THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 8, 1963. 
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Winter Spinach. —Make at least four sowings of this im¬ 
portant vegetable, allowing an interval of about a fortnight 
between each. The later beds sown on a sheltered border will 
oftentimes stand the winter and be much more serviceable 
than the earlier ones. Though the prickly-seeded kinds are 
generally recommended for autumn sowing, I have found those 
sorts generally advised for summer use to be equally as good 
if not better. The land should be deeply dug, and before 
sowing receive a thorough good dressing of soot, lime, and 
burnt garden refuse. Where the ground is of a light sandy 
nature, it should be made thoroughly firm by treading. Sow 
the seed thinly in drills, allowing a distance of 14 in. to 15 in. 
between each, and thin out to 9 in. from plant to plant when 
large enough. 
Cole worts. —Fill up every vacant piece of ground not wanted 
for other crops with these as they become ready, allowing a 
distance of 1 ft. all ways. Ground which has been occupied 
with Strawberries, if manured and deeply dug, form capital 
sites for these. Make thoroughly firm about the plants, and 
give a thorough soaking should the weather be diy. 
Celery. —In all stages of growth this should receive a. good 
dusting of fresh soot weekly; give thorough drencliings of 
manure-water whenever the weather is dry, not losing sight of 
t he fact that Celery is a moisture-loving subject, and it is im¬ 
possible to procure it at its best if allowed to suffer to any 
extent, for the want of it. Remove all suckers; and split leaves 
as. they are made, and continue, to earth up the earliest plant¬ 
ings on dry days, each time placing just sufficient, fine soil up 
to the heart of the plant. If the young leaves become buried, 
these will often become crippled and spoiled. 
Seakale. — Frequent hoeings and slight dressings of artificial 
manure in showery weather will do much to build up good 
strong crowns before the autumn. It has made a capital growth 
this year generally, and with a fine sunny autumn, which we 
may reasonably expect, there should be plenty of good forcing 
material for the next winter’s supply. 
Winter Onions. —Two- sowings at least should be made 
during the month, the first about the middle and the other 
towards the end. If sown too early the majority will run to 
flower and be of little use. White Emperor, White Leviathan, 
Red Giant, Rocca, and Lemon Rocca. are all excellent kinds 
and come to maturity in the order I have placed them. Choose 
an open piece- of ground, which should be trenched or deeply 
dug, and apply a good surface dressing of fresh soot and wood 
ashes before drawing the drills. Sow thinly, and the ground, 
especially that of a light nature, can hardly be made too firm. 
Give a. good watering along the drills after the seed is sown, 
should it be dry. 
Carrots. —In many districts the principal sowing of these is 
a. complete failure;, and in many others partially so, it. being 
quite an exception to see a. good healthy bed, wireworm being 
the chief cause. Thus, two. seasons in succession this trouble¬ 
some pest has been much in evidence. The later small sowings 
will prove to be very serviceable, as they are not likely to 
suffer to the same extent, and small medium-sized roots are 
generally most useful. There is yet. time to sow more seed in 
frames of the quick, short-rooted kinds. Sow also. Corn Salad 
and Radishes of sorts. E. Beckett. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. 
The Corn Grub and Rooks. —The “ Birmingham Daily Post ” 
says. that devastation is being caused in parts of Dumfries¬ 
shire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Wigtownshire, and Argyleshire, by 
the corn grub, and some farmers are ploughing up the land. 
The damage by the grub is greatest where the rooks were most 
vigorously shot down in the spring. The “ Humanitarian ” says 
it may not be generally known that rooks are destroyed in Scot¬ 
land in order that game birds may be successfully reared. We 
have often protested in the pages of The Gardening World 
against the ruthless destruction of the natural enemies of 
vermin of many kinds, including the corn grub, or tory worm, 
as it is known in many parts of the north ; also the grass moth, 
and voles, all of which increase to an alarming extent when 
there is no check upon them. Rooks are the natural enemies 
of grubs of the above-named types, and owls of voles. 
