August 3, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
521 
ully select the largest and best, and pot 
hem by themselves. These are certain to 
lower with proper treatment. Quite small 
)ulbs should be placed thickly in pans, and 
nown on to flowering size. Pots 5 in,, in 
liameter are large enough for Freesias, and 
;ach should have from nine to a dozen good 
)Ulbs if a satisfactory potful of flowers is 
0 be obtained. Use plenty of coarse sand 
n the compost, and stand the pots in a 
»ld frame if space can be spared; if not, 
hey will not mind a brief spell outdoors. 
They should not be covered with ashes. 
Strawberries for Forcing. 
If these are favoured a few of the best 
>f the rooted layers prepared for making 
ieds should be secured, picking out the 
?ery best. If strong, they may go into 
1 in. pots; if weaker, one in a 5 in. pot will 
lo. Use the best loams, with a little quite 
lecayed and dried dung, and pot firmly. 
Vater in, and stand the pots in an open 
josition outdoors, sprinkling the plants 
wice daily until they cease to flag in sun- 
hine. 
SuNNYSIDE. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
■obralias. 
The different species which are in culti- 
atioii of the genus Sobralia are a class of 
Irchids which may be successfully culti- 
ated by amateurs, where a temperature of 
5 degrees can be maintained as a normal 
emperature. They are all terrestrial plants 
nd therefore require a more substantial 
otting compost than that afforded to epi- 
hytes. Use a compost of about equal por- 
ions of fibrous peat and turfy loam, with 
ufficient sand or broken crocks intermixed 
3 render the compost porous. The pots 
ised should be clean, rather on the large 
ize compared to the room afforded to most 
Irchids, but as they are robust rooting 
■lants, when they do well, they quickly fill 
he pots with roots, and as it is not desirable 
a repot oftener than is absolutely necessary, 
mple room should be given when repotting 
ecoraes necessary. 
irainage. 
Afford ample drainage, for in the growing 
eason they require a great amount of water, 
nd it is important that there should be 
ree drainage. There are some little Items 
hat may appear trifling to readers, such as 
he matter of affording drainage. I regard 
his as one of the most important things we 
hould consider. One often finds very 
arge-sized pots with small outlet holes at 
he base. The careless cultivator may place 
. single potsherd over a hole of this descrip- 
ion in such a manner as to afford a practt- 
ally airtight chamber, where it is impos- 
ible for the water to penetrate, which, if 
iot observed in time, destroys the plant alto¬ 
gether. It is well, then, to see that the 
loles are of reasonable size and the crocks 
Placed in such a manner that not only may 
t provide an outlet for water, but also a 
neans of affording air to the soil in the 
rots, without which the'plants are detri- 
nentally affected. To illustrate this to 
young beginners a little smoke may be blown 
into the hole at the base of the plant and the 
smoke will quickly penetrate to the surface 
if the compost is in a porous state. 
The plants of Sobralia produce long reed- 
like growths at the apex of the matured 
' growths ; the flowers are produced generall}'- 
about three in succession. There are many 
jOf the species that are of short duration, the 
| individual flowers often lasting only one 
day. Others, such as S. xantholeuca, have 
deep yellow flowers, and this is one of the 
finest. S. macrantha altea (better known in 
gardens as S. kienestiana) has absolutely 
pure white flowers, the plant having an 
equally robust constitution as the typical S. 
macrantha. S. leucoxantha and the hybrid 
varieties of the S. Veitchii section hold their 
flowers - in perfection fox several days, and 
as the flowers are successively produced 
from the same stem they continue in flower 
for a long time, and large specimens make 
a most attractive display. They are parti¬ 
cularly attractive in large warm conserva¬ 
tories. 
Insect Pests. 
Insect pests that are of most trouble to 
these plants are green fly, red spider and 
scale. The former may be held in check 
by occasionally spraying with some safe 
insecticide. In the case of red spider, sy¬ 
ringe the foliage heavily whenever the out¬ 
side conditions permit, and occasionally 
wash the leaves, particularly the undersides, 
with a soft sponge. Scale is best removed 
by sponging. A weak solution of soft soap 
in the water will assist in their removal. 
When going over the plants for cleaning 
purposes any of the back growths that have 
flowered and become unsightly may be cut 
away. A growth of three years’ standing 
can be of no benefit to the plant unless it 
be for the purpose of increasing the stock 
or size of the specimen. To do this the 
rhizome must be severed between the growths. 
H. J. Chapman. 
+++ 
Horticultural Societies’ 
Diary 
of Forthcoming Events. 
Abbreviations used. 
A.—Association 
Am.—Amateurs 
Ohy.—Chrysanthemum 
c.m.—Committee meeting 
Oott.—Cottage or Cottagers 
D.—District 
G.—Gardening or gardener 
Thus :—The Templeton 
Gardeners, Amateurs’ and 
ment Horticultural Society. 
