938 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 19, 1904. 
Tlie lecturer briefly touched] upon a few of the most im¬ 
portant -features in water gardening, giving -the names, of 
plants most suitable! for deep' and shallow wafer, margins, 
etc., and shady nooks or walks which are often found in close 
proximity tioi thei Lake or piece of water, which require suitable 
plants to throw ai good effect .with their surroundings. After 
giving a. few bints' as to the growing' of several kinds of plants 
which lie had mentioned during the evening, and after having 
spoken for over an hour in duration, the lecturer drew to a 
close, trusting that each one present would d-o- his or her little 
towards bringing alpine and rock plants more into cultivation 
than they have ever bee® before, and also give due credit to so 
useful and charming; a family of plants. 
At the .close "of the lecture the meeting was" thrown open 
for discussion., and several interesting -points respecting alpine 
plants and their culture were brought -out-. 
How I grow Marie Louise Violets in , 
Cold Frames. 
Having been, asked by a few friendb how I grow such good 
Violets both for size and colour, tire few remarks I have to 
make may, I h-ope, prove useful to the young readers of the 
“ G.W.” Commencing operations about this time of the year 
by digging my ground over for the young growths to be planted 
in the spring, thei manure I us-ei along with digging is composed 
-of equal parts stable litter and leaves, which have been decom¬ 
posing the previous year and been turnied over 1 several times. 
It- is surprising what grand manure this is for any purpose 
after it. has laid for twelve months, and the addition] -of a little 
tank manure 1 . Our soil being pretty heavy, this manure! suits 
it much better than farmyard; manure. About the first or' 
second week in. May, when the Violets 'have finished flowering 
and started into growth—that is 1 , young roots at the base of 
the sidtei shoots 1 —I begin, lifting them, shaking all thei soil oft" 
the plant, and with a sharp, knife sever the young side growths, 
being particular t-o> get as; many roots as possible along with 
the young plant. The old crown,s I burn at the refuse; heap 1 . 
Having a, few days previous to this forked over thei ground 
(which was dug in the autumn) and given a topi-dressing to the 
depth of 3 in. equal parts loam, sand, leaf-mould, with a, dash 
of lime rubblei and charcoal all put through i in. riddle, f 
commence planting the y-oung plants 9 in. apart each way. 
The top-dressing gives the plants a nice start before entering 
tire raw soil. I never divide- too many at a, time, as I find 
the more recently you lift them to the time of planting they 
do not get time! to flag, and start, into growth. After planting 
a hundred or so, I give a good watering with can and rose, 
which settles all the gritty stuff around the roots. Planting 
finished, nothing more can, he done until the laterals make 
their appearance, and which a.ll may be pinched! oft ; and if 
the weather be hot and! -dry I always give them a. good dewing 
overhead during the afternoon about, 4 o''clock. This keeps 
down, red spider, a pest which isi very troublesome to- them. 
About the beginning of September’ I look out my frames, 
placing them in a, nice sunny position. I generally let the 
frames into the ground, as they do not, take so much tilling up. 
I always, till the frames to within 8 in. of the glass, the soil 
used being old stuff from bedding-out, boxes, etc. 
Lift the plants from the open about- the middle of Septem¬ 
ber, and they generally lift- with balls the size of 8-in. pots. I 
commence to plant, them in the frames,; hut. before I do, this 
I sprinkle evenly over the surface of the soil ini the frames 
some “ Veit,ha,” a, preparation manufactured by Messrs. W. 
Wood and Sons. This being a very strong mixture, I always! 
mix sand along with it (6 parts sand to, 1 part Veltha). I 
always place the plants close together just so as they doi not 
touch one another. This I think keeps them from making tooi 
much foliage, and to, throw out more; bloom. After planting 
I sprinkle powdered 1 charcoal all amongst them, and give a, 
thorough good 1 watering and close the frames up- for a day or 
two-, keeping them shaded from the sun during the day. The 
powdered charcoal prevents damping. After a day or two I 
commence giving air, very gently at first, adding morei and 
more every day until I throw thei lights back altogether, leav¬ 
ing them open night and day unless frosty. By throwing hack 
the lights it breaks off the cold north winds. Always cover 
up if any signs of frost, and thei harder the- frost sets in add 
more mats. I always leave air on until thei thermometer 
comes down, to- frost, nor do I put on air until the frost is 
thoroughly off \ but, if the mats are only off ail hour or so 
during hard frost, so 1 much the better. 
About January, another top-dressing of “ Veltha,'’ improves 
the flowering again,. I generally look over them once a fort¬ 
night, pick off any runners or damping leaves, and about the 
beginning of February they may -want a, good soaking with 
water, but I very seldom water mini after the drink they get 
after planting. If they need any water, I generally take 
advantage! of a mild, showery day and take off the lights. I 
bavei followed this p-lan of growing Violets for several seasons, 
and always had plenty -of blooms all through winter and spring 
until the end of April. The quality and size I leave for the 
editor’s remarks. J- Smith. 
—Ennim Gardens, Penrith. 
[See page 896 .—Ed.] 
Pot Heliotropes. 
Tills, well-known plant is not so extensively cultivated as it 
deserves, and is very seldom, seem grown, in, pots, for winter 
blooming. The beautiful racemes of flowers, varying from 
white to a, deep, purple shade;, and the delicious fragrance which 
-they emit-, make it, very useful either for decorating purposes 
or bouquet making, and never fail to, be a source of admiration, 
from those who onoei sieei them -at their best. The cuttings 
should be taken about September and placed six or eight thick 
in, somei -fine', sandy soil in 48-sized pots and put under hand- 
lights -on; a, hotbed, where they must, be shaded' from brilliant 
sunshine'. If the cuttings are well watered when they are put 
in, an occasional syringe will suffice them till they are rooted, 
when they may be removed and placed near the glass in, a, 
warm, moist atmosphere with a, minimum temperature of 
65 deg. F. Wh.ilei thei plants are- growing they require copious 
syringing! oif soft water, and on no account should they be 
allowed to become dry a,t the root. 
When' the plants are well rooted they may he potted off 
singly into 4-in. pots and carefully watered until well estab¬ 
lished, when they may be gradually worked into a cooler te.n- 
perature, and afterwards placed in 6-in. pots in which they 
are to flower. As- the plants grow, all side- shoots and bloom 
must, be picked out, and when all fear of frost lias gone they 
may be placed out of d-oors and sheltered for a time from cold 
and cutting winds, and when at height® varying from 1 ft. to 
2 ft-., they may be stopped 1 , and as side* shoots again appear, 
they must, be picked out, leaving only a few at the; top to 
form a head, which will give, the plant® a more shapely appear¬ 
ance,. During the period in, which they are -out, of doors they 
may be fed with artificial manures 1 , and some, soot water may 
also be used, as this imparts a good dark colour to the foliage, 
and as 'bloom shows it must he pinched out. 
About September the plants may be brought into a cool 
house and arranged in a group in which they are to, flower, and 
when the bloom buds are well advanced all feeding must he 
discontinued and water administered carefully or the foliage 
will become yellow. When the weather become® colder the 
ventilators must be drawn in, and the temperature should nob 
be allowed! to fall below 50 deg. F., and as the flowers fade 
they should be removed to encourage the- succeeding blooms to 
furnish the plants through the winter. 
Berkshire. 
E. B. 
Messrs. Sander and Sons at St. Louis. —Intimation has been 
received from the British Commissioner at the St. Louis Exhibi¬ 
tion stating that Messrs. F. Sander and Sons, St. Albans, liaie 
been awarded a Gold Medal for their exhibit at that exhibition. 
