February 28, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
197 
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Plants and Vapour (0. E. Middleton). 
T] ie leaves of plants are the organs chiefly which take up 
vapour from the atmosphere, when they happen to be dry and in a 
wiltin'* condition, owing to the lack of water at the roots. 
Physiological botanists tell us that all parts of the surface of 
the leaves, upper as well as under, are capable of taking up 
moisture from the atmosphere, or in the form ofl dew or rain 
which may fall upon them. There is not much food for plants 
in water that may be taken up in this manner, for the simple 
reason that the water is very clean, being practically distilled 
water. The only form of plant food which it may contain would 
be a small quantity of ammonia that might be dissolved in the 
rain or vapour. Plants are capable of utilising this when it 
conies'in their way ; but, as you see. the other elements of plant 
food are practically absent from distilled water. Carbon dioxide 
is of course, always present in the atmosphere, and plants col¬ 
lect that by means of their leaves, whether the atmosphere is 
dry or moist. 
Odontoglossum Leaves Curling and Twisting (G. T. Haywood) 
The temperature you mention for your Odontoglossum house 
would seem sufficient for the present time, but what would cause 
the curling of the leaves is not very evident. Are you quite 
sure that there is no escape of sulphur from the stokehole into 
the house? Possibly some fungus might be at work, but of this 
we have no evidence. You might send, us some leaves to see 
whether we can determine what is the matter with them. In 
the case of their being injured by sulphur fumes there would be 
nothing to indicate the same. The case might be clue to some 
fault in cultivation, which would have to be determined on the 
spot. 
Watering Odontcglossums (G. T Haywood). 
The plants being evergreen, they must on no account be 
allowed to get dry at any period of the year. In winter they 
would require less water than in summer, but it behoves you to 
look carefully over the plants every second day, in order to water 
those that give any indication of being dry. The flower spikes 
make their appearance at various periods of the year, and come 
into bloom when ready. We see no necessity, however, for 
giving less water when the bloom spikes appear than at any other 
time. When the plants show evidence of commencing active 
growth they require more water than when resting, but the com¬ 
post must not be allowed to get dry at any time. 
Bedding Arrangements (D. W. D.). 
It seems to us that the crimson Nasturtium Empress of India 
would do best to foi’m the background of the border next the 
Sweet Peas, otherwise the Nemophila in front of them would be 
outgrown and overpowered, the latter being a very dwarf grower. 
You do not say what Musk you are going to use, but we presume 
it is Harrison’s Musk, otherwise you cannot get much of a dis¬ 
play of yellow colour. The old Musk is chieflyl grown for the 
scent of its foliage, whereas Harrison’s Musk is serviceable in 
the flower garden. You mention several other plants which you 
intend using in the design, but unless the border is a very wide 
one we should dissuade you from using very bizarre mixtures. 
Stocks or clumps of Stocks would look very well in the angles or 
bays between the crimson and the blue, as they would serve to 
break the monotony of the design. If you desire Stocks, 
Asters, and Antirrhinums, we should recommend you to plant 
each of them in separate clumps and at some distance from one 
another. Thus a clump of each might alternate with another in 
the bays just mentioned. A more popular arrangement at the 
present day consists of the planting of all sort of flowers, annual 
and perennial, without any decided or apparent order of arrange¬ 
ment, the object being to make the* border as informal as possible. 
The geometrical designs and ribbon borders are greatly out of 
fashion at the present day, and the planting of various sub¬ 
jects in irregular-sized clumps enables the planter to make good 
any blanks in the border, and also those which have gone out of 
bloom. Thus there is no necessity for having a reserve of the 
same kind of plants to make good the blanks which may occur, 
and such, moreover, are never very satisfactory. 
Carrots for Exhibition (Tap Root). 
