456 
the Gardening world 
March 18, 1899. 
INTS FOR MMATEURS. 
AMONG THE CARNATIONS. 
Border Carnations that have been wintered in 
pats ia a cold frame in the usual fashion will now 
require more copious supplies of water than have 
fallen to their lot during the autumn and winter 
months. The mild winter has given the plants 
every advantage, and they commenced to make top 
growth very early in the year, while root action has 
made corresponding movement. The pots are now 
well filled with rools, except in the case of layers 
that were not rooted, but only callused over, at the 
time of lifting. Do not make the mistake of giving 
the plants liquid manure at this early date, for 
clear water will be all that is necessary. 
The usual plan we follow is to turn the plants out 
of the frames about the end of the first week in 
March, for there is always a run upon frame room 
in this month, and the space is wanted for things 
that are far more delicate than Carnations. The 
only real touch of winter that we have had this time, 
however, came to us towards the end of February, 
and, of course, lasted over until March. The frosts 
were bad enough, but the cold east winds were far 
worse, and the result has been that the plants were 
kept under glass longer than usual, for Carnations 
are particularly averse to cold, drying winds, which 
seem to dry all the life out of them. 
Planting Out.—A lot of plants in small pots is a 
big nuisance, for apart from the trouble of watering 
them they are for ever being knocked over and- 
stood up again. The ground is in capital condition 
just now, and for this reason alone it will be wise to 
get the Carnations safely ensconced in their flowering 
quarters without any more delay. After the (for 
February) long spell of dry weather we shall most 
surely get some showers—may be heavy ones—and 
we must not lose the benefit of these, for they will be 
worth a month’s growth to the young plants. 
Final Preparation of the Ground.—All the 
heavy manuring and rough digging that was 
necessary were seen to last autumn. At the begin¬ 
ning of February a coating of wood ashes was put 
on, and this was forked in, the big clods from the 
rough autumn digging being broken up. Now a 
sprinkle of soot may be given, and another forking 
over, and then the quarters are ready. 
Style of Planting.—In this respect every cultiva 
tor must suit his own convenience. Beds of various 
sizes may be filled, clumps of plants dotted here and 
there in the mixed border, or if the owner likes to 
do things in style, a whole block may be planted. In 
the latter case it will be well to divide the ground up 
into beds not more than 4 ft. or not less than 2 ft. 
wide, with alleys of not less than 1 ft. in width be¬ 
tween the beds. The rows of plants should be 
about 10 in. apart, and about 8 in. of space may be 
left between the plants in the rows, but the exact 
space must be gauged by the varieties, whether they 
are strong growing or not. 
Too deep Planting.—Do not bury the plants too 
deeply, for they do not like it. Make a hole with the 
trowel deep enough to take the ball nicely right up 
to the “ collar ” as it is technically called—the base 
of the stem in ordinary language. Work the soil 
nicely round them, make it fairly firm with the hands, 
level it, and then the plants are planted well, and 
under anything like ordinary conditions will be sure 
to do well. 
Watering.—If the ground be-fairly dry a watering 
will be of service, but do not overdo this, especially 
at the commencement, for although harm does not 
result so soon from overwatering plants in the open 
ground as it dees in pots, it means risk. 
Autumn-planted Carnations —Some people will 
have nothing to do with wintering the plants in pots, 
but swear by the practice of planting them out in 
their flowering quarters in the Autumn, and thus 
saving frame space during the winter. There are 
more roads than one to London, and there are more 
ways than one of growing good border Carnations, 
and we should advise all who have tried this system 
and found it answer to act like " Micky ” and stick 
to it. For the benefit of those who have not tried 
it but would like to.it may be as well to point out, 
however, that generally speaking the autumn-planting 
dodge does not work well on low lying, heavy land, 
whilst on the other hand it can be safely followed where 
the soil is fairly light, and warm, and well drained. 
The late frosts have not disturbed the ground so 
much as they would have done had the soil been 
wet, but still there has been a little "lifting ” of the 
surface, and this must be attended to at once. Where 
the plants have been lifted partly out of the soil they 
should be pressed back again into their proper place, 
and the soil refirmed about them. Run a Dutch 
hoe lightly through the quarters to kill any young 
weeds that may be putting in an appearance, and 
keep this up as occasion offers. There is nothing 
better than frequent stirring of the surface soil, 
Sparrows and Rabbits.—The town dweller does 
not see much of the rabbit except when he takes a 
tour round the shop s, and he has therefore no oppor¬ 
tunity of knowing from sad experience what the 
rabbit can do—the exhilarating pleasure of seeing 
the " grass ” of his plants nibbled off by friend bunny 
is the inheritance of the country dweller. Such an 
one will do well to spend a few shillings in mesh wire 
and an hour or two in putting it round his beds. A 
trap or two may also be a not unprofitable invest¬ 
ment. 
Whatever he may or may not know about rabbits 
the town dweller knows a little and can generally say 
a word or two about sparrows. These Lathered' 
twitterers are great on Carnations, and the way they 
nip off the leaves would be interesting if it were not 
so provoking. The interest lies in the fact that no¬ 
body knows what the sparrow does this for, unless it 
be for pure mischief or to let the gardener know 
that he only grows his plants by sufferance of the 
pert, smoky little bundles of feathers that match his 
labours from up aloft. Tomtits and chafllnches are 
nearly as mischievous as the sparrow, but they are 
not so numerous, and this is the saving clause. The 
most thorough way of keeping all these small birds 
away is by spreading a covering of the old fishing 
nets used for protecting fruit above the plants, keeping 
the nets from touching the leaves by supporting them 
on stout forked stakes. Failing a sufficiency of net¬ 
ting push in a few stakes at intervals over the bed 
and connect them with strings of cotton. The birds 
do not like these strings, and as a rule steer clear of 
them and anything in proximity to them. 
