734 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July IB, 1901. 
DELPHINIUMS FROM LANGPORT. 
Many gardeners have seen and most have read or 
heard of the splendid exhibits of perennial Lark¬ 
spurs or Delphiniums exhibited at public shows by 
Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, Somerset. As a 
reminder of the flowers in season, the firm just 
mentioned has sent us a boxful of spikes of these 
glorious modern forms of Delphinium. Twenty to 
thirty years ago connoisseurs of this class of flower 
were busy collecting the double forms which then 
prevailed. They were double in the truest sense of 
the term, for the flowers were densely packed with 
petals, but the individual flowers were like tiny 
buttons. Most of the named varieties sent us were 
semidouble with huge flowers, which Messrs. 
Kelway have now led us to expect in a Delphinium. 
As they commence to bloom pretty early in June, 
the flowers sent us practically represent the end of 
the first period of blooming, yet the individual 
flowers measured ij in. to if in. across, and these 
being closely arranged in spikes we have in them 
grand pillars of bloom fit for the King’s garden and 
equally at home in the cottage garden, to which we 
hope they will presently spread to swell the floral 
pageant of June and July. 
Semidouble varieties. 
Many of the semidouble varieties have two colours 
in the flower, some of them three. One of the most 
charming was that named C. B. Fry, having the 
inner sepals rosy mauve, and the outer ones rich 
clear blue. The small central petals are black but 
mostly absent, only a stray one showing itself 
occasionally. Somewhat similar was Wonder, but 
the centre was occupied with a great bunch of small 
black petals. The dark blue sepals of Imperial 
Majesty were nearly hidden by the broad rich 
purple inner series, the petals being almost 
obliterated. Britain’s Pride was a charmiDg light 
coloured variety, with the mauve inner sepals nearly 
hiding the dark sky blue outer ones, while the 
small petals were white, variegated with yellow and 
mauve. 
One of the very finest of the dark ones was that 
named Lord Chesham, with dark blue-purple inner 
sepals, the dark blue outer ones rivalling the colour 
of the Gentian. The flowers stand well in the cut 
state. John Thorpe was a little paler, but, never¬ 
theless, a very dark flower, the small white petals 
being bearded with yellow as in Lord Chesham. 
The Rev. J. Stubbs had the blue and purple of the 
inner sepals more intimately blended. Some of the 
small central petals were of the palest lilac, and the 
rest black—a strange combination indeed. The 
dark purple and blue of St. Paul was fairly evenly 
balanced and brightened by the yellow-bearded, 
white petals in the centre. The large flowers of 
Captain Lambton had the dark purple and blue 
about equally proportioned on the inner face of the 
sepals, the black petals being bearded with yellow. 
The lightest coloured of all the varieties sent us and 
the most distinct in its way was that named General 
Baden Powell. The inner sepals were of a soft, 
rosy mauve, while the outer ones were several 
shades paler and tipped with sky blue. As a 
Delphinium, this has almost discarded the blue 
colour so common to the race, yet we consider it a 
beautiful contrast to the others and indispensable to 
a good representative collection. The blue tips to 
the outer sepals give the impression of a Picotee 
edge at a short distance away. 
Single varieties. 
Queen of Huish is not decidedly single, but forms a 
connecting link between the two groups. The 
flowers have six or seven sepals instead of five, and 
the supernumeraries are dark purple, leaving much 
of the brilliant blue of the rest of the flower exposed. 
The darkest of the truly single varieties was J. S. 
Sargent, a dark indigo blue flower, with two blue- 
purple sepals, and a good brush of black petals 
bearded with yellow'on the centre. The lightest of 
all the singles was Ragged Robin, of a pale sky blue 
with a tint of mauve in the fading flowers, the small 
petals being white, bearded with yellow. It is 
merely a matter of taste, but we should rather prefer 
Captain Holford having two or three of the inner 
sepals of a soft mauve, contrasting beautifully with 
the pale sky blue of the rest of the flower. In this 
case the small petals were black, and bearded with 
yellow, making on the whole a choice and delicately 
coloured variety. Miss Gower was modelled on the 
same plan as the two just named, but the two lead¬ 
ing colours were several shades darker, the inner 
sepals tinted with blue, and the small petals white 
wiih a yellow beard. This and Ragged Robin 
might be termed bicolors amongst the singles. 
