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THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 16, 1898. 
INTS FOR MMATEURS. 
Border Carnations.—These are the most important 
of all the outdoor flowers just now, with, perhaps, the 
single exception of the Rose, which is the strongest 
rival of the Carnation in the struggle for popular 
favour. The season is decidedly backward the 
country over, and, therefore, it causes no surprise 
that the National Carnation and Picotee Society’s 
show at the Crystal Palace has been recently post¬ 
poned for a week. 
The cold, wet May tried the border plants sadly, 
and they were almost at a standstill at the time when 
they should have been making their most vigorous 
growth. The warm weather that we have had dur¬ 
ing the last two weeks has, however, caused them to 
pull up wonderfully, even although they have had a 
hard battle with green fly. 
Staking.—This operation should no longer be de¬ 
layed, otherwise the heavy buds will be splashed 
with mud. and the flowers spoilt ere they are yet 
open. For the purpose bamboos are the best 
stakes, as they are neat, light and strong. They 
can be purchased cheaply enough in bundles of any 
size required. As a rule 2 ft. or 2 ft. 6 in. stakes are 
quite long enough,although 3 ft. ones may be useful for 
very strong growing varieties. In any case it will 
not be economy to cut off the points if they are a 
little bit too long. If they are taken care of bam¬ 
boo stakes will last for years, and thus they are even 
more economical in the long run than Hazel twigs, 
which, as a rule, have to be cut fresh every year, or 
at the least every two years. 
In tying do not bunch all the flowering stems to¬ 
gether, as if it was a birch broom that was being 
operated on. Such treatment will spoil the look of 
the best plants, and, besides, every time a flower is 
cut there is a bother to get it disentangled from the 
rest, with possibly a forcible grumble or two as the 
immediate result. All this may be avoided if a little 
trouble is taken now with the tying. A number of 
strings should be used, each supporting two or three 
of the stems, when, by steering clear of crushing, 
the flowers will have a better chance to open than 
they would under the broom-head style. 
Disbudding.—As a rule Carnations produce 
plenty of buds, some of which may, under ordinary 
circumstances, be dispensed with. To disbud 
heavily, however, is neither necessary nor wise, for 
the size of the flowers left will not be materially in¬ 
creased thereby, although, of course, some increase 
will accrue. We are not speaking now of the zealot 
who has the show board and the shekels of prize 
money in view—for him a totally different system is 
required. His plants are heavily disbudded, shaded 
from the sun, watched over almost day and night as if 
untold wealth were at stake. We do not wish to decry 
all this trouble, for to the grower who has the show 
fever probably no trouble is too much, no pains too 
great, if but he can achieve his object; and this is as 
it should be. 
For ordinary purposes, flowers of medium size are 
what is wanted, and the more there are of them the 
better. The only disbudding that will be necessary, 
therefore, is when a cluster of three or four buds is 
formed at the apex of a shoot. In such cases the 
centre one should be left and the others pinched 
out. 
Pot Carnations.—Those amateurs who possess a 
cold frame or two and a greenhouse will find that it 
is a profitable undertaking to grow border Carna¬ 
tions in 7-in. and 8-in. pots, and flower them under 
glass. Where there is any difficulty in getting them 
to do in the open, as is the case in some urban and 
suburban gardens where the soil is anything but 
kindly, you will find that it is quite easy to obtain 
plenty of fine flowers by cultivation in pots. Nothing 
like forcing is attempted, of course, but the plants 
are kept quite cool and allowed to come on as gradu¬ 
ally as their relatives in the open border, which they 
antedate in blooming by about ten days or a fort¬ 
night. Just now the plants will be all the better for 
an occasional dose of liquid manure, but it should not 
be given to them too strong, and only at alternate 
waterings. As the flowers commence to open see 
that proper shading is given, for the flowers burn 
much more quickly under glass thau they do in the 
open, and even if there is no ‘'burning," strictly 
speaking, the colours soon fade under the action of 
the sun’s rays. Green fly too is much more trouble¬ 
some under glass than it is out of doors, but this is to 
a certain extent compensated for by the fact that it 
is easier to deal with it in the house. If much of it 
is about, a fumigation before the buds begin to burst 
is advisable. 
Violas.—Up to the present the season has been 
anything but a favourable one for Violas, for insect 
pests have been more than usually numerous and 
destructive. It is to be feared that the present hot, 
parching weather will favour still further the spread 
of the dreaded red spider, unless, of course, remedial 
measures are taken. As long as the hot weather 
lasts the plants should be heavily sprinkled overhead 
each evening with the rose can, giving enough water 
each time to go right down to the roots. This system 
is a most beneficial one and 1 have known a number 
of cases within the past year or two in which the 
Violas would have dene very little had it not been 
followed. The production and development of seed 
vessels is a very exhausting process for the plants, 
and hence, if the continuity of blooming is to be kept 
up, these seed vessels should be picked off before they 
are any size. This must not be done once or twice 
simply, but continuously, and the plants will look all 
the better for it. 
Calendula officinalis—A few plants there are 
that once they are put into a garden can only with 
difficulty be got rid of again, and of this number the 
common Marigold, Calendula officinalis, is a notable 
example. It will grow almost anywhere, and under 
any conditions, and year after year the seedlings 
come up in increasing numbers, for the seed sows 
itself all over the garden. In addition to these hardy 
and insistent qualities, the plants are very showy and 
free blooming, and are certainly not to be despised 
by those who have to deplore the failures of many 
choice plants to grow in the mysterious soil that is 
often to be found in town gardens. There are several 
varieties that are well worth attention. Of these 
Orange King is the best of its colour, which is a rich 
orange. The flowers are of great size and very 
double, whilst they are produced all through the 
summer. The plants are dwarf and bushy, the 
height being about 1 ft. This variety is not nearly 
so weedy-looking as the type, upon which it is a 
decided improvement. Its counterpart, as far as 
habit and general utility go, is to be found in Lemon 
Queen, the difference being in colour, which is, as 
the varietal name suggests, lemon-yellow. Of the 
striped varieties Meteor is the best. The flowers 
are fully as large as those of the other forms 
mentioned, bright orange in colour, with stripes of 
pale yellow. 
