494 
r HE GARDENING WORLD 
April 1, 1899. 
nice collection of choice Ferns sent by Messrs. J. 
Hill & Son, Lower Edmonton. The arrangement 
was tasteful and pretty, the vigorous specimens of 
Asplenium caudatum and Gymnogramme peruviana 
which were raised above the table showing to 
great advantage. Cyathea insignis, the graceful 
Nephrodium lepidum, Nothochloena nivea, the dis¬ 
tinct Pteris palmata, and the handsome hybrid 
Asplenium Hillii were all well shown. Adiantum 
rhodophyllum, and A. scutum, were conspicuous 
by reason of their richly tinted young fronds. 
A great deal of interest was centred round an ex¬ 
hibit of hardwooded plants staged by Messrs. W. 
Balchin & Sons, Hassocks, Hove, and Brighton,who 
have made a speciality of this class of material. We 
have never seen finer or better bloomed samples of 
Boronia heterophylla than those here shown, for the 
plants were marvels of beauty. The handsome 
and distioct B. serrulata was also conspicuous, and 
the smaller samples of the old favourite B. megas¬ 
tigma must not be forgotten. (Silver Flora Medal.) 
A bright array of Azalea mollis, and hybrids be¬ 
tween that species and A. sinensis, was again staged 
by Messrs. R. & G. Cuthbert, Southgate. The 
varieties Anthony Koster, Jeanne A. Roster, W. E. 
Gladstone, Alphonse Lavallee, and Mdme. Anthony 
Koster were specially noteworthy. (Silver Banksian 
Medal.) 
Mr. H. B. May, of Upper Edmonton, had a very 
pretty group of some forty species and varieties of 
the nearly allied genera Blechnum and Lomaria. 
The plants, which were all perfect models of health 
and symmetry, were set up upon the floor of the 
hall. In the background were some fine samples of 
L. gibba, B. corcovadense, and B. c. recurvatum, 
whilst the choice B. c. crispum, the exceedingly rare 
L. attenuata, and L. g. lineata, L. ciliata major, and 
L. g. robusta, all appeared to great advantage in the 
front ranks. 
From Mr. John Russell, Richmond, Surrey, had a 
table of grand plants of that distinct, dark, narrow 
foliaged Dracaena lentiginosa. He also had a basket 
of Viburnum macrocephalum. 
A number of very fine Clivias came from Messrs. 
B. S. Williams & Son, Victoria and Paradise 
Nurseries, Upper Holloway, N. Of the varieties 
shown Scarlet Gem, Prince of Orange, and Van 
Houtte were remarkable for the size of both umbels 
and individual flowers, and the rich colours of the 
latter. (Silver Gilt Banksian Medal.) 
There were several exhibits of cut Roses and a 
number of capital flowers were shown. Some 
blooms sent by Messrs. Frank Cant & Co., Colchester, 
contained neat samples of Crown Prince, Ethel 
Brownlow, Maman Cochet, and W. A. Richardson. 
A Silver Banksian Medal was awarded to the more 
extensive display made by Mr. W. Rumsey, of 
Waltham Cross. Marechal Niel, Mrs. Rumsey, 
Beauty of Waltham, and Suzanne Marie Rhodo- 
canachi were Mr. Rumsey’s special varieties. A 
Silver Flora Medal was voted for the grand blooms 
staged by Mr. George Mount, Canterbury. Mrs. 
John Laing, Bridesmaid, Captain Hayward, Cath¬ 
arine Mermet, and Madame Montel were the leading 
sorts, and these were shown iD the excellent condition 
that characterises all Mr. Mount's exhibits. 
Hardy flowers were represented by several 
exhibits. Mr. T. S. Ware, Ltd., had a group in 
which Daffodils were the chief features. The dainty 
Iris persica and the bright golden Fritillaria aurea 
were showD. The collection put up by Messrs. R. 
Wallace & Co., Kilnfield Garden, Colchester, were 
chiefly Erythronium, E. Hartwegi, E. Johnstoni, 
and E. Hendersoni, being in good condition. Iris 
caucasica, and Fritillaria pluriflora came out well. 
Mr. P. Purnell, The Woodlands, Streatham Hill, 
S.W., was awarded a sliver flora medal for his 
collection of hardy flowers. Primulas were particu¬ 
larly strong, and Iris persica was remarkably well 
coloured. 
A Silver Flora Medal was won by the fine lot of 
Daffodils in pots sent by Messrs. Barr & Son, King 
Street, Covent Garden. Victoria, Henry Irving, 
Emperor, Empress, Glory of Leiden, Golden Spur, 
and Albicans were all in first-rate condition. 
Messrs. Sander & Co., St. Albans, had a group 
of new plants including a number of standard speci¬ 
mens of Acalypha hispida. 
