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THE GARDENING WORLD, 
January 28, 1905. 
Mr. William Graham in a Railway Accident— In-the_ter¬ 
rible accident which happened to the three trains on the Mid¬ 
land Railway on the morning of the 19th inst, was a Brough y 
Ferry gardener. This was William Graham, gardener at 
Edainvain Place, Brouglity Ferry, Dundee. He is twenty- 
four years of age, and suffered so much from concussion amL 
shock that he was taken to the Royal Hospital, Sheffield, with 
other badly-injured passengers. 
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Historic Trees Destroyed by a Storm. — During the severe 
gale which swept across Scotland on December 29th and 30th 
last many fine old trees were damaged or uprooted in various 
parts of the country. In the valleys of the Forth and Tay the 
■'ale seems to have acquired terrific force. At Alloa Park, the 
residence of the Earl of Mar and Kellie, two enormous Beeches, 
in a group of three known as “ The Sisters, were' uprooted. 
These trees are believed to date back to the time of Mary 
Queen of Scots. A large Horse’ Chestnut, stated by tradition 
to have been planted by Queen Mary, was greatly damaged. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column, These 
enquiries map cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be put 
us briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only; a 
separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers arc 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 
enve'ope 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. 
A Substitute for Box. 
In a prominent part of the garden here there is much frame, 
and the Box invariably gets more or less damaged every year. 
I would like to try something less brittle, that would not get 
broken when kicked against. It should not be very high. \\ hat 
plant would vou suggest? (A. T. B.) 
To secure a hard and fast line in the position which you name, 
we think it would be necessary to use a plain edge tile for the 
outline of the walk. This should be let into the soil, so that 
onlv 2 in. or 3 in. is. above the walk. This might be painted 
stunt colour in the first place, but your aim should be to hide 
it Various dwarf growing plants might he used for thisi pur¬ 
pose, and the tile would save them from destruction. These 
plants might be inserted in a line just inside the edging, so that 
in a short time thev would hang over and hide it. Some of the 
forms of Thyme would answer this purpose, but the creeping 
forms would be the most suitable. Thymus Serp.yllum would 
answer the purpose, but T. S. lanuginosus would even be better 
cn account of its appearance, dwarf habit, and the agreeable 
scent it gives off during moist weather, especially when trod, 
upon. If you want something that would be more conspicuous 
in tile way of flowers, you could utilise sonic, of the- varieties of 
Aubrietia now obtainable. Sea- Thrift (Armeria. maritima) would 
make a beautiful edging by itself, and he very handsome when 
in flower, but it would take a longer time to cover the edging, 
as it does not creep so rapidly as the other plants mentioned. 
Almost, any of the mossy Saxifragas would also answer the 
purpose admirably, and when out of flower the foliage would 
always be good. They would require more trimming than some 
of the other plants mentioned, to prevent them encroaching too 
much upon the walk, hut a dressing once or twice a year would 
be sufficient. 
Wood Ashes for Vegetables. 
I have read various accounts of the use of wood ashes in 
The Gardening World, and when it consists largely of burnt 
wood I imagine it would be serviceable to trees and hushes. 
As the quantity is limited, which vegetables would be likely to 
derive most advantage from it? (F. C.) 
Mood ashes would be an advantage to almost any vegetable 
more or less according to their kind, but it might with advantage 
to yourself be utilised for Peas. Tomatos, Onions, and Rotates. 
The most important element ol plant food in wood ashes would 
be potash, which is of immense advantage to those plants ; but 
they also contain various ether forms of ash sometimes termed 
the mineral elements of plant food. In burning wood for the 
sake of getting the ashes, it would he well to remember that 
young wood, such as primings, always contains the most potash. 
To Prevent Canker. 
Some of our Apple trees are very liable to canker, and I have 
been informed that it can be prevented. If so, how can it be 
done? (T. M. P.) 
