December  16.  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENEk. 
585 
GENTIANA  BAVARICA. 
The  Gentians  are  impatient  of  stagnant  moisture,  especially  in  winter, 
and  they  suffer  from  full  exposure  to  the  midday  sun  during  the  hottest 
months  of  the  year  ;  it  is  probable  that  inattention  to  these  point.«  is  the 
chief  cause  of  failure  in  their  cultivation,  and  of  their  consequent  rarity 
in  our  gardens. 
With  regard  to  soil  they  are  by  no  means  so  particular  as  is  commonly 
supposed.  They  will  thrive  in  peat ;  in  a  mixture  of  peat  and  loam  ;  and 
also  in  friable  loam  containing  a  little  sand.  Rich  highly  manured  soil  is 
objectionable,  and  in  wet  adhesive  loams  they  will  live  but  a  short  time  ; 
in  either  case  it  will  only  be  necessary  to  supply  a  small  quantity  of 
the  compost  of  peat  and  sandy  loam,  with  drainage  beneath  it,  in  order 
to  place  the  plants  in  the  condition  requisite  to  insure  success. 
The  plants  should  be  screened  from  the  sun  during  the  hottest  part  of 
the  day,  only  the  morning  and  evening  rays  being  allowed  to  reach  them, 
especially  in  dry  arid  soils  ;  but  the  situation  should  he  as  light  and  airy 
as  possible —they  will  neither  bear  to  be  smothered  by  other  plants,  nor 
endure  the  drip  of  trees.  During  long-continued  rains  in  autumn  and 
winter  it  will  be  a  good  plan  to  cover  the  clumps  with  a  large  pot,  as 
they  are  more  impatient  of  wet  than  cold  ;  but  they  should  not  be  kept 
covered  longer  than  is  necessary.  The  species  figured  is  one  of  the  most 
attractive  of  tbe  genus,  the  flowers  being  rich  dark  blue  in  colour.  -W.  T. 
THE  YOUNG  GARDENERS’  DOMAIN. 
Euphobbia  jacquini.eflora. 
This  species  of  Euphorbia  far  surpasses  any  other  in  usefulness  and 
fioriferousness.  The  plants  are  of  easy  cultivation,  and  may  be  grown 
with  great  success  in  a  stove  where  the  temperature  does  not  fall  below 
•60°  at  night.  It  generally  blooms  in  November  or  December,  but,  growing 
in  three  successions,  abundance  of  flowers  may  be  had  for  several  months. 
At  this  time  of  the  year  its  intense  scarlet  flowers  and  wreath-like  shoots 
with  green  healthy  foliage,  add  a  charming  and  even  a  magnificent  display. 
The  flowers  last  well  either  on  the  plant  or  when  cut  and  placed  in  glasses 
of  water  for  decorative  purposes.  Early  plants  will  give  flowers  from  the 
second  growths  which  are  made  after  the  hrst  shoots  have  been  cut. 
Cuttings  should  be  selected  from  young  growths  in  spring  with  a  heel 
of  the  old  wood  when  about  3  or  4  inches  in  length.  Have  a  quantity  of 
powdered  charcoal  at  hand,  into  which  plunge  the  cuttings  to  prevent 
bleeding  and  flagging.  Insert  four  cuttings  close  to  the  edges  of  3-inch 
pots,  filled  firmly  wiih  loam,  peat,  leaf  soil  and  silver  sand  in  equal 
parts,  allowing  a  thin  surfacing  of  diy  sand  on  each  pot.  Make  the  hole 
just  deep  enough  for  the  cutting,  and  be  careful  that  it  rests  on  a  firm 
base.  Plunge  the  pots  to  the  rims  in  a  propagating  pit,  where  the  tempe¬ 
rature  does  not  fall  below  70°,  with  a  brisk  bottom  heat  of  about  75°, 
wiping  all  moisture  from  the  glass  daily.  The  cuttings  should  be  kept 
close  until  root  action  has  commenced,  when  air  may  be  given. 
