February 21, 1903. 
THE a ARDEN 1 NO WORLD 
175 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquires may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
nut as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
a separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped , addressed 
envelope is enclosed , and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
Anonymous communications arc treated in the usual editorial manner . 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World,” 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Black Hamburg Vines Bleeding (Anxious Inquirer). 
The cause of Vines bleeding is usually clue to late pruning ; 
but as you say that you completed that work the first week in 
December the evil must be due to some other cause. Not know¬ 
ing the circumstances, we can only make suggestions. You 
are not the only one, however, who has experienced something 
very similar, for Vines in many cases have bled so severely as to 
considerably weaken or even kill them in certain circumstances. 
What we would suggest is that the young wood was not properly 
matured before the Vines were pruned, the young wood being 
therefore soft and liable to allow the sap to escape. If the ends 
of the shoots that have been cut can dry up properly, or, in 
other words, die back so as to close the pores, the Vines would 
not bleed when growth is about to commence. Bleeding usually 
takes place when the fresh flow of sap begins to rise, so that we 
should advise you to give due attention to the ripening in the 
autumn, so that the wood will be hard and the roots thoroughly 
at rest. It is just possible that the roots of the Vines have got 
down into a clay medium, and are unable to ripen off during 
our growing season. It might be worth your while to> examine 
the state of the roots, and see whether they have got down into 
bad soil, or whether the soil of the border has got into bad 
condition. Styptics and painters knotting are not sufficient at 
times to stop the bleeding, although they serve to check the 
flow of the sap, which might otherwise be severe. In any case 
you can only do your best with these remedies just named, and 
if the bleeding is not too severe, nature will remedy the matter 
as soon as the Vines are in full leaf. It is only in the absence 
of leaves that bleeding can take place, because at present there 
is no exit for the rising sap, and the pressure in the interior of 
the stems must now be getting very strong. 
Grafting Quince Stock (W. W.). 
We cannot understand why you should want to cleft-graft the 
stocks unless they are very thick ; but even then we should 
prefer rind-grafting to cleft-grafting, because by the latter process 
you must split the top of the stock in order to take the graft, and 
decay is liable to set in as a result of this injury in after years. 
The wound produced by splitting is almost always sure to be 
larger and more difficult to heal over than one in which you do 
little more than cut away a portion of bark. In the case of rind¬ 
grafting all you need do is to make a cut in the bark of sufficient 
length and width to take in the graft or scion, making sure 
that the edges of inner bark in both cases coincide. Fresh cuts 
should be made immediately before you put on the graft, so that, 
the graft may be clayed up immediately to prevent dying off. 
It would be early enough to perform grafting towards the end 
of next month. Keep the scions in a cool shady place until you 
are about to perform the operation. It will be advantageous 
for the stock to be slightly in advance of the graft when this is 
done. 
Pears for the Quince Stock (W. W.). 
A large number of Pears can be readily grown upon the Quince 
stock. The best Pear of all is Doyenne du Comice, and you 
should certainly have that. Other first-class Pears are: 
Beurre Hardy, Beurre Superfin, Williams’ Bon Chretien, Marie 
Louise, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Pitmaston Duchess, and 
•Josephine de Malines for late work. It would be easy to multiply 
the number, but those are certainly good varieties that should 
be added to your collection, if you do not already possess them. 
Caustic Soda and Potash (R. A. C.). 
Some people may use this remedy in a hot state for Moss and 
Lichens on fruit trees, but we see no need for this, considering 
that the caustic soda and potash are themselves sufficiently 
potential to act upon these weeds or tree growths. See also 
article on “ Hardy Fruit,” p. 157. We should certainly advise 
you to have the hands protected while using these remedies ; 
but whether it will be necessary to cover the face as well would 
depend on the state of the weather, or rather the wind, at the 
time the operation is being performed. No one with a little 
experience in these matters would have the syringe or nozzle of 
the sprayer in such a way that the vapour came towards the 
operator, but rather entirely away from him. If such pre¬ 
cautions are taken we see no need for covering the fac© at all, 
unless the liquid is hot, and even then it is unnecessary. Some 
cultivators have successfully used hot fresh lime, dusting the 
stems of the trees with this when they are slightly wet, so that 
the lime may adhere. Considerable success has also been 
obtained by the use of chloride of lime for the spraying of trees. 
