August 17, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
813 
American growers recommend arsenic and 
granulated sugar as a sure eradicator of woodlice. 
A Bothy.—Now that there is such an outcry 
against the hardships of bothy life, an extract from 
hat renowned wo:k, Nicholson’s Dictionary of 
Gardening, may not be out of place. He describes 
it as a residence for under-gardeners, usually built 
behind the hothouses or some high wall, in what is 
called a back shed. The place is too often a cramped 
ill ventilated hovel. A bothy proper should be an 
independent structure, and fitted with modern con¬ 
veniences ; for, of all people, gardeners are the 
most susceptible to colds, &c. A library of standard 
horticultural and botanical works, as well as a few 
on other scientific subjects, and a moderate number 
of high class books of fiction, one or more weekly 
gardening and other papers, should be supplied by 
the employer. It is evident by this that Mr. 
Nicholson studied all sides of the question, both 
gardening and gardeners. It is a pity that some of 
the wealthy peeresses when in a glittering wealth of 
diamonds and with sprays of costly Orchids about them 
cannot be put to shame by some means for the way 
in which they are allowing the men to live who 
grow theii choice flowers. What would the public 
think when viewing a noble pile of buildings in 
which some of these haughty personages live if they 
could only see into the workings of the household. 
We wonder if that cheer which greets many men 
when they leave certain places round Westminster 
would be given if they only knew the kind of heart 
which is concealed by that quiet smiling face. Who 
would think that many such men would give orders 
for 6d. to be stopped out of the gardeners' money 
for every pane of glass he breaks ? 
--- 
SWEET PEA COUNTESS SPENCER. 
Sweet Peas of a meritorious character, and quite 
dis'ioct from those already in cultivation, are now 
difficult to procure ; though, if any one is sufficiently 
fortunate to obtain a salient variety or type, he can 
soon procure a great many more of that strain differ¬ 
ing from the original one chiefly in colour. That 
would practically be a new strain or race. The 
variety un ler notice possesses sufficient distinctness 
for the development of such a strain, provided its 
form can be perpetuated from seed and possibly 
accentuated in character. 
The special features of the flower are that the 
standard and wings are greatly expanded or widened, 
and of slightly unequal gro wth in parts so that the free 
borders become teiutifully wavy or undulated. It 
belongs to the great group of seifs, the whole flower 
being of a beautiful shade of rosy-pink, somewhat 
paler towards the base of the standard. Another 
feature of the variety is that in the early stages of 
flowering the great majority of the flower stalks 
carry four blcoms. Since the plants have com¬ 
menced to bear seed pods, the number of flowers has 
become reduced to three. Nevertheless that in 
itself shows considerable signs of advancement. We 
hope, however, that the four-flowered character will 
become fixed in the progeny, or their near de¬ 
scendants. 
A First-class Certificate was awarded to it by the 
committee of the National Sweet Pea Society, at 
their exhibition in the Royal Aquarium, West¬ 
minster, on July 25th last, when a bunch of flowers 
was exhibited by Mr. Silas Cole, gardener to the 
Right Hon. Earl Spencer, Althorp Park, North¬ 
ampton, to whom we are indebted for the flowers 
from which the accompanying illustration was pre¬ 
pared. The great thunderstorm which raged in 
London on the first day of the show spoiled the 
blooms there, as well as those at Althorp Park, 
otherwise we should have been able to prepare an 
illustration of a four-flowered raceme of blooms. 
GEONOMA GRACILIS. 
This beautiful Geonoma is a very dangerous rival to 
Cocos weddeliana (which it very much resembles) 
for table decoration. It is a native of Costa Rica. 
There are a good many species of Geonoma, but G. 
gracilis is a great favourite. Its stem is very 
slender, as are also the petioles. The leaves are 
beautifully arched, 2 ft. or 3 ft. long, and the leaflets 
are narrow and pendent, and of a deep green colour. 
