June 29, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
701 
A Land Claiming Farce.—Every year the New¬ 
castle Corporation send in the claim for £32 ns. 8d. 
to the South Shields Corporation for the rent of the 
bed of the river on which they have built a quay. 
The Shields people take no notice of the claim and 
the Newcastle people never take steps to enforce it, 
but send it in annually. Perhaps they are waiting 
until the river bed is more valuable before they en¬ 
force their claim. 
The Agricultural and Horticultural Association. 
Limited.—We have received the schedule of prizes 
offered for competition at this year's " One & All " 
Flower Show to be held at the Crystal Palace on 
August 16th and 17th. It marks a considerable 
advance on those which have stimulated such notable 
displays of working men's produce in previous years. 
Full particulars are included of the Countess of 
Warwick’s scheme for a combined educational 
lower show where the various institutions engaged 
in the technical teaching of horticulture and agri¬ 
culture will have an opportunity of meeting and 
comparing results. Lady Warwick presents a 
Challenge Vase for competition among these institu¬ 
tions, and her sister, Lady Algernon Gordon-Lennox, 
we are informed, will found a similar. Challenge 
Trophy for local horticultural societies with a view 
to stimulate their interest in this movement. 
■ i— — — 
CELERY 
Is the chief winter salad, and when well prepared 
is a universal favourite. So much depends on good 
culture, and proper blanching, that I would like to 
give a few hints on its management. One sowing is 
sufficient, which should be made about the first 
week of April. The seed should be sown in a 
shallow box, and placed on any moist warm material 
under glass, and shaded with brown paper until the 
seedlings are up. The seed of Celery germinates 
slowly. When the seedlings are 2 in. in 
height they should be dibbled out 3 in. apart in a 
frame which should have 2 or 3 in. of 
short well-rotted farmyard manure well trodden 
down on the bottom, and 2 ins. of good loam 
(no leaf mould or sand) neatly levelled down on the 
top. Give a good watering with a fine-rosed can, 
shade from strong sunshine for about a week until 
the plants are well rooted. Water every day if 
they require it, as success greatly depends on the 
plants never being allowed to get dry. Trenches 
should be thrown out 18 ins. wide, and 12 in. deep, 
and should have 3 in. of well decayed manure forked 
in. From the second week until the end of June is 
a good time to plant, which should be done with a 
trowel. They should be planted 10 ins. apart and 
made very firm. Celery plants are gross-feeders, 
and should have a good soaking once a week of 
liquid manure water made from sheep droppings 
and some soot. Earthing up shou'd not be done 
until the plants have made strong growth. This 
should always be done in dry weather. All suckers 
should be pulled off. Each plant should be tied up 
not too tightly. Good and hardy kinds that stand 
the winter well are Standard Bearer and Major 
Clarke.— F. Ross. 
-- 
LATHYRUS GRANDIFLORUS. 
The perennial Peas, although they cannot vie with 
their sweeter sisters, In the matter of colour and 
perfume, are so showy and so generally useful in 
certain positions in the garden that they cannot well 
be dispensed with. Out of the 150 species or so, 
there are two or three which are as well worthy of 
culture as the beautiful annual varieties of L. 
odoratus. Moreover, they are exceedingly orna¬ 
mental,'and will thrive in almost any soil or situa¬ 
tion ; therefore they suit./sr excellence, the amateur’s 
requirements. 
The subject of this note is, perhaps, the best of all 
for the decoration of suburban gardens, at least, I 
thought so, on visiting the limited space at the com¬ 
mand of Mr. J. W. Caunter, of Horn Lane, Acton, 
W. Here L grandiflorus in a not too suitable 
situation was displaying all the glory of its 
papilionaceous character, and producing in some 
profusion those beautiful butterfly flowers for which 
these plants are so esteemed. 
These flowers are of a dark, rich rose, and very 
large—hence the specific name. They are, like the 
leaflets, mostly produced in pairs on long peduncles, 
and, consequently, are very valuable for vases or 
buttonholes. The plant is remarkably slender in all 
its parts, the floral organs excepted, which latter, 
by reason of their size and substance, are strongly 
in contrast. 
