January  11,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
25 
question  for  those  whose  trees  have  to  travel  long  distances  by  rail, 
tor  to  despatch  trees  safely  by  rail  one  must  wait  until  the  bulk  of  the 
leaves  are  fallen. 
I  also  agree  with  your  correspondent  that  there  is  a  time  for 
planting  late  in  the  spring,  when  trees  are  on  the  point  of  bursting 
into  leaf,  and  even  when  the  leaves  are  partly  unfolded,  when, 
provided  the  soil  is  in  good  condition  and  the  trees  are  lifted  and 
replanted  immediately,  they  seem  to  suffer  no  check.  But  this, 
again,  is  of  no  use  to  the  ordinary  planter  who  has  to  procure  his 
trees  from  a  distance,  for  with  a  long  journey  the  roots  would  be  dried 
and  the  leaves  shrivelled. 
Where  I  join  issue  with  your  correspondent  is  in  considering  that 
all  the  time  betw'een  these  two  extreme  points  of  the  planting  season 
is  an  unsuitable  period  for  planting.  Every  gardener,  nurseryman,  or 
market  grower  knows  from  long  practical  experience  that  fruit  trees 
may  be  planted  with  safety  at  any  time  between  November  and 
March,  and  that  if  one  can  lift  and  replant  at  once  the  season  may 
be  extended  both  ways  if  the  weather  be  favourable.  But  the  point 
which  I  think  it  is  most  needful  to  impress  upon  the  inexperienced 
is,  that,  no  matter  what  the  month  is,  the  great  factor  to  insure 
successful  planting  is  that  the  land  shall  be  in  good  condition  at  the 
time  the  trees  are  placed  in  their  final  positions. 
It  will  not  need  much  explanation  to  show  that  upon  strong, 
sticky  soils,  in  districts  where  the  average  rainfall  is  at  all  heavy, 
this  must  mean  early  planting,  for  when  the  winter’s  rains  have 
fallen  these  soils  are,  as  a  rule,  difficult  to  plant  satisfactorily.  Again, 
we  all  know  that  certain  stock,  such  as  Koses,  Briars,  and  a  few 
other  things,  succeed  best  when  planted  early  ;  yet  even  here  the 
exigencies  of  business  or  stress  of  weather  often  upset  the  routine 
of  a  nurseryman’s  wmrk,  and  I  find,  on  referring  to  my  diary,  that 
in  18r*2  we  were  planting  standard  Briars  March  21st  which  should 
have  been  in  before  Christmas,  and  that  the  result  was  a  good  growth. 
Setting  aside  exceptional  soils  and  subjects,  I  maintain  that  trees 
planted  when  the  land  is  in  good  condition  succeed  equally  well  if 
planted  in  November,  December,  January,  or  February. 
Experiments  upon  this  point  have  been  undertaken  at  the  Duke  of 
Bedford’s  Experimental  Fruit  Farm,  the  results  of  which  We  shall 
look  forward  to  seeing  in  print  ;  but  so  far  as  they  have  gone,  1  think 
they  bear  out  my  statement  that  the  date  during  the  months  named 
has  much  less  to  do  with  successful  planting  than  has  the  condition  of 
the  soil.  I  always  hold  that  trees  cannot  be  satisfactorily  planted  in 
mud,  and  therefore  if  trees  arrive  when  the  ground  is  in  a  bad  state, 
either  through  too  much  wet  or  the  break  up  of  a  frost,  they  should 
be  laid  in  a  trench,  with  the  roots  well  buried,  until  the  land  is  in  a 
fit  state  for  planting,  be  that  in  a  week  or  a  month  ;  indeed,  when 
any  considerable  number  of  trees  have  to  be  dealt  with  they  should 
always  be  laid  in  a  trench  prior  to  planting,  as  nothing  is  more 
injurious  to  trees  than  to  have  their  roots  exposed  for  hours,  or  even 
days,  to  the  influence  ot  drying  winds  or  sun. 
One  other  point  about  planting  is  that  the  treos  should  be  looked 
after  when  the  planting  is  finished.  In  these  dayr,  when  so  much 
has  been  written  about  careful  planting,  it  is  rare  that  one  hears  of 
really  bad  work,  such  as  a  correspondent  related  to  me  a  while  ago. 
He  said  to  me,  “My  neighbour,  Mr.  So-and-so,  has  had  some  trees 
from  you;  and  if  they  die,  you  ask  him  how  they  were  planted. 
