April 11, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
32 
READERS’ COMPETITION. 
For details of this competition and prize offered, please 
see page 319. Please post on Friday night. 
Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima). 
Poinsettias are not difficult plants to grow, providing a few im¬ 
portant items are kept in view ; but it only too often occurs that 
one comes in contact with some almost leafless specimens. They 
are plants that are worthy of special attention, producing as 
they do their bright-coloured bracts at a season when flowering 
plants are none too plentiful. After the flowering season has 
come to a close the plants should have a rest, removing them to 
an intermediate house, and placing them on a shelf where they 
will get full benefit of the light and be kept thoroughly dry, so 
that they may become well ripened and produce good stout cut¬ 
tings when the propagating season arrives. It very often occurs 
that these plants are rested under stages or some out-of-the-way 
corner where the light cannot reach them, and the result is 
unripened wood, and consequently weak cuttings. 
The present is a suitable time to place the plants in warmer 
quarters in order to produce an early supply of cuttings ; give 
two or three applications of water, in order to thoroughly moisten 
the whole of ball, and afterwards apply the syringe twice daily 
to ensure clean healthy cuttings. There are several methods of 
raising a stock, this being done either from eyes or cuttings of the 
old wood ; but the above-stated method of starting the old plants 
into growth for the supply of cuttings is the one to be recom¬ 
mended. When the cuttings are about three inches in length 
they should be removed with a slight heel and the bases covered 
with silver sand for about twenty minutes, to prevent bleeding, 
and inserted singly in thumb pots in a light compost, which 
should consist of loam, leaf mould, peat, and silver sand, in 
equal portions. Plunge the pots in cocoa-nut fibre in the propa¬ 
gating case, with a bottom heat of about 80degs. ; give a good 
watering to settle the soil, and they will be found to root freely 
in a very short time. When the cuttings are rooted they should 
be gradually hardened by admitting a little air to the case, and 
finally removed to a shelf in the pit. By the time the roots have 
reached the sides of the pots they will require a shift on, three- 
inch pots being large enough for them at this stage. Large 
shifts should be avoided at all times. 
The compost should still be of a light nature, with the addition 
of dried cow manure or bone dust, and some broken charcoal to 
keep it sweet and porous. After potting keep the house or pit 
rather close for a few days, and apply the syringe twice or thrice 
daily, shade being afforded when, found necessary. Gradually 
harden them off until they may be safely removed to a warm 
greenhouse. When in this structure they may receive their- final 
sliift; five or six inch pots will be found quite large enough for 
any purpose. The compost should be of a slightly heavier and 
rougher nature than the one previously mentioned, adding a 
sprinkling of soot, which will give the leaves a nice dark colour. 
, When well started in their final pots they may be safely removed 
to cold frames, keeping them close up to the glass, and allowing 
ample space between the plants ; give abundance of air and a 
liberal supply of water, and apply the syringe twice daily on 
might days. Give full exposure to sunlight in order to induce 
short jointed, strong growth. Of course, it is a well-known fact 
that Poinsettias are grown out of doors, in some of the more 
.favourable parts of England, during the summer months, but un¬ 
fortunately it is not the writer’s luck to enjoy these climatic con- 
c lhons; therefore I have to be an advocate for glass protection. 
fly the third week in August the plants should be returned to a 
cool house, to prevent checks by a sudden fall of the temperature 
and the consequent fall of the leaves. Gradually introduce small 
batches to warmer quarters, as required, but on no account give 
them too sudden a change. A temperature of from 55° to'bO 0 
1 be found to suit them during the flowering season. Weil- 
footed piants unfolding their bracts may be fed twice a week 
with liquid manure, or some approved chemical preparation, 
xeroise care in the application of water, as an excess of moisture 
* if ii° U <i season will cause the leaves to turn yellow 
md tali off. As soon as the bracts are fully grown the water 
| U PP y should be of a limited quantity, and when the flowering 
>eason draws to a close they must be treated as previously men- 
To obtain dwarf plants some of the old stools may be cut bad 
,o a dormant eye-about the latter end of July, and grown on ii 
‘ 5 °, r a lat . e ^ cuttings may be struck; but these twc 
ettiods are inferior to the one of topping the early struck cut 
• !f 0 n 0 if large i i heads , are re T uired - About the third 'week in July 
nn 111 il ie stem at a joint about six inches from th< 
P, ade the plants during the process, and apply the syringi 
ff 6 T’ dl1 a k° u t a fortnight the incision, will be callused over, 
after which they should be severed and inserted as cuttings in 
three or four inch pots. Place in a brisk heat with a close moist 
atmosphere until well rooted, when they should be gradually 
hardened, and stood close to the glass to prevent drawing, if 
the stock is short, the plants from which the cuttings were taken 
will, if allowed to break, produce two or three smaller but use¬ 
ful heads of bracts. Dendrobe. 
