March  18,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
231 
-  Reading  Gardeners’  Society. — “  Table  Decorations”  was  the 
subject  of  an  interesting  paper  read  by  Mr.  Powell  of  Park  Place 
Gardens,  Henley-on-Thames,  before  the  members  of  the  Reading  Gar¬ 
deners’  Mutual  Improvement  Association  on  Monday  evening  last  in 
the  Club  Room,  British  Workman.  Mr.  C.  B.  Stevens,  the  President, 
presided  over  a  large  gathering  of  members. 
-  Cool  Robbery  at  the  R.H.S. — A  cool  robbery  was  perpe¬ 
trated  at  the  R.H.S.  on  Thursday,  March  11th.  The  Council  room  was 
entered  by  a  thief,  who  quietly  and  expeditiously  appropriated  the 
overcoat  of  the  Assistant  Secretary,  Mr.  J.  Weathers,  who  was  on  the 
other  side  of  the  dividing  curtain  but  heard  nothing.  The  thief  was 
considerate  enough  to  leave  a  bundle  of  papers  from  one  of  the  pockets 
behind  him. 
-  Corylopsis  SPICATA.— On  March  5th  this  interesting  hardy 
Japanese  shrub  was  in  full  flower.  The  floWers  ai;e  primrose  yellow 
with  bright  red  anthers,  which  protrude  from  the  mouth.  They  are 
produced  eight  or  ten  together  in  pendulous  racemes  along  the  whole  of 
the  previous  year’s  growth.  The  individual  flowers  are  separated  by 
bracts  the  same  colour  as  the  flowers.  Rather  light  soil  and  a  sheltered 
position  should  be  afforded  this  plant.  Although  perfectly  hardy,  sharp¬ 
spring  frosts  sometimes  injure  the  flowers. — W. 
-  Cinerarias  and  Primulas. — Mr.  Jas.  Weeks,  gardener  to 
E.  A.  Sanders,  Esq.,  Stoke  House,  Exeter,  read  a  paper  on  the  above 
subjects  recently  at  the  Guildhall,  Exeter,  to  the  members  of  the  Devon 
and  Exeter  Gardeners’  Association.  Cineraria  cruenta,  he  said,  is  a 
native  of  the  Canary  Islands,  and  was  known  in  the  year  1777.  It  had 
taken  120  years  to  bring  the  Cineraria  to  the  perfection  it  had  now 
attained.  C.  cruenta  is  said  to  be  the  parent  of  all  the  beautiful  florists’ 
varieties,  which  are  most  ornamental  and  useful  for  the  decoration 
of  the  greenhouse  and  conservatory  during  the  winter  and  spring.  The 
Primula  could  be  grown  by  anyone  who  had  a  greenhouse  with  just 
enough  heat  to  keep  out  frost,  and  many  of  the  species  could  be  grown 
in  the  open  with  slight  protection.  Mr.  Weeks  then  dealt  with  the  best 
modes  of  culture. 
-  The  Woodbridge  Nursery. — A  well-known  East  Anglian 
nurseryman  recently  passed  away  in  the  person  of  Mr.  John  Woods  of 
the  Woodbridge  Nursery.  The  deceased  gentleman  had  attained  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty-four,  and  was  greatly  respected  both  for  his 
knowledge  of  horticulture  and  for  his  high  personal  qualities.  His 
nursery,  which  he  confined  chiefly  to  trees,  shrubs,  and  seeds,  was  one 
of  the  best  known  in  Suffolk,  and  had  been  carried  on  by  himself  and 
his  father  for  over  100  years.  In  his  prime  Mr.  Woods  was  one  of  the 
moving  spirits  in  the  Woodbridge  Horticultural  Society.  His  executors 
have  disposed  of  the  business  to  Mr.  R.  C.  Notcutt,  the  Chrysanthemum 
grower  of  Broughton  Road  Nursery,  Ipswich,  who  will  carry  on  his 
existing  business  at  Ipswich  in  conjunction  with  the  Woodbridge  Nursery. 
-  Diseased  Tomatoes. — In  connection  with  what  has  lately 
app  ared  in  the  Journal  in  regard  to  disease  in  Tomatoes,  I  would  like 
to  point  out  that  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  use  any  cow  or  horse  manure, 
or  liquid  manure  in  their  culture.  Some  years  ago  we  experimented 
with  some  Tomatoes.  One  lot  was  planted  in  a  bed  where  the  soil  was 
mixed  with  cow  and  horse  manure,  the  other  lot  was  planted  in  a  bed 
of  pure  loam  mixed  with  our  Vine  and  plant  manure.  Disease 
appeared  in  the  lot  planted  in  the  bed  that  had  the  cow  and  horse 
manure  in  it,  but  not  a  trace  of  disease  was  seen  in  the  bed  which  had 
only  loam  and  Thomson’s  manure.  The  beds  were  in  the  same  house, 
and  no  more  convincing  proof  of  the  folly  of  mixing  cow  or  horse 
manure  in  soil  to  grow  Tomatoes  in  could  have  been  produced  than  the 
example  I  have  given, to  mymind  at  least. — John  Thomson,  Clovenfords . 
