January 4, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
9 
the leaves in a bag or on a hot plate, but 
prefer the bag, which may be easily sub¬ 
merged in a copper of boiling water. This 
will take away some of the tannin of the 
leaves, and will kill any insect pests or fun¬ 
goid spores that may be among them. After 
scalding in this way, the leaves should be 
spread thinly out on a mat over the stoke¬ 
hole or any other suitable place, so that they 
may get dried before being used. It is 
well also to have some leaves chopped and 
put ready in various sizes, so that they may 
be available for mixing in the composts ac¬ 
cording to requirements. We usually chop 
and pass through various sieves, from 5 in. 
down to a very fine one. Care is taken to 
discard all dust. This leaves the compost 
free from anything that is likely to interfere 
with the air and moisture passing freely 
among the roots. See that the bracken roots 
are put to dry which have been removed 
when picking the peat. I would point out 
that there is nothing more desirable for 
drainage purposes in the pots of all kinds 
of Orchids than these roots when chopped 
into suitable lengths to suit the sizes of pots 
in use. Drying these roots before use is 
imperative, for if there is any sappy or green 
woody substance left in them when they are 
used for drainage,such substances quickly de¬ 
velop fungoid growth, which quickly spreads 
to the potting compost and renders it unsuit¬ 
able to the roots of the plants, often neces¬ 
sitating re-potting. 
The Roof Glass. 
In districts where there is a prevalence of 
fog and smoke, causing deposits to fall on 
the glass, the obstruction of light thus 
caused is very detrimental to the growth 
and well-being of plants beneath. I have 
had experience of London, where the roof 
glass has more nearly represented slates 
than glass after a few hours’ fog. Even 
heavy rains and snow do not satisfactorily 
remove these deposits, so that it becomes ad¬ 
visable to wash down the glass. If a brush 
similar to that used 'for railway-carriage 
washing is procured ancT a long handle at¬ 
tached, the glass is then the more easily 
cleaned. Care should be taken to stop up 
the down spouts leading into the rain water- 
tanks inside the houses, or there will be a 
considerable amount of dirty settlement 
which is not desirable in the tanks after 
such washing down. 
Blinds. 
Where new blinds are required for shad¬ 
ing purposes, measurements should now be 
taken. The few weeks quickly pass to the 
time they are needed, and they are best To 
hand when wanted. Delays frequently oc¬ 
cur when ordering blinds, etc., at a busy 
season. 
H. J. Chapman. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
A Retrospect. 
Well, here we are on the threshold of 1908, 
the beginning of another year, ryith all the 
hopes and fears it has in store for us. Of 
course, we cannot tell, but we know what 
1907 brought us, and I expect that at least 
some of us are hoping for better things in 
the year that is now before us. Personally, 
I have not grumbled very much at -I the 
year that’s awa’,” for I always think that 
we greenhouse workers have hold of the best 
end of the stick, and can afford to laueh in 
great measure at the vagaries of the weather. 
Still, we would have liked a little more sun 
at times in 1907, especially when our Toma- 
tos and Grapes were ripening. However, 
September did its very best to atone for the 
failure of its sister months, and I think on 
the whole we have had little cause for com¬ 
plaint at the behaviour of the majority of 
our plants. 
Propagating Dracaenas. 
• While it is yet much too early in the year 
to set about the propagation of Dracaenas 
in earnest, there is no reason why one should 
not take in hand any old plants which are 
proving a nuisance, either because they take 
up valuable room or because they are in¬ 
fested with insect pests ; the latter is a point 
that is often lost sight of, and yet there is 
no question that mdny old plants are veri¬ 
table breeding grounds for all kinds of 1 - 
sect enemies. ■ Old Dracaenas should be 
shaken out of their pots, freed from all soil, 
and then cut up into pieces, if it is desired 
to increase the stock. Every inch length of 
the thick, fleshy root will give a good plant 
in the course of a few months; so will every 
inch of the lower part of the stem. They 
should be cut into lengths, buried their own 
depth in light, sandy soil, and kept in the 
warmest part of the greenhouse until they 
break into new growth. 
White Scale on Palms. 
The white scale is an insidious little pest 
which often does great harm to Palms and 
other plants that are grown in warm struc¬ 
tures. It works at the under side of the 
leaves or fronds, and as it is very small, 
often escapes observation until its host gets 
into pronounced bad health. A few minutes 
spent on a wet day in hunting for this pest 
will not be wasted, and if it is discovered 
prompt measures should be taken for its 
eradication. A sharply pointed piece of 
stick is one of the simplest and best means 
of getting rid of the insect itself, but as 
its eggs and its young ones will probably 
remain, a good sponging with an insecticide 
is also advisable. The pest will generally be 
found in the first instance along the midrib 
of the plant, but if not tackled in time it 
will spread over the whole of the plant. 
