762 TUB GARDENING WORLD . November 30, 1907. 
display An a 41m. pot. Itf the purse does not 
run ito selected crowns, (buy a few imported 
clumps; (these make very nice plants in 5in. 
pots. All may ibe sitood An a cold frame 
after potting and covered with an empty 
flower pot until they are wanted for the 
greenhouse. 
Dirty Pots. 
These should never be allowed to accumu¬ 
late, as, apart from 'the untidy appearance 
they give a place, .they are more liable to 
get broken than when washed and stored 
away. A wooden tub mounted on three stout 
legs is a very good pot washing contrivance; 
it can be moved from place to place, and 
does not try the back through stooping if 
raised fairly high. A circular, tapering 
brush is a good investment for cleaning the 
insides of .ports ; an ordinary scrubbing brush 
will clean 'the outsides, or a wisp of straw 
will do if the pots are mot very dirty. It is 
a good plan to soak green and very dirty pots 
for a day or two before washing them, and 
warm water with a little soda in makes 'the 
job moire quickly and comfortably done. 
Forcing Rhubarb. 
Roots should now be in prime condition 
for forcing, as we have had several nice 
little frosts. My roots for the Christmas 
supply of produce lay on the soil quite three 
weeks before we got enough frost to send 
them 'thoroughly to rest. This thorough rest¬ 
ing is important, as plants well frosted re¬ 
spond much more readily to heait-moiisture 
(than do others which have not been so 
treated. A dry soap box makes a very good 
receptacle for forcing Rhubarb. The roots 
are stood An and surrounded by old potting 
soil, the box is stood under the greenhouse 
stage, and a good soakmng of water is given. 
A box of similar size is inverted over the 
one containing the roots so as to keep all 
quite dark, and forcing has begun. From 
50 deg. to 55 deg. is sufficient heat to allow, 
and this is easily maintained if the hot- 
water pipes run beneath the stage. 
Begonia Gloire de Lorraine. 
This splendid winter flowering plant is 
now about at its best, and the flowers must 
be kept dry if they are to last as long as 
possible. They come to no harm in a moist 
atmosphere if a temperature of 50 deg. to 
55 deg. As maintained, but in a moist and 
low temperature moisture condenses on the 
flowers and soon spots and spoils them. Per¬ 
sonally, I like to get ithe plants into an airy 
conservatory as soon as the flowers are about 
half of them opened, as here they last a long 
while. Feeding carefully with airtificAa. 1 
manures will help the flowers to expand 
kindly. 
Azaleas Losing their Leaves. 
Some loss of leaves at this season is na¬ 
tural with the Indian or evergreen Azaleas, 
and no alarm need be felt at the shedding of 
a few. When, however, the leaves fall in 
quantity thrips should be suspected and mea¬ 
sures taken accordingly. A friend tells me 
that Hamilton’s red spider killer will anni¬ 
hilate thrips offhand, but I have had no ex¬ 
perience of it, having of late had no thrips. 
My favourite remedy is to well syringe the 
tinder slides of the leaves with water, hot as 
the hand can bear, and while still wet 
sprinkle on flowers of sulphur or tobacco 
powder. 
Agapanthuses in Winter. 
In dealing with this beautiful South 
African plant one is. apt, and quite naturally, 
to overlook the fact that it is almost hardy. 
This being so, there As no need to give up 
the warmest or best part of the greenhouse. 
For several years I wintered some of the 
finest specimens I have ever seen—they took 
four men to carry them— in a vinery where 
not a scrap of fire was lighted until the 
Vines were started at the end of January. 
There .is little need to water plants when 
wintered thus cool, and as the Agapamthus 
is bulbous-rooted it will stand weeks of 
drought in winter with impunity. If a few 
leaves yellow and die no harm will, result. 
“ Sunnyside.” 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Pleiortes. 
BotanicaiLly, 'this genus is included under 
Coelogyne, but it differs in so many respects 
that for garden purposes and from a horti¬ 
cultural point of view, it seems preferable 
that these desirable and interesting plants 
should be kept separate. They are a de¬ 
ciduous section of bulbous plants, and differ 
from Coelogyne ini the pseudo-'bulbs, being 
only of one year’s duration. The flowers 
are produced, one or two, on short scapes 
which arise from the base of the pseudo- 
bulbs, sometimes preceding, but generally 
accompanying the young growths. There 
are about six distinct species in. cultivation, 
all of which are worthy of attention by 
amateurs. Some of the varieties', such as 
P. hookeriiana and P. hum.iiLis, are not very 
plentiful, and when procurable can only be 
had in small plants of about six pseudo- 
bulbs. The two commonest kinds, and cer 
tainly the two most desirable, are P. lagen- 
ariia, 'having the sepals and petals' rosy-lilac. 
The large lip is also of the same colour 
with the exception of the disc, which is yel¬ 
low, with numerous radiating lines' and 
purple blotches extending almost to the 
fringe surrounding the front lobe of the lip. 
