August 27, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
685 
readily be propagated by means of cuttings inserted ini pots of 
sandy soil placed under a hand-light, or, better still, in, a cold 
frame, and then covered with a hand-light or bell-glass. 
Linaria alpina 
Even under the best of condition®, this does not seieim a 
long-lived plant-, but a® it seeds freely young plants come up 
on the rockery in the following season in the same way as 
Erinus alpinus. These seedlings flower during the course of 
the following summer, so that there is scarcely any necessity 
for propagating the plant by special means', so long as the 
cultivator sees that there is plenty of bare space for the seed¬ 
lings to' germinate, and that they are not- pulled upi accident¬ 
ally. The leaves are of a rich glaucous hue, and the purple 
flowers are beautifully set off by the orange blotch on the 
lower lip. 
Gentiana septemflda. 
Several dwarf Gentians- are veiy troublesome to preserve 
after a year or two, but this strictly perennial species is both 
easy to gow and long-lived if planted in suitable depth of soil 
and not overrun by coars-e-growing neighbours. The stems; 
are only 6 in. to 9 in. long, -a-nd terminate in a cluster of flowers 
of a bright blue colour on the inner face. The fringes be¬ 
tween the lobes of the corolla serve to make this rook plant- 
very interesting. The crowns do- not- increase or spread very 
fast, so that the best wa-y of getting increase is to allow the 
plants t-o -ripen seed which may be sown in pan-s- and placed in 
a cold frame. It is necessary to keep' an eye upon the plants 
in 1 case slugs may prove troublesome while the seedlings are 
yet small. If the cultivator would take ca-re to remove the 
old ashes in the frame*, and replace them with some fresh 
material, he would thereby save himself a- deal o-f trouble in 
looking after slugs, which do not like fresh ashes. Those who 
raise a large number of alpine plants would find it to their 
advantage to -adopt this method in spring before commencing 
to sow seeds. 
Polygonum capitatum. 
What I said with regard to Linaria alpina would also a-pply 
here. The plant isi liable to get- lost during winter, but as it 
ripens seeds freely and scatters them -about-, young -plants come 
up in sufficient abundance to occupy the ground next year. 
In case the soul might get worn out after a time, or too hard 
to take in the rainfall, the seedlings could merely be lifted out 
in the- early part of spring and transferred to a fresh ledge on 
the rockeiy. Usually, however, there is no trouble in, keeping 
up a supply of the plant-, provided that no one is sent to weed 
the rockery who is unacquainted with the nature of the plants 
indicated by the labels. 
Erodium trichomanaefolium. 
The above species of Crane’s-bill is strictly perennial, and 
in the course of a year or two- forms quite a close patch of 
stems and finely-cut leaves. These are considerably different 
in appearance from either of the British specie®, being dwarfer, 
three times divided leaves, with short, narrow segments, and 
the whole forming a cushion with a pale grey aspect- The 
flowers are quite pretty in: their way, although they would not- 
be- reckoned serviceable for cut flowers, either for home use or 
for the work of the florist. It; is' truly a- rock -plant, and the 
rock garden 1 is the proper place for it. Each stem or flower- 
stalk carries four to six white flowers, with three to- five- pink 
veins on the lower petals, and a large black blotch on each of 
the two' upper petals. When the clump attains sufficient- size, 
small pieces can be taken off carefully with an old knife in 
spring, or the cultivator can 1 easily take- c-uttings in summer 
and root them in the ordinary way in a, co-id frame. 
Veronica spicata alba. 
Although the ordinary blue form- of this plant is a British 
subject, it is by no means' too frequent in collections, and the 
white one is even 1 less common, though by no- means new. It 
only grows about 9 in. high, although I think that intermediate 
forms between: V. spioafa and V. longifolia. often do service for 
this plant. I have formerly grown: it under the name of V. 
amo-ena- No difficulty is attached to the propagation of this 
plant, either by seeds or cuttings-, and though it never spreads 
with the same rapidity as V. Teucrium dub-ia, nevertheless in 
the course of a year or two it will fo-rm quite a beautiful patch, 
provided the situation is fairly moist during the dry periods 
of summer. This, of course, is ensured -by the depth of soil, 
which should always-be well studied by those- who' undertake- to 
b-uild rockeries' for the cultivation of plants. 
Alchemilla. 
Chrysanthemums. 
As the season of these grand flowers is fast approaching, a 
few words regarding them will net be out of place. Many 
amateurs get much concerned at this stage of growth by the 
plants losing their lower foliage—a condition common to the 
Chrysanthemum when in unskilled -hands. 
IXIOLIRION MONTAXUM TATARICUM. (ibee p. 083.) 
It is only by high cultivation and constant attention to 
watering that the foliage can be retained. Watering is work 
which -every grower must look to- seriously; for instance, a 
chap gives water -sparingly, on: purpose to make it last out to 
the end of the row of plants-, being too idle to fetch more. 
Flowers from plants treated thus are of no- use for the exhibi¬ 
tion table. 
Butts and tanks must be kept filled with water, having bags 
of sheep and cow-manure soaking in; them. When a change of 
fee-ding is wanted, use some kind o-f artificial, 1 lb. to 80 
gallons o-f water being strong enough, stirring well -before use, 
always- using it weakest- in dry weather. Soot-water is a great 
advantage; if the plants are syringed with it- in the early 
morning it keep® the foliage a- good, healthy colour. The- 
Carnot family need extra care in feeding; always soak them 
with clear water first- if manure-water is given to these. When 
they are a bit dry the foliage- will turn spotted and j^ellow and 
drop- off, their growth not being of such a- hard nature as the 
other varieties. 