Amongst the doubles we should place St. Paul, 
Britain’s Pride, Lord Chesham, and John Thorpe in 
the same category, the small central petals being 
white offer such a marked contrast to the rest of the 
flower. It is difficult to see where this modern 
strain of Delphiniums, whether single or semidouble, 
can be improved. Possibly Messrs. Kelway could 
give us some truly double ones of the same giant 
type, as it might improve their durability in the cut 
state. 
-- 
ARAUCARIA BIDWILLII. 
The greenhouse forms of Araucarias are amongst 
the most ornamental of green foliage plants for house 
furnishing when used in a small shape. This is seen 
by the frequency one meets with A. excelsa and its 
glaucous form. But the kind above named is seldom 
met with, although it was introduced from Apetal in 
1840. It is quite distinct from A. excelsa, more 
graceful and has not the flat branches that A. excelsa 
has. The pins are prickly, and if caught loosely in 
the hand quite hurt it. 
We have a pair of plants growing in 12-in. pots in 
the cloisters. They are about 8 ft. high, and are of 
a glaucous green colour, drooping down over the 
pots. The wood of the stem is a nut-brown, and 
when the bark scales off the surface beneath is very 
shiny-brown. 
It is much slower in growth than excelsa. Our 
plants are from twelve to fifteen years old. These 
Araucarias are to be recommended for cold structures, 
where the frost is just excluded. As showing they 
bear confinement, these remain in our cloisters nine 
months out of the twelve. Although most useful in 
a small shape, they are equally beautiful when 
planted out in a bed of soil in a cold house, as they 
attain to 50 ft. h gh.— J. C., F., Chard. 
ANTHURIUM SCHERZERIANUM. 
The numbers of stove plants now in cultivation are 
legion ; but the number of really good ones which 
are at the same time of easy culture, is not so 
numerous. The above mentioned useful and interest¬ 
ing plant may, however, be included amongst the 
easily grown and also valuable species, as it may be 
grown by any one w ho can command an ordinary stove 
temperature. It thrives best in a compost of fibrous 
loam, peat and sand, mixed with a little charcoal 
and broken potsherds ; and requires plenty of drain¬ 
age. After it has been potted into this compost give 
it plenty of water and it will grow splendidly without 
any extra trouble. The magnificent and unusually 
attractive scarlet spathes of the plant are very 
pretty amongst the other objects in the stove ; and 
either cut or on the plant, they endure the tryiDg 
atmosphere of rooms for weeks without showing the 
least sign oticjury. It can be raised from seed, but 
dividing the old plants when they are repotted is the 
best way to multiply them. There are a number of 
varieties in commerce, the flowers of which both 
differ in shade of colour and size, but the large and 
deep coloured sorts are to be preferred, as they do 
not require much shade in summer, except in very 
bright weather. They are sometimes molested with 
aphis, but their thick leathery leaves can be easily 
cleaned with a sponge, soft soap, and tepid water.— 
J . C. Dick, The Gardens, Champfleurie, Linlithgow. 
-- I -- 
LAYERING CARNATIONS. 
No time should now be lost in commencing this very 
important operation, because some varieties of Car¬ 
nations are very shy in producing roots, and there¬ 
fore require a greater length of time to root properly. 
The plants that it is intended to layer (we will 
assume) have been exposed to the sun for some time, 
so that the wood will be more robust, as this is a 
matter of vital importance. Before starting to layer, 
a compost should be prepared, consisting of equal 
parts of good loam, leaf mould and sand passed 
through a fine sieve. All the leaves up to the third 
joint from the tip should be cut away, the spent soil 
removed from the pot to the depth of 3 in., and 
some of the fresh soil placed in the pot. Then by 
means oi a sharp knife make an even slit from one 
joint to another, taking care not to cut right through 
the wood. The tongue so formed will eventually 
put forth roots. It must be placed in the fresh soil, 
and pegged down to keep it secure. Some use wire 
pegs, but I prefer those made from the common 
Bracken Fern. After all are layered, they should be 
slightly covered with fresh soil, and well watered 
with a rose watering can. Attend to them in the 
matter of watering, and in about a month or six 
weeks the majority will be rooted; they should then 
be lifted and potted into 6o’s.— T. W. Dollery, The 
Gardens, Whitburn, Sunderland. 
