JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
59 
January  17,  1901. 
i 
CARDEhL  CI/EANINCS\ 
Imantophy llum  mlnlatum. — This  is  one  of  the  most  useful 
plants  for  forcing  into  bloom  about  Christmas  and  onward  that  can  be 
had.  It  is  free  flowering,  and  merely  requires  to  be  grown  throughout 
the  winter  months  in  a  genial  temperature  to  insure  it  flowering 
annually  at  the  dull  season.  In  summer  it  is  best  grown  in  a 
greenhouse.  Plants  which  flower  now  do  so  again  about  June.  The 
flowers  are  admirably  adapted  for  vase  decoration.  I  employ  loam  and 
crushed  lime  rubbish  as  potting  material,  and  do  not  stint  the  water. 
— B.  B. 
Soil  for  Asparagus. — There  can  be  no  doubt  that  burnt  soil  and 
rubbish  are  admirably  adapted  for  mixing  with  soil  for  Asparagus  beds. 
I  had  collected  all  the  summer  and  autumn  grass  from  the  lawns, 
prunings,  edgings  from  the  sides  of  walks,  rough  leaves,  and  small 
branches  from  amongst  the  shrubs — in  fact,  all  kinds  of  rubbish  that 
would  burn ;  and  by  the  end  of  the  season  I  had  a  valuable  heap  of 
ashes  and  old  soil,  as  well  as  an  abundance  of  old  leaf  soil  and  sweepings 
from  the  lawn.  I  ha^e  now  full  and  good  beds  of  Asparagus.  When 
old  potting  soil  and  garden  rubbish  prove  to  be  of  value  for  growing  this 
as  well  as  other  kitchen  garden  crops,  who  would  grudge  the  time  and 
labour  required  in  saving  and  preparing  it  if  such  advantages  are  to  be 
gained  ? — Practice. 
Spiraea  astllboldes. — Although  this  Spiraea  will  never  displace 
the  old  and  useful  S.  japonica,  it  is  nevertheless  invaluable  for  its 
gracefulness.  S.  astilboides  bears  gentle  forcing  only,  and  three  good 
batches  may  be  obtained,  the  first  by  gentle  warmth  after  the  plants 
have  started  well  into  growth,  the  second  by  cool  greenhouse  treatment, 
and  the  third  by  keeping  the  plants  outside,  behind  a  north  wall,  as 
long  as  possible.  Plants  that  have  been  flowered  in  pots  will  bloom 
again  if  they  are  well  cared  for,  but  they  do  not  flower  as  well  as  those 
that  have  been  purposely  prepared  for  forcing.  It  is  a  good  plan  to 
have  a  stock  of  plants,  so  that  they  can  be  flowered  in  pots  every  other 
year.  After  flowering  the  plants  may  be  divided,  and  planted  out, 
when  the  weather  is  favourable,  in  deeply  dug  and  well  manured 
ground.  It  is  imperative  that  a  sunny,  open  spot  should  be  selected 
for  them. — O.  B. 
Winter  Shades  of  Creen  Colour. — During  mild  winter  weather 
large  tracts  of  vegetables  in  fields  afford  an  interesting  study  in  the 
various  shades  of  green  they  display.  Brussels  Sprouts  in  large  breadths 
gives  the  lightest  tint  of  green.  The  Cauliflowers  and  Broccoli  are 
somewhat  of  a  metallic  hue,  a  kind  of  greyish  green.  Cabbages  and 
Savoys  have  a  rich  dark  green  appearance,  some  plants  scattered 
among  them,  and  further  advanced  in  growth,  showing  developed  hearts 
with  leaves  conspicuously  lighter  in  tone  to  the  rest.  The  peculiarly 
curled  and  beautifully  divided  foliage  of  Scotch  Kale  is  most  attractive 
in  winter  before  severe  frosts  have  injured  it.  The  grass  fields  vary  in 
colour,  some  being  grey  and  at  their  lowest  minimum  of  colour,  while 
others  assume  spring-like  verdure.  Unploughed  fields  show  here  and 
there  patches  of  luxuriant  weeds,  producing  a  mass  of  vivid  colour 
where  they  grow  rankly. — M. 
