October 21, 1905. 
THE QA RDENING WORLD 
821 
inches of the ground, tying the labels to the 
stems left with strong twine. Some roots 
make long awkward tubers, which must be 
lifted carefully or much damage will result. A 
fork is the best tool to use, as this does not cut 
the roots, although there is the danger of 
wrenching the tuber off at the crown if not 
done with care. Remove the soil adhering and 
let them dry as much as possible before taking 
under cover, the aim should be to keep them 
dry, as damp is the great enemy of the Dahlia, 
and it may be that more tubers are killed in 
this way than any other. 
A cellar is an ideal place to put them ; if 
likely to be damp a few boards can be put 
down to stand them on, and here they can be 
examined easily. If there is a cool greenhouse 
where frost is just excluded, they may be stood 
under the staging and will be no further trouble 
till the spring. It often happens that frost is 
excluded from the potting shed, when under¬ 
neath the bench will be a good place, and will 
keep drier than most places. The last place I 
will mention, and which most can find, as if 
this place cannot be found the person is ex¬ 
cluded from growing Dahlias, is to treat them as 
in clamping Potatos in the open, drying them 
off well before putting away. Here they will be 
safe, when, if much frost is likely, straw or long 
manure can be thrown over in quantity. Small 
or weak roots should not be put away with the 
larger, but potted, keeping slightly moist and 
placed in the greenhouse. If subjected to dry¬ 
ing as the big roots they would perish, as there 
are more fibrous roots than tubers. 
G-. Waller. 
Cock Crow Hill, Ditton Hill, Surbiton. 
. . USEFUL . . 
Garden Devices. 
Edging for Tar Macadam Paths. 
Now that tar macadam paths are getting 
popular, the gardener will require something 
like the accompanying device to keep his 
edgings neat, and at the same time prevent 
the rush of water after heavy rains carrying 
the soil away. The pegs A are 8 in. long, 
florists; but we should all no doubt like to 
possess a still greater novelty, and one that is 
of our own making too. A glance at the 
sketches on this page will soon show how 
everyone may soon possess such a one, made 
of either Ivy - leaved Pelargoniums (any 
colour), Fuchsias, Campanulas, Heliotrope, 
or even Nasturtiums, together with some 
moss, firm peat, tar twine, and zinc wire. 
1 shows the plant turned out of its pot and 
in a very root bound condition. A, soil and 
roots; B, leaves and trailing growths. 
2 shows the same with an “ overcoat ” of 
moss firmly bound round A. C, moss. 
3 shows the coating finished, a thick 
layer of firm peat being in its turn covered 
with moss bound on with twine until the 
desired size is obtained. D shows final bind¬ 
ing of pliable zinc wire. 
4 shows the growths tied down equally all 
over surface E. 
5 explains itself after a few weeks’ growth, 
and all flower-buds pinched out until the sur¬ 
face is covered. 
Any old Fern balls that have failed to break 
out can have bits of Musk or Selaginellas 
dibbled into the surface, and they will soon 
become a mass of flower and foliage again. 
In all cases water must be liberally supplied. 
D. V. ErLAM. 
STOVE 
PROPAGATION 
DRACAENAS. CULTURE. 
Many specimens of this genus fail to find 
popularity in many establishments simply 
because they are not correctly grown. I will 
now try to explain the culture of six stove 
varieties. Supposing we want them to be 
kept in 6-in. pots, they are terminalis, 
Cooperi, His Majesty, Lindeni, goldieana 
and sanderiana. Of course, most of them 
come from West Tropical Africa, so they re¬ 
quire a temperature of 68deg. to 75deg., 
rising 5deg. with sun heat. 
The propagation of Dracaenas may be done 
in four ways, first by cuttings, second by 
ringing, thirdly by eyes, fourthly by seed. 
First take the process by cuttings. This 
is done by cutting back old plants and keep¬ 
ing them dry for a week or more till they 
begin to throw side shoots. When these are 
about three inches long they should be taken 
off and inserted in 60’s, in soil consisting of 
the following compost: Equal parts of peat 
loam and leaf mould, not too coarse, and a 
liberal quantity of silver sand. When this 
HOW TO MAKE A JAPANESE FLOWER BALL. 
EDGING FOR PATHS. 
and are driven flush with the edging 1 in. 
under turf surface. B is hoop-iron 2i in. 
deep, which is nailed to the pegs and left 
1 in. lower than grass surface. The pegs and 
iron should be well coated with tar-varnish, 
and allowed to dry before using. 
If any reader has a better method he or 
she would greatly oblige by explaining it 
through “ G.W.” Henry H. Gibson. 
Belfast. 
How to Make a Japanese Flower Ball. 
We all know, admire, and some of us possess 
one or two of, the elegant Fern balls and 
designs so cleverly made by the “ Jap ” 
A New Hemerocallis. 
Hemerocallis Dr. Regel is a new plant of 
more than ordinary merit, as was evidenced by 
the amount of notice it attracted at the recent 
Shrewsbury Show, -where it was exliibited in 
fine form. The flowers are of large size, and of 
a clear, bright yellow, which will make it a 
most striking subject for the herbaceous 
border. Heather Bell. 
Gardeners’ Roybal Benevolent Institu¬ 
tion. —The amount of the harvest thanks¬ 
giving offertories at Shirley Church (p. 804) 
has been increased from £8 17s. 4d. to £10. 
is done, place them in the propagating frame, 
where they will root freely. 
Secondly, we have cringing, which is a 
simple method when correctly done. If any 
old plants have good-coloured tops, the bark 
should be cut with a sharp knife about J8in. 
from the top. In this manner a clean cut is 
made with a knife. Then mix some moss 
with cutting soil, and tie around the cut with 
raffia. Keep this moist till rooted, then cut 
them off below the moss, and put. them in a 
4-in. pot, using the same compost as for cut¬ 
tings, -and place them in the propagating 
frame with cuttings. Table plants may be 
obtained more quickly this way than by 
cuttings. 
