414 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 9, 1903 . 
J* 
Readers' Competition—continued. 
Stand the boxes in a good position near the glass,, in a tempera¬ 
ture ranging from 55 degrees to 60 degrees. By the first week in 
April sufficient growth should be made for transferring into 
pots. 
Clean pots should be used, in sizes according to the require¬ 
ments of the tubers, taking into consideration the amount of 
root they have made. 
Lift the tubers carefully, taking care not to break the tender 
roots in the operation. Put the whole mass into the pot. Never 
rub away any material that may be adhering to the roots, always 
potting loosely, using a compost of two parts good fibrous loam, 
one part half-decomposed leaves (Oak or Beech in preference! 
to others), one part horse manure, old spent mushroom manure, 
or old hot-bed material, with a liberal addition of Bedfordshire 
sand, and to every bushel of soil add a small 60-pot of soot. 
Mix the whole well together by giving several turnings, finally 
passing it through a coarse-mesh sieve. Use the compost m 
a rough or lumpy state ; never use it finely sifted. 
Begonias delight in a moist atmosphere while growing, and 
should be stood on staging that has a covering of shingle or 
ashes, the latter being preferable ; although the Begonia de¬ 
lights in sunshine, shading from strong sun will be necessary, 
using roller-blinds in preference to permanent shading. Over¬ 
head syringing in the morning and afternoon is very beneficial, 
also plenty of water thrown about the paths of the house, out 
careful watering with the spout should be observed until the 
plants get well established. 
As the plants advance in growth a shift into their flowering 
pots will be necessary. Use pots in sizes according to the re¬ 
quirements of the plants, using a similar compost as recom¬ 
mended, with the addition of a 48-pot full of bone-meal to two 
bushels of soil, potting loosely as before. The Begonia is a 
gross feeder, and if in good health can scarcely be overdone 
with manure, but I do not advocate the use of artificial stuffs. 
I find them too burning, and much injury can be done at the 
root by the use of them. Drainings from cowsheds, well diluted, 
or a concoction made from sheep droppings or cow manure, are 
excellent. 
The main thing to aim at is a luxurious growth, with large 
healthy foliage, and flowers of good substance in profusion 
should be the result. H. W. C. 
54, Shooters’ Hill Road, Blackheath, S.E. 
Interesting Plants and their Pollination. 
In this little article I should like to deal chiefly with a few 
of the curious modes of pollination as well as other peculiari¬ 
ties of plants in which fertilisation is sometimes effected. We 
are all well aware that by the term pollination we mean the 
transference of the pollen grains from the anther to the stigma. 
This is effected in various ways; accordingly we have various 
modes of pollination. The first which I should like to deal with 
is self-pollination. To effect this, the anthers and stigmas 
must come to maturity at the same time. As cross-pollination 
is by far the most common method, as well as the most bene¬ 
ficial (for by observation and experiments we find that it pro¬ 
duces stronger seed than self-pollinated flowers), we will deal 
chiefly with that form. 
In the Asclepias, with which we are all well acquainted, the 
stamens and style are united together. The style has a large 
head, with a stigmatic margin or under-surface. The five 
epipetalous anthers adhere to this head. The pollen forms 
pollinia as in the Orchids, which is a complex contrivance, and 
so attached that an insect will catch its leg in a slit between 
two anthers, and on removing it carry away the sticky threads 
of pollinia, which, as they dry, cause the pollinia to clasp the 
-leg. When the insect visits another flower, the pollinia, which 
are now compact against the leg, pass downward through another 
slit, but the slit is so constructed that the pollinia, instead of 
being again pulled out, are deposited on the stigmatic under¬ 
surface of the style-head. The backs of the anther possess a 
curious honey-cup, into which the honey drops from a nectary 
projecting above them. The fruit ^splits open to let the seeds 
out, and are often very large. The seeds are interesting, being 
furnished with a parachute-like arrangement of hairs, to assist 
in their dispersal by the wind. 
