302 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 9, 1904. 
Symphyandra Wanneri. 
This is a charming member of the Campanula family and 
may be roughly described as a miniature mauve-flowered 
Canterbury Bell. It is. a biennial, and as it flowers about 
May, seeds should be 1 sown about June previous, so a® to. give 
it a ’long season of growth, and if grown on in a rich sandy 
compost nice sturdy plants will be the result, which, in duo 
course, will throw up. their pyramidal flower-spike®, bearing 
from thirty to forty lovely pure mauve bell-shaped flowers. 
The segments, of the Symphyandra are more acutely pointed 
than in the Canterbury Bell, otherwise, except, in size, there 
is a. most marked similarity. The extreme length of the 
perianth of the Symphyandra flowers will be. about. U m. 
The. plant is perfectly hardy, but if grown in pot® it will 
repay a little protection during the winter months. 
I remember seeing a splendid batch in. flower in the Alpine 
House at Kew, and the thought passed through _ my mind at 
the. time that here was a plant well worth growing, specially 
for exhibition at the Temple Show in May. There were, per¬ 
haps, about, a, dozen splendid specimens in flower at the time, 
and they stood out distinctly by their colour and pyramidal 
habit amongst the other choice occupants of the Alpine House. 
The height of the plants when in flower is about 18 in. After 
flowering, seeds arei produced freely, which should be. saa ed, 
as the whole energy of the plant is expended in, flowering- and 
in producing its seeds. It. is. advisable to sow the seeds at. 
once in a. pan in a frame; prick them out early and give them 
every chance to. make nice sturdy plants before winter. 
There is another species, S. Hoffmanni, which has creamy 
flowers and a pendulous habit, but although it is very pretty 
it cannot approach the first-named. The name Symphyandra 
denotes that their anthers are joined together, which is, ml 
fact, all that distinguishes them from the Campanulas. 
J. W• M. 
How to Grow Parsnips for Exhibition. 
The time is now close at hand when many will be making 
an effort (weather permitting), and, if fine roots are desired, to 
sow their Parsnip seed. In this article' I shall only state my 
method .of growing them for exhibition, a method which I 
have adopted for many years now, and with excellent results. 
I .select a. piece of ground about, the end of October, spread 
a coat of manure on it, and then dig it up. deeply, leaving it 
somewhat rough on the surface, but. well breaking it up under¬ 
neath. Towards the end of February, or early in March if the 
weather is fine and the soil diy, I commence to make the holes. 
1 ft. apart in the row and 18 in. between the rows. I make the 
boles about 26 in. in depth, filling them up to 1 in. from the 
top with very finely-sifted soil, a.nd selecting a still day for 
the sowing. I make a dent with the back of my hand about, 
l in. deep, and drop four or five seeds into it, and cover them 
over. This is a. much better way than making holes and 
dropping the seeds in them, because it gives you a chance of 
spreading the seeds out, mere singly, and also gives more room 
for the young plants to grow before thinning, which latter 
operation you can do much quicker and without injury to those 
you leave. 
In thinning I often leave two. plants in each hole for a time, 
selecting, of course, those that are an inch or two, apart, and 
later on I reduce them to one, leaving the strongest,. 
Birds often scratch the soil out of the holes after they are 
filled and sown, and to, prevent their doing this I sprinkle some 
lime over the holes-, which generally has the desired effect. I 
keep them free from weeds by hoeing now and .again, and also 
watering them in very dry weather. 
When taking up the roots carefulness is required, or they 
will wplit- open like carrots, and thus be useless for exhibition 
purposes. Lay them close together, so that, the, tops will shade 
them from the sun and air, which -often makes; them crack. 
By following this plan in growing parsnips for exhibition, I 
have -obtained m the last, three seasons the following prizes: 
showing six dishes, six in each, two first, one. second, and one 
third, and a commended, and these in strong competition. 
H. RowijES, 
Iris barbata. 
All the sections, of the Iris are beautiful and well worth the 
attention o-f cultivators. Special attention is now being given 
to the Spanish section, Iris xiphium, especially by growers for 
tliei market, and their present popularity is not, likely to wane 
in a hurry. 
The Bearded Flag Iris, however, has attractions of its own 
and come® nearer the coveted Orchid than any of the other 
sections. Moreover, it is the most accommodating of all the 
sections, both as regards soil and situation, successfully com¬ 
bating the smoke and smuts of the town. 
They succeed quite ivell in a. mixed bed or border, but if a 
bed or border can be devoted to them it will be an, advantage. 
Let me describe the plan we have adopted. A border 5 it. 
wide was the, site chosen. This border is partially shaded 
(but not overhung by trees), being well to- the south end of the 
garden. The subsoil is clay, and the. top- soil rather heavy. 
When preparing the ground it. was treated to; a liberal dressing 
of old compost made up of gas-lime, leaves, sand, read-grit, 
and the contents of an ashpit, containing some night soil. Tub 
compost was well incorporated with the soil of the border. 
In planting, the various subjects were planted in clumps o: 
three; that is to say, the line was stretched along the border 
three time®, but. there are no- straight lines in. it. Let me sav 
here that although we call it an Iris border, it, is not wholly 
planted with Irises, as the season of beauty would in that case 
be too short. 
As will be seen, the other plants harmonise with the Irises, 
and prolong the blooming period. 
The clumps a.t the back of the border consist of Iris sibirica, 
I. s. alba, I. Kaempferi in variety, Tritoonias and Hyacinthus 
candicans. The front of the, border isi filled with some of the 
dwarfer Irises, such as I. gracilis, I. luteseens, I. attic-a, and I. 
graminea.. These dwarf Irises are' interspersed with Snow¬ 
drops, Scillas, Crocuses and Colchicum autumnale, single and 
double. 
It is the clumps in the centre of the border, however, that are 
the leading feature in it and give it its distinctive character. 
To be,gin to- enumerate varieties would only lead to confusion, 
as their name is legion. I will therefore divide them into 
seven group®;, each of which is now sub-divided into- many 
varieties. 
In the following descriptive remarks “ S ” is an abbreviation 
of standards, and “ F ” of falls.—Group. 1 : Arnoena (pleasing), 
has its S white or white tipped or shaded with violet. Group 
2 ; Aphylla (leafless) liasi white S edged or mottled with 
lilac or violet. Group 3 : Gennanica (.German) S- and F of a. 
self colour, and mostly blue o>r dark purple. Group 4 : Neg- 
lecta, (neglected), has purple-violet S running into lavender. 
Gr-oup 5 : Pallida (pale), has lavender S running to> violet. 
Group 6 : Squalens (daubed), embraces th-ose whose \S are dull 
or bronzeyellow, tinged with lilac. Group 7 : Yariegata 
(variegated) has S of various deep yellow colours. 
It will be observed that it is mostly the colours of the 
standards that mark -off these groups, whilst within the various 
groups the difference, isi mostly marked by the colours of the 
falls, and these cover a wide range, especially in the, squalens 
group. 
Autumn is the best time to, plant all the sections of Iris, 
but those under consideration can be successfully planted any 
time this month (March). 
The bed or border should not be dug over annually, as the 
spade would greatly injure the; rhizome®; the better plan is 
to slightly prick them over with a, digging fork. An annual 
or biennial slight top-dressing of loam or old potting soil is a 
great benefit to thei plants. 
A bed or border such as I have described will be an. object 
of interest for the greater part of the season, and during May, 
June and July it will vie with the choicest collection of Orchids. 
C. C. 
Readers’ Competition. —Particulars of weekly prize see 
centre page. 
