274 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  1,  1897. 
Bjown  aphides  are  more  difficult  to  kill  than  green  fly,  as  they  have 
such  shining  bodies,  and  hug  the  twigs  so  tightly  as  to  throw  off  solutions 
intended  for  their  destruction,  but  the  narcotic  properties  of  tobacco 
overcome  the  pests.  This  can  be  applied  with  a  brush,  or  rub  th( 
jfested  parts  gently  with  the  fingers  frequently  dipped  in  the  liquid, 
then  followed  with  the  tobacco  water  by  means  of  a  syringe  to  make 
sure  of  stragglers.  Timely  attention,  however,  to  first  attacks  of  these 
pests  on  the  shoots  often  saves  a  whole  house. 
Soapy  solutions  are  potent  for  the  prevention  and  destruction  of  red 
spider,  but  prevention  is  better  than  remedy,  and  a  few  are  easier  killed 
than  a  great  number.  To  prevent  or  destroy  aphides,  red  spider  and 
mildew  at  one  application,  a  somewhat  strong  decoction  of  quassia  chips 
and  solution  of  softsoap  may  be  vised,  4  czs.  of  quassia  chips  being  steeped 
overnight  in  a  gallon  of  rain  water,  then  boiled  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  adding 
to  it  as  it  cools  4  czs.  of  softsoap,  straining  and  applying  to  shoots-infested 
with  brown  aphides  by  means  of  a  brush,  or  dipping  them  in  the  mixture, 
and  rubbing  gently  with  the  fingers.  The  material  is  sooner  applied  with 
a  syringe,  and  better  with  a  spraying  nczzle  than  through  a  rose  ;  but  I 
find  it  best  to  go  over  the  trees  in  the  manner  indicated,  and  having 
dressed  the  worst  parts  spray  the  trees  thoroughly,  syringing  the  following 
day  with  clear  water.  If  repeated  twice  or  thrice  the  black  and  browD 
aphides  are  got  rid.  of,  but  it  is  not  necessary  or  desirable  to  use  the 
mixture  so  strong  for  aphides  and  red  spider,  as  it  is  safer  and  quite 
efficacious  at  half  strength,  having  itwo  gallons  of  water  instead  of  one. 
— Grower. 
SEASONABLE  HINTS  ON  FLORISTS’  FLOWERS. 
After  a  long  period  of  wet  and  stormy  weather  there  seems  to  be 
some  prospect  of  a  change,  which  will  be  especially  grateful  both  to 
farmers  and  gardeners,  and  the  cultivators  of  florists’  flowers  are  beginning 
to  hold  their  heads  up.  A  busy  time  is  before  us,  for  the  broken  weather 
has  greatly  retarded  both  farming  and  gardening  operations.  It  has- 
been  difficult  to  snatch  a  time  for  planting  the  Ranunculus,  and  one  is 
only  waiting  now  for  a  few  dry  days  in  order  to  plant  Gladiolus,  so  let 
us  see  what  is  to  be  done  with  our  favourites. 
Auriculas. 
Where  drip  has  been  successfully  excluded  these  delightful  spring 
flowers  have  a  most  flourishing  appearance  ;  the  mild  winter  has  been 
in  their  favour,  and  although  I  do  not  think  they  are  particularly  early, 
it  seem9  as  if  we  are  on  the  point  of  having  a  good  bloom.  As  the 
practice  of  top-dressing  has  been  to  a  great  extent  abandoned,  there  is 
little  to  be  done  now  except  to  watch  the  development  of  the  trusses. 
Where  it  is  wished  to  have  a  thoroughly  well-proportioned  truss,  scissors 
must  be  carefully  used  to  get  rid  of  some  of  the  pips  when  they  are  too 
much  crowded,  and  as  the  plants  are  now  growing  rapidly  they  will 
require  frequent  watering.  Wherever  it  is  possible  rain  water  should 
be  used.  There  ought  to  be  no  difficulty  about  that,  as  in  the  four 
months  of  this  year  we  have  had  more  than  8  inches. 
It  would  be  well  in  a  little  while,  when  the  pips  begin  to  colour,  to 
screen  the  plants  from  too  much  sun.  While  in  all  other  classes  of 
flowers  new  varieties  are  pushing  the  older  ones  out,  the  Auricula  is  still 
very  chary  of  admitting  new  varieties  into  its  ranks.  Thus,  for  instance 
our  great  northern  champion  exhibited  a  Btand  of  twelve  at  the  last 
spring  show  of  the  Southern  National  Auricula  Society,  of  which  eleven, 
I  believe,  were  new  ones  raised  by  himself  and  friends,  and  yet  of  these 
only  one  was  in  commerce,  and  probably  this  the  least  desirable  of  the 
lot.  We  go  to  the  exhibition,  admire  the  new  seedlings,  but  alas  1  it  is 
admiring  them  at  a  distance;  the  hope  of  obtaining  them  is  but  a 
shadowy  one,  and  very  often  some  of  those  which  gave  promise  in  their 
youth  fail  to  fulfil  that  promise  as  time  goes  on.  The  date  for  the 
Southern  show  is  fixed  very  early  this  year  ;  but  one  can  only  hope  the 
fine  weather  we  are  now  experiencing  may  bring  the  plants  on  in  time 
for  it. 
