244 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 21, 1903. 
WORK OF THE WEEK. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Hot-beds.—Every well-ordered garden should have a frame- 
yard set apart' for the production of early vegetables', with 
plenty of portable frames at command; and, needless to say, 
those possessing such by good management should find little 
difficulty in producing an unlimited supply of choice early 
vegetables far in advance and of better quality than can possibly 
be expected from the open, which will include Potatos, Carrots, 
Turnips, Lettuce, Spinach, Beetroot, Cucumbers, Asparagus', 
Cauliflowers, 11 a dishes, Vegetable Marrows, and many others. 
It is not at all necessary that new beds should be made 
annually, as the previous season’s will answer admirably, and, 
indeed, better than fresh ones for such as Potatos, Cauliflowers, 
Beet, Turnips, and the like, as, by adding fresh linings and 
taking out and supplying a fresh compost or partially so, the 
best results may be looked for. 
The sun will now have sufficient power, with the aid of the 
glass, to promote gentle sturdy growth, and by shutting up fairly 
early and covering well at night in cold weather, the various 
crops will be safe. Lose no time in getting them all occupied 
with the various subjects. There is still plenty of time for 
planting Potatos in plenty, which are sure to be far in advance 
of those planted in the open. Attend to the earthing up of 
those in heated pits, which have been started on newly-made 
hot-beds, before they commence to fall about. Choose a calm, 
mild day for the purpose, and see that the compost, which 
should be of a light material, is wanned before using. Air 
freely whenever the weather is soft and balmy to build up a 
sturdy growth. 
Carrots. -Attend to the thinning of these as they require it, 
but leave them fairly thick, as in a short time these will be 
large enough to draw for supplying the kitchen. Young, tender 
roots of these are sure to be much appreciated. Give frequent 
dustings of fresh soot, syringe and shut up early, and sow yet 
again if convenience will allow. 
Turnips.—Sow Carter’s Early Forcing and Early Milan on 
last year’s beds, allowing 15 in. of soil for these to penetrate. 
The rows should be from 10 in. to 12 in. apart. Air freely 
after the seedlings appear above the ground, so that they do 
not become drawn, and thin.out 5 in. asunder when in the seed¬ 
bed. These are sure to prove most serviceable. 
Globe Beet should be treated in the same way, and when 
grown quickly under glass and used small the flavour is ex¬ 
cellent and unsurpassed for salads. 
Lettuce.—One frame at least sho-uld be devoted to this im¬ 
portant crop, which was raised quite early in the year and duly 
pricked off into 1 boxes; both Cabbage and Cos should now be 
sturdy plants. Put out at a distance of 10 in. apart all ways 
in fairly good soil quite near the glass, and, if aired freely, will 
turn in fine specimens, vastly superior to those imported from 
the Continent. Place some pieces of Carrot between the plants 
to attract the attention of any wireworms which may be lurking 
about; these should be examined every other day, and watch 
for slugs. 
Vegetable Marrows.—Seed which was sown at the end of last 
month and duly potted on in heat will now be nice plants and 
ready for transferring to gentle hot-beds*. Maintain a gentle 
growing temperature. If this is allowed to rise to' 60 deg. or 
70 deg. by day with sun heat, and a minimum of 50 deg. by 
night, all will be well. The* frames should be well covered 
during cold nights. Very good Marrows may be grown by 
netting them on into’ large pets and training up the growths 
in any spare places in the orchard houses. Make another good 
sowing in heat, singly in small pots for successional plantings. 
Sorrel.--This forms a delicious vegetable, is very prolific, 
and will last for years after once established. It succeeds best 
on a western asnect. Seed should be sown now in. shallow drills 
1 ft. anart. There are., several distinct kinds, but the rounded, 
broad-leaved kind is far the. best for cultivating in the! garden. 
Celery and, Celeriac .*—Make the final sowings of these in a 
gentle heat in pans, pots, or- boxes, and prick out the earliest 
sowings in boxes 3 in. apart nil ways. 
Seakale —Mould up permanent crowns of this which are 
being grown on north borders to a good depth, either with fine 
soil or cinder-ashes. The very finest growths can be produced 
in this way. Cuttings which were made and tied in small 
bundles some time since and placed in boxes under stages 
should now enjoy a light position, such as a. cold frame, and 
hardened ready for planting out on well-prepared ground early 
next month, as a long growth is necessary to* perfect good 
crowns. E. Beckett. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. 
Among the Orchids. 
Seasonable Remarks.—At the present season, when so many 
of the Orchid genera are producing new growths, constant 
observation is necessary to detect insect pests, which, if allowed 
to become established, on the tender shoots at tne present 
season, soon have then- detrimental effects by disfiguring per¬ 
manently or hindering the other-wise rapid advancement of the 
new growths. One has to be constantly on the alert to keep 
in check the green and black fly which, in a most unaccountable 
manner, seem to* infest this season the members belonging to 
the cool house section of Orchids. Fumigation, if resorted to 
at all in the cool divisions, must be done with very considerable 
discretion. I recently visited a prominent Orchid establish¬ 
ment where the foliage of the Odontoglossums had suffered very 
much from the effect of vapourising; almost the whole of the 
older leaves had been destroyed, and the plants looked in a very 
unsatisfactory condition, illustrating fully the necessity of dis¬ 
cretion with what is practically regarded as a safe fumigator. 
In the warmer divisions also, there are some of the plants which 
ought always to be removed from the house before fumigating. 
I have noticed in several places that Coelogyne cristata. and 
its varieties suffer considerably. The leaves trquently become 
spotted and often seriously damaged from the effects of 
fumigation. The hybrids having Cypripedium bellatuluin and 
C.-niveum as one of their parents should also be removed before 
fumigation is resorted to, when the plants are developing their 
flower scape. I had two or three flower-buds recently destroyed 
of these sections through neglect of instructions in respect to 
removal, as stated above. I have never found the XL All wash 
<j.o the plants any harm when used as per instructions on the 
drums. I consider it. by far the most serviceable of any in¬ 
secticide I have used. The best means* of using it is through a 
“ sprayer,” or by the aid of an “ Abol ” syringe. 
Summer-flowering Cattleyas and Laelias.—The favourable 
winter and mildness of the season now so quickly advancing 
will, if it continues, cause* plants of this section to be* very much 
earlier coming into flower than usual. I notice Laelia purpurata 
already well advanced in the sheath. Cattleya Mendelii and 
C. Mossiae in their varied forms are also showing the flowers 
in the sheath. I always make it a. practice to give plants of 
the Cattleya family a, position in the house where they may 
obtain the maximum amount of available light from the time 
-they commence to throw up their flowers until the time the 
flowers expand. ■ I consider, by this method, we not only obtain 
flowers of better quality, but the colour is considerably enriched 
by the influence of brighter conditions. As soon as the flowers 
have become fully expanded, the plants should he removed to 
more shady conditions, for, while the bright light gives colour 
up to the time of expanding, it also has the effect of bleaching 
the delicate tints from the segments, if the plants remain too 
Iout finder these bright conditions. 
Cattleya Warnerii is one of the most beautiful of the summer- 
flowering Cattleyas, and deserves to be much more extensivelv 
cultivated than it is* at the present* time. It usually starts 
into growth early in February, and should then be placed in a 
light* position, at the warmest end of the Cattleya* house. It 
flowers immediately the new growth reaches maturity, and 
