November 7, 1903. 
THE GARDE NINO WORLD. 
925 
tihis, liut in my opinion, the best possible place is a deep pit 
sunk in the ground, with a, bed of tree leave® and stable manure 
in the centre; this will do for plunging the plants into, and 
will give off just that, amount of heat and humidity that they 
delight in. The day temperature, should be, about, 60 deg. F., 
with 5 deg. rise with sun-heat,, and at night 50 to- 55 deg. 
Syringe overhead and damp the floors, twice or thrice daily. 
An ordinary stove or temperate, house may, of course, be 
utilised for bringing on the plants, but the results, will not. be 
so good as when a, house can, be set apart for the purpose. 
K. M. 
Notes on Hardy Plants. 
Late Flowering Asters. — Inis autumn has unfortunately 
been a most disappointing one for those who appreciate 1 the 
beauty and value of the Michaelmas Daisy, for the whole time 
that the majority or mid-season varieties should have, been 
at their best—which is during the latter part of September 
and the first fortnight in October—the ram spoiled them asi 
quickly as they opened, and hardly once were they able to 
expand properly and appear at. their best, in spite of the fact, 
that, through the whole of the growing season they looked 
very promising. There are several varieties, which one may 
call late flowering; that is, they appear at, their best, during' 
the latter part of October and the middle of November, and 
these, I think, have suffered least of all from the inclemency 
of the weather. In, addition to their usefulness as cut, flowers, 
they are of great value for brightening up the borders at, this 
dull time of year, and a,t the present, time are looking re¬ 
markably fresh and clean. Of these, I think the variety 
named Esther is the most beautiful. This was a seedling from 
Novi-Belgii Pleiad, but grows, fully 1 ft. or 18 in. taller than, 
the parent, and the habit, though somewhat upright, is very 
branching and Auriferous. The colour of the, flowers i.s a, 
clear, delicate pink, which, when, used in a. cut state under 
artificial light, is most effective. Dift'usus pendulus, though 
an old variety, is still excellent ; growing between 4 ft. and 
5 ft. in height, with long, drooping branches of white flowers,, 
it, makes a, showy border plant. Dift’usus, horizontalisi is a, 
dwarf variety of great, merit. As the name implies, it, throws 
out, many horizontal branches, which are clothed with a pro¬ 
fusion of white flowers, with a, very conspicuous deep, red 
centre, which renders the plant effective in the- border, and 
decorative. 
A variety sent here a few seasons back, and named Kesserve, 
is worthy of special notice, the raiser being the Rev. Wolley 
I)od. This grows about, 2-| ft. in height, with a dense', branch¬ 
ing, upright habit,, and when, the, flowers are fully expanded 
the, whole is a mass of rich pink colouring, which makes it a, 
conspicuous and desirable plant, either for the herbaceous 
border or in the front line of Asters. 
Turbin,ellus, with lavender-blue flowers., and the white) 
variety, are both good, the habit being so light. Tradescanti, 
too, with its long graceful sprays, of white flowers, is very 
distinct and late, almost the last to, flower, except, of course, 
grandiflorus, which in this locality does not commence to 
open its. flowers much before the middle of December, and is 
therefore unsuitable for growing outside, though as a pot plant! 
it is very fine. 
It is not advisable to, cut the Asters down immediately they 
have done flowering, for, like- the iest of herbaceous plants, 
with the exception of a, very few, they should be left, to 
thoroughly dry off. We do not. cut ours down until well into, 
the new year, and one need have no scruples, as to whether 
they will present an untidy appearance, and fall about. This: 
will not, happen if they were thoroughly supported, and even 
when in seed there is a certain beauty to the enthusiast about 
them, especially in frosty weather, when the great quantities 
of white seed form a pleasing contrast, to, the, brown, withered 
stems. 
