976 
THE GARDENING WORLD « 
December 3, 1904. 
Preparing the Ground. 
The average cultivator will have turned or will bei turning 
his attention to this all-important preliminary operation of 
doing his share towards getting the soil in a state tit for the 
reception of next 'season’s plants and seeds. The first' prize 
“ tickets.” lie may take at the various shows 1 , or the good crops 
of this 1 , that, or the-other vegetable- he may have, depend t o a 
great extent on, this 1 initial effort;. 
The share hei is asked to perform consists in applying the 
manure, etc., for the various crops and digging or trenching 
the ground. Now and onward, by universal consent, is con¬ 
sidered the; best, time for the application of the first necessity 
-—farmyard manure*—in order that it may have time to. be 
converted 1 into available plant food'. Local considerations as 
to the quality of the soil and crops to be grown must determine 
the weight of the dressing to. be given;. 
Am ideal surface tilth for vegetables would be 4 ft., but as 
this is rarely the case, the cultivator by systematic successive 
trenching will slowly but surely attain this ideal. The end 
and aim of all good 1 tillage is to increase the mass of rooting 
medium ; and there is no other way of doing so; than by trench¬ 
ing. Ini digging and trenching we bury a certain amount of 
surface soil more or less effete, bringing to the top a soil often 
charged with plant, food and life-sustaining energy; again, in 
some soils., lime ha,si a. tendency to sink, but may be recovered 
by trenching, and in some cases this: is, preferable to liming 
afresh. 
Supposing -the ground lias been trenched or deeply dug, the 
unbroken spits thrown! up in ridgeisi is! the belt' means; of ex¬ 
posing the greatest amount- of surface. The elements during 
the winter months—not always the cultivator's friend—w’ill 
certainly be his friend in this case and do a not inconsiderable 
share towards next, season's success; for be. it, remembered 
that the various froots ; and thaws, sunshine and showers all 
add their quota, towards separating the parts and enriching a 
sometimes semi-dead soil, thereby rendering it, friable, fertile, 
and easy to manage. Thus; the two shares 1 uniting make a- de¬ 
sirable whole. Y. H. 
Epiphyllums. 
Among useful autumn, and early winter-blooming stove and 
intermediate house plants few excel this beautiful genus when 
grown into 1 nice-sized, bushes and pyramids 3 ft. high and as 
much in diameter. It, is only when this size; is reached and 
the plants are laden- with their richly coloured flowers that the 
full beauty of the Epiphyllum becomes so striking. To pro¬ 
duce good specimens a, few plants of Pereskia will be needed 
with -stems about 3 ft,, high and not less than 2 in,, in- circum¬ 
ference. The stouter and more woody the stocks are the 
better, as they give a thicker rind with age, and the grafting is 
more quickly and securely effected. 
The stocks should be well established and in free growth 
when grafted. The operation, is performed by cutting tongues 
about an inch long downwards; into; the stock at intervals of 
6 in. to 8 in, from the bottom to the top. These tongues 
should be cut, on a,11 sides of the stock and deep, enough to just, 
reach into the woody portion of the stock at the lower end of 
the out. In choosing scions, choose those with two or three 
points of growth that spring from a, previous single growth. 
The bottom end of this, single growth must be cut- wedge- 
shaped. These are then, fitted as deeply and accurately a,9 
possible into the tongues on the stock and are- lie,Id in position 
by spines taken from the stem of the Pereskia. One spine 
gently pressed through each side of the tongue and. one; through 
the top will hold the scions securely. The strongest scions 
should be placed at the lower end of the stock, and the weakest, 
one© at the( top 1 . After the grafting a stout stake must be care¬ 
fully placed to each plant, tying it with tar cord. Place; the 
newly grafted plants in. a. shady position in. a stove or warm, 
house, giving them a dewing over with the syringe two or three 
times a, day until a union is effected. This usually takes place 
in from two to three weeks, when they should be; moved into 
a lighter position a.nd encouraged to make free growth. In 
two or three years the plants will, with careful treatment, 
make handsome specimens and will increase in size and beauty 
for many years 1 . 
