April 29, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
545 
he Qardening\J(/brld. 
NOTICE TO READERS AND 
CORRESPONDENTS. 
The Gardening World is published every 
Thursday morning, and dated for the following 
Saturday. Price, 2d. ; Annual Subscription, 
post free, 10s. for the United Kingdom, for 
ibroad 12s. 6d., prepaid. 
Subscriptions and Advertisement Orders 
should be addressed to Maclaren & Sons, at 
the offices, 37 & 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Cheques, Post Office Orders, etc., to be made 
payable only to the proprietors, Maclaren & 
Sons, and crossed London Oity and Midland 
Bank. 
Letters for Publication, specimens for 
naming, books for review, and all communica¬ 
tions on matters of an editorial character must 
be addressed to “ The Editor,” and written on 
one side of the paper only. All communica¬ 
tions must be accompanied by the name and 
address of the writer, not necessarily for pub¬ 
lication, but as a guarantee of good faith: 
initials or a nom de plume will be used, if 
desired. 
Photographs and Other Illustrations.— 
The Editor will be pleased to receive photo¬ 
graphs and drawings for reproduction of fine 
specimens of flowers, plants, trees, fruit, etc., 
or of interesting gardens. Only such as are 
likely to prove instructive and interesting to 
the class of readers reached by The Gardening 
World will be considered. If payment is 
desired, the price for reproduction must be 
distinctly stated, and it must be understood that 
only the actual photographer or owner of the 
copyright will be dealt with. 
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tions.— The Editor will not be responsible for 
the loss of unaccepted MSS., photographs, etc., 
but if stamps be enclosed for return postage 
and particulars for identification appear on the 
j contributions, ordinary care will be exercised to 
ensure return. 
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intended alteration of address. 
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Cable Address is “Buns, London,” and the 
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DIVIDUAL MEAIBERS OF THE STAFF. 
EDITORIAL NOTES. 
Scottish Horticultural Association. 
The principal show held by this association 
is that known to most of our readers as the 
Edinburgh Chrysanthemum Show. This 
year I he show will he held on November 
lGtli, I 7th, and 18th, being: about the same 
time of the year as formerly. Over £450 
will he distributed in prizes. One of tlie 
most marked features of the Edinburgh 
Chrysanthemum Show is the large quantity 
of blooms exhibited in vases. Prizes are 
offered in at least twenty-one classes for a 
varying number of blooms in vases. The 
Queen Victoria Memorial Prize, provided 
by the City Fathers of Edinburgh, 
is offered for sixteen vases of Japanese 
Crysanthemums in as many varieties. 
The Queen Alexandra Prize is offered 
by the association for six vases of 
Japanese blooms. The Scottish Challenge 
Cup for eight vases of the same popular type 
is limited to Scottish growers. Many of the 
classes for floral decorations will also have 
the blooms in vases. The secretary of the 
association is Mr. Peter Loney, 6, Carlton 
Street, Edinburgh. 
— o— 
The Virginia Clematis (Clematis virginiana). 
The above is the common Clematis or Vir¬ 
gin’s Bower in North America, and corre¬ 
sponds to C. Vitalba in this country. A 
coloured illustration of it was given in the 
“American Botanist” for February, and 
shows a plant that must be closely similar 
in outward appearance to our native 
Traveller’s Joy. The leaves are closely 
similar, and so are the flowers in the 
matter of size and colour, while the fruits 
which follow are also closely similar. The 
Virginian species is decidedly distinct from 
ours, however, by having the male and female 
flowers on different plants. There is also 
another marked distinction, although not a 
highly conspicuous one. Inside the sepals 
is a circle of small petal-like organs, which 
may be modified stamens that have lost 
their anthers. The young steins and leaf 
stalks are also more or less tinted with red, 
but that may be a feature more highly de¬ 
veloped in the North American climate than 
in ours, where the plant is to some extent 
cultivated chiefly in botanical gardens and 
collections. The flowers of this species must 
be. cross-fertilised, and the editor presumes 
that the only attraction for insects is the 
pollen. Surely, however, there must be 
something else, otherwise only one of the 
forms of this Clematis would be visited by 
insects, unless, indeed, they go on a mere 
journey of discovery. The editor might 
vouchsafe some information on this point to 
his numerous readers. 
The duality of Soot. 
As a manure the most valuable consti¬ 
tuent of soot is a small percentage of sulphate 
of ammonia, and a good example would con¬ 
tain about 4 per cent, of this ingredient. 
It is remarkably variable, however, as might 
be expected owing to the different sources 
from which it is obtained. We fear also 
that this valuable ingredient of plant food 
does not always reach its destination before 
the sulphate of ammonia gets partly lost, as 
we have seen the soot lie upon the land in 
bags for a considerable period during wet 
weather. Dr. L. A. Voelcker ; _ consulting 
chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society of 
England, has just been calling the attention 
of farmers to the variable quality of soot sold 
for agricultural piirposes. Experiments are 
being conducted at the Woburn Experi¬ 
mental Farm for the purpose of ascertaining 
whether soot contains any advantages 
for crops other than that attributed to the 
ammonia. Soot, sulphate' of ammonia, and 
nitrate of soda are all being tried upon the 
farm in order to ascertain the difference 
in effect upon crops. Soot is of uncertain 
quality, and samples that had been sub¬ 
mitted for analysis gave ammonia varying 
from 2.4 pea - cent, to 6 per cent. One sample 
sent from Yorkshire gave only 2.66 per 
cent, of ammonia, with 51 per cent of sili¬ 
ceous matter. That might depend upon the 
character of the chimneys from which the 
soot was taken, otherwise it might be due 
to adulteration if the soot was being sold 
bv weight rather than by bulk. Farmers 
and gardeners would be well advised, there¬ 
fore, to ascertain the quality of soot 
which they intend purchasing in any large 
quantity. 
Prize Competitions: 
Photographs of Gardening Subjects. 
Open to all Readers. 
(1.) The Editor of The Gardening World 
offers a Prize of £1 Is. Od. for the best 
original photograph showing a view of the 
interior of a Conservatory. The photograph 
must be a view of the reader's own conser¬ 
vatory, and should not be smaller than half¬ 
plate size. The prize photograph will be used 
in The Gardening World, and if any speci¬ 
ally commended photographs sent in for com¬ 
petition are used, prizes of five shillings each 
will be given. The copyright of the prize 
photographs will be the property of the 
Proprietors of The Gardening World. 
(2.) A prize of El Is.is also offered for the 
best original photograph of a Single Flower¬ 
ing Plant for room or table decoration. The 
plant must be one of the reader’s own grow¬ 
ing-. Fancy (outer) pots may be used, or the 
pots may be draped with ribbons,canvas mat¬ 
ting, crepe paper, or other decoration, but 
such decoration must not be allowed to form 
the most prominent feature of the picture. 
Extra prizes of as. each will be given 
for any specially commended photographs 
which may be used. Other conditions, as 
above. 
All photographs must be maiked " Compe¬ 
tition,” with name and address of owner, 
and be sent to the Editor on or before 
Mav 25th. 
