February 7, 1903, 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
125 
The Juniors' Page and Correspondence. 
Lenten Roses. 
Those who contemplate planting Lenten Roses a little later 
in the season, when the plants go out of bloom, might make 
preparations in the meantime in selecting the situation and 
preparing the soil. A cool situation is always desirable, and if 
slightly shaded from the mid-day and afternoon sun, so much 
the better. This will save a deal of watering, which after all 
is not so beneficial to the plants as when, grown in a situation 
where they are not likely to be burned up by the heat of the 
sun. The foliage is always liable to suffer in summer. 
If the ground or situation selected has not been trenched for 
some years previously, it would be advisable to have it done 
before planting Lenten Roses, because when once they are 
doing well they should not be disturbed for some years. 
Provided the subsoil is heavy or inclined to clay, it need not 
be turned up, though it would be advisable to have it well 
broken up and mixed with some vegetable matter such as cow 
manure, leaf mould, etc. The top spit may also have the same 
dressing of manure liberally incorporated with it. Provided 
the soil is prepared ini this way at the present time, it will have 
settled down and be ready for planting about the end of March, 
when the weather is becoming genial. 
A Good Reliable Pear Tree (Midlands).—Louise Bonne 
of Jersey is a very fruitful tree, and a constant cropper 
under a great variety of conditions, and we think would suit 
your purpose. Other fi-ee fruiting varieties are Buerre Diel, 
Buerre d’Amanl.is, Jersey Gratioli, Beurre Hardy, and 
Fondante d’Automne. 
Red-leaved Mahonia (A. J. M.).—The red colour of the 
leaves of this shrub are not retained in summer. It practically 
constitutes the winter coloration of this shrub, appearing in the 
autumn or early winter, and disappearing again in spring, when 
the weather becomes warmer. In our experience it colours up 
best when grown in sandy soils or exposed situations. 
Pruning in Frosty Weather (S. T.)—The objection to prun¬ 
ing in frosty weather is that the wood gets bruised, and later 
on splits open. Shoots that suffer damage in this way are liable 
to die back, thus leaving unsightly and not only useless snags, 
but it may lead to the injury of the bud immediately below the 
cut. This is the sum and substance of the objection to pruning 
in frosty weather, and for this reason you should avoid it when 
the shoots happen to be in a frozen condition. 
Evergreen Shrubs in a Front Garden (D. R. Watt).—Tom- 
best plan would be to get evergreen plants with smooth 
leaves, as suoh are more easily kept clean than those ini which 
the leaves are more or less downy or hirsute. Some of the more 
useful for your purpose would consist of Euonymus japonic.us, 
in its numerous green or variegated forms, Aucubas, and some 
of the hardier shrabbv Veronicas, such as V. Traversii, V. 
parvifior.a angustifolia, V. salicifolia., and others of that char¬ 
acter. During dusty times keep the syringe or rosed-watering 
pot busy. 
Yellow Crocuses and Sparrows (Crocus). — You could 
scarcely do better than place a line of black cotton thread on 
each side of the row of Crocuses. Some people use a large 
number of threads running in different directions, and crossing 
each other until the situation is practically disfigured by them ; 
but we think all this complication of threads quite unnecessary. 
Our experience with various other garden plants which are 
usually infested by sparrows is that a line of thread, about 
three inches from the ground, and on either side of the rows of 
anything, will effectually keep the marauders at bay. 
Parsnips Failing to Grow (T. B. B.).—Without some 
particulars it would be difficult to 'say why your Parsnips 
failed. Some people bury ihe seeds too* deeply; others keep 
the remainder of the seeds that were left unsown the previous 
year; and others againl go where ihey can get the cheapest 
seeds, which is not always a reliable proceeding-, a.s no depen¬ 
dence can be placed upon them. Parsnip seeds remain good 
for a short time, after which they are unreliable in the produc¬ 
tion of a crop. It loses its germinating powers in the course of 
two years or so. We have observed and heard of frequent cases 
of failures with Parsnips, but they have generally been due to 
one or other of the above causes. 
