390 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARRE  NEE. 
April  30,  1890. 
refuse  to  plunge  them  in.  Failing  this,  a  useful  propagating  case  i» 
quickly  constructed  by  placing  a  little  plunging  material  in  a  deep 
box,  setting  the  pots  in  it,  covering  with  squares  of  glass,  and 
standing  the  miniature  frame  on  the  hot-water  pipes  of  a 
Cucumber  house  or  other  warm  structure.  When  well  rooted 
the  plants  should  be  potted  as  required,  using  a  compost  of  loam, 
leaf  soil,  and  well-decayed  manure  in  equal  parts,  with  a  little  sharp 
sand  and  charcoal  added.  If  kept  in  a  temperature  ranging  from 
60°  to  70°,  by  the  middle  of  May  strong  plants  in  6-inch  pots  should 
be  the  result.  These  must  then  be  gradually  hardened  ready  for 
planting  out  the  first  week  in  June.  Of  course,  it  is  now  too 
late  to  sow  seeds  to  supply  plants  for  bedding  out  this  season  ;  but 
there  are  several  prominent  nurserymen  who  make  a  speciality  of 
these  popular  plants,  and  from  them  suitable  specimens  for  all 
purposes  may  be  obtained  throughout  the  spring  and  summer 
months. 
About  the  end  of  September  those  plants  which  have  done  duty 
in  the  flower  garden  should  be  lifted,  and  placed  in  quarters  where 
they  are  safe  from  frost.  Many  of  them  will  then  be  in  full 
beauty.  Some  of  the  best  of  these  should  be  potted,  shaded  from 
sunshine,  and  receive  repeatedly  syringings  for  a  couple  of  weeks, 
then  if  given  the  temperature  of  an  intermediate  house  will  flower 
splendidly  throughout  the  autumn  and  early  winter  months.  The 
main  portion  of  the  stock  may  be  placed  in  deep  boxes,  surrounding 
the  roots  with  soil,  and  stood  in  a  sheltered  position  in  the  open 
air,  where,  with  a  little  attention  in  protecting  from  night  frosts, 
they  may  remain  for  several  weeks,  and  then  be  transferred  to 
their  winter  quarters,  dry  frost-proof  sheds  or  under  the  stages  in 
cool  houses,  the  soil,  of  course,  being  kept  dry  throughout  the 
winter. 
Some  time  during  February  those  potted  should  be  placed  in 
warm  houses,  such  as  vineries  at  work,  stoves,  or  Cucumber  houses, 
given  a  watering,  and  as  soon  as  the  roots  have  started  regularly 
be  shaken  out,  divided,  and  repotted.  In  this  way  a  large  stock 
may  be  quickly  worked  up,  as  each  crown,  if  severed  from  the 
parent  plant  and  placed  in  a  4  or  5-inch  pot,  will  make  a  strong 
plant  by  bedding  out  time.  But,  of  course,  it  is  always  advisable 
to  retain  some  strong  clumps  undivided  to  supply  large  specimens 
for  pots,  tubs,  and  large  beds.  In  repotting  these  large  roots  in 
spring  the  soil  should  as  a  matter  of  course  be  shaken  from  them, 
the  loose  rootlets  be  cut  away  with  a  sharp  knife,  before  placing 
in  pots  just  large  enough  to  hold  them. 
When  they  are  well  established  in  these  they  ought  to  be  shifted 
into  others  two  or  three  sizes  larger,  using  a  very  rich  compost ;  one 
consisting  of  two  parts  loam,  two  of  well-decayed  manure,  with  a 
little  charcoal  and  soot  added,  suits  them  admirably.  These  large 
specimens  are  extremely  useful  for  conservatory  decorations,  for 
we  never  seem  to  have  a  plethora  of  big  plants  in  flower  where 
large  houses  have  to  be  kept  gay.  Plants  in  6  or  7-inch  pots  each 
having  a  single  stem  surmounted  by  a  massive  showy  spike  of 
flowers  are  also  useful  for  a  variety  of  purposes,  notably  for 
forming  groups,  or  for  dotting  at  intervals  around  the  side 
stages. 
