322 
THE GARDENING WORLD , 
May ii, 1907. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Pelargoniums. 
When well grown and kept clean these are 
among the showiest and most floriferous of 
greenhouse plants, but too frequently we 
find them possessed of yellow leaves, elon¬ 
gated stems, and covered with greenfly. 
Too warm and close an atmosphere is the 
chief cause of greenfly trouble, coupled with 
dryness at the root* An abundance of air 
should be given all day now, and even on 
most nights, and the syringe should be 
vigorously plied on the plants twice a day 
until the flower buds commence opening. 
Stake out the growths so that all have plenty 
of room, stir up the surface soil with a 
pointed stick, and dust on a dressing of arti¬ 
ficial manure. Natural liquid manure 
should also be freely given to assist the 
flowers in opening; but above all, vaporise 
to keep greenfly in check as soon as the first 
specimen is seen. 
Arum Lilies. 
These can do no further good in the 
greenhouse, and may easily do harm by 
breeding greenfly, therefore' they should be 
turned out without delay. Of course, if 
.there are flowers still to open, the plants 
may be kept indoors, but they are quite 
hardy, and should be turned out if possi¬ 
ble. Just to acclimatise them to outdoor 
conditions, stand them under the greenhouse 
wall for a week or two, afterwards dealing 
with them according to the method of 
summer culture favoured. Iif increase of 
stock or very large specimens are wanted, 
plant them out in shallow trenches early in 
June; if early flowers are the first considera¬ 
tion, well dry off and roast the tuberous 
roots in their pots. 
Outdoor Tomatos. 
If a deep frame is available, these may 
now be got out of the greenhouse, with a 
view to hardening them to outdoor condi¬ 
tions. If no frame is vacant, move the 
Tomatos as near to the door or ventilators 
as possible, securing them plenty of air at 
all times. It is not generally safe to plant 
out of doors until the first week of June, 
and as that is still three weeks ahead of 
us, any plants that show signs of starvation 
should either be fed or repotted. Starva¬ 
tion is easily detected by the yellowing of 
the leaves, and this is followed by a stunt¬ 
ing and hardening of the stem tissues. 
Should this happen to excess, the plants 
take a long time to recover when put out, 
and are rarely satisfactory. Therefore, 
shift them into a larger pot, or give them 
liquid manure twice a week. 
Cucumbers in Frames. 
When the hot-bed, which has been em¬ 
ployed in raising tender flowers or vege¬ 
tables, has parted with all its proteges, it 
can scarcely be put to a better use than 
growing Cucumbers. Good plants, fit for 
planting out, can be purchased at 6d. eaoh, 
and one of these is sufficient to fill a one- 
light frame. Heap about a peck of good 
loam in the middle of the frame, and three 
days later, when the soil has become warm, 
plant the Cucumber. Water it in, shut the 
frame close, and cover with a mat at night, 
if frosty. Syringe the frame and the plant 
at g a.m. and 4 p.m., or thereabouts, each 
day, and give a little air, say, for half-an- 
hour, before the morning syringing, keep¬ 
ing the light closed at all other times. 
Potting- Azaleas and Camellias. 
These seldom come to be repotted, es¬ 
pecially old-established specimens. Now is, 
however, a good time to take such work in 
hand, as - the plants will be making new 
growth. Pot firmly, especially with the 
Azaleas, and keep the plants well syringed 
and in a warm corner afterwards. During 
the summer the pots may be plunged in 
ashes out of doors, but until their removal 
outside they should be encouraged to grow 
in every way. Good peat and coarse sand 
should be used for potting Azaleas; half 
peat and half fibrous loam, with sand, will 
suit Camellias. 
Sowing Cinerarias. 
If wanted for autumn and Christmas 
blooming, a few seeds may be sown now, 
but the main batch may well wait another 
month. I do not advise Cinerarias for 
autumn where Chrysanthemums are grown, 
as the latter have a way of dwarfing and 
rendering paltry looking even a well-grown 
Cineraria. 
Potting Young Ferns. 
Where old Ferns are grown and the con¬ 
ditions are favourable to the germination 
of falling spores, there is generally no lack 
of young Ferns available for potting up. 
Where such do not exist, the present is an 
excellent time to buy a few plants in 
“.thumbs”—small pots—and pot them on 
for use in winter. If well rooted, these 
small Ferns may go straight into 4 in. pots, 
which they will fill with roots by autumn 
and furnish nice plants for the house vases. 
Pteris serrulata, P. cretica cristata, P. 
tremula, P. Wimsettii, Asplenium bulbi- 
ferum, and Aspidium (Cyxtomium) falcatum 
are half-a-dozen good greenhouse and room 
ferns. 
Thinning Peaches. 
A good set of fruit on a Peach tree is 
often dangerous, as the grower -is tempted 
to leave too many to, as he hopes, ripen. 
One fruit to a square foot of healthy tree 
is the average safe crop, and this should 
not be largely exceeded. First remove the 
worse fruit of all pairs, and in the course 
of a few weeks make the final reduction. 
