40 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 17, 1898. 
gINTS FOR MMATEURS. 
Tuberous Begonias.—There is always a peculiar 
kind of fascination about saving seed from one's own 
plants and raising seedlings therefrom. As tuberous 
Begonias are exceedingly easy to experiment with in 
this direction, it may be productive of good results 
to fertilise a few of the best flowers, and save the 
capsules that result. All female flowers that are 
thus fertilised should be marked, so that they may 
not be overlooked. The plants bearing them, too, 
should be very carefully handled if it becomes 
necessary to move them, for a rough shake will be 
very likely to shake off the immature capsules, and 
then goodbye to the seed. 
Double-flowering varieties require to be put 
through what we may call a special course of train¬ 
ing before they can be induced to bear seed. As 
many of our readers are aware, the doubling of the 
flowers has been effected at the expense of the 
essential organs of the flower from the botanist’s point 
of view—the stamens and pistil —and it is by starving 
the plants that they can best be induced to pro¬ 
duce flowers in which these organs are represented. 
It seems as if the plant when put, as it were, in 
difficult circumstances, becomes impressed with the 
idea that it is necessary for it to do something to 
continue its race, and accordingly it makes a des¬ 
perate attempt to produce seed. 
The way to starve the plants from which it is de¬ 
sired to obtain a little seed is to keep from them all 
manurial stimulants of any sort whatever, and to 
reduce the supply of clear water to a very consider¬ 
able extent, only just enough being given to keep the 
plants alive. This kind of treatment will be sure to 
have the desired effect. 
Carnation Layers —The hot weather and the 
drought is proving very trying to these, and it will 
be well to give them an overhead watering every 
evening as long as the heat lasts. The loose soil in 
which the tongues of the layers are placed soon 
dries up beneath the influence of hot sun, such as 
we have been enjoying of late. 
Greenhouse Azaleas—These are now maturing 
the growth made by them during the forepart of the 
summer, and if the plants are doing well the lower 
portions of these young shoots, which are to bear 
next year's flowers, should be turning brown. Give 
the plants plenty of water—they will need looking 
to twice a day, and a good soaking should be given 
whenever they are observed to be at all dry, for, like 
all fine-rooted plants, they have a great anti¬ 
pathy to being dry at the root. Soot water twice a 
week will be of great service to them, and its effect 
may be traced in the glossy green of the foliage. 
Red spider and thrip are veritable plagues upon 
Azaleas, and strenuous efforts must be made to keep 
these insects down, otherwise the plants will lose 
many of their leaves, and this is a serious considera¬ 
tion. The plants should, therefore, be syringed 
vigorously, not merely sprinkled, twice a day with 
clean water, which will serve to prevent the pests 
from gaining a footing. These syringings will soon 
clear out the red spider, even if it has got a hold, 
but thrips are more tenacious. More drastic 
measures will be necessary to dislodge them, and 
the best method is to lay the plants down on their 
sides and syringe them well with a pretty strong 
solution of Nicotine Soap, washing this off after¬ 
wards with clean water. 
Chrysanthemums.—The swelling flower buds are 
now giving evidence of the close approach of the 
flowering season. Feeding must now be conducted 
judiciously,bearing in mind that it is far better to give 
two weak applications than one strong one. Sprinkle 
the plants overhead of an evening, and damp the 
ground upon which the pots are standing during the 
day. Keep a sharp look out for earwigs, which are 
getting very troublesome, and set traps for them. 
Small pots filled with hay are as good as anything. 
The Flower Beds.—After the cuttings have been 
taken go over the beds, and remove all the old 
blooms and dead and yellow leaves, following this 
up by hoeing between the plants, wherever it is 
possible, to take out the footmarks, and to loosen up 
the soil. Afterwards give a good soaking of water, 
and the beauty of the beds will receive a fresh lease 
of life. 
Outdoor Tomatos.—If it has not been already 
done, take the tops out of the plants, and remove 
all unnecessary side shoots. Cut out also some of 
the leaves that are observed to be shading the fruit, 
whilst those leaves that are left, if they appear to be 
very vigorous, may well have their tops taken out. 
Give liberal doses of liquid manure twice or thrice a 
week, and then the fruit will swell and ripen rapidly. 
— Rex. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 
Although it can scarcely be claimed that the 
Chrysanthemum season has begun—it seems rather 
curious to be talking about the flowers of the Queen 
of Autumn with the thermometer standing at 90° 
Fahr. in the shade—the early flowering varieties 
have already made their presence felt in the garden. 
It is true they are not wanted very much so early in 
the season when there are plenty of other flowers 
from which to pick and choose, but to your zealous, 
go-all-the-way Chrysanthemist there is no flower like 
a Chrysanthemum, and he is full of its praises, no 
matter whether the time of year be summer, autumn, 
winter, or spring. 
We must not forget, however, that the present 
September is something very much out of the com¬ 
mon. Most of us well remember seasons when the 
weather touched the other extreme, and when all the 
tender plants were cut down with frost by the third 
week in September. At the time of writing the very 
mention of frost comes to us with a feeling of luxuri¬ 
ous coolness, and we almost wish it were here with 
us. Given a cold September the value of the early 
flowering Chrysanthemum becomes heightened in 
our esteem, and we are glad to utilise it to eke out 
the supply of flowers suitable for cutting. 
The September show of the National Chrysanthe¬ 
mum Society does not bring forth many Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, but this year, as other years, has demon¬ 
strated the fact that Madame Desgranges and its 
yellow form Geo. Wermig are at the top of the list 
of the larger flowered sorts. By means of severe 
disbudding flowers of good size and build can be 
obtained, although, of course, they cannot vie with 
the later blooming sorts. 