In some counties the moisture of the atmosphere is sufficient to 
foster the growth of Moss and Lichens upon the trees, but in 
your county we should think that such would hardly be the 
case. Have you ascertained whether the land in which the trees 
are grown is properly drained? 
Culture of Oncidium concolor (R. A. C.). 
The best time to pull this plant to pieces, if necessary for the 
purpose of increasing the number of pieces, would be just when 
the young roots are being pushed out preparatory to making fresh 
growth. When repotting or basketing is done at this time the 
plant soon becomes re-established in the fresh material. This 
small growing species may be grown in small baskets or Orchid 
pans, because depth of material is unnecessary, and the roots are 
kept in a more equable condition as to temperature and moisture 
than if they were fixed on a block. The usual potting material 
employed for epiphytical Orchids will suit this species, which 
can be grown quite cool all the year round, but particularly when 
in bloom. 
Kaffir Lily in the Open (J. D. W.), 
You could hardly expect tins South African plant to flower very 
successfully in the open air during the fickle and uncertain 
winter of this country. The plant will certainly live and grow 
till a late period in the autumn, but the low temperature will be 
sufficient to render the plant more or less unsightly, even if the 
foliage remains green. In the neighbourhood of towns the smoky 
atmosphere is sufficient to injure the foliage in winter. The 
plants will certainly live outside, and you can replant them in a 
slightly shaded or cool border in well prepared .soil in April. 
Keep them well watered during the summer months, and if the 
conditions are otherwise favourable they will make thrifty and 
vigorous growth before autumn. The flower stems will begin to 
push up in September, or soon after, but to get full advantage 
with your plants you must lift them before the advent of frost in 
September, and pot up in fibrous loam, leaf mould and sand. 
Place them in a genial temperature, and they will flower till well 
into winter. 
Camellias in Tubs or Planted Out (W. R ). 
When grown in tubs or large pots Camellias sooner or later are 
liable to assume an unhealthy condition. This may be partly 
owing to neglect, and in these days the Camellias are liable to 
be neglected except about the time when their flowers are called 
for by the employer or his household. We think it would be 
an easier and safer plan to grow them in beds, planted out, 
instead of attempting to grow them in pots or tubs. When 
planted out with a free root run, the plants make a more liberal 
growth, so that when the flowers are cut with a length of stalk 
they suffer less injury than those which are grown in tubs. 
Trees that are planted out are less liable to throw their flower 
buds as a result of over-excitement in the early part of the year 
than if they are planted in tubs, so that their roots are prac¬ 
tically exposed to the fluctuations of temperature of the house 
in which they are grown. Good fibrous loam, with a little leaf 
mould or peat, if you prefer it, and sand to keep it porous, 
would suit them perfectly in the matter of compost. 
Starting Achimenes (Armitage). 
Sometimes the corms or rhizomes are left in the soil in which 
they grew the previous year until they start into growth again. 
A better and much more common plan is to start, the rhizomes 
in pans of light sandy loam and leaf mould until they attain 
an inch in length, after which they may be put into pots, pans, 
or baskets of a uniform size, according to requirements. Small 
ones could be planted separately and grown on under the same 
treatment as the others until they attain a size sufficient to flower 
with the older ones. Place them in a temperature of 60 degrees 
at night, with a rise of 5 to 10 degrees by day with sun heat. 
Give very little water until they are in full growth. Of course, 
after they have been transplanted they must receive sufficient 
water to settle the soil about them, after which no more need 
be given until they give signs of becoming dry. When in full 
growth and in fine weather they require a good deal of water. 
