254 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  9,  1897. 
correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor,”  8,  Hose  Hill  Road, 
Wandsworth,  London,  /S.  TE.,  and  not  to  Fleet  Street.  It  is 
requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately  to  any  of  our  corre- 
si)ondents,  seeking  information  on  matters  discussed  in  this 
Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable  trouble  and 
e.xpense,  and  dejiartmental  writers  are  not  expected  to  answer 
any  letters  they  may  receive  on  Gardening  and  Bee  subjects 
through  the  jiost.  If  information  be  desired  on  any  particular 
subject  from  any  particular  authority  who  may  be  named, 
endeavour  will  be  made  to  obtain  it  by  the  Editor. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions  relating 
to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  should  never  send 
more  than  two  or  three  questions  at  once.  All  articles  intended 
for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only.  We 
cannot,  as  a  rule,  reply  to  questions  through  the  post,  and  we  do 
not  undertake  to  return  communications  which,  for  any  reason, 
cannot  be  inserted. 
Trimming  Strawberry  Plants  {Strawberry').— When  cutting  away  the 
runners  of  Strawberry  jilants  in  the  ordinary  way  after  fruiting,  it  is 
desirable  to  leave  the  perfectlyGiealthy  foliage  of  the  old  plants  untouched, 
but  no  injurious  effect  is  caused  by  cutting  away  the  decayed,  unhealthy, 
or  imperfect  bottom  leaves.  These  are  better  i-emoved,  though  not 
ruthlessly  torn  off  in  a  manner  we  have  often  seen,  but  which  is  not  likely 
to  occur  under  your  thoughtful  supervision. 
Membership  of  the  Koyal  Horticultural  Society  (IF.  //.,  Natal). — 
Anyone  interested  in  horticulture  may  become  a  Fellow  of  the  Boyal 
Horticultural  Society.  It  is  necessary  to  ))e  proposed  by  a  Fellow  and 
to  .1)0  seconded  by  another.  The  benefits  that  accrue  to  Fellows  are 
numerous,  amongst  the  chief  of  which  are  admissions  to  all  the  shows  of 
the  Society  at  the  Drill  Hall  or  elsewhere  ;  to  send  seeds,  bulbs,  or  plants 
to  Chiswick  for  trial  ;  to  a  share  in  the  distriltution  of  ])lants,  and  most 
important  of  all,  in  your  case,  to  coj)ies  of  the  .Journals  of  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society  as  publisJied.  These  contain  the  papers  that  have  been 
read  at  meetings,  and  ai’e  always  interesting  and  instructive.  There  may  be 
other  l)enefits  that  you  may  secure  for  a  guinea  annual  subscri])tion,  but 
these  will  suffice  to  give  you  a  rough  idea.  We  trust  you  will  soon 
become  a  F.K.Il.S.,  as  it  would  l>e  well  if  every  gardener  and  horti¬ 
culturist  were  one. 
Watering  Cattleyas  (F.  IF.  D.  R.).  —  Water  should  be  withheld 
gradually  from  these  plants,  beginning  to  do  so  as  soon  as  the  pseudo¬ 
bulbs  are  fully  developed  and  display  signs  of  ripening,  and  finally 
given  only  sufficiently  often  to  keep  the  pseudo-bulbs  from  shrivelling. 
How  long  water  can  be  withheld  depends  largely  upon  the  house  in 
which  the  plants  are  grown  and  the  atmospheric  conditions  maintained  as 
regards  moisture.  Simultaneously  with  a  diminished  supply  of  water  at 
the  roots  and  moisture  in  the  atmosphere  more  light  and  air  should  be 
admitted  to  the  plants.  The  Oncidiums  you  mention  are  only  of  slow 
growth  ;  they  do  not  under  the  best  systems  of  culture  appear  to  increase 
materially  in  size.  We  ]jrefer  to  grow  them  in  small  baskets  or  pans, 
because  they  are  less  liable  to  sutler  by  an  insufficient  supply  of  water 
during  the  season  of  growth.  If  you  place  the  plants  in  baskets  do  not 
take  them  off  the  blocks,  but  insert  them  into  the  baskets  and  fill  in  with 
fibry  peat  and  charcoal  in  lumps.  A  little  moss  during  the  season  of 
growth  is  also  an  advantage.  We  should  advise  you  to  leave  them  as 
they  are  until  the  spring.  By  no  means  should  too  much  peat  and 
moss  be  placed  about  the  roots.  These  plants  do  best  suspended 
moderately  close  to  the  glass. 
Rose  Cuttings  (Woulce). —If  cuttings  of  half-ripened  wood  are  taken 
off  Avith  the  foliage  attached,  cut  into  lengths  of  two  or  three  joints,  and 
inserted  in  sandy  soil  before  they  flag,  nearly  every  one  of  some  kinds 
Avill  root.  The  cuttings  should  be  inserted  in  hand-lights  placed  in  a 
shady  position,  and  the  top  eye  only  left  above  the  soil.  After  insertion 
a  good  Avatering  should  be  given,  and  the  hand-lights  kept  as  airtight  as 
possible,  In  about  a  month  they  Avill  be  Avell  rooted,  and  may  be  care¬ 
fully  lifted  and  placed  singly  into  4-inch  pots.  If  encouraged  to  grow 
under  glass  afterwards  they  Avill  become  Avell  established  before  the 
Avinter,  and  Avill  make  excellent  j^lants  the  f))llowing  season,  whether  they 
are  planted  out  or  kept  in  pots.  Such  kinds  as  Gloire  de  Dijon,  Wil  iam 
Allen  Richardson,  and  others  of  similar  growth  will,  if  Avell  grown  under 
glass  the  following  season  and  placed  as  tlTey  need  it  into  8  and  10-inch 
l)ots,  make  good  plants  for  forcing  the  following  spring.  Nearly  all  Tea 
Roses  do  Avell  grown  in  pots,  Avhich  is  advisable  if  reijuired  fi>r  tlowering 
under  glass.  Hybrid  Perpetuals  do  better,  and  make  greater  progress  if 
planted  out  in  the  spring  in  deeply  dug  and  liberally  manured  ground. 
