f>2 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  17,  1901. 
The  Japanese  Chrysanthemum. 
Mr.  J.  Heaton,  gardener  to  R.  P.  Houston,  Esq.,  The  Lawn, 
Aigburtb,  the  record  Chrysanthemum  grower  of  the  district,  lectured 
on  Saturday  evening,  January  5th,  at  the  Liverpool;  Horticultural 
Association  on  “  The  Japanese  Chrysanthemum.”  The  following  is 
an  interesting  summary  of  his  address.  He  preferred  cuttings  from 
plants  grown  for  the  purpose,  the  old  stocks  being  cut  down  to 
7  or  8  inches  and  placed  in  a  good  position  previous  to  cuttings  being 
taken.  The  time  for  late  varieties  was  early  in  November,  while 
for  early  varieties  the  beginning  to  end  of  January  was  soon  enough. 
The  compost  should  be  of  two  parts  loam  and  one  part  leaf  mould  and 
silver  sand,  using  3^  pots.  Place  them  in  a  cool  frame,  protecting 
them  from  frost  and  excessive  moisture.  When  rooted,  pot  them  singly 
and  place  them  on  a  greenhouse  shelf,  using  more  loam  and  some  bones 
in  the  compost.  At  the  end  of  February  place  them  in  cold  frames, 
keeping  them  somewhat  close  for  a  few  days,  and  protecting  them  from 
frosty  nights,  towards  the  end  of  March  shift  them  into  6-inch  pots, 
giving  a  drainage  of  2  inches  deep,  which  will  allow  the  plants  to  fit 
easily  in  the  final  potting  when  the  drainage  is  removed,  and  leave 
ample  room  for  a  top-dressing  later.  The  compost  should  be  four 
parts  loam,  one  part  each  decayed  manure  and  leaf  mould,  and  quarter 
part  each  bones,  oystershells,  charcoal,  and  sand.  Pot  firmly,  except 
perhaps  in  the  case  ot  incurved  Japanese,  and  use  care  in  watering. 
The  second  week  in  May  should  see  them  ready  for  removal  into 
9|  pots.  Stake  them,  being  careful  not  to  tie  too  tightly,  and  fasten 
to  two  strained  wires  running  east  and  west,  and  syringe  them  three 
times  a  day  until  the  end  of  July.  In  feeding,  employ  soot  water  with 
a  little  lime  added  to  clear  it,  this,  of  course,  being  given  after  the  roots 
are  found  running  into  the  top-dressing.  Now  follow  up  with  supplies 
of  sheep,  cow,  and  horse  manure,  and  a  little  artificial,  but  always  in 
weak  doses  ;  and  in  case  of  mildew  use  carbolic  softsoap.  Start  housing 
of  plants  the  23rd  to  the  29th  September,  leaving  all  ventilators  and 
windows  open  night  and  day  for  a  time,  and  fumigate  before  the  blooms 
are  open.  Shade  -with  tiffany  when  the  blooms  are  half  open,  and 
maintain  a  light  buoyant  atmosphere,  keeping  the  house  at  about 
50°  or  55°.— R.  P.  R. 
Mutual  Friend. 
I  believe  this  variety  will  become  orie  of  the  best  white  Chrys¬ 
anthemums  grown  for  Christmas  and  the  New  Year.  At  the  present 
time  it  is  one  of  the  most  useful  whites  we  have  for  cutting,  being 
superior  in  this  lesject  to  Niveus.  It  is  more  graceful  for  table  and  vases 
than  L.  Canning.  The  flowers  are  producea  in  sprays,  which  are  of 
the  purest  White.  — J.  B. 
A  Cure  for  the  Rust. 
About  four  years  ago  1  had  a  plant  of  Georgina  Pitcher  added 
to  my  collection  of  Chrysanthemums,  and  it  proved  the  means  of 
introducing  the  rust.  We  tried  the  softsoap  and  petroleum  mixture 
mentioned  by  some  correspondents  of  the  Journal,  but  that  did 
not  effect  a  clearance,  and  for  a  time  we  let  the  rust  take  its  course. 
