'May  6,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
387 
the  end.  All  such  things  pave  the  way  to  introduce  suitable  Alpine 
flora,  not  to  again  hide  but  to  adorn.  Take,  for  instance,  that  un¬ 
sightly  object,  a  disused  quarry,  not  rarely  used  as  a  receptacle  for 
rubbish.  Some  that  I  have  seen,  if  transformed  according  to  their 
capability,  would  fill  a  number  of  the  Journal  in  detailing  their 
history. 
Nolhard  and  fast  lines  can  be  laid  down  to  guide  young  students 
in  the  kingdom  of  picturesque  gardening.  Every  spot,  sphere,  or 
locality  where  the  gardener  rules  (or  serves)  has  its  individual 
•character,  and  requires  its  own  special  study  and  adaptive  elabora¬ 
tion,  which  in  many  cases  will  be  more  happily  expounded  by 
manifesting  Nature  than  by  reconstruction.  Indeed,  where  the 
latter  is  felt  to  be  the  sole  predominating  influence  over  a  gardener’s 
mind  it  will  often  be,  as  it  often  is,  an  impassable  barrier  to  his 
advancing  in  this  direction. 
Young  men  will  find,  as  I  have  found,  that  ambitious  schemes, 
generally  involving  considerable  expense  of  force,  material,  and 
money,  are  received  with  distrust  and  suspicion,  although  this  might 
be  reversed  if  emanating  from  an  eminent  landscape  gardener.  We 
cannot  afford  in  our  desire  for  freedom  to  run  full  tilt  at  the 
barrier,  but  proceeding  in  a  gently  insinuative  manner  we  may  win 
our  way  into  the  kingdom  of  picturesque  gardening  even  by  such 
simple  measures  as  the  offering  of  a  few  bulbs,  spare  hardy  plants, 
or  what  not.  Now  is  the  time  to  sow  the  seeds  of  observation  over 
the  whole  ground  of  the  subject,  and  doubt  not  but  that  such 
fruits  will  be  ultimately  reaped,  that  you  will  then  endorse  the 
opinion  I  have  formed  relative  to  some  grievances  concerning  it 
— viz.,  “  Our  remedies  oft  in  ourselves  do  lie  which  we  ascribe  to 
Heaven.” — An  Old  Boy. 
(To  be  continued.) 
CULTURE  OF  ACHIMENES. 
Flowers  “  all  the  year  round  ”  mast  be  provided  in  greenhouse*  and 
conservatories,  or  the  structures  fail  in  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
erected.  Perhaps  the  spring  and  early  summer,  or  from  the  present  time 
till  July,  is  the  period  when  ssch  structures  are  in  their  zenith  of 
beauty  ;  for  besides  forced  flowers,  some  of  the  finest  genera  of  plants 
are  in  “  fullest  natural  beauty  ”  at  the  season  named.  But  these  families 
of  plants — Cyclamens,  Cinerarias,  Calceolarias,  and  Pelargoniums — must 
have  their  successors,  and  the  more  distinct  these  are  in  habit  and  colour 
from  the  flowers  blooming  in  the  open  air  the  more  effective  will  they 
be  when  arranged  in  the  houses. 
Achimenesare  thoroughly  dissimilar  from  a'l  outdoor-flowering  plants 
in  habit  and  the  majority  also  in  the  colours  of  the  flowers.  The  plants 
are,  farther,  of  easy  culture,  provided  they  can,  especially  in  the  early 
stages  of  growth,  be  afforded  artificial  heat.  Many  valuable  additions 
have  recently  been  made  to  this  handsome  genu*  of  plants,  and  no 
garden  of  importance  can  be  considered  completely  furnished  with 
•summer  decorative  plants  which  does  not  contain  a  collection  of 
Achimenes. 
Where  tubers  are  plentiful  the  work  of  producing  fine  pots,  pans,  or 
baskets  of  Achimenes  is  comparatively  easy,  for  the  tuber*  can  be 
planted  sufficiently  close  together  that  without  any,  or  very  little,  stop¬ 
ping  of  the  plants  fine  masses  of  growth  and  flowers  can  be  obtained  ; 
but  where  tubers  are  scarce,  as,  for  instance,  in  purchasing  new  sorts, 
greater  cultural  care  is  required  to  produce  plants  of  an  effective  size 
the  first  season.  Yet  with  even  a  limited  number  of  tuber*  good  plants 
may  be  perfected,  as  I  will  proceed  to  show. 
