April  9,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
321 
to  how  they  may  heat  succeed  in  growing  their  few  plants  for  the 
embellishment  of  their  small  greenhouses,  cottages,  porches,  or  gardens  ; 
also  the  best  method  of  growing  for  cut  flowers,  plants  for  grouping, 
for  market,  or  large  flowers  for  exhibition.  When  I  say  exhibition,  I  do 
not  suggest  that  every  flower  is  to  be  grown  for  tne  show  board  alone, 
as  there  are  many  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  like  to  see  blooms  of  the 
first  quality  in  their  own  conservatories,  for  they  are  noble  ‘  grand  ’ 
flowers,  and  coming  at  a  time  when  there  are  so  few  other  flowers,  and 
lasting  so  long  in  bloom,  and  in  such  a  variety  of  colours,  makes  them 
all  the  more  valuable.  Again,  there  are  very  few  but  what  like  their 
gardeners  to  enter  in  friendly  competition  at  the  local  show,  and  many 
are  so  interested  in  showing  that  they  make  it  a  hobby,  and  a  very 
interesting  hobby  it  is  ;  for  how  very  rare  it  is  to  see  an  unpleasant  face 
at  a  flower  show.  In  fact,  they  are  all  pleasant  faces,  and  it  gives  one 
pleasure  to  be  one  of  the  number,  apart  from  the  lessons  and  experiences 
one  gains,  for  there  are  few  gardeners  or  amateurs  but  gain  some  little 
knowledge  and  go  home  the  wiser,  hence  their  employers  gain  the 
benefit — in  fact,  it  is  nothing  but  these  pleasant  associations  which  has 
brought  the  Chrysanthemum  to  such  a  standard  of  perfection.” 
The  chapter  on  Chrysanthemums  for  decoration  will  without  doubt 
be  useful  to  many  enthusiasts,  and  we  quote  the  major  portion  of  it  as  a 
sample  of  the  whole. 
“There  are  many  ways  in  which  these  may  be  grown,  according  to 
fancy,  or  the  position  the  plan's  have  to  furnish.  My  opinion  of  a 
pretty  decorative  plant  is  to  root  the  cuttings  in  March,  as  in  the  last 
chapter,  taking  out  the  points  when  they  are  established  in  small  pots. 
Then  from  the  pinching  take  three  shoots.  Let  them  grow  6  inches, 
them  pinch  them  again,  allowing  three  shoots  to  grow  from  each  again. 
“  Each  of  these  >  ine  shoots  should  have  a  neat  stick,  and  be  allowed  to 
carry  one  flower.  These  will  oe  ot  good  quality  and  colour,  and  are  sure 
to  please.  Or  they  may  be  left  in  sprays.  These  will  not  be  nearly 
such  fine  blooms,  but  they  are  very  useful  for  cutting  or  massing,  and, 
by  striking  late,  the  foliage  is  retained  down  to  the  pot  if  the  watering 
is  carefully  done.  Some  of  these  would  require  7-inch  pots,  some  could 
be  grown  in  6-inch  pots. 
“If  large  specimens  are  required  they  must  be  rooted  as  early  in 
December  as  possible,  or  even  in  November,  potting  them  on  as  required. 
After  they  have  grown  3  or  4  inches,  take  out  the  point  ;  keep  them 
gently  growing  in  every  other  respect  the  same  as  the  show  varieties. 
Then,  when  they  have  grown  6  inches,  stop  them  again,  giving  each 
shoot  a  small  stiff  stake,  tying  them  out  fairly  wide  and  evenly,  for  this 
will  form  the  foundation  of  the  plant.  Pot  them  on  as  required,  so  that 
they  do  not  get  any  check,  leaving  three  shoots  to  each  break  from  the 
pinching.  When  these  shoots  are  6  inches  long  pinch  them  again, 
leaving  three  shoots  to  each  as  oefor<j,  and  continue  the  stopping  until 
midsummer,  but  not  later;  for  so  many  pinchings  have  a  tendency  to 
weaken  the  growths  and  they  must  have  time  to  get  strong.  By  the  end 
of  July,  or  early  in  August,  they  will  make  a  nat  ural  break,  when  threo 
or  four  shoots  may  be  left  from  each  break.  Great  care  must  be  taken 
to  prevent  the  shoot  from  snapping  or  splintering  off,  and  the  cultivator 
must  decide  as  to  how  be  will  secure  these  shoots  and  what  shape  he 
will  train  the  plant.  Some  prefer  staking  them  out  evenly  all  round. 
If  this  is  done  they  get  monster  plants  of  some  varieties  6  to  8  feet 
through.  Some  train  or  tie  them  all  one  way,  for  going  back  against 
walls,  some  as  large  pincushions,  some  as  pyramids,  and  they  look  very 
pretty.  When  the  plants  are  housed  they  should  have  a  position  where 
the  light  is  even  all  round,  or  they  will  draw  one-sided. 
