August  18,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
_ 
urvfs 
Sheffield  Chrysanthemum  Society. 
At  the  monthly  meeting  held  on  the  10th  inst.  Mr.  T.  Gartery  of 
Rotherham  read  an  interesting  and  instructive  essay  on  “  Stray 
Thoughts  for  Amateurs  and  Cottagers.”  The  information  imparted 
was  very  valuable  for  the  beginner  (the  class  to  which  he  addressed 
himself),  and  calculated  to  give  him  a  very  good  lift  both  in  the 
garden  and  greenhouse.  Tt  was  listened  to  with  interest  by  all  classes 
of  members  present.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  essayist. 
In  the  floral  section  of  the  programme  Messrs.  C.  Scott,  R.  Agar, 
and  T.  Morton  secured  first,  second,  and  third  prizes  for  good  speci¬ 
mens  of  Crotons  suitable  tor  table  decoration.  Mr.  W.  Willgoose, 
Dr.  Barham,  and  Mr.  W.  Donaldson,  representing  the  amateur  section, 
were  the  prizewinners  for  cut  flowers,  of  which  a  fine  collection  was 
staged. 
Messrs.  W.  Artindale  &  Son  exhibited  (not  for  competition)  two 
new  Caladiums  named  Duke  of  Norfolk  and  Lady  Mary  Howard 
respectively.  They  are  good  varieties,  and  will  doubtless  make  their 
way  when  put  into  the  market.  Mr.  J.  Ilaigh  presided. 
GROWING  HOLLYHOCKS. 
What  is  there  in  the  floral  world  that  can  take  the  place  of  these 
noble  flowers?  In  my  opinion  there  is  nothing  so  striking  and  unique  in 
appearance  as  they  are.  I  am  not  an  old  man,  but  I  remember  at  least 
twenty  years  since  what  a  grand  collection  of  them  we  had  in  the  old 
country  garden  where  I  first  learnt  to  love  hardy  flowers.  Some  of  the 
stools  were  many  years  old,  but  the  stock  was  constantly  renewed  from 
seed  selected  with  a  discriminating  eye.  There  were  large  clumps, 
between  similar  ones  of  Delphiniums  and  Monkshoods,  and  they  towered 
up  7  and  8  feet  high.  Last  spring  I  revisited  the  spot,  and  found  Holly¬ 
hocks  still  a  favourite  flower,  and  from  what  I  could  gather  they  had, 
or  did  not  suffer,  from  the  disease  which  has  caused  so  much  vexation  to 
many.  Of  course  it  was  difficult  to  ascertain  the  exact  truth  respecting 
such  an  invader  from  those  wholly  unacquainted  with  the  nature  of  such 
parasites,  but  certainly  what  growth  could  be  seen  evidently  bore  no 
traces  whatever  of  the  fungus. 
I  always  keep  my  plants  in  two  or  three  places,  so  as  to  avoid,  if 
possible,  all  of  them  becoming  attacked.  Tn  one  set  some  time  ago  I 
noticed  it  making  progress,  but  could  not  detect  the  least  sign  of  it  on 
the  others.  The  infested  plants  were  taken  in  hand  at  once,  all  the 
leaves  were  removed,  and  about  an  inch  of  the  soil  scraped  out  of  the 
pots,  and  the  whole  pot  plunged  in  a  strong  solution  of  softsoap,  with 
about  double  the  amount  of  Fir  tree  oil  prescribed  for  a  given  quantity 
of  water.  The  dipping  was  repeated  for  four  days,  and  although  the 
solution  was  strong  enough  to  injure  the  plants  to  somo  extent,  yet  they 
are  growing  freely  again,  and  I  do  not  observe  any  of  the  disease,  and 
hope  it  is  destroyed,  but  am  not  at  all  sanguine  on  this  point. 
I  think  it  much  better  to  grow  a  fresh  stock  from  seed  every  year, 
securing  the  seed  from  a  reliable  source  to  start  with,  and  afterwards 
saving  over  from  the  best  flowers,  for  as  a  rule  they  seed  freely.  If 
seed  is  sown  thinly  in  pans  in  February,  and  placed  in  gentle  heat — 
say  the  greenhouse — there  will  be  ample  time  to  get  flowers  from  them  in 
autumn  ;  at  least  many,  if  not  the  greater  portion  of  them,  will  flower, 
and  the  rest  next  spring  ;  but  no  time  should  be  lost  now,  and  it  is 
important  to  sow  them  thinly,  so  that  they  will  not  require  disturbing 
before  being  planted  out,  which  they  may  be  after  being  hardened  in 
a  cold  frame.  Encourage  them  to  grow  ns  freely  as  possible,  and  have 
the  ground  deeply  dug  or  trenched  in  which  they  are  to  be  planted,  and 
heavily  manured,  for  they  are  great  feeders.  A  large  space  of  ground 
need  not  be  occupied  with  them  the  first  year,  as  they  may  be  planted 
thickly  until  they  have  flowered,  when  it  can  be  judged  whether  they  are 
worth  keeping  or  not,  after  which  they  can  be  planted  as  isolated 
specimens  or  otherwise,  and  enjoy  more  scope  for  their  development. 
