■202 
THE OAR DEN/NO WORLD. 
March 11, 1905. 
its hybrid varieties, lilacea, purpurata, rosea, are undoubtedly 
acquisitions, and on account of their less rampant growth are 
admirably suited for planting in tanks and small ponds. N. 
Marliacea albida, and varieties carnea, chromatella, flammea, 
and ignea, are exceptionally free flowering subjects, and being 
strong growers should be allowed, when planting, sufficient 
space for their future development. N. gladstoniana is an ex¬ 
quisite free-growing variety with snowy white flowers of enor¬ 
mous size. N. odorata and varieties Exquisita, -rubra, and 
sulphurea afford a wealth of the most exquisitely tinted 
flowers, and are deserving of a place in every collection. 
Another advantage with this group is that they may, like the 
Laydekeri varieties, be grown with success in tanks. 
Many other varieties too numerous to mention are equally 
beautiful, and taking into consideration that they may be 
acquired from any reliable nurseryman, at a comparatively 
small outlay, it is cause for regret that these choice hardy 
Xymphaeas are not more extensively cultivated. T. G. 
Potato Culture in Wet Soils. 
Probably at no time in the history of the Potato has so 
much or wide-spread interest in its cultivation been evinced 
as at the present time, and while specialists have been quietly 
labouring at the improvement of the tuber for years past, the 
fabulous prices given for some new varieties of recent intro¬ 
duction have doubtless given an impetus to growers everywhere. 
Ao doubt the recent “ boom” in Eldorados was very much of 
the nature of a speculation or gamble, but still the fact remains 
that the number of best cropping and disease-resisting varie¬ 
ties presently offered to the cultivator by different raisers is 
somewhat bewildering. Many readers of the “ G.W.” will be 
able to appraise at their true' value the glowing reports with 
which the advent of some of these new aspirants for popular 
favour are heralded; and such readers will also be able to 
decide whether or not their garden is so thoroughly adapted 
for Potato cultivation as to warrant them investing in any of 
these high-priced introductions. 
ounger readers, however, who may just lately have become 
responsible for the management of'a garden might do well 
to rely principally upon such varieties as are known to do well 
in the surrounding neighbourhood, as while the good qualities 
°f these new sorts may be all that is claimed for them in some 
soils, the chances are that this superiority may not be main¬ 
tained in eveiy soil. 
An ideal Potato soil is a deep, yet light and warm soil, and 
though the soil in gardens which have been under cultivation 
for any lengthened period is usually of fair depth, it is not 
always light and warm ; indeed, the reverse is often the case. 
In fact, it may be said that the ultimate object of our 
trenching and digging and manuring is to make our gardens 
more retentive of moisture, a condition antagonistic to good 
quality in Potatos, and quality should be the first considera¬ 
tion in private gardens. 
To produce Potatos of good quality in the majority of 
gardens special effort is necessary, and my experience has 
been that shallow planting is most beneficial.' Ground should 
be well manured for previous crop, then deeply dug, and some 
rough stable litter added in autumn. When ground is nice 
and din in spring, a good sprinkling of wood ashes or charred 
rubbish should be well stirred into 9 in. of the surface depth, 
and the tubers set out in “ ruts ” of just 1 in. in depth. These 
can be covered with the feet or draw-hoe, and ground between 
the lines should be well stirred with the fork when planting is 
finished. The lines require to be 2 in. or 3 in. farther apart 
than where deeper planting Is practised, otherwise earthing up 
is difficult, and the fork should be used between the lines 
before earthing up on eveiy favourable opportunity. 
This shallow planting raises both plants and produce into 
warmer and drier quarters, and produce so raised has been 
found to cook perfectly dry and mealy, even when grown in 
verv wet soil. When earthing up, it is advisable to bring the 
drill up to a sharp point; this helps to run heavy rains off into 
the furrow, which, owing to shallow planting, is lower than 
the part of drill occupied by the Potatos, consequently the 
drills escape saturation in spates, and disease is less liable to 
obtain a foothold with the tubers in a drier soil. G. F. 
Apples in Pots. 
Apples being one of the principal fruits used as dessert, and 
in many places so difficult to grow successfully outside owing 
to the nature of the soil being unsuitable, I will try and 
describe the method of pot culture which I have found to 
be very successful. They should be otdered early to be 
delivered in October in pots. 
They will have to be repotted when the leaves are beginnintr 
to fall. Soil should be got ready a week beforehand, so that 
it will be in a workable condition for potting. It should con¬ 
sist of good fibrous loam with a good sprinkling of lime 
rubble and wood ashes mixed through it. The trees should 
be tipped out of the pots they are in, and the old soil picked 
nut. with a pointed stick, the roots trimmed and then repotted 
firmly with a potting stick into clean pots well crocked, the 
drainage covered with large pieces of turfy loam to keep the 
drainage clear. They should be potted to within 3 in. of the top 
of the pot, so that a. liberal top-dressing can be got on after¬ 
wards. A stout stake should be put in each jiot and the tree tied 
to it. They should then be watered and set out on a bed of 
ashes in some place where high winds cannot knock them 
over. If heavy rains prevail, they will be much better under 
cover in a cool, airy house, on an ash bed if possible. No heat 
should be employed all winter, but. the pots will have to be 
piotected with straw to keep the frost from breaking them. 
After the leaves have all fallen, the trees should be thoroughly 
syringed with some good insecticide to free them fromlany 
insects that may be lurking about. 
Thej need very little attention all winter. On sunny davs 
m spring they will be greatly benefited by being syringed 
twice daily until they come into flower, when a hare’s tail 
will have to be used to fertilise the blossom. Any trees that 
are thickly studded with blossom should have it thinned out, 
as a. much better set. of fruit can be got than by leaving all the 
blossom on. As soon as the fruits are set they should be 
syringed with quassia to free them from green fly. The pots 
should then be plunged in an ash bed up to the rims. If the 
floor of the house is earth, then slates will have to be put at 
the bottom of the pots to keep worms from getting into them. 
They should then have a top-dressing of cow dung and loam, 
equal pai’ts. Pieces of broken brick should be put on the top 
of the dressing to shade the young roots from the scorching 
sun when they come to the surface and also tn keep the dress°- 
mg from being washed away with the watering pot. When 
the fiuits begin to swell they should be gradually thinned out, 
leaving as many fruits as the tree is able to carry. They will 
now take plenty of liquid manure from the farmyard, varied 
with some good artificial manure. 
An outlook will have to be kept for maggot, hand picking 
being the best way to get rid of these vermin. When they 
begin to change colour they should be taken out. of doors and 
plunged in ashes in some place sheltered from the wind, but 
where they can get all the sun -possible. A few scraps of iron 
thrown in the tank they are watered from helps to colour 
the fruits. Some of the fruits will have to be strung up to 
keep them from breaking the branches, and also a trellis will 
have to be erected and netting put over them to keep the 
birds from picking the fruits. They will soon take on a bright 
colour, and when nearly ripe all feeding should stop. They 
will have to be looked over every few days, and the ripe fruits 
gathered. By the time they are all gathered it will almost 
be time for repotting them for another season. Nemo. 
Pineapples Cheap. —During the past month Pineapples were 
quoted in New AXrk at 8 to 10 dollars per hundred, there being 
practically no market for them. 
