114 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GABDENER. 
February  11,  1904. 
should  consist  of  two  parts  good  fibry  loam,  one  of  leaves,  one 
of  finely  broken  dried' cowdung,  and  a  sprinkling  of  boneineal 
and  sand.  Tliey  may  still  occupy  their  recent  positions  in  the 
frame  until  they  are  brought  in  for  flowering,  which  should  be 
in  a  moderately  cool  and  light  house.  Overwatering  is  a  great 
evil  to  guard  against  in  the  cultivation  of  this  species  of  plants, 
especially  through  the  winter  months. — E.  B.,  South  Berks. 
- - - 
Begonia  socotrana. 
In  response  to  the  editor’s  invitation  I  am  sending  a  few  details 
of  the  culture  we  at  Ashby  St.  Ledgers  give  to  this  beautiful 
winter-flowering  Begonia.  Many  of  cur  plants  measure  froin 
24in  to  30in  through,  and  the  same  in  height,  with  leaves  lOin 
across.  I  enclose  a  sample  of  foliage  leaves  and  a  cyme  of  flowers 
for  the  editor’s  inspection,  which  will,  I  think,  show  that 
although  irot  generally  seen  in  quite  a  satisfactory  condition,  this 
variety  is  well  worth  a  prominent  place  amongst  winter-flowering 
kinds. 
The  treatment  we  give  is  this  :  When  flowering  is  over  in 
March  they  are  allowed  to  go  to  rest  naturally  by  reducing  the 
temperature  to  oOdeg  to  o5deg  at  night  and  gradually  reducing 
the  water  at  the  roots  as  the  foliage  shows  signs  of  ripening,  until 
they  are  brought  to  a  dry  and  dormant  state,  which  will  be  about 
the"  end  of  April  or  early  in  May.  They  may  then  be  .stored 
away  in  the  store  room  or  other  suitable  place.  About  July  1 
they  should  be  brought  from  the  resting  quarters  and  placed  in  a 
house  or  pit  of  about  60deg  night,  exposed  to  the  full  sun;  after 
a  few  days  give  a  thorough  watering,  but  afterwards  water  very 
sparingly. 
In  about  three  weeks  they  will  be  showing  some  signs  of 
activity,  and  should  be  shaken  out  of  the  old  soil  and  potted  up, 
if  from  a  32-size  (oin)  pot  into  a  54-size,  potting  moderately  firm 
in  a  friable  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  sandy  loam,  peat,  and  leaf 
soil.  -J  part  of  wood  ashes,  a  little  lime  rubble,  and  some  powdered 
brick  or  croc'ks,  with  a  liberal  amount  of  .sand.  Place  them  on 
a  shelf  in  a  warm  house  in  a  light  position,  but  shade  from  the 
direct  sun ;  spray  lightly  two  or  three  times  a  day,  and  water 
with  great  care,  for,  having  no  active  roots,  they  must  be  kept  on 
the  dry  side,  but  not  allowed  to  become  dust-dry. 
In  two  or  three  weeks  they  will  begin  to  throw  up  leaves,  and 
should  then  be  taken  from  the  shelf  and  given  a  light  position  in 
a  warm  house,  wheve  they  may  still  be  shaded  from  the  sun. 
Dew  them  lightly  overhead  twice  a  day,  and  keep  an  abundance 
of  moisture  amongst  the  i>lants,  and  on  the  stage.  When  they 
are  nicely  rooted  through  these  pots,  care  should  be  taken  that 
they  have  no  check  by  becoming  pot-bound,  but  pot  them  at  once 
into  large  32-size  pots;  the  pots  being  clean  and  well  drained. 
The  soil  consists  of  equal  parts  of  lumpy,  sandy  loam,  peat,  and 
good  flaky  leaf  soil,  -3  wood  ashes,  -g  cow  manure,  a,  little  lime 
rubble,  some  powdered  brick  or  crocks,  and  a  liberal  amount  of 
sand. 
Pot  firmly,  but  do  not  use  a  rammer,  and  using  the  compost 
as  lumpy  as  possible.  Place  them  in  a  similar  position  as  before, 
and  keep  the  house  and  stage  well  damped;  dew  overhead,  but 
“  hot  water  them  ”  for  a  few  days,  care  having  been  taken  that 
no  plant  wars  potted  dry.  Be  very  careful  in  the  watering,  and 
they  will  soon  take  hold  of  the  new  soil  and  “  romp  along,”  making 
fine  plants. 
