1G2 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  2,  1899. 
In  place  of  charcoal  I  use  pieces  of  soft  porous  bricks,  which  can 
generally  be  obtained  anywhere,  broken  into  different  sizes,  and  used 
according  to  the  size  of  the  pans  or  pots  used.  These  do  not  decay, 
and  the  roots  seem  to  revel  on  them,  and  they  keep  the  compost  sw’eet 
and  porous.  I  think  when  the  compost  gets  into  a  solid  mass,  as  is 
mentioned  in  the  note,  it  is  usually  to  be  attributed  to  faulty  w^atering. 
Of  course  the  compost  will  naturally  decay,  but  if  the  plants  are  doing 
satisfactorily  I  have  always  found  that  they  are  ready  for  a  shift  by 
the  time  the  compost  is  sour. — J.  T.  B.,  Ecssle. 
EUCHARIS  CULTURE. 
In  moving  from  one  situation  to  another  a  young  man  will  find  at 
times  distinc?  methods  pursued  in  the  treatment  of  the  same  plant, 
and  having  in  my  journeyings  seen  several  successful  ways  of  grow'- 
inf’  Eucharis,  a  few  notes  culled  from  memory  may  be  acceptable  to 
readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture.  No  plants  in  our  hothouses 
aff  id  more  pleasure  than  a  collection  of  well-growm  Eucharis 
amazonica  (grandifiora),  free  from  the  dreaded  mite,  and  kept  clear 
of  that  great  enemy  mealy  bug. 
Living  in  the  north  of  London  some  years  ago,  I  first  made  the 
acquaintance  of  a  large  number  of  these  plants;  I  had  had  to  deal 
with  them  before,  but  only  on  a  comparatively  small  scale.  To  begin 
with  the  treatment.  In  November  the  plants  were  cleaned  of  all 
pests,  and  ])lunged  in  a  hotbed  at  the  end  of  a  Pine  stove.  Here  year 
by  year  they  flowered  at  the  end  of  December.  How  proud  we 
yom'igsters  were  of  them,  ai;d  indeed  they  made  a  beautiful  display 
with  their  leathery  leek- green  leaves,  and  splendid  flowers  rising 
above  them  in  the  dead  of  winter.  After  a  few'  weeks  we  were 
rew'arded  by  a  second  crop  of  blooms  as  good  as  the  first.  About  the 
end  of  April  the  x'lants,  as  a  rule,  flowered  again,  but  neither  the 
spikes  nor  the  individual  flow'ers  were  so  good  at  this  jeriod. 
Manure  water  and  soot  were  given  during  the  weeks  of  forcing, 
alternately  with  clear  water,  the  old  safe  rule  of  weak  and  often 
being  follow'ed.  Of  course  a  brisk  temperature  was  found  necessary, 
and  i'.s  .^ar  as  possible  provided,  from  65°  to  75°  being  aimed  at. 
Syringing  was  practised  on  the  foliage  on  fine  sunny  days,  abundance 
of  umLtu.e  in  the  growing  season  appearing  to  meet  all  requirements. 
In  May  they  were  moved  into  a  cool  stove  to  rest  and  in  a  measure 
recuperate,  and  from  about  the  middle  of  August  until  forcing  time 
again  they  were  relegated  to  a  corridor  connecting  two  ranges  of 
vineries.  Labour  was  none  too  plentiful  in  that  establishment,  but 
the  Eucharis  had  to  be  kept  clean,  and  so  now  and  again  a  solution  of 
paraffin  and  rain  water  (a  wineglass!  ul  to  3  gallons  of  water)  was 
mixed  in  a  large  tub  ;  one  man  was  told  off  with  a  syringe  to  keep 
the  mixture  in  motion,  and  another  to  dip  the  plants  as  they  were 
brought  out,  and  wash  with  clear  water  before  being  taken  back  to 
their  places.  It  was  surprising  how  quickly  the  plants  w'ere  cleansed 
in  this  manner. 
