January 30, 1909. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
63 
lie Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
/iVord to the Wise. 
ieeds- of many of our greenhouse fa- 
vuites will soon need sowing, and a 
■ vord to the wise ” being sufficient, I 
vrld earnestly advise novices not to be mis- 
] by the glowing accounts of advertisers 
jj buying low-priced packets of seed. It 
i almost invariably found that the best_ is 
t cheapest in the long run, and nothing 
ci be more disappointing to the flower 
ler than to find, after weeks, or even 
rnths of careful culture, that their time 
been wasted on useless rubbish, 
have often thought that seed merchants 
\uld do well to put up smaller packets of 
c .ice varieties for the use of amateurs, and 
l.m pleased to see in certain cases this is 
tng done, for, after all, the usual shilling 
t half-a-crown packet contains far more 
sds than the owner of one small green- 
hse requires, and the plants, when raised, 
f either given away, destroyed, or, worse 
s i, crowded into the structure so closely 
tt their proper development is impossible. 
Egonias from Seed. 
’rovided that reliable seed is obtained, 
sie really first-class stuff may be raised by 
t amateur, and to my way of thinking it is 
frays more interesting to grow one’s own 
sck than to purchase giants or tubers from 
t nurseryman, besides* being of course far 
caper. In common with the seeds of many 
c.er greenhouse plants, they are very 
mute, and when sown should be covered 
\:h only a pinch of silver sand. 
V sheet of glass should always be placed 
c;r the box or pan to prevent the undue 
uporation of moisture, but at this early 
s.son there is no need to whiten the glass, 
% ich is done later on to provide shade, 
hen the seedlings are large enough, they 
a be carefully raised with a cleft stick 
id pricked out, without damage to the ten- 
c rootlets, into boxes, sufficient growing 
.nee, say two or three inches, being left be- 
isen each plant, thus obviating the neces- 
sy of constantly shifting them on. 
;iongst the ’Mums. 
Many of the early struck cuttings, if taken 
ien and as advised in this column, will be 
oted by this time, and the advantage of 
serting them singly in small pots will be 
parent, as no disturbance of the roots is 
cessary. If struck under handlights, the 
os should mow be slightly raised, or if in 
frame, the glass may be tilted, in order to 
low of the admittance of air to the young 
ants, otherwise they stand a chance of 
mping or growing weak and straggling. 
Gradually increase the aperture till they 
n be safely removed altogether, for they 
quire no “ coddling” and plenty of day’- 
;ht. Cuttings of early varieties may vet 
taken, also those which are intended for 
owing into “ bush ” specimens, and every’- 
■e should grow some thus; they are so use- 
1 for conservatory decoration and cut 
aom, but if put off till March, as some 
towers do, bottom heat is necessary to strike 
pm, and this is inadvisable if it can be 
oided. 
>i-cing Strawberries. 
Those amateurs who possess the necessaries 
jr forcing these luscious fruits may for- 
ard the plants now into the greenhouse, but 
must always be borne in mind that unless 
minimum night temperature of, say, 60 
■grees, can be maintained, it is not worth 
rile to make such early attempt. More- 
er, the plants should be specially selected 
om the strongest runners which were 
yered in the summer, and if properly 
aded, should now show plump, promising 
owns, whilst the pots containing them are 
led with roots. 
If a hotbed is available, they may be 
unged therein, and it will assist them to 
make a good start, after which a light posi¬ 
tion in the greenhouse, where they may be 
subjected to a steady heat and judicious 
watering, is all that is required till they 
begin to show bud, at which stage weak 
manure—and soot—waterings, alternated 
with applications of the clearer liquid, will 
cause the bunches to be larger and the fruit 
of finer quality. 
Preparation for “ Cutting Time.” 
We are fast approaching the period when 
amateurs with a little heat at command may 
increase to almost any desired extent their 
stock of both bedding plants and greenhouse 
favourites. With this end in view it is a 
good plan to go over the old stock of such 
things as Heliotropes, Lantanas, Fuchsias, 
Verbenas, and many others that have been 
resting in a more or less dry state through 
the dull months. 
They should first be “ cleaned up ”—that 
is to say, any dead leaves yet adhering 
should be removed, loose bark rubbed off, 
and due precaution taken that no insect pests 
lurk about them. After this the extremities 
should be slightly shortened, and the plants 
may receive a thorough soaking with tepid 
water. If no hotbed is available, and the 
propagator is otherwise engaged, the pots 
may be plunged to their rims in boxes, which 
wilhanswer almost as well if placed directly 
over the hot-water pipes, and by keeping 
them well syringed( which operation softens 
the bark and allows them to !! break ” 
easily), a good supply of cuttings should 
soon be forthcoming. 