This is the earliest flowering variety, ex¬ 
panding its blossoms in October and Novem¬ 
ber, and they last a long time in perfection. 
It does well in a warm greenhouse where 
the temperature can be maintained between 
50 and 60 degrees throughout the year. This 
variety is very useful for autumn exhibition 
purposes. P. maoulafa has its sepals and 
petals white; the lip also white, the side 
lobes on the inner side being streaked with 
purple, the front lobe blotched and spotted 
with crimson-purple, and the disc yellow, 
with five raised fringed lines streaked be¬ 
tween with purple. This is by far the most 
beautiful of the Pleiones. 
Much in the way of these last two men¬ 
tioned varieties, and closely allied to both, 
is P. praecox, better known in gardens as 
P. wallichiana. Both this variety and P. 
maoulata produce their flowers* in Decem¬ 
ber and January, and they last for three or 
four weeks in perfection. 
The Cultural Requirements. 
As above mentioned, the pseudo-bulbs only 
lasting one year, they require annual re¬ 
potting, which is best attended to imme¬ 
diately after the plants have passed out of 
flower. The plants being of dwarf struc¬ 
ture, they are suitable subjects for basket, or 
preferably shallow pan culture, in which 
they may be .readily suspended in a position 
within reasonable distance of the roof glass. 
The pans should be clean and filled to half 
their depths with thoroughly dried chopped 
bracken Fern roots. The potting compost 
should consist of equal portions of fibrous 
peat, turfy loam and- chopped sphagnum, 
■to which a few chopped leaves may be 
added, and sufficient rough sand or finely 
broken crocks to render the whole porous. 
The small plants should be placed at equal 
distances apart all! over the surface of the 
potting compost, pressing the latter suffi¬ 
ciently firm to hold the plants in position. 
When potting is completed, water the plants 
with rain water, wetting the compost 
through. 
The plants should then he suspended in a 
temperature of about 55 degrees normal tem- 
nerature of the house. Watering must now 
be done with care until the plants commence 
rooting, when every encouragement should 
be given, to them. When the pots are filled 
with roots and the plants are ip, fuilL 
growth 'they will require an abundance of 
root moisture, which must be continued, un¬ 
til the pseudo-ibulibs reach maturity. After 
the foliage shows signs of failing water 
must be spainingly given, only enough to 
retain the pseudo-bulbs in a normal state 
being necessary. From this period until the 
flowers and new growths are seen only suffi. 
cient must then be given to keep the de¬ 
veloping growth in an active state. 
H. J. Chapman. 
-- 
Strawberries. 
Trench the Ground Now. 
Many readers who would like to grow 
Strawberries hesitate to make the attempt 
for fear of failing, but I think if they will 
follow my methods an abundance of fruit 
may be obtained. 
First of all trench the ground well in 
the previous winter roughly to the depth 
of 2 spits (2 spades), adding plenty of rot' 
ten manure; then turn it over again about 
July and level it at the same time. 
Obtain plants that are good for dessert 
or for preserving, as the case may be, such 
as Black Prince, Noble. President, and 
Royal Sovereign, etc. Plant out about 
the end of August in rows 15 to 18 inches 
in the rows and about 16 inches apart be¬ 
tween the rows, and afterwards keep them 
well watered. Cut off all runners as soon 
as they appear, and keep the soil well 
forked between the rows, so as to air the 
growth of the roots, and keep weeds down. 
Mulch between each row with littery 
manure, so as to prevent undue evapora¬ 
tion of moisture from the soil. A few 
Cabbage leaves placed about the plants 
when the fruit is forming will keep slugs 
from eating it; and by examining the 
leaves every night and morning large 
numbers may be destroyed. For birds, 
the best plan is to cover the plants with 
netting, which is very cheaply advertised 
in the papers. 
If this method of culture is carried out 
excellent results should be obtained. 
William Bullough. 
-f+4- 
Rose Specialist’s Appointment. 
Mr. Henry Meads, the well-known spe¬ 
cialist in Roses, has, we understand, been 
appointed to the position of Rose grower 
at the Royal Nurseries of Messrs. Hugh 
Low and Co., Bush Hill Park, Middlesex. 
Messrs. Low and Co. have of late much 
extended their Rose department. 
Incurved Chrysanthemum W. J. Higgs. 
The blooms of this variety have a bronzy 
port wine colour, owing largely to the 
colour of the inner surface of the florets. 
It is a bloom of large size. First-class 
Certificate by the N.C.S. at the Crystal 
Palace when shown by Mr. W. Higgs, 
gardener to J. B. Hankey, Esq., Fetcham 
Park, Leatherhead. 
Japanese Chrysanthemum George Mileham. 
This is a bloom of the largest size and 
would be described as an incurved Ja¬ 
panese variety with soft yellow flowers. 
It was raised and shown by Mr. George 
Mileham, the Gardens, Emlyn House, 
Leatherhead, but passed into the collec¬ 
tion of Mr. Norman Davis, Framfield, 
Sussex. 
