268 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE, 



Maech 30, 1912. 



ANSWERS TO 



CORRESPONDENTS. 



Editorial Communications should he addreesed to the 

 Editor of the Gabdekeks' Magazine, 148 and 149, 

 Altlersgate Street, E.G. 



S«eretariefi of horticultural societies are incited to 



^nd early notification of forthcoming exhibitions 

 fud meetings, and are requested to advice con- 

 cerning changes of datea. 



Specimene of plants, flowers, and fruits for naming 

 or opinion should be sent to the Editor ot the 

 Gaedeners' Magazine, •' Endele.gh," Prior l ark, 

 Kew Surrey, and as early in the we«k as possible. 

 4.1 parcelo must be sufficiently preiwiid. 



The Editor wiU be glad to receive photographfi of 

 pardens, plante, flowers, tree*, fruits, etc., for 

 ?eproduotion in the Gakdenebs' Magazine. He will 

 alflo be greatly obliged by oorrefippndents eend ng 

 early intimation of interesting local events relating 

 to hortioulture. In sending newspapers containing 

 matter to which they wieh to draw attention oor^ 

 reependente are requested to durtinotly mark the 

 paragraph. 



"JACK" CARNATIONS.— M. N. G., Bea- 

 constield : Please tell me if it is possible to 

 distinguish genuine named carnations irom 

 frauds from the appearance of the pli\»tri at 

 this time of the year? I was ])ersuaded to 

 purchase some «trong-looking plants trom 

 a stranger last week, and I am now told 

 bv a friend who had a similar experience 

 l^t year that I have been "had/' and that 

 my purchases will turn out to be "jacks, 

 or singles onlv.— We very much fear that 

 your friend i's right, and that the very 

 strong plants purchased will give you only 

 worthless single flowers. You mav be for- 



as an amateur, for once falling into 



the u n \N a 1 y . Tlie se 



market 



and it 



given, 

 this old 



trap laid for 

 "jacks," as they att*e 

 growers, are grown for sale by, apparently, 

 not over-«crupulous growers; they are pur- 

 chased by costermongers chiefly, who often 

 attach Ivearing the names of well- 



know ii (lunations, and so find a ready sale 

 ior Www wares among amateur gardiMicrs. 

 W'v liavf tiv(juently urged our anial;Mir 

 readers not to ])urcliase carnation plants from 

 hawkers, but to do so from those Ki>c-cialists 

 and nurservmen who advertise in our 

 columns, and who have everything to gam 

 bv supplving good ])lants of f^rst-rate varie- 

 ties. '\'\w |>ri((^ will, of cnnrse, be higher 

 than that paid to the hawker, but there 

 will be a pleasurable return for the money 

 expended instead of great disappointment. 

 We are glad you have been interested in 

 our articles on carnations. 



OUTDOOR YINES.— B. J., Tavistock : 

 Kindly tell me which are the best varieties 

 of grapes to plant in a sunny position out 

 of doors, against a wall?— Everything de- 

 pends upon the situation. Black Hamburgh 

 ripens out of doors under exceptionally good 

 circumstances, while Royal Muscadine, 

 Reine Olga, Black Cluster, and Camay Noir 

 are all likelv to give very fair results. 



LIME AND SOIL FERTILITY.— A. R., 

 Notts: As an old reader of the "G.M.," I 

 should be glad of your opinion regarding the 

 following matters: I have been reading 

 "Tlie' Chemistry of the Garden," by H. H. 

