September 25, 1886, 
THE HARDENING WORLD. 
59 
the Dahlias, Castor Oil, and Nieotiana affinis they do 
“eat, drink, and be merry” ; and yet the marauders 
have not attacked a single Chrysanthemum, nor docs 
the foliage .present any appearance indicative of their 
presence. You cannot get away from the old axiom, 
“Seeing is believing,” and after carefully perusing the 
accounts narrated, in your valuable paper, and com¬ 
paring them with my own personal observations, I 
cannot but come to the conclusion, “That while there 
remains anything else for them to eat Earwigs will 
never trouble the Chrysanthemum.”— Albert G. Hull, 
Forest Gate, Essex. 
Lilium auratum. —Having seen an article in 
The Gardening World some time ago, and also the 
illustration of Lilium Harrisii with 145 flowers on a 
single stem, I may remark that I have had growing 
in this garden several good clumps of Lilium auratum, 
and, to my surprise, I noticed one with a broad fasciated 
stem, which has been in bloom for the last two weeks, 
and has had seventy-two flowers on it.. The blooms 
were not so large as the others. The bulbs were bought 
at Stevens’ rooms, and planted out in February last, and 
were very large and sound. I should be glad to know 
if more than seventy-two blooms have been produced 
on one stem.— G. Tyler, gardener to General Howlands, 
Plostirion, near Carnarvon. 
Tangier, North Africa, in June.— The 
profusion and beauty of the flowers in this country is 
wonderful. Pelargoniums are large bushes 4 ft. and 
5 ft. high, and a blaze of colour. Many of the plants 
are new to me, and very interesting in their strange 
shapes and colours ; but I am even more pleased to see 
old friends in such luxury and beauty. Masses of 
Agapanthus are just now showing brilliant patches in 
every garden. Roses do well, the place abounds with 
the sweet-scented Moorish, from which they make 
“■Otto” of roses, and another form with a peculiar, 
long, small bud—bright pink. Gardening is left to 
itself ; most people here merely fill their ground with 
whatever comes first, and let chance and nature do the 
rest. You see the Grevillea in full flower, and Pan¬ 
cratium maritimum. A skilful gardener might do 
wonders in this climate. We have a fine view of the 
sea_Trafalgar Bay is just opposite—and in the distance 
we get a fine outline of Gibraltar Rock, which stands 
out grandly. The heat, though great, is never op¬ 
pressive here, and the morning and evening breezes 
from the sea are delicious. There is neither cart nor 
carriage in the whole of Morocco ; it is astonishing 
to see the loads the camels, mules, and donkeys carry. — 
G. B. 
Seedling Fuchsias.—I send you a box of seed¬ 
ling Fuchsias, simply to show what can be done in the 
space of a few months. Seeds were sown on February 
the 16th, 1886, and many of the plants have been in 
full bloom since the beginning of July, the plants 
ranging in size from 8 ins. to 3 ft. in height, and are 
still blooming profusely—equally as free, in fact, as 
plants which were propagated from cuttings.— George 
Fry, Lewisham. [The flowers showed a considerable 
range of variation, being of all sizes, single and double, 
and very bright in colour.— Ed.] 
Tropseolum speciosum is most gorgeous here 
just now, on a south wall intermingled with Clematis 
Jackmannii ; I tried east, north, and west aspects, 
but reading of Mr. Garland’s success a few years back 
at Killerton, near Exeter, I tried, a south aspect, and 
find it the best for it here. — Geo. Bolas, IVirksveorth. 
On Judging Chrysanthemums.—I would 
like to ask your Chrysanthemum readers if a fixed 
standard for judging Chrysanthemum blooms could 
not be made. ■ It appears to me that large flowers are 
all the rage now, and through this a good many 
varieties having perfectly-formed, medium-sized blooms 
will soon be lost sight of. I think we ought to have 
them divided into two classes like the Dahlias—viz., 
show and fancy. I will give you the names of what I 
should call large show blooms—viz., Queen of England, 
Empress of India, Golden Empress of India, Alfred 
Salter, Emily Dale, Hero of Stoke Newington, Mr. 
