756 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
September 23, 1905. 
you think we have got the right variety ? 
(Tagetes.) 
The ordinary form of this plant grows about 
18in. high, so that we think there can be little 
doubt the variety you have is correctly named 
T. s. pumila. It will grow 10in. and even 12in. 
high if allowed. You should check this, how¬ 
ever, by planting the Tagetes only about 3in. or 
4in. apart each way. Then, as they commence 
to grow, you should pinch out the points, which 
has the effect of keeping the plant down to any 
desired height. The pinching is repeated at 
different times during the summer when neces¬ 
sary. That is the plan adopted by those who 
grow it for carpet-bedding purposes. To merely 
plant it and allow it to grow naturally is cer¬ 
tainly not the proper way to deal with this as a 
carpet-bedding plant. 
Roses in Sandy Soil, 
I am about to take a house with small garden 
quite near Bournemouth. The soil is all sand, 
with a light layer of loam on top. I should much 
like to grow Rambler Roses, but am told 
they will not do well there. Will you kindly 
tell me if it is possible to grow them without a 
lot. of expense in preparing the ground, and how 
to proceed. Also will you please give me the 
names of a few ornamental shrubs for the same 
soil, and oblige. (Bob’s Wife.) 
Roses are seldom a great success on very light 
sandy soil. It is necessary to take away some 
of the sandy subsoil to a depth of 2ft. to 3ft. 
and to substitute loam obtained from any source. 
Sometimes loam can be obtained cheap and handy, 
but this is all chance. Rambler and many or 
most other Roses like soil of a very substantial 
character. If you can get a sufficient quantity 
cheaply you should try the Roses. Handsome 
flowering shrubs for the soil you mention are : 
Tamarisk (a seaside shrub), also Veronica 
Traversa, V. salicifolia, V. pinguifolia, and other 
shrubby New Zealand - species. The Syrian 
Mallow (Hibiscus syriacus) in several beautiful 
colours should suit. Then there are several very 
beautiful variegated varieties of Euonymus and 
Ivies that would succeed well in your soil. Thq 
foliage of the Euonymus and Ivies is the most 
ornamental part of them. 
Ants and Fruit. 
Can you advise me how to rid my garden of 
ants? They have spoilt all my Nectarines, and 
seriously damaged my Apricots, Peaches and 
Pears. (G.. S.). 
There are many contrivances for destroying 
ants, including some insecticides that are 
poisonous. Where fruit is concerned we should 
not use any poisonous substance. Get some deep 
glass jars, putting in them a small quantity of a 
sweet and strong-smelling syrup or treacle in 
water. Sink the jars in the soil near the runs 
of the ants, so that they will have no difficulty 
in getting on to the edges of the jars. The 
syrupy water will lure them in to drown. The 
syrupy liquid can be renewed when crowded with 
drowned ants. The runs of the ants may also 
frequently be trodden down, or hot water poured 
into them. 
Earth-worms in Soil, 
I have a greenhouse planted with Tomatos, the 
soil of which I find to. be greatly infested with 
the common earth-worm. I am using the same 
soil, after Tomatos are over, for bulb culture. 
Are these worms injurious to plant life, and how 
can they be got rid of? The soil is good, largely 
composed of leaf-mould, rotten manure, and good 
loam. (A. Fleming.) 
The earth -worms are in no way injurious to 
plant life, but bn the contrary are highly 
beneficial in many ways. The reason why they 
are so plentiful in your soil is because it is rich 
in humus or decaying vegetable matter, such as 
leaf-mould and rotten manure. When worms are 
plentiful on lawns, they become a nuisance by 
their castings. In the case of Tomato and bulb 
culture they should be highly beneficial by form¬ 
ing a natural drainage by means of their burrows. 
A soil from which worms are absent becomes 
inert and dead, so that plants cannot grow in it. 
