January  23,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
85 
with  mats,  and,  in  addition  to  this,  others  would  make  little 
neat  hedges  round  the  bed  with  Spruce  or  Furze  boughs — the 
latter  an  excellent  barrier  against  rats  and  mice.  All  that  the 
young  Tuberoses  needed  after  the  frost  and  coverings  were  gone, 
was  to  keep  them  clear  from  weeds,  and  to  give  them  plenty  of 
water  in  dry  weather ;  and  as  the  frost  would  kill  the  roots,  the 
bed  was  duly  thatched  with  a  foot  thick  of  straw  as  soon  as  any 
danger  appeared  in  the  autumn,  all  the  leaves  being  first  cut  off, 
for  fear  they  would  get  mouldy  under  the  thatch,  and  carry  the 
damp  down  to  the  roots  and  destroy  them ;  for  it  would  not  do 
at  all  to  take  up  the  tubers  then,  as  they  had  long  soft  roots 
that  could  not  be  dried  or  cut  off  without  rotting  the  tubers; 
but  in  about  three  months  afterwards  these  roots,  and  the  Tube¬ 
roses  themselves,  were  ripe  enough  to  be  handled  without  any 
danger,  and  in  February  they  used  to  take  them  up,  so  as  not  to 
grow  too  soon  to  be  nipped  by  the  frost,  preserving  aU  their  long 
roots,  and  placing  them  in  dry  sand,  or  very  dry  earth,  till  April ; 
then  planting  on  a  slight  hotbed,  as  in  the  first  instance,  with 
sheltering,  weeding,  watering,  and  thatching  as  before,  and 
taking  them  up  again  next  February  to  be  planted  out  for 
flowering — always  at  the  same  distances  from  each  other,  and 
the  top  of  the  tubers  not  more  than  an  inch  below  the  surface. 
In  this  second  season,  many  of  them  would  push  up  their 
slender  flower  stems  from  2ft  to  4ft  long,  and  produce  from 
eighteen  to  two  dozen  of  their  charming,  sweet-scented  flowers ; 
and,  to  have  some  indoors  as  well,  they  would  take  up  part  of 
the  stock  carefully  with  a  trowel  when  the  flower  buds  were 
beginning  to  open,  put  them  into  pots,  and  by  careful  watering 
and  shading  them  for  a  few  days,  they  would  soon  recover  this 
check.  Those  that  did  not  flower  the  first  year  would  be  very 
strong  next  season  ;  and  once  the  first  batch  came  into  flower, 
there  would  always  be  a  succession'  afterw'ards  every  year.  Every 
time  they  were  taken  up  the  offsets  would  be  taken  off  them, 
except  two  or  three  of  the  strongest  to  be  grown  for  stock  ;  and 
when  the  tuber  once  flowered,  these  stock  offsets  would  be  planted 
separately,  to  undergo  the  same  routine  as  their  parent.  There 
is  no  more  trouble  in  all  this  than  there  is  in  rearing  a  bed  of 
ridge  Cucumbers,  and  he  is  a  poor  gardener  who  cannot  do  that 
in  England  after  the  middle  of  April.  Half-spent  dung  from 
the  linings  of  a  Cucumber  bed,  or  any  refuse  of  that  sort,  would 
be  good  enough  to  begin  the  young  Tuberose  with.  Such  a  bed 
should  be  made  in  an  open  trench  in  some  warm  corner,  packing 
in  the  dung  tightly,  sO'  as  not  to  settle  much  or  unequally  after¬ 
wards.  About  2ft  deep  of  dung  would  be  thick  enough,  and 
carried  up  to  near  the  surface.  When  the  heat  became  steady 
and  not  too  strong,  the  bed  should  be  covered  a  foot  thick  with 
light  rich  soil,  and  then  planted  with  the  offset  tubers,  leaving 
the  crowns,  or  top  part,  an  inch  below  the  surface.  The  frame 
and  light  would  then  be  put  over  it,  and  a  sharp-pointed  stick 
thrust  down  into  the  bed,  to  be  drawn  every  other  day  for 
a  fortnight  or  so,  to  ascertain  that  the  dung  did  not  heat 
too  violently,  for  if  it  did,  it  might  greatly  injure  the  Tube¬ 
roses,  if  it  did  not  roast  them  altogether.  The  safest  way  to 
check  such  violent  heat  is  to  make  holes  in  the  bed  here  and 
there,  and  pour  down  water  from  the  spout  of  a  watering-pot, 
but  not  too  much  at  a  time,  for  fear  of  chilling  so  small  a  bed. 
The  Tuberoses  would  not  require  any  water  till  their  leaves  were 
■well  up,  and  not  much  of  it  afterwards,  except  in  dry  weather. 
