916 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 2, 1905 
OUR . . . 
Northern Gardens. 
lection of a prominent horticulturist having 
some Orohid houses erected where a penny- 
piece was specified to divide the laps in the 
glass roof. There is no doubt this was afford 
ing free ventilation at all times, but with the 
result that, the excessive fire heat required in 
winter destroyed all prospects of successful 
Orchid-growing. Ventilate when the out¬ 
side conditions are favourable for preference, 
always using the lower ventilators. These 
should be placed in such a position that the 
air passing through them should be driven 
immediately over the hot-water pipes, so that 
it may become tempered before reaching the 
interior of the house. Care must also be 
taken to see that the plants do not stand in 
a direct draught. I find that by ventilating 
the leeward side of the house the possibilities 
of direct draught coming in contact with the 
plants is very considerably diminished. 
H. J. Chap wax. 
Hardy Trees aad Shrubs. 
Coloured Stems. —Although the various 
deciduous shrubs which have highly-coloured 
stems in winter have not up to the present 
been largely used for producing an attractive 
display throughout the season, this form of 
planting deserves to be given much more 
attention. For the wilder parts of the garden 
specially many are well' suited, and when 
groups of the various subjects are made some 
brilliant masses of colour can be obtained. 
When sufficient space is not at command to 
enable one to plant in quantity, very pleasing 
results can be had even in the shrubbery with 
single specimens if a proper method of culture 
is camied out. To obtain the most satisfac¬ 
tory results and the most brilliantly coloured 
bark there is one important point to consider, 
and that is the pruning. It is necessary to 
cut down the stems right to the ground every 
year about the beginning of April, which will 
allow them to break up freely from the old 
stem, and the whole of the bark of the current 
year’s growth is coloured in winter, ’ but if 
partial pruning is practised the stems are dis¬ 
coloured and unsightly. 
There are many subjects which are well 
adapted for this mode of culture, and, in addi¬ 
tion to having brightly-coloured bark, some 
are also of value for their flowering qualities ; 
others have ornamental fruits, and some 
autumn foliage. The best will be found to 
include Cornus sanguinea, with rich red 
stems; C. sanguinea variegata, the same 
colour, but much dwarfer in growth; and C. 
alba flavirainea, with yellow bark. Salix 
eardinalis is bright red, and S." vimimalis 
bright golden yellow. Both of these are re¬ 
markably good. Many have brown stems, 
and one of the best is Spiraea Douglasii. 
Greens arc also very conspicuous, and include 
Leycesteria formosa, Euonymus europaeus, 
the various Brooms,, and the Kerrias. The 
three last named are an exception to the 
pruning rule, as they do not require hard 
cutting back. Several of the RubUs or 
Bramble family have very striking white 
stems, the most ornamental being R. leu-co¬ 
dermis, R. biflorus, and R. lasiostylus. 
A. E. Thatcher. 
ATlenham House Gardens, Elstree. 
Botaxical Curiosity. —In Cincinnati an 
Apple tree some years ago undermined by a 
flood is growing upside down, and this year 
lias produced a fine crop of Apples. 
The summer complaint known as English 
cholera is, says a Tendon medical journal, 
frequently caused by vegetable marrows, 
especially those marked with yellow streaks. 
Flower Garden and 
Pleasure Ground. 
Pelargoniums. —Great care must be exer¬ 
cised in watering these, giving no more than 
is absolutely necessary, or damping will be 
the result. Remove all decaying leaves from, 
time to time, also any cuttings that may have 
damped. 
Digging and Trenching— Beds and borders 
that are vacant and that are to be filled next 
season with tender and half hardy plants 
should now be manured and enriched. Where 
miscellaneous planting is to be practised it is 
better not, to manure too heavily, as this 
would be detrimental to many subjects. A 
better plan is to give special manuring to the 
gross feeders at planting time. Trenching or 
double digging should be done at least every 
three years. The soil should be left as rough 
as possible to expose it to the pulverising in¬ 
fluences of the weather. Frosty mornings 
should be taken advantage of for wheeling on 
the manure. 
Stakes of various kinds should be made or 
overhauled during wet or frosty weather. 
