March 2, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
;d just touching the flowers in the middle 
< the day, will ensure a good supply of 
iiit setting. If business keeps the owner 
ray from home in the daytime, he may 
ij’ely depute wife or sister to manipulate 
t» rabbit’s tail; the lighter the touch the 
1 tter. 
. himenes. 
These old favourites have somewhat lost 
(Ste with the present generation of amateur 
irdeners, but they are well worth growing 
Mere a moist and warm house is at com- 
>ind. They should be re-potted or 
sketed now, laying the tubercles, as the 
•ickened, underground, root-like branches 
.5 called, flat on their sides, and covering 
i;m an inch deep with soil. A warm, 
i)ist, shady corner should be afforded them 
. all times excepting when they are in 
: wer. The disfiguring brown blotches on 
3 leaves may be avoided by keeping the 
uits always moist, 
cbaris. 
The noble Eucharis, or Eucharis Lily as 
; lateurs often term it, should now be re- 
j tted where such is necessary. If well fed 
th liquid stable manure, annual re-potting 
: not required. An abundance of mois- 
:e when growing, and a decided rest after 
: wering, are the secrets of successful 
icharis growing; some gardeners induce 
3 plants to flower three times a year under 
ver treatment, 
vias or Imantophyllums. 
t think everyone was glad when the decree 
nt forth that we might again call these 
: tely plants Clivias. Those who only 
; >w the typical 0. miniata should make a 
int of trying at least one of the newer 
rieties, such as Distinction or Lady Wol- 
rton ; these are superbly beautiful, 
ants that have been kept cool and on the 
y side should now be given a little more 
•at and moisture. Syringe the plants 
11 and sponge the leaves. Give a little 
■sh soil to cover any roots that are ex- 
sed, and then well soak the ball with 
her. 'When the flower spike can be seen 
tween the central leaves, liquid manure 
ly be given at alternate waterings. The 
ants may have a fortnight or three weeks 
the dwelling house during their flowering 
riod, if they are stood in a position which 
light and not draughty, 
tisk. 
Whether for placing in hanging pots or 
skets, or for forming an edging to the 
eenhouse stage, the old-fashioned Musk 
always appreciated, even though it fail to 
t up to its country reputation as a fly 
nisher. One old potful of roots may now 
made into a dozen potfuls by sorting out 
e white, fleshy, underground branches or 
izomes, cutting them into iin. or 2m. 
lgths, and placing about half a dozen in 
3l4in. pot. Do not cover them deeper 
an 1 inch, and there is no need to be 
'>eral with the drainage, for the Musk is 
1 glutton for drink. Push the young growths 
: ide with the back of the hand when giv- 
g water, or damping off of the tender 
ung stems may occur, especially if the 
1 sather is cold and wet. 
deuses. 
Scarcely a plant in the greenhouse will 
• T e so much for so little as the Coleus, 
ittings struck now will give plants that 
3 attractive all through the summer and 
tumn, and demand practically no atten- 
'n beyond watering. If good tops of 
oots are available, insert one in the' centre 
each 3m. pot; if the shoots are. weakly 
ace four tops round the side of a 5m. pot. 
a sandy compost, make firm, and well 
ringe and water the cuttings until they are 
owing. They should then be repotted, 
d subsequently pinched, if bushy speci- 
sns are wanted; the Coleus, however, 
ikes a nice plant in a sin. or 6in. pot -if 
owed to grow quite naturally, provided 
it is potted firmly and grown in plenty of 
light. Seed may also be sown now, and' 
will give useful summer and autumn plants. 
In pricking out the seedlings, throw away 
the ultra vigorous ones, and retain the 
weaker plants. Sunnyside. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Phaius. 
It does not always apply that East Indian 
Orchids and some others that are imported 
from climatic conditions similar to that 
country must of necessity require a stove or 
what is termed an East Indian house in 
which to grow them. In the first place the 
plants are found growing at such vastly 
different altitudes in those countries which 
makes all the difference to their require¬ 
ments when cultivated under artificial condi¬ 
tions. Then there is also the considera¬ 
tion of what nature can provide and what 
we are able to afford under artificial culti¬ 
vation. It is practically impossible to gain 
success if we attempt to follow nature, and 
we must thus study to some extent the 
conditions that are the most likely to pro¬ 
duce satisfactory results in the cultivation 
of plants under the artificial conditions we 
are able to provide in our greenhouses. 
