October 29, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
879 
had originally been a sport from the other. The white one 
was put into commerce in America in 1879, but the red one was 
jnrt into commerce in 1882 by an English firm. We suspect, 
therefore, that the red is merely a sport from the white, the 
latter being the older variety. In any case, whatever the origin 
of the Rose, the red sport is equally as worthy of cultivation as 
i 6 Jphor. the sprays you sent carried large trusses of flowers 
chiefly in the bud state. The young foliage was beautifully 
tinted with red. 
Ferns going Bad. 
Enclosed you will find a few leaves of a Fern, the whole of 
my stock having gone this way. I should be pleased if you 
could give any reasons. (R. Johnson.) 
The fronds you sent us were notably thin, and would indicate 
that the herns had been very much shaded, or that the fronds 
that you sent have been a recent effort of the plants to recover 
themselves by this means after having lost the older fronds. 
here can be no question that you have been keeping them 
too dry as well. The atmosphere of the house should have 
been kept much more moist for their welfare. They have been 
badly attacked by thrips, as the centre of every pinna shows 
undoubtedly the effect of thrips, some of which we found on 
the fionds, particularly those still in the young and yellow 
St rPi. , V ° U carefull y examine your plants with a lens you 
will be able to see these long narrow and very small insects 
upon the upper surface of the fronds, the juices of which they 
abstract and thus cause the injury noted. Your best plan would 
be to make up a. solution of soft soap and sulphur ; that is, 
strong soapsuds in which you have put a quantity of flowers of 
sulphur. The Ferns should be syringed with this on two suc¬ 
cessive nights, or else actually dipped into a pail containing 
the solution. This can be done by holding the pots in the hand 
and d||>ping the fronds into the liquid until every part has 
been wetted. Treatment like this on two successive nights 
should quite rid the plants pf the pest, but in case therj be 
any of them m the winged state in the house you must keep 
the atmosphere quite moist by damping the floors, stages, and 
other parts of the house which will cause vapour to rise, Uius 
saturating the atmosphere. In bad weather this must oe done 
with discretion, but we have no doubt the evil was 1 Tought 
about during the warm and dry weather, and you are no ”so 
likely to be troubled by the pest in winter if you keep a fair 
amount of moisture in the atmosphere of the house. 
Rose for a Fence. 
Would you name for me a number of Roses suitable for train 
mg over a wooden fence to hide it in summer ? (0. Gray.) 
Several of the rambler Roses would suit your purpose admir- 
ably, and some of the other climbers would prove equally satis¬ 
factory if the situation as to aspect and soil are favourable. 
Amongst the ramblers we should name Crimson Rambler 
A.glaia (yellow), Thalia (white), Dorothy Perkins (double rose- 
pmk), and Aimee Vibert (double white). The Musk Rose or 
any form of it which may happen to be in cultivation would 
make a beautiful subject for a fence, as the laTger they are 
grown the finer they appear when in bloom. Rosa moschata 
is the Musk Rose, but there is a fine rambling and vigorous 
form of it in cultivation under the name of R. Brunonis. Any of 
the climbing China Roses would also prove suitable, and some of 
them at least might prove more continuous flowering than some of 
the above. . William Allen Richardson and Rev© d’Or, both 
Noisettes with yellow or apricot flowers, are very handsome, and 
usually do remarkably well trained on a fence or against the wall 
of a house. A very fine semi-double pale yellow or nearly white 
climbing Polyantha that we think would interest you would be 
Electra, as it blooms very freely. Others might, be. added, but 
the above will afford you a good selection, and most of them can 
be relied upon. 
Lawn in Bad Condition. 
A portion of the lawn here has got into a very bad condition 
and contains many tree roots, some of them being exposed above 
the ground. They interfere with the mowing machine. What 
would you advise me to. do P (Green Sward.) 
t is evident., from what you say, that the grass is impoverished 
by the roots of the trees, and that little or nothing has been added 
to the surface for many years past. It would improve the lawn 
and be an advantage to yourself when mowing it. to have, the 
loots of the trees well covered with soil and the turf above this. 
