558 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  L8,  1902. 
Forcing  Asparagus. 
In  order  to  have  suitable  roots  for  forcing,  it  is  important  that 
they  should'  be  at  least  four  years  old,  and  have  had  previous 
good  and  generous  cultivation,  so  that  the  roots  are  large  and 
strong,  and  possess  power  to  produce  stout  and  succulent 
growths.  Forcing  Asparagus  is  not  difficult,  providing  the 
proper  roots  are  available  and  a  hotbed  can  be  formed.  A  very 
high  temperature  is  not  required — indeed,  a  strong  heat,  which 
is  also  dry,  is  injurious,  and  productive  of  weak,  flavourless 
growths. 
Roots  for  forcing  may  be  bought,  but  it  is  an  expensive 
method  of  obtaining  them.  It  is  much  better  to  grow  Asparagus 
on  a  system  whereby  a  certain  number  of  roots  are  available  each 
year,  because  after  forcing  they  are  practically  useless  for  any¬ 
thing  further.  Home-produced  roots  should,  therefore,  be  estab¬ 
lished  every  season,  so  that  there  shall  always  be  the  number 
required  without  encroaching  on  the  permanent  beds.  This  will 
permit,  therefore,  of  having  four-year-old  roots  when  the  system 
is  once  established.  The  best  time  to  plant  Asparagus  is  in 
spring. 
Asparagus  being  now  at  rest,  the  roots  may  be  lifted  when 
the  ground  is  not  frozen.  Place  them  in  a  sheltered  position, 
and  cover  with  soil  until  ready  to  place  on  a  hotbed.  The  best 
kind  of  hotbed  for  forcing  is  one  built  up  of  stable  manure  and 
leaves,  on  which  place  a  frame  with  lights.  The  materials  for 
the  hotbed  should  be  thrown  together  in  a  heap,  judging  about 
the  quantity  required,  which  must  be  ample  to  build  a  bed  5ft 
high  at  thei  back  and  3ft  in  front,  the  size  of  the  bed  being  at 
least  12in  wider  than  the  frame  all  round,  but  better  a  little 
more.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  linings  of  warm  manure  can 
from  time  to  time  be  placed  round  the  frame  to  maintain  the 
temperature.  When  the  manure  and  leaves  begin  to  heat  well 
turn  them  over,  doing  this  several  times,  or  until  the  rank  and 
excessive  heat  engendered  has  passed  away. 
Build  the  bed  in  a  sheltered  part  of  the  garden,  as  penetrating 
winds  from  any  quarter  will  quickly  cause  the  loss  of  heat,  which 
must  be  retained  as  long  as  possible.  When  the  bed  is  finished 
place  on  the  frame  and  lights.  Thrust  a  stick  into  the  heap,  and 
withdraw  in  a  few  days,  and  feel  how  the  heat  is  going  on.  The 
temperature  the  bed  should  reach  ought  to  be  70deg.  Then 
cover  the  surface  with  soil  an  inch  thick,  and  on  this  layer 
place  the  clumps  of  Asparagus  roots  as  thickly  as  possible. 
Scatter  soil  between,  but  do  not  cover  up  the  crowns. 
Give  a  slight  watering  with  a  rosed  can,  using  warm  water. 
The  lights  may  be  covered  over  with  mats  until  growth  begins. 
This  will  assist  in  maintaining  the  temperature.  As  the  heads 
begin  to  appear,  apply  no  covering  to  the  glass  except  at  night,, 
to  conserve  heat  and  ward  off  frost.  The  full  light  will  cause, 
the  heads  to  become  green,  which  is  necessary.  Afford  air  also 
on  favourable  opportunities. 
During  the  process  of  forcing  a  supply  of  leaves  and  manure 
should  be  kept  in  readiness  to  apply  as  linings  round  the  frame, 
so  as  to  maintain  the  heat  regular  and  uniform.  A  healthy 
humidity  may  be  kept  up  in  the  frames  by  an  occasional  sprink¬ 
ling  with  tepid  water. — E.  Dennis. 
THE  CHERRY  HOUSE. 
