July  14,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
21 
it  for  his  early  supplies.  It  has  a  more  curved  pod  than  the  other 
earlies,  and  is  one  of  the  dwarfest,  but,  like  every  variety  which  I  have 
seen,  it  does  a  great  deal  better  with  sticks  than  it  does  without  them. 
As  I  believe  I  am  at  a  fairly  safe  distance  just  at  present,  I  may 
venture  to  say  that  any  Pea  grower  with  sticks  at  his  command  who 
does  not  use  them  for  his  dwarf  Peas-,  ought  to  have  them  applied  like 
the  old  familiar  birch. — W.  Pea. 
PANSY  GROWING. 
The  Pansy  trade  in  this  country  has  now  reached  wonderful 
dimensions,  as  there  are  many  large  growers  who  raise  them  by  the 
million,  and  hosts  of  smaller  ones  who  make  a  speciality  of  the 
improved  forms  of  Heartsease.  Judged  by  the  standard  of  the  older 
florists,  many  popular  strains  of  these  beautiful  flowers  would  be 
considered  coarse,  deficient  in  substance  and  good  form  ;  but  the 
public  as  a  body  know  nothing  of  the  points  an  ideal  flower 
should  possess,  but  they  love  beautiful  flowers,  and  will  buy  them 
when  they  meet  with  varieties  which  “take  their  fancy.”  Raisers, 
therefore,  strive  to  meet  those  fancies,  and  in  doing  so  receive  their 
reward. 
Pansies  are  essentially  flowers  which  can  be  grown  and  sold 
cheaply,  hence  it  is  that  they  commaud  such  a  ready  sale.  The 
present  is  an  excellent  time  to  sow  the  seed.  If  sown  earlier  I  find 
that  in  warm  seasons  they  suffer  considerably  through  drought,  and 
should  the  autumn  also  prove  fine  the  shoots  get  too  long  by  the  time 
they  begin  to  flower  in  spring,  for  to  be  in  the  best  condition  for 
market  the  plants  should  be  sturdy,  with  one  or  two  expanded 
flowers.  If  half  the  quantity  of  seed  required  is  sown  now,  and  the 
remainder  a  fortnight  hence,  a  good  succession  of  plants  will  be 
secured.  Fortunately  it  is  not  necessarv  now  to  obtain  seed  from 
Germany,  as  during  recent  years  many  British  firms  have  devoted 
much  attention  to  seed-saving,  and  some  of  them  may  now  fairly 
claim  to  have  the  finest  strains  of  Pansies  in  the  world. 
As  a  rule  the  seed  of  mixed  varieties  is  not  satisfactory,  as  there 
are  a  few  striking  colours  which  the  public  prefer,  and  which  growers 
should  therefore  make  a  point  of  getting.  Giant  jellow,  white,  bronze, 
and  purple  seem  to  be  the  favourite  colours,  and  these  can  be  obtained 
in  separate  packets.  Seeds  sown  in  the  open  ground  usually  do  very 
well  if  attended  to  in  the  matter  of  watering  should  the  weather 
prove  dry,  but  I  always  prefer  to  sow  in  boxes,  as  the  bulk  can  be 
placed  where  they  are  constantly  under  one’s  eyes  and  near  the  water, 
so  that  there  can  be  no  excuse  for  neglect  in  the  matter  of  watering. 
I  sow  in  ordinary  garden  soil,  just  cover  the  seeds,  press  the  soil 
with  a  board,  give  a  thorough  watering,  and  shade  till  the  seedlings 
appear.  There  is  no  plan  to  beat  sowing  the  seed  thinly  to  induce  a 
sturdy  habit  from  the  start ;  they  then  need  not  be  pricked  out  till 
they  have  become  quite  strong  and  well  rooted.  When  there  is 
plenty  of  ground  vacant  they  may  be  transferred  direct  from  the 
boxes  to  their  permanent  nursery  quarters;  but  should  the  weather 
prove  dry,  this  plan  entails  much  labour  in  watering.  I  prefer  to 
prick  them  out  3  inches  apart,  and  eventually  lift  the  alternate  plants, 
and  set  them  6  inches  apart  as  space  becomes  vacant.  The  extra 
amount  of  labour  entailed  in  transplanting  half  the  number  of  plants 
is  more  than  compensated  for  by  the  convenience  of  watering  the 
small  space  they  at  first  occupy. 
