906 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 31, 1903. 
Raspberries. — No fruit pays for good cultivation better 
than this, so that in making new plantations spare no pains in 
getting the ground in good heart before attempting to plant, 
as the stools should go on for several years if annually manur ed, 
and liquid manure during dry summers, be applied. They are 
best planted in rows 6 ft. asunder and 18 in. or 24 in. apart 
in the row, and are best kept in order when trained to tight 
horizontal wires 5 ft. or so. from the ground level. Two oak 
posts, one at either end, 4 in. square, with 2-in. square ones 
every 6 ft. or 8 ft., will last for some years. These should 
carry two. wires, one 2 ft. from the ground, the other near the 
top of the posts. Secure each cane to the wire to prevent the 
wind from swaying them to and fro, and in mid-February cut 
back the. canes to within 2 ft. of the ground; this will en¬ 
courage new shoots from the base to fruit the following 
summer. Mulch the. rows before much frost sets in, as in the 
case of Currants. For size of fruit., flavour and good cropping, 
red Superlative has yet to be beaten, though Baumforth’s Seed¬ 
ling, Hornet, Norwich Wonder, November Abundance, and 
Semper Fidelis are good ; and in yellow fruits the yellow Super¬ 
lative or the Guinea.- and yellow Antwerp are usually satis¬ 
factory. The autumn-bearing varieties, Reid Four Seasons and 
Yellow Four Seasons., with Belle de Fontenay, should be grown, 
as with a favourable autumn useful fruits are to be had up 
to. November ; but. this season has been far too wet and sunless 
to add sweetness. Established stools of these varieties should 
be cut to the ground in February. 
Logan Berry, — This is now being recognised as a. useful 
fruit for cooking or jam making, and is sure to be largely grown 
in the near future, the new Madhi hybrid proving a great 
acquisition. These respond to the. same treatment, meted out 
to the Raspberry as regards training, pruning, etc. 
Gooseberries, to be of the best flavour, require an. open- 
position where plenty of sun can reach them, and the follow¬ 
ing are amongst the best for dessert: Greengage, Glen-ton 
Green, and Langley Green,; reds, Crown Bob, Ironmonger, 
Warrington, Lancashire Lad, and Rifleman ; whites, Snow¬ 
drop, Whitesmith, and Cheshire Lass; and in yellows, Early 
Sulphur, Golden Drop, Golden Gem, and Keepsake. Lanca¬ 
shire prize fruits include Telegraph, Speedwell, Leveller, 
London, Langley Beauty, Thumper, and Dan’s Mistake. Grown 
similarly to Currants, they give the best returns, though they 
are often planted between standard Apples, Pears, or Plums 
with a. fan* amount of success, while for a. late supply plant as 
cordons against a. north wall, and in some seasons the flavour 
is very good. James Mayne. 
Bicton, Devonshire. 
Among the Orchids. 
Mexican Oncidiums. —The various species and natural 
hybrids which make up the Mexican section of Oncidiums have 
been annually imported in, such large quantities for several 
years past that they have become plentifully distributed in 
gardens. There are no more desirable subjects for providing 
a plentiful supply of bloom during the autumn and winter 
months. These plants can generally 'be induced to- grow and 
flower in a satisfactory manner under almost, any reasonable 
conditions for culture, but there are very few cultivators who 
are able to sustain this desirable state in flowering the plants 
satisfactorily and retaining their normal vigour. There can 
be no doubt but that the free-flowering characteristics of the 
plants play a prominent part in weakening their constitution. 
Such massive flower scapes cause a considerable strain on the 
pseudo-bulbs. The durability of the flowers after they become 
expanded adds further to the strain, and must account some¬ 
what for the diminishing pseudo-bulbs in succeeding years-. 
There can be no doubt but that- the use of leaf-soil will mini¬ 
mise the difficulty in their cultivation. Old plants that have 
dwindled away to very small proportions, are induced to- take 
a new lease of life from its use, and if the flower scapes are 
pinched out for a season or so they make good headway. I 
have cited this because of the possibilities of success in leaf- 
soil culture. The imported plants can be purchased for such 
a modest- outlay that it is more advisable to procure new plants 
than to waste time over those in diminished circumstances. 
Good Oak or Beech leaves are the best for the purpose, inter¬ 
mixed with about one-third fibrous peat- and sufficient sand to 
render the compost of a, porous- nature. Make the material 
firm, and cover the surface with a layer of chopped sphagnum. 
Preparing Leaves for Leaf-soil.— The marked progress made 
where leaf-soil has been, used cannot, but yield an annual in¬ 
creased number of cultivators who will benefit from its usage 
in, the cultivation of Orchids. Almost all prominent cultivators 
have come to the conclusion, that they prefer the home-pro¬ 
cured material to that of the foreign “ Belgian ” or German 
imported material. Now that the season of the fall of the 
leaves is with us, a. few remarks on a, system followed with us 
and proved successful may not be out of place. In the first 
place, some care is necessary to select the- leaves suitable for 
the purpose. Oak and Beech, separated or mixed, are the 
most suitable kinds for the purpose. These should be gathered 
as free as possible from vegetable matter or anything of a 
woody nature, which will tend to breed fungus. These should 
be carefully got, together and locally stacked in a heap. 
They soon commence to become warm. After the excessive 
heat has gene, the heap 1 should be again carefully turned over, 
repeating the operation if necessary; but it is not advisable 
to- assist, decomposition too- far. Although decayed when used, 
they are better for having a, little substance remaining for 
potting purpose®. Turning too many times, especially in a 
wet season, causes too. great decomposition and renders a. great 
deal of the compost remaining unsuitable for general Orchid 
potting. The. leave® should also be- fairly dry when, gathered ; 
this- will assist them greatly in retaining desirable conditions 
until required for use. We prefer to have- the leaves lying a 
year a.t least before use. Not only for Orchid potting, but for 
all other plants benefited by decayed leaves in the potting 
compost, we find advantages from the careful selection of the 
leaves. Surely, when the item of a, considerable peat- bill is 
reduced to at least, one-third, some consideration can be afforded 
in the selection and storage of the more advantageous material. 
H. J. 
LETTER TO THE EDITOR. 
Saxifraga macnabiana. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, —Your correspondent, Mr. Fleming, is quite correct re¬ 
garding the origin of 'Saxifraga macnabiana.. It was raised 
by me in 1876, at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, while 
the late James- Me Nab was Curator of the garden, in whose 
honour this Saxifraga was named. The female parent was 
■Saxifraga nepalensis, which is only a, form of S. Cotyledon ; this 
much is certain ; but the male or pollen parent is not, quite 
certain. The plant was not artificially hybridised, but, from 
the fact that S. lingula,ta, was growing near to the plant of 
S. nepalensis, from which the seeds were taken that produced 
S. macnabiana,, we concluded that S. lingula,ta must have been 
the male parent. R. Lindsay. 
P.S.—May I be allowed to point out that the illustration 
on page 891 of the copy kindly sent, is not Anemone sulphurea, 
but, Anemone alpina sulphurea,, a yellow flowered variety of 
A. alpina, that I have repeatedly raised from seed of the ordi¬ 
nary alpina,. The true Anemone sulphurea is a much dwarfer 
plant, and has deeper coloured golden flowers, and seems to be' 
very rare in cultivation. R. L. 
[A. sulphurea, L. is referred to A. alpina L. by the " Index 
Kewensis,” but the Kew Hand List restores it, to A. sul¬ 
phurea, L., thus regarding it, as a species, though no comments 
are made upon the reasons for so doing.- -Ed.] 
