THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July' 20 , 1901 . 
752 
Owing to the great number of questions that are 
pouring in daily from amateurs in all parts of the 
country, asking advice on all sorts of difficulties, the 
editor has decided to limit the space for " Hints’’ to 
one column, and to admit the more useful answers 
to take the place of the other column. This will no 
doubt mean a greater number of questions than ever 
to be gone through, and also make it more difficult 
to cram many popular hints or any great amount of 
advice into the cramped space of one column, but 
the questions answered in the other two columns 
will doubtless be of great value to many besides 
those who ask them. 
The amateur who has the interests and improve¬ 
ment of his garden at heart cannot better employ 
his time than by visiting various gardens and noting 
good plants, inquiring their prices and making a 
special note of the soil and positions in which they 
seem to thrive best. It will be surprising how many 
new, stately, and graceful plants may be introduced 
to take the place of many of the miserable varieties 
which are grown yearly until the sameness, season 
after season, becomes monotonous. 
Delphiniums.—These plants make a good illustra¬ 
tion of what I mean. Compare the magnificent 
varieties which may be seen in our parks and public 
gardens at the present day with those which we 
were familiar with a few years ago The colours 
are more intense, the harmony of shades is better, 
the flowers are larger, the spikes larger, and the 
whole plant more grand and stately. They may be 
bought for the same money that is outlayed on the 
embellishments of the flower beds, and as I have 
tried to impress our readers before, the initial cost is 
practically the only one, for they improve year by 
year, and require very little attention beside an 
occasional supply of water and a small top dressing 
of manure in the winter. Picture a clump of these, 
many feet through, with spikes 6 ft high, of the 
most perfect blue, in the place of a bed of dwarf, flat 
Pelargoniums and Calceolarias ; ask yourself which 
you prefer, and then go and inquire the price of 
your choice, and if it is Delphiniums you will find, 
unless you go in for the very newest and scarcest 
varieties and oldest of clumps, that the price will be 
no more than for the other puny lot. The same 
applies to Paeonies and many other such noble free 
flowering plants. The Delphiniums are in no way 
fastidious as to what soil they have so long as it is 
deeply dug and receives a topdressing of old farm¬ 
yard manure or stable refuse every winter. 
Foxgloves.—The many beautiful strains of these 
stately flowers make them good companions to the 
Delphiniums, and while they provide the many 
shades of blue, the Foxgloves produce most of the 
other shades. 
Gynerium agenteum.— As a rule this noble 
subject, known, perhaps, more generally under the 
name of Pampas Grass, is only seen in the pleasure 
grounds of large establishments. It has a fine 
appearance when isolated in the grass and is just as 
much at home on a small lawn, especially if as a 
centre plant, as in the far extending grounds 
surrouading a mansion. Its needs are few and its 
good qualities many. All who see a bold specimen 
always admire it, and as some very good clumps may 
be obtained from 2s. 6d. to 5s. it ought to be grac¬ 
ing far more small gardens than it is at present. 
There are many new varieties out recently, several 
of them with very handsomely variegated foliage. 
They do not like a very heavy soil, onewith plenty of 
sand in it suits them admirably if it is enriched with a 
little good, old manure. Before it is planted the 
ground should be broken up to a good depth and 
never allowed to become dry, as the Gyneriums 
delight in plenty of moisture. In very cold situations 
it does not prove quite hardy, but if its old foliage is 
allowed to remain on until the spring and a mat or 
loose leaves are thrown over it during the severest 
of the weather there will not be any difficulty in 
preserving it There are not many places where its 
own foliage is not sufficient to protect it, even 
when isolated on a large lawn,so when enclosed in a 
small garden it will be very little trouble. The one 
main thing which must not be neglected is to give it 
plenty of water, and the result will be much better 
if manure water is used occasionally. 
Kniphofia.—This has three popular names, Torch 
Lily, Flame Flower and Red Hot Poker. It is a 
family that is well known, but little grown by the 
amateur. A clump of them in a lawn makes a blaze 
of colour in the autumn and ought to be found in 
every garden of any size. Their requirements are 
few and simple and what suits the Pampas Grass 
generally suits the Torch Lily. For town gardening 
they are almost indispensable as they do not suffer 
much from the smoke and other impurities. The 
main two points to bear in mind when growing 
them are, remember that they are moisture loving 
plants and also that they will well repay the expense 
of giving them a little weak manure water now and 
again when watering them. The same protection as 
that recommended for the Pampas Grass should be 
afforded them in the winter if the weather is very 
severe. The best time for planting them is either in 
the autumn or the early spring. Some people have 
the Idea that they are beyond their means,but an 
inquiry at a good hardy plant nursery will soon dis¬ 
pel this idea, as the prices generally range from is, 
to 2S.6d. for very good plants. The numerous blend¬ 
ings of apricot, rose, orange, coral, vermilion, etc., 
which may be obtained at the present time, would 
astonish our forefathers, who only had very few 
shades in them.— Hortus. 
-- 
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 
“ 4mateurs' Page ” on the top of their letters. 
When to Transplant and Divide Pyrethrums — 
F. P. : The best time to do this is either in the 
autumn or spring ; we should not advise you to 
interfere with them in the winter, as most plants 
suffer by having their roots exposed during sharp 
weather. Before you plant them give the ground a 
thorough pulverising to a good depth, and if inclined 
to be poor, see that some dung is thoroughly in¬ 
corporated with the soil as it is broken up. They 
succeed in any garden soil, but to grow them to the 
highest point of perfection they require a rich loam 
Plenty of water should be given to them, especially 
when they are throwing up their flowets, and if a 
little sheep manure is occasionally added to it, the 
size and colour of the blooms will be greatly in¬ 
creased. They seed freely and soon make good 
plants, but to keep them true to name they should 
be propagated only by division. Slugs and snails 
seem very partial to the young growth, slugs especi¬ 
ally evincing a special liking for them. As a 
preventative against these depredations the crowns 
should be given a dressing of ashes or soot early in 
the spring. 