Reviews of Books.* 
“ Sweet Violets and Pansies.” 
This book runs to something like 100 pages, including an 
index, and consists of a few chapters on the subjects mentioned 
on the title-page. The book has been written in response to 
the appeals from readers of their various journals, as we are 
informed by the editor. The latter says that he has no sym¬ 
pathy with the show Pansy in its little box at the exhibition, 
but is not unmindful that those who display them are earnest 
workers in the field of horticulture. He gives credit to the 
Scotch growers for the work they have accomplished in this 
particular field, and, while admitting such to be the case, we 
might say that the country and the climate favour them. Even 
the garden Pansy has been evolved from a wild and beautiful 
flower that is a weed of the cornfields of northern countries, 
file waysides, and even the mountain-sides, where the climate 
is cool and relatively moist on the average of seasons. We must 
not forget that those who took part in the raising of the new 
strain of plants, variously termed bedding Pansies, tufted 
Pansies, and Violas, collected some of the parents used from 
the highlands and hills in the not far off neighbourhood of Edin¬ 
burgh. 
A chapter is devoted to show and fancy Pansies, giving the 
lists of the best varieties in each case, and describing the pro¬ 
perties which the different types should possess. Various cul¬ 
tural details are also given, including the raising of seedling 
Pansies, propagation by cuttings and division. The chapter 
on Pansies at shows in paper collars will tickle the fancy of 
some of the florists, particularly the exposition of dressing 
these florist flowers in certain instances, including Carnations, 
Pansies, and Chrysanthemums. The details in this instance 
are mostly due to Miss Jekyll’s fearless pen. 
The Viola, or tufted Pansy, as it is here called, receives fuller 
treatment, and is well illustrated by a number of full-page 
pen-and-ink drawings printed on special paper. The method 
of propagation by cuttings is also well illustrated by figures 
showing what type of cutting to select and what type to reject. 
The habit of this class of plants, of throwing up numerous 
suckers from the base, makes their propagation much more 
easy of accomplishment than in the case of Pansies. For this 
very reason they are more suited to the English climate than 
Pansies, so that they have become more extensively cultivated 
in recent years, while the Pansies proper require a fair amount 
of skill on the part of the cultivator. 
A chapter is devoted to Violets of the mountain and plain, 
in which some interesting facts are introduced, which, as a 
rule, get little attention in gardening books, except in ordinary 
lists of hardy border flowers. Even there, however, the atten¬ 
tion they get is, as a rule, meagre and scanty, very few of the 
beautiful wild types being mentioned. A long list of them is 
here given, including European and American Violets, as well 
as British species. The Dog Violet is included in the list, and 
if we might be critical we should demur to the statement which 
says that “ the white variety is more distinctly British than 
the other.” We must confess that we have not seen the white 
variety of the Dog Violet in a wild state, although we do not 
doubt its existence. We fancy, however, that the real Dog 
Violet is seldom distinguished from the Wood Violet, and 
that, again, is less common than Viola riviniana. Some might 
even go so far as to include all of these forms under the name 
of Dog Violet. The V. canina can only be correctly applied 
to one of them, if all three of them are to be kept as distinct 
species, and we see no reason why they should not be. 
Most of our British Violets are included in the list, but we 
regret that no mention is made under V. lutea of the beautiful 
V. I. amoena, the rich blue flowers of which, if once seen 
covering a meadow in an alpine valley, or found even in a 
grassy pasture at a higher elevation, would never be forgotten. 
The sweet Violet receives its due attention, as is proper in con¬ 
nection with a form which has been so extensively cultivated 
in all the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere, and 
developed into numerous forms in gardens. 
* “ Sweet Violets and Pansies, and Violets from Mountain and Plain." Written 
t,y several authorities and edited by E. T. Cook. Published by “Country -Life, • 
Tavistock Street. Covent Garden, W.C. George Newnes, Ltd., 7-12, Southampton 
street, Covent Garden, W.C. 1903. Price 3?. 6d. net. 