There  is  one  point  in  this  old  way  of  growing  the  Tuberoses  for 
ourselves  which  I  think  a  great  improvement  on  the  present 
fashion  of  buying  our  supply  of  them  from  abroad,  and  that  is 
the  preservation  of  their  roots.  It  does  not  require  a  prophet 
to  foresee  that  if  we  could  obtain  those  fine  long  roots,  which  the 
Tuberose  makes,  in  good  preservation,  the  tubers  would  produce 
much  larger  flowers  than  they  do  at  present,  and  in  greater 
numbers.  The  beautiful  old-fashioned  bulb  called  Tigridia,  or 
Tiger  Flower,  would  answer  remarkably  well  under  the  above 
treatment,  and  no  doubt  many  other  half-hardy  bulbs  besides. 
The  only  secret  in  growung  the  Tuberose,  which  we  buy  at  the 
seed  shops,  without  the  help  of  a  pit  or  hotbed,  is  to  begin 
early  with  them,  say  the  first  week  in  April ;  to  strip  off  all  the 
little  offsets  that  grow  in  a  ring  round  the  bottom,  for  these 
must  suck  their  nourishment  from  the  parent  tuber,  and  that 
extra  food  had  better  go  to  enlarge  our  flowers  ;  to  plant  only  one 
in  a  small  pot  of  not  more  than  4in  in  diameter,  with  very  good 
drainage,  and,  if  possible,  a  thin  layer  of  fresh  moss  placed  over 
the  drainage,  for  the  double  purpose  of  preventing  the  soil 
getting  down  among  the  crocks,  and  for  supplying  the  tips  of  the 
roots,  which  are  sure  to  work  down  as  far  as  they  can,  with  uni¬ 
form  moisture.  They  will  do  better  with  moderate  watering  in 
a  steady  way  than  with  large  doses  at  certain  intervals.  The 
soil  must  be  light  and  open,  and  any  common  soil  can  be  made  so 
by  adding  sand  to  it ;  and  a  little  leaf  mould,  or  the  refuse  of 
rotten  wood,  will  both  open  and  enrich  a  stiffish  soil,  if  no  better 
can  be  had  for  potting.  Ihis  soil,  or  compost,  should  be  neither 
dry  nor  wet  when  first  used,  but  just  to  feel  damp  to  the  hand, 
and  I  am  altogether  against  the  bad  practice  of  watering  dry 
bulbs  or  tubers  as  soon  as  they  are  potted.  So  doing  is  just  like 
burying  a  man  alive,  and  putting  plenty  of  roast  beef  and  strong 
ale  in  his  coffin.  A  root  or  bulb  that  will  keep  safe  month  after 
month  in  a  drawer  or  paper  bag.  will  surely  wait  a  wmek  or  ten 
days  after  potting  without  water,  or  until  it  can  make  some 
roots  and  leaves  to  make  use  of  the  water.  Its  own  juices,  and  the 
jiatural  dampness  of  the  soil,  will  be  stimulus  enough  for  any  plant 
of  this  kind  that  ever  I  heard  of  till  it  pushes  up  a  few  leaves  above 
the  earth.  The  Tuberose  is  very  fastidious  in  this  respect,  and 
if  it  is  once  swamped  with  water  in  its  early  ijrogress,  no  coaxing 
will  induce  it  to  flower  that  season,  if  grown  in  a  pot.  When 
grown  over  a  hotbed,  where  the  roots  can  spread  in  all  directions, 
it  is,  of  course,  less  susceptible  of  such  injui-y.— B.  D. 
-**m.*- 
Gadding  and  Gathering. 
“Here  awa’.  There  awa’.” 
