October 17, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
863 
The Kitchen Garden, 
At t-lre time of writing (October 8tli) the weather remains 
very mild and open, with an incessant downpour of rain. 
Should severe frosts set in—which we may reasonably expect 
at any date—vegetation will, I fear, suffer considerably, as 
everything is in a wet and soppy condition. 
Runner Beans are still in full growth and bearing abundance 
of good succulent pods-. When frosts are apparent a good 
supply should be picked, and if stored away in a- cool place, 
arranging them in an upright position in a little water, these 
will, by changing tlie water, remain in a fresh condition for 
many days. Thei seed of any special strain should be 1 picked 
immediately the pods become brown when quite dry, and lay 
them out thinly under glass to finish maturing; these should 
be turned over every day. The vigour and success of next 
season’s crop will much depend on the way the- seed is ripened. 
After these become thoroughly dry, shell them and expose 
them in a. light, airy position for a few days before storing them 
away for the- winter. I have grown, the new variety, Hackwood 
Success, this season, raised by that splendid vegetable expert 
Mr. J. Bowerman, and I do not hesitate to say it is the finest 
Runner Bean that has come under my notice, both as an ex¬ 
hibition variety and for cropping, and all who- are on the 
look out for a, good novelty should make a note of this, and 
procure it- for another season should it be on the market. 
French or Dwarf Beans now fruiting in pits and frame-s 
should bei looked over every two- or three days, and all which 
are ready should be picked t-o- prevent the plants becoming 
exhausted. Air freely whenever the weather will allow. Make 
another sowing in well-drained 7-in. pot's, in a light and porous 
compost. These should be raised in a gentle heat, and place 
them on shelves as near the glass as possible. As. the young- 
growths appear above- the soil, those in a more forward state 
should be well syringed on bright mornings with te-pid water, 
and grow on near the glass in a growing temperature. As 
soon as- they commence bearing, farmyard liquid should be 
given. 
Vegetable Marrows. —These are also still in full bearing, 
and the fruits are of exceellent quality. Many of our plants 
which were in full bearing last- May are still as vigorous as 
ever, especially Moore’s Cream, Prince Albert, Pen-y-byd, and 
Perfection, the last-named being a valuable addition, t-o this 
vegetable. We have placed temporary lights o-ver a portion 
of these with the hope- of keeping up the supply as long as 
possible. As with Beans, so with these; cut all fruits on 
approach of frost, and st-ore away in a- place of safety; with 
care, these can be kept at- least a, fortnight. 
Gourds and Pumpkins. —This has been a-most-unfavourable 
season for the- ripening of these-, and unless planted in a very 
optn, sunny position, and early fruits secured, these will 
be of little use. Those which are partially coloured should be 
cut- and placed in a dry, warm greenhouse to finish. These 
make a- valuable change among our vegetables during tlie 
winter months; and are generally much appreciated. 
Celery.—I never remember seeing the Celery crop so badly 
infested as it- is at the present time with the leaf miner, and 
from all parts of the country I hear the same tale. The fiy 
was somewha-t troublesome dming tlie e-arly part of thei 
summer, but the plants, partly owing.to- the dripping season, 
made much headway, and were- little- the- worse- for it- till about 
three weeks since, when it quite suddenly made its reappearance 
in great force, and where left unchecked has practically denuded 
the plants of their foliage, and where this is the ca-se there are 
little hopes of it- keeping well, and it is the later! plantings 
which will suffer much in consequence. Prevention, of course, 
is always the bes-t cure, but in a season like the present one it 
is almost impossible when raining every day to render the 
growths too distasteful for the fly t-o- settle and deposit- its 
eggs. The only remedy remaining is- to carefully hand-pick 
and destroy the grub, crushing them between the thumb and 
finger. Avoid taking off more- of the affected parts than is 
necessary, but make certain that every grub is destroyed; 
this is. most important among the later crops.. Do- not be in 
too great- a haste in. finally earthing up, as after so- much wet 
the longer this is delayed the better, and the new growth made 
will be much harder than if drawn up and blanched, and every 
leaf should be encouraged to- replace as far- as possible those 
which have been seriously damaged. 
Seakale. —Early crowns which were lifted as advised should 
no-w be in a good state for forcing, but- it will be- necessary to 
place them in a position where a strong to-p and bottom heat 
can be applied, and all light must be tho-rougldy excluded. 
Syringe the crowns each morning. 
Rhubarb should also- be introduced to the warmest- end of 
the Mushroom house, and treat in the- same way as Seakale-. 
E. Beckett. 
Aldenliam House Gardens, Elstree. 
The Stove and Greenhouse. 
Ardisia crenulata. —This shrub ranks high among green¬ 
house plants remarkable for their berries. The s-pecies has 
deep green leafage, and bears in abundance bright scarlet 
berries- that- last in good condition on tlie plants for many 
weeks. The plants are adapted for the embellishment- of rooms- 
a-s well as the greenhouse, and make a- pleasing change in 
association with flowering and other subjects- during winter. 
They are- usually raised from seed sown in spring and grown 
on in a temperate house all summer, and po-t-t-ing on, as re¬ 
quired. A suitable size po-t to fruit them in is- 6 in. 
Camellias. —There- can be no doubt- that a cool treatment 
is best for these gorgeous flowering plants, and, in my opinion-, 
more plants are annually lost, or become- unhealthy, through 
being subjected to fire-heat or a. stagnant atmosphere than from 
any other cause. In the south or south-west districts fine trees 
may be occasionally met with perfectly hardy. Plants growing 
in pots or tubs- should ha-ve been stood in a partially shaded 
position in the open air last- June, and these must now be 
brought into- the cold greenhouse. Wash the pots- and see 
that the. drainage is- good, a-nd if any insects infest them, a 
thorough syringing should be given by laying the plants o-n a 
mat and applying insecticide through the- syringe with fo-rce. 
Permanent plants in borders in the greenhouse, of course, have 
to remain, but all those grown in pots or tubs should in¬ 
variably be left in the open until this date. Never allow 
them to become dry at the roots, or the buds- will drop. As 
there will now be swelling up- a certain number of the side 
buds where crowded may be pinched out; this will concentrate 
the energy of the plant, to- the remaining ones-. Liquid manure 
fro-m the- farmyard or stables may be diluted and applied twice 
weekly or when the- plants require water, with great benefit to 
the flowers and plant generally. 
Cassia corymbosa. —For covering bare walls- or trellises in 
the greenhouse or conservatory this plant is unrivalled and 
is of easy culture. The rich yellow flowers- are borne in 
corymbs during the summer months, and are extremely useful 
for cutting purposes. The sprays should be- cut- 18 in. long 
for placing in vas-e-s, as then the: real beauty of the flowers is 
displayed to advantage. The- plant attains to 10 ft. or 15 ft. 
in height, and if accorded liberal treatment soon covers the 
space allotted to it-. Half-ripened shoots are plentiful a-t this 
time, and these- strike root readily if inserted round the sides 
of in. pots- of rich soil composed of equal parts of loam, peat, 
and leaf-soil, with plenty of -sharp sand added to make it 
porous. Plunge the po-ts in a hotbed or in the propagating 
pit and keep we-ll sprinkled. 
Alocasias. — Among plants- remarkable for their foliage 
alone these are unique, and to grow them well it is very 
essential that, they be properly ripened off at this- time. To 
cease watering the plants all at once will have disastrous re¬ 
sults, and the supply of water must- be very gradually with¬ 
held in order that the plants go: to rest as naturally as possible. 
