636 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 6, 1891. 
Carnations. 
Warm growing weather has followed the rains of 
some days ago, and the plants of Carnations are 
answering to it, and making good headway. As the 
main stem lengthens, it should be securely tied to the 
stake put in for support and it, is all the more necessary 
that this should be attended to as we are getting some 
rough winds at times, and they may snap off a leading 
shoot, which would be a serious loss. In fastening 
leading shoots to stakes they should be so tied as to 
allow of free growth. I have seen shoots so tied that 
they could not rise, with the result that they gradually 
curved, and finally snapped asunder. 
Those who make a point of top-dressing their 
Carnations, whether in pots or beds, generally do so at 
this time of the year. I do not think top-dressing, 
either in the case of Auriculas or Carnations, is carried 
out so much as it used to be ; but if adopted, now is 
a good time to do it. Some good yellow loam mixed 
with some well-decomposed manure, makes an admirable 
dressing. A little of the old surface soil may be 
removed with care to make room for it. 
Green-fly will soon be becoming troublesome. At 
present, so far as out-door plants are concerned, green¬ 
fly has troubled growers scarcely at all, but should the 
promise of summer weather be realised their advent is 
imminent. A brush can be used to eject the marauders 
from the points of the shoots, and a number of plants 
can be gone over in a comparatively short space of time. 
Then there is always a certain amount of decay going 
on amongst the old foliage, and this should be removed, 
as its presence imparts an appearance of slovenliness 
to the plants. Do not attempt to pull it off, but trim 
it away carefully by means of a pair of scissors. Mr. 
E. S. Dodwell, in his book on the Carnation, lays 
great stress upon the importance of little attentions to 
the plants at this season of the year. Amongst these 
he advises growers to t^ap earwigs incessantly, and 
watch for and destroy every class of destructives—slugs, 
green-fly, &c. He recommends that in cases where 
green-fly are pretty numerous on the shoots to dip the 
brush employed in tobacco water. “A free use of the 
syringe will not only promote a vigorous growth, but 
will greatly aid in keeping the plants free from thrips 
and green-fly, either of which, if allowed to get ahead, 
is certain destruction to a fine bloom.” 
Carnations in beds are growing apace also, and seedlings 
planted out this spring are going ahead merrily. Large 
plants throwing up many flower stems, need several 
stakes to tie them up to. I think it a great pity to tie 
a dozen flower stems to one stake, as it seems to huddle 
them all up together like a cabbage. It is much better 
to use several stakes, and to tie two or three shoots to 
a stake, thus making a fine flowering specimen. Now 
that dry weather is promising, it is a good plan to 
tread the soil down a bit fiimly about the plants after 
they are staked, and then add a good surface dressing. 
Both operations will greatly assist the development of 
the plants. Young seedlings blooming for the first 
time should have the flower stalks tied carefully to 
stakes, as there is no knowing what may be their 
beauty and value, and every care should therefore be 
taken of them. The cultivator of the Carnation will 
now have much to interest him and engage his 
attention during the next two months or so.— R. D. 
New Florists’ Tulips. 
There was such an extent of detail worthy of 
attention on the occasion of the recent Temple Show, 
that it seemed impossible to note everything in the 
course of one or two visits. I was pleased to see that 
three or four exhibitors brought the late florists’ 
Tulips, among them Mr. John Walker, of Thame, who 
had a collection of unnamed varieties, but Sir Joseph 
Paxton (bizarre), Lord Denman (byblcemen), and one 
or two others could be recognised. Mr. Fred. Hooper, 
Bath, also had some bizarres, byblcemens, and Roses, 
and Messrs. Barr, King Street, Covent Garden, the 
same, for during the course of last year they purchased 
a portion of the collection left by the late Mr. 
Alderman Woolley, of Stockport. The best collection 
came from Mr. Joseph Lakin, Temple Cowley, Oxford, 
who showed a number of flowers from the collection of 
the late Mr. Thomas Storer, of Derby, who succeeded in 
raising some fine seedlings, a few of which Mr. Lakin 
exhibited. Among them were Fred. Bancroft (flamed 
bizarre), Dr. Hutchins (flamed bizarre), William 
Blackburn (flamed bizarre), and Lady Harcourt (flamed 
bizarre). As it is probable that these will be seen in 
Manchester, any criticisms on their qualities shall be 
deferred. In addition, Mr. Lakin had Maid of Falaise 
(flamed rosy byblcemen), Charmer (flamed rose), Heroine 
(flamed rose, a flower with seven petals, one beyond 
the regulation number), and Walker’s Duchess of 
Sutherland (flamed byblcemen).— R. D. 