After  flowering  all  the  old  foliage  and  stems  were  cleared  away  and 
burnt,  but  subsequently  a  few  spots  made  their  appearance  on 
some  of  the  cuttings.  These  having  made  good  roots  were 
placed  into  60-pots;  I  then  noticed  that  the  dreaded  rust  was 
spreading  freely.  Some  little  time  previously  I  had  seen  Yeltha 
advertised  in  the  Journal  as  a  cure,  and  1  determined  to  give 
it  a  good  trial,  but  I  could  not  see  how  to  distribute  it  properly,  as 
the  stock  was  in  such  small  pots.  However,  I  mixed  one  part  »  f 
Veltha  to  about  120  to  130  parts  of  water.  The  plants  were  dipped 
and  laid  down  in  the  shade  until  dry,  when  they  were  taken  back  to 
their  old  quarters.  From  that  time  I  never  saw  the  slightest  trace 
of  the  rust  on  those  plants. 
I  daresay  there  are  many  persons  who  are  well  acquainted  with 
the  above,  but  the  object  of  these  notes  is  to  assist  those  who  do  not 
know.  I  remember  last  spring  paying  a  visit  to  a  gardening  friend 
who  was  troubled  with  the  pest.  He  had  previously  tried  Yeltha  by 
applying  it  to  the  roots  of  his  plants,  but  he  did  not  appear  to  have 
a  very  high  opinion  of  it.  If  any  of  your  readers  have  done  the  same 
thing,  and  not  tried  it  in  the  manner  I  have  described,  I  would  say — 
Give  it  a  thorough  trial,  and  I  think  they  will  come  to  the  same  con¬ 
clusion  as  myself,  namely,  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  useful  preparations 
that  has  been  placed  upon  the  horticultural  market  for  many 
years. — H. 
Winter  Digging. 
If  the  value  of  digging  were  more  fully  realised  there  would  not  be 
so  much  ground  lying  in  a  beaten  and  soddened  condition  all  the  winter 
as  one  often  sees.  The  turning  over  of  the  top  spit  as  often  as  the 
crop  on  the  ground  will  permit  of  it  is  very  valuable,  but  digging  two 
spits  deep  is  far  more  so.  Two-spit  digging  without  any  manure  will 
give  finer  results  than  surface  digging  in  conjunction  with  a  fair 
dressing  of  manure.  All  who  go  in  for  deep  cultivation  do  not  win 
prizes  tor  vegetables  at  the  shows  ;  but  one  thing  may  be  taken  for 
granted,  and  that  is  that  those  who  win  the  prizes  go  in  for  deep 
cultivation.  What  is  good  for  vegetables  is,  of  course,  good  for 
flowers  and  fruit,  but  in  the  case  of  the  latter  the  trenching  must  be 
done  before  the  fruit  trees  are  put  in.  I  have  seen  jobbing  gardeners 
turning  over  the  top  spit  by  putting  the  spade  into  the  ground  three 
parts  of  the  blade  only,  and  at  an  angle  of  45°,  and  have  felt  inclined 
to  tell  them  they  were  dishonest  men. 
Let  us  look  at  a  few  of  the  advantages  of  keeping  the  ground  dug 
both  deeply  and  often.  The  first  thing  to  be  realised  is  that  the  soil 
is  inhabited  by  myriads  of  organisms,  mostly  minute  forms  of  low 
vegetable  life  (bacteria),  upon  the  existence  of  which  in  a  healthy  state 
of  activity  depends  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Seeing,  then,  that  the 
soil  is  alive,  it  must  be  treated  accordingly  so  that  life  may  go  on. 