Another rather interesting form of pollination is the Common 
Arum (Arum maculatum). This is also insect pollinated. The 
inflorescence emits a peculiar odour ; this, together with the 
purple tip of the spadix and the huge spatlie, aids in alluring 
the small flies which effect cross-pollination. The whole in¬ 
florescence forms a trap to catch these minute flies, which creep 
down the spatlie in the chamber formed by the spathe-tube 
The ovaries mature before the stamens, and at this stage of 
flowering the palisade of hairs spanning the mouth of the spathe- 
tube does not prevent their entrance, but hinders their de¬ 
parture. If the flies come from another spatlie, they bear pollen 
and pollinate the stigmas of the ovaries, which are now ready. 
After a time the stigmas wither and secrete honey, which is 
sipped by the imprisoned insects. Finally, the hairs forming 
the palisade wither, and allow the flies to escape dusted with 
pollen. The whole inflorescence is therefore specially con¬ 
structed to accomplish the cross-pollination by the agency of 
small flies. The respective use of the large involucre of highly- 
coloured bracts in some varieties of the Euphorbia (Poinsettiai 
is without doubt owing to the insignificance of the flower, 
essential for the attraction of insects to effect cross-pollination. 
The Anthurium has a yellow or red spadix, with small crowded 
flowers. Just below the spadix is a conspicuous brightly-coloured 
bract. The stigma of the flower in this instance, contrary to 
the general rule, ripens before the anthers. This ensures cross- 
pollination. The fruit is a rather large berry, which, when 
ripe, is forced out from the spadix, and hangs by two threads, 
so as to be easily obtained by birds, which disperse the seed, 
the birds, like the insects, being probably attracted by the 
coloured bract. The Bougainvillea also has coloured bracts 
which look like petals, helping to attract insects, and also 
forming wings to the fruits, and thus assisting in seed dispersal 
In the blue species of Tradescantia the stamens are furnished 
with beautiful silky hairs, helping to attract insects and to 
retain some of the pollen. In these hairs are to be seen under 
the microscope streaming movements of the protoplasm. 
Harold J. Baker. 
Strawberries in Pots. 
A few notes on growing Strawberries in pots may interest a 
few readers of ThA Gardening World. A compost of good 
turfy loam, well broken up, and one-fifth of decayed manure, 
with a little soot and wood ashes, well mixed together, will be 
found suitable, using 5-inch or 6-inch pots, well cleaned and 
well drained. Then layer the runners into them, choosing good 
strong healthy plants. After potting them, place the pots on 
beds of ashes, where the crowns will become well ripened, and 
watering can be conveniently attended to. Only one crown is pre¬ 
ferable in each pot, removing all the side-shoots as !hey appear. 
Very early plants may be plunged in cold frames in November, 
keeping the lights on during rain, frost, or snow. Later batches 
can have the pots banked up with ashes and have light litter 
spread over them in severe weather. The first batch can be 
placed on shelves in vineries in January, for fruiting, placing 
them near the glass to prevent them from getting drawn. Where 
large quantities are grown in pots, lean-to houses are very 
handy, with movable staging ; a step staging should be used, 
so as to have the plants all an equal distance from the glass, in 
a temperature from 50 to 55 degrees by day and 45 degrees by 
night when first starting them. This should gradually increase': 
with the ripening of the fruit to 75 degrees, with plenty of 
ventilation. Watering should be carefully attended to, and feed¬ 
ing of the plants. The soil should never be allowed to get 
too dry, but less water will be required when the fruits are 
colouring. Mildew must be guarded against by careful atten 
tion to the ventilation, avoiding close stagnant atmospheres at 
all times. If it appears, dust the affected parts with flowers of 
sulphur. Red spider and greenfly can be kept in check by 
syringing and fumigation. Runners should be layered into 
the pots in summer. A few good varieties for forcing are Royal 
Sovereign, Keen’s Seedling, and La Gross Sucree. J. K. D. 
*** The prize last week in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “Vendeur” for his article on “Clianthus,” 
page 391. 