As  October  comes  in  they  should  be  very  gradually  hardened  to 
the  .sun,  so  as  to  put  more  substance  in  the  growth,  and  produce 
better  results  in  the  dull  winter  days  than  the  otherwise  too  soft 
growth  would,  and  as  the  dull  weather  comes  on  a  drier 
atmosphere  should  be  maintained.  As  they  become  full  of  roots 
they  may  be  fed  with  soot,  or  wood-ash  water,  or  a  little  Clay’s 
for  a  change,  a  change  of  food  being  beneficial. 
By  the  middle  of  December  they  should  begin  to  open  their 
flowers,  which  will  give  a  grand  display  until  March,  when  they 
should  be  allowed  to  go  to  rest  as  before.  I  think  the  most 
important  points  are  ;  Giving  a  proper  rest,  using  the  potting  soil 
as  lumpy  as  possible,  keeping  a  warm,  moist,  and  genial  atmo¬ 
sphere  during  the  growing  season,  and  above  all,  a  very  careful 
use  of  the  waterpot.-  E.  F. 
[Our  corre,spondent  (whom  we  thank  for  so  kindly  responding 
to  our  invitation)  sent  some  beautifully  healthy  inflorescences, 
and  large,  peltate,  stout,  round  leaves,  which  were  proof  of  the 
acceptable  treatment  accorded  to  the  plants. — Ed.] 
Flowers  from  F!!.\nce. — Enormous  consignments  of  flowers 
continue  to  be  landed  daily  at  Folkestone  harbour  from  the  South 
of  France  for  the  London  market. 
Chrysanthemum  Rust. — A  Malvern  correspondent  sa.ys  he 
has  a  “safe,  simple,  and  effective  method  for  keeping 
Chrysanthemums  free  from  this  dreaded  pest.”  Doubtless  many 
c.f  our  readers  would  .wish  him  to  confide  his  knowledge  to  us, 
with  permission  to  print  it.  He  would  be  a  national  benefactor. 
Book  Notices, 
Culture  of  Dahlias.* 
Mr.  Tulloch,  the  secretarv,  observes  that  “  Owing  to  the  rapid 
revival  of  interest  in  the  Dahlia  during  recent  years,  due  to  the 
development  of  the  ‘Cactus’  flowered  type,  the  N.D.S.,  as  the 
leading  axithority  on  all  Dahlia  matters,  has  prepared  and  issued 
this  booklet  with  the  object  of  affording  assistance  to  growers, 
both  in. the  matter  of  culture  and  choice  of  varieties.  The  com¬ 
parative  ease  in  obtaining  the  best  results  from  the  ‘Cactus^ 
IDahlia  as  compared  with  the  older  ‘  show  ’  and  ‘  fancy  ’  types 
brings  it  within  the  reach  of  all  ;  but  in  spite  of  this  no  work  oir, 
its  culture  has  yet  been  issued  ”  (  ?  ). 
From  the  fact  that  a  committee  of  exi^erienced  cultivators  of 
this  charming  flower  are  responsible  for  the  hints  herein  given, 
it  is  unnecessai’y  for  us  to  .say  that  the  book  is  therefore  reliable 
and  thorough.  Mr.  Mawley,  president  of  the  society,  writes  an 
introduction  ;  .then  follows  the  bibliography  that  has  appeared  in 
reference  to  Dahlias,  and  after  that  chapters  on  soil,  propaga¬ 
tion,  raising  seedlings,  enemies  and  how  to  deal  with  them, 
culture  of  the  Cactus  Dahlia  for  exhibition,  exhibiting  Cactus 
Dahlias ;  and  there  are  also  chapters  on  the  decorative  aspects 
of  the  flower.  The  show  and  fancy,  the  pompon,  and  the  single 
Dahlias  are  each  treated  of  by  experts.  The  lists  of  varieties 
extend  from  page  61  to  piage  85,  and  the  dates  of  their  introduc¬ 
tion  are  given  in  most  cases,  .some  of  them  going  back  to  1870. 
Colour  and  height  are  also  described.  The  work  is  well  arranged, 
and  must  be  found  useful. 
