G8 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
JaniAry  25,  1900 
experience,  and  has  done  damage  to  the  plants  such  as  I  have  never 
before  observed.” 
After  the  remarks  in  the  preceding  paragraph  havirg  particular 
relation  to  the  number  of  plants,  ve  need  frame  no  excuse  for  the 
omission  of  names.  Not  that  the  whole  are  named — indeed  oi  ly  a 
small  moiety  are  so  distinguished,  and,  needless  to  say,  these  are  the 
cream  of  the  collection.  There  is  a  wonderful  variation  in  the  colour 
and  size  of  the  flowers,  while  differences  in  the  shape  of  the  blooms 
and  in  the  foliage  are  by  no  means  uncommon.  Every  good  form 
that  is  procurable  finds  a  place  at  The  Woodlands,  and,  as  a  con¬ 
sequence,  what  with  these  and  big  consignments  of  imported  stock, 
the  numbers  are  rapidly  and  prrsistently  increasing.  Cypripediums 
are  not,  however,  solely  confined  to  the  insigne  section,  but  comprise 
also  hundreds  of  species  and  hybrids  from  various  sources,  as  well  as 
many  that  have  been  raised  on  the  place.  Needless  to  say  some  of 
these  are  extremely  rare  and  valuable,  and  numbers  of  them  are 
strikingly  handsome.  These,  too,  have  suffered  with  the  insignia 
from  the  untoward  season  they  have  just  experienced. 
Apart  from  the  Cypripedium  insigne.  The  Woodlands  is  world- 
renowned  amongst  orchidists  as  being  the  home  of  the  finest  collection 
of  Laelio-Cattlej  a  elegans  in  the  world.  For  a  number  of  years 
additions  have  been  made,  and  extension  is  still  in  progress.  Several 
of  the  forms  are  of  surprising  beauty,  and  it  is  seldom  indeed  that  one 
can  enter  the  house  without  finding  something  to  admire  beyond  the 
handsome  plants.  Needless  to  say  this  is  not  exactly  a  time  of  plenty. 
Lselia  purpurata  again  is  largely  represented,  as  indeed  are  practically 
all  Orchids.  Odontoglossums,  Cypripediums,  Cymbidiums,  and  others 
are  planted  out  in  various  places,  and  luxuriate  in  the  treatment  to 
which  they  are  subjected.  Phalaenopsis  have  been  a  source  of  trouble 
in  the  fcg,  and  their  condition  on  one  Sunday  morning  after  a  Saturday 
night  fog  was  so  bad  that  every  leaf  had  to  be  immediately  sponged, 
and  even  after  such  prompt  measures  some  of  the  leaves  were  destroyed. 
Cattleyas  and  minor  sections  also  have  due  attentun,  and  the  whole  of 
them  are  thoroughly  well  grown. 
Mr.  Coles’ charge,  however,  is  not  one  of  Orchids  alone;  on  the 
contrary,  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  outdoor  work  to  be  done, 
particularly  in  the  }  reduction  of  vegetables  and  flowers  in  abundance. 
Indoors  it  is  mainly  Orchids,  but  one  house  of  fair  size  is  completely 
filled  with  Carnations,  mainly  of  the  Malmaison  section,  w'hose  con¬ 
dition  proves  that  with  the  culture  of  these,  as  with  that  of  Orchid.^, 
this  quiet  and  unobtrusive  gardener  is  perfectly  conversant. — H.  W. 
CLIMBERS  FOR  COOL  CONSERVATORIES. 
In  ordinary  plant  houses  in  which  plants  are  grown  for  the 
embellishment  of  conservatories  and  other  decorative  work,  it  is  not 
usually  a  wise  plan  to  have  creepers  growing  on  the  roof,  for  although 
at  certain  seasons  they  may  not  be  inimical  to  the  welfare  of  plants 
beneath,  nevertheless  there  are  times  when  they  prove  a  great  drawback 
to  plant  culture.  In  the  case  of  a  conservatory,  however,  the  matter 
is  somewhat  different,  as  the  majority  of  plants  only  make  a  brief 
stay  in  that  structure  during  the  time  they  are  in  full  beauty,  and 
the  slight  shade  given  by  the  climb^is  is  often  beneficial  rather  than 
otherwise.  A  roof  lightly  draped  with  attractive  flowering  plants 
also  adds  much  to  the  general  effect,  and  for  this  reason  no  con¬ 
servatory  can  be  considered  complete  without  its  quota  of  climbing 
plants. 