At  Feltham,  in  the  autumn,  I  ^made  note  of  few  Dahlias  of 
great  attractiveness.  Charles  Woodbridge  was  one,  and  this 
secured  for  Messrs.  Ware,  Ltd.,  a  gold  medal  when  first  sent 
out.  It  re  most  useful  as  a  bedder,  and  has  crimson  blooms  and 
radiating  (Cactus)  petals.  The  old  Glare  of  the  Garden  -R^as  also 
in  evidence;  Mrs.  J.  J.  Crowe,  Laverstock  Beauty,  Matchless, 
and  Sylvia,  the  latter  being  one  that  is  grown  almost  exclusively 
for  supplying  cut  flowers  in  Berlin  gardens.  Pompons  are  now 
scarcely  cultivated,  although,  at  the  same  time,  a  goodly  selection 
of  varieties  are  grown.  The  most  floriferous  and  showy  of  this 
latter  section  include  Lily  Wheeler,  Little  Dorrit,  Fairy  Tales, 
Alary  Durie,  Mrs.  Minna,  and  Miss  Nelly.  Amongst  the  Pyre- 
thrums  the  beautiful  Aphrodite  Avas  especially  conspicuous, 
though  here  also  the  selection  is  representative.  Outdoor  Chrys¬ 
anthemums  were  in  numerous  varieties  and  doing  well.  Long 
borders  of  herbaceous  plants  ivere  a  special  feature,  and  none 
more  beau-tiful,  at  least  so  far  as  foliage  alone  can  be  accounted 
of,  than  Iris  pallida  foliis  variegata.  Gyneriums,  or,  as  they  are 
now  more  correctly  named,  Cortaderias,  as  well  as  many  other 
ornamental  grass-leaved  plants,  met  the  view  prominently.  The 
Verbascums  had  passed,  but  their  withered  remains  ivere  still 
upheld.  The  ever-flowering  Dicentra  eximia  and  the  deep  choco¬ 
late-purple  leaAmcl  Oxalis  purpurea  were  two  of  the  prettiest  sub¬ 
jects  one  could  have  selected.  Plumbago  Larpentse  in  great  beds, 
with  its  blue  floivers,  furnished  a  most  pleasing  shoAv.  Along  the 
banks  of  some  of  the  French  raihvays  this  dwarf  and  vigorous 
plant  literally  smothers  acres  of  surface.  That  handsome  and 
very  useful  neAV  climbing  Polygonum  baldschuanicum,  Avith  its 
numerous  dependent  trusses  of  pink  or  rose-pink  floAvers,  AA'as 
included,  and  Avas  doing  Avell.  It  Avas  brought  originally,  Ave 
believe,  from  one  of  the  Southern  States  of  Germany.  Another 
SAveet  plant  for  the  hardy  floAver  border  bore  the  name  Stokesia 
cyanea,  and  closely  resembles  Callistephus  hortensis.  A  Avhole 
line  of  the  Double  White  Arabis,  Avhich  is  much  too  little  knoAA’n, 
bordered  a  lengthy  strip  of  ground.  When  seen  in  the  height  of 
summer  this  furnishes  a  splendid  dAvarf  plant,  closely  resembling 
a  small  East  Lothian  Stock. 
Of  the  perennial  Phloxes,  the  best  Avere  Flocon  de  Neige, 
Stendhal,  Sylphide,  an^l  W.  Robinson.  Delphinium  Voltaire  is 
also  Avorthy  of  note.  One  must  likeAvise  include  amongst  the 
Phloxes  such  varieties  as  Ruby,  Pantheon,  Montagnard,  Adonis, 
Albato,  Coquelico,  Flambeau,  Le  Mahdi,  Leonard  de  Vince,  and 
Bocolyine.  One  of  the  best  CEnotheras  is  that  named  acaulis, 
Avith  large  and  pure  Avhite  floAvers ;  it  delights  in  a  sandy  soil. 
Double  and  single  Violets  are  also  a  feature  at  Feltham;  AAdiile  of 
Nymphseas,  all  the  neAver  sorts  are  included.  It  is  proposed  to 
furnish  larger  and  more  suitable  quarters  for  them.  A  repre¬ 
sentative  selection  of  Oncocyclus  Irises  are  groAvn  in  pots  to 
floAvmr  under  glass.  Another  graceful  plant  was  noted  under  pot 
culture,  and  which  Messrs.  Ware  possess  a  fine  stock  of — namely, 
Milla  biflora.  It  has  Avhite  stariy  flowers  of  very  simple  form. 
And  the  beautiful  ever-floAvering  Lithospermum  prostratum 
formed  quite  a  gay  little  mass  of  blue  colour.  DiantliAis  Knappi 
is  a  yelloAV  flowering  single  variety,  -very  tasty  ;  Cyclamen  hederse- 
folia  album  is  a  charming  dAvarf  subject,  and  decidedly  one  of  the 
best  of  the  hardy  members  of  the  genus.  &hortia  galegifolia  has 
yet  to  make  headway  throughout  the  country  ;  it  is  a  beautiful 
subject,  Avith  shiny,  roundly  formed  leaves  and  pretty  white 
flowers,  with  fringed  petals  on  slender  but  nearly  erect  stalks — 
obtains  a  considerable  amount  of  attention  and  space.  The 
flowers  are  of  a  simple,  stellate  form,  about  2in  across  and  pure 
Avhite.  Ajuga  metallica  crispa,  a  novelty  of  late  years,  is  also 
grown.  The  collections  of  Primulas  and  Campanulas  are  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  best  and  most  useful  varieties  for  general  uses — 
hardy  plants  being,  of  course,  one  of  the  most  special  divisions  of 
the  firm’s  trade.  "Chrysopsis  aurea  Rutheri,  a  yelloAv  Californian 
Compo.site,  Avas  noted  as  worthy  of  special  mention.  Rainondia 
pyrenaica  and  its  white  variety  were  each  seen  in  splendid  condi¬ 
tion,  the  batch  including  a  numerous  selection  of  plants. 
R.  Vatalire  is  a  species  little  known,  and  the  ruddy  floAvered 
Ourisia  coccinea  is  as  yet  a  gem  for  the  ardent  specialists  only. 
— Wandering  Willie. 