Dahlias.—Where early flowers are wanted large 
old plants will require to have the growth thinned 
to some extent. They throw up a lot more than 
there is any necessity for, and it is only by removing 
some of them in good time that the rest have a fair 
chance- Three or four goad main stems are quite 
enough for an ordinary plant, and after the strongest 
and healthiest have been selected the rest may be cut 
out. Some of the lateral growths and buds may also 
be removed with advantage if good-sized flowers are 
wanted. This applies chiefly to the show, fancy and 
Cactus sections, for the singles, being chiefly wanted 
for cutting, may be allowed to throw many more 
flowers. Another point is to be gained by thinning 
out the growths besides increase in size of flower, and 
that is, earliness of blooming. Many Dahlias, 
especially those that were not started under glass, 
have scarcely a chance to bloom until the summer 
has gone and frost is expected. 
Double Daisies.—These old-fashioned but none 
the less useful plants are exceedingly effective in 
spring bedding combinations. A good stock of them 
is thus of no importance, seeing that they can be 
associated in the beds with bulbs of all kinds as a 
ground work for the taller p’ants. An edging of the 
red and white forms is also a capital set-off to either 
bed or border. If no attempt has been made at pro¬ 
pagation this should be seen to at once. The old 
plants should be lifted, and divided up into nice little 
tufts with plenty of roots attached. Choose a spot 
on a shady border where the soil is light and rich, 
and plant the divisions in rows about 8 in. apart— 
just wide enough to admit of the use of the hoe. 
Water them in, and give subsequent waterings as 
the state of the weather determines. Nice plants 
will then be forthcoming for autumn planting.— Rex. 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
A nyone 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. 
Adiantum Capillus Veneris var. cornubiense.— 
Y .: The common, hardy Maidenhair is not exclu¬ 
sively British, being almost world-wide in its distri¬ 
bution. It is an exceedingly variable species, and 
there are numerous,handsome,named varieties of it in 
cultivation. A. C.-V. cornubiense is one of the 
prettiest of these, but it is somewhat delicate in con¬ 
stitution, and we rarely see anything like a really 
good plant. The cool greenhouse is the p'ace for it. 
We hope you will succeed in getting it to grow. 
Selaginella kraussiana and S. denticulata.— 
Suburban : You are both right and wrong. The 
Silaginella you send as S. denticulata is undoubtedly 
the same as the one known as S. kraussiana, which is 
its correct name. The true S. denticulata is not 
synonymous with S. kraussiana, for they are distinct 
species. 
Asparagus Bed.— 'Arvy.: You must pull out the 
weeds by hand. We should not advise you to 
sprinkle enough salt on the bed to kill them, for 
although Asparagus likes a little salt it must not be 
expected to put up with such a strong dose as this. 
Cutting should cease after the expiration of June. 
It is not wise to work the beds too hard, for what you 
will gain one year you will inevitably lose the next, 
and a few years of consistent over-cutting will ruin 
the bed entirely. 
Dahlias Eaten.— 'Arry. The Dahlias have pro¬ 
bably been eaten by earwigs. Set traps for the 
pests by placing near the plants small pots or tins 
filled with hay, into which the earwigs will creep for 
shelter. By examining every morniDg, and destroy¬ 
ing any of the insects that may be in them their 
numbers will be lessened. 
LaYatera arborea variegata. — F. L. Ames : 
Despite its woody appearance, and almost tree-like 
stature, this Lavatera is only a biennial. Its chief 
value is for sub-tropical beddiDg, for which it may 
be used with excellent effect, especially when the 
plants are well variegated. 
Adiantum pedatum — P. T. : Although this 
Adiantum looks delicate it is hardy enough, and will 
do very well in a shady nook in the rockery. It is a 
native of North America. 
Marguerites.—P. T .: Your plants have probably 
flowered themselves to a standstill, so to speak. 
Marguerites are very free-flowering things, and not 
infrequently do this when they are kept pent up in 
small pots. Your best plan will be to cut them back 
a little, shortening each growth to, say about half its 
present length. Leave the plants in their pots until 
they commence to break into growth. They may 
then be planted out in an open border in rich soil, 
where they will grow with astonishing vigour. By 
September they will have developed into plants that 
will be three times their present size, and which may 
then be lifted, potted up, and placed in the conser¬ 
vatory for the winter. They will commence to flower 
soon after they are lifted, and keep right on through 
the winter. 
Pinching Vines.—S. L. N.: As a rule, two or 
three nodes beyond the bunch is sufficient length to 
allow the shoot to run before it is stopped. If the 
Vines are very subject to the cracking of the berries 
it will not be a bad plan to let the shoots run a little 
longer than this, so as to form a safety valve for the 
overplus of sap. The lateral growths, that is, those 
thrown out from the main shoots of this year's 
growth, and lateral to them, should be pinched at 
the first leaf. 
Aerial Roots on Vines .—Why : It is a common 
thing to see aerial or adventitious roots produced by 
Vines in bunches along the stem. They are really 
roots, and if they were brought into contact with 
the soil this would soon be seen. As it is they can¬ 
not reach the soil, and only exist for awhile, dying 
off towards the close of the season. They do no 
