April 16, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
327 
Hoe again between the line®, and when finished there will 
be left tiny square patches of seedlings 8 in. apart. In another 
week’s time thin ont the patches to one plant in each, when 
every plant will have 8 in. square to grow in. 
Just before they show signs of flowers put a thin line of 
Pea stake® about 2-|- ft. high between eveay two, lines of 
plants. These will assist the plants to resist the wind and 
rain, and they will soon hide the sticks. In, dry weather they 
will greatly benefit through good soakings of water being given 
them. 
Poppies do. not, as a rule, last very long in a. cut state, but 
if the flowers are cut before the: calyx bursts, and the latter is 
pulled off, they will open nicely in water, and will be found to 
last much longer than if cut. after the flowers have opened 
naturally. 
They look lovely in a cut state, when done up tastefully in 
small glasses, with a. few blooms of the blue Cornflower inter¬ 
mixed with them. 
Anyone trying the above method of cultivation will be fully 
rewarded for the little extra, trouble taken by the pleasure 
which this beautiful annual will give them. 
Bothyite. 
Trade Notices. 
Dermaline Price List. 
The price list of The Dermatine Co.., Limited, 95, Neate 
Street, London., S.E., is now on our table and shows us amongst 
other things the various inventions for use in gardens, in¬ 
cluding hose fittings of ail kinds and a veiy light and in¬ 
genious hose-reel, which rolls upon, itself without any necessity 
for special carriage and gearing. This in itself should bei an 
improvement upon the ordinary garden hose-reel. In order 
to. interest their clients or to furnish them with information, 
the company gives a chapter on, the cultivation of india-rubber 
and gutta-percha. Besides, dealing with the various uses to 
which these articles of commerce are put, much useful in¬ 
formation is given dealing with the history of these subjects 
as well as their cultivation. 
Portraits are a-lso. given of Thomas Hancock and Charles 
Goodyear, who. have taken, such a prominent position in the 
evolution of the rubber industry. This was in the early days 
of the industry, before it, had attained anything like the mag¬ 
nificent proportions which we witness to-day. Illustrations 
are also, given showing the Hevea, in flower and fruit from 
which the celebrated Para rubber is obtained. A very large 
tree isi also shown, beside which a native is collecting the. 
milky juice of the tree from which the rubber is prepared. A 
tine tree of Ficus religiosa, one of the, rubber-bearing trees of 
Assam, is also shown. 
The flowers, fruit and leaves of the. Gutta-percha, tree, also 
serve to give the reader an idea, of the nature of the plant 
from which gutta-percha is obtained. Then we have some, in¬ 
formation about Dermatinei itself, which is a body possessing 
the valuable characteristics of gutta-percha, so as to, enable it 
the better to withstand heat and cold. It is superior to> 
rubber- where flexibility without elasticity is a, desideratum. 
It is described as a manufactured product composed of various 
gums and chemicals invented as a substitute for gutta-percha 
by Mr. Zingler, who. took out patents for it in 1884 and 1885. 
Since then his original ideas have undergone profound modifi¬ 
cation at the hands of John, Cooper, the managing director of 
the company. 
From a gardeners’ point of view Derma,tine is chiefly 
valuable and interesting for the. reason, that, it, is used for 
making Dermatinei garden hose. It stands greater wear than 
India-Rubber and is not affected by frost or heat. For these 
reasons it is much appreciated by market gardeners and is 
being used by county councils and corporations in various, 
parts of the country. 
Shanks’ Lawn Mowers. 
Now that spring has come at la,st it brings, with it a great 
amount of work for gardeners and all others who have the. 
care and keeping of lawns, pleasure grounds, golf courses, and 
other areas of grass used for recreation. Messrs. Alexander 
Shanks and Son, Limited, Dens Ironworks, Arbroath, and 
Bush Lane House, Cannon Street, London, E.C., send us their 
catalogue of lawn mowers, with illustrations of various 
machines to. be pushed by hand or drawn, by horses, according 
to. the size of the ground to be operated upon. The hand 
lawn mowers are up to date, in various fittings and contrivances 
for ease in working, utility and durability. These are fitted 
with steel axle springs., which enable the machine to be more 
easily handled and the work accomplished to be more effective. 
The use of these springs is most evident on rough lawus or 
pleasure grounds or golf courses and bowling greens 1 , where the 
surface'may often be uneven either through undulations of the 
ground or to the presence of tree roots at or near the surface. 
The “ Standard Chain, ” hand lawn mowers are furnished with 
a driving chain instead of a wheel gearing. The “ Caledonian 
Lawn Mowers ” have several special fittings which are of advan¬ 
tage ini many cases. The sides and handles are made of cast 
malleable iron, which is as. difficult to break as steel. This is 
for the purpose of lightness, because the machine can be con¬ 
structed much under the weight, of cast iron and is not liable 
to get broken by mishap on rough ground. The machine is 
also fitted with fluted rollers, axle springs, adjustable handle®, 
and is undoubtedly very light, cheap and strong-. Many 
other good machines, are illustrated, so. that readers can refer 
to> the catalogue. Hand, horse, and pony rollers of many size® 
are also mentioned here. 
The New Primrose “ Buttercup.” 
On page 282 we referred to. this new form of Primula which 
has made its appearance in the United States. The 
" American Florist ” has gone so. far as to give two. illustrations 
of this new Primula, the first on January 16th and the second 
on March 19th. No. botanical name ha® been given to this 
which has turned up, apparently accidentally, as the nursery¬ 
men and plant-growers have been unable to determine its exact 
origin.. It is, no doubt, closely allied to Primula floribunda, of 
which it appears a highly improved and more robust form, 
judging from the illustrations. No dou-bt the last-named 
species was one of the parents, even if it is admitted to he a 
hybrid, as in the case of P. kewensis. 
The leaves are similar toi those of P. floribunda, but much 
broader*. The flower-stems are rather slender, and have two. 
or three whorls of flowers. Tire latter are bright yellow, 
slightly fragrant, and produced in succession over a, long 
period. It was at first thought to be possibly P. kewensis., 
but the stems, are more feeble, shorter, and the bracts at tlie 
base ef the flowers rather more pronounced. A greater dis¬ 
tinction,' however, lie® in the long tube possessed by the 
flowers of P. kewensis., whereas the flowers of P. Buttercup 
have a veiy short tube and a short widely-inflated calyx, which 
would almost suggest P. oboonica. as one of the parents; that 
is, presuming it to be of hybrid origin, which is, just as possible 
as in the case of P. kewensis. The chief fault about this new¬ 
comer is that the stems may be so feeble as to require a piece 
of matting put round them to prevent them falling over. This 
may be partly due to their appearance in winter, when the 
light is more feeble and little or no ventilation is given. It 
seems to. bloom in advance of P. kewensis, for large quantities 
were grown by Mr. W. K. Harris, of Philadelphia, for the 
Christmas trade. 
Result or a Potato Dispute.— Mr. W. G. Atkinson, the Lin¬ 
colnshire Potato grower, is to have the stone of Eldorado 
Potatos he claimed from Mr. Findlay, of Fifeshire, at £14, the 
alternative given the seller by the Sheriff at Cupar being £2,000 
damages. The tubers of this variety are now making £150 a 
pound. One fen grower, who gave £1,400 for a stone of 14 lbs., is 
said to have already made between £7,000 and £8,000 of them, 
as he is selling the chits at fabulous prices, and they have 
chitted three times. 
