April 9, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
301 
Apples and Pears require close pruning, spurring always well 
back; while for Plums, Cherries, etc., lay in as much yo-ung 
wood as possible, and thin out all unnecessary old wood, as 
they fruit freely on the young wood as; well as on spurs. 
W. Good. 
Modern Culture of Gloxinias. 
The Gloxinia, or what must in future be named Sinningia., 
has undergone a. considerable change during the past, twenty 
years. 
My first acquaintance with it was made in a stove, where it 
behaved itself in, a. shy and bashful manner, never daring to 
lift up its flower-head in the bold, determined manner so admir¬ 
ably described at page 180 of “ G. W.” Need I state that the 
■■lowing colours, beautiful shades, and delicate markings so 
artistically portrayed in the Supplement were then awarding, 
their place being taken up by washed-out colours and shades. 
It has been proved conclusively that a stove temperature is 
not required at any period of the growth of Sinningia. after the 
seeds have germinated. I find that the seedlings require to 
be raised in a temperature of 7 0 deg. 
I will give our mode of procedure. Seed is sown early in 
February, 6-in. pots being preferable for this purpose, are well 
drained, and filled to within 4- in. of the top with a compost 
of equal parts of loam, peat, leaf mould, and sand. In the 
centre of this a thumb pot is sunk (the hole in the bottom 
having been cemented up previously). The rim of the pot 
should appear about ^ in. above the' surface of the; soil in the 
pot, the surface having been made even.. Water with boiling 
water to kill any vegetable, insect, or germ life. The; little 
pot may also be filled with water. The whole is then allowed 
to settle and soak for some time, when a dash of silver sand 
is given to the surface. On this the seed is sown evenly. A 
piece of slate or a, square of glass, with a sheet of brown paper 
underneath, excludes the light and conserves 1 the moisture. 
It will be found that the pot of water in the centre keeps 
the soil sufficiently damp without either watering overhead 
or dipping, as is sometimes resorted to. Germination will, 
under the above conditions, soon take placet, when the young 
seedlings must be gradually exposed to the light and tempera¬ 
ture of the house, keeping them shaded from direct sunshine. 
At this stage the seedlings are subject to damping off, but 
here again I find that the little pot of water in the centre 
regulates the moisture in the soil so that damping rarely takes 
place. 
As soon as the seedlings will bear handling they should be 
pricked out singly into shallow, well-drained pans, or boxes 
1 filled with a similar compost to that used for seed-sowing. 
They delight in a moist, humid atmosphere, and in a Melon 
pit or intermediate house will grow rapidly. As soon as the 
leaves begin to touch each other in the pans, it is a. good plan 
to pot off every alternate plant into 22-in. pots. This gives 
more room in the pan, where they make quicker growth and 
stronger plants for the next shift. When they have well filled 
their pots with roots they ma.y be shifted into their flowering 
pots, which should be 4 in. or 5 in., as circumstances will permit. 
A good compost for this potting will consist of equal parts of 
good fibrous loam, peat, half part of oak leaves and well de u 
compoxed horse droppings, half part of sharp grit or sand. On 
■ no. account, must the plants suffer for want of water, though 
they do better when kept on the diy side at the roots when 
given a gentle spray overhead night and morning with tepid 
water. Rain water is best for this purpose, as nearly all water 
eontains lime in solution, and as evaporation takes place a. 
sediment is left amongst the minute hairs on the leaf. This 
is often accountable for their spotted and disfigured appearance. 
As soon as the plant begin to show flower, about the end of 
June, they may with safety be transferred to the greenhouse 
or conservatory, as they are by no means so tender as our 
fathers believed them to be. In fact, I find quite the opposite, 
that they are benefited by the change. The; substance and 
size of the flower are improved upon, and the time of flowering 
is materially lengthened. As the main object the first season 
is to get tubers for future use, every care should be taken not 
to let them get a check. Weak liquid manure made from 
sheep’s droppings, given twice a. week, will be; found beneficial, 
but if even, this is overdone the tubers will not keep so well 
throughout the winter. As soon, a.s they show signs of ripen¬ 
ing, withhold water gradually until the foliage dies away, when 
the pots ma.y be stored on their sides in a dry place, where 
the temperature will not, fall below 45 deg. When the time 
comes for starting them in 'spring the pots should be well 
watered and placed on a warm shelf near the glass. As soon as 
growth commences shake them out, and repot into, their flower- 
ing pots, in the compost already named. 
The flowering season may extend from May till October 
if sucoesisional batches are started. If it isi desired to increase 
any variety, this can be done by taking cuttings; from the young 
shoots', which root freely in a. warm, moist atmosphere. 
Leaf cuttings' may also be had when the leaf is fully de¬ 
Lachenalia Nelsoni. (See p. 299.) 
veloped by making incisions l in. apart- on the back of the 
middle, and pegging down the leaf on a, pan of light sandy 
peat or cocoa-nut fibre in a propagating frame, when little 
tubers will form at each, incision, which will develop into nice 
plants the following year. 
As seedlings are more vigorous in constitution than cuttings, 
and in the case of Gloxinias; come true to variety and colour, the 
methods of propagating by cuttings is now fast dying out. 
James Bethel. 
Westwood Gardens, Newport-on-Tay, N.B. 
Ti;ees at Adpiscombe. —The old East India Company’s 
Military College is situated here. Earl Roberts and many other 
soldiers have been trained here, giving the place historic interest. 
Many of the trees have names cut in them, including those of 
former cadets, such as Havelock, Outram, and Grant. The Duke 
of Marlborough and Peter the Great are said by tradition to 
have sat under one of these trees, and now several of them have 
to be cut down on account of building operations. 