As  soon  as  the  plants  are  well  established  transfer  them  to  large 
pots,  maintaining  a  ball  of  soil  with  the  roots.  As  a  compost  for  this 
potting  use  good  loam  and  peat  in  equal  parts,  with  one-quarter  leaf 
soil  and  silver  sand.  The  pots  must  be  well  drained,  and  watering  be 
carefully  done.  Keep  the  plants  close  until  root  action  has  recommenced, 
when  air  can  be  admitted.  A  temperature  of  65®  by  night,  and  about 
5°  to  10°  higher  in  the  day,  will  be  found  suitable  at  this  stage  of  growth. 
The  plant  has  naturally  an  erect  habit,  so  that  when  bushy  specimens  are 
required  the  growths  have  to  be  stopped  or  bent  down  ;  the  latter,  in  my 
opinion,  being  preferable,  as  it  induces  more  eyes  to  break  into  growth. 
This  operation  must  not  be  done  until  the  plants  are  fairly  advanced. 
A  good  method  of  obtaining  specimen  plants  is  to  place  about  six  or 
eight  cuttings  into  a  4-inch  pot  and  shift  as  required.  I  believe,  however, 
the  plants  are  more  useful  when  flowered  on  single  stems  grown  in  various 
sized  pots.  Plants  which  are  in  60’s  may  be  repotted  as  soon  as  they  have 
tilled  the  pots  with  roots.  Use  a  compost  as  previously  advised,  with  the 
addition  of  a  little  decayed  manure.  Pots  of  different  sizes  may  be  used, 
but  the  strongest  plants  should  be  transferred  to  the  6-inch  size,  in  which 
they  would  flower. 
Cuttings  which  are  rooted  late  in  the  spring  may  be  successfully 
lowered  in  large  60’s  with  the  help  of  some  approved  chemical  manure. 
This  is  also  beneficial  to  larger  plants,  and  should  be  applied  carefully 
after  the  pots  are  well  filled  with  roots,  while  an  occasional  application  of 
clear  soot  water  and  liquid  manure  is  appreciated.  The  plants  will 
require  a  thin  shade  during  the  hottest  part  of  the  day  ;  but  they  must 
be  given  as  much  light  as  possible,  or  their  naturally  straggling  habit 
would  be  increased.  If  this  method  of  treatment  is  followed  it  will  impart  both 
colour  and  substance  to  the  flowers.  As  the  season  advances  the  tempe¬ 
rature  ought  to  be  reduced  to  60°  by  night,  with  an  advance  of  5°  in  the 
day.  Ventilation  must  at  all  times  be  given  very  thoughtfully,  using  the 
greatest  possible  care  to  avoid  cold  draughts,  which  are  very  injurious. 
As  soon  as  the  flowering  season  is  over  the  plants  may  be  kept  con¬ 
siderably  drier  at  the  roots,  giving  just  enough  water  to  prevent  shrivelling 
until  they  have  made  several  inches  of  new  growth,  which  can  be  used  for 
cuttings  if  more  plants  are  required.  This  Euphorbia  is  less  subject  to 
insects  than  most  of  our  stove  plants,  although  scale,  thrips,  and  red 
spider  will  sometimes  attack  the  plants.  Syringing  with  the  XL  liquid 
insecticide  or  fumigating  the  plants  I  have  found  the  most  satisfactory 
means  of  destruction. — J.  E.  D.,  Yorks. 
Carnations  in  Pots. 
The  Carnation,  next  to  the  Rose,  is  the  most  beautiful  and  fashionable 
flower  of  the  present  day,  for  besides  being  useful  and  effective  in  borders, 
the  plants  are  especially  adapted  for  pot  culture.  What  can  be  more  effective 
than  these  plants  when  in  bloom  arranged  in  the  conservatory.  Maiden¬ 
hair  Ferns  being  arranged  among  the  pots?  Their  many  shades  may 
be  so  mixed  that  no  discord  of  colour  harmony  is  present.  These  plants 
require  great  attention  during  their  various  stages  of  growth. 
