March 20, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
453 
THE CINERARIA* 
subscriptions amounting to £240 17s. 6d .; special prizes, 
£106 18s.; and takings at the gates on the occasion of 
the two days show in Gunnersbury Park in July last, 
£184 19s. 8 d.; these items with a few others made up 
the amount of income. In addition, the tradesmen of 
Ealing annually give special prizes in goods of various 
kinds, amounting to some £20. The summer show in 
the present year is fixed for July 7th, in the grounds of 
Hanger Hill House, Ealing, the residence of E. M. 
Nelson, Esq., J.P., and the usual autumn show on 
Tuesday, November 2nd, and Wednesday, November 
3rd, in the Lyric Hall, Broadway, Ealing. Mr. Pilchard 
Dean was re-elected the lion. sec. for the eleventh 
year. 
-- 
INDIAN PINKS. 
There are few plants which possess so many qualities 
to recommend them to general attention as the Indian 
Pinks, for not only are they most easily grown, thriving 
in almost any kind of soil, but they are very profuse 
flowerers, and their blooms are distinguished by bright 
which can be heated sufficiently to keep frost out will 
be good places for them. It will be scarcely necessary 
to shift them again, but sometimes we have potted 
them singly, and thus formed larger plants for the beds, 
but if they are allowed good space in the pans or boxes, 
say 2 ins. or 3 ins. apart, they can, after being properly 
hardened, be transferred from them direct to the beds. 
About the middle of April will be found a good time 
for planting, but this must be determined by the 
weather, as it is far better to wait a week and place 
them out in a warm moist soil than to be too eager, and, 
perhaps, give the plants a check that it will take them 
a long time to recover from. When the weather is 
really favourable they make rapid progress, soon forming 
strong bushy plants. Good ordinary garden soil is the 
best for them, and it should preferably contain a fair 
proportion of sand, with but little manure and none of 
a rank crude character, as that induces a strong growth 
but does not encourage flowering, and sometimes the 
plants get into an unsatisfactory condition without any 
apparent cause. It is better to have the soil rather 
poor than too rich, and if the plants are not likely to 
Whether it flowers in autumn, winter, or early 
spring, the Cineraria is always a gay and beautiful plant. 
There are two methods by which the Cineraria can be 
raised, one from seeds, and the other by means of off¬ 
sets, and each mode of increase has its advantages ac¬ 
cording to the purpose for which the plants are required. 
When wanted simply for the decoration of the conser¬ 
vatory plants raised from seeds are in some respects 
preferable, as they grow more freely and make larger 
specimens, and they can be raised in large numbers 
with little trouble. Alluding first to the raising of 
seedlings, 1 may say that the time for sowing must be 
regulated by the season at which they are wanted in 
bloom. For Hovering during the autumn and the early 
part of the winter, seeds should be sown in the second 
week of April, so as to give the plants sufficient time to 
acquire the necessary degree of strength ; but to obtain 
a stock of plants for flowering in February, and onwards 
through the spring months, I find it best to sow in the 
second or third week in May. 
Dianthits sinensis varieties. 
Dianthits Heddewigii. 
and varied shades of crimson and rose. They should be 
grown in every garden, and wherever they are once tried 
they become established favourites for an annual display, 
either as clumps in borders of herbaceous and old 
fashioned flowers, or in small beds appropiated to the 
Pinks alone. The latter is, perhaps, the most suitable, 
and a charming effect a few such have in a garden, 
yielding flowers in abundance throughout the summer 
months and until late in the autumn. 
Plants can be raised from seed in autumn or spring, 
and the present time is a good one to sow the seed to 
yield plants for flowering in summer this year, but no 
time must now be lost, as the earlier the plants are ob¬ 
tained the stronger they will be for placing out, and 
the more successful they will be during the season. 
The seed should be sown in sandy soil in pans or pots, 
and placed in moderate heat in a frame over a dung 
bed in which the heat is mild and decreasing, will suit 
admirably. Sow the seed thinly, and scatter a little of 
the soil over them, watering gently with a fine rose can 
to settle the surface. Germination will soon take place, 
and when the young plants are well above the surface 
with several leaves developing they can be dibbled out 
into larger pans, giving the plants more space to develop 
and keep them in a light position, not too warm, a 
shelf in the greenhouse or conservatory, or a frame 
make such a vigorous growth, they should be placed 
closer in the beds, so that these become well filled by 
the time of flowering. By removing the old flowers, 
the plants may be kept to another season ; but it is 
preferable to raise a fresh stock every year from seed. 
Several types of Indian Pinks are referred to D. 
sinensis, of which Heddewigii is one of the best known. 
Then there is a section with deeply cut petals, termed 
laciniatus, and a third group comprise the double 
varieties, such as Diadematus. Of the first-named there 
are several superb forms, large, rich crimson, or soft 
rose and nearly white, two named varieties, Eastern 
Queen and Crimson Belle, being comparatively recent 
acquisitions. D. Heddewigii is of rosy crimson hue, 
bright and effective, and the beautiful double Diadematus 
is symmetrical in form, full, and barred or spotted with 
crimson on a light ground. All are charming, and 
useful either as border flowers or for cutting in sub¬ 
stantial bunches.— D. P. 
-- 
Dickson’s Matchless White Celery. —In Mr. 
Ireland’s note on this variety of Celery published 
in our issue for Feb. 27th, the credit of sending it out 
was inadvertently given to Messrs. Dicksons & Co., of 
Edinburgh, instead of to Messrs. James Dickson & Sons, 
32, Hanover Street, Edinburgh. 
The compost for sowing the seeds in, should consist 
of two parts of good light fresh loam, and one of 
thoroughly decomposed leaf-soil, with a good sprink¬ 
ling of silver sand or sharp road grit; and I prefer pans 
to pots because of the greater surface they afford for 
the distribution of the seeds in proportion to the 
space they occupy. Prepare the drainage carefully by 
placing over the crocks a layer of some rough materia], 
and then fill up nearly to the rim with fine soil, and 
level the surface. Sow the seeds thinly, and give a 
sprinkling of fine soil and sand mixed ; then place a 
piece of glass over the pan or pot, and put it in a cool 
frame or greenhouse according to convenience. The 
seeds will soon germinate, and the young plants must 
be pricked off as soon as they are large enough to 
handle, as it does them no good to leave them too long 
in the seed pans. Some amateurs and, indeed, some 
gardeners too, prick out only the strongest seedlings, 
and throw away those that are longer in germinating, 
and appear small and weak through the other seedlings 
having got ahead of them, but those which germinate 
first and grow the strongest, are, as a rule, self-coloured 
varieties, and of the commonest type, while those which 
®A paper read by Mr. James Simmonds, gardener to G. Fisher, 
Esq , The Ferns, Endcliffe Vale Eoad, at a meeting of the Sheffield 
and Hallamslilre Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society, held 
on March 10th. 
