822 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 27, 1898. 
Mints for ||mateurs. 
Strawberry Runners.—Now that the runners which 
were pegged down in small potfuls of soil have 
had time to root they may be cut away from the 
parent plant at once, as this will give an opportunity 
of clearing off the rubbish from the old plantation, 
and of putting things ship-shape in that quarter. 
Potting for Forcing—The forcing of Straw¬ 
berries is not by any means a difficult operation, for 
if the plants are treated at all well they will surely 
bear fruit, but there is a good deal of labour 
attached to the work, and those amateurs who em¬ 
bark upon it must make up their minds for this. 
Not a day should be lost in getting the plants potted 
up into their fruiting pots, for it is necessary that 
they should not be cramped up in the small ones any 
longer than is absolutely unavoidable. The plants 
need a good long season of growth to enable them 
to develop and mature their crowns. 
The soil may consist of two-thirds of good loam, 
and one-third of old Mushroom bed manure, with, 
say, a quart of soot to each bushel of soil, and a fair 
sprinkling of coarse river sand. Mix the whole lot 
well together by repeated turnings. The condition 
of the soil with regard to moisture is an important 
point, for as the rammer will have to be used pretty 
freely during the potting process, in order to impart 
the necessary firmness, it will not do to have the 
soil too wet, otherwise it will become caked and un¬ 
kindly for the roots of the plants. A good test for 
moisture conditions is to take up a little soil and 
squeeze it in the bands. If it is in fit state for use the 
particles will adhere together, but without " caking,” 
and will separate on being thrown back on the 
bench. 
Six-inch pots are the best size to use. They 
should be clean and well drained, with plenty of 
crocks in the bottom, and a layer of the rougher parts 
of the compost placed next to this. Some growers 
like to give a dusting of soot next to this, but this is 
more or less of a “ fad,” for the soot is much better 
incorporated with the soil in the first place. Pot 
firmly, and if the soil is in the condition recom¬ 
mended the rammer may be used with freedom. A 
thin lath or long wooden label should be used to 
work the soil equally round the sides of the balls, to 
that no hollow places may be left. 
Strawberries are exceedingly thirsty subjects, and 
will need a lot of water presently, hence the pots 
should only be filled with soil to within three quar¬ 
ters of an inch or an inch of the top. This will 
allow of sufficient water being given at one applica¬ 
tion to thoroughly soak the ball. 
Yarieties for Forcing.—Of the numerous varie¬ 
ties of Strawberries that are in cultivation only 
comparatively few of them can be recommended for 
forcing. For general purposes there is nothing to 
beat Royal Sovereign, which takes very kindly to 
either early or late forcing. The plants crop well, 
and what is of considerable importance the fruits 
ripen regularly and at the same time as each other. 
Thus a ha'ch cf plants started at the same time and 
kept under the same conditions will all ripen their 
fruits at the same time. This is important, because 
it is a waste of space to keep plants hanging on for 
the sake of one or two fruits that may not be ripe 
when the room is wanted for succeeding batches. 
The fruit of Royal Sovereign is, moreover, of first- 
class appearance as well as high flavour, and another 
good quality, the flesh is firm and travels well. 
Laxton’s Noble is a favourite in some quarters by 
reason of its good bearing qualities, and the fact that 
the fruit, although deficient in flavour, is very attrac¬ 
tive in appearance. We should, however, prefer 
either the old Sir Joseph Paxton or Vicomtesse 
Hericart de Thury to it. Both of these do well, and 
the fruit is of capital flavour. August Nicaise and 
La Grosse Sucree are two other good forcing varie¬ 
ties, and Keens' Seedling is not to be despised. 
British Queen is pre-eminent amongst Strawberries 
for high flavour, but it is a very poor doer either 
when forced hard or when grown in the open 
ground. Some excellent fruit may, however, gener¬ 
ally be obtained by potting up a batch of plants, and 
allowing them to come along gradually and ripen 
iheir fruit just before the open air crops turn in. 