Apple  Prince  Albert. — The  value  of  this  good-keeping  Apple 
can  scarcely  be  over-rated.  I  have  several  trees  of  Lane’s  Prince 
Albert,  which,  though  perfectly  healthy,  make  slow  progress  in  the 
formation  of  desirably  large  trees,  from  the  fact  that  they  bear  too 
freely  to  allow  of  an  extension  in  growth  of  branch.  I  have  seriously 
considered  the  advisability  of  picking  off  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  fruit 
next  season  if  the  weather  should  favour  a  perfect  set  next  spring,  in 
order  to  encourage  some  growth  in  the  tree.  This  is  the  only  fault  I 
have  to  find,  if  it  can  be  considered  a  fault,  with  Lane’s  Prince  Albert. 
The  fruit  is  of  handsome  shape,  and  when  exposed  to  sun  has  a  bright 
cheek.  I  would  willingly  extend  my  stock  by  grafting  one  of  the 
larger  trees  of  another  sort,  but  it  cannot  be  done  just  now,  for  the 
reason  that  there  are  no  shoots  obtainable  suited  to  the  purpose.  To 
owners  of  gardens  of  very  limited  area  it  should  have  a  particular 
value  by  reason  of  its  slow  or  moderate  growth  and  free-fruiting 
tendencies. — W. 
Baskets  for  the  House  In  Winter. — Except  in  the  case  of  a 
temporary  decoration  these  should  not  be  large,  and  their  filling 
should  be  restricted  to  few  rather  than  many  kinds  of  plants.  A 
wire  basket  lined  with  a  sod  of  wild  Polypody  or  dwarf  greenhouse 
moss,  and  filled  in  all  over  with  red  Oxalis,  is  quite  charming.  The 
under  side  should  be  a  drapery  of  running  Tradescantia,  variegated 
Panioum,  Othonna,  or  similar  plants,  and  the  bowl  filled  with  Pandanus, 
Dracaenas,  Asparagus,  Cyperus,  Rivina,  Begonias,  or  Perns.  Ivy  alone 
is  often  used  in  these  baskets.  Russellia  juncea  and  Petunias  are  also 
used,  each  one  by  itself,  and  a  favourite  and  very  pretty  way  of 
growing  Ivy-leaved  Pelargoniums  is  alone  in  baskets.  Saxifraga 
sarmentosa  and  its  coloured  varieties  make  attractive  subjects  when 
grown  in  suspended  pots.  And  Cactuses  and  other  succulents  usually 
look  better  alone  than  when  mixed  with  other  genera,  for  instance, 
Epiphyllums,  drooping  Cereus,  and  pendent  Mesembryanthemums. 
— P.  P. 
Annual  Tree  topping. — The  extent  to  which  large  trees,  such 
as  Limes,  Acacias,  Poplars,  are  lopped  and  cut  in  the  winter  time 
until  they  appear  like  oontorted  broomsticks  attached  to  a  growing 
trunk  or  stem  is  a  matter  of  great  regret.  Fancy  an  avenue  of  such 
trees,  three  or  four  perhaps,  before  each  villa  residence  in  a  fashion¬ 
able  thoroughfare,  and  also  in  private  gardens.  Lime  trees  seem  to 
be  badly  used  in  this  respect.  Why  should  trees  be  planted  thickly 
in  a  town  street  and  every  one  unmercifully  pruned  back  each  winter, 
leaving  six  or  eight  twisted  stems  with  gnarled  and  knotty  excrescences 
upon  them,  caused  by  the  constant  pruning  to  one  point  ?  I  like  to 
see  trees  growing  by  the  roadside  throwing  a  grateful  shade  of  foliage 
in  summer  upon  the  hot  pavements.  But  I  would  plant  less  thiokly 
and  prune  on  a  different  system,  cutting  away  the  lower  branches 
which  may  obstruct,  and  regulating  others.  In  this  way  the  trees 
make  less  annual  growth  ;  they  are  more  shapely,  and  instead  of  being 
eyesores  in  winter  they  are  beautiful  pictures  then  as  well  as  in 
summer. — D. 