Unfruitful Plum Tree (J. Read).—You do not give us 
any particulars regarding the situation of the tree with refer¬ 
ence to others. Is the tree surrounded and crowded by others ? 
If so some judicious thinning should be given. It is a frequent 
occurrence to see Plum and other trees so crowded that no air 
can possibly get through them. In other cases, or simultane¬ 
ously with the other crowding, branches are far too thick. The 
branches should be thinned out not too many at a time, but cer¬ 
tainly all the worst of them at the present time. A better 
plan would be to thin out the branches in the autumn, when 
the leaves are still upon them. Another suggestion we should 
make is to top-dress the ground with cow manure and lime, 
which may he forked into the surface. This top-dressing will 
serve to mourish the tree, for lime is always necessary for stone 
fruits, and is usually deficient in soils for trees of this class. 
Two Crops from a Garden (R. B.).— To secure two 
crops in one season you must have ani early one and a late 
one. A very convenient onie would be early Peas, -selecting the 
varieties which you find to be earliest in your district. It 
would be advantageous to sow at -once in boxes or pots, or on 
turves, and place them in a greenhouse with a gentle growing 
temperature. Under such conditions they would get along 
slowly, and could be planted in the open when the weather is 
sufficiently fine to allow of their getting established before the 
recurrence of bad weather. It would be to your advantage, 
therefore, to harden off the Peas well before finally planting 
them in a fully-exposed place. Lettuces- or Spinach might be 
planted between the Peas, to- fully occupy the ground. The 
s-eond crop -might consist of Cauliflowers, Cabbages, Coleworts, 
Kale, or Broccoli. These must be sown in good time so as to 
be ready to take the place of the Peas as soon as they are off 
the ground. 
Laige White Leeks (G. B. R. ).—You will have to com¬ 
mence^ at once by sowing seeds in boxes or pans- and placing 
them in a greenhouse. We presume the greenhouse is heated^ 
otherwise' the seeds- will germinate very slowly. Some culti¬ 
vators have found it advisable or convenient to make up a hot¬ 
bed of fermenting manure, and having placed a frame on this, 
they cover the manure with so-il, and stand the boxes or pans 
upon this. Very large Leeks cannot be obtained without giving 
them a fairly long season. That is why we consider it high time 
to sow the seeds. When they have made a few leaves they may 
be transplanted into- other boxes-, and kept growing under glass 
till the weather becomes fine in May, earlier or later -according 
to the character o-f the weather. Before planting them out 
trenches should be prepared much in the same way as for Celery, 
and some good cow manure placed in the bottom of the trenches 
and dug into the- soil. The plants may then be put into the 
trenches in single lines -about a foot apart and watered. Soil 
should be drawn up against the s-tem-s as the plants grow ; and 
by keeping the. soil well up to the bottom of the leaves, it wi'l 
induce the necks of the Leeks to become drawn; out and blanched 
at the same time. 
Greenhouse with Northern Aspect (A. L.).—Ferns are 
most suitable for a greenhouse facing the north ; but there- 
are various other subjects, chiefly fine foliage plants-, which 
might be utilised for keeping the place filled during the 
summer and winter months provided sufficient heat is used to 
kee>p out the frost. We oannbt recommend flowering plants, 
for the simple reason that flowering plants require plenty of 
sunshine, as a rule, in order to develop their stems, leaves and 
flower buds before they can flower satisfactorily. Some of the 
green-leaved subjects that might be employed are Fatsia (Aralia) 
japonica, Aspidistras, Dracaena rubra, D. australis, and various 
others of that class. The house would present- a green appear¬ 
ance certainly, but there are variegated foims- of some of the 
above named, which would help to brighten the greenhouse to 
some extent. All things considered, however, we should utilise 
hardy Ferns chiefly, as being most -appropriate to the situation. 
Most of these would consist of Brifis-h Ferns, but none are 
better. You can utilise them in all sorts of positions, including 
baskets and brackets in various parts of the house. Some 
Continental Ferns, as well as -some American ones, are hardy, 
and may be employed with the British ones if you fancy them) 
