798 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 15, 1891. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
SEASONABLE WORK inthe GARDEN. 
Filmy Ferns. —These will still require a plentiful 
supply of moisture both at the roots and in. the 
atmosphere, but as soon as the fronds are fully 
developed they may be gradually inured to more 
light, so as to harden them somewhat for the winter. 
At the same time they need not be exposed to full 
sunshine. 
Ferns. —A plentiful supply of moisture will be 
necessary here as in the case of the Filmy kinds, but 
unless the weather be very dry and bright, most 
kinds including Adiantums, may be fully exposed to 
sunshine, except perhaps during the middle of the 
day The fronds will thereby acquire greater con¬ 
sistency and hardness, enabling them to pass the 
winter in better condition than if they were thin and 
flabby. 
Indian Azaleas. —The latest batch should by this 
time have completed their growth, and if so they may 
be placed in a cool house or pit, preparative to 
placing them in the open air to harden and mature 
their wood. The earliest varieties, including the old 
A. indica alba and A. i. narcissiflora, should be 
selected for early forcing and placed in a cool pit 
giving abundant ventilation so as to induce them to 
go thoroughly to rest before putting them into heat. 
Newly potted plants should be carefully looked after 
in the matter of watering and syringing. See that 
thrips are not getting established upon the foliage ; 
and if so, fumigate, or if that is not practicable, then 
give a good syringing with soft soap and tobacco 
water of considerable strength. Lay the plants on 
their sides so as to get to the under side of the leaves, 
where the enemy is in strongest force. 
Greenhouse Rhododendrons. —The interme¬ 
diate house is the best place for Rhododendrons of 
the hybrid types if flowers are required at different 
periods of the year. In fact if a large batch is 
grown in such a house, flowers may be obtained from 
them all the year round. Cultivators who resolve to 
keep them at rest for a time will find it better to keep 
them in a cool, airy greenhouse during the remaining 
portion of summer, provided they have completed 
their growth. 
Selaginellas. —Fresh pots and pans of the dense 
habited low growing kinds may still be made up, so 
as to have them in good condition for the winter. 
The species to which this applies are S. Martensi, S. 
apus, S. Krausiana, S. suberosa, S. repens, as well 
as the several varieties of each. Those who possess 
dense habited varieties of other species may treat 
them in the same way. Young plants always keep 
better than old ones, as the latter are liable to damp 
off at the base. 
Peaches. —Trees in the early houses from which 
the crop has been gathered will now be freely 
ventilated night and day. Syringing should not how¬ 
ever be discontinued if the trees are to be kept clear 
of red spider. On fine days either the syringe or the 
garden engine should be brought to play freely upon 
them so as to thoroughly wet every part of the 
foliage. In late houses where the fruits have passed 
the stoning period and are now swelling, all loose 
shoots should be tied in, and leaves turned aside so as 
to expose the fruits as fully as possible to sunshine in 
order to bring up the colour. Give waterings with 
liquid manure alternately with guana water or some 
other artificial manure. 
Strawberries in Pots. —Runners that were 
layered in pots at the proper time, ought by this time 
to be fine plants, seeing that rain has been so abun¬ 
dant. They may be severed from the parent plant 
at once and conveyed to a convenient place near the 
potting bench where operations should immediately 
commence if it has not already been done. Pots of 
the 32-size will be large enough. Make the soil firm, 
and stand the pots on ashes on a good firm bottom 
in full exposure to the sun, Good supplies of water 
will be necessary for some time to come unless the 
weather be exceptionally dull and rainy. Keep the 
plants clear of runners, 
Tomatos for winter. —Plants for this purpose 
should now be in their fruiting pots, or ready to 
plant out to be trained on trellis work by the end of 
this month or }}ie bogirming of next, Small fruiting 
and free setting kinds'^ fjggjf (is Horsefield's Prelude, 
Ham Green Favourite, Conference, or any selections 
or crosses which have been found suitable for the 
purpose, should be used for winter work. Plenty of 
fire heat should be at command in houses where 
winter Tomatos are grown. 