Chrysanthemums with Mildew — T. 7 .: There 
are many special preparations for stopping these, 
but none seems to be more effective than the old 
remedy of sulphur. You have made a great mistake 
in selecting a position beside a hedge for your plants, 
as it is most probable that it is through want of 
plenty of air that they have been attacked. We 
advise you to remove those in pots without delay 
and stand them in a row on a walk, away from 
hedges or walls, but not where they will suffer from 
the wind. Be sure you put a piece of slate under 
each pot to prevent worms from getting in, and have 
a wire along the row to which the stakes may be 
tied to prevent the plants from blowing about. 
There are several good Chrysanthemum manures 
advertised. If you use nitrate of soda you must 
apply it very judiciously, or you will have your 
plants rush off into growth at a pace which will 
surprise you, and also disappoint you when the 
blooming period comes on, as the plants will then be 
the best part of the show. Cow or sheep manure 
diluted with water and strained through a fine sieve 
is very useful; be sure and not neglect the straining 
or you will make your soil sour, which means 
disaster. An occasional application of soot water 
will be found to be very helpful, especially in giving 
tone to the foliage. 
Fern Propagating.— Fernery : The general way of 
propagating Asplenum bulbiferum is by pegging 
down tbe oldest fronds which show the bulbil like 
growths on to pans of light soil and placing them in 
a warm, moist, shady house Some prefer to sever 
the frond before they peg it down, ethers allow it to 
remain on the parent plant. We are not aware that 
anything is gained either way, but if the frond still 
draws its nutriment from the parent plant, it is not 
so liable to damp off. All the species which show 
signs of this growth on the fronds may be readily 
propagated in this way. 
Propagating the Virginian Creeper.—T.: Am- 
pelopsis quinquefolia and the sister species which 
clings by itself, generally known as A. Veitchi, but 
rightly named Vitis inconstans, may be increased by 
cuttings. Those shoots which are half ripened 
should be selected and placed round the sides of 
small pots of light sandy soil, and placed under a 
bell glass or hand light in a cool position. They 
may also be struck from pieces in the spring, before 
the buds burst; these should be treated in the same 
way. 
A Showy yet Hardy Rose Suitable for a Pillar. 
— J. P. : You have asked for advice on a compara¬ 
tively easy subject, but out of the vast collection it 
is difficult to say which is best: but in our estima¬ 
tion there is not a pillar Rose to surpass the variety 
known as Carmine Pillar. It is certainly one of the 
most showy Roses grown and a very fine flowerer, 
and grows strongly. The flowers are a brilliant 
crimson-carmine colour and make a very striking 
feature. It is quite hardy and likes to have room to 
grow. Being a large grower, it requires a rather 
richer soil than what is generally used for Rose 
growing. It is shown off to best advantage when 
making a high archway over a walk. Not only are 
the flowers of good substance, size and colour, but 
the foliage is of a lustrous green, which greatly adds 
to its beauty. It is a single Rose and has blooms 
about 2$ in. to 3 in. across and makes a fine effect when 
cut, but will not stand long off the tree unless the 
petals are gummed. 
Cucumbers Thickening.— Frame : This is a very 
common occurrence and the cause can generally be 
traced to neglect. It is caused through some check 
to the growth and then giving proper conditions 
again. For instance, watering with cold water, 
leaving your frame open all night, or allowing your 
plant to suffer from want of water at the root—all 
these are conducive to producing this peculiar 
knobby growth. With care and proper attention 
you will find your fruits will swell away without any 
unevenness; if they do not, send a specimen care¬ 
fully packed, and we will try and find out the 
reason. 
Are Dwarf Sweet Peas Worth Growing ?— 
M. : A correspondent writes and asks this question, 
not from the standpoint which many would judge it, 
but he has not seen any very floriferous varieties. 
When grown under proper conditions the dwarf 
varieties prove to be very fine flowerers, but we also 
look at the question as it stands : Are they worth 
growing ? We should say, No ! For this reason : 
by introducing this strain, the elegance and graceful 
habit, which is so ch aracteristic of the normal type 
of Sweet Pea, is lost, and stiff, distasteful, inartistic 
formality is introduced in its place. We do not say 
the flowers are not as good, it is only the cramped, 
contorted appearance which spoils them, and all 
lovers of true beauty ought to protest against this 
desecration of graceful Nature. Some growers suc¬ 
ceed with them, however, and are proud of them for 
their dwarf habit, as they may be sown along the 
front of borders, and require no staking and very 
little attention. 
Cacti for Rockery.—S. P.: There are several 
kinds of these somewhat weird plants which will 
bloom out-of-doors and stand the rigours of our 
climate if they are given a sunny, well-drained 
position and protected during very severe weather 
with mats, but the Opuntias are the only ones worth 
troubling about. They are easy to grow, flower 
freely and always have a nice appearance both in 
summer and winter. In a sunny position beside 
some rocks or a wall they soon make a good show if 
they are treated properly. Only a very few inches 
of soil are necessary ; this should lay on a good 
layer of finely-broken bricks and stones. 
Best Position for Yiolets. — A. M. : As in all 
branches of gardening, when it is desired to obtain 
the right conditions, copy as nearly as possible the 
