April 27, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
291 
Marrows and Cucumbers. 
Marrows and ridge Cucumbers may either 
be sown in pets or where wanted to stand. 
A box with a piece of glass on top will 
serve to accelerate germination if sown out¬ 
doors. • , 
Keep the hoe going between the Cabbages 
if the latter are worth it. Here, bolting is 
general. “ Hohti” 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Tomatos. 
Plants raised as before advised will now 
be well rooted in. 5m. pets, with at least 
one truss of flowers expanded. Such plants 
may go straight into their fruiting quarters, 
without passing through any more proba¬ 
tionary stages. .Vs a general rule, especially 
where the owner is away from home during 
the day, pots pin. across the top will be 
found none too large. There is no need to 
waste a lot of space on drainage ; a handful 
of long, half-decayed manure over the 
drainage hole should suffice. Neither should 
the pots be filled full of soil at this stage. 
Place a little compost over the manure, stand 
the plant in position, and then, add just 
enough soil to cover the old ball about half 
an inch. Use a rammer, made of an old 
broom handle, to well firm the new soil, and 
defer watering in until the next day. 
Treatment after Potting-. 
Stand the pots where the plants will get 
all the sun possible, and where a current of 
air can circulate round them at the will of 
the cultivator. If at all shaded, and in an 
atmosphere that is damp and stagnant, 
sleeping sickness, black spot, and other fun¬ 
goid diseases will be engendered. As side 
shoots form, pinch them hack to the last 
leaf, so as to have good lower foliage when 
the first made leaves yellow and .die. Do 
not syringe the plants at all, only give 
water when needed, and tap the stems to 
disperse the fertilising pollen in the flowers 
on sunny days. If boxes are used for plant¬ 
ing, or planting out is practised, the soil 
should be made extra firm to prevent the 
plants running too much to wood. 
Chrysanthemums. 
Before throwing away old stools put in an¬ 
other batch of cuttings for flowering in 6in. 
pots. They will strike almost anywhere 
now, if shaded and syringed. As soon as 
struck transfer to a cold frame, and pot up 
singly when hardened a little. * Earlier 
struck cuttings, put in at the middle cf 
March, shmid now he nice little plants. If 
not already pinched, nip the points out now, 
and pot on when growth is again in full 
swing. Grow the plants as cool as possible, 
and stand them outdoors as soon as mild 
weather arrives. 
Edging Plants. 
Plenty of these should be grown if the 
greenhouse is to lcok smart all the summer. 
Campanula iscphylla and its white form, 
C. i. alba, in mixture make a splendid 
edging, and may be divided to almost any 
extent now. Or cuttings may be taken, also 
of Panicums and Tradescantias. The green¬ 
leaved form of the latter is almost hardy, 
and one of the most useful knockabout 
plants grown. A few good pots of blue and 
white Lobelias may also be retained as edg¬ 
ing plants, while Othonna crassifolia, a 
yellow-flowered succulent: Nepeta Glechoma 
variegata, the variegated Ground Ivy; Lina- 
ria Cymbalaria, the Ivy-leaved Toadflax or 
Kenilworth Ivy; and the golden Creeping 
Jenny, . Lysimachia Nummularia aurea, 
will give a great diversity in form 
and colouring. These are all cheap to buy, 
and lend themselves to ready increase. 
Bedding Geraniums and Fuchsias. 
There is no need to longer retain these in 
the greenhouse, unless the latter are spring- 
struck and backward. Both will be quite 
safe in a cold frame if a mat is kept handy 
for use on frosty nights. Keep -the plants 
drier than usual, both at the roefs and over¬ 
head, fer a few days after placing them in 
the frame. Keep the frame close if cold 
weather prevails when the plants are put out, 
otherwise give all the air possible. 
Violets for Winter. 
Where frame-grown Violets have been pro¬ 
pagated by rooting runners, a few cif these 
latter may well be placed in pets to give 
early blooms in winter. Choose the best run¬ 
ners, and place them singly in 4^in. pots, 
or into 3gin. pets if not large and well 
rooted. Use a compost of two parts of the 
best fibrous lc-am, one part of leaf mould and 
half part each of old, rotted dung, and 
coarse sa^id. Do not bury -the heart of the 
runner, and make the compost fairly firm. 
After potting stand the plants close together 
under a wall, or in a cold frame, so that 
they can be easily syringed and protected 
from hot sun if necessary. During summer 
they should be plunged to their rims in 
ashes, in a place where they do not get the 
full glare c-f the mid-day sun. On no ac¬ 
count should they be grown in dense shade, 
or early flowers will be impossible. 
Red Spider. 
This insidious and destructive pest is al¬ 
ready on the prowl, and should be ifought, 
tcoth and nail, at its first appearance. It 
generally shows first in some hc-t, dry co-rner, 
and woe betide the plant which bears the 
brunt of a bad attack unperceived. A slight 
bleaching, almost a speckling, of the foliage 
reveals the pest to an observant eye, and by 
that time considerable damage has been 
done. It is always best to burn a badly at¬ 
tacked plant if it can be spared. If not, 
sponge the undersides of the leaves hard 
with an insecticide, such as a solution of 
nicotine or quassia. Drought at the roots 
and drought in the atmosphere are the sure 
precursors of red spider. Well fed and 
watered plants in a moist atmosphere rarely 
suffer. “ Sunnyside.” 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Seed Sowing-. 