Late Melons. —The more forward plants used 
for late work will soon require the flowers to be set. 
Attend to pinching and training as the stems grow. 
A later batch may be planted towards the end of the 
month, and which, with careful cultural attention, 
may be expected to yield a fair crop till well into 
winter, at least in country places where the 
atmosphere is clear of town smoke. 
Cucumbers for winter. — A plantation may now 
be made, or even a little latter, in alow, well-lighted 
lean-to or span-roofed house, where the foliage may 
have the full benefit of what light is at command 
during the winter months. Use soil consisting of 
fully one half of good fibrous loam, and the rest leaf 
soil and well-rotted cow dung, with plenty of sharp 
sand. The compost for winter work is found more 
suitable if of a more porous nature than for planta¬ 
tions made in spring and summer. 
Figs on open walls. —In dry and bright weather 
the foliage of Fig trees will be much benefited by 
copious syringing early in the day. It is not desir¬ 
able to water the border after the heavy rains which 
have prevailed for some time past. Thin out the 
shoots where overcrowding prevails, so as to let in 
sunshine to ripen the fruit. 
_ - - 
- +. - 
BORDER CARNATIONS 
AT CHISWICK. 
The collection of Carnations on trial in the gardens 
of the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick, is 
again very extensive, and although late owing to the 
backward nature of the spring and early summer, 
were beginning to be very showy by the third week 
of July. Some of the very early flowering kinds were 
of course in bjoom before then, thus naturally 
suggesting the fact that much might be done by the 
selection of early and late flowering kinds with the 
view of prolonging the season. Late seasons like the 
present make it desirable that at least a few early 
and good border kinds should be obtained. The 
undermentioned varieties merely represent the seifs 
that were sufficiently well advanced by the last week 
in July to show their qualities properly. All of them 
are good, and not as a rule liable to split the calyz 
when they are fully blown. Border Carnations 
should not have large flowers, otherwise this defect 
cannot be avoided, particularly in wet weather. 
They should also have a good constitution so as to 
throw up plenty of young shoots, whereby they 
may be layered and grown on from the young plants 
annually. 
Snowdrift has relatively large, pure white flowers, 
produced in great abundance, and the stems are 
moderate in height. Those of the Bride are 12 ins. 
to 15 ins. high, and the smaller but neat white flowers 
are very faintly edged with pink, so that it might al¬ 
most be classed with the Picotees. Under glass they 
would probably be altogether white. Mrs. Muir is 
a popular sort with many growers, with large, 
creamy-white and ultimately pure white flowers, with 
entire edges. The stems attain a height of 18 ins. 
Very floriferous is Diana, with pure white flowers, 
of medium size and vigorous constitution. Penelope 
is another small, white-flowered kind, with neat 
blooms abundantly produced. The yellow-flowered 
varieties unfortunately are. not well adapted for 
border culture, and in the majority of gardens are 
often very imperfect unless protected during the 
flowering period, by means of sashes supported on 
framework, so as to throw off the wet. Mrs. Reynolds 
Hole, is the well-known terra-cotta coloured variety 
which flowers freely, but the calyx is liable to split. 
Somewhat dwarfer and paler, but of the same type 
is Beatrice ; the pods do not become ruptured as a 
rule. A sort under the number 600 (Dodwell) is 
notable for its large clear yellow flowers and dwarf 
habit, but the calyx is rather defective. Another 
labelled 601, by the same raiser, is similar, but paler 
in hue. Yellow Supreme is moderately vigorous, 
and the small, pale-yellow flowers are not so liable to 
split the calyx. Belle Halliday is of the same type 
as Pride of Penshurst, equally dwarf and free flower¬ 
ing, but paler in hue, and neither of them are 
of vigorous constitution. Some cultivators say that 
the latter does well with th§m as ft border 
Carnation, 
A very remarkable self is Theodor, with flowers 
of a pale slaty-purple, with a peculiar satiny gloss, 
distinct and quite double. It is evidently well 
adapted for border work, and floriferous. Oxonian 
is a salmony pink variety, slightly mottled with 
scarlet. Similar to this is Fairmaid with small pink 
flowers, slightly mottled as in the last case. It 
grows about 18 ins. high, and is very floriferous. 
