550 
THB GARDENING world 
June 27, 1903. 
weeds, and keep all rubbish, such as fallen Paeony flowers, 
picked off. Any shrubs which have broken the ties during 
the wind should be immediately supported, or much damage 
is soon caused. Especially does this apply to small standard 
trees ; being top-heavy they are easily broken off. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. A. E. Thatcher. 
The Stove and Greenhouse. 
Gardenias.—The best, plants of these that have come under 
my notice were grown in low-heated pits planted out. ISo 
special attention was given, beyond what is usually required by 
tins genus, yet they grew like the common Laurel and dowered 
profusely and continuously. It is pretty well known that 
abundance of heat, accompanied with humidity, is essential to< 
these plants whilst they are 1 in active growth, and unless this 
can be-given, it is useless; attempting tnedr culture. Good ex¬ 
amples may also be grown m pots ; , provided the culture 
throughout be of the best.. There must be no check through 
the roots being cramped in small pots, nor through insects in¬ 
festing them, or the results will be disappointing. Gardenias 
are subject to' attacks of scale and mealy bug, but these are 
generally to be found in greater numbers upon unhealthy plants 
than upon those that are in vigorous growth. Occasional 
syringings with force with petroleum will keep the plants clean. 
The compost best suited to Gardenias consists of three-fifths 
fibrous loam to one each of fibrous peat and well-decomposed 
cow manure, adding sufficient sand and mortar rubble to make 
the whole porous. Healthy young plants to start with are 
half the battle, and if the cultivator propagates his. own plants 
I advise striking large, healthy half-ripened shoots of, say, 
12 in. long. If a strong moist heat can. be given these, they 
quickly emit roots;, and cue has large established plants at 
once, which may either be planted out in prepared pits or 
borders or grown on in pots. When the flow T er-buds attain 
the size of Haricot Beans the young growths that proceed 
from the base of it. should be pinched out in order to concentrate 
the energy of the plant to the bloom ; all other growths should 
be allowed to grow unchecked for ultimate flowering. 
Clerodendron fallax- —This is a shrubby species, and bears 
large panicles of bright red blossoms thrown well above the 
large deep-green leaves. I know of no plant more effective 
for the stove or greenhouse than this;.- It is. essentially a stove 
species, but will withstand a. long sojourn in a cool, diy house 
during the summer without injury, provided the plants are 
healthy and commencing to open their flowers. 'Propagation 
is effected by sowing seed or striking cuttings in spring, and 
any young shoots thus raised should be kept growing by re¬ 
potting into larger pots as required, and as these become well 
filled with roots feed once a. week with manure-water until 
they commence to flower. The old plants will commence to 
flower first, and the young ones will form successions to them. 
The compost they delight in consists of two parts loam to one 
each of peat and decayed manure, with sand added. When re¬ 
potting use the compost, as rough as possible. 
General Potting. —There will now be many plants requiring 
a shift onwards, such as Euphorbias, Cinerarias, Primulas, 
Chrysanthemums, and other autumn and winter flowering sub¬ 
jects. Chrysanthemums' will by now be ready for shifting into 
those size pets in which the- plants are to flower. Have every¬ 
thing in readiness so that the work may be done methodically 
and with dispatch. Pots must be washed, stakes looked out 
and sharpened, and the compost and crock® prepared. All 
soils used for potting should be housed before wanted, so that, 
it becomes neither too wet nor too- dry by the action of the 
weather upon it. K. M. 
Bacteria on Grapes.— Dr. Ehrbicli, an. eminent German 
scientist, recently found 24,000,000 bacteria on the skins of one 
pound of Grapes. This fruit- was bought from a stall in the 
street, and should be a warning to purchasers to wash all fruit 
before eating it when the source of supply is at all questionable. 
Letter to the Editor. 
Growing Onions for Exhibition on Heavy Soil. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, —I notice in his “ Quizzings ” for June 20th “ Cal ” makes 
mention of my recent article on the above subject, and with your 
permission will reply to his questions. 
First, then, with regard to -the weight of Onions grown by my 
method, and on my heavy soil, 1 must confess that I have never 
ascertained the gross weight of crop, but have often picked out 
a dozen bulbs that turn the scale at 331bs., and one or two lots 
I have shown, have well averaged 31bs. per bulb. Last year mv 
heaviest bulb weighed 31bs. 4gOzs. when root and top were re¬ 
moved, and this bulb kept perfectly sound until April, when it 
was planted for seed production. I am perfectly well aware that 
many growers can, outweigh me, but I imagine the soil in whicn 
their Onions are grown is a wee bit kinder than mine. So much, 
then, for size ; now with regard to feeding with soot; lime, and 
salt. I have used both soot and lime in liberal quantities, but 1 
prefer to apply them separately rather than mixed. Salt I have 
never used on this land, because I have deemed it unnecessary 
on soil of so tenacious a character. On lighter soil, where tne 
saline properties of the soil are apt to be easily washed away 
by rain, I should certainly use salt ; however, I have no objec¬ 
tion. to giving “ Cal’s ” suggestion a trial, and will send note 
of result at the end of season (if the Editor is willing to insert 
it.) ['Certainly. —Ed.] Lastly, “Cal” asks if I find it abso¬ 
lutely essential to* bend over the tops; my answer is “yes." 
Bear in mind once again I am dealing with heavy soil, where, 
by reason of a cool moist bottom, the Onions will grow well into 
autumn, since having once fairly started they grow stronger anl 
more vigorous than if on light dry soil. It will be readily 
agreed that in order to have good sound bulbs for exhibition and 
for keeping they must be well ripened. Ripening will not com¬ 
mence while the tops are drawing sap full-speed through the 
bulb ; therefore, when it is advisable to help the bulbs to ripen 
it becomes necessary to check the flow of sap. This, so far as 1 
know, is best done by bending over the tops. However, when I 
grow bulbs by the' acre for market I shall probably leave the tops 
of the Onions to bend tnemselves. Heather Bell. 
Coleus thyrsoideus. 
The blue Coleus travels well, and will make a good ei- 
liibiticn plant, if required for the purpose. Plants grown in 
48-size pots have been brought before the public three times 
in succession. When restored to the hothouse for a time after 
it. has been exposed to the rough treatment of the exhibition 
table it soon recovers its previous reputation, and may be 
shown again. This recuperative habit is due to the method or 
natural plan of flowering in succession. The flowers are 
cymose, so that the first-opened blooms are capable of making 
a display, after which the younger ones expand and take the 
place of those that have fallen, or have been injured by rough 
usage. Something similar to this may be seen in a Myosotis 
or a Heliotrope, whose flowers are likewise in cymes and pro¬ 
duced successively in the same way. 
Dianthus caesius. 
The Cheddar Pink is one of the most interesting of its class 
on account of the dense tuft of gray or oaesious foliage which; 
it produces. Even when not in bloom the rockery presents 
an interesting appearance where a large clump or patch of this 
plant is seen hanging down over the ledges. The flowers them- 
(selves are of a beautiful shade of rosy-pink in the best varieties 
of the species, and individually about the size of a shilling 
The petals are toothed at the margins, but not by any mean; 
so deeply fringed as in the common garden Pink, which tlit 
florist has been able to manipulate in such a way that tht 
fringes have entirely disappeared. It seems, strange that m 
improvement has been effected in gardens in this beautiful 
though uncommon, British species. Sometimes it is obtainec 
from the Continent by means- of seeds-, but the forms raisec 
from it are not always of the best- Propagation may b< 
effected either by seeds, cuttings, or layers, the first-name* 
being perhaps the most advisable, with the object of getting 
improved forms, if possible. 
