404 
February 24, 1894. • 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
FLtOl^ICOliTURE. 
A Pink Show for the South. 
My old friend, William Wardill, with Mr. Thurstan 
and myself, are, I fear, little better than prophets 
crying in the wilderness, with no one to listen to us, 
or if any one listens, no one makes a sign of being 
interested in what we say. We have declared for a 
Pink show in London in 1894, but we have no 
organisation, for after the recent funeral oration cf 
Mr. E. E. Johnson, the London Pink Show must be 
regarded as dead as Moses. Our leader has struck 
his colours, and capitulated to what he regarded as 
the necessities of the case; and this happens just 
when the Pink is undoubtedly becoming popular, 
and new varieties of the border section are especially 
attracting public attention. The Pink is in some 
respects a flower for the million, for in the height of 
the season, bunches of White Pinks are hawked — 
by the thousand—in the London streets, gathered 
from acres of plants grown round the great 
metropolis. Did ever anyone see a cottage garden 
without Pinks ? And in the case of allotment 
gardens, the Pink is always present among the select 
flowers cultivated. In regard to its hardihood, its 
persistent life under the heaviest stress of weather, 
its remarkable growth and freedom of bloom, the 
Pink is surely a notable centre among the families 
which make up the Dianthus tribe. 
The advocates of the Pink as an exhibition flower 
do not confine their interest merely to the florists’ 
laced varieties, though they are the aristocrats of 
the floral community. It is sometimes said that the 
Laced Pink admits of but little diversity ; but let 
anyone grow a small collection of named varieties 
and they will soon find differences, and very interest¬ 
ing ones too. One of the very best means to promote 
the attainment cf variation would be to hold an 
annual exhibition, and so extend the cultivation of 
the flower. Nor do they advocate exclusively the 
exhibition of the refined florists' varieties on boards. 
Let them be abundantly shown by all means, but 
the border varieties can, and should have, the widest 
recognition in classes for one and more bunches. 
And I think much more is to be done with the Pink 
in pots than is generally supposed. Therefore, let 
the ball be kept rolling, and I for one should like to 
see an attempt made to raise a small fund with a 
view of holding a Pink exhibition in connection with 
the Pansy and Viola exhibition to take place at the 
Drill Hall on the occasion of a meeting of the 
R.H.S. on June 12th. I had hoped an exhibition 
would have been held at the Royal Aquarium a few 
days later, at which Pinks could have been shown, 
but it is not to be ; but it might take place on June 
i2th, or, if thought more desirable, on June 26th, 
though I fear that would be too late for flowers 
grown in the south. I am quite willing to con¬ 
tribute to a small prize fund, and I am sure others 
will do the same, and if the Editor of The Garden¬ 
ing World will act as secretary and treasurer, his 
services in these capacities would be highly accept¬ 
able. For my own part I shall be happy to under¬ 
take, in conjunction with Mr. Wynne, any 
arrangements necessary to bring this floral venture 
to a successful issue.— R. D. 
— -- 
LARGE k. SMALL LEEKS. 
The crops of Leeks which were grown to a large 
size were generally much injured by the one severe 
frost we had earl}' in January. Like Onions large 
Leeks are not so hardy and of such good keeping 
quality as those which are not pushed on early nor 
planted in such rich soil. I notice among varieties 
that none are yet more hardy and generally so 
serviceable as the Lyon and Mussfelborough. While 
Leeks are profitable—when grown to a large size— 
for the famous " Scottish broth,” they are not valued 
so much when cooked singly. I have always found 
French chefs prefer those of smaller sire, indeed, 
they use them as soon as they are formed, and by 
them Leeks are in request the whole year through. 
