480 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 28, 1896. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Gravel Paths. 
It goes without saying that no garden can pretend to 
any degree of completeness or claim to possess even 
a moderate share of perfection unless it is furnished 
with properly-made and well-kept walks. The feel¬ 
ing of satisfaction and gratification with which every 
gardener is justified in looking at his plants, when 
they are doing well, is sadly and heavily discounted 
when he has to walk upon dirty, ill-kept, and untidy 
paths, with a greater or less amount of the irrepres¬ 
sible mud clinging lovingly to his pedal coverings. A 
nicely-kept gravel walk, besides possessing the 
qualification of being pleasant to walk upon, has also 
the power of adding a charm of tidiness, and, if we 
may use the term, a " well-groomed ” appearance to 
any garden. Now it is a fact that cannot be too 
strongly impressed upon all gardeners, whether 
amateur or professional, that in order to be able to 
keep a path well it must be made well in the first 
instance. We will take into consideration very 
briefly, therefore, the chief points that have to be 
borne in mind when making such a path. 
We will not now enter into a discussion as to the 
particular course that the paths should describe, 
whether straight or curved. This, of course, is very 
much a matter of taste and must be left, therefore, to 
the discretion of the operator, who, besides taking 
into consideration his idea of what will look best, 
has also to think about what will answer best, or, in 
other words, what will be the most suitable for the 
particular set of conditions under which he is placed. 
Then, again, there is the width of the walks to be 
thought about. Here again it is impossible to lay 
down a hard-and-fast rule upon paper that they 
should be so many feet in width, just as much as it is 
impossible to say without seeing the proposed sphere 
of operations what will be the best course for them 
to describe. It must never be lost sight of, however, 
that in all cases the breadth of a walk must be regu¬ 
lated by its length, or, to be more exact, by that 
special portion of the length that comes into view at 
the same time from any particular point. In making 
paths in pleasure grounds of an extensive character, 
this is an excellent rule to bear in mind, but in 
smaller gardens the aesthetic side of things has often 
to take second place to the strictly utilitarian. 
After the width of the proposed walks and the 
course they are to describe have been decided upon, 
stakes should be driven in to mark off the dimensions, 
and the excavation of the soil on the proposed site 
may be commenced. There are a good many 
opinions about the exact depth to which it is 
desirable to take out the soil. Before settling 
this, however, it will be necessary to take into con¬ 
sideration the amount and particular kind of traffic 
that the walk when finished will be called upon to bear. 
Where a great deal of heavy carting has to be done 
nine inches will not be any too deep. In the majority 
of amateurs’ gardens heavy carting is out of the 
question, however, the heaviest traffic that will be 
likely to pass over it being the garden wheelbarrow. 
For walks of this kind, 6 in. or 7 in. of soil 
below the level of the edging will be quite enough to 
take out. 
There has also at various times been not a little 
discussion as to the shape that the foundation of the 
walk should be after the soil has all been taken out. 
Some believe in making it quite level, others in 
digging the centre out a little deeper and thus making 
it concave. In this latter case the centre of the 
foundation forms a sort of rubble drain which is 
supposed to be useful in taking away the water, and 
in keeping the walk dry, but we think the value of 
this method is decidedly over-estimated. By far the 
best way is to make the foundation convex. The 
rain water is thus thrown from the centre of the 
walk towards the sides, where it may either be carried 
away by drain-pipes laid down for the purpose, 
especially in localities where the annual rainfall 
exceeds 20 in., or where it is less, to soak into the 
soil. In this latter case trouble in watering trees that 
are growing hard by will in a measure be minimised. 
To this end the foundation should be rolled or beaten 
firm. 
