April  7,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
m 
varieties,  especially  so  in  small  collections.  It  is  far  better  to  grow  more 
of  the  leading  varieties,  and  I  would  caution  beginners  against  going  in 
for  numbers  of  novelties,  especially  as  there  are  so  many  well  tried  first- 
rate  sorts  now  to  select  from.  Only  too  often  the  new  kinds  which 
are  of  great  promise  are  forced  and  propagated  so  hard,  that  good  blooms 
can  hardly  be  expected  the  first  year,  and  often  flowers  that  have  received 
notice  as  promising  are  never  heard  of  again,  though  I  contend  if  good 
flowers  can  once  be  produced  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should  not  be 
produced  again. 
By  the  time  these  lines  are  in  print,  assuming  the  young  plants  have 
been  properly  cared  for,  they  should  be  ready  for  potting  from  60-sized 
pots  to  32’s.  I  am  aware  that  many  growers  believe  that  much  success 
depends  on  the  mixture  the  plants  are  grown  in,  but  I  can  assure  them 
there  is  really  not  much  in  this.  Good  drainage  and  a  sweet  porous 
mixture,  however,  are  essential.  For  this  potting  I  advise  two  parts 
good  fibrous  loam,  one  part  spent  Mushroom  bed  refuse,  and  one  part 
well-decayed  leaf  soil.  The  loam  should  be  pulled  well  to  pieces  with 
the  hand,  leaving  in  all  the  fibre.  I  prefer  loam  that  has  been  cut  and 
stacked  about  six  months  from  a  good  rich  pasture.  The  leaf  soil  and 
manure  should  be  passed  through  a  half-inch  sieve,  and  to  this  must  be 
added  enough  good  road  sand  to  keep  it  open,  thus  allowing  the  water  to 
pass  away  quickly.  To  every  barrowload  of  the  above  add  a  10-incb 
potful  of  bonemeal,  the  whole  to  be  thoroughly  mixed. 
The  pots  and  crocks  should  be  thoroughly  washed  and  quite  dry 
before  using.  Perfect  drainage  at  each  potting  I  consider  of  the  utmost 
importance,  yet  how  often  one  sees  this  performed  in  a  slovenlv 
manner.  In  my  early  days  of  gardening  I  had  this  thoroughly  drilled 
into  me,  and  repeatedly  since  have  I  seen  the  value  of  the  advice  then 
given.  The  drainage  ought  to  be  as  perfect  when  the  plant  is  turned  out 
at  any  time  as  when  first  placed  in  the  pot.  How  can  anyone  expect 
plants  to  keep  in  a  healthy  condition  unless  the  water  can  pass  freely 
through  the  pots  ?  One  large  crock  should  be  first  placed  over  the  hole 
in  the  hollow  position,  carefully  building  up  the  amount  required  in  layers, 
gradually  making  each  layer  finer,  the  final  one  being  quite  fine,  but  not 
dustj'.  On  this  should  be  placed  sufficient  good  clean  fibre,  taken  from 
the  loam  heap,  to  prevent  the  finer  particles  of  the  soil  being  washed  into 
the  drainage  when  watering.  Of  course  worms  must  be  excluded 
from  the  pots  at  all  times,  or  they  will  quickly  upset  the  drainage 
arrangements. 
All  being  ready,  the  potting  can  be  proceeded  with,  and  when  turning 
out  the  plants  I  never  attempt  to  remove  the  fibre  which  covers  the 
drainage,  or  even  the  smallest  crocks,  as  this  will  prove  more  beneficial 
than  otherwise,  and  many  of  the  principal  roots  will  not  be  damaged. 
The  soil  should  be  made  quite  firm,  and  a  small  neat  stake  ought  to  be 
placed  to  each  plant.  Cold  frames  ought  to  be  in  readiness  to  receive  the 
plants.  We  always  practise  standing  the  pots  on  strips  of  wood  in  pre¬ 
ference  to  ashes,  thus  making  sure  against  the  intrusion  of  worms.  The 
plants  may  be  well  damped,  but  not  soaked  through  ;  we  generally  do 
this  about  four  days  after  potting.  The  plants  must  be  kept  close, 
syringed  twice  a  day,  and,  if  the  weather  should  be  clear  and  sunny,  a 
thin  shading  should  be  afforded  them,  thus  giving  as  little  a  check  as 
possible.  After  the  plants  have  recovered  from  the  slight  shock  of 
removal,  and  if  the  weather  be  favourable,  admit  air  much  more  freely  ; 
indeed,  from  four  o’clock  till  bedtime  the  lights  should  be  removed  alto¬ 
gether,  and  when  I  say  removed  I  mean  lift  them  off  entirely ;  merely 
pulling  them  back  is  not  sufficient  for  me,  as  I  am  a  great  believer  in  fresh 
air.  A  north  or  north-east  wind  with  sun  is  the  most  trying,  of  course, 
to  all  newly  potted  plants. 