I  never  knew  the  veterans  to  be  potted ;  some  younger  plants, 
however,  which  were  being  grown  into  large  specimens,  were  trans¬ 
ferred  each  year  to  larger  pots,  with  a  compost  consisting  of  three 
parts  loam,  one  of  leaf  mould,  a  small  addition  of  decayed  manure,  and 
a  dash  each  of  sand  and  soot.  Where  these  plants  were  placed  in  the 
autumn  the  old-fashioned  sliding  roof-lights  were  always  dowii  full 
length,  for  the  purpose  of  ripening  the  wood  of  the  Peaches  on  the 
back  wall,  the  front  sashes  being  also  open  night  and  day.  I  have 
seen  the  leaves  white  with  morning  dew,  quite  as  near  hoar  frost 
ns  it  ought  to  have  been.  The  plants,  however,  showed  no  sign  of 
injury,  though  the  foliage  lost  some  of  its  vigorous  colour,  but  this 
soon  returned  when  the  plants  were  again  in  a  higher  temperature 
and  being  generously  fed.  Watering,  of  course,  was  a  matter  which 
required  great  care  ;  at  the  time  of  cool  treatment  very  little  was 
necessary,  and  that  only  at  long  intervals. 
Alter  a  year  or  two  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  have  charge  of  a 
houseful  of  these  beautiful  plants.  Here  we  had  plenty  of  labour, 
and  to  keep  the  foliage  free  from  mealy  bug  the  sjronge  was  requisi¬ 
tioned.  In  October  the  temperature  of  the  house  in  which  the 
Eucharis  were  growing  was  lowered  about  10°  for  a  few  weeks  yearly. 
With  this  exception  the  culture  was  practically  the  same  all  the  year 
round,  a  rather  high  temperature  with  a  corresponding  amount  of 
moisture  in  the  atmosphere  being  given.  It  was  seldom  we  were 
unable  to  cut  two  or  three  dozen  blooms,  even  when  they  could 
scarcely  be  said  to  be  in  season. 
Unless  a  pot  happened  to  get  broken,  or,  as  not  infrequently 
jpcarred,  the  pots  were  burst  by  the  roots,  revealing  the  great  white 
bulbs,  I  never  saw  one  of  these  plants  potted.  I  believe  lor  eight  or 
ten  years  no  general  repotting  took  place,  yet  the  plants  looked  in  the 
Xiink  of  health,  and  certainly  I  have  seen  none  since  to  flower  better 
or  so  continuously.  With  the  few  weeks’  exception  of  rest  previously 
mentioned  feeding  was  carried  on  throughout  the  year,  liquid  manure 
being  given  once  a  week  and  a  very  slight  dusting  of  “Thomson’s” 
at  lengthy  intervals. — J.  Shalfokd. 
NOTES  ON  CINERARIAS. 
Few  plants  are  better  adapted  for  conservatory  decoration  during 
February  and  March  than  Cinerarias.  When  a  good  strain  has  been 
grown  they  provide  an  endless  variety  of  beautiful  shades  of  colour 
which  give  pleasant  surprises  daily  to  flower  lovers.  Hybridists  have 
long  devoted  special  attention  to  them,  and  their  efforts  have  been 
splendidly  rewarded  ;  there  seems,  indeed,  to  be  no  limit  to  the 
beautiful  shades  of  colour  which  are  being  continually  produced,  if  we 
except  a  yellow  form,  which  is  never  likely  to  be  raised,  seeing  that 
blues  and  yellows  never  occur  in  the  same  species  of  florists’  fiowers. 
It  seems  scarcely  possible  to  produce  plants  of  a  better  habit  of 
growth,  or  individual  flowers  of  larger  size  and  finer  substance, 
though  there  is  undoubtedly  room  for  improvement  in  the  form  of 
some  of  the  large  flowers,  they  lacking  the  perfectly  circular  shape, 
with  the  edges  of  the  petals  overlapping  in  a  way  that  delights  the  eye 
of  an  expert  florist.  True,  we  have  many  flowers  quite  perfect  in  this 
respect,  but  the  giants,  as  a  rule,  have  a  weakness  in  that  direction. 
This,  however,  is  a  matter  w’hich  w'ill  probably  be  overcome  in  course 
of  time. 
Cinerarias  are  as  easy  to  grow  as  most  plants  when  the  right 
system  is  pursued,  but  few  things  will  go  wrong  sooner  if  in  the  least 
neglected.  It  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  see  a  grand  collection  of 
plants  at  the  time  they  are  housed  in  the  autumn :  but  when  the 
flowering  period  arrives,  the  same  set  of  plants  often  look  disappoint¬ 
ing  by  reason  of  the  edges  of  the  leaves  having  become  browned,  and 
in  other  ways  disfigured.  This  is  generally  more  noticeable  among 
plants  grown  in  small  pots  than  in  larger  specimens  ;  why  this  is 
so  I  will  attempt  to  explain.  Two  things  will  cause  disfigurement  of 
the  leaves — viz.,  mistakes  in  watering  and  overcrowding.  The  seed 
for  plants  intended  to  be  flowered  in  5  and  6-inch  pots  is  often  sown 
too  early,  with  the  result  that  by  the  time  autumn  arrives  the  soil  is 
so  packed  with  roots  that  unremitting  attention  is  required  to  keep 
them  from  going  wrong.  As  long  as  the  plants  remain  in  cool  pits 
where  they  can  be  g  ven  abundance  of  air  and  room,  they  thrive  well ; 
but  by  the  time  November  arrives,  it  is  seldom  safe  to  leave  them 
longer  in  unheated  pits,  so  they  are  transferred  to  a  cool  house,  and 
then  the  disfigurement  begins,  not  because  the  house  is  an  unsuitable 
one,  but  from  mistakes  in  watering. 
