February 4, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
*9 
1 ft. apart, and the soil very firmly pressed round the roots, 
and when completed give a good dressing of road-sand. 
The varieties of H. sapguiuear—namely, Walker’s Variety 
and splendens—are superior when well grown, but the best 
form I have seen is one named Shirley, raised by Mr. Ladhams, 
of Southampton. This has large flowers, deep crimson in 
colour, stems between 2‘ ft, and 3 ft, high, and very branch- 
i n ,r. This is a tine border plant, and the individual, spikes are 
so°strong that they need supporting. Cnlike the parent, this 
will succeed in a sunny or shady place. There are several 
other forms of H. sanguinea, and little difficulty is experienced 
in "■rowing and flowering them freely, but a partially shaded 
position is the most suitable. Edge Hall Hybrid, rosea, Zabe- 
liana and alba are all worthy of inclusion. Heuchera micrantha 
is one of the best for general planting, as it never fails to make 
m pleasing display in the border, and the light flower-stems are 
valuable for cutting. During recent years several tine vai ie- 
ti'es have been obtained by crossing this with sanguinea and 
others, and these all succeed well in good garden soil, but it 
should be borne in mind when dividing the plants that this 
needs carefully doing, a sharp knife being the most suitable in¬ 
strument, so as to ensure a clean cut and no injury to the roots. 
Pentstemon Seed.. —Where it is intended to produce plants 
by this method for flowering during the coming summer and 
autumn, the sooner the seed is sown the better. It is ad¬ 
visable to procure the seed which has been saved from a first- 
class strain, as no more trouble is necessary to grow the best 
than inferior stocks, and the results will be much more satis- 
factorv. Well-drained pots or shallow boxes should be used 
and nearly tilled with a light, compost. Sow the seed thinly, 
and cover lightly with a little of the finest soil. A tempera¬ 
ture between 50 deg. and 60 deg. will lie suitable in which to 
place them until the young plants are well above the soil. 
Delphiniums. — As soon as the ground is thawed sufficiently 
small pieces can be' detached from the old roots of these and 
potted up if one wishes to increase any particular variety. 
Care should be taken not to damage the young shoots which 
are now swelling, and place them in a cold frame till well 
rooted. Seed of these can also be sown now and treated in 
the same way as advised for Pentstemons. 
Carter’s Empress Petunia. —Though only annuals, we find 
these very useful for making a bright display on the front of 
the border, and it would be difficult to procure a better strain 
than the above. The flowers are of immense size, without 
beihg coarse, and embrace a very wide range of colour, the 
pencilling of some being very beautiful. Now that the seed 
orders are being despatched, one would do well to include a 
packet of this fine strain. A. E. Thatcher. 
Hardy Fruit. 
Spraying Fruit Trees. —The beneficial result of this opera¬ 
tion is not so well known as it should be amongst fruit-growei 
and although we had a bountiful crop last, year, the ciy comes 
from nearly every quarter, how bad the Apples are keeping . 
and there cannot be the least doubt as to the cause, as it w as 
noted at harvesting-time' the' quantity of fruits more or less 
damaged by some insect pest or other greatly exceeded that of 
former years. Not only does this winter-wash tend to molest 
and in a greater degree hill those hibernating pests ; it also 
cleanses the trees of moss and lichens, which form such, a 
shelter to the woolly aphis, Codlin maggot, and otliei in¬ 
jurious insects so prevalent in orchards and gardens alike. 
February is supposed to be the best month for spraying, as it 
is more likely to catch the eggs as well as mites than if done 
earlier in the season, and the buds are not usually advanced 
enough to take any harm from the burning wash this caustic 
alkali is. A dry, calm day is necessary; or much of the in¬ 
secticide would be lost, and for small trees an ordinary garden 
syringe with a fine, sprayer attached would do the work : but 
with orchard and other tall trees a spray pump is a necessity. 