A Cultural Commendation was awarded to a grand 
specimen Amaryllis carrying thirty-nine flowers and 
buds, shown by Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Ltd. 
From the same firm came the charming Erica 
propendens. Messrs. Frank Cant & Co. had plants 
of the pretty Polyantha Rose Thalia, 
The labours of the fruit and vegetable committee 
were excessively light, the chief thing brought for 
consideration being a collection of twenty-eight sorts 
of Onions sent from the Society’s gardens at 
Chiswick. 
-- 4 *>- 
The Poisonous Plants of America.—The Farmers' 
• Bulletin, No. 86, issued by the United States Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, deals with " Thirty Poisonous 
Plants of the United States." For the last three 
years the Botanical Division has been hard at work 
collecting and tabulating information with regard to 
these dangerous members of the American flora, and 
the result of these labours are, that descriptions are 
given of thirty plants which are declared to be 
poisonous, no fewer than twenty-four of them being 
illustrated, so that those who are not botanically 
inclined may, in the majority of cases, be able to 
recognise the plants without puzzling their brains 
over botanical terms. The characters of the special 
poisons secreted by the plants, the localities where 
the latter are to be found, and the symptoms of 
poisoning are all given. There can be no doubt that 
such an authoritative list was much wanted, for 
poisoning cases amongst adults, as well as children 
and cattle, are fairly common, although reliable 
statistics are lacking. 
—-f- 
QUGSCIODS AOD MSfflSHS- 
• t * Will our friends who send us newspapers be so good 
as to mark the paragraphs or articles they wish us to see. 
We shall be greatly obliged by their so doing. 
[ Correspondents, please note that we cannot undertake to 
name florists' flowers such as Carnations, Pelargoniumt, 
Chrysanthemums, Roses, nor such as are mere garden 
varieties, differing only in the colour of the flower. 
Florists' flowers, as a rule, can only be named by those who 
grow collections of them.] 
Nitrate of Soda and Potatos. — Solanum : The 
statement that nitrate of soda is the most valuable 
chemical manure for Potatos when used alone means 
that they have most difficulty in collecting what 
they need of the element nitrogen, and that an 
application of it has a decided effect upon the growth 
of the same. A heavy application of nitrate of soda 
would be 3 lbs. to the perch, equivalent to 4 cwt. 1 
qr. 4 lbs. to the acre. We would not advise you to 
use as much as this in the absence of the two other 
very essential ingredients of a Potato manure, 
namely, phosphate and potash. About 2 lbs. to the 
perch would be a safer application when used alone. 
It all depends upon the fertility of your soil, and 
whether it be light or heavy. A heavy loam, inclined 
to clay, will take more nitrogen with impunity than 
a light one. The latter would be impoverished for 
any succeeding crop by the use of a heavy dressing 
of nitrate alone. You say, however, that the land 
was well dressed with farmyard manure last year, so 
that it may be fairly rich. Too much nitrate alone, 
even in this case, might produce too much haulm at 
the expense of tubers, so that it is as well for this 
reason to exercise caution. In using 2 lbs. per perch 
we should advise jou to apply it at three different 
times, say about the 12th ot May, the 3rd of June, 
and the 17th of June. For this purpose divide 
the whole of your nitrate into three equal portions, 
using one-third of it at each application. This will 
give the plants an opportunity of picking up the 
nitrate while they are growing, and before it gets 
washed away in the drainage. Nitrate of soda is a 
gray salt, and may be sown broadcast with the hand 
as equally as possible over the soil. 
A Parcel without Contents. —Some one has 
posted a parcel to us, but only the paper has reached 
us. The contents have evidently bten badly secured, 
and the parcel coming undone in the post, the 
contents have been lost, only the paper with our 
address reaching this office. This is a not uncommon 
occurrence, so that senders should be careful in 
making their parcels secure before committing them 
to the tender mercies of the post. Slender paste¬ 
board boxes often get squeezed out of all shape before 
reaching their destination. The parcel in question 
bears an indistinct postmark, which appears to have 
been meant for Kelso. 
Are Coal Ashes Injurious to Plant Life?— Omega : 
We have never seen any injury to plants following 
the use of the ashes from dwelling-house fires, and 
should say that generally speaking they are harmless 
as far as plant life is concerned. Any great quantity 
applied to light soil would be injurious hy making 
it too porous and impoverishing it. Ashes from 
smeltiDg furnaces and gas works are more suspicious, 
as they might contain injurious compounds otsulphur 
owing to the large quantities used, incomplete 
combustion, and possibly the kind of coal employed. 
As these would contain no manurial properties, you 
would of course have no cause to use them. 
