November 21, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
963 
space of 4 in. to 6 in. between each fruiting shoot when tying 
in, though there can be no objection in laying young growths! 
in to cover the larger branches of aged trees as the work pro¬ 
ceeds. Leave the houses wide open during mild weather until 
starting time. James Matne. 
Bioton, Devonshire. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Broad Beans. —During my recollection it was a common 
practice to sow Broad Beans in the autumn in the open—a plan 
which I never adopted or recommended—and even now it is 
practised by some. By far the best plan is to sow in boxes 
under glass in early spring, properly harden, and plant out as 
soon as possible, and I venture to say that not only will these 
be quite as early, but the yield will be much greater, and half 
the trouble will be saved over those raised in the open. Though 
the Broad Bean is extremely hardy, slugs and other pests, in 
spite of all precautions, are certain to play sad havoc with 
them during winter, when the growth is practically at a 
standstill. 
When extra early supplies are required, seed may be sown 
now in 7-in. and 8-in. pots, placing live beans in each, and raise 
them in cold frames. As soon as the young growths appear 
above the soil every care sho'uld be taken to give abundance of 
air whenever possible, removing the lights entirely during open 
weather to induce them to make a stout, stocky growth. If 
these are planted out in a warm, sumiy spot, and well shel¬ 
tered in very early spring, they will produce a few dishes far 
in advance of those treated in the ordinary way. Yeiy excel¬ 
lent results can be obtained by growing and fruiting them in 
8-in. pots. The seed should be sown at once, and treated in 
the’same way as advised for planting out till about mid-winter, 
when the best position to give them is a shelf near the glass 
in quite a cool orchardhouse. Avoid fire heat as much as pos¬ 
sible from start to finish, and abundance of air is the great 
secret of success when they are in flower. There are now 
several varieties of fine appearance and of excellent quality 
suitable both for under glass and outside culture, but the most, 
reliable variety that I am acquainted with is a good stock 
of Carter’s Leviathan. Tire old Mazagan type, in my opinion, 
is now scarcely worth growing, as it is certainly no earlier and 
of inferior quality to many others. Good Beans may be picked 
when treated as above early in May, and when these are appro 
ciated early, as they are in many places, they are quite worth 
the trouble expended on them. 
Early Peas.—-No pains should be spared to produce these as 
early as possible in the new year’, and the method of sowing 
during autumn in open ground is to be quite as much depre¬ 
cated as in the case of Broad Beans, for, except in the most 
favoured positions as to climate and soil, and during very 
mild winters, these are rarely worth the trouble and expense 
incurred, and I strongly advise sowing in boxes during early 
spring and planting out when ready. Not only the first sowing 
should be treated in this way, but at least three for successional 
crops, and especially so on cold, wet land. I have always found 
i transplanted Peas, when judiciously attended to from the time 
the seed is sown until being planted out, which should be done 
with care, far more prolific than when sown in drills in the 
open. The culture of Peas in pots, boxes, or even sown in 
the ground under glass, has now become pretty general, not 
only in large private places, but many of our market growers 
are devoting a considerable area of glass to their culture, and 
I am told by one of the most successful of these that when 
suitable varieties are selected nothing which he grows is more 
remunerative. Though we may not all possess suitable accom¬ 
modation for growing these to- any large extent., it is surpris¬ 
ing what quantities a dozen or so 8-in. and 10-in. pots will 
produce, and all that is absolutely necessary by way of glass 
is cold pits and frames in which to- shelter them duiing winter. 
Seed should now be sown thinly in well-drained pots or boxes, 
using a good fibrous compost of three parts loam, one part 
leaf-soil, and one part mushroom dung, to which should be 
■added to every bushel of soil a 6-in. potful of bone-meal. The 
large-podded varieties are much to be preferred to the 
smaller ones. Early Morn, Edwin Beckett, Duke of Albany, 
and Alderman are all equally well adapted for treating in this 
way, and when the plants become too tall for accommodation 
in pits or frames 1 , plunge the pots to the rims on a warm, shel¬ 
tered border with a southern aspect, when in case of severe 
weather by erecting a temporary framework over them these 
are easily protected, and veiy early pickings of Peas of the 
highest quality can then be reasonably looked for. 
Subjects being wintered in cold frames, such as Cauliflowers, 
Lettuce, Endive, Parsley, and the like, should be looked over 
and cleaned occasionally, and the seedling plants must be kept 
thoroughly aired night and day while the weather remains in 
such a mild condition, and there will be no danger of these 
becoming too large and not sufficiently hard. 
Capsicums and Chilies should now be given a warmer tem¬ 
perature; an intermediate house will suit them well if their 
freshness is to be maintained during the winter months. See 
that they are kept clean from aphis by fumigating with XL All. 
Aldeoham House, Elstree, Herts. E. Beckett. 
Among the Orchids. 
Calanthes.— The deciduous section of Calanthes will now 
have matured their pseudo-bulbs, and where they have been 
properly ripened the foliage will be decaying. This is an un¬ 
sightly period for the plants, but. it is not advisable to. cut 
away the leaves until they are thoroughly passed. The flower- 
scapes still advancing will need every encouragement, while 
the atmosphere is. being kept naturally drier; the plants should 
not be allowed to remain dry at the roots for any lengthened 
period, or the flower-scapes suffer, which perhaps may not be 
apparent until the flowers become expanded. Light also is a 
great facility to be considered with all plants at the present 
season of the year. Unless sufficient light is obtainable it is 
impossible to procure the brightest tints of colour in the 
flowers when they have becomei expanded. Perhaps no* better 
illustration of this will be found than the case of Calanthe 
^ eitchii when grown in or near Loudon and in other district^ 
where jdants suffer from want of light. Instead of the deep 
rosy-purple tints characteristic of this hybrid, we get pale, 
washed-out and almost useless flowers wliererthey can be in¬ 
duced even so much as to expand. Yanda caerulea is another 
example in which light makes or mars the beautiful tints, and 
it is rarely, indeed, that flowers expand in a satisfactory manner 
after the end of September under the most favourable condi¬ 
tions in the London district. Not only in London., but in the 
more fortunate districts, I have noted a. marked difference 
between flowers expanding within reasonable distance of the 
roof-glass and a few feet lower, where plants have been removed 
after a portion has been expanded. During the past few weeks 
we have had a Vanda caerulea with two scapes proceeding from 
the same stem. One opening a few days in advance of the 
other scape, it wa,s placed on the stage. One could scarcely 
believe a change in position could have had such a material 
effect. So. different were the two scapes that one would not 
have credited it being the same variety. I feel I cannot too 
deeply impress the necessity of utilising the full benefits of the 
procurable light, at this dull season of the year where flowers 
are expanding. 
Temperatures.—In. all the divisions of our Orchid houses 
the temperatures should be reduced to the minimum degree. 
The cool house should have a temperature of 50 deg. a.t night 
when cool conditions prevail outside; with mild weather, 
55 deg., with a liberal use of the lower ventilators, and the hot- 
water pipes chilled will be of great benefit in dispensing with 
excessive moisture. The intermediate, house should be kept at 
55 deg. to 58 deg., the C'attleya house 58 deg. to 62 deg., the 
East Indian house 65 deg., and the Phalaenopsis house at 
68 deg. to 70 deg. at night, allowing 5 deg. to 10 deg. rise with 