Culture  of  the  Chrysantliemum.^ 
Books  on  the  culture  of  Chrysanthemums  are  not  numerous; 
in  fact,  we  think  there  are  but  two  now  in  the  field  that  can  bo 
recommended,  and  this  is  one.  Mr.  Wells  has  made  a  great  name 
for  himself  as  a  cultivator  and  exhibitor  of  this  indispensable 
late  summer,  autumn,  and  winter  flowering  plant,  and  his  fame 
has  gone  to  the  Fnited  States,  where  a  round  dozen  of  his  intro¬ 
ductions  are  amongst  the  most  valued  of  those  .grown  there.  He 
mentions  his  achievements  in  this  connection  in  the  book  before 
us,  and  furnishes  illu.strations  of  some  stands  at  New  York  show. 
The  book  throughout  is  brightly  illustrated,  and  is  clearl.y  and 
well  written.  What  more  can  we  say.^  Insect  pests  are  better 
shown  than  in  any  previous  edition,  and  Mr.  Wells  furnishes  a 
remedy  for  the  “  rust  ”  which  most  growers  now  dread.  It  is 
published  from  the  Earlswood  Nurseries. 
Flora  of  Derbyshire.' 
Local  floras  can  hardly  be  .said  to  form  a  very  successful 
branch  of  botanical  literature.  Being  works  for  refei’ence  rather 
than  reading,  their  .'-ale  is  generally  limited,  and  the  price  high. 
Sometimes  they  have  been  prepared  by  persons  who  were  unable 
to  make  sufficient  researches.  The  “  Flora  of  Derb.yshire,”  for 
which  the  worthy  Yicar  cf  Shirley,  Derbyshire,  is  mainly  respon¬ 
sible,  merits  an  honourable  place  amongst  works  of  this  nature, 
and  it  is  a  gi’eat  advance  upon  publications  in  1888  and  1889  of 
a  similar  design.  He  tells  us  that  it  represents  the  labour  of 
about  ten  years,  and  he  has  had  the  aid  of  a  company  of  able 
assistants. 
Derbyshire,  indeed,  is  a  county  of  much  interest  to  botanists 
and  to  other.'^!.  It  has  its  ChaLsworth,  its  Haddon  and  Hardwick 
Halls,  and  in  Georgian  times  people  sought  out  the  gardens  of 
Overton  House,  near  Derby,  to  see  an  immense  Gooseberi-y,  6ft 
high,  and  trained  over  a  wall  for  50ft.  Also  in  the  grounds  was 
a  clu.ster  of  Birches.  Avhich  through  a  long  period  had  been 
tapped  yearly  for  their  sap,  which  was  made  into  Briti.'-h  wine. 
The  lieart-cheering  hills  and  the  delightful  dales  of  Derbyshire 
are  a  joy  to  the  tcuri.st,  if  he  occasionally  gets  more  rain  than 
is  agreeable. 
This  book  has  a  short  but  valuable  chapter  upon  the  rainfall 
of  the  county,  which  is  divided  into  two  regioms,  the  higher 
district  getting  much  more  than  the  lower,  having  sometimes 
even  oOin  per  annum.  At  all  stations,  however,  .spring  is 
usuall.y  a  dry  season,  the  chief  rains  being  in  Octo'oer.  Ibis 
lack  of  early  luoisture,  one  thing  not  much  affecting  perennials, 
must  be  unfavourable  to  those  wild  flowers  which  came  up 
annually.  The  chapter  upon  climate  and  flowering  seasons,  that 
also  upon  soils  and  strata,  have  special  value;  these  have  great 
influence  on  the  flora  of  a  district. 
Tlte  county  presents  a  fairly  good  list,  but  some  of  its  varie¬ 
ties  have  vanished  owing  to  the  changes  of  time  or  the  re- 
*  The  Official  Catalogue  atifl  Culture  Guide  of  the  National  Dablia  Society,  lOnt 
Prepared  by  a  Committee  of  tbe  Society.  Edited  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Hudson,  iyi...\. 
Price  to  non-members,  2s.  post  free. 
I  Culture  of  the  Clirysanthemum  for  exhibition,  decorafon,  cut  flowers,  and 
market;  woodcuts  of  the  different  bre.aks,  &c.  Third  and  enlarged  edition.  By 
W.  Wells.  Is.  6d. 
1  “Flora  of  Perbyshire  —  Flowering  Plants,  IPgha-  Cryptogams.  Mosse-s 
and  Hepatic.T,  Charac.'u.”  By  William  Rirhirdsnn  i.inton,  Vicar  of  Shirley, 
Derbyshire.  J.ondon  :  Bemrose  an  1  Sons,  Litd.,  13'’3. 
