400 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 9, 1991 
The Stove and Greenhouse. 
Ventilation.—Tlie greenhouse may now have a few inches 
of air left on all night, and no fire heat will be required. On 
warm, sunny days the top ventilators of the stove should be 
opened for a few hours in the middle of the day, closing early 
in the afternoon, and syringing the plants and stages. 1' rames 
and pits should be well aired from this time onwards, of course 
having due regard to the requirements of the various occu¬ 
pants. The matter of giving air requires sound judgment, 
and I am afraid it is too loosely dealt with by many. Keen 
currents of air are harmful, as also is a close, stagnant atmo¬ 
sphere. Practical observation is the one thing needful m the 
matter. The varied habits of the occupants and the ever-vary¬ 
ing weather have to be considered at all times. 
Solanum Capsicastrum.—Well-berried plants of this species 
are objects of great beauty and utility in the didl winter 
months. Now is the time to start the old plants into growth, 
after first pruning them, if not previously performed. There 
are several forms of 'this Solanum, and when one has a good 
form it is good policy to perpetuate it by raising the required 
number of plants from cuttings. These taken off with a heel 
attached quickly emit roots, when they may be potted up 
and grown on in gentle warmth. Keep the points pinched out 
to induce stocky habit, and afterwards grow in a cold frame. 
Insert the cuttings in light sandy soil, and plunge in a Cucum¬ 
ber frame. The old plants are best planted out in the open, 
and it is now safe to perform the operation. These grow, 
flower, and set their fruits (which are their chief beauty) well 
when planted out on a fairly rich piece of ground. They are 
lifted and potted up in September, and placed in the green¬ 
house, where the berries ripen to a bright red hue. 
Chrysanthemums.—Although I am no advocate for coddling 
the plants, yet I think it best to keep them dn cold frames as 
long as possible, for high, keen winds sometimes prevail, even 
in this month, and plants that are grown for the production 
of large blossoms are sometimes much damaged by them if 
stood in the open too early. Bush plants are, of course, not 
so easily damaged, as they are more dwarf, and have smaller 
leafage. K. M. 
Letters to the Editor. 
Growing Greenhouse Plants. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Dear Sir, —-Kindly allow me to express my best thanks for 
the kindness of the readers of The Gardening World who 
kindly interested themselves in answering my inquiry for 
gardening chart. I would now further trespass on your 
columns by asking whether any of your readers can give me 
the name of a book which “ alphabetically ” explains the best 
manner of growing and treating the different varieties of “ green¬ 
house plants ” throughout their growth. 
Thomas Henry. 
The Critics. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, —Your correspondent “ T. A. W.” waxes wroth over a 
few remarks I made in a recent issue on this subject. His 
arguments in favour of the anonymous scribe are- by no means 
conclusive. Some of his reasons are, to say the least, very 
thin. Eor instance/ he is afraid if he appended his name to 
His effusions that he would be pestered with communications 
from admiring readers. . This is p-retty feeble. I certainly get 
some letters from unknown correspondents, but I find it a 
pleasure instead of a nuisance, as those letters are invariably 
written in the most cordial terms, and always bear the name 
and adress of the writers. “ T. A. W. ” affirms that m-aiiy 
eminent people invariably use a nom-de-plume. This may be so, 
but I must he pardoned for being still rather sceptical on the 
point. 
I will ask “ T. A. W.’s” advice on the following, and see 
how Iris argument will get round a few facts that he seems to 
have quite overlooked in his haste. We will suppose that Lord 
Rosebery has finally made up his mind for Home Rule all 
round.. He pens an able letter to “ The Times” on the subject, 
and signs his communication “ The Clean Slate.” Does any 
sane man believe that the public will pay any heed to such a 
letter? Certainly not; but had the said letter been signed 
“ Rosebery,” what a commotion it would make, and yet the 
letter as it stood was quite as good, if only written over “ The 
Clean Slate.” Again, Mr. A. J. Balfour writes a letter on the 
South African war, and signs “ The Man in the Street-,” what 
weight does that epistle carry? None whatever; it is simply 
put down as the raving of some crank, if people take the trouble 
to read it at all. No, sir, I can have some sympathy with a 
person using a pen name when discussing religious or political 
topics, but why anyone' should require to hide Iris name when 
writing in his trade paper I fail to see. 
I may also say that my request for the locality in which 
articles are written is not quite so far off the mark as mv 
would-be-smart critic would have us believe. If he is in the 
profession he must know that many plants quite hardy in the 
southern counties are quite the reverse in Scotland. His 
remark on swelled heads .may be very smart, but rather smacks 
of spite at the “ Plums ” going past his own mouth. Has he 
ever heard of “sour Grapes ” ? 
I must also request him to re-read the correspondence he 
complains of, and see who is responsible for the rather personal 
turn the affair has taken, and which nobody regrets more than 
I d°- C. Blais. 
Preston, Linlithgo-w. 
Shortia Galacifolia. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, —Reference has already been made to the above, in youi 
issue of April 4th, page 296, But it may he of interest 'o a few 
“ G.W.’ readers to know how it thrives here in the open air. 
Growing on the rockery here is a plant measuring 4 ft. 8 hi. 
in circumference, and bearing 47 flowers, most of which are 
fully developed at the present time. It was planted in its 
present position nine years ago, and has not been disturbed 
since. 
It occupies a damp, shady situation, where the sun does not 
reach it till the evening. As was advised on page 296, it is 
growing among soil which has a large percentage of peat. I 
may state that the climate here is inclined to be damp, which 
may also tend towards the well-being of this subject. 
A. H. F. 
l’oltalloch, Argyllshire. 
Begonia Gloire de Lorraine. 
This is- one of the most useful of our winter-flowering Be¬ 
gonias, and well worthy of the attention it requires. To have 
good plants to- flower by the mo-nth of October, cuttings should 
be put in at- once. Choose good, sturdy cuttings- from the base 
of old plants, top cuttings being of little or no- value, as they 
only run away to- flower and never break away freely. Insert 
three to- four cuttings round the- side of a thumb pot, water 
and plunge in a bottom beat- of 75 deg,, to 80 deg. ; keep close 
and shade from bright sunshine. In about three weeks’ time 
they should be sufficiently rooted to- allow a little air to be 
afforded them. This- may be done by tilting the lights of the 
propagating box a little for a few days, after which they may 
be- stood on a shelf near the roof-glass-, and kept shaded. On 
no account should they be allowed the bright sunshine, as this 
is often the- cause of sickly, stunted plants-. 
In. a- few days they should be- ready for potting off singly into 
60 pots; in doing so, choose good fibrous loam and 
leaf soil, equal parts-, with enough silver sand and crock- 
dust to kee-p the whole porous. In potting, press the soil 
moderately firm with the- thumb and finger, eschewing 
the rammer. From now onward the- plants should be grown 
in a warm pit-, having a temperature of 65 deg. to- 70 deg. 
Admit air when the weather is favourable, closing them up 
about 3 p.m. with plenty of atmospheric moisture, still leaving 
the shading o-n until 5 p.m. They need but little water at the 
roots-; about- twice a week will suffice if the plants are kept 
lightly shaded as advised abo-ve. Keep all flowers picked off 
them until such times as they are wanted to- flower, which 
with me, is- about the first- week in October. 
Plants grown under this treatment should, by the- month of 
October, have attained the height of 3 ft-., and 2 ft. through 
them. Charles Harding. 
Sandringham Gardens. 
