me 17 1905 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
499 
Ieepino the 
Conservatory Gay. 
NNUALS FOR INDOOR BLOOMING. 
Hundreds, of people admit the use and 
l|auty of annuals in a garden, and make pro- 
iLion for beds exclusively for them, but to 
slggest their being employed with greater 
ipedom as pot plants for the decoration of 
seenhouse or conservatory hardly meets with 
leir approval. The truth is that annuals 
l.ve long been regarded as being all very 
nil for the border, but for the house some- 
ting of a higher standard is needed. 
T know not a few gardeners who, if they 
i not express themselves, think in this way ; 
1t I submit we owe very much to annuals 
i- making bright the house as well as the 
drden, and, in my opinion, it is a mistake 
rigidly exclude things that, when all is 
: id, do really make a house very charming. 
We have, for example, in Balsams flower- 
g plants that when well grown are very 
mdsome, and were much prized by a former 
neration of florists, who grew them to per- 
:Ction, doing justice to them by potting them 
until pots of lOin. were not considered too 
irge for them ; consequently they produced 
i wers worthy of the name of “ Camellia-. 
: wered ” Balsam. Nowadays it is seldom 
lat those who cultivate them take any 
Jrther trouble with them after they have 
len shifted into 5-in. pots. 
An old friend of the writer’s, who prided 
mself on his Balsams, used to sow his seed 
February in light soil in shallow pans, pot 
em off separately immediately on their 
owing their second leaf, and never allowed 
em to become pot bound, giving them a 
oeral compost made up of old mellow loam, 
af mould, and rotted cow dung, and finer 
pecimens when they bloomed in May no one 
mid wish for. There is no comparison be- 
reen a plant grown in a small pot and ill- 
jd and one grown on in a 10-in. pot, given a 
beral diet, and fed with stimulants, as was 
le case mentioned, inasmuch they grew to a 
•eat size, and whilst they were in bloom 
ere the glory of the conservatory to which 
ley were transferred as soon as bloom 
towed. 
One of the most popular of annuals for the 
•eenhouse at present in bloom is the 
hod an the, which is easily recognised by the 
eads of pink and white, on slender stems of 
riicate green, and for window and table 
scoration just now it is very much in 
?mand. Indeed, as a florist said to me, it is 
le of the most profitable of annuals one can 
ike in hand, as all who have grown them 
■knowledge. A light soil and a moderate 
mperature, in a house that gets the full 
Ivantage of sun, are the principal conditions 
?cessary to their successful culture. 
Then there are the Schizanthuses, that as 
ley become better known will be more 
.rgely grown. That they are beautiful and 
isy to grow, and may be had in bloom with 
;ry little heat, are points known to those 
ho have dealt with them, and it is perhaps 
hen cultivated in pots, more so than in the 
irden, that their beauty appeals to one 
ore, and if large-sized specimens are wanted, 
en it is an advantage to sow seed in 
ltumn, and keep the plants in a light, airy 
mse, just sufficient heat being kept up to 
:clude frost; but for plants in moderate- 
zed pots, then good results may be achieved 
r sowing in heat in February or March. 
In the Nemesias we have very pretty 
flowers of a wondrous range of colours, that 
may be had in flower within a few months 
from the date of sowing S43ed, and give to a 
house much beauty, and whilst they will 
bloom with a remarkable freedom when 
planted out of doors on a warm border, they 
are actually seen at their best when brought 
on in pots indoors. 
The Verbena is, of course, strictly speak¬ 
ing a perennial, but it is questionable whether 
it is not more frequently grown and dealt with 
as an annual, as there are few establishments 
nowada 3 's where trouble is taken to keep a 
stock of plants during the winter for cut¬ 
tings for striking in spring. Nor is this a 
matter for surprise, considering the good 
strains one may procure, and that seedlings 
bloom so well. One of the tenderest of 
annuals is Impatiens Sultani, a plant com¬ 
paratively little grown, and the cause of this 
is possibly because many fail with it owing 
to sowing the seed at too early a date. March 
or even April is soon enough, and then the 
pans should be in a steady heat of 65 deg., 
LESSONS 
— FROM — S 
NATURES BOOK. 
j Sorrows are sent our selfish souls to show < 
( Earth is not all. Our trials here below 
( Are helps, not hindrances to happier days, ( 
j And, rightly used, should give us cause for J 
! praise. • \ 
Note how the oyster, vexed with galling pain, ) 
To glistening pearl transforms the sandy ( 
/ grain. S 
( But for the specks of dust that fill the air 
\ The sky were black as midnight everywhere, < 
) And the blue ocean, were it pure as dew, 
! Would be a watery waste of inky hue. 