Rich-coloured Show Pelargoniums. 
Among the varieties exhibited by Mr. C. Turner, the 
Royal Nursery, Slough, at the recent exhibition at the 
Temple, were a few conspicuous for the brilliancy of 
their colouring. For many years raisers—particularly 
among them the late Mr. Edmund Foster—put forth 
every effort to secure higher colour in the show Pelar¬ 
gonium, and eventually succeeded in obtaining some 
varieties of great beauty, in point of depth of colour. 
Some of the newer varieties of brilliant colours are 
Brilliant (Foster), extra fine scarlet ; Duke of Norfolk 
(Foster), deep crimson scarlet ; Excellent (Foster), 
light crimson, extra fine ; Florence (Foster), rich 
crimson, a very free flowering variety ; Royal Ascot 
(Foster), a new and brilliantly coloured variety ; The 
Czar (Foster), rich deep crimson, extra fine ; and 
Triumph (Foster), deep scarlet, a very bright glossy 
flower of the finest quality. All the foregoing appear 
to be good growers, remarkably free of bloom also, and 
well adapted for conservatory decoration.— R. D. 
-- >X< «- 
PANSIES AND SLUGS. 
I DO not recommend the cultivation of both, as the 
slugs seem to cultivate themselves rapidly, and I 
think the old saying that a very severe winter is good 
for destroying our pests, is a terrible perverter of facts. 
Here in the Midlands, as I think in most other places, 
we have had a great deal of wet weather, and a friend 
who has a very fine collection of Pansies of newer kinds, 
is as watchful as any man I know. Down on his 
hands and knees to look for brown aphis, and if one 
“meets the Speaker’s eye,” a dose of “Swift and 
Sure” mixture is applied to all. But two or three wet 
nights interfered with this watchful supervision, and 
then out came those little black slugs in myriads and 
had a glorious feast—that is, glorious to themselves, 
certainly not to my friend, who found many plants not 
only decimated of foliage, but almost eaten away at 
the surface of the soil, and a war of destruction was 
waged. The worst of it is, one has to be out late to 
catch them, and the little wretches are so much the 
colour of the soil that it is not so easy to see them, and 
they do not begin their ravages until the darkness of 
night comes on. Finding that his beds were attacked 
by the enemy, I got assistance and examined my beds 
just as it was getting dark, and a lot of slugs were 
found, and another search was made later with the aid 
of a lamp. 
Slugs want looking closely after, because they soon 
destroy the flower buds, and very likely the plant by 
eating it through, and when they are found to exist, 
look well after them in the evening and at night, and 
lay light pieces of board, slate, or something else about 
in the beds for the slugs to shelter under, then catch 
them. In town gardens slugs abound and are a great 
trouble to amateurs. In many districts they are called 
snails, and in so many cases snails are unknown and 
rarely seen, but this little black slug is ubiquitous and 
a very unwelcome visitor.— D. 
- •*=£** - - 
SOWING STOCKS AND ASTERS 
IN THE OPEN. 
There is a general impression that seeds of Stocks and 
Asters should be sown in a frame or in some place 
where they can be protected in order that they should 
germinate properly, but this is an error, as it is a 
matter of common experience that seeds sown in the 
open ground will germinate as satisfactorily as those 
sown in a frame or on a gentle hot-bed. As a matter 
of course there is always this advantage to be gained 
from sowing the seeds early in a frame having a mild 
bottom heat, that the seeds can be sown much earlier 
than in the open, and the plants can be pricked off into 
pans or boxes and brought on under cover, and be of 
good size for planting out in the open at the end of 
May. This advantage is emphasised in the case of 
such a late and inclement spring as that we have just 
passed through. 
At the same time seeds of Asters and Stocks can be 
sown in the open ground with the certainty that they 
will grow well. It may be said that this is quite a cer¬ 
tainty in the case of light, sandy, dry and early soils, but 
it is also true that they will germinate in heavier ones if 
the seeds are sown carefully. When I was at Messrs. 