 Cousins, and another book on manuring, 



" I.e.. and am convinced 



known to 



test for lime, and so I mixed two parts of 

 this with one part of the light, limeless 

 soil, and have found that germaniums and 

 young tomatoes are doing very well in the 

 mixture. Now, what should I do to make 

 the light turfy soil fertile?— Lime sweetens 

 soil by neiitralising organic acid^s, 

 combines with the soil ingredients in such 

 a manner as to set free the food materials 

 that would otherwise remain unavailable 

 to the crops. Lime by itself will not im- 

 prove a poor, light soil, because the latter 

 contains so little decayed organic matter, 

 and it is upon this that lime acts so use- 

 fullv. Add alx)ut half a busliel of lime to 

 the\square rod of ground, and w^hen it is 

 slaked fork it in, a few weeks before plant- 

 ing or sowing. Put in a summer crop, 

 heavily surface-dress the ground with old 

 manure, charred garden refuse, decaying 

 leaves, and other matter that will provide 

 humus. In the winter this dressing can be 

 dug in. It would also be a good plan to 

 follow the summer crop with one of clover 

 or tares, this to be dug in later on as a 

 green manure. In the case of the turfy soil 

 for potting, you have practically answered 

 your own question, l^eeause the addition of 

 a heavier " medium containing lime has 

 already improved matters. Make up a stack 

 of soil, consisting of alternate layers of light 

 soil, cow manure, and heavy soiU and let 

 all remain under a rough shelter for a few 

 months; then chop down, mix well together, 

 and add about a half pound of lime to each 

 bushel before use. Old plaster rubbish, 

 broken fine, would do instead of lime. 



B., 



of 



by R. A. Berry, I .I.C., 

 that a knowledge of chemistry as applied to 

 gardening is absolutely necessary if one is to 

 cultivate crops in the best possible manner. 

 For instance, one must know the composition 

 of the soil one has to deal with. I have 

 been making a few tests of our garden soil 

 with muriatic acid, and find it contains no 

 lime, Mr. Cousins savs that chalk, or lime, 

 is the cbief basis of fertility, and without it 

 successful results cannot be obtained, nor 

 can the soil be brought into a high state 

 of fertility without its help. The soil here 

 is light, over gravel, and has never been 

 liberally manured. W^bat should be done 

 with it? I have also a heap of light turfy 

 soil, and it does not show evidence of a 

 particle of lime by the acid test. Last sea- 

 son I grew tomatoes in this material, and 

 they did badly, and were a great disappoint- 

 ment. Nearly all plants potted in it did 

 badly. Having a lieap of clay near by, I 

 tested this, and found it respond to the 



STEPHAN0TI8 SEEDLING.— E. R. 

 Rugby : In our garden we have a plant 

 Stephanotis fioribunda carrying a seed pod 

 w^hich is like a green plum, but about the 

 size of a turkey's egg. Could you tell me if 

 it is a rare thing for a stephanotis to pro- 

 duce seed pods in England, as I do not 

 remember liaving heard of such a thing 

 before? Should I let the pod remain on the 

 plant, or cut it, and place it on a shelf this 



summer to ripen?— It is by no means a com- 

 mon thing for a stephanotis to form a se^ 

 pod, but there are many instances of such 

 an occurrence, so that it can hardly be con- 

 sidered rare. Allow the seed vessel or fruit 

 to remain on the plant until it shows signs 

 of dehescing or splitting, when it may be 

 cut down and placed on a sunny shelf to 

 completely ripen. Place a small piece of 

 netting around the seed pod and tie it to 

 .the wire above, to guard against accidents. 



SIX HONEYSUCKLES.— C. G. H., Bath: 

 AVill you please name half a dozen goad 

 climbing honeysuckles for a sheltered posi- 

 tion? — Six good kinds are: Lonicera caprifo- 

 liiim major, L. etrusca, L. japonica aureo- 

 reticulata, L, Periclemenum, L. flava, and 

 (if the soil is light and the position warm) 

 L. &empervirens. 



MIXING MANURES.— A. C. W., Here- 

 ford : I have been told that it is wrong to 

 mix nitrate of soda wath superphosphate or 

 guano. Is tliat right? — Yts; nitrate of soda 

 should not be mixed with superphosphate, 

 dissolved bones, or guano, because such mix- 

 ture would quickly become a sticky mass, 

 difficult to sow, and there would be a con- 

 siderable loss of nitrogen. Sulphate of am- 

 monia should not be mixed with a manure 

 containing free lime, like basic slag, be- 

 cause of the loss of nitrogen that would 

 result from the lime attacking the ammonia. 



NAMES OF PLANTS. 

 N. S., Bridgwater. — Lomaria gibba. 

 G. W., Lewes.— 1, Coelogyne cristata; 2, 



Oncidium concolor. 



C. P. J., Carshalton.— 1, Coleum thyrsoi- 

 deus; 2, appears to be a leaf of Phoenii 

 Roebelini. 



