188 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



March 2, 1912. 



ANSWERS TO 



CORRESPONDENTS, 



a- 



E^itori-al Communioa+ions elionld be addrefised to the 

 Editor of the Gaeoenkiis' Magazine, 148 and 149, 

 Aldorsgate ^t^eet, E.G. 



Secretaries of horticultural societies are invited to 

 send early notification of forthcoming exhibitions 

 and nieetingr.s. i\mi ore requeistLd to adv.se us con- 

 cerning" changes of dates. 



Specimens of plants, flowers, and fruits for namin 

 or opinion should he sent to the Editor of the 

 GARBENEits" M agazine, " Endtsleigh," Prior I'ark, 

 Kew, Surrey, ami as eii-rly in the week as pos.sibii'. 

 A J imrc'el-' mn.-t i. f tufliciently i)ft-pai<.l. 



The Editor will be glad to receive photogiraphe of 

 gardens, plants, flowers, tretti, fruits, etc., for 

 reproduition in the Gardenkk.s' Magazine. He W;1I 

 also \>e greatly obliged by correspondents sending 

 early intimation of interesting local events relating 

 to hoiticulture. In sending newspapers containing 

 matter to which they wish to draw attention cor- 

 respondents are retiuesttd to distinctly mark the 

 paragr:ii)h. 



DECAYKD 15ULI5S.— A. B., Essex: Would 

 you pleaso tt41 what is the cause of failure 

 in the bulbs si'iit:-' Hotli narcissi and tulips 

 are enclosed, and a sample of the soil m 

 which they wore grown. I have a large 

 batch, and, with tlie exception of a stray 

 plant here and there, the bulbs have made no 

 roots whatever. They were potted in October 

 in loam, leaf-soil, old mushroom-bed material, 

 sand, and charcoal. They were covered with 

 burnt earth and transferred to irames when 

 heavy rains came^ and then covered with o.d 

 sawdust. I am entirelv at a loss to under- 



stand tlie cause of failure, as in previous 

 years I have had splendid lots of bulbs under 

 exactly the same kind of treatment as ac- 

 t ordt'd tiiis -eason. — The bulbs sent were de- 

 cayed at tlie l)ase. Ihey attempted to make 

 roots, but the roots decayed, and the decay 

 apparently spread inwards. With few ex- 

 ceptions, the bulbs were sound inside. It 

 would appear that they became very wet and 

 remained so, or that white worms, eelworms^ 

 and bulb mites, which were all presen t , 

 brought about the decay. There are con- 

 siderali!c numbers of larva^ of two-w\'nged 

 flies wiiic h are usua .1 v ass(K'iated with soil 



• ■ 



either wel sour, and eoiitaiiiing too much 

 organic iiial ti-r. tlie use ot <>ld soil from a 

 mushroorii-ln^d and leaf-soii would tend to 

 make the compost sour if there was any pro- 

 bability of water standing a>x)ut it for any 

 length of time. 



(^OT XTV SP:r'T{ETAEIES FOR THK IX- 

 TKKNA 1 ii)NAL HORTICULTURAL KXllt- 

 lilTIOX'.— H. S., Lichfield: In a recent issue 

 of the Gardeners' AIagazine, it was stated 

 that appiicacion forms for cheap tickets oi 

 admission to the International Horticultural 

 Exhibition could be obtained from the 

 county secretaries. It would be interestin.j 

 to know who are the county secretaries, and 

 many, no doubt, like myself, have no infor- 

 mation on this point. Perhaps you could 

 obtain and publish a list of the county secre- 

 taries for the benefit of your readers. — We 

 have obtained the following list of county 

 secretaries from Mr. E. White, the lion. Direc- 

 tor of the exhibition: Bedfordsh re, AIi'. Fd- 

 ward Laxton, Bedford; Berkshire, Mr. J. T. 

 Strange, Firlands^ Sulhamstoad; Hutks. Mr. 

