THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 13, 1859. 
It was so arranged at Sydenham that neither foot nor barrow 
neoci touch, having a gravel-walk round it. I hardly think the 
garden at Sydenham, where we may say the Spergula first 
sprang into notice, is a fair place to select for proving its real 
value as to what it may eventually turn out to be, as, doubtless, 
no pains are spared to keep it in the best possible condition. 
I can assure Mr. Beaton I was pleased with his remarks on 
the Spergula ; but I was much disappointed by his description 
of the Grape Tines grown in pots, which he stated would be a 
match for those grown by Mr. Drewett—the Denbeighs, which 
were certainly a long way behind the mark.— Edward Bennett, 
Osberton , Notts. 
SOIL FOR GENTIANELLA. 
BANISHING DAISIES FROM A. LAWN—SURFACE I‘LANTING ON 
HEAVY SOIL. 
Will you let me tell “An Amateur” that the Gentianella 
will never bloom satisfactorily in deep soil; but that if he will 
plant it on the gravel-path with two or three inches of light soil, 
the plant will bloom abundantly ? 
May I a’so tell a former inquirer how I got rid of the Daisies ? 
My lawn and house are at least two hundred years old, on stitf 
clay. There was no drainage ; and after heavy rain the water 
stood on the grass for days. It used to be a sheet of white with 
the Daisies. I first drained deeply, covering the pipes with two 
feet of ashes, filling up with the clay and plenty of road-drift. 
This answered perfectly. In the autumn I gave the lawn a good 
dressing with old road-drift. In the spring ditto with sandy 
loam. I then sowed it well with Sutton’s lawn mixture. In the 
next autumn a good dressing of fine ashes and soot. In the 
spring another slight coat of loam and more lawn seeds. Now 
not a Daisy is to be seen, except, indeed, in a portion of new 
lawn recently added, and which I am about to serve in the same 
way. 
I am much surprised to hear of the great losses from the 
October frost. Neither I nor my gardener is very sharp or 
weatherwise; but we had two good days’ clear notice of it, and 
took up every plant (some hundreds) that we wished to keep ; 
had a little covering saved for some time ; Geraniums, Petunias, 
and Verbenas in a south border. 
May I bear my testimony to the great value of planting choice 
trees and shrubs above the surface in heavy soils ? The effect 
has been with me wonderful.—E. 
WINTERING BEDDING PLANTS. 
How frequently do we find flower gardens planted with odds 
and ends, and bits of anything—no balancing of colour or height 
—all appears a mass of confusion, poverty, and want of taste ; and 
the reason generally assigned for such planting is—they cannot 
accommodate a sufficient number of plants over the winter to 
plant the beds as they would wish. Perhaps the following notes 
will assist some out of their dilemma, and enable them to plant 
their flower gardens with any colour or quantity. 
Calceolarias may be propagated from September to November 
in the following manner:—Select a piece of ground as much 
sheltered from the north and east winds as possible. On it 
spread a mixture of sandy loam and leaf mould to the depth of 
two inches. Over that spread nearly half an inch of sharp river 
sand. Then tread, or beat it clown with the back of the spade 
as firmly as possible. After which collect all the hand-lights 
together that can be spared, and place them on the prepared 
ground, so that each light may mark out its respective size, in 
order to facilitate the moving of the lights off or on without 
setting them on, or breaking, the cuttings. When the cuttings 
are put in it will bo necessary to shade them for a few days if the 
sun is powerful; and when there is any indication of a severe 
frost it will be necessary to cover them with a mat. Although I 
have known them to withstand 8° of frost without any apparent 
injury, nevertheless this is no game to play at. They ought to be 
covered ; and in order to lessen the labour of covering for as long 
a period as possible, it is only necessary to propagate one-half 
in the autumn that will be required—as plenty of cuttings will 
be got of those that were struck in autumn, and will strike like 
Willows in early spring, and make quite as good plants as their 
parents, if not better, by planting-out time. After they are struck 
they will be better to be turned out in a south border for three 
weeks before they are planted out in the beds. Put some old tan 
or leaf mould to the roots, which will cause them to lift with good 
balls, and when put in the beds will grow away directly without 
receiving any check. Mr. Fish recently remarked that the Cal¬ 
ceolarias do best that never smelt fire heat. The above is a proof 
of it. I have seen none to surpass them, and, without any 
partiality, very few to equal them. 
