March 80, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
491 
sturdy, if kept near the glass before takiDg them off. 
Insert in small pans of sand, and place on hotbed or 
propagating pit. After rooting, pot into 4-in. pots, 
using a compost of two parts good loam, one part 
peat, and silver sand, to keep whole well open. Take 
care the pots are well drained, place in a cool 
position near glass; keep close, and shade from sun 
for a few days until established, after which moderate 
ventilation must be at fenced to. Promote slow 
growth,and use the syringe lo keep insects at bay. By 
the end of September remove them to an airy position 
in a warm greenhouse, and you will be rewarded by 
a good display of blue flowers. Weak liquid manure 
given about thrice weekly (byre preferable), will aid 
them admirably after the pots are full of roots — 
Northern. 
LARGE v. SMALL PLACES. 
Undoubtedly, many young men have been pon¬ 
dering in their minds, to find these grand old 
gardens referred to, by C. P. C. on page 477. 
Though I do not quite think they can be classed 
with the gardening establishments referred to in the 
discussion through your columns, I also fail to see 
how a man is to be completed from these grand old 
gardens, as one or two of our most important 
branches of gardening I do not think are touched 
upon at all. Be it so. He would before or after 
entering them have to come to a smaller place. 
Perhaps after a few years in these gardens, and a 
few in the grand old gardens in the same locality, one 
might be able to find a practical all round man. 
If one subject alone is to be studied or one 
division in gardening, there is no gainsaying but 
that it could be learnt to perfection; at the same 
time the subject selected is just as likely to be learnt 
in a smaller place. 
To prove this (if memory serves me right), the 
largest and heaviest bunch of grapes ever grown 
was by a single handed gardener. What a young 
man requires in my opinion is a thorough schooling, 
whether in nurseries or private gardens, large or 
small, before he is competent to take a head place, 
otherwise I cannot see how he is to know whether 
the work is being done right or wrong. Although I 
do not mean to say there are not places carried on 
under such conditions, and most gardeners make a 
speciality of some subject or the other. At the 
same time other things under his charge should not 
be allowed to disgrace him providing strength is 
maintained. 
I do not think a young man’s ambition when he 
takes a place should be the biggest shilling, but 
whether the work therein is to be to his advantage in 
the future. At the same time he should be paid 
sufficient or according to his capabilities. —IP. IP., S. 
©leanings ftpmt ffje KHnilb 
of Science 
The subjects given below were brought before the 
Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, on the 12th inst. 
Double flowers, production of.—Mr. Douglas 
contributed the following additional observations on 
this subject. He said, " I can speak of the Carnation 
and Picotee only from my own experience, and from 
what I have seen of the garden or German Stock. I 
have worked upon the Carnation over thirty years, 
raising a considerable number annually, and always 
saving the seed from the best double flowers, and the 
very best varieties in the various classes. Taking 
the average of seasons I get five per cent, double 
flowers as good as the parents, twelve per cent, 
single flowers, of every shade of colour favoured by 
the Carnation. This would leave eighty-three per 
cent, of double flowers, but in no respect equal in 
form to the parents. The finest lot of choice varie¬ 
ties I ever had was in a hot, dry season. The plants 
were well supplied with water, and many one-year- 
old plants produced upwards of 200 blooms each. I 
remember discussing the production of Stock seed 
some ten years ago with Mr. John Ward, then, as 
now, a market grower at Leytonstone in Essex, 
Speaking from his own experience, he informed me 
that he always obtained the largest percentages of 
double-flowered Stocks when he saved the seed from 
plants grown in pots. Subsequently I was being 
shown over a large establishment in Germany, where 
enormous quantities of seed were saved, and I found 
that all the best Ten-week Stock seed was saved in 
Germany exactly as Mr. Ward saved his seed in 
Essex. Thousands of flower pots about 5 in. or 6 in. 
in diameter were arranged on a wooden staging fully 
exposed to the open air, and I was also informed 
that it was necessary to grow the plants in this way 
to make sure of the seed producing a large percentage 
of double flowers. The Poppy has a greater tendency 
to produce double flowers than any other plant known 
to me, and certainly the tendency is greater in rather 
exhausted soil, as can easily be proved by allowing 
a bed to sow itself from the previous year’s bloom, 
and the plants to flower on the same ground with¬ 
out making an addition of soil or manure to the 
bed.” 
