236 
THE gardening world. 
March 14, 1903 
plant, which conies in especially useful about Christmas and the 
New Year, when bright colours are none too plentiful.- Some 
gardeners find a difficulty in rooting the cuttings, which probably 
accounts for this useful old subject not being seen more fre¬ 
quently in quantity. Numerous shoots will now be pushing from 
the main stems of the old plants. These, when 3 in. long, 
should be taken oh with a heel of the old wood attached, dipped 
in fine sand or powdered charcoal to- stop the bleeding, and in¬ 
serted without delay, singly dm thumb pots, or three in a 60-size, 
and plunged in a brisk bottom heat under a bell-glass or hand- 
light in the propagating frame. 
When nicely rooted repot, without disturbing the ball, into 
larger pots, using good loam, with a portion of leaf-soil or peat, 
with sand or crushed mortar-rubble to keep the whole open and 
sweet. Finally, place in the flowering-pots, 6 in. and 7 in. being 
quite large enough, in which they should make fine decorative 
plants, their graceful Willow-like growths becoming wreathed 
with small coral-red flowers. 
The old plants from which the cuttings were taken may bo cut 
back to the required height, and will produce numerous small 
shoots, which, when in flower, can be used for cut purposes, thus 
saving the younger and stronger specimens for the warm green¬ 
house or conservatory. Careful watering is necessary when in 
flower, as a sodden condition of the soil results in the loss of 
many leaves. 
Bouvardias are another class of plants which are indispensable 
where sprays, buttonholes, and other floral work is called for 
Cuttings of the different varieties should be taken when they are 
short and strong, and several inserted round the edges of small 
pots. Placed under a li and light in the stove, they will soon 
emit roots, when they should be potted singly in 60-sized pots, 
and placed near the glass in a warm pit, eventually placing them 
in their .flowering-pots, which should be 6in., quite large enough 
for practical purposes. By this time they can be removed to a 
cold frame, kept rather close until they have taken to the new 
soil. Stop the leading growths to secure a bushy plant, and 
syringe frequently during fine afternoons and grow practically in 
tiie open air. Before any risk of frost occurs remove to a warm 
greenhouse, where a temperature between 50 deg. and 60 deg. is 
maintained, and good results ought to follow. Well-tried 
varieties are Alfred Neuner, Dazzler, President Garfield, and Jas- 
minoides, the latter being sweetly scented. T. H. Bolton. 
Baron Hill Gardens. 
Need for Reform. 
To suggest that there is need for reform in the exhibiting of 
hardy flowers will to many appear ridiculous in the extreme ; 
but any interested visitor to the principal events of last years 
flower show season will, I am confident, agree that there is urgent 
need for alteration in the hardy flower section of most shows. 
Indeed, dissatisfaction was much in evidence among exhibitors 
themselves, for on various occasions when in company with some 
of the largest growers and exhibitors I heard the subject dis¬ 
cussed, often hearing such expressions as “The game is not 
worth the candle now ” (referring to exhibiting). The her¬ 
baceous line is done to death,” etc. This is not as it should be, 
for far from being “played out” or “ done to death, we are 
confident that as yet we have but seen the dawn of the reign of 
hardy plants ; still there must be some ground for complaint, or 
w .> should not hear such expressions from prominent growers. 
Then a<min, I noticed that several societies last year had crossed 
out from their schedules the class for a collection of hardy 
perennials, giving only classes for twelve or twenty-four bunches, 
and that other shows where ample classification was provided 
received but meagre support in the way of entries. Well may 
we ask what is the cause of this? It is certainly not due to a 
scarcity of flowers nor of exhibitors, for at almost every show 
many large exhibits were staged, which were, however, labelled 
“Not for competition.” „ _ 
Why then, are not competitive classes well filled . in my 
humble opinion several reasons combine to answer the question. 
First I would urge that competitive exhibits have for the most 
part. ’deteriorated from choice collections of flowers tastefully 
arranged until they have become nought but great banks of huge 
bunches, or rather sheaves of flowers, producing a big blaze of 
colour and little more. . 
Now it is not every grower who can, even though possessing a 
choice and representative collection of hardy herbaceous flow, 
cut stuff by the bucketful, and many there are who, though able 
to do so, fail to see the utility of such exhibits, hence competition 
is left to a small minority, and if of these a few are absent from a 
show the classes for hardy flowers fall flat. 