Propagating India Rubber Plants.— Novice: The 
usual way for propagating the India Rubber in nur¬ 
series is to cut up the stems into as many small 
pieces as there are leaves, retaining a leaf to each 
piece, as the eye or bud in the axil of the leaf grows 
into the young plant. This, of course,takes time to get 
the plants to a useful size. The fact of your plants 
throwing out side shoots puts you in ajposition to get 
rooted young plants of a useful, usable size almost 
as soon as they are rooted. Some people might ring 
the side shoots near the base ; others might make a 
tongue in the same way as Carnations are fretted, 
when being layered. Still another plan, and perhaps 
the more useful, is to push the blade of your knife 
right through the base of the shoots, making a cut 
right up to the middle of the same for a short way. 
Be careful not to cut the shoots off. Get a small 
wooden peg or wedge and push it into this slit, so as 
to keep it open. Then bind a handful of Sphagnum 
Moss round the part treated, and keep the moss just 
damp till young roots begin to push through it. \ou 
may then cut off the shoots below the roots, and the 
youog plants will be ready to pot up into 60-size 
pots. Do not gve them too much water till the pots 
are well filled with roots. The operation may be 
commenced at once. 
Bone Dust and Wood Ashes for Potatos— Omega : 
Both are very good so far as they go, but if you add 
a little nitrate of soda, it would make the manure a 
complete one. The bone dust or bone meal would 
supply the element phosphorus as well as some lime, 
both very useful in Potato culture. The wood ashes 
would supply potash, another very useful ingredient 
for Potatos. You say, however, that coal ashes are 
mixed in equal parts with the wood ashes. If your 
soil is a heavy one the coal ashes may do good by 
making the soil more porous and drier. On the 
other hand, if your soil is light and sandy you should 
not apply coal ashes to it, as they contain no manur¬ 
ial properties whatever. The addition of a sprinkling 
of nitrate of soda to the soil after the Potatos are up 
would be highly beneficial. The bone dust and 
wood ashes would have given even more satisfaction 
if they had been applied to the soil in January, as 
they require longer time to become soluble than 
nitrates. However, you need not hesitate to use 
them now. The same applies to Onions; but you 
might fork into the surface a small quantity of 
pigeons' or fowls' dung, finely broken up, before 
sowing the Onions On the other hand you might 
give the Onions a light sprinkling of nitrate of soda 
or of blood manure after the Onions are well up. 
All these three manures contain the element nitrogen, 
of great importance in giving the Onions a good start 
before the fly becomes troublesome. 
Tearing Moss Off Lawns.— Omega: The best 
time for accomplishing this operation would be in 
February or the beginning of March, provided the 
weather is open. You are not too late, however, as 
the grass has not been making much progress lately. 
When you have well raked the lawns with an iron 
rake, give the lawn a good dressing with rich soil 
from under the potting benches mixed with some 
finely chopped old mushroom bed manure or simply 
cow manure. The chopping is to make it spread 
more equally over the ground at this late period of 
the year and not look unsightly. A good sprinkling 
of slaked lime might also be mixed with the compost. 
Keep all crocks and stones out of the soil, even if you 
have to put it through a half-inch sieve. Small 
stones may be easily put down by the roller. Spread 
the compost on the grass and after it has had a 
shower or two, you may brush it over with a birch 
broom to level down all lumps. Get some grass seed 
and sow over the ground where there may happen to 
be bare patches. Then run the roller over the 
ground once or twice. About a month or six weeks 
later a slight sprinkling of nitrate of soda would act 
as a stimulant to the grass. 
Names of Plants.— R- W .: 1, Pulmonaria sacha- 
rata ; 2, Vmca miDor variegata ; 3, Pieris floribunda; 
4, Pyrus Maulei.— R. M.: 1, Spiraea media, 
generally known as S. confusa in gardens ; 2, Aga- 
panthus umbellatus variegatus ; 3, Nepeta Glechoma 
variegata ; 4, Narcissus Tazetta var.; 5, Ranunculus 
Ficaria (a weed) ; 6, Helleborus foetidus ; 7, Daphne 
Mezereum album.— G. Wilcox’. 1, Begonia maculata; 
2, Pellionia daveauana; 3, Tradescantia multiflora 
variegata; 4, Acacia ovata; 5, AcaciaDrummondi. 
G. B.: 1, Dendrobium nobile, a very fair form; 
2, Dendrobium findlayanum; 3, Dendrobium 
Pierardi. 
Communications Received. —B. L.—J. H. D.— 
A. Hope.—T. S. Ware, Ltd., many thanks —J. 
Cameron — Zata.—T. S. R. C. (see next week).— 
A. B.—R. W.—T. H.—S. J —C. P.—Largos.—S„ 
Aylesbury.—S. M —J. P.—T. Sims. 
-- 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
J. Cheal & Sons, Lowfield Nurseries, Crawley, 
Sussex.—Spring Catalogue of Dahlias, Chrysanth¬ 
emums, Carnations, Bedding Plants, &c. 