If one wishes to propagate any particularly °cod or perhaps 
tender variety, it can be done now from the shoots which are 
appearing at the base. I say tender variety because there 
are a few, like Cordifolius Diana, for instance, which in cold, 
wet, heavy soils are liable to die off in winter, owing to a 
weak constitution. In such cases it is advisable to take up 
the old plant and winter in, a, cold frame. The cuttings should 
also, be wintered in, a, similar structure. There are several 
varieties which, if treated in this way, make excellent subjects 
for growing as single-stemmed plants, and give very pleasing 
results when planted singly in, the herbaceous border, so that 
they can rise above the dwarfer-growing subjects and give a 
profusion of bloom in the borders during late autumn. These 
include such as Triumph, Enchantress, Hon. Edith Gibbs, 
Brightness, etc. 
Outdoor Chrysanthemums.— In spite of the bad weather, I 
have never seen these make, a, more, luxuriant growth and 
give a greater profusion of flower than they have, this year. 
They are a, little later than usual, perhaps, and several 
varieties are now at their best. These include Ivy Stark, a, 
beautiful bronzy-yellow; White St. Grouts 1 , a, dwarf, remark¬ 
ably free-flowering variety; Ryecroft Crimson, an excellent 
tall sort, deep reddish-crimson; Mrs. Cullingford, a large free 
white; Flora,, though an, early variety, is, still producing 
quantities of its neat golden flowers; and Ryecroft, Glory, 
which is; never at its best till November, and valuable for late, 
work. A. E. Thatcher. 
Aldenham House, Gardens, Elstree, Herts. 
Fruit Under Glass. 
The Vines.— To have ripe fruit in April it, is necessary to 
make a start from the middle to, the end of this month, and 
low span-roofed houses or lean-to are the most suitable for 
the work. See that the wood-work, glass, etc. are thoroughly 
clean by washing, and that the walls are lime-washed pre¬ 
vious to, bringing in the Vines. These are sometimes stood 
on, the hot-water pipes by first placing thick pieces of slate 
thereon, but large, inverted pots or tiers; of brick are the best, 
the latter being placed so that the bottom heating material 
can pass between and reach the pot, containing the roots of 
the Vine. If bottom-heat pipes run, through the pit, fresh- 
o-athered sweet Chestnut or Oak leaves will be sufficient for 
O 
placing around and between the, pots. In the absence of these, 
let it be three parts leaves to one part of fresh stable manure 
well incorporated and turned over three, or four times, within 
ten days before putting it, in the; house, so; that rank heat may 
escape and to sweeten the whole;. This material should not 
be, made too, firm at first. More may be added after the, Vines 
come into, leaf, a bottom heat of 63 or 65 deg. being quite 
sufficient until then, with a night-temperature of 10 deg. less, 
advancing to 60 to 65 deg. by day for the first few weeks, 
when, more anon. Wash the canes after pruning with warm, 
soapy water, and clear off the surface soil, avoiding disturbing 
the roots, and give a, top dressing of loam, with a little bone- 
meal or Thompson’s, mixed in ; then scrub the pots and see 
that the drainage hole is clear. The pots when placed in 
position should be quite 2 ft. apart, and the c-anes depended 
so, that the flow of sa,p' may be checked, which will cause a 
more even break, syringe overhead morning and afternoon, and 
apply water at the root with judgment for some few weeks. 
Vineries. — Though Vine® during autumn and winter do not 
require so- much water at the root as in summer, yet the 
borders must not be allowed to get, too dry, and this is quite 
likely to happen, especially where] a few bunches of fruit may 
he hanging, and fire-heat applied to dispel moisture,, unless 
frequently examined as to, the state of the border. Where 
there are only a dozen or so bunches left, it, would be wisest to 
cut, and bottle them, so, that, the house may have full ven¬ 
tilation day and night, but when such houses have to do duty 
as plant protectors less air must, suffice at night. These 
Vine® may have their laterals shortened to within 10 in. or 
19 in or where thev were last pruned, and the borders watered 
hf at all on the diy side. Early forced Vines with outside 
