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JOURNAL  GF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
explanation  of  the  few  and  simple  details  which  go  to  render  success 
a  certainty,  is  doing  good  work. 
But  one  has  to  rememter  that,  however  fully  cultural  details  are 
explained,  it  is  seldom  that  amateurs  grasp  the  significance  of  every 
point  ;  that  which  is  clear  enough  to  the  trained  gardener  is  too 
often'vague  and  indefinite  to  them.  When,  where,  and  how  to  plant 
may  be  remembered;  not  so  the  fact  that  in  order  to  obtain  a  heavy  fruit 
crop  there  must  bo  proportionate  vigour  of  growth,  and  sufficient  time 
for  the  plants  to  become  wdl  established  in  their  permanent  quarters. 
To  impi-ess  this  upon  the  minds  of  beginners  there  can  be  nothing  like 
a  well-established  row  in  full  bearing  and  full  vigour  of  growth.  By 
full  hearing  I  mean  a  row  of,  say,  G  feet  in  height,  laden  thickly  from 
bottom  to  top  w'ith  fruit  clusters  from  9  inches  to  a  foot  in  length ; 
and  by  full  vigour  of  growth,  plenty  of  shoots  10  or  12  feet  in  length 
and  nearly  an  inch  in  diameter.  Such  shoots  are  the  growth  of  one 
season,  not  upon  old  woed,  but  directly  from  the  stool  or  crown  ;  they 
must  be  kept  tied  in  as  growth  progresses  or  the  rows  will  be  unap¬ 
proachable  ;  and  though  tolerably  free  growth  may  be  had  in  poor  soils 
growth  of  full  vigour  and  a  full  crop  is  only  possible  in  fertile  land. 
Intersecting — not  boundary — fences,  might  be  turned  to  profitable 
account  as  supports  for  this  fruit ;  the  form  of  support  is  immaterial. 
An  open  situation,  rich  soil,  the  plants  4  feet  apart,  if  in  rows  G  feet 
l)etween  the  rows.  Cut  down  to  two  or  three  buds  in  planting.  Cut 
in  hard  the  growth  of  the  first,  and,  if  necessarj’,  the  second  year. 
Stout  fruiting  wood  will  come  freely  either  in  the  second  or  third  year, 
according  to  the  condition  of  the  soil.  This  is  a  matter  very  much  in 
the  hands  of  the  cultivator,  and  I  have  known  more  than  one  instance 
where  feeble  growth  and  small  clusters  of  fruit  has  led  to  the  Black¬ 
berries  being  uprooted  and  thrown  aside  in  disgust.  "When  the  strong 
growth  comes  do  not  tie  it  upright  to  the  supports,  but  rather  aslant, 
so  as  to  induce  every  lateral  bud  to  break  and  develop  fully  its  cluster 
jof  fruit.  After  the  leaves  are  fallen  in  autumn  the  fruit  wood  is  cut 
■off  close  down  to  the  stool,  and  the  young  wood  tied  in  or  regulated 
for  the  next  year's  crop. 
1  may  add  that  T  planted  some  of  this  Blackberry  last  November, 
and  more  of  it  in  the  present  month.  Both  lots  of  plants  came  from 
the  same  nursery,  those  at  the  beginning  of  the  season  being  fine 
examples  of  sturdy  vigour,  those  at  tl/e  end  of  the  season  being  so  small 
and  feeble  as  to  be  hardly  worth  planting  at  all.  If  this  may  be  taken 
as  an  indication  that  the  demand  has  been  so  great  that  the  stock  was 
about  exhausted,  it  goes  to  show  that  the  cultivation  of  this  fruit  is 
receiving  more  attention  than  I  supposed,  and  that  its  value  is  obtain¬ 
ing  the  general  recognition  it  deserves. — E.  L. 
IXORAS. 
My  first  acquaintance  with  Ixoras  was  in  a  lean-to  Pine  stove,  the 
pots  being  plunged  in  the  tan  bed,  and  the  structure  heated  by  flues. 
That  was  in  the  year  1850,  and  the  plants,  mostlj'  I.  coccinea,  were 
evidently  at  home.  Since  that  time  1  have  seen  many  as  good  in  pro¬ 
fusion  of  foliage,  denseness  ot  trusses,  and  brightness  of  flowers,  but 
they  have  been  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  I  have  often 
striven  to  grow  Ixoras  in  stoves  equal  to  those  exhibited  by  Messrs. 