In your moist, rich soil we consider it would 
be a mistake to destroy the worms for the reason 
just stated. In some districts by the sea coast 
the land sometimes gets flooded with salt water, 
the worms get killed, and the land refuses to 
grow anything for several years. When digging 
the soil, you could remove the largest ot the 
worms if they are a nuisance in any way, but not 
otherwise. 
Various Questions. 
I have a small bed of earth, 15 ft. 9 in. long 
and 3 ft. 6 in. wide, on which for about three 
years a fowlhouse and run have stood. I know 
nothing of gardening, but am very fond of flowers, 
and wish to set about cultivating it so as to have 
a really nice show of flowers by next spring or 
summer. (1) How shall I prepare the ground— 
I mean, how long shall I have, to devote to dig¬ 
ging and tinning it over, and how long should 
the ground stand before I begin sowing seeds or 
bulbs? (2) I wish to make an artistic display 
as to variation of colour, with, if possible, a 
pretty pattern of a flower-bed. Can I get a small 
pattern anywhere suitable for a bed of the dimen¬ 
sions mentioned? (3) To make a good show by, 
say, next May or June, what seeds should I sow, 
and when, and how are the seeds sown; or 
could I grow a good bed of Hyacinths, or what 
flower seeds or bulbs should I put in the ground 
to make a. good, varied display of colour when, 
they come up, and yet avoid any violent con¬ 
trasts? (When I say I want a good , display of 
colour I mean that I want to get a nice combina¬ 
tion of colours, nicely placed and arranged, and 
forming a pretty pattern, and something out of 
the common. I remember some years ago always 
admiring a front garden of a house in the neigh¬ 
bourhood, which was laid out in a beautiful pat¬ 
tern with some sort of plant flat on the ground, 
that looked like a beautiful carpet. What plant 
would that be? (4) Is there any book published 
which in simple language tells the amateur what 
to do in the way of gardening in a very small 
way—I mean take him right through from the 
beginning, telling him how to prepare the ground, 
what to sow, when to sow, and how to sow ? In 
conclusion, I may say that, being only a labourer 
with a small wage, I can only spend shillings on 
-this little flower-bed, not pounds, but my main 
object is to get a really pretty, well-arranged little 
flower-bed—the sort of little thing of beauty 
which will be a joy for ever sort of thing. 
(Ignoramus.) 
(1) We cannot say how long it will take you 
to prepare the ground, as that depends upon your 
own strength and skill, or experience with the 
spade. You should trench it 2 ft. >or 3 ft. deep 
to begin with, and that will save you a deal of 
trouble afterwards. If you intend planting bulbs 
upon the ground it need only stand about a fort¬ 
night to settle. If the ground is vacant it should 
be trenched at once. Should you decide to sow 
seeds, the ground should likewise be prepared 
now, then levelled and raked fine before sowing- 
in spring. (2) You might be able to get a pretty 
oattern of a bed from Messrs, H. Cannell and 
Sons, Swanley, Kent, who used to have a small 
pamphlet of designs ; failing this, you might look 
round Hyde Park or Regent’s Park for a design 
of a bed, which you could copy on to paper on 
the spot. (3) YY>u are too late now to sow seeds 
for flowering- next spring, as that should have 
been done at the beginning of August. Hyacintha 
would make an interesting bed, using only two 
colours, or at most three—say red, white, and 
blue. A bed either of red or blue Hyacinths, 
edged in either case with a line of 'a white 
variety, would, to our mind, be more handsome 
than a bizarre mixture of many colours of anv- 
thing. You might buy 100 or 200 plants of 
Mvosotis sylvatica from a florist to form a ground¬ 
work to the Hyacinths, which could then stand 
12 in. to 15 in. apart, thus saving the more 
costlv bulbs bv the cheajier Forget-me-nots. The 
seedlings ought to be quite cheap to buy them 
now. Chi the other hand, you might get some 
white, purple, rose, or scarlet earlv Tulips, plant¬ 
ing them 15 in. apart, with a bulb of the yellow 
Golden Spur Daffodil between each. The ground¬ 
work might here again be Myosotis or white 
Arabis. The carpet-bed you mention was probabiy 
done with one or more of the subjects usually 
employed for carpet-bedding. In that case, you 
would have to buy the plants from a florist every 
spring, as they require considerable heat in sum¬ 
mer. 3 This could follow the spring bedding 
about the end of June. We can only guess what 
the plant was, as there are so many employed for 
carpet-bedding. We think the Tulips, Daffodils, 
and Forget-me-nots would make the cheapest bed, 
but it will only last till .May. For summer bedding 
it would be necessary to raise or buy other plants 
to continue this display. Ten-week Stocks, China 
Asters, Calceolarias, and such things are very 
common subjects for gardening, but we should 
either turn the whole bed into a rockery, and 
grow alpine plants, or turn it into a mixed border. 
