THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 27, 1904. 
1 no 
Chords. The Cardoon is Cynara Cardunculus, a very similar 
plant as far as foliage is concerned. The plants are reared 
from seeds or suckers, planted out in trenches similar to 
Celery and the stalks tied together in the autumn, covered with 
hay bands and blanched. These stalks are then known as 
Cardoon s. 
Spotted Leaves of Ficus. 
I enclose two leaves of the Ficus indica which my sister has. 
Could you kindly tell me the cause of the brown spots appear¬ 
ing on the leaves? (Godfrey Marshall.) 
We suppose by an oversight you called it Ficus indica, as the 
real name is Ficus elastica. If the plant has been standing in a 
greenhouse we should say that it has been subjected to the cold 
drip from the roof. Otherwise it appears to be suffering from 
the effects of a bad atmosphere, possibly the result of gas. The 
undersides of the leaves are getting brown in such a way as to 
lead us to this conclusion. When a leaf is getting too old, if it 
withers up naturally, it turns yellow T . The big blotches on the 
edges of the leaves we do not consider to be due to the same 
cause. Besides the opinion that it might have been due to drip, 
we have also seen this plant affected similarly to those you sent by 
being too near the glass during severe frost. The effect of this 
is to” cause all the leaves to become brown in succession, and the 
stem itself ultimately dies. Apart from this, there was some 
evidence of the leaves having been subjected to bad usage, which 
of course may have been accidental. One of the leaves was 
dying in a circular patch that bore .evidence of having been 
stamped by something. Apart from evidence as to what actually 
caused this injury, we should suggest that the cultivators con¬ 
sider which of these causes was likely, and avoid it in future if 
possible. 
Glass Roof Leaking. 
The roof of one of our warm houses is leaking badly, and cold 
water dripping on the plants. The house is not very old, and 
should not have been in this condition. Is there any good plan 
of making it watertight? (W. B. J.) 
The putty of the roof may he broken by the expansion and 
contraction of the glass, which is always taking place in the 
warmest houses, such as stoves and propagating pits. You 
should exuni ie the outside of the roof, and putty up all the 
cracks, making good any part that may be broken. The whole 
of the woodwork of the roof should then he painted when you 
can get a dry day. It is just possible that the laps of the glass 
may not be deep enough to prevent rain from blowing in. On 
the other hand, the amount of wind has been sufficient to blow 
in the rain through the laps of the glass, even in a well-con¬ 
structed house. In case the laps of the glass are really insuffi¬ 
cient in depth, it might be worth while reglazing the whole next 
summer, so that the glass may be made to overlap sufficiently. 
Establishing Mistleto?. 
What is the best plan to get Mistletoe to grow on trees? 
Give the names of trees on which- it succeeds best, as I have 
tried repeatedly, and failed to get it to grow. (Viscum.) 
The trees on which it is most commonly found in a wild state 
are Apples, Hawthorn, Black Poplar, Willows, and Maples. 
Mistletoe in ‘a wild state seems to like the neighbourhood of 
water or a moist climate. For that reason it is more plentiful in 
the West of England than it is in the East. In the eastern 
counties, however, where it does occur, it is usually in the 
neighbourhood of rivers and sheets of water. To establish it on 
any of these trees, select a branch of moderate size on. which 
the hark is smooth. On the underside of this rub the berries 
sufficiently hard to burst them, and so enable the slimy matter 
in the ■ interior to fix the seed to the branch. The object of 
putting it on the underside of the branch is that it may escape 
the attention of birds which might attack the her 17 . It is some¬ 
times recommend to cut a notch in the hark of the branch and 
push the Mistletoe berry into this.. That is both unnatural and 
unnecessary. If it is necessary to adopt any plan to keep the 
birds away, you could tie a piece of calico or muslin over the seeds 
until the embryo has germinated and passed into the tree. The 
first year you will be unable to see any effect of growth, as the 
young Mistletoe employs its time in penetrating the tissues of 
the tree on which it is placed. 
Growing Mustard and Cress for Market. 
I want to grow Mustard and Cress for market in winter. 
Would frames be suitable for this purpose? If so, what would 
be the best plan to adept ? (Subscriber.) 