To  have  ripe  Cherries  in  April  the  trees  must  now  be  started. 
Early  Rivers,  Governor  Wood,  and  Black  Tartarian  are  unsur¬ 
passed  for  size  and  quality,  it  being  unwise  to  grow'  many 
varieties,  as  these  will  give  a  long  succession  of  fruit.  In  the 
case  of  trees  in  pots,  greater  variety  may  be  indulged  in,  yet 
there  are  few  to  equal  those  named.  Bie  careful  of  fire  heat  at 
the  commencement,  not  employing  it  unless  absolutely  necessary 
to  maintain  the  temperature  at  40deg  during  the  night  and 
45deg  to  50deg  by  day,  ventilating  when  the  temperature  is 
that,  and  not  allowing  55deg  to  be  exceeded  without  full  venti¬ 
lation.  Close  the  house  at  50deg.  Syringe  the  trees  and  other 
surfaces  early  on  fine  afternoons,  so  as  to  admit  of  the  buds 
becoming  dry  before  night.  The  border  will  be  sufficiently 
moistened  through  the  removal  of  the  roof  lights ;  if  not,  it  must 
have  water  to  bring  it  into  a  thoroughly  moist’  state.  Trees 
in  pots,  if  at  all  dry,  will  require  repeated  supplies  of  water 
to  secure  the  thorough  moistening  of  the  soil  to  the  base  of  the 
pots. 
Aphides  do  not  usually  appear  until  the  buds  swell  and 
growth  takes  place,  but  a  sharp  look-out  should  be  kept  on 
the  buds,  and  if  there  are  any  minute  dark  objects  about  them 
it  is  wise  to  fumigate  on  two  or  three  consecutive  evenings. 
This  will  make  quick  work  of  the  small  aphides  that  may  appear 
from  the  eggs  as  result  of  the  warmth,  and  repeating  the  fumi¬ 
gation  at  intervals  of  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  it  is  likely, 
there  will  be  few  or  not  any  to  infest  the  growths.  Of  course, 
the  aphides  may  come  on  the  wTing,  but  that  takes  time  to  arrive 
at,  the  eggs,  as  a  rule,  being  deposited  on  the  Cherry  trees  in 
the  autumn.  The  thing  is  to  keen  the  trees  clear  of  the  pests, 
otherwise  Cherries  will  not  be  foi’tlicoming  fit  for  use. — G.  A. 
Cypripedium  niveum. 
Mr.  W.  Watson,  in  his  book,  “Orchids,  their  Culture  and 
Management,”  says  of  this  species :  “  This  is  a  gem  amongst 
Cypripediums.  The  leaves  are  small,  dark  green  on  the  upper 
side,  irregularly  blotched  with  grey,  the  under  side  being  of  a 
dull  vinous  red;  the  flowers  are  on  erect  scapes,  from  3in  to  Gin 
high,  solitary,  or  rarely  produced  in  pairs,  and  pure,  soft,  snowy 
white,  save  for  a  few  freckles  of  cinnamon  irregularly  scattered 
over  the  sepals  and  petals.  The  appearance  of  the  plant,  when 
not  in  flower,  is  very  similar  to  that  of  C.  concolor,  the  flowers- 
of  which  are  yellow.  It  blossoms  during  spring  and  summer,  and 
remains  in  perfection  about  a  month.  It  requires  tropical 
treatment,  and  some  broken  limestone  should  be  added  to  the 
peat  and  sphagnum  used  in  potting.  It  is  sometimes  stated  to 
be  a  native  of  Moulmein,  but  this  is  an  error  ;  the  plant  is  a 
native  of  the  Straits  of  Malacca,  and  is  brought  to  Moulmein 
by  the  coasting  steamers  in  exchange  for  Moulmein  Orchids  ;  it 
has  also  been  received  from  the  west  coast  of  Siam.  Figured 
in  the  “Botanical  Magazine,”  t.  5,922.” 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
There  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  keeping  the  deciduous 
Calanthes  about  in  their  old  pots  after  flowering,  and,  for  the 
sake  of  tidiness,  they  may  at  once  be  repotted,  this  saving  time 
at  a  more  busy  season.  There  are  still  some  growers  who  adopt 
various  devices,  such  as  boxes  of  sphagnum  across  small  pots,, 
and  other  things  to  start  the  bulbs  growing,  but  they  are 
entirely  unnecessary,  and  plants  potted  now  into  the  flowering 
size  will  be  just  as  likely  to  start  regularly  and  well  as  others 
potted  and  repotted  again.  Besides  this,  there  is  no  chance  of 
damaging  the  young  roots,  of  which  there  is  great  risk  in  re¬ 
potting. 