Abutilon Hybrids.—Professor Marcus Hartog 
sent the following communication with specimens 
from Queen's College, Cork :—”1 send you here¬ 
with specimens of some of my new Abutilon hybrids. 
The male was Abutilon vexillare, and the mother- 
plant a hybrid of the Darwini Boule de Neige type, 
which we called ‘ Petticoat,’ from its wide open 
habit. This plant is an exceptionally free seeder; 
its flowers are orange streaked with brown, and its 
leaves show very little trace of variegation. The 
hybrids all show a marked transverse depression at 
the insertion of the deltoid calyx-lobes on the tube, 
and most of them show colour in the calyx, like the 
male, and some sign of deep red or purple spotting in 
the depths of the corolla, which in most plants is 
elongated, like the sire. The one that I have 
called Blanche has a much more spreading corolla, 
of more substance than the rest, with a clear tend¬ 
ency to become pleiomerous—to double, in fact. 
Variegation is very irregular, even in the open 
ground, and becomes very slight in the winter 
quarters. It appears as a margination, gradually 
increasing till the only dark green parts lie along the 
greater veins. Again, in the open, some of the 
plants exhibit a marked purpling of the parenchyma 
on either side of the veins, which I have seen in no 
other Abutilons. All these hybrids agree in a much 
more free branching habit, with greater fulne=s of 
growth than any others that I know. The more 
erect ones send out more numerous lateral branches, 
and do not become leggy, while the spreading ones 
produce numerous branches that fill up the centre of 
the plant, and keep it from looking straggling. The 
summer flowers are at least half as large again as the 
winter ones that I send. The plants were raised 
from seed in the autumn of 1899, kept through the 
winter in a cold orangery, where they made no 
progress to speak of, and planted out at the end of 
May last year. In the autumn they were potted off, 
and have been kept in a greenhouse, far too crowded 
for them to do well. I may note, that among the 
Abutilon hybrids that we have the roots are almost 
always swollen with galls, produced by the nematode 
Heterodera radicicola, with which the mould 
Thielavia Hartogi (Butler) co-operates. These galls 
formed the subject of an interesting research by Dr. 
Butler, now cryptogamist to the Indian Government, 
and a preliminary abstract of it was published in the 
B.A. Report for 1900 (Dover). I have found the 
addition of soot to the soil useful in checking this 
disease, though I am not sure that it stops it. I 
take the opportunity to show an inflorescence of a 
hybrid Saraca (indica x tetrandra) raised by the late 
Wm. Crawford at Lakelands, Cork, and acquired by 
gift of his executors when the collection was broken 
up at his death. These hybrids, of which we have 
five distinct forms, are singularly ornamental shrubs 
for the stove, where they flower for nearly three 
months, beginning in February.” 
Though interesting from a scientific point of view, 
the flowers were not thought to be improvements 
upon existing plants in cultivation. 
-—-- 
KitcKen Garden Calendar. 
Seakale.— Those who have saved the thick roots of 
this excellent vegetable when lifting crowns for forc¬ 
ing will now have a good stock with which to make 
a new plantation. The thickest of the fleshy roots 
should be selected and cut into 3 in. or 4 in. lengths. 
To distinguish between the upper and lower end of 
these roots some cultivators make an oblique cut at 
the latter. In most casts, however, the two ends, 
that is, upper and lower are obvious. Some may 
even dispute whether it is necessary to be particular 
about the end that should be kept uopermost. The 
soil should have been deeply dug or even trenched 
in the autumn, and well manured at the same time. 
