October 14, 1905. 
THE QA RDENINQ WORLD 
803 
different from any other Viola in the garden. 
The flowers are relatively large for the size of 
the plant, and of a lively bine-purple. They 
just show themselves clear above the foliage, 
and each plant consisting of a tuft, it is both 
neat and highly interesting. The accompany¬ 
ing illustration shows a plant in a pot, but it 
was flowering at the same time upon the 
rockery at Kew about the third week of May. 
It continued, however, for several weeks in 
bloom, having been flowering for some time 
before it was photographed. 
A Giant Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum 
arcuatum). 
Oar illustration of this plant shows a beau¬ 
tiful and highly interesting species that is 
much neglected in private gardens. As 
grown on a border at Kew, the leaves look 
rather uninteresting, because they are just 
fading by the time the plants come into 
bloom. For that reason it would be best to 
plant clumps of bulbs in the mixed' border, 
where the bare space occupied by the leaves 
will not be seen when the plants are in bloom. 
In other words, it should be planted behind 
some subject that will hide the bare ground. 
The stems grow to a height of 3ft. or 4ft., 
and produce a long raceme of flowers that 
commence expanding about the middle of the 
stem and gradually expand towards the top. 
The period covered by the flowering is thus 
of some extent. The flowers are pure white, 
with a narrow green stripe on the back of the 
segments. In general features, therefore, 
they are like the ordinary Star of Bethlehem, 
but much more effective and interesting. 
There are species of Star of Bethlehem in 
which the common stalk does not rise above 
the 1 soil, so that the flowers simply nestle 
amongst the leaves'. Those who have been 
fortunate in securing bulbs of this species 
should now plant them in good-sized clumps 
in the mixed border by way of variation to 
the later flowering Cape Hyacinth (Galtonia 
candicans). 
VEGETABLES 
ALL THE YEAR ROUND. 
VII.—RUNNER BEANS. 
WS,. 
A great quantity of Beans may be gathered 
off a row' 20 ft. long. I have growm this kind 
of Bean on the same ground for more than ten 
years, and previously, I was told, a row of 
Runner Beans had been grown in exactly the 
same position sixty years. The row extended 
to a little more than 300 ft.,"and, as a proof 
that it was a profitable crop, I may state that 
I gathered forty pecks from the row during 
one month, one of the hottest months of an 
extremely hot summer. One need not hesitate 
to sow these Beans in the same position year 
after year, though a change of soil is certainly 
beneficial when it can be managed. 
Soil and Situation. —The best soil is a 
rich medium loam. In a very light soil the 
plants grow rapidly at first, but later, if a dry 
spell of weather obtains, the plants cast many 
flowers and do not “ set ” freely. The position 
should be an open one if possible, though very 
fine crops of these Beans are often obtained 
from plants growm in the partial shade of trees. 
Preparing the Ground and Sowing the 
Seeds —A deep trench is generally opened 
down to the colder subsoil, some manure is 
placed in, mixed with the cold subsoil, and the 
seeds are sown on it and covered. Now, this 
method is quite w'rong. The roots of Runner 
Beans travel far afield, and the best w T ay to 
prepare the ground is to heavily manure a 
space at least 4 ft. wide, dig in the manure 
and then open out two drills right in the 
centre. The drills should be 3 in. deep and 
9 in. apart; sow the seeds in the drills 6 in. 
apart. 
Like the dwarf kind, early sowfing is not 
profitable. The dates given for the sowing of 
the dwarf kind are suitable for these. Do not 
sow your Beans near any cabbage, cauliflower, 
or broccoli crops, as the latter, being such gross 
feeders, rob the Beans of much nourishment, 
and cause many flow'ers to drop off. 
Summer Treatment —Stake the young- 
plants directly they are forming the first rough 
leaves. Place one stake to each plant, selecting 
those which are about 7 ft. long, and make them, 
secure near the top to other stakes laid on them 
in the forks made by the two row's crossing. 
This plan is, perhaps, more profitable than 
the method of growing three plants triangular 
fashion, and fastening them to one stake. In 
the latter case the plants are topped, and form 
bushes about 4 feet high. 
Insect Pests -—Red spider and thrip infest 
the leaves of the plants in dry w'eather, and 
should be got rid of in the same way as advised 
in the case of Dwarf Beans. But it is not often 
that well-cared-for crops are attacked by these 
insects to any serious extent. 
