January 25, 1913. 
THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE. 
❖ V 
X 
i WORK FOR THE WEEK. % 
THE ORCHID HOUSES. 
SKKD SOWING. —Many of tho winter- 
flowerinji: cyprii)odiuni« will have matured* 
their w^ed*. and others will ripen during the 
next few weeks. It is desirame that a por¬ 
tion of the seeds should be sown at what¬ 
ever season they may ripen, immediately 
the pod bursts, the remainder being made 
secure and held over for more favourable 
conditions. It is not always oonvenient to 
find suitable seed beds ready to take the 
peed, or plants 'chat will not "need repotting 
during tlie coming season, although 1 advo¬ 
cate sowing on the compost of plants that 
have been undisturbed for a long period. 
We have to prepare suitable seed beds as a 
rule before any quantity of seeds are sown, 
but it will usually be observed that the i 
K” 
sown on prepared surfaces and on freshly- 
potted plants, that in many cases it has 
taken a long time to germinate; and where 
polypodium or osmunda fibre has been used 
m the potting compost, the seed has rarely 
germinated under a vear. It is advisable 
to use as far as pvssible at the present time 
such .surfaces os may be available from 
among the plants that will not require re¬ 
potting. Sow the seed thinly. 
WINTKR - FliOWKRINO CYPRIPE- 
DIUMS.—Now that so many of the winter- 
flowerinj^ cyprinediums have passed out of 
bloom, it 18 dewiruble to repot or divide 
those nc^ing it, and prepare the surface 
so that it may be ready to receive the seed 
as occasions demand. In mixing the com¬ 
post. see that it is porous and of a lasting 
nature, and to retard the overgrowth of 
sphagnum moss the heads may be picked 
off before the moss is finely chopped. 
ODONTOGLOSSUM SEEDS will also be 
ripening now. and some portion should be 
immediately sown, the remainder being held 
over until »the lighter days. These germi¬ 
nate ^t when sown around plants of their 
own kind, or closely allied genera. When 
find it difficult to secure germination unless 
there is a portion of leaf-soil in the ’potting 
compost. We use nothing but peat, sphag¬ 
num, and broken leaves for our odontoglS- 
suins, TO that we have generally little trouble 
in finding suitable seed beds. Care is neces- 
^y when watering to prevent the seeds 
CBi^iully dip th« poU containing seeds, 
w that there may be no danger of the seeds 
being floated away. I am convinced that 
many failures may be traced to carelessness 
J. Chapman, Oakwood Gar- 
CONSERVATORY AND GREEN¬ 
HOUSE. 
SCHIZANTHUSES. - The Wisetonensis 
and retusus varieties of these delightful an- 
nuals are indispensable for conservatorv 
decoration during late spring and early sum"- 
mer. The plants which were raised in the 
autumn are growing on shelves in a cool 
gi^nhouse. Their chief requirements now 
will be timely attention to shifting into 
larger pots, staking, and careful watering. 
A compost of loam, leaf-soil, and sand or 
lime rubble, will be suitable. The staking 
must be done efficiently, but neatly. Give 
plenty of fresh air when the weather is 
favourable, and use fire-heat sparingly. 
MIGNONETTE.—^The autumn-sown plants 
must be kept growing as near to the glass 
as possible in a cool greenhouse. The^ will 
be useful for their fragrance either in the 
conservatory or dwelling during the spring 
months. Some mild stimulants must be 
given the plants when they begin to develop 
their flower spikes. Another sowing may be 
made now. 
CELSIA ABCTURUS. — This is a most 
useful pot plant for use in the conservatory. 
It must not be hurried by the use of fire 
heat, or the flower spikes will be weak. 
Plenty of stimulating manure when develop¬ 
ing their floivera is needed. 
CINERARIAS AND CALCEOLARIAS.— 
These should, if possible, be grown on a 
cool base, such as coal ashes or gravel; and, 
although they do best in a cool greenhouse, 
they must not be subjected to cold draughts. 
Give them plenty of feeding when their final 
pots are full of roots. They are very sub¬ 
ject to attacks of aphis, and should be 
lightly fumigated occasionally to keep them 
clean. 
a mined frequently, and those which have 
rooted must be placed on a shelf near the 
glass in a cool house. Do not expose them 
to cold draughts. Old stools which are 
• being retained for stock must be kept near 
the glass in a cool house, and if they are pro¬ 
ducing too many cuttings, the most for¬ 
ward should be removed. 
BULBS.—Any bulbs which are still buried 
in ashes must be examined, as the unusually 
mild weather will have encouraged them to 
grow freely. Move them to a cold frame 
until they are required for forcing. 
LACHENALIAS.—These will need liquid 
manure and soot-water as the pots b^me 
filled with roots. Keep them growing near 
the gla^ in the cool greenhouse. They may 
be subjected to gentle forcing when the 
flower spikes appear, should it be desirable 
to hMten their flowering. — E. Harriss, 
Lockinge Park Gardens. 
HARDY FRUITS. 
