April  11,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
309 
strong  stake,  then  take  up  a  string  lrom  the  wire  to  the  roof  for  each 
plant.  At  the  roof  it  can  be  either  fastened  to  another  wire,  or  to  a 
tintack  driven  into  the  sashbar.  When  the  crop  is  heavy  it  is 
sometimes  necessary  to  use  a  strong  stake  every  3  or  4  yards,  fixed 
upright,  and  then  connect  all  the  strings  and  stakes  with  another 
horizontal  string  fixed  midway  between  the  soil  and  roof.  That  is 
the  only  kind  of  support  which  I  now  use  for  Tomatoes,  and  I  find  it 
answers  admirably. 
Houses  at  present  occupied  with  bedding  plants  can  usually  be 
planted  with  Tomatoes  during  April  or  May.  When  such  houses 
have  fixed  stages,  a*a  excellent  plan  of  procedure  is  to  obtain  a  number 
of  boards,  10  inches  in  width,  and  fix  them  on  the  stage  15  inches 
from  the  side  walls.  A  layer  of  turf  sods,  or  rough  strawy  material, 
will  under  such  circumstances  provide  ample  drainage.  When  turfy 
loam,  which  has  been  stacked  long  enough  for  the  fibre  to  decay,  can 
be  obtained,  use  it,  with  an  addiiion  of  one-sixth  of  short  manure  and 
a  little  soot.  When,  however,  loam  is  scarce,  use  ordinary  garden 
soil  ;  this  does  not  often  require  the  addition  of  manure,  but  a  little 
lime  may  invariably,  with  advantage,  be  mixed  with  it.  I  like  to 
start  the  plants  in  a  small  quantity  of  soil,  and  add  more  as  the  roots 
push  through,  for  by  so  doing  sturdy  growth  is  produced.  When  only 
a  single  row  of  plants  is  arranged  on  ei  her  side  of  the  house,  a  foot 
apart  is  a  suitable  distance ;  the  remaining  space  on  the  stage  can 
then  be  filled  up  with  bedding  plants,  and  similar  treatment  will  suit 
all  the  occupants  of  the  house.  For  each  a  gentle  heat  in  the 
hot- water  pipes  is  necessary  at  night,  and  during  dull  days,  and  the 
heat  can  be  turned  off  during  bright  weather.  By  the  time  the 
Tomatoes  have  grown  long  enough  to  unduly  shade  the  bedding 
plants  the  beddiug  season  will  have  arrived.  The  “summer  crop” 
can  then  have  the  house  entirely  to  itself,  and  the  cultivator  has  but 
a  short  time  to  wait  before  the  first  “Love  Apples”  are  ripe.  Odd 
corners  in  cool  houses  can  always  be  turned  to  good  account  by 
growing  Tomatoes  in  pots  or  boxes.  In  private  gardens,  where 
appearance  has  to  be  studied,  neat  boxes,  a  foot  in  depth  and  15  inches 
in  width,  can  easily  be  made;  but  the  “ market-men ”  often  utilise 
Orange  boxes ;  they  last  for  one  year,  and  then  make  good  firewood. 
Nearly  all  cultivators  find  a  few  of  their  plants  suddenly  succumb 
to  “  sleepy  disease,”  for  which  there  is  no  cure.  Good  preventive 
measures  are  growing  the  plants  under  airy  conditions,  and  using,  as 
far  as  possible,  soft  water.  As  soon  as  the  leaves  of  a  plant  become 
flaccid  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  uproot  it,  clear  out  the  surrounding 
soil,  and  replant  in  fresh.  Fortunately,  however,  this  disease  is  not 
usually  very  troublesome.  Black  stripe,  which  may  first  be  seen  in 
the  stem-!,  is  often  a  troublesome  disease.  As  soon  as  it  is  noticed  cut 
away  the  plant  below  the  affected  part,  dress  the  soil  heavily  with 
lime,  and  train  up  a  fresh  leader.  If  taken  in  time  such  plants  will 
sometimes  quite  recover;  at  others  the  stem  blackens  lower  down, 
then  removal,  and  planting  young  plants  in  fresh  soil,  is  the  only  safe 
course  to  follow.  Veltha  is  undoubtedly  an  effectual  preventive 
against  fungoid  diseases ;  I  used  it  last  year  with  good  results,  and 
am  extending  its  use  this  year. 
