Apeii. 6, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE 



289 



ANSWERS TO 



CORRESPONDENTS. 



f ditorial Communications eliould be addressed to the 

 Editor of the Gardeners' Magazine, 148 and 149, 

 Aldersgate Street, E.G. 



?^cretariefi of horticultural societies are invited to 

 send early notification of forthcoming' exhibitions 

 aad meetings, and are requested to advise us con- 

 cerning changes of dates, 



<pecimenfi of plants, flowers, and frniits for naming 

 " or opinion should be sent to the Editor of the 

 Gabdeners* Magazine, " Endeleigh,*' Prior Park, 

 Kew, Surrey, and as early in the week as possible. 

 All i)arcek must be eufficientdy prepaid. 



PANSIES AND VIOLAS FROM SEEDS.— 

 A. P. P., Acton: Please let me know the 

 beet time and method of raising pansies and 

 violas from seeds. — Pansy seeds should be 

 sown at once in pans or boxes of light &oil, 

 and be placed in a warm frame or gx^een- 

 house until germination takes place; a cold 

 frame will then suffice. Prick out the seed- 

 lings in the frame^ and when th'Cy are suffi- 

 ciently large and well rooted plant them 

 out where they are to flower, watering and 

 mulching them as ne<>essary. If they are 

 not needed to flower before next spring, 

 then defer sowing until June, and sow in 

 the open or in a cold frame, and plant out 

 early in the autumn. Sow some of the viola 

 seeds in pans in a cold frame at onee, and 

 the other part out of doors in rich light 

 soil; prick out the seedlings into nursery 

 beds, and subsequently plant in the perma- 

 nent quarters when large and strong enough. 



Given good treatment, these should flower 

 well in the autumn. 



WIEE NETTING FOR PEAS.— J. G., 

 Corbridge: Will you kindly let me know 

 whether one row of 4-inch mesh wire net- 

 ting will suffice for peas, or should there be 

 two rows of netting to each run of peas? — 

 We have seen sweet peas growing well 

 against a single row of wide-meshed wire 

 netting, but the plants were kept regularly 

 tied to the support. In the cas-e of culinary 

 peas, two rows of netting should be provided 

 or the plants will be severely damaged dur- 

 ing winds and heavy xains, 



SECATEURS VERSUS PRUNING KNIFE. 



M. E. J.^ Ros-s : Do you consider secateurs 

 •are as suitable as a knife for pruning any- 

 thing but a hedge? — In most secateurs we 

 have handled there is but one cutting blade, 

 and the other blade is very apt to cause a 

 bruise on the side of the shoot pruned, oppo- 

 ■site to the direction of the cut. If mav 

 happen that this bruise is so severe a& to 

 «ause decay. Whenever and w^herever prac- 

 ticable, the knife should be used in prefer- 

 ^nc^ to the secateurs, but there are occasions 

 When the work is so great, and the time 

 «o short, that one has to take the risks— and 

 ;cney are not really great— and u«e the seca- 



IZAL POWDER 

 'Bristol : Some time ago I used a couple of 



IN SOIL.— W. H. F. 



I 



Vaporite, and recentlv came across 

 ^nat appeared to be a part of a keg of this 



arr^f'fl' ^ "^^^ making a new border 



across the end of a tennis court I used some 

 01 the material in the keg. This was a month 



hal disinfecting. Do you think 



jaxe spoiled our chances of gix>wing half- 

 sS.f^^'^^f,^. the border, and can vou 

 -of tvfo "^^yt^i^g to counteract the effects 

 ^^i L^^^i^""' ^ '^^^y that the border 

 the l^if """^^ the powder worked into 



for n^ll'*"' 'P'*' ^i^^^t rambling roses, 

 autuSiL P^^^ted in the site last 



W 'ff^''^. ^^^^ ^« f^^" do not appear to 

 the n!::^^^^d ^^'^ l^^^^t from the effects of 



Tva.sWH -P^^^ibly the wet weather has 



not know f!.'''^^^'''^^! *^^ther down.-We do 



imaeine^H^^ ^T??""^*^^" ^^^1' but we 



Work +\i ^'^^^y to do any harm, 



the annVf.i''''^ frequently to aerate it until 

 Dutch W '"'^^ planted, and then use the 



^ take^T/f^v'^^r^y- ^"^1^ cannot 



artificial l^^lling and storing insecticides, 



■di^infectaS^'"'''"".' fungicides, weed killers, 

 in a p-ar^„ ' other preparations used 



tain So knl ' ""^.^ particularly anv that con- 

 Poison. Directly the materials are re^ 



ceiyed they should have a stout and legibly 

 written label attached unless there is a pro- 

 minent one already on. 



