THE GARDENING WORLD. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Work for Present Time. 
Nothing looks more untidy than to see, as 
one often does, a conglomeration of pots con¬ 
taining bulbous and other plants that have 
done flowering, thrown beneath the staging 
awaiting “ some other time. 3 ’ Not only are 
they unsightly, but their presence encour¬ 
ages insect pests, and if for this reason only 
they should be cleared out directly they 
cease to become ornamental. If frame 
room can be spared, they may be placed 
therein, packed together, either with or with¬ 
out their pots, and watered occasionally till 
the foliage dies down. Of course such bulbs 
will be useless for forcing next season, but 
instead of consigning them to the rubbish 
heap, plant them out in some quiet border 
where they may recuperate and furbish some 
flowers in their due season next spring. 
Give liquid manure to all plants showing 
for bloom, and those amateurs who raise 
their stock from seed will do well to see that 
the tiny seedlings become neither drawn up 
and “spindly,” from excess of moisture and 
shade, nor dried up by full exposure to the 
sun’s direct rays. 
The Beautiful “Nile Lilies.” 
The snowy spathes of the Call as. or Rich- 
ardias are now showing in nearly every ama¬ 
teur’s greenhouse, and it is almost impossible 
to overwater the plants when in full growth, 
but now occasional applications of some¬ 
thing stronger— say, liquid made from old 
cow manure and soot—will prove beneficial. 
Greenfly sometimes attack this old fa¬ 
vourite, taking up their position on the 
folded spathe as it emerges, and, if taken 
in time, they may be syringed off, but if 
too numerous, fumigation may be resorted 
to, care being taken, of course, that any 
flowers likely to become injured by this 
treatment are previously removed to another 
house. 
Richly-Coloured Coleus 
Our choicest and most pleasing varieties 
should be perpetuated from year to year, 
and the young plants resulting from autumn 
cuttings should be looked to before the 
month is out. They will be quite ready for 
a shift into larger pots, and will do de¬ 
cidedly better if, say, one-sixth part of 
good peat is added to the potting compost. 
After this necessary operation they should 
be kept rather close for a few days till re¬ 
established, and will require constantly 
looking over for the purpose of removing 
any dead or disfigured leaves, and, above 
all, any flowers that appear should be nipped 
out at an early stage, as if allowed to de¬ 
velop they will greatly retard the growth 
of the plants. 
To obtain perfect specimens the main 
shoots should be stopped to encourage side 
growths, and, taking into consideration the 
fine rich colourings and markings obtain¬ 
able in these plants, such trouble is by no 
means wasted. 
The Cold Frame for Chrysanthemums. 
Many amateurs make the mistake of “cod¬ 
dling ” their ’mums, with the result that 
the plants become weak and drawn, and, as 
a consequence, fail to carry good blooms. 
By the end of March the cuttings that 
should be now well rooted and established 
in their pots may be relegated to a frost¬ 
proof frame, where an abundance of air 
should be given them on mild days to 
strengthen the wood. Means should be taken 
to prevent the ingress of worms, and even 
now a sharp look-out must be kept for any 
signs of the dreaded “ rust,” which, alas ! 
is not discernible in its early stages, and is 
undoubtedly one of the worst plagues the 
enthusiastic “ mummer ” has to contend 
with. 
A Remedy. 
If Chrysanthemums are syringed occa¬ 
sionally with a solution of sulphide of potas¬ 
sium, say, one ounce to about two gallons 
of water, it will do much to allay the nuis¬ 
ance, but the foliage must be well wetted; 
in fact, the young plants may be held up¬ 
side down and dipped. 
Any leaves that are visibly affected—and 
the brownish spots on the under-surface tells 
the tale—should be at once removed and 
burnt, the plants being placed by themselves 
to prevent the disease from spreading, and 
it is as well to mark them anditake special 
notice that next season’s cuttings are taken 
from healthy parents only, thus ensuring 
a stock which is absolutely free from infec¬ 
tion. 
Treatment of Clianthus Dampieri. 
At one time the “ Glory Pea,” to give its 
popular everyday name, was to be seen in 
nearly every greenhouse, but of late it has 
undoubtedly found disfavour. It is 
a novelty well worth growing, however, and 
the plants should now be pruned back pre¬ 
viously to potting on, which should be done 
annually and, moreover, with great care. 
All the laterals should be cut back hard, 
and the main growths shortened, this method 
encouraging young shoots to spring from the 
base of the plant, as the old wood, after a 
time, becomes extremely brittle. When re¬ 
potting, do not disturb the roots, but care¬ 
fully remove the whole without breaking up 
the ball of soil, into a pot somewhat larger, 
filling up the intervening space with fairly 
rich compost containing some charcoal to 
keep it sweet. Then water we'll and keep 
all fairly close for a time, for these “Glory 
Peas” are subjects which, though interesting, 
will at no time tolerate liberties. 
