Ailgusfc 15, 1903. 
THE GARDEN I NO WORLD. 
691 
the Cattleya house or conditions similar, where more liberal 
treatment may be afforded, and every encouragement will be 
necessary to enable the plants to develop and expand their 
flowers to the best advantage. H. J. 
Notes on Hardy Herbaceous Plants. 
Alstroemerias. — For a warm, dry border the Alstroemerias 
or Peruvian Lilies are some of the most serviceable plants we 
have, as they require but little attention after once established, 
and are very useful for cutting. Where the soil is. of a. suitable 
nature they are excellent for growing in masses by themselves, 
as each spike' produces a large head of flower, and, when grow¬ 
ing thickly together, make a tine display. When planting it 
is advisable if the soil is at all stiff to take it out to the depth 
of 3 ft., and replace with some good loam, leaf mould, and 
plenty of sand ; also see that the drainage is perfect. Planting- 
can be done at any time when they are dormant, and the tubers 
should be placed quite 12 in. or 9 in. under the surface, so that 
frost does not reach them. Good soakings. of water should be 
given in dry weather, and a mulching of mushroom dung or the 
uke is veiy serviceable. It is necessary as the flowers die to 
pick them off and not let any seed pods form, as this tends to 
exhaust the plants, and never cut the stems down, but let. them 
die away naturally until they are brown and decayed to the 
ground, when they will be found to pull off quite easily. In 
winter a good top-dressing should be given of half-decayed 
leaves to the depth of several inches. 
Spiraeas for the Waterside. —No bog or water garden is 
complete unless it includes some of the Spiraeas suitable for 
such places, and though many that I shall enumerate will suc¬ 
ceed very well in tire hardy flower border, yet the place for 
them is undoubtedly at the edge of the' water; that is, if they 
are to be seen at their best. Though of easy culture, a. good 
rich soil, consisting of loam and decayed manure, should be 
given, and when once established, except an occasional top- 
dressing, they can be left to take care of themselves.. One of 
the most handsome is S. gigantea, a. plant which is not yet. 
largely known, but certainly deserves to be. It reaches a 
height of 6 ft. to 8 ft., has palmate leaves, and immense heads 
of flowers similar in sha.pe to the common Meadow Sweet, but 
a little paler in colour. It should be securely staked to pre¬ 
vent damage from wind. 
S. Ulmaria aureo variegata. —Though the common Meadow 
Sweet may be considered too' common for cultivation, yet 
masses by the water have a pleasing effect. The variegated 
form, with golden and green leaves, is, however, much more 
ornamental. The soil for planting in should not be too rich, 
for if allowed to become too luxuriant it. sometimes reverts to 
the wild form. 
S. Aruncus. —This is a fine bold plant both in foliage and 
flower, growing about. 4 ft. in height, having large plumes of 
creamy-white flowers, and if grouped together a fine display is: 
produced. The variety Kneifii I have mentioned before; 
suffice to say it. is one of the prettiest plants for such a position. 
The red-flowered S. palmata is very beautiful, and though by 
many considered tender, it is perfectly hardy. The. true plant 
! is a rosy crimson in colour, but there are many inferior forms. 
A variety named Megans is pale pink, and alba a beautiful 
creamy white. To see them at their best, these prefer partial 
shade. S. venusta is another red flowered variety, but of tall 
growth. It reaches a height of 4 ft. to 5 ft,, with compact 
heads of flower, and seems to succeed in almost any position 
providing it is damp. S. digitata is similar, but not so tall, 
and a very handsome plant. S. astilboides and those of similar 
growth, of which there are several now, are very pleasing. The 
stems are much branched and very compact, and the flowers 
creamy white or very pale pink in colour. Very similar in 
habit to some of the Spiraeas are the Astilbes, but these are in 
nearly all cases plants of large growth, and very fine for making 
bold groups in the water garden or as foliage plants in the 
borders, and the tall plumes, sometimes 8 ft. in height, have a 
very imposing appearance. A. E. Thatcher. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. 