H.—Horticultural 
M.L—Mutual Improve¬ 
ment 
m.m.—Monthly meeting 
S.—Society 
w.m.—Weekly meeting 
G. Am. and Oott. M.I.H.S. 
Cottagers’ Mutual Improve- 
= Rhododendrons. = 
Picking Off 
Seed Pods. 
Now the flowering season is over at¬ 
tention should be given to this, especially 
where named collections are grown, and 
to young stock that is wanted to fill the 
space quickly. I am aware this is out 
of the question where large quantities 
are grown, or where the plants are large 
and high, such as those of R. nobleana 
that one sees at Bicton 20 ft. high and 
probably 100 years of age. But this is 
no excuse for those who grow them in 
limited quantities. 
Every one conversant with plant life 
knows that seed bearing is very exhaust¬ 
ing. This applies as much to these as 
to Indian and other Azaleas. Many 
years ago when these large specimens 
used to be exhibited by Baines, Turner, 
of Slough, and others. I then served in 
a garden where these were grown into big 
specimens and sold for exhibition. One 
of the main points our .chief used to en¬ 
force on us was the removing of all seed 
pods, which was a tiresome business. 
With Rhododendrons it is a simple 
matter and quickly done by holding the 
shoot in one hand, taking the seed head 
in the other, and twisting it out. It is 
advisable to do it if possible immediately 
the bloom is dead. Seldom have the 
young growths begun to shoot, which is 
just below the flower truss. 
When looking over some young plants 
to-day in our garden I could not but notice 
the marked difference in plants that had 
bloomed profusely and those otherwise. 
The latter had growths a foot long, while 
the former had not moved in growth. 
This has- been a fine season for them. 
Late kinds when grown in cold, sunless 
positions are still in bloom. CON. 
-- 
August. 
5 th.—Wilton H.S. (Show); Horsforth 
G.M.I.S. (w.m.); Walsall Florists’ 
S. (m.m.); Four Elms G.S. (m.m.). 
6th.— R.H.S. (Exhibition of flowers and 
fruit at the Royal Horticultural 
Hall, Westminster; lecture at 
3 p.m. by Mr. A. Bedford on 
“Water Lilies”); Abbey Park 
(Leicester) Flower Show ( 2 days); 
Bournemouth and D.G.M.I.A. 
(m.m.); Professional G. Friendly 
Benefit S. (m.m.); Stirling and 
D.H.A. (Excursion); Yeovil and 
D.G.S. (m.m.). 
7th.—Wood Green and D. Am. H.S. 
(monthly exhibition and distribu¬ 
tion of July Show prizes); Bideford 
and D.H.S. (m.m.); Newpoit 
(Mon.) and D.G.M.I.A. (m.m.); 
Sheffield FI. and H.S. (m.m.); 
Tibshelf FI. H. and Rose S. (m.m.) 
8th.—Midland Carnation and Picotee S. 
(show at Botanical Gardens, Edg- 
baston, 2 days); Swanage H. and 
Industrial S. (Show); Woking H.A. 
(m.m.). 
qth.—Weybridge and D.H.S. (m.m.). 
10th.—Royal Botanic Society of London 
(anniversary meeting 1 o'clock); 
Leeds Pattton S. (w.m.). 
“ Tourist Guide to the Continent.” 
This is the title of an attractive little 
book written by Mr. Percy Lindley, and 
published at 30, Fleet Street, E.C., for 
the Great Eastern Railway Company. 
It is liberally and w T ell illustrated and 
provided with several excellent maps, 
which should prove exceedingly useful. 
Particulars of new tours are given, via 
Holland, in North Germany, including 
the Harz Mountains, and Thuringian 
Mountains; in South Germany of the less 
known side valleys of the Rhine; in Bel¬ 
gium, via Antwerp, of fresh tours in the 
Ardennes and among the old Flemish 
cities, Mr. Lindley proves an entertain¬ 
ing and careful guide. 
-- 
TRADE NOTICE. 
Wolverhampton Floral Fete. 
Messrs. Webb and Sons, the King’s seedsmen, 
Wordsley, Stourbridge, exhibited Gloxinias, 
Sweet Peas, vegetables and fruit, covering 200 
superficial feet of space. The Gloxinias re¬ 
presented this firm's “ Exhibition ” strain, and 
were perfect in habit of growth, and also 
possessed the merit of producing blooms of 
excellent substance, exceedingly diverse in 
colouring, and in great profusion. The col¬ 
lection of about 80 varieties of Sweet Peas, 
grown at Messrs. Webb’s Kinver seed farms, 
created a charming effect. The vegetable and 
fruit section included splendid examples of 
Melons, Tomatos, Cucumbers, Peas, Beans, 
Carrots, Cauliflowers, etc. 