S Thus many a blessing visits in disguise, ( 
) And, duty spurned, perchance an angel flies. < 
) See the wild Rose, so sweet in summer time, ') 
( Using its thorns as helps wherewith to climb. ' 
) Those blighted branches turned to good ( 
) account, / 
*, Give it the needed aid wherewith to mount. ( 
) Sure God is good when it was made so fair— ) 
? Its simple sermon in the open air. \ 
} W. F. de B. M. / 
being filled with a compost of two parts turfy 
loam to one of leaf soil, with sand added, ana 
with perfect drainage. Indeed, the better 
plan is to sow in pots, being very careful in 
applying water, as the seedlings are liable 
to damp off, and require delicate handling 
when being shifted, as they are extremely 
brittle, and even after this operation should 
have the advantage of the additional warmth 
of the propagating pit until they have be¬ 
come established. These are very charming 
blossoms, and have the advantage of lasting 
in flower a long time. They do best in large 
pots. 
I make no apology for introducing the 
Cockscomb, inasmuch as I look upon it as a 
good decorative plant, notwithstanding the 
fact that many belittle it, I think, mainly 
because its flowers are of no value for cut¬ 
ting ; but there are signs in the frequency 
with which one meets with them at exhibi¬ 
tions amongst groups of decorative plants, 
where their highly-coloured combs reveal 
good culture, that they are again coming to 
the front. 
Pretty things are the Torenias, whether 
grown in pots or baskets, because, being of 
a branching habit, they are most effective 
when seen suspended from the roof of a con¬ 
servatory. T. Fournieri gives us many purple 
and white blossoms, but it is to T. I', grandi- 
ttora that we must look for the finest flowers. 
I venture to say of that sweet and common 
annual, Mignonette, few things are more 
delightful to have in a house, no matter at 
what time of the year, and few plants that 
one can easily raise from seeds pay one 
better for good culture. 
One annual that is specially serviceable for 
basket work in a house is to be found in 
Thunbergia alata, with flowers of buff, whilst 
bright orange and white are also represented. 
They make very attractive trailing plants for 
blooming in July if sown and raised from 
seed in February. Gershom. 
Pruning versus Neglect. 
It is at this season of the year, just when 
fruit trees are setting their fruit, that a vast 
difference may be noted in the amount of fruit 
on various trees of the same kind. 
Some are full of fruit and promise a grand 
harvest in due season; on others, alas! 
though they gave as good or even a better 
show of flowers, we see practically no fruit 
forming, or, at best, a few poor specimens, 
which are very slow of growth, and bid fair 
to fall early, owing to lack of sufficient 
vitality in the tree to support them. 
What is the cause of this difference? It 
is a cause which we now find it is too late to 
remedy this season. It is that the trees with 
poor fruit 'have in the past been greatly neg¬ 
lected in the pruning season. 
Probably season after season may have 
passed, and they have remained untouched, as 
far as the knife is concerned. The result is 
that there is a large amount of small, twiggy 
growth which, though bearing flowers in pro¬ 
fusion, is far too poor in quality to bear fruit. 
On the other hand, trees that have been 
properly thinned and cut back produce much 
sturdier growth, and, though they may have 
fewer flowers, very soon there is good evidence 
as to which of the two modes of treatment is 
best for fruiting. 
As I write, I see an example before me, 
where a well-pruned Pear tree shows excellent 
promise of fruit, while one a few yards from 
it, though it had far more blossom, shows an 
entire absence of fruit. 
Many instances of this kind may be seen in 
all districts, and so I write this article with 
the object of arousing the attention of the 
owners of any such neglected trees of whatever 
kind of fruit ; may they make up their minds 
to see that next pruning season their trees 
receive different treatment. 
Far better even thus early to secure the 
services of an expert pruner for the autumn 
than run the risk of the trees being again 
overlooked. 
When this is accomplished, tlhey may look 
for better crops of better quality fruit in the 
seasons that follow. S. Wales. 
Kindly Cohmexdatiox. —“ As a gardener’s 
paper pure and simple, published in the in¬ 
terests of those it is intended for, The 
Gardening World is,” says The Fruit. Flower 
and Vegetable Trades’ Journal, “certainly the 
best pennyworth published, and should have 
a largely-increased sale at the popular price.” 
-“We have received the current number 
of The Gardexixg World, ahd most cer¬ 
tainly pronounce it an exceedingly interesting 
journal, useful alike to amateur and profes¬ 
sional gardeners. ”— Newsagent, 
