192 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 28, 1903. 
in a temperature of 50deg. by night with a corresponding rise by 
day, shading from strong -sun, and giving plenty of air when 
favourable. When the nights are balmy and dewy the plants 
enjoy plenty of air being left on all night. In flowering I find 
the closer they are to the glass iii an airy house the better they 
are, giving weak manure water. When the plants become well 
established soot water is one of the best. The plants are 
generally placed in their winter quarters by the middle of Sep¬ 
tember, keeping the temperature of the house at about 50deg. 
at night, never watering a plant till the pot rings when knocked 
with the knuckles. J. Harwood, 
Crouch Gardens, Seaford, Sussex. 
Crotons. 
Among the numerous decorative plants under cultivation, the 
Croton is distinguished as being one of a very pretty and effective 
character for this purpose; either seen on the stage, in groups, 
or in vases for a room or table decoration, it is admired for its 
graceful and handsome foliage. The foliage also may be utilised 
for mixing among cut flowers. Plants grown with single stems 
are most useful. Those that have become leggy which still 
retain a good top are suitable to be rung by cutting away a 
portion of bark from under where a leaf has been removed. Fix 
a small thumb pot, severed in half, to the above portion with two 
slicks to support the pot, one either side ; tie firmly with wire to 
hold in position. A little moss should be put in the bottom to 
hold the compost ; fill to within a quarter of an inch of the top, 
press moderately firm round the stem. If kept moist, root forma¬ 
tion will soon start. When sufficiently rooted, cut away from the 
old stem and shift into a larger pot. 
Tops that are not worth this treatment come in for cuttings of 
about 3in. in length. Insert them at the outside of small pots, 
water them, and plunge in a progagating case with bottom heat of 
about 80deg. They will also root in glass bottles partly filled 
with clean water, in which a few pieces of charcoal are put to 
keep the water sweet. Plants in small pots struck at the end of 
last summer will be tit to pot on as soon as new roots are active 
in a suitable compost of peat, fibrous loam, and sand ; a little 
cow manure rubbed fine may be added, which is best to have in a 
warm condition previous to potting. Always use clean pots. If 
no other means can be adopted, heat a brick in the stokehole 
tire, afterwards place the compost about it, and this will be found 
sufficient. The temperature of the house should not fall below 
65deg. Crotons enjoy a strong moist heat and exposure to the 
sun. Syringe twice daily overhead and between the pots, 
examine the plants for mealy bug scale, thrip, and red spider that 
are likely to attack them. They should undergo a thorough 
sponging before new growth advances, which, being tender, is apt 
to get damaged or broken off. A. J. M. 
Azaleas. 
Azaleas are one of tire most showy and useful classes of plants 
for forcing during winter and early spring ; also for making beds 
on lawn, or mixed with Rhododendrons, etc., in the American 
garden. With judicious management they may be had in flower 
from the end of December to the end of May. Azalea indica 
adapts itself to early forcing, and if a few plants are brought into 
the forcing house in November they will be in flower by Christmas. 
The well-known variety Deutsche Perle can very easily be had 
in flower in December. The indica family is a large one, and 
embraces a variety of colour, the semi-double being the most 
useful for cutting. A pretty effect is obtained by having two dis¬ 
tinct colours worked on one stock. .The indicas also are very use¬ 
ful for training into specimen plants ; and a well-trained plant 
when in flower is a lovely sight. Any of the plants which have 
finished flowering should have all the old flowers picked off, and 
if they require repotting the present time is a good qne. 
A suitable compost would consist of two-thirds of good fibrous 
peat, one-third of good fibrous loam, a little leaf .soil, and a good 
sprinkling of coarse silver sand, with a little cow manure rubbed 
through a sieve, well mixed together, taking care that the soil 
is in a good workable condition. Select the plants to be potted, 
and see that the ball of the plants is not too dry, as it is difficult 
to thoroughly wet a plant that is potted in a dry condition. Use 
clean pots properly drained, and pot as firm as possible. If 
plotted properly they will thrive in the same pots for several years 
without repotting. * Often the plants get neglected after flower¬ 
ing, and get put in some out of the way corner instead of being 
. put into a warm house and induced to make new growth Those 
that have been repotted, with others that have finished their 
floral display, should be put in a warm house where the syringe 
can be freely used, taking care not to over water ; and an 
occasional fumigating will prove beneficial in keeping away thrip, 
which is a very common pest to Azaleas. The mollis and Ghent 
varieties, although perfectly hardy, are lovely plants for forcing, 
and make a grand display in the conservatory and for cut flower 
decoration. When the flowers begin to expand prut the plants 
into the coolest end of the flowering house, as the flowers last 
longer if they open in a cool temperature, especially if used as 
cut flowers. With care these varieties can be grown and flowered 
successfully year after year in the same pots. They require a 
warm temperature after flowering, and occasional waterings with 
liquid manure will assist them to make new growth. When the 
plants have finished their growth gradually harden off and stand 
out of doors in full sun. (This applies to the indica family, too.) 
