766 
July 27, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WOR 
STOPPING CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
This is one, if not the most important operation in 
Chrysanthemum culture, as if the right bud is not 
secured at the proper time nothing will produce a 
good bloom. The best bud to take is undoubtedly a 
second crown with the majority of our large flower¬ 
ing varieties. The best method I have found to 
obtain these is to stop the plants that are struck 
during November and Dfcember at the end of 
February or beginning of March, when they have 
commenced to break. Confine them to one stem, 
as if two or more are taken from this break one is 
almost certain to grow away stronger than the 
others, and would naturally break a week or ten 
days before the others. This break should be a 
natural one, and the number of shoots required 
should be taken from it; and if grown on in the 
ordinary way they will produce buds about the right 
time. Should a few show too early there need be no 
cause for alarm, as a third bud will soon appear 
from this break with often bettei results than a first 
crown. Some growers make a rule of stopping their 
plants twice, but this requires a great amount of 
practice For instance, to stop two plants of the 
same variety at the same time might mean weeks of 
difference in showing bud, simply because one plant 
is on the verge of making a natural break and the 
other not.— W. Waite, Soutlifields. 
ADIANTUM FARLEYENSE. 
When well grown, there are few Ferns more beauti¬ 
ful than Adiantum farleyense. The origin of this 
Fern has not been definitely traced. The first 
specimen came up with some Ferns sent from 
Barbadoes by a gentleman whose residence, Farley 
Hill, suggested the name. It is classed under stove 
Ferns, and delights in a strong heat. It is propa¬ 
gated by division, as it scarcely ever produces 
spores. This should be done in the spring. It 
should be kept in small pots; at least it seems to 
thrive best in them, and nothing looks finer with its 
dense masses of green and gracefully drooping 
fronds. The barren pinnules are elegantly fringed, 
and the young fronds are of a very delicate pink 
colour in their young stage. It delights and thrives 
in a compost of strong fibrous loam one part, leaf 
mould one part, and sharp sand one part. It 
requires a temperature of 6o° to 70° in the winter, 
and in the summer 70° to 8o° is most suitable. 
During the growing season if it is fed with soot 
water and liquid cow manure, it will benefit con¬ 
siderably. Of course, in the winter it will not 
require so much water, as it requires resting, but 
one must be very careful not to let it get too dry.—- 
T. W. Dollery, The Gardens, Whitburn, Sunderland. 
TABLE DECORATION. 
Although cut flowers are more suitable for decorat¬ 
ing the drawing room and boudoir than for the 
dining room, still a dinner table without a few choice 
flowers or pot plants would seem an extremely 
naked affair ; whereas, when done up with a good 
class of flowers and greenery, and by exercising 
ingenuity and good taste in the arrangement, 
almost the first remark that people make (and 
especially the ladies) is " how pretty the flowers 
are," or words of a similar nature. People who do 
not appreciate the flowers on the table are generally 
those who dislike anything that diverts the mind 
from the all important business of dining, but unless 
the decorations are overdone, the flowers give great 
pleasure to the eye of the majority of people, and it 
would be a great loss in many ways should the 
fashion become antiquated. For a bright cheery 
display, I know of nothing better at this season than 
Mrs. J. G. Day Ivy Pelargonium (cherry colour), 
done with Asparagus plumosus; or Achievement 
(salmon-pink) done with scented Pelargonium 
points ; and a simple arrangement that is within the 
reach of all is Campanula persicifolia alba, also alba 
plena, done with common Asparagus and Mig¬ 
nonette. Malva Moschata alba is another good 
white flower for the purpose, and would pass for the 
white Godetia, while it is a capital herbaceous plant, 
and can be raised from seed, and flowers freely the 
second year . — John C. Dick, The Gardens, Champ- 
fleurie, Linhthgrow. 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED, 
The undermentioned awards were made by the 
Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick on the 
occasion of the Lily Conference on the 16th inst. 
Orchid Committee. 
