Jaauary, 1914 



THE GARDEIN AWD FIELD. 



yearlings. For amongst th© many 

 triumphs of horticulture may be 

 counted the lixiug of ^trains of 

 colour of annual plants, wliich en- 

 ables the grower to depend with 

 certainty upon getting the exact 

 tone he wishes to have from a 

 named packet of seed.— Kxchauge. 







Economical Flower Vases. 



At a time when llowers are 

 wanted to decorate the house for 

 any special occasion, it often hap- 

 pens that suitable cases or stands 

 are scarce, some have been bro- 

 ken, while others are too light to 

 hold liowers with heavy heads. 

 A means by which \<ery cheap and 

 at the same tune pretty liower 

 holders may be made i^is suggest- 

 eA by an exchange) oy anyone who 

 possesses a saw and oradawl. 



Take a rod of bamboo and cut 

 it into strips about two feet six 

 inches long, one inch below the 

 joint at the other. Then about 

 two inches from' each joint make 

 a slanting cut about half-way 

 through the bamboo, and another 

 cut below in the opposite direction; 

 they should not meet, a space of 

 half an inch being allowed between 

 the two. The top is now cut 

 slanting, and a hole made with 

 the bradawl to pass a piece of 

 twisted picture wire through or 

 coloured string ; this allows the 

 liower holder to be hung in any 

 corner of a room, sprays of flow- 

 ers' should then be placed in the 

 holes of each section, the more 

 the Howers spread out and are 

 mixed with green leaves the better 

 being the effect. Fill the sections 

 with water, the solid joints mak- 

 ing each section complete. 



For the second the short ends of 

 the bamboo are very handy. Take 

 two or four pieces about five inches 

 in length, and fo»r the centre a 

 piece eight inches long, binding 

 these together with wire twice 

 round the centre piece of bamboo, 

 and twisting the wire on itself for 

 six inches and on to the short 

 end, which is all that will he re- 

 quired to make the flower stand 

 complete. 



A variety of table ornaments can 

 be made in this way that will be 

 found very useful for decorative 

 purposes, the chief advantage be- 

 ing that these bamboo flower-hold- 

 ers are not easily broken, and are 

 easily stored away when not re- 

 quired. 



Indian Rubber Plant. 



This well known ornamental 

 pl.int with smooth shmmg green 

 leaves answers admirably for de- 

 corative purposes m dwellmg 

 'rooms. A compost suited to the 

 requirciiients of the indiarubber 

 Plant is composed oT four parts 

 loam, one part peat and one part 

 sand. Shade from the sun is ne- 

 cessary w th moderate supplies of 

 watetr. The foliages should be fre- 

 cpientlv syringed and spouijed and 

 the plants repotted before they be- 

 come potbouiid. In course of 

 time Indiarubber Plants lose or 

 shed their lower lea\ies, becoming 

 leggy, unsightly and useleiss for 

 decorative purposes, tnis being 

 caused more often than not by 

 growth receiving a checK. of some 

 kind, as for instance tnrough want 

 of water, over-watering, exposure 

 draughts, exposure to varying tem- 

 perature and want of repotting. 

 To bring such plants into better 

 shape and reduce their height 

 stem-rooting must be resorted to. 

 This operation, as will be gathered 

 from the term', is to induce roots 

 to be eaiiitted from the stem at 

 any desired point. 



First obtain a three or four inch 

 liower pot and saw it into two 

 pieces, enlarging the drainage hole 

 at the same time. At the desired 

 point in the stem of the plant cut 

 a slit or tongue in an upward di- 

 rection, about half the thickness 

 of the stem, and to keep it open 

 place a small stone in the slit. 

 Secure the split pot round the 

 stem at the point where it has 

 been cut, tie firmly together and 

 fill with good sandy sojI also sup- 

 port the pot with stakes to which 

 it must be firmly tied. 



♦ ■ 



The Influence of Sea on 

 Scent. 



The great European flower farm^ 

 for perfumery lie in the valley, of 

 Var, a great triangular space of 

 115,000 acres, with Grasse at its 

 apex and Nice and Cannes at each 

 corner of its base on the Me- 

 diterranean. Here Orange flowers, 

 Roses, Violets, and others flowers 

 are not so much sold in the bunch 

 as weighed by the ton, and their 

 fragrances are sent all over the 

 world. Nor can we forget, writes 

 "The Garden," the aromatic herbs 

 and bushes that clothe the little 

 capes that jut out into the great 

 sea which washes the 'shores of 



Greece, Italy, Sicily, and Corsica. 

 JSapoleon said he should know his 

 native land witli his e)cs shut 

 from the scent of a little white 

 Cist us), (C. monsi-elR-nsis), that 

 scents the air after ram with its 

 resinous odour. Corsica is cover- 

 ed with it. And there are the 

 spice islands of Java, Ceylon, Bor- 

 neo and the Windwards, all aro- 

 matic with spices, Clo\e, Cinna- 

 mon and Nutmeg. Douglas Slad- 

 en, in his delightful book, " In 

 Sicily," says the island is " one 

 herbarium. In every old wall on 

 every uncultivated patch grows 

 some medicinal herb." It is pow- 

 dered with sweet wild flowers and 

 fragrant trees and shrubs. Another 

 traveller in the islands of the Greek 

 Archipelago describes how at a dis- 

 tance they look ba;re and arid, yet 

 have a scattered growth of lowly 

 sweet-snielling bush and herb, so 

 that as you move among them 

 ever plant seems full of sweet sap 

 or aromatic gum, and as you 

 tread the perfumed carpet th© 

 whole air is scented. Here, too, 

 are dus^vy gropes of incense-uearing 

 Cypress and Myrtle, of Oleander 

 and Sweet Bay. We can hardly 

 doubt that it is the islands of the 

 world that are most 'richlv dower- 

 ed with scent. Herbs are certain- 

 ly more pungent and aromatic by 

 the sea than inland. Vegetables, 

 we think, and many auihorities 

 agree with us, gain in flavour from 

 being grown near the coast. Some, 

 of course, like Asparagus and Sea 

 Kale are natives of the shore, so 

 no wonder they enjoy uemg uressed 

 with seaweed, a treat we can often' 

 give them. 



• 



A Garden in a Barrel. 



Few people are so hard up for 

 space that they have to confine 

 their flower-growing to a barrel, 

 still barrel gardening- can be made 

 quite a feature for verandah decor- 

 ation. It is a very easy system 

 of having a succession of plants at 

 their best for this purpose. Select 

 a suitable sound barrel, bore drain- 

 ao^e holes in the bottom, also holes 

 round the circumference, through 

 which the plants -will grow. Then 

 commence filling with good rich 

 soil, leaving a core of rubble in 

 the centre, as each tier of holes is 

 com'e- to plant a seedling, spread- 

 ine the . rpots out well and, of 

 course, passing- anv growth which 

 has been made through the hole. 

 Carnations, fuschias, ivy-leaved 

 pelargoniums, begonias, nasturti- 

 ums, and quite a lot of other an- 

 nuals can be treated thus or a 

 variety mav be used. 