Border Carnations in Pots—Our weather cannot 
be trusted ! which statement is not original, but to 
the Carnation grower it means that if he is going to 
tempt fortune by trying to beat all his neighbours 
upon the show board he must grow plants in pots 
to give him blooms of the required symmetry, pure¬ 
ness of colour, and fidelity of marking. Just now 
the grower for exhibition is bustling about, picking 
out his pot plants, and those who intend to show 
should “go and do likewise.” A mixture of good 
fibrous loam that has been stacked for a twelvemonth, 
and good leaf soil in equal quantities, with some 
rough river sand, and a forty-eight potful of soot to 
the bushel of soil will make a nice compost. Another 
good mixture is half loam, one quarter leaf soil, and 
one quarter old mushroom bed manure rubbed 
through a half inch mesh sieve with sand and soot as 
before. Three plants may be put in an eight or ten 
inch pot. Make the soil fairly firm but do not ram 
it too hard, and return the potted plants to a cold 
frame. Keep this rather closer than usual for a day 
or two till the check of potting is over but do not 
attempt to do much coddling or the growth will be 
weak and drawn, and green fly will be much inclined 
to have a say in the matter.— Rex. 
-•*»- 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone 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. 
Site for a Greenhouse.— Geo. R. : We should cer¬ 
tainly advise you to build the greenhouse against the 
gable end of the house if it must be built against 
anything. If you put it under the eaves where the 
roof of the dwelling house slopes directly down 
upon it you will have a pretty glazier's bill to pay 
each winter time, for lumps of half frozen snow and 
ice will, after a fall of 3 ft. or 4 ft., go plump through 
the glass. The frontage to the south will answer 
first rate. 
Cupressus lawsoniana dying.— Corbie : It is 
always a bad sign when the tips of the shoots die off, 
and the probability is that your plant is practically 
dead already, for even dead trees will often keep 
some vestige of their colour for weeks after they 
have in reality given up the ghost. There may be 
numbers of reasons why the tree died. It may not 
have been a healthy tree to start with, it may have 
been kept out of the ground too long before it was 
planted, or it may have been planted badly, or there 
may be a complication of all three with cold winds 
and lack of water thrown in into the bargain. It is 
not too late to plant anoth er, but you should not lose 
any time. 
Fly on Lilium Harrisii.—L. S. E. : Seeing that 
you have only a few plants the best way to get rid of 
the fly would be to sponge. Fumigation does not 
hurt the plants very much if it is carefully carried 
out, but in any case it does not do them any good, 
and is to be avoided if possible. 
Is Primula pyramidalis a species?—I noticed 
at the Royal Horticultural Society's show at the 
Drill Hall, on February 14th, a number cf Primulas 
called P. pyramidalis. Is this a new species, and 
distinct from the old P. sinensis, from which I under¬ 
stand all our Chinese Primulas have been obtained ? 
— H. C. 
The original P. sinensis, whatever its form when 
first taken into cultivation, has proved astonishingly 
versatile and obedient in the bands of the florist, and 
the so-called P. pyramidalis is only a distinct branch 
of a break from this species, and thus only a variety. 
The name pyramidalis is given on account of the 
pyramidal habit characterising the plants, the flowers 
being pushed up to a great height above the leaves. 
As a garden name, therefore, " P. pyramidalis” is 
well enough, but to the botanist the full name will be 
P. sinensis pyramidalis. There is a not unnatural 
tendence on the part of the gardener and nursery¬ 
man to throw off the heavy burdens of long names 
and make them as short as possible. 
The Figure 4 Trap — J. T. O. : For catching 
mice in the kitchen garden there is nothing to beat 
the time-honoured “figure 4” trap, baited with a 
Broad Bean or a piece of bacon or cheese. Any 
ordinary jobbing gardener should be able to make 
them for you. Try them. 
Double White Primulas.— M.: Double Primulas 
cannot be propagated by seed, although semi-double 
ones may be. Division is the method practised. 
Build up a quantity of light soil or Sphagnum Moss 
and sand upon the top of the existing soil, and until 
it reaches right up to leaves. The divisions wi'l 
root into this, and at the end of six weeks or so they 
may be detached from the parent plant, potted up, 
and started on their own account. 
Tuberoses— M.: Keep the Tuberoses in a frame 
facing to the north, where they will be quite cool, 
and will only break into growth very slowly. Intro¬ 
duce them to heat, four or five at a time, as required. 
Herbaceous Calceolarias.— A. S.: Youhavekept 
your plants in too high a temperature, and that has 
to a great extent caused the sickly yellow colour of 
the leaves. The soil having been rather poor 
in the first place, and the plants having now 
become pot-bound may have helped to some extent 
to weaken them. Pot the plants on at once, using 
three-fourths of good loam, one of leaf soil, and 
plenty of sand. Do not pot too firmly, and shade 
the plants carefully after they are potted. Above 
all be careful not to coddle them up, but after they 
have got over the check of shifting give plenty of 
air. 
Planting Gooseberries— G. P.: It is now very 
late to think of planting Gooseberries, as owing to 
the mildness of the season they are more than 
usually forward. If the buds have not burst too 
much, however, you may have a try, but don’t be 
surprised if the bushes look sick for some time 
after. 
Prickly.—An old Cheshire gardener always spoke 
of the handsome lady in whose employ he was, as 
“Madam Glory-de-John." Asked one day why he 
called her this, he said “ Hoo is—a perfect Rose, hoo 
is; but hoo’s got the sharpest prackles ever I did 
