20 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
January 9, 1909. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Looking around. 
We all make New Year’s resolutions, and 
the enthusiast will do well if he determines 
to avoid during the coming year the cultural 
triors of the past. 
Looking around, we see that the beautiful 
Roman Hyacinths are once again proving 
their worth and pushing up their dainty 
spikes of white bells in profusion, Those 
giown in boxes do not appear to mind in the 
least being shifted into pots or bowls for 
various purposes, and look very pretty when 
imbedded in fibre or moss. The Due van 
Thol Tulips too, may be treated,dn a like 
manner, although they require slightly 
warmer treatment if potted at the same time, 
and intended to flower simultaneously. 
Points such as these should be noted in the 
diary (which, by the bye, every gardener 
should keep), or, when the time arrives for 
next season’s potting, it may be entirely for¬ 
gotten. Many forced plants, apart from 
those of a bulbous nature, will now be com¬ 
ing on in genial warmth, and should never 
01 any account be given cold water, as it 
stands to reason the check is calculated to 
do them harm; let the water therefore be 
tepid, or lukewarm, and soft or rain-water, 
should always be used for preference. 
Tree Carnations. 
Cuttings of tree or perpetual Carnations 
may be taken this month, selecting the small 
side-shoots about four inches in length, 
which, after being cut through immediately 
below a joint, may be stripped of the lower 
leaves, and inserted, several together, in pots 
of sandy loam. When well rooted, they 
should be potted off singly into three or 
four-inch pots, according to size, and in 
these they may remain till about Easter¬ 
time, when they will be ready for a liberal 
shift into larger pots. 
It may be as well to mention that a good 
bottom-heat, about 65 to 70 degrees, is 
necessary to successfully strike them at this 
season of the year, failing which it is better 
to defer the operation for a time, July being 
a good month in which to propagate, either 
by cuttings or layering 
Showy Cinerarias. 
What we should do without these gorgeous 
plants I do not care to think ; we should miss 
them sadly, both doubles and singles. The 
plants resulting from a summer sowing are 
now coming on nicely, and will replace those 
raised in the spring, some of which are now 
getting past their best. Whether growing 
or flowering, howerver, they require a fair 
amount of water at the roots, and if greenfly 
are about, some few are almost sure to be 
found on the undersides of the leaves. 
Mildew, too, is sometimes caused by 
diaughts or a close and stagnant atmosphere. 
These ills must be carefully guarded 
against, and genial conditions provided, al¬ 
though they do not require a stove heat, in¬ 
deed it is surprising how well they will do 
in quite a low temperature. 
Some prefer the doubles, but really they 
are no more beautiful than the single 
varieties, which can be thrown away when 
they have finished flowering, but both sorts 
bloom better if somewhat liberally fed up 
with some reliable liquid fertiliser after the 
buds have formed. 
Forced Rhubarb. 
This is always in great demand, and a 
good supply for home use may be obtained 
if the roots were planted beneath the green¬ 
house staging as advised some time since. 
By this time the crowns, if good ones, will 
be throwing up strong and beautifully 
coloured stalks, which may be pulled, not cut 
off, when large enough to use. Continue to 
keep the soil nicely moist about them, and 
exclude the light by means of mats or even 
sacking, which, although more unsightly, 
answers the same purpose if suspended from 
the front of the staging, darkness and 
warmth being essential to rapid forcing. 
The “ Bleeding Heart.” 
Few more graceful plants exist than the 
Dicentra, or Dielytra specitabilis, and they 
seem particularly beautiful when bloomed 
early in the New Year. Not that they re¬ 
quire a great amount of fire-heat, being 
quite hardy, and a genial and somewhat 
moist atmosphere of about 50 degrees to 55 
degrees will bring them rapidly into bloom. 
Successive batches should now be brought in, 
by which means they may be Had in flower 
from February till nearly mid-summer. If 
required quickly, they should be placed at 
the warmest end ot the house, directly over 
the hot-water pipes, and it is always an ad¬ 
vantage to stand the pots in fibre. 
When making rapid growth they require 
an abundance of water, and as soon as the 
flower buds appear, occasional applications 
of liquid manure will strengthen the plants 
and add colour to the graceful racemes of 
pendent heart-shaped blossoms. 
Sowing: Tomatos. 
The great majority of amateurs are too 
late in making a start with their Tomatos, 
especially those intended for out-door cul¬ 
ture, consequently, late autumn arrives, and 
with it had weather, ere the fruit has 
properly ripened off. If a first sowing be 
made this month, the plants can be steadily 
grown on till planting-out time arrives, and 
should yield a fair crop ere frost cuts them 
down. The seed should be sown thinly, so 
thinly that no pricking off is necessary, and 
the young plants, when potted off, placed on 
a shelf near the glass to ensure a sturdy 
and robust growth. 