Baines,  Letts,  Cypher,  and  others,  but  could  never  approach  their 
superb  specimens.  I  have  an  idea  that  these  plants  require  and  must 
have  bottom  heat  if  the  specimen  is  to  be  grown  in  the  most  creditable 
condition.  In  few  places  at  the  present  time  do  stoves  contain  the 
old-fashioned  fermenting  beds,  and  this  I  think  to  be  the  sole  reason 
that  the  plants  are  oftener  seei\  in  a  fair  rather  than  a  splendid  form. 
The  heat  from  hot-water  pipes  does  not  appear  so  congenial  to  them 
as  that  of  fermenting  materials,  and  they  are  liable  to  attacks  of 
insects,  such  as  scale,  red  spider,  and  sometimes  mealy  bug.  I 
know  some  growers  insist  that  plants  are  not  benefited  by  ammonia 
in  the  atmosphere,  but  I  find  they  thrive  better  where  there  is  liquid 
manure  in  the  evaporation  troughs  than  where  there  is  only  water. 
That  syringing  or  sprinkling  with  s:ot  water  induces  better  health  in 
plants  than  even  soft  water,  and  that  growth  is  always  superior  where 
there  is  a  mulch  of  material  constantly  evolving  ammonia. 
I  think  it  advisable  to  give  the  foregoing  preamble,  for  anyone 
attempting  to  grow  Ixoras  in  an  ordinary  stove  may  not  have  the 
success  with  them  they  desire,  especially  if  the  grower  desire  to  com¬ 
pete  at  shows.  The  plants  can  be  grown  fairly  well  in  the  usual 
stove  structures,  but  unless  these  can  be  kept  at  a  high  temperature 
and  supplied  with  plenty  of  moisture  when  the  plants  are  growing  and 
T.>reparing  for  flower,  there  is  little  worth  growing  Ixoras  for.  When 
May  4,  1899. 
well  grown,  they  are  amongst  the  handsomest  and  gorgeous  of  stove¬ 
flowering  plants,  the  foliage  itself  being  by  no  means  unattractive. 
Propagation. 
Ixoras  are  readily  propagated  from  cuttings.  These  should  be  of 
the  half-ripened  shoots — that  is,  short-jointed  and  moderately  firm, 
inserted  singly  in  small  (2^-inch)  pots,  in  sand  over  sandy  peat, 
plunged  in  a  close  frame  with  a  bottom  heat  of  80°  to  85°,  and  kept 
sbaihd.  The  single-pot  system  is  better  than  inserting  at  the  sides  of 
a  larger  pot  and  after  rooting  potting  singly,  but  the  plan  has 
sometimes  to  be  adopted  in  order  to  cover  with  a  bell-glass.  Boots 
will,  as  a  rule,  soon  be  emitted,  when  the  young  plants  may  be 
gradually  inured  to  the  air  of  the  house,  and  placed  in  5-inch  pots. 
Soil. 
The  most  suilable  compost  is  fibrous  sandy  peat,  with  a  little  leaf 
mould  or  very  old  cow  manure,  about  a  fifth,  and  quite  a  sixth  of  sharp 
white  sand.  This  is  the  old-fashioned  compost,  and  there  is  not  any 
better,  though  I  have  seen  good  plants  grown  in  equal  parts  sandy, 
fibrous  loam,  and  fibrous  peat,  with  pieces  of  charcoal,  broken 
pots  or  bricks,  and  sand.  They  grow  well  in  fibrous  peat.  Good 
drainage  is  very  important,  and  this  should  be  secured  with  rough 
material ;  indeed,  the  compost  ought  to  be  rough  for  established  plants, 
potting  rather  firmly. 
Treatment. 
If  the  plauts  placed  in  5-inch  pots  are  given  plenty  of  heat  and 
moisture  they  soon  grow,  and  all  the  better  if  the  pots  are  plunged 
in  a  bottom  heat  of  80°,  or  never  more  than  90°  at  the  base  of  the- 
pots.  When  the  heat  is  from  fermenting  materials,  the  young  plants 
succeed  and  grow  freely,  and  a  little  shade  from  bright  sunshine  in 
summer  time  helps  them  wonderfully.  In  dull  weather,  however, 
and  at  all  other  seasons,  the  plants  cannot  have  too  much  light. 