- -  Wakefield  Paxton  Society. — Programme  of  meetings  for 
the  first  quarter,  session  1897  : — March  20th,  “  Phases  of  Bird  Life,” 
illustrated  by  lantern  slides,  Mr.  G,  Parkin  ;  March  27th,  “  Swaledale,” 
illustrated  by  lantern  slides,  Mr.  G.  H.  Goldsbrough.  April  3rd. 
“  Gardening  in  Relation  to  Amateurs,”  Mr.  T.  Pitts  ;  April  10th, 
“Natural  History  Myth  and  Mystery,”  part  2,  Major  Norwood; 
April  17th,  “A  Vegetable  Workshop,”  with  diagrams,  Mr.  G.  C. 
Rawsden  ;  April  24th,  “  The  Daffodil,”  with  specimens,  Mr.  J.  Duncan 
Pearson,  Chilwell  Nurseries.  May  1st,  “  How  We  Got  Our  Vegetables,” 
Mr.  B.  Spencer,  Bradford  ;  May  8th,  “Our  Feathered  Friends,”  Mr.  W. 
Hudson  ;  May  15th,  “  The  Tulip,”  with  specimens,  Mr.  J.  L.  Pickard, 
Leeds  ;  May  22nd,  “  Basic  Slag  :  Its  Utilisation  and  Value  to 
Gardeners,”  illustrated  by  lantern  slides,  Mr.  Councillor  Wigham  ; 
March  29th,  special  lecture,  subject  to  be  announced.— G.  W.  Fallas, 
T.  H.  Mountain,  Ron.  Secs. 
-  Cinerarias  at  the  Drill  Hall. — Mr.  Douglas  writes  : — 
“  I  am  credited  on  page  199  as  having  been  awarded  a  silver  Banksian 
medal  for  my  collection  of  Cinerarias  exhibited  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  on  March  9th.  This  is  an  error.  My  card 
states  that  a  silver-gilt  Banksian  medal  was  awarded  to  the  collection.” 
[According  to  the  official  list  which  we  have  before  us,  Mr.  Douglas 
was  awarded  a  silver  Banksian  medal.  The  error  is  therefore  not  ours 
but  the  Society’s.] 
DEUTZIA  GRACILIS. 
Amongst  our  beautiful  spring-blooming  greenhouse  plants  there  are 
few  more  charming  when  in  bloom,  or  more  easily  forced  than  Deutzia 
gracilis.  It  is  a  plant  which  no  grower  of  flowering  plants,  and 
especially  greenhouse  plants,  should  be  without,  for  it  is  an  easy  matter 
to  have  it  in  bloom  from  January  to  June  if  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
plants  are  in  hand  to  keep  up  a  succession,  and  these  have  been  well 
attended  to  the  previous  summer  in  the  important  matters  of  watering, 
feeding,  and  the  ripening  of  the  growths.  D.  gracilis  is  an  easily 
managed  plant,  and  responds  readily  to  good  treatment,  and  will  even 
bear  some  neglect,  but  it  is  often  called  .upon  to  stand  too  much, 
particularly  when  out  of  flower.  Neglect  of  watering,  or  giving  an 
insufficient  quantity,  is  the  most  general  error  committed  ;  inadequate 
feeding  is  the  next ;  and  when  these  two  errors  are  combined  the  result 
is  that  the  straight  young  shoots,  which  the  plants  have  probably  thrown 
up  in  abundance  in  the  warm  genial  atmosphere  of  a  greenhouse  in  early 
spring,  are  robbed  of  their  vigour,  and  prevented  storing  up  in  a  gradual 
lengthening,  strengthening,  and  thickenifig  addition  to  their  parts  the 
needful  energy  for  their  future  work. 
