170 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  24,  1899. 
the  extent  and  beauty  of  one  of  its  chief  features,  and  it  would 
require  several  additional  portraits  of  the  remainder  of  the  scenes  in 
question  to  ocularly^  demonstrate  their  charming  characteristics.  The 
person  seated  on  a  mound  is  Mr.  Weblev’s  competent  gardener,  Mr. 
W.  Fawdry. — W.  Gardiner. 
TURPENTINE  AND  THE  TURNIP  FLEA  BEETLE. 
Raising  Cabbage  Plants. 
I  NOTICED  in  a  recent  issue  of  the  Journal  an  account  of  Cabbage 
seed  treated  with  turpentine  to  avoid  “  fly,”  and  a  recommendation 
to  try  the  same.  Previous  to  this  my  young  seedlings  had  been 
suffering,  though  not  ruinously,  from  this  pest.  I  damped  some 
Cabbage  seeds  well  with  turps,  and  sowed  the  same  day,  watering 
at  once.  At  the  same  time  I  drilled  another  lot,  undressed,  but 
watered.  The  seeds  in  both  cases  germinated  quickly,  and  owing  to 
the  cooler  weather  the  plants  have  made  tolerable  progress,  but  both 
have  been  attacked  by  the  fly,  although  I  think  the  dressed  seeds  have 
suffered  the  least.  From  my  own  experience  during  the  three  last 
trying  years  I  find  the  safest  way  to  raise  Cabbage  plants  is — 1,  To 
have  stale  ground,  the  staler  and  more  freely  worked  the  better.  2,  To 
avoid  the  neighbourhood  of  crops  such  as  harbour  the  “  flies,”  and 
even  of  ground  previously  cropped  by  such  stock.  3,  To  water  freely. 
I  hosed  the  bed  every  night,  being  fortunate  in  having  water  laid  on. 
I  think  by  watering  lightly  every  day  when  the  seedlings  appear 
we  should  not  be  much  troubled  with  this  most  exasperating  form  of 
loss. — A.  L.  Iv. 
[When  we  inserted  on  page  38,  July  20th,  Mr.  Hill’s  note  from  the 
“  M  orcester  Herald,”  we  did  so  for  the  purpose  of  affording  our  readers 
an  opportunity  of  testing  the  simple  method  that  he  had  found  “  com¬ 
pletely  successful  ”  as  a  preventive  of  the  attacks  of  the  destructive 
enemy  in  question.  So  far  we  have  received  no  confirmation  from  our 
readers  of  the  efficacy  of  the  practice  advised  by  Mr.  Hill. 
The  best  results  that  we  have  seen  in  raising  Cabbage  plants  in 
dry  hot  weather  and  preserving  them  from  their  persistent  foe,  followed 
the  practice  of  drawing  deep  drills  as  if  for  sowing  French  Beans, 
flooding  them  with  water  over  and  over  again  as  often  as  it  disappeared 
till  the  site  was  thoroughly  moist  to  a  depth  of  2  feet  or  more,  then 
scattering  in  the  seeds  thinly  and  covering  them  with  fine  dry  soil,  at 
once  covering  the  bed  with  mats  or  other  material  for  arresting 
evaporation.  On  signs  of  germination,  as  indicated  by  the  cracking 
and  upheaval  of  the  soil  in  the  channels,  the  covering  was  removed, 
first  at  night,  but  shading  litter,  through  which  the  light  filtered,  left 
on  the  surface  for  a  day  or  two.  Then  commenced  evening  sprayings 
with  petroleum  emulsion.  The  plants  in  portions  of  rows  so  treated 
were  free  from  the  Turnip  flea  beetle,  and  with  subsequent  waterings 
made  satisfactory  progress,  while  those  not  so  protected  from  attack 
were  devoured. 
It  is  important  that  the  spraying  be  done  every  night  (not  in  the 
morning),  and  lightly,  like  dew.  It  appeared  also  to  act  effectively 
against  chaffinches,  to  which  the  flavour  of  petroleum  is  evidently 
•distasteful. 
The  emulsion  was  made  by  boiling  half  a  pound  of  softsoap  in  about 
a  gallon  of  water,  then  after  taking  off  the  fire,  adding  and  churning 
violently  in  for  a  few  minutes  a  pint  of  petroleum.  This  was  thoroughly 
mixed  in  a  large  garden  can  of  water,  about  4  gallons,  for  use.  So  far 
from  injuring  the  plants  the  emulsion  acted  as  a  mild  form  of  manure, 
expediting  their  growth,  and  being  thin  in  the  drills  they  were  sturdy, 
requiring  no  “  pricking  out,”  with  the  consequent  check  and  loss  of 
time,  ]ireparatory  to  the  final  planting.  The  Abol  syringe  is  excellent 
for  spraying  the  beds. 