Verbenas. —Make a rough calculation of the sorts that will be 
most wanted—say two or three boxes of a sort, put them into a 
pit where they can have a little bottom heat, and be kept rather 
close until they strike root, after which they must be taken out 
and placed in any cool house for the winter. About the be¬ 
ginning ot February there will be plenty of cuttings to increase 
them eight times their number. The Beatonian system is the 
best to adopt then—that is, fill large flower-pots, flats or pans, 
about halt full of water, then put in as much sand, and no more, 
os will prevent the cuttings from falling over. Insert the cut¬ 
tings as you would stick pins in a pincushion ; then they may 
be placed on a warm flue, or any place where they can have a 
little light, and a little heat. They will neither require shading 
nor a close atmosphere, only see that the pans are not allowed to 
become dry for want of water. In short, they will strike freely 
where a gardener would scarcely think of putting anything else. 
As soon as they arc struck, and of a sufficient size to take cuttings 
from, take them off, and remove the plants into a cool house for 
a few days to harden; after which they ought to bo planted out 
in low turf-pits in light soil, four inches between the lines, and 
the same from plant to plant in the lino, and ought to be fully 
exposed to the weather, except when there is any indication of 
frost, when they also ought to be covered with mats. Before the 
1 st of April, this last spring, the major part of our Verbenas 
were planted out on a south border, their little heads scarcely 
peeping about ground ; consequently they had, on the last day of 
February, a shower of snow, and on the 1st of April 14° of frost 
to endure, with nothing but a single mat over them, and at 
planting-out time better plants could not bo desired. 
Petunias. — It is unnecessary to propagate very many of 
these in autumn, as they will propagate by thousands in early 
spring. As soon as the cuttings are rooted put them into a cool 
house for a few days to harden off, when they should be turned 
out into turf-pits. 
I intended to have made a few remarks on the treatment of 
bedding Geraniums; but it is impossible to treat them more 
economically than that intelligent and trustworthy writer, Mr. 
Fish, has already prescribed for them in some recent numbers of 
The Cottage Gardener.—James Reid. 
[We have to apologise to Mr. Reid for not publishing this 
before. The MS. had been mislaid.—E ds.] 
SPERGULA PILIFERA—ANOMATHECA 
CRUENTA. 
You ask for experiences on the Spergula pilifera. My ex¬ 
perience is, that it is slow in getting well established, but very 
rapid in growth when once fairly established. I fully endorse 
all Mr. Beaton’s expectations about it, and am sure that those 
only will be disappointed with it who expect to obtain a perfect 
lawn in-three months without any trouble. I advise any sceptic 
to do as I did when I disbelieved—go at at once to Forest Hill 
and see the Spergula-lawn well established, and ninety-nine out 
of a hundred will do as I did, and give Mr. Summers an order at 
once. Even without the Spergula, the garden will well repay a 
visit. 
It may interest Mr. Beaton to know that I saw this summer 
at Wheeler’s, at Warminster, a fine bed of Tritonia aurea that 
had stood two winters. The blooms were far superior to those 
in pots. In the same garden was a bed of Anomatheca cruenta, 
and another of Cypella Herbert!, all treated as hardy plants. 
Have the gardeners found Morina long folia to be a perennial 
or a biennial ? With me it has only been a biennial. I have 
myself grown Tritonia well as a half-hardy water plant.— 
II. M. E. 
[The Spergula question is quite safe. The plant is far better 
for the lawn than we have yet dreamed of. Mr. Wheeler’s, at 
Warminster, is just the place to hear of scarce, rare, and very 
beautiful plants such as you mention. We were not aware that 
Anomatheca cruenta was quite hardy, although it has been our 
favourite plant of all the Ixia-like bulbs for the last thirty years: 
and now, if we had it, we would try a line of it between Ceras- 
tium tomentosum and the Golden Chain on the ribbon-border.] 