A  good  loamy  garden  soil — not  too  heavy,  and  yet  of  a  slightly 
holding  nature — is  one  that  suits  Pansies  admirably,  and  it  pays  to 
thoroughly  manure  land  which  is  not  rich  before  planting.  When  the 
best  has  to  be  made  of  a  light  soil,  the  manure  used  should  be  rich 
and  close.  Cow  or  fowl  manure  answers  splendidly  ;  failing  this  good 
stable  manure,  which  does  not  contain  much  straw,  answers  well. 
When  the  plants  are  established  little  attention  is  necessary  beyond 
hoeing  frequently,  to  keep  down  weeds  and  to  induce  free  healthy 
growth.  In  favourable  seasons  many  of  the  plants  will  be  in  flower 
by  September  and  October,  when  there  is  a  fair  demand  for  them  for 
planting  out  as  summer  bedding  is  removed;  but  the  bulk  of  the 
plants  are  not  required  till  the  following  spring,  from  March  onwards. 
In  packing  for  the  markets  the  plants  should  be  lifted  with  a 
ball  of  earth,  and  be  neatly  tied  up  in  paper  or  soft  hay ;  the 
latter  material  I  think  the  better,  as  it  is  always  clean,  ami  does  not 
get  soft  and  discoloured  like  paper  if  the  plants  have  to  be  watered 
after  they  are  packed.  For  local  markets  a  convenient  plan  is  to  pack 
a  dozen  roots  (which  have  previously  been  tied  up)  in  shallow  seed 
boxes;  but  for  sending  by  rail,  boxes  from  10  inches  to  a  foot  in 
depth,  made  to  hold  six  dozen,  are  usually  employed. 
Good  plants  when  sold  wholesale  usually  realise  from  Is.  to  Is.  6d. 
a  dozen,  and  when  the  work  of  production  is  carried  out  on  systematic 
lines  this  is  satisfactory,  though  not  a  fortune-making  business, 
because  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  a  good  strain  of  flowers,  or 
there  will  be  great  difficulty  in  selling  the  plants,  however  well  they 
may  be  grown. — II.  D. 
Oncidium  concolor. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  charming  of  cool  house  species  now  in 
flower,  the  pendant  racemes  of  golden  yellow  flowers  lasting  well  in 
good  condition,  and,  moreover,  very  freely  produced.  Small  pans  of 
peat  fibre  and  sphagnum  moss  suspended  from  the  roof  of  a  house 
where  Odontoglossum  crispum  thrives  will  suit  it  well,  and  at  all  times 
a  moist,  cool  atmosphere  must  be  maintained.  The  roots  must  be 
kept  moist  all  the  year  round,  for  if  once  allowed  to  shrivel  the  plants 
are  not  easily  brought  back  to  a  healthy  state. 
Stanhopea  eburnea. 
There  is  not  a  more  free-flowering  Stanhopea  in  cultivation  than 
this,  or  a  more  beautiful  one,  the  lovely  white  sweet-scented  blossoms 
being  second  to  none  in  the  family  for  beauty,  though  unfortunately 
evanescent,  as  are  all  in  the  genus.  To  grow  this  species  well  a  warm 
moist  house  is  necessary,  and  the  plants,  though  liking  plenty  of  light, 
must  be  shaded  from  the  brightest  rays  of  the  sun.  It  does  well  if 
suspended  from  the  roof  in  a  house  where  Dendrobiums  thrive.  A\  ire 
baskets  are  best,  owing  to  the  large  openings  between  the  wires,  and 
these  should  be  half  filled  with  clean  crocks  for  drainage,  laying  a  few 
large  pieces  over  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  basket,  that  the  spikes 
may  find  their  way  through  freely.  For  compost  use  equal  parts  of 
peat  or  loam,  fibre,  and  sphagnum  moss,  the  loam  being  preferred  for 
the  larger  and  stronger  plants. 