This system is well worth a trial by those who have 
failed with British Queen when they have attempted 
to grow it in the ordinary way. The plants may be 
placed at the commencement of the year on a shelf 
in a Peach house, where the coolness and moisture 
that prevails will largely dispel the fear of red 
spider. 
Zonal Pelargoniums for Winter Flowering.— 
Up to within a fortnight ago these plants had not 
made very much growth, but since the end of the 
first week in the month they have come along very 
quickly. The pinching off of flower buds will now 
be an operation requiring constant care, whilst 
shoots that are observed to be growing away at the 
expense of the others must be pinched in good time, 
otherwise unshapely, one-sided plants will be de¬ 
veloped. Careful feeding with stimulants must now 
receive attention, but the thing should not be over¬ 
done, even to the extent of producing rank growth 
in the plants, for this should be avoided carefully. 
8how and Regal Pelargoniums —For the last six 
weeks the plants have been basking in the open, in 
the full enjoyment of the sun’s rays, so that now the 
wood is well ripened, as may be easily seen by its 
rich brown hue Pruning should, therefore, be re¬ 
sorted to without delay, the plants being allowed to 
become fairly dry at the root beforehand. This is 
quite a simple operation, and all that is needed is a 
sharp knife and sufficient experience to tell the 
difference between last year’s wood and that of this 
year’s production, which is not at all a difficult 
matter, for the older wood is harder and much darker 
brown, whilst the bark is thicker and rougher. 
Pruning consists in cutting back the growths to 
within two or three eyes, say an inch, of last sea¬ 
son’s growth. The cuts should be made short and 
clean, and not long and ragged, as they far too fre¬ 
quently are, even in gardens where professional gar¬ 
deners have the management; indeed, the pruning 
of stove and greenhouse plants very often to be 
seen leaves much to be desired. 
After the old plants have been cut back in the 
manner indicated they should be given the shelter of 
a cold frame. Here they may be stood pot thick to¬ 
gether, as there are no tops to occupy space. Mean¬ 
while the soil should not be soaked with water, for 
an occasional sprinkle by means of the syriDge will 
be quite sufficient, and will, moreover, assist the 
plants in breaking into growth. The frame in which 
the plants are should not be kept too close, but air 
should be given during the day, although the lights 
may be shut up at night. Potting will require to be 
seen to when the young shoots make ther appear¬ 
ance. 
Cuttings.—Old plants may be grown on year after 
year with advantage, and they really increase in use¬ 
fulness each season, at least where large plants that 
will produce many flowers are wanted. As the 
plants are, moreover, pretty tough and hard to kill, 
there is very little danger of the stock diminishing. 
It is occasionally advisable, however, to increase the 
stock of particular sorts for which a special fancy is 
evinced, or which are of more than ordinary ‘value 
to the grower. The approved method of doing this 
is by cuttings, and as cuttings are to be obtained in 
quantities from the prunings of the old plants. The 
present is the most suitable time to work up an in¬ 
creased stock of any chosen varieties. As a rule, 
with most plants the tips of the growths are the 
most suitable portions to select for cuttings, but in 
the case of these Pelargoniums the tips are very 
weak and spindly, having reached their natural 
limit of growth for the season. The shoots should, 
therefore, be cut up into lengths of about 5 in. each, 
and the stouter portions selected. Each cutting will 
be furnished with a number of leaves, and the lower 
of these should be removed in the usual way in order 
to admit of the cutting being inserted in the soil. 
Very light sandy soil is necessary in order to get 
the cuttings to strike properly. Sixty-sized pots 
will be found the handiest, and if the cuttings are 
put all round the sides of the pot the latter will 
easily hold five or six of them. Make the soil fairly 
firm, so that the cuttings are not easily pulled out 
during the process of shifting about. 