M here ‘Sweet Peas are grown in rows wire 
netting or wire hurdles may be employed, but 
on strong, rich land, where the plants run up 
to 8 ft. or more, I prefer to use tall Elm or 
Beech stakes. For clumps various devices 
are employed. A cylindrical trellis of 6 ft. 
wire netting, supported by two galvanised 
iron rods, answers very well. ‘Spruce tops or 
thinnings trimmed are admirable, arid pyra¬ 
midal trellises can be formed with tall baniboo 
canes or iron rods, which when fixed in posi¬ 
tion can have some small twine coiled round 
them. 
Conservatory and Greenhouse. 
Bulbs. —Introduce another batch of Hya¬ 
cinths, Tulips, Narcissi, etc., either into the 
conservatory or greenhouse, keeping them 
near the glass. 
Lilium auratum —Imported bulbs are now 
coming to hand, and should be potted right 
away. Pot singly in 7-in. or 8-in. pots, or 
place three bulbs in a 12-in. pot. Use- a light 
flaky compost of turfy loam, Orchid peat, 
and horse droppings in equal parts, with a 
good dash of sharp, clean sand. Just cover 
the bulbs, and when finished leave a space of 
3 in. from the rim of the pot for top dressing. 
C. C. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
About Tools. —No one can expect good work 
unless suitable- tools are provided for the 
workmen. It is very poor economy to stint- 
either the number or quality of garden tools. 
Every man should be provided with a com¬ 
plete set of all tools that are in constant 
demand to q>roperly perform all gardening 
operations. When buying tools select the 
very best makes. Many cheap imitations are 
in the market, which cause nothing but annoy¬ 
ance and sadly impede the work. Many 
people imagine that nurserymen charge an 
exorbitant price for tools. Certainly their 
Prices are usually much higher than those of 
local ironmongers, but when we consider that 
most nurserymen supply warranted goods 
only, and these last at least double the time 
of the cheaper articles, not to speak of the 
satisfaction of using the very best, this fully 
compensates for difference in initial cost. I 
have no intention cf trying to- influence people 
in favour of the nurserymen, but I find that 
most ironmongers supply inferior tools, and 
if peojile refuse to buy them they have only 
themselves to‘ blame. 
The Care of Tools. —Every man in a garden 
being provided with a set of tools, it is im¬ 
perative that he use only his own set. He 
should also have a place in the toolhouse in 
which to hang up his tools after using. No 
tool can be satisfactory that is left outside to 
get rusty ; therefore it is important that tools 
be properly cleaned and carried indoors regu¬ 
larly each evening after use. A hard brush 
and an oily rag should be in every toolshed 
to ensure proper care being taken. Thus 
treated, tools last much longer, besides being 
so much more satisfactory to handle. 
Routine Work— The long spell of wet 
weather has sadly hindered kitchen garden 
work, and should more suitable conditions 
prevail soon full advantage must be taken of 
every minute to push on necessary operations. 
The days are now getting very short, and the 
hours of labour being so much curtailed, we 
have to- “'hustle”.to keep things at all ship¬ 
shape. See to having successional batches of 
Rhubarb, Seakale, and Chicory taken in to 
keep up a constant supply ; also, where in 
demand, box up Mint and Tarragon, and in¬ 
troduce to gentle warmth. These will not, 
however, stand bard forcing, especially at 
first. Attend very carefully to frames, as 
dampness is greatly to be feared at this 
season. C. Blair. 
Preston, Linlithgow. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS 
at EDINBURGH. 
Show of the Scottish Horticultural 
Association. 
This show was held in the Waverley Market, 
Edinburgh, on the 16th, 17th, and 18th inst., 
and was in every way a success. The number 
of exhibits ’ (911) was slightly under hast 
year’s figures, but the competitors were more 
numerous, and certainly in point of quality 
the show was one of the finest held by the 
Scottish Horticultural Association. A new 
feature of the show was the judging of the 
leading classes of cut blooms by points, tabu¬ 
lating the points and affixing them to the 
respective competitors’ exhibits. 
Cut Blooms.— In the City of Edinburgh 
■Queen Victoria Memorial Prize- for 15 vases in 
15 varieties, 3 in each, Mr. David Nicoll, The 
'Gardens, Rossie, Forgandenny, was first with 
106 points out of a possible 180, Mr. Thomas 
Lunt, The Gardens, Keir, Dunblane, taking 
second place with only 1 point less. Mr. Jas. 
Reisant, The Gardens, Castle Huntly, Long- 
forgan, was third with 93 points. ' In the 
Scottish Challenge Cup Class for 8 vases in 8 
varieties, 3 of each, the leading award went to 
Mr. George Stewart, The Gardens, Tullcallan 