Plants  grown  in  boxes  and  narrow  borders  require  plenty  of  feeding, 
and  I  am  convinced  they  sometim°s  fall  a  prey  to  disease  through 
being  grown  on  starvation  lines.  Unless  the  plants  are  very  robust,  I 
begin  to  feed  with  liquid  manure  as  soon  as  the  first  cluster  of  fruits 
are  swelling.  From  that  time  onward,  throughout  the  summer,  a 
dressing  of  superphosphate,  at  the  rate  of  4  ozs.  per  square  yard, 
should  be  given  once  a  fortnight,  and  by  the  time  several  clusters  of 
iruits  are  swelling,  one  part  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  may  with 
advantage  be  mixed  with  4  ozs.  of  the  super. 
Winter  Beauty  has  proved  a  grand  variety  for  both  an  early  and 
midseason  crop,  and  this  year  I  am  growing  it  more  largely  than 
heretofore.  Among  older  varieties,  Up-to-Date,  Frogmore  Selected, 
Eclipse,  and  Chemin  Rouge  are  hard  to  beat  for  market  purposes. 
Duke  of  York,  Perlection,  and  Sutton’s  A1  are  grand  for  exhibition ; 
and  Evesham  Early  Prolific,  Ruby,  and  Sutton’s  Earliest  of  All  are 
not  easily  beaten  for  growing  in  the  open  air. — H.  D. 
Thunbergla  laurlfolia.  —  Blue-flowering  stove  or  greenhouse 
plants  are  by  no  means  common,  and  this  fine  climber  is  worthy  of 
attention.  I  saw  it  recently  flowering  well  with  Mr.  G.  Neville, 
gardener  at  Latimer  House,  where  it  is  a  favourite.  The  growth  is 
very  like  that  of  a  strong-growing  Dipladenia,  with  bright  green  leaves, 
and  Mr.  Neville  tells  me  that,  like  these  handsome  plants,  the 
Thunbergia  is  apt  to  be  handicapped  by  mealy  bug,  though  none  was 
apparent  on  the  plants  I  saw  there.  It  is  of  herbaceous  habit, 
renewing  itself  by  means  of  stout  young  growths,  like  a  Lapageria, 
and  the  flowers  occur  several  together  on  the  upper  parts.  These  are 
of  that  pretty  rosy  blue  tint  seen  in  a  good  form  of  Vanda  ceerulea, 
with  a  deeper  tint  in  places,  and  a  slight  suffusion  of  white.  A 
rather  liberal  seeding  of  compost  is  necessary,  the  strong,  vigorous 
roots  taking  plenty  of  feeding.  When  well  established  and  growing 
freely  a  lot  of  moisture  is  needed,  but  in  winter  less  will  suffice.  The. 
blossoms  are  faintly  but  pleasantly  fragrant. — H.  R. 
Obiter  dicta. 
The  flowers  of  pink  Hyacinths  are  rarely  employed  in  the 
composition  of  wreaths,  but  after  having  seen  a  large  circular  one 
almost  wholly  made  up  with  pale  pink  or  peach-coloured  blooms  of 
this  fragrant,  early-flowering  bulbous  plant,  I  can  urge  their  merits  as 
regards  effectiveness  when  so  employed.  The  arrangement  as  seen 
was  large  and  imposing,  as  wreaths,  as  a  rule,  ought  to  be.  No 
foliage  of  any  kind  was  used  on  the  wreath  save  with  a  bunch- 
bouquet  of  Lily  of  the  Valley  and  deep  blue  Violets,  which  was 
posed  above  the  groundwork  of  Hyacinths  at  a  certain  limited  part 
of  the  circle  of  the  wreath ;  all  the  rest  of  the  circumference  was  as 
evenly  arranged  almost  as  the  surface  of  a  life-buoy,  and  was  like  the 
latter  in  shape,  being  furthermore  closely  furnished  with  flowers  above, 
below,  and  all  around.  The  London  florists — aud  probably  provincial 
ones  as  well — recently  introduced  a  showy  bast  material  to  aid  them 
in  their  floral  decorative  elaborations.  This  pliable  stuff  is  decidedly 
ornamental  and  exceedingly  useful,  and  as  it  can  be  obtained  in  almost 
any  colour  the  designer  may  desire,  it  furnishes  a  very  welcome  adjunct 
to  the  artist,  or  floral  decorator,  who  has  a  deal  of  work  to  execute  and 
little  to  do  it  with.  By  looping  up  this  decorative  material,  and  by 
binding  it  around  the  basket,  pot,  box,  or  other  receptacle  used  in  the 
decorations,  the  artist  at  once  presents  an  object  clean,  attractive,  and, 
indeed,  handsome. 