Sunnyside. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Coolhouse Orchids. 
To confine ourselves to particular degrees 
of temperature, for the treatment of cool- 
house Orchids, appears to me to be some¬ 
what out of place when we are looking at 
the matter from the point of view of the 
amateur, whose facilities for the cultiva¬ 
tion of their plants are usually, to a certain 
extent, restricted. Where there is a desire 
to grow different kinds under practically the 
same conditions, it is, in my opinion, quite 
possible to do so with more or less success. 
It is well to note that there have been very 
considerable differences of temperature ad¬ 
vocated of late years for the successful cul¬ 
tivation of Odontoglossums. Writers of a 
decade ago considered that as long as frost 
could be excluded, and a normal tempera¬ 
ture of about 45 degrees maintained, their 
successful culture was assured. True, under 
these conditions, the plants grew year after 
year, with the dwarfed and solid pseudo¬ 
bulbs natural to.all plants growing at high 
altitudes under cool conditions, and with no 
increase of vigour apparent in successive 
seasons’ growth. The present-day method of 
maintaining minimum temperatures of from 
50 to 55 degrees has proved of considerable 
advantage, and by this and other means we 
obtain vigour of growth and gigantic 
pseudo-bulbs such are rarely found among 
the plants imported from their native habi¬ 
tats. This, I think, is sufficient to prove 
that we may permit a certain amount of 
latitude in the case of those kinds of Or¬ 
chids which are generally classed as cool 
and intermediate house Orchids. Many of 
these can be successfully treated under the 
same conditions given some little fore¬ 
thought as to the arrangement of the plants 
in the houses, so that those requiring a 
greater amount of light may be kept to¬ 
gether where lighter shading may be used, 
and apart from those that require more pro¬ 
tection. 
I would like to draw the amateur’s atten¬ 
tion to some of the species and hybrids that 
may be grown under the same conditions, 
and this may aid them in making selections 
where there is a desire for greater variety. 
In addition to the Odontoglossums and Mas- 
devallias, there are numerous Oncidiums of 
the Brazilian species and hybrids, such as 
O. marshallianum, 0 . Forbesii, 0 . Gard- 
nerii, etc. Among the more vigorous kinds 
are O. macrantham and the numerous varie¬ 
ties of the O. superbiens Lycaste Skinneri 
in its variations, L. aromatica, a small, 
yellow-flowered species with exceedingly 
fragrant yellow flowers, of easy culture, 
L. Deppei, L. cruenta, etc., Bifrenaria 
Harrisonae, Sophronitis grandiflora, and 
Miltonia vexillaria. Practically the whole 
of this lovely species and hybrids of Cym- 
bidium are suitable for the amateur. Many 
of the latter do far better with the Odonto¬ 
glossums than when grown in the warmer 
divisions, Cypripedium insigne, and its 
allied kinds. We have had plants of the 
beautiful C. fairieanum growing with the 
Odontoglossums since they were imported 
two years ago, which have flowered and are 
giving every satisfaction. Dendrobium 
jamesianum, and D. Falconerii, are also 
suitable subjects for a light position in the 
coolhouse. I might enumerate others, but 
consider the above quite sufficient for the 
attention of amateurs, and, being of easy 
cultivation, I do not see any reason why 
they cannot be as easily grown as the plants 
one so frequently meets with at local flower 
shows, which reflect so much credit on the 
enthusiastic cultivator. 
H. J. Chapman. 
-- 
War on Wasps. 
To prevent the destruction of fruit crops 
by the presence of thousands of wasps, 
it has been suggested that horticultural 
societies in the Isle of Wight shall pay 
threepence per head for every queen wasp 
delivered to their officials. 
Crawley Gardeners. 
The Crawley and District Gardeners' 
Mutual Improvement Association is a go- 
ahead, enthusiastic body, numbering 
close upon 200 members. In the three 
years of its existence it has been instru¬ 
mental in fostering and extending a love 
of horticulture among the inhabitants of 
that part of Sussex. The society pro¬ 
mote an excellent annual exhibition, and 
hold fortnightly meetings during six 
months of the year, which are numerously 
attended by professional gardeners, 
amateurs, and cottagers, and have admit¬ 
tedly been productive of immense good. 
The exhibition this year is to be held on 
the 24th of July in the beautiful grounds 
of Mr. and Mrs. Hobson Finch’at Goffs 
Hill. Among new features added this 
year are competitions for boys and girls 
of various ages which will prove an ex¬ 
cellent incentive to the young folks to 
study gardening. This innovation is 
due to Mr. Henry Hemsley, the hon. 
secretary of the society, who is a capital 
organiser, and to whose efforts indeed the 
society owes its being, for he was the first 
to take the necessary steps for its estab¬ 
lishment. The Crawley Society is for¬ 
tunate in having many influential friends, 
amongst the enviable crowd of patrons 
being Mr. John A. Nix, J.P., C.C., who 
is the president, and Mr. Jos. Cheal, of 
the well known firm of Cheal and Sons, 
Crawley, who is chairman of committee. 
