April 2, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
289 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 
Galega Hartlandi. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Do you think, Mr. Editor, that this plant has been correctly 
accorded specific rank (if it has, indeed been ranked at all as a 
species) 1 Messrs. B. Hartland say that it occurred from seed 
in their nursery, and that it is a specie®. I consider that it is 
only a variety of G. officinalis), as if we are to rank every 
variation which we see occur from seed as a species we will 
soon, have a, splendid state of complication. The true name 
should be, in, my opinion, Galega officinalis Hartlandi. It is, 
however, a very valuable addition to our herbaceous plants. 
[We do not care to express an opinion one way or other till 
' we have seen and examined the plant in, bloom. We have 
seen plants, but only in the resting stage.—E d.] 
The Daffodil as a Decorative Flower. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir,_As a lover of the Daffodil, I ask for a little space in 
THe Gardening World to say a word in its favour as. a de¬ 
corative flower, more particularly for beautifying the dinner- 
table. . 
Their long stems), surmounted by their richly-coloured 
blossoms), which hang so gracefully, adapt them in. a peculiar 
manner to furnish glass centrepiece® having twee or four 
trumpet-shaped holders. What can lie more pleasing to, the 
eye than, a centrepiece containing .some good specimens, say, of 
Golden Spur, Emperor, or Soleil d’Or, with its- cup a deep, 
orange and its golden perianths showing up against some 
suitable dark green foliage 1 
A round dining-room table can be nicely set, off by having a 
circular band of mos® from 3 in. to, 4 in. wide, according to the 
size of the table. Of course, the moss must be so placed as 
not to* inconvenience the guests. On, this hand cf moss at) 
suitable distances place single blooms of Soleil d Or, or, if it 
is convenient, embed them in the moss. In the case of a 
centrepiece with central stem and four basei-holdera, place 
three or four blooms in the central holder, with as much foliage 
(their own for preference) as will show them up. The four 
ba,set-holders will generally do with two or three blooms each, 
using dark green foliage in sufficient quantity, but avoid 
crowding or a heavy appearance. 
Violet® and Daffodils, especially the oma.tus variety, make 
a very nice arrangement at Eastertide). One good bloom of 
the famous Scilly White with a frond of Maidenhair Fern will 
make a, neat and very pretty buttonhole, and a shoulder-spray 
to match may be made with the fragrant Carters’ Fairy and a, 
sheathing of Maidenhair Fern. 
For wreaths and cresses I prefer Omatus, though I have 
used the Paper White, but that, is largely a matter of choice, 
and t,hei artist in, floral decoration will be able to use the 
Daffodil or Narcissus in many other ways, in all of which they 
enhance themselves® by reason of their unique purity and oppor¬ 
tune season of flowering. C. S. Ritchie. ' 
Bournemouth. 
Trade Notices. 
Catalogues. 
Bee-keepers’ Supplies. —At Welwyn, Herts, is quite a bee¬ 
hive of industry in, the making of appliances for apiculture, 
even if no bees are kept on the premises. This establish¬ 
ment is carried on by Mr. E. H. Taylor, manufacturer and 
shipper, Welwyn, Herts. Needless to say, these appliances 
are of a very varied character and up to date in all forms of 
fitting. We note what is termed the English dovetail hive, 
makeshift hives, bar-frame hives, hive for the heather, twen¬ 
tieth century hive, observing hive, combination hives, wood 
and straw bar-frame hives, and various others. He also 
make® travelling boxes, swarm catchers, honey extractors, 
wax extractors, smelters, natural foundation for comb, and all 
other appliances in connection with bee-keeping, bee-feeding, 
and honey extraction. Mr. Taylor’s catalogue is profusely 
illustrated, so. that bee expert® will find something useful to’ 
add to their stock as well as interesting in the matter of new 
appliances. 
Messrs. Ant. Roozen and Son, Overeen, near Haarlem, 
Holland, send us their “ Spring Catalogue of Bulbs for Spring 
Planting, also Vegetable and Flower Seeds.” The first half 
of the catalogue is entirely devoted to, the interests: of bulbs, 
conns, tubers, and other plants of that character that are 
committed to the open: ground in spring. To be a. little more 
specific, we may say that the catalogue contains large col¬ 
lections) of Gladioli in all their sections, Cannasi, Dahlias, Be¬ 
gonias, Lilies, Amaryllis or Hippeastrum, Crinums, Irises, and 
a great variety of miscellaneous bulbs and allied plants. No 
attempt has been made to ornament or illustrate the text with 
pictures, hut the catalogue is full of information from end to 
end. The descriptions are in English. The second part of 
the work is devoted to vegetable seeds and seeds of various 
flowers, chiefly annuals. Although the headquarters of this 
well-known firm are at Haarlem, they also' have a London 
house, where Messrs. Merters: and Co., 3, Cross Lane, St. 
Mary-at-Hill, London, E.C., act as agents for Great Britain. 
Our readers would do well to be sure and use the full name 
above given, as there are other firms having similar name® in. 
Overveen. 
Sweet Peas. — Mr. J. IT. Rowntree, F.R.H.S., of Messrs. 
Rowntree Bros., 30, Gt. St. Helen’s, London, E.C., has pre¬ 
pared a small pamphlet entitled “ How to Grow and Show the 
Finest Sweet Pea®.” In the introduction he gives eight short 
maxims which lie considers the principal points in the success¬ 
ful culture of Sweet Peas. Then lie prepares short articles on 
preparing the ground, sowing seed, protection from vermin, 
such as birds, slugs, and mice. He then deals with thinning, 
staking, watering, mulching, manuring, shading, the removal 
of seed-pods and exhibiting. In dealing with the sowing of 
seed, he gives directions for sowing seed in the autumn, the 
most suitable situations to select for Peas sown, under winter 
conditions in our climate. He cautions the operator also) as 
to the means of combating birds and slugs, which are amongst 
the most inveterate enemies of Peas at that season. Those 
who are not favourably situated in the matter of soil and 
climate for sowing in autumn are advised to sow in pots for 
early flowering. January and February are the best months 
for this operation. He also gives directions for treating those 
sown, under glass and how they are to be hardened off before 
planting in the open ground about the middle of April. These 
should be in full bloom by the middle of June. Some in¬ 
structions are also given concerning Cupid Sweet Peas and 
their suitability for certain purposes. Bush Sweet Peas are 
dealt' with in the same way. The little pamphlet is priced at 
3d., and the information given would he worth the money, to 
those who have never tried these various operat ions in growing 
Sweet Peas. _ 
Professor Malden and Potatos.— 1 The above gentleman is 
credited with having made a fortune by persistent booming of 
the Northern Star and Eldorado Potatos. In this respect, accord¬ 
ing to our contemporary, the " North British Agriculturist, he 
seems to have made more money out of Potatos than the raiser 
himself. Since he gave Professor Malden a portion of his stock 
of these new varieties, it is stated that he has “ blossomed out as 
a Fifes hire laird, and more recently as an English squire. ’ Pro¬ 
fessor Malden, it seems, has been informing the Royal Commis¬ 
sion on Food Supplv in Time of War that the best plan to enable 
the United Kingdom to be independent of outside supply is to 
treble our area under Potatos. If we grew four million acres 
instead of one million acres we could rely upon 6 tons per acre, 
which would make a total of 24 million tons, or half a ton to 
every man, woman, and child in the country. Professor Malden 
does not think that the whole of these Potatos would be required 
for food except in time of war, but they could be utilised for the 
manufacture of starch and methylated spirits. 