Melons and Cucumbers. 
The seeds of either or both of these should 
now be sown in order to obtain good plants 
to grow on and fruit under frames during 
the summer. There are those, I am aware, 
that advise an earlier start, but if the plants 
get too large before the frames are ready 
to receive them, or the weather permits, they 
are liable to become potbound and spoiled, 
whilst, if sown now and given proper care, 
they will be nicely ready to put out early in 
May. 
Insert the seeds in small pots, two in each, 
in a compost of loam, leaf mould, and old 
dung, then if both germinate the weaker 
may be removed. In each case the pots 
should be plunged in good steady bottom 
heat, and the seedlings removed to the light 
at an early stage. 
G. A. F. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Thunias. 
The different species and hybrids of this 
deciduous genus of Orchids will now be 
showing signs of renewed vitality by the 
new growths making their appearance at 
the base of the last-made pseudo-bulbs.. 
There are few Orchids that are more worthy 
of the attention of amateurs than the Thu¬ 
nias. It is often said that amateurs find 
difficulty in growing certain warm house 
kinds of Orchids, owing to their not having 
the facilities to maintain the desired tem¬ 
peratures during winter. Here we have a 
class of plants that commence to grow at the 
present season of the year and produce their 
flowers from the apex of the growth on its 
completion about the month of Tune or July. 
The plants are retained in their growing 
conditions until August or September and 
from September until the present season 
they remain in an .absolutely dormant state, 
during which time they are best suited in 
a cool dry temperature. So that here, at 
March 27, 1909. 
least, is one of the many Orchids that wi: 
to some extent minimise the winter difficu 
ties. 
Plants that have commenced to produc 
their new growths should be removed to 
warm division, where the temperature doe 
not fall below 60 degrees at night. Givi 
them a good watering, sufficient to moiste 
thoroughly the dry ball of potting composi 
and as soon as this has been done and th 
plants have become acclimatised to their net 
conditions they should be turned out o 
their pots, carefully removing all the oli 
potting compost. The back or old growth 
that is, the previously made growth, 9houh 
be cut away, and all decaying matter b 
cleared from the base, carefully examinim 
the stem for insect pests, scale being oftei 
found secreting themselves under the dea 
btacts or loose scales. These insects havin 
been destroyed where observed* a stick suffi 
ciently strong to secure the plants in posi 
tion should be neatly tied to each stem 
These may be grown separately, but th< 
usual custom is to grow several together ii 
a pot, thus making a good specimen when it 
flower. Having secured suitable pots, the- 
should be drained to about one-third thei" 
depth with clean broken crocks. The pottin 
compost I find suitable consists of equal por 
ticns of fibrous peat, turfy loam, ant 
chopped sphagnum moss, plenty of finely 
broken crocks or sand being intermixed to 
render the compost open and porous. 
The plants having been placed in the de 
sired position, fill in with the potting com 
post, making it firm, but not hard. Watei 
with rain water as soon as repotting ha- 
been completed, and the plants may thei 
be placed in their growing conditions. Ar 
ordinary pl-anit stove or warm intermediate 
house suits them best. Careful treaitmem 
will be necessary at first, for they shoulc 
not be afforded much water until the new 
roots get hold of the fresh potting compost 
Gently spraying overhead once or twice a 
day in bright weather will be beneficial. A- 
growth advances more liberal treatment will 
be necessary, but the summer conditions will 
cause little difficult}'’ in obtaining higher 
temperatures in the houses. When they have 
advanced to the stage of growth that they 
show for flower the pots will have become 
filled with roots and an abundant supply of 
root moisture is then necessary, which must 
be maintained until growth is completed. 
H J. Chapman. 
-- 
“ Gardening in the North.” 
Under the above title a book of 272 
pages has been written by Messrs. S. 
Arnott, F.R.H.S., and R. P. Brotherston, 
both enthusiastic admirers of gardens and 
gardening north of the Cheviots. They 
first commence with the choosing of a site 
and the laying out of a garden, and all 
that that implies. Trees and shrubs are! 
the next consideration, and they find their 
places. Having dealt with protection and 
shelter, they next discuss hardy border 
flowers, giving selections with their 
descriptions, followed by very' full listSj 
of the different subjects for shady or 
sunny situations. Various chapters also 
deal with florists’ flowers, bulbs, Roses, 
the building of rockeries, walls for the 
cultivation of plants and window boxes. 
The vegetable garden is not overlooked, 
while the pruning and training of fruit 
trees are all passed under review, includ¬ 
ing fruit under glass. Hothouse culture 
is also dealt with. The book is published 
bv Messrs. Cassell and Co., Ltd., Ludgate 
Hill, London, at 2s. in paper covers, and 
2S. 6d. in cloth. 