Many  Teas  luid  Hybrid  Teas  grown  under  glass  the  whole  of  the  first 
season  Avill  give  a  bountiful  supply  of  blooms  in  the  autumn,  Avhen  they  are 
scarce  outside,  and  often  prove  as  valuable  as  if  produced  during  the 
spring  months. 
Dicksonia  antarctica  {A.  F.). — The  plant  may  safely  be  moved,  just 
as  growth  starts  in  the  spring  being  a  good  time  ;  but  with  care  they 
may  be  successfully  transplanted  now.  Plants  in  I'ockAvork  usually  move 
with  a  compact  mass  of  roots.  With  these  placed  in  firm  soil,  kept  duly 
moist,  and  the  stem  syringed,  the  plant  will  suffer  little  from  the  removal. 
We  have  found  such  ])lants  improve  after  removal  because  of  new  roots 
having  fresh  compost  to  ramify  in.  We  have  also  knoA\'n  j)lants  cut  off 
at  any  desired  point  above  ground,  and  the  stems  aa'cII  and  firmly  inserted 
in  good  soil,  grow  freely'  and  satisfactorily. 
Nutmeg  {One  of  the  Domain). — The  note  hereAvith  and  the  accom¬ 
panying  illustration  Avill  probably  give  you  all  the  information  you 
require.  The  Nutmeg  tree,  Myristica  moschata,  syn.  M.  aromatica,  is  of 
considerable  commercial  importance,  the  kernel  being  indispensable  for 
certain  culinary  purposes.  It  is  also  Ornamental  by  its  clusters  of  berries 
or  fruit.  The  plant  is  not  commonly  met  Avith  in  this  country,  and  it  is 
seldom  grown  except  in  botanical  or  officinal  collections.  Its  cultivation, 
however,  is  not  difficult.  It  thrives  in  a  sandy  loam  and  brisk  heat,  and 
Fig.  36. — The  Nutmeg. 
cuttings  strike  freely  inserted  in  sand  and  placed  in  heat  under  a  bell- 
glass.  Of  the  Nutmeg  tree  Dr.  Hogg  has  Avritten  as  follows  in  his 
“Vegetable  Kingdom”: — “It  is  a  native  of  the  Moluccas  and  neigh¬ 
bouring  islands,  but  is  now'  cultivated  in  Java,  Sumatra,  Penang,  the  Isle 
of  Bourbon,  Mauritius,  and  other  parts  of  the  East,  and  in  Cayenne, 
Martinique,  and  some  of  the  West  India  islands.  It  attains  the  height 
of  30  feet,  Avith  a  straight  stem  and  a  branching  head.  The  leaves  are 
oblong-oval,  glossy  on  the  upper  surface  and  Avhitish  beneath,  and  Avith 
an  aromatic  taste.  The  floAvers  are  male  and  female  on  different  trees, 
insignificant,  and  of  a  yellowish  colour.  The  fruit  is  round  or  oval,  about 
the  size  of  a  small  Peach,  with  a  smooth  surface,  green  at  first,  but 
becoming  yellow  Avhen  ripe.  The  external  covering,  Avhich  may  be 
called  a  husk,  is  thick  and  fieshy,  containing  an  austere  astringent  juice; 
becoming  dry  by  maturity,  it  opens  in  two  valves,  and  discovers  the  nut 
covered  Avith  its  aril,  or  mace,  Avhich  is  of  a  beautiful  blood-red  colour; 
beneath  the  mace  is  a  brown  shining  shell,  containing  the  kernel  or 
Nutmeg.  A  plantation  of  Nutmeg  trees  is  always  made  from  seed,  and 
it  is -not  till  the  eighth  or  ninth  year  that  the  trees  ijroduce  llowers. 
The  sexes  being  on  different  trees,  after  the  plants  are  t’wo  years  old 
they  are  all  headed  doAvn  and  grafted  Avith  scions  taken  from  the  female 
tree,  reserving  only  one  male  stock  for  fecundation.  The  natives  of  the 
Moluccas  gather  the  fruit  by  hand,  strip  off  and  reject  the  ])u]py  husk, 
detach  the  mace  carefully,  and  expose  it  to  the  sun,  Avhich  soon  changes 
its  beautiful  blood-red  colour  to  a  light  brown  ;  it  is  then  sprinkled  Avitli 
sea  water  to  render  it  flexible  and  preserve  it.  The  nuts  are  first  sun- 
dried  and  then  smoked,  until  the  kernels  rattle  against  the  shell.  This 
shell  being  removed,  the  kernels  are  dipped  twice  or  thrice  in  lime  Avater, 
laid  in  heaps  for  two  or  three  days,  Aviped,  and  packed  in  bales  or  barrels. 
The  unripe  fruit  of  the  Nutmeg  is  frequently  preserved  in  sugar  in  the 
East,  and  before  doing  so  it  is  necessary  to  depi'ive  it  of  its  acrid 
properties  by  soaking  it  in  spirits.” 