There are many suitable now in the market varying in price 
from 2 guineas up to 10 guineas, but the pneumatic spray 
pump, or Slones patent, is a serviceable machine boldine 16 
gallons, and many of our liortienil lira 1 small ii -ni' ii nov upp.'. 
the wash in convenient tins for making large oi -mall quam. 
ties, making it unnecessary to give details of it> preparation. 
It may be added that Apples, Pears, Plums, and bush fruit 
withstand stronger doses than tliat advocated for Peaches, .V <• 
tarines, Cherries, and Apricots. This wash being of a burn¬ 
ing nature, the greatest care is required in its use. 
Bush Fruits. —Even in districts where the birds play such 
havoc with the buds, the pruning ought not to be much longer 
delayed, as growth will soon be noticeable should the weather 
cont inue mild as now. Full details were given in the issue for 
December 24th, 1904, as to the pruning, spraying, top-dressing 
of the quarters, etc., copies of which can be had of I he puli- 
lishers for five halfpence, so need not be given here. 
Notes on Grafting.. —It is much too early to attempt thi> 
work, but where it is intended to replace worthless varieties 
with better, it. costs no more, neither does it entail any 
more labour, to grow fruit of the best than it does inferior 
varieties, and there still remains much to be done in the matter 
of improving our orchards throughout the country by what 
one sees for himself and reads in the Press. These remarks 
must not be taken to imply that old, worn-out, cankered trees 
can be turned to better account by regrafting; such would 
only end in failure, but clean, healthy trees, no matter if they 
have weathered a couple score years, and are yielding inferior 
fruit, can be made remunerative within half a dozen years after 
beino- regrafted with sorts which we know to be of the best in 
their respective classes—dessert and cooking. One has to be 
careful in recommending varieties, but no one need hesitate to 
increase that best of all Apples, Cox's Orange Pippin, as well 
as Adam’s Pearmain, Stunner and Ribston Pippins, Lane's 
Prince Albert, Newton Wonder, Bramley’s Seedling, and Al- 
friston, all keeping well into the spring. Trees intended to lie 
operated on should, if not already done, be headed down to 
wifhin a few inches of where it is most convenient to insert the 
grafts, although in the majority of instances they should be 
cut pretty hard back, and thus avoid too great a length of bare 
branches. 
American Blight. —Now is a good time to tackle this pest, 
and very few plantations appear clear of it in spite of an annual 
cleaning. The enemy gets in under the bark and every crevice 
it can find ; therefore a thorough search should be made for it, 
and every patch of the white substance well moistened with 
methylated spirits, kerosene emulsion or Gishurst compound. 
Clear away any grass or weeds at the base of standard trees, 
as it. is often here it. will be found lurking, and give the sur¬ 
roundings a thorough wash with the syringe. It is a good 
plan to "go over the affected trees two or three times before 
the sap begins to ascend, as it can better be attended to while 
the trees are devoid of foliage ; a painter's tool is useful to 
paint the affected part.s with, working it well in every crevice. 
Bicton, Devonshire. James Mayne. 
“ Flora and Sylva.” 
Last year’s volume of this monthly publication is now bound 
in a handsome form similar to that of last year. The back 
and the corners consist of smooth white leather, while the rest 
of the boards are covered with white cloth, making a hand¬ 
some volume for the drawing-room table. It is dedicated to 
the memory of the late Samuel Reynolds Hole, Dean of 
Rochester. As we have previously indicated in the case of 
several of the monthly numbers, a great variety of information 
is given on the special subjects which give the monthlv its title 
of"’Flora and Sylva.” Every number contains articles both 
on flowers and trees suitable for cultivation in the open air in 
this country. Amongst the beautifully executed coloured 
plates we should mention Rehmannia angulata. Magnolia 
Campbelli, Laeliocattleya Empress of Russia. L.c. Rex. Rhodo¬ 
dendron yuannanense, Laelia praestans Oakwood variety. 
Cymbidium rhodochilum, Pyrus niedzwetzkyana, Gloriosa 
rothschildiana, and many others. 