Therefore  keep  well  up  to  the  glass,  or  at  least  give  ample  room 
so  that  they  may  have  light  equally  from  above  and  sideways.  Then 
they  will  grow  sturdily,  and  naturally  form  a  compact  bushy  plant 
with  little  training. 
Some  of  the  species  and  varieties  flower  in  5-inch  pots,  and 
are  among  the  most  effective  flowering  plants  we  have.  Such  plants 
are  particularly  fine  for  decorative  purposes,  and  from  lasting  a  long 
t;me  in  bloom  are  likely  to  bo  kept  so  long  a  time  in  the  house  as  to 
be  of  little  use  afterwards.  But  even  if  they  have  to  be  thrown  away 
after  use  in  rooms,  what  is  to  hinder  the  keeping  up  of  a  stock  of 
plants  year  by  year  ?  A  sojourn  of  a  few  days  in  relatively  cooler 
quarters  than  the  plants  require  does  not  materially  injure  them,  but 
care  should  be  taken  that  the  soil  does  not  become  soddened  with 
water,  as  frequently  happens  with  plants  placed  in  vases. 
For  specimens,  whether  large  or  small,  the  young  plants  require 
pinching  or  pruning.  If  short-jointed  cuttings  are  used  for  propagation 
the  plants  will  mostly  grow  bushy  enough  for  flowering  in  5-inch  pots 
without  pinching,  but  when  the  young  plants  have  a  tendency  to 
spindle  they  should  be  stopped  when  well  rooted.  It  is  an  excellent 
plan  to  stop  some,  and  allow  others  to  grow  without,  so  that  they 
will  form  a  succession.  Some  growers  root  cuttings  in  the  spring, 
selecting  young  shoots  of  moderately  soft  wood,  insert  singly  in  small 
25-inch  pots,  and  root  in  brisk  heat  in  the  propagating  frame.  The 
plants  are  given  4-inch  pots  when  rooted,  and  allowed  to  grow  and 
flower  in  them.  They  are  very  attractive,  and  should  be  grown  on  a 
much  larger  scale  for  purposes  of  decoration.  If  the  young  plants  are 
needed  for  bushes,  the  point  of  the  shoot  must  be  removed  when  the 
cuttings  are  well  rooted.  The  spring-rooted  cuttings  are  supplemented 
by  others  inserted  in  late  summer  or  early  autumn,  wintering  them  in 
the  25-inch  pots,  and  about  the  middle  of  February  stopping  and 
placing  in  5-inch  pots.  Some  that  promise  well  are  not  stopped,  and 
those  that  are  not  so  promising  are  pinched.  Thus  there  will  be  a 
succession  in  this  case  also,  and  with  both  autumn  and  spring  plants 
in  4  and  5-inch  pots. 
The  plants  intended  for  growing  into  specimeus  should  not  be 
allowed  to  flower  as  it  weakens  them.  In  February,  or  earlier,  they 
may  be  cut  into  shape,  it  being  a  good  plan  to  cut  back  the  whole  of 
the  shoots  to  insure  an  even  break,  and  consequently  an  expansion  of 
the  trusses  at  one  time,  if  they  are  allowed  to  flower,  or  an  even 
development  of  growths.  It  is  easy  to  remove  the  trusses  of  bloom 
early  with  scissors  if  the  plants  are  not  wanted  to  bloom.  The  point 
for  specimens  is  to  prune  the  plants  vigorously  in  order  that  they 
may  never  get  larger  than  bushes,  and  may  send  out  lateral  shoots 
enough  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  plant  capable  of  producing  ample 
trusses  of  bloom.  As  a  consequence  of  this  pruning  they  yearly 
generate  an  augmented  supply  of  side  shoots,  which  soon  get  so 
numerous  that  they  hinder  the  leading  ones  from  flowering  finely. 
Those,  then,  should  be  examined,  when  the  buds  are  on  the  point  of 
expanding,  and  all  except  those  which  are  intended  to  grow  or  flower, 
with  such  as  are  to  remain  for  giving  verdure  and  compactness  to  the 
plant,  should  be  taken  off  entirely,  more  magnificent  bunches  of  bloom 
would  thus  be  unquestionably  secured. — G.  Abbey. 
CTo  be  continued.) 
