THE GARDENING WORLD. 
287 
April 27, 1907. 
Maclaren and Sons. 
Billbergia nutans. 
rhe Nodding Billbergia. 
The accompanying illustration repre¬ 
ss a very striking and distinct plant 
longing to the same family as the Pine- 
• pie. Its distinction and its beauty lies 
; gely in the strange and beautiful com- 
ration of colours. It blooms during 
1 iter, and the first colour that becomes 
' vious is that of the bracts or small 
j ves at the base of the flowers. These 
’ tcts are of a beautiful soft rosy pink 
1 our. They also last longer in beauty 
1 m the flowers themselves, and thus give 
ration to the beauty of the plant. The 
1 'ious parts of the flower are green, and 
; larger segments are edged with a 
-P blue colour, thus making a, very 
' iking contrast. This blue colour does 
1 t disappear, but rather intensifies as the 
1 vers fade. 
(Billbergia nutans). 
The plant is propagated by suckers, 
much in the same way as the Pineapple, 
and as it comes from Brazil it requires a 
stove for its best development, thouglr the 
temperature need not be very high for 
that structure. These suckers may or may 
not. be rooted when removed from the 
plant, but if put into light, sandy and 
peaty soil and plunged in a hotbed roots 
will very soon be formed. A 60-size pot 
will be sufficient for the newly rooted 
plant, but as it grows it may be shifted 
into a 4S-size, and in this it may be 
bloomed. Larger plants may be put in a 
32-size pot. Seeing that it can be bloomed 
in small pots, however, there is no par¬ 
ticular necessity for using larger ones. 
As the flowers on small plants fade the 
pots can be removed and placed in a pit, 
while others pushing into bloom may be 
placed where a display is required. This 
species blooms regularly during the winter 
months, when flowers are scarce, and then 
appreciated. 
-f+4- 
Cottage . . . 
. . Gardening. 
Notes for April. 
April is perhaps the busiest month in 
the year for cottagers, and a few notes on 
winter vegetables that should be sown 
now will be useful. As a rule green 
vegetables run short during the winter 
months, but if suitable varieties are 
grown, and the seed grown at the proper 
time, there is no reason why the supply of 
greens should run short at that period. 
Borecoles or Kales are probably the 
most hardy of vegetables, and can be 
relied upon to give a supply during the 
severest winter. They are not particu¬ 
lar as to soil or situation, and are a desir¬ 
able crop for cottagers. The best time 
for sowing the seed for this crop is from 
the middle to the end of April, and the 
seed bed should be made upon ground 
that has not been recently manured. As 
soon as the seedlings are large enough to 
handle, thin them out, allowing plenty 
of room to develop, and transplant as soon 
as a piece of ground is available. A firm 
soil suits this crop best, and if possible se¬ 
lect a piece of ground that has produced 
an early crop, and all that is then neces¬ 
sary will be to fork the ground over 
lightly. In planting out allow plenty of 
room between the plants, as nothing is 
gained by overcrowding. The most use¬ 
ful varieties are Cottagers’ and Dwarf 
Green Curled. 
The Savoy is undoubtedly one of the 
most useful of the brassicas for winter 
supplies, but as a rule it is sown too early 
and comes into use when other vegetables 
are plentiful. It is best to make two 
sowings of this crop, one in April and 
another in May. Savoys can be planted 
between the rows of Potatos, providing 
the later are not .of the heavy topped. 
varieties ; heavily manured ground has a 
tendency to produce sappy growth in 
Savoys, which renders them less liable to 
withstand severe weather. Tom Thumb 
is a useful variety for early work, Drum¬ 
head for intermediate, and Ormskirk 
Late Green for winter and early spring. 
Broccoli are perhaps the choicest of 
all winter vegetables coming into use just 
after the autumn Cauliflowers are over; 
they give a supply until early spring. 
They are'fairly hardy, but suffer during 
severe weather, especially when not culti¬ 
vated in the best manner. Numerous 
varieties of Broccoli are in cultivation, 
and it is difficult to select the best, but the 
following will be found reliable and give 
a supply from November to April : 
Veitch’s Self-Protecting is the first variety 
to come in ; this immediately follows the 
well-known Autumn Giant Cauliflower. A 
sowing of this should be made in mid- 
April, and the seedlings pricked out into 
a nurserv bed as soon as they show their 
second leaves. Transplant them when 
large enough into well-manure :1 .ground. 
Snow’s Winter White is one of the best for 