Carnations  and  Picotees, 
It  has  been  a  curious  Beason  for  these  plants,  at  least  last  autumn 
was  most  unfavourable  for  the  rooting  of  the  layers.  One  of  our  largest 
growers  for  sale  told  me  he  had  never  had  so  many  badly  rooted 
ones  ;  in  many  cases  the  layers  were  left  on  the  plants  in  the  hope  that 
in  the  early  spring  they  might  somewhat  recover  themselves.  I  have 
just  planted  out  my  own  beds,  and  the  plants  in  the  main  were  fairly 
well  rooted  ;  they  had  been  in  pots  in  the  frames  during  the  winter,  and 
were  singularly  free  from  spot  and  aphides.  They  were,  however,  most 
of  them  from  seedling  plants,  and  were  consequently  border  varieties. 
Gladiolus. 
The  very  wet  condition  of  the  soil  has  greatly  hindered  the  planting 
of  these  bulbs,  but  if  we  have  a  continuance  for  a  few  days  of  fine 
weather  I  shall  soon  be  busy  about  mine.  In  planting  them  it  is  well  to 
give  them  plenty  of  room,  and  to  see  that  they  are  firmly  planted.  A 
little  very  coarse  sand  or  road  grit  may  be  placed  about  them,  but  I  do 
not  care  for  fine  sand,  as  it  becomes  too  close,  and  does  not  give  the 
roots  that  freedom  of  action  which  they  like  to  have  ;  and  I  think  that 
the  distances  which  I  have  always  given — that  is,  of  rows  12  inches 
apart,  and  the  roots  about  9  inches  apart  in  the  rows,  and  about  4  or 
5  inches  deep — cannot  be  improved  upon.  I  have  said  nothing  about 
preparation  of  the  beds,  because  I  gave  directions  for  that  in  the 
autumn,  and  it  is  too  late  now  to  apply  any  manure.  I  find  there  is 
still  a  good  deal  of  confusion  in  people’s  minds  about  the  Gladiolus. 
Some  tell  me,  “  Oh  !  we  do  very  well  with  them  but  when  I  come  to 
inquire  I  find  that  the  sorts  grown  are  either  Brenchleyensis  or  some  of 
the  Lemoine’s  section,  which  are  certainly  more  easily  growD,  and  not 
subject  to  the  disease  which  is  so  fatal  in  most  gardens  to  the  hybrid 
Gandavensis  section.  However  much  people  may  admire  this  section  the 
number  of  those  amateurs  who  grow  it  to  any  extent  rather  diminishes 
than  increases. 
RANSIES. 
I  have,  alas  1  little  to  say  on  the  subject  of  these  flowers.  The 
drought  in  the  early  part  of  last  year  was  fatal  so  far  as  my  own  small 
collection  was  concerned.  It  is  one  of  those  florist  flowers  which  do 
not  flourish  in  the  South  of  England,  and  when  one  recollects  how 
grandly  they  grow  in  Scotland  and  the  North  of  England,  I  cannot  but 
feel  that  it  is  growing  them  under  difficulties  here.  As  far  as  the  winter 
is  concerned  they  would  probably  have  done  very  well  in  beds,  but  I 
have  not  ventured  upon  that  method  of  growing  them  for  years,  as  they 
used  to  get  so  eaten  off  with  snails  and  slugs.  By-the-by,  has  anyone 
noticed  that  notwithstanding  the  wet  and  mild  winter  how  few  of  these 
pests  of  the  garden  there  are  about  ?  People  have  a  notion  that  a  bard 
winter  destroys  these,  and  that  a  mild  one  tends  to  their  increase. 
I  believe  the  reverse  of  this  is  the  truth,  and  for  this  reason — in  a 
mild  winter  they  keep  nearer  on  the  surface,  and  consequently  become 
®an  easy  prey  to  blackbirds,  thrushes,  and  starlings,  which  are  always  on 
the  look  out  for  them.  In  a  hard  winter,  on  the  other  hand,  when  the 
ground  becomes  frozen,  they  have  no  difficulty  in  getting  down  out  of 
its  reach,  and  the  harder  the  frost  the  deeper  they  go,  and  then  when 
the  thaw  comes  they  emerge  from  their  hiding  places,  and  after  their 
long  fast  are  ready  to  devour  anything  that  comes  in  their  way.  Where 
Pansies  are  grown  in  pots  they  will  require  some  attention  now  to  be 
transferred  to  larger  pots,  and  where  the  shoots  are  long  small  sticks 
should  be  placed  to  them  to  keep  them  upright  ;  these  sticks  must  be 
very  slight  not  to  spoil  the  appearance  of  the  plants. 