I  saw  the  work  done,  and  it  was  in  this  manner  :  The  holes  excavated 
were  about  the  size  of  a  good  silk  hat,  and  the  trees  were  twisted 
round  to  get  the  roots  in,  and  then  some  soil  was  thrown  on  the  top, 
and  a  stamp  of  the  heel  given  to  complete  the  operation.”  This, 
although  told  as  related  to  me,  is,  I  venture  to  think,  an  extreme 
picture,  yet  trees  must  be  badly  planted  or  shockingly  neglected 
afterwards  to  account  for  so  many  dying. 
As  a  rule  the  man  whose  trees  die  is  the  man  who  purchases  a 
dozen,  out  of  which  half  die  ;  the  man  who  buys  500  sometimes  loses 
two  or  three.  Now  I  venture  to  guess  that  the  dozen  trees  were  days 
out  of  the  ground  before  being  planted — I  have  known  them  to  lie  in 
a  back  yard  a  week — whilst  the  500  would  be  put  in  the  ground  as 
fast  as  men  cou  d  lay  them  in.  But  even  when  planted  the  work  is 
not  over,  and  trees  which  are  removed  late  in  the  spring  should 
have  the  ground  around  them  constantly  stirred  with  the  hoe  to  fill 
up  all  cracks  and  prevent  evaporation  from  the  soil. 
During  the  last  few  years  we  have  transplanted  annually  some  2000 
to  4000  fruit  trees,  and  this  at  a  time  when  all  sales  have  ceased,  owing 
to  the  season  being  so  far  advanced.  In  1897  we  did  not  finish  till 
April  15th,  and  the  men  planting  the  trees  said  they  would  all  die ; 
nevertheless  by  constantly  stirring  the  ground  with  the  hoe,  watering 
being  quite  out  of  the  question,  our  losses  have  not  averaged  more 
than  two  trees  in  1000,  whilst  the  trees  thus  removed  have  carried 
crops  of  fruit  fit  for  an  exhibition  table.  Some  trained  trees  trans¬ 
planted  April  15th,  1897,  have  this  year  (a  dry  season)  shoots  from 
6  to  7  feet  in  length,  and  trained  Apricots  removed  late  in  March 
this  year  have  shoots  Ij  to  2  feet  high.  All  this  I  attribute  to 
careful  planting,  and  to  the  use  of  the  hoe  on  the  surface  of  the  soil, 
and  I  am  sure  that  if  more  attention  were  paid  to  this  form  of  cultiva¬ 
tion  we  should  not  see  so  many  stunted  looking  trees  about  our 
gardens  and  plantations. 
In  conclusion  let  me  add  that  I  hope  your  correspondent 
“  H.  K.  E.”  will  not  say  that  my  examples  are  all  culled  from  late 
planting.  I  notice  these  as  cases  where  difficulties  were  overcome. 
The  so  called  dead  time  of  January  and  February  is,  when  the  bulk  of  a 
nurseryman’s  work  is  of  necessity  obliged  to  bo  done,  and  I  think  that 
the  results  will,  as  a  rule,  bear  comparison  with  any  planting  done  at 
what  is  generally  considered  a  more  favourable  time,  the  exceptions 
being  where  land  was  planted  when  too  wet  ;  when  this  has  been 
done  the  result  can  generally  be  seen  for  more  than  one  season. 
These  remarks  are  int'^nded  to  applv  chiefly  to  fruit  trees ;  where 
evergreens  and  Conifers  have  to  be  taken  into  consideration  I  should 
not  advise  planting  during  the  early  months  of  the  year. — 
A.  H.  Pearson,  Chihoell  Nurseries,  Notts. 
GLOXINIAS. 
The  Gloxinia  occupies  a  prominent  position  among  stove  tuberous- 
rooted  flowering  plants.  With  a  good  collection  of  tubers  flowers 
may  be  produced  from  April  to  October.  Large  tubers  make  a  con¬ 
siderable  amount  of  growth,  and  when  in  bloom  are  very  attractive. 
Medium  sized  tubers  form  neat  and  effective  plants  for  general  deco¬ 
ration  in  an  intermediate  house.  During  summer  greenhouse  treat¬ 
ment  suits  Gloxinias,  though  small  tubers  and  seedlings  grow  better 
in  a  moister  atmosphere. 