Some  years  ago  I  ordered  two  dozen  pots  of  Achimenes,  which  arrived 
during  the  first  week  of  May.  They  were  in  3-inch  pots,  each  pot  con¬ 
taining  three  plants  about  half  an  inch  high.  With  this  small  beginning 
I  determined  to  make  as  good  an  ending  as  possible,  but  did  not  antici¬ 
pate  the  large  results  that  followed.  The  tiny  plants  were  growing  in 
peat,  and  were  placed  on  a  shelf  in  the  Cucumber  house  They  were 
carefully  watered  and  syringed,  and  were  slightly  shaded  in  bright 
weather.  When  3  inches  high  their  points  were  taken  out,  and  shortly, 
instead  of  having  three  shoots  in  each  pot,  I  had  in  the  case  of  some 
sorts  six,  and  in  others  nine  shoot*.  When  these  had  pushed  half  an 
inch  the  plants  were  transferred  into  5-inch  pots  in  a  mixture  of  two- 
thirds  of  peat  and  one-third  of  old  Mushroom-bed  manure,  with  a  free 
admixture  of  sand  and  lumps  of  charcoal.  After  becoming  established 
in  these  pots  the  plants  were  again  stopped,  and  the  shoots  increased  in 
number  from  fifteen  to  twenty-seven  in  each  pot,  according  to  the  sorts, 
some  breaking  three  eyes  and  others  two.  The  plants  with  careful 
attention  grew  rapidly  and  were  pinched  a  third  time,  and  some  of  them 
produced  a*  many  as  a  hundred  shoots.  These  were  trained  thinly  out 
from  the  first,  so  that  each  grew  sturdily.  The  plant*  were  eventually 
shifted  into  8-inch  pots,  and  were  afforded  a  compost  of  loam,  leaf  mould, 
old  Mushroom-bed  manure,  and  bruised  charcoal  in  equal  parts. 
By  the  end  of  June  the  plants  were  too  large  for  the  shelf  in  the 
Cucumber  house,  and  were  moved  to  cold  frames-r-that  is,  to  frames 
having  no  artificial  heat.  A  “cold”  frame  at  that  period  is,  however, 
really  a  warm  stove  if  carefully  ventilated  and  the  sun  heat  conserved. 
On  chilly  nights  the  glassitovaB  covered  for  a  time,  and  ventilation  was 
4is  carefully  attended  to  as  for  a  house  of  Vines  or  Melons  in  early  spring. 
'The  plants  were  regularly  sprinkled,  also  slightly  shaded  and  kept  as 
close  as  possible,  provided  the  temperature  did  not  exceed  85°.  The 
ashes  on  which  the  pots  were  placed  were  also  kept  moist,  and  especi¬ 
ally  in  the  daytime  when  the  sun  was  powerful.  The  frames  were  closed 
early  each  afternoon.  Under  this  warm-frame  treatment  the  growth 
was  more  vigorous  than  in  the  Cucumber  house,  and  some  of  the  plants 
were  3£  feet  in  diameter  in  the  autumn,  and  almost  complete  ball*  of 
flowers,  the  weaker-growing  kinds  being  proportionately  small,  yet 
equally  satisfactory.  They  were  greatly  admired  by  all  who  saw  them, 
and  few  could  believe  that  from  three  tiny  tubers  potted  in  spring  such 
rich  masses  of  fine  flowers  could  be  produced  in  the  autumn. 
The  secret  of  my  success  in  growing  these  plants  may  be  expressed 
in  two  words — unremitting  attention.  I  have  grown  Achimenes  for 
twenty  seasons,  and  have  had  unlimited  supplies  of  tubers,  but  I  have 
never  had  such  fine  masses  as  from  the  first  small  beginning  alluded  to. 
Tuber*,  soil,  means,  conveniences  cannot  compensate  for  anxious,  soli¬ 
citous  personal  care  in  the  cultivation  of  these  or  any  other  family  of 
plants.  Those  cultivators  who  succeed  the  best  do  not  simply  give 
orders  and  leave  someone  else  to  attend  to  the  plants  ;  and  it  was  by 
simply  working  harder,  paying  closer  and  more  thoughtful  attention 
than  usual  to  my  small  but  precious  stock  of  Achimenes,  that,  they 
increased  to  such  large  dimensions. 
When  an  article  is  plentiful  it  appears  to  lose  value,  and  does  not 
receive  that  care  to  which  its  intrinsic  merits  entitle  it.  When  we  have 
plenty  of  Achimenes  tubers  we  are  apt  to  “take  things  easy,”  feeling  a 
sort  of  self-satisfied  consciousness  that  “that  crop  is  at  any  rate  safe.” 