The species of Phaius are mostly imported 
from the mountainous regions of the East, 
and some few others from Madagascar. It 
is the eastern section and the hybrids that 
have been derived from some of these 
'species with others of the Madagascar sec¬ 
tion. P. grandifolius P. Wallichii and 
others are among the oldest of our culti¬ 
vated Orchids. It is quite a common thing 
to find that gardeners consider these cannot 
be grown unless a stove-house temperature 
can be afforded. It is found that they will 
do equally as well, if not better, where a 
temperature from 55 to 60 degrees can be 
afforded, and with similar conditions pro¬ 
vided to that found suitable in the success¬ 
ful cultivation of Cypripedium insigne and 
other winter flowering Cypripediums. This 
will convey a good idea, I think, that the 
hothouse is not a necessity for East Indian 
Orchids. It is a great pity these Orchids 
are not more extensively grown. There are 
none more useful for general work in decora¬ 
tive or exhibition arrangements than well 
flowered plants of Phaius. 
Some of the species and hybrids here are 
used for house decoration. I have had 
some of our largest specimens in use for six 
weeks without any harm whatever to the 
plants. When grown in the temperature 
above mentioned they commence throwing 
their flower spikes in January ; these expand 
about the month of March, and they last a 
long time in perfection after the flowers 
expand. When the flowers have been re¬ 
moved, the plants should be kept on the dry 
side at the roots, but not sufficiently dry to 
cause the foliage and pseudo-bulbs to 
shrivel. When the new growth commences, 
moisture must be again afforded, and as 
soon as the roots appear at the base of the ad¬ 
vancing growth, any repotting requirements 
necessary should be attended to. The pots 
used should be drained to about one-third 
their depth with clean, broken crocks. The 
compost suitable consists of equal portions 
of turfy loam, fibrous peat, and chopped 
sphagnum moss, with sufficient sand or 
broken crocks to render the whole porous. 
Potting. 
See that the compost is chilled before 
commencing potting. The plants should then 
be turned carefully out of their pots, as 
the older roots are very brittle and are easily 
damaged. After the compost has been re¬ 
moved from about the roots and all dead 
and decaying matter cut away, select a pot 
sufficiently large to contain the plants com¬ 
fortably, and after placing the plant in posi¬ 
tion, fill in the compost about the roots, 
making the whole solid, but not hard. If 
potting is completed with a layer of chopped 
sphagnum on the surface, it adds to the ap¬ 
pearance of the plants. As soon as potting 
is completed, water with rain water poured 
through a moderately coarse rose on the 
watering-can, take care to wet the compost 
through. The plants may then be placed 
in their growing position. Shade carefully 
for a few weeks until the roots get hold of 
the compost, and retain the temperature dur¬ 
ing the day time a little on the close side, 
which will assist growth. When the plants 
become thoroughly rooted, they require 
liberal water until growth is completed, 
when the plants should be kept in a reason¬ 
ably dry state until the flower scapes make 
their appearance. They may then have 
more liberal treatment. H. J. Chapman. 
-f+4- 
Sweet Peas: 
An Experiment. 
The moderate expense and easy cul¬ 
ture, together with the brilliant display 
of the blooms, combine to make the 
Sweet Pea an ideal flower for the 
amateur. This is chiefly the reason I 
have given it more thought and atten¬ 
tion than any other subject of the floral 
world. 
A professional gardener would doubt¬ 
less make his experiments systematically 
and upon certain recognised lines, but 
not always so the amateur who is bound 
by no hard and fast rules. This liberty 
in most cases takes the amateur very 
wide of the mark, but occasionally, 
while floundering about in uncertainties, 
he meets with success. 
It was this way I found that Sweet 
Peas could be grown from cuttings, an ad¬ 
vantage which will be explained later. At 
the end of January a six-inch pot was filled 
with ordinary garden soil, sifted fine, and 
in this were sown about ten seeds of the 
variety Miss Willmott. Standing the 
pot near the glass in a cold greenhouse, 
the seeds grew into strong sturdy plants 
by April, when they were turned out of 
the pot and the soil shaken from the roots 
in quite a rough and ready way. Then 
the plants were splintered into as many 
pieces as there were branches, throwing 
the roots away. Next, two pots of the 
same size as the first were filled in the 
same wav, with the addition of a little 
coarse leaf mould to retain moisture. 
The splinters or cuttings were then in¬ 
serted firmly around the edge of each pot 
and placed in a shady spot in the green¬ 
house. After a time the plants looked 
rather sickly,-and fit only for the rubbish 
heap, but as it was an experiment they 
were allowed to remain, with the result 
that they recovered and took root, not 
one failing. The advantage I think 
which may be claimed by this way of cul¬ 
tivation is that there are no tap roots ; 
only fibrous roots are produced from the 
cutting, making a very short-jointed plant 
about two feet high, suitable for growing 
in pots for decorative purposes, or for 
the amateurs greenhouse when space is 
limited. 
The soft sappy shoots clo not appear 
to answer as well for this purpose as the 
hard woody splinter.- There is one other 
special point to bear in mind, viz., that 
as the roots fill the pots they must on no 
consideration be allowed to get dust dry. 
Frank Bertram White. ' 
V 