The latter could be filled with clumps or masses 
of various annuals or perennials (in no end of 
variety, at command), with clumps of bulbs be¬ 
tween,' if you like, to flower in spring. Y'ou 
could get some perennials at once, and sow annuals 
in April to make up for the rest. Other peren¬ 
nials could be got in succeeding years, till the 
whole ground is occupied. (4) There is a small 
book, named " Pictorial Practical Gardening,” 
sold by Cassell and Co., Ludgate Hill, London, 
we believe at Is., which would suit you. 
Retarding Black Currants.' 
Is it possible to keep up a supply of this useful 
Currant till a late period, as in the case of Red 
Currants? Any information would be appre¬ 
ciated. (T. M. C.) . 
n The Blaqk Currant cannot be kept with the 
same facility as the red or white ones. You can, 
to a certain extent, make the berries late by 
planting the bushes against a wall with a northern 
aspect or in a cool border with the same aspect- 
After the berries are perfectly ripe they com¬ 
mence to drop, especially the larger and finer 
of them. For that reason, you cannot induce them 
to hang on the bushes to the same length of time 
as the Red Currant. You can prolong the supply 
of Black Currants, by having some of the bushes 
in a warm situation and others as described 
above. 
Fear with Grubs. 
Is it usual to find grubs in Pears? We always 
expect them, more or less, in Apples, but several 
Pears I cut open the other day contained these 
disagreeable creatures, which tunnel and spoil 
the fruits. (A. D. Brand.) 
As far as we have observed, grubs are not so 
frequent in Pears grown in this country as they 
are in Apples. In the case of foreign Pears, 
however, we have met with the grub frequently, 
and are inclined to think that they infest the 
Pear to a greater extent on Continental Europe 
than they do in this country. That being the 
case, we should expect to find them occasionallv 
in Pears in this country. The insect is Carpo- 
capsa pomonella, the" Codlin Grub. It is, 
in fact, the same creature which infests 
the Apple. If your Pear trees are at 
all likely to get badly infested with these 
gi bs, it would be advantageous to spray 
the trees during the summer months with Bor¬ 
deaux mixture. The trees should be sprayed for 
the first time soon after the petals drop, or, at 
all events, when the young fruits have sufficiently 
advanced to show themselves, say about the size 
of Peas. 
List of Montbretias. 
Would you be'good enough to name half a dozen 
of the best varieties of Montbretia, which we 
desire to plant in a bed on the grass, as thev 
produce a very fine effect during- August and 
September? (L. R. S.) 
Two of the more recent and first-class varieties 
are George Davison and Germania. The first 
named has yellow flowers produced on tall, 
vigorous-growing stems. Germania is, perhaps, 
a larger flower, and of rich orange-red. Later 
but excellent varieties . are Etoil de Feu (vermi 1 - 
lion), Talisman (similar hi colour, and verv 
vigorous), Pluie d’Or (deen apricot), and Bouquet 
Parfait (dark yellow). The above are certainly 