A number of materials may be used for giving a 
good bottom to the walk. By far the best is roughly- 
broken pieces of granite, like those used for mending 
the highroads. This, however, may not be easily 
obtainable, and broken bricks, clinkers, or burnt 
ballast may be utilised. Either of these form a good 
bottom layer. A depth of from sin. to 6in. of this 
will be sufficient for ordinary purposes. It should 
be put on so that the centre of the walk is raised 
and slopes gradually away to the sides. Two or 
three inches of rough gravel should then be laid on, 
and upon the top of this an inch of finer-screened 
gravel. This done, the roller must be sent to work 
and the whole rolled repeatedly until it acquires a 
fair degree of firmness. Subsequently every advan¬ 
tage should be taken of rainy weather to employ the 
roller and if the summer following the making of 
the path turns out to be a dry one an occasional 
watering previous to the rolling must be given, for 
in hot, dry weather loose stones are sure to " kick 
up," as the phrase goes, and the surface soon becomes 
covered with loose pebbles that make walking any¬ 
thing but comfortable. During a wet season a path 
made in the way we have described may be depended 
upon to afford a clean and comfortable foothold, for 
the water drains away rapidly and the gravel soon 
dries. 
A favourite plan with many for getting rid of 
surface water from walks flanked on either side by 
grass, without the trouble of putting in special drain¬ 
pipes, is to cut a number of small gutters of about 
4 in. diameter into the grass at intervals. This is 
the plan usually adopted in dealing with carriage 
drives. In this case, however, it is necessary to see 
that too great a distance does not separate one gutter 
from another, especially where the ground is on the 
rise, and also that these gutters are cleaned out 
regularly from the sand and rubbish that accumulates 
in them, otherwise there will be a great deal of wash¬ 
ing of the walk during heavy downpours of rain, 
and nothing spoils the appearance of a path 
so much as to see it ridged and furrowed by water¬ 
courses in this way. For the same reason all 
drains should also be attended to regularly and not 
allowed to become choked up and thereby rendered 
useless for the purpose for which they are intended. 
— Rex. 
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Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
“Amateurs' Page ” on the top of their letters. 
Replies.—It is true, Y., that Asparagus is looked upon 
as a delicacy amongst vegetables, and has something 
that is entirely beyond the skill of the majority of 
amateur gardeners to cultivate successfully. How¬ 
ever, such a statement is not borne out by facts. 
Asparagus may be grown in any ordinary garden 
soil, providing it is of fair depth and porosity. It 
will be of no use to attempt to grow it upon rough 
wet land that has not been properly drained. You 
may sow Asparagus seed at any time from the end of 
March to the beginning of May, Travers. Draw the 
drills about a foot apart, and do not bury the seed 
too deep. 
Yes, Oxon, Beetroot is a very easily grown vege¬ 
table, and on anything other than a soil composed 
entirely of clay will do satisfactorily. You evidently 
got hold of a rough lot of seed last time, and that was 
the cause of the variously twisted, forked, or other¬ 
wise contorted roots you obtained. You will find 
Pragnell’s Exhibition a first-class variety of medium 
size and unsurpassed flavour. The majority of 
vegetable seeds may be sown in March, F. A. B , 
weather permitting. We have during the last week 
had a good deal of wet weather, and the ground is as 
a consequence in anything but a condition suitable 
for working upon. The time that it will take to get 
into a state favourable for seed-sowing will, of 
course, depend upon its texture whether light or 
heavy, but in all cases it is far better to wait a week 
or two longer rather than attempt to sow seed when 
the soil is wet and pasty. Heavy soil, Ashdown, will 
be improved by the addition of the ashes you 
mention, but it is not wise to apply such to light 
soils. The manure of which you speak may be 
easily applied, and with advantage presently when 
the crops are in full vigour of growth by sowing it 
thinly ov.er the surface of the soil, and then giving a 
good watering shortly afterwards. By no means 
attempt to give it to young fruit trees that have been 
planted during the past season. To do this would 
be like trying to feed a newly-born baby with a beef 
steak, and the results would be equally disastrous. 
You say that the manure will be wasted if it is 
allowed to remain unused for two or three months as 
it will spoil, and besides it smells so. To this we 
can only reply that it will be worse than wasted if 
given to plants that are unable to take it in. With 
regard to the unsavoury odour it exhales—there is an 
old idea afloat that the more a manure stinks the 
better it is. Let us hope this is true in your case. 