 W. J. James, Woodside, I'aniham Koyal, 

 Hough : Cambridgeshire, Mr. liupert Fuller, 

 St. Ail lr-w"< Street, Cambridge; Cheshire, 

 ^It'-^i >. DLf-ksons Lim., Cliester : Cornwall. 

 Mr. \V. 11. Shilson, Trewhiddle, St. Austell; 

 Cumberland and Westmoreland, Mr. H. 

 Britten, Prospect House, Salkeld Dykes, Pen- 

 rith ; Devonshire, Mr. P. C. M. Veitch, 

 Exeter; Derbyshire, Mr. Ba'ley Wadds. 101, 

 Uttoxeter New Road, Derby; Dorset, Mr. T. 

 Tnrton, Castle Gardens, Sherborne; lissex, 

 Rev. J. H. Pemberton, Havering, Rom.ord; 

 Gloucestersliire, Mr. W. Jefferies, Cireiice^- 

 ter; Hampshire, Mr. E. Molyneux, Swanmoie 



Park, Bishops Waltham ; Hertfordshire, Mr. 

 A. Graveson. Little Mo]ew()o<:l, Hertford ; Isle 

 of Wight, Mr. A. Kime, Westhill Gardens, 

 Yarmouth, I. of W. : Keut. Mr. Walter P. 

 Wright, llie (iicv House. Lvfri in^c; [Lanca- 

 shire. Mr. R. C. W;it< M'lKui, AN'nf.lton, Liver- 

 nool : f ,i. rt'-tf ' --li ;i;)d IJutlaud. Mr. IE 

 Di vcr- , T-M C J 7"!" js He' v>ir Ca-tb*, (r t-pi - 

 thani; Mf>nriH)i.1 li and Hereford-hi**e, Mr. 



Coomber, The Gardens, The Hendre, Mon- 

 mouth; Xoriolk, Mr. i. ±i. Cook, xne uar- 

 aens, SandrxUgaam; iNorihampton, Mr. L- . 

 I'erkins, C^uccU s Parade, Adrtnauipttui ; 

 ^Nortnumberiana and Jjuruani, ^Ur. ii. .) . 



; I a p m a n ^ O a k Avood , \ \ y i a m -o n -1 y n e ; X o t - 

 tmgiiam, Air. Jas. Gibson, Ine Gaidens, \\ i^i- 

 bccK Abbey, Worksop; Shropshire, ±vev. J. 

 Jacob, \\ nitewell xiectory, \> iiitcliurcii , 

 r-aitfordshire. Air. J. H. Goodacre, Ine ^^a. - 

 dens, Llvaston Castie, Derby; Sonieiset, Air. 

 t. \\'. Pooling, 11, Xorthgate Street, Bath; 

 Suffolk, Air. It. C. Notcuti, Woodbridge, and 

 Air. W . Xorton, 71, Guildhall Street, Bury 

 St. Edmunds; Surrey, Air. Thos. Stevenson, 

 Woburn Place Gardens, Addlestone; Sussex 

 (East), Air. W. Goaring, Ehndene, Lewes; 

 Sussex (W est), Mr. A. R. Harvey, Eastergate, 

 Cjiichester; Warwickshire, Air. T. Hum- 

 eys. Hot a ill c G irdens, Edgbaston, Bir- 

 mingham : Wiltshire, Air. T. Challis, 'J'he 

 Gard-ens, Wilton House, Salisbury ; Worces- 

 tershire, Mr. W, Crump, Aladresfield Court 

 Gardens, Malvern; Yorkshire (East Riding), 

 Mr. H. J. Clayton, Wliarfe Bank, UlleskeVi', 

 Yorks; Yorkshire (West Riding), Air. Jas. 

 Backhouse, Holgate, Y\)rk ; Scotland (Easv), 

 Mr. J. W. AIcHattie, Parks Office, Edin- 

 burgh; Scotland (West), Air. Jas. Whitton, 

 City Chambers, Glasgow; Ireland, Sir F. W. 