Roses. 
The  winter  has  been  a  most  favourable  one  for  this  queen  of  the 
garden.  There  has  been  no  frost  to  injure  them,  and  from  all  parts  of 
the  country  I  daily  receive  letters  saying  how  well  RoBes  are  looking. 
Pruning  will  now,  of  course,  be  in  full  swing  ;  it  is  really  on  the  tyro 
who  requires  instruction  on  this  point.  Hybrid  Perpetuals  may  now  be 
pruned,  and  where  the  plants  are  strong  growers  they  require  less 
pruning  than  when  they  are  weaker  ;  in  fact,  the  weaker  the  plant  the 
harder  it  must  be  cut,  and  where  Roses  have  been  planted  during  the 
past  autumn  they  must  be  cut  hard.  Teas  may,  of  course,  be  left  until 
next  month.  They  also  look  well,  but  we  must  recollect  that  we  are  not 
out  of  the  wood  yet  ;  we  have  to  go  through  the  Blackthorn  winter,  and 
the  delightful  weather  of  the  past  few  days  must  not  make  us  forget 
this,  or  that  we  have  those  terrible  May  frosts  to  dread.  It  may  be  that 
we  may  escape  them,  but  past  experience  makes  it  doubtful. — D.,  Deal . 
BEGONIA  GLOIRE  DE  SCEAUX. 
Of  the  winter-flowering  section  of  Begonias  this  is  decidedly  one 
of  the  best  and  most  useful,  and  deserves  to  be  extensively  grown  in 
every  garden  where  a  supply  of  bloom  is  desired  through  the  dull 
months  of  winter  and  early  spring.  With  me  it  commenced  flowering 
towards  the  end  of  December,  and  from  the  middle  of  January  to  the 
beginning  of  the  present  month  it  was  a  mass  of  bloom,  almost  entirely 
covering  the  foliage.  When  it  would  have  finished  blooming  I  cannot 
say,  for  at  the  last  named  date  the  flowers  were  removed  to  encourage 
fresh  growth  for  propagating,  as  I  wish  to  obtain  as  large  a  stock  as 
possible.  At  that  time  it  showed  not  the  least  inclination  to  terminate 
its  season  of  flowering,  and,  even  if  no  more  buds  had  been  produced,  it 
must  have  continued  to  the  end  of  this  month,  probably  much  longer. 
The  plant  possesses  a  sturdy,  upright,  and  compact  habit  of  growth, 
and  branches  freely  at  every  joint  until  it  shows  its  first  buds  ;  after  that 
it  is  covered  with  flowers.  I  have  only  one  plant,  but  was  evidently 
fortunate  enough  to  hit  upon  the  exact  mode  of  culture  it  likes,  and  I 
append  a  few  particulars  of  the  treatment,  as  they  may  be  of  service  to 
other  amateurs  who  are  growing  this  Begonia. 
The  cutting,  a  very  small  one,  was  obtained  on  April  17th  of  last 
year,  and  was  inserted  in  a  2-inch  pot  in  a  propagating  case  in  a 
greenhouse.  When  rooted  through  to  the  sides  of  the  pot  I  removed 
the  plant  to  a  light  but  shaded  position  on  a  shelf  near  the  glass 
at  the  back  of  my  stove,  where  it  soon  commenced  growing  freely,  but, 
having  taken  so  long  to  root,  did  not  require  potting  until  the  middle 
of  July,  when  it  was  shifted  into  a  B.J-inch  pot  and  returned  to 
the  same  quarters.  On  September  24th  it  was  again  shifted,  this  time 
into  a  5^-inch  pot,  which  size  would  be  found  very  suitable  for  most 
purposes,  and  the  plants  can  be  conveniently  accommodated  on  a  shelf 
near  the  glass  better  than  if  in  larger  pots. 
When  at  its  best  the  plant  was  more  than  2  feet  high  and  15  inches 
through  at  the  base,  forming  a  small  pyramid-shaped  mass  of  bright 
rosy  flowers,  which  contrast  admirably  with  the  bronzy  green  cordate 
leaves  of  this  variety. 
The  soil  used  consisted  of  two  parts  peat,  two  parts  loam,  one  part 
leaf  soil,  with  a  fair  addition  of  charcoal  broken  small,  and  sand.  The 
temperature  ranged  from  65°  to  70°  at  night,  with  a  rise  of  5®  or  10°  by 
day  during  the  early  stages  of  its  growth,  gradually  falling  to  60°  at 
night,  with  a  proportionate  rise  by  day  in  November  and  December. — 
C.  L.  B. 
