750 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 5, 1903. 
(o its lowest minimum. There is nothing more detrimental 
1 ban excessive moisture and low temperatures. I am con¬ 
vinced that a great, deal of the disfigurement of foliage known 
as spotting is caused by excessive moisture, either at the roots 
or in the .atmosphere, during the prevalence of low.tempera¬ 
tures and unfavourable outside conditions. Where there is 
an excess of moisture, a. little extra, heat in the hot wafer pipes 
will permit of the opening of the lower ventilators, and so 
reduce the unfavourable conditions, in the house. 
The Stove and Greenhouse. 
Chrysanthemums.—These have made strong growth, hut. it 
is for the most part soft and unripened, owing to the sunless 
weather experienced during the greater part, of the summer. 
Immature wood will produce flowers., but they lack depth and 
substance. All plants growing in pots should he stood m 
as open a part, of the garden as can be found, so that the 
full air and light, reaches all parts, of them. If the dull, rainy 
weather continues the. plants must, not be fed so highly as 
would be advisable were the weather bright and the wood 
matured. At the same time they will require some assistance 
with mild stimulants, as liquid sheep or cow manure, with 
alternate applications' of well-diluted soot-water. 
Attend closely to staking, and tying, or the heavy rains and 
high winds will damage, the shoots. . Suckers should be assidu¬ 
ously removed from the base of the. plants, taking care not 
to' sever the principal root-s in so 1 doing. The leads on plants 
grown on the large bloom system will by now be secured, and 
any side-shoots must be taken, off before they become long, so 
that, the whole strength of the plant is concentrated in the 
lead. For ordinary cutting purposes excellent results follow 
the planting-out.system, and where this is practised the plants 
must be kept tied to the stakes, and in a few days time 
the spade should he used to sever the roots to ensure lifting 
without, material check on the approach of frosts. The spade 
should not be inserted nearer to the stem of the plant, than 
10 in. 
Caladiums, — The majority of these will now be showing signs 
of going to rest; therefore the amount of water should be re¬ 
duced gradually until the leafage has quite decayed, when it 
should be withheld altogether, and the corms stored, as they 
are in a warm house, away from the drip. 
Gloxinias. —The same remarks, apply to this useful class of 
plant, with the exception of watering. The Gloxinia, is longer 
in dying down than some other tuberous subjects, owing to 
the large amount of water contained in the leaves ; therefore 
watering will be required for a. longer period that they he not 
dried off too suddenly. 
Ferns —Plants that, have been kept freely growing by feed¬ 
ing should now he treated less liberally, for the growth made 
after this date will be so soft that it will be of little use. The 
aim should be to mature the growth already made .before the 
days become shorter. This remark applies to all exotic Ferns, 
but more especially to Adiantiums and other species that 
are extensively usedTor cutting purposes. 
Propagating. —A hot-bed of stable manure, with a. frame 
placed thereon, is of inestimable value to the gardener at this 
season of the year. Many greenhouse plants, have an abun¬ 
dance of half-ripened shoots at this time, which, if taken off 
and inserted in sandy soil, quickly emit, roots in such a. struc¬ 
ture, and, if potted off singly into small pots and -grown on 
gently all the winter, make nice stuff for potting on and flower¬ 
ing next year. These comprise Abutilons, Fuchsias, Eupa- 
toriums, Marguerites, Salvias, and many of the climbing plants 
usually cultivated in c-ool greenhouses. K. M. 
Potato Disease. —We regret to report that the Potato crops 
are showing- signs of disease, the tops are turning black in 
patches, and many of the tubers dug the last few days are 
blighted. The land is saturated with wet, and fears are enter¬ 
tained that the disease will in consequence rapidly spread. 
On the Editor’s Table. 
Heaths from Sussex. 
We are in receipt of a boxful of hardy Heaths from Mr. J. 
Comber, gardener to L. Messel, Esq., Nymans, Crawley, Sussex. 
They include a. number of species, and a considerable number of 
varieties all in first-rate condition, and showing the possi¬ 
bilities with hardy Heaths, almost all of which are natives 
of this country. We cannot help thinking that St. Dabeoc’s 
Heath (Daboecia polifolia) and its several varieties- are the 
most handsome of Heaths that could be grown in the open 
garden. Besides the ordinary form, Mr. Comber sends a 
dark purple one and a pure white, the contrast between the 
two being very great. 
He himself thinks a great, deal of Erica. Tetra.lix on account 
of the size of its flowers -and the beauty of the plant, generally. 
It certainly is a very handsome Heath, and when shown in con¬ 
trast with the pure white one its beauty is even greatly en¬ 
hanced. The variety E. T. rubra is darker even than the 
species, but. certainly does not. attain the dark hue seen in its 
other congener, E. cinerea. We ourselves think a great deal 
of E. eiliaris on account of the large size of its flowers, their 
rich colours, and the long raceme in which they are produced. 
Interesting also was. E. Mackaii, which is sometimes regarded 
as a variety of E. Tetra.lix, but others regard it. as a true species, 
native to Spain and Galway. 
The contrast between E. cinerea rubra, and the white variety 
was also- very marked. Thei intensity of colour occurring even 
in the ordinary wild form of this species is always much greater 
than in E. Tetralix—in fact, the two may generally be distin¬ 
guished by that feature alone, when seen grooving in a wild 
state. The Cornish Heath (E. vagans) was also well represented 
by four varieties, -all of which were distinct enough even in the 
cut state; and E. v. grandiflora was notable for the great length 
of its flowering shoots, and for this alone it stood out very 
pre-eminent a.s. a good thing in the cut. state, although, we 
understand, it is somewhat straggling when seen growing in 
the form of a bush. The only foreign Heath sent was. E. stricta, 
which produces corymb-like masses 1 of purple, tubular flowers. 
Mr. Comber also sent. a. fine collection of the common Ling 
or Heather (Galkina vulgaris). Very pretty were three white 
varieties, flowering at different periods, including C. v. alba, 
which seems to be the first of all to come into bloom, and is 
succeeded by C. v. Searlii, and that again by C. v. Hammondii, 
which appeared of a beautiful silky white by comparison with 
those that bloomed earlier. The stems of this variety and 
short shoots are also stouter. Amongst the other varieties we 
should like to mention the- remarkably dwarf habit of C. v. 
Foxii, C. v. pygmaea, and another unnamed sort, which looked 
as if they would form a beautiful turf without mowing. 
A very richly-covered Heath wa.s that, named C. v. tenuis, 
with widely-expanded flowers of a rich dark purple, and pro¬ 
duced in slender branching stems. Even much darker are 
the flowers of C. v. Alportii. Although smaller than those 
of the last-named, they are of an intense purple-red, and pro¬ 
duced on clo-sely-hranching stems of upright, habit, and strik¬ 
ingly distinct from any of the ordinary forms of the Heath 
even to the eye of the casual observer. The loveliest of these 
Heaths was undoubtedly the double one,, C. v. flore pleno, the 
spikes of which were entirely covered, except on one, side, witli 
the perfectly double pink flowers, with a, white centre at. first, 
but. becoming darker later on. 
* * * 
The Editor of The Gardening World would at all times be 
pleased to receive flowers, of new, rare, or little known plants 
deserving of more extended cultivation. This would be a 
means of bringing them to the attention of readers scattered 
throughout the length and breadth of the land. The weekly 
journal would thus be made a. vehicle for the diffusion of know¬ 
ledge concerning beautiful flowers, by which gardens could be 
beautified and collections, enriched. If sent, in a fresh state, 
some of them could he pict.orially represented by reproduction 
from photographs. 