J. E., Horsham.— 1, Ribes sanguinea: 2, 

 Miiscari botrvoides alba; 3, not recognised; 



4, Primus Pissardi. 



W. 0. S., Ripon.— 1, Lonicera japonica 

 aureo-reticulata; 2, Eiipatorium ianthinum; 

 3, Grevillea Thelymaniana ; 4, Odontogloa- 

 siim triumplians. 



Let 



Kv.^ry oBo i.s the best of \U kirnl. for the Kobinson reputation guarantees thie. 

 your - irdon.s bright beautiful, and profitjible, and realise your highe^st f^nibitione 



B.' up to flnte-be practim-1. and see to it that your soil is thoroughly f^'^"^^^^®^* ^i,^;^ ^uch 

 plants have the utmost, vitality; let them draw their e.ssential elements from a sou til u 

 requisites. Tlie vri^e g-a.rdenor knows what to do, and therefore applies 



"CARMONA" FERTILIZERS. 



a,ll the difference in the world between the inferior and the 

 Fertilizerv< have no equal, for test, analysis, and results manifeigt their unnmMed exctue 

 If vou want THE Fertilizer, then g^t " Oarmona..'* 



Many vt',rietie«. and of special interest, is the " Oarmona " Sweet Pe<i l^ertiiizei^. 

 :\lade in bulks to suit all gardeners. See below: 



1 ewt., ms.; h cwt.. 12s. 6d. ; 28 lbs.. 7s. Od. ; U lbs., 4s. Od. ; 7 lbs., 2s. 6d. 



Ls. and 6d. tin.s 



Of all Seedsmen and Agents, or write dir(X?t. 



WAGE EFFECTUAL WAR ON INSECTS 



I 



and di\stroy all these i>e.st6 by means of Cliffs Fluid Tn-ecticide. ^^y^^<J. 

 Here you have a n-uaraut.Mul insecticide. Wireworms, miilii>edes, Icathcr-jack.-t-s etM\ > -^^^ ^^^-^^ 



gof«, and the Ilk-- :irr nhvav.- rxtcrminnte<l when Cliffs Fluid In.^ectin.lr is -H'^'^^j'**" conser\'fi- 



Tou should u.>r Cliff > Flui<l In.c,.cticide in both flower and kitchen nivn tor irajne>t>, 

 tori-es. greciihou^*^. ami fruit tre^v^. A little ffoes a long way. Prices below: ^ ^ 

 40 galk., 4^. fid. iier gall.; 30 galls., 5s. per gall.; 10 galls., r>s. 3d. per gall.; ^.^Ij^" ^ " 



gall.; 1 gall., 6s. Of all Setxlismen and Agents, or write Uirecx. 



A FREE ENTRY FOR ROBINSON'S Great £350 SHOW IS ^^^^^^^^^ 



A splendid chance to secure one of the mi\u\ < a>]i pnzr.- and ch^mpion^dlli3 UH-dal^ ^-^^.^^ 

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 Show will be held an Aumi-t ^Ntli and 2»th Tu>xt, at the Koyal Botanical ^-^^^"^ . free uiioD 

 Birmingliam. Robinson's h^tve the Show Schedules ready, and will send them 

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Note these Gardenalities. , 



1. ''Velvas" I.awn Sand— alvoliitely the fin e.st dressing known. It kills the^ ^^^^^^ ■ 

 the colour and iinitrrve.^ the irra.^s. \f vou want an ideal lawn. u>e " Yelvns. f 

 in convenient quantities. 14llx^., (UL ■ ofiiK^.. lis.; Il211:s., ^C-. Tins at fid., l-^o 

 and 2s. Of all Seedsmen and Ag-nt.<. or write direct. 



2. " Eradiweed the guaranteed cent, per cent, weed-killer. Keep ,f 

 drives and roads clear omd cleun. One application in 12 months is all tiiat 

 neoesiary. The *' St.nndard" weed-killer. Tins, Is., iis., and 3s. 6d, 



Of -iiU Seedsmen and Agentifi, or write direct. 



ROBINSONS FREE BOOKLETS GIFT. 



Robinsons invite you to accept a copy of their guaranteed ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

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 and post free to «J1. Send a p.c. for .^ume to:— . ^•.r Jnow 



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iiitenc-ift'" 