4  he  early  Cabbage  crop  is  so  important,  and  so  many  persons  have 
of  late  experienced  difficulty  in  raising  plants  of  the  character  and  at 
the  time  required,  that  it  cannot  be  other  than  desirable  to  publish  the 
results  of  any  experience  that  has  been  found  successful."] 
INDIGOFERA  GERARDIANA. 
This  Himalayan  plant  is  the  only  species  of  Indigofera  that  can  be 
properly  called  hardy  in  this  country,  and  wherever  it  will  thrive  it 
should  be  planted,  as  its  flcriferousness  and  graceful  habit  render  it  a 
welcome  addition  to  the  shrubbery.  It  succeeds  best  when  treated  as  a 
herbaceous  plant,  and  cut  down  to  the  ground  every  winter,  when  it  will 
throw  from  twenty  to  thirty  strong  shoots,  which  commerce  to  flower  in 
June,  and  continue  blooming  freely  until  September,  reaching  a  height  of 
about  4  feet  at  its  best.  The  flowers  are  borne  in  axillary  racemes, 
about  3  or  4  inches  long,  and  are  of  a  deep  pink  colour,  individually 
small,  but  making  up  the  lack  of  size  in  numbers.  The  pinnate  leaves  are 
the  same  length  as  the  raceme,  and  consist  of  about  seventeen  or  nineteen 
leaflets,  which  are  covered  on  both  surfaces  with  minute  white  hairs. 
I.  Gerardiana  thrives  best  in  a  rather  light  rich  soil,  and  fully  exposed 
to  the  sun.  It  likes  an  occasional  top-dressing  of  good  stable  or  cow 
manure,  or  the  two  combined.  It  can  be  readily  propagated  by  cuttings, 
seeds,  and  by  division  of  the  rootstock.  If  by  the  latter  method  they 
should  be  carefully  lifted  in  the  winter,  and  divided  into  three  or  four 
pieces,  which  soon  start  into  active  growth  and  make  good  plants. 
Old  plants  which  show  signs  of  weakness  often  take  a  fresh  lease  of  life 
when  treated  in  this  manner. 
It  is  uncertain  whether  there  are  not  two  forms  of  this  plant  in  culti¬ 
vation  identical  in  every  respect,  except  that  while  one — the  subject 
of  this  note — is  very  free  flowering,  the  other  rarely  blooms  in  this 
countrv,  although  it  grows  freely.  Luckily  the  better  form  is  the 
commoner  of  the  two. — C. 
GROWING  HO  YE  AS. 
( Concluded  from  page  T26.) 
Potting  is  best  done  in  the  spring  months,  especially  in  the  case 
of  young  plants.  In  the  case  of  established  ones  it  may  be  done  any 
time  in  summer  after  flowering  when  fresh  growth  has  commenced. 
Where  proper  attention  can  be  given  after  the  plant  is  a  foot  or 
18  inches  high,  it  may  be  treated  on  ihe  one-sh;ft  system  ;  in  all  other 
cases  the  successive  transfer  system  should  be  adopted,  and  not  too  large 
shifts  at  a  time.  I  need  not  add  that  drainage  must  be  particularly 
attended  to.  If  a  plant  in  an  improperly  crocked  pot  is  placed  on  the 
ground,  even  for  a  short  time,  a  worm  or  two  will  try  and  wriggle 
themselves  in,  and  as  the  plants  neither  like  much  lime  water,  nor  to 
be  much  disturbed  about  the  roots  when  growing,  there  is  a  difficulty 
in  getting  the  slippery  gentlemen  dislodged.  The  wire  crock  is  one  of 
the  best  means  for  keeping  them  out. 
For  young  plants  the  soil  should  be  composed  almost  < ntirely  of  fibry 
sandy  peat,  with  a  little  dried  leaf  mould  ;  as  the  plants  get  larger  a 
little  fibry  sweet  loam  maybe  added.  The  larger  the  plant  and  the  larger 
the  shift  the  rougher  should  the  compost  be.  For  medium  circumstances 
the  compost  will  answer  well  of  four  parts  fibry  peat,  one  part  very  fibry 
sweet  loam,  one  part  silver  sand,  and  one  part  of  equal  proportions  of 
rough  charcoal  and  pounded  bricks  or  broken  freestone.  The  largest 
piece  for  a  large  shift  should  be  less  than  a  Walnut,  and  the  least  half  the 
size  of  small  peas,  the  dust  being  silted  out  before  the  sand  is  added. 
A  slight  la^er  of  fine  compost  must  be  placed  upon  the  surface. 