Cleaning  Houses. — Before  the  season  for  potting  arrives  this 
work  should  be  pushed  forward.  Houses  that  were  washed  in  autumn 
should  be  done  again.  No  plants  ought  to  be  repotted  if  they  are 
infested  with  insects  until  after  they  have  been  thoroughly  oleaned.  If 
this  work  and  the  cleaning  of  houses  are  delayed  until  the  potting  is 
done,  the  plants  are  often  seriously  checked  while  the  operation  is 
going  on,  instead  of  receiving  every  encouragement  to  make  luxuriant 
growth.  The  woodwork  and  glass  should  be  thoroughly  washed  with 
softsoap  and  hot  water,  and  if  mealy  bug  has  infested  the  house  add 
1  pint  of  paraffin  to  every  4  gallons  of  water  used  for  this  purpose,  or 
paint  the  house  with  pure  paraffin.  The  walls  must  be  lime-washed 
with  hot  lime,  and,  if  necessary,  add  paraffin  to  this  also.  The  pipes 
and  staging,  if  ironwork,  should  be  painted.  Lampblack  and  boiled 
oil  form  a  very  suitable  mixture  for  this  purpose,  but  should  be  mixed 
very  thin.  The  gravel  or  other  material  upon  which  the  plants  stand 
should  also  be  washed  or  replaced  with  fresh.  The  stonework  and 
paths,  if  flags,  can  be  thoroughly  cleaned  by  the  application  of  a  little 
chloride  of  lime. — G. 
Rlvinas. — For  upwards  of  200  years  evidence  is  forthcoming  of 
these  plants  being  cultivated  in  English  gardens,  and  in  spite  of  many 
other  ornamental  fruited  plants  being  introduced  for  conservatory 
decoration  at  various  times  they  are  still  among  the  prettiest  and  most 
graceful  plants  of  the  whole  set.  Several  species  are  cultivated,  but 
two  only  are  really  distinct  from  a  gardener’s  point  of  view.  R.  humilis 
makes  a  bushy  plant,  producing  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves  dense 
racemes  several  inches  long  of  small  white  flowers,  which  are  succeeded 
by  small  bright  red  fruits.  As  flowers  are  produced  for  several  months 
a  nice  contrast  is  made  between  the  white  flowers  on  the  upper  parts 
and  the  red  fruit  on  the  lower,  the  general  effect  being  heightened  by 
the  bright  green  leaves.  R.  laevis  and  R.  tinctoria  have  white  flowers 
and  red  fruits,  differing  in  size  slightly  from  those  of  the  foregoing,  and 
also  in  the  size  and  hairiness  of  the  leaves.  The  species  most  distinot, 
from  R.  humilis  is  R.  aurantiaca,  it  has  larger  leaves  and  bright  golden 
yellow  fruit.  Like  the  former  it  is  a  South  American  plant.  They  are  of 
easy  cultivation.  Seeds  sown  in  spring  will  produce  good  plants  2  feet 
high  by  the  end  of  summer,  which  will  flower  and  fruit  freely  for  several 
months.  Frequent  stopping  is  necessary  to  induce  a  bushy  habit.  By 
sowing  at  intervals  of  two  or  three  months  a  succession  can  be  kept  up 
throughout  the  year.  For  grouping  with  white  flowered  forced  plants 
they  are  very  useful,  the  fruit  showing  well  among  the  flowers. — 
G.  K.  R. 
