482 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  9,  1698. 
ARUM  LILIES. 
The  cultivation  of  the  Arum  Lily  is  an  ever-recurring  topic,  and 
at  the  present  time  pot  culture  as  opposed  to  planting  out  during  the 
summer  months,  alter  having  been  in  abeyance  during  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  appears  to  be  coming  again  into  vogue.  At  least,  it  is  not 
without  its  advocates,  who  find  in  it  a  cultural  system  adapted  to 
their  particular  requirements.  Pot  culture  has  the  doubtful  advantage 
of  age,  for  it  is  recommended  by  eighteenth  century  writers  like  Hill 
and  ]\Iiller,  by  whom  the  Arum,  or  Sweet  Calla,  as  it  was  then  called, 
was  treated  as  an  evergreen  tuberous  plant,  which,  though  exotic,  was 
all  but  hardy. 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  planting-out  system  hi  ought  to 
view  the  full  value  of  the  Arum  as  a  decorative  plant,  as  well  as 
being  the  means  of  showing  the  facility  with  which  it  could  be  culti¬ 
vated.  Jts  very  responsiveness  to  the  most  careless  treatment  has  led 
to  its  being  grown  in  ways  that  cannot  be  generally  recommended. 
As  an  example,  I  have  seen  the  plants  placed  almost  close  together, 
remaining  in  the  same  position  the  year  round,  the  aim  of  the  grower 
having  been  to  secure  the  largest  possible  number  of  small  spathes  at 
the  lowest  cost  for  production.  Another  instance  is  that  of  a  very 
successful  grower  whose  plants  are  never  in  a  pot  at  all.  They  are 
transplanted  from  the  open  in  autumn  into  long  low  structures,  where 
by  regulating  the  temperature  the  grower  can  retard  or  bring  them  on 
rapidly  at  will.  After  the  Easter  gatherings  the  plants  are  slightly 
hardened,  and  then  transferred  again  to  the  open  to  remain  until  the 
succeeding  autumn,  when  the  above  mentioned  process  is  repeated. 
Than  this,  I  have  seen  no  cheaper  method  of  producing  good  spathes 
plentifully. 
In  private  establishments  where  plants  for  furnishing  as  well  as 
flowers  for  cutting  are  in  constant  demand  during  the  winter  months, 
it  is  impossible  to  employ  either  of  the  above  methods.  We  are,  in 
fact,  practically  confined  either  to  the  resting  system  in  pots  during 
summer,  or  to  planting  in  the  open  for  the  summer  months  and  potting 
an  autumn.  I  agree  that  in  cases  where  flowers  and  plants  are  not 
required  except  at  some  special  season,  say  Easter,  pot  culture  may 
have  the  advantage,  as  in  such  a  case  the  plants  can  be  brought 
slowly  forward,  and  sturdy,  well-furnished  specimens,  be  the  result. 
But  in  those  cases — and  I  infer  they  are  the  most  numerous — in 
which  a  long  continued  supply  must  be  provided,  then  I  have  no 
doubt  as  to  summer  planting  being  the  better  system.  1  have  adopted 
it  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  with  the  result  that  in  most  years 
we  cut  in  November,  always  in  December,  and  the  supply  in  spring  is 
only  stopped  with  the  demand  for  the  spathes. 
At  present  our  stock  is  being  planted  out  for  the  summer.  Many 
unopened  spathes  are  still  upon  them,  and  would  have  been  cut  with 
others,  only  since  Easter  the  plants  have  been  standing  in  an  open 
shed,  and  naturally  growth  has  been  all  but  at  a  standstill.  The 
plants  are  put  in  ordinary  garden  soil,  those  that  require  dividing 
being  split  up  at  this  time  and  single  growths  selected  for  potting  in 
6-inch  pots,  a  size  I  find  very  useful  for  furnishing.  If  the  soil  is  dry 
when  planting  is  effected  water  is  given  them,  but  as  genial  humid 
weather  is  chosen  for  the  work,  as  a  rule  watering  is  not  required. 
