August 3, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
785 
weeds. This being their nature cultural details are 
unnecessary. They are plants which are pretty in 
themselves, but which will soon spoil the beauty of 
their neighbours if their encroaching habits are not 
checked. 
Mint and Sage in a Small Town Garden.— 
Kitchen : Yes ; with proper attention they may be 
grown in quantity on a very small patch of ground. 
The Sage should either be put in as young plants or 
cuttings may be struck in the place where they are 
to grow. Mint seems to thrive in London gardens, 
and we have seen large patches of vigorous shoots 
which would not disgrace the best of county gardens. 
The underground stems and roots of Mint are best 
planted in the spring, but by pulling up the dwarfest 
of the shoots so that a portion of the root remains 
attached they may be established at any time. The 
transplanting. They will not stand transplanting 
and should therefore always be sown in the positions 
in which they are to flower. The cause of the 
perennials going off may be the presence of too 
much lime in the soil, for it is useless to try and 
grow them in a soil where there is much lime. A 
light sandy loam suits them best, or one rich in 
vegetable mould. 
BOLD METHOD OF SHOWING SWEET 
PEAS. 
Happily the Sweet Pea does not lend itself very 
well for exhibition on boards or in paper collars. 
Otherwise, however, a great variety of methods has 
been adopted, or at least used by different exhibitors, 
both nurserymen, gardeners, and amateurs. One of 
the worst possible ways of displaying the Sweet 
to that with which they made such a huge bank at 
the Royal Aquarium last week. The Peas were 
arranged in bunches of a variety, which we think 
the best way of displaying this popular flower ; but 
a number of varieties may be mixed together, 
choosing those that will blend together in one har¬ 
monious whole. It requires more artistic skill on 
the part of the exhibitor or decorator to practice 
this method successfully. 
No foliage is more natural than that of the Sweet 
Pea itself as an accompaniment to the flowers ; but 
it should not be overdone or the stems and foliage 
will too largely preponderate to the disadvantage of 
the floral effect. The bunch represented has a 
pleasing and evenly balanced arrangement of both 
foliage and flowers. The foliage remains good for a 
considerable time, and the tendrils keep on growing 
and clasping objects near them, or shaking hands 
A Vase of Sweet Peas as Exhibited at the Aquarium. 
same applies to many of the other herbs used for 
kitchen purposes, and surely if they are a little 
soiled by the carbon deposit from the innumerable 
chimneys of towns the soot is preferable to the 
deposit from the hands that hawk them round the 
streets. 
When to strike the Yariegated Euonymous — 
P.R. : These popular plants may be readily increased 
by inserting the ripest of the tips in pots of good 
soil in the autumn. They should be put in a cool 
place and kept damp overhead until they put out 
roots. To produce a good plant the growing points 
should be pinched out occasionally, which will 
induce the lower buds to push into growth and thus 
make a compact bush. 
Lupines Failed. — J. P.: The cause of your 
annual varieties going off was undoubtedly the 
Pea is to cut the flowers with short stalks till a 
handful has been obtained, and then to stick this 
formless and dense bundle into a blacking bottle. 
The other extreme is much more effective, ard 
might be employed to advantage in many ways. 
The plan is to cut Sweet Pea stems, with foliage, 
tendrils, flower buds, and all combined, and to 
arrange them tastefully and artistically in a large 
bunch, which can then be tied, and the ends dipped 
into a vase sufficiently large to hold the bunch 
steadily without the liability to topple over. 
This plan was very effectively put into practice 
by Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent, on 
the occasion of the Bicentenary Celebration of the 
Sweet Pea at the Crystal Palace last year, and also 
on the occasion of the first show of the National 
Sweet Pea Society last week. The accompanying 
illustration, for which we are indebted to the Messrs. 
Cannell, shows an individual bunch in a vase, similar 
with one another, which is one of the most natural 
and attractive features of this method of display. 
Those who adopt this method may cut off the tops 
of the row entirely or only the outside stems of a 
row. Those cut in this way will develop side shoots 
and bloom more or less grandly a second time, thus 
affording a succession, which the gardener and 
floral decorator cannot fail to appreciate. 
Lime.—Lime in the soil is a very valuable agent 
and manure. Some of its good qualities are that 
it liberates nitrogen, assists in liberating potash, 
neutralises unwholesome acids in sour soils, prevents 
the loss of ammonia, checks insects injuries to roots, 
such as wireworm, helps to make heavy soils more 
friable, and as lime itself is a constituent of all plants 
it is also a manure. 