Fruit under Glass. 
Muscat Grapes. —Ripe fruit requires careful management 
during dull or wet days; keep a gentle warmth in the hot- 
water pipes, with a clunk of ventilation top and bottom, day 
and night, with fuller allowance bright, warm days, when damp 
the borders, etc., once or twice daily, examining the bunches 
every few. days in case a berry starts to decay, which must be 
removed immediately. In houses with large panes of glass 
it may be necessary to afford a. slight shade in case the berries 
scald, fish-netting being a good preventive. A night tem¬ 
perature of 60 to. 65 deg. should be maintained. Unripe 
Grapes of this variety should have 5 deg. higher, husbanding 
the sun-heat from 3.30 to 4 p.m. 
Late Hamburghs. —This Grape hangs well into the autumn 
when thoroughly ripened, but should not- be unduly hurried, 
as they have a month or six weeks yet to finish off. Keep sub¬ 
laterals restricted, and see that the inside' borders do not get 
dry. Outside ones should be all right for some time in most 
localities, as the rainfall has been heavy throughout the country 
during the latter half of July. 
Latest houses containing varieties such as Lady Downes, 
Black Alicante, Barbarossa, Appley Towers, Gros Colmar and 
Gros Maroc, should have abundance of ventilation during 
bright weather, with a little warmth in the pipes at all 
times. The former Grape has again scalded rather badly with 
us, ow-ing probably to- the precarious weather the past month 
or so. Sudden outbursts of sunshine, unless the man in charge 
is quickly on the alert, soon tell their tale. Now the stoning 
period is over and, the berries begin to colour, the house may 
be damped down first thing mornings, mid-day, and again 
about 4 p.m., when reduce, the ventilation, leaving a little 
on throughout, the night. Though a little more latitude may 
be allowed the laterals, do not. let. them interfere with the 
principal leaves, and keep the inside borders moist until the 
Grapes are quite ripe, but anything like dryness even then 
must be guarded against, or the berries quickly shrivel, as they 
do when too much fire-heat is used. A night temperature of 
60 deg. will be about right for this house as well as for the 
Hamburghs mentioned above. All vineries having ripe or 
ripening fruit should be emptied of all pot plants that may¬ 
be standing on the borders, as nothing to my mind tends to 
shanking of the bunches more than the drainage of pot plants 
on to the borders from this date onwards. 
Orchard House. —As pot trees of Plums, Peaches, Nec¬ 
tarines, Cherries, early Apples, etc., are cleared of their fruit, 
remove the trees to a. sunny position outdoors, plunging the 
same to 1 the rims in coal-ashes. Keep laterals pinched, with 
a view of forming fruit-buds, and if red spider has gained a 
footing, well wash the foliage with soap-suds from the garden 
engine or syringe. *Do not neglect root, waterings of these 
trees, neither those planted out. in borders, which will require 
some assistance in the way of manure to help swell up late 
crops, reducing the ventilation about 4 p.m., with plenty of 
moisture overhead as well as underneath, unless where' the 
fruit is ripening, when a drier atmosphere overhead becomes a 
necessity. James Mayne. 
Bicton, Devonshire. 
The Stove and Greenhouse. 
Euphorbias. —The two specie® most commonly grown in 
this country are E. fulgensi and E. pulcherrima, and without a. 
doubt they take high rank among winter flowering stove plants. 
In a former calendar I gave some hints respecting their propa¬ 
gation and general culture, and if these were acted upon the 
plants should now be growing away strongly in pits or frames, 
with their heads near the roof glass. There is no doubt, but 
that when the young plants are well established they are best 
grown in, such structures for the summer in order to keep them 
dwarf and to mature the wood, as on this depends in "rent 
measure the production of large bracts and flowers that will 
last in perfection for a long time. The plants should now be 