If plunged in ashes it will save time in watering, and also from 
being broken with rough winds. It is advisable to leave the 
Ghent, varieties for the later batches. Beds of Azalea mollis or 
the Ghent varieties make a grand display when in flower, and 
if Lilium auratum is pdanted between the Azaleas the effect in 
the autumn is lovely. A good compost for making Azalea beds 
is two-thirds peat, one-third loam, two-tliirds of good leaf soil, 
with plenty road drift well mixed with a top-dressing of short 
manure. 
As Azaleas can be bought so reasonably they are within the 
reach of all possessing a garden. H. E. Edwards. 
The Gardens, Wentworth House, Mill Hill, N.W. 
Renovating Old Vines. 
A good many years ago, on taking charge of a garden, I found 
that two vineries were in a very unsatisfactory state. Bunches 
and berries were very small, and the leaves had that thin and 
flabby appearance which proved that something was very far 
wrong with the Vines. I took charge at the end of May, and the 
Grapes had not then been thinned. I at once reduced ttie 
number of bunches to a very small crop, but the result showed 
that the mismanagement had been going on for some time, as 
the berries were no larger than good Black Currants. 
The Vines were planted inside in a border only 2ft.. wide, so 
that it was the outside border that-1 had to look to. On examina- 
ing this outside border I found that, it had been thickly mulched 
with stable manure for years, and none of the mulching had ever 
been removed. The result was that about 9in. of what is best 
described as black much covered the entire surface of the border. 
This, of course, excluded all warmth and air, and the condition 
of the roots may readily be imagined. Fortunately, I had been 
trained by an expert and most successful Grape grower, so that I 
had no difficulty in knowing what to do. 
I will now describe the plan I took, and which proved 
eminently successful. I first of all procured a large quantity of 
very fibrous turf that had lain for about a year. This I left 
pretty rough, but- added to it a fair amount of old mortar rubbish 
and bone meal. (The meal I consider better than rough crushed 
bones). I then began at one end of the border and carefully 
removed the soil to a depth of about 15in. This soil I had 
wheeled on to vacant quarters of the kitchen garden, where, if 
it did not do very much good, it did no harm. 
On reaching the roots I found a great, many dead, and even the 
live roots were quite black and not that clear red-brown colour 
which the roots of healthy Vines always have. There was also 
no -sign of feeding roots ; indeed, to put it shortly, the roots were 
in a deplorable state. I took every care to trace out the dead 
roots and cut them clean away. I then lifted all the live roots, 
and at intervals of about 18in. along their entire length I cut 
with a sharp knife a slit on the under side. Round this slit I 
put a good handful of sharp sand, then proceeded to fill in the 
border with the fresh loam. As the work proceeded I gave a 
good sprinkling of Thomson's Vine manure. I made the border 
fairly firm, but not hard, and after the Grapes were thinned I 
gave another dressing of the manure. The result, even the first 
ye:ai’, was surprising, and four years later I was able to take first 
prize at Edinburgh Autumn Show for Black Hamburghs. I may 
state that these Vines were over forty years old when I took 
charge of them. 
As the Vines in these houses did not require to be started 
early, I did this renovating in open weather in February, but I 
would not be afraid to tackle the same job even in March. Of 
course, it could also be done earlier. My after management 1 
must defer to another occasion, if the editor thinks it would be 
of interest. [Please do.—E d.] C. Blaik. 
Preston, Linlithgow. 
*** The prize last week in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “ R. McK.,’’ St. Catherines, for his article on 
“ The Hollyhock,” p. 170. 
