182 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
February 2l, 1904; 
“ There seems to be a. dread of this gas .with many people, and 
on. the part of some -whose opinion, and experience I am bound 
to respect.” The dread of the gas exhibited by all people who 
know its qualities is well justified. It is perhaps the most 
poisonous gas known, and oaus-e-s death almost as quickly as 
electrocution. It is quite true that the inhalation of a very 
small quantity of it may do no serious harm, but, .like all 
other poisons, it must be used with the greatest caution, and 
carelessness on the part of an operator is not justified. It is 
perfectly safe toi use the gas if the proper precautions are.fol¬ 
lowed, but no laxity in observing the strictest precautions 
should be allowed. I do not mean by this that it is not safe to 
drop cyanide into the jars by hand if the cyanide: is carefully 
wrapped, and if the operators all start at one end of the house 
and work towards the other, care being taken that no operator 
is cut off by dropping the cyanide into a. jar between the 
operator and the exit. Of course, it might be possible in such 
case for the operator to hold his breath and get out, but if he 
did not think 'to. hold his breath lie. would probably draw his. 
last one very quickly. 
Five ounces of cyanide of potassium to. 2,000 cubic ft. is 
about, half the strength usually recommended for double 
Violets, but we do not; recommend leaving the gas in the house 
for longer than thirty minutes. Of course, a. weaker dose 
may be left, in longer without serious injury if the house is: not 
very tight, but. there is always, danger of a. certain, amount of 
moisture collecting on the leaves, of plants as the temperature 
falls, and any moisture forming on the foliage of any plant 
exposed to this gas will cause the portion of the. leaf having 
the moisture on it. to be- injured. The. field of use for hydros 
cyanic acid gas in greenhouse fumigation has been barely 
opened, and it is such tests, as “ W. S.” has been, making which 
gradually widen its usefulness. We have been conservative 
in the recommendation of this, gas, except, under conditions and 
for crops, where we feel that its. usefulness, has been amply 
demon tra.ted, and where used according to directions, there is 
no danger of serious injury to the. crop .—“ The Weekly Florists’ 
Review.” 
How to Dispose of Garden Refuse. 
There are many ways of disposing of the. refuse, of the 
garden, and the following are a, few of them. Burning is one 
of the quickest Avays, to gee rid of it, but still it is not, the best. 
I have often sieen that Ava.y of disposal recommended by noted 
gardeners., and also that the ashes Avere very good for spread¬ 
ing amongst, growing crops. This isi quite true, but aa-Iiv they 
should recommend this plan always! I cannot imagine, unless 
it is for quickness 
I anr well aAvare that there is some refuse which must be 
burnt, there being no. other Avay to. dispose of it, such as Rose 
prunings, Gooseberry and various kinds of shrubs, and also 
some kinds of Aveedsi; but apart from these, it is a sheer 
waste to. burni it, for by doing so you destroy the most, valuable 
part of it, and that part is the organic matter, and thus 
leaxdng only the inorganic matter ini the ashes to be added to 
the soil, which already contains a. large amount of it. 
In my opinion the very best, way is to. select a. piece of 
vacant ground and trench it at least 2 ft. deep ; you can then 
put a good amount, of the. refuse, in the. bottom, of each trench, 
and it will enrich the: .soil immensely after its decay. The 
refuse; may be Avheeled on. the ground as it. is. collected. By 
placing it so deep all the seeds which it may contain are thus 
prevented from groAving, and likewise all insects are. placed 
under the same conditions. 
Another good plan is to take, out a, trench 2 ft. wide and the 
same in depth, and then dig up the bottom a. foot deep or so.. 
In this trench may be put all kinds of refuse, filling it up to 
within 6 in. of the top. Tread this down, firmly to hasten 
decay, then spread a good coat of lime, soot and Avood ashes 
on the top; this will help to kill all insect pests. Cover all 
with 3 in. of soil in order to hide it. You can, prepare several 
trenches in the same Avay if needed, as these trenches will be 
found famous places wherein toi grow such things a® Runner 
Beaus, Celery, Gourds, Vegetable Marrows, Peas, Leeks and so 
on. 