After  potting,  at  whatever  time,  the  plants  should  be  kept  closer  and 
warmer  than  usual  to  encourage  growth,  exposing  them  to  sun  and  air  by 
degrees.  The  common  temperature  of  the  greenhou-se  in  the  spring  and 
early  summer  suits  them  well  when  blooming,  but  when  that  is  nearly 
over,  and  the  plants  have  received  their  pruning,  any  close  pit  where  a 
moister  atmosphere  and  a  higher  temperature  can  be  given  them  will 
encourage  fresh  growth.  When  that  has  taken  place  the  roots,  if 
necessary,  may  be  examined,  and  the  plants  returned  to  the  same 
position,  taking  care,  however,  that  they  are  more  exposed  by  degrees 
before  the  end  of  autumn,  so  that  the  wood  may  be  well  matured  ;  on 
this  maturity  depends,  in  a  great  measure,  their  winter  treatment.  Those 
best  ripened  will  stand  a  low  temperature  and  an  abundance  of  air  that 
would  ruin  those  more  coddled  in  the  autumn. 
Asa  general  rule  the  temperature  should  be  seldom  below  45°  in  the 
winter  if  it  be  desirable  to  keep  the  plants  healthy.  A  rise  from  10°  to 
15°  may  be  a’lowed  from  sun  heat.  A  slight  shade  will  be  wanted  when 
growing  in  the  summer,  but  full  exposure  towards  autumn.  I  have  seen 
good  plants  that  were  never  removed  from  the  greenhousp,  but  I  would 
prefer  a  closer  and  warmer  place  when  making  their  wood  than  would 
suit  the  generality  of  greenhouse  plants  in  summer  ;  but  if  the  greenhouse 
is  kept  close  for  the  sake  of  growing  Azaleas  and  Camellias,  then  that 
alters  the  case,  and  it  would  just  be  the  place  for  Hoveas  when  growing. 
The  trellis  one-sided  system,  especially  for  plants  that  have  no 
liability  to  twist,  twine,  or  creep,  has  very  properly  been  discarded.  Every 
appearance  of  twis'ing,  even  when  done  to  give  a  bush-like  character, 
detracts  from  the  beauty  of  Hoveas.  The  bush  system  must  be  given 
at  once,  when  the  plant  is  young,  by  stopping,  and  by  tying  out  the 
side  shoots  from  the  base  of  the  plant  to  the  side  of  the  pot,  fastening 
them  there  to  little  sticks,  or,  better  still,  by  strands  of  fine  matting  or 
worsted  thread  to  a  ring  fixed  beneath  the  rim  of  the  pot  outside. 
This  training  must  also  be  kept  in  view  when  pruning  the  flowering  shoots 
somewhat  freely  previously  to  the  plants  making  growth  for  another  year. 
Watering  is  an  essential  point ;  the  plants  will  neither  endure  the 
torrent  spout  system,  nor  the  surface  soil  the  dribbling  from  a  fine  rose. 
A  medium  between  the  two  will  be  found  the  best,  such  as  placing  a 
large  potsherd  or  a  good  sized  oystershell  on  the  surface  of  the  pot  and 
pouring  the  requisite  supply  slowdy  on  these  mediums.  I  have  several 
times  lost  fine  plants  solely,  I  believe,  owing  to  the  careless  use  of  the 
water-pot.  In  winter  the  water  should  be  pure,  and  not  below  the 
temperature  of  50°.  If  enough  is  given  at  a  time  waterings  will  not  often 
be  required  in  winter.  As  the  flower  buds  begin  to  swell  more  will  be 
necessary,  and  a  very  weak  solution  of  decayed  cow  manure  will  be 
advantageous.  When  growing  they  must  have  abundance  of  water. 
During  the  whole  period  they  stand  on  the  shelves  in  the  greenhouse 
to  prevent  sudden  extremes  from  sunshine,  dry  cold  air,  or  brisk  fires, 
the  plants  will  be  rendered  more  secure  by  standing  in  double  pots, 
the  space  between  them,  at  the  top  at  least,  being  stuffed  with  moss  or 
any  other  more  suitable  substance.  When  growing  the  syringe  may  be 
applied  often,  but  lightly,  morning  and  evening. — R.  F. 
“Familiar  Wild  Flowers.”  —  We  find  in  part  20  admirably 
executed  plates  of  Hedge  Calamint,  Ragwort.  Field  Thistle,  Tuberous 
Pea,  Red  Bartsia,  Milk  Thistle,  Hedge  Stachys,  Cornflower,  or  Corn. 
Blue  Bottle,  Fritillary,  and  Winter  Figwort. 