But  we  forget  that  it  is  on  ns  as  the  cultivators,  and  not  on  the  numbers 
of  the  plants,  that  success  depends.  We  have  plenty  of  tubers  and  we 
use  them  freely,  sowing  them  almost  like  sowing  seeds.  We  know  that 
Achimenes  start  well  in  peat,  therefore  peat  is  used  ;  but  although  the 
plants  start  well  in  peat  they  do  not  always  finish  well  in  it,  and  hence 
it  is  that  failures  are  common  when  tubers  are  plentiful — they  are 
lavishly  placed  in  soil  that  lacks  sustaining  power  ;  twenty  plants  are 
perhaps  raised  in  a  pot  that  does  not  contain  food  for  half  the  number, 
and  a  good  beginning  results  in  a  bad  ending.  Achimenes,  like  most 
other  plants  having  fine,  hair-like  root*,  start  well  in  peat ;  but  when  a 
large  number  of  plants  is  placed  in  one  pot — and  the  plan  is  an  excellent 
one — the  peat  alone  will  not  sustain  them  throughout  their  period  of 
growth,  and  beneath  the  peat  should  be  placed  richer  soil. 
In  potting  the  tubers  when  they  are  plentiful  a  mistake  is  often  made 
in  filling  the  pots  too  full  of  soil.  That  is  a  very  simple  matter,  but  is, 
nevertheless,  the  cause  of  many,  if  not  of  most,  failures  in  plant  culture. 
A  first-class  plant  grower  never  makes  a  mistake  of  that  kind.  He 
provides  his  plants  with  soil,  and  also  provides  the  means  of  keeping 
that  soil  replenished  with  food  for  his  plants,  and  this  cannot  be  done 
when  the  pots  are  filled  too  full.  Before  plants  can  have  a  sufficiency 
of  food  in  a  liquid  state  space  must  be  aff  >rded  to  hold  the  liquid, 
Achimenes  when  in  free  growth  require  much  water,  and  frequently 
need  more  than  they  receive,  simply  because  an  inadequate  amount  of 
water-holding  space  is  provided  at  the  surface  of  the  pots.  Therefore 
when  many  tubers  are  potted  in  one,  and  possibly  the  flowering  pot,  let 
the  drainage  be  ample,  the  soil  rich  and  rough  at  the  bottom,  the  surface 
light,  and  the  pots  not  filled— if  large,  to  within  2  inches  of  their  rims. 
If  that  plan  is  adopted  too  many  tubers  will  not  spoil  the  plants  ;  but  if 
it  is  not  adopted — if  the  pots  are  filled  quite  full  of  light  soil  only,  then 
the  plants  cannot  receive  the  support  which  they  need,  and  plenty  (a*  is 
too  commonly  the  case)  ends  in  comparative  failure. 
Besides  being  adapted  for  cultivation  in  pots  of  various  sizes, 
Achimenes  are  amongst  the  finest  of  basket  plants.  Baskets  lined  with 
moss  and  filled  with  suitable  soil  may  be  planted  with  tubers,  and  if  the 
baskets  are  placed  in  a  proper  temperature  and  are  carefully  watered 
they  will  in  a  few  months  be  balls  of  flowers.  White,  mauve,  and  pink 
varieties,  planted  in  mixture,  have  a  charming  effect. — G. 
CONFUSION  IN  CONIFERS. 
Mr  Webster  (page  368)  has  been  exceptionally  fortunate  if  he 
has  frequently  secured  C.  nootkatensis  for  C.  Lawson iana,  as  plants  of 
the  former  cost  about  five  times  as  much  as  those  of  the  latter,  and  the 
difference  in  the  price  of  seed  is  even  greater.  The  two  plants  are 
quite  dissimilar  when  they  reach  the  size  at  which  their  characteristics 
are  developed.  The  main  branches  of  C.  Lawsoniana  droop  from  the 
trunk  of  the  tree,  and  the  secondary  laterals  bearing  the  foliage  are  set 
horizontally  to  the  main  branch.  In  C.  nootkatensis  the  main  branches 
rise  from  the  stem  curving  upwards,  and  the  laterals  hang  down  from 
them.  A  well  grown  specimen  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
introduced  Coniferse. 
The  cones  of  C.  Lawsoniana  form  and  mature  in  one  season,  while 
those  of  C.  nootkatensis  only  ripen  the  second  year. 
In  my  experience  its  seed  has  also  generally  taken  two  years  to 
germinate,  while  that  of  Lawson’s  Cypress  comes  away  freely  the  first 
year,  and  the  plants  were  of  much  more  rapid  growth  than  those  of  the 
other. 
C.  nootkatensis  in  its  native  habitat  in  British  Columbia  does  not 
attain  the  dimensions  which  C.  Lawsoniana  does  further  south,  but  it  is  a 
tree  of  great  economic  value,  growing  from  30  to  38  metres  in  height, 
with  a  trunk  of  from  1‘20  to  1  80  metres  in  diameter,  and  it  is  esteemed 
the  most  valuable  timber  tree  in  Alaska.  In  this  country  it  flourishes 
in  the  poorest  soil,  and  ia  extremely  hardy.  No  frost  affects  its  colour, 
but  it  sometimes  suffers  from  lengthened  drought  in  summer. — K.  S.  M., 
Ross-shire. 