Odontoglossum maculatum thompsonianum.— 
The flowers of this grand variety are the largest we 
have seen for the species, and handsomely spotted. 
The sepals are brown with yellow edge and tips. 
The broad, obovate petals are yellow on the upper 
half and richly blotched with brown on the lower 
half, the base of the petal being almost cordate. 
The heart-shaped yellow lip is handsomely blotched 
with brown all over. (First-class Certificate.) W. 
Thompson, Esq. (gardener, Mr. W. Stevens), Wal¬ 
ton Grange, Stone, Staffs. 
Cypripedium kimballianum Low's var. —The 
upper sepal is Ovate and heavily lined with rich 
brown on a straw-yellow ground. The long, spread¬ 
ing and declining petals are richly spotted with 
brown on straw-yellow, but the spots give place to 
lines towards the top. The lip is pale brown. It is 
a natural hybrid between C. rothschildianum and C. 
dayanum, the influence of the former being well seen 
in the sepals and petals. (Award of Merit.) Messrs. 
Hugh Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, Enfield. 
Odontoglossum crawshayanum. —The parentage 
of this artificial hybrid was O. Hallii X O. harry- 
anum. The sepals are dark chocolate-brown, netted 
with yellow. The petals are blotched with a paler 
chocolate-brown on a bright yellow ground, while 
the tip is yellow. The lip takes the shape of that of 
O. harryanum, undoubtedly, and is pale yellow, 
blotched with maroon on the lower half. The sepals 
and petals are slightly incurved like the last named 
parent, but otherwise they show the influence of O. 
Hallii. (Award of Merit.) de B. Crawshay, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. W. J Stables), Rosefield, Sevenoaks, 
Floral Committee. 
Lilium Coridion. —This beautiful little Lily seldom 
exceeds 1 ft. in height and bears lanceolate, scattered 
leaves with one to three blooms at the apex. L. 
Coridion differs from L. concolor chiefly in colour, 
the latter being dark red, while that under notice is 
bright yellow. The flowers shown by Messrs. R. 
Wallace & Co., Kilnfield Gardens, Colchester, were 
finely punctate with crimson. (See illustration on 
the Supplement.) It received an Award of Merit. 
Lilium Burbankii. —This is a hybrid raised by 
Luther Burbank, the •• Wizard of Horticulture," of 
California. The parents were L. pardalinum and 
L. washingtonianum, and as the seedlings have been 
sent out without selection there is naturally a great 
amount of variation amongst them. (See illustration 
on the Supplement.) (Award of Merit.) Messrs. 
R. Wallace & Co. ; Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart, 
(gardener, Mr. W. Bain), Burford, DorkiDg ; and 
Mr. Amos Perry, Hardy Plant' Farm, Wincbmore 
Hill. 
Campanula lactiflora caerulea. —The stems 
of this hardy and handsome perennial vary from 3 ft. 
to 5 ft. in height according to the fertility of the soil 
and its available moisture. The flowers of the 
original are creamy-.white or milk-coloured as the 
specific name implies, moderate in size, bell-shaped, 
and borne in a branching panicle ; those of the hand¬ 
some variety under notice are blue. (Award of 
Merit.) Mr. Amos Perry. 
Carnation Ensign (Martin R. Smith). — The 
flowers of this border variety are of large and hand¬ 
some size and very pure white. The broad, rounded 
smooth petals are noc too numerous, and accordingly 
the calyx does not burst. (Award of Merit.) Mr. 
James Douglas, Edenside, Great Bookham, Surrey. 
Carnation Seymour Corcoran. —Here we have 
a bright yellow, self Carnation, with relatively few 
and very broad petals, not bursting the calyx. 
{Award of Merit.) Mr. James Douglas. 
Arctotis grandis. —The specimens shown under 
this name are annual, about 12 in. or so in height 
and furnished with irregularly, runcinate pinnatifid 
leaves, thinly woolly on both sides. The flowers are 
large, with long white rays, lilac on the reverse, and 
yellow at the base, thus making a yellow zone round 
the violet disc. It will make a handsome subject 
for beds or borders, delighting in sunshine like most 
of the Composites from South Africa. The Arctotis 
grandis of Thunberg is said by the Index Kewensis to 
be the A. stoechadifolia, Berg. (Award of Merit.) 
