288 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



Ferns. — M. Fenn. — Yours are injured by thrip. Maintain in future a more 

 humid atmosphere in the house. Do not use any preparation to destroy this pest, 

 but grow your plants liberally, and if it does not quickly disappear, fumigate the 

 house Avith tobacco smoke. — E. O. — 1, Polystichum aculeatum ; 2, Lastrea spinulosa. 



CnARLOCK. — Simson. — There is, of couise, no other way to rid your ground of 

 "that noxious weed charlock," but hoeing and hand weeding. But is it a noxious 

 •weed ? There are few who know its value, for it is one of the best sheep-feeding 

 herbs the land produces. Within a week past we made an experiment by turning 

 fifty sheep into a three-acre field of Swede turnips, which was like a flower-garden 

 with charlock. The sheep ate the charlock and did not touch tlje turnips- When 

 they had had two days of this fun, we turned them into another field to weed that. 

 By this system the sheep do all the weeding, and grow fat by the operation. They 

 must, of course, be turned out as soon as their weeding is finished. 



Sta>'Dard "Wallflowers. — R. S. H. — Wallflowers are generally described 

 as biennials, but they are strictly perennials, and may be so treated as to become 

 huge bushes of a most ornamental character when in bloom. We have seen them 

 trained to walls, and reaching a height of three to four feet, and blooming every 

 year most profusely. None but the best of the doubles are, however, worth treating 

 as perennials, and a very useful form in which to grow these is as standards. We 

 have been accustomed for many years past to have standards of a tall-growing 

 double yellow variety, and of another which has richly-iron-stained blossoms on a 

 creamy-white ground. To grow these, cuttings should be made in the summer, 

 and when rooted they should be potted in light rich soil, with plenty of drainage, 

 and grown on fast. All the side-shoots should be pinched in, and by degrees re- 

 moved, a few at a time, beginning at the bottom,. and the leading shoot must be 

 stopped when the stem is of the height required. Bloom should not be cared for 

 for a couple of years ; the object should be to get first a stout stem and a good 

 head, then, when the head is formed, all that is necessary to promote a fine bloom, 

 is to pinch in the shoots once or twice in the early part of the growing season, and 

 then leave them to set their flower-buds. After the trees have their proper shape, 

 no shoots should be allowed on the stem. But if the side-growths are removed 

 too quickly, the stem will be weak, and want the support of a stake, whereas, if 

 the side-shoots are only pinched in at fia'st, and removed only one or two at a time, 

 progressing from the bottom upwards, the stem will swell so as to^support the 

 head, and render a stake unnecessary. As a matter of course, they will require to 

 be repotted eyery year, and the best time will be when the growth is finished in 

 the autumn. Then shake them out, remove some of the soil from the 

 roots, and repot with fresh compost, in the same pots if possible, but in 

 any case in pots only one size larger. They may be grown to such a size 

 in 48 or 32 pots that the pot will not afibrd a sutticient base to stand 

 safely, and increased size of pots will be required rather to enable them to stand 

 on their feet than for need ol more root-room. These standards should be kept all 

 winter in a cool greenhouse or pit ; if left out-doors, a hard frost may result in 

 splitting the stem from top to bottom ; and, in fact, they are not adapted for out- 

 door use, except in very sheltered places. But for the conservatory, and to carry in- 

 doors for the window or drawing-room table, they are invaluable when the heads 

 are full of fine blooms, which emit a most delightful fragrance. 



DorBLE Clitoria terxatea. — B. jB.— This is an interesting plant, and the 

 most beautiful in the whole of the family to which it belongs. Among papilion- 

 aceous plants, double-flowering varieties are scarce, but whenever they are obtained 

 they are highly valued for their massiveness and imposing appearance. There is a 

 story told of a nobleman who paid little attention to horticulture having the beauty 

 of the double furze pointed out to him, when he immediately ordered fifty pound's 

 worth of it. In the case of the double Ciitoria we have an interesting example of 

 the apparent extinction of the papilionaceous form of the flower by the process of 

 " doubling " — the keel, banner, and other parts of the normal blossom being lost in 

 the process of multiplication, so that the flower has much more the semblance of a 

 rose than a pea. The flowers are of a rich purplish-lavender colour. It will form 

 a fine ornament for a conservatory trellis, or to grow on a wire balloon ; and as it 

 is of perennial habit, seeds sown now will produce strong plants for flowering next 

 year, or, if liberally treated, a moderate bloom may be obtained late in the present 

 season. It is to be regretted that so little attention is now paid to the culture of 

 conservatory climbers, and especially those of the Leguminous class, of which we 

 have many that are unsurpassed fjr grace and beauty. 



