January  24,  190!. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
77 
The  Wonders  of  Peat, — Herr  Zschorner,  of  Vienna,  has  been 
experimenting  with  peat  for  twelve  years  past,  and,  according  to  a 
writer  in  the  “  Leisure  Hour,”  has  shown  very  conclusively  that  it  has 
many  astonishing  qualities.  In  Ireland,  in  particular,  this  intelligence 
should  be  weloomed.  A  building  has  been  exhibited  in  which  everything, 
from  the  carpet  on  the  floor  to  the  curtains  on  the  windows  and  the 
paper  on  the  walls,  was  made  from  peat.  The  fibres  of  the  remains  of 
the  reeds  and  grasses  of  which  peat  is  composed  have,  of  course,  their 
original  physical  and  chemical  characters  changed ;  but  the  fibrous 
structure  remains  intact,  and  the  fibres  themselves  are  very  durable, 
elastic,  and  non-conductors  of  heat.  Fabrics  woven  from  them  are 
found  to  have  the  toughness  of  linen  with  the  warmth  of  wool.  There 
is  no  textile  fabric  that  cannot  be  woven  from  these  fibres.  Blankets 
and  other  coverings  used  for  horses  and  cattle  have  been  found  in  use 
to  excel  in  warmth  and  cleanliness.  Paper  of  several  qualities  has 
been  made,  and  the  uses  to  which  peat  fibre  has  already  been  applied 
indicate  possibilities  that  may  render  the  peat  bogs  of  Ireland  a 
valuable  addition  to  the  resources  of  that  country. 
Cblronlas. — These  are  very  showy  plants  and  are  very  useful  for 
house  or  table  decoration  in  late  summer  and  early  autumn.  At  Kew 
three  species  are  in  cultivation,  all  South  African  plants  and  all  requiring 
cool  treatment.  C.  floribunda,  a  dwarf  plant  forming  a  dense  mass  of 
wiry  growths  clothed  with  small  bright  green  leaves.  The  flowers 
are  half  an  inch  across,  pink,  and  produced  singly  from  the  axils  of  the 
leaves.  It  grows  well  in  a  mixture  of  peat,  leaf  mould  and  loam,  with 
a  good  proportion  of  sand  added.  C.  linoides,  known  in  the  trade 
as  C.  ixifera  is  the  handsomest  of  the  three.  It  has  a  sturdy ; 
upright  habit,  bears  small,  linear,  glaucous  leaves,  and  each  shoot  is 
terminated  with  pink  flowers  with  prominent  yellow  anthers.  When 
at  its  best  the  whole  plant  looks  like  a  loose,  elegant  bouquet  of 
flowers.  To  grow  it  well  it  must  be  given  a  mixture  of  peat  and 
sand  and  potted  firmly.  C.  peduncularis  makes  a  nice  little  plant  if 
kept  well  stopped,  otherwise  it  soon  becomes  straggling.  It  differs 
from  the  other  two  by  having  larger  leaves  and  flowers,  the  leaves 
being  2\  inches  long  by  three-quarters  of  an  inch  wide,  and  the 
flowers  nearly  1^  inch  across,  with  peduncles  2  inches  long.  The 
flowers  are  reddish  purple  with  deep  yellow  anthers.  It  requires  a 
mixture  of  loam,  leaf  mould,  and  sand.  All  may  be  readily  grown 
from  cuttings. — W.  D. 