The stems are tetragonal or four-angled, while the 
delicate three-cut-tendrils suggest the employment 
of tall feathered twigs for the adequate support of 
the plant. Such plants are well worth more atten¬ 
tion than they generally receive, both as regards 
manurial matter and full exposure to the sun. In a 
word L. grandiflorus may be made one of the finest 
objects in the garden, whether considered from a 
decorative point of view, as a representative of the 
Pea family, or as a source of cut flowers.—C. B. G. 
--— 5 *- 
ASPIDISTRAS. 
In reference to the article on Aspidistras by that 
able contributor " C. B. G.,” which appeared in 
your issue of the 22nd inst., may I be allowed to 
supplement a few remarks on this useful class of 
plants for the benefit of readers of your interesting 
journal. 
A. lurida and its variegated form is the variety 
most frequently met with, being grown by the 
thousand for the embellishment of indoor apart¬ 
ments. In addition to the above mentioned kind the 
following varieties are cultivated by the principal 
Continental firms, namely, A. elatior, green and 
variegated ; but the difference between the two kinds 
is so slight that where one is grown the other need 
not be kept. A. macrophylla, as its name indicates, 
isJarger and more robust than the other type. The 
petiole or stem is thicker and longer, the leaf very 
much wider than any other variety. However, to 
recognise its true character, it is absolutely necessary 
to grow the plant under the best conditions. For 
instance, Aspidistras being natives of China and 
Japan where they are' found growing in swampy 
places, the plants in this country should be grown 
(to obtain the best results) in a shady but warm and 
humid atmosphere. If grown entirely in rooms 
where the air is dry and arid, and especially if in a 
sunny place, the plants in such a position would 
have much shorter stems and narrower leaves, and 
in that condition it would be similar to the ordinary 
kinds. However, if the plant cannot be given a 
more congenial position it may be assisted in its 
growth by placing the pot inside another ordinary or 
fancy pot, and by placing some moss on the top of 
the soil. In this way moisture at the roots will be 
conserved, a point of no little importance when 
growing this or any other moisture loving plants in 
an indoor apartment. 
A. punctata is similar in size to A. lurida, but the 
leaves are irregularly spotted creamy white which of 
course renders it quite distinct. A. vittata is beau¬ 
tifully aDd regularly striped white, but the intense 
variegation causes it to be somewhat delicate in 
constitution, owing to the absence of chlorophyll or 
green colouring matter. 
A. angustifolia has leaves about an inch or so in 
width and about 6 in. in length. Being of a compact 
habit, it becomes exceedingly useful where dwarf 
foliage plants are required. 
A. angustifolia variegata is very scarce, but similar 
ingrowth; the foliage is nicely striped white, and 
when well done, it is very fine indeed ; but, on the 
other hand, if not vigorously grown, the growth is 
unsatisfactory, as the leaves become so narrow that 
they appear almost grass-like. 
Aspidistras are best propagated early in the spring, 
just before they commence to make new growth, by 
dividing the creeping roots or rhizomes into pieces 
baviDg several leaves. Many of the market growers, 
to obtain enhanced prices, put several selected single 
leaves with roots attached into a pot so as to quickly 
produce a good specimen, but that system only lends 
itself where a warm house or pit is available. For 
plants continually kept in rooms, weak doses of 
artificial manure may bs given to the green variety, 
but variegated kinds should never be liberally 
treated, otherwise they are apt to revert. Where 
green leaves appear amoDgst variegated ones it is 
best to remove them, as being more robust, they 
elbow out the more beautiful but weaker ones. The 
best soil for Aspidistras (as, in fact, for almost all 
foliage plants) is a light one composed of equal 
parts fibrous yellow loam and leaf mould or peat, 
with sufficient coarse silver sand to render it 
porous. When potting, sufficient space should be 
allowed below the rim of the pot for watering. 