Some of the Intermediate or Long Red Surrey types of Carrot 
are the most popular for exhibition purposes. The points about 
them are that they should be of reasonable size, or even good 
size, regular, tapering from the crown to the tip of the root, and 
perfectly smooth. The colour is also a great feature, and the 
darker red the skin is so much the better. Longer Carrots 
would be obtained by the use of the Altrincham type, but they 
are too thin, even at the crown end, to please the eye of the 
judge or the experienced exhibitor. There is also more waste, 
there being a larger core in this type than in the Intermediate 
Carrots, some of which are of vigorous growth, and clean and 
bright in colour ; but this latter feature, as well as the shape and 
size, can be largely determined by good cultivation. 
Carnation Leaves Turning Yellow (D. W. B.). 
The complaint of which you speak is generally considered to be 
due to bacteria. In any case the plants give indication of being 
unhealthy, and whether we describe it as being brought about by 
bad cultivation or by the presence of bacteria, it amounts to 
much the same thing. The presence of bacteria may be due to 
accident or to bad cultivation, which would induce plants Li 
become weakened by the conditions under which they are placed, 
and thereby rendering them more liable to be attacked not only 
by bacteria, but by various other fungoid diseases to which 
Carnations are liable. If the temperature and the conditions 
of the atmosphere are maintained in a state that will keep the 
Carnations growing slowly and sturdily in the winter time, they 
generally do well, otherwise it -is a safer plan to keep the 
atmosphere of the house very dry and the roots of large plants 
equally so. When the weather becomes warmer you might pot 
on the plants with the object of getting them to make fresh 
growth. It would soon be appa.rent then which plants are 
capable of making vigorous growth, while those which continue 
unhealthy may be at once destroyed. Those that are very weak 
and affected at the present time might be destroyed without 
further trouble. 
Number of Scapes on the Joss Lily (A. R. L.). 
The number of flower scapes would be entirely due to the 
number of bulbs, big and little, which may be attached to one 
another, and appear like one big bulb. This habit of growing 
together in clumps is not by any means a peculiarity of t he Joss 
Lily (Narcissus Tazetta chinensis), as all other varieties of the 
Polyanthus Narcissus will behave in the same way if treated as 
the Chinese do. You can do this for yourself by planting the 
bulbs under favourable conditions and allowing them to make 
vigorous growth in the open air, in light rich soil. In the 
autumn, or when lifting, you will find that- a greater or lesser 
number of bulbs stick together, forming one large piece. They 
are simply the mother bulb with offsets ; and sometimes, undei 
certain conditions, the principal bulb will break up into several. 
The Indian Strawberry (Fragaria). 
If you mean Fragaria indica, it is no hyrid, but a good species, 
and a very , distinct one from India and China. The reason why 
it is not very durable with you out of doors is because the plant 
is not perfectly hardy in our climate. In very severe winters the 
plants may get very much damaged, or killed outright, especially 
if the soil is of a wet character. It would be well always to 
keep a reserve of plants in a place where they cannot be destroyed 
by frost and severe weather-. A few plants will give a large 
amount of increase in the course of a single season if planted out 
on the rockery, and all that you require to do is to layer a few 
of the runners in autumn in pots, taking them indoors in Sep¬ 
tember as a reserve stock to guard against loss in winter. 
Names of Plants. 
(Mrs. Gordon.) The Palm is evidently Washingtonia filifera, 
but hr a young state it is difficult to say whether it is that species 
or another closely allied. Could you, tell us the name of the 
country from which the seeds were brought?—(T. M. T.) 1, 
Galanthus nivalis flore pleno ; 2, Crocus aureus var. ; 3, Crocus 
susianus ; 4, Crocus biflorus ; 5, Erica carnea alba ; 6, Anemone 
Hepatica.— (W. M.)l, Forsythia suspensa ; 2, Cornus Mas; 3, 
Sal ix alba vitellina ; 4, Cupressus nutliatensis ; 5, Liboeedrus 
decurrens.—(R. M.) 1, Acacia armata ; 2, Acacia platyptera ; 
3 Boronia heterophylla ; 4, Centropogon lucyanus ; 5, Cero- 
peMa Woodii.— (D. T. \V.) 1, Narcissus Jonquilla ; 2, Narcissus 