A Strange Garden Pet. 
This is a perch that came into a water tank (almost three years 
ago) in, one of the glass houses in the garden of which the writer 
has charge. It is about 10 or 11 inches long, but if this had been 
a nshy story it would at least have been twice that length, 
it came through the water pipe from the loch which supplies 
this city with water, and entered our water tank quite unbidden 
—a small body that propelled itself along the surface in a series 
o jerks. It would not have been safe to predict'whether it in¬ 
tended to be a frog or a lisli. As soon as it made itself into the 
shape of a fish, it was fed with small maggots out of mush¬ 
rooms. It gradually grew bigger, and was able to take small 
earthworms ; it will now take three or four of the largest earth 
woims at a time. It is also very fond of wood lice, and if it 
could accustom itself to being out of the water for a time, it 
could pick up a good number of these land crustaceans here, 
winch we. hear about in The Gardening Would, amongst 
orchids, ilelons, etc. It has got so tame that it takes worms one 
by one from the hand ; it has no fear of the watering pan in lift- 
mg out water. If you extend your hand to it in a friendly wav, 
dipping your little finger a little under -the surface of the water, 
it will come to shake hands with you, with its mouth; seeing it 
has not got hands to do it in the usual way. It prefers its food 
living, but it draws the line at many living things, such as 
spiders, beetles, wireworm, slugs, etc. The water is allowed to 
constantly dribble from the tap to keep up the supply of air in 
the water. It is evident we can even be on friendly terms with 
a fash, although the friendship may be gained by having appealed 
to the stomach. Very much higher animals can only be got at 
in the same way. W. Kennedy. 
Ardarrooh, Dundee. 
The Flower Garden in Spring. 
We are often disappointed with the bare look of the beds at this 
season, which is not as it should be, because we have such a 
wealth of plants suitable for spring bedding. Beds of Hyacinths, 
Tulips, and Narcissus, if planted thickly to cover the ground, 
look very stiff and crowded. We can recall to memory- a garden 
where spring bedding was a charming feature. Such beds as 
mentioned were always carpeted with some dwarf suitable plaints 
We can look back with pleasure to beds of Tulips, La Reine, Cot¬ 
tage Maid, and Golden Prince, nestling in a sward of For^et-me- 
Nots, the blue flowers of the latter making a charming contrast, 
besides acting as a covering to the beds during the dreary 
months of winter and early spring. A bed of the scarlet Tulip 
Due Van Tholl looked equally well in a cushion of Arabis 
albida ; the scarlet flowers of the Tulips looked like so many 
diamonds studded in a snowy cushion. Nor are we likely to 
forget the impression left of a bed of Narcissus Emperor and 
Empress, which looked -a picture of royal grace waving their 
majestic trumpets over a campet of Sedum acre aureum. Tt may 
interest some readers of The Gardening World to know that m 
this case the bulbs were planted singly (the usual way) m 
October, when a clump of Sedum was rubbed over the bed 
through a i-inch riddle, a shovel of sand being afterwards sifted 
over to form a rooting medium, every particle growing with the 
above result. This idea might with advantage be further ex¬ 
tended and enlarged upon. We have at command so many suit¬ 
able dwarf foliage and flowering spring plants, which \voula 
make an effective arrangement, still further acting as a saving 
in the bulb account. 
Enumerated are a few species and varieties, which might ba 
made use of according to circumstances and requirements, suit¬ 
ing alike the public park, nobleman’s garden, or the cotter's 
yard:—Arabis albida, A. a. fl PI. (new), A. a. variegata, A. 
iucida variegata. Anemone nemorosa, A. n. major, A. sylvestris 
fl. pleno (new), A. s. trifolia, A. vernalis Aubretia purpurea, 
