July 9, 1904 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
569 
LETTER TO THE EDITOR. 
The British Gardeners’ Association. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, — I am indeed glad to hear a satisfactory account of the 
progress of the British Gardeners’ Association from those in¬ 
timately concerned. I should-like to take this opportunity of 
impressing up-n your readers tha. here at last there is a 
genuine attempt being made to improve the gardener’s lot, 
fittingly headed .by some of the ladies in our profession, and 
that it is, I consider, the duty of every qualified gardener to 
give what aid he can. 
This can be done by the simple .method of becoming a 
member, or, better, by doing so and also' actively endeavouring 
to induce friends to do likewise. I know very well tha.t it 
is not opposition that the association has to fear, but apathy, 
and I trust that gardeners will take the excellent opportunity 
afforded them of disproving the parrot cry of “ gardeners can¬ 
not combine.”—Yours, 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be put 
as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ■ a 
separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of 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 editorial manner. 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World,” 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Examination in Horticulture. 
Can you inform me when the examination in horticulture 
is usually held, and where can copies of last year’s examina¬ 
tion be procured. What books would you recommend for the 
student preparatory to the examination? (Student.) 
The examination in horticulture, held under the auspices of 
the -Royal Horticultural Society, usually takes place about the 
third week of April, the last being held on the 20th of that 
montii. VVe believe you would be able to procure a copy of the 
questions set m the last examination by applying to the secre¬ 
tary , Royal Horticultural Society, 117, Victoria Street, West¬ 
minster, London, S.W. You might take the precaution to en¬ 
close a stamped addressed envelope for reply. The books suit- 
a Ole tor the purpose of gaining a knowledge of botany and 
plant lit© are numerous, but you could make a good start by 
studying such books as “Botany for Beginners,” by Rev. Pro¬ 
lessor Henslow (published by Messrs. Stanford, publishers, 
tnnKl 0n L /n d “ Ph ysiology of Plants,” by Dr. Paul Sorauer 
(published by Messrs. Longmans, Green, and Co., 39, Pater¬ 
noster Row, E.C.). The first named is 2s. 6d. and the second 
Kew Gardens and Examination in Horticulture. 
enlPrli ?^ essa ^ P a f an examination in horticulture before 
entering Kew Gardens? (Student.) 
parLll 1 T kn0W or have he ard, it is not necessary for a 
1 , r ° have passed an examination in horticulture before 
must bn 611 f 1 i^ eW ^ arc ^ ens - Applicants for a position there 
dens r" f many years ’ experience in good private gar- 
Your W i ° f a “ rtam a g e . before they can be admitted. 
ruris i - a ? W ° U d be to make application, and so obtain the 
vaoannr ™ UC1 you mus ^ conform to gain admission when a 
vacancy may occur. 
Sunken Spots on Tomatos. 
and natldfoo Som ,^ samples of our Tomatos having sunken spots 
black f!m ° n I",, skln the fruit, and some of them are quite 
y ’ m n y ? u f? 11 me w hat it is, and the remedy ? (A. P. M.) 
sporimn 1°^ ° S ba -T e ^, en attacked by the black spot (Clado- 
when one/it Pei f S1C ^ ' • ? le f® ’ s 11 ° real remedy for this fungus 
the flower who^ e -+ S - lnSlde ^ le f ru ft- The spores germinate in 
a good footinc/V f 1S Wet and decoying, and has already obtained 
burn all tho f b(dor ® yo . u can detect its presence. Remove and 
it lias time S i sbowin § any signs of the disease, and before 
Keep the atm! or UC6 a ?d scatter spores to attack other fruits. 
act as a check i e n e th° f ?“ h ° U * e ** and airy ’ and this will 
is, when Thm,f i 3 11 , t le f un gns. m its very early stages.—that 
rule hTcrease ve^ f ® fridt ' Th ® disease does not as a. 
ry much if the above precautions are taken. 
Names of Herbs. 
Would you be good enough to give me the correct names ot 
the herbs which I send you ? I believe they were at one time 
named, but the labels have been lost. (Sage.) 