Transplanting:  Onions. — By  this  term  I  mean  the  transplanting 
of  Onion  plants  from  boxes  when  the  plants  have  been  raised  under 
glass,  both  into  other  boxes  thinly,  and  from  the  seed  or  other  boxes 
into  the  open  ground.  One  of  the  most  successful  of  Onion  growersj 
and  he  constantly  obtains  bulbs  of  giant  size,  and  from  3  lbs.  upwards 
in  weight,  not  only  sows  his  seed  in  shallow  boxes,  but  he  transfers 
the  plants  thinly  into  oth.er  rather  less  shallow  boxes  when  they  are 
some  3  inches  in  height,  and  from  these  latter  boxes  lifts  them  with 
good  balls  of  soil  and  roots  attached  and  puts  them  out  into  the  open 
ground,  specially  trenched  and  manured  for  the  purpose,  about  the 
third  week  in  April.  But,  in  another  direction,  what  seems  to  be 
appreciable  success  is  obtained  by  sowing  the  seed  in  boxes  5  inches 
deep  which  have  been  filled  with  good  soil.  In  these  boxes  the  plants 
remain  until  they  are  planted  out,  when  they  are  lifted  and  put  out 
carefully,  but  the  roots  are  devoid  of  soil.  Now  the  natural  assump¬ 
tion  would  be  that  the  plants  put  out  with  good  balls  of  soil  attached 
to  the  undisturbed  roots  would  make  quickest  growth  and  have  much 
the  soonest  start.  So  much  seems  to  be  certain,  as  by  that  way  some 
of  the  heaviest  and  finest  bulbs  grown  in  the  country  are  produced. 
The  grower  in  question  holds  that  his  put-out  plants  have  fully  a 
month’s  start  over  those  not  so  treated.  The  matter  is  well  worth 
testing  by  experiment.  Of  course,  bulbs  weighing  2  lbs.  each  as  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  one  transplanting  seem  very  fine,  but  they  do  not  compare 
with  others  of  3  lbs.  weight  produced  by  the  double-planting  method. 
It  would  be  interesting  were  some  half-dozen  of  our  chief  giant  Onion 
producers  to  give  their  general  methods  in  relation  to  trans¬ 
planting. — A.  D. 
Inheritance  of  Accidental  Characters. — Mr.  W.  C.  Steele,  of 
Switzerland,  Florida,  relates  that  he  cross-fertilised  a  number  of 
flowers  of  the  white  and  crimson  Cypress  Vine.  To  effectually 
pollenise  the  flowers,  the  corollas  had  to  be  slit  on  one  side.  The 
seedling  plants  not  only  had  an  intermediate  mixture  of  tints  between 
white  and  pink,  but  also  had  the  corollas  slit  as  they  had  been  slit 
by  manipulation  in  the  case  of  the  parents.  Mr.  Steele  is  one  of  the 
most  intelligent  horticultural  botanists,  and  can  scarcely  be  mistaken. 
But  the  result  is  of  such  bearing  on  weighty  questions,  that  it  would 
be  desirable  to  have  many  experiments  of  the  same  character. — 
(“  Meehan’s  Monthly.”) 
Jottings  on  Pines. — I  would  again  refer  to  the  freshness  and 
high  quality  of  British  grown  as  compared  with  imported  Pine  Apples, 
and  of  the  necessity  of  starting  wbhout  delay.  The  plants  which 
completed  their  growth  early  last  autumn  and  have  been  treated  so  as 
to  push  fruit  early  in  the  year,  should  now  be  doing  so,  and  the  fruit 
will  ripen  at  a  time  when  it  is  most  in  request.  Take  every  advantage 
therefore  of  suitable  weather  to  afford  increased  heat  during  the  day. 
Allow  the  temperature  to  rise  to  80°  before  giving  air,  then  with 
moderate  ventilation  let  it  rise  to  85°  or  90°,  closing  at  85°,  the  night 
temperature  being  gradually  raised  to  70°  and  75°  by  day  by  artificial 
means,  unless  the  weather  be  dull  and  cold,  when  5°  less  will  be  more 
suitable.  The  moisture  will  need  to  be  increased  correspondingly  with 
the  temperature.  Keep  the  bottom  heat  steady  at  85°  to  90°  for  Queens* 
other  varieties  about  5°  less.  Look  the  plants  over  once  a  week  for 
watering,  and  when  they  need  it  afford  a  supply  of  weak  liquid  manure. 