Bunn, Lord AVolseley, John Salter, Venus, Princess of 
"Wales, and Nil Desperandum. A number of other 
sorts could be added, from which a dozen could be 
selected for competitive purposes in a class for large- 
flowering varieties. Selecting what I should call fancy 
sorts, I should name Abbe Passaglia, Angelina, Lady 
Slade, Eve, Mrs. George Rundle, Mr. George Gleuny, 
Golden Eagle, General Slade, and Aurea multiflora. 
A great many more similar flowers could be added to 
form a fancy class! "Were this done the judges could 
make their awards with much more satisfaction than 
the)' can now, with all mixed up together. I saw last 
year—and with surprise, too—some judges depart from 
what I call a good rule. They had awarded the prizes 
in a class for twenty-four blooms, and, I think, gave 
satisfaction to all concerned, for the most perfectly- 
formed blooms, with freshness and colour combined, 
got the prize ; but when they came to judge the next 
class, which was for twelve blooms, to everyone’s 
surprise the very large blooms got the prizes, though 
they had barely anything but size to recommend them. 
I heard a good many uncomplimentary remarks made 
about it, and by men whom I know to be good judges. 
The general opinion was that they ought to have been 
commended for size only, as there were several good 
stands of blooms in this class quite equal to those in the 
class for twenty-four. I think no credit is due to a 
grower who produces large, ugly blooms ; and size, in 
my opinion, should count for nothing unless combined 
with perfect form. I should also like to see a few 
classes made for single-handed gardeners, as at all the 
principal shows they have to compete with men who 
grow large numbers of plants, and who have a good 
staff of men to help them, which is rather hard on the 
single-handed man. — A Gardener. 
Salvia violacea.— I send you a few blooms of 
this plant, which when seen on masse gives a glorious 
bit of rich purple-plum colour, especially when the 
sun catches it.-— Geo. Bolas, TVirksworth. 
Earwig’s and Paache3. —I sec by “S. P.’s” 
remarks at p. 43, that the Earwigs have been trouble¬ 
some and destructive to both the fruits and leaves of 
the Peach and Nectarine in the part he resides in, and 
it is the same here in Kent. Some time previous to 
the fruit showing any signs of ripening, our outside 
trees were attacked by hundreds, yea, by thousands, 
and we had to work very hard to keep them from 
damaging much of the fruit. However, we had several 
eaten, and many of the leaves reduced to skeletons. It 
is, indeed, exasperating to find that, morning after 
morning, those mischievous garden pests are destroying 
the best and most promising fruit by eating holes at the 
point. We have tried several methods of dealing with 
them, but I find the bean-stalk plan to answer the best ; 
pieces are placed among the branches at intervals all over 
the trees. Each morning a man goes round with a pail 
of hot water, examines the pieces, and if any are found 
to be hiding down the stems, a sharp blow is given which 
quickly dislodges them, and falling into the hot water 
are-instantly killed. To give your readers an idea of 
what we have had to contend with, I may say that as 
many as a pint have been caught in a morning. In 
many cases where Pears are eaten near the stalk, I am 
inclined to think the Earwigs have been the depredators. 
— If. Markham, Mercworth Castle, Maidstone. 
How Vegetable Growing at Home is 
Handicapped. —Visiting Covent Garden Market a 
fortnight since, I heard some curious revelations, that 
seemed almost incredible, of what English horticul¬ 
turists and market gardeners put up with from carrying 
companies, especially railways ; but I was not even so 
quite prepared for the treatment revealed in the follow¬ 
ing paragraph from the Standard of the 14th inst. 
that has just caught my eye :— 
“Railway Rates. —A Potato grower, living near 
Spalding, a few days ago consigned to Spitalfields 
Market, London, two tons of Potatos. The amount 
paid for carriage and delivery was £2 13s. id., and the 
commission charged for the sale 10s. The expenses in¬ 
curred in connection with the transaction were thus 
£3 3s. id. ; the amount realised by the sale of the 
Potatos £2 Is. lrf. ; and the London salesman has just 
communicated with the sender, asking for a cheque for 
the deficiency of £1 2s. 3 d. During the past week two 
other similar cases have occurred, in one case a farmer 
receiving the sum of 2s. in return for four tons of 
Potatos ; whilst a third farmer, who forwarded to 
London a large quantity of Potatos, has been written 
to for a cheque for £12, as the railway charges swallowed 
up more than the Potatos realised.” 