The  plants  are  left  to  themselves  till  September,  when  with  a  spade 
the  roots  are  cut  and  the  plants  slightly  raised.  The  object  of  this  is 
at  once  to  check  growth  in  the  plants,  to  induce  a  rapid  development 
of  spathes,  and  to  produce  such  a  condition  generally,  that  when  lifted 
and  potted  ten  days  later,  they  feel  no  bad  effect.  I  am  so  convinced 
of  the  importance  of  the  plants  being  properly  prepared  for  lifting, 
that  I  attribute  any  slightly  erratic  behaviour  in  flowering  to  this  part 
of  the  treatment  having  been  carelessly  performed.  We  repot  about 
the  third  week  in  September,  and  use  small  pots  in  comparison  to  the 
bulk  of  roots.  Any  good  holding  soil  suits,  and  without  sand  or  leaf 
soil.  The  plants  are  returned  to  the  forcing  houses  in  the  second  week 
of  October,  having  in  the  meantime  stood  in  a  shaded  position  out  of 
doors  where,  root  action  having  commenced,  it  is  possible  to  force  the 
more  forward  plants  at  once  into  flower,  and  without  doing  them 
injury. 
Owing  to  the  many  roots  with  which  each  plant  is  furnished  I 
find  it  necessary  to  apply  slight  surface  dressings  weekly  of  some 
manure.  The  foliage  as  well  as  the  flowers  being  of  much  beauty  of 
form,  plants  are  always  in  request  for  standing  in  apartments.  The 
chief  thing  to  guard  against  there  is  root  dryness  ;  apart  from  this  I 
have  never  found  plants  seriously  injured.  At  Christmas  and  Easter 
plants  in  church  invariably  suffer,  but  it  is  only  because  they  cannot 
be  watered.  The  spathes  are  highly  valued  for  vase-filling.  I  prefer 
them  arranged  with  no  other  flower,  and  it  may  here  be  remarked 
that  they  should  only  be  employed  when  young.  If  short  of  material 
half-opened  spathes  are  as  valuable  as  those  fully  expanded,  inas¬ 
much  as  they  are  distinctly  beautiful  in  themselves,  and  full  expansion 
quickly  takes  place,  while  such  spathes  always  last  longer  in  good 
condition  than  those  cut  older. 
With  regard  to  the  hardiness  of  the  Arum  Lily,  it  belongs  to  that 
exasperating  class  which,  under  certain  conditions,  will  stand  a  few 
winters  safely.  I  have  known  the  foliage  pass  7°  of  frost  without 
damage,  and  in  some  localities  the  plants  thrive  year  after  year  when 
grown  in  water.  It  cannot,  however,  be  depended  upon,  and  it  is 
better  to  house  plants  in  the  autumn  previous  to  the  first  sharp  frost, 
and  in  spring  to  defer  planting  till  frost  is  past  for  the  season. — 
R.  P.  Brotherston. 
PHLEBODIUM  MAYI. 
The  exhibit  of  Ferns  from  Mr.  H.  B.  May  at  the  Temple  Show  was 
rich  in  handsome  forms,  but  amongst  them  all  Phlebodium  Mayi  stood 
out  as  one  of  the  most  conspicuous.  It  is  perfectly  distinct  from  all 
other  Phlebodiums,  even  from  glaucum,  from  which  in  all  probability 
it  has  issued.  The  fronds,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  woodcut  (fig.  90), 
are  graceful,  wavy  in  outline,  and  are  chastely  divided.  They  are  frilled 
and  serrated  at  the  edges,  and  of  a  peculiar  glaucous  grey  colour  in  the 
centre,  that  is  extremely  effective.  Beyond  this  shade  there  is  a  broad 
margin  of  bright  green,  that  materially  enhances  the  beauty  of  the  plant. 
The  specimen  staged  by  Mr.  May  was,  we  were  informed,  only  about  si.x 
months  old,  from  which  we  should  gather  it  is  the  possessor  of  a  vigorous 
constitution.  P.  Mayi  elicited  the  admiration  of  everyone,  and  is  sure  to 
become  highly  popular.  The  Floral  Committee  of  the  R.H.S.  accorded  a 
first-class  certificate  to  the  plant,  an  honour  that  was  thoroughly  deserved. 
SPRING  TRENCHING  AND  ITS  RESULTS. 