Turning  to  varieties,  those  enumerated  below  will  be  found  to 
include  some  of  the  best  in  cultivation. 
Alphonse  Bouvier. — Rich  crimson  ;  flowers  large  and  well 
shaped. 
Amiral  Courbet. — Green  foliage,  silver  edge  ;  flowers  yellow, 
spotted  red. 
Antoine  Chautin. — Grand,  large  flowers  of  a  bright  cerise- 
salmon  shade  ;  dwarf,  leaves  green. 
Antonin  Crozy. — -Crimson,  fine  spike,  foliage  deep  green, 
edged  purple. 
Beaute  Poitevine. — Glaucous  green  foliage,  flowers  large,  of 
a  glowing  red  colour. 
Capitaine  P.  de  Suzzoni  — Foliage  light  green,  flowers  of  a 
fine  clear  yellow,  slightly  spotted. 
Ceusin  Jacob— Green  foliage,  flowers  bright  chestnut  red, 
edged  gold. 
Comtesse  de  L’Etoile. — Strong  grower  ;  foliage  milky  green  ; 
flowers  fine  clear  yellow,  thickly  spotted  with  soft  red  on  each 
petal. 
Duke  op  York. — Yermilion-red,  edged  yellow  ;  foliage  green. 
F.  Tiiomayer — Purple  foliage  ;  flowers  clear  orange. 
General  de  Negrier. — Dark  foliage  ;  flowers  cerise-red. 
Germania.  —  Very  dwarf,  massive  foliage  ;  flowers  bright 
crimson,  edged  and  marbled  with  yellow  ;  one  of  the  best. 
Kaiser  Wilhelm  II. — Flowers  scarlet ;  dwarf  and  free. 
Among  new  varieties  there  are  many  decided  acquisitions.  A 
few  of  the  best  are — 
Konigin  Charlotte. — Flowers  very  large,  bright  red,  edged 
with  gold.  A  gem  for  conservatory  decoration. 
Aurea. — Bold  green  leaves  ;  flower#  rich  golden  yellow,  large 
and  fine  (not  yet  plentiful). 
Egandale. — Bronzy  foliage  ;  flowers  large,  of  a  reddish  shade. 
Marceau. — Highly  ornamental  green  foliage  ;  flowers  large,  of 
intense  scarlet. 
Amiral  Avellan. — Strong  and  compact  grower  ;  flowers  clear 
yellow,  spotted  red. 
Aurore. — Green  foliage  ;  flowers  bright  chestnut  red. 
Diavolo. — Foliage  green,  shaded  purple  ;  splendid  flowers  of 
an  inten*e  red  colour. — D.  W.  C. 
PREPARING  FOR  THE  ENEMY. 
As  the  “  merrie  month”  is  now  at  hand,  and  so  much  depends 
on  its  behaviour  so  far  as  night  temperatures  are  concerned, 
there  is,  no  doubt,  a  widespread  anxiety  prevailing  till  such  time 
as  the  critical  period  is  past.  Judging  from  our  present  stand¬ 
point,  and  given  present  immunity  from  frost,  it  may  be  that  so 
far  as  blossom  is  concerned  the  more  advanced  stage  of  an  early 
season  will  result  in  the  protection  afforded  by  a  more  developed 
foliage,  as  well  as  the  tiding  over  of  the  crucial  time  when  the 
delicate  organs,  if  happily  allowed  to  perform  their  functions,  leave 
the  embryo  fruit  less  susceptible  to  injury.  To  a  great  extent 
amongst  the  many  objects  of  our  care,  some  there  are,  and  not 
of  the  least  importance,  which  one  feels  are  beyond  our  aid  ;  yet 
so  far-reaching  are  the  fertile  resources  of  some  men  that  it  would 
be  difficult  to  define  where  the  line  “impossible  ”  is  drawn. 