Mr, A. W. Wade, Riverside Nursery Colchester. 
LD. 
Iberis umbellata Rose Cardinal. —The flowtrs 
of this beautiful variety are of a bright rosy-red and 
produced in umbels as in the type. A quantity of it 
is being grown upon trial in the gardens at Chiswick, 
and we understand it was sent by Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Sons, Ltd., Chelsea. (Award of Merit.) 
Fruit and Vegetable Committee. 
Strawberry Queen Alexandra. —An Award of 
Merit was accorded a Strawberry under this name, 
and as the fruits quickly disappeared they must have 
been good. Mr. A. Wright, Mundsley Road, North 
Walsham. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
Watering. —At the time of writing the hot 
weather still continues, and the atmosphere is in a 
parched condition, and quickly licks up any moisture 
which bangs about. The man in charge of plants at 
this time of the year should bear in mind that, like 
himself, the plants under his care quickly suffer 
from thirst. Many begrudge the time it takes, but 
those who have the welfare of their plants at heart 
will not allow them to suffer for the want of a 
second watering during the day. A practice which 
should be avoided is watering a plant which is not 
dry at the time, because it will want some later on. 
By saturating the soil thus, the roots become suffo¬ 
cated, and their functions are hindered, with a 
result that the plant very soon gets into bad health. 
There is not much fear of cold water being used in 
and near towns during the summer, but in places 
where the water is not laid on much of the water is 
drawn from wells or pumped up by rams from 
springs. The effects of using cold water are not 
apparent for some time, but the injury is there just 
the same and will show itself, in proportion to the 
cold water treatment, in the form of a failing or 
weakened constitution. Always endeavour to keep 
the water as near as possible of the same tempera¬ 
ture as the atmosphere which is surrounding the 
plants. 
Syringing.— Wherever plants will allow the 
syrioge to be used on them, it should be used 
with a will, or the gardener’s arch-enemy in 
dry weather will soon make its presence felt. It 
has been written and pointed out times enumerable 
—the bad practice of careless syringing. It is a 
common thing to see a man, when syringing a house 
of plants, stand at one end of a stage, and to save 
moving his pail of water, syringe (?) the plants for 
several yards in front of him without moving from 
his position. Such a man often does more harm 
than good by such work as this. If the chief cause 
for the syringing is to damp the house generally, 
the principle will serve well, but there is generally a 
dual purpose to be served, one to damp the plants, 
and the other to keep them clean. No plant can be 
kept clean by simply damping over head, what it 
requires is a thorough syringing with the nozzle well 
beneath the bead and a skilled hand to direct the 
jet. Much mischief is often caused by syringing, 
especially with plants which have spines, thorns, or 
sharp spurs, by tearing the leaves against them by 
the force of water. At this time of the year once a 
day is not sufficient. The plants should be syringed 
thoroughly every morning and then again in the 
evening, and the gravel or ashes on which they are 
standing soaked as many times as it gets dry. By 
keeping the surroundings wet, the atmosphere round 
the plants is always kept charged with water and 
helps to check the excessive evaporation from their 
surface as well as provide a suitable growing 
medium. 
Gloriosa.— This popular stove climber is now 
growing away vigorously where provided with 
proper conditions, which are good soil, plenty of 
room, and a moist surrounding. Stove pests evince 
a special liking for the foliage of this plant, and if 
not frequently syringed with some weak insecticide 
to render its surface distasteful, it soon becomes 
disfigured. It makes such a large amount of growth 
from generally a small amount of soil, that the 
soil very soon becomes exhausted unless its fertility 
is kept up by an occasional dose of liquid manure or 
a small quantity of artificial manure is sprinkled on 
the surface and watered in. It grows much better 
when hanging in trails from the roof than when tied 
up close to the rafters, and does not like too much 
shade. 
