January 30, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
107 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
The Editor invites enquiries /or reply in this column. 7/<csc 
enquiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should oe 
put as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only , 
a sc/ a ate sheet oj paper shoidd oe used for each question. 
Renders are also invited to give their fellow gardn crs ihebcncfi 
ot 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 editoi lal manner . 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World. 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Hardiness of Hypericnm moserianum. 
Some plants of Hypericum moserianum planted in front of 
the herbaceous border have lost all their -leaves since a recent 
frost. Would it be safe to leave them out all the winter ? 
(Enquirer.) 
It is customary for this plant to lose its leaves in winter, 
much in the same way as H. calycinum, which was one of its 
parents, so that if your soil is fairly well drained and water can 
drain away readily, there should he little danger, as the plant 
will spring up again from the rootstock in spring. Much 
depends upon the severity of the winter and the condition of 
your soil. If, however, the drainage is good, you can easily 
protect the plants by putting a layer of leaves over the feed till 
about the middle of March, when, if the weather is fairly 
settled, the covering may again be removed. We should not 
even cover them up until severe frost threatens. In the neigh¬ 
bourhood of London at least the plant stands out all the winter 
and comes up strong again in spring. 
Time to Cut Ivy. 
What do you consider the best time to cut Ivy? It is growing 
upon the high walls of a courtyard, and I want to cut it because 
it harbours sparrows. Would frost injure it if cut too early? 
(J. D.) 
The Ivy is perfectly hardy in all parts of this country, and 
would not suffer from frost if you cut it now, but the walls would 
look rather bear if the Ivy was cut at this early period of the 
year. The stalks of the leaves that have been cut off will 
fall in the course of a week or two, but the buds will start 
again at their usual time. Efforts might be made to reduce the 
number of sparrows during the summer time by preventing 
them from building in the Ivy or in tries or buildings close by. 
If the Ivy is cut every year there can be very little shelter for 
sparrows, and it might be possible to drive them away by dis¬ 
turbing them every night after they have gone to roost in the 
Ivy. 
Varieties of Holly. 
Would you oblige me by naming a dozen of the best varieties 
of Holly, not including the common green one? (J. W. J.) 
We presume you want variegated varieties, as well as green 
ones, seeing that they are always highly ornamental at any 
season of the year, and the foliage never becomes disfigured, as 
in some variegated subjects. A collection of Hollies should 
include Silver Queen (Ilex Aquifolium argentea regina), Golden 
Queen (I. A. aurea regina), I. A. Golden King, I. A. Hodginsii, 
I. A. maderensis variegata, Silver Hedghog (I. A. ferox argen¬ 
tea), the Laurel-leaved Holly (I. A. laurifolia), Silver Milk¬ 
maid (I. A argentea meclio-picta), the Camellia-leaved Holly 
(I. A. camelliaefolia), the yellow-berried Holly (I. A. fructu 
luteo), the weeping Holly (I. A. penclula), and the Myrtle- 
leaved Holly (I. A. myrtifolia). The above will give variety, 
and includes most of the best varieties of the common Holly in 
cultivation.. 
Botanical name of Nancy Pretty, 
Do you know of any plant called Nancy Pretty? If so, I 
want to get the correct name of it, and, if uncommon, a hint 
about its culture would oblige me greatly. (G. C.) 
Nancy Pretty is an old and half-forgotten name, and seems to' 
be merely a corruption of None-so-pretty, which has been given 
to London Pride or Saxifraga umbrosa. It is also known as 
Erin’s Pride and Patrick’s Cabbage. Such being the case, it 
will beunnecessary to give any details of its culture, as it must 
be well known to you. 
Propagating Aucuba japonica. 
I have a finely blotched variety of Ancuba japonica ; would 
you advise me to layer it or take- cuttings ? What is the best 
time to do it? (W. F.) 