AmoDgst  other  arrangements  recently  noticed  in  a  London  West 
End  floral  de;  6t  was  one  in  which  a  pale  blue  or  leaden  grey  coloured 
piece  of  the  above  material  was  used  as  a  wrapping  around  an  oblong, 
shallow  basket-tray  filled  with  such  seasonable  flowers  as  those  of 
Chionodoxa  Luciliae  grandiflora,  whose  larger,  paler  blooms  contrasted 
charmingly  with  others  from  the  parent  species,  and  with  varieties  of 
Scillas,  single  flowered  blue  Hyacinths,  and  tall,  wired  Lily  of  the 
Valley  spikes  were  the  only  other  flowers  employed  in  what  was  at 
once  a  simple  and  very  beautiful  impromptu  arrangement,  suitable 
when  placed  on  a  pedestal  or  small  table,  for  either  room,  hall,  or 
corridor  embellishment. 
Those,  again,  who  may  not  have  seen  a  shower  bouquet  consisting 
of  one  variety  of  Pelargonium  may  very  reasonably  demur  when  one 
states  that  a  properly  executed  bouquet  of  this  kind  is  rich,  imposing, 
and  thoroughly  pleasing,  even  to  those  who  can  boast  of  good 
judgment  and  taste.  A  tew  days  ago  a  Regent  Street  establishment 
displayed  a  magnificent  shower-bouquet,  the  flowers  of  which 
were  entirely  —  what  ?  glowing  crimson  Zonal  Pelargoniums 
(Geraniums).  Broad,  substantial  ribbons  of  a  colour  which  strictly 
matched  the  flower-trusses  hung  far  down,  and  upon  the  face  of  the 
ribbons  lesser  and  lesser  sprays  were  attached  downward  to  the 
extremities.  With  fresh  and  finely  selected  fronds  of  Asparagus 
plumosu3  interspersed  between  the  loosely  woven  trusses  of  the 
bouquet,  the  presentment  wheu  seen  complete  was  such  as  anyone  with 
a  gush  of  sentiment  might  describe  as  magnificently  grand.  For  the 
recess  of  a  large  drawing-room  or  reception-hall  in  some  of  the  nobler 
mansions  a  bouquet  such  as  the  one  commented  on  would  be 
unmistakeably  effective.  _ 
Few  of  the  nurserymen  seem  to  have  catalogued  that  recently 
introduced  Composite  novelty,  commonly  called  the  Climbing 
Dahlia,  and  botanically  Ilidalgoa  Wercklei.  In  a  visit  to  Mr.  Jones’ 
nursery  at  Ryecroft,  however,  I  was  gratified  to  observe  a  very 
promising  stock  of  this  plant  growing  ahead  with  decided  luxuriance. 
No  one  need  fear  that  this  plant  will  not  succeed  under  their 
care  ;  it  grows  willy-nilly.  So  lar  it  does  not  seem  to  have  proved 
itself  a  free  flowering  subject ;  but  as  all  the  plants  yet  seen  by  me 
have  been  young,  it  may  be  expected  to  be  more  profuse  when  the 
growth  has  become  consolidated  and  the  root  system  somewhat 
cramped.  These  qualifications,  combined  with  moderate  sumight  and 
airiness,  may  be  relied  upon  to  act  together  to  draw  forth  flowers. 
About  the  usefulness  and  decorative  merits  of  the  plant  opinions  are 
unanimously  in  its  favour. 
At  Ryecroft  Mr.  Jones  has  some  20,000  Dahlia  cuttings  unde 
process  of  rooting.  Begonia  tubers  are  already  sprouting,  while  many 
very  vigorous  plants  of  the  double  and  single-floweied  varieties  are 
well  established  in  6-inch  pots  in  preparation  for  the  early  summer 
shows.  Pelargoniums  of  all  kinds  and  at  all  stages,  not  forgetting  the 
hybrid  section  from  an  original  cross  between  Ivy -leaved  and  Zonal 
varieties,  are  each  and  all  in  the  pink  of  condition.  Campanula 
isophylla  and  the  new  C.  Mayi  are  represented  by  long  lines  of  plants 
in  pots  which  are  strung  at  about  18  inches  from  the  sloping  glass 
surfaces  of  neat,  span-roofed  houses. 
The  highly  useful  Neriums  or  Oleanders  of  the  Nile  cannot  be  said 
to  have  many  faults,  if  any,  in  the  eyes  of  the  ordinary  plant 
cultivator,  yet  somehow  or  other  these  plants,  with  the  few  faults  and 
g-daxy  of  grand  qualities,  are  astonishingly  seldom  met  with.  It  was 
with  much  pleasure,  then,  that  we  remarked  the  efforts  being  made  by 