I notice that a few rows which I had planted late, 
and which are less than half the size of the main 
crop, are uninjured by frost, and in every way of 
much better quality than the latter. The growth of 
large Leeks has become a special part of a gardener’s 
duty of late years, and I measured some last 
November at Belfast which were g in. in girth, and 
the blanched portion would be about 14 in. long. I 
fear that autumn sown Leeks will never be of much 
service, as they would run to seed early, but they 
are of special value where tender green ones are in 
request. I have at present a few hundred which 
were transplanted in a border along with Onions in 
October, and they are now as green as grass.—■ 
Stirling. 
-- 
HEATING GLASS 
HOUSES. 
When the system of heating by hot water was in its 
infancy there was ample excuse for the mistakes 
that were made in regulating the proportions of the 
boilers and the length of the piping used to the 
number of pubic feet of air to be heated. Such 
mistakes often caused those whose duty it became 
to attend to the firing much hard labour and weari¬ 
some nights of watching during spells of severe frost. 
Later inventions and improvements, however, when 
put into practice render all this unnecessary, but 
unfortunately in very many instances still small 
attention is given to details which would ease the 
burdens of the stoker, and, from false notions of 
economy, the boiler and piping is reduced to a limit 
which, when a spell of severe weather sets in, entails 
many hours watching to just keep the frost out of 
places occupied by plants which ought not to be 
subjected to a lower minimun temperature than 
55 ° F. 
Now much could be said as to the unhealthiness 
of the air to plants where the pipes have to be made 
as hot as possible, and the waste of fuel that is 
involved in the hard driving of the fires. Just now I 
wish to say a word or two on behalf of those to 
whose lot it falls to attend to an apparatus which is 
inadequate to the requirements it is called upon to 
meet, and there are thousands of such in existence, 
the possessors of which if they fairly realised the 
situation would have matters put right. This sort 
of thing comes especially hard upon many suburban 
gardeners, who have to live often at some distance 
from their work, and after a hard day’s labour have 
to spend hours away from home, possibly till mid¬ 
night and even the small hours of the morning, 
because of the bad heating apparatus. Now if these 
poor unfortunates were working in a factory the 
powers that be would soon step in and compel an 
alteration. 
It is one of the drawbacks in connection with 
gardening as a profession that, being so isolated 
from each other, little or nothing is done collectively 
to procure redress for grievances, but as there are 
many good and true friends to gardeners in our 
legislative assemblies, could not seme one or more of 
them be induced to frame a short bill making it 
compulsory that all heating apparatus should in 
future be erected to some acknow’ledged standard of 
heating capacity, and be duly examined and certified 
by some expert to that effect before any one could 
use them. The purpose for which the houses are 
destined should be fully set out, and providing at any 
time that plants requiring a higher temperature are 
to be grown in them suitable additions to the heating 
capacity of the apparatus should be compulsory if 
found necessary. 
I have myself had to deal with apparatuses that 
have been good, bad, and indiflerent, and in bad 
weather have many nights been up till the early 
hours of the morning, while with other, and better 
apparatus I could make up the fire in moderately 
frosty weather at five o’clock in the afternoon, and 
be assured that all would be well till eight o’clock 
the next morning. Nearly all ranks and conditions of 
work-people have had some special Act passed for 
their benefit, and why not the poor gardener, who 
was first in the field of labour, but who is somehow 
or other often the last on the list to get a grievance 
remedied .—A Voice from a Gravel Pit. 
ON SOWING SMALL SEEDS. 
There are generally more complaints respecting the 
germination of small seeds than larger ones. Very 
diverse reasons are often given and far too frequently 
the blame is cast upon the seedsman, but I can 
affirm from a somewhat lengthened experience that 
in nine cases out of ten, so far as firms of standing 
and respectability are concerned, this is unjust. I 
have very rarely failed in raising seeds supplied 
from such sources. The true cause of failure lays in 
other directions. Now take for instance those sown 
in pots or pans (and it is these that mostly prove 
troublesome to some people); if we could have a look 
in upon them when sowing their Calceolaria and 
other similarly minute seeds, what should we see_ 
Why, the pots and pans loosely filled with soil made 
porous by an admixture of leaf soil or spent manure 
from a Mushroom bed, seeds sown on this, and a 
good watering given. Now mark what the effect of 
this in many instances must be, simply the carrying 
down with the water into the soil of much of the seed 
to a depth which renders the chance of its germi¬ 
nating very remote indeed, and much of it which does 
germinate will ultimately damp off because of the 
unnatural length between the rootlets, and the 
surface of the soil. 
