562 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 27, 1908, 
Readers’ Competition—continued. 
and. November. The temperatures given for the colder months 
are those necessarily produced by fire heat, but advantage should 
be taken of sun heat to secure extra warmth and give a little 
extra ventilation. 
Closely connected with the question of heat is that of ventila¬ 
tion hi the cultivation of Cattleyas, and air should be per¬ 
mitted primarily for the purpose of strengthening the plants, 
and not for the reduction of th© temperature, as is often done. 
They require a large supply of water at tne roots and in the 
atmosphere when they are rooting and growing freely, but when 
growth has finished the less water given them the better they will 
be, so long as the pseudo-bulbs do not shrivel. Damping down 
stages and paths must be regulated according to the condition 
of the weather and plants. Some few species, such as the heat- 
loving superba, are never really at rest, and so they never 
should be dry at thei roots. 
Cattleyas like a clear light, and heavy shading should be 
avoided. Roller blinds of coarse washed material run on sup¬ 
ports that keep them about six inches from the roof glass are 
the best, and these should only be used when there is a danger 
of sunshine scalding the young leaves, or making the flowers 
fade rapidly. Shading will not be required after September. 
The Genus Schizanthus. 
The fringed, or “ Butterfly ” flower, as the Schizanthus is popu¬ 
larly known, forms one of the most pleasing objects that one 
could wish for in a greenhouse or conservatory from April on¬ 
wards. Probably the best known species would be S. pinnatus, 
which forms a section including many beautiful varieties. The 
varieties of pinnatus are exceedingly pretty annuals, elegant in 
growth, and sometimes attaining the height of 3 ft. and over, 
but the object of the cultivator should not be to grow the plants 
as tall as possible. 
To the pinnatus section belong the following varieties:—fe. 
p. papilionaeeus, a well-known variety of a bluish colour, 
deeply blotched purple; S. p. Priesti, a good white variety ; 
S. p. atro-purpureus, a deep purple, having a dark centre ; S. p. 
Tom Thumb, of different shades in colour, and is, as its name 
implies, of dwarf habit. 
Schizanthus retusus is not so well known as it deserves to be ; 
tne flowers are larger, but not so numerous as those of the 
pinnatus type. The colours in tfhe retusus section vary from rose 
to crimson, with an orange blotch; there is also a white variety 
albus. S. Grahami is closely related to S. retusus, the only 
noticeable difference being that it does not possess the yellow 
or orange centre. 
S. wisetonensis is the latest addition to this beautiful genus, 
and at present it is quite unsurpassed. An excellent illustra¬ 
tion of 1 bis lovely plant is to be seen on page 507 of The 
Gardening World, the number for June 13th. 
Those readers who were fortunate enough to attend the recent 
Temple Flower Show could not but admire the exquisite exliibit 
of S. wisetonensis.' It is rather dwarf in habit, and it flowers 
profusely, so much so that when in full flower scarcely any 
foliage is to be seen; in fact, the whole appears to be one mass 
of flowers. 
The colour is most pleasing to the eye, being of a delicate 
shade of rose, but by continual selection other colours are now 
being established, and among other shades now to be found in 
S. wisetonensis are pink with deep chocolate blotch, rose with 
yellow centre and brown spot®, but at present there 1 aie no 
named varieties of this type. 
The cultivation is by no means difficult. Seed should be sown 
in August or September, and it is important to keep the young 
pi ants” near the glass to prevent them from becoming drawn. * 
They should be potted on according to the growth made, giving 
them a final shift in early March. Herbert Cowley. 
Strawberries for Forcing. 