CARNATIONS. 
The Carnation is one of the most beautiful flowers 
of the garden. A fine display can be obtained from 
seedlings but seed should be saved from the finest 
varieties. The flowers should be cross-fertilised. 
This is done by using the pollen of flowers of 
a decided colour. The seed should be sown about 
the beginning of April, and when large enough 
planted out in deep rich soil 14 ins. apart, so that 
the plants have a full season to make their growth. 
They will begin to flower in July the following sea¬ 
son. Plants can also be raised by layering now 
(July) and by October they should be well rooted, 
and should be planted out 14 in. apart where they 
are to flower. They should be planted in masses, so 
that a group of one colour is obtained. Id some 
places they do not stand the winter well out of 
doors; in those places it will be better to pot up the 
plants in 2j-in. pots, and place them in a cold frame. 
The lights may be kept close for about a week but 
when fresh roots are formed they should be removed 
whenever the weather is favourable. They should 
only get sufficient water to keep the soil from becom¬ 
ing dust dry. They should be planted out about the 
end of March and treated the same as those planted 
in October. Four good kinds are Duchess of Fife, 
pink; Raby Castle, pink ; Mrs. Muir, white ; Uriah 
Pike, crimson.— F. Ross, Strathtyrum Gardens, St. 
Andrew's, K.B. 
THE DESTRUCTION OF CODLIN 
MOTH. 
The best, and in fact only effectual method of 
destroying these caterpillars is by poisoning their 
food, arsenic being generally used on account of its 
cheapness, either as Paris-green, London-purple, or 
lead-arsenate. The first two should be obtained as 
paste, using 1 lb. to about 200 gins, of water. About 
2 lbs. of quick lime added will greatly diminish the 
risk of scorching by these insecticides, by neutralis¬ 
ing any free acid there may be in them. The lead- 
arsenate, which is the best of the three, because 
there is no risk of scalding, is prepared iD the follow¬ 
ing manner:—Dissolve 4 ozs. of sodium-arsenate in 
water in one pail and 12 ozs. of white commercial 
lead acetate in another; then add the sodium- 
arsenate to 100 gins, of water and stir well, after¬ 
wards adding the lead-acetate and stirring well 
again, mixing also with it about 2‘lbs. of agricultural 
treacle to make it sticky. Apply as soon as the 
buds break in spring, when a large number of 
winter moth larvae will also be killed, and then 
again as soon as the flowers fall so that the insecti¬ 
cide collects in the "eye" of each Apple, thus 
poisoning the spot at which the young larva usually 
first attacks the fruit. Whenever uiing arsenates of 
any kind always be very careful to put away safely 
any that may be left over, as they are very deadly 
poisons. — C.J.G. 
BEGONIA GLOIRE DE LORRAINE. 
This beautiful Begonia should be grown more than 
it is; flowering at a time when bloom is scarce, with 
its rosy-carmine flowers, it has a very pleasing 
effect. It is a continuous bloomer, very useful and 
conspicuous. This Begonia is propagated by 
cuttings of young shoots from the bottom of the 
plant ; the top growths do not make such good 
specimens as those from the base. These should be 
inserted in small pots, in equal parts of peat, sand, 
and leaf soil, and placed on a hot bed, or on a shelf 
in the stove until rooted. Pot up again in 6o’s when 
large enough in a compost of equal parts loam, peat, 
and leaf mould, with enough silver sand to keep it 
porous, and grow on in the intermediate house. 
Finally pot iato 48's, affording them good drainage ; 
and if suspended from the roof, or placed on the 
stage, they are sure to please the most fastidious 
taste. Keep the plants on the dry side, and they 
should be stopped and all flowers taken off until the 