These  organisms  need  oxygen,  and  if  the  ground  is  in  a  soddened 
condition  they  cannot  get  it  from  the  air,  and  have  to  get  it  from  the 
nitrates  in  the  soil,  resulting  in  the  escape  of  free  nitrogen  in  the 
air,  and  the  much  diminished  activity  of  the  organisms.  Some  of 
these  organisms  bring  about  the  decay  of  dead  animal  and  vegetable 
matter,  which  is  broken  down  into  ammonia,  carbonic  acid  gas,  and 
salts;  while  others  do  a  no  less  important  work  in  converting  the 
ammonia  into  nitrates,  in  which  latter  form  only  can  nitrogen  be 
used  by  plants.  It  is  only  through  these  complicated  changes  that 
organic  matter  becomes  food  for  plants  ;  therefore,  when  bad  soil 
conditions  prevent  them  taking  place  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  lessened, 
or  rather,  perhaps,  the  availability  of  its  plant  load  is  delayed.  If 
the  soil  is  so  close  that  the  carbonic  acid  gas  (,C02)  resulting  from 
the  decomposition  of  organic  matter  cannot  escape  into  the  air,  the 
soil  becomes  sour,  which  is  another  cause  that  prevents  the  organisms 
doing  their  work. 
But  there  are  other  considerations  of  a  d  fferent  nature  which  are 
not  less  important.  If  the  ground  is  left  rough  all  the  winter,  the 
frost  disintegrates  the  soil  so  that  the  air  can  circulate  freely  amongst 
the  particles,  and  the  roots  of  plants  can  work  about  amongst  them, 
giving  a  greater  fee  ling  surface  and  increasing  the  vigour  of  the 
plant.  This  is  very  important.  Most  of  the  phosphates  in  the  soil 
are  in  a  very  insoluble  condition,  and  are  only  slowly  dissolved  by  the 
acids  of  the  rain  water  and  the  root  sap.  Whgn  the  soil  is  thoroughly 
disintegrated  by  the  frost  the  root  hairs  oh  the  rootlets  are  able  to 
grasp  minute  particles  of  phosphate  and  literally  devour  them  by  the 
action  of  their  acid.  If  any  reader  has  no  idea  how  the  roots  ramify 
in  thoroughly  pulverised  soil,  let  him  take  up  a  small  plant  growing 
in  such  soil  and  carefully  wash  the  earth  from  the  roots,  when  he  will 
be  amazed  at  the  myriads  of  rootlets  and  the  still  greater  myriads  of 
root  hairs  upon  them. 
Moreover,  the  soil  being  rough  the  water  runs  through  it  more 
easily,  so  that  the  soil  is  drier,  with  the  result  that  the  sun  in  the 
early  spring  warms  the  soil  much  more  quickly,  as  it  is  the  water  in 
the  soil  which  absorbs  so  much  heat  in  getting  warm,  and  a  still 
greater  quantity  is  being  evaporated,  as  anyone  will  understand  who 
reflects  upon  the  length  of  time  a  kettle  of  water  has  to  be  exposed  to 
the  fire  before  all  the  water  boils  away  or  becomes  evaporated.  If  on 
a  sunny  day  in  February  the  hand  is  placed  on  soil  that  lies  rough, 
and  then  on  that  which  is  soddened,  both,  of  course,  being  alike 
exposed  to  the  sunshine,  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  former  is  warm  and 
the  latter  cold.  This  loughness  of  the  soil  not  only  makes  vegetation 
earlier,  and  hardier  and  stronger,  but  enables  the  nitrifying  organisms 
to  do  their  work  actively,  which  they  can  only  do  very  slowly  in  a 
cold  wet  soil.  Every  degree  increase  in  temperature  from  freezing 
point  to  95°  F.  increases  the  activity  of  these  organisms,  and  conse¬ 
quently  the  production  of  nitrates  in  the  soil. 
The  above  remarks  apply  principally  to  digging  as  such,  without 
distinction  between  deep  digging  and  surface  digging.  The 
advantages  of  the  former  are  the  same  as  the  latter,  but  intensified. 
It  not  only  gives  the  roots  such  a  much  greater  depth  for  their 
ramifications,  and  consequently  an  increased  area  for  collecting  their 
food  supply,  but  there  is  another  very  important  benefit ;  and  that  is, 
in  a  dry  summer  the  plants  are  able  to  stand  much  more  drought 
without  suffering.  I  never  saw  this  more  strikingly  exemplified 
than  during  the  dry  hot  month  of  last  July,  when  most  people’s  Peas 
being  burned  up  by  the  latter  part  of  the  month,  some  that  had 
been  sown  on  deeply  trenched  ground  were  green  and  flourishing 
throughout  the  month. — Alger  Petts 
