September  24  lewe 
JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
307 
in  capital  condition  for  placing  in  their  largest  pots  in  January.  All 
shoots  needing  pinching  must  be  attended  to  during  the  months  when 
growth  is  practically  at  a  standstill.  It  is  only  a  waste  of  time  to  allow 
them  to  make  more  than  four  good  joints  before  the  points  are  removed. 
If  this  is  done  and  the  plants  are  close  to  the  glass  they  will  make  sturdy 
growth  as  soon  as  the  days  lengthen,  and  will  be  capable  of  supporting 
their  flowers  without  the  aid  of  stakes.  When  they  grow  during  the 
winter  the  shoots  are  soft  and  long-jointed  ;  in  fact,  they  seldom, 
however  good  the  treatment  may  be  afterwards,  make  growth  sufficiently 
firm  and  compact  to  flower  as  profusely  as  might  be  desired. 
The  sturdy  compact  appesrauce  of  plants,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  flower,  is  largely  due  to  the  compost  and  the  method  of  potting.  If 
they  are  potted  loosely  and  in  an  open  compost  they  make  soft  growth, 
long-jointed  wood,  and  flabby  foliage.  A  little  leaf  mould,  amounting 
to  one-third,  may  be  used  with  advantage  at  first,  but  afterwards  none 
should  be  used.  The  most  suitable  compost  is  fibry  loam,  sand,  and  one- 
seventh  of  manure,  which  must  be  pressed  firmly  into  the  pots. 
After  the  first  flower  trusses  are  visible  soot  water  in  a  clear  state 
assists  them  wonderfully,  and  artificial  manures,  such  as  Clay 's,  Beeson’s, 
Standen’s,  or  any  other  suitable  kind,  can  be  applied  to  the  surface  soil 
about  once  a  fortnight.  When  liquid  manures  only  are  supplied 
the  roots  have  a  tendency  to  go  downwards  instead  of  coming  to  the 
surface. 
Healthy  Pelargoniums  are  seldom  attacked  by  aphides  to  the  same 
extent  as  those  of  weak  growth,  which  are  induced  to  make  growth  in 
winter  in  a  close  atmosphere.  Plants  of  this  description  are  difficult  to 
deal  with  when  once  they  are  infested,  simply  because  dipping  in  a 
solution  of  tobacco  water,  if  strong  enough  to  kill  the  insects,  turns  the 
leaves  yellow,  and  the  same  results  follow  fumigating  with  tobacco.  If 
done  carefully  healthy  plants  with  leathery  foliage  will  bear  either 
treatment  without  injury. — Gbower. 
TO  YOUNG  GARDENERS. 
R.H.S.  Examination. 
Dear  me  I  I  said  to  myself,, as  I  read  the  note  of  “  A  Student  ”  on 
page  274,  with  its  diffident  ending  and  its  editorial  encouragement. 
"  How  history  repeats  itself  1  ”  Why,  1  can  remember  nearly  forty  years 
ago  writing  in  just  that  same  diffident  way  to  the  then  Cottage  Gardener 
about  a  little  question  in  gardening.  Dropping  my  small  note  shyly  in 
the  letter-box  I  nervously  waited  its  acknowledgement,  when  lo,  and 
behold,  it  appeared  in  print  in  full,  and  an  editorial  note  added,  full  of 
the  kindest  words  of  encouragement  that  any  young  writer  could  desire. 
Was  not  I  a  proud  mortal  that  week,  and  after  ?  and  as  to  the  many 
times  I  read  it  over  I  am  not  going  to  tell  anybody. 
Here  history  is  repealing  itself  in  both  forms,  except  that  “  A 
Student’s  ”  note  is  on  a  higher  subject  than  mine  (there  were  no 
E.H.S.  examination  schemes  then,  more's  the  pity),  but  it  has  the  same 
modest,  distrustful  tone  in  it,  and  he  gets  the  same  fatherly  pat  on  the 
buck  and  cheery  encouragement  to  go  on  that  I  did.  “  Write  by  all 
means,”  says  the  Editor,  and  so  say  I  to  all  young  gardeners.  Put  your 
own  best  thoughts  on  paper,  in  your  own  best,  freest,  most  expressive 
words,  and  send  it  on  to  our  Journal.  Believe  me  there’s  nothing  we 
old  hands  enjoy  more  than  the  sight  of  the  coming  generation  quietly, 
intelligently,  aspiringly  beginning  to  take  their  place  in  our  profession, 
and  discussing  the  subjects  which  are  then  exercising  the  minds  of  the 
leaders  in  our  craft.  It  tells  ns  that  there’s  life,  force,  brains  in  the 
profession  yet  ;  it  assures  us  that  the  rising  young  folks  are  preparing 
and  fitting  themselves  to  take  up  the  lamp  of  light  out  of  our  hands, 
and  to  lift  it  up  and  carry  it  to  higher  and  brighter  heights  by  reason  of 
the  educational  advantages  possessed  by  the  young  people  of  the  present 
day.  This  gladdens  our  hearts  more  than  can  easily  be  put  into  words, 
though  “  An  Old  Boy  ”  is  doing  something  towards  that  in  his  most 
excellent  articles  on  bothydom. 