Adonis (what a pretty name !) has some Ferns 
(Nephrodiums) that are looking sickly, and wants 
to know if artificial manure will do them good. We 
would like this to be graven on the minds of every 
cultivator of plant s that artificial manures are gocd 
for plants that are in full growth, but if applied at 
any other time they are absolutely poison. Most 
likely the cause of these Ferns going wrong is 
defective root action. They may be knocked out of 
the old pots, a good part of the old soil removed from 
them and repotted. The present is an excellent time 
to do this. 
There is a yellow Arum Lily in cultivation, Ora. 
It rejoices in the name of Richardia elliottiana and is 
withal a beautiful and noteworthy plant. You could 
get it from any of the large nurserymen who advertise 
in our columns. Your Callas, as you call them, 
Vincit, may be stood out of doors in any sheltered 
corner, as soon as they have finished flowering. 
Take care, however, that they are not exposed to 
frost, and do not keep them entirely destitute of 
water. For the green fly on your plant, X., dissolve 
a little soft soap in warm water, and sponge. 
After the Freesias have gone out of bloom, 
Aylesbury, you may give them rather less water. In 
fact the water supply may be reduced by degrees, as 
the foliage goes off, until finally none at all is needed 
The bulbs may be left in their pots on a shelf c r 
other place fully exposed to the rays of the sun. It 
is very necessary that they should be well ripened so 
as to ensure the production of good flowers another 
season. August is the usual month for re-potting and 
starting them. - 
Kalosanthes coccinea.—I am desirous of growing 
Kalosanthes coccinea. Will you tell me if it is diffi¬ 
cult to grow, and what plan to adopt to get it to do 
well ?— Verus. 
Crassula (Kalosanthes) coccinea is both a pretty 
and an easily-grown plant. It succeeds well in an 
ordinary greenhouse from which the frost is excluded 
during the winter months. In a usual way such 
plants flower from June to August, although if a 
little more heat is given them they may be had in 
flower a little earlier than this. They may be pro¬ 
pagated very easily by taking off cuttings composed 
of young shoots 3 in. or 4 in. in length after the old 
plants have done flowering. These cuttings should 
be inserted singly in small pots in very sandy soil 
and placed near the glass in a cold frame. If they 
can be covered with a bell-glass until they are rooted, 
so much the better. In potting them off, use a mix¬ 
ture of good loam, leaf soil, and sand. It is also a 
good practice to add to this a quantity of crushed 
bricks or crocks broken up finely. It is very essential, 
moreover, that the pots should be well drained, for 
Crassulas are very impatient of stagnant water lying 
about their r_ots. They will keep growing, of course, 
the whole of the year round, but during the winter 
months the plants may be kept rather drier than the 
majority of subjects. When the flower trusses 
begin to make their appearance, which in the case 
of strong plants will be about May or the beginning 
of June, weak liquid manure may be given with 
advantage. Old plants may be grown on for several 
years if large specimens are required, if they are 
cut back a little after flowering, but for those who 
like the smaller plants there is no better plan than to 
put in a few cuttings each year, and grow them on in 
the manner suggested. 
Cannas from seed.—Will you kindly give me 
instructions how to raise dwarf Cannas from seed ? 
I have plunged the small pots containing the seed in 
bottom heat, but there is no sign of germination as 
yet.— Constant Reader. 
Canna seed is always rather slow in germinating, 
and oftentimes many weeks elapse before the young 
plants make their appearance. The testa or outer 
covering of the seed is very hard, and the germs only 
penetrate it with difficulty. In order to insure fairly 
speedy germination some steps must be taken to 
soften or remove the testa before sowing. Some 
growers file the seeds, others pare them carefully 
with a sharp knife, but both these operations require 
to be very carefully performed. The best method to 
pursue is to soak the seeds in water for twenty-four 
hours before sowing. Y r ou are quite right in 
plunging the seed pots in bottom heat. If you have 
