202 
JOURNAL  Ob'  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
]Mafch  5,  1903. 
Winter-flowering  Carnations. 
Tho.se  wlio  are  in  the  habit  of  inserting  large  numbers  of 
cuttings  of  winter-flowering  Carnations  during  the  present  month 
should  try  the  plan  of  rooting  them  on  a  dung  bed,  if  they  have 
not  already  done  so.  The  temperature  of  an  ordinary  propa¬ 
gating  house  is  often  a  little  too  high,  and  under  such  circum¬ 
stances  many  of  the  cuttings  fail  to  root  unless  the  stock  plants 
have  been  given  extra  heat  for  a  few  weeks  before  the  cuttings 
are  taken,  and  it  is  not  always  convenient  to  do  this.  A  two- 
light  frame  placed  over  a  freshly  made  hotbed  in  the  open  air 
will  accommodate  hundreds  of  plants,  and  with  suitable  treat¬ 
ment  90  per  cent,  of  the  cuttings  will  root.  As  soon  as  the, 
rank  heat  of  the  frame  has  passed  off  cover  the  manure  with  Gin 
of  cocoa-nut  fibre  or  sawdmst.  Insert  the  cuttings  around  the 
edges  of  well-drained  pots  4in  or  oin  in  diameter,  using  a  com¬ 
post  formed  of  equal  parts  light  loam  and  leaf  soil,  with  a  liberal 
addition  of  sharp  sand.  Water  thoroughly  througli  a  rose,  so 
as  to  settle  the  soil  firmly  around  the  cuttings.  If  the  pots  are 
then  plunged  to  within  an  inch  of  their  rims  in  the  frame  but 
little  attention  is  necessary  till  tliej'  are  ready  for  potting  off.  I 
usually  leave  a  ‘‘  chink  ”  of  air  on  the  frame  constantly,  at  the 
back,  to  prevent  condensation  of  moLsture.  During  fro.sty 
nights  the  lights  should,  of  coui’se,  be  covered  with  mats  or  other 
protecting  material. — D.  W. 
Apple  Growing  in  Small  Gardens. 
For  realising  a  quick  return  from  young  plantations  of  Apple 
trees  it  has  been  abundantly  proved  there  is  nothing  to  .surpass 
or  equal  the  Fngli.sh  Paradise  stock.  With  careful  cultivation 
the_  very  finest  Apples  can  be  produced  on  such  trees,  and  most 
varieties  grow  vigorou.sly  on  the  stock  named.  On  the  other 
varieties  of  Paradise  I  have  found  that  it  takes  a  much  longer 
time  to  build  uij  trees  into  any  considerable  size,  and  that  for 
some  of  the  weaker  and  most  free-bearing  varieties,  sucli  as 
Lane’s  Prince  Albert,  Stirling  Castle,  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin,  and 
otheefs,  it  is  simply  useless.  With  any  amount  of  feeding  they  get 
stunted,  and  make  next  to  no  growth,  being  smothered  with 
fruit  buds,  which,  if  they  set  a  crop,  mostly  fall  off  prematurely 
in  a  worthless  condition.  I  would  recommend  that  the  varieties 
referred  to  be  never  grafted  on  any  .stock  but  the  Apple  stock. 
Even  under  such  circumstances  they  come  very  early  into  a 
bearing  state. 
It  is  a  great  pitj-  that  those  growers  who  have  only  small 
spaces  of  ground  available  for  Apple  culture  are  not  more 
generally  aware  of  the  good  qualities  of  bush  and  cordon  trees  on 
the  Paradise  stock  as  compared  with  those  on  the  Chab.  A  few 
trees  on  the  latter,  by  the  time  they  are  in  full  bearing  render 
so  much  ground  useless  for  other  crops,  that  one  sees  on  every 
hand  how  unde.sirable  they  are  in  the  gardens  of  the  villa  and 
cottage.  And  the  quickness  of  the  return  and  the  immunity 
from  being  destroyed  by  Avinds  that  is  obtained  by  smaller  tree's 
is  a  matter  of  groat  moment. 