“  Standards  are  very  easily  managed  by  rooting  the  cuttings  as  early 
as  possible  in  the  autumn,  or,  say,  November,  and  growing  them  up  to 
the  height  required  on  one  stem.  Then  take  out  the  point,  unless  they 
make  a  breax.  Place  four  rather  stout  sticks  or  bamboos  at  equal 
distances  round  the  pot,  the  height  of  the  stem.  Tie  a  stout  wire  hoop 
round  these,  and  with  the  centre  stake  run  up  a  little  higher ;  smaller 
wires  may  be  stretched  from  the  hoop  to  the  centre  for  tying  the  shoots 
to.  These  should  be  gradually  bent  down  as  they  grow,  and  when  they 
have  grown  a  foot  or  »o,  pinch  out  their  tops  to  make  them  break,  and 
you  may  in  this  way  get  a  good  foundation.  Most  varieties  will  make 
another  break  after  this,  which  will  give  sufficient  shoots  to  make  a 
large  head.  The  tying  should  be  attended  to  as  for  the  pyramids,  &c. 
If  small  sticks  are  required  to  keep  the  flowers  in  position,  a  large 
Potato  can  be  cut  in  two,  scoop  out  a  groove  to  fit  the  stem,  and  tie  it  at 
the  cop  of  the  stem.  Tne  s  icks  can  be  stuck  into  this. 
“I  need  hardly  say  that,  to  prtduce  these  large  plants,  pots  from 
10  to  12  inches  across  must  be  used,  and  the  soil  the  same  as  that  used 
tor  large  blooms,  but  not  rammed  so  hard,  for  they  must  be  encouraged 
to  make  a  quick  free  growth.  When  the  pots  get  filled  with  roots  they 
must  be  fed,  and  other  matters  attended  to  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
show  plants.” 
The  price  of  this  book  is  Is.,  and  considering  the  status  of  the  writer, 
we  think  we  shall  be  perfectly  safe  in  predicting  for  it  a  considerable 
amount  of  favour.  Curiously  enough  in  this,  as  in  the  Maidenhead 
book,  eccentricities  ot  spelling  somewhat  mar  the  literary  aspect  of  the 
work,  but  do  not  materially  minimise  its  practical  value. 
CUCUMBER  DISEASE. 
A  Phenyle  Failure. 
“  By-the-Sea”  would  like  to  know  what  the  “  phenyle  adviser”  of 
the  Journal  of  horticulture  has  to  say  on  the  case  reported  on  page  309. 
Well,  the  “  phenyle  adviser  ’  is  much  interested  by  the  important  com¬ 
munication,  and  congratulates  “  By-the-Sea  ’’  on  his  screwing-up  courage 
to  record  a  failure.  Albeit,  this  is  easy  enough  when  the  pronounce¬ 
ment  tells  against  something  or  somebody  other  than  the  recorder. 
“  By-the-Sea  ”  mentions  a  case  of  the  plants  put  out  in  September, 
1894,  dying  in  the  following  November,  after  producing  about  half  a 
dozen  fruits.  A  plant  similarly  affected  has  been  subjected  to  scrutiny, 
the  underground  stem  being  swollen  “  into  a  dense  fibreless  mass  ”  with¬ 
out  phenyle  solution  having  been  applied — a  remarkable  case  of 
“  clubbing;”  the  specimen  was  found  swarming  with  eelworms  in  all 
stages — adults,  male  and  female,  young,  cysts  and  eggs.  In  a  solution 
of  soluble  phenyle,  one  part  in  sixty-four  parts  water,  a  wineglassful  to 
a  gallon  of  water,  all  were  extremely  active,  even  the  cysts  and  eggs, 
and  in  twelve  hours  all  were  still.  The  solution  in  which  the  specimen 
was  immersed  contained  197  defunct  adults,  cysts  or  eggs  per  drop,  and 
one  pint  of  such  solution  failed  to  communicate  the  disease  to  a  healthy 
Cucumber  plant.  What  has  “  By-the-Sea  ”  to  say  on  this  case  ? 
At  the  same  time  “  Phenyle  Adviser  ”  had  a  Tomato  plant,  a  fine 
healthy  specimen,  in  a  solution  of  nitrate  of  soda,  one-eighth  of  an  ounce 
to  a  pint  of  water,  for  seeing  what  effect  nitric  acid  would  have  on  a 
bacteroid  nodule  on  the  root-stem,  and  in  this  the  eel  worm  collapsed  in 
forty  minutes.  Further,  this  Tomato  plant,  freed  from  the  nitric 
solution  by  washing  and  immersion  in  water,  failed  to  contract  eelworm 
infection  by  immersion  in  soluble  phenyle  solution  containing  197 
defunct  adults,  cysts  or  eggs,  per  drop.  What  has  “  By-the-Sea  ”  to  say 
to  this  case  ? 
In  the  spring  of  1895  a  grower  of  Cucumbers  for  market  lost  the 
whole  of  the  plants  in  one  house  within  six  weeks  of  planting,  and  was 
afraid  to  replant  until  advised  to  use  soluble  phenyle  when  setting  the 
plants  and  giving  each  a  gallon  of  the  solution  after  planting,  there  was 
no  more  trouble.  Why  did  the  first  lot  fail  and  the  second  succeed  ? 