A good plan would be to put 12 in. to 18 in. of fermenting 
manure into the frames, or, in other words, make up beds to that 
depth and then stand the frames upon them. Tread the manure 
so that fermentation will go on slowly. Place a few inches of soil 
dapth and then stand the frames upon them. Tread the manure 
so the fermentation will go on slowly. Place a few inches of soil 
on the manure, and sow the seeds in tins. Mustard and Cress 
should be sown in different frames, as the latter takes a much 
longer time to germinate than the former, and you cannot give 
them both the best of treatment in the same frame. The 601 I 
should be as near the glass as possible to give the young plants 
a healthy green appearance. There is another method of rearing 
Mustard and Cress, by filling some punnets with soil and sowing 
the seeds therein. By this method the Mustard and Cress may 
be taken to the market straight away in the punnets, without 
having the trouble of cutting it. The plants also keep in better 
condition until required than when cut. The saving in time 
should help to compensate you for the value of the punnets, which 
is a mere trifle. 
Names of Plants. 
(G. H.) 1, Anemone blanda ; 2, Crocus biflorus ; 3, Anemone 
Hepatica rubra; 4, Hyacinthus azureus; 5, Scilla sibirica; 6, 
Chionodoxa Luciliae sardensis.—(T. B. W.) 1, Acacia armata; 2, 
Daphne odora; 3, Cytisus filipes; 4, Erica melanthera.; 5, Cor- 
dyline australis Doucetti.—.(E. A. S.) 1, Polystichum angulare 
proliferum; 2, Asplenium obtusatum lucidum; 3, Nephrolepi- 
Duffii; 4, Nephrolepis cordifolia; 5, Nephrodium molle; 6 . 
Pteris lepida; 7, Asplenium ebeneum.—(E. R.) 1, Dendrobium 
crassinode ; 2, Dendrobiuin primulinum giganteum ; 3, Odonto- 
glossum crispum (a fairly good but not rare variety); 4 , Dendre- 
hium no bile ballianuin ; 5, Cypripedium ehamberlainianum.— 
(A. M. B.) 1, Crocus susianus; 2, Helleborus orientalis; 3, Hel- 
leborus foetidus; 4, Galanthus Elwesii; 5, Thymus citriodorus 
aureo-variegatuis; 6, Iberis gibraltarica. 
Communications Received. 
W. R.—J. Smith. —Kewite. —W. J. R.—John C. Dick.— 
Journeyman.-Wm. Jas. Penton.— S. W.—A. H. F., Argyll- 
shire.—G. F.—D. A. D.—James Bethel.—D. T.—R. Thatcher. 
_F G. B.—H. J.—J. G.—W. Birkinshaw. 
Trade Catalogues Received. 
Iyelway and Son, Langport, Somerset.—Kelway’s Manual. 
Webb and Sons, Wordsley, Stourbridge.—Webb’s Annual 
Catalogue of Farm Seeds, Manures, etc. 
Wilhelm Pfitzer, Militarstr. 74, Stuttgart, Germany.—Seed 
and Plant Catalogue. 
John Hepworth and Co., Horticultural Chemists, 9, Church 
Gate, Loughborough, Leicestershire.—List, of Insecticides, 
Vaporisers, Fumigants, Weed Killer, Manures, etc. 
Vllmorin-Andrieux et Cie., 4, Quai de la Megisserie, Paris. 
—Catalogue of Dahlias and Gannas. 
Samuel Dobie and Son, Heatlifield Gardens, near Chester.— 
The Amateur’s Garden Annual. 
Witii’s Chemical Manure Co., Aubrey Street, Hereford.— 
How to Increase the Fruits of the Earth. 
Little and Ballantyne, Carlisle.—Farm Seeds. 
Readers’ Competition.— Particulars of Weekly Prize see 
centre page. 
CONTENTS OF THIS WEEK. 
PAGE 
Aehimenes . 174 
Apples, Australian . 176 
Clematis cirrhosa. 181 
Cyanide, the use of . 181 
Daffodils come from, where . 171 
Dendrobiums. 182 
Exhibition at Madras, indus¬ 
trial . 171 
Flower garden, the . 179 
Fruit under glass. 172 
Garden refuse, how to dis¬ 
pose of. 182 
Gloxinias, a fine strain of ... 180 
Griffinia hyaemthina . 181 
Kitchen garden, the. 173 
Leeks . 1 77 
News of the week ... 186 
Orchids, among the. 172 
Phyllocactus. 178 
Potato Northern Star. 176 
PAGE 
Questions and answers . 188 
Rose and Clematis grafting . 178 
Seakale from Kenilworth ... 171 
Society and Association 
notes. 188 
Society, the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural. 185 
Stove and greenhouse. 174 
Sweet Peas . 177 
Torch Lilies . 175 
Trees and shrubs, hardy. 173 
Vegetation of Ireland. 171 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
Gloxinias, a fine strain of 
(see Supplement). 
Griffinia hyacinthina . 181 
Kniphofia aloides nohilis ... 175 
Kniphofia Leichtlinii aurea . 176 
