March 7, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
■m 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquires may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
put as briefly os possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
a separate sheet of paper should he used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped , addressed 
envelope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
Anonymous communications are treated in the usual editorial manner. 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World,” 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Propagation of Daphne Mezereum (W. W.) 
The above plant can be propagated by seeds, cuttings, or by 
crafting. The principal object of grafting is to get a stock of 
young plants more quickly than can usually be done by the other 
methods of propagation ; but this means that you would require 
to have a stock of seedlings, and unless you had some particular 
variety to graft on these seedlings no particular object would be 
gained. The plan of propagation by cuttings is to take short 
side shoots in the autumn,, and, after trimming, insert them 
firmly in pots of sandy peat and loam. They may be kept in 
a cold frame or greenhouse during the winter, by the end of 
which time they will have formed a callus. After this you 
could introduce the pots to gentle heat in order to encourage 1 
a more rapid development of the roots. After the roots are well 
formed the plants may be potted oS separately and grown to 
some size before planting them in their permanent positions. 
If you decide to raise young plants from berries you should 
stratify the latter between layers of moist sand, much in the 
same way as you would do with Hawthorn or Holly berries. 
If you once allow the berries of Daphne to become dried up before 
putting them in soil or sand, they may lie for two years before 
germination takes place. 
Propagation of Fine-leaved Aralias (M. D.). 
We suppose you refer to the fine-leaved species usually grown 
in stoves. These cannot be raised by means of cuttings, or, at 
least, only a few of them. The most usually adopted plan is to 
graft them on to the stocks of Aralia reticulata,, which can be 
raised from cuttings. You do not mention any names of 
varieties which you may have, but most of the stove species may 
be grafted on the above as a stock. 
Pruning Allamandas (M. D.) 
It is customary to prune Allamanda.s annually, but how far 
they should be pruned back will depend on the object you have 
in view. You do not state how you are growing the plants, 
whether on a trellis, on the roof of the house, or in any other 
way. Speaking in general terms, we should advise you to allow 
for the extension of the plant according to requirements or to 
space at command. Then those young shoots that are left to 
extend the plant may be pruned back, to half their length or 
more. On the other hand, when the space at their command is 
fully occupied you will have to prune back all the young wood 
to a bud or two at the base of the annual shoots, much in the 
same way as you would prune a Pear tree on a wall. You will 
observe that the amount of pruning depends upon the object you 
have in view, and whether it has occupied the space available. 
In the latter case the young wood would be pruned back to the 
base annually to keep the plants within bounds. All the flowers 
are produced on the young growths made during .summer, so that 
there is no danger of cutting away flower buds. 
Name of Sketch of Flower (S. C.) 
The sketch you sent- us is evidently intended to represent a, 
Marguerite or Oxeye Daisy, but which particular species it would 
be mere guess work in attempting to say, because there is not 
mough botanical detail to distinguish it from several Chrysanthe¬ 
mums which might be named, particularly the hardy ones. We 
should simply describe it therefore as some species' of Chry¬ 
santhemum. 
rrnb in the Turf of a Pasture (Inquirer). 
The specimen you sent us was the larva of Ocypus olens, 
mpularly known as the Devil's Coach Horse or Fetid Rove 
leetle. You need not be alarmed concerning it, however, as 
t is one of the gardeners’ friends rather than otherwise, but 
oore particularly in the perfect state, when the beetle is carni- 
orous, very voracious, and feeds upon various kinds of beetles 
nd other vermin which might be destructive to plant life. The 
laivce of the May Bug is similar in size, hut much shoi'ter and 
without the dark band towards the end of the abdomen. When 
digging, or trenching, or turfing it would be to your ad van tarn to 
distinguish between the larvie of the Fetid Hove Beetle and 
others, including the May Bug, which we have just mentioned. 
Wood Lice and Melons (Inquirer). 
We fear that there is little that you can spray woodlice with 
capable, of doing the latter any damage without at the same time 
destroying your plants. If the Melons had been in the seedling 
stage and still in pots it would have been possible to save them 
by standing them on inverted pots in pans or other vessels of 
water. It seems, to us that a better plan would be to destroy 
hiding places for woodlice, because so long as such are allowed 
to remain they will simply be breeding places for the woodlice, 
which will come forth to feed upon whatever may be within their 
reach. A good plan would be to cement all cracks and crevices 
in the walls of the house, and to clear away all rubbish or any¬ 
thing whatever that would afford shelter to these marauders. 
Some people use hot water, pouring it into the seams and 
cracks between the soil and the 1 wall so as to destroy the wood- 
lice harbouring there. When making up a bed for Melons the 
soil should be placed close up to the wall, so as to leave no 
shelter for plant enemies. By these means, and by observing 
cleanliness in the house generally, you cannot have much trouble 
from woodlice. They are too large to escape observation if means 
are taken to hunt them down. 
Habitat of Henbane (M.M.L.). 
The Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) may frequently appear 
beside old houses or ruins, but in our experience it is not parti¬ 
cular whether the houses are inhabited or in ruins provided 
the site is near human habitations, or other places where it can 
get. the proper food. We frequently come across it in villages 
and near human habitations, which may be due to the fact°of 
the soil being loose or, at least, sufficiently broken up to allow 
the seeds to germinate and the plants to get a footing. We 
think, however, it is generally a question of manure, as°in the 
c ase of the Goosefcot family. W e have seen the Henbane 1 growing 
luxuriantly and flowering and fruiting on a chalk down where 
the soil had been broken by rabbits, and also enriched by their 
droppings. Other plants come up in a similar manner, when 
the soil has been broken up, which would otherwise fail to 
obtain a footing. Sometimes the seeds of the above plant and 
other members of the Solanum family would appear in recently 
dug or trenched soil, where seeds may have lain concealed for 
many years. We have in mind a garden in which Datura 
Stramonium has. come up regularly every year for the last eleven 
years, although it has never been allowed to ripen a seed during 
all that period. Previous to that it had been a playground for 
children, when it may have grown and seeded on the less- 
trodden parts ; but of that we are not certain. It is proof posi¬ 
tive, however, that the seeds of those plants can lie and live a 
long time in soil and afterwards germinate. 
To Grow Japanese Irises in a Border (T. W.). 
It is not necessary that these should actually be planted in 
water, provided you take the means to have them well supplied 
with moisture. There are several ways of doing this ; fof in¬ 
stance, you might take out the natural soil, leaving the ground 
hollow, after you have applied any fresh material which you may 
add to the natural soil, in order to increase its fertility and 
stimulate growth. The hollow ground may either be in the 
form of a bed, or the whole area, whatever its shape, devoted to 
the Irises may be excavated so that it will be below the general 
level. In such a case it will be easy to apply considerable quan¬ 
tities of water at stated intervals, by which the roots could always 
be kept in a flooded condition as if the place were naturally 
moist. It is not necessary to do this on a large scale, provided 
you have only a small quantity, but the excavation of the natural 
soil and the leaving of the ground hollow is necessary both in 
the case of water artificially applied and in the case of rain. 
We should not advise you to use much manure, specially of a 
fresh or rank nature, but if well decayed and placed below the 
reach of the direct contact of the roots it will prove useful in 
helping to retain moisture. Leaf mould can be applied in quan¬ 
tity with the same object in view. Some people have also used 
peat for this purpose, hut there is not much plant food in peat, 
which merely serves the purpose of a medium for the roots and 
retains moisture. We are not particularly fond of puddling the 
bottom of the bed with clay, though that may be found useful 
in the case of Ferns and certain bog plants, 