The  points  of  the  plants  should  be  dusted  every  ten  days  with  tobacco 
powder,  which  will  keep  them  free  from  aphis.  The  new  leaf  rust,  unfor¬ 
tunately,  promises  to  be  a  source  of  great  trouble.  Many  of  my  friends 
have  had  some  experience  of  it  already,  but  so  far  we  have  been  fortunate 
in  escaping.  My  advice  is.  Keep  a  watchful  eye  and  endeavour  to  stamp 
it  out  on  the  first  appearance  by  picking  off  the  affected  leaves,  keeping 
them  well  dusted  with  anti-blight  powder,  and  remove  the  plants  that  are 
at  all  suspicious  away  from  the  general  stock. 
Stopping  is  now  practised  much  more  than  formerly,  thus  enabling 
the  exhibitor  to  select  the  bud  which  is  likely  to  prove  the  best  bloom  at 
some  given  date.  The  locality  in  which  one  resides,  the  varieties,  and 
dates  of  shows,  will  have  to  be  considered,  but,  generally  speaking,  the 
end  of  March  and  the  month  of  April  will  be  found  the  best  time.  As, 
however,  the  seasons  are  so  uncertain,  I  advise  only  stopping  some  of 
each  variety,  as  oftentimes  the  natural  break  will  produce  the  best 
blooms,  with  the  exception  of  the  Queen  family,  part  of  which 
should  be  stopped  at  the  end  of  March,  and  the  remainder  aljout 
the  7th  of  April.  Pompons  and  Pompon  Anemones  grown  in 
bush  form  for  producing  exhibition  blooms,  should  all  be  stopped 
at  this  season  once  only.  These  make  handsome  plants  for  any  purpose, 
and  it  is  surprising  to  me  that  they  are  not  more  cultivated,  as  a  good 
collection,  well  grown  and  arranged,  is  in  my  opinion  quite  as  interesting 
and  useful,  if  not  more  so,  than  the  larger  types  ;  but  this  section  I 
consider  is  being  spoilt  by  mere  size.  Many  of  the  hybrid  varieties  arc 
now  included  at  many  shows.  That  charming  variety  Elsie  Dordan  to 
my  mind  represents  the  true  type  of  a  Pompon.  The  disbudding  of  these 
is  often  carried  too  far,  which  robs  the  plants  of  much  of  their  natural 
beauty.  I  believe  in  a  judicious  thinning  of  the  buds — just  sufficient  to 
allow  the  blooms  to  expand  properly.  Plants  of  any  section  intended  for 
specimens  should  receive  every  encouragement,  and  must  be  kept  in  a 
genial  temperature,  quite  near  the  glass,  where  abundance  of  air  can  be 
given  them  on  all  favourable  occasions.  They  should  be  stopped  fre¬ 
quently,  and  kept  tied  down. — Edwin  Beckett,  Aldenham  House  Gardens, 
Elstree,  Herts, 
CYJITANTHUS  MACKENI. 
Several  very  beautiful  and  brilliantly  coloured  species  of  Cyrtanthus 
are  known  ;  but  though  the  one  shown  does  not  excel  in  brightness  of 
colouring  it  is  one  of  the  most  graceful  and  free-flowering  of  the  genus. 
The  flowers  (fig.  62)  are  creamy  white,  or  occasionally  with  a  distinct 
yellow  tint,  and  they  are  produced  on  strong  scapes  6  to  9  inches  in 
height.  It  is  very  easy  of  cultivation,  succeeding  well  in  an  ordinary 
greenhouse,  but  it  requires  a  moderately  rich  light  soil,  and  plenty  of 
water  when  growing,  I  have  had  it  for  several  seasons  extremely  fine  in 
3  and  5-inch  pots,  and  strongly  recommend  it  for  more  extended 
cultivation. — L. 
Emigrants’  Information. — The  April  circulars  of  the  Emigrants’ 
Information  Office  and  the  new  annual  editions  of  the  penny  hand¬ 
books  show  the  present  prospects  of '  emigration.  This  is  the  best 
season  of  the  year  to  emigrate  to  Canada  ;  there  is  a  good  opening  for 
experienced  farm  hands.  Good  practical  miners  are  always  in  demand 
at  the  large  Broken  Hill  silver  mines  in  New  South  Wales,  and  high-class 
men  of  all  trades  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  employment  there  ;  but 
there  is  no  opening  for  unskilled  labourers.  In  Victoria  and  South 
Australia  there  is  an  ample  supply  of  all  kinds  of  labour  at  the  present 
time.  In  Queensland  the  demand  for  labour  is  small,  but  the  numerous 
railway  and  other  works,  which  are  now  in  progress,  are  helping  to 
provide  labourers  with  work.  In  agricultural  districts  there  is  a  demand 
for  good  ploughmen  and  farm  bands.  The  sugar  industry  is  in  a 
prosperous  condition,  and  there  are  excellent  openings  for  farmers  with  a 
little  capital,  after  they  have  acquired  some  experience  of  the  country. 
In  Tasmania  there  is  no  demand  for  more  mechanics  or  farm  labourers. 
In  New  Zealand  there  has  been  plenty  of  work  in  nearly  all  parts  for 
mechanics  and  country  labourers.  Cape  Colony  is  well  supplied  with 
ordinary  labour. 