In  connection  with  their  management,  however,  one  point  should 
be  rigorously  kept  in  view — viz.,  to  keep  the  shoots  thinly  disposed, 
which  is  a  far  different  matter  from  allowing  them  to  form  a  dense 
thicket  to  the  detriment  of  nearly  all  plants  beneath  ;  moreover,  one 
good  shoot  thoroughly  exposed  will  produce  more  and  better  flowers 
in  a  year  than  half  a  dozen  when  closely  crowded. 
The  rose  and  white  varieties  of  Lapageria  are  extremely  popular, 
as  the  flowers  are  always  useful  for  decorative  work,  and  when  the 
shoots  are  trained  to  the  roof  of  a  conservatory  the  pendulous  flowers 
are  displayed  to  advantage.  If  planted  out  in  fresh  loamy  soil  at  the 
back  of  the  hot  water  pipes,  and  given  abundance  of  water  during  the 
growing  season,  they  may  be  relied  on  to  produce  numbers  of  strong 
suckers  annually  when  once  the  plants  are  well  established,  but  they 
often  need  a  little  extra  attention  for  a  year  or  two  to  get  them  to 
start  freely.  Liberal  syringings  are  of  great  assistance  to  Lapa- 
gerias  during  the  growing  season.  Few  insects  attack  them,  the 
most  troublesome  being  white  scale,  which  should  be  thoroughly 
dealt  with  by  sponging  and  syringing  with  an  insecticide  as  soon  as 
the  slightest  trace  is  observed.  In  order  to  keep  the  growth  thinly 
disposed  it  is  a  good  plan  to  remove  some  of  the  old  shoots  during 
winter,  as  with  healthy  plants  there  is  usually  not  much  difficulty  in 
securing  plenty  of  young  growths,  which  ought  to  be  regularly— yet 
loosely — tied  in  as  they  extend,  otherwise  they  have  a  tendency  to  coil 
round  the  trellis  and  get  broken  when  disentangled.  When  planted 
on  the  south  side  of  a  house  a  light  shade  should  be  given  during 
the  summer. 
Passifloras  have  few  equals  in  their  capacity  to  cover  the  roof  of 
a  large  house  quickly,  and  when  the  allotted  space  is  occupied  the 
shoots  lequite  thinning  several  times  during:  the  summer,  or  they  will 
form  a  perfect  thicket.  When  tying  the  sheets  if  a  few  moderately^ 
long  ones  are  allowed  to  hang  naturally  below  the  trellis  they  have  a 
very  pretty  effect  when  in  flower.  P.  cceiulea,  though  old,  is  still 
worth  growing,  as  the  beautiful  markings  of  the  flowers  need  close 
examination  to  find  their  true  charm.  P.  Constance  Elliott  is,  I 
think,  the  best  white  variety  I  have  seen;  it  ought  to  be  grown  in 
every  large  conservatory.  Two  excellent  deep  red  forms  are  P.  racemosa 
and  P.  Eaddiana.  If  these  are  planted  near  the  white  ones  already 
named,  so  that  the  shoots  may  intermix,  a  fine  effect  is  obtained.. 
Good  loam  enriched  with  a  third  of  decayed  manure  will  grow  all  the 
greenhoufe  Paesifloras  well. 
Hoya  carnosa,  tlough  not  one  of  the  showiest  of  plants  luitable 
for  covering  roofs  or  training  under  rafters,  is  certainly  worth  growing, 
as  the  wax-like  pinkish  white  flowers  are  always  admired,  and  form 
pretty  and  uncommon  buttonholes.  This  plant  is  well  adapted  for  a 
small  conservatory.  It  succeeds  in  a  pot,  and  requires  a  compost  formed 
of  peat  and  fibrous  loam  in  equal  quantities.  During  winter  the  soil 
should  be  kept  dry,  but  not  sufficiently  so  to  cause  the  leaves  to  shrivel. 