WALL TREES.—With the exception of 
peach and nectarine trees, we always com¬ 
mence and push forward as fast as possible 
with the pruning and nailing of all wall 
fruit trees as soon as che leaves have fallen 
in the autumn, beginning with those on 
the coldest aspects. If, however, through 
pressure of other work, these trees have so 
far been neglected, I would strongly urge 
that the work be taken in hand at once, and 
be proceeded with as quickly as possible, so 
that vhe branches, etc., may receive a tho¬ 
rough cleansing before the buds become too 
advanced. 
MORELLO CHERRIES.—These bear the 
finest fruit on sturdy young growths, so 
that when attending to the trees during their 
growing season, suitable shoots should be 
^tain^ to take the place of those which 
have Iwrne fruits, and are not required for 
extension. It is not necessary to take down 
the whole of the trees if the main branches 
^ equally balanced, but great care should 
oe taken to see that none of the old ties or 
shreds are pinching the bark. Spur back 
to a couple of buds all weak shoots and 
"P spaces, 
and train all the shoots as straight as pos- 
sent a good appearance. It takes no longer 
^dly‘“AimT train it 
Daaiy. Aim to keep the whole of the wall^ 
Tan'^stnT the t^ with 
Clean sturdy, fruiting wood. Youn? 
balanced, will need^ to be 
taken from the walls and have t1^ maTn 
shoots regularly placed and made secure be¬ 
fore commencing to fill in the bare spaces 
with the young fruiting shoots, and those 
required to form an eveu-balanoed head 
PLUMS.—When pruning and regulating 
the branches of plums, I strongly advi4 
the retention of plenty of young wood 
Although the plum fruits well on the spur 
system, I have always had the best crops 
produced from young two-year-old wood 
closely nailed to the walls, and in some sea¬ 
sons some capital fruits have been grown 
on the previous year’s wood. Any old trees 
that yield only scanty crops, and that are 
really not worth the room and labour, should 
be grubbed out. Among our most dependable 
varieties at Wrotham are Early Transparent 
Gage, Guilin’s Golden Gage. Washington 
Jefferson, Denniston Superb, Coe’s Goldeii 
Drop, Victoria, Monarch, Grand Duke Gis¬ 
borne, and Pershore. Thoroughly prepare 
the station for all young trees, and fill up 
with good loam, etc. In the case of narrow 
borders, first trench the whole two feet six 
inches deep, and then set out the stations 
for the reception of the trees, 17 or 18 feet 
aparo.— H. Markham, Wrotham Park Gar¬ 
dens. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
POTATOES.—Where new potatoes are re¬ 
quired early in the seaTOn, the tubers should 
now be planted either in pots or heated pits. 
For pots the soil should be of a rich, open 
nature, and IQin. pots are a useful size for 
the purpose; half fill the pot with soil when 
planting, and add more soil when the growths 
are sufficiently advanced; that is, when they 
are showing above the j^t level. An early 
peach houTO or vinery will afford the neces¬ 
sary conditions for starting the tubers. 
Water should: carefully given in the early 
stages of forcing. When making use of 
heated pits a mild hotbed materially assists 
and hastens early production; it is, of course, 
not a necessity where top heat is at com¬ 
mand. The soil should be in good condition, 
and well warmed through previous to intro¬ 
ducing the tubers. Light, sandy loam, with 
a liberal addition of well-rotted leaf-mould, 
spent mushroom bed manure, and wood ashes 
which have been well mixed, should be placed 
in the pit to a depth of nine or ten inches. 
Soil previously used for frames, and again 
pressed into service, will require the addi¬ 
tion of a goodly portion of the above com¬ 
post. Potatoes may also be forced in un¬ 
heated pits, but in this case a good body of 
fermenting material is necessary to main¬ 
tain a regular and continuous warmth, and 
adequate protection must be afforded during 
severe weather. This method entails a con¬ 
siderable amount of labour and watchfulness. 
The tubers should be well sprouted prepara¬ 
tory to planting, and further batches should 
be introduced into slight heat for planting in 
cold frames. Sharpe’s Express is an excel¬ 
lent forcing variety. 
SOWING SEEDS FOR EARLY CROPS.— 
A sowing should now be made in pots, pane, 
or boxes, according to requirements, of tb^ 
^all early maturing cabbages; Sutton’s 
Earliest and Tender and True are early, and 
form a succession. Also letfcuce of the Tom 
Thumb and Golden Ball class, and onions, 
celery, and leeks, if desired for exhibition 
purposes. As a succession to the December- 
raised tomatoes, which are usually fruited 
in pots, make a further sowing for pot cul¬ 
ture or planting out. Towards the end ot 
the month is quite early enough to'" sow the 
first batch of cucumbers, and one seed should 
be inserted in a 3in. pot, using fresh l<»m— 
from eel worms and wireworms—^with a 
liberal addition of leaf-mould and sand, ft 
is a good plan to insert the seed upright m 
a pinch of sand, as I find this hastens gen- 
miniation, and the danger of the seeds st¬ 
ring is thereby greatly reduced. ^ 
tomato and cucumber seeds should be placed 
1^ brisk heat, and covered up until germina- 
non i:akes place. A temperature from 50 to 
55 deg. will suffice for the cabbage, lettuce, 
onions, etc., and these should be covered to 
exclude light until the young seedlings a^ 
^ar.— W. Messsenger, Woolverstone Park 
Gardens. 