It  is  a  capital  thing  to  put  a  theory  into  practice,  especially  if 
you  do  not  believe  in  it.  Some  time  ago  it  occurred  to  me  that  it 
would  be  an  admirable  idea  to  give  Mr.  David  Thomson  a  fair 
trial,  and  far  better  than  arguing  on  paper.  I  therefore  dropped 
discussion  and  laid  myself  out  for  work.  The  result  has  been 
disastrous,  both  for  my  able  opponent  and  myself — for  the  former, 
because  so  far  as  this  case  is  concerned  his  arguments  fail ;  for 
myself,  because  I  have  spent  a  good  deal  of  money  without  sensibly 
ameliorating  the  soil.  Just  to  show  you  Avhat  late  trenching  means 
in  ray  case,  I  send  you  a  modest  chunk.  There  are  plenty  more 
like  it.  It  refuses  to  crumble,  wet  or  dry,  and  nothing  hut  a  thorough 
freezing  will  do  it  much  good.  We  gave  it  ash,  grit,  and  muscle.  I 
think  the  junior  Editor  saw  this  land  when  the  men  were  at  work. 
One  of  these  days  I  hope  the  senior  will  come  along,  and  if  he  happen 
to  have  Mr.  Thomson  with  him  he  will  be  additionally  welcome.  In 
default  of  helpful  suggestions  from  them  I  shall  pin  my  faith  to 
another  old  veteran,  of  the  name  of  Nature,  next  winter. — W.  Pea. 
[Ash,  grit,  and  muscle  are  excellent  for  ameliorating  strong  land, 
so  is  frost  for  shattering  it.  The  question  is  whether  frost  does  not 
do  this  as  effectually  when  the  land  is  left  undug  during  the  winter  as 
when  it  has  been  subjected  to  muscle  treatment  in  the  autumn.  The 
sampde  sent  resembled  externally  a  mass  of  brown  putty,  but  on 
breaking  it  we  found  it  decidedly  amenable  to  improvement, 
and  under  the  combined  influences  of  ash,  grit,  muscle,  and 
the  “old  veteran — Nature” — it  will  form  a  splendid  medium 
for  growing  fruit,  flowers,  and  vegetables.  There  was  not 
sufficient  frost  last  winter  to  act  on  it  beneficially  in  a  south  coast 
county,  whether  in  a  dug  or  undug  state.  On  asking  the  junior 
Editor,  who  is  acquainted  with  the  district,  when  he  should  dig  such 
land  he  replied,  in  a  worldly  wisdom  sort  of  way,  that  he  should  not 
dig  it  at  all,  as  the  pen  was  easier  to  work  than  the  spade,  and  paid 
him  better.  If  the  senior  and  Mr.  D.  Thomson  should  bear  down 
on  Mr,  Pea  during  a  coasting  trip  in  the  good  ship  “Journal  of 
Horticulture”  he  would  find  a  pair  of  old  salts,  and  one  of  them 
perhaps  rather  a  hard  nut  to  crack.  We  have  had  in  hand  for  some 
weeks  the  following  communication.  It  was  put  aside  during  a 
period  of  pressure  and  taken  off  the  bill  of  fare  pro  tern,  in  favour  of 
other  dainties  to  meet  the  varied  tastes  of  a  multitude  of  welcome 
guests  for  whom  we  are  privileged  to  cater.  The  moment  does  not 
seem  inappropriate  for  placing  the  dish  of  digging  once  more  ou  the 
weekly  menu,]  _ 
Mr.  F,  Dunn  (page  106,  February  3rd)  seems  to  be  a  rather  clever 
man.  It  is  not  necessary  to  find  fault  with  his  practice  of  digging 
strong  soil  when  it  is  dry  (an  important  provision)  in  the  autumn 
because  it  has  answered  with  him.  It  has,  no  doubt,  answered  with 
others,  but  neither  he  nor  they  are  competent  to  pose  as  authorities 
until  they  have  tried  both  autumn  and  spring  digging  of  such  soil 
over  a  series  of  years,  and  not  in  one  district  only.  If  Mr.  F.  Dunn 
works  in  a  district  where  the  rainfall  is  below  25  inches  or  thereabouts, 
and  he  keeps  off  the  land  when  it  is  wet,  his  task  will  be  an  easy  one, 
dig  whenever  he  may. 
He  is  particular  in  saying  he  would  not  dig  in  midwinter,  but  in 
the  autumn,  while  another  correspondent  is  equally  explicit  in  saying 
