August 26, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
67.3 
boxes may be used, but I prefer pots or pans, 
putting in only a limited number, and then 
propagating in quantity in spring ; but 
regard must be had to the available facilities 
for spring propagation. 
Lobelias. —My plant with these is to pot 
up a sufficient number of plants at bedding- 
out time, keeping the dowers cut off during 
summer and autumn, winter near the glass 
in a cool house, and propagate from them in 
spring. 
Pentstemons and Antirrhinums. — Collec¬ 
tions of these are seldom met 'with nowadays, 
but bright telling varieties are deservedly 
popular for massing. Strike in boxes in a 
cold frame, kept close and shaded along with 
bedding plants. 
Bulbs. —The bulb lists are all to hand 
now, and no time should be lost in placing 
orders. “ Cut according to your cloth ” is a 
sound maxim, but the majority of bulbs are 
so cheap and so beautiful that they should 
be extensively planted. 
Herbaceous Plants.. —Cut away the *vpper 
part of all flower stems as the plants go out 
of flower, and keep the Dutch hoe going. 
Scabious, —Spring-sown plants often come 
in too late. A good plan is to sow now in 
a box in a cold frame, and when ready, pot 
up into 3-inch pots, and winter in a cold 
frame or cool greenhouse. The red and dark 
varieties are the most effective. 
Conservatory and Greenhouse. 
Fuchsias —Cuttings should now be in- 
| serted in pans or boxes and placed alongside 
the cuttings of bedding plants. 
Stage Pelargoniums.— The wood of these 
should now be well ripened, and they should 
be cut down to within a few eyes of the base 
of the shoots. Move into an airy house or 
frame, give water very sparingly at the root, 
but sprinkle with water overhead to induce 
them to break strong. 
Cyclamens —Gradually inure young seed¬ 
lings to air and light, and prick off into 
pans of light, flaky soil as soon as the plants 
have made one leaf. 
r 
Primulas -Primulas should now be got 
into their flowering pots, and those 5in. in 
, diameter are large enough for general pur¬ 
poses if the plants are well fed. 
Cinjrarias —The early batch should be 
ready for their final shift, and the general 
batch ready for the second last shift. It is a 
good plan to remove the lights entirely at 
nights, as the plants are greatly benefited 
by the autumn dews. 
Petunias—Cuttings should now be put 
in, with same treatment as for Fuchsias 
C. C. 
•b I ■ + 
WEEKLY PRIZE COMPETITION. 
- RESULT - 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
] awarded to “ Ernest A. Turner” for his 
article on “ Roses,” p. 657. 
A prize for a supplementary reply was 
awarded to “ Hydra ” for his article on “ Blue 
Hydrangeas,” p. 662 ; and another to “Hilda 
Briekwood ” for an article on “ Books of 
Designs,” p. 662. 
OCCASIONAL 
-a I NTERVI EWS «- 
Mr. ALFRED HOSSACK, 
lion. Secretary of the Wimbledon and District Royal Ilorticuliural and Cottage Garden Society. 
Wimbledon is not perhaps on the up-grade 
as an aristocratic residential neighbourhood, 
though it still holds its head high and prides 
itself on the possession of a wealthy and 
sufficiently exclusive gentry. But it is in 
too close proximity to London and too well 
served by the railway to be able to escape 
the human overplus from the great congested 
city—that Terror and Marvel of bricks and 
mortar which crawls nearer year by year, and 
which will some day inevitably absorb the 
once-distant Surrey town in its omnivorous 
maw. 
Other reasons, indeed, had Wimbledon to 
be proud than that it owned rich and even 
and feasting that they were exhausted, and 
had retired to their domiciles to recuperate. 
When the train landed me at Wimbledon 
I decided to walk to Church Road, where Mr. 
Hossack, whom I had come to interview, re¬ 
sides, and which road, I was told on inquiry, 
lay off the top of the hill. It was a stiff 
climb, but I did not regret “ footing ” it after 
jjassing an omnibus loaded with passengers 
that was being painfully dragged up the de¬ 
clivity by two panting equine slaves of the 
shaft, with a supernumerary front horse, on 
which complacently sat a heavy lout by way 
of adding to the task. A smart walk up this 
hill once a day would, it occurred to me, con- 
n 
o 
Me. Alfeed Hossack 
I'row a photograph by J. Lair, Cottenham Park, ff imbledon. 
titled residents, for the neighbourhood is 
undeniably beautiful, and its inhabitants 
have displayed a splendid progressive munici¬ 
pal spirit. But if they were, proud then, how 
much more so will they be now that they 
have discarded the old order of things and 
been granted a Charter of Incorporation, with 
all its attendant glories of a Mayor, aldermen, 
and councillors ? This historic event was 
celebrated on the 26th of July last, when the 
town made joyful holiday on a scale for which 
the oldest inhabitant could find no parallel. 
Probably this would account for the fact that 
when I entered the brand-new borough the 
other day the place seemed to wear a subdued 
and rather deserted air; Wimbledonians, I 
presume, had had such a surfeit of frolic 
stitute a specific for those overburdened with 
adipose tissue! 
Arrived at 9, Church Road, I found Mr. 
Hossack awaiting me, and after introducing 
ourselves we lost as little time as possible 
in carrying out the purpose of the meeting, 
which was to give and obtain some informa¬ 
tion about ’Wimbledon’s go-ahead horticul¬ 
tural societies. 
Mr. Hossack. I may say at the start, is a 
well-preserved man of fifty-three, compactly 
built, of medium stature, with shrewd eves 
and a kindly, somewhat deliberate manner. I 
should suppose that even if he has expe¬ 
rienced trouble—and most of us in this sub¬ 
lunary sphere come in for a share of it_he 
would not worry greatly, but meet it philo- 