As  to  the  compost  for  Calanthes,  I  have  never  been  a  believer 
in  a  quantity  of  manure.  Just  a  little  well-dried  old  cow  manure 
may  be  added  to  the  peat  and  loam  perhaps  with  advantage, 
but  it  is  better  left  out  entirely  than  used  to  excess.  Growers 
often  point  to  the  immense  bulbs  made  when  the  roots  are 
heavily  fed  with  manures,  chemical  and  other,  but  I  have  never 
found  that  the  very  large  pseudo-bulbs  produced  made  a  better 
flower  than  medium-sized  well-grown  ones. 
In  repotting  keep  the  base  of  the  pseudo-bulbs  just  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  compost ;  if  a  few  of  the  old  roots  are  allowed 
to  remain  it  serves  to  hold  the  bulbs  in  position,  but,  if  neces¬ 
sary,  small  stakes  should  also  be  used,  for  nothing  is  worse  than 
a  plant  wobbling  about  at  the  root.  Three  fair-sized  pseudo¬ 
bulbs  are  enough  for  a  Gin  pot,  using  a  greater  or  smaller  number 
as  the  pots  are  larger  or  smaller.  Good  fibry  loam,  three  parts, 
and  peat,  one  part,  with  plenty  of  finely  broken  crocks  and 
chopped  sphagnum,  will  be  a  gqod  compost,  while  about  half  the 
depth  of  the  pot  should  be  taken  up  with  drainage,  the  crocks 
being  covered  with  rough  moss. 
After  potting,  the  plants  may  go  to  a  light,  sunny  shelf  in 
a  warm  house,  and  will  require  no  water  until  they  commence 
to  grow.  When  the  weather  is  fine  and  the  house  fairly  dry,  a 
light  dewing  overhead  with  tepid  water  from  the  syringe  can 
do  no  harm,  but  as  the  growths  begin  to  push,  even  this  must 
be  gone  about  with  caution,  bright  bursts  of  sunshine  in  early 
spring  having  the  effect  of  damaging  the  tender  foliage,  rendering 
the  plants  unsightly  all  the  summer. — H.  R.  R. 
The  Pear  Famine. 
It  is  said  that  Pears  were  never  so  scarce  as  they  are  at  the 
present  time,  and  not  for  many  years  have  such  high  prices 
ruled  in  the  markets  for  these  fruits.  There  are  very  few  Eng¬ 
lish  Pears  on  sak\,  and  those  that  are  on  offer  ai'e  small  and 
very  indifferent.  Some  very  fine  Easter  Beurres  are  coming  in 
from  Paris.  They  are  put  up  in  pads  holding  forty  and  forty- 
eight  Pears  each.  Wholesale  they  are  selling  at  7s.  and  8s.  a 
package.  Then  there  are  the  fine  Glou  Morceau,  from  the 
same  centre ;  packages  of  thirty-six  and  forty-eight  fruits  are 
being  sold  from  8s.  6d.  to  10s.  each  first  hand.  Choicest 
samples  have  made  as  much  as  12s.  6d.  At  2s.  6d.  and  3s.  a 
dozen  they  yield  excellent  profits  to  the  French  shippers.  It  is 
clear  that  the  public  cannot  expect  to'  buy  Pears  this  Christ- 
mastide  except  at  high  and  really  famine  prices.  Certain  Jersey 
Peai’s  are  fetching  8d.  apiece,  or  4s.  for  six,  in  London. 