The flowers which are more curious than beautiful 
are produced on a level with the soil. In this 
country plants rarely produce seed, however. The 
writer has recently seen several plants raised from a 
pod of seed found on a plant obtained from the Con¬ 
tinent where the environment and general conditions 
were conducive to the production of seed. 
Much more might be written on the cultivation of 
this deservedly popular plant, but space forbids our 
doing so on this occasion, more than to say that the 
foliage should be kept clean by sponging it once a 
week with either tepid water, milk and water, or a 
little soap and warm water. Care should be taken 
whilst this is being done to support the back of the 
leaf with one hand whilst the front is being washed 
with the other, and so prevent breaking or rupturing 
it which is frequently the cause of the leaves splitting. 
During the winter months owing to more dirt and 
dust the foliage will need greater attention in this 
respect than during the summer ones, and those 
leaves with much variegation are better for being 
wiped with a clean duster rather than sponging them, 
as moisture at this season of the year often causes 
them to become quickly discoloured and not unfre- 
quently permaturely damp off.— A. G. N. Launder, 
36, Leppoc Road, Clapham, S. IV. 
RHODOCHITON VOLUBILE 
Is a beautiful cool house climber, and in warm 
situations succeeds well out doors during summer. 
Its beauty can only be seen to perfection when 
loosely festooned to the wires in the form of " loops," 
as it is a slender rampant grower bearing flowers in 
the axil of every leaf, with a rosy purple calyx, the 
tube or trumpet being a darker shade, and lasts a 
considerable time in beauty. Seeds should be sown 
now for a display of this beautiful climber in the 
dull days of winter when we have few flowering 
climbers to enchant our gazes, of this particular 
habit, using shallow pans or boxes and compost of 
sandy soil, and place in warm situation, with a piece 
of glass or slate over it until germinated. Then keep 
near the glass in a heat of 6o° to 8o°. Shade from 
strong sunshine and when ready for handling prick 
off into a box of medium rich soil, 3 in. apart each 
way, and when this space is filled pot in 5-in. pots 
or else plant in a mound of soil where convenient to 
flower them, as I prefer this to pot culture. A 
9-in. pot will suffice for the plants. An occasional 
watering of liquid manure should be given. This 
part of their culture must be strictly observed as 
erring on either side will impair their health. When 
on the decline their foliage takes on some beautiful 
tints of gold and scarlet which is very useful for 
dinner table decorations, the trails being so long as 
10 ft. We treat the species as an annual, as the best 
results are obtained from young plants. Thrips are 
the only insect I have known to like this plant, but 
the syringe will keep these at bay, used occasionally ; 
a compost of one part loam, half part leaf soil and 
sand to keep the whole porous suits it .—Northern. 
NEPENTHES. 
These interesting plants are not nearly so difficult 
of culture as to merit the comparatively few attempts 
that are made to cultivate them well ; the chief 
requisite being a house in which a moist heat may 
be obtained of from about 65° to 8o° Fahr. in 
summer, and 6o° to 70° in winter. The soil for 
potting should be composed of about two parts good 
fibrous peat to one part of sphagnum moss, not 
broken up very small. These plants should, of 
course, be grown in baskets or Orchid pans, sus¬ 
pended from the roof of the house, so that the 
pendulous “ pitchers" may be seen to the best 
advantage. Propagation may be effected in two 
ways, viz., by cuttings and by seeds. Cuttings 
should be taken in May or early June, selecting well- 
ripened, one year old shoots, and should be inserted 
in a hot bed of fibre and sand in a close pit or frame. 
If seeds are obtainable, sow in a similar compost to 
that recommended above, with the addition of a 
little sand, water in carefully and place in a close 
moist pit with a temperature of about 85°. When 
the plants have three or four leaves, pot off into 
similar compost to that used for seed-pan into small 
pots, potting off as they require it again into baskets 
or pots, the compost this time containing no sand. 
—C. J.G. 
