June 13; 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
523 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column These 
enouiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
vut as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
% separate sheet of paper should be 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. 
Unheated Greenhouse. (Edwin Hetherington.) 
4 aood deal might be done with an unheated greenhouse, 
especially during summer ; but it may also be turned to useful 
account in winter in keeping either flowers that are hardy or 
nearly hardy, as well as fruit trees. You do not say what class 
of plants you wish to grow, or we might advise you. There 
have been articles on the subject in recent numbers of I he 
Gakiiexin'O World by those who have one. The brick wails 
are altogether too high for planting out such things as Tomatos 
in the borders, though vou might achieve a fair success, tor 
the cultivation of flowers it would be necessary to erect some, 
sort of benches at least as high as the brick walls so as to 
briim the plants near the light. Then if you should want to 
»row° Tomatos you could either place a ridge of soil on the 
benches or grow the Tomatos in tubs, boxes, or pots. There 
are several books on the greenhouse, but we have not noticed 
any on the unheated greenhouse. If you can give us any idea 
about the class of plants you wish to grow we can give advice 
and instruction. 
Worms in a Lawn. (L. P.) 
That there should be so many worms in your lawn is evidence 
that the soil is rich, and capable of furnishing them with plenty 
of food. During dry weather their castings could be easily 
swept up, but you could also reduce the number of the worms 
bv means of lime water. Take 61bs. of fresh lime, and put 
it into 15 gallons of water ; leave it until the sediment is 
settled and the liquid becomes clear. You can then water the 
arass with this lime water, and the worms in a short time will 
come to the top, when they may be swept up and destroyed or 
taken away. It would be well when using lime water to select 
a showery' time, so as to prevent damage to the grass You 
can, of course, water the turf, but it would take a considerable 
amount of labour ; besides which, worms will give you little dis¬ 
turbance unless the weather is wet, and that is the time you 
will find it most convenient to use the lime water. 
Turfing v. Sowing Lawns. (P. A. W.) 
Seeds may appear expensive, but if you make a lawn by laying 
turf, you will find that equally or more expensive, after every¬ 
thing has been taken into consideration. In the first place, you 
have to count the price of the turf, plus the carriage and the 
laying of the same. Against this you must reckon upon intro- 
during had grasses, and certainly those of very unequal growth, 
which is the rule in most wild pastures. Weeds of a coarse 
nature are also likely to be introduced. After all these things 
are considered, you will probably come to the same conclusion 
as us—that a more equal lawn may be produced by properly 
preparing the ground and sowing seeds of the proper kinds 
for a lawn, according to the nature of your ground. 
Edgings other than Box. (Buxus.) 
You do not state what is your objection to Box, unless that 
it is common and formal. On the other hand, various live 
edgings could be used, but on the score of harbouring slugs 
and other vermin they would be nearly as bad as Box. If 
you wish them merely on the score of ornament, then we can 
name some things that are easily grown. One of the most use¬ 
ful edgings is Armeria maritima, or Sea Thrift. There are 
several other species differing in the size of the flowers, which 
might be more uncommon when in bloom, but few of them 
would be neater or more easily managed. Another grassy-look- 
ing edging is Ophiopogon japonicus, the flowers of which would 
be less showy than the plant above mentioned, but the foliage 
would be somewhat different. The leaves of Zephyranthes 
Candida are somewhat similar to those of the last-named plant, 
but the flowers are white and very different in appearance. 
This plant makes a beautiful edging where it succeeds. Grass 
edgings might also be taken into account, and, where well 
kept, are pleasant in appearance, but people are liable to walk 
upon them instead of keeping to the paths, and the edgings 
would be liable to get out of repair. Edgings might also be 
made with Yiola cornuta ; also the sweet-scented variety known 
as Violetta, with small white flowers. Other flowering plants 
are Saxifraga umbrosa, Daisies, and even the dwarf Gentian 
(Gentiana acaulis). The above will furnish you with some 
variety, or at least an opportunity of selecting those which 
most take your fancy. 
Do Darwin Tulips become Rectified'l (F. G.) 
Varieties of Darwin Tulips do become rectified in a way, if 
by the term you mean that the colours separate into distinct 
layers, bands, or areas, so that the flowers become variegated. 
They might or might not fall into the category of a florist’s 
Tulip, but most likely they would not. The colours may, and 
do sometimes, become separated into flakes and bands of one 
colour on a groundwork of some other hue. We have seen some 
of them behave in this way, but they do not form either flamed 
or feathered blooms, as understood by the florist. The florist’s 
Tulip proper has been developed into its present form by close 
in-breeding and selection from varieties which have been under¬ 
going the same process for a great number of years, so as to 
get the colours arranged in certain defined and refined ways, 
according to the canons of the florist. The Darwin Tulips have 
not been subjected to this method of close in-breeding, so that 
they are of more vigorous constitution, and when the colours 
do break they are more likely to run into badly-defined colours 
rather than otherwise. The blue, or violet, or black colours 
often present at the base of the Darwin Tulips, is altogether 
against the breaking into the proper colours. After all this, 
what you can say of them is that these broken Darwin Tulips 
merely become variegated. 
Soil for Tuberous-rooted Begonias. (A. R. Marsh.) 
The moist season is the most suitable for this class of plant, 
but sunshine is equally desirable if good results are to be ob 
tained. The chief difficulty with these Begonias is their shallow 
rooting character, especially in the case of seedlings. A dry 
season is greatly against this class of plant for the reasons just 
named, but, all the same, you can get a fine display either 
from seedlings or from plants that are two or three years old at 
least, if you take the trouble to water them regularly during 
periods of hot and dry weather. It is scarcely worth the trouble, 
to raise seedlings for the purpose of bedding the same year as 
they are raised. A better plan would be to grow the seedlings 
in frames or on some shady border, where very little water 
would be required during the first year until they make tubers 
of useful size. These can then be planted in the flower beds 
prepared. From what has been said, you can glean that a 
puoisture-holding soil would be the most suitable to select for 
your Begonias, if selection is at. your command. You can, how¬ 
ever, improve soil to suit the Begonias, and if you did not make 
thorough preparations last autumn you can do so next autumn, 
and more fully prepare for this class of plant than at present. 
You can, however, dig into the ground a heavy dressing of well- 
decayed manure, also that from old Melon or Cucumber beds. 
After planting, a light dressing of Cocoanut fibre would prove 
beneficial if the weather should prove droughty. 
When to Plant Bamboos. (G. B.) 
If the plants are in pots, you can plant them now, or for some 
lime later cn, but the sooner the better, in order to give the 
plants a chance to establish themselves before the winter sets in. 
The best time to transplant Bamboos is just when they are com¬ 
mencing to grow, because the roots soon take hold of the fresh 
soil, and the plants become established in a short time, whereas 
if transplanted when resting, the evergreen foliage is liable to 
weaken tire plants when the roots are comparatively inactive. 
Narcissus Poeticus not flowering. (M. M. D.) 
The Poet’s Narcissus often behaves in this way, especially if 
the bulbs have been recently transplanted. We cannot say 
what treatment you have given your bulbs, but we have known 
them to be transplanted after they had'started into growth, with 
the result that very few of them produced flowers. We have 
also seen them behave in the same way when lifted from the 
open ground and potted up. The best plan would be to leave 
them undisturbed in the same position another season, unless 
you want the ground for something different; and even then 
the Narcissus might be left, unless the foliage is objectionable. 
We should endeavour to plant the bulbs where they are not likely 
