2 l8 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 28, 1908. 
Cabbages. 
Put out strong Cabbage plants in well- 
til'led ground, taking care to discard any 
plants that ‘have club-roots. 
Foxglove. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Perhaps at no period of the year are the 
advantages of a greenhouse, however small, 
more manifest than in the spring, for the 
amateur who has looked ahead has his sup¬ 
ply of summer bedding plants already well 
in hand, either “hardening off” in the 
frame, o.r potted on in readiness according 
to the hardiness or otherwise of the sub¬ 
ject. It is as well, however, not to be too 
early wtith this work, as the young plants 
unduly pushed forward sometimes show a 
tendency to run to bloom before sufficient 
root and top-growth has been made, and a 
weak and spindly bedding supply, such as 
is often seen on the coster’s barrows, will 
be the result. 
Propagating Dahlias. 
When increasing the stock of these de¬ 
servedly popular flowers, it sometimes hap¬ 
pens that some particular tuber fails to show 
many “eyes,” or perhaps it is desired to 
obtain as many plants as possible of some 
expensive innovation, or specially prized 
variety, and this may be done as fol¬ 
lows :—Instead of removing the shoots with 
a heel as soon as they are of sufficient 
length, allow them to grow on until three 
or more joints have formed, then cut off be¬ 
low the second joint from the top and strike 
as usual, allowing the other portion to re¬ 
main on the tuber. In a very short time 
two growths will start from the joint thus 
left, and when these are large enough they 
may be similarly treated, three plants thus 
being obtained in place of one. 
Malmaison Carnations. 
These, the loveliest and largest of all 
Carnations, are essentially greenhouse 
plants, and will, if not already in bloom, 
be showing buds which will promise good 
things for the near future; and should it be 
the grower’s desire to obtain the largest 
and most perfect blossoms possible, he must 
dis-bud, that is to say, pinch off all but 
the crown bud of each flower-stem as soon 
as they become sufficiently large to handle, 
although for ordinary decorative or button¬ 
hole purposes, two, or even more, may be 
allowed to remain, and a judicious feeding 
with some reliable fertiliser (Clay’s is first- 
rate for Carnations) will have the desired 
effect, vastly improving both the size and 
quality of the flowers. The plants must be 
neatly staked and tied, or the heavy blooms, 
when wet, will topple over and snap the 
brittle stems. When carrying out this opera¬ 
tion is a good time to look out for red spider 
or thrips, and should these pests be found 
they must be speedily got rid of by the usual 
methods. I would strongly advise all who 
grow only the old “ Blush Malmaison ” to 
obtain as soon as possible some of the other 
varieties; for instance, The Churchwarden, 
which is of a robust and somewhat dwarf 
habit of growth, bearing immense and per¬ 
fectly formed flowers of a rich crimson- 
scarlet colour. 
Dividing Tuberous Begonias. 
A somewhat drastic, but nevertheless effec¬ 
tive, method of increasing one’s stock of 
these showy plants is to select the largest 
tubers, and with a sharp knife cut cleanly in 
halves, vertically, of course. Then place 
the tubers into a box containing a mixture 
of fibre and silver-sand, with a small quan¬ 
tity of puie sand next to the severed sur¬ 
face, and start into growth by placing near 
the pipes. The wound will soon heal, hut it 
is as well not to keep them unduly moist 
until active growth commences, or, of course, 
there is a danger of them rotting^ 
Kochia scoparia trichophylla. 
About this time I always like to sow a 
pinch of this graceful foliage plant. It is 
an annual, growing some to 2 ft. high,. 
and is known also as the Summer or Broom 
Cypress, doubtless from its trim pyramidal 
form. It has many uses. It may be grown 
on as a specimen for greenhouse or conser¬ 
vatory decoration, or may be planted out in 
June, and it really makes a splendid centre¬ 
piece for carpet-bedding. I noticed it freely 
used for this purpose in one of our London 
parks last year. Its bloom certainly is very 
insignificant, but to compensate for this, its 
feathery foliage in late summer assumes a 
beautiful red tint, most pleasing to the eye, 
and forming a bright contras): to the green 
leaves of Ferns, Palms, or suchlike decora¬ 
tive plants. 
A Warning to “Mummers.” 
One cannot take too much care when strik¬ 
ing cuttings of Chrysanthemums, which, of 
course, every amateur who possesses- a green¬ 
house likes to grow. It is the practice with 
many to insert the cuttings in pots or boxes, 
which they place in a propagator directly 
over the hot-water pipes, thus obtaining a 
good amount of heat. If this is done they 
should be removed as soon as ever they have 
rooted, which, of course, can be determined 
by the top-growth commencing, otherwise 
there is a great danger of them damping off, 
owing to the excessive moisture, or “run¬ 
ning u£ ” unduly and forming lanky plants. 