with good foliage, and is evidently the better adapted 
of the two for border work. Some might object to 
it on account of the small size of the blooms, but the 
quantity of cut flowers available should compensate 
for some little deficiency in other respects. Neptune 
is very distinct and floriferous, growing about 12 ins. 
or 18 ins. high, and producing medium-sized, deep 
purple flowers that do not split the calyx. Several 
shades paler in colour, but otherwise similar, is 
Caledonia ; and Walter Ware may be described as 
of a shade intermediate between the two. Both have 
better foliage, than Neptune, but individual plants 
might vary a little in this respect. 
The scarlet and crimson - flowered kinds are 
generally pretty popular, especially in private places, 
and the varieties are now pretty numerous, different 
growers having their own favourites. The Moor is 
an intense crimson sort, reminding us of Old Clove, 
but, unfortunately, it is without scent. The stems 
of Horace grow only about 12 ins. high, but they 
are very floriferous, and the calyx is rather liable to 
split. Scarlet Gem and Hamlet have smaller, bright 
scarlet flowers, without the defect peculiar to 
Horace, and the branching stems get up to a height 
of 18ins., offering greater facilities for cutting the 
early flowers, and coming again for the later 
developed blooms. No. 628 (Dodwell) has much 
larger flowers than Hamlet, but the petals are 
relatively few and not crowded. It is certainly a 
fine kind, but apparently difficult to propagate for 
want of young growths. Another floriferous scarlet- 
red variety is Rowena, with few petals and very 
floriferous. 
Several of the light-coloured kinds are very choice, 
and would be suitable for market work, at least 
during the summer months for open air culture. 
Comtesse de Paris has large and well-formed, blush- 
coloured flowers, fading almost to white, and they 
are freely produced on branching stems iSins. to 
20 ins. high. Those of Vautier are shaded with pink 
on a white ground along the centre of the petals. It 
grows about 2 ft. high, and would apparently prove 
useful for cut flowers on a large scale. The Blush 
Clove is pink, and holds a similar relation to the 
Old Clove, which the Pink Malmaison does to the 
type. The flowers are highly-fragrant, a quality 
which we miss in many of the other kinds. Mrs. 
Teigner is a large and showy, rosy-pink kind, and 
the foliage is good, but the calyx is liable to split. 
Maggie Laurie has even larger and paler flowers 
than the last, and the young growths are much 
better; but it is decidedly of the same type. No. 
116 (Douglas) is of an intermediate shade of colour 
between the two last. 
♦ 
THE ZALIL LARKSPUR. 
This pretty Larkspur is comparatively new, having 
been introduced from Afghanistan in 1S87. It is 
sometimes grown under the names of Delphinium 
sulphureum and D. hybridum sulphureum, but D. 
Zalil is the name recognised by botanists. The 
species is sometimes described as an annual, but it 
must be at least biennial, for some plants have lived 
through the past winter in the nursery of Mr. T. S. 
Ware, at the Hale Farm, Tottenham. During the 
first season a fine growth of leaves is made, and from 
May to August of the second year branching stems 
are thrown up, bearing many long racemes of bloom. 
The flowers are sometimes described as being a little 
larger than a shilling, but those sent us by Mr. Ware 
measured ijin. ij in. across the sepals, and could 
not be covered by a half-crown piece, so that we 
have not yet definitely ascertained the capabilities 
of this species under cultivation. The sepals are 
pale or sulphur-yellow, with a small green cavity 
just under the tip of each. The petals are four in 
number, small and several shades darker, with an 
orange blotch below the tip of the two upper ones. 
The leaves are of large size and three parted, with 
each of the divisions again divided t\vo or three 
times info long, linear segments. The foliage is, 
therefore, quite distinct from that of any other kind 
in cultivation, and very beautiful, 