In  commencing  the  culture  of  Gloxinias,  perhaps  the  most  inter¬ 
esting  method  is  to  raise  tubers  from  seeds.  A  temperature  of  65° 
is  requisite  for  this.  In  a  well  heated  stove  this  heat  can  usually  be 
maintained  in  February,  which  is  a  good  time  to  sow  seed.  It  may 
be  sown  iu  January  in  bottom  heat  not  below  65°,  only  care  must  be 
exercised  that  the  seedlings  receive  no  check.  The  compost  employed 
should  consist  of  sandy  peat,  leaf  soil,  and  sand,  well  intermixed  and 
used  moist.  Place  this  in  well  drained  pots  or  shallow  seed  pans. 
Make  smooth  and  level  on  the  surface,  and  give  a  gentle  watering. 
When  the  water  has  drained  away  scatter  the  seed  thinly  on  the 
surface,  and  follow  with  a  slight  dusting  of  sand — fine  white  sand. 
To  lessen  the  need  for  water,  which  ought  not  to  be  required  unt'l 
the  seed  has  germinated,  cover  the  pan  or  pot  with  glass,  and  darken 
with  moss  or  paper.  If  not  sowm  too  thickly  the  seedlings  will  grow 
sturdily  from  the  first. 
When  the  plantlets  are  of  sufficient  size  to  be  lifted  with  a  label 
they  may  be  removed  from  the  seed  pan,  transferring  to  a  similarly 
prepared  pan,  placing  them  an  inch  apart  where  they  will  be  able 
to  strengthen  prior  to  potting  them  singly  in  small  pots.  Heat, 
moisture,  aad  subdued  liaht,  with  the  pots  standing  on  a  moist  base, 
are  essential  matters  in  encouraging  growth.  Under  these  conditions 
great  advances  in  growth  will  be  made,  and  before  the  summer  is 
over,  or  at  least  in  autumn,  these  early  raised  seedlings  will  commence 
to  flower.  They  cannot  flower  so  profusely  as  larger  tubers,  but  even 
if  only  a  few  blooms  are  produced  it  serves  to  show  the  character  of 
the  plant  and  the  colour  and  quality  of  the  bloom.  In  autumn  the 
tubers  may  gradually  go  to  rest,  assisting  them  to  do  so  by  affording 
less  and  less  water  until  they  lose  their  foliage.  Place  the  pots  on 
their  sides  for  the  winter  in  a  cool,  dry  part  of  the  house. 
The  culture  the  second  year  commences  when  the  tubers  start  into 
growth.  They  will  do  this  naturally  in  the  pots  they  are  dried  off  in, 
but  they  must  not  be  allowed  to  do  so  for  long  before  shaking  away 
the  old  soil  and  repotting. 
The  compost  for  potting  tubers  should  be  rich  and  generous.  Beat 
and  loam  of  a  fibrous  character  may  be  broken  up  in  equal  quantities, 
adding  half  of  leaf  soil  and  half  decayed  manure  with  sand  and 
charcoal.  Place  the  tubers  just  below  the  surface,  not  burying  the 
new  young  growth.  At  first  the  pots  should  be  small,  eventually 
shifting  the  plants  into  larger  pots  when  the  first  are  filled  with  roots, 
and  in  this  size  the  plants  may  flower.  Water  must  be  given  sparingly 
at  first,  heat  and  moisture  being  the  chief  aids  to  growth,  but  as  this 
advances  increased  water  will  be  demanded  by  the  roots.  ^ 
Though  Gloxinias  enjoy  in  the  early  stages  artificial  heat  and 
moisture,  there  is  no  need  to  continue  it  all  through  the  season,  as 
when  the  plants  come  into  flower  greenhouse  treatment  is  adapted 
f(»r  them.  The  very  earliest  started  tubers  will,  however,  require  the 
continued  temperature  of  the  stove  or  intermediate  house  if  they  bloom 
before  June.  . 
Only  a  first-class  strain  of  seed  should  he  dealt  with.  The  spotted 
varieties  have  large  and  varied  flowers  with  delicate  markings, 
scarlet  and  blue  usually  are  the  predominating  colours.  If  many 
white-flowered  Gloxinias  are  required  a  packet  of  seed  of  a  white 
strain  should  be  sown  in  preference  to  depending  or  obtaining  them 
from  a  mixed  stock.  As  a  rule  the  erect-flowering  varieties  are  kept 
separate  from  the  drooping-flowered  varieties.  Both  are_  worthy^  of 
culture,  though  some  may  prefer  the  erect-flowered  varieties  as  being 
the  most  useful  and  showy  for  general  purposes.— E.  D.  S. 