A better plan is to insert the cuttings singly 
into 60-size pots, or four or five together into 
pots of a larger size, and strike them in some 
more moderately heated part of the house, as 
there can, of course, be little doubt that the 
cooler Chrysanthemums are grown the better 
the results. 
G. A. F. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
General Remarks. 
Wiith the lengthening days and growing 
power of the sun, more liberal treatment in 
respect to moisture conditions may be given 
to all classes of Orchids that are in a more 
or less active state of growth. I would ad¬ 
vise that damping of the floors, staging, 
and between the pots should be done as soon 
in the morning, as the 'normal temperature 
of the house has been reached. In bright 
weather and where the conditions are dry¬ 
ing, the damping should be again done in 
the middle of the day and between three 
or four o’clock in the afternoon, when the 
ventilation is taken off. The temperature 
of the houses should also be maintained at 
about 5 degrees warmer at night as com¬ 
pared with the winter conditions in all, ex¬ 
cept the cool division. I consider a night 
temperature of from =53 to 55 degrees ample 
for Odontog.lossums, but would advise every 
care being taken to guard against fluctua¬ 
tions in temperature, rapid changes, where 
we have young and tender growths or de¬ 
veloping flower buds on the plants, being 
the frequent cause of checks and damp spot¬ 
ting disfigurements, which give an unsightly 
appearance of a permanent nature to the 
plants. Direct draughts on to the plants, 
either from ventilation or otherwise, must 
be avoided. It frequently occurs that 
amateur gardeners have greenhouses erected 
with hinged side lights; these, except for 
Heaths and hard-wooded plants, are a great 
mistake, as it is then impossible to ventilate 
and avoid direct draughts. The lower 
ventilators shov’d a 1 wavs be fixed belo"' +, h" 
staging, immediately above or on a level 
with the hot-water pipes, so that when ven¬ 
tilation is given, the air passes over the 
warm pipes and so becomes warmed before 
entering the house and thus diminishes the 
possibility of injury from direct draughts. 
Watering;. 
In the North and North-Eastern parts of 
England through the months of March and 
April we are frequently subjected to snow 
or hail storms; this snow quickly dissolving 
at this time ot year, the water finds its way 
rapidly to the rain water tanks, and it is 
surprising how little of this it 'takes to chill 
(the water, so that it is found below the 
normal temperature of the houses. To water 
with cold water when the temperature is 
'high cannot fail to have an injurious effect 
on the roots of the plants. I would advise 
my readers to try the temperature of the 
water used after heavy rains or cold storms, 
and where necessary add heated water suffi¬ 
cient to raise the temperature equal to, or 
a degree or two higher than, the normal 
temperature of the house. In bright 
weather gently spraying the plants over¬ 
head will - be found advantageous, but 
should be done sufficiently' early in the day 
to permit, of the foliage becoming dried 
'before night fall. 
Shading;. 
Shading now requires careful attention. 
In the case of Odontoglossums, it is fre¬ 
quently not so much from the sun that we 
may look for disfigurement and loss of foli¬ 
age as from the bright glares of light, which 
causes a bronzed appearance and ultimate 
loss of leaves from the back pseudo-bulbs. 
It is usually the growers’ aim to have a 
good leafy plant, and therefore ro risks 
must be taken.. Where plants are grown 
in a large ball of potting compost and are 
well rooted, they will stand far more light 
without injury than where a shallow com¬ 
post is used. While light is desirable for 
practically all Orchids, the blinds should 
he drawn immediately there appears to be 
danger of the foliage becoming scorched, 
but the shading should be removed immedi¬ 
ately there is no risk of the damage from 
the sun. 
H. J. r pHAPMAN. 
-- 
TRADE NOTICE. 
Native -Guano. 
Evidently there is an increasing num¬ 
ber of cultivators who find Native Guano 
of service in the cultivation of garden 
produce. A pamphlet sent out by The 
Native Guano Co., Ltd., 29, New Bridge 
Street, Blackfriars, London, publishes a 
very large number of testimonials from 
cultivators who have found this manure 
serviceable in the various counties of 
England, as well as in Wales and Scot¬ 
land. The manure may be used with ad¬ 
vantage in the cultivation of Sweet Peas, 
Dahlias and various annuals, as well as 
Peas, Beans, Carrots, Brussels Sprouts 
Apples, Plums, Gooseberries, and prac¬ 
tically any kind of garden produce which 
require feeding. The testimonials and 
other particulars may be obtained from 
the secretary at the above address. 
-- 
Helleborus colchicus Peter Barr. 
The above is a very fine Lenten Rose 
with large rich dark metallic-purple 
flowers- covered with a waxv bloom. 
Award of Merit by the R. H.S. on ur 
March when shown by Messrs. Barr anc 
Sons, Covent Gaijden. 
c 