Delphinium  seed  sown  in  spring  and  treated  in  the  same  way  will  produce 
flowering  plants  by  the  autumn. 
Those  who  possess  named  varieties  of  Hollyhocks  should  place  the 
stools  in  early  spring  in  a  little  heat,  or  if  they  are  in  the  ground  cover 
them  with  a  hand-light.  If  placed  in  heat  of  course  they  will  come  on 
quicker,  and  consequently  produce  better  plants  the  first  season.  When 
the  cuttings  are  fully  active  take  them  off  with  a  heel,  if  intended  for 
rooting,  and  insert  them  in  small  pots  of  light  sandy  soil,  and  place 
in  the  propagating  pit,  when  they  should  be  carefully  watered  — not  kept 
too  wet  — and  in  about  a  fortnight  they  will  root.  They  can  also  be 
grafted  upon  pieces  of  roots,  selecting  those  about  the  same  thickness  as 
the  shoots.  This  plan  is  generally  adopted  where  they  are  largely  grown. 
Ordinary  side  grafting  is  the  simplest  and  best  way  to  manage  them,  and 
when  done  place  them  in  small  pots  of  sandy  soil  and  plunge  in  heat,  and 
in  due  course,  other  things  being  equal,  they  will  unite  and  form  good 
plants,  and,  like  Roses,  if  planted  below  the  union,  will  quickly  be  upon 
12.) 
their  own  roots.  I  usually  select  seedlings  for  grafting,  as  they  are  more 
vigorous  than  portions  of  roots  taken  from  other  plants,  and  if  they  are 
grown  in  small  p  its  for  the  purpose  the  ball  can  bo  turned  out,  sufficient 
soil  removed  to  put  the  scion  on,  and  the  whole  returned  again  to  the  pot 
ar.d  then  placed  in  heat.  This  is  a  very  simple  and  generally  successful 
way  of  increasing  them. 
Supposing  it  is  yet  necessary  to  propagate  now,  there  will  still  be  a 
good  chance  to  increase  the  stock  by  eyes  selected  from  the  lateral 
shoots,  which  are  generally  freely  produced.  Examine  the  buds  in  the 
axils  of  the  leaves,  and  many  of  them  will  be  found  to  be  leaf  buds. 
These  should  be  cut  up  similar  to  Vine  eyes,  leaving  about  an  inch  of 
stem  each  side  of  the  eye,  and  pot  them  separately  in  small  pots,  leaving 
the  bud  slightly  above  the  soil,  and  plunge  in  a  brisk  bottom  heat,  either 
in  a  hotbed  or  in  the  propagating  lied  inside,  and  in  due  course  the  buds 
will  espand  and  roots  will  be  emitted  from  the  under  surface,  and  before 
winter  sets  in  leally  good  plants  maybe  hid  by  this  means.  All  the 
buds  will  not  grow,  but  with  care  a  good  percentage  of  them  will  turn 
out  mo  t  satisfactorilj'.  I  have  rooted  a  good  number  during  the  last 
two  seasons,  and  in  spring  I  repotted  those  which  were  worked  the 
previous  July  upon  their  showing  signs  of  activity.  They  were  in  3-inch 
pots,  and  were  shifted  into  5-inch  size,  and  placed  in  a  cold  frame,  where 
they  remained  till  early  in  April,  when  they  were  planted  out  in  well- 
prepared  ground,  which,  to  insure  success,  is  a  very  important  item,  and 
are  now  doing  well.  — Old  Grower. 
AUGUST  HEAT. 
The  heat  in  London  on  Monday  was  again  abnormal,  the  thermo¬ 
meter  registering  87°  in  the  shade.  Upwards  of  thirty  cases  of  sunstroke 
were  treated  at  six  of  the  metropolitan  hospitals  before  one  o'clock. 
Within  a  week  the  thermometer  has  been  as  low  as  52°  and  as  high  as  127°. 
