Scp bomber 30, 1905 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK 
‘ How canst thou breathe this air, who hast breathed the sweet air of the 
mountains.— Longfellow. 
NOTICES. 
To Headers and Correspondents. 
» THE GARDENING WORLD " is published by MACLAREN 
and Sons, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. Telegrams 
and Cables: “Buns,” London. Telephone Number: 997 
Holborn. 
“THE GARDENING WORLD” is published every Tues¬ 
day and dated for the following Saturday. Price One Penny. 
Annual Subscription (Prepaid), post free, 6s. 6d. United 
Kingdom ; 8s. 6d. Abroad. Cheques and remittances 
generally should be made payable to Maclaren and Sons, and 
crossed London City and Midland Bank. 
Advertisement Orders should be addressed to the Pub¬ 
lishers. The insertion of advertisements cannot be guaran¬ 
teed for the following issue unless received by Saturday 
before date of publication. 
EDITORIAL.—Letters for publication, specimens for 
naming, requests for information, manuscripts, and photo¬ 
graphs must be addressed to the Editor, Correspondents 
should write on one side of the paper only, and give name 
and address as well as nom-de-plume. The Editor will not 
be responsible for loss of unaccepted manuscripts, photo¬ 
graphs, etc., but if stamps be enclosed ordinary care will be 
exercised to ensure return. If payment for photographs or 
text 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. 
All contributions of any kind in the Prize Competitions 
become the property of the Proprietors of “ The Gardening 
World.” The Editor’s decision in Prize Competitions is final. 
SPECIMEN COPIES.—The Publishers will be pleased to 
send specimen copies of “The Gardening World” for distri¬ 
bution amongst friends and will appreciate the services 
rendered by readers in this connection. 
AN AMATEUR'S LETTER 
TO AMATEURS. 
By the author of “ The Garden Decorative 
etc., etc. 
No. VIII. 
Concerning the Calceolaria. 
Too often we hear garden owners com¬ 
plain that their soil does not suit this plant, 
that it dies off in a sudden and unaccount¬ 
able manner at the height of the summer. 
And for other reasons, too, the yellow Cal¬ 
ceolaria has been much decried. It belongs 
to the genus “ bedding plant,” and as such 
many have flung ill-flavoured epithets at it. 
But all said and done, when dissociated 
from the scarlet Geranium and the blue 
Lobelia the Calceolaria, used after more 
original and less familiar methods, is won¬ 
derfully effective and far too valuable a 
means of furnishing clear,'clean colour for 
months to be banisned. As to the com¬ 
plaint that the soil does not suit it and 
that it is liable to die off suddenly, I am 
sure it is far more often the method of culti¬ 
vation that is to blame. 
It is so nearly hardy that it may well be 
included among the plants to he used in the 
hardy flower garden. No fire heat is neces¬ 
sary for its winter protection ; a cold house 
or a cold frame is all it needs, and any¬ 
thing more than one or other of these tends 
to weaken its constitution. It can stand 
frost, it can stand to have mow chilling and 
saturating it, as it thaws better than it can 
stand undue coddling. With most subjects 
the best results are obtained by taking 
cutt’ngs early in the autumn. This 
method is not for Calceolarias, however; 
for them the second week in October 
is, all things considered, the best time 
to secure cuttings. These, if space is an 
object, may be closely planted into boxes 
and set aside in the open air. Merely the 
tips of the shoots should be taken, and none 
of the cuttings should be more than three 
inches in length, and where possib’e it is 
advisable to take them fiom the outside 
rather than from the middle of the plants, 
for these, being more expo ed to air and 
sunshine, are riper and less sappy. 
At the first spell of severe weather a 
frame should be put over the boxes, or they 
should be lifted into a cold house. Some 
people do not even take the trouble to 
plant in boxes if the cuttings are to remain 
the winter in a frame, but plant in the 
ground. I think the former plan is, how¬ 
ever, very much to be preferred, because it 
secures far better drainage, and with this 
simple treatment I go so far as to say that 
not one cutting should be lost, no matter 
how severe the winter. Air must be ad- 
m tted freely; indeed, there will be many 
days throughout the coldest months when 
the lights may be removed for hours. 
Directly the cuttings have rooted they begin 
to grow taller, and at this stage it is advis¬ 
able to pinch out the tops. This means 
that fine bushy plants will be produced, and 
it goes without the saying that this means 
the resultant profusion of blossom when its 
time comes. 
One of the chief virtues of the Calceolaria 
has yet to be discovered by many people. 
I mean its capacity to flower and to flower 
well in partially overhung positions. Many 
a front garden in the suburbs, for instance, 
boasts several fine deciduous trees. Where 
these exist, there is often much difficulty in 
securing a prolonged and effective summer 
display. The position seems to demand 
some such class of flower, and yet few under 
such circumstances prove successful. The 
Calceolaria will meet the case, and I could 
tell of such a planting of these and a 
bright mauve Viola that makes one of the 
most charming effects I can recall. • 
Some Perennials for Spring Display. 
It cannot, perhaps, be said that we overdo 
the cultivation of bulbous plants in our 
spring gardens, though it must be conceded 
that these are sometimes grown to the 
exclusion of some excellent and early- 
flowering herbaceous plants that blend their 
fresh and brilliant foliage with the stern, 
straight, bulbous foliage in most delightful 
contrast. It is not enough to have a few 
Polyanthuses, a few Forget-me-nots, and a 
bed or two of Wallflowers or white Arabis. 
There are treasures the true flower-lover 
seeks and finds .to make beautiful the 
spring garden and to lend it that air 
of character and distinction that belongs 
to those gardens that have some of 
the flowering subjects among the less 
familiar ones. We never value blue floivers 
more than we do lat this early season, 
when, in many gardens, they are conspicuous 
by their absence. In Orobus vernus we have 
an excellent border plant freely bearing 
during March and April quantities of blue 
and purple flowers, and yet more beautiful 
is the variety known as O. lathyroides, with 
bluer, paler flowers. These plants are 
■wonderfully neat and tidy in habit, and 
their brilliant foliage (I can call it nothing 
else) is almost as welcome as the blossom 
At Kew, this plant is to be seen growing in 
the rock garden, but it is equally suitable 
for the border. It is rather remarkable 
that a plant so decorative and desirable 
should have suffered neglect, for it is in 
reality an old-fashioned plant much treasured 
in the gardens of the eighteenth century, 
and certain varieties are mentioned by that 
good old gardener, Philip Miller, in his 
Gardener's Kalendar. 
Another perennial that greatly enhances 
the beauty of the bulbs it maytgrow beside is 
Doronicum austriacum, which flowers in 
March, and continues for many weeks. The 
delicate-looking, yellow, daisy-like flowers 
are invaluable for cutting, and the plant will 
succeed in those borders which at a ater 
period are partially shaded by deciduous 
trees. It is the dwarfest and the best of all 
the Doronicums. F. M. V . 
English Apple Appetite.— The English 
appetite for the Apple is insatiable, for it- 
consumes the bulk of the world s supply of 
this delectable edible. For instance, of the 
two million or so bushels grown in Tasmania, 
one million and a quarter are sent to Eng¬ 
land. Thirty large steamers laden to -their 
utmost capacity leave Hobart every season 
for London and Liverpool, carrying from 
12,000 to 45,000 cases each. The total re¬ 
ceipts for these large consignments average 
something like a quarter of a million ster- 
liner. 