PEACH FRUITS DROPPING.— Peaches, 

 Somerset : Late last autumn I took charge of 

 a large number of peaches and nectarines in 

 pots, and these I was instructed to force 

 for fruiting in May. The trees had all been 

 repotted, and so loosely that when moved 

 they rocked in the pots. After every care 

 and attention and an apparently good set, 

 the little fruits have fallen wholesale, and 

 there will be a very poor crop, even if all 

 those remaining come to perfection. Do you 

 think the failure is due to the loose potting? 

 — Yes, certainly. Peaches and nectarines in 

 pots must be potted firmly or they make few 

 useful roots, and unless they are well rooted 

 it is impoEisible to force them successfully. 

 You must pay close attention to disbudding, 

 so that light and air reach all parts of the 

 trees; keep the foliage clean, duly harden 

 off, and place outside and repot firmly 

 directly the leaves begin to turn colour, in- 

 stead of waiting for them to fall. 



DISEASE ON VIOLET LEAVES.— W. E., 

 Heathfield: Kindly tell me what iis the cause 

 of the disease that appears to be attacking 

 the leaves of Admiral Avellan violet. The 

 attack does not seem to affect the plants 

 much Rs they are flowering quite freely. — The 

 leaves show evidence of a very slight attack 

 Orf violet mildew. Spray with a potassium 

 sulphide solution, and afford abundance of 

 fresh air, at the same time keeping the plants 

 a little drier than usual. 



FRUITING OF THE STEPHANOTIS.— 

 S. W, writes; "With regard to the fruiting 

 of Stephanotis floribunda, referred to by your 

 correspondent, *E. R. B.,' page 268, the 

 following may be of interest : Some years 

 ago I had a large pod form on a plant of 

 stephanotis trained to the roof of the stove. 

 I have no data of the time it took to ripen, 

 but it was a long while before the pod split, 

 and showed the seeds with their silky appen- 

 dages. When ripe I sowed a number of the 

 seeds, which germinated quickly, and the 

 young plants grew away freely ; in fact, too 

 freely, as they covered a considerable space 

 before I obtained any flowers, and when they 

 did bloom they were not so free as those 

 obtained from cuttings. None showed any 

 improvement on the parent plant, and some 

 did not flower at all. I got tired of my 

 eeedlings, and threw them away, and resolved 

 for the future to follow the old-fashioned 

 plan of propagating any I might require by 

 means of cuttings." 



NAMES OF PLANTS. 



G. S., Eyde. — Erica mediterranea. 

 W, E., Heathfield. — Iris flucharica. 



J. G., Potter's Ear. — 1, Anemone Pulsa- 

 tilla; 2, A. acutiloba; 3, A. hepatica. 



D. D., Rochester. — 1, Erica carnea ; 2. 

 Forsythia suspensa ; 3, Pieris japonica. 



C. W., Chesterfield. — 1, Anemone apeu- 

 nina; 2, Pulmonaria angustifolia ; 3, Pri- 

 mula viscosa; 4, P. malacoides. 



L. R. J., Faringdon. — 1, Erythronium 

 citrinum ; 2, C4alax aphylla ; 3, Cardamine 

 pinnata; 4, Erica mediterranea. 



F. E. R., Bletchley.— 1, Magnolia .stellata; 

 2, Prunus triloba; 3, probably Amelaurhier 

 canadensis, very poor e^pecimen. 



H. M., Wareham.— 1, Spiraea Thunbergi ; 

 2, probably a Ferula, send again when flower- 

 ing; 3, probably Buddleia globosa, send when 

 ill flower; 4, Pieris floribuiida; 5, Erica 

 mediterranea; 6, Prunus Pissardi. 



Rose Claire Jacquier, — I can 



assure White Ladv " she need have no 

 qualms about thits ^ rose being sufficiently 

 hardy to flouricsh in the open. I have grown 

 it fully in the open, and with an eastern 

 aspect,* for many years, and havo always 

 found it a great success. The nankeen yel- 

 low blw^oms harmonise well with the tinted 

 wood and young leaves, and as for freedom 

 of flower, I know of no rose more free. 