There are very few gardeners and ama¬ 
teurs alike that have been cultivating 
Orchids for any length of time that have 
not attempted-erd-ss-breeding in some form 
or another, and have succeeded in procuring 
seed. I consider the raising of Orchid seed¬ 
lings should have every encouragement 
amongst amateurs, and where neglected 
there can be no doubt but that one of the 
most interesting items in the cultivation, of 
Orchids has been overlooked. Amateurs 
usually make their gardens their hobbies, 
and therefore devote considerable attention 
to the subjects of particular interest, and 
there is no subject which can afford greater 
interest than the cross-breeding cif these dif¬ 
ferent subjects in the ho-pe-s of ultimately 
securing some mew kind or particular shade 
of colour which had not previously been 
seen among the plants of their particular 
hobbies. A great deal has been al-read3 r 
accomplished by amateur Orchid cultiva¬ 
tors, and there is still a wide field for ex¬ 
periments, so we have subjects of consider¬ 
able interest to expect, and as amateur 
Orchid growers are annually increasing in 
numbers and with a mere enlightened age, 
in the matter of hybridisation, we may na¬ 
turally look for still greater additions from 
the amateur’s efforts. 
Methods of Seed Sowing. 
There are different methods of seed sow¬ 
ing advocated ; mpst of these methods give 
success, and it seems to me only a question 
of the greater or less rapidity in the ger¬ 
mination, for which the different facilities 
may be applied. There can be no doubt 
that the modern, facilities for obtaining 
quick germination af the seeds have suc¬ 
ceeded in decreasing the period between 
seed sowing and -the flowering of the plants 
thus procured by at least one half, but it is 
not every amateur that can possess the 
facilities for quick germination, and there¬ 
fore the means only at his disposal can be 
applied. I must therefore confine my re¬ 
marks to the restricted facilities in this note, 
and request our worthy Editor to permit of 
my referring -to remaining items in the near 
future. 
Epiphytal and Terrestrial Orchids. 
The first diviaicn I would make is the 
distinction between the epiphytal and the 
terrestrial Orchids. The terrestrial kinds 
include such genera as Cypripediums, 
Calanthes, Phaius, Cymbidium?, Lycastes, 
etc. There has been, no better method found 
than what was at one time considered es¬ 
sential in the raising of all Orchid seed 
(sowing on a growing plant of its own 
kind), so that with the whole of the above- 
mentioned suitable seed beds should be 
found on plants of their own kind. It is 
not advisable to have ifresh potted plants, 
rather select plants where the potting com¬ 
post has become settled and in such a con¬ 
dition that repotting will be unnecessary for 
a considerable time. Some practise pre¬ 
paring the seed beds a few months before 
they are required, which is a very good 
practice. Suitable plants are selected, and 
any unsuitable compost is removed and re¬ 
placed with that more likely to benefit the 
seed. 
When preparing seed beds, select plants 
where the surface of the compc-st may be at 
least half an -inch below the rim of the pots. 
This will to some extent prevent the seed 
being washed over the sides of the pots to 
destruction in the process of the usual ap¬ 
plication of water to the parent plant. 
Having procured suitable seed beds, the 
surface should be damped and the seed then 
sown thinly over the surface of the compost. 
Sow on several plants, as seed often ger¬ 
minates freely on one plant and fails alto¬ 
gether cn others. The epiphytal kinds, 
such as Dendrcbiums, Cattleyas, Laelias, 
Epidendrums, etc., may also be sown cn pots 
of their own kinds or allied genera, but 
this should only -be done where facilities 
are limited. If a warm house or hot stove 
or propagating frame is procurable, some 
one cr the other systems I hope to allude to 
in my next week’s article should be adopted, 
as it will considerably facilitate the more 
rapid growth and earlier flowering of the 
plants. H. J. Chapman. 
-- 
The late Mr. Eli Walker. 
Hri thejast dav of March last there died 
at Crickley, Little Witcombe, at the age 
of 81, Mr. Eli Walker, who introduced the 
variety of Kidney Potato which bears his 
name. 
New Book. 
A new book on spring flowers by 
“ M. G. B.,” entitled Sfrijtg Harbingers 
and Their Associations, is announced to 
be published immediately by Mr. Elliot 
Stock, 62, Paternoster Row. 
Floral “ Entente.” 
Some time ago a party of Evesham 
market growers were conducted over the 
gardens in the environs of Paris where 
early vegetables are forced for the 
English trade. These visits are now. to 
be returned by a party of French flower 
and vegetable * growers, the trip being 
timed to take place during the great show 
of the Roval Horticultural Society in the 
Temple Gardens, at the end of May. 
They will also visit Covent Garden to 
study the method of packing cut flowers 
and vegetables for transit, as well as Kew 
Gardens and some of the chief nurseries 
in the country. 