G. A. F. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Mexican Laelias. 
The typical or dark varieties of L. anceps 
will now be passing out of flower and should 
at once be placed under strictly resting con¬ 
ditions. A cool, dry atmosphere suits these 
plants well, with full exposure to the sun’s 
rays. There are few Orchids that take a 
more decided or prolonged rest than L. an¬ 
ceps. It is the conditions which the plants 
are placed under and the treatment that they 
receive during the resting period that ma¬ 
terially effects the flowering. If the plants 
are placed in a temperature of about 50 degs. 
this will be ample for them for the next few 
weeks. Plenty of air should be' afforded 
also whenever the outside conditions permit. 
Only sufficient root moisture is necessary 
during the resting periods to retain the 
pseudo-bulbs and foliage in a normal plump 
state. I consider it most inadvisable to start 
any of the varieties of L. anceps into growth 
too early in the season. It will generally 
be found that the plants that are the last to 
break away’ into growth almost invariably 
give a satisfactory display of flowers. 
The so-called white kinds, such as L. a. 
percivaliana, L. a. Stella, L. a. schro- 
deriana, L. a. Williamsii, etc., usually 
flcwer later than the typical kinds and are 
rarely’ seen at their best until the end of 
January and the beginning of February. It 
is desirable, as soon as the flowers have be¬ 
come expanded, to keep the plants for a few 
days in a cool, dry atmosphere, which will 
materially add to the lasting qualities of the 
blooms, a desideratum when they are wanted 
for cutting purposes. 
As soon as the flower scapes have been re¬ 
moved from the white section, the plants 
should be placed under resting conditions 
similar to those recommended for the typical 
kinds. The remarks in respect to the treat¬ 
ment of L. anceps may also be applied to 
L> majalis, L. autumnalis, L. goldiana, and 
the other species and hybrids of the Mexican 
Laelias. To ensure success in the cultiva¬ 
tion of all of this section it is particularly 
necessary that attention should be paid to 
the resting conditions. 
I prefer to attend to any necessary re¬ 
potting when the plants commence growing 
about the end of May, but as many of them 
are rooting actively at this season of the 
year no harm will result from their being 
repotted now, but plants which are being re¬ 
potted now should be retained in their grow¬ 
ing quarters, where they’ may be encouraged 
to induce the roots to become established in 
the fresh potting compost. Ample drainage 
should always be given to these plants. The 
compost may consist of two parts peat to 
one of chopped sphagnum mess, or Osmunda, 
or Polypodium fibre may be substituted for 
peat if desirable, but I would advise ama¬ 
teurs to stick to peat and moss as the most 
reliable potting medium for Orchids. It 
must always be remembered that it is not 
the. potting compost alone, but the condi¬ 
tions of temperature, atmosphere and general 
treatment that make largely for success in 
Orchid cultivation. If the right position and 
conditions are afforded the plants there will 
be little difficulty in dealing even with the 
most delicate pf the genus. 
• H. J. Chapman. 
-- 
R. H. S. 
The next fortnightly meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society of flowers, 
plants, etc., will be held at the head¬ 
quarters of the Society on February gth, 
from 1 to 6 p.m. The annual general 
meeting of the Society will be held at 
3 P- m - 
Calanthe vestita Norman. 
The sepals of this hybrid are dark 
purple and the petals of a rich crimson- 
red. The lip is even darker. Award of 
Merit by the R:H.S. on December 22nd, 
when shown by’ N. C. Cookson, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. H. J. Chapman), Oak- 
wood, Wydam-on-Ty’ne. 
London's Possible Market Gardens. 
The interest in London’s 10,000 unused 
plots as potential market gardens has 
greatly increased of late and the Vacant 
Lands Society’ are taking the matter up. 
So productive is the land that it is cal¬ 
culated that 80,000 men could find profit¬ 
able market-garden work in London if 
the vacant land was properly used. 
Soldier Gardeners. 
The War Office are about to make 
grants of money for the purpose of in¬ 
structing the soldiers in horticulture at 
the various garrisons and depots. Lec¬ 
tures on gardening are to be delivered 
to the men by a member of the R.H.S. 
Thirty men have already joined the Mid¬ 
dlesex Regiment Class. 
Brighton and Sussex H.S. 
In submitting the balance-sheet for the 
past year, the committee of this so¬ 
ciety’ again regret to report a loss 
on the year’s working. The three 
flower shows held during the year 
were quite equal to the average so 
that it is regretful to announce a further 
deficit of £64 18s. 3d. In consequence 
of this the committee have decided to 
hold only two shows this year, a Rose 
Show on June 29th and 30th, and the 
Chrysanthemum Show on November 2nd 
and 3rd as usual. In making this altera¬ 
tion the committee hope they will receive 
the assistance of the subscribers, mem¬ 
bers, and exhibitors as formerly'. 
