon occurrence. 
Mr. Michael, Mr. Sutton, and Dr. Masters had_ 
observed similar cases, as in Begooias also, especially 
late in the season. An analogous occurrence is seen 
in Clematis Proteus, which bears double flowers 
early in the season, but single ones afterwards. Ia 
all cases it appears to be due to a check in 
nutrition. 
Pinus cone. — Dr. Masters exhibited a fine 
cone, received from Sir Ch. Strickland, of Pinus 
ponderosa var. benthamiana. It is a native of 
California. 
Mistleto variety.—Mr. Corderoy, of Didcot, 
sent a bough of Mistleto bearing longer and broader 
leaves than those of the usual wild form. It was 
believed to have been cut from an Apple tree. It 
was observed that the variety arose from some 
innate cause, but of course traceable to its parasit¬ 
ism, and that as Apples vary by the change of their 
environment, so the Mistleto is similarly affected. 
Australian Rhubarb.—Mr. Sutton called atten¬ 
tion to a variety of Rhubarb from Australia grown 
at Reading for some few years. It starts into growth 
every year in November, producing leaves with 
stalks 2 ft. long and three quarters of an inch in 
diameter, of a scarlet colour. Unfortunately in this 
climate it can only be depended upon during a mild 
season, the late frosts having destroyed it. As 
Rhubarb is a native of N.-E. Asia, it had apparently 
quite changed its habit in Australia, where the 
seasons are reversed ; but has for the present retained 
its period of leafing which it acquired in the 
S. hemisphere. 
Glavaria, rare.—Mr. Bunyard sent a p’ant 
growing on Pine wood in a cellar. It is snow whi’e, 
much branching with pointed ends. Dr. M. C. 
Cooke reports that it is the rare species C. Kromb- 
hclzi. 
