440 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 11, 1899. 
#I NTS 
Seed Sowing — There is no more delightful part of 
gardening than that which relates to the raising of 
seedlings. The young plants grow not only in 
stature but in the affections of those taking care of 
them, and there is always the charming uncertainty 
as to what they are ultimately going to do. Apart 
from raising plants from seeds as a hobby, in which 
many an hour may be wiled away, there is the strictly 
practical side to it that it affords an easy means of 
getting up a stock of many beautiful plants, which 
may be turned to good account both in the flower 
garden and in the conservatory. 
At this time of the year there are very many kinds 
of flower seeds that require to be sown, and a number 
of pans should be got in readiness at once to receive 
them. These pans should, first of all, be clean, and 
then they should be well drained, and filled with 
light, sandy soil. This should be chopped up rather 
finely, but the top layer should consist of very fine soil 
which has been passed through a small-mesh sieve. 
Do not fill the pans too full; but leave half an inch 
between the surface of the soil, after it has been 
pressed down, and the top of the rim of the pan. A 
surfacing of fine soil is very necessary when dealing 
with small seeds, otherwise some of them will be very 
much more deeply buried than others, and germina¬ 
tion will be correspondingly irregular. A warm 
house or pit will be needed for the seed pans, and 
they should be placed on a bench fairly close to the 
glass where they can obtain plenty of diffused 
light. Shading will be wanted for a few hours during 
the middle of the day, and, therefore, the blinds 
should be affixed to the house without more ado. 
Wherever it is possible, the seed pans should be 
covered with a sheet of glass, which may be allowed 
to rest upon the rim. This will help to maintain 
more equable conditions with regard to moisture, 
will reduce the number of waterings, and likewise 
the danger of having the seeds washed up together in 
heaps. 
Blue Lobelia. — More than one writer has 
inveighed against the craze of scarlet, and blue, and 
gold that affects our flower gardens during the 
summer months, and yet for all that the blue Lobelia 
continues to be a favourite in all parts of the country. 
Not a few gardeners who are very particular as to the 
strain, propagate from cuttings, and these individuals 
are now hard at work getting up a stock in this 
fashion. For all ordinary purposes, however, pro¬ 
pagation by seed is good enough, and we would 
particularly recommend it in the c^se of amateurs 
who have not too many conveniences. Lobelia 
cuttings are very often ticklish things to strike, and 
even supposing that the stock batch in autumn takes 
all right, there is the trouble of keeping the plants 
through the winter, which, by the way, is not the 
easiest thing in the world to do; and then comes the 
bother of working up young plants from cuttings in 
the spring. Now, both blue and white varieties come 
pretty true from seed, although, of course, a " rogue ” 
creeps in now and again, and it is much less trouble 
to raise a plant from seed than it is to get it from a 
cutting. If seed be sown now in a nice heat it 
will soon germinate, and the seedlings, if properly 
attended to, will, by the end of May, have developed 
into tidy little plants that will commence to flower 
soon after they are planted out. Cuttings could not 
do better than this. 
Perilla nankinensis. — Not a few people are fond 
of a few masses of dark purple foliage in the summer 
bedding arrangements, and our old friend Perilla 
nankinensis should not be lost sight of where this 
colour is wanted. A pinch of seed sown now will do 
all that is needed, but care must be taken to prick 
off the plants at an early date, for they grow quickly 
and soon become drawn and spindly. P. atro- 
sanguinea laciniata is another very pretty form. It 
has rather darker foliage than P. nankinensis, and 
the margins of the leaves are very prettily cut— 
laciniated, to use the technical term. 
Tobacco Plants- — In order to get these handsome 
plants to produce their sweet-scented white flowers 
fairly early in the season, it is necessary to sow the 
seed under glass, in heat, at the beginning of March. 
In the most southern counties seed sown on a warm, 
sunny border, out of doors, towards the end of April 
or early in May will yield plants that will flower in 
August and September, but it is only a few places 
that are thus favoured, and the raising of the plants 
under glass has generally to be practised in this 
country. Nicotiana affinis is one of the finest sub¬ 
tropical subjects we have, and it does well in the 
open bed or border, and in pots under glass, but the 
outdoor plants invariably beat their indoor relatives 
for development. The broad, rich green leaves are 
both handsome and striking, but it is the delicious 
perfume exhaled in the early mornings whilst the 
dew is yet upon the grass, and in the evening, when 
the de v is falling, that constitutes their chief attrac¬ 
tion. N. grandiflora purpurea is a good deal taller 
than N. affinis, and has red-purple flowers that 
afford a pleasing variety. 
Torenias.—Nothing is more decorative in the con¬ 
servatory than a few well-filled hanging baskets; 
whether their occupants be foliage or flowering 
plants, and amongst the flowering element nothing is 
more worthy of notice than the Torenias. In pots, 
too, when they are properly staked, they are a big 
success. The forms usually seen in cultivation are, 
for the most part, descended from the species T. 
Fournieri, which was introduced from Cochin China 
in 1876. The species itself is very handsome, with 
large purple and white flowers, whilst the variety T. 
F. grandiflora has even larger and finer blooms. T. 
f. g. alba is, as the second varietal name signifies, a 
white variety ; and it is a very fine one, too. The 
yellow Torenia, T. flava, came from India in 1878, 
two years after T. Fournieri made its appearance 
amongst us. It is commonly met with under the 
name of T. Bailloni, but no matter which name we 
favour, the beauty of its yellow flowers with their 
maroon throats remains the same. 