This can to a certain extent be prevented by close observation 
ot the circumstances which induce it, though your soil may 
make it difficult in many cases to be successful. The roots of 
the trees are probably in poor, sandy soil, or even in that of 
a wet nature, which causes the trees to grow very late in the 
season, thus preventing proper ripening of the wood. This 
latter in itself would render the young shoots liable to injury 
110111 frost, which offers a means of entrance for the fungus which 
causes the disease. The same thing may he brought about by 
bad or injudicious pruning, such a.s the cutting off of large < 
limbs and leaving the wounds undressed. It might also happen 
|hrough the trees being pruned in hard frost, causing the wood 
left to crack. A sharp knife should always be used so as to 
make clean cuts. The secateurs should never be used on fruit 
liees, because they often have the effect of bruising the wood 
that is left. Hailstorms, which sometimes happen in summer 
when the wood is young and soft, are liable to do greater or 
lesser injury by cutting the bark open, thus leaving an inroad I 
for the fungus. Some of these, of course, you can avoid. At 
the same time, a remedy is good feeding, which often enables - 
the trees to outgrow and overcome the canker. Another remedy 
that has been successful is to transplant the trees into fresh 
soil or to import good soil to the roots of the trees, taking away 
the old. In the way of artificial manures you could mix super¬ 
phosphate at the rate of 35 lbs. ; nitrate of soda, 28 lbs. ; and 
sulphate of lime, 28 lbs. This might be applied to the ground 
at the rate of \ lb. to a square yard. This was a prescription 
which was practised by the late Mr. T. F. Rivers with excel¬ 
lent results. Mulching the ground in summer is also of great 
advantage by preserving the moisture. Feeding with liquid 
manure in winter is another excellent plan that is less often 
employed than it should he. 
Plants for a Wild Garden. 
M e have a piece of ground which could be turned into a wild 
garden and improve the appearance of the jdace. At present 
very little grows upon it except in the more open spaces. Beech, 
0>a.k, and Limes are the principal trees, but all are bare for 
10Jt. to 20 ft. up. Would bulbs or other flowers thrive there ? 
(Mild Garden.) 
Prom what you say of the trees it is evident that a little . 
thinning would be very beneficial, after which we have no doubt 
the ground could be turned to excellent account in the cultiva¬ 
tion of many showy flowers. We should suggest that the worst 
shaped and least ornamental of the trees should he removed, 
ana some of the more rampant branches of the others pruned 
back so as to allow more light to reach, the soil below. If not 
even grass will grow a.t present, -it is an indication that 
too little light falls upon the ground. If you effect the 
clearance indicated, the ground wall no doubt become covered 
with grass as well as undesirable weeds of a, coarse nature. 
The latter can. however, be kept in check by uprooting them 
during .heir earlier stages. Immediately after effecting the 
thinning of the trees you could plant any of the more vigorous 
and easily-grown Daffodils, single or double. Other bulbs 
would include Snowdrops, Scillas, Star of Bethlehem, and even 
some of the hardier Lilies like Lilium pyivnaicum and L. 
Martagon. Solomon’s Seal and Lily of the A 7 alley, though not 
bulbs, are romething akin, and,world grow under a little shade. 
Christmas Roses word d also succeed admirably if planted in 
fairly moist and substantial soil in positions where they would 
get plenty of subdued light hut not be exposed to sunshine 
during the middle of the day or afternoon. Doronicunis. 
especially D. Pardalianches and D. excel sum, would revel 
under the conditions. Foxgloves might be planted freely, and 
likewise various British Ferns, in moist, if shady, places. 
Periwinkles, Primroses, and Polyanthuses would also do well. 
You can gradually add other things irom time to time as you 
gain experience 1 as to the success of the primary operations. 
Diseased. Carnations. 
I send you some leaves of Carnations which are diseased, to 
sic if you can fell me what it is and give me a. remedy. (.1. I!.) 
The Carnation disease is caused by a fungus named IT Imintho- 
sporiuro echinulatuiu, which is only too common. The choco¬ 
late coloured blotches on the leaves are » sign that the spores 
of the fungus are mature, and have burst through the tissues 
of the leaves. The difficulty with it is that it lives in the in¬ 
terior of the leaf, and any fungicide that would kill the disease 
outright would also destroy the plants. The disease 'is infec- 
tiousr however, and spreads from plant to-plant by the scatter¬ 
ing of the spores from the blotches. Your .best plan would he 
to null off and burn all the affected leaves, and syringe the 