Another method is to spread it on; any vacant piece of 
ground and dig It in deeply; this plan may be adopted on all 
plots, of ground as they become vacant. I may mention that 
the trenches would answer for the same purpose for two- or 
threei years by taking a, portion of the- soil out- and adding some 
morel refuse, and well-decayed manure, filling them up with 
soil as stated above. 
I will give, one more, plan of disposal Avhich is also a good 
one. Choose an out-of-the-way spot and in this, put all refuse 
a,s it. is: collected, making a square heap of it and keeping it 
Avell up- together 1 , which will encourage fermentation and hasten 
its decay, and also help to destroy the growing powers of seeds 
which it: may contain. Sprinkle some salt over 1 it eA-ery now 
and again., which will add value to the: compost and destroy a 
great many insect®. If time: will allow of its. being done turn 
it over every two months or so, putting the outsides- in. the 
middle, and spread some fresh-slaked lime, over it- as. the woik 
goes on.. The. compost: resulting from this plan, aauII be useful 
in many ways too. numerous, to mention liere. 
J H. Roayles. 
Dendrobiums. 
The Orehideae contain many genera remarkable for then- 
brilliant colours- and their value both as decorative plants and 
cut flowers. No. collection, hoAvever small, AA r o-uld be com¬ 
plete without- a feAV Dendrobes, of AA’hicli there aie a large 
number of species and many hybrids. V itli a, careful selection 
the. flowering season may be a prolonged one-; in fact, nearly 
all the year round. Possibly this is one of the reasons- why 
the v-aiio-us. members of this genus have become so popular, 
their ea-sy culture -and flo-riferousness making them conspicuous 
among epiphytal Orchids.. Some of the flowers- aie acij goi- 
geo-us, while others possess some of the- most delicate 1 tints. 
The size of the plant- varies from those xvi11 1 dwarf pseudo- 
bulbs only a few inches high to others with rod-like, stems 10 it. 
or more in height-. 
Many Dendrobes, such as D. nobile and D. Ava-rdianum, can 
be successfully grown with -other plants, but to have a good 
show and a representative collection a separate house or com¬ 
partment- is required. When, growth commences and the 
floAvering season is past, potting, if necessary, must he attended 
to, keeping the plants in small, well-drained pots, pans, oi 
baskets, and using a compost of fibrous peat, sphagnum, a- por¬ 
tion -of -small crocks-or charcoal AA - eIl mixed. Until they aie 
rooting freely care, must be exercised wit-h the. water-can, oi the 
tender growths AA’ill rot- off. Grow on in a- moist- atmo-sphe-ie, 
and, as the summer sun gets stronger, shading should be 
used during the middle of the day. A syringe overhead will 
advance the growth considerably. 
During their active season the stages, paths, etc., will need 
“ damping ” down three or four times a, day, about- twice a 
week with liquid manure—that- is, the last time for the day. 
When growth is nearly completed more, light should be given 
and a drier atmosphere prevail. Maintain the temperature dur¬ 
ing the growing season at 65 deg. to TO deg. F., although Avitli 
sun-heat this- may sa-fely go higher. During their resting 
season do not- let it fall below 48' deg. F. If a separate house 
cannot be. spared for them, the stove or warmest house Avo-uld 
suit the majority of Dendrobiums, providing they could be 
removed to a- cooler diAusion—say, a. A'inery or fruit house 
giving only sufficient- Ava.ter to prevent the bulbs from shrivel¬ 
ling until flower buds begin to push, when the temperature 
should be slightly raised and water used very sparingly. 
The foregoing cultural remarks apply to the greatest- number 
of the genus, hut- there are. a few notable, exceptions—viz., D. 
kingianum, D. infundibulum, D. jamesianum, D. .ehrysanthum, 
which require cool treatment- throughout the year; also D. 
speciosum, which is often, hung up out in the open air after 
completing its growth. The graceful thyrsiflo-rum group takes 
a longer rest than many, and are often given similar treatment 
as Di specie-sum. A few. may be termed continual grower®, 
the beautiful D. Dearei being an example. D. P-hala-en-o-psis and 