If the plant is mot a very large one, the safest- plan, perhaps, 
would be to layer it, because then, there would be/ no risk in 
losing a number of the cuttings. Layering might be done in 
August, and the operation be carried out similarly to that of 
Carnation layering on a larger scale. The shoots being stronger 
would require strong wooden pegs to hold them tight in the 
ground, and prevent them being pulled out by the wind. After 
the layer is covered with soil, take care to water it at frequent 
intervals during dry weather. If you resolve to take cuttings 
at any time afterwards, this may be done about the end of Sep¬ 
tember, when the young wood is getting firm and the ground is 
fairly moist, and the latter should be mixed with sand and leaf 
mould, and a shady position selected. 
Maidenhair Ferns and Scale. 
Soane of our Maidenhair Ferns have got badly infested with 
scale, and to sponge them would take a long time, besides spoil¬ 
ing the fronds. Is there no other way of getting rid of the 
pest? (P.M.) 
The very worst of the fronds might be taken off and burnt, par¬ 
ticularly those that are old and beginning to lose colour. It 
is not advisable, however, to remove all the fronds of evergreen 
Ferns. Your best plan would be. to syringe them with a very 
weak solution of kerosene emulsion or paraffin emulsion, making 
sure that there is plenty of soap and milk in tli-e mixture to 
neutralise the oil after it has been thoroughly churned with the 
syringe. The fronds might be lightly syringed, but wetted in 
every part with the emulsion. There will be no danger of the 
pest spreading until later on in spring, when the young scales 
commence to leave their mothers and spread over the plants. 
The syringing might, however, be done about the time the plant's 
commence to grow, and after the fronds are’ nearly fully deve¬ 
loped. We do not expect that you will have to repeat the opera¬ 
tion very often, for plants that have been syringed with paraffin 
emulsion are very distasteful to the scale. 
Protecting a Camellia. 
I have a Camellia at the foot of a south wall, which was 
planted out because it was too large for the greenhouse. Will 
it require any protection from frost? (H. R. M.) 
Protection from frost will be more necessary later on when 
the sun gets stronger. It was a mistake to plant it at the foot 
of a south wall, because it there catches the rays of the sun in 
the morning, while the plant or flower buds are or may still 
be frozen. If it had been planted behind a north wall, or in 
some situation where it would be shaded from, the morning sun, 
the frost would do it no harm until the flower buds were ex¬ 
panded at least. Wei have seen Camellias flowering well when 
thus shaded without having any protection whatever. We 
should advise you to lift it in the spring, after it has finished, 
flowering, transferring it with a good ball of soil to some situa¬ 
tion where it would he shaded from the morning sun, but other¬ 
wise well exposed to light. 
Plants near the Glass. 
We are frequently advised to keep plants near the glass. I 
have many kinds of plants in an unheated greenhouse for the 
purpose of keeping them back till spring. Would Primulas, 
Hyacinths, Daffodils, Cinerarias, and Azaleas take any harm in 
hard frost? (T. M.) 
Except the frost is very severe and long continued, you could 
protect the Primulas by placing sheets of brown paper over 
them or between them and the glass at night. Cinerarias should 
be placed in a house where frost can be excluded by means of 
artificial heat; otherwise, if they get damaged - with frost, the 
leaves do not recover again. There should be no danger with 
Hyacinths, Daffodils, and Azaleas, unless the sun was shining 
on the house rather strongly while the plants were -still frozen. 
In such a ca.se the Azaleas might and would be the most likely 
to suffer. You could afford a considerable means o-f prediction, 
however, by letting down the roller blinds in the morning if 
there are any on the house ; if not, then shading should be 
afforded by some means or other till some time after the plants 
are perfectly thawed and the day is warm. 
Lesser Celandine 
Can you tell me how to get rid of Celandine (Ranunculus 
Ficaria) that infests a border in my kitchen garden ? I have tried 
digging and picking out roots, and sowing thickly with Cabbages, 
Mangels, and Pqtatos, but all seems useless, and the weed comes 
up with renewed vigour each year. (Countess of Mato, Palmers- 
town, Straffan, Ireland.) 
The soil of the garden must be damp, possibly sandy, and 
otherwise favourable to the growth of this pretty weed. We have 
had like experience with the Golden Saxifrage (Chrysosplenium 
oppositifolium)) on the damp gravel walks at a certain place. In 
the neighbourhood of London this beautiful weed is very scarce, 