At  ten  o’clock  on  Monday  it  was  76°  in  the  shade,  at  eleven  78°,  at  twelve 
o’clock  82°  in  the  shade  and  98°  in  the  sun,  and  at  one  o’clock  84°  in  the 
shade  and  103°  in  the  sun.  At  three  the  figures  were  87°  and  114°,  and 
at  five  86°  and  102°.  At  sunset,  when  there  was  every  indication  of  a 
change  to  cooler  weather,  the  thermometer  stood  at  80°,  the  wind  having 
moved  from  the  south,  whence  it  has  been  blowing  for  a  week,  to  S.S.E. 
Londoners  were  awakened  on  Tuesday  morning  at  three  o’clock  by  a 
short  but  severe  thunderstorm.  The  thunder  was  loud,  the  lightning 
vivid,  and  the  rain  poured  down.  But  the  day  was  almost  as  hot  as 
Monday,  and  the  thermometer  was  little  short  jf  80°  in  the  shade. 
On  Monday  night  the  heat  was  felt  worse  in  London  than  on  any 
previous  nights,  probably  in  consequence  of  the  impending  storm. 
At  eight  o’clock  on  Monday  morning  the  thermometer  registered  72°, 
which  is  as  warm  as  any  reading  at  that  hour  during  the  present  summer. 
The  reports  received  by  the  Meteorological  Office  show  that  at  eight 
o’clock  in  the  morning  London  was  warmer  than  any  other  part  of  the 
British  Islands,  but  at  both  Hurst  Castle  and  Dungeness  the  shade 
temperature  was  70°,  which  is  about  14°  above  the  normal,  and  at  other 
places  in  the  south  of  England  and  in  the  Midlands  the  thermometer 
stood  very  little  lower. 
In  August  last  year  there  were  four  days  at  the  commencement  of  the 
month  with  the  thermometer  above  80°,  and  on  the  5th  the  shade  reading 
at  Greenwich  was  89-5°,  but  there  was  no  instance  of  80°  being  registered 
during  the  remainder  of  the  summer,  In  August,  1896,  the  temperature 
did  not  rise  above  76°,  and  in  both  1894  and  1895  there  was  only  one 
instance  of  the  thermometer  touching  80°  during  the  month.  In  1893, 
when  the  hottest  summer  of  recent  years  was  experienced,  there  were 
fourteen  consecutive  days  in  August,  from  the  8th  to  21st,  with  the 
temperature  above  80°,  and  on  the  three  days,  16th  to  18th,  it  was  93°  and 
above  in  the  shade,  the  highest  reading  being  95°  on  the  18th. — 
(“Westminster  Gazette.”) 
DWARF  FRENCH  BEANS. 
I  SOWED  a  trial  of  these  at  Surbiton,  on  May  4th,  and  on  the 
following  day  all  the  seeds  that  remained  at  Egham.  The  trial  at 
Surbiton  was  a  complete  failure,  hardly  a  seed  having  grown.  That 
failure  seems  to  have  been  due  to  cold  soil  and  air,  for  similar  Beans 
came  badly  all  around.  But  the  Egham  sowing,  though  on  elevated 
ground,  yet  being  on  sand  the  soil  was  warmer,  the  growth  was 
capital,  and  an  admirable  trial  has  resulted.  In  looking  over  the 
rows  I  wondered  in  what  direction  it  was  possible  to  improve  upon 
established  varieties.  All  were  great  croppers — indeed,  apparently  pro¬ 
ducing  as  many  Beans  as  it  was  possible  for  such  plants  to  carry.  More, 
probably,  the  finest  new  one  could  not  well  do  under  similar  conditions. 
The  first  was  one  named  Everbearing.  It  is  somewhat  dwarf,  has  very 
green  leaves,  and  pods  of  nice  length  and  very  fleshy,  and  throws  its 
racemes  of  creamy  white  flowers  well  above  the  foliage.  Next  came  the 
old  Mohawk,  true  to  name,  although  now  hard  to  find  classed  in  seed 
lists  This  is  a  robust  grower,  has  tlattish  pods  of  good  length,  profusely 
produced.  Then  came  the  dwarfer  compact  grower,  Ne  Plus  Ultra,  so 
well  known  as  one  of  the  best  late  forcing  Beans,  that  was  heavily 
cropped.  Following  came  the  famous  Canadian  Wonder,  which  is  so 
good  and  so  hard  to  beat.  This  is  a  robust  grower,  crops  heavily  and 
continuously,  and  has  very  long  handsome  pods.  A  capital  stock  is 
Long-podded  Negro,  again  wonderfully  productive,  though  the  pods  are 
rather  shorter  than  the  preceding.  Very  robust  is  Perfeclion,  and  a 
great  cropper  ;  so  also  is  Magnum  Bonum — indeed,  all  are  so  good  that 
it  would  be  very  difficult  to  say  which  is  best.— A.  D. 