The name is derived from geonomos, which means 
" skill in agriculture,” probably arising from the 
supposed difficulty of propagating these plants; but 
as they seed, and also throw up suckers, there is not 
great difficulty in raising them. It thrives in a 
mixture of good peat and loam, with a little silver 
sand added to keep it porous. The pots must be 
drained well, as it enjoys a copious supply of water 
both at the roots and also overhead, and if allowed 
to get dry the tips of the young leaflets die. Avoid 
over potting it, as it is much more useful for decora¬ 
tive purposes when kept in a small pot. These 
should have a slight top dressing (instead of repot¬ 
ting) with some good cow manure when occasion 
requires, and be plentifully supplied with water, and 
they will be found to thrive exceedingly well under 
this treatment. They love the shade, being found 
in dense forests; and enjoy abundance of heat and 
moisture.—T. W. Dollery, The Gardens, Whitburn, 
Sunderland. 
CINERARIA STELLATA. 
Cineraria stellata is a very useful decorative plant, 
being very light and pretty, which is a great contrast 
to the old formal Cineraria. It is also very useful 
for cut flower and is singularly accommodating. As 
it requires but very little fire heat, cool, moist pits or 
frames suit it admirably. The seed may be sown 
during May, June, and July, according to when it is 
required. The seed when sown in a moist tempera¬ 
ture of 6o° germinates readily, and when large 
enough may be pricked off in pans, or potted singly 
into thumbs. The trames should be kept closed for 
a few days after potting, always shading from 
bright sunshine and syringing toward evening after 
hot days. 
Pot on as required into 48's and 32’s, using a 
good compost, loam J, cow manure J, leaf mould \ ; 
add a little soot, silver sand and wood ashes. When 
established in larger pots gradually expose after 
sunset till the plants will bear exposure without 
flagging, and then during September and the first 
weeks in October on fine nights leave the lights off 
altogether, as the heavy dew is very beneficial tc 
the plants. Should the weather look threatening 
put four pots, 32’s, under the lights, one at each 
corner. This will allow free circulation and your 
plants are safe from thunder, rains, or frost. The 
colours of the flowers are not yet all that can be 
desired, but our leading seed growers will soon 
improve them.— C. P. C. 
CLERODENDRON FALLAX. 
This is the best of the many species of shrubby 
Clerodendrons It is a native of Java; has hand¬ 
some heart-shaped leaves and large panicles of 
bright scarlet flowers. It is a plant which is well 
worth careful cultivation, and a batch of healthy 
young plants in flower is unapproached in brilliance 
by any other flowering stove plants. The best plan 
to adopt is to grow them from seed sown in the 
spring, although many cut down the plants after 
flowering and grow them on for the second year, 
this plan is not so satisfactory. The seedlings 
should be pricked off into thumb pots, placed in the 
stove or pit, where they have plenty of light, and 
when the roots are well through the soil, they 
should have a shift into 4-in. pots, using a good, 
rich compost, and keeping the plants well syringed, 
which will help to keep off insects, for if once scale 
or bug gets on the plants it will seriously detract 
from the beauty of the batch. About the middle of 
June they ought to be ready to pot into 6-in. or 7-in. 
pots, using a compost of equal parts loam and leaf 
mould, some silver sand and well decomposed 
manure. They ought to be potted fairly firmly, 
given plenty of room between the plants, and kept 
near the glass. Treated in this manner, the plants 
ought to flower in August and produce panicles over 
1 ft. in breadth.— F. W. M. 
-- 5 —- 
OUT OF DOOR STRAWBERRIES. 
The early fruiting varieties have been layered and 
planted out by this time. Those who wish to 
obtain a succession of fruit ought to have started 
the job of layering the late kinds about a week ago, 
but failing this a start should be made at once. 
Clear the plants of all the superfluous runners and 
tie all the good ones together so that there need be 
no trouble in selecting them when layering. Every 
layer should have a good crown. Use 60’s which 
must be thoroughly wiped out before being filled 
with the soil, which can be loam and spent mush¬ 
room dung. Place a crock and some of this dung at 
the bottom of the pots for drainage. Fill the pots to 
within balf-an inch of the rim and press the soil 
down moderately hard, for slackness will cause 
them to dry up quickly. The best way is to place 
the pots round the prepared layers on the border 
and peg the crowns into the soil by means of a wire 
or wooden peg, taking care not to damage the 
Sweet Pea Countess Spencer. 