May Manser is a new, large, early flowering 
variety that, however, bids fair to take the shine out 
of the Madame Desgranges family. It is a white 
Japanese flower of good depth and very nice appear¬ 
ance, the florets being long and drooping. Like 
Madame Desgranges a flush of creamy-yellow is 
apparent in the centre of the flower, but this be¬ 
comes dissipated with age. The plant is sturdy, and 
a good grower, the height being about 4 ft. Next 
year, we may expect to see it upon the show-board 
in competition with the large blooms in the early 
shows. May Manser was shown at the Royal 
Aquarium last week by Mr. H. J. Jones, of Ryecroft 
Nursery, Lewisham, S.E., a First-class Certificate 
being awarded it by the National Chrysanthemum 
Society. 
Louis Lemairo—This is a very promising 
decorative variety, a sport from Gustave Grunerwald 
which was sent to the N. C. S. show by Mr. W. 
Wells, of Earlswood Nurseries, Redhill, Surrey. A 
First-class Certificate was granted it on this occasion, 
and the variety well deserved this honour by reason 
of its free blooming character. In general habit it 
resembles Gustave Grunerwald, but the flowers, 
which are of medium size upon naturally grown 
plants are rich bronze-yellow in hue, flushed and 
striped with deep orange. The florets are somewhat 
short and stiff, but not sufficiently so to rob the 
flower of its elegance. 
Gustave Grunerwald. — Where dwarf August 
and September flowering sorts are in request, it will 
be well worth while to include this variety in the col¬ 
lection as well as its sport above-mentioned. The 
colour is a pretty light pink. Both it and its sport 
are about 18 in. in height. 
Barbara Forbes is a good, early white flower that 
might well be extensively grown. Very fine flowers 
of it may be obtained by growing it in bush fashion, 
and disbudding it rather heavily. Its great merit is 
that the flower stems are long and stiff, and lift tbe 
blooms well out of and above the foliage. Herein, 
it is vastly superior to Lady Fitzwygram, which is 
otherwise a very pretty and free flowering variety, 
although the shortness of flower stem spoils it. The 
height is about 4} ft. in an ordinary season. 
Albert Chausson is a pretty variety whose merits 
are too little known. The plant is rather taller in 
habit than many of the early varieties The beauty 
of its blooms, however, is not to be denied. They 
exhibit a delicate shade of rosy-salmon, the florest 
being charmingly flushed at the tips with deeper 
rose. We thus have a very attractive combination 
of colours which it is almost impossible to properly 
describe. 
Sam Barlow. —This again, although not a new 
variety, is not so often seen as it might be. The 
plant is a good doer, some 3 ft. in height, and a free 
flowerer. The flowers are of average size, bright 
pink in colour, and very useful for decorative work. 
— Mum. 
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. 
Lifting Potatos — E. C.: From the description 
you give of the condition of the haulm it is evident 
that the tubers are ripe and ready for lifting. Once 
they attain to this condition it is advisable to lift 
them as soon as possible, for, if allowed to remain, a 
few heavy downpours of rain will start them growing 
again, and this means the practical spoiling of the 
crop. We should dig at once. 
Carnation Cuttings. — Rob : Some of the cuttings 
may root, but you must not be disappointed if the 
majority of them fail to do so. Carnation cuttings 
are queer things to do, and they scarcely behave in 
the same way for two years consecutively. 
Watering Fruit Trees. — Amateur: Undoubtedly 
the watering has done your trees good even at this 
advanced period of the growing season. Pears and 
Apples will always profit by water right up to the 
time that the fruit commences to ripen. Both these 
fruits will almost certainly be very small this year 
except where the trees have been artificially watered. 
Pale-coloured Apples. — I recently saw a dish of 
Peasegood’s Nonsuch Apple at a show, and was 
greatly struck not only by their size but by the pale 
green-yellow cast of their skin. Were they 
foreigners ? and to what was the peculiar colour 
due.— Q. 
The Apples were almost surely English ones, but 
the pale colour was probably due to the fact that 
they were grown under glass in an Orchard house. 
A great deal of the fruit that appears upon the show 
table is from pot trees under glass, and such fruit is 
always paler in colour than that grown in the open 
with the free air of heaven playing about it. 
Grass Failing. — F. L. Ames complains of the grass 
on part of his lawn that is shaded by a big 
Lime, dying off, and asks if the shade of the tree is 
deleterious to other living things in the vicinity. It 
is, in that it keeps the plants that may attempt to 
grow underneath it from enjoying their full share of 
light and moisture. The latter is especially serious 
in periods of drought such as the present for the 
more vigorous roots of the Lime take all the moisture 
out of the ground, and the grass suffers in conse¬ 
quence. 
Late Melons.— Geo. T. R.: If the plants are fairly 
healthy you may without fear subject them to a good 
deal higher temperature than is usually given. Shut 
the house up soon after two o'clock each afternoon. 
The temperature will rise rather high, but if there is 
plenty of moisture about there will be nothing to 
fear. In this way you will be able to make the most 
of the sun heat, and get the crop nicely forward so 
that the fruit may ripen before the season becomes 
too far advanced to produce fine-flavoured fruit. 
Catalpa bignonloides. —G. C. sends a nice spray 
of this handsome flowering tree. The year appears 
to have suited it remarkably well, for we have seen 
some exceedingly well-flowered specimens. 
Staging Cut FlowerB —Dissatisfied : We think it 
quite likely that jou crowded your cut flowers too 
much together in the bunches, giving them a stiff 
appearance, and that the judges penalised you on 
account of this. The bunching of flowers together 
so as to present an elegant appearance requires a 
good deal of skill and patience to properly perform. 