Having indicated the cause of so many failures, 
let me briefly describe a better method of performing 
this simple operation. Give good drainage with 
broken potsherds, ovet this place a layer of the 
coarser particles of soil which press evenly and 
firmly, and fill up to within two inches of the top 
with soil passed through a medium fine sieve, and 
press it moderately firm ; on this put some finely 
sifted soil with a fair admixture of sand, filling up to 
within half-an-inch of the top. Press this down 
firmly and even, water with a fine rose, and allow 
the pots to stand till the surplus water has drained 
away before sowing the seeds, which scatter evenly 
over the surface 
In the case of very fine seeds, for instance those of 
the Calceolaria, we make it a practice to mix them 
with some dry silver sand, which ensures a more 
equal distribution, and is all the covering we give 
that and some other very fine seeds. Larger seeds 
are the better for a covering of fine soil to a depth 
equalling the diameter of the seeds. When all are 
ready remove them to the pits or Houses intended 
for their reception and cover all with panes of glass, 
over which sheets of paper may be placed until the 
seeds germinate. Treated thus they give little trouble 
in the way of watering till germination takes place, 
but should any of the very fine seeds require water, 
instead of doing it overhead with a rose, place them 
in water to within two inches of the .surface of the 
soil, and let them remain till the water soaks up¬ 
wards. This not only insures their becoming 
properly saturated, but is a safeguard against the 
seeds being floated to one side of the pot, which 
will often happen when watering from above is 
done.—IF.R.G. 
-—- 
GOOD KING HARRY. 
Chenopodium Bonus Henricus is largely grown by 
farmers in Lincolnshire, where there are not many 
without a patch of it in their gardens. It is in 
some parts a not uncommon weed by the road 
sides, but away from that county it is not generally 
made so much use of as a vegetable as its merits as 
such would lead us to expect. It comes into use 
about a fortnight before .Asparagus, a period when a 
change of vegetables is sometimes difficult to give 
from outside sources, and for this reason alone I 
would urge on those who have the room to spare 
and a deep rich soil to give this native British plant 
a trial. It is a perennial with roots resembling those 
of a Dock. The lower leaves are of much the same 
shape as Spinach, and when well grown are about 
3 in. in length, slightly toothed, fleshy, and dark 
green in colour, and may be gathered and served as 
a substitute for Spinach. But the more general way 
of using it is to cut the young stalk under the surface 
of the soil when about 6 in. in length, and, in 
preparing it for the table, if the outer skin has 
become hard to strip it off from the bottom upwards, 
then to tie them up in bunches, boil in plenty of 
water with a little salt, strain off when tender, and 
serve on toast like .Asparagus or with melted butter. 
Now is a very suitable time to form plantations. 
Trench deeply and work in plenty of manure. Let 
the rows be 18 in. apart, and the plant 12 in. 
asunder in the rows. AVater plentifully in dry 
weather, giving liquid manure occasionally, or instead 
surface dress with guano during showery weather. 
Cut sparingly till the third season after planting, 
after which from early April till June you can hardly 
cut too much.— Lincolnensis. 
The Carnation, its H story, Properties and Management, 
with a descriptive list of the best varieties in cultivation. By 
E. S. Dodwell. Thud edition, with supplementary chapter on 
he Yellow Ground. London: Gardening World Office, i, 
Clement's Inn, Strand, W.C. is. 6d., post free, is. yd.—Advt. 