An  old  favourite.  Plumbago  capensis,  still  finds  a  home  in  many  a 
conservatory;  an  ideal  position  for  it  is  against  a  tall  pillar  near  the 
centre  of  a  house  ;  the  young  shoots  can  then  be  allowed  to  grow  at 
will,  and  in  summer  time  will  then  form  a  wavy  mass  of  delightful 
blue.  Keep  the  soil  dry  during  winter,  and  prune  hard,  are  the  only 
cultural  details  which  need  be  given,  as  the  plant  is  not  in  the  least 
particular  in  regard  to  soil.  For  walls  and  rafters  Habrothamnus 
elegans  is  a  striking  and  floriferous  plant.  If  planted  in  good  loamy 
soil  enriched  with  a  third  of  manure,  strong  growths  are  made  which 
produce  fine  pendulous  clusters  of  flowers  at  the  points.  The  best 
results  are  obtained  by  keeping  the  plants  rather  dry  at  the  root 
in  winter  and  growing  hard  in  spring.  It  is,  however,  quite  possible 
to  keep  them  in  steady  progress  throughout  the  winter.  The  varie¬ 
gated  variety,  argentea,  is  also  highly  attractive. 
Ivy-leaved  Pelargoniums  are  by  no  means  to  be  despised  as  wall  or 
roof  plants.  Strong  growing  varieties  as  Souvenir  de  Charles  Turner 
and  Kobert  Owen  are  seen  to  the  best  advantage  when  trained  in 
such  positions,  as  they  require  plenty  of  room  to  ramble,  and  the 
growths  should,  of  course,  be  thinly  trained.  The  only  objection  I 
know  to  their  use  as  climbers  is  their  tendency  to  become  infested 
with  green  fly,  which  often  necessitates  fumigating  a  house  whin  the 
other  occupants  are  free  from  insects — a  rather  expensive  proceeding. 
All  the  strong  growing  Fuchsias  make  excellent  rafter  plants, 
and  when  once  established  they  flower  grandly  year  after  year  with 
comparatively  little  trouble,  beyond  watering  and  feeding  freely  during 
summer.  When  I  visited  the  famous  gardens  at  Chatsworth  some 
twenty  years  ago  the  Fuchsias  trained  to  the  roof  of  one  structure 
were  a  revelation  to  mp>,  as  I  thought  I  had  never  before  seen  their 
charms  displayed  to  such  fine  advantage.  Few  gardeners  seem,  to  be 
aware  that  the  very  useful  Asparagus  plumosus  is  an  excellent  green¬ 
house  climber,  which  will  thrive  in  quite  a  cool  house  throughout  the 
year  if  planted  in  a  border  formed  of  loam  and  peat.  The  border 
should  be  watered  as  required  during  winter  as  well  as  summer; 
growth  is  then  continually  going  on,  and  strong  shoots  are  frequently 
sent  up  from  the  stool  to  replace  any  which  are  worn  out  though  age. 
Where  large  quantities  of  this  Asparagus  are  required  for  cutting, 
walls  and  roofs  of  cool  houses  should  be  covered  with  it,  so  that 
“armfuls ”  may  be  cut  when  needed. 
Any  climbing  Eoses,  part'cularly  such  fine  varieties  as  Climbing 
Devoniensis,  Alister  Stella  Gray,  Climbing  Niphetos,  Climbing  Perle  des 
Jardins,  Mardchal  Niel,  Eeine  Marie  Henriette,  and  W.  A.  Eichardson, 
are  well  known  to  be  admirably  adapted  for  training  to  the  roofs  of 
greenhouses  and  conservatories.  The  selection  above  given,  is,  I  trust, 
varied  enough  to  suit  the  tastes  of  all,  and  those  who  have  a  house 
large  enough  to  enable  them  to  plant  the  whole  collection  should  be 
able  to  produce — during  the  spring  and  summer  months — a  wealth  of 
varied  and  beautiful  flowers  to  meet  the  upturned  eye,  which,  for  a 
time,  is  raised  from  the  pleasing  task  of  viewing  the  floral  gems 
arrayed  beneath.  With  beauty  above,  below,  and  all  round,  who 
would  not  be  happy  in  a  well-managed  conservatory  ? — H.  D. 
Snow  Protection  in  Forests. — Snow  is  often  very  injurious  in 
Pine  forests  by  breaking  down  and  crushing  the  young  trees,  especially 
if  the  snow  is  wet  when  it  falls.  This  injury  is  difficult  to  guard 
against,  but  in  forest  planting  it  is  well  to  remember,  says  a  trans¬ 
atlantic  contemporary,  that  very  tall  thin  trees  suffer  most.  Choose 
those  whose  growth  in  diameter  and  weight  keep  better  pace  with 
their  height.  In  many  regions  snow  is  very  useful  in  protecting  the 
soil  and  young  trees,  so  that  the  harm  it  does  is  usually  more  than, 
counteracted  by  its  benefits. 