Varying treatment is accorded the cuttings by 
different cultivators. A favourite plan is to put 
them in a cold frame, and keep the frame fairly 
close and the cuttings rather dry at the root until 
they have rooted. The production of roots is, how¬ 
ever, rather slow under such conditions, and the 
plants are a long time before they make good 
flowering specimens. The best way of inducing the 
cuttings to strike root speedily is to put them in 
heat. A place on a shelf near the glass in a warm 
pit will suit them admirably. Under such conditions 
there is no need to limit the water supply, but they 
may be treated much the same as other cuttings in 
that respect. An occasional sprinkle with the syringe 
will do them good.— Rex. 
Correspondence. 
Questions ashed 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. 
Drying Mint .—Mint : The proper time to cut 
Spearmint (Mentha viridis) for drying is just when it 
is coming into flower. Cut the stems back to within 
a couple of inches of the ground, and lay them out 
in a sunny place to dry. Beyond that nothing will 
be needed. The Mint thus dried will be brown in 
colour, and is not largely favoured by cooks who 
prefer to obtain green-dried Mint by placing the 
leaves in a hot oven for a while. Under such 
treatment the green colour is retained, but much of 
the essential oil, which is rather volatile, is driven 
off. The plants will throw out young shoots from 
the bottom after they have been cut back, and these 
will probably prove more useful than the flowering 
stems. 
Mirabilis Jalapa.— Emu : This pretty plant, popu¬ 
larly known as Marvel of Peru, is really a perennial, 
but it is usually grown in this country as an annual, 
the seeds being sown in heat under glass early in 
March, and the young plants subsequently trans¬ 
ferred to the open border as the weather permits. 
The tuberous roots which you speak of as being 
something like those of Dahlias can be lifted in the 
autumn, stored during the winter, and planted again 
in the spring to flower in the following summer the 
same way as Dahlias are commonly treated. The 
plant will grow in any ordinary garden soil, and as 
it generally flowers pretty freely is well worthy of 
attention as a border subject. 
The Sensitive Plant.— U. The subject to which 
this name is commonly applied in this country is 
Mimosa pudica, but there are many other species of 
Mimosa which have leaves which prove sensitive to 
the touch. You may grow M. pudica in a window in 
an ordinary dwelling room during the summer 
months, but the seed must be sown and the plant 
reared to a certain size in heat, whilst as the autumn 
wears on and the temperature begins to fall, the 
leaves begin to drop, and presently only the bare 
stems are left. M. pudica is really a tropical or sub¬ 
tropical subject, as are most of its congeners. 
Seedling Double, Tuberous Begonias.— Joe. 
The flowers sent are certainly large enough, but size 
is not fte only thing that is wanted. Most of them 
have the heavy many-centred flowers, and this is a 
serious defect. The colours are good, however, and 
if the plants are free flowering the varieties would 
prove useful for decorative purposes to yourself and 
friends. Further than that we cannot hold out any 
hopes, for there are innumerable varieties now in 
cultivation, many named, and many others unnamed. 
For a person who wants to work up a stock,whether of 
single or double flowered varieties, the best plan is to 
purchase a packet of seed, sow it early in the spring, 
put out the plants in trial beds, select the colours 
and the varieties that suit him best, mark them, lift 
them in the autumn, and grow them on again next 
spring. There are comparatively few establishments 
where expensive, high class varieties are purchased- 
Stocks Coming Single.—In a bed of ten-week 
Stocks that I have in my garden about 30 per cent, 
of the plants are producing single flowers. Has the 
drought had anything to do with this ?— E. A. G. 
The drought may certainly have had some effect 
upon the-plants in the way you suggest, but it is 
very difficult to assign a reason for the variation of 
stocks of flowers and vegetables. A certain per¬ 
centage of plants are almost sure to throw double 
flowers in any season, and this percentage varies 
considerably. Did you purchase your seed from a 
reliable source ? Good seed is apparently high 
priced because it represents the results of much 
labour and incessant vigilance on the part of the part 
of the seed grower. 
Asparagus plumosus nanus.— Perplexed : There is 
nothing for it but to cut the growths out. It will be 