Varieties. —ITe Plus Ultra, Champion, Titan 
Best of All, Giant Scarlet. 
In season from July to November. 
G. 
A Fine Strain of Nemesia. 
(Nemesia strumosa Suttoni.) 
Hitherto this annual has been character¬ 
ised by many fine varieties, differing chiefly 
in colour. As a rule, however, the habit of 
the plants was bad, and unless very carefully 
growm each individual had a leggy appear¬ 
ance. At the meeting of the R.H.S. on 
August 15th a very fine strain was exhibited, 
consisting of selections from the original in 
tw'enty-four distinct colours. 
The plants were characterised not only by 
beautiful flowers and a great profusion of 
them, but the habit of the plants was entirely 
different from what is usually seen in N. 
strumosa Suttoni. This has been brought 
about by the selection of plants of very free 
branching habit, as well as for different 
colours^ Amongst them might have been seen 
chrome-yellow, golden-yellow, orange-yellow, 
and orange-scarlet flowers, deepening still 
to red and fiery crimson. These all refer to 
flowers of self colour—that is, uniform hues. 
Another section of them might be described 
as bi-colours-, with one lip of the flower con¬ 
trasting with the other in very striking 
fashion, owing to the remarkable combination 
of colours in one flower. For instance, 
amongst these bi-colours- one individual had 
four -segments of the flowers of a rich violet 
and the lower lip pink. Another flower had 
a pale purple upper lip and a white lower one. 
In a third case the upper segments were choco¬ 
late-red, contrasting strongly with the white 
lip. Still another type had a marbled-purple 
upper lip and a creamy-white lower one. 
These plants were only 6in. to 9in. high, 
very bushy, and remarkably floriferous. This 
strain would make a much finer bedding plant 
than the original. The difference between the 
old and the new type is so remarkable that 
one could almost feel certain that two species 
had been connected in the parentage. 
Supplementary Rfplies 
BY OUR READERS 
To Answers in the “ G. W.” Enquire Within. 
Ants and Fruit. 
The best way I know for getting rid of ants 
is by pouring paraffin oil liberally in their runs 
or nests when these are not near the roots of 
plants, in which case soft soap at the rate of 
half a pound to a gallon of water may be used. 
I do not know what happens to the stray ants 
when nests are thus treated, but they generally 
disappear. Occasionally a new colony is 
founded, but I have had no difficulty in 
ridding a house or small plot of these trouble¬ 
some creatures in a very short time. 
Wm. Taylor. 
Holly Hedge. 
I can thoroughly recommend “ M. J. R.” to 
try the secateurs in preference to the more 
generally used shears when trimming his Holly 
hedge, providing he does not mind the opera¬ 
tion taking up a little more of his gardener’s 
time than is the case when the shears are used. 
I have seen this method habitually adopted 
with excellent results. Every shoot should be 
cut back to within the edge of the hedge, and 
the clipped and mutilated appearance of the 
leaves which he complains of—and they are 
indeed an eyesore—and which is usually so 
painfully patent in shears-trimmed hedges in 
general, is entirely done away. An even, neat, 
and level, though not a table-like surface can 
be easily maintained if the work is properly 
attended to every year, and the hedge will 
have a much nicer appearance in every way. 
The only drawback to this method is the extra 
time it entails. But, where beauty rather than 
quickness is the object, this will not be grudged. 
Specimen Holly trees should also be trimmed 
in this way. Dunn. 
Roses and Other Shrubs for Sandy Soil 
near the Sea. 
The smooth-leaved R. wichuraiana and its 
many beautiful hybrids ramble enough to 
satisfy anyone, and grow and flower more 
freely in light sandy soil than Ramblers, such 
as Crimson Rambler, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. 
If it is decided to attempt the culture of Roses 
heavy top dressings of cow manure are very 
beneficial, and should be given twice annually, 
in October and again in April. As the garden 
is small large shrubs will be out of place, but 
there are many beautiful ones to choose from 
for such a favoured locality. Evergreens would 
include Azara microphylla, Berberis steno- 
phylla, Cassinia fulvida,;Choisya ternata, Cistus, 
especially C. formosus, C. lusitanicus, C. lada- 
niferus, and Olearia Haastii. Deciduous 
shrubs, such as Hydrangeas, Fuchsias, the 
newer Buddleias (almost evergreen), and 
Deutzias, all do well near the sea in sandy soil. 
For creepers to grow on the house, Berberi- 
dopsis corallina and Camellias might be tried 