 Moore, Glasnevin, Dublin; Wales (Xorth), 

 Mr. H. W. McLaren, Eelgrave Square, Lon- 

 don, and Bodnant, Talvcafn, R.S.O. ; and 

 Wales (South). Air. W. W. Pettigrew, Roath 

 Park, Card ill.' 



W OOD LICE IN GREENHOUSE. — 

 A. J. B., Cardilf : I should be very much 

 obliged if you could give me some assistance 

 III my eUoiis to rid iwo new houses oi wood- 

 1 ice . 1 nese houses are swarm lug wi tli the 

 pests, and yet our old hourcs are fainy free 

 ironi tiiem. I have scoured the place witli 

 carbolic acid, la:d Ya[K>rile and quick lime 

 over the fioor.^, and fu:nigaled witli six times 

 tne usual dose oi nicotine; I have also put 

 grease hands on the bottom of each door in- 

 bide, and laid down a number Oi ireshly-cut 

 paLat(,es and wads of dry moss as traps, but 

 still the mtestatlon goes on. Can you sug- 



a 



remedy? — Beyond fumigation witli 

 cyanicie, whicii is a proceeding attended 

 w^ith some danger, there does not seem to ba 

 muca you have left undone in your bact^e 

 with w^oodlice. Woodlice are scavengers, and 

 are usually found where there is decaying 

 vegetable matter; but, unfortunately, they 

 a. so take toll of juicy shoots, young orchid 

 spikes and peaches. You must discover wh<it 

 the attraction is, and also the chief points of 

 harbourage; lay some dirty boards all over 

 the floor and under the staging, and let these 

 remain for a day or two; on examination the 

 undersides will be found swarming with 

 woodlice, which should be swept into a^bucket 

 of very hot brine or carbolic mixture. In 

 any trouble of this kind persistence is the 

 great thing; use any and every kind of trap 

 for a few weeks, and, we doubt not, success 

 will attend your efforts. 



GRASS DRESSING. 



F. M., Epsom: 



Please advise me as to dressing a rather poor 

 paddock with some artificial fertiliser. — 

 \\ ith<)ut some knowledge of the soil and 

 g<Mieral conditions, it is not easy to give you 

 useful advice. For present application, a 

 good general fertiliser consists oi 5cwts. basic 

 slag, 2;}c^vts. sulphate of lime, Jcwt. sulphate 

 of iron, and 2-icwts. of common salt per aere. 

 This is excellent for improving the quality of 

 the grass, and also tends to keep down m^oss. 



SUCCESSIONAL CROPS OF VEGF- 

 TABLES. — J., Hereford: I am anxious to 

 maintain a success'on of vegetable crops, and 

 shall be glad of your help in the matter. — 

 In our " Work for the Week " columns we 

 publish a calendar of kitchen garden work 

 and operations each alternate week, and 

 if you follow the instructions given therein 

 von should have no difficultv in maintain'UP^ 

 a supply of vegetables. We also ])ublish 

 special articles ou tlie cultivation <>[ special 

 vegetable cr()ps, and as these aie .roiii the 

 fu ns of experienced growers, the information 

 they convey cannot la l to l)e of the ntrnrst 



.service to you. Keep a book, such as '* Y^ ^r,.- 



tables and their Cultivation'* (W. H. aud L 

 Collingridge, 148, 149, Aldersgate Stree: 



E. C., 5s., post free 5s. Gd.), handy, read tl:e 

 (Jardkneus' Magazine regularly, use your 

 judgment as to weather, condition of r^oif 

 site, etc., and obtain your seeds from one 

 or more of the hrnis Avho advertise in our 

 columns. We shall be glad at any time to 

 render any assistance in our power in con- 

 nection with any special matter. 