Ordinary  fruiting  plants  should  have  a  temperature  at  night  of  60°  to 
65°,  65°  by  day  in  dull  weather  and  when  cold,  70°  to  75°  in  mild  with 
a  little  sun,  ventilating  at  75°,  allowing  an  advance  to  80°  with  sun,  at 
which  close  the  house,  sprinkling  the  paths  and  walls  at  the  same 
time. — Practice. 
Winter  Flowering  Begonias. — Apparently  the  hybrid  Begonias 
will  soon  be  as  largely  grown  and  as  showy  in  winter  as  the  pseudo- 
bulbous  section  have  been  for  years  in  summer.  Those  who  have  seen 
the  fine  exhibits  of  these  plants  at  recent  London  shows  must  have 
noticed  how  bright  and  beautiful  they  are.  Many  must  have  thought 
a  year  or  two  back  that  the  acme  of  perfection  had  been  reached  in  the 
now  ubiquitous  B.  Gloire  de  Lorraine.  But  equally  decorative,  and  far 
more  telliDg  in  colour,  are  some  of  Messrs.  Veitch’s  new  hybrids  that 
Mr.  Heal  has  been  showing  us  of  late.  Mrs.  Heal,  for  instanoe,  shown 
at  the  first  November  meeting  at  the  Drill  Hall,  is  a  grand  thing, 
free  in  growth  and  flowering,  and  in  colour  extremely  bright  and 
showy,  while  the  fine  bank  of  another  new  hybrid  on  the  20th  was 
equally  showy.  And  there  is  just  a  possibility  that  the  trend  in  favour 
of  these  splendid  hybrids  may  lead  to  some  of  the  old  winter  flowering 
species  that  have  been  elbowed  out  by  Chrysanthemums  coming  to  the 
front  again.  It  is  rank  heresy,  of  course,  in  some  quarters  to  say  a 
word  against  the  autumn  queen,  but  with  the  advent  of  such  fine  plants 
as  these,  noted  gardeners,  who  have  to  keep  up  a  varied  as  well  as  a 
bright  display,  will  not  be  quite  so  dependent  upon  her  as  they  have 
fanoied  themselves  of  late  years. —  H.  R. 
Palm  Culture  In  Belgium.  —  Palm  propagating  and  Palm 
growing  as  practised  in  Belgium  is  simplicity  itself.  The  soil  is  sandy, 
and  one  can  dig  very  deeply  without  encountering  even  a  pebble,  and 
this  natural  soil  is  what  is  used  in  Palm  culture.  The  seeds  are 
planted  at  a  depth  of  about  2  inches  under  the  stages  in  moderately 
warm  greenhouses,  and  an  occasional  watering  is  all  the  attention  they 
receive  until  they  have  pushed  through  and  the  seed  leaf  is  formed. 
They  are  then  unearthed  with  a  broad  piece  of  iron,  potted,  and  plaoed 
in  a  house  heavily  shaded  by  painting  the  glass,  and  the  addition  of  a 
shading  of  thin  1  inch  strips  of  wood  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch 
apart.  They  are  then  encouraged  to  rapid  growth  by  warmth  and 
frequent  syringing,  and  are  repotted  as  they  attain  size.  The  heavy 
shading  is  not  only  a  safeguard  from  injury  by  the  sun,  but  insures  a 
dark  green  colour  on  the  foliage.  In  the  cases  of  some  of  the  more 
tender  kinds  more  careful  attention  than  above  indicated  is  required. 
Cocos  Weddeliana,  for  instance,  because  of  its  sensitive  tap  root,  is 
started  in  flats,  the  seeds  being  laid  upon  the  surface  of  the  soil  and 
covered  with  sphagnum.  As  soon  as  they  begin  to  germinate  they  are 
potted  into  “  long  toms,”  in  which  they  are  grown.  Large  sized  plants 
of  this  species  are  seldom  seen.  The  largest  I  have  noted  in  quantity 
were  at  the  nursery  of  Mr.  Thos.  Rochford,  Broxbourne,  England. 
These  were  from  to  3  feet  in  height,  and  remarkably  handsome. 
— R.  S.  Edgar  (in  “  American  Gardening.”) 
