January 31, 1903. 
THE GARDEN l ISO WORLD. 
95 
Letters to the Editor. 
Late Chrysanthemums. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, —In one of your columns of this week’s issue is a short 
paragraph relative to late-flowering Chrysanthemums, and, asi 
it appeal's to be advice for some reader, it calls for a critical 
word or two. Among several varieties mentioned as being late 
flowering—which is correct—are two varieties, Lady Lawrence 
and L. Canning. The closing sentence says in effect that these 
varieties will be found satisfactory if rooted as late as June, or 
(if I do not err) July ! Now, sir, my experience of late-flower¬ 
ing ’Mums-—especially of these two last-named—makes this 
statement appear erroneous. 
A moment’s reflection will at once make clear the fact that 
if a variety is naturally late—i.e., if it requires four or five 
months to develop a break, it follows that unless the aim of the 
grower is to have a batch of single-stem plants of doubtful 
merit, he is, by striking the cuttings in June, on a fair road 
for disappointment. The word of advice here offered for what 
it is worth is that the later the variety the earlier must a 
start be made. That October and mid-season varieties can be 
manipulated to flower at Christmas I am w T ell aware, but it 
is naturally late varieties here in question. Adverse criticism, 
I know, is not pleasant, though sometimes useful; in this in¬ 
stance it is decidedly necessary. 
With your permission, sir, I may refer in a short note to 
some few varieties of the above nature at an early date, where 
I should endeavour to select about a dozen of more recent intro¬ 
duction than is Lady Lawrence, the habit of which has always 
aroused disfavour. H. J. G. 
[Please do.—E d.] 
Sweet Peas. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir,— I am not great at botany, yet I thought I knew enough 
of the subject to understand the component parts of a Sweet Pea 
flower. However, your versatile critic “ Cal ” seems to think 
otherwise. Well, he may be right, but I am not yet convinced 
that I have made an error, so must appeal to our old friend 
the Editor. I may here say I like to' be put right when I do 
make a mistake, and this does happen sometimes. 
To return to the question. When I first wrote (or started 
to write) about Sweet Peas I was a little puzzled asito the 
coirect terms, for it is rather a curious flower to properly 
describe. I carefully examined a flower, and then turned up 
the best authority my limited library afforded. I found a dis¬ 
sected flower illustrated and the following description given : 
" The corolla is composed of five petals, of which the posterior 
or the vexillum (the standard) is usually the largest and 
symmetrical in form. The two lateral, mostly oblique in form, 
are the alae, or wings, and the two anterior, also small and 
oblique, often coherent in front, form the carina or keel." This 
description is accompanied with an illustration showing the 
five distinct petals. I give the above as it may be of interest 
to others, though I may not convince “ Cal ” that I am right. 
The usual terms in describing a Sweet Pea flower are the 
“ standard,” “ wings,” and keel, and I have never seen the word 
“ pocket ” applied. A. Hemsley. 
The Preparation of Soi!s. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, —I am not altogether surprised that my remarks on 
trenching, on p. 6 of The Gardening World for Jan. 10th, have 
been questioned both by Mr. Charles Blair and “ Cal.” As I am 
well aware, there are many who do not agree with me in the 
method of bringing the subsoil to the surface, and I was careful 
to note that when writing. 
I must first of all thank each for the kind remarks they 
made on the article generally, and I do not for one moment 
wish to infer that either is wrong and myself right, all having 
a right to our own opinions. I will endeavour, briefly, to reply 
to Mr. Blair, arid, by so doing, I think I shall answer “ Cal ” 
also. Firstly, let me say it was not my fault that my name did 
not appear at the end of the article ; it was somehow omitted 
by the Editor [The printer was to blame.— Ed.], and I do not 
wish to shelter myself behind a noin de plume. 
Mr. Blair states that it is very apparent I have never had any 
experience of heavy clay land. Well, I may not have had as 
much as Mr. Blair (I should think possibly not), but I have 
had charge of the gardens here for nearly nineteen years, and 
I doubt if there is a stiffer or worse clay to be found in any 
part of the country, and anyone who has had to deal with 
what is called London clay can, I am certain, testify to this. 
Worse still, our kitchen-garden slopes to the north, and when 
I came here it was considered impossible to grow good 
vegetables, my predecessor having selected a piece of land on 
the estate over two miles away for supplying the kitchen. I 
kept this under cultivation for one season only, and, to over¬ 
come the difficulty, I commenced deep trenching, and in every 
case I had the bottom soil brought to the top, much of which, 
to all appearance', had never seen daylight before. This has 
been repeated as much as possible annually, and I shall be 
most happy to welcome Mr. Blair or anyone else interested, at 
any season, so that they can form their own opinion of the 
results, both as to the nature of the soil and the crops of all 
kinds grown here. 
So long as the subsoil at a reasonable depth is kept, buried 
underneath it will never prove to be a tempting resort for deep- 
rooted subjects. The influence of the weather will do more to 
bring this to a suitable fertile compost in one season than 
years of attempting to deal with it at the level at which it is 
found, and especially so- when done in early spring as advised. 
If done in autumn and mid-winter, heavy rams and snow, 
which we may reasonably expect during winter, will solidify 
rather than help it. What is most beneficial to such is drying- 
winds and frosts. Depend on it, the worse the nature of the 
under soil, all the more reason for trenching the same as I 
advise. What we Avant to encourage is a deep, workable soil, 
wherein the roots of plants can penetrate if they wish ; especially 
so in hot, dry seasons, the surface is sure to become genial if 
Avell exposed. I have also had to work gardens on the chalky 
banks of Berkshire, also the hot, dry, sandy soils of Surrey, 
and in each case I have practised what I now preach—deep 
trenching, and the poor soil, no matter what it may be, brought 
to the top and made by the help of man and Nature to become 
useful to vegetation. E. Beckett. 
Aldenliam House Gardens, Elstree. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, —In looking over my copy of the “ G. W.,” Jan. 24th, 1 
read Avith much amusement the article by Charles Blair on “ The 
Preparation of Soils.” While I have no. desire to “ rake up ” 
his article generally, I should very much like to say a feAv 
Avords on part of it—viz., “ My successor Avas one of those Avith 
trenching on the brain. What Avas the result ? Nearly every¬ 
thing a failure ”—sure enough, a solemn-looking text. The 
rest of the clause has not yet come to- pass, so here it must 
drop for the present. 
Since he left, and a Avhile before, no trenching has been 
done here, but last Avinter I did double dig a piece of ground 
about 25 yards by 6 yards, and did, indeed, have little off it, 