No. 1 is Tarragon (Artemisia Dracunculus); 2, Peppermint 
(Mentha piperita) ; 3, Spearmint (Mentha viridis); 4, Winter 
Savory (Satureia montana); 5, Sage (Salvia officinalis); 6, 
Common Thyme (Thymus vulgaris); 7, Lemon Thyme (Thymus 
Serpyllum citnodorus) ; 8, Common Marajoram (Origanum vul- 
gare) ; 9, Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) ; 10, Crisp-leaved Tansy 
(Tanacetum vulgare crispum). 
The Dandelion for Blanching. 
If not troubling you too much, would you let me know through 
The Gardening \Y orld how to prepare Dandelions for blanch¬ 
ing, and the method of blanching the leaves? (E. A. S.) 
Your first proceeding would be to raise strong plants, which 
alone would give you a satisfactory return. The best plan 
would be to sow seeds in April, in deep rich garden soil in an 
open or sunny position. V hen the seedlings have attained 
some size, thin them out to 8 in. or 9 in. apart in the lines. 
The latter should be 12 in. apart, as the Dandelion usually 
grows rampantly with liberal treatment. It does not flower 
very freely, as a rule, under such conditions, but you should 
remove all the flower-heads before they have time to scatter 
seeds, or you will have trouble with the seedlings on neighbour¬ 
ing ground, grass or other land. Some people have blanched 
the leaves by covering the crowns with sand in spring, so that 
the young leaves may grow up through the same, and thereby 
get blanched. Modern appliances, however, are superior to the 
old method of waiting till the leaves grow naturally. You can 
treat the roots exactly like Chicory, digging them up a few 
weeks before the leaves are wanted, and introduce them to heat 
in a dark place, which will cause the leaves to develop, and 
at the same time be blanched. The roots may be put in soil 
or leaf mould in a mushroom house, or you may pot them up 
three together in 32-size pots. In a dark house the leaves will 
require no other covering to blanch them. 
Carnation Blooms Discoloured. 
Some of our Carnations have their petals badly discoloured, 
especially those of pink and red colours. Could you assign 
any reason for this ? They have been promising well for some 
time, but soon after opening they became streaky and dis¬ 
figured. (H. G .H.) 
From your description we should surmise that they have 
been attacked by thrips, which are rather troublesome at times 
to Carnations. You do net say whether they are grown in the 
open or under glass, but we surmise that the latter is the case, 
as it is yet too early for outdoor Carnations. The atmosphere 
of the house may be kept too dry, or they may be close to 
other subjects outside, which harbour or encourage the pest. 
We should suggest that the plants be stood upon a bench of 
gravel or ashes, which may be kept moist by frequent damping 
down. To save further damage to the flowers it would be worth 
while preparing some strong soapsuds or a lather of Gishurst 
compound, into which you may brush the thrips off the flowers, 
using a camel-hair pencil for the operation, so as to avoid 
injuring the blossoms. 
Couch Grass amongst Strawberries. 
Our Strawberries are very much infested with Couch Grass, 
which is almost impossible to keep down. The ground was 
well hoed before the straw was put down, but it has come up 
thickly since, and the roots cannot be pulled out, being all 
through the plants. The ground was recently put to growing 
garden crops, and is very dirty. (P. C. W.) 
The only way to clear the ground of this troublesome weed 
is to thoroughly dig the ground with the fork, removing the 
underground creeping stems during the operation. This cannot 
be performed while the Strawberries occupy the ground. Your 
best plan, therefore, would be to thoroughly clean a piece 
of land not occupied with any* crop, and then make a 
fresh plantation of Strawberries, destroying the old one as soon 
as the new one is ready to furnish the necessary supply of 
fruit. 
H. P. and H.T. Roses. 
Please let me know through The Gardening World how a 
H.P. Rose can be distinguished from a H.T. Rose. (Dispute.) 
The hybrid perpetual Roses are a very composite race, and 
derived the name of perpetual from the fac* that many of them 
make a second growth after flowering and bloom again in the 
autumn. They are not, however, perpetual, as they can only 
be said to bloom once, or, in some varieties, twice in the season. 
They have been derived by crossing the Damask Perpetual with 
hybrids of the Bourbon and China Roses. These are usually 