In  order  to  obtain  the  best  results  from  bushes  and  cordons 
on  the  Paradise  stock  more  feeding  and  care  is  required.  The 
ground  should  be  in  good  order  to  begin  with,  and  when  the 
plants  come  into  free  bearing  more  feeding  is  necessary  than 
would  be  good  for  trees  on  the  Crab  for  a  number  of  years  after 
planting.  The  Paradise  forms  more  surface  roots,  and  in  dry 
climates  and  seasons  when  bearing  freely  they  require  to  be  well 
mulched  rvith  horse  manure,  if  possible,  and  are  vastly  benefited 
with  a  few  thorough  Avaterings  of  licfuid  manure,  or  some  artificial 
manure.  Of  course,  any  trees  shoAving  a  tendency  to  make 
strong  groAvth  should  be  more  abundantly  fed. 
For  small  gardens  I  can  A’ery  strongly  recommend  upright 
cordons  in  straight  lines  planted  2ft  apart  in  the  roAvs.  They 
are  easily  supported  by  a  feAv  upright  stakes  at  intervals  of  6ft  or 
8ft,  Avith  a  top  rail  to  Avhich  the  trees  are  tied,  and  are  so  steadily 
fixed  that  no  storm  can  move  them  or  shake  off  a  single  fruit. 
The  roAvs  of  upright  trees  I  much  prefer  to  training  them 
horizontally  near  the  ground.  The  uprights  are  much  less  in 
the  Avay.  Planted  and  trained  in  the  Avay  recommended  they  are 
easily  mulched  and  Avatered,  and  they  produce  splendid  fruit, 
provided  the  trees  are  not  closely  pinched  in  summer  or  pruned 
in  Avinter.  Such  curtailment  of  foliage  soon  Aveakens  the  trees, 
and  they  are  capable  of  manufacturing  sufficient  food  to  bring 
a  good  crop  of  fine  Apples  to  maturity.  In  fact,  the  close  annual 
pruning  of  Apples,  cA-en  in  large  gardens,  aaIucIi  has  been  found 
necessary  in  order  to  keep  the  trees  Avithin  circumscribed  bounds, 
.sooner  or  later  proves  tlie  ruin  of  the  trees.  And  if  eA'er  this 
country  is  to  be  successful  in  competition  Avith  the  groAvers  of 
other  more  favoured  countries,  it  must  be  chiefly  from  lai'ge 
trees  on  the  Crab  stock,  and  not  subject  to  being  shorn  eAmry 
year  into  mere  stumps  Avith  the  pruner,  but  Avith  freedom  of 
growth  in  a  thinly  disposed  condition  as  is  necessarj'  Avithin  the 
AA  alls  of  mixed  gardens. — D.  Thomson. 
Autocrat  Pi  a. 
This  variety  has,  I  know,  frequently  received  a  fair  meed  of 
praise  for  its  good  cjfualities  as  a  late  sort.  I  have  grown  it  for 
some  years,  and  have  discarded  the  taller  groAving  Ne  Plus  Ultra 
in  its  favour ;  this  last  Avith  Alderman,  Late.st  of  All,  and  Walker’s 
Perijetual,  have  all  been  tried,  and  for  vigorous  clean  groAvth — 
free  from  mildcAA’ — and  continuous  bearing,  they,  in  my  ex¬ 
perience,  are  all  surpassed  by  Autocrat  for  a  late  soAving.  It 
has  the  additional  advantage  of  being  2ft  le.ss  in  height  than  some 
of  the  Amrieties  named. — Provincial. 
Cucumflers  luk^i  of  York  and  Dickson’s  Excelsior. 
May  I  be  alloAved  to  say  a  word  for  tAvo  Amrieties  of  Cucumbers 
Avhich  I  have  found  most  excellent  for  their  handsome  fruit  and 
long  period  of  bearing?  These  two  varieties  are  Duke  of  York 
and  Dickson’s  Excelsior.  From  my  memoranda  for  1902,  from 
April  10  to  September  28,  I  cut  over  600  good  fruit  from  these 
tAvo  kinds  alone.  They  were  planted  in  tAvo  beds  holding  seven 
plants  each,  and  the  first  lot  of  plants  Avere  cut  out  in  July,  and 
a  second  lot  planted  from  5in  pots,  AAhich  soon  came  into  bear¬ 
ing,  making  fourteen  plants  for  the  number  of  fruit  I  have 
stated.  I  also  had  tAAm  similar  beds  of  Duke  of  Edinburgh  and. 