In fact, I am inclined to ask you or your readers if 
they know similar cases, and if they do to have them 
published, so as to act as levers in passing a railway 
rates Bill next year. I am surprised Englishmen submit 
to it, no matter what the pretext. A Covent Garden 
salesman told me it costs 15s. more per ton to send 
Potatos from Penzance than from Cherbourg, in France, 
and so on for similar cases. He says, “ This is put up 
with because people say it is in the interest ot the con¬ 
sumers to have free trade. Nothing of the kind ! The 
producer is the first yictim ; but all such exorbitant 
rales are afterwards levied on the consumer.” Is this 
free trade 1 I will only intrude further to remark that 
personally I am disinterested, but the disparity seems 
glaring.— IV. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
-->Z<-- 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
It is now time that the stock of Lachenalias should 
receive attention, because they will be starting, and it 
is hardly possible to pot them without damaging the 
new roots, so tender are they. Keep the bulbs well 
under the soil, and if they have made new roots, give 
the soil a moderate watering through the rose, and 
place the pots in a cool shaded frame until the growth 
appears above the soil, when they may receive the full 
light, and air be freely admitted to prevent the foliage 
becoming drawn. Those Primulas which are required 
to flower early must now be removed from the cold pits 
in which they have been growing to shelves near the 
glass ; we have filled two in the intermediate house, 
where they will come into flower, and be found more 
useful for staging in the greenhouse or conservatory 
when the summer occupants are cleared out, as they 
must shortly be. We have already been visited quite 
sharply w ith frosts, and so it behoves us to be on the 
alert. The lights must be put on the Cinerarias, 
Primulas, and French Beans the last thing at night, 
as they are so quickly injured ; ventilate freely upon all 
occasions, so that the growth made may be as sturdy 
as possible. 
It will be advisable now to prepare to place the 
Azaleas, Heaths, and Epacris, which have been out-of- 
doors, under cover again ; see that whatever position 
they are to occupy has been cleaned ready for them, 
and if any doubt exists as to the presence of thrip on 
the Azaleas, mix a solution of paraffin as previously ad¬ 
vised, and thoroughly syringe the whole of them. The 
Heaths, such as hyemalis and IVilmoreana, are liable to 
mildew, and in case of there being any trace of it, let 
them be well dusted with flour of sulphur, and let 
them be staged in the most airy position, when they 
will soon recover ; if neglected, the foliage will soon 
all fall off', rendering the plants quite useless. Keep the 
stock of bulbs regularly potted up, and should any of 
those intended for late flowering show signs of activity 
by emitting roots at the base, let them be potted at once, 
as, if they are allowed to remain as they are, they 
cannot be expected to flower successfully ; much 
better to retard them in the spring by full exposure, 
than for the bulb to become impoverished now. 
The Roman Hyacinths which were potted for early 
flowering, should now be uncovered—they should be 
sufficiently advanced to remove into the frames ; light 
must only be gradually admitted, until the foliage 
begins to assume its natural colour, although they 
must be kept ventilated, particularly at night. The 
pit in which it is intended to grow the Neapolitan 
Violets, should now be prepared. A half-spent hot¬ 
bed will be found admirably suited to their growth; 
add 6 ins. or more of good sweet soil, in wlpch there is 
a liberal amount of half decayed leaf-mould, and good 
sharp grit, so that the soil may not become soddened, 
as so frequently happens ; some of the strongest clumps 
should be selected for pot-work. These are much 
appreciated for their delicious perfume, and are most 
useful for staging purposes in the spring. 
THE FRUIT HOUSES. 
The stock of Cucumber plants for winter - fruiting 
needing a shift, this has been done, giving them 7 in. 
pots ; this will carry them on until the house is ready 
for their reception ; let an abundance of air be admitted 
where they are placed, so that they may be kept as 
sturdy as possible. It will be advisable shortly to 
make another sowing to succeed this batch, as it fre¬ 
quently happens that they mysteriously die off after 
giving a few fruits ; it is then that this reserve batch is 
found of such great service. 
The Strawberries in pots for forcing must be well 
looked after, being so full of roots they will need 
frequent waterings, which should always be of pure 