Another matter I would point out is the practice now so much 
in vogue with nearly all societies of awarding gold or silver 
medals to almost all non-competitive exhibits. It is difficult to 
win a prize in competition, but easy to fill 20ft. or 30ft. of space 
with a non-competitive exhibit that will be awarded a medal; 
consequently a great deal of quite ordinary stuff is exhibited 
in this way, and to my mind this distribution of special awards 
with too free a hand has done much towards ruining the com¬ 
petitive classes. The way out of the difficulty seems to me clear 
and easy. First, such alterations should be made in the com¬ 
petitive classes as shall open up the way for more competitors ; a 
few rules should be enforced as shall place all competitors on 
an equal footing, especially with regard to limiting the dimen¬ 
sions of vases or tubes in which the flowers are staged. 
Prizes sufficient to entice exhibitors should be awarded, and 
non-competitive exhibits limited to new and rare plants, or such 
subjects as are totally distinct from the classes provided. In 
conclusion, I am. convinced that what is most required is a 
national hardy plant society that shall devote itself to protect 
and advance the interests of this section of the horticultural 
world. ' Heather Bell. 
Calanthe Culture. 
Having afforded these terrestrial growing Orchids a thorough 
good rest in a position where they could get full sunlight since 
they ceased to flower, we are once more on the eve of making 
preparations for another season’s growth. The deciduous 
Calanthes, which include such handsome hybrids as C. Veitchii, 
C. Bryan, C. Wm. Murray, and many others, are now com¬ 
mencing new growth, and repotting should be done just before 
new roots are emitted. The compost should consist of two parts 
good fibrous loam, one part leaf soil, the remaining portion 
being made up of chopped sphagnum, dried cow or sheep manure, 
rubbed through a half-inch-meshed sieve, with a liberal addition 
of small crocks and silver sand to keep the whole sweet and 
porous. Place the mixture in suitable quarters to warm pre¬ 
vious to potting. The whole of the exhausted compost should 
be removed from the pseudo-bulb, leaving an inch of the old 
roots for the purpose of keeping the plant firm in the pot, this 
operation affording a good opportunity of getting rid of any 
insect pests that may be lurking around the base of the bulbs. 
Unless where large specimens are required by placing four or 
five bulbs in a 7in. pot, I prefer to grow them singly in 5in. or 
6in. pots. These should be thoroughly clean and dry and well 
drained with clean crocks 1 . The soil should be pressed 
moderately firm, allowing the base of each bulb to be about half 
an inch below the surface. When potted place the plants in 
the warmest house, in a light position close to the glass, afford¬ 
ing no water till growth is advanced and roots in evidence, the 
humidity of the atmosphere being sufficient for them at this 
stage. When they begin, to move freely they should be afforded 
tepid rain water in a limited quantity till the pseudo-bulbs 
begin to form. When the latter are seen to be swelling freely the 
supply should be more liberal, never allowing them to become 
dry. At this stage a top-dressing of cow dung will be found 
very beneficial, or weak applications of liquid manure water may 
be applied. Clay’s fertiliser is, I think, the safest of all the 
chemical preparations to use, applying it with caution. 
The black spot disease so often seen on Calanthes is in a great 
measure due to overfeeding and faulty ventilation. I would 
recommend the use of the top ventilator in preference to the 
bottom when admitting air ; this, of course, allows moisture 
to escape, and in consequence damping has to be repeated several 
times a day. Avoid overfeeding and syringing the plants over¬ 
head, and the dreaded black spot will be conspicuous by its 
absence. Shade during the brighter part of the day, using light 
material for that purpose. Stand the plants thinly and close to 
the glass, so that the pseudo-bulbs may benefit by the sunlight, 
for unless they are well ripened one cannot expect handsome flower 
spikes. As soon as the leaves begin to lose their fresh appear¬ 
ance the water supply must be less, and by the time the foliage 
is ripe the supply must be greatly reduced until the first flowers 
begin to open, when no further watering is required. Support 
the spikes neatly, but do not tie them in tightly, or you will 
spoil their appearance, and remove to cooler quarters, where 
the temperature may range from 55deg. to 60deg., and the 
atmosphere kept moderately dry. To display their bright- 
coloured spikes to the best advantage they should be arranged 
amongst Maidenhair Ferns. H. Smith. 
Duns. 
*** The prize last week in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “ J. C.,’’ for his article on “ Seakale,” p. 213. 