As the time is almost here when iliose who force Strawberries 
annually for the early production of fruit will be thinking about 
getting the plants ready, I trust a few words on that subject will 
be accepted by readers of The Gardening World. In the first 
instance, I may say that I think it is the best plan, if possible, 
to take layers from young plants which have had the flowers 
removed, and the plants left solely for the production of runners 
only. Too many runners should not be taken from one plant, 
any number up to eight or nine being quite sufficient. A com¬ 
post of two parts turfy loam, one part old decayed hotbed 
manure, and one Dart leaf soil, and sand, should be used for 
layering the young ^plants into, and three-inch pots, well drained, 
will suit them admirably. All the layers that are not required 
should be cut off, and those that are left should be placed m 
between two rows of plants, leaving every other space for walking 
up and attending to the young plants. The soil needs to be 
pressed firmlv in the pots, and the runners pegged down with 
either wire or wooden pegs. Each runner will, as a rule, have 
two or even three, small plants on it, and it is usually the first 
one’that is the strongest, and consequently will make the best 
plant. When the plants are layered, it is a good plan to plunge 
the pots in the soil, as this keeps them cool in hot weather, and 
Greatly promotes root action. I have proved this to be by far 
the best plan. Give a good watering with a coarse rose can, 
and syringe every night and morning during dry weathei , and 
they should never be allowed to become dry at the root. This 
is most essential at all times during their growth, as if allowed 
to become very dry they never do the same good afterwards, and 
the size of the fruit and general conditions suffer thereby. When 
the plants are rooted through the soil they should be detached 
from the parent plant, and placed in a cold frame for a week or 
so, keeping them close for the first day or two until they have 
recovered from the check of moving. Ihe best pots to fruit 
them in are clean, well-drained six-inch ones, and a suitable 
soil would {>e two parts rough, turfy loam, which is best pickel 
to pieces by the hand, one part decayed manure, and one part 
leaf soil, with the addition of some half-inch charcoal and bone 
meal. The soil should be rammed hard at this potting, just 
covering the ball, and not potting too deep. Give the plants a 
wood watering, and stand on a bed of sifted coal ashes. Great 
care should be taken with the water pot, as the soil is apt to 
become sour if too wet. The syringe should be freely used while 
the plants are making their growth, as a. plentiful application 
of water on the foliage deters that dreaded pest red spidei, 
from making an appearance. As soon as these pots become 
filled with roots, weak manure water may be given twice a week, 
and a slight dusting of Clay’s fertiliser during damp weather 
will be found very beneficial. The plants should be stood some 
distance apart if possible to enable air and sun to reach them 
properly, and if placed on boards so much the better, as this will 
keep worms from penetrating the bottoms of the pots. As soon 
as frost appears the pots should be plunged up to the rims in 
coal ashes or tree leaves. If the weather is severe the pots are 
liable to get cracked, and the plants suffer. 
If these directions are closely adhered to, I venture to sa\ 
that "cod, strong crowns will be the result, suitable for forcing 
at any time. The best plants should be picked out for the earliest 
batch, as these will stand hard forcing so much the better. 
Before the plants are placed indoors the surface soil should be 
taken off, and a good top-dressing of rich soil be given them, 
ramming it firmly with the potting stick, and watering m with a 
rose can. All runners to be seen during growth should 
pinched out, as they tend to weaken the plants if allowed U 
stop on too long. . 
As regards varieties, there are several very dependable sort 
but I think the best for all purposes is Royal Sovereign, f 
forces extremely well, is of large size, and travels well, wiucl 
I consider is of great importance. Viseomtesse Hencat d> 
Thury is another good one, although not quite so large as Kora 
Sovereign. It is, however, a free setter and abundant cropper 
The new variety, called The Laxton, is said to be a fine variety 
but I have not yet had an opportunity of seeing or noting it 
merits. R Thatcher. 
Wi cf tyI iP.'Tiis. . T j-eiines ter. 
Market for Scotch Potatos. 
Our contemporary “ The Dundee Advertiser ” has recently bee 
speaking of the loss of the United States market for Scotch-gro >v 
Rotates. There is some compensation in the fact, however, tin 
the demand for Scotch Potatos has been growing nu the Engiis 
markets. From this point of view the Scotch growers have nc 
been the losers, seeing the English market pays better than U 
American. ______ 
*** The prize last week in the Readers’ Competition wa 
awarded to “T. W. Dollery” for his article on “He: 
baceous Calceolaria Culture,” page 541. 