I  daresay  that  there  is  no  season  in  which  some  new  method  is 
not  employed  with  more  or  less  success  to  defeat  the  enemy,  and  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  these  victories  depend  on  prudent  prepara¬ 
tion  and  timely  application  rather  than  a  hasty  and  unpremeditated 
encounter  with  the  foe.  Energetic  action  springs  from  dire 
necessity,  but  cautious  deliberation  yields  prompt  decision.  On 
this  subject  the  most  valuable  teaching  appears  to  me  to  be  that 
enjoined  by  the  moral  force  of  example,  for  it  is  one  so  affected 
in  its  results  by  local  influences  as  well  as  individual  character 
that  no  hard  and  fast  lines  of  defence  can  be  laid  down.  Some 
examples  of  smart  generalship  have  been  recorded  for  our  benefit, 
and  have  also  formed  the  text  of  various  impressive  lessons,  which 
should  point  a  moral  for  generations  to  come. 
“  Watch  and  work  ”  must  be  the  countersign  for  the  month, 
and  should  the  note  of  warning  prove  to  be  a  false  alarm  few  will 
regret  it.  My  friend  the  busy  man  tells  me  how  be  saved  his 
border  of  early  Potatoes  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  those  black 
letter  nights.  True,  the  enemy  stole  a  march  on  him  in  the 
silent  watches  ;  but  “  I  could  not  rest,  was  out  at  daybreak,  saw 
the  tops  all  stiff,  so  worked  away  on  them  with  the  garden 
engine,  and  had  the  whole  of  the  long  border  well  douched  ere  any  of 
my  men  turned  out  or  turned  up.  The  ice  scaled  off  them  under  the 
operation,  but  I  saved  them.”  A  less  happy  example  wa#  afforded 
to  me  by  the  lapse  of  duty  on  the  part  of  a  young  hand  who 
omitted  to  turn  the  heat  on  a  late  vinery  one  night  on  which  a 
severe  visitation  came.  The  result  wa*  apparent  in  a  few  days  in 
injured  foliage  with  the  loss  of  the  point#  of  many  bunches,  at 
that  stage  of  growth  in  proximity  to  the  glass. 
Is  it  not  a  fact  that  amidst  the  wail  of  lamentations  which  may 
arise  if  occasion  for  it  occurs,  that  remissness  or  indifferent  general¬ 
ship  is  able  to  account  for  at  least  some  of  the  disaster?  How 
much  might  be  accomplished  on  emergency  by  a  well  ordered 
staff !  Would  it  not  be  worth  while,  in  view  of  impending  danger 
in  many  a  garden,  to  call  a  council  of  war  ;  to  take  the  hands 
young  and  old  into  confidence,  and  to  see  what  our  lads  of  the 
bothy,  the  kitchen  garden  men,  or  any  department  could  suggest  ; 
to  awaken  their  interest  in  the  matter,  causing  them  to  feel  and  to 
share  the  responsibility  attached  to  the  position,  then  allot  to  each 
his  post  ?  It  would  not,  I  think,  be  an  impertinent  question  on  a 
horticultural  examination  paper,  “  What  would  you  do  in  the 
event  of  an  expectant  10  degrees  of  frost  late  in  May  in  a  garden 
with  its  average  stock-in-trade  ?”  Possibly  a  little  of  this  war 
game  on  paper  would  be  as  helpful  to  our  young  students  in  after 
life  as  some  of  the  scientific  questions  promulgated. 
Bat  what  can  be  done  ?  That  is  the  question.  I  shall  not 
again  refer  to  what  has  been  done.  Perhaps  the  above  question 
may  be,  to  some  extent,  answered  by  asking  what  cannot  be  done  ? 
Indeed,  with  some  few  men,  giants  of  the  tribe,  it  would  be  difficult 
to  say,  for  they  would  not  court  disaster  by  thinking  of  it.  Some 
of  them,  I  venture  to  say,  are  already  prepared,  and  well  prepared, 
for  the  enemy,  and  they  will  keep  a  bright  look-out,  too,  until  bis 
presence  is  felt  and  they  are  grappling  with  him.  Such  men  in 
command  are  not  those  “  dressed  in  a  little  brief  authority,”  for 
the  spirit  of  action  has  a  magnetic  influence  on  the  whole  brigade, 
and  when  our  young  hands  are  properly  imbued  with  this  feeling 
that  they  are  each  and  all  of  them  indispensable  parts  to  the 
machinery  of  a  well  ordered  garden,  they  will  respond  with  cheerful 
alacrity  to  the  call  to  arms. 