Increasing Selaginellas, 
The prettv little Selaginella kraussiana is 
one- of the most useful of all greenhouse 
plants, and one can seldom have too much 
of it. One of its chief uses is to carpet the 
surface soil of plants used for table decora¬ 
tion, and it performs this duty in a manner 
that few other plants can equal; but it is 
also one of the very" best edging plants we 
possess, and a fringe of its graceful green¬ 
ery along a greenhouse stage acts as a splen¬ 
did foil to flowering plants. Cuttings of 
this Selaginella taken now, with a few roots 
if possible, and dibbled in over the surface 
of pots of light and sandy soil, will soon 
grow into prettv little plants for the green¬ 
house stage. If material is required , for 
hiding the bare soil in the pots of table 
plants, a few shallow pans should be filled 
with light compost and then have a liberal 
filling of cuttings dibbled in. To use such, 
the plants and soil are lifted out of the pan 
entire, and as much as is wanted laid on the 
surface soil of the pot requiring its ser¬ 
vices. 
Making- a Hotbed. 
The humid atmosphere of a hotbed affords 
such an admirable medium for the propaga¬ 
tion of plants of all kinds and the raising 
of seeds, that one may well be made up even 
if the reader already has a warm green¬ 
house. 'Much will depend upon the plants 
with which one wants to deal as to the sea¬ 
son at which one makes up the hotbed. b”t 
there can be no harm in looking out the 
necessary materials at once. One point that 
I would impress upon the novite is the need 
of obtaining a lasting beat, and for this pur¬ 
pose it is best to collect equal quantities of 
leaves and hot manure. T once saw a prettv 
little hotbed made up in a greenhouse, and 
very useful indeed the owner found it. Tt 
was covered in all round the sides wi*b 
boards, and "was not the least unsightly or 
smelly. Where a reader does not possess a 
propagating case I would strongly advise 
him to make up a little b~thed in the green¬ 
house if he intends to do much propagating. 
Lifting- and Potting Violets. 
If flowering plants are likely to be at all 
short, a few Violet roots from outdoors 
should be lifted and potted. Choose the 
outer portions of the plants, and put several 
together in order to make a good potful, if 
necessary. Either 3 in. or 3 in. pots may be 
used, the former being capital for edging. 
If plants with buds on can be obtained, so 
much the better, as they will the sooner 
bloom. 
SUNNYSIDE. 
- f+4 - 
Apple - — 
REINETTE ETOILEE. 
The above might be described as a 
highly ornamental Apple of good quality 
that has evidently arisen on the Conti¬ 
nent, judging by its name, though the his¬ 
tory of its origin is unknown. The name 
may be translated as the Starry Reinette, 
and it has also been described by M. 
Andre Leroy under a name which signifies 
Red Starry Reinette, and that particularly 
applies to the appearance of the fruit. A 
coloured plate of it is given in “La Tri¬ 
bune Horticole” for November 2nd, 9th, 
and i 5 th. The fruit, as here shown, is of 
a bright, dark crimson-red, with starry 
grey markings all over the surface. It is 
not mentioned in the principal works of 
pomology, either on the Continent or in 
this country, and exists only in a few nur¬ 
series, where it can only be obtained in 
small quantity. 
The tree is vigorous, the wood strong, 
the branches numerous, and it may be 
grown in a variety of ways and kept rela¬ 
tively dwarf when grafted upon the Dou- 
cin or Paradise. It is also very fertile, 
and flowers late. The fruit is very hand¬ 
some, of medium size, and the flesh is 
white veined with red, sugary and acidu¬ 
lated. The fruit is being put on the Brus¬ 
sels market in small quantity. It is in 
season during winter. The writer in “La 
Tribune Horticole” hopes that the publi¬ 
cation of a coloured plate will have the 
happy result of sending out this beauti¬ 
ful and good variety, which has been very 
much neglected considering its merits. 
Cypripedium San-ac-derae superbum. 
The above was derived from insigne 
Sanderae crossed San-Actaeus. To the 
uninitiated it bears a close resemblance 
to the beautiful and well-known C. 
insigne Sanderae, but it has much less 
green on the dorsal sepal, and conse¬ 
quently the white margin is very'- much 
broader. The sepals and petals are also 
darker than that variety. Award of 
Merit by the R.H.S. on November 26th, 
when shown by N. C. Cookson, Esq. (gar¬ 
dener Mr. H. J. Chapman), Oakwood, 
Wylam-on-Tyne. 
Cypripedium niveo-callosum Cookson’s 
Variety. 
The above was derived from C. niveum 
crossed with callosum Sanderae. The 
dorsal sepal is white with rosy purple 
veins and a greenish base. The petals 
are spotted with crimson on a silvery" 
pink ground, and the lip is deep purple 
in front. Award of Merit by the R.H.S. 
on November 26th, when shown by N. C. 
Cookson (gardener Mr. H. J. Chapman), 
Oakwood, Wylam-on-Tyne. 