The  first  operation  is  the  layering,  which  ought  to  be  done  about  the 
beginning  of  July,  so  that  we  have  good  sized  and  well-rooted  plants 
before  the  winter  frosts  set  in.  The  method  of  layering  is — only  strono- 
and  healthy  grass  should  be  taken,  the  lower  leaves  stripped  off,  and 
a  slit  made  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  upwards.  The  slit  should  not 
be  too  far  down  the  stem,  or  the  plants  raised  will  be  spindly.  The 
layer  is  then  pegged  down  into  prepared  soil,  consisting  of  equal  parts 
of  leaf  mould  and  sharp  sand  ;  a  part  of  peat  is  also  a  great  help  to  early 
rooting.  If  the  soil  be  dry  it  is  as  well  to  give  it  a  watering  with  the 
hose  the  night  before  commencing  to  layer.  The  knife  used  should  be 
very  thin  in  the  blade  and  sharp,  so  as  to  make  a  clean  cut.  The  next 
articles  necessary  are  pegs.  Some  growers  use  stones  in  preference  to 
pegs,  as  they  save  labour,  but  they  do  not  keep  the  layers  so  steady. 
Bracken  makes  excellent  pegs,  while  young  shoots  of  the  Snowberry  are 
also  used.  There  are  wire  pegs  made  specially  for  the  purpose,  these 
of  course  being  good  in  all  respects.  The  prepared  soil,  already  mentioned, 
should  be  forked  lightly  into  that,  round  the  parent  plant,  care  being  taken 
not  to  disturb  the  roots  more  than  can  lie  avoided. 
Layers  made  the  first  week  in  .July  should  be  ready  for  potting  in 
about  five  or  six  weeks.  I  may  mention  that  the  layers  should  be  severed 
from  the  old  plant  about  a  fortnight  before  lifting.  In  lifting  the  young 
plants  care  should  be  taken  to  retain  as  good  a  ball  of  soil  about  the  roots 
as  possible.  A  good  compost  for  the  potting  is  turfy  loam,  sand,  and  peat  ; 
to  every  barrowload  of  loam  add  a  quarter  barrowload  of  sand  and  a 
smaller  quantity  of  peat.  The  pots,  before  being  used,  must  be  thoroughly 
cleaned  and  have  good  drainage,  as  nothing  is  more  harmful  to  the 
success  of  these  charming  plants  than  water-logged  soil.  The  plants 
should  be  potted  firmly. 
The  young  plants  may  be  placed  outside  on  a  gravel  walk  till  the 
month  of  October,  when  they  should  be  placed  in  the  Carnation  house. 
After  potting  no  water  ought  to  be  given  for  a  day  or  two,  and  when 
applied  it  must  only  be  in  a  sufficient  quantity  to  moisten  the  soil.  After 
being  taken  inside  they  are  best  kept  on  the  dry  side,  as  too  much  water 
cau.ses  the  leaves  to  turn  yellow  and  bring  on  disease.  If  potted  in  the 
early  weeks  of  August  the  plants  will  be  ready'  for  shifting  into  their 
flowering  pots  by  the  first  week  of  January.  The  best  size  to  use  for 
this  potting  is  6-inch,  the  plants  in  these  being  of  a  bushy  habit  and 
throw  up  a  profusion  of  flower  spikes  by  the  months  of  June  and  July. 
The  compost  used  for  the  final  potting  must  be  a  little  stronger  than  the 
first,  consisting  of  lumpy  turfy  loam,  sand,  peat,  and  charcoal  taken  from 
burned  prunings  of  the  shrubberies,  with  a  dash  of  soot.  It  is  the 
custom  of  some  to  add  IMushroom  bed  refuse ;  but  this  is  unnecessary, 
as  Carnations  are  better  without  any  manurial  agency  than  that 
which  is  contained  in  the  already-mentioned  preparation  ;  but  it  is  bene¬ 
ficial  that  the  plants  get  a  top-dressing  of  sulphate  of  iron  twice  in 