During  the  time  the  plants  are  in  active  growth  the  roots  should 
be  very  freely  watered,  few  Orchids  in  fact  needing  more  water,  and 
unless  the  foliage  is  frequently  damped  red  spider  is  sure  to  put  in 
an  appearance.  The  flowers  last  only  about  a  week  in  good  condition, 
but  as  a  rule  the  plants  produce  several  lots  of  flowers  in  a  season,  so 
that  where  there  is  a  fair  stock  of  plants  one  or  more  is  in  flower  all 
through  the  spring  and  summer.  I  nlike  some  other  species,  S.  eburnea 
is  not  inconvenienced  by  rebasketing,  provided  it  is  g°ne  about 
carefully,  and  though  some  show  their  resentment  to  this  treatment 
by  refusing  to  flower,  this  species  olten  flowers  profusely  just  after 
disturbance.  S.  eburnea  was  the  first  Stanhopea  introduced  to  this 
country,  having  been  sent  by  Sir  R.  A\  oodford  to  Messrs.  Loddiges 
in  1824.  It  is  a  native  of  Trinidad,  Guiana,  and  other  places  off 
South  America,  and  has  also  been  described  as  of  Brazilian  origin, 
though  this  is  doubtful. 
Trichopilia  marginata. 
This  is  one  of  the  prettiest  of  cool  house  Orchids  now  in  flower,  the 
variety  lepida  being  especially  effective.  The  blossoms  have  a  white 
margin,  and  the  sepals  and  petals  as  in  the  type  ;  but  it  is  nearly 
covered  with  rosy  pink  spots.  They  are  also  larger;  indeed,  it  is  a 
superior  Orchid.  The  lip  is  broad  and  deeply  frilled,  making  up  a 
handsome  and  effective  flower.  The  plants  are  not  difficult  to  grow 
if  received  in  good  health,  but  once  the  roots  get  into  a  bad  state  it 
is  sometimes  difficult  to  restore  them  to  health.  The  most  likely  plan 
is  to  turn  them  out  of  their  pot  and  place  in  nearly  all  sphagnum 
moss  and  crocks,  at  the  same  time  allowing  rather  more  warmth  than 
usual.  T.  marginata  is  one  of  the  discoveries  of  the  ill-fated  Polish 
collector  M.  Warscewicz,  who  met  with  it  on  the  extinct  volcano  of 
Chiriqui  about  1850,  and  who  introduced  it  to  this  country  shortly 
afterwards. 
Rodriguezia  secdnda. 
The  colour  of  this  species  is  rather  unusual,  and  very  beautiful — a 
kind  of  frosted  rose — and  the  spikes  are  produced  with  the  greatest 
freedom.  It  is  like  a  Burlingtonia  in  habit,  and  the  flowers  appear  all 
on  one  side  of  the  spike.  It  is  easily  grown  in  a  warm,  moist  house, 
and  while  not  recommending  blocks  for  the  species  generally,  owing 
to  the  amount  of  care  required  in  watering,  the  finest  plants  of  it  I 
have  ever  seen  were  grown  on  rough  blocks  of  wood  suspended  ovei  a 
water-tank  in  a  warm,  moist  house.  No  great  amount  of  compost  is 
necessary  in  any  case,  and  the  plants  may  also  be  well  grown  on  blocks 
of  Tree  Fern  stems.  It  was  at  one  time  a  very  popular  species,  and 
even  now  is  well  worth  growing.  It  is  an  old  species  introduced  from 
Trinidad  very  early  in  the  present  century.  -  H.  R.  R. 
Show  and  Fancy  Pelargoniums. — The  majority  of  these  are  now 
going  out  of  flower,  and  the  plants  will  be  better  for  being  placed  in 
the  open  air  in  a  sunny  position,  where  the  wood  can  be  thoroughly 
ripened  previous  to  cutting  down  the  plan  s.  Duly  supply  the  roots  with 
water,  as  was  done  in  the  greenhouse.  Less,  however,  will  be  required 
as  the  cutting  down  period  approaches. — S. 