DISEASED PELARGONIUAI LEAVES.- 



F. AL, Epsom: The undersides oi pelargo- 

 nium leaves sent herewith have a rusty ap- 

 pearance, suggestive of red spider, but 1 

 eannot trace any signs of the latter pest. 

 Kindly tell me what is the cause of tlie 

 trouble and the remedy. — The leaves are not 

 in the very best condition, and suggest a 

 too free use of heat and moisture, hut the 

 rusty appearance is due to the presence of a 

 mite like the one that causes rust on be- 

 gonias. Apply tobacco powder by means d 

 one of the little distributors, taking care that 

 the powder is applied so that it reaches wei! 

 in between the prominent leaf-ribs wliere 

 these radiate from the leaf-stalk. Renew the 

 application every few days until the pest dis- 

 appears, and the new leaves come quite clean. 



SEEDLING SNOWDROPS.— T. J. N., 

 Kent : Two years ago I sent you a new snow- 

 drop! , and a sked your op i n i o n of it . The 

 flower was spoilt before it reached you, and 

 you asked xor another specimen to be sent 

 the following year. In 1911 I left the matter 

 too late, but now send a couple of flowers, 

 and hope they will reach you safely. Your 

 opinion will greatly oblige. — The flowers ar- 

 rived in excellent condition, and were re- 

 markably pretty. The equal development of 

 all six segments is very interesting, and a 

 mass of the variety should present a finer 

 appearance than an equal number in which 

 the three inner segments are smaller than 

 the outer ones. It seemed to us that one of 

 the flowers had the faintest passible pink 

 tint, but placed against dead-white paper no 

 colour was evident. The variety is certainly 

 well worth retaining, and an effort should 

 be made to increase tlie stock. 



SPRAYING FRUIT TREES.— Amateur : I 

 sprayed my apple trees during the winter with 

 caustic alkali wash, and would be glad to 

 know if I may spray again with lime. — It is 

 not necessary, or, iiideed, demrable, to spray 

 your apple treets with lime. The spraying of 

 the trees with caustic alkali should have 

 be-en sufficient to clear them of insect pests 

 for which sprays of caustic alkali and huie 

 are used, and it is now too late in the sea- 

 son for such sprays to be used with safety. 



NAMES OF PLANTS. 

 F. S., Northampton.— 'Lachenalia Nelson.. 

 H. M. T., Jersey.— Muehlenbeckia coh)- 



plexa. 



A. W., Poole.— 1, Odontoglossum ardenti- 

 simum ; 2, 0. crispum ; 3, Cypripediimi 

 longifolium; 4, Cattleya labiata. 



C. T. G., Leicester.— 1, Berries of the lir^^ 

 Thorn (Cratffig^as Lelandi) ; 2, Cineraria man- 

 tima; 3, Hoffmannia Ghiesbreghti. . 



W\ 8. T., Chester.— 1, Helleborus colclu- 

 cus; 2, Iris histrio; 3, Hamamclis mollis: 

 apparently a leaf of Medinilla magnifiea. 



F. D., Petw,)rth.— The seedling is a plan 

 of Canterbury Dell. The apple we do 

 recognise, but will endeavour to h-ave 

 named for you. 



Coalogne Cristata and it^varietu^^? 



are now pushing up their flower spikes, a- 

 must not be allowed to suffer from ^ff"^^, 

 water, or their flowers will be small ^» 



lacking in substance. Tliis old J^*^^|Je 

 ful species is not easy to surpass. After 

 plants have passed out of bloom, it ^ 

 sirable- that they should be rested toi _ 

 time, keeping them dry, but not allo>^^"^ 

 them to shrivel. Should any of the plan^^^j 

 through carrying a very heavy ^^'^R j, 

 flowers, shrivel, water must not be p 

 tliem in excests to induce the?n to ^^ 

 l>ium|i again. Wliilc in flower, nr 

 a cool position in the inf eiin^diatc 

 will suit their rcduirements.- J- ' • l*^^^"^ ' 