At  this  stage,  although  the  soil  is  packed  with  roofs,  it  is  an  easy 
matter  to  overwafer,  because  very  little  growth  is  going  on,  and  the 
days  are  often  dull  and  cold ;  it  is  just  that  season  of  the  year  when 
a  good  waterer  begins  to  change  his  tactics,  preferring  rather  to  err 
in  the  matter  of  under  than  overwatering.  Yet  some  waterers,  knowing 
that  the  plants  are  so  abundantly  rooted,  fear  to  let  them  get  slightly 
dry,  and  habitually  give  water  a  little  too  soon.  The  result  is  that 
many  of  the  young  white  roots  are  killed,  and  the  plant  shows  the 
check  experienced  by  a  slight  rust  at  the  edges  of  the  leaves,  and  when 
this  once  comes  it  cannot  be  obliterated,  but  will  often  quickly  spread 
Now  let  us  look  at  the  other  side  of  the  matter. 
In  trying  to  avoid  overwatering  the  plants  are  sometimes  allowed 
to  get  too  dry.  A  dull  foggy  morning  is  perhaps  followed  by  an  hour’s 
bright  sunshine,  and  plants  which  are  dry  at  the  roots  would  perhaps 
take  little  harm  if  the  day  were  dull  throughout,  but  the  sunshine 
causes  them  to  flag,  and  if  not  attended  to  quickly,  roots  in  this  case 
are  also  killed.  But  the  after  result  is  shown  in  a  different  way.  The 
leaves  become  flabby  and  flag  whenever  the  weather  is  bright, 
ultimately  some  of  the  bottom  ones  die  and  leave  a  leggy  plant.  The 
watering  of  Cinerarias  is  an  art,  which  requires  to  be  performed  at 
the  right  time;  neither  too  soon  nor  too  late. 
In  the  watering  of  plants  in  large  pots  more  care  is  usually 
ex  rcised,  as  the  waterer  is  aware  how  quickly  a  fine  specimen  may 
be  ruined  by  overwatering,  consequently  sufficient  time  is  taken  to 
thoroughly  test  each  pot,  whereas  when  dealing  wifh  a  number  of 
small  plants  the  work  has  to  be  done  quickly.  There  is  this  point, 
too,  in  favour  of  the  large  plants — viz,,  that  as  they  are  usually  placed 
in  their  flowering  pots  early  in  the  autumn  their  roots  are  active 
throughout  the  winter,  yet  as  they  have  plenty  of  soil  to  work  among 
they  do  not  suffer  to  any  great  extent  if  sometimes  allowed  to  become 
too  dry  ;  and  as  the  space  left  for  holding  water  is  generally  ample,  a 
sufficient  quantity  can  be  given  to  thoroughly  moisten  the  whole  of 
the  soil.  These  may  appear  small  matters,  but  they  are  important 
enough  to  contribute  largely  toward  success  or  failure. 
Now  for  a  few  words  about  arranging  the  plants  in  their  winter 
quarters.  I  like  to  place  each  on  an  inverted  pot,  as  I  find  the  extra 
trouble  is  well  repaid;  for  although  Cinerarias  delight  in  an  atmosphere 
uniformly  moist,  they  do  not  like  moisture  lying  upon  the  leaves 
during  cold  damp  weather,  and  by  raising  the  jdants  on  jDots  the 
necessary  moisture  can  be  distributed  on  the  stage  without  wetting 
the  leaves,  which  if  done  is  a  fruitful  source  of  another  kind  of  leaf 
disfigurement — viz.,  damp.  When  Cinerarias  are  grown  in  light 
houses  some  means  of  shading  ought  to  be  in  readiness  by  the 
beginning  of  March,  or  the  leaves  will  flag  badly  during  bright 
w'eather. 