The  phenyle  got  the  credit,  but  the  fact  was  there  were  not  any  eelworms 
in  the  soil,  and  the  first  lot  of  plants  failed  simply  because  they  were 
badly  infested  when  planted,  they  having  been  raised  in  soil  of  a 
vegetable  nature  and  swarming  with  eelworms,  while  the  second  lot  were 
raised  in  and  grown  on  in  soil  disinfected  by  the  use  of  basic  slag 
phosphate  and  kainit  mixed  with  the  turf  at  laying  up  time  in  the 
autumn;  indeed,  it  w is  the  lime  of  the  basic  slag  phosphate  and  the 
chlorides  of  the  kainit  that  made  the  difference. 
Last  spring  a  grower  of  Tomatoes  lost  169  plants  out  of  200  in  one 
house  ;  but  by  the  use  of  soluble  phenyle,  one  wineglassful  to  a  gallon 
of  cold  water  applied  at  once,  saved  the  thirty-one  plants  and  made 
good  the  gaps.  This  grower  says  nothing  is  of  any  use  but  Little’s 
soluble  phenyle,  Jeyes’  fluid,  or  Calvert’s  soluble  cresol,  against  eel- 
worm  or  “  sleepy  ”  disease.  Indeed,  what  he  says  is,  that  the  plan  of 
phosphatising  and  chloridising  the  soil  by  the  use  of  basic  slag, 
phosphate,  and  kainit,  suits  the  grower  better,  as  the  phosphoric  acid  of 
the  basic  cinder  phosphate  and  the  potash  of  the  kainit  means  money 
to  the  grower.  It  is  the  free  lime  of  the  basic  slag  phosphate  and  the 
“  chloride  ”  of  the  kainit  that  kill  the  eelworms  and  the  “  sleepy  ” 
disease  fungus.  A  little  superphosphate  and  nitrate  will  do  the  rest, 
and  are  they  not  all  inorganic,  and  not  eaten  as  food  by  animal  or 
vegetable  parasites  ? — Phenyle  Adviser. 
[_“  By-the-Sea  ”  ought  to  be  satisfied  in  having  elicited  the  record 
of  interesting  and  suggestive  experiments.  He  is  advised  to  try  again  on 
the  lines  indicated.] 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
Drill  Hall,  April  7th. 
The  exhibition  held  on  the  above  date  was  not  a  very  large  one,  but 
the  quality  throughout  was  remarkably  high.  Doubtless  the  meeting 
would  have  been  larger  had  not  the  Monday  been  a  Bank  Holiday. 
Orchids  made  by  far  the  best  show,  one  large  table  being  completely 
filled  with  specimens  of  high  culture.  Tne  exhibits  before  the  Floral 
Committee  were  of  a  very  interesting  nature,  but  the  work  of  the  Fruit 
Committee  was  not  very  heavy. 
Fruit  Committee. — Present  :  P.  Crowley,  Esq.  (in  the  chair)  ; 
with  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  Dr.  Hogg,  and  Messrs.  T.  F.  Rivers.  G.  Bunyard, 
A.  F.  Barron,  G.  VV.  Cummins,  J.  Cheal,  R.  Fife,  G.  Reynolds, 
H.  Balderson,  G.  Wythes,  W.  Bates,  J.  H.  Veitch,  J.  Willard,  A.  J. 
Laing,  A.  Dean,  and  J.  Wright. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  well-kept  Apples  very  few  products 
were  placed  before  the  Committee  for  examination. 
Mr.  G.  Wythes  sent  from  Syon  House  a  dish  of  the  early  Fig  St. 
John’s,  good  fruits,  quite  ripe,  and  a  vote  of  thanks  was  awarded, 
Mr.  G.  W.  Cummins,  The  Grange,  Waliington,  sent  a  remarkable 
example  of  a  fasciated  Brussels  Sprout.  The  stem  of  the  plant  flattened 
out  towards  the  apsx  to  about  the  size  of  a  tennis  bat  with  leafy  growths 
in  the  centre.  It  was  referred  to  the  Scientific  Committee. 
Mr.  Will  Tayler,  Hampton,  exhibited  splendid  fruits  of  Annie 
Elizabeth  Apple  for  a  certificate,  on  the  ground  that  the  variety, 
though  old,  had  never  been  honoured  by  such  award.  While  the  fiue 
appearance  of  well-grown  fruits  was  admitted, also  the  excellent  keeping 
properties  of  the  variety,  yet  strong  objections  were  urged  against 
granting  a  certificate  because  of  the  general  slow  and  shy  bearing 
character  of  the  trees,  though  some  persons  find  them  fairly  productive 
on  the  Paradise  stock,  on  which  the  handsome  fruits  exhibited  had  been 
grown.  Recognising  the  usefulness  of  the  fruit  for  exhibiting  and  its 
long  keeping  properties,  and  in  view  of  the  statement  that  it  had  “  never 
been  exhibited,”  an  award  of  merit  was  eventually  proposed,  and  this 
was  passed  by  eight  votes  against  six — majority,  two.  For  the  purpose 
of  nscertaiuing  the  origin  of  this  Apple  we  have  referred  to  Dr.  Hogg’s 