Balsams.—As pot plants, either for the conserva¬ 
tory or the window of the dwelling-room, Balsams 
hold a very high place. A little heat is necessary in 
order to get early plants, but once the seedlings get 
a start they will grow almost anywhere. A pinch of 
seed should be sown now, and succession batches 
may be sown at intervals until the middle of May, to 
furnish plants until well on in the autumn. These 
succession sowings may be made in a cold frame as 
the weather gets warmer, since it is advisable to 
coddle the plants as little as possible. In buying the 
seed, a good strain should be selected, for stocks 
differ very much. For ordinary purposes a packet of 
mixed seed will give all that is required, and the 
colours will range from pure white to bright rose, 
pink, red, violet, and purple, with some of those 
fancy or striped forms that find favour in some 
quarters. 
Celosia plumosa and Cockscombs —These plants 
being closely related call for identical treatment in 
their earliest stages. The seed must be sown in a 
brisk heat and the young seedlings potted on as soon 
as they are 2 in. or 3 in. in height. Keep the young 
Cockscombsnear theglass soastomake them as dwarf 
and sturdy as possible, and above all keep a sharp 
lookout for red spider, which is very partial to the 
plants In addition to making a good pot plant 
Celosia plumosa may be employed with excellent 
effect in the flower garden, where the bright crimson 
knd yellow plumes show up strongly.— Rex. 
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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. 
Worm Casts on Lawn — Z. C. R .: Wait for a dry 
day, and then break up and scatter the worm casts 
by means of a birch broom vigorously applied. 
Arums not Blooming.— T. E. : Your plants 
were probably too weak to flower early in the season 
and have thus been at work gathering strength. If 
of fair size they will probably throw a flower or two, 
about Master. You may be able to ascertain this by 
feeling the so-called " stem ” formed by the sheath¬ 
ing stalks of the leaves. If these " stems 11 feel 
plump and full you may be almost certain that a 
flower is being pushed up. Shifting the plants into 
a warmer house would hasten them considerably, 
and you can always take them out again when the 
blooms are open, if it so pleases you. 
Araucaria imbricata, in a dwelling-room.— K. T. 
Carson : It is not usual to syringe through the winter 
FOR 
MATEURS. 
months in glasshouses, unless a high temperature is 
kept up. Plants living in the often unkindly con¬ 
ditions of a dwelling-room, however, must have an 
occasional wash during the winter, if they are to be 
kept in health. As you cannot sponge the Araucaria, 
take it out of doors about twice a week and give it a 
good syringing with soft, clean water. Allow the 
plant time to drip, and then take it indoors again. 
Isolepis gracilis —Mens : All you have to do is to 
break up the big clumps into about four small ones. 
Pot each division up in a pot by itself, using light, 
sandy soil, and draining well, for the Isolepis requires 
a lot of water. There is no need to coddle the plants, 
although a spell of ten days or a fortnight in a heated 
pit will give them a start, and enable them the sooner 
to develop into good plants. 
Asplenium flaccidum.— L. K .: As your plant has 
done so well, and is now in such good health, we 
should not advise you to run the risk of potting it, 
even although it appears to be pot-bound, and the 
surface of the soil is covered with moss and small 
Ferns. This Asplenium will stand for years in the 
same pot, and do well. If you wish to suspend the 
plant from the roof of the greenhouse, your safest 
plan will be to get a plain wire holder, or basket, into 
which the pot may be stood. You can get such a 
basket very cheaply. There would be less trouble 
and risk in carrying this out, than in knocking the 
plant out of its pot and putting it in the basket, and 
the effect will be equally good. 
Perfume of Hyacinths.— E. N.: You are not 
alone in your experience, for quite a number of people 
complain that the scent of the Hyacinth is too strong 
and that it gives them a headache when they are 
shut up with the plants in a dwelling-room. Strong 
perfumes generally are injurious, whether they come 
direct from the flowers or from the laboratory of the 
chemist, but they affect different people in different 
ways. 
Adiantum Capillus-Yeneris on an Egyptian Jar. 
—Once the plant has got a hold, all that is necessary 
is to keep the jar continually filled with water. It 
should not be dipped or syringed to wet the fronds, 
otherwise the margins of the delicate pinnules will 
turn brown. 
Camellias.— Cotter: The Camellia breaks into 
fresh growth immediately after the flowers have 
dropped ; indeed, on a tree well set with buds, some 
of the latest buds will be opening when the growths 
are pushing vigorously. If you examine the flower 
buds you will find that shoots are pushed out from 
immediately below them, although, if a portion of the 
wood be removed with the flower, growths will be 
sent out from further back. Any pruning that is 
wanted should be done directly after flowering, so as 
to give the plants time to ripen their woods and set 
buds by autumn. 
Cineraria maritima. — F. E.: Although this.band- 
sotne silvery-hued bedding plant is, strictly speaking, 
a perennial, and may thus be propagated by 
cuttings, it may be raised also from seed. Sow this 
at once in heat, and prick out the seedlings into pans 
as soon as they are big enough to handle. 
Borage. — Chas. E.\ As a herb simply, Borage is 
not of very much use. It is true it is employed for 
making claret cup, but this is not an every-day 
necessity in an ordinary household. As a decorative 
plant, however, Borage has a good deal to recommend 
it, for it grows and flowers freely, and soon forms 
strong clumps. The bright blue flowers are much 
patronised by bees, and no matter what other flowers 
go unvisited, the clumps of Borage are sure to be 
thronged with the busy insects. Sow the seed in 
patches in the open border sometime during April, 
and thin out the plants subsequently. A few stout 
sticks, and pieces of twine will be needed to keep 
them within reasonable bounds. 
Galanthus Elwesi.— Sprmg :—The late planting 
is probably to blame for the comparative weakness 
of the growths and flowers thrown by the bulbs. 
The latter ought to have been making roots when 
they were drying away on a shelf in a store-house. 
They will, however, grow out of the weakness by 