G. A. F. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Seed Sowing:. 
I have previously advised amateurs who 
have had seedpods of Orchids ripening dur¬ 
ing the autumn and closing months of the 
year, to sow but a small portion of the seed 
at the time of ripening, and to carefully 
store the remainder of the seed and sow after 
the turn of the days. This recommendation 
of course applying only to the epiphytal 
kinds, I would always advise sowing any 
of the terrestrial kinds immediately the seed- 
vessel has become thoroughly ripened, irre¬ 
spective of whatever the season of the year. 
There are many methods of sowing seeds of 
Orchids. The terrestrial kinds in practically 
all cases are best sown on a plant of their 
own genus, or at any rate a closely allied 
genus to that to which they belong. Some 
of the epiphytal kinds, such for instance 
as the Odontoglossums, I have not found to 
germinate satisfactorily on anything but on 
pots containing Odontoglossums, Oattleyas, 
Laelias, Epidendrums, and Sophronitis. 
Dendrobiums and other epiphytal genera 
can also be sown on pots of their own kind, 
where they germinate satisfactorily ; in fact, 
until a few years ago it was considered im¬ 
possible to raise seedlings of these in any 
other way, but we have found other methods 
which have proved more satisfactory, and 
as these methods may be simply applied by 
amateurs I would recommend them in pre¬ 
ference to sowing on the pots of old plants. 
One of the simplest methods is to secure 
a rough sawn piece of wcod. such as can be 
sawn from the end of a scaffold pole, about 
1 in. thick.- Shape it so that it will fit 
t’.icelv into a 5 in. pot, leaving a margin of 
half an inch around the outer edge and the 
rim of the pot, and bore a small hole in the 
centre of the piece of wood. The wood 
should then be thrown into the rain-water 
tank for a few hours. When it has become 
thoroughly wetted, the pot to which the wood 
has been previously fitted should be draine 
well up to the base of the wood, only sufl 
cient space between the crocks and wood f 
a thin layer of sphagnum moss is necessar 
After the wood has been placed in positioi 
pack the space between the wood and rim < 
the pot firmly with finely chopped spha: 
num. This will not only prevent the'seec 
being washed away, by indiscreet waterini 
but it will also assist in keeping the boar 
moist. After thoroughly watering with rail 
water, the seeds may be sprinkled thinl 
over the whole surface of the wood. T! 
pots containing the seed beds may now 1 
placed in the warmest and moistest plac 
available, where in a few days, providiin 
the seeds are good and proper attention 
given, they will display signs of germin; 
tion. It is a difficult matter to water, an 
every care must be observed, for the seed 
are so very light, that they are readil 
floated from their position. I am convince 
that it is carelessness in watering that wil 
account for many of the failures to procur 
satisfaction in the raising of orchid seeds. 
Another simple method of sewing seed; 
to,secure a piece of coarse canvas, cut it int 
squares of about 4 or 5 in., get som 
chopped sphagnum moss and place it in th 
centre, roll it firmly into a ball and plac 
in the centre of a well drained pot, pack th 
edgfjr firmly with sphagnum to keep thei: 
down, and after watering, the seeds may b 
evenly sprinkled on the cloth, forming 
mound in the centre of a pot. The pot 
may be placed in an ordinary propagatin. 
case or in a warm, moist position in th 
house, where with proper attention they wil 
quickly germinate, and in a few weeks th 
seedlings in many cases should be ready fo: 
pricking out. H. J. Chapman. 
-*++- 
The Poisons and Pharmacy Bill 
In 1900, in consequence of the prose 
cutions which had been brought agains 
nurserymen, seedsmen and others fo; 
having sold or kept open shop for the 
sale of insecticides, weed killers, etc., the 
society known as “ The Traders in Poison¬ 
ous Compounds for Trade Purposes Pro¬ 
tection Society ” was formed. Mr. G. H. 
Richards, of 234, Borough High Street. 
London, became the promoter and treas¬ 
urer, and Mr. T. G. Dobbs, of 14, San- 
some Street, Worcester, was appointed 
and continues to act as secretary and 
solicitor. Offices were taken at 5, Clem¬ 
ent’s Inn, London, but after the organisa¬ 
tion commenced to grow and the finances 
of the society not being sufficient to keep 
such London offices going, the society's 
work was transferred to the offices of the 
Secretary at Worcester. A Bill was pre¬ 
pared by the secretary and solicitor 
known as the “Trades Poisons and Pois¬ 
onous Compounds Bill ” and this was 
brought before the Board of Agriculture, 
and the Lord President of the Privy 
Council appointed a Committee to en¬ 
quire into the matter. The Traders' 
Society was asked to submit witnesses and 
this was done, with the result that in 
1903 the Departmental Committee recom¬ 
mended an alteration in the law. Peti¬ 
tions were signed and presented to Par¬ 
liament with the view to getting the 
Pharmacy Act of 1868 amended. ThisJ 
has now been done, and the Bill passed 
its third reading in the House of Com¬ 
mons on Thursdays, 17th December, and 
received the Royal assent in the House, 
of Lords on 21st December. The Poisons 
and Pharmacy Bill now becomes law on 
April 1 st, 1909. 