the turf at present is bad, a good plan would be. to dig the • 
ground all over, using some manure in it, but adding a quantity 
or fresh £0 il to the surface, which will certainly be an advantage 
to the grass. Provided the soil is fairly good, it need not matter 
much from what source you get it, though you can always enrich 
lL u fabre ls lacking by adding leaf-soil to' it freely. Even if this 
is too new for use. on the potting bench or too old, it will prove 
highly beneficial to the roots of the grass when mixed with the 
fresh soil. If the lawn is not. likely to be much used in winter, 
you could commence these operations ait an early date. On the 
other hand, if it is required for use in winter,'you could leave 
the operation till March, when the digging and manuring could 
take place, together with the. heavy top-dressing, which" would 
enable you to cover the roots of the trees. In the meantime you 
could be prepared for the operation by getting together a big heap 
of soil from various sources and mixing it, if that is considered 
necessary ; then, about the end of March or beginning of April, 
the soil thus prepared could be sown with grass seeds. During 
the course of a few months you would then be able to- get a good 
surface of grass, if attended to in the matter of watering durilm 
dry weather and mowing it when necessary. 
Turnips Club-rooted. 
A late sowing of Turnips here has been very much damaged 
and disfigured by clubbing at the roots. We usually find that 
clubbed Turnips do not keep well during winter. I should be 
pleased if you could suggest any remedy. (J. R.) 
Prevention is better than remedy, and possibly that is what 
you mean, as it is now quite impossible to exercise any beneficial 
effect upon the Turnips. In all probability the garden has often 
been, cropped with -some of the Cabbage tribe, and i s full of the 
spores of the fungus which brings about the clubbing. There are 
two or three leading methods by which you may avoid this, malady 
in the future. In the first place, you should always endeavour 
to have a fresh piece of ground each year for crops of the Oa.bbao-© 
or Turnip tribes. The land intended, not only for crops of this 
Kind but various others, derives more advantage by beiim 
trenched every second or third year, so as to. bring the. entire# 
fresh sod in contact with the roots, and at. the same time bury the 
spores of fungi and various insects deeply, so that they will die. 
lefore again being brought to the surface in contact'with the 
roots of the plants. Gas lime might, be freely employed over the 
. an f ® eoon d spits during the operation of trenchimr an( j this 
will help to sweeten the. soil as well as clear it of the enemies 
that usually attack this class of plant. Nothing should be put in 
a v! at i a ' St tW ° mo,ntlls after fresh gas lime in 
it; but if the trenching is done now, as it. should be, the soil will 
derive the benefit, of frost m winter and be ready for 1 practically 
any crop, m spring. j i j 
Encomis punctata. 
Some bulbs have been brought home by one of our people who 
says it is Eucomis punctata,” and wishes me to grow it in the 
^ fen. I have never seen it growing outside, and should like 
to have your opinion about it. (G. D.) 
Most of the species of Eucomis require greenhouse treatment 
to bring them safely through the winter, but there are a few 
which, if planted m a suitable situation, will <dve perfect satis 
f.cho,, out of doors. For this purpoi select a 
narrow border m front of some of the hothouses, trenching or 
otherwise preparing it for the reception of the bulbs. That 
con d be done at once and the bulbs planted within a foot of the 
wail of the house, and about 12in, deep. Under such condi¬ 
tions the bulbs will be quite safe, and make strong growth 
i uimg summer. Being in front of a wall ensures a certain 
amount of warmth, but if tile, house in question is kept at a 
High temperature it is even more beneficial, as a. perceptible 
warmth is communicated to the border, and the plants make 
better growth than they would if entirely left to the influence 
oi sunshine m some open situation in the garden. 
Plants for Wall. 
We have built a rough stone wall bv the side of a foot-path 
made alongside a steep slope in the grounds here, and we wish 
to plant something to give it a rustic appearance, resembling an 
old wall. It has an eastern aspect, with full exposure. What 
plants would be likely to succeed? (J. A. H.) 
Several of the species of Toad-flax would make satisfactory 
growth if established on such a wall, and if properly built to 
retain a little moisture the plants would probably' maintain 
their positions in after years. We should employ only peren¬ 
nial species particularly those that occasionally establish them¬ 
selves of thejir own accord on walls.. These, would include 
Linana. Ovmbalaria, L. purpurea, and L. vulgaris. Other 
plants that migjht well find a place here are, Thymus Serpvllum, 
Centranthus. ruber, Hypericum perforatum, Saxifraga' hyp- 
noides, and Antirrhinum majus. The last-named! should 'be 
planted towards the top, or even on the top, where it will »et 
plenty of light, as it naturally likes such situations fully ex¬ 
posed to light. There are several other things which succeed 
well on walls, especially if they have been built in such a way 
as to hold greater or less quantity of soil, and likewise moisture 