Lockie’s  Perfection  in  another  house,  but  I  find  that  they  did  not 
giAm  half  the  number  of  fruit  as  the  first  tw  o  mentioned,  although 
they  had  precisely  the  same  treatment,  .soil,  &c.  Duke  of  York 
Cucumbers  come  about  18in  long,  and  Excelsior  20in,  and  some¬ 
times  almost  2ft. — Geo.  Hockney,  AVick,  Littlehampton. 
A  Country  Flower  and  Poultry  Show. 
The  committee  of  the  Far  Forest  Flower  and  Poultry  Show 
AA'ill  this  year  have  their  annual  show'  on  a  Wednesday  in  August, 
to  enable  their  friends  from  Kidderminster  and  BeAvdley  to  Ausit 
it.  In  return  they  AA'ish  to  give  prizes  (open  to  a  ten  mile  radius) 
for  collections  of  A'egetables,  floAvers,  and  fruit,  some  .smaller 
classes  open  to  Avorking  men  in  the  same  radius,  and  classes  in 
the  poultry  shoAv  also  open  to  ten  miles.  But  if  they  are  to  do 
so  they  mu.st  depend  on  outside  support,  and  I  therefore  venture 
to  a.sk  the  support  of  those  of  your  readers  Avho  are  interested, 
conditional  if  desired,  and  AA'e  shall  also  be  very  glad  if  they 
Avill  send  us  a  guarantee  for  a  small  amount.  We  cannot  finally 
print  schedules  until  w'e  know  Avhat  funds  Ave  shall  have.  I  hope 
you  will  agree  Avith  me  that  sIioavs  conducted  on  the  lines  of  ours 
do  a  va.st  amount  of  good,  and  I  shall  be  very  grateful  for  any 
assistance. — G.  F.  Eyre,  Far  Forest  Vicarage,  Rock,  S.O., 
Worcestershire. 
Leal  Soil  for  Orchids. 
Noav  that  potting  operations  will  be  in  full  SAving,  a  fcAV 
remarks  on  the  value  of  leaf  soil  as  a  compost  for  Orchids  may 
be  of  benefit  to  .some  of  your  readers.  During  the  last  two 
years  a  great  deal  has  been  said  in  its  favour,  but  there  are 
.some  Avho  do  not  take  to  its  use  very  kindly,  and  there  are  also 
a  fcAv  AA’ho  have  recommended  groAA’ing  Orchids  in  nothing  else 
but  leaf  soil.  I  liaA'e  neA'er  used  it  alone,  but  har-e  found  that 
a  good  many  genera  of  Orchids,  namely,  Cattleyas,  Lselias, 
Cypripediums,  Dendrobes,  '  Coelogynes,  Calanthes  (and  also 
Anthuriums  and  Nepenthe.s)  thrive  in  a  comiiost  that  has  a 
large  amount  of  leaf  soil  in  it,  auz.,  one  iiart  each  of  leaf  soil, 
fibrous  peat,  sphagnum,  and  also  some  broken  charcoal.  In 
advising  leaf  soil  I  mean  tliat  to  be  obtained  from  good  Oak  or 
Beech  leaves.  In  iireparing  the  compo.st,  rub  the  leaf  soil 
through  a  4in  sieA'e  and  jiass  the  fine  stuff  through  the  iin.  The 
rough  portion  only  should  be  used  for  Orchids;  the  fine  Avill 
come  in  for  other  kinds  of  plants  that  do  not  require  such  an 
open  compost.  After  ])otting,  careful  Avatering  is  needed,  and 
use  a  fine-rosed  can,  merely  moistening  the  comiiost,  till  the 
roots  are  active,  Avhen  wmter  may  be  increased.  I  have  found 
Calanthes  to  do  AA’ell  in  the  same  material,  Avith  a  good  spriidvling 
of  dried  cowdung  added.  Oncidiums,  Oclontoglossums,  Vandas, 
and  Aerides  also  delight  in  a  free  use  of  leaf  soil  AA'ith  careful 
treatment.  Perhaps  some  of  your  readers  can  favour  us  Avith 
their  aucaa’s. — Geo.  Hockney. 