Hurst & Sons’ trial grounds at Chelmsford a few days 
ago, I saw an extensive trial of Asters and Stocks, the 
seeds of which had been sown in drills in stony soil, 
and the seeds were coming through it quite thickly, 
despite the inclement spring weather. A few warm 
showers will bring them on very rapidly. 
Some growers of Stocks and Asters have to sow their 
seeds in the open for the simple reason that they 
have no other convenience. If the soil is heavy— i. e ., 
of a clayey and retentive character, it should be broken 
up as finely as possible, and when the drills are drawn 
some fine light soil should be scattered along them, the 
seeds sown thinly, and covered with soil of the same 
character ; in fact the drills should be filled up with it. 
In the case of stony soil this plan may also be followed 
with advantage. However thinly the seeds may be 
sown some thinning out will be absolutely necessary, 
and this should be done as carefully as possible, doing 
it immediately after a shower, when the ground is 
thoroughly saturated, and then the thinning out 
process can be accomplished with a minimum of injury 
to the remaining plants. Weeds must be kept down, 
and the plants encouraged to grow as fast as possible, 
in order to make up for any lateness in the season. — 
R. B. 
-■ ■ — 
FRUIT TREES ON LAWNS. 
It has often occurred to me that we might embellish our 
lawns and parks a great deal more than is generally 
done, by a more liberal use of fruit trees. Why fruit 
trees are not more often planted on lawns I cannot 
understand ; certainly there is nothing more beautiful 
than a well-grown Apple tree in full bloom, and when, 
as is the case in some old-fashioned gardens, one is to be 
seen it generally excites admiration. The Cherry and 
Pear are equally beautiful, and there are few subjects so 
beautiful as the Cherry with its ripening foliage in the 
autumn. There is also the additional advantage of a 
crop of fruit in most seasons. Perhaps it is the fact of 
such things as Apples, Pears, Cherries, and such-like 
being considered only fit for an orchard or kitchen 
garden, that cause people to pass them over when 
making a selection of ornamental flowering shrubs or 
trees, but I greatly question whether Pyrus Malus 
floribunda is more beautiful than some of our large- 
flowering varieties of Apple, or whether the Snowy 
Mespilu3 can surpass any of the Cherries in beauty ; 
certainly they cannot claim to be more lasting. 
We have here planted in the park a row of Cherries, 
of which I enclose a photograph, which shows the 
beautiful appearance they present when in bloom, 
better than any words of mine could describe them. 
From what I can learn of the history of these trees, it 
appears that they were planted about sixty years ago 
by an old gardener named Chalks, and the old gentle¬ 
man, who died about three years ago, oftentimes spoke 
of his carrying the dozen trees out on his shoulders 
together with his spade. I have recently measured 
some of the trees, and the average height of them is 
65 ft., diameter, 70 ft. The twelve trees cover a space 
of a little over half an acre of grass land. The variety 
is known locally by the name of Black Croon or Caroon 
[Carone is its proper name.— Ed.], and an old fruit- 
dealer, who always purchases the crop when worth 
buying, tells me that he has often sold large quantities 
to be used in dyeing. 
Four or five years ago we sold the crop on ten of 
these trees for £9 ; since then the crops have not been 
so good. This year I am glad to say the trees are 
loaded, and look at the present time very healthy. I 
may also add that the circumference of the trunk of 
many of the trees at 5 ft. from the ground is 7 ft. 6 ins. 
The soil they are growing in is a deep, strong, clayey 
loam.— Thomas Nutting, Childwick Bury, St. Albans. 
[The photograph, cleverly taken by Mr. H. Thomas, of 
St. Albans, shows a row of large round-headed trees in 
full bloom, than which nothing could be more 
beautiful in a park or in pleasure-grounds.— Ed.] 
-- 
FUNGICIDES AND THEIR 
APPLICATION. 
A MUCH more determined effort is being made on the 
Continent and in America in waging war against plant 
diseases and insect enemies than in this country. In 
fact, the British grower, as a rule, is utterly passive in 
the matter of applying remedies to anything outside of 
his plant houses, or to which he cannot see an imme¬ 
diate advantage or effect. A fungicide applied to 
Potatos, for instance, to check the spread of Phytoph- 
thora infestans, even when effectually applied, can 
