lay 9, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
417 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
'he Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
e. uiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
p as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
a ’.parate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
leaders are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
o their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
teplies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, addressed 
e elope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken, 
p onymous communications are treated in the usual editorial manner. 
Iddress letters: The Editor, ‘‘The Gardening World,” 37 and 
2;, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
le Cultivation of Pot Roses. (E. J.) 
There is a chapter on pot Roses in “ Roses and Rose Culture,” 
] Wm. Paul, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. The book is only Is., and is 
I blished by Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co., 
ndon. In the chapter details are given as to methods to pursue 
forcing Roses in pots, and near the end of the book is a 
t of Roses suitable for cultivation in pots. 
Tple Blossom Destroyed. (T. L.) 
It would be more difficult for us to say what insect had eaten 
13 blossom off your Apple trees than for yourself, seeing r.hat 
u are unable to catch the depredator. The most likely suspect 
iuld be the caterpillars of the Winter Moth, but the leaves 
u sen? along with the damaged truss of flowers did not indicate 
e work of the Winter Moth. It would be a good plan to caze- 
lly examine the trees as soon as the blossom and leaves hrst 
mmence to expand. You might possibly then discover very 
tail caterpillars at work on the trees ; that is, if prevalent in 
ur neighbourhood. The remedy in spring for the caterpillars 
the Winter Moth on Apple trees would be Paris green, at the 
te of § lb. to 75 or 100 gallons of water. With this the trees 
ould be sprayed before the blossom expands if there is any 
idence of caterpillars being present. Looking at the specimen 
u sent us, however, we are inclined to think that some other 
bature was the marauder on this occasion. Possibly it might 
ve been done by sparrows or bullfinches, which are often very 
structive to the blossom buds of fruit trees. During the 
lent spell of cold weather the winds kept everything in a very 
y condition, and when that is the case birds, but particularly 
arrows, become very troublesome on account of the scarcity 
food. In some cases, however, sparrows seem to do this sort 
injury purely out of mischief. In any case, the guilty party 
s not yet been proved, so to get at the bottom of the mischief 
would be necessary to make careful observations on the spot, 
1th the object of determining what particular enemy is at work, 
le usual method of dealing with these birds when they get 
b plentiful is to shoot them. At all events, that is the method 
opted by gardeners in rural districts. 
1 king the Bud of Chrysanthemums. (F. E. Robinson.) 
We think you must have been mistaken in stating that there 
is an article on this subject in last week’s Gardening World. 
however, you can discover where the article appeared during 
ie present year in our columns, let us know and we shall 
hd you a copy. In the meantime a few general remarks may 
made concerning the time for taking the buds of Chrysan- 
emums. No hard-and-fast lines can be laid down in any 
! se, as it differs with locality and with each variety ; and as 
w varieties are being put into commerce every year, it is 
jcessary that all these have to be studied afresh, in order to 
iscover the best time for taking the buds. What is usually 
Imed the first break occurs between the middle of May and 
| e middle of June. In other words, the first flower-bud for the 
ison appears between those dates, but as they will be useless 
c any practical purpose they are to be removed. The early 
rieties will have so far advanced by July that they will show 
bud again. In this case also the buds formed are useless, 
d may be removed. Some time about the third week of 
igust would be a suitable time for taking the buds in your 
strict. We can only speak in general terms, however, for 
e reasons above stated, but most varieties that produce buds 
out that time will develop them into good blossoms by the 
d of October or some time in November, according to the 
rliness or lateness of the variety. To get a thorough acquaint- 
ce with all these details concerning individual varieties, you 
ould begin taking down their names in a book or list, making 
marks about the time the buds were taken, which notes writ 
come in useful during the second year, and be a guide for future 
work. Even those who write books on the subject cannot speak 
much more definitely, as everything varies from year to year in 
the mattei' of climate and individual peculiarities of new varie¬ 
ties. Here, then, the previous experience of the cultivator of 
Chrysanthemums comes in as a guide for further experiments 
with new varieties he may add to the collection. In the case of 
very late varieties, to bloom about Christmas, it is necessary to 
propagate the plant early, in order to allow time for stopping 
them several times before the first week in June, after which 
no stopping is required in their case, but merely disbudding. 
Jumping Beans. (T. W.) c 
The movement of the so-called jumping Beans is due to the 
presence of the caterpillar of a moth in the interior of the seed. 
The caterpillar is so large relatively to the seed that the move¬ 
ments of the creature cause the seed to roll about. The grub 
feeds upon the interior of the seed, and makes it lighter as the 
caterpillar gets larger. The caterpillar is the young of Carpo- 
capsa sal titans, a congener of the Codlin Moth (Carpocapsa 
pomonella). The egg of the Mexican jumping Bean is laid m 
the seeds of Sebastiania Palmeri, a shrub belonging to the 
Spurge family, and growing wild in Mexico. 
Black Currant Mite. (D. W. R.) 
Some varieties of Black Currant are more liable to be affected 
by the Currant gall-mite than others ; at least, this is the expe¬ 
rience of many cultivators, but it is certain that some bushes 
are more infested than others. The Baldwin Black Currant 
has got a bad name in this respect. The buds that refuse io 
open now have certainly been affected by the bud-mite, but 
you could determine this quite easily in the winter, as the buds 
become very much larger than the rest, and are globular m 
form, so that there is no excuse for passing them over. The 
best plan to adopt would be to get a clean stock, and make a 
fresh plantation in a different place when the old one ceases to 
be profitable. 
Border Carnations in Pots. (Dianthus.) 
Border Carnations can be grown in pots just as easily as tree 
Carnations. Some people grow all of their named varieties in 
pots, at least those which they grow for exhibition purposes. 
By so doing they can be kept in a cool house suitable to their 
requirements, and the flowers are of much finer size than in the 
looser soil of the open ground. They are not so liable to split 
the calyx, and the plants frequently keep better than if they 
were wintered in the open ground. In the open air the ground 
should be made very firm for Carnations, as they naturally 
grow upon the rocks. For this latter reason Carnations are 
very suitable subjects for growing in pots, as the smaller quan¬ 
tity of soil is kept in firmer condition, and the roots are not so 
liable to injury from watering and feeding. The Carnation fly 
is not half so troublesome to Carnations under glass as it is 
in the open air. Those who grow for exhibitions certainly get 
finer flowers by this method, and those who grow merely for 
decorative purposes find it answer very well. These are suffi¬ 
cient reasons, then, for growing the plants in pots. 
Sowing Seeds Thickly. (J. R. H.) 
As you say, the advice is generally given to sow the seeds 
thickly, and this is largely emphasised when the seeds are 
supposed to be bad after a wet season, when they may have 
been damaged during the harvesting period. As a rule, how¬ 
ever, it is a mistake to sow thickly unless the seeds are very 
bad indeed. By means of a botanical lens you can generally 
tell whether the bulk of the seeds are good or not. If well 
filled and plump, you may take it for granted that a very large 
percentage of them will germinate. That is if they are not too 
old, and this would seldom happen if you get your seeds 
annually from a reliable source. Even if half the packet of 
seeds were wasted every year it would be to your advantage to 
avoid thick sowing out of doors at least, because seedlings are 
often greatly injured by overcrowding even when in the earliest 
stages of their existence. Even when sowing seeds in boxes 
under glass it is advisable to avoid thick sowing unless you 
intend to transplant the seedlings as soon as they are well ger¬ 
minated, otherwise they soon spoil one another. 
Twin Mushroom. (G. Davison.) 
The curious Mushroom you sent us occasionally turns up in 
beds where they are grown in quantity. They do not always 
behave in the same manner. In this particular case the two 
