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February 3, 1912. 



THE GARDENET<S' MAGAZINE. 



85 



illustrated, so that there is no difficulty in 

 following the authors. Their conclusions, 

 briefly summarised^ are: Partial sterilisa- 

 tion of the soil increases the supply of food 

 for the plant, somewhat alters its growth, 

 and kills insect pests. It may cause a 

 temporary retardation of grow^th. It was 

 not proved advantageous for pot w^ork, 

 where abundant supplies of clean virgin 

 soil and manure are available. It is very 

 useful for work with borders, oold frames, 

 and j)lants that are rxm for some time with- 

 out fruiting. It is particularly useful for 

 ooinmercial glasshouses, where soil pests are 

 a source of trouble, and soil sickness sets 

 in. The most effective method of partial 

 sterilisation is to heat the soil to a tem- 

 perature above 140 deg., hut not exceeding 

 212 deg., very satisfactory results being 

 nhtain^ between 180 deg. and 200 deg., 

 and Tcwt. or less fuel is required per ton of 

 soil. 



National Amateur Gardeners' 



Association. — The syllabus of this 

 strong and ably-managed association for 

 1912 is before us, and, as usual^ it con- 

 tains particulars of a large number of oom- 

 ])etit:ons to he held at the monthly and 

 other meetings held during the year. Tlie 

 classes range from lowdy and useful vege- 

 tables, through plants and flowers of many 

 kinds, to the aristocratic orchids, and they 

 are so arranged that they offer inducements 

 to a very large number of the members, 

 and are a direct encouragement to careful 

 and skilful cultivation. The summer show 

 is to be held at Winchester House, on July 

 13. A series of lectures has also been ar- 

 ranged, to be delivered at Winchester 

 Honse, Old Broad Street, as follows : ^^Zonal 

 Pelargoniums,'^ by Mr. H. J. Jones, on 

 March 5; Ferns,^' by Mr. H. B. May, 

 V .M.H., on April 2; Orchids for Ama- 

 teurs," by Mr. C. Alwyn Harrison (with 

 lantorn slides), on May 7 ; Kew Gardens : 

 I len- History and Attractions," by Mr. 

 Uiarles H. Curtis (with lantern slides) on 

 June 4; -Hardy Plants for Sun and 

 ^hade, by Mr. A. J. Macself, on Septem. 

 her .^: ^'Vegetables for Exhibition,'' by 

 ^Y'; J-dwin Beckett, V.M.H. (with lantern 

 '^idos) on October 1; and - Gardens of 

 Hoses by Mr. George Gordon, V.M.H. 

 (^^•ith lantern slides), on November 5. 



Yucca 



wi 



Curious Out 



^- Bowles contri- 



h^'ted to the recent meeting of the R.H.S. 



^I'lentific Committee leaves of Yucca, fila- 



with 



^^lentosa flaocida from his garden 



Lrmuir' liollow, horn-like lateral 



Mouths near the top of the leaves. He 



!: ,f '^^^ ^^i"g the same 



' ty in the gardens of Trinity College, 

 J iMin and all the plants of this varietv 



1 

 1 



tily, showed t: 



every season. 



hood 



production of mushrooms, and about 

 16,800 cwt. of mushrooms are gathered an- 

 nually, the average price being £2 per cwt. 

 There has been a decrease in mushroom 

 culture in Garonne and Gironde within re- 

 cent years, but in France, as a whole^ there 

 has been some increase, as the result, 

 cliiefly, of the rise in the price of mush- 

 rooms. The syndicates of mushroom 

 growers estimates the total annual i:)roduc- 

 t io n at 128, 000 cwt . , a nd ^• a 1 ue d at 

 £320,000. The shortage in suitable manure, 

 due to the development of motor traffic, is 

 being felt in France, as in th's country, 

 and the cost has materially increased. It 

 is, indeed^ thought by some that a limit 

 has been placed U|K)n mushroom culture 

 round Paris by the decrease in the sup- 

 plies of suitable manure. 



COLOUR ARRANGEMENT IN 



FRONT GARDENS. 



Xo person acquainted well with the as- 

 pects of our suburban and country roads, 

 their monotony, dreariness in shade, gar- 

 ishiness in sunshine, but would wish to do 

 something to render them more interesting 



and fair. 



The trees that overhang road- 



Roya.1 



Gardeners' 



Orphan 



Fundi — Following the annual election of 

 gardeners' orphans to the benefits of this 



ways are seldom of more than five or six 

 sorts within a radius of a mile, the shrubs 

 are not only mainly alike, but each is re- 

 pcate<l ludf a doxen or more times in each 

 garden ; Jiedges are all of euonymus or 

 privet, laurel, or yew. 



Owners of front gardens possess each a 

 great opportunity, therefore, since a very 

 little originality ensures a great amount of 

 appreciation ; but of all the features that 

 gain praise the most successful, as the least 

 expensive, will be a striking colour scheme. 

 If all the plants are those with golden 



flowers, the result will be an appearance 

 noon next, at Simpsons, 100, Strand, almost of perpetual sunshine ; a few dark 

 A\ .C., the committee and friends will dme evergreen, or crimson, foliaged shrubs are 

 together at 6.30 p.m., under the chairman- advisable, but the majority may be yellow- 



ship of Mr. Henry B. May, V.M.H. 