In  commencing  the  cultivation  of  D.  gracilis  two  methods  may  be 
pursued.  One  is  to  root  cuttings  and  grow  them  on  ioto  plants,  and  the 
other  is  to  obtain  plants  from  a  nursery,  in  the  spring  pot  them,  and 
force  them  into  flower  the  same  season.  The  former  method  is,  however, 
I  think,  the  better,  and  the  plan  of  procedure  must  consist  first  of  all  in 
selecting  suitable  cuttings.  These  should  be  obtained  from  the  base  of 
vigorous  plant0,  and  ought  to  consist  of  such  shoots  or  suckers  which, 
if  allowed  to  grow  on  the  parent  plant,  would  develop  into  flowering 
shoots  another  year.  Their  length  should  not  be  more  than  4  inches  or 
less  than  2  inches.  Cuttings  like  these  will  be  sure  to  root  and  do 
well,  giving  a  few  flowers  the  first  year— that  is,  the  year  following  the 
rooting  of  the  cuttings.  Five  cuttings  may  be  placed  in  a  3-inch  pot, 
placing  four  round  the  sides  and  one  in  the  middle,  using  light  soil 
composed  of  equal  parts  of  fibry  loam,  sweet  leaf  soil,  and  clean  white 
sand,  surfacing  the  pots  when  filled,  and  gently  shaken  down  with  a 
shallow  covering  of  sand. 
This  serves  the  double  purpose  of  keeping  the  cuttings  air-tight  at 
their  base,  thus  inducing  quicker  formation  of  roots,  and  as  a  good  guide 
to  the  propagator  in  supplying  water  to  the  cuttings,  for  I  have  generally 
found  it  a  safe  and  reliable  rule  only  to  sprinkle  or  water  cuttings  when 
the  surface  sand  is  becoming  dry.  When  the  cuttings  have  been  inserted 
and  gently  watered  in,  plunge  the  pots  in  a  mild  hotbed,  or  any  place 
where  a  slight  bottom  heat  is  maintained,  covering  them  with  a  bell-glass, 
which  should  remain  over  them  only  until  the  cuttings  are  rooted, 
hough  it  must  occasionally  be  removed  to  remove  superfluous  moisture. 
The  development  of  new  leaves  from  the  tops  of  the  cuttings,  as  well  as 
their  erect  appearance,  will  generally  indicate  that  the  formation  of 
mots  has  commenced.  The  bell-glass  may  then  be  daily  tilted  a  little, 
until  it  is  finally  removed. 
Up  to  this  stage  the  cuttings  will  scarcely  have  nee  ei  any  water, 
-xcrpt  probably  a  few  gentle  sprinklings,  but  now  that  they  have 
o  come  plants  developing  roots  and  shoots,  and  absorbing  more  air, 
-vater  will  be  needed  oftener,  and  in  gradually  increasing  quantity. 
When  the  pots  are  getting  full  of  roots,  or  before  being  root-bound,  or 
matted  too  much  round  the  sides  of  the  pots,  the  plants  must  be  shifted 
into  a  size  larger  pot,  which,  will,  no  doubt,  be  sufficient  for  the  first 
-eason.  Every  encouragement  muBt  be  given  to  induce  a  strong, 
vigorous,  healthy  growth,  but  no  Btimulants  will  be  required  during 
hese  early  stages,  or  the  possibility  may  be  that  the  mixture  in  which 
it  is  growing  will  be  rendered  unhealthy,  and  growth  thereby  stopped. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  season,  when  roots  are  plentiful  and  the 
growths  ripening,  will  be  the  most  suitable  time  to  apply  a  little  stimu¬ 
lant  such  as  a  little  clear  soot  water  or  weak  manure  water  of  any  kind. 
Toppiug  the  shoots  must  not  be  resorted  to,  but  if  flowers  are  not  cared 
about  the  following  spring,  it  is,  perhaps,  a  little  advantage  to  cut 
down  'the  plants  close  to  the  soil  and  allow  the  whole  energies  of  the 
olants  to  expeud  themselves  in  the  production  of  new  shoots  for  future 
flowering,  instead  of  dividing  these  energies  in  the  support  of  flowers  as 
well  as  growth.  But  this  cutting  down  should  not  be  done  until  the 
leaves  have  fallen  and  the  plant  is  at  rest.  .  t 
The  sumn  er  treatment  of  the  Deutz  a  is  simple  but  important,  ine 
growth  of  the  plant  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  made  in  the  genial 
temperature  of  a  greenhouse  in  a  light  position  in  the  early  spring 
months.  When  this  is  completed  the  plants  may  be  transferred  to  a 
cold  frame,  giving  air  more  and  more  every  day  until  the  lights  are 
taken  off  altogether.  The  plants  may  then  be  plunged  to  the  rims  of 
the  pots,  or  even  below,  in  coal  ashes  in  a  position  open  to  the  sun, 
abundance  of  air,  and  plenty  of  wind,  where  the  growths  will  he 
thoroughly  ripened  by  the  combined  agency  of  these  natural  wood- 
ripeners.  The  plants  should  never  suffer  from  want  of  water  during 
hot  weather,  which  every  intelligent  cultivator  knows  is  a  very  important 
thing. — S. 