Their culture consists in giving the plants a stove or inter¬ 
mediate temperature during growth, with a, liberal supply of 
moisture at the root and in the atmosphere. After growth is 
completed the plants may with advantage be placed in a cooler 
and drier house, with full exposure to the light, giving a re¬ 
duced amount of water to the roots. Under- this treatment 
they will form flower buds freely, and if a succession) of flowers 
is required a few of the earliest may be placed in a warmer 
house about, the middle of September, when they will soon 
push into flower and' form fine objects; for conservatory or room 
decoration. After flowering they should be kept, drier at the 
root, and a, long rest in a temperature of 50 deg. to 55 deg. 
will do them good. 
In, spring the plants should again be placed under growing 
conditions, 'and if any repotting be needed, it should be done 
at this season. Great, care is needed in this operation after 
the plants attain; large dimensions. A suitable, soil for these 
plants will be found in good fibrous sandy loam one half, and 
the other half pounded bricks, with charcoal and lime rubble 
added. This mixture will keep, sweet, and porous, and will not 
retain too, much moisture to, endanger the health of the plants 
during the resting period'. Good drainage is essential to 
success; it, should be so arranged that it cannot become 
clogged from any cause. Firm potting is necessary; a good 
topi-dressing before the plants flower will do the plants good. 
All the varieties are, as well adapted for basket culture as they 
are for cultivating in pyramid form. J. W. J. 
The British Gardeners' Association Abroad. 
I have lately received a, booklet of thirty-four pages in 
French entitled “ Lesi Groupement des Jardiniersi Anglais” 
(The British Gardener's’ Association), by Louis. Gentil, an, old 
Kewite who made a, name for himself ait botanical work in the 
Congo 1 Free State—lie is part, author of an excellent book on 
rubber 1 —a,nidi isi now the energetic; curator of the Brussels 
Botanic Garden. 
T'hei booklet, is based! upon ani address delivered 1 by its author 
to a, gathering of old 1 students of the Horticultural College 
of Liege; held' there in October, and is the most complete 
account of the ohjectsi and progress! of the; association 1 that I 
have iseeni. It; contains the two pamphlets issued by the asso¬ 
ciation!, a report of the Essex Hall meeting, Mr. Leonard 
Barron’© project of an “ international,” or “ World-wide Gar¬ 
deners’ Association,” the ideas of Mr. Buibidge, of Dublin, 
upon what a, gardener’s education, should be, and other matter. 
The cream of the contents, however, to my mind, consists of 
M. Gentil’s own ideas! and sprightly comments; upon his 
subject;. 
He is indeed refreshing after- the marked caution and canni- 
nieisis I have met. with in bringing the B.G.A. before the notice 
of some British gardener’s. Perhaps, however, this caution 
is partly modesty, as some gardeners do not appear very con¬ 
vinced that they should receive pay equal to;, say, that of a 
borough road^sweeper 1 ! while even among those possessing 
more exalted ideas of their value it, is, only—as yet,—compara¬ 
tively few who are prepared to trouble themselves much to 
endeavour to obtain; better conditions, for their craft. It is, 
however, a far pleasanter task to, applaud 1 the workers, and in 
this, M. Gentil is by no means behindhand. Referring to- the 
promoters of the association;, he says;: “ These are men in the 
fullest, meaning of the; word,” and by quoting hisi words; ‘ a 
grand nation,” readers will be glad to, learn that lie extends 
his praise to the nation, a,t large. 
I hope that- a perusal of M. Gentil’si booklet may help to 
induce the B.G.A. committee to publish a. fuller statement of 
their case, and of what they have accomplished. This could 
be sold to non-members. It is my belief that before long, in¬ 
spired by M. Gentil’s enthusiasm, there will he, at any rate 1 , a 
flourishing gardemersi’ association ini Belgium,. Thanks to, the 