My  dear  young  friends  let  me  tell  you  a  jealous  thought  of  you, 
as  to  your  advancement  interfering  with  us,  never  enters  our  heads. 
Most  of  us  have  sons  out  in  the  world,  and  nothing  so  touches  a 
father’s  heart  as  a  kindness  shown  to  his  boy,  and  every  rightminded 
man  (and,  of  course,  every  true  gardener  is  that)  does  a  kindness 
whenever  he  can  to  some  other  man’s  son,  and  thus  makes  things 
level. 
You  will  find  as  you  get  on  that  no  one  is  more  anxious  for  your 
rising  and  well-doing  than  are  the  heads  of  our  profession.  Not  only 
will  you  receive  fatherly  professional  counsel  from  the  Editor  and 
his  staff,  but  the  old  hands,  the  working  writing  men,  will,  amongst 
their  multifarous  duties,  respond  to  an  appeal  to  them  when  made 
in  the  right  spirit  and  in  the  right  way.  It  will  be  sufficient  for 
them  to  feel  that  their  correspondent  is  a  true  seeker  after  know¬ 
ledge  ;  the  answer  is  then  sure  to  come.  I  am  speaking  that  which 
I  know  from  experience,  an  experience  of  now  many  years  back,  and  I 
hold  in  immortal  reverence  the  kindness  and  assistance  I  received 
from  the  Editor  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture — the'”  Cottage  Gardener  ” 
of  those  days — and  Donald  Beaton  and  Robert  Fish. 
As  a  last  word  let  me  say,  read  all  you  can  of  the  best  authors,  specially 
read  the  letters  of  the  highest  class  of  literary  men.  They  will  give  you  an 
idea  as  to  freedom  of  expn  Siion  you  cannot  get  elsewhere,  and  after 
reading  put  your  thoughts  on  paper.  This  keeps  the  mind,  as  ”  G.  H., 
Leices,"  says,  .‘‘from  staggering  about,”  and  helps  you  to  realise  the 
inwardness  of  your  subject  better  than  anything  else  can ;  at  least, 
that  is  the  experience  of— An  Old  Peovinciali 
LITTONIA  MODEST  A. 
Although  this  Littonia  is  said  to  have  first  flowered  at  Kew  about 
forty  years  ago  it  does  not  appear  to  be  generally  grown  in  gardens, 
inasmuch  as  a  young  gardener  writes  to  say  that  he  has  “never  seen  a 
specimen,  and  should  like  a  illustration  of  it  to  appear  in  the  Journal.”^ 
We  comply  with  the  request,  and  add  a  few  particulars  concerning  the 
plant.  Although  nearly  related  to  the  well-known  Gloriosa  superba, 
this  little  plant  is  quite  distinct  enough  to  take  generic  rank,  and  though 
of  an  unassuming  character  as  its  name  indicates,  it  is  of  graceful  habit, 
and  the  freely  produced  flowers  are  brightly  blurred.  Littonia  modesta 
(fig.  60)  is  a  native  of  Natal,  where  it  was  found  by  Mr.  John  Sanderson 
fig.  60.— littosia  modesta. 
during  a  journey  in  1851  from  Port  Natal  to  Maritzburg.  In  habit  it  is 
much  like  the  Gloriosa,  having  tapering  leaves  terminating  in  a  tendril¬ 
like  point,  which  aids  it  in  climbing  stems  or  twigs.  The  flowers  are 
borne  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  are  drooping,  and  bright  orange  coloured. 
The  tubers  are  of  peculiar  shape,  brownish,  and  have  been  compared  to 
a  Spanish  Chestnut,  and  the  manner  of  growth  is  very  curious.  It  has 
been  grown  in  a  stove  and  in  cooler  quarters,  but  an  intermediate 
temperature  and  sandy  soil  seem  to  suit  it  best. 
A  GARDENER’S  HOLIDAY. 
The  Isle  of  Man  is  an  ideal  place  for  a  gardener  to  spend  his  holiday, 
even  though  there  is  no  high-class  horticulture  there,  for  he  can  in  the 
varied  enjoyments  of  Douglas  and  its  surroundings  forget  the  weeds, 
wasps,  thiips,  mildew,  and  other  worries  inseparable  to  the  craft.  The 
sea  a:r,  good  food,  electric  railways,  and  all  outdoor  and  indoor  amuse- 