 Plants of this ro&e do not require so long a 

 period ere they flower freely, at^ in the case 

 of Aglaia, for example. — E. Y 



METEOROLOGICAL 



- OBSERVATIONS 



TAKEN IN THE BOTAL HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETT^S GARDENS AT WISLEY, SURREY. 



Height abov6 Sea-level, 150 feet. 



Date, 



H 



QD 



Temperature of thb 



Air. 



1912. 

 March 24 



TO 



March 30. 



At 9 a.m. 



Day 



Night 



Dry 

 Bulb. 



Wet 

 Bulb. 



egt. 



Low- 

 est, 



„ 27— Wednesday,. 

 „ 28 -Thursday.... 



Lr. m. 



0 42 

 5 12 



8 30 



1 18 

 11 0 



9 48 



deg. 



54 



53 



50 

 52 

 46 

 47 



degr. 



46 

 52 

 47 

 46 

 BO 

 41 

 46 



deg. 



55 

 60 

 59 

 57 

 57 

 52 

 53 



deg. 



42 

 50 

 49 



47 

 47 

 S7 

 40 



Means 



(total) 

 39 6 



50 



47 



56 



44 



Date. 



1912. 

 March 24 



TO 



March 30. 



Mar 



It 

 If 



ft! 

 If 



If 



2 V— Snnday 



25 — Monday 



26 Taesdaj 



27 — Wednesday., 



28— Thursday..., 



29 — Friday 



30 - Saturday ,,,, 



eans 



• t # 



Tkmpkbatdre of 

 THE Soil 

 At 9 a.m. 



ins. 



trace 



001 



(total) 

 001 



At 

 1 ft. 

 deep. 



deg. 

 45 

 48 

 49 

 49 

 51 



48 

 47 



48 



At • 

 2 ft. 

 deep. 



deg 

 44 

 45 

 46 



47 

 48 

 48 

 47 



At 

 4 ft. 



deep, 



H 



O 



o 



46 



deg. 



46 

 46 

 46 

 46 

 47 

 47 

 47 



46 



deg. 

 41 

 46 

 4i 

 41 

 42 

 29 

 32 



S9 



COMING EVENTS. 



Devon Daffodil an:l Sprinjj Flowt p Show. - At Ply- 

 month^ on April 18 nnd U». in.-tt:i(i dl April 16 

 and 17, ii6 previously ;.rr.".ni:M]. 



Hc-iefard Spring- Flower ^ni ii'Ty.— 'Hiird Ajiiiii:i1 Kx- 



hibition on Thiuvflay. April IS. 

 Chivslehuret Horticultural J^ociety : Sprinjf Flower 



>hcvr April 20; Summer Show, July 6, at Kemnal 



Warren. 



li<-yal Countiivs Ajrriciiltural Soci<"ty.— Flower Show at 



Guildford, Junt> 11 to 14. 

 l\>narth lloee Show, July 3. 



Vreybridg:e Ho-r+icultural Society, July 3. in the Old 

 Palace Gnrdenes. 



Wclverliampton Floral Fete. — In the We^t I'.irk. nn 



July 9. 10. and 11. 

 Bath F'loral Fete. — In the Sviliiov Garden.- (n July 



10 and 11. 



Sevenoaks Horticultural Society, July 10, in Knowle 



Park and Gardens. 

 Formby Horticultural Society, Summer Show, July 



10: Autumn Show. November 9. 

 0 u cf 1 i ff e T{ 0 se and Sweet Pea S h o w . — A e m b 1 y 



Kooms, York, t n Thursday, July 11. 



raying. 



One of Eng:(and's leading Fruit Growers 



says : '*I consider the " Four Oaks ' Spraying 

 Machine, * Battle' Pattern, to be the Only 



practical machine on the market." 



i8 Gallons 

 £13 15 0 

 25 Gallons 

 £13 15 0' 



Four Oaks 



"BATTLE" PATTERN 



Very 



Powerful 

 Pump. 



Solid Oak 



Con tain ar. 

 Very 



narrow 

 over ail. 



Complete Catalogues of Spraying and Limewashing 



Machines and Syringes of every ^^^^^J}P1'^2J^^^m2^ 

 application to the Sole Manufacturers: -THE FOUR 0AK8 



SPRAYING MACHINE CO., No. 30, Sulton Coldfield 