That of a rich and friable nature is well suited to the 
requirements of Seakale ; but if at all inclined to be 
heavy, a good plan would be to introduce road 
scrapings and other gritty matter to improve it. If 
put on now it should be forked into the top spit. 
The roots may then be planted with a dibber, in 
lines 18 in. asunder, and about 12 in. from plant to 
plant Go over the plantation after the Seakale has 
started to grow and remove all the weaker crowns, 
leaving only the best ores. By autumn this, under 
favourable conditions will be strong enough for 
forcing. The work may now be accomplished with¬ 
out further delay. 
Celery.— The earliest sowing of Celery should be 
ready for pricking off into boxes. This may be done 
as soon as the seedlings are fit to handle, and they 
will scon get established in the fresh soil if stood 
near the hot-water pipes in a vinery at work. On 
bright days the seedlings may be syringed lightly 
morning and afternoon, just sufficient to wet the 
foliage. Another sowing of seed may now be made 
for the main crop. 
Cabbages, Brussels Sprouts, &c. — No time 
should now be lost in sowing seeds of all the 
Cabbage tribe intended for late summer and autumn 
use. The east winds and the ground as well have 
been so cold for some weeks past that very little 
growth could have been made if the seeds had already 
been in the ground. In any case they will soon 
come away if the warmer weather, which we are all 
expecting, comes to the rescue. Prepare beds of 
friable or easily pulverised soil, which is more 
favourable to a good bed of seedlings than that of a 
lumpy or clayey nature. Avoid using grpund that 
has recently been occupied with members of the 
Cabbage tribe, or even as the seed beds of last year, 
as the soil is often full of the spores of the Anbury 
disease which causes clubbing or it may even har¬ 
bour the Cabbage-gall weevils. 
Beet. —A sowing of this may be made for early 
work The Turnip-rooted varieties are generally 
preferred for early work for various reasons. They 
may of course be sown upon a warm border, other¬ 
wise occupied with the roots of trees, where the 
ground must not be deeply dug. The shelter and 
warm exposure, as well as the early character of this 
type of Beet, will insure roots for the earliest supply 
required for salads during the forthcoming warm 
period. 
Chicory, Salsify and Scorzonera —These 
plants are all closely allied and have tap roots that 
penetrate the ground deeply. A rather deep, rich, 
and by no means heavy soil should be selected for 
them. The first-named makes an excellent winter 
salad, and strong roots should be encouraged for 
lifting and forcing. With it may be included the 
newer variety known as Whitloof Chicory, which 
is well adap:ed for forcing and of excellent quality. 
Asparagus. —Sow seeds of this excellent vege¬ 
table in order to have young plants coming on for 
future plantations. The lines should be 9 in. apart, 
or 12 in. would be better if ground is plentiful. It 
gives the plants more room to develop and affords 
facilities for hoeing the ground and keeping the 
plants clean. The seedlings should also be thinned 
out so as to leave some inches between them; an I 
in any case no two seedlings should be allowed tj 
struggle together for existence. During April, when¬ 
ever the weather becomes sufficiently mild and con¬ 
genial for growth to become active, new plantations 
from the beds of two year old seedlings should be 
made. Two lines for 3 ft. beds, or four lines for 4 ft. 
beds should be sufficient. Choose a fine day and 
when the roots have been lifted keep them covered 
up with mats till ready for planting when they 
should at once be covered to prevent them from 
getting dried up as that is highly inimical to their 
welfare. 
Globe Artichoke. —Fresh plantations may now 
be made by dividing the old plants 01 taking off 
suckers that may easily be detached with roots. 
Deep rich soil in a sunny position is the best for the 
Globe Artichoke in order to secure plenty of betds. 
Sometimes this vegetable is planted in out of the way 
places shaded by walls or overhung by trees ; but 
under those conditions a satisfactory crop of heads 
cannot be expected. The ground where it is in¬ 
tended to pl-mt them should have been trenched and 
well manured iu the autumn. Sow seeds if suckers 
are not sufficient for the requirements. 