Amateur Gardeners' Bohe 



leaved, or so variegated that gold enters 

 largely into their composition. An all- 



mian Concert. — As a wind-up to its scarlet garden .arrests notice instantly, and 

 1911-12 season the National Amateur Gar- it is not <lifFicult to carry out, since the 



doners' Association have arranged a Bohe- 

 mian Concert, to take place in the Council 

 Chamber^ at the Holborn Restaurant, on 

 AVednesday, February 7^ at 7.30 p.m. The 

 prizes won at the various competitions and 

 exhibitions during the last year will be pre- 

 sented on this occasion. 



Dry Cultivation, Avhich has been 

 gieatly extended within recent years, both 

 in America and on the Continent, with evi- 

 dent advantage^ was dealt with in a paper 

 of much value by one of the delegates from 

 Hunoiarv at the International Institute 



popular pelargoniums can be pressed into 

 service during ^summer to aid the perennials 

 in maintaining the brilliant show. This is 

 especially the garden to create on the east 

 or west side of a road where there is sun • 

 shine only for a short period of each day. 

 The neighbourhood of a red brick house 

 will be no detriment, though a white or 

 grey one will prove a far better foil to the 

 glory of the vermilion flowers. 



Blue gardens are suitable in hot situa- 



tions, eitlier by red, white, grey, or yel- 

 lowish brick houses. 



On the whole, tin* ro- 



Rome. The great value '^^^^ better when variegated shrub.s an; 



of this method of culture had prominent 

 attention given to it by the reader of the 



derived 



proof 



freely used, and golden privet, golden elder 

 can also be recommende<l for their vivid 

 contrast, intensifying every shade of blue. 

 Dry culti- Groups of these shrubs W'ill sufficiently se- 



vation is practically the maintenance of a parate different shades of blue, for the tone 



■ - of delphiniums, Centaurea montana^ gen- 



use 



or hand hoe. " The practice is, of course, ^i^ns, borage, annual cornflowers, anchusa, 



>hroom Culture in France. 



vool cultivation of mush- 



rooms hi the' - P^^^.^l^etion of mush- 

 verv lflro-£i 4 



"^^»Vly equ :i \7,r^^i^^ obtained being 



the Jtv iff ""^^^^^ ^^'^ demand 



exported ^^^^^^^ ''^^ quantities have been 



of greater importance in dry climates than 

 in this country, but there has been abun- 

 dant proof of late years of the beneficial 

 results following its adoption both in gar- 

 dens and on farms in the United K.ng- 

 dom. Those who visited the Woburn Ex- 

 periment Station in July last had the 

 opportunity of seeing a field of swedes look- 

 ing healthy and prosperous, when in Bed- 

 fordshire generally the crop was almost 

 a total failure. Dr. Voelcker attribute^l 

 the comparative luxuriance of the Woburn 

 crop to efficient surface cultivation. The 

 hand and horse hoeing had probably not 

 been so systematic as would be prescribed 

 under the principles of dry farming, but 

 it had been constant enough to minimise 

 the effects of the drought. A prominent 



in Rnokc wns nlso able to detect 



is quite antagonistic to that of campanulas, 

 violas of most sorts, asters, Michao'mas 

 daisies, etc. Azure blues, as represciiu'd 

 by many delphiniums, Polemonium Kichard- 

 soni, and forget-me-nots, ought al.-^o to be 



massed in unison. 



An orange front ganlon. before a grey 

 or white house, is remarkably efftM^tive and 

 easily planned. The hues of marigolds, 

 French and African, or the old English 

 calendulas, of chrysanthemums, <lalili;is, 

 and Tagetes signata pumila, gazanias, 

 heleniums, rudbeckias, begonias, zinnias, 

 day lilies, Iceland poppies, offer varietv. 



Arches in front gardens afford excellent 

 patches of shade, a.s well as giving shelt(^r 

 from devastating winds, 

 example of the employment of arches was 

 seen in a se;iside town, the supports being 

 of varnished wood, the climbers clematist^ 



One cli arming 



the condition of his swedes and turnips, 

 is He continued to hoe the surface through- 

 out the drought with the object of check- 



and conservinff whatever 



P«« of different ^-hadc 



foundation of 



England. 



The 



doned 



fl'i^irrios of Kn;i.r°'"*T' '^"'^ aoanaone 

 ^'^ I'^ed f r + 1 etc., are 



in th-. ?> ' employees are en- 

 ^■'tl'or^,,. ;,,;"''^"''f'»*^nt of the beds and 



'V"""t ''W <.,vt If , estimated tliat 



'''n in ' the . ""'^ gathered 



"'^i^le 11*^ n„ . v^aronne and 



^ ^^^'^rnes are devoted to the 



ing capillarity and conserving 

 moisture was in the soil, and, although the 



nlants mad*> little nroffress at the time, 



they responded quickly when tlie rain came 

 late in September. 



Croydon 

 Dinner. 



Gardeners' Annual 



The 



Croydon 



Society 



Horticidtural 



held its 



Mutual Improvement 

 twelfth annual dinner at the Greyhound 

 Hotel, Croydon, on Tluirsday evening, 

 February 15, at 7.30 ]iiv<i.^.']y. A large 

 attendance of members and friends is an- 

 ticipated. 



on a 



Japanese honey>ucklo. It is often advis- 

 able to use this hardy <_limber with others 

 of less strong character, as it enwraps the 

 more delicate stems, which would othtM wise 

 suffer from cold gales. The arches, six in 

 number, started at the entrance gate, and 

 continued at intervals until one formed a 

 porch. 



A large centre rockery 

 make a novel ornament for a small front 

 lawn, in place of the usual round be<l, and 

 a Inucli greater <livcrsity of plants could 

 be grown. To scatter large rocks, singly, 

 also" in groups, over side borders, will be 

 found to add interest, as well as to produce 

 a novel effect. M. H. 



mound would 



